Mothers lose art of cooking

From the Herald Sun yesterday...

Mothers lose art of cooking

Traditional cooking skills such as poaching an egg and making short-crust pastry are almost obsolete, according to a new survey.

More than two thirds of today's mothers (my question is where are the fathers?) do not know how to make gravy from scratch, compared with a third of their mothers. Only 15 per cent know how to make custard, compared with almost half of mothers 35 years ago.

Teh study of 2500 British women aged 18 to 70 finds traditional cooking skills have deteriorated, with 65 per cent of the women admitting their mothers cooked more family meals from scratch than they do.

One in four knows how to poach and egg without gadgets, compared with 75 per cent of the older generation. Only 16 per cent can make short-crust pastry.

Clearly there is room for a little blogger like me in the big bad world out there. Not know how to make short-crust pastry.... Fuggedaboutit!

It's a great pastry debate!

Hi everybody!

(Hi Dr Nick)

Hope you didn't miss me too much over the Christmas period, and I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and an excellent new years.

As we learned last year in this post, I make a pretty mean mince pie. However, this year I set myself a new challenge, which provoked the great pastry debate. I wanted to see what the difference was if you make a pastry with lard instead of with butter as I am used to.

SHORT-CRUST, PLAIN. (For Pies, Tarts, etc.)

INGREDIENTS - 1/2 lb of flour
3 oz of lard, clarified butter or dripping
1 teaspoonful of baking-powder (heaped)
1/4 of a teaspoonful of salt
1/4 of a pint of water

METHOD - Pass the flour, salt and baking-powder through a sieve into a large basin, then rub in the fat, add the water, and work into a smooth paste with a knife. Roll out to desired shape and thickness and use at once. When required for fruit tarts, 1 tablespoonful of sugar should be added to the above ingredients.

TIME - About 1/4 of an hour. SUFFICIENT for about 1 medium-sized tart

SHORT CRUST PASTRY (my recipe)

INGREDIENTS.-
4 oz (125g) of plain flour
4 oz (125g) of SR flour
4 oz (125g) of butter
2 oz (60g) of castor sugar
1 pinch of salt
About 3 tablespoons of water

METHOD.- Put butter, flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Turn on and process until it resembles bread crumbs, add egg yolk, and process, add water a little at a time until the mixture forms a ball of dough whirling round the mixer. Remove and roll out on a floured board/bench top. Then use or refrigerate until required (no more that 1 day)


And here they are:
Butter Pastry


Lard Pastry


Personally I prefer the butter ones. The lard ones took a few days before they stopped tasting really lardy...but after that they were very nice. I found the lard pastry to be much shorter (probably due to the lower fat content) but would be really good for a savoury pie.

In the grand scheme of things then, the real difference is - not much. I'm calling it a tie.

So sue-t me!

There are all different types of fats involved in cooking. Lard, tallow, suet, duck fat, ghee, butter, oil, olive oil... the list goes on.

However, essential in a Christmas pudding is suet... which makes finding suet an exciting adventure. Apparently, there can be a big difference between Suet mix and actual suet... but actual suet is a bit thin on the ground here and I haven't located a butcher who will do me up some suet of my own. (Wow, I wonder how many times I can say suet in a sentence? Suet, suet, suet... anyone else think the word suet looks really weird?)

Anyhoo, I've given the old Tandaco Suet mix a burl in my christmas pud. Hopefully it will taste great and not weird. In addition, there are rasins, currants, sultanas, candied peel and lemon rind... and not actually a whole lot more. There's also on interesting recipe for fruitarian pudding (which is without suet) so I may try that one in the future as well.

Tie me kangaroo down, sport.

Mrs Beeton touches on the subject of Australian Cookery. Which for a British woman in 1861 is rather progressive...and unusual.

I'm not convinced that she actually knew anything about Australian food, but let's see what she says.

AUSTRALIAN COOKERY.

Cookery in Australia is of course English in character, while in the hotels the French cuisine plays a prominent part just as it does in England. The various dishes which are peculiar to the country are those obtained from animals and fruits indigenous to the soil.

FISH
is plentiful and good, and includes nearly all the varieties exsteemed in England except the sole, which is not found in any Australian waters' but there are many other varieties unknown in England, such as trumpeter, schnapper, flat-heard, barracouta, etc.

