Persimmon Jam, yet another persimmon recipe (1940s)

I know, I know!  You are thinking, "ANOTHER persimmon recipe??"  Did I mention I had a lot of persimmons?  And, well, The California Cook Book also had a recipe for persimmon jam.  (See the February 1 and March 1 posts for the other persimmon recipes.)

Found on Archive.org.

Mine are Fuyu persimmons, which means they are not astringent if not fully ripe, unlike the Hachiya variety I learned to eat first.  You can eat them when they are crisp-firm like an apple or softer or (my favorite) so soft they are like eating pudding.  That is when they are the sweetest.  

Pages 319 - 320

Ms. Callahan said the persimmons for her jam need to be as soft as jelly, and so I saved a bunch of the very soft ones just for this recipe.  They didn't all get soft at the same time, so I kept them in the refrigerator while waiting for enough to make the recipe.  Some were much riper than others.

My Redaction with Notes

2 cups persimmon pulp from very ripe persimmons

2 cups sugar

I used a few more persimmons than what you see here to get 2 cups.

My persimmons were so ripe that cutting them up was not an option.  I broke open the skin and used a spoon to scoop out the pulp.  Remove the seeds as needed -- not all persimmons have seeds, but some do.  I did not include the skin.

Instead of pushing the pulp through a sieve, I used a stick blender to puree it.

I chose to use a double boiler and set the water level so it went up the sides of the insert.  

After I mixed the pulp and the sugar, I put the insert into the double boiler for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, while the pulp got to "simmer" temperature.  I noticed it steamed a little at that time and a few bubbles formed along the edge of the mixture.

The clean jars were filled with water and heated in the microwave for 10 minutes to help sterilize them.  I was not intending to fully can the jam, just get it in very clean jars to store in the refrigerator.

Then I set the timer for 20 minutes and stirred the mixture continuously while it cooked.  I noticed it got thicker as the time went on. 

I ladled the jam into the empty, hot jars, put on the lids, then put them into the refrigerator.

Two cups pulp.

Pureed.

See the bubbles?  I call that "simmering."

Inside the blue circle you can see a little pile-up of jam.  Thicker!

Three jars like this and a little extra.

The Verdict

I managed to keep the mixture from boiling and noticed that the maximum temperature was 175 degrees F.  So I had hoped for no bitterness.

The jam was beautifully thick; just right I would say, for spreading (or even eating off the spoon).

Beautiful!

The flavor was fascinating.  I know it was just persimmons and sugar, but I would swear it tasted like it had spices in it, like cinnamon and ginger or allspice.  I got the persimmon flavor and the sweetness, but it wasn't too sweet, which surprised me.  And no bitterness!  

The texture was intriguing, too.  It was pretty smooth, which is probably because I pureed the pulp.  It also had a slight gelatinous quality to it.  Not in an off-putting way.  I'm not sure what caused that.

So success!  

When I was first contemplating the recipe, I thought I would probably want to add spices to it, but I know now it is not necessary.  The only adaptation I might make would be to add a little lime juice to the jam once it was cooked and before it went into the jars.  Just a thought, anyway.

Adobo para carne de cerdo - Pork Marinade, a Pinedo recipe

Encarnación Pinedo, in her cookbook, El cocinero español, mostly arranged her recipes in categories with those categories in alphabetical order in Spanish.  (I say "mostly" because not all recipes in a category seem to fit into that category.  For example, under her "Fritters" category, we find a recipe for carmelized peanuts.)

Under her "Adobos" category, there is a recipe for a pork roast marinade on page 3.

My Translation

This recipe intrigued me because of her use of mint.  Now I have been experiencing historical cooking for decades, so I am used to seeing ingredients that are otherwise familiar to me being used in ways that are different than what I grew up with.  But mint with meat and it wasn't even a mint sauce or jelly on lamb?  I had to give it a try.

My Redaction

2 dried New Mexico chiles

8 dried costeño chiles

4 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup chopped peppermint, stems and all

1 cup chopped Italian oregano (a cross between oregano and marjoram)

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2.8 pounds boneless pork cushion meat

I love the colors!

Remove stems and seeds from the chiles.  Soak the chiles in hot water to cover until soft, about 15 minutes.

