Traditional New Mexico Panocha

I watched Pat Varela's video titled "La Madre Making New Mexico Panocha", where he documents his mom's method of making panocha, a porridge-like dessert often served during Holy Week, between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday.  Click here to watch his video.

His mom is so sweet and kind as she talks us through the process, explaining where she got the recipe and giving preparation tips along the way.  I took notes and was able to acquire some panocha flour so I could make it, too.

La Madre's Panocha Recipe

4 cups panocha flour

2 cups whole wheat flour (plus a little more later)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 cups warm water

1 piloncillo, shaved

1/2 cup brown sugar (she added more after she tasted it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift the flours and salt together and place in a large baking pan.  Add water, a little at a time, stirring well and smashing dry flour lumps.  Once this is all well mixed, add the piloncillo and brown sugar, again stirring well.  Add more water if needed in order to make a very moist batter; add a little more whole wheat flour if the batter is too wet.  Taste for sweetness and add more brown sugar if desired.

Cover pan and bake for 2 1/2 hours.  The result should be a golden brown, thick, and very moist looking.

My Version

I had only one bag of panocha flour, so I made about 1/2 of La Madre's recipe.  

2 1/2 cups panocha flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 3/4 cups warm water

1 piloncillo

1/2 cup brown sugar (this includes the little extra I added to make it taste sweet)

That dark brown cone is the piloncillo.  The brown sugar is not in the picture.

I used my large Dutch oven, which comes with a lid.  I mixed it with a whisk instead of a spoon, which worked well to get rid of lumps.  I just had to push some dry flour out of the inside of the whisk when I was nearly done mixing.  

I pounded the piloncillo in a mortar; the pieces needed to sit in the wet batter for a few minutes to fully dissolve.  A rubber spatula was helpful in mixing the sugars into the batter completely.

Pounded piloncillo.  I think it should have been pounded more.

Nearly ready to be baked.

When I tasted it for sweetness, I thought it needed a little more.  This is how I got to 1/2 cup brown sugar.

I wasn't sure if my batter was wet enough, but I didn't want to add any more water at that point.

It smelled good -- almost toasty -- while baking and was done in 1 hour, although I think it could have baked for less time.  See The Verdict below.

My Notes

Panocha flour is made from wheat that is sprouted and dried before it is ground into flour.  This is different from whole wheat flour, which is not sprouted at all.  An article from FlavorInsider.com states that spouted wheat flour is more nutritious than whole wheat flour because it has a higher fiber content and offers more vitamins and antioxidants.

The article also points out that whole wheat flour's flavor is slightly nutty whereas sprouted wheat flour is decidedly sweeter.  I suspect this is why both were chosen for this recipe in the first place.  

A piloncillo is a solid, dark brown cone made from unrefined cane sugar that is boiled, thickened, and poured into a mold.  Sometimes it has spices such as cinnamon or cloves mixed in.  It is different from brown sugar which is a mixture of white sugar and molasses.

The Verdict

I tried it hot out of my oven and then took the rest to a social gathering where I knew people were willing to try something different.

I felt I might have overbaked it because it had an almost bread-like crust over the entire surface, whereas I saw only a little of that around the edges in La Madre's result.  It was very moist underneath the crust, though.

Right out of the oven.  I worried it was bread!

Not bread!

The taste was lightly sweet, making me glad I added the extra brown sugar.  It was thick, sticky, and made me feel like I was eating oatmeal for breakfast, but sweeter.  I think it was the chewy wheat bits and its granular texture gave me that impression.  Instead of a smooth porridge or pudding, it had a more robust mouthfeel.

I enjoyed it as it was, as did my usual guest taster.

It was refrigerated before going to the gathering, so once I was there, I microwaved it for three minutes to get it hot again.  It was very thick, so I also added boiling water and stirred it until it was thin enough to drop off the serving spoon but not so wet that it would slump all over a plate.

The reactions I received were mostly positive.  A few people did not like it at all; the impression I got was that they disliked either the texture or the sweetness.  Some said they liked it as it was and one thought she had tasted it before somewhere.  Others had suggestions for improving it.

For example, one person who loves to cook described it as "softly sweet" and he liked it, but he would add chiles to it -- powdered or flaked -- just a little to bring the flavor over the top.  Others thought cinnamon or vanilla or both would be good.  I kept wishing to add sliced almonds and raisins.

One said it was good, but it was mostly sugar that he tasted, so after a few bites, he would not want to eat any more.  He wanted something else to make it "complete" but could not determine what that would be.

