There may be Liberal Party branches somewhere in Australia that still believe in scones, the flag, children being seen and not heard, the Golden Rule, live and let live, the value of honest work, the economic power of lower taxes, and the therapeutic power of a nice cup of tea.Of course, the scones and tea would be made by the stay at home housewives while their husbands are out building houses by sawing up asbestos laden sheets in their Jackie Howe singlets.
I just can’t think of any.
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Pining for the 50's
Dear old Philippa Martyr, who I find quite an interesting character, busy pining for the 50's at Catallaxy in sympathy with the only 40-something year old man alive today who was actually born in 1910 (Currency Lad):
This post is coming perilously close to anti-scone prejudice, Steve. I love scones. Won't hear a word against them.
ReplyDeleteI make a pretty decent scone myself some Sunday mornings, Tim. (Being an enlightened man of the 21st century, at least Saturday night or Sunday morning cooking is usually my thing.)
ReplyDeletei am fine with all of the above except scones.
ReplyDeleteJason
Jason, your ideal world probably combines the 1950's social values but with the added thrill of a Victorian England era system of cocaine available for anyone from the (completely unregulated) pharmacy, penny pies made from any old domestic kitchen being sold on the streets, and (not sure where you stand on this last one, entirely) a minimum wage of 2 bob an hour...
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Tim, do you know of and like rosella jam? Goes particularly well with scones. I think no big jam maker makes it commercially, just something you have to make or home or from a home producer...
ReplyDeleteI thought Rosella only did the tomato sauce? Never heard of it as a jam....
ReplyDeleteWhat's your secret to a good scone, Steve? Sometimes mine fall completely flat.
I dunno. I do use buttermilk, or just milk with lemon juice. I think this said to make for a lighter texture, but I'm not sure...
ReplyDeleteyou've captured it perfectly Steve. think Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age
ReplyDeleteJason
I doubt buttermilk or milk + lemon juice would do that, unless somehow the acid in the milk acted as a rising agent in the same way that bicarb or baking powder did??? But then I'm not sure how those leavening agents work, must look it up.
ReplyDeleteWe make yoghurt pancakes (with yoghurt from our house culture, naturally), and it does contribute a lot to the flavour and texture (pleasant sour taste that goes well with the toppings), but I don't think it makes them particularly lighter.
I guess in theory that the extra acidity of buttermilk (or the fake version of milk and lemon juice) might cause the bicarbonate of soda fizz more.
ReplyDeleteThe claim that it makes baked products lighter in texture seems to be pretty widespread on the net, but I don't know that anyone has ever tested it.
Mythbusters are getting desperate for new ideas - perhaps I should email them.
Well I just looked it up on Wikipedia and they say a) that acidity can help with leavening and b) Buttermilk is a traditional leavening agent. So you are right!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm not sieving my flour enough, either.
Next up: let's discuss quilting!
ReplyDelete:)