[Sca-cooks] Marrow

[Michael Gunter]

>OK, I know what marrow is (vague memory of some book in
>which a character had it for dessert)

Marrow for dessert? Eeew! Unless he was having a sweetened
version of the plant. Although cooked marrow itself probably
isn't bad, I like to suck the marrow out of steak bones
myself.

>But, how do you cook it?

I poached the bones and then scraped out the marrow.

>Does it melt when cooked, like fat, or does it have to be
>chopped up?

It melts. But I chopped it up and dotted the fruit, the
same with the butter.

>Is it ever eaten raw?

Bleah! I hope not. Marrow is the fatty substance
in the bones. Go to the butcher and ask that he
crack some marrow bones or soup bones for the
good stuff.

>Does it matter what animal it came
>from?

Beef mainly. I'm not sure if anyone uses pork marrow.
But, considering the preponderance of pork eaten in
period, I would guess that it would be acceptable.

>Can it be frozen?

I believe so.

>What else is there I should know,
>or might find interesting, about it?

Marrow was mainly used in period as an easily meltable
fat. Much like we use butter or lard in baking. It's what
added richness to puddings and the like.

>The couple of times I've had Lombardy custard I loved it,
>so I'd like to try making it sometime, but this little
>detail has always been a little daunting to me.

If you don't have marrow, use butter. They pretty much
fulfill the same purpose.

>Dana/Ximena

Gunthar

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