Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Tue 28 Jul 2009 05:22:07a, Jean B. told us...
>
>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>> On Sun 26 Jul 2009 08:24:53p, Paul M. Cook told us...
>>>
>>>> "Damaeus" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>> I accidentally posted this first to rec.food-cooking....here's a post
>>>>> for this group:
>>>>>
>>>>> I like biscuits now and then, and I got the itch to have some a while
>>>>> back when I was watching the Food Network and saw Tyler Florence's
>>>>> version. He shocked me when he said to use vegetable shortening, his
>>>>> reason being that he found that butter tends to burn, while shortening
>>>>> doesn't.
>>>>>
>>>>> Well, here's the recipe, first of all:
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/t...milk-biscuits-
> re
>>>>> cipe2/index.html
>>>>>
>>>>> Okay, I tried the recipe. I have to say they were not unedible, but
>>>>> nowhere near the quality of biscuits I had made using butter instead
> of
>>>>> shortening. These biscuits came out reminding me of store-bought,
>>>>> canned biscuits. I blame the shortening, because all shortening is,
> is
>>>>> hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. I was skeptical of them
>>>>> for that reason alone.
>>>>>
>>>>> That said, I had normally made biscuits with plain whole milk, not
>>>>> buttermilk. We normally don't keep buttermilk in the house, but my
>>>>> roommate had a craving for fried chicken with buttermilk batter, so
>>>>> since we had some left, I made buttermilk biscuits, then buttermilk
>>>>> pancakes a few days later. The biscuits did rise nicely, however.
> But
>>>>> they turned out with a very yellow color inside, which surprised me
>>>>> greatly. They were quite white going in, but you'd think I'd laced
>>>>> them with turmeric, they came out so yellow. (I used unbleached
> flour.)
>>>>> As for the doneness, there was an even, brown crust all the way around
>>>>> it, that was almost cookie-like in texture, about a millimeter thick.
>>>>> I layered it as he suggested on TV, and as a result, they simply
> pulled
>>>>> apart like a biscuit-bun, no need for a knife to cut it in half.
>>>>>
>>>>> Once I get some more flour, I'm going to try buttermilk biscuits again
>>>>> before it expires, using butter instead of shortening to compare.
>>>>>
>>>>> What is your experience with using butter versus shortening? So far,
>>>>> I'm not impressed with shortening, but I may have to blame the
>>>>> buttermilk if using butter in the next go-around results in the same
>>>>> type of experience.
>>>>>
>>>> I've never found butter to work well in biscuits. You get a crispy
>>>> rather than soft biscuit. I don't like the heavy taste anyway as I put
>>>> butter on the biscuits. I have always used lard or vegetable
>>>> shortening. Lard makes the best biscuits IMO.
>>>>
>>>> Paul
>>> Lard + buttermilk + soft wheat flour (like White Lily) make the lightest
>>> and best biscuits.
>>>
>> I can see I need to buy more lard. I am thinking I can use the
>> recipe in James Beard's American Cookery, but with those
>> ingredients. Yes?
>
> Absolutely.
>
>> Speaking of buttermilk... This is probably a stupid question, but
>> is it possible to find real old-fashioned buttermilk anywhere in
>> the Boston area?
>
> Most of what you'll find in any city is cultured buttermilk, but quality
> varies. I usually buy mine at TJ's or Sprouts. You'd probably have to
> find a private dairy to get the "real thing", but good quality cultured
> buttermilk works just fine.
>
> Once you have some, you can perpetuate your supply by mixing up a quart of
> non-fat dry milk, adding a cup of buttermilk and leaving it to set on the
> counter overnight, or until it clabbers. Then shake well and refrigerate.
> You can repeat this process indefinitely. Buttermilk used for cooking
> purposes can be kept refrigerated for months without spoiling.
>
Cool! Thanks. I still would like to find the old-style
buttermilk at least once in my lifetime.

--
Jean B.