Name This Food!: Baltimore The Merrier

Hey folks!

My Baltimore-based pal Laura was stumped by the last Name This Food! which was disappointing as I tried to make it something she would definitely know, as she was getting frustrated not being able to score any points. (Not that there are any points, but you know what I mean.)

So I deliberately set out to pick something from Baltimore. After a while scouring the 'Net to find out what Baltimore is famous for foodwise, I plumped for these:

She believed these to be something called fleur deuflan,  which sounds fab, however I can find nothing written about such an item. What I can now reveal is that these are...

BERGER'S COOKIES!

What in the blinky o'stinky are Berger's Cookies, I hear you cry. Well, pay attention, dear reader, and I shall tell you. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

Berger Cookies are a kind of cookie made and distributed by DeBaufre Bakeries. They are topped with a thick layer of chocolate fudge that derives from a German recipe, and are a cultural icon of Baltimore

The Berger Cookie recipe was brought to America from Germany by George and Henry Berger in 1835. Henry owned a bakery in East Baltimore that was later run by his son Henry. While the younger Henry took over his father's bakery, his two brothers, George and Otto, opened their own bakeries. Around 1900 Otto died, then George and Henry combined the bakeries to create 'Bergers'.


If you want to know how to make your own version of the famous Berger's Cookies, those kin folks over at King Arthur Flour have given us a 'copycat' recipe for those times when you need a cookie with chocolate overload and just can't make the trip to Baltimore to grab some. Here's the recipe:

Baltimore Berger Cookies


PREP
30 mins.
BAKE
10 mins. to 11 mins.
TOTAL
55 mins.
YIELD
About 20 medium (3") cookies


 These cake-like cookies are piled with thick, rich chocolate icing — the thicker the better. Note that the cookies themselves are rather dry, so the over-the-top amount of icing, rather than being overkill, is just right.

Cookies

1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup milk

Icing

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tablespoons (1 ounce) light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup (6 ounces) heavy cream
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment paper) two baking sheets.
To make the cookies: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, salt, vanilla, and baking powder.
Beat in the sugar, then the egg.
Add the flour to the wet ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Do this gently; there's no need to beat the batter.
Using a spoon or a tablespoon cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. The balls of dough should be about 1 1/4" in diameter. Flatten each mound of dough to a circle about 1 1/2" across; wet your fingers or a knife, or grease the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup to do this. Leave 2"; to 2 1/2" between each cookie, for expansion.
Bake the cookies for about 10 to 11 minutes, or until they're a mottled brown on the bottom (carefully tilt one up to look), but not colored on top. You may see the barest hint of browning around the edges, but these cookies are supposed to be soft and cake-like, so don't over-bake them. Remove the cookies from the oven, and let them cool right on the pan as you make the frosting.
To make the icing: Place the chocolate chips, corn syrup, vanilla, and cream into a large microwave-safe bowl, or into a large saucepan.
Heat the mixture until it's very hot; the cream will start to form bubbles. Remove from the heat, and stir until smooth.
Beat in the confectioners' sugar and salt. Let cool to warm room temperature while you make the cookies.
Dip the top of each cookie into the warm icing; swirl the cookie around to really give it a good coating. Set the cookies back on the baking sheet.
Spread the remaining icing evenly atop the cookies. If it's too soft and flows off the cookies, let it set a bit, until it's firmer. It'll feel like you're piling on a lot of icing; that's precisely the point! Allow it to set, then store the cookies airtight in a single layer. Keep at room temperature for several days; or freeze for longer storage.
Allow the icing to set, then store the cookies airtight in a single layer. Keep at room temperature for several days; or freeze for longer storage.


On a side note, I think it's odd that the most iconic cookie from Maryland is the Berger's Cookie, yet over here in the good ole U. of K., if you say the words "Maryland" and "cookie" in the same sentence, people will assume you are talking about chocolate chip cookies.

Which are, let's face facts here, a bit crap.

I mean, Berger's cookies have that certain je ne sais quoi. They have... how should one put it? MOXIE!

Can't wait to get over to Maryland and sample me some of those bad boys. Mmmm.


Right! Now then - what, pray tell, is this?

Name This Food!

