[Sca-cooks] OOP: Mystery flour-like substance in my cabinet

[Pixel, Goddess and Queen]

Well, it's in my baking cabinet, so it is edible. I know a number of 
things which it is *not*, because they are labeled or they live in their 
original packaging. It's probably been in there at least six months, but 
no longer than a year. I don't usually cook with rice flour, but I can't 
think of anything else it might be, which is why I was wondering if there 
was a good way to tell what it was.

Margaret


On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 kingstaste at mindspring.com wrote:

> I would discard it.  I just gave my culinary students a test called "The
> White Powder Test".  It consists of 12 bags, each containing a white powder.
> The first part of the test involves identifying each one, the second part is
> to take a cake recipe and plug the appropriate ones into the ingredients
> listed (flour, gran. sugar, powdered sugar, baking powder, salt).  Other
> options in the bags include msg, dry carpet cleaner, sanitizer, sink
> cleanser, etc.  Interestingly enough, everyone I've given this test to
> included the dry carpet cleaner in their 'cake' mix.  The point being, you
> can't tell one unlabeled white powder from the next, so keep them in
> original containers if possible, and keep them labeled.  I don't think
> you've got dry carpet cleaner in your canister, but at this point, how old
> would it be anyway?
> Christianna
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sca-cooks-bounces+kingstaste=mindspring.com at ansteorra.org
> [mailto:sca-cooks-bounces+kingstaste=mindspring.com at ansteorra.org]On
> Behalf Of Pixel, Goddess and Queen
> Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 2:33 PM
> To: Cooks within the SCA
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] OOP: Mystery flour-like substance in my cabinet
>
>
>
> Usually I remember to label the various canisters and bottles and things
> in my cabinets, unfortunately I seem to have neglected one. I have a
> canister of some substance, in the quantities that would suggest it came
> in a 5-pound bag, that I can't identify. It might be rice flour. It is
> very white, whiter than the unbleached white wheat flour, but I think not
> quite as white as cornstarch. It is slightly granular rather than powdery.
> Is there any good way for me to confirm that this is, indeed, rice flour?
>
> Thanks!
> Margaret Fitzwilliam