[Sca-cooks] in the thick of it...

[Nick Sasso]

> -----Original Message-----
> Lonnie D. Harvel wrote:
> > First, would the broth from stewed meat be thickened in the 9th
> > century, Danelaw area.
> At a guess, crumbs.
>
> > Second, what is the technique for thickening with bread or
> bread crumbs.
> Grind bread. Put crumbs in liquid to be thickened.  Allow it
> to cook a
> little longer. If it still doesn't seem thick enough, repeat.

Make sure you give enough time for the starch to dissolve and get good and
mixed in.  Too little and it is more grainy than you'd like.  This is a
really easy test to work out to see hot it behaves.  I did a Neapolitan dish
that was thickened with egg yolks, bread crumbs AND liver.  It was a
startling surprise to see the spaetzel appear in my Italian braised lamb :o)
( I mixed egg and crumbs together before adding to liquid . . . oops.

Bread is a forgiving master to thicken with, really, just watch it and learn
how much to use, based on moisture in your crumbs, type of grain and quality
(density) of your original crumb.

pacem et bonum,

niccolo difrancesco