SC - molds

[Hupman, Laurie]

> Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 04:36:25 EDT
> From: CBlackwill at aol.com
> Subject: Re: SC - Ravioli, dumplings, and excoriation
> 
> >  Technically, yes, a quenelle is a poached ball of forcemeat, but that's
> >  kind of like saying pate de foie gras is chopped liver. Yes. It is...I 
> > suppose.
> >  
> 
> "Technically" is what we wanted, wasn't it??  I really don't know of any 
> other way to describe a quenelle...

Um, with respect, maybe you should try harder. Is there really no
difference between a quenelle and, say, the meatballs from the local
pizzeria? (Okay, so those are nominally sauteed or fried before
immersing in red goo, but I think you know what I mean...)

I'd say that while the above definition is accurate, or at least its
defining criteria are true, it isn't complete, in that it doesn't tell
you what a quenelle _is_, it merely states what class of foods it
belongs to. I'd consider defining characteristics to include a delicate
flavor, usually of a pale, mild-flavored meat, poultry, or fish, a fine
texture (the ground mixture is almost always sieved; Taillevent's is
not, and actually appears pretty crumbly in texture, hence the warnings
about boiling them gently), and a lightness usually accomplished by the
incorporation of air with the mixture, either by whipping the cream,
adding eggs in various forms, or simply by pushing the mixture through a sieve.
   
I'd say that yes, technically speaking, a quenelle is a poached ball of
forcemeat, but that the pommes described by Taillevent aren't quenelles.
If it's necessary to give them a name in some other language than
English when translating Taillevent into English, they're closer both to
some Klopse and to gayettes, and perhaps to Italian fegatini, if I
remember the name correctly. Interestingly enough, Larousse claims the
name is derived from the German "Knödeln", or dumpling.

If Taillevent had actually used the word "quenelle", it might be worth
pursuing the question of whether these quenelles resembled modern
quenelles in any real way, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Adamantius (who knows quenelles are really just white ravioli, anyway ; 
)  ) 
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com