Another said he thought it was made with masa, that he liked the taste and the flavor of it.  One non-carb eater liked it in small amounts and said it had a rich flavor.

The next day I tried small amounts with other ingredients added.  It was good with cinnamon.  I liked a little vanilla in it.  I tried a little more salt but that wasn't right.  

I also tried it with raisins and some peanuts (I didn't have sliced almonds available).  That was good, too, although I'm not sure I would use peanuts again.  The raisins were a good addition.

I think, though, that my favorite combination was with cardamom and raisins.  

Success!

I realized that my wish for almonds and raisins was based on how much it felt like eating oatmeal for breakfast.  I believe that panocha is a form of comfort food -- that if you were raised on it and your memories are of your mother or grandmother making it, then eating it brings back those warm and comforting feelings.  

I found other versions of this recipe which include cinnamon and/or vanilla, but were still called "traditional."  That is probably what the recipe author grew up with or even made on their own.  Wonderful!  I would not want to mess with someone's beloved tradition, but if it makes it an even better experience for you and your family, I encourage you to try it.

One final note.  Pat Varela mentions that "[i]n days of old, it was made in an old lard tin and later it [the tin] was thrown away because it is hard to clean", which doesn't surprise me.  Cooked starches tend to be sticky like glue and become rock solid when dried.  I kept this in mind once the panocha was baked.  When the Dutch oven was empty and the panocha in a serving bowl, I immediately started soaking the Dutch oven in soapy, hot water, as were the utensils that had touched the panocha.  

Even with occasional scrapings, it took soaking the Dutch oven overnight before I could get all the baked panocha off the sides and bottom of the pan.  Don't let it get cold or dry!  Start cleaning it right away!

Candied Egg Yolks

I find reading recipes from other cultures and times to be fascinating -- I love learning new techniques and new flavor combinations.  Having a sweet tooth, I also love to read and sometimes try recipes that use sugar.  This recipe from Encarnación Pinedo's book, El cocinero español, published in 1898, on page 13:

My translation:

Brilliant sugar syrup bath. 

The amount of sugar is graduated according to what you want bathe and add syrup that is clarified, letting it boil until, taking a little with your fingers, it snaps between them.  Once the syrup is cooked to its point, take the saucepan off the fire, nestle it into straw, and add almonds, cooked egg yolks or whatever you want to polish, covering the saucepan so that it cannot give the air to the syrup and so it is left until it is perfectly cold. Once cold, the rind or crust that has been formed is cut on the side of the yolks or what has been done:  this will be carefully removed, and the honey is drained well; immediately rinse them in warm water and again let drain.

It is intriguing!  I've candied nuts and peel before, but I have never thought about candying cooked egg yolks.  

I looked around the internet and discovered there is a classic Spanish recipe called "Yemas de Santa Teresa".  The recipes vary but the general technique is to make a sugar syrup flavored with lemon peel (or juice) and sometimes cinnamon, then the raw egg yolks are mixed into it.  The whole mixture is cooked lightly, cooled, and formed into balls that are sometimes rolled in powdered sugar.  It is quite popular.

So this seemed to me an adaptation of the idea, and I wanted to try it.  

The challenge is deciding what temperature is right for the sugar syrup.  The idea that the hot syrup snaps between your fingers suggests the hard crack stage (about 300 degrees F) but allowing the ingredients to soak in the syrup until everything is cold and there is syrup to drain off suggests the thread stage (about 230 - 235 degrees F).  

I chose the thread stage so as to have something to drain when the mixture is cold instead of a solid block of candy. Also, I'm not sure anyone wants to put their fingers into syrup at the hard crack stage.

My Redaction

6 hard-cooked eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

*Have a candy thermometer handy, if possible.

Just add water.

Carefully peel the eggs and remove the whites.  The goal is to keep the yolks as whole and round as they can be.  Save the whites for another recipe.

Put the sugar and water into a small saucepan that has a well-fitting lid.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  The mixture won't be clear but you won't hear any more scraping noise from the sugar on the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat to medium.

Do not stir the mixture any more.  Watch it cook (it will boil and turn clear at about 212 degrees F) and start checking the temperature after it boils.

When the temperature of the liquid hits 232 degrees F, remove it from the heat and put it on a folded towel.  Then carefully add the yolks.  They float, so gently swirl the pan to make sure the yolks are completely coated with the syrup.

