[Sca-cooks] deep frying

[Nancy Kiel]

Yesterday at work I experimented with immersion frying vs shallow frying,
using the apple pillow receipt Ms. Benson so kindly provided.  I used Granny
Smith apples, a tin-lined copper pan, and clarified butter, and cooked over
charcoal in a bar grate.  Complete immersion gave a puffed appearance to the
pieces of apple, where shallow frying did not.  Therefore, I must revise my
earlier opinion and conclude that immersion frying was indeed being done
before the days of fast-food restaurants.  I look forward to reviewing 18th
cent. receipts in light of this information.  I also theorize that such
frying probably was not done by the less wealthy, because 1) it is not the
most beneficent usage of fat, even though the local fat (butter, lard, olive
oil) would not be too expensive, since the fat itself is not consumed; 2) as
a technique it requires constant attention; 3) as a technique it probably
requires additional equipment, i.e. a saucepan (you could probably hang a
small iron pot over the fire and mess with it that way, or maybe get said
pot or an earthenware vessel that hot on a down-hearth burner, which I may
try at our other kitchen).  I appreciate everyone's patience with and
assistance to me in working this out.



Nancy Kiel
nancy_kiel at hotmail.com
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.   Emerson





>From: "Barbara Benson" <vox8 at mindspring.com>
>Reply-To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
>To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
>Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] deep frying
>Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 10:49:34 -0500
>
>Greetings,
>
>Jumping into the frying pan ;) In the Welserin Manuscript there is a great
>deal of frying going on. I haven't figured
>out if the following "puff" repipits mean deep fry as in put the fruit in
>the batter and drop into the fat - they will
>sink to the bottom and "rise up" to the top when they are done. Or if they
>are talking about a shallow layer of fat and
>the "rising up" is that they "puff up".
>
>
>But with this one I think might be deep frying. She specifies that you need
>a deep pan.
>
>140 Apple pillows
>Take good apples, peel them and cut them into four pieces. Take flour, eggs
>and water and salt, make a batter, not too
>thin , pour the apples into it and put fat in a deep pan. When it is hot,
>put the pieces into the fat, until the cake
>rises, let it fry slowly. Turn it, let it also fry on the other side, then
>it is good.
>
>Of course, all of this could hinge on the translation. There are several
>other fried recipits, one day I will try them
>out.
>
>Glad Tidings,
>Serena da Riva
>
>

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