Notes for "Instinct and Taste"
Dec. 25th, 2021 05:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThese are the notes for "Instinct and Taste."
"Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements."
-- Marcel Boulestin
"How much cheese is a handful? How much more or less is a cupful? What is the capacity of a glass, a tumbler, or a soup ladle? What is the difference between a suspicion and a pinch? How much more is a good pinch? How much wine is a little, how many olives a few? When a book says a tin of chopped almonds or pomegranate juice what are you supposed to understand by that?"
-- Elizabeth David (1913-1992), English food writer
February -- No Food Moon (Kalapuya)
Oregon Cities Map
Oregon Roads and Cities Map
Highway 97 is called Cascade Way, because it runs through the Cascade Range. This road has actually gained importance in the Aftermath, because the more densely populated western part of Oregon (connected by Interstate 5) was heavily bombed and thus less habitable. The commune of Little Sisters is northwest of the former Bend in Deschutes County. La Pine is a small town southwest of Bend, that took in some of the refugees from Bend which was heavily bombed with the Grunge. Chiloquin is a small town, about half Klamath Tribe, somewhat north of the former Klamath Falls. Fallen Klamath is a commune north of the former Klamath Falls, also heavily bombed.
Oregon Population Map
This is the abandoned rest stop on Cascade Way in Lincoln, Cadia.
Fuzz sticks make it easier to start a fire, even if you have no dry tinder.
Bumey -- a person who neither has a place to stay nor deserves one. They are deadweight, unwilling to work and/or lacking in skills. This is more often used of older people. From "bum."
There are also some words that Californians use to describe things in place of other words. A topic that is “heavy” is depressing, serious, or intense. Being a “drag” means to be someone or something who brings down the mood, or is boring; the opposite of fun. A “bum” is often referring to homeless people, and it comes from an abbreviated version of “bummer.” It is similar to a “lowlife” or someone who does not provide for themselves, or is a disappointment or annoyance. Talking about bums can be heavy, or a drag.
Druther -- a contraction of "I would rather" in After English.
Guesso -- short for "I guess so" in After English.
In the Aftermath, only some people have actual kitchens for cooking. Outdoor cooking includes branches like campfire cooking (with kitchen equipment) and backwoods cooking (with little or no equipment). Tools may be scavenged or made from materials on hand, instead of commercial kitchen equipment, but historic camp kitchens are popular and can be made by After blacksmiths. You can also shop for campfire cooking tools. I found a few online, but I've seen more at blacksmiths who work historic sites or events.
Cooking without power is easier if you scavenge for tools immediately after a disaster. Tin cans may be used for cooking and many other purposes.
A lucky iron fish or cast iron pan can add trace amounts of iron to your diet. Acidic food releases more iron.
Foraging for alliums can easily turn up wild onions, garlic, and so on.
Intuitive cooking is among the more useful kitchen skills to master. Follow the steps to learn it and to make a dish. This is easier with flexible recipes like soups or pot grains than it is with baking which relies on precise proportions of its active ingredients.
See Alma's spare measuring spoons and cup, along with her camping utensils and cups.
Learn about measuring techniques with tools.
For alternative measurements, you can practice spoon to hand and hand to spoon.
I found this to be a pretty accurate description of pinches. For me, 1 finger is about 1/8 teaspoon, 2 fingers is about 1/4 teaspoon, three fingers is about 1/2 teaspoon, and four fingers is 3/4 to 1 teaspoon. But I have fine sea salt in a shaker with a pour function, so I more often measure it in the palm of my hand.
This cook suggests using salt to practice with. Any cheap or free substance can work. I practiced a lot with sand and water when I was little, before moving to actual kitchen substances. Introduce measuring implements to babies and toddlers, especially in sand and water play. Here is a kitchen measurement lesson for older children with recipes.
Old-fashioned measurements could be based on abstract units, containers, or size comparisons between objects. Some ingredients have a unique measurement; a "thumb" of ginger is literally a piece the size of your thumb and a "clove" of garlic is one petal broken off the bulb. Some containers have their own measurement, such as "glug" for a narrow-mouthed jug (as of cider, syrup, or moonshine) where you pour it until the vacuum sucks in a big bubble. These are much more convenient in the Aftermath than trying to find specialized measuring tools, especially for people on the move.
Complete proteins can be found in some foods, or compiled by matching partial proteins in other foods such as a grain and a legume.
The motion of a meandering creek tends to sort sediment by size. Often you can find deposits of different sizes and colors fairly close together, useful for craft projects.
"Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurements."
