Spin off, Sugar and cooking

amother

Pearl

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 1:27 pm

I don't use much sugar except for when I bake. Every once in a while I'll use some brown sugar in a dish or a rub for BBQ, maybe a couple of tablespoons. I'm not a user of duck sauce or prepared sauces and seaonings either. It's not how my family cooked or ate. I have family members who have learned to cook this way and sometimes the overpowering sweetness of a meat dish really gets to me when I'm at their house.

I enjoy reading recipes here but very few appeal to me since most of the meat is cooked to mud/mush and loaded with sauces. Please don't take offense, these types of food just aren't to my taste. My cousin was visiting for shabbos and I had a simple ground beef curry for the main course, beef because it was shabbos, I usually make it with tofu or tempeh. He just raved about it and said that he could taste the combined flavors in the curry.

I'm wondering if there are anyother cooks here who lean toward more simpler preperations like I do.

Anon, since this is a subject that comes up at my shabbos table frequently with differnt guests and extended family.

cnc

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 2:10 pm

amother wrote:

I think that your type of cooking takes more preparation time. The sweet dishes many times rely on prepared sauces which are loaded with sugar.

I would love to get recipes from you! Can you share some?

FranticFrummie

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 2:11 pm

I didn't grow up with sweet dishes, the sweet stuff was always saved for dessert, which was fairly rare. My mom was overweight, so she never cooked with lots of sugar or things like that. To this day, I prefer savory flavors.

Raisin

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 2:23 pm

I definitely cook like that. Don't get me wrong - I love sugar. I love candies, cakes, chocolate. But its just not necessary in savoury dishes.

I make most things from scratch. Partly because I live oot so can't always get prepared sauces easily.

I dislike the taste of ketchup so never use that.

amother

Pearl

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 2:26 pm

Hamburger curry

2lbs lean ground beef.
2 small sweet potatoes (or use white or red potatoes if that's your preference)
6 plum tomatoes (or use a small can of whole drained plum tomatoes)
6 oz of fresh green beans broken into 1" pieces
1/2 or 1/4 cup of uncooked brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 small onion diced
fresh garlic to taste
about 2" of tumeric root grated
about 1" of ginger root grated
1 carrot chunked
chilli powder to taste
2 Tablespoons of cumin powder

Brown the beef, keep it chunky. Drain fat and put beef aside. In the same skillet add the tumeric, cumin, garlic ginger and onions. Saute briefly til the onions are almost transparent then add the potatoes and carrots and lentils. Cook that a bit and then add all the rest of the ingredients until the lentils carrots and potatoes are cooked yet firm. I serve this over brown rice. As a leftover it makes a great wrap or burritto. You can substitute fried tofu or tempeh or just make this dish meatless.

You can find tumeric root in Indian markets or health food stores. Peel with gloves on and use a microplane to grate it. It tastes quite different that packaged curry powder and is not hot. If you are lucky enough to have an Indian grocer near by pick up some curry leaves and add two. (Curry leaves freeze well for future use. They are a bit like narrow bay leaves.)

amazingmommy

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 3:26 pm

amother wrote:

I cook that way partly out of necessity and partly health reasons. Just note that if using canned food such as canned tomatoes it already contains sugar

I'm not op, but I actually use cans of diced tomatoes, and they don't have sugar..

amother

Pearl

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 4:43 pm

amother wrote:

I cook that way partly out of necessity and partly health reasons. Just note that if using canned food such as canned tomatoes it already contains sugar

I avoid canned ingredients simply because of the salt. Engineered salt can't be rinsed off. If the label shows sea salt I will buy it if I need it purely for convenience. I've never seen canned tomatoes with sugar.

amother

Black

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 5:06 pm

amother wrote:

I have never heard there is any difference in the kind of salt once it has been fully incorporated. The only time it is easier t rinse off is when large kosher salt is added to the top of bagels or such Very Happy

Canned tomatoes do not have sugar no do most plain canned vegetables. They do contain more sodium than fresh but there are lower sodium versions.

Stewed tomatoes in a can contain sugar but that's because it is actually a recipe and not an ingredient.

As. Recall there is a dividing line in Poland and people on one side prefer sweet gefilte fish and on the other prefer not sweet.

I also find many of the recipes posted chalushes as veggies are cooked into mush and there is much reliance on sweet condiments like BBQ sauce etc. I remember when a friend came to eat and my asparagus was a revelation as she had always thought it was a khaki green limp puddle of mush instead of a vibrant green veggie with some snap left in it.

Volunteer

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 6:16 pm

Sweet meat dishes have been around forever. Poultry especially pairs well with fruit.

I received The Beis Yaakov Cookbook as a gift a few years ago. It has many good recipes, although I marvel at the beef and chicken recipes that have so much sugar they qualify as desserts.

Maybe that will be the next gastronomic fad. Meat desserts.

little_mage

Sun, Sep 18 2016, 8:37 pm

I don't tend to use a lot of sugar except when baking, although I'll occasionally add some when I add too much acid to a sauce. However, my husband and I both really like fruit with meat, so that will automatically add some sweetness.

Volunteer-the secular world has been making bacon desserts for a couple of years now...

MiracleMama

Mon, Sep 19 2016, 12:19 am

amother wrote:

I'm wondering if there are anyother cooks here who lean toward more simpler preperations like I do.

I cook like you (no sugar; healthful real food) do but wouldn't call it simpler. I say dumping a jar of duck sauce on top of some chicken or meat is about as simple as it gets. And yes, I have a hard time enjoying other people's foods (but am happy for the invitation and good company anyhow).

little neshamala

Mon, Sep 19 2016, 8:45 am

Totally agree with you! I love sugar-but for dessert! Im fairly new at cooking meat, and always looking for a good, soft roast recipe....but nearly all the recipes I find call for brown sugar or some other sweetener....so frustrating. Who wants their meat to taste like candy?

PinkFridge

Mon, Sep 19 2016, 8:56 am

little neshamala wrote:

I use ketchup, which has sugar.
But the best roast I ever made was with homemade, sugar-free tomato sauce for someone with a restricted diet, so I know that the sugar in the ketchup doesn't add much.
My recipe is spread sheet of foil, slice onions, put brisket on top, smear on ketchup, sprinkle onion soup on top, wrap tightly, bake low for a while. Refrigerate roast and gravy separately, next day slice thin, add defatted gravy, refrigerate or freeze till you need to use it. (Sorry I don't have quantities.)