[Sca-cooks] OOP: Frozen sauces

[tom.vincent at yahoo.com]

I didn't take offense.  Really.  I simply answered your question.  Unlike some others on this list, I don't take offense at anything other than direct personal attacks.  Life's too short.
 
I don't recall seeing cilantro leaf itself (its seed, coriander, yes) in any Med/Ren recipe...probably Mid East ones, maybe in some Spanish/Portuguese dishes?  Perhaps someone else has a period fruit/cilantro/ginger sauce reference, but I haven't found all my Med/Ren cookbooks yet...hopefully when I find my favorite Spanish cookbook I'll find something.
 
I think you're confusing the source of the two sauces I mentioned.  The cilantro/ginger/fruit sauces I've done are -- as a family -- very different (in source as well as purpose) than the strawberry/red wine sauce:  The former were found in OOP sources and used for OOP dining whereas the latter was found in period sources and used for period events.  I discovered the two sauce-types independently.
 
I know *I'm* getting confused about which you're asking/commenting about!
 
On the modern sauce (for pork, chicken, fish, shellfish), I tend to use a light honey (or, if need be, a light corn syrup) (or, for a *very* different flavor, molasses) base with optional arrowroot (or, if need be, corn starch, which I avoid) to preferred thickness (really not needed at all unless you added water to the base to stretch it out), ginger to taste, cilantro to taste, optional red chili pepper flakes to taste and that's about it;  
 
So, yes, it's vastly simpler than the Medieval strawberry/red wine sauce for chicken.  As to whether it's lighter depends on the use of molasses, for one, or any 'embellishments' you want to add to the OOP sauce.
 
The condition of the sauce after freezing and thawing is going to depend on how it was sealed, how long it was frozen, how quickly it was thawed, how much it was contaminated by other items in the freezer, etc., so it's hard to comment on the widely varying chemical interactions.  But arrowroot has worked better for me than corn starch, that's for sure.
 
I must add (and forgot to in the previous post) that I think this strawberry/red wine sauce is the original version of what evolved into cranberry sauce for turkeys.  We don't normally think of strawberry & chicken -- or cranberry & turkey -- but it's really delightful.  If fact, the sauce goes really well with turkey and I've thought about serving it at Thanksgiving as a rebellious 'old-school' alternative.
 
 
Duriel

 
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Tom Vincent
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US Marines: Murdering toddlers to protect us from Saudi terrorists. 


----- Original Message ----
From: grizly <grizly at mindspring.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2006 10:12:47 AM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] OOP: Frozen sauces


No need to take offense, really.  I saw very clearly the OOP, and thank you
kindly for the information.  If the reference is "I made it up one day in
the kitchen" then tell that; no harm, no foul.

As I had predicted, you started with something written down somewhere and
moved to what you have now as your favorite sauces.  I'm guessing you found
modern techniques and springboards along the way for part of your
inspiration.  Exactly the sort of thing I enjoy seeing and watching happen;
it gives me a comparison or contrast to my own recipe development processes.
Knowing the time and original source materials, I can now place the
information in my storage system appropriately.  I do not intend for asking
someone to show how their products develop to be adversarial, and appologize
if it came across as such.  Most here are quite willing and excited to share
that sort of thing, and I made an assumption.

Much appreciation.

My guess is that the modern sauces you reference as having fruit and
cilantro would be a much lighter and less complex sauce than the Harlein
version you sent me . . . is that your experience?  Or do you thicken with a
starch binder of some sort and include the various layerings of flavors
similar to the medieval one?

The reason I ask is because the various starch binders react wayyyy
differently after being frozen and thawed.  Several break and become grainy
while a few perform well.  I'd love to hear if a starch is working out for
you in the frozen sauce idea.


pacem et bonum,
niccolo difrancesco