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Burnt foods of the World


shelora

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My interest is in, not anythng new and trendy, but classic dishes created either out of a mistake or necessity.

For example, the most popular ice cream in Mexico is leche quemada - burnt milk ice cream.

Another example, is a Oaxacan mole, chichilo negro, a very earthy beef stew made from numerous ingredients burnt to black - including tortillas and chile seeds.

This afternoon I found out about a regional Puglia dish made from burnt wheat. The flour is literally black. The wheat fields are burned after harvest and the kernels collected.

Does anyone out there know of other world cuisines that use burnt ingredients to create amazing dishes.

And toast doesn't cut it.

S

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And toast doesn't cut it.

:raz:

I just read in the Baker's Journal about a bakery out East (I can't remember if it was in PEI, Newfoundland, NB or NS) that intentionally burns a percentage of their bread loaves because the customers demand it. Apparently there is a tradition of eating black bread and the locals want it.

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In the Food Noir thread, where this topic came up, I mentioned that burnt onions baked in the chicken fat is great. Burnt carrot slices (as long as they're not completely carbonized) cooked in the same manner are also pretty good.

Does blackened redfish count, now that I guess it's no longer new or trendy?

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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I've only seen the above mentioned. One is always told to be so careful NOT to burn the (dried) chiles.

I do have a recipe I invented recently for

Burnt Mexican Lentil Soup:

put lentils in a pot with water, cook on a low flame.

Go take a nap in your hammock until you wake up and smell a funny odor coming from the kitchen. Throw in the compost pile.

serves 0

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creme brulee

Guiness, or any beer made with black malt

Charcoal biscuits (e.g. Millers Damsel)

high roast coffee

Onions on Tarka Dhal and other indian dishes

Many thanks, jackal10. I'm very intrigued with the Millers Damsel charcoal biscuits and am trying to track them down. Anyone know of a source in North America - preferably Canada - that sells them?

And yes Pan, I do think that blackened fish qualifies. I never thought about its provenance until now, but it is an old dish right, not something that was created in the 1980's?

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two other dishes that may fit in this category:

Caneles de Bordeaux-- are described by Paula Wolfert in "The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen" as

...a cake with a rich custardy interior enclosed by a thin caramelized shell...

and

Nearly black at first sight, bittersweet at first bite, the crunchy burnt sugar canele shell makes an exquisite complement to its smooth, sweet filling, fragrant with vanilla and rum.

I've had two different examples of them and they are indeed delicious.

I've mentioned this in another thread, but roasted corn, shucked and cooked directly on the coals is a delicious dish made in parts of rural Austria. I'm sure other places, Mexico?, do this as well, but I was introduced to it via Austrian channels. It's best to use a hardier, yellow corn. The cooked corn has a mix of black, brown and yellow kernels with a wonderful toasted flavor. You cook them by turning the ears in coals as they pop and turn color. After they'er done cooking, wipe the ears with a wet paper towel to remove the ash before buttering and salting them up.

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Thank you Ludja. Indeed Mexico does have that tradition, corn on the cob cooked directly on the coals. Its one of my favourite street foods - with chile, lime and salt, it is sublime. Had no idea that Austria had the same.

Edited by shelora (log)
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And yes Pan, I do think that blackened fish qualifies. I never thought about its provenance until now, but it is an old dish right, not something that was created in the 1980's?

It's a dish created by Paul Prudhomme in the late 70s or early 80s. The technique was unknown to the Cajun tradition.

Scorpio

You'll be surprised to find out that Congress is empowered to forcibly sublet your apartment for the summer.

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Many thanks, jackal10. I'm very intrigued with the Millers Damsel charcoal biscuits and am trying to track them down. Anyone know of a source in North America - preferably Canada - that sells them?

They are made by http://www.ashbournebiscuits.co.uk/wheatwafers.html

I'm sure people who import UK food to Canada have them, if you do a search, or contact the makers. Very tasty, and fairly common.

Charcoal biscuits are traditionally served after dinner, with desert, as a digestive, at least they are in my college.

There are various other thicker charcoal biscuits such as http://www.charcoal.uk.com/biscuits.htm

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Thank you Ludja. Indeed Mexico does have that tradition corn on the cob cooked directly on the coals. One of the my favourite street foods there- with chile, lime and salt, it is sublime. Had no idea that Austria had the same.

exact same-to-same snack in india.

you can replicate it by toasting shucked corn on your

gas range and rubbing the surface with a

cut lime or lemon which has had salt and red chili powder

sprinkled on it

milagai

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They are made by http://www.ashbournebiscuits.co.uk/wheatwafers.html

I'm sure people who import UK food to Canada have them, if you do a search, or contact the makers. Very tasty, and fairly common.

Thankyou Jackal10. I have sleuthed and turned up no one bringing in this product in Canada - so far. Alas, the Ashbourne biscuit site does not have email only a phone number.

Oh, Episure :wub: What a beautiful photo.

