Subj : Al K. Haul [1]
To : Dave Drum
From : Ruth Haffly
Date : Sun Dec 31 2023 17:15:25
Hi Dave,
DD> I've told people for many years the the alcohol "cooks out" od wine
DD> or or hooch used in cooking. Turns out that's not entirely true. Some
DD> residual alcohol may remain evewn after long cooking according to A
DD> Washington Post article that showed up in my newss feed. Talk about
DD> an "eye opener"
http://tinyurl.com/86-D-BOOZE
RH> I read that too, years ago, and that was part of the reason I didn't
RH> cook with it. Now I'll cook with it, but in very small amounts. I might
RH> do a splash or 2 of red in beef stew, didn't last time I made stew and
RH> did notice a difference.
DD> It does add flavour. As beer adds flavour to things .... mostly from
DD> the hops. In batter for deep frying it's one thing but in chilli (I
DD> see a
DD> lot of recipes that call for beer in the chilli) it's an undesirable
DD> (to me) bitter undertone brought on by the hops in the brew.
The bitterness of the hops is the why we don't like it and wouldn't use
it for cooking. I've seen a lot of recipies that look good until I start
reading the ingredients listing. When I see beer, ale or stout listed,
I'll think "well, it looked good until I saw.....".
DD> I buy small piccolo/split bottles that hold 187 mL or about 6 DD>
tabvlespoons. IOW enough to flavour the dish without the rest of the
DD> jug turning to vinegar while waiting to be used. Bv)= Besides,
DD> they're cost effective.
RH> We've been buying the little cardboard boxes that hold maybe half a
RH> litre, usually one red, one white. So far none have turned on us; we
RH> put open ones in the fridge and use it from time to time.
DD> I usually don't have room in the ice box for stuff that should be in
DD> there. Or the freezer. Mostly because Dennis is a pack-rat. I'm not
DD> scheduled to work next Tuesday so there's going to be a big clear-out
DD> to the bare shelves - which will get washed and spiffed up. All
DD> science experiments and "what is this?" item will be binned, etc.
Sounds like a good idea. We've probably got some stuff in our fridge
that should find a new home in the trash can.
DD> My friend, Lee Bertagnolli, makes wine as a hobby. And wins DD> RH>
competitions with his product. Every year at the December meeting of
DD> our computer bunch he presents all in attendance with a 750 mL RH>
bottle DD> of one of his wines.
DD> Mine gets re-gifted - usually to my chilli cooking friend Les if it's
DD> a red wine. Or to his wife, Sara, if a white. They are Jewissh but do
DD> not care for Kosher wines like Mogen David or Maneschewitz because of
DD> their sweetness.
RH> Understandable; we tried the Kosher wines at one time but gave up on
RH> them quickly--much too sweet for us. Steve's older brother and his wife
RH> are into wine making but haven't offered us any of their output yet.
RH> It's probably very small, for their consumption only.
DD> I grew up in small(ish) towns with substantial immigrant and first
DD> generation populations - many Italian families many of whom had big
DD> grape arbors and made wine for family consumption. Oddly the families
DD> of French heritage didn't follow that practice.
Town I grew up in was well settled by (mostly) Scotch-Irish long before
my parents moved there. Farming was mostly dairy but from what I've
read, there was a time when cauliflower was a big cash crop in the area.
DD> If I'm using hard liquor as a flavourant I always buy it in RH>
Railroad DD> Bottles (50 mL)
RH> Never heard that term before but I guess it pre dates airplane
RH> bottles. (G)
DD> I was told by a friend (and fellow chilli cook) who had been a cook on
DD> transcontinental trains that the small bottles served two (or more)
DD> purposes. Inventory was easier - and it made it harder for an
DD> unscrupulous attendant/bartender to deplete the stock by nipping at
DD> the bottle. And since the bottles contained about a "jigger/shot" of
DD> booze, measurement was simple.
Sounds like a win-win all the way around (except for the unscrupulous
folks). We had our first meal on a train this past spring on our trip to
Denali from Whittier, Alaska. We were seated so that we could see a bit
of the kitchen as waiters came in/went out; from what we could see, it
was very tight working space. The menu we were offered was very limited,
looked like very minimal cooking was actually done on the train except
maybe the salmon chowder. The rest of the hot offerings were probably
just microwaved.
---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28
... If you think you are confused now, wait until I explain it!
--- PPoint 3.01
* Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)