Lost, and Found

It's always nice to see new food products being made locally. Well, this isn't exactly local - the product is made in the Cheshire countryside - but the company is based here in sunny Tenterden, and hence they have recently started appearing at our Friday market, in the covered marketplace area next to Majestic Wines. They're called Lost Barn, and they're coffee roasters. Mighty fine ones too I might add. I was given a bag of their coffee the other day, and so far I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

I particularly like the resealable bag design.

Anyhow, give them a whirl - here's all the relevant links!

https://lostbarncoffee.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/lostbarncoffee/

https://www.instagram.com/lostbarncoffee/

A Thorny Question

Last time on Name This Food! I posed this tricky one, namely, what the heck are these?

Well, ladles and jellyspoons, it can now be revealed that they are in fact the berries of the Hawthorn.

Now, I know that in both traditional and herbal medicine, extracts of hawthorn have been used, with many people either saying how good it is or how ineffective it is, but I am not going to address those issues because this is a blog about food and those topics are for a different forum. Not only that but I have woefully inadequate knowledge of the topic and have no wish to step into that potential mire.

What we are here to talk about is a little bit of the history behind the hawthorn and its use in comestibles.

Crataegus, commonly called hawthorn, thornapple, May-tree, whitethorn, or hawberry, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name "hawthorn" was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe, especially the common hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, and the unmodified name is often so used in Britain and Ireland. The name is now also applied to the entire genus and to the related Asian genus Rhaphiolepis. The name haw, originally an Old English term for hedge, applies to the fruit.

The "haws" or fruits of the common hawthorn are edible, but the flavour has been compared to over-ripe apples. In the United Kingdom, they are sometimes used to make a jelly or homemade wine. The leaves are edible, and if picked in spring when still young, are tender enough to be used in salads. The young leaves and flower buds, which are also edible, are known as "bread and cheese" in rural England.

The fruits of the species Crataegus pinnatifida (Chinese hawthorn) are tart, bright red, and resemble small crabapple fruits. They are used to make many kinds of Chinese snacks, including haw flakes and tanghulu. The fruits, which are called shānzhā in Chinese, are also used to produce jams, jellies, juices, alcoholic beverages, and other drinks. In South Korea, a liquor called sansachun is made from the fruits.

The fruits of Crataegus mexicana are known in Mexico as tejocotes and are eaten raw, cooked, or in jam during the winter. They are stuffed in the piñatas broken during the traditional pre-Christmas celebration known as Las Posadas. They are also cooked with other fruits to prepare a Christmas punch. The mixture of tejocote paste, sugar, and chili powder produces a popular Mexican candy called rielitos, which is manufactured by several brands.

In the southern United States, fruits of three native species are collectively known as mayhaws and are made into jellies which are considered a great delicacy. The Kutenai people of northwestern North America used red and black hawthorn fruit for food.

On Manitoulin Island in Canada, some red-fruited species are called hawberries. They are common there due to the island's alkaline soil. During the pioneer days, white settlers ate these fruits during the winter as the only remaining food supply. People born on the island are now called "haweaters". In Iran, the fruits of Crataegus (including Crataegus azarolus var. aronia, as well as other species) are known as zalzalak and are eaten raw as a snack, or made into a jam known by the same name.

So, now that we've all been edjumacated, let's have a recipe, shall we?

Hawthorn Berry Wine from lowcostliving.co.uk

This is an easy hawthorn berry wine recipe, the most difficult thing is picking the hawthorn berries. Be prepared with antiseptic cream for your scratches!

Hawthorn is found growing wild and as a hedging plant. If foraging for the berries do be careful about venturing onto private land as the owner may well want the berries for himself.

Never strip a tree bare or take more than you can use just because it is there. A lot of wild birds depend on hawthorn berries to get them through the winter.