VEGETABLES
grow abundantly in most parts of Australia. Sour sop, a fruit which in its ripe condition resembles the custard apple, may in its green state be cooked and served as a vegetable. Paw paw also serves the doule purpose of fruit and vegetable, for it is equally excellend boiled while in a green, unripe condition, and served with white sauce, or eaten when ripe with wine and sugar. The choko is a vegetable little known, although it grows freely in many parts of Australia. It is excellent plainly boiled and served with white sauce. Pumpkins, trombone, vegetable and custard marrows are very plentiful.

FRUIT
is so plentiful in many parts of Australia that many varieties may there be had for the picking.

POULTRY.
Birds are not plentiful, but the wild ones congregate around the water-holes, and though it is sometimes difficult to procure them in town, the sportsman on the farm will often bring in pigeons, plover, bush turkey, quail, parrots, etc. These birds are almost invariably best when stewed.

Here's a brief list of "Typical Australian Dishes" - some are not so typical, methinks.

Apricot Jam
Apricots and rice
Australian cakes
Bandicoot stewed in milk ?!? I believe Bandicoots are currently endangered so we may be waiting a very long time to try this one
Barracouta, Baked
Barramunda
Black Duck (Wood Goose)
Blackfish in Batter
Black Swan, Roasted or baked Being the state emblem of Western Australia, probably no longer on the menu too.
Cape Gooseberries
Chelgi
Choko, to Boil
Cod Steaks
Coma What the? And I can't even google it properly
Fish Klosh
Flatfish
Flathead
Gill Birds, Jugged
Gramma Pie or Tart
Grandilla CreamGrandilla Jelly
Green Fig Jam
Groper, Head and Soulders, boiled
Guava Jelly
Island Blue Geese, Roast
Kaka, or Parrot
Kangaroo Is actually pretty darn tasty... I'm surprised she doesn't have emu on the list. I think Australia is the only country in the world that eats both its' national animals.
Kangaroo tail, curried
Kangaroo Tail Fricassee
Kangaroo Tail Soup
Kawai, Baked And not the Japanese for cute, it's some kind of fish
King Fish, Baked, with tomatoes
Kumaras
Loquat Jelly
Loquat Pie or Tart
Mallee Hen, Baked
Melbourne Pancakes
Murray Cod, Boiled
Parrot Pie
Paw paw, Baked
Prickley Pear or Cactus Fruit Jelly
Pukaki, Jugged
Pumpkin Pie
Rosella Jelly I believe she means the flowers and not the birds
Schanpper, Baked
Scrub Turkey, Roast
Sour sop, to boil
Taro
Terrapin, to boil
Travalli
Trumpeter, Baked, with tomatoes
Trumpeter, Boiled
Waikato Scones
Wallaby, Roast
Water-Melon, preserved
Yellowtail

I'm not sure what half of these are, but some will definitely be on the menu. Stay tuned.

Portion Distortion - Now & Then

An interesting article from The Age Online... especially for those of us with an historic cookery/living project on the boil...

Are recipes making us fat?
February 17, 2009 - 10:05AM

Studied ... US cookbook Joy of Cooking.

It's not just fast food restaurants that have changed the way people eat - cookbooks share the blame.

So-called portion distortion, the trend of eating larger and larger servings, is as much a problem with recipes as it is restaurants, and has been going on even longer, a study published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine found.

The study, which looked at how classic recipes have changed during the past 70 years, found a nearly 40 per cent increase in calories per serving for nearly every recipe reviewed, about an extra 77 calories.

"So much finger pointing is going on at away-from-home dining it really takes the focus off where we could probably have the most immediate influence," says Cornell University marketing professor Brian Wansink, who directed the study.

The study identified the trend in numerous cookbooks, but it focused on American kitchen icon Joy of Cooking, first published during the 1930s and regularly updated with new editions since then, most recently in 2006. Those editions gave researchers a continuity of recipes from which to draw their data, Wansink says.

Of the 18 recipes published in all seven editions, 17 increased in calories per serving. That can be attributed partly to a jump in total calories per recipe (about 567 calories), but also to larger portion sizes.

Only the chili con carne recipe remained unchanged through the years. The chicken gumbo, however, went from making 14 servings at 228 calories each in the 1936 edition, to making 10 servings at 576 calories each in the 2006 version.

