Postscript Books were recently remaindering the 2005 translation (by Paul Aratow) of this 1927 French culinary classic, and I took the opportunity to acquire a copy. Although I blanched on finding that the translator would have us believe that Mme. described herself in 1927 as a "homemaker" [1], once I was past this particular politically-correct anachronism I soon found that the translator appeared to have otherwise done a very good job indeed, and that Mme. Saint-Ange most certainly deserved all the fame, credit and plaudits that have accrued to her in her native France. She is punctilious in explaining not only what needs to be done in order to accomplish a certain culinary end, she also explains (and in depth)
how it is to be done, and most importantly of all,
why it must be done if good (nay, perfect) results are to be routinely achieved. And it was not long before I began to wish that an Indian (or Bangladeshi, or whatever) chef had written a similar work covering the typical cuisine of the sub-continent [2]. But then I started to read the section on braising white meats, and particular on how to reduce to a glaze : here I quote
verbatim --
To reduce to a glaze: Moistening. With the sweating process complete, the meat should not have taken on any colour, but rather have become white. Don't move any of the ingredients. Add a decilitre of liquid, stock or white wine. This amount hardly varies since the liquid is used to draw out more of the juices from the meat and vegetables so that nothing sticks. Rise the heat and boil, uncovered, until there is nothing left but a scant tablespoon (20ml) of pale golden syrup when you tilt the braiser. This process is called "reducing to a glaze". Add another decilitre of liquid and repeat the process. This reduction yields an extract of the juices from both the meat and the vegetables and this, in turn, will add depth of flavour to the braising liquid.
Having completed this second phase of "sweating", add the remainder of liquid required for the definitive cooking process. The liquid, or moistening agent, must reach the top, or part-way to the top, of the meat. It must never be completely covered. Bring it to a boil over high heat. When it has begun to boil, put a piece of baking parchment directly on top of the meat, fitting it snugly in the braiser. Cover as tightly as possible. Put it into the oven.
Now, apart from the final phase ("put a piece of baking parchment . . . on top of the meat", is this process not virtually identical to the process whereby we create a curry from part-pre-cooked chicken ("the meat should not have taken on any colour") and base sauce / garabi ("liquid, stock or white wine"), right down to the quantities and number of stages involved (100ml of base, reduced to circa 20ml, repeated twice, then add the remainder of the base) ? I cannot help but feel that there is more than co-incidence involved here, and that the process that Mme. St.-A. outlines is virtually identical to the process which the received wisdom would lead us to believe is necessary to achieve a really good BIR main course, and especially (if the final reduction is taken as far as the first two) a bhuna.
Thoughts/comments ?
** Phil.
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[1] I also blanched, of course, at "color" and "broiler", and was puzzled by the repeated references to "fatback". But until publishers realise that what is appropriate for the American market is most decidely not appropriate for the British, we will have to put up with these Americanisms in American-published texts.
[2] If one has, and I am unaware of his/its existence,
please draw the author/text to my attention.
Topic: Book review : "La Belle Cuisine de Mme. E. Saint-Ange" (Read 2085 times)