Ingredients 

2 to 3lbs Ripe Hawthorn Berries
2 Oranges
1 Lemon
3lb Sugar, preferably Demerara but white granulated will do
1 Gallon Water
Wine Yeast (A general wine yeast)
Yeast Nutrient

Method

Strip the berries from the stalks, a fork makes this an easier task. Wash well. If you immerse the berries in cold water for a few minutes, any hidden insects will float off.
Place into a fermenting bin or wine bucket and crush a little. A traditional potato masher is ideal for this.
Boil the water and pour over the crushed berries. Put the lid on the bin and leave for 7 days, stirring daily.
Zest and juice the oranges and lemon, place into a large pan with the sugar and strain the liquor from the bin into the pan. Put the pulp into a muslin bag or similar and squeeze out any remaining juice to extract all the flavour.
Heat the pan whilst stirring until all the sugar has dissolved and then allow to cool back down to 20°C . Pour back into the fermenting bin which should have been washed to remove any sediment.
Add the yeast and yeast nutrient, allow to ferment for 3 or 4 days.
Strain into a demijohn, topping up with cooled boiled water as required. Fit the airlock and leave in a warm place until fermentation has finished
Rack, as necessary, and add 1 Campden tablet after the first racking to stop secondary fermentation.
Syphon into bottles
This hawthorn berry wine recipe makes about a gallon of wine. Allow 6 months minimum for the wine to mature when bottled.

For winemaking equipment and yeasts etc. head to your nearest home brew supplier or go online to http://www.home-brew-online.com



Hawthorn berry ketchup

Ingredients

500g of hawthorn berry
300ml of cider vinegar
300ml of water
170g of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 To begin, remove the berries from the stalks and wash well with cold water. Add to a large pan with the water and vinegar, then bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for approximately half an hour, until the skins of the berries begin to burst.
2 Take off the heat and pour the contents of the pan through a sieve to remove any stones and tough pieces of skin.
3 Transfer the liquid to a clean pan with the sugar and place over a low heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar.
4 Once dissolved, bring to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes more, until syrup-like and reduced.
5 Season the syrup to taste with salt and pepper, then transfer to sterilised bottles. The syrup is good to use for 1 year.

Credit: Monica Shaw

Okey-dokey then. My pal Laura from Baltimore has requested something a little less taxing for the next Name This Food!  I don't want to make it too easy though, so what to do, what to do?

Name This Food!

Red Sludge

Hi folks, and let me start by saying that this post is not about red sludge. This is an instalment of Name This Food!

Previously on Name This Food I asked what this was...

Anyone that answered "bread with stuff on it", see me after class.

The reason I titled this post Red Sludge is because of my friend Laura from Baltimore, who first guessed 'roasted red pepper hummus', and then 'unicorn pate'. She messaged me the other day to ask if I'd revealed what 'that red sludge' was. All is about to be explained.

The red substance in the picture is a delicious spicy substance called 'Nduja.

'Nduja is a particularly spicy, spreadable pork salumi from Italy. It is a Calabrian variation of salumi,loosely based on the French andouille introduced in the 13th century by the Angevins.

The name 'nduja is linked to two other particular types of sausages made of meat and spices , the Piedmontese salam dla doja and the French andouille, from which the ' nduja takes its name. All these terms derive from the Latin "inductilia" ("things ready to be introduced", to "induce").

'Nduja is made using meat from the head (minus the jowls, which are used for guanciale), trimmings from various meat cuts, some clean skin, fatback, and roasted hot red peppers which give 'nduja its characteristic fiery taste. 'Nduja originates from the southern part of Calabria, namely from the small town of Spilinga and its neighborhood. It is mainly served with slices of bread or with ripe cheese. Its unique taste makes it suitable for a variety of dishes. For example, it can be added to pasta sauces.

From 1975 to today, on the 8th of August of every year in Spilinga the festival of the 'nduja (Sagra della 'nduja) is held. Similar events are held in many other Calabrian municipalities.

So - what do we do with it?

Here's a recipe for linguine with 'nduja and tomatoes from the brilliant Nigel Slater.


Bring a deep pan of water to the boil, salt it, then add 250g linguine and cook it for 8 or 9 minutes, until the pasta is tender.

While the linguine cooks, make the sauce: in a shallow pan – one to which nothing will stick – warm 140g of nduja over a moderate heat, stirring it regularly.

Slice 300g of cherry tomatoes in half then fold them into the warm nduja and continue cooking. Stir in 30g of cornichons, sliced in half lengthways, and 2 tsp of capers.

Leave to cook for 3 or 4 minutes until the tomatoes have started to give up some their juice. Then stir in 2 tbsp of olive oil.