Finally, put on the lid and wrap the pan in towels.  I used two:  one under the pan that also came up and covered the lid, and one that wrapped around the sides.  I tucked the towels closely around the pan and left it to cool, undisturbed.

After letting it sit for 11 hours, I unwrapped the pot and opened the lid.

There was no crust to cut.  The syrup was very thick.  The yolks had remained floating, so the tops did not look candied.

The tops looked a little dry.

I used a slotted spoon to remove them to a colander.  They were so fragile!  I accidently tapped one with the spoon and a piece broke off.  Be very careful when fishing them out of the syrup.

Putting them in the colander was not a good choice -- the syrup was so thick that it was slow to move through the holes.  So I moved everything to a rack.

This made it easy to separate the yolks and also to pour warm water over them, letting the plate catch the pour.  I turned the yolks over after the first rinse and then poured a little more.

Shiny!  And a little damp, still.

I decided to let them sit out overnight to dry.

The Verdict

The next morning, they had lost their sheen.

I tasted one and it was -- disappointing.  

It tasted like a cooked egg yolk.  It was only vaguely sweet.  It was not interesting or different; it could have been just freshly taken from the hard-cooked egg and had a little sugar sprinkled on it.  The texture was that of a cooked egg yolk.  Honestly, I think it would have tasted better with a little salt on it.

I'm not willing to say Miss Pinedo was wrong here; I think I misjudged the syrup temperature.  My guess was based on her statements about the syrup snapping between your fingers and that the yolks had to soak in the syrup until everything was cold.  

It is not clear to me that cooking the syrup at a higher temperature would have improved the result.  The syrup did not penetrate the yolks much, as can be seen here:

The darker areas show about how far the sugar penetrated into the yolk.  I had hoped for more after it sat for so long.  Cooking the syrup to a higher temperature would not have had it penetrate so far, I suspect (but don't know).

I had also hoped for a shiny, possibly hard, shell around them, which I knew might not happen with the syrup cooked to below the hard crack stage.  I don't know why the instructions were to rinse them with warm water as it didn't seem to help at all.

Before I cleaned everything up, I decided to dunk two of the remaining three yolks into the syrup and allow them to drain and dry.

Easy to tell which two were recoated.

These were definitely improved.  The sugar coating made the creamy yolk-to-sugar ratio better, making it more like a candy than just an egg yolk.  They were shinier and also not sticky once they had some time to dry.  I wonder if dunking and drying them again would make it even better. 

I will call this a failure.  Perhaps I can learn more and improve it.  Or perhaps I will try the Yemas de Santa Teresa as a comparison.

Sugar Smoking, revisited and revised -- From a Guest Cook!

My friend, CT, told me of his love of grilling, so I had him look at a post I made in 2016: 

Sugar Smoking--A Technique from Hong Kong/Kowloon.

He found it interesting and decided to give it a try.  What follows is his description of his process.  Note that he used a gas grill instead of charcoal.

I decided to do something a little different and use duck breasts and quail.  I mostly followed the recipe, but I did use a little more garlic for the marinade (4 cloves instead of 1 - I like garlic). It wasn’t overpowering at all, at least for me.  

I altered the time for boil since the quail are so small, and had them on reduced heat for about 45 minutes, and the duck breasts for an hour.  That may have been too long, but it seemed to work well. I was concerned the quail would get dried out, but they stayed pretty moist - same with the duck breast.  

The duck had a texture and flavor were similar to pork shoulder (I think that's a good comparison, but not sure since it’s been a long time since I’ve had any kind of pork besides bacon - we don’t eat much pork).  

I think I used way too much brown sugar, so I got more than enough smoke:

The gas grill was a little tricky, but I decided to have the gas on one zone only to keep the heat around 375, about medium high, with the sugar pack right above the burner.  I put the meat right above the sugar to ensure maximum contact with the smoke:

A nice smoke:

A nice mahogany color:

 The Verdict

It went really well with a fennel salad and wild rice (cooked in the duck broth):

Thanks again for the recipe, this one's a keeper.

And thank you, CT, for trying my blog recipe and reporting on the results.  I'm impressed with your adaptation and your success -- I just wish I could have tasted it.  : )   

I'm glad you found a way to make this work with a gas grill.  I need to give that a try.  As much as I love cooking over charcoal, gas is easier to work with for small quantities of food.

