SC - Fwd: Cooks - Maids of Honor

[Decker, Terry D.]

Dry breadcrumbs crushed into a coarse meal is what I use.  The speed of the
thickening depends largely on the quantity of breadcrumbs to quantity of
broth.  Slowly adding breadcrumbs and cooking down to get the required
thickness is probably the best way to do it, since I once created instant
sludge by adding to many breadcrumbs too fast.

A little water or broth can be used to help thin an overly thickened dish.

I use a breadcrumb thickened broth in making chicken and leek pies and have
found that a thin broth keeps the meat moister and sets up reasonable well
during the baking.

Bear




> I recently tried the chicken and pear stew from "Ein Buch von 
> Guter Spise,"
> which calls for bread crumbs as a thickener.  On the first 
> day, the broth
> was thick, but still soupy.  After a day or two, it was quite 
> thick, almost
> the consistency of gravy.  Does it always take more than a day for the
> breadcrumbs to break down and be absorbed into the liquid?  
> Should I be
> using drier or moister breadcrumbs to cause the reaction to 
> happen faster?
> Should I use more and chance the leftovers having the consistency of
> concrete?
> 
> Rose :)