-- Marcel Boulestin
"How much cheese is a handful? How much more or less is a cupful? What is the capacity of a glass, a tumbler, or a soup ladle? What is the difference between a suspicion and a pinch? How much more is a good pinch? How much wine is a little, how many olives a few? When a book says a tin of chopped almonds or pomegranate juice what are you supposed to understand by that?"
-- Elizabeth David (1913-1992), English food writer
February -- No Food Moon (Kalapuya)
Oregon Cities Map
Oregon Roads and Cities Map
Highway 97 is called Cascade Way, because it runs through the Cascade Range. This road has actually gained importance in the Aftermath, because the more densely populated western part of Oregon (connected by Interstate 5) was heavily bombed and thus less habitable. The commune of Little Sisters is northwest of the former Bend in Deschutes County. La Pine is a small town southwest of Bend, that took in some of the refugees from Bend which was heavily bombed with the Grunge. Chiloquin is a small town, about half Klamath Tribe, somewhat north of the former Klamath Falls. Fallen Klamath is a commune north of the former Klamath Falls, also heavily bombed.
Oregon Population Map
This is the abandoned rest stop on Cascade Way in Lincoln, Cadia.
Fuzz sticks make it easier to start a fire, even if you have no dry tinder.
Bumey -- a person who neither has a place to stay nor deserves one. They are deadweight, unwilling to work and/or lacking in skills. This is more often used of older people. From "bum."
There are also some words that Californians use to describe things in place of other words. A topic that is “heavy” is depressing, serious, or intense. Being a “drag” means to be someone or something who brings down the mood, or is boring; the opposite of fun. A “bum” is often referring to homeless people, and it comes from an abbreviated version of “bummer.” It is similar to a “lowlife” or someone who does not provide for themselves, or is a disappointment or annoyance. Talking about bums can be heavy, or a drag.
Druther -- a contraction of "I would rather" in After English.
Guesso -- short for "I guess so" in After English.
In the Aftermath, only some people have actual kitchens for cooking. Outdoor cooking includes branches like campfire cooking (with kitchen equipment) and backwoods cooking (with little or no equipment). Tools may be scavenged or made from materials on hand, instead of commercial kitchen equipment, but historic camp kitchens are popular and can be made by After blacksmiths. You can also shop for campfire cooking tools. I found a few online, but I've seen more at blacksmiths who work historic sites or events.
Cooking without power is easier if you scavenge for tools immediately after a disaster. Tin cans may be used for cooking and many other purposes.
A lucky iron fish or cast iron pan can add trace amounts of iron to your diet. Acidic food releases more iron.
Foraging for alliums can easily turn up wild onions, garlic, and so on.
Intuitive cooking is among the more useful kitchen skills to master. Follow the steps to learn it and to make a dish. This is easier with flexible recipes like soups or pot grains than it is with baking which relies on precise proportions of its active ingredients.
See Alma's spare measuring spoons and cup, along with her camping utensils and cups.
Learn about measuring techniques with tools.
For alternative measurements, you can practice spoon to hand and hand to spoon.
I found this to be a pretty accurate description of pinches. For me, 1 finger is about 1/8 teaspoon, 2 fingers is about 1/4 teaspoon, three fingers is about 1/2 teaspoon, and four fingers is 3/4 to 1 teaspoon. But I have fine sea salt in a shaker with a pour function, so I more often measure it in the palm of my hand.
This cook suggests using salt to practice with. Any cheap or free substance can work. I practiced a lot with sand and water when I was little, before moving to actual kitchen substances. Introduce measuring implements to babies and toddlers, especially in sand and water play. Here is a kitchen measurement lesson for older children with recipes.
Old-fashioned measurements could be based on abstract units, containers, or size comparisons between objects. Some ingredients have a unique measurement; a "thumb" of ginger is literally a piece the size of your thumb and a "clove" of garlic is one petal broken off the bulb. Some containers have their own measurement, such as "glug" for a narrow-mouthed jug (as of cider, syrup, or moonshine) where you pour it until the vacuum sucks in a big bubble. These are much more convenient in the Aftermath than trying to find specialized measuring tools, especially for people on the move.
Complete proteins can be found in some foods, or compiled by matching partial proteins in other foods such as a grain and a legume.
The motion of a meandering creek tends to sort sediment by size. Often you can find deposits of different sizes and colors fairly close together, useful for craft projects.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-29 05:13 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2021-12-29 10:31 pm (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2021-12-30 07:49 am (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2021-12-30 07:59 am (UTC)