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Mexican Cooking Tips (4 Of 6)

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Dairy Mexican Cheese, Info/tips, Mexican 1 Servings

INGREDIENTS

Dictionary of MEXICAN Cookin
This is part 4 of 6

INSTRUCTIONS

GROUND RED PEPPER:  From ground dried cayenne chilies, this is often
called "cayenne pepper".  See Chili, Cayenne. GUAVA:  These
yellow-green fruits with pale faintly pink flesh are about the size  of
a plum.  They are intensely fragrant when ripe. Guava paste is  only
one of the fruit pastes beloved of Hispanics, often served with  cream
cheese as dessert. The fruit is cooked with sugar until thick,  then
canned or shaped into blocks. HOMINY:  These corn kernels have  been
soaked and lightly cooked so that the outer coating can be  removed.
INSTANT CORN FLOUR TORTILLA MIX (MASA): This commercial  product is the
shortcut in making fresh corn tortillas. It is fresh  corn MASA that
has been dried and ground. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE  (Sunchoke)  This
knobbed root keeps well in the refrigerator or other  cold place.
Jerusalem artichokes discolor after peeling. Dip them in  acidulated
water as the flesh is exposed. Enjoy Jerusalem artichokes  ray in
salads, or broiled, sauteed, mashed or in a gratin. JICAMA:  The flesh
of the jicama root is often compared to that of the water  chestnut,
both for flavor and crunch. Jicama is related to the  sharp-tasting
turnip but is so mild in flavor that, when eaten raw,  it is usually
sprinkled with lemon or lime juice and chili powder.  After the brown
fibrous skin has been pared away, jicama flesh does  not discolor. Look
for smallish jicama, which will be sweet and  moist. JUNIPER BERRIES:
The fruit of an ever green, juniper berries  give gin its distinctive
flavor. They are sometimes used to flavor  game dishes. These
blue-green berries are purchased dried. Add them  (sparingly) whole to
saucy foods for subtle flavor or slightly  crushed for more impact.
LARD: This has been perhaps the most  frequently used cooking fat south
of the boarder since it was  introduced by the Spaniards. For tender,
flaky pastries, lard can't  be beat.  It is little known that lard, for
all its reputation, has  approximately half the cholesterol of butter.
MANGO:  The skin of  this oval fruit is washed in gold, pink, red, and
parrot green.  The  flesh is deep yellow, juicy and richly perfumed.
Mangoes have flat,  oval pits.  To slice the fruit, free it from the
pit in large pieces.  MASA:  Literally "dough" in Spanish.  MASA is
cornmeal dough made  from dried corn kernels that have been softened in
a lime (calcium  hydroxide) solution, then ground. Fresh MASA is
commercially  available in Mexico, but it is tricky to work with and
dries out  quickly. MASA comes finely ground, for tortillas, and
coarsely ground  for tamales. It is easier to use instant corn flour
tortilla mix when  making tortillas. NOPALES: These leaves of the
prickly pear (nopal)  cactus are firm crunch pads. Let size be your
guide in buying them;  the smaller the pad, the more likely it is to be
tender. Use tweezers  to remove spines, a sharp paring knife or
vegetable peeler to remove  their bases. With a flavor similar to green
beans, NOPALES are eaten  both raw and cooked. NUTS: In southwest
cooking, nuts are sometimes  ground and stirred into sauces as a
thickening agent. In addition to  giving the sauce more body, raw nuts
add, of course, their own  particular flavor. Toasted nuts are more
often used as a garnish or  in baking. TOASTING NUTS:  Toasting
enhances the flavor of the nut.  To toast nuts, spread them in a single
layer in an ungreased pan;  bake at 350 degrees F, stirring and
checking for doneness frequently.  Nuts are toasted when they are
lightly browned. Let almonds, pecans  and walnuts bake for 7 to 12
minutes. Pine nuts toast more rapidly,  in 5 to 7 minutes. TO GRIND
NUTS:  To grind nuts, place 1/3 to 1/2  cup at a time in the workbowl
of a food processor or blender. Process  them in short pulses just
until ground (longer and you will have nut  butter). PAPAYA: A nearly
oval fruit with creamy golden yellow skin,  orange yellow flesh and
scores of shiny black seeds conveniently  packed in its center. When
slightly underripe, the flesh is firm  (perfect for making into
relishes); When ripe, it is so juicy as to  be almost