[Sca-cooks] Churros

[Susan Fox-Davis]

> Also sprach Terry Decker:
> >Watching churros being mechanical churned out on the Food Channel, it came
> >to me that they were very similar to Sabina Welserin's Spanish Pastries (of
> >which, I have rolled many), if one concedes that churros made by hand
> >probably aren't extruded.  My question is do we have any pre-1600 recipes
> >for churros?
> >
> >For those who don't know them, churros are a tubular, filled, fried pastry.
> >A skinny, filled Long John with a crispy crust.
> >
> >Bear

The batter for Cryspes will do nicely, put through a broad star tip.  The ridges
hold more sugar, cinnamon, honey, whatever you douse it with, and are a bit
easier to line up on the plate than funnel cakes.  They are yummy when fresh,
icky when cold.  The Welserin documentation will probably work, as below.  Or
see the Flory-thingie <www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-BREADS/
fried-breads-msg.txt> Is "Strauben" cognate with "straw" perhaps?

The LA area's Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Agoura [now Devore] had a Churros
booth, which really made me cringe even when I was new at this historical
re-creation game.  If they had re-labelled the booth "Spanish Cryspes" it might
have worked.  Imagine my response when some faire employees gave me crap about
the minutae of my costume while standing in front of this display... and I
didn't even work for them, was a paying guest.  Sheesh.

Anyway, the Welserin recipe:

86 If you would bake good fried Strauben

Then bring water to a boil and pour it on the flour, stir it together well, beat
eggs
into it and salt it, take a small Strauben funnel, which should have a hole as
wide as
a finger, and let the batter run through and fry the Strauben. The batter should
be
warm.


Selene Colfox