While they are soaking, chop herbs.  Put into a container large enough to comfortably hold the pork.  Add the salt and pepper.

Put the chiles and garlic into a blender with just enough of the soaking water to blend it.  I got a thick, red liquid with small chunks of chile and garlic in it. Pour this into the container.

Use the vinegar to rinse out the blender, pouring it all into the container.

Mix the marinade in the container.

Add the pork.  Turn the meat until all sides are covered by the marinade.   Spoon some marinade over the top.

Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours, turning the meat occasionally.

Drain off liquid but leave the paste and herbs on the surface until ready to roast.* See note below.

When you are ready to roast the meat

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  

Remove pork from the refrigerator.  Rinse off marinade and pat dry.

Place the pork on a baking sheet with low sides. 

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F to finish the baking.  Start checking the internal temperature about 30 minutes in - the goal is 145 degrees F.  Recommended baking time is 15 to 20 minutes per pound.

When baking is done, cover the meat with a tent of foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.  Slice thin and serve.

Pureed chiles and garlic

Herbs, pepper, and salt

Have not yet added the vinegar

At the start of the marinating process

After 3 hours

Two days later, ready for the oven.

My Notes

The goal was a strongly-flavored marinade, and that is what decided the amount of ingredients I used.

I used those amounts of chiles because that is what I had available.  Feel free to change the amounts and the varieties.

I know that different mints have different flavor profiles, but peppermint was the only mint available in my yard at the time I made the recipe.

Similarly, my oregano is nearly dead so I turned to Italian oregano as a substitute.

*My reading on using vinegar in a marinade is that if you leave the meat in it too long, the meat gets "chalky" in flavor and possibly gets a weird texture.  So I chose three hours for the meat to have contact with the vinegar part.  

Once the meat was just in the paste and herbs, it rested in the refrigerator for two days until I had time to bake it.

I removed the meat from the oven when its internal temperature was 140 deg F because resting will allow for more cooking and we like our pork rare.

The Verdict

It looked beautiful just out of the oven.  

Mmmmmmmmm!

Slicing it showed the pale pink we want in our pork roasts. (Note:  The US pork industry is well-known for being safe from trichinosis - but if your local pork supply is suspect, cook it to an internal temperature of 145 deg F to be safe.)

Yes, mmmmmmmm!

My guest taster and I tried various parts of the sliced meat to see how the marinade worked.  We both noticed that the flavor was stronger near the edges and got lighter more towards the middle.  This is not surprising because the marinade was near the edges!

Overall, the marinade flavor was not strong, which I think was good.  It was there and it definitely enhanced the flavor of the meat.  

We both liked the subtle mint flavor!  The mixture of chiles, garlic, oregano, and mint was good, although we couldn't really distinguish the chiles, garlic, and oregano from each other.  I suspect that you could use more of each and still make a good marinade.  Or let it marinate longer, but I don't know how long until the vinegar makes the meat chalky.

It was a pork roast with additional flavors that were good and not overwhelming.  Success!  The leftovers were tasty, too.  Reheating allowed the marinade flavors to shine through better than eating the meat cold.

Fluffy Fruit Dressing, AKA Women's Club Fruit Dressing (1940s)

In the two previous posts I wrote about Genevieve Callahan's The California Cook Book for Indoor and Outdoor Eating.  Click here to see the post with the dressing in it.

Found on archive.org.  An amazing source!

She mentioned a "Fluffy Fruit Dressing" several times but does not have a recipe specifically named that.  One clue she left was that it was in the dressing section, so after reading all the recipes carefully, I concluded that what she really meant was the "Women's Club Fruit Dressing." (Pages 38-39) It is a cooked, flavored dressing that is blended with whipped cream just before serving, thus "fluffy".  

To be fair, it could also be the recipe above it, "Old Fashioned Cooked Dressing" because it, too, is mixed with whipped cream when used with fruit salads.  But its main flavors are vinegar, mustard, and celery seed whereas the Women's Club dressing's flavors were mainly currant and lemon.

This seemed just right to go with the persimmon and pineapple salad.  And, as you saw in the previous post, it was!

