Even better than usual

[DalPuri]

I came back from a wee camping trip up in Scotland yesterdee and made a great friday night curry.
But what made it so good?

Was it because i used the leftover gravy that i cooked monday night,(i took 8 portions with me) travelled up with very early wed morning in a cool box then came back down uncooled? (smelt and tasted fine so i thought why not.)

Was it because the G/G was also uncooled for 3 days? dont think so.

Or was it because the only oil i have was still wedged somewhere in the boot of the half unpacked car and so i used butter ghee and mustard oil instead? ( i couldn't detect any flavour of the ghee/mustard oil in the final dish)

I'll make it again with a fresh frozen portion of gravy next time to see if it was the combination of ghee/mustard oil. If not, It'll be old gravy for the second experiment 

Frank. 

[JerryM]

DalPuri,

i am 100% certain that it's not the base. i keep base in the fridge for quite a while on a regular basis (upto ~9 days). it reaches a point when it goes off but upto that point it makes no difference.

will look forward to what you find. interesting.

[Peripatetic Phil]

i am 100% certain that it's not the base. i keep base in the fridge for quite a while on a regular basis (upto ~9 days). it reaches a point when it goes off but upto that point it makes no difference.

As I reported in another thread earlier today, chilled base will keep for at least a fortnight in the coolest part of a refrigator set at 4^oC.  I can detect no difference at all in the curries made from a day-1 base and a day-14 base.

** Phil.

[DalPuri]

Right then, 
4 days 4 curries.
The only difference between day 1 and the rest was i used a yellow pepper day 1 and a red pepper for the other 3 days.

2nd day.
Same curry same ingredients but with fresh frozen gravy.(same batch)  Result = not as good

3rd day.
Same curry same ingredients but with mature frozen gravy. Result = as good as day 1.

4th day.
Same curry but with veg oil and mature frozen gravy. Result = as good as day 1.

It Definately made a difference!

Maybe the difference was that this gravy hadn't been kept in the fridge and was stored above room temp for 2-3 days. (it Was a hot few days)
How hot does a BIR kitchen get with the gravy left out all day and possibly all night, even 2 days?

So from now on my gravy will be sitting on the worktop for as long as i dare before freezing. ;D

Cheers, Frank. 

p.s. there are two other possibilities. yellow pepper (doubt it) and the sloshing about for 500 miles. But I still think mature gravy sounds the most likely conclusion to me. 

[curryhell]

A couple of questions DP before i draw any conclusions from your experimenting.  By the way, like you,  i doubt that the pepper colour is likely to make a huge difference to the taste of your finished curry :

Day 1 I assume that the curry was made with freshly made gravy?
Day 3, mature frozen base, is this from another batch you made earlier and froze? If not how did it become mature.
Day 4 includes veg oil, what were you using before then? ;D

[DalPuri]

Hi CH, day 1 was the first post of this thread.
I made a big batch of gravy monday night. Half was frozen and half was taken with me to Scotland. I froze the remainder of the gravy i travelled home with after making a curry and all except tonights curry were cooked with butter ghee and mustard oil as stated in the first post.

Frank. 

[curryhell]

Thanks for clarifying that Frank.  Maybe i should have started at the beginning of this thread and not assumed our update was the start   Just don't suggest the journey of the gravy added to the flavour.  I draw the line at driving that far and back simply to improve my curries ;D

[DalPuri]

Maybe Nat can stick a portion of gravy in his tumbler for a few hours  ;D

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thanks for clarifying that Frank.  Maybe i should have started at the beginning of this thread and not assumed our update was the start   Just don't suggest the journey of the gravy added to the flavour.  I draw the line at driving that far and back simply to improve my curries ;D

Not necessary, CH : just send a batch to yourself via Y@d@l.  They will send it to Droitwich for sorting, and by the time you get it back (/if/ you get it back), it will be properly mature

** Phil.

[JerryM]

Dalpuri,

i keep the base out of the fridge for the 1st day - it's too hot go in the fridge and takes ages to cool.

i do see the base improve over this 24hrs (been mentioned in past by others).

i can't see it being the pepper either.

i've never frozen base so have no idea on that part of the equation.

i do like the idea that a "longer" period may help the taste develop - sounds plausible.  i wonder how long to dare is - 3 days would be max for me - i just can't see BIR having the space to keep a lot of batches waiting around. i am pretty sure my local TA makes a batch each day and uses it the next. they also have several fridges too but what they are used for i don't know.