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| A G o o d F o u n d a t i o n |
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| A G O O D F O U N D A T I O N There are some items to keep in your pantry that I think are essential. I have had a limited amount of finances to work with over the last 12 years living as missionaries. I do know how to work with a small budget. However, there are a few items I feel simply cannot be compromised, because for them there are simply no substitutes. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL KOSHER SALT BALSAMIC VINEGAR FRESH WHOLE GARLIC BUTTER Great food does not have to be expensive, but it should be of good quality. To produce a good quality dish you have to have a base that is strong. It is not much different from life. To be a quality person we have to have a strong moral character and a good foundation in Christ. I consider these items to be like that, just a good foundation. |
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| E X T R A V I R G I N O L I V E O I L In almost every instance in this book, I will ask you to use cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil. Now this will be in every case where the oil is eaten in a raw form. If the oil is to be heated than plain olive oil should be used. I wish I could say that there is a general rule and brand that I recommend, but there simply is none. Olive oil is as distinctive as wine. Its flavor depends largely upon where it is grown, how early the olive was picked and how long it has been on the shelf. I was always taught that the greener the oil the better the flavor would be. That can be true most of the time but not always. Olives are primarily grown in France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and the Middle East. Soils and temperatures change from region to region, as does the flavor. Italian Oils from Tuscany are generally considered prime. However even California Olive Oils are making a fruity impact in many kitchens worldwide. The best test is the taste test. Unfortunately your grocer will not allow you to snap open a bottle and take a sip. So you will just have to take your chances. Don?t pass up the cloudy type. Unfiltered extra virgin olive oil is usually peppery and smooth. Read your labels. Be sure it says, ?cold pressed? once extra virgin oil is heated it begins to die and loose it?s flavor. A dark glass bottle that remains out of the sunlight is the best method for storing. Do not buy the oil in large quantities, as there is nothing worse than rancid Oil. This is the oil of the bible. It was not only used to nourish the body but also to fuel lamps, and heal wounds. The Lord even required Moses to make a holy ointment using olive oil and myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, and calamus. This was used to anoint the Sanctuary as well as the furnishings and the priests. It was the Oil used to burn in the lamps of the 5 wise Virgins in Matt: 25. It was also the oil used to anoint the body of the dead. It is the earthly representative of the anointing in our lives. Extra virgin olive oil does not refer to the 6th century belief that only virgins should pick the olives, but rather it refers to the process in which it is pressed. Olives are picked and crushed into a paste. The paste is then spread onto mats where by the mats are stacked on top of each other and pressed down to separate the water and oil from the actual olive flesh. This is roughly the same process that has been used since ancient times. No chemical manipulation is involved, just the Pressure from the press alone. The water is removed from the oil by spinning it in a centrifuge. This leaves a pure unfiltered cold pressed olive oil. The acidity must be less than1% in the final result to be labeled cold pressed Extra Virgin. If heat is applied and the olive paste bruised then it is no longer Extra Virgin but just plain Olive Oil. This is still fine oil but it is not the best. This oil is best used for cooking. Why so much fuss? The end result is the answer. It just tastes better. It is better for you too. Olive oil contains antioxidants. The fat level is the same but it is the right kind of fat. Olive oil is monounsaturated. This has been proven in studies from many sources to reduce the bad type of Cholesterol in the blood. No, I do not buy the most costly of the cold pressed extra virgin olive oils, but they do make wonderful gifts. I do often buy a fine bottle for a cherished loved one, because to me it is what it represents that is so special. You can buy oil according to your budget, but be sure to store it outside the refrigerator. Storing it in the fridge does not preserve the flavor but takes away from it. Also do not store it in a window, as the sunlight will also detract from its flavor. Just a room temperature dark portion of your kitchen will do nicely. |
