Lardo di Colonnata is the peak, but it’s like culatello and prosciutto crudo, there are grades, and certain producers/areas who are more valued, like San Daniele prosciutto for example, there is actually a difference when you get to the higher end stuff.
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Italians use lots of strutto for cooking (as it’s rendered pig fat, like lard in english), but lardo is the cured dried version, and there are lots of different varieties, closest thing I can think of is like fatback, maybe?
Altrettanto noto è il Lardo di Arnad Dop stagionato in vasche di legno e insaporito con ginepro, alloro, noce moscata, salvia e rosmarino. Numerosi sono infine i lardi Pat (Prodotto Alimentare Tipico) sempre più usati nelle cucine tradizionali e tra questi sono da ricordare il Lardo Cuneo, di Basilicata, Piemontese, di Faeto, del Montefeltro, Piacentino, Friulano, Lucano, Molisano, di Leonessa, e il Lardo stagionato di maiale nero laziale.
Lardo di Arnad is Dop (protected origin) flavored with Juniper, Bay, Nutmeg, Sage and Rosemary, then there are loads of Pat (typical alimentary product) listed ones as well…
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If you look at hot weather places around the world, especially around the equator. They’re pretty often eating soup and spicy food when it’s hot out.
Makes you sweat, and sweat cools you off.
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As a follow up, a community college or state school which has a hospitality/cooking/home ec option as a major would probably love to add those magazines to their section of the school library.
A lot of the land-grant colleges have these sorts of programs.
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An entire term of Aspic!
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Preserved* for posterity by the photography students: Aspects of Aspic!
* See what I did there?!
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bottling day for two new batches of fermented hot sauce!
at left in the square bottles is the chili peppers (fresno and finger chilies - homegrown) with ginger, vinegar and tequila. very flavorful, not quite as hot as the orange one in the round bottles, which is our habaneros with ginger, vinegar, carrot juice and silver spiced rum. the rum gives a topnote of vanilla against the fruitiness of the peppers and semi-sweet carrot. EXTRA hot!
proud of our peppers and the hot sauces. tomorrow we will take a couple bottles to our weekly luncheon at the marina to give to our good friend.
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Laurie just made a hot sauce with mango. The sweet hot combination it wonderful. Definitely the time of year to do this.
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Speaking of mangoes: a friend of mine was brought a couple of mangoes we can’t get here in the States. Not sure of the exact type. Apparently they’re polyembryonic seeds. So, she started them in wet paper towels, and shipped one to me. I’m supposed to separate the seedlings as the seed breaks open (any day now) and plant them separately. Supposedly it’s hard, but if we succeed we can have fruiting trees within 3 years with this type of mango.
I grew up in rental apartments in a big Midwestern city. If anyone has advice about growing tropical fruit trees, please let me know!
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Spring/Summer: grow in a pot right next to the house on the south-facing wall. Above the ground is good.
Fall/Winter: Bring indoors well before the first frost and give it the steamiest window you have!
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I don’t know about tropical fruit trees, but this works pretty well for anything coniferous.
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I started a mango seed after removing the outer husk and wrapped in damp paper towel. It started to sprout but then rotted. I was treating it like a avocado seed.
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How do you do the fermentation?
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i made a longish post about that upthread about 2 weeks ago (comment #308 in this thread for more complete deets). i do a salt brine in an airlock jar for minimum 14 days, then blend with additional ingredients and vinegar to bring up acidity, strain and bottle.
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Bookmarked, thanks
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this is the primer that got me started down this culinary track:
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Is it sterile bottles? Or does it not need to be? Looks like you are re-using bottles from store-bought sauce? Do you just refrigerate your results, or what?
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yes, they are re-used sauce bottles, thoroughly washed and then sterilized by completely immersing and boiling them for at least 20 minutes (lids, too). the strained sauce is brought to a boil before filling the jars and the whole lot is kept refrigerated, as there is no preservative added. if acidity is 3.7 - 4.2pH, it will keep in the fridge for months.
(and between me, the mum and some close friends, it won’t last that long!).
clean kitchen, clean jars and clean utensiles prevent any unwanted molds or other nasties forming. that’s what we strive for, anyway.
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