In article ,
"Jean B." wrote:

Dora Smith wrote:
In the following recipe, I am learning that the meaning of the word clove
is
not clear. Does it refer to cloves, or to cloves of garlic?

The recipe is that for Spanish-rice Skillet, on p 174 of the current
loose-leaf edition of the 1953 Better Homes and GArdens New Cook Book.

Recipe calls for 4 whole cloves, then says to remove them after cookign
along with the bay leaf.

4 slices bacon
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 coup chopped green pepper
2 10 1/2 or 11 ounce cans condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup water
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt

Cut bacon in small pieces; fry until crisp in heavy skillet; remove bacon.

Cook onion and green pepper in bacon fat until golden. Add remaining
ingredients; cover tightly and cook slowly 50 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Remove cloves and bay leaf; sprinkle crisp bacon over top. Makes 5 to 6
servings.

Apparently some older recipes actually tell you to put in a clove of
garlic,
whole, and remove after cooking, and noone has ever heard of cloves in
spanish rice.


No answer--at least yet. But the 1951 ed. contains no such
recipe. The one for Spanish rice clearly is not this recipe's
ancestor.

Well, that pretty well pins down the date for the recipe change. I have
a 1938 edition and here's the Spanish Rice ingredient list from page 15
of the Vegetables section ( Chapter XIV).

4 tbsp. oil
1 cup rice
1 onion, sliced
1 small clove garlic
1 green pepper, chopped
1 quart canned tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 cup grated cheese

This edition is old enough to be free of "canned cream of mushroom soup"
as a sauce substitute but worcestershire sauce and chili sauce are quite
noticeable. (e.g. chili sauce in "Mexican Green Beans") I have no
question that "4 cloves" refers to the spice. That is totally consistent
with mid 20th century cookbook usage. BTW, note the tiny amount of
"chili powder" called for. An interesting case of toning down 'furrin'
food for Middle American tastes (as was seen in chili and tamale pie) as
well as conflating Spain and Mexico.

D.M.