Sugar Smoking -- A Technique from Hong Kong/Kowloon

My mom is at the age where she really doesn't want to cook much any more.  I don't blame her -- she has spent a lot of her life cooking and I think she has earned a break.  Of course this means she doesn't want many of her cookbooks, so I took the opportunity to abscond with, um, ask her politely for one book that has intrigued me for a while.  It is titled How the World Cooks Chicken, by H. J. Muessen.  Published in 1980, her book no longer had the dust jacket, so I found an image of it on the web:

ISBN 978-0812861952

The chapters are divided up into regions of the world, like "The Pacific", "The Orient", "Asia", "Africa", and so on.  Many of the recipes look intriguing, although the ones from Africa would be a challenge for me since I am not fond of spicy food.  Nearly every recipe in that chapter is spicy!

The recipe that caught my attention was on page 40, from the Hong Kong/Kowloon area.  Mr. Muessen says,

The Chinese use hickory, walnut, or other woods in smoking their meats just as we do, but another method, which gives an entirely different taste, is sugar smoking.  This is best done in an outdoor covered barbecue, but it can be done in your oven, although one should have the exhaust fan on throughout.

Sugar-Smoked Duck (or Chicken)

1 4-pound duck (or 3 pound chicken)
1 quart water
1 onion, quartered
Salt
10 peppercorns
1/2 cup brown sugar

Bird and first cooking ingredients

Marinade
6 tablespoons peanut oil
1/4 teaspoon anise seed powder
1 clove garlic, minced
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sherry

Marinade and smoking ingredients

Place the bird in the water in a large kettle and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat, skim off the scum, then add the onion, salt, and peppercorns.  Cover, and cook slowly (duck 1 1/2 hours, chicken 1 hour).  Now cut the bird into individual servings or into 16 pieces if you wish.  (See page 35.)

Premarinated.

Mix together the marinade ingredients and stir to blend thoroughly.  Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces in a large bowl, turning to coat each piece.  Let stand, covered, for 1 hour.

When the meat is ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line the bottom of a large, ovenproof pot with foil and place a small rack inside.  Add 1/2 of the sugar.  Place the meat on the rack and cover the kettle with foil, then place a lid on tightly, forming a seal. Put the kettle in the oven for 10 minutes, and allow the sugar to burn and thus smoke.

Now remove the kettle and reline the pan if necessary, and add the remaining sugar.  Reline the top of the kettle, and return to the oven to smoke for another 10 minutes.  The meat should turn a rich mahogany color, and the sugar-smoke taste will have permeated the meat.  Brush lightly with a little peanut oil and serve.  Serves 4 - 6.

My Notes

I used a chicken and let the bird slowly cook for about 1 hour, 30 minutes over the lowest heat my stove top could give.

It came out of the liquid (which was later turned into lentil soup!) and into a bowl where it cooled to the point where I could handle it.  I cut it into twelve pieces total and that seemed just fine.  Then the pieces went into a flat-bottom dish.

For the marinade I used freshly ground star anise seeds, canola oil, sweet cream sherry, fresh garlic, and low sodium soy sauce.  I poured it over the meat, then turned the pieces over and started the timer.  After 30 minutes I turned the pieces over again to marinate for another 30 minutes.

Once the hour marinating time was up, I drained off the marinade and put the meat into the refrigerator.

My neighbor had kindly agreed to get his barbecue hot for my grand experiment.  He used lump charcoal and heated the barbecue to 375 degrees F.

In the meantime I formed two trays out of foil, putting in about 1/4 cup (unpacked) of brown sugar into the bottom of each one.



We smoked the meat this way:  I put the chicken on the grills, he pushed the grills apart to expose the coals, and I put the foil tray directly on the coals.  Then he slid the grills together, closed the lid, and vented the top just a little bit.

First smoking, preturning.

It took a few minutes for the smoke to start showing but then it did and we opened the lid when the smoke levels dropped.  At that point he turned the meat over, slid apart the grills, and took out the first foil tray.  I put in the second tray and he got the lid closed again.

First smoking, some turned.

First smoking, nearly all turned

In both cases it took less than 10 minutes for the smoke to start up and then die down.  It made both of us think of teriyaki chicken.

While the second smoking was going on, we looked at the first tray.  The sugar had completely carbonized and was nearly odorless and tasteless.  Yes, we tasted it and found no flavor but there was a texture that made me think I was eating dirt.  Ugh!  I don't recommend it.

Do not eat this at home.  Or anywhere else!

The final result was a beautiful mahogany color.  The chicken smelled so good we could hardly wait to taste it.  I served it with hot bread and a simple green salad.

