American food

[homeruk]

Ok this may be really narrow minded but.....

Having made Brunswick stew this evening and my second go at cornbread I'm coming to the conclusion American food is good for meat steaks sauce and if it's on a plate melt cheese on it somehow i was trying to think of some kind of fine dining American food and i cant
And another thing either i have a dodgy BBQ book or there is a lot of salt in this cooking? The cornbread i done this evening was bacon cheese jalapeño and it said 30gms yes that's 30 of salt...Needless to say i didn't put that amount in
Ok next rant....Looking at recipe for smoked lamb tomorrow and it says 5gms 1tsp ground pepper then it says 2 tbl 7gms course ground black pepper?? Call me suspicious but something don't look right there
Now cornbread is just me but when eating it brain says yum cake then it says hang on savoury going on here? Maybe it's an acquired taste but i cant get my head around it
Brunswick stew was a deffo not cook again either
Now America to me food wise is corned beef..Jewish? Pizza..Italian tacos..mexican or am i totally missing the point?

 

[wade]

Hi Homer.

Peoples tastes vary greatly by region and their recipes usually reflect that. In the USA recipes usually have more salt and sugar than we use in the UK. In general the Scandinavians tastes are for more salt and in Japanese recipes they tend to like things more more tart flavours.

The other factors are the recipes and ingredients themselves. Sometimes they do not translate well...

• In the USA the pint measure is smaller than the UK pint (USA = 16 fl ozs; UK = 20 fl ozs) and so any recipe that uses liquid measures in pints/quarts will immediately contain too much liquid when made in the UK without adjusting.
• The chilli powder that they use in the USA is generally much milder than ours. In the USA it is used for flavour as well as heat whereas here it is primarily used for heat. If you follow a US recipe that calls for say 2 Tbs of chilli powder and you substitute the UK chilli powder then prepare to be burned at both ends.
• A number of the US recipes use lard, but it wasn't until I attended a cookery course in Santa Fe a while ago that I discovered the American lard is actually pork drippings rather than the white processed fat block that we buy here. Substitute what we call lard in US recipes and prepare for it to taste nasty.

When I try a US recipe for the first time I usually reduce the salt and sugar levels by about 1/3. I also use Ancho chilli powder in most of my recipes as this more closely matches the general chilli powders used in the USA. Chilli powders are not all equal though and it is good to experiment with the different chilli types. Some of the New Mexican medium chilli powders taste great and if there is an option in the recipe to use fresh chillies then use our supermarket medium heat chillies if you can.

 

[wade]

And another thing either i have a dodgy BBQ book or there is a lot of salt in this cooking? The cornbread i done this evening was bacon cheese jalapeño and it said 30gms yes that's 30 of salt...Needless to say i didn't put that amount in

Corn bread recipes vary a lot in the USA and they are primarily a transport medium for eating lots of butter. Here is a recipe that I got from a friend of mine in Texas that works well

185 g (1 cup) Cornmeal (Polenta). Use the fine or course powder and not the pre-constituted paste.
150 g (1 cup) Plain flour    
7 g (1 tsp) Salt    
50 g (¼ cup) Sugar    
13 g (3 tsp) Baking Powder    
1 cup Milk    
2 Eggs Beaten
¼ cup Oil

In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. 
Mix milk, eggs and oil in a separate bowl; then add to dry ingredients and mix well
Pour into greased muffin tins
Bake at 200 C (400 F) for 25 minutes

Looking at recipe for smoked lamb tomorrow and it says 5gms 1tsp ground pepper then it says 2 tbl 7gms course ground black pepper?? Call me suspicious but something don't look right there

If this is being used as a rub on the outside of the lamb then yes, those amounts are probably about right. The fine ground white pepper and course black pepper will add different layers of flavour.

 

[homeruk]

Hi Wade

Thanks for the indepth reply wasn't really sure if anyone was going to! As it was a bit of a moan I guess
Recipe for cornbread is pretty much along the lines of the ones i tried...It's just what Brits would call cake suppose it's like pancakes and bacon with syrup etc just a combo that don't work for me

The point i was trying to make about the pepper was the measurements rather than the flavours how can 1 Tsp of pepper be 5gms then further down the same recipe 2 tablespoons of course ground pepper be only 7 GM's

The Brunswick stew i done was beyond bland and came from a rated recipe book but looking back if i had thought about the ingredients in the recipe i should have known better really

 

[chef jimmyj]

America being a blend of so many cultures, really does not have much in the way of born and bred in the States food. Even in the UK, what you or we call some English Food is an adaptation or borrowed but done really well. Fish and Chips, combined and perfected in England I but both foods have a longer history. Black Pudding and Tikka Masala. Very English but not necessary invented there.

On the whole Chili Powder thing, American Chili Powder is not one type of ground Chile but a blend of Ancho Chile ( primarily), Cumin, Oregano, a bit of Salt and Sugar. Different manufacturers also add Cheyenne for heat. Chili powder like Curry powder is a convenience item. Throw some beef mince, garlic, onion and tinned tomatoes in a pot with Chili Powder and in one hour, you have a reasonable substItute for the real thing that takes hours to make and a dozen ingredients.

I'm not a fan of Southern Cornbread. Way too salty, dry and crumbly. It was created to make a bread but with lesser and available ingredient. Two hundred years ago Wheat was primarily grown in the north and western states. Connected by rail, the northern states had yeast raised wheat bread. But in the more isolated south, Corn was available and cheap. Cornmeal,water, salt and streaky bacon grease, made the bread to fill bellies. Now, in the northern states a sweeter, dense but almost cake like cornbread is best known. It is not so much eaten with a meal but is popular for breakfast.

In the States there are two types of Lard. That which is rendered from Leaf Fat from around the kidneys of a hog, is snow white virtually tasteless and used as a shortening in baked goods like pie crust and our fluffy soft biscuits. The second type of Lard is rendered from the rest of the fat and is more tan in color with a mild swiney flavor. Because of the stronger flavor is mostly used for Frying, either deep fat frying or pan frying. Fish and Chips fried in this type of Lard is delicious!.

So there you go. A Yanks 2p...JJ

 

[sotv]

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[homeruk]

Thanks for the reply

So Im not the only one that dont get cornbread thats a relief 

Interesting  what your saying about the chilli powder over there, that would explain the bland flavor of the brunswick stew i did

totally  agree with you i suppose were known over here for pie and mash, jellied eels which are of course the nouvelle cuisine benchmark globely