SC - Mackerel

[Elaine Koogler]

I have several books here with information about Italian kitchens...let me see
what I can find (they're all upstairs in the bookcase, and I'm in my basement
office).

Kiri

Bethany Public Library wrote:

> Blathazar wrote:
> *I also, sometimes, omit the baking
> *powder in my biscuits, and instead beat the dough with a leather mallet for
> *about 30 minutes.  This works well, also, and if I am not mistaken (and if
> I
> *am I will certainly hear about it) this is the way folks in the southern US
> *made biscuits before Baking Powder came into practical use.  It doesn't
> puff
> *up quite as much as with chemical leavening, but does produce a biscuit
> with
> *a very good texture, IMO.
>
> This is interesting. I was speaking to Ras the other day at an event and we
> talked about doing things exactly as they would have been done in period, as
> opposed to doing things according to the recipe but using modern appliances.
> When I'm in my manic phase I feel that you can carry this authenticity to
> the nth degree, but if you're cooking all the right ingredients in a modern
> kitchen, it still isn't going to be perfectly period (tm). Usually I come to
> my senses, but that theory's siren call is hard to resist, to me. I want to
> use the right ingredients in the right manner in the appropriate kitchen.
> You can learn a great deal about technique and about texture by reverting to
> the exact methods described in the recipes, or by detecting by clever means
> (paintings, descriptions, wood cuts, household management books) how an item
> may have been cooked or processed. I'm talking about the difference between
> a Jen-aire range and a clay oven, for instance.  It's not possible for all
> of us to be able to do this, but I still recall the period kitchen I ran
> where I was shocked to find that people were coming in, not to help, but to
> take photographs.
>
> I was especially intrigued to know more about the paddles Platina says to
> beat items with---I want one. I want to experiment with the difference in
> beating eggs or batters with such an item, for instance. I want to compare
> that to beating with a plain wooden spoon, and then compare it to beating
> with an electrical appliance. You all will know what I mean if you have ever
> tried to make emergency beaten egg whites in a blender, for instance. Sure,
> it says "whip" on the controls, but can it really do what you want it to do?
> I think not. Does anyone have access to images of Italian Kitchens, or any
> other kitchen that might show a paddle hanging not he wall or being used?
>
> If anyone knows what the dimensions of such a paddle might be, I could have
> hubby whip one up on the old jigsaw, and then round off the corners with the
> dremel (talk about using modern equipment).
>
> And then, I'll beat it ;).
>
> Aoife
>
> *Complacency Breeds Contempt
>
> An apple pie without some cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.
>
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