[Sca-cooks] more spanish stuff: Limonada

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise wrote:

>>From De Nola:
><blockquote>
>LIMONADA
>Take blanched almonds and peel them, and grind them in a mortar, and 
>blend them with good hen's broth; and then take new raisins, and clean 
>them well of the seeds, and grind them by themselves and strain them 
>through a woolen cloth; 
></blockquote>
>
>
>I could also see this being done with white grape juice instead of 
>raisins; it's not clear. I'll try that too. (Since it says new raisins, 
>and says to strain them through a woolen cloth, which I'm not sure is 
>possible with the ground raisins...)
>
The Spanish is "passas nuevas" -- new raisins  I would interpret that to 
mean raisins that are newly-made, that are still soft and moist  What is 
wanted here is raisin paste.  The "woolen cloth" is "estameña", a 
cognate to the French "tamis" and its English derivative "tammy cloth".  
I have a jelly-strainer that I bought for a few bucks at a Walmart near 
Pennsic.  It has a nylon mesh bag that I suspect would be perfect for 
this task,

Grape juice will probably not give you the concentrated flavor (or the 
texture) of raisin paste.  If you feel a need to substitute, I'd suggest 
sapa/saba (concentrated grape must), which can be found in gourmet shops 
and some health food stores, near the specialy vinegars.

-- 

Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Robin Carroll-Mann *** rcmann4 at earthlink.net