[Sca-cooks] Murri Question

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Lidia Allen wrote:
> I am planning an Andalusian meal and would like to make a dish that calls for Murri 
> (or Almori?). Is this commercially available? In researching the ingredients, it 
> sounds similar to Worcestershire sauce. Would that be an acceptable substitute, or 
> should I try fish sauce if I don't find the real thing? I would be grateful for any 
> assistance. 

I would NOT recommend Worcestershire Sauce. Its flavor is quite different from any form of murri i've tasted.

>From what i have read, murri is not a fish sauce, although fish murri is called for in one recipes in the Anon. Andalusian cookbook. I have tasted the murri made by Cariadoc, which is not make of aged barley, but involves toasted bread, honey, and spices, and seasoned murri is called for in three.

Nowadays i think anyone can find Charles Perry's articles on his experiment making murri which were published in the LA Times in the 1990s. I recommend reading them. He thought it tasted a lot like mild Japanese soy sauce (do NOT use Chinese, which has a VERY different flavor).

At Pennsic 2011 i also had the opportunity to taste someone else's murri made from scratch, presumably in a process similar to Charles Perry's. His mundane name is Michael J. Fuller, and he is an archaeologist and professor of archaeology in real life. He's on Facebook and his photo album is public, as far as i can tell. There he has photos of his murri, which is medium-light brown, quite transparent and clear. In my opinion his finished product looked and tasted a lot like Thai fish sauce (in particular, Tiparos brand).
https://www.facebook.com/michael.j.fuller/media_set?set=a.490832582342.267535.526022342&type=3
[that is the set entitled Murri Sauce Production

Another possibility, in my opinion, is to dilute Japanese barley miso, strain it, and use that, since the primary ingredient in murri is barley.

So, which do you use: Byzantine murri (the recipe Cariadoc used), diluted miso, mild Japanese soy sauce, Thai fish sauce?

I would say it's up to you, your experiments with the differing flavors, and the dietary needs of your diners.

Urtatim (that's oor-tah-TEEM)