QUOTE(shelora @ Jul 25 2005, 01:32 PM)

And yes Pan, I do think that blackened fish qualifies. I never thought about its provenance until now, but it is an old dish right, not something that was created in the 1980's?

It's a dish created by Paul Prudhomme in the late 70s or early 80s. The technique was unknown to the Cajun tradition.

Thanks for clarifying.

Edited by shelora (log)
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In Malay, the word bakar means "burn(t)" or "bake(d)." Traditionally, foods that were bakar were baked over a wood fire. I wouldn't say any of them were really burned, but the smoky taste was integral to their appeal. And the first thing I think of is kuih bakar, baked cakes made from wheat dough (tepung gandum), sugar, and coconut milk, with intentionally somewhat burnt sides. It's also very traditional to make ikan bakar, fish in banana leaves baked over a wood fire. Etc. I was also thinking of burnt foods when I had some pollo a la brasa (rotisserie-baked chicken) for dinner. Some of the skin was partially burnt, but not to the extent of being unpleasant to eat; in fact, the burnt taste struck me as part of the reason for baking the chicken that way.

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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Here's a thing I'm not sure would technically qualify, but I inadvertently burned, or anyway way overcooked, a stuffed flank steak on the grill. My husband hated it. I loved it. The stuffing was bread crumbs with chopped Italian salami, some garlic, parsley, oregano, chopped pine nuts, some parmesan cheese, a couple of chopped anchovies, salt, pepper, etc, the steak brushed with olive oil and then rolled around the stuffing, wrapped in aluminum foil and set on the grill, ostensibly on medium heat, although I hadn't calibrated my grill at the time. It was supposed to grill at medium for a couple of hours Turned out the grill was actually high when set on medium and so after two hours, after unrolling 6 steaks, I had 6 charred/burnt affairs on my hands. They looked like cigars. Difficult even to cut. But even though they weren't the tender, juicy things they were supposed to be, I loved them. A sort of wonderful jerky thing with a delicious stuffing. Burnt, but fabulous. I ate them cold for breakfast over the course of the week.

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weird food confession, burnt food category:

I LOVE burnt popcorn. I always make popcorn using a little bit of olive oil in a heavy pan or wok, and always let it cook just that little bit beyond perfection so that the bottom gets scorched. i adore the popcorns that have a burnt edge to them.

sick, i know. but i can't help myself! (salt on it, yes. butter: no! not good with the burnt flavour).

marlena

Marlena the spieler

www.marlenaspieler.com

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sick, i know. but i can't help myself! (salt on it, yes. butter: no! not good with the burnt flavour).

hmmm,... that's how I like it too. I'd rather think of it as tasty... rather than sick :wink:

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"Spanish Roast" is a roasting level that takes coffee far beyond French Roast or even "Southern Italian" roast to the point where it's almost charred. IMHO it's an insult to good coffee beans as what you reaally taste os the smokiness of hte burnt beans but some folks like it.

Then there is Burnt Toast as a Hangover Cure. I once had a boss in the restaurant biz who had it every morning for breakfast (an old habit I think - he did not appear to be a heavy drinker).

But don't burn fried pork rinds or microwave them - the smell emitted is remeniscent of and even less pleasant than burning hair.

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Whenever my daughter makes cookies, she bakes a few just a little longer for me, so that they are burnt on the bottom.

Whenever I have a bagel at a coffee shop, I request that it be put it through the toaster twice. I once had a coffee shop owner come up to my table with a look of concern on her face - she thought that her employee had screwed up . I had to explain that I liked my bagels a little "dark".

I love the burnt popcorn bits, too!

I wonder if all that carbon is bad for us. I think it might be. But I don't want to know...

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I am so happy that i'm not the only one wolfing down those char-ry bits of popcorn!

there is some strong appeal for the burnt edges of toast too! and the burnt marshmallows. and crusty edges of any meat being barbecued. it tastes so savoury and bitter and crispy.

oh probably terrible for us! maybe like chocolate, red wine, and olive oil, scientists will find out that its healthy! in the meantime i just eat the stuff every once in a while.

and now, i don't feel alone! like pam R said: tasty, not sick!

now, i think i'll go burn some toast. hand sliced, crusty wholegrain seeded cranks bread. i like the way the seeds toast after toasting in the hot dry heat.

marlena

Marlena the spieler

www.marlenaspieler.com

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weird food confession, burnt food category:

I LOVE burnt popcorn. I always  make popcorn using a little bit of olive oil in a heavy pan or wok, and always let it cook just that little bit beyond perfection so that the bottom gets scorched. i adore the popcorns that have a burnt edge to them.

sick, i know. but i can't help myself! (salt on it, yes. butter: no! not good with the burnt flavour).

marlena

I love burnt popcorn too!, always let it go way beyond done. In fact as a kid my favorite was burnt Jiffy Pop (wonder if that still exists). I always thought it was like a wierd fetish, like being into feet or something. I'm glad you came out of the closet, Marlena, it helps others like me who have been suffering in "The Well of Loneliness".

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