SC - Thickeners

[Elaine Koogler]

You mean there really is a use for that thrice-accursed weed?  (kudzu, I mean)
It has been the bane of existence for many a Southern famer or landscape
person!  I live in constant fear that we'll see some show up on our property.
It's been known to eat whole houses...and if you don't believe me, I can
probably get a photo or two!

Kiri

Christine A Seelye-King wrote:

>  So, where is arrowroot from originally? Was it used anywhere in
> "period"?
> > Anahita
>
> > True arrowroot is Maranta arundinacea, from the American tropics.
> > There are some other plants which are called arrowroot and are in the
> genera  Canna and Tacca.
> > Bear
>
> You will also see kudzu/kuzu for sale from a company called Great
> Eastern.  The label says "KUZU - Japanese Arrowroot".  We talk about this
> in the Natural Foods Training Course I teach, the fact that even though
> it isn't the same plant, the company is likening it to another plant with
> similar characteristics.  Kindof like saying Cream of Wheat is Yankee
> Grits.  It is made from the roots of the kudzu vine (yes, Meridians and
> Atlantians, the very stuff we have - which was an import from Japan to
> stop soil erosion!).
> Other thickeners we talk about as alternatives to gelatin (made from
> animal protein), include Agar (aka Agar-Agar) a smelly red seaweed that
> is dried into blocks, then shaved into translucent flakes.  It is the
> substance in petri dishes.  One of the more amazing properties of agar is
> that it will thicken while still warm, which will suprise you if you are
> used to dealing with gelatin.
>  Another seaweed-based thickener is Irish Moss or Carageen (Carageenan).
> I don't know if this is used in period, but it does grow around the
> British Isles, (and around the Bahamas) and is used by boiling the moss,
> then draining it off and reserving the cooking fluid, discarding the moss
> (health food types will eat the moss for other healthful benefits).  The
> fluid will thicken.  I have a recipe for a carageenan based lemon chiffon
> type dessert from an Irish cookbook.
>
>         Christianna
>
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