SC - Definitely OT: Ghee and Bamboo steamers

[Philip & Susan Troy]

LadyVXN at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Ghee is clarified butter. It's a Middle Eastern condiment - you'll usually
> find it used in Asian Indian cooking. Get some good Indian cookbooks - my 2
> favorites are Curried Flavors (can't remember the author right now - I'm in
> the midst of moving and my cookbooks are packed), and a vegetarian cookbook by
> Madhur Jaffrey. The Jaffrey book covers the whole East - Japan, Korea,
> Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Persia, etc., and the Arab Middle East.

As far as uses go, I'm inclined to agree, but ghee is not simply
clarified butter, although clarified butter makes a decent substitute.
European clarified butter is made by melting the butter until it breaks
and settles, the foamy top is skimmed away, and the pure butterfat is
ladelled off the top of the water and milk solids at the bottom. Ghee is
cooked slowly, and for a rather long time, until the water has simmered
away, and the butterfat has begun to brown a bit, and the milk solids
have just begun to caramelize. This is why ghee is now mostly prepared
as a commercial product. Making your own is still better, especially now
that many commercial ghees are now made like margarine, from vegetable oil.
> 
> Another book I like is The Varied Kitchens of India, by Copeland Marks, which
> was my introduction to Indian cooking. There are recipes for ghee in there.
> You can make your own ghee, but having it in a jar is handy (just like having
> pre-chopped garlic and ginger!).

I vaguely recall a sketch done by Alexei Sayle (a marvellous British
comedian most have probably never heard of, but whose face most would
probably instantly recognize; he has played bit parts in hundreds of
movies) which featured a small sign on a kitchen wall, reading, "You
don't have to be Madhur Jaffrey to work here, but it helps!" 

Adamantius
Østgardr, East
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================