Comments on: Confessions of a Cookbook Addict

By: Meryl Hunter

Meryl Hunter — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:07:21 +0000

elf, when a recipe calls for ghee, I would recommend using ghee, not substituting butter. Ghee has different properties for cooking. I imagine that using a substitute wouldn’t be disasterous, but it would certainly effect the quality of the dish.

Asefoetida doesn’t smell terrible, it’s just strong. Treat it like you would garlic or onion(i.e. would you put a clove of garlic or onion right up to your nose and smell it?). Also, use it sparingly: a little bit is usually more than enough. I find it to be a very delicious way to season my food, however, too much will overpower every other ingredient and make the dish taste terrible. If it helps you understand the taste of it any better, it’s used as a substitute for garlic and onion in Indian cooking.

Also, if you can find another kosher version of asefoetida (also called “hing” in Hindi) I would use it, because I am not terribly impressed by the quality of the Frontier version. I’ve used other versions bought in India, and they are much nicer (though less likely to be kosher, I’m sure).

By: sweinberger

sweinberger — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 05:01:01 +0000

Frontier Foods Corp has asafoetida - and while their website doesn't label it as kosher, this website says that it is. The KSA's website lists Frontier Foods as a certified company, so a few emails should be able to straighten the matter out.

By: elf

elf — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 02:59:06 +0000

Jabbett: Good to know about the ghee. Have you found that there’s any real difference in taste between ghee and butter?

Speaking of weird Indian ingredients that Kurma dasa likes to use, does anyone here have experience with asefoetida? Is it available with a hekhsher? Does it require a hekhsher? Does it smell as awful as they say? How does it taste?

Greens: I can see how that would be a problem. I happen to enjoy cooking, but I often find myself attracted to recipes that involve more work than I’m willing to do. So I just sit around reading the recipes fondly.

DebraG and Suzanne: That’s quite awful.

By: DebraG

DebraG — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 16:09:33 +0000

Thanks for the affirmation! I thought I was losing my touch.

Shabbat Shalom

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 15:12:23 +0000

DebraG, if you check the reviews for My Most Favorite Dessert on the Amazon website, you will find that most, if not all, of the reviewers have the same complaint.

By: DebraG

DebraG — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 14:25:27 +0000

Has anyone used the recipes in the My Most Favorite Dessert Company cookbook? I’m an excellent cook, can follow any recipe, but have had nothing but disastrous results -

By: Greens with Envy

Greens with Envy — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:57:11 +0000

I love buying cookbooks and I have a binder full of recipes, but the problem is that I don’t like to cook, and when I do get inspired and look up a recipe, I almost never have all the ingredients. I wish I creative enough to know how to subsitute ingredients that I may have, but no such luck. So I usually stick with the three same spices (salt, pepper and garlic) and the same boring dishes.

By: jabbett

jabbett — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 16:08:48 +0000

I fondly recall watching “Cooking with Kurma” on PBS. That’s where I first discovered “ghee.”

FYI, I noticed that OU-Dairy ghee is available at Whole Foods.

By: elf

elf — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:18:07 +0000

Browsing is the best part of owning a cookbook. (That, and killing intruders.)

By: Marsha

Marsha — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 15:48:53 +0000

Happy to endorse The New Best Recipe. Got it for Chanukah. Even if you never cook a thing from it, it’s really fun to read and look at. And you can use it to kill intruders.