SC - Re: Alcohol in food (RANT)

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/1/00 11:32:49 PM Eastern Standard Time, kerelsen at ptd.net 
writes:

<< Just what
 is wrong with saying I don't want wine added as an ingredient in
 my food?  Or ale or other alcoholic beverage? >>

Nothing  is wrong with stating that desire. I always post an ingredients list 
for my feasts so if you have such objections, read the ingredients list 
because I do not leave alcohol out of my recipes. What a person may find 
natural, normal, expedient or politically correct is not necessarily what 
others may believe or think. 

If you don't want you or your children to consume food that has alcohol as an 
ingredient for whatever reasons that is OK although personally I think you 
are missing out on and depriving your child of some of the finest flavor 
combinations in the world. Just read the ingredients list and avoid those 
dishes at my feasts.

I was not dismissing your beliefs and/or practices. My objection was to why 
leave it out for the reason stated (i.e., children might eat it). 

Excuse me? The amounts are less than they would receive from eating a candy 
bar, an orange or a cookie. Also just because the politically correct thing 
is to NOT teach children appropriate alcohol use (which cookery is) in the US 
does not mean that the rest of the world puts the same bizarre stipulations 
on child rearing as we seem to do here. Adulthood is unnaturally and uniquely 
lengthened in the US. Such a social 'custom' certainly is not biologically or 
culturally correct. I find it ludicrous. But my opinion is no less valid than 
the one who felt it necessary to say 'you can leave it out for children' for 
reasons that to me were not really important.

More importantly, I seldom see a need to say things like 'You can leave the 
alcohol (or any ingredient) out for (insert whatever your reason). Such 
instruction seems to me to condone changing the recipes drastically in taste 
from the original. While such changes maybe (and in Branwagan's (sp?) case 
always are) very tasty, it results not in an attempt at a period recipe but 
rather produces a modern recipe which uses a period recipe for inspiration. 

My basic rules are follow the original as closely as possible, if an 
ingredient cannot be found or used for any reason use another recipe with 
ingredients that you can find/use, provide variety for those who may be 
allergic, ignore food preferences completely, and cook as if you are cooking 
for the King. If you follow those 5 principles then you will have no need to 
'substitute' ingredients and Jew, Christian, Pagan, Buddhist or followers of 
al-Islam (or any other religion) will be able to enjoy your feast equally.

Ras