Beautiful in looks and in taste.

The Verdict

Let's put it this way:  I tentatively nibbled the first piece (I was worried it would have a burnt flavor) and then enthusiastically devoured it.  And a few more pieces.  Oh yes, I remembered to eat the salad and bread, too!

The flavor was amazing.  I couldn't say exactly what part was the sugar smoking and what part was the marinade but the overall taste combination was excellent.  I had hints of the anise, some lovely bitter from the soy and sherry, and a rich umami in every bite.  The meat was moist, even the breast meat which I usually dislike because it tends to be dry.

I would do it again and my taste testers agreed they would enjoy it again, too.  After the meat is cooked and marinated, it was very easy and quick to get it smoked.

As I was wolfing it down enjoying my meal, it occurred to me that this marinating and smoking combination might be good to use on salmon.  I wouldn't cook it first but just marinate it and smoke it, being careful to not let it overcook.

Success!  Oh my yes, success.  Excellent and flavorful and a great, fun, and intriguing food to serve at a party.

Rosemary Tea Sherbert, Take 2

This time I'm following the Rosemary Tea recipe that I missed in the previous post,

Rosemary Tea (page 150):  "Pour one pint of boiling water on a heaping tablespoonful of young tips." 

to try the Rosemary Tea Sherbert recipe again:


Rosemary Tea Sherbert

Prepare two cups of rosemary tea; mix a half cup of sugar and a half cup of water, let it come to a boil, add a tablespoon of lemon juice and a half cup of orange juice, mix with the tea and freeze.  Serve in sherbet glasses.

Everything else remained the same -- and I have to say that I really like how easy it is to prepare the mixture for freezing -- but I wanted to show you the amount of fresh rosemary that I used:

While it steeped, I made up the sugar, water, and juice mixture.  Then I strained the tea, mixed in the juices, and set the whole thing in the freezer.  Easy!

After it was frozen, with the appropriate stirring, I gave it a taste.

The Verdict
Take 2 definitely had a better balance between the rosemary and citrus flavors.  The rosemary was there but I could taste the orange better.  The lemon was not distinctive but added some sparkle.  The sweetness level was just right.  I declare it a success!

This is not your child's sherbert dessert.  It is more sophisticated.  It would be a nice accompaniment with roasted beef, chicken, or turkey.  I think it should be served just before the meat course.


Update on Take 1
Tasting the stronger rosemary tea sherbert today was interesting:  The flavors were definitely muted as compared to yesterday.  I asked my two visitors to try it and they both liked it very much.  One is a big fan of rosemary and did not think it was too strong at all.  The other thought it was fine and was surprised to think of rosemary in a sweetened dish.


My Conclusion
I think you probably can't go wrong with using any amount of fresh rosemary between the suggested one heaping tablespoon and my experimental half cup.   But judge your audience -- if you don't know that your dinner guests are accustomed to herbal flavors, use the smaller amount and make the rosemary a hint.

If I were to modify this recipe at all, I think I would throw in some lemon zest to perk it up more.  Come to think of it, I think that I would like to make some rosemary bread with some lemon zest added to it.  Mmmmm.....

Rosemary Tea Sherbert, Take 1

Recently I visited a particularly dangerous place:  a used book store.  It seems the cookbook sections are designed with hooks and lures, and I get reeled in every time.  Stores that sell only new titles are similar, but I've noticed that used books have a hypnotic effect.  I can't walk away without at least looking at every title.  Often one or more books end up in my hands and thus into my collection.

This was a new store for me and I walked away with three books; a return trip concluded with three more.  It looks like it is time to make room on the shelves!

One of the six is entitled Flower Cookery -- The Art of Cooking with Flowers.

No ISBN; the Library of Congress Number is 67-24072

The author is Mary MacNicol and the book was published in 1967 in New York by the Fleet Press Corporation.

What makes this book intriguing is that it is a collection of literary references involving flower use in cooking and medicine.  Some entries are tips,

     "Rosemary is good for many things:  it will make the hair grow, it is a nerve tonic and stomachic, 
     will cure vertigo, strengthens sight and memory, and is a cordial for the heart."

some are quotations,

     "There's Rosemary, that's for remembrance,
     I pray you love, remember"  -- Shakespeare, Hamlet

and some are recipes (page 154),

Rosemary Tea Sherbert

Prepare two cups of rosemary tea; mix a half cup of sugar and a half cup of water, let it come to a boil, add a tablespoon of lemon juice and a half cup of orange juice, mix with the tea and freeze.  Serve in sherbet glasses.

