| Mrs Pumblechook | 01 Jul 2009 11:01 p.m. PST |
Whats a bouquet garni? I'm looking at a recipe, but I don't know what it is. I assume its herbs or something, but not sure |
| GarrisonMiniatures | 01 Jul 2009 11:33 p.m. PST |
It's a mix of herbs, usually added to stews (well, that's what I add them to). You can usually buy them ready made up, but there are also lots of sites on making your own, for instance: link Personally, I use ready made – sez he holding a pack of 'Bart – the art of good food' bouqet garni. That has a recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup on it. |
| SpaceCudet | 02 Jul 2009 2:31 a.m. PST |
Ready made ones look like teabags (in the UK anyway). Some add a lovely hint of soap to the dish. |
| nycjadie | 02 Jul 2009 4:39 a.m. PST |
They were traditionally tied into cheesecloth, but many now use a plastic webbing. |
| Sane Max | 02 Jul 2009 5:23 a.m. PST |
Easiest thing is to use big lumps of the fresh herb and tie 'em together with a string. No faff, no peril of the bag bursting and indigestible bits floating round. Pat |
| Connard Sage | 02 Jul 2009 9:56 a.m. PST |
What Pat said I use thyme, parsley, sage, and a bay leaf. Depending on the dish, I'll sometimes add dill, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon or basil. 'Tea bag' and other ready made bouquets garni are a waste of time and money. |
| nycjadie | 02 Jul 2009 10:51 a.m. PST |
Use of cheesecloth is for dried herbs when fresh are not available. Plus, you don't have dried rosemary floating around a bit pot of stew. When we make stew and soups, it's usually 12 quarts worth, or more. Cheesecloth is pretty handy. Plus you can add things in there that you can't tie with a string, such as cloves, star anise, etc. |
aecurtis  | 02 Jul 2009 3:26 p.m. PST |
Just tying in a bunch is fine when using fresh herbs with substantial stems. Otherwise, as nycjadie says, a bit of cheesecloth can be very useful. Allen |
| Neotacha | 02 Jul 2009 7:56 p.m. PST |
I like little muslin bags; more secure than cheesecloth, and I can be absolutely certain I didn't use if for DNA extraction and accidentally splash some thymus on it at work. Also, the muslin is a little sturdier than cheesecloth and less likely to shed tiny bits of string into the food. Oh. Be sure it goes into the trash when you're done, or some cat will try to eat it and if your lucky, just make himself barf. If not… |
| aecurtis | 03 Jul 2009 5:31 p.m. PST |
Thymus glands are good (after parboiling and cleaning) wrapped in bacon and baked with tomatoes, onion, and parsley. Allen |
| aecurtis | 03 Jul 2009 5:38 p.m. PST |
They're also nice grilled to a golden crust, and served with chimichurri sauce. Allen |
| Mrs Pumblechook | 03 Jul 2009 10:20 p.m. PST |
Thymus, eww thanks for the responses. Its winter, so I've been wanting to cook some soups. |
| Neotacha | 04 Jul 2009 7:00 a.m. PST |
I like mollejas well enough, just not after I've used the thymus in the classroom for two days. One of my favorite labs is the DNA extraction. I note the girls are often braver than the boys touching the raw glands. Have a special "I need to puke" pass for that lab. Doesn't count against their pass reserves. |
