SC - Andalusian Cookbook now webbed

[Philip & Susan Troy]

sca-cooks at ansteorra.org wrote:
<<<<2)  I played with a recipe from the translated Welserin--sort of a
parmesan-and-bread crumb fritter.  The fritter/dumplings cooked very,
very fast, with the outsides browning so fast I didn't have a chance to cook the fritters all the way through.  (although they taste pretty
good)  I don't do a lot of deep-fat frying, so I'm not sure how to
adjust my oil temp. to allow for a slightly longer cooking time--do I
need to chill the dough? or lower the oil temp.? My pieces weren't that big (used an icecream scoop, so they're only a couple of
tablespoons--about like a hush puppy, I guess).  Any suggestions from
The Great Electronic Beyond  would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Maire>>>>>

Well if you can get hold of a frying/candy thermometer, you can go a long way to learning how foods behave at different temps.  It needs to register upwards of 400F (though you'll smoke several oils at that temp), and easily readable by you.  A rule of thumb I use is to stay around 350-340F when breadcrumbs are involved.  Much higher, and they scorch before the inner food cooks.  I suggest trying several differnet temp levels to see what happens . . . say, 325F - 350F- 365F - 375F - 385F.  Watch the item carefully when you place it in the fat for how it sounds, looks, and bubbles.  enough experince with site/sound and the thermometer, and you'll get to know if you;re too hot.

You don't mention what you are using to fry.  I use a heavy pot with oil on a gas burner.  Good heat control, and no more than half full of oil no matter what (avoid spillage).  If using an auto-fry-thingy like a FryDaddy(tm), then I got no help for you.  They're wild in terms of temp control.  remember that oil drops in temp when you add food based on temp of food and amount of food added.  Don't crowd, and keep food room temp so you can get oil back to desired temp quickly.  Hope some of this helps.

niccolo difrancesco