I remember rosemary...

Since I had no idea how, exactly, to make rosemary tea, I guessed.  Mostly I kept in mind that any frozen dish must have the flavors be more intense before it is frozen, since the cold dulls the taste.  So I took about 1/2 cup (not packed) of fresh rosemary leaves stripped from the stems, and steeped them for 20 minutes in two cups of boiling water.

Steeping beauty

While the tea was steeping I cooked the sugar and water, stirring to mix before the heat was applied, and bringing it to a full, roiling boil.  Then I turned off the heat and added the orange and lemon juices.

The scent off the rosemary tea was lovely and made me want to inhale deeply.  I strained the tea into a bowl and stirred in the juice mixture.

The bowl made the mixture wide and shallow; I thought this will make it easier to stir as it freezes.  The timer was set for thirty minutes for a stir and a check after the bowl went into the freezer.

I tasted the cooled mixture after the first 30 minutes; the flavor was an expected rosemary-citrus that was certainly pleasant but the rosemary was too strong for me.  This was a good sign since it was still liquid.

After about 2 hours, ice crystals were forming and it was good to stir the mixture every 30 minutes.  Once there was no more liquid, it looked like soft snow and I gave it a taste test.

The Verdict
The rosemary flavor was dominant, almost to the point of being too strong.  I love the taste of rosemary, so this wasn't an issue for me, however I suspect it would not be right to serve to guests who did not share my enthusiasm.  The underlying flavors of citrus and sweet were alluring and I would guess it would be an excellent item to serve if the rosemary was more of a hint.  It could be a dessert or, better yet, an appetizer or a palate-cleanser between courses.

I would call this a success but with limitations. The pairing of rosemary with the citrus is just right.



It was a little embarrassing to peruse the book some more and find their recipe for Rosemary Tea (page 150):  "Pour one pint of boiling water on a heaping tablespoonful of young tips."  I want to try this recipe again using this to see if my suspicions are true. 

Vanilla Sugar and Grace Firth

One of the favorite cookbooks in my collection is Secrets of the Still by Grace Firth.  (EPM Publications, Inc.)  One of the reasons I love it is the chatty, insightful stories Ms. Firth tells relating to whatever topic she has just introduced.  What a life this woman had!  And she manages to relate it all to stills, scents, cooking, food, and fun.  I recommend reading her book just for the pleasure of experiencing her adventures.

You can read about her time in Alaska during the late 1940s and her explorations of nature with her beloved husband, Lewis.  You will, in the process, learn about fermentation, distillation, flavors, fragrances, cosmetics, herbal medicines, and yes, even alcohol. 

One short adventure she had as a child is found on page 102, under the section "Flavoring is a Leader."  Here it is:

"My grandmother kept vanilla pods in a tightly lidded gallon container filled with sugar.  She used the sugar in baking and did not add vanilla extract.  Her vanilla beans lasted for years; she simply added more sugar when she took some out.  She stored the jar in the bottom of the food closet and I can remember getting into it, sitting on the floor, wetting my finger, dipping and savoring.  She caught me once and that was the last of that happiness."

I've been making vanilla sugar for years and can verify that it works and works well.  I use it in cooking, in tea, and sometimes I give a small container of vanilla sugar as a gift.  If I really love the person, I include a vanilla bean with the jar and instructions on how to keep the stock going.

The only thing that caused me to get more beans for my own supply was that in scooping sugar out of the jar, I sometimes break the beans.  After awhile the pieces are small and annoying, so I get a few more beans to replace them. 

I've noticed it takes a few weeks for fresh sugar to absorb the vanilla flavor.  I don't replace what I take out immediately; I usually wait until the level is low.  It is not an issue because I don't cook with it daily or even weekly.

I've heard -- but have not tried -- that you can make sugar with other flavors using a similar method.  Some day I will probably try using mint leaves.  My main worry is that they will get moldy.  One friend is going to try burying a bean into her stash of cinnamon sugar.  Mmmm!  Vanilla cinnamon sugar!


Sadly, Ms. Firth died in 2004.  She had written several books; the other one I have is the companion book to Secrets, called Stillroom Cookery.  I like it but have not tried the recipes in it.

The Verdict:  I highly recommend you read The Secrets of the Still.  If you have any interest in fermentation (includes things like sauerkraut, pickles, and vinegar), distillation, or scents, this book is for you.  If you love travel, you will love her adventures.