My Notes

I could not find currant jelly at the store, but I did buy a jar of currant preserves -- currants in a sweetened syrup.  So I drained the syrup off the fruit by pressing it through a sieve and used 1/2 cup of the syrup.  I did not need to melt it because it was already liquid.

I think it is better to beat the egg whites with the salt and sugar before cooking the lemon, sugar, and yolks mixture.  That way you don't overcook the mixture while beating the whites and it is still hot when the whites are mixed in.

The yolk mixture never got thick while cooking, but it did thicken, so I call that a win.  After it chilled, it was thick.  

I used 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream that was, after beating, mixed with most of the cooked dressing.

The cooked dressing ingredients

With the currant syrup.

Folding in the egg whites.

              

Cooking is done.

The finished product.

The Verdict

Yes, this was good.  It was acidic from the lemon, flavorful from the lemon and currant, not too sweet, and the fluffy part was a nice complement to the persimmon and pineapple gelatin salad.

Everyone particularly liked the currant flavor, although most said they never had it before.  It adds a deep fruity flavor that balanced out the other flavors of the dish.

I wonder how it would taste if frozen like ice cream.  I think it would be a good topping on a vanilla cake or angel food cake, too.  Honestly, it was good just eaten off the spoon!

Success!  

Fashionable Ox - a Beef Stew (Pinedo recipe)

I am continuing to try out some of Encarnación Pinedo's stews.  Today's is a beef stew, one that I would consider a "standard" European (really French, I think) style with an interesting historical direction. It is on page 39, and I love the name.

My Translation

My Redaction

2 1/2 pounds of beef

1/4 cup broth, any flavor

1/4 cup white wine

2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce cans)

1/2 pound ham, cubed (about 1/2-inch size)

8 ounces carrots

1/2 cup chives, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon mace

1/4 teaspoon coriander

First cut the beef into cubes, about 1-inch on a side, roughly.  Place in a slow cooker, add the broth and the wine.

Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.

Cut the carrots into bite-sized pieces as needed. 

In a skillet, combine the tomatoes, ham, carrots, chives, and spices.  Bring to a slow simmer.  Cook about 30 minute or until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the drained beef and serve.

Sauce before cooking

Sauce after cooking

Beef after cooking.  Just use the meat and discard the liquid.

My Notes

I had some pork broth in my refrigerator, so I used that with the meat.  

Pinedo specifies "especies finas", "fine spices", and this is the only recipe that calls for that mix.  I interpreted it as a medieval spice blend called "powder fines", which can contain any number of spices, such as pepper, cinnamon, cardamon, coriander, grains of paradise, ginger, nutmeg, and so on.  The basic idea is a savory (vs sweet) mixture even though it uses many spices I consider "sweet", as in "I expect to see them in cookies, cakes, etc."

In making my choices, I knew one of my guest tasters does not like cinnamon, so I avoided that.  Putting in two savory spices (pepper and coriander) and two sweet spices (mace and cardamom) seemed like a good combination without risking making the spice blend too strong and overwhelming the dish.

Notice that she didn't call for salt.  I believe that the ham is a good way to introduce salt into the stew.

I used small carrots, so I didn't cut them.  I wanted the look of the bright orange carrots as part of the stew.  

This was so simple to prepare.  I appreciated that because it was a busy few days and I could easily prepare all in advance.  In fact, after the meat and sauce were done, I cooled and stored them separately in the refrigerator overnight.  The day of the meal I reheated the sauce, added the meat, and let the whole stew slowly warm through on the stove.

There was no need to defat anything before reheating.  Most of that fat had been left behind when I took the meat out of the slow cooker.

The Verdict

I served it with shell macaroni on the side and a tossed green salad.  And wine!

Visually, the stew was appealing with its colors and shapes.

The meat was tender and everyone noticed that.  

The sauce was flavorful and the carrots were tender, too, but not mushy.  I really liked that.

The entire mixture was good with the meats, tomatoes, chives, and carrots all contributing to the taste experience.  I suggested that the spice blend was too strong and was quickly outvoted by the guest tasters.  No one wanted salt on it.