Drain the linguine, then toss it with the sauce, folding the spiced tomatoes through the pasta.

The nduja sauce is very spicy. If you feel the need to tone down its heat, simply stir in more tomatoes, halved or crushed or as you serve the dish, and fold in a spoonful of yogurt or cream.

Nduja burns easily, so keep the heat moderate while it warms, and stir regularly to prevent it from scorching.

Instead of using pasta, the spiced tomato sauce can be spooned on to thick toast or bruschetta. Top the toast with a soft goat’s cheese, or a spoonful of goat’s curd or mascarpone. It is also good as a dressing for vegetables, such as baked courgettes, pumpkin or potatoes.

Here's one from Inside The Rustic Kitchen (insidetherustickitchen.com) 

Cream Cheese and ‘Nduja Bruschetta

Author: Emily Kemp

Ingredients
4 slices of crusty bread
4 tbsp cream cheese good quality
4 tbsp 'Nduja
Pepper to season
Basil to garnish if desired

Instructions
Heat the grill and toast the slices of bread on one side.
Spread each untoasted side generously with cream cheese and dollop around 1 tbsp of 'Nduja on top of the cream cheese. Use less 'Ndjua for less heat.

Place back under the grill until the 'Nduja is sizzling, around 30 seconds.Sprinkle with pepper and scatter over some chopped basil if desired and enjoy.

Now then...

Name This Food!

Name This Food: Paletas Mexicanas

So last time on Name This Food! I asked you what these delicious-looking objects were:

The answer is Paletas Mexicanas, or Mexican-style popsicles.



Paletas are Mexican frozen dessert popsicles that may be made with either a water or milk base. Paletas are sold in paleterías (ice cream shops), by mobile vendors called paleteros from carts or supermarkets.

There are different stories surrounding the origin of paletas that have not been verified. However, Tocumbo, in the Mexican state of Michoacán is considered the heart of paleta country in Mexico. One of the most successful paletería chains, now also found outside of Mexico, Paletería La Michoacana, was started by Tocumbo residents. Though paleterías bearing the name "La Michoacana" (or close variations) have proliferated, they are usually not formally affiliated.

Paleta flavors can be divided into two basic categories: milk based or water based. The composition of each flavor may vary, but the base is most often fruit. Paleterias usually have dozens of flavors of paleta including local flavors like horchata, tamarind, mamey and nanche along with other flavors like strawberry, lime, chocolate and mango. Distinctly Mexican ingredients like chili pepper, chamoy, and vanilla are often present in these paletas. Paleterias adapt their flavors to the tastes of the community and local availability of ingredients.

Strawberries and cream is one of the hundreds of flavors of paleta that you'll find in Mexico. Other unusual flavors include arroz con leche, tamarind-chile, and pineapple.

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM PALETAS

MAKES FOUR ICE POPS
Ingredients
1 lb. hulled strawberries
1⁄3 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Purée strawberries in a blender. Set a fine strainer over a bowl; strain strawberry purée, discarding solids. Whisk in sugar, heavy cream, and lemon juice until sugar dissolves. Pour strawberry mixture into four 3–oz. ice-pop molds.
Transfer molds to the freezer and freeze until slushy, about 1 hour. Insert a Popsicle stick into each mold and freeze until pops are solid, about 3 hours more. To release ice pops from molds, run the bottom of the molds briefly under warm water.

Now, one of the more unusual flavours of paleta.

RICE PUDDING (ARROZ CON LECHE) PALETAS

MAKES 12 ICE POPS
Ingredients
3 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and beans scraped
1 cup short- or medium-grain rice
2 sticks cinnamon
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk mixed with 2 cups water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Instructions

Bring whole milk, 1 1⁄4 cups water, and vanilla beans to a simmer in a 4-qt. pot over medium-low heat. Stir in rice and cinnamon sticks and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 20–30 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks and stir in condensed milk mixture, vanilla extract, and salt. Simmer until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, 10–15 minutes more. Remove pan from heat, stir in ground cinnamon, and let cool slightly.
Transfer mixture to twelve 3-oz. ice-pop molds. Transfer molds to the freezer and freeze until slushy, about 1 hour. Insert a Popsicle stick into each mold and freeze until pops are solid, about 3 hours more. To release ice pops from molds, run the bottom of the molds briefly under warm water.

