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THE GENTLEMAN’S RELISH

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The Gentleman’s Relish – Make your own!
For all the lovers of Patum Peperium out there! Yes, I can show you how to make your own Gentleman’s Relish. Here is how I have managed to make this centuries-old delicious spread that goes on or into ANYTHING. From a humble piece of stale bread stolen from the ship’s galley to the most delicate of wafer thin Melba Toast. I even stuff Giant Green Spanish pitted olives with it, as well as adding a new dimension to Jamon Serrano. You can also toss it with pasta, spread on steak, or add to your Asian curries instead of Nam Pla น้ําปลา. Besides spreading it, there is just NO LIMIT with how you can cook with it! This is the original UMAMI! Continue reading

DIE OORSPRONG VAN MARIE BESKUITJIES SE NAAM

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Marie beskuitjies is seker een van die mees bekendste beskuitjies in Suid Afrika. Elkeen van ons het groot geword met hierdie beskuitjies in ons huise. Marie beskuitjies gesmeer met karamel is enige soet tand se liefling en sy gaan lekker saam met Tee en Koffie. As kind het ek altyd gewonder na wie hierdie beskuitjie vernoem was. Ek was altyd onder die indruk dat dit ‘n eg Suid Afrikaanse beskuitjie was en dat die naam dalk na ‘n boere nooi genaamd Marie verwys het of miskien was sy die dogter van die bakker wat die Marie beskuitjie vervaardig het. Ek was egter geensins na aan die waarheid nie. Continue reading

KHACHAPURI – NATIONAL DISH OF GEORGIA

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Hailing from the border of eastern-Europe and Asia, khachapuri is one of those dishes that’s been around for so long its origin has been buried in history. There are countless variations of the egg- and cheese-filled pastry—which is the national dish of Georgia—but remarkably little written history. The oblong delight is believed to have originated by the Adjarians in southwestern Georgia, but regardless of when this genius combination of cheese, bread and egg emerged, its appeal is unmistakable and recipe relatively simple.
A yeasted dough is rested and formed into a football shape, edges folded over and filled with a combination of creamy, fresh and sharply aged cheeses, and a single egg. Continue reading

MAKE THE PERFECT MERINGUE

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Make the perfect meringue by following these steps.
All it takes is a few nifty tricks.

by: Julie Donald | 26 May 2015

Meringues are one of those things that seem impossibly “French” with an effortless elan (def: distinctive style or flair). Sorry for the pretension, but I have been dying to use the word elan since I learned it in a crossword puzzle in 1996, but it really does sum up meringues for me. A distinctive style or flair.

The French really do find the most incredible and amazing things to do with eggs (think soufflé, mayonnaise and of course meringues). A good meringue should be light as air, crisp on the outside and just a touch chewy on the inside). Also, fat free – and who can argue with a fat free dessert these days. Continue reading

COUNTRY BREAD   –   75% HYDRATION

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Use 1 large bowl with a lid or separate bowls for each loaf. Pick clear plastic bowls so you can gauge the progress of the dough. The dough will rise to double the size, so pick one that will be large enough.

Other tools – silicon spatula and plastic dough scraper makes the job easier.

A good accurate electronic scale that can indicate the tiny amounts of yeast needed is a must. All measurements are done in weight, not by volume, as it is much more accurate. Different flours have different textures so more could fit into a cup than a coarse flour. The other point is that I could compact the flour more than you do. Measuring the weight means that you are always exactly right.

Everything else gets weighed as a percentage of the flour weight. Continue reading

KOTLETY PO- KYIVSKOMY (CHICKEN KIEV)

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The history of this dish is not well documented, and various sources make controversial claims about its origin. One of these sources claims that Chicken Kiev was actually created by a French chef, Nicolas Francois Appert, in the early 1800s Since the 18th century Russian chefs have adopted many techniques of French haute cuisine and combined them with the local culinary tradition. The adoption was furthered by the French chefs, such as Marie-Antoine Carême and Urbain Dubois, who were hired by Russian gentry. In particular the use of quality meat cuts, such as various cutlets, steaks, escalopes and suprêmes became widespread in the 19th century, and a number of original dishes involving such components were developed in Russia at that time. Continue reading

 ‘N KYKIE NA NOORWEë SE NASIONALE GEREG – FARIKAL

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In al die lande wat aan die noordsee grens, is geregte met skaapvleis en groente baie gewild en die spesifieke een wat in Noorweë die gewildste is, Farikal, wat lamsvleis en kool as bestanddele het, het sy oorsprong in Duitsland, alreeds vanaf die die 18de eeu.   Van daar het dit noordwaarts versprei na Denemarke en verskyn dan ook later in die 19de eeu in Noorweë se resepteboeke waarna dit vroeg in die begin van die 20ste eeu, deel word van die noorweegse nasionale dieet.

