[Sca-cooks] Re: Larded Milk

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Martha Oser:
>Adamantius says:
>>Y'ever made consomme? It involves the adding of eggs, aromatic 
>>flavoring vegetables, and sometimes additional meat, to stock, and 
>>bring it all to a simmer without stirring. What it does, in 
>>essence, is causes all the little particles and extraneous 
>>flavoring agents to solidify (there's a network of protein strands 
>>mixed throughout, and these begin to shrink and solidify as the 
>>protein denatures) and separate out from the rest of the mass, 
>>which breaks apart into layers. One of those layers is a mass of 
>>egg, meat, vegetables, and gunk, and another is the consomme, a 
>>highly-flavorful, crystal-clear (we hope)  stock. The only 
>>difference in the underlying science is that in this case, it's 
>>that clearmeat (that's what it's called) that you want and are 
>>saving, and the liquid that you're discarding.
>
>No, I haven't made consomme.  I'm more of a baked-goods person, but 
>I understand the concept - roughly the same way you use a raft of 
>beaten egg white to clarify a stock.

Exactly. And this technology (at least a variant) is known in period: 
somewhere Taillvent tells us to use egg whites to clarify wine that 
has gone ropy (or some other inherent funkiness) -- he doesn't tell 
us to boil them, but I suspect the acid in the wine would have a 
similar effect.

>>I think that, if you use unhomogenized milk (which is a suspension, 
>>as opposed to a semi-emulsion like homegenized milk), the same 
>>effect can be achieved, and there won't be a lot of milk left 
>>behind. It'll be whey, like the water that leaks from an overcooked 
>>quiche or custard as it cools.
>
>Yes, I was talking to some veterinarians I know last night and they 
>suggested getting raw milk as well.  Nice, fatty, Jersey cow 
>milk...mmm...
>-Helena

Well, raw is good, but not being homogenized is probably more 
important than not being pasteurized for this application.

Adamantius
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