CANTALOUPE & LIME PALETAS

 Makes 10 popsicles

1 ripe cantaloupe, seeded, peeled, and cubed (about 4 cups)
Juice of half a lime
1/4 cup (or more) simple syrup, to taste

In a blender, combine cantaloupe, lime juice, and simple syrup, to taste. Err on the side of sweetness as when the popsicles freeze, the sweetness diminishes. Blend until smooth.

Strain the mixture and pour into your popsicle molds, leaving about 1/2 an inch from the top of the molds. Cover and place in the freezer. Meanwhile, soak wooden popsicle sticks in

warm water (this will help prevent them from floating when you insert them). After two hours of freezing time, insert the sticks in the slushy popsicles. Continue to freeze for four hours or longer, until completely frozen.

Rinse the molds for 30-60 seconds under running hot water to loosen the popsicles. Un-mold and enjoy!


Now... Name This Food!

Name This Food!: Shaken, Not Stirred

via GIPHY

So last time on Name This Food! I asked you what this was...

The more perceptive among you will have deduced that it is the extremely popular espresso martini. One of a slew of martinis nouveaux that has found themselves suddenly thrust into the limelight, due in large part to the sudden resurgence in popularity of gin, which in turn was caused by the growth of small batch distilleries. Everywhere you turn there are new and unheard-of gins being lovingly crafted in distilleries the size of garden sheds and produced in small quantities with exotic and quirky botanicals for the benefit of these gin aficianados. Even here in Kent, we have several:

Anno, from Marden...

Dockyard Gin from the Copper Rivet Distillery. Also pictured is their Vela Vodka and Son of a Gun Pure Grain Spirit.

Maiden Gin from Maidstone. They also do a spiced gin and a marshmallow gin.

Greensand Ridge,from Shipbourne (where is that, I hear you cry? If you were to draw a triangle connecting Tonbridge, Aylesford and Sevenoaks, Shipbourne would be somewhere right near the middle).

Canterbury Gin, from, uh, Canterbury.

And two from Tunbridge Wells (yeah, they always have to outdo everyone else in TW)... first, Bathtub Gin...

and secondly, 1606 Gin.

And if I didn't give a mention to the village of Mayfield in Sussex and its amazing gin, they'd get upset, wouldn't they?

Anyhoo, the latest one to get in on the act is our own, our very own Chapel Down, the award-winning vineyard in Smallhythe that started out making Tenterden Wine in the 70s and now produces wines of all kinds as well as an award-winning lager (Curious Brew), which was then followed by a darker counterpart (Curious IPA), and Curious Apple, a 5.2% abv cider. Now they have branched out into spirits, with a 23-year old brandy made from their Seyval Blanc grapes, a fantastic Chardonnay Vodka (made from the distilled skins of their Chardonnay grapes) and a beautiful gin made from the distilled skins of the Bacchus grape. Phew!

Anyhoo, back to the answer - what's in an Espresso Martini?

The story goes that a man named Dick Bradsell who owned a bar in Soho in the 1980s was approached one night by a young lady who asked him to make her a drink that "wakes me up and then f***s me up." 

Here's what he created. (Recipe from Jamie Oliver).

Makes one

Ingredients

50ml premium vodka
35ml coffee liqueur
1 shot (25ml) of espresso
Ice

Method

Pour the vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso into a cocktail shaker.  Fill the martini glass with ice to chill and then fill the cocktail shaker with ice as well.

Put the other half of the shaker on top and give it a good tap to lock it in, then shake the living daylights out of it. You want the ice to smash up while chilling the liquid down; its what creates the frothy top. Try to use fresh-from-the-freezer ice, as melting ice is too watery and will dilute the martini.

Once shaken, tap the side of the shaker to break the vacuum seal. Empty the ice out of the Martini glass, then place the strainer on top of the shaker and pour the contents through a sieve directly into the glass. Using the strainer and the sieve helps create a rich, smooth, froth.

Garnish with 3 coffee beans and attempt to contain your delight.


Now... can you Name This Food?

I'm Going Into The Vice Cream Business

Two vices for the price of one. What's that ya say? Booze AND ice cream - where do I sign?