Calls to Scribner, publisher of Joy of Cooking, were not immediately returned.

Most excess calories in the American diet still come from food eaten outside the home, says Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition and food studies at New York University. But she says the study is yet another illustration of how accustomed people are to eating ever increasing quantities of food.

And changes in Joy of Cooking have been going on for a while. Increases in overall calories per recipe have been gradual, but portion sizes tended to jump, first during the 40s, again during the 60s, and with the largest jump in the 2006 edition.

The first significant signs of restaurant portion inflation didn't show up until the late 70s, says Wansink.

Lisa Young, an adjunct nutrition professor at New York University, had similar findings in a 2002 study that compared the book's brownie recipe from the 60s and 70s editions to the recipe from the 1997 edition.

"Same recipe. Same pan. But in the 60s and 70s it yielded 30 brownies," she says. "In the 1997 edition it yielded 15."

She also was able to trace the trend to other recipe sources. For example, a popular chocolate chip cookie recipe that decades before produced 100 cookies, made only 60 during the 80s, though no ingredients had changed.

Wansink says he is more concerned by the increase in overall calories per recipe - what experts call caloric density - than in the portion size increases, which is a more easily recognised phenomenon.

"That (calorie increases) is more insidious because that's the sort if thing the average person wouldn't notice, wouldn't even think would have happened over the years," says Wansink, author of Mindless Eating, an examination of why people overeat.

Much of the change can be attributed to money. Relative to household income, food is cheaper than during the 30s. So recipes once padded with less expensive (and lower calorie) ingredients like beans, now often have more meat, Wansink says.

The scope of Wansink's study is limited. It measures the recipes only as written, not as eaten. Because people may eat more or less than the suggested serving, estimating the effect on the typical diet is challenging.

But a 40 per cent increase is significant. A change of even 10 per cent can affect weight, especially when dealing with high calorie foods, says Wansink. His solution? Don't let a full portion get anywhere near your plate.

"It's not enough to just be aware," Wansink says of the recipes once intended to serve nearly twice as many people are they do today. "Put half of it away as soon as it's cooked."
AP

Mrs B recommends Alzheimer's

Well, not really, because aluminium doesn't really cause Alzheimer's, but she recommends aluminium cookware. In recent times, there has been a move away from aluminium, but in All about Cookery, "we belive, wherever possible, in the use of aluminium". I am, however, assuming that this is a later day addition, as aluminium was only first isolated in 1825.

Anyway, this is the list of 'required' articles for the kitchen in a fair-sized house.
Let me know if you have even half of these things. And if you do, where on earth do you keel it all?
The things I own will be in orange.

