Sick day food craving NO NO'S

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

what are the lumps made of in that pic??? please don't tell me it's flour globs?

and Regret:
you have the correct idea about gravy. except the taste is mostly not in the fat but in the dark brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. these dissolve in water (if they'd dissolve in fat, they wouldnt be stuck to the bottom of the pan)*. so you add the water (or wine, beer, stock/bouillon) to dissolve the tasty bits. yes you will scrape it off the bottom and not fear getting some carbon in your food the water doesn't actually make it thinner, if you stir a lot it will form an emulsion with the fat, which actually makes it thicker and more sauce-y. which is why you add the cornstarch (maizena) because emulsions are hard to make and the starch acts as a sort of emulsifier. which is why I suggest to try and add ketchup, because apart from adding tangy flavour and a bit of sweetness and acidity (always good) it contains an emulsifying additive stronger than starch (I found you really only need a few drops of ketchup).

About the saucage, sometimes people say "sausage" when they mean "sausage meat". Either way, can anyone explain me the difference between sausage meat and, say, minced pork?

Same I suppose when people say "gravy" when they mean "milk gravy"? Except more confusing.

* whoever tells you gravy is made from "the juices of the meat" is an idiot, by the time the meat is done and it's gravy making time, any drops of juice are evaporated and the browning and getting stuck to the pan part is essential for the flavour.

Sausage is sausage. It's either cased or not. It's ground, seasoned meat.

Gravy comes in many varieties, and whether you want to say what kind of gravy is kind of dependent on whether it's relevant to the context.

[Bruno]

I wanted to make some gravy once, but didn't have any milk, but I did have cottage cheese. So, I mixed it with water as a substitute.

It worked really well. I was amaze.

but, you don't need milk for gravy

maybe a bit of cornstarch, maybe a bit of stock, wine, beer or a squirt of ketchup always does wonders for me too.

but basically all you need is a pan in which you just made meat, water and salt and pepper.

still, cottage cheese might not be too bad in it.

Sorry, I meant specifically "country gravy", which we, here in the country, just call "gravy".

We also have "brown gravy". Country gravy is mainly a breakfast gravy, and brown gravy is for anything but breakfast.

[Triple Zero]

To have no lumps:

1) equal amount of fat and flour.

2) spread flour evenly across fat (no mound o' flour)

3) stir fat and flour together until smooth.  then add liquid, but slowly, stirring as you go.

Basically, all the flour particles need to be evenly coated in fat, before you add any liquid.

I always use a sieve, like this:



except with flour instead of blue copper powder.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

I want to eat that blue stuff.
It looks delicious, though I'm sure it's not.

[Triple Zero]

If you're lucky, it is copper sulfate, which is merely a very effective make-you-throw-up-and-puke-your-gut-out thingy. If you're less lucky it is copper somethingelsate, which is most probably a lot more toxic.

Nah just kidding,

it's Instant-Smurf^TM. Just add water.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

Muhuhahahahaha! Delicious Smurfs!
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