Die naam, Farikal, wat letterlik lam in kool, beteken, het sy oorsprong in Denemarke en pogings is aangewend om die naam te verander, onder andere na, Lam-i-kal, om enige verbintenis met die Deense gereg te probeer verbreek.   Dit was egter nie geslaagd nie en Farikal het dit gebly.   Maar ten spyte van sy oorsprong is die gereg so geliefd in Noorweë aangesien die bestanddele Noorweë so eg verteenwoordig.   Lam, uit die berge met hul ongerepte natuur, vars kool wat dwarsdeur die somer gegroei word en vars ge-oeste aartappels, wat saam met dit bedien word. Continue reading

A GUIDE TO THERMOFAN COOKING

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A GUIDE TO THERMOFAN COOKING

We are not agents of DEFY or are not related to them at all, so we cannot give any advise on DEFY product, sorry.

Ek probeer “Rotisserie” hoender vandag. Die naam dui aan dat hy in die rondte draai, maar hoendertjie lê plat in die waaieroond. Die wonder van die waaier ☢️ Ek sal kom wys hoe hy lyk as hy klaar gebak het.
Hier is ‘n paar riglyne vir bak in jou waaieroond.

Thermofan ovens, which were developed and registered by DEFY in 1978, use the
principle of forced convection within the oven cavity. This offers a variety of benefits. A number of baking trays may be used simultaneously, thereby increasing the effective
capacity of the oven and reducing overall baking time. Different dishes may be prepared at the same time without flavour transferring from one to another. The oven door may be opened at any time for inspection purposes without affecting baking performance. Chickens may be grilled effectively without the use of a rotisserie.
Thermofan ovens require a slightly different technique from conventional ovens.
These notes enable the first time Thermofan user to get the best results.
OVEN TEMPERATURES
The airflow in a Thermofan oven allows lowered temperatures to be used. This results in roasts being more succulent and baking having a better texture. At the same time a small saving in electricity consumption is made.
BAKING TIMES
Baking times in a Thermofan oven are the same as for a Conventional oven. Continue reading

THE MONGOLIAN NATIONAL COOKIE – BOORTSOG COOKIES

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According to Uta Beyer, intrepid traveler, photographer and eater, she has over her years of travel, rarely seen such a busy people as the Mongolian peasants. That is, busy making a living in the rather inhospitable steppe of their vast country. As a result, the people in Mongolia don’t have much time to spend with sophisticated recipes. Not to mention rare ingredients. Thus, the diet is dominated by meat – in the winter – and dairy products – in the summer.
Boortsog is a famous exception. It’s the traditional deep fried, sweet, butter cookie with its origin in Mongolia but which can be found all over Central-Asia, with similar names: bauirsak (Kazakh), boorsok (Kyrgyz), bog’irsoq (Uzbek), and busrok (Tajik). Continue reading

UZBEK PLOV

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(Uzbekistan meat and rice pilaf)

Plov is the king of Uzbek cuisine, served during a wedding feast, to celebrate the arrival of honorable guests, at the crowded major celebrations as well as within the family circle. Neither a friendly dinner nor funeral repast can do without plov. Dishes made of rice are known in almost in every country of the region, but the Uzbek plov, the recipe for which was created in ancient times, is claimed by locals to be a masterpiece of culinary art. There are many folk parables and legends about the healing and nourishing qualities of plov. Uzbek people believe that the very name for plov – “osh-polov” contain the first letters of the names of the dish basic ingredients: onion, carrot, meat, oil, salt, water and rice. – By Rustam Miszaev

Plov has always been the favorite dish in Uzbekistan. A few centuries ago plov was cooked within rich families almost every day. Well-to-do people ate it once a week – every Friday eve. For the poor people plov was an infrequent dish which was served only during big holidays.
In the Uzbek family, day to day food is cooked by woman, but it is the male who is reputed to possess the skills of making real festive plov. Continue reading

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