1 Boiling-Pot, oval, cast-iron
2 Casseroles
1 Double Pan or Boilerette
1 Dripping-pan with well on Iron Legs, wrought-iron
1 Ladle for same
1 Egg-Bowl
1 Egg Poacher
1 Fat-Pan and Drainer, Oval, wrought-iron
6 Fireproof glass Dishes, assorted I have one or two
1 Fish-Kettle with tin bottom, strong
1 Frying-pan, oval
1 Omelet-Pan
1 Preserving-Pan
4 Saucepans, assorted I have 3
1 Salamander and stand
1 Saute-Pan
3 Souffle Dishes
1 Steamer, 3 or more tiers
6 Stewpans, assorted sizes I have 2
1 Stock-Pot, 4 galls., with tap and drainer
1 Sugar Boiler
1 Tea-Kettle, oval
1 Well-Kettle, copper-bottom, tin body
1 Basting Ladle
1 Colander, strong tin
2 Dish Covers, wire
2 Dish-up Forks and Guards I have one
1 D. Slice
1 Egg-Slice
1 Frying-Basket
1 Gravy Strainer, Conical
1 Gridiron, Hanging, strong wire
1 pair Steak-Tongs Do BBQ tongs count?
1 Soup Ladle, strong tin
12 Spoons, assorted
6 Spoons, Wooden
1 Toasting-Fork Again I ask, do BBQ ones count?
1 Vegetable Strainer, wire
1 Apple corer
1 Bread-Grater I have a cheese grater, it would probably grate bread
1 Bread Rasp
1 Chopping-Board - and then a few more
1 Cook's Bone Knife
2 Cook's Knives
2 Corkscrews
1 Cutlet-Bat
1 Cutlet-Saw
1 Daubing Needle
2 Egg brushes
1 Egg Whisk, strong-wire
1 Box Fancy Cutters - I assume she means biscuit cutters
1 Filleting Knife
1 Flour-Dredge
1 Icing-Tube
1 Jelly Bag and stand
1 case Larding Needles
1 Lemon-Squeezer
1 Meat-Chopper
12 Meat-Hooks
1 Meat saw
1 Pasteboard, hardwood
1 Box Paste Cutters, fluted
1 Box Paste Cutters, round I have a few, not sure what constitutes a box though
1 Paste Jagger
1 Pestle and mortar
1 Pint Measure
6 Pudding-Cloths
1 Rolling-Pin, hardwood
2 Root Knives
1 Pair of Scissors
2 sieves, hair
1 sieve, brass wire
1 set of Skewers
1 Sugar-Dredge
1 Scales
2 Tin Funnels - Well, mine are plastic
2 Tin Openers
1 Box Vegetable cutters
3 Vegetable scoops
2 Cake-Tins
12 Dariole-Moulds
6 Fancy Entree Cups
6 Flan tins
2 Jelly Moulds
24 Patty-Pans, fluted I have several cupcake and muffin tins though
4 Pie-Dishes, assorted Maybe only 2
4 Pudding-Bowls, assorted
12 Tartlet-Pans
6 Breakfast Cups and Saucers
1 Coffee-Pot
3 Jugs
6 Plates, assorted
1 Teapot
2 Trays, strong I have one
1 set Tea, Coffee and Sugar Canisters
1 Bread Crock
1 Flour Crock
1 Seasoning Box
1 Coffee Mill, steel
1 Freezer
1 Knife-Machine
1 Knife Sharpener
1 Meat-Safe
1 Mincing-machine
1 Potato-Masher
1 Potato-Peeler
1 Refrigerator
2 Galvanized Pails
1 Bass or Yard Broom
1 Dish Mop
1 Hair Broom
3 Scrubbing Brushes
1 Set Shoe Brushes
1 Set Stove Brushes
1 Flue Brush
1 Dustpan Brush
1 Oven Thermometer
Copper, Steel or Aluminium shavings for scrubbing out pans

How many ways do you cook?

Apparently, there are 9 different methods of cooking; Baking, Boiling, Braising, Frying, Grilling, Roasting, Sautéing, Steaming, Stewing.

Boiling is "generally thought to be the easiest method of cooking", braising "the most delicious", roasting "the favourite British method", whilst steaming is "the most economical".

Grilling is not recommended, because it is not very economical, uses a great deal of fuel and the meat loses weight more than in most ways of cooking.

To be honest, I don't think I've ever considered boiling meat as a pleasing way to cook it. Mrs Beeton comments "Certainly nothing could be less troublesome than the simple process of boiling or stewing meat and yet beef tough and flavourless, or a leg of mutton boiled to rags, it the rule rather than the exception." This suggests that many people struggled with boiling meats (and probably still would apart from it's decline in prevalence). I think I'll just stick to boiling my potatoes then.

I don't think I've ever braised etiher... or at least not like Mrs B suggests in a proper braising pan with hot cinders on the top. From a quick scan on Google there don't seem to be too many pans out there suitable for this, nor too many people braising, like they did in the 'Good Ol' Days'.

Definitely calls for some more investigation, methinks.

well, I'm converted

or trying at least.

Mrs Beeton wrote her first book at the height of British Imperialism and smack bang in the middle of the Victorian era as well. Therefore it stands to reason that all her measurement are in the Imperial system. Not only Imperial, but quaint as well. Have you ever measured a teacupful of something? What about a breakfastcupful? (For future reference, a breakfast cup is about 1/2 a pint, and therefore about 1 metric cup)

And then, the next thing you have to remember is that a British pint (or quart or ounce) is different from the American. So, when I converted some things on Friday online, they're almost assuredly converted from American sizes, and therefore different from what is required.

I was discussing this problem with my parents when I went to visit them and help put up the Christmas tree. This sparked a geat hunt through every single recipe book in their house for conversion tables, which my father photocopied with great glee. Of particular help were the cookbooks printed in the 60s and 70s, which is when Australia converted from the Imperial to the Metric system.

