Sultanas, currants and raisins?

Justamum

MATH wrote: »

For cooking I just chuck in whatever is at hand but by the handful they do taste quite different. Apparently if you eat them directly from the packet while the food mixer is running they have no calories, it's something to do with the mixer twisting the soundwaves in your kitchen which creates and energy vortex into which the calories are dragged into.;) I've maintained this theory for many years and often warn visitors to Chez MATH that there is a calorie black- hole behing the SodaStream, holding several years of excess scoffing.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

There is a black-hole in my cupboard where all my currants and sultanas disappear - there are never any left when I want to bake with them! They taste really nice though. They don't have any calories when you stand up to eat them either.

Justamum

thriftlady wrote: »

They can be very gritty. I used some Tesco currants in a rather gorgeous orange and ginger cake that I made last Christmas. They were gritty and spoilt it rather.

Oooh that sounds tasty. Have you got a recipe? I'm presuming it's one of your egg-free ones?

My Welsh granny used to use them in everything she baked. It put my mum off them permanently. Currant squares were a favourite of gran's. Just a pastry sandwich with currants in the middle.

Fly pie. Yummy. My mum used to make that. I've tried making it myself but all the currants fall out when you eat a slice - mum's never did that.

Debt_Free_Chick

Currants definitely seem to have a different taste & texture. Taste? Slightly bitter, but still fruity. Texture? A little gritty with more crunch. But if you soak them in cold tea or alcohol (yes!!!) then you can remove any grittiness. They are gorgeous soaked in sloe gin, whatever the recipe requires (am I just an alchie?????)

Sultanas seem to be the fruitiest and also plumpest. Raisins? Somewhere in between the two.

Slighly OT but if your recipe calls for candied peel, it's definintely worth buying the more expensive whole candied peel in the cardboard box, rather than the ready chopped peel in the little "deli-style carton". The latter is covered in a wax-like substance and has nowhere near the taste. Whilst more expensive, the whole stuff is much more citrusie and I find I use less.

A PITA to chop though! :rotfl:

thriftlady_2

Justamum wrote: »

Oooh that sounds tasty. Have you got a recipe? I'm presuming it's one of your egg-free ones?



.

Afraid it wasn't egg-free -Dd doesn't like rich fruitcakes and I made a sort of chocolate log for the kids from a eggless muffin recipe -it all fell apart when I rolled it up but I disguised the fact with half a bucket of chocolate buttercream My recipe was from Jane Grigson's Fruit Book, it's quite long so if you bear with me I'll pm you the recipe tomorrow or maybe later this evening.

Justamum

Thanks for that, I look forward to trying it.

Poet_2

thriftlady wrote: »

No, they are definitely not blackcurrants They are a small grape, the name derives from the word Corinth where they originally came from.

and he told me he was a chef

princesstippytoes

Poet wrote: »

and he told me he was a chef

Even chefs are human you know. And it's not knowing where it comes from but rather what you do with it that counts.

princesstippytoes

............................

pavlovs_dog

ooh any chance of a fly pie recipe? sounds like th etype of thing my nephew would just love

Poet_2

princesstippytoes wrote: »

And from what i can tell "he" is a "she". And from the recipes oddsnsods has posted she is a very good chef at that!

I probably shouldn't be doing this but it did tick me off me at the time....

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=554402

me- "is it possible to marinate something in a dry mixture?"

she- "yes, poet, it is possible to marinate using a dry spice rub, which is what this is. I was a chef for many years and do know what I'm talking about!"

oooooooooooooo, get her!

Which is why I was having a giggle at this thread. I don't like being patronised when I was asking a genuine question!