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Ancho chiles are a type of pepper(chile). Below you will find an
interesting article about chiles. Queso fresco is as noted a type
of Mexcian cheese. Other types of cheese i.e. cheddar or similar
kind of cheese could be used.
<<< 2B::NOTES1:[NOTES$LIBRARY]CHILI.NOTE;1 >>>
-< Chili! >-
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Note 17.0 A few Hot Facts!! 1 reply
PARITY::SANDERS "a belagana" 128 lines 23-OCT-1987 14:35
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A FEW HOT FACTS
By John Crenshaw
To my knowledge, no one has ever died from an overdose of
8-Methyl-N-vanilly-6-noneamide, although countless thousands have
known symptoms of gastronomic flashbacks.
The substance may be addictive; although there are no severe
withdrawal symptoms, its prolonged absence leaves regular users
with a vague, empty feeling located nearer the soul than other,
more definable areas of the physical body. The substance,
becomes more symbolic than curative, stirs memories and longing:
old friends and red wine, close families at dinner, fields of
deep green wetted by the Rio Grande's muddy waters.
Simply put, it's homesickness, a yearning focused on a particular
chemical that for many is a way of life. The sufferer is likely
a displaced New Mexican, victim of the Capsaicin Withdrawal
Blues.
Not one of them would tell you he's aching for a taste of home
and 8-Methyl-N-vanilly-6-nonenamide -- or even for a dash of
capsaicin, the name given that unwieldly chemical designation.
They would tell you, instead, that they have found not one, not
one decent restaurant anywhere in town (this could be in a city
of millions), that they can't find an enchilada anywhere, that if
they ask for chile they get a red, soupy concoction of meat and
something, that the best taco stand around offers Tabasco for a
sauce. And it's chile they want -- green chile or red chile,
but chile. The pod, not the soup. Chile with flavor, not just
heat. New Mexico chile.
Capsaicin, or an isomer thereof, is that oily, orangish acid
layered along the seeds and veins of the chile pod, one of New
Mexico's officially adopted state symbols. Capsaicin, then,
makes chile chile, gives it the piquancy ranging from innocuous
to incendiary, brings tears to the eater's eyes, blisters to his
lips, fire to his belly -- and joy to his heart.
Chile, spicy, flavorful, unique, is indeed a symbol specific to
the heart of the Southwest and a fitting catalyst for that
ancient disease of the displaced.
The fame and success of New Mexico's co-state vegetable (the
other being the pinto bean) may be due in large part to one man.
Dr. Roy Minoru Nakayama may well be the world's foremost
authority on chiles. His doctoral dissertation was done on
chile diseases.
A professor in New Mexico State University's horticulture
department, Dr. Nakayama comes by his interest naturally. He was
born to it.
Son of a farmer in the village of Dona Ana, near Los Cruces, he
-- as do the sons of farmers everywhere -- worked in the fields
-- including the chile fields.
He thinks chile is better -- certainly more popular -- than it
was when he picked it as a lad.
"The big difference, actually, way back then -- even just prior
to 1955 -- was that about the only variety available here was a
real hot chile. Too doggone hot for most," he says. "Most of
it was a native chile, with some New Mexico No. 9. That No. 9
was larger-bodied, but it was too hot. We couldn't sell it
outside the state."
A landmark year, 1955: New Mexico No. 6 came into production, a
production that slowly increased as New Mexico farmers could sell
their crop outside the state, catering to the milder tastes of
Midwesterners.
Another landmark year, 1974: The Numex Big Jim goes into
commercial production, end result of a decade's research and
hybridization that saw Dr. Nakayama and associates borrow pollen
from a tiny Peruvian variety, cross it with Anaheim, native
Chimayo and other New Mexican varieties, and plant, water, wait,
weigh, and taste. It takes anywhere from about seven to ten or
more years before you get results.
The Numex Big Jim, named in honor of Dr. Nakayama's home state
and Jim Lytle, a Los Cruces-area farmer who has worked closely in
these experiments, produces pods about a foot long and weighing
maybe three to a pound. It's bred so that the pods mature
concurrently, making machine picking -- and thus greater acreage
-- possible. Its size and weight surpassed other popular
varieties. The heat of the Numex Big Jim (rated on a scale that
has Anaheim and New Mexico No. 6 as 1, Tabasco at 8) scales at 3.
Dr. Nakayama is modestly proud of his accomplishment.
"It has a different makeup from any other chile," he says.
"I haven't found any chile that's any better than what we have
here. In fact, in some areas, frankly, I feel that some of the
chiles just don't have the flavor of these grown in New Mexico."
He himself prefers milder chile, but is often called upon to
judge in chile cookoffs and other such catastrophes. An ulcer,
legacy of a German Prisoner-of-war camp, must be placated with
antacids before he renders taste and judgment.
"I used to like the real hot one, but it didn't quite agree with
me," he confides. "So now I eat the milder ones -- hot enough to
let me know I'm eating chile."
Nakayama Scale
!!!!!!!!!! 10. Bahamian
!!!!!!!!! 9. Santaca (Japanese)
!!!!!!!! 8. Tabasco
!!!!!!! 7. Jalapeno
!!!!!! 6. Espanola and Cayenne
!!!!! 5. Sandia
!!!! 4. Hot Ancho
!!! 3. Numex Big Jim
!! 2. Rio Grande
! 1. New Mexico No. 6 and
Anaheim
- Excerpted from New Mexico Magazine's publication, The Best from
New Mexico Kitchens, without permission.
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| RE: 1686.4
I'm not European and this isn't actually Dutch, but
From the Complete Asian Cookbook, by Charmaine Solomon (in the
Indonesia section):
Sambal Bajak (Fried Chilli Sambal)
Cooled, then stored in an airtight bottle, this sambal will keep for
weeks in the refrigerator. When serving, use a teaspoon for portions
and warn guests it should be eaten in tiny quantities with rice, not
by itself. As a taste for this torrid sambal is acquired, however,
it is enjoyed on crisp crackers, in sandwiches, on steaks -- in fact
there is no limit to the ways a sambal addict will use it.
Yields about 1 cup
6 large fresh red chillies, roughly chopped
1 large onion
6 cloves garlic
8 kemiri nuts, finely grated
3 Tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon laos powder
1 Tablespoon dried shrimp paste (trasi)
1 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons tamarind liquid
2 Tablespoons palm sugar or substitute
Put chillies, onion and garlic in container of electric blender
and blend to a pulp. If blender is small, blend in small portions.
It might be necessary to stop and start the motor several times to
draw the onions and chillies down on to the blades. When everything
has been blended smoothly, heat the oil in a small frying pan or a
saucepan and fry the blended mixture over low heat, stirring, for 5
minutes or until well cooked but not brown. Add kemiri nuts, laos,
trasi and salt. Crush the trasi against the side of the pan and fry,
stirring,until mixture is well blended. Add tamarind liquid and sugar,
stir and simmer until well fried and reddish-brown in colour and the
oil separates from the mixture. Cool. This sambal is not served hot
from the fire.
Note: If electric blender is not available, seed the chillies and
chop very finely. Peel and chop onion finely, crush garlic with salt,
then proceed as above.
Hope this helps, sounds fiery but interesting!
Jan
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