The stew was well-received.  When I had the leftovers the next day, I decided that spice mixture wasn't too strong, but I thought it was close to being so.  If this worries you, I would cut down on the pepper a little.  

Success!

The stew matches the tablecloth...

Another Persimmon Salad from the 1940s

Did I happen to mention that I have a lot of persimmons in my kitchen?  And that I have an interest in exploring what California cuisine meant in the 1940s?

The first recipe I posted using persimmons and relating to California cuisine was a persimmon salad that was so basic:  whole, peeled persimmons embedded in lemon gelatin.  That's it!  It was tasty and light, so it was a success.  You can see the post by clicking here:  Persimmon Salad from the 1940s.

Today's post is from the same book, The California Cook Book for Indoor and Outdoor Eating by Genevieve Callahan.

For Indoor and Outdoor Eating

On pages 42 - 43, she offered another version, this one more elaborate.

Jellied Persimmon Salad

3 large, very ripe persimmons

20 ounce can crushed pineapple

3 ounce box lemon-flavored gelatin

dash salt

"Fluffy fruit dressing"*

Those persimmons are as soft as pudding.

Choose a container to act as a mold for the salad.  It needs to hold at least 4 cups volume.  Lightly spray it with non-stick cooking spray and then wipe out the excess.  

Open can of pineapple, pour into a colander over a bowl so the fruit drains and you save the liquid.

Pull off and discard the tops of the persimmons then use a spoon and your fingers to start peeling.  At a certain point it becomes easier to just scoop the pulp out of the skin.

Put pulp in a bowl and mash thoroughly with a potato masher.  Remove and discard any seeds.

Mix in 1 cup crushed pineapple.  Cover and put in the refrigerator.

Add enough water to the pineapple juice to make 1 1/2 cups.   

Heat in the microwave for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until boiling.  Alternatively, heat on the stove.

Add the gelatin and stir vigorously until it is clear or mostly so.

Put the gelatin in the refrigerator.  Cool until slightly thickened.

Add a dash of salt and fold in the fruit.

Pour into the mold, shake or tap to level it and remove any air bubbles.

Refrigerate until solid.

Serve as suggested by Ms. Callahan.

*Fluffy fruit dressing recipe will be in the next post.

My Notes

I didn't have three large persimmons, so I used 1 large and four small.  They were very ripe, dark orange and squishy to the touch.

My pineapple came in juice, not syrup, but I didn't worry about have less sugar in the dish.  There was precisely 1 cup liquid.

I chilled the gelatin in a glass measuring cup for 1 hour, 45 minutes, which was too long.  It wasn't "slightly thickened," it was thick but not fully set.  I crossed my fingers and proceeded with the recipe anyway.

My main concern was that the gelatin with all the fruit in it would not set up all the way, or at all.  All I could do was hope.

The mold chilled overnight.  When I took the salad out of the mold, I rubbed the mold all over with a hot, damp cloth to loosen the gelatin.

Persimmon pulp, crushed pineapple, and liquid gelatin.

Chilled!

The Verdict

I took it to a friendly barbeque gathering and presented it as a salad.  People were surprised that it wasn't a dessert, but I emphasized that the cookbook author claimed it was a salad and that it wasn't very sweet.

One person was somewhat skeptical about eating it at all, claiming that having grown up in the midwest, his experience with gelatin-based dishes was not very positive.  But he was willing to try it.

I did not serve it on a bed of lettuce, as Ms. Callahan suggested.  I simply tipped the mold out onto a plate and put a big spoonful of the fluffy fruit dressing in the middle.  The rest of the dressing was served on the table so people could choose to add more as they liked.

My first reaction was that it was pretty.  The gelatin was orange from the persimmons.  The visual texture was nice, too, as the crushed pineapple was lighter in color than the persimmon pulp in contrast and the pieces of fruit gave depth to the presentation.  Also, the dressing was a soft pink color, which looked good with the gelatin.

Out of the mold and with the dressing.  Extra dressing in the upper right corner.

As for the taste, I liked it!  Even better than the previous persimmon salad.  It was more complex in flavor, had an interesting texture while chewing, and, as several guests said, "it was balanced."  It was not too sweet and the lemon-persimmon-pineapple flavors worked well together.  The dressing was tart with the flavors of currant and lemon, which is what everyone thought made the entire combination balanced.  Not sweet but sweet-and-tart.  The fluffy dressing contrasted well with the more solid gelatin.

