You can boil it down to two things: 1) they deliver lots of energy in a small package, and 2) they keep indefinitely. The reason for that is simple: they’re inhospitable environments for microbes. As anyone who’s ever attended a food safety class knows, microorganisms require several things in order to grow and multiply. Among […]
READ ONI wrote last week how irritating it is when food columnists and/or recipe writers try to trace everything we eat back to antiquity. As intellectually lazy as that is, it’s easy to understand why so many writers do it. There’s something deeply attractive about preparing and consuming a food that dozens of generations of humans […]
READ ONReader Kasia writes: Janissaries might have needed appeasement because they were originally forced draftees, mostly very young Christian boys from occupied countries, who were trained to become killing machines against their own country men, were forced to convert to Islam and not allowed to have any life outside the barracks until retirement, if they lived […]
READ ONReader Scott submitted that question last week and I forgot to get to it. As far as I know there are two different ways of making filo dough. One is to simply roll it, which is the way commercial manufacturers do it, starting with a fairly stiff dough and employing a machine that’s analogous to […]
READ ONThere I was at the market, shopping for Easter breakfast, when what should I happen to come upon but a small pile of fresh ostrich eggs. Now, I’m not the type of guy who always orders the weirdest thing on the menu, but I simply couldn’t resist it. We were planning on bacon and eggs […]
READ ONWhat a great idea this is! (Thanks, reader Kurt). Crackers are another one of those things that are so easy and delicious, you’ll wonder why it’s never occurred to you to make them for yourself. And of course there’s quite a bit of history attached to them. Should be a fun week!
READ ONHad a few good questions come in over the long weekend about clarified butter. Reader Ken asked if the “proteins” I mentioned in the baklava post are the same thing as “milk solids” and if so, what sorts of proteins they are. These are the sorts of questions I live for. “Milk solids” are indeed […]
READ ONReader Brent writes: Can you address sticking filo? Every time I work with it, the sheets stick together and rip, and what I end up with is an approximation of what I can buy. Is the trick in the filo defrosting? I usually do so in the refrigerator, but maybe I should actually bring it […]
READ ONMy style of baklava is nut-heavy, as you can see. I like it that way, though it does produce a baklava that isn’t easy to eat according to formal Turkish baklava etiquette. If you’re a stickler for formality, cut down the nuts. The result will be pieces of baklava that are easier to spear with […]
READ ONReader Nancy reminds me that there is such as thing as fresh filo dough. If you live in a larger metropolitan area, you can sometimes find it in Greek or Middle Eastern markets. So have a look-see if you’re so inclined.
READ ON