So I now have the conversion table from the Nursing Mother's Cookbook, from the Dutch Cookbook, and one from Margaret Fulton's Cookbook, who was the Woman's Day Food Editor of the day, all carefully photocopied and stored in my cookbook cupboard. Therefore when I go to cook from Mrs Beeton, as I will be doing tonight, I will know exactly how much of everything I should cook.


Provided I can get my maths right... fingers crossed

maxims - the rest

Here they are... I feel quite giddy with excitement

- Only dry frying can be done without plenty of fat (unless you have a non-stick pan)
- Pour boiling water over frying fat to clarify it and set it aside for using again (sorry, what was that about boiling water and hot fat...sounds like a recipe for disaster)
- Fat used for frying fish should only be used again for that purpose (drat...no fish fat short crust pastry then)
- Melt a teaspoon of fat in a frying=pan before putting in bacon (although see above re: non-stick pan)
- Put spare bread crusts in the oven to grate for breadcrumbs (waste not, want not)
- Make mint sauce two hours before serving it (just because okay?)
- For making fish sauce use some of the water in which the fish was boiled (makes sense)
- Pare potatoes thinly (don't want to miss out on all that skinny goodness)
- Salt or cold water makes scum to rise (because you don't want the scum to be low)
- Scum as it rises in boiling should be taken off (and shot!)
- No more water than is needed for gravy should be put in the pan (otherwise soggy gravy)
- Salt brings out flavours (what puts them back in again?)
- When using ketchup be sparing with salt (especially for your blood pressure)
- A handful of salt will clear the fire for grilling (next time you're at a camp out remember this)
- Salt meat should go in cold water and be brought slowly to the boil (nummy, meat in brine)
- Always save the liquor in which the joint of meat has boiled (i think it's good for stock)
- One egg well beaten is worth two not beaten (and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush)
- Boiled puddings should fill the basin (not your head instead)
- Put fresh water in the kettle to boil for tea, cocoa or coffee (at least it stops you from boiling a dry kettle)
- Make the tea directly the water boils (for a perfect cuppa)
- Pour nothing but water down the sink (saves for a smelly sinkhole)

So apparently that's the nub of this 640 page book... let's just keep this in mind for future reference

some kitchen maxims

This is a summary of the advice given in All About Cookery which a novice should commit to memory so that she will understand the fundamental truths of cookery. A little like the maxim that "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." (except about cookery obviously)

(my annotations are in the brackets...in case you couldn't tell)

- There is no work like early work (Get out of bed you lazy slacker)
- A good manager looks ahead (Keep your eye on the prize)
- Clear as you go: muddle makes more muddle (Clean up your junk)
- Not to wash plates and dishes soon after using makes work (No, you can't just let them dishes sit there in the sink)
- Spare neither borax nor hot water in washing up greasy articles (I said HOT water)
- Dirty saucepans filled with hot water begin to clean themselves (which is good...unless you are a cartoon mouse)
- Wash well a saucepan but clean a frying pan with a piece of bread (ummm, okay...?)
- Never put the handles of knives in hot water (because then you will have to hold them by the sharp bits...right?)
- Thrust an oniony knife into earth to take away the smell (just don't let the neighbours see or they'll wonder what you have buried there)
- Search for the insects in greens before putting them to soak (because no-one wants soggy caterpillars...it just ruins their taste)
- Green vegetables should be boiled fast with the lid off (you hear me...lid off)
- Bread or vegetables left in stock turn it sour (so be careful when making soup and things)
- Roast meat should start in a hot oven (but shouldn't stay in the hot oven....)
- When pastry comes out of the oven, meat may go in ('cause pastry likes the hotness)
- Fish boiled should be done slowly with a little vinegar in the water (vinegar always goes well with fish..and chips)
- A spoonful of vinegar will set a poached egg (and you won't get all those floaty stringy bits)
- Water boils when it gallops, oil when it is still (so put your tenner on the water...it looks like it goes faster)
- A stew boiled is a stew spoiled (actually, pretty good advice)
- Take away nearly all fat before making a stew (no-one wants a stodgy stew)
- Save all pieces of fat to melt down for frying or pastry (yum, fish fat short crust)

That's just the first half...have you go all these down?

The rest will follow tomorrow