Several people wanted me to mention that they took a second serving, and that was a compliment.  

As for my midwest skeptic?  He tried it and liked it!  He said that the balance of flavors and the way all the parts came together made him realize what the gelatin dishes of his childhood should have been like.  

My only complaint is that the gelatin was too soft.  That could be because the gathering was outside and it was sunny, but it slumped as time went on and the leftovers never firmed up again, even after being refrigerated.  I also wonder if I waited too long to mix in the fruit and salt.  I think that there was enough liquid between the pineapple juice and water and persimmon pulp that it may have needed more gelatin.  A small boost from a packet of unflavored gelatin would have worked, as well as using a larger box of flavored gelatin.

Ms. Callahan notes elsewhere in the book that the pinch of salt gives two advantages:  it helps to set the gelatin and it brings out the flavors in the dish.  I guess it worked because my guest tasters liked it!

Success!

See the next post for the recipe for the "Fluffy Fruit Dressing", which is a recipe called the "Women's Club Fruit Dressing."

 

Empiñada - a Tomato, Pineapple, and Chicken Stew (a Pinedo recipe)

I'm on a roll making stews from the Pinedo's cookbook, El cocinero español.  ("On a roll" - a cooking pun!)

Last month I wrote about a beef and onion stew.  This time I tried a recipe on page 93, Empiñada.  This is not empanadas (a hand pie or dumpling) but a chicken stew with the dominant flavors of tomatoes and pineapple.  Yes, pineapple!

My Translation

My Redaction

1 cup dried bread crumbs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can crushed pineapple with its juice (20 ounce can)

2 cans diced tomatoes with their juice (14.5 ounce cans)

2 teaspoons cinnamon (or 1 tsp and then add more at the end to taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat

Use just two cans of tomatoes and half that amount of chicken

Heat skillet over medium heat.

Add olive oil; swirl it to heat it.  

Add bread crumbs.  Stir constantly until the crumbs are golden brown.

Add pineapple, tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, and salt.  Mix well.

Simmer over low heat while cutting the chicken into chunks.

Mix the sauce and the chicken pieces together in the slow cooker.  

Cook on low for 4 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.  Adjust salt to taste.

Beginning to toast crumbs

Toasted!

The sauce.  Just right.

My Notes

I did this recipe twice.  The first time I completely got the sauce-to-meat ratio wrong!  There was too much meat and the sauce was lost between the pieces.  My redaction above reflects the changes I made from the second time around. 

The point of toasting the bread crumbs - the technique is similar to toasting nuts but with oil to lubricate things - is to create an ingredient that will thicken the sauce.  

I didn't need to add any more water since I used the juices from the pineapple and tomatoes.

The first attempt did not include salt and boy, was it obvious.  I made sure there was salt in the second attempt.

You just have to love the slow cooker for making this recipe easy to cook and the chicken super tender.

For the second attempt, I created the sauce following the above directions then let it simmer for 30 minutes.  Then I added the first batch to it (the full amount was reduced from the three people who taste-tested it, but that wasn't much) and simmered it on low for 20 minutes warm it all the way through.

The Verdict

My guest taster who does not like cinnamon only tried the first version, which contained so little sauce that she couldn't taste it.  Honestly, we all tasted just tender chicken and not much else, so it was a bust.

Not enough sauce.

However the second time around had chunks of meat swimming in sauce.  Perfect!

See how thick it is?

The pineapple and tomatoes were the dominant flavors and they blended well together.  There was a bright acid note along with the sweetness from the fruit.  The spices were there but not competing for attention, although I noticed that I really enjoyed the slight dominance of the cinnamon. As one guest taster said, "They make something go on in the background so it is not just pineapple and tomato."  I agree!

The bread crumbs did their job and the sauce was thick.  I served the stew the first time with the pasta shells and the second time just by itself.  Both worked well.  

Success!  Simple and yet intriguing to have the pineapple and tomatoes working together.  I would probably add a little more cinnamon if I did this again.