For many expats, living in another country is a very culturally and culinary enriching experience, tasting new foods and discovering new places. However, one of the problems encountered living in a new place is not finding the usual ingredients used in recipes from "back home". Living in the States for 15 years, I know there are a few ingredients I couldn't find for my favorite Belgian recipes...and learned how to make do and use alternate options, or would bring back pearl sugar and others directly from Belgium.
Well, moving to Saudi has brought on the same issue. Just yesterday Alex, my son, wanted Southern Style Buttermilk biscuits for breakfast...so; I tried to make him some, knowing full well that I did not have buttermilk or shortening, two basic ingredients for the recipe! Well, the buttermilk biscuits were awful and hard to swallow, both as a food and as a culinary mess-up. But, as the great Charles Chaplin said "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself." that failure was not important...and gave me courage to try again...this time after seeking better ingredients!
Last night, while at the grocery store Danube, I found what the Saudi call LABEN. I decided to give it a try as a replacement for the buttermilk. This morning, upon opening the bottle, my guess proved correct: ...not milk, not yogurt...not sure what is really is but it smelled like buttermilk and had a very similar consistency...
So, this cooking fool tried her hand again at buttermilk biscuits...and they turned great! Flaky consistency outside, moist and dense inside...just like they should be. Best proof of the success: the baking sheet is empty as my three buttermilk monsters ate them all!
How neat - and what did you use for shortening?
ReplyDeleteKenny came home from Japan with a funny story. he bought a tuna fish shaped can with a picture of a fish on it since he was craving tuna fish. After opening it he had second thoughts and had to check with someone who read Japanese to see if it was cat food!
We're starting our weekend with our 4 and 6 year grandkids who spent the night here last night!
It's easy to make your own buttermilk for baking. In your measuring cup pour a little vinegar, say two tablespoons, then add your milk. Adjust the vinegar just until the milk looks a bit thick. It's cheaper than going out and buying buttermilk or laban, using some and letting the rest go to waste as I have done.
ReplyDeleteYou can find shortening in Tamimi Safeway.
ReplyDeleteBtw.. great blog!