Yes, its true, I'm starting my own micropub and ice cream joint. And funding? Well, that's where you dear people come in. Don't worry, there are rewards, and they are rather sweet actually. But why don't I let myself explain? Head on over to https://www.gofundme.com/thecreamypint and read all about it, and how you can be part of something cool that looks like this:

Stout with caramel gelato in a chocolate-lined glass

or this...

Bourbon and vanilla porter with vanilla bean ice cream

or even this...

Gin and tonic with a cucumber sorbet

Gin and tonic, lime, and G&T sherbet

So help me get my project off the ground!

https://www.gofundme.com/thecreamypint

Cheapest "on-the-go" meals for a happier brain. — Nomad. Dork Rock. Folk Punk

Cheapest "on-the-go" meals for a happier brain. — Nomad. Dork Rock. Folk Punk

Name This Food! : A Pair Of Pears

Hey there! I'm still alive!

A while back on Name this Food! I asked you what these were...

These are Shinseiki  variety Asian Pears. But what is an Asian Pear?

Good question, because sometimes they look like pears and yet other varieties look like apples.

Asian pears, fruits of Pyrus pyrifolia on the left and right, and two fruits of Pyrus × bretschneideri in the centre

The round ones are Pyrus pyrifolia, known as Chinese pear or Nashi pear, usually round, with brown or yellow skin, and the more pear-shaped ones are Pyrus × bretschneideri, also called Ya pear or Chinese white pear and have yellow skin.

Due to their relatively high price and the large size of the fruit of cultivars, the pears tend to be served to guests, given as gifts, or eaten together in a family setting.

In cooking, ground pears are used in vinegar- or soy sauce-based sauces as a sweetener, instead of sugar. They are also used when marinating meat, especially beef.

In Korea, the fruit is known as bae and it is grown and consumed in great quantity. In the South Korean city of Naju, there is a museum called The Naju Pear Museum and Pear Orchard for Tourists.

In Australia, these pears were first introduced into commercial production beginning in 1980.

In China, the term "Sharing a pear" (分梨) is a homophone of "separate" (分离), as a result, sharing a pear with a loved one can be read as a desire to separate from them.

In Cyprus, the pears were introduced in 2010 after initially being investigated as a new fruit crop for the island in the early 1990s. They are currently grown in Kyperounta.

The fruits are not generally baked in pies or made into jams because they have a high water content and a crisp, grainy texture, very different from the European varieties. They are commonly served raw and peeled. The fruit tends to be quite large and fragrant, and when carefully wrapped (it has a tendency to bruise because of its juiciness), it can last for several weeks or more in a cold, dry place.

(Source:Wikipedia)

So how's about a recipe?

Since it's winter, and we all seem in the Northern Hemisphere to be suffering with the cold weather, snow, sleet, freezing rain, yuck, yuck, yuck, and all of the associated coughs, sneezes, wheezes and diseases that occur at this time of year, hows about a delicious recipe that is reputed to remedy such ailments. In China, Korea and Taiwan, this recipe is what you make for someone with a sore throat, and as Asian Pears are high in Vitamin C (as well as fibre, potassium, Vitamin  K and copper), it would be churlish not to try it. Here we go...


Chinese Steamed Pears with Dates and Honey
Rhonda Parkinson (www.thespruce.com)

Ingredients

2 Asian pears
4 teaspoons honey
2 dried Chinese dates (softened in cold water, slitted, and the pits removed)

Optional: lemon juice (to brush on the pears to prevent discoloration)

Method

1. Wash the pears and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the top off the pears and set aside (these will become the lid). Remove the core. If desired, cut off a small slice at the bottom so that the pear will stand straight during steaming. (Note: Depending on the type of steaming equipment you are using, you may find it difficult to stand the pears upright and cover for steaming. In that case, slice the pears lengthwise, core, and spoon the honey and place the date in the hollow in the middle.)

2. Spoon 2 teaspoons honey into each pear. Add 1 Chinese date. Place the top back on the pear. Brush the lemon juice over the skin of the pear if using.

3. Set up a steamer, or place a rack for steaming inside a deep pot. Place the pears on a plate and steam, covered, for 30 minutes, or until the pears are tender. Serve warm.

Now then - Name This Food!