I have often heard the term "Soul Food" used to describe a certain type of cuisine. When I hear it, I immediately think of dishes such as fried chicken, braised greens, catfish, barbeque, and pork. I set out to answer a question. What does fried chicken have to do with my soul?
Archive for October, 2007
The highest quality pumpkin oil comes from the Styrian Pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo), which was was originally cultivated for its oil in the South Eastern region of Austria called Styria. Originally, Pumpkins were implanted into Europe as treasure that was discovered in the New World. The production of oil from the Styrian Pumpkin dates back to 1697. This orange-green variety of pumpkin is sometimes called the “oil gourd”, as its flesh is too fibrous to eat. In 1773, the royal court of Austria limited this oil to medicinal use only.
The Oil from the Styrian Pumpkin has recently been gaining popularity as it is known to contain high amounts of the essential fatty acid Omega-6 and Omega-3. Its popularity can also credit its rich and flavorful taste. Cooking Ideas
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Photography: Goldschlager by Phil Schatz Goldschläger, yummm! Even better, Goldschläger and Jägermeister to make a liquid cocaine shot or even drink. Today I set out to discover what the deal is with the yellow flakes, and how exactly they are not supposed to kill you when ingested. Goldschläger has it’s origins in Switzerland, however it is created in Italy. The word "Goldschläger" actually means "gold leaf maker". It is a cinnamon schnapps that has an alcohol content of 43.5% or 97 proof. Currently each bottle, 750ml, contains less than 0.1 grams of gold in it. Yes, it is actually gold. However, the street value of that amount would only be about $2.50, and good luck trying to pawn those flakes off at your local pawn shop. Initially, Goldschläger contained a larger amount of gold. Until reports of allergic reactions, as we humans are not able to digest gold. Go figure. So I guess we just pass it through. My issue is that why is it not toxic even at these amounts. Lead is a heavy metal, as is gold, and if you were to drink this amount of lead daily, (because we all know most of us drink a bottle of Goldschläger daily), you would surely have problems down the road. (surely not because of the large amount of liquor intake). I did some scrubbing. I actually did find some cases where people have had reactions to the gold in Goldschläger. It seems mostly because they had previous allergies to gold, such as wearing gold jewelry. Here is an article I found at this link.
So be warned. If you have any reactions to gold touching your skin. Don’t partake in the liquid cocaine shots at your friends bachelor party.
Additional Resources:
Foie Gras is the fattened liver of either a goose or duck. In the United States, all Foie Gras produced is of Duck origin. These birds have a natural tendency to fatten their livers in preparation for migratory season in order to store energy. For us to be able to mass produce Foie Gras in a controlled environment we are unable to rely on this behavior, and frankly I doubt their livers get fat enough for our standards naturally, we use a method called gavage.
Gavage is a French word meaning to force feed. Fowl do not have any type of gag reflex and also come with a built in expandable esophagus. This makes it easier and logical feesible to actually perform gavage. Modern methods involve inserting a feeding tube into their esophagus a few times a day to be fed. The food is a mixture of cornmeal and fat and feeding takes about 4 minutes per session. They begin to perform gavage approximately 15 days before slaughter. The average fully fattened duck liver weights 1.5 pounds. Opposition Currently there is one U.S. city that has outlawed this delicacy, Chicago. There have also been talks and legislation attempting to ban it in New York City and Philadelphia. In 2004 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a ban on all sales of Foie Gras by the year 2012. These are the only current bans, however many polls in other cites seem to suggest that citizens would generally support a ban on Foie Gras.
Preparing Foie Gras Deveining The first thing you will need to do is devein the liver. It is easier to let the liver warm up somewhat,making easier to devein. The liver has two lobes, gently separate them and you will find them connected by a vein, cut that vein and take a needle nose pliers and pull each side out of the liver. The extent in which you will want to remove all the veins will be determined by how you plan to cook it. For terrines you will want to remove as many veins as possible, and for sauteing you need not be so cautious. Sautéing Sautéing is the most popular method of cooking Foie Gras, especially in the US. Remembering that Foie Gras has a very high fat content and that under high heat that much of the fat will render off. You will want to sauté under high heat and for a short amount of time. Great for hamburger toppings! Terrine of Foie Gras Preparing a terrine out of your Foie Gras can be very rewarding. You can either do it very simply, or add your own concoction of spices and ingredients to jazz it up. To make a terrine of it you will need to have the two lobes separated and well deveined. Season the Foie Gras and let it sit out for a couple hours. Then place one lobe, smooth side down, in a plastic-wrap covered mold and the other lobe, smooth side up, on top of it. Preferably cover the terrine and place in a water bath with a temperature of 160 degrees F. This will take about an hour to get the Foie Gras temperature up to 130 degrees F as an internal temperature. Then place the terrine in a cold water bath and let cool for 15 minutes. Afterwards pour off most of the fat and refrigerate in the terrine for 2 to 3 days. Slice and serve!  Grades of Foie Gras The higher the grade of Foie Gras the fewer "blemishes" that it may have. This seems to have a direct correlation to the size of the liver because there would be more meat in ratio to veins and blood spots.
Further Resources Hudson Valley Foie Gras - Producer Stop Forcefeeding - Anti-Foie Gras Group Foie Gras: A Passion - Book on Amazon |
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Foie Gras has long been clouded in mystery. To those who know nothing of its production methods, ignorance can be bliss. Of the people who are aware how it is produced there are two camps, one that feels that it is inhumane and another that feels that it is not such a bad thing. I personally enjoy the flavor and texture of Foie Gras tremendously. It can be hard to pick sides when your tongue is playing the Devil. So let’s lay down the facts.
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