[Sca-cooks] Gjetost and stockfish

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Elizabeth A Heckert wrote:
 >
 >    Gentle Cousins,
 >
 >       I have two questions that I *think* are related by geography, if
 > nothing else.
 >
 >       Several conversations ago, someone mentioned gjetost and mjetost.
 > I borrowed a book on cheese making that has a recipe in it for gjetost.
 > The impression I got from the list discussion is that you wind up with
 > something more liquid than solid.  The book says you wind up with a
 > solid.
 >
 >     Is this a case of different interpretations of the same product, or
 > something else???

I'm not sure. I've never seen mjesost, but gjetost looks quite a lot
like that brown laundry soap, or perhaps the firm brown version of bean
curd. It's rather hard, as I recall. I don't recall all the details from
this list, but it was my understanding that gjetost is made by reducing
whey to a solid mass, which becomes slightly caramelized as it cooks
down. You may have been confused by descriptions of real ricotta, which
is also traditionally made from whey, or just gotten caught up in the
idea that since it is made from whey, it should be liquid. I'm just
guessing, though.

 >    In another conversation, someone said that you have to beat or hammer
 > stockfish to make it edible.   I have also read this *somewhere*, but the
 > technique was not described.   My only experience with dried meat is once
 > with that salted beef you make creamed chipped beef out of.   I soaked
 > that stuff to remove some of the salt, and made the cream sauce, and it
 > was fine without pounding.  What does the pounding do, and how do you do
 > it?  If you use butter in the process, when is it added?

Bearing in mind that dried cod, ling, hake, etc., the kinds of fish that
get made into stockfish, are not salted, an important consideration is
that soaking them can soften the outside, and even perhaps allow it to
go bad before the inside is moist enough to use. Also, these fish all
have a fair amount of intramuscular connective tissue: they can be tough
fish, and drying their flesh will only amplify that. The object of
beating them is to make them not only tender but porous (the dried fish
will begin to split apart at the fibers, but hold together until you
have a fibrous, almost puffy mass), so they'll absorb water in the
reconstitution stage, and also flavorings in the cooking stage (dried
fish can be a bit bland). Finally, by exposing the various tough threads
of connective tissue, you get the greatest amount of tenderizing in cooking.

Butter can be added probably at any time. Sometimes it is added at the
table, sometimes in the kitchen either during cooking or before serving.
I was struck by the fact that there's what looks very suspiciously like
a lutefisk recipe in Sabina Welserin, even down to the mustard and
butter saucing.

HTH,

Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com

"It was so blatant that Roger threw at him.  Clemens gets away with
things that get other people thrown out of games.  As long as they
let him get away with it, it's going  to continue." -- Joe Torre, 9/98