As as rule, you want fruits that stand up reasonably well to heat and aren’t too wet, so citrus is out altogether. Of what remains I’d say bananas are a good choice, fresh peaches, pineapples, even firm ripe pears will work. Stay away from berries, despite what some recipe writers will tell you (they melt […]
READ ONInteresting you should ask that since there’s quite a lot of confusion on the matter. What shape should authenitc fritters be? Should they be more doughy or more crispy? Sweet or savory? Fruit or vegetable? Unfortunately there is no authoritative answer to any of those questions, since a fritter is literally just a “fried thing”. […]
READ ONNow there’s a picture of fall, if I do say so. I usually get these (or something very much like them) at the Covered Bridge Festival in Rockford, Indiana. I didn’t make it there this year, sadly, but a warm plate of them on the back porch this morning — accompanied by a hot cup […]
READ ONHey, I had the caramel lying around, why not? This was a passing fancy from the weekend whereby I adapted one of my favorite apple fritter recipes. The big difference is the way you need to treat the zucchini before you fry it. Zucchini is, as I mentioned repeatedly last week, very wet on the […]
READ ONThe apple fritter may be an Old World classic, but the pumpkin-corn fritter, that’s a strictly New World concoction. Could the early settlers have made such a thing? Well, looking over the ingredients list, there’s almost nothing here they wouldn’t have had access to. Maize, that’s a for sure. Pumpkin, no doubt there either, the […]
READ ONThe apple fritter may be one of the oldest fritters known in Europe, but since the term “fritter” refers more to a technique than a food, it’s easy to see where there’s been quite a bit of variation. Medieval and Renaissance tables featured all manner of fritters, from fruits to root vegetables, pieces of meat, […]
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Apple fritter lover Emma wants to know whether it’s OK to combine fresh oil with older oil when you’re frying. She says she keeps seeing recipes that specifically instruct her never to do that. I’ve seen those as well, Emma, and all I can think is that none of these folks have done very much frying, for not only can you combine old fry oil with new, you absolutely, positively should.
READ ONBefore I start logging new ’round-the-campfire pastries I thought a good first step would be to inventory the camping-friendly recipes that are already on the blog. Indeed there are quite a few, especially if you count the make-ahead cookies and cakes. However I realize that part of the fun of campfire cuisine is actually assembling and cooking the whatever-it-is on the fire.
S’mores are of course an American classic. Strawberry shortcake is another time-tested campfire delicacy, and it can be easily made with packaged biscuits in a Dutch or cardboard box oven.
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Oils are liquid fats. They are derived from plant sources (seeds, nuts, that sort of thing) and like animal fats have been in use by human beings for thousands of years. Speaking generally, they’re used more by cooks than bakers — solid fats are where it’s at for pastry types — but come in quite handy from time to time.
In the pastry kitchen oils are most valuable when they bring little-to-no flavor to the party. Though a walnut or a sesame oil might occasionally be used specifically for its flavor, most of the time pastry makers use oil solely to introduce richness and/or a moist texture into a cake or muffin formula. The same goes for frying, where the aroma of, say, peanuts or corn can muddle the profile of a fritter or a doughnut.
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Fall isn’t complete in the Pastry household without a trip to west-central Indiana and the Covered Bridge Festival. Few people know it, but it’s Parke County, Indiana and not Madison County, Iowa that is the real covered bridge capital of America. The fact that no one’s every made a sappy movie about Parke County starring Meryl Streep is big point of pride there. They’ve got over 30 covered bridges, but then who am I kidding? The only reason I go is for the food.
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