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‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

atlasobscura.com

91–100 of 182 posts

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#91
There is an oft quoted phrase which is usually found online

"The cauldron was rarely emptied except in preparation for the meatless weeks of Lent, so that while a hare, hen, or pigeon would give it a fine, meaty flavor, the taste of salted pork or cabbage would linger for days, even weeks."

it seems like not an article about perpetual goes without those words. It gave me deja vu reading it.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before refrigeration people were a lot less picky about what was considered spoiled food. One of my grandmothers would never look at the dates, but just trusted her eyes, nose and tongue as to whether something was fit for consumption or not, regardless of how much it was past the 'best before' date.

Best before not bad after

The labels include "best before", "sell by", and "use by", and they don't mean the same thing.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#93
post #83

TWO profiled broths were destroyed by bombs in war. Apparently a leading cause of broth destruction. > an even older pot, in Perpignan [France], had been bubbling since the 1400s until it finally met its demise in 1945 during World War II bombing raids. > The broth [in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa quarter] would be going on 100 today, but the previous batch was lost in 1945 during World War II bombing. 1945 was not a goo…

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Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#94

TWO profiled broths were destroyed by bombs in war. Apparently a leading cause of broth destruction. > an even older pot, in Perpignan [France], had been bubbling since the 1400s until it finally met its demise in 1945 during World War II bombing raids. > The broth [in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa quarter] would be going on 100 today, but the previous batch was lost in 1945 during World War II bombing. 1945 was not a goo…

I would expect a lot of long-running things are lost to wars or big natural disasters.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#95

What does food science say about the safety of this? Sound disgusting to me and a good way to get salmonella. Imagine the goop stuck up the sides of the pot.

It seems like it's common sense, but the article points it out anyway: Keep the broth on simmer and put it in the fridge or freezer when not in use.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#96
post #45

Kind of related to this is the concept of "Brunswick Stew." Look it up if you want a more accurate description, but as I recall, the idea from Colonial times in America is that there'd be a tavern/inn with a fire, constantly running, and a big cauldron of stew always topped off and ready for weary travelers. The idea is that they never "finished" a batch. They just perpetually added leftovers and foods that were at r…

Huh. I am a relatively recent (11 years) transplant to Virginia and had never heard of Brunswick Stew until I moved here, where lots of people make it (it's "traditional") but I have always found it to be thin, bland, and insipid, so I'll take the minimum amount to be polite at an event but otherwise avoid it. But of course they're all making it fresh from a recipe. I wonder if the reason I'm finding it bland is that…

My wife hates it because growing up in North Carolina she associated it with hunters throwing in bits of meat from whatever their most recent kill was - rabbit, squirrel, maybe venison. Never know what you're eating.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#98
post #45

Kind of related to this is the concept of "Brunswick Stew." Look it up if you want a more accurate description, but as I recall, the idea from Colonial times in America is that there'd be a tavern/inn with a fire, constantly running, and a big cauldron of stew always topped off and ready for weary travelers. The idea is that they never "finished" a batch. They just perpetually added leftovers and foods that were at r…

Huh. I am a relatively recent (11 years) transplant to Virginia and had never heard of Brunswick Stew until I moved here, where lots of people make it (it's "traditional") but I have always found it to be thin, bland, and insipid, so I'll take the minimum amount to be polite at an event but otherwise avoid it. But of course they're all making it fresh from a recipe. I wonder if the reason I'm finding it bland is that…

It is just bland. I grew in southern Virginia and it was a fixture of wintertime and often sold by churches and fire departments. At best, it’s tomatoey and doesn’t have too many lima beans, but is always a bit gluey and the meat just sort of turns into little string of muscle fiber. Honestly it makes me a little queasy just thinking about it. Most of the time it seems to have been cooled for 2-3 days prior to sale, for what that’s worth.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#99

> “I became an expert at hiding food from customs officials.” and > “Of course not. Americans can be so naive about cuisine. They would refuse to eat it. So I tell them after,” she admits with a laugh. One wonders if the tone of this article (and the discussion here) would be so complimentary if the protagonist were an Asian or brown person...

Another one read the examples that included China, Bangkok, and Tokyo and the comments talking about mole.

Re: ‘Perpetual broths’ that simmer for decades

#100

In Mexico, there are some people who do this with Molé Most famously now is Enrique Olvera of Pujol fame from Season two of Chefs table on Netflix. I like many, grew up with some kind of stove top medley that'd be going for a while.

This one is excellent. I've eaten Wattana Panich, Ekkamai (วัฒนาพานิช-ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเนื้อ) as well. Pujol might be my favorite restaurant. It's not that hard to get a taco omakase seat at the bar.
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