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| S A L T This is again another pantry item thought of as being common but there is a lot more to it than that. In Mexico we had Salt beds about 2 hours up the road from Acapulco and here in India we have them 15 minutes away by train. They flood ocean water into a field and then allow the water to evaporate. It then is raked and sold by the kilo. I love this salt in my bath. Gandhi even used salt as part of his rebellion toward the British in 1930 and as a result freed India from British occupation. He simply would not allow Indians to pay taxes on Salt from their own seas, so he marched 300 kilometers to the ocean, picked up some salt and traveled all over India with his pouch of Free Indian Salt. By 1946 the British finally gave up and the salt tax was repealed and this became a stepping-stone toward India?s independence. Salt is one of the most important elements. Almost all life on the planet needs salt to survive. We must consume salt to live. Although I am sure we consume far more than what is needed just to survive, which is 6 to 8 grams a day. The Lord tells us that we are the salt of the earth and that salt that has lost its savor has no worth. While that is hard to understand in our own concept of salt, the Jews did not have Mr. Morton mass-producing salt. They got theirs from the Dead Sea. Dead sea salt had a content of sand incorporated into it. So the Jews would place it into a cloth and place the cloth into a pot of simmering food. When this salt pouch lost its saltiness it was logical that all that remained in the cloth was Sand. When nothing salty is left in the cloth it therefore lost its savor, rendering it useless. Salt is primarily derived from the oceans. Salt makes up about 3% of the sea. If spread out onto land it would cover every inch of every continent 40 meters thick. Salt is also mined, which is how it is done mostly in Europe. The ocean methods are useful in warm sunny climates, but in the chill of Eastern Europe the mining methods were best suited. G O R M E T S A L T S The king of all salt, The Caviar, The Champagne, The grande dame, would have to be France?s, Fleur De Sel. Fleur de sel of the southern coastline of France is said to be the most delightful in taste. It is certainly the most expensive at around $10 for about 4oz. This also makes a wonderful gift for a wedding or housewarming or perhaps a gourmet cook in your life. It does not commonly appear at your local grocery store. It can be found through specialty shops online, or stores like ?Williams Sonoma?, unless you live in South Texas and have ?Central Market? or ?Whole Foods? available to you. It comes in fancy packaging but it is what is inside that counts. It is said that it is only raked by women and has the slight taste of violets. It is sprinkled on with your fingertips just before it hits your mouth. Never used in cooking. It is a taste best savored at the moment it touches the food. K O S H E R S A L T I almost always exclusively use KOSHER SALT. Unless I am making a skin polisher or taking a relaxing salt bath it would have to be very unusual circumstances for me to use anything else but Kosher Salt. This is my choice for a good salt. I love its texture. I use it all the time so I can better judge the quantity of saltiness by the pinch of salt in my fingers. I always keep a small bowl of it on my kitchen counter for easy access. It is not meant for the saltshaker. I never use a saltshaker. I like small crocks filled with salt and pepper. I always grind my own black peppercorns in ½ cup quantities at a time. I grind them to a medium to coarse grind thus matching the coarseness of the salt. I keep them side-by-side. Some guests find this a little awkward, as they may have been raised on table salt in a shaker. This is just what I like. You may choose something completely different if you like. Kosher salt comes from rock salt deposits that are mined out of the earth. Trace minerals essential to the body are naturally occurring, and have iodine already inherent. Some table salts have to be heated to be processed and loose their trace minerals. Later, iodine must be added. The average American will consume 28,000 lbs of salt in his or her lifetime. |
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| B A L S A M I C V I N E G A R I really enjoy the flavor of this fine vinegar. Be sure you are buying one produced in Modena Italy. There are brands that are from Italy but are really just cooked grape juice with some white wine vinegar added. There are different grades of Balsamic vinegar and some can even cost a whopping $70 a bottle for 100 ml. This is the rich and thick kind and is used as a topping for Strawberries. A good bottle will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $8. Balsamic vinegar was not mass produced until the early 80?s when N.Y. City chefs discovered it?s wonderful properties and started to import it. It was traditionally made in private estates in attics inside old barrels made of oak, cherry, and juniper wood. The aging process is much like that of Tabasco Sauce. Just like no other brand can really compare to the taste of true Tabasco, no other vinegar can really compare with Balsamic. |
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| B U T T E R People have become accustomed to the use of butter substitutes causing a great deal of taste and pleasure to be lost by replacing it with margarine. Butter is the natural milk fat from cows and is not chemical in any way. On the contrary, margarine is not a product of nature and has nowhere near the satisfying taste that real butter possesses. The first documented mention of butter was in songs written here in ancient India dating back to almost 2000 years before the birth of Jesus. People often complain that butter is just not as soft as margarine. You can leave butter at room temperature for several days at a time. It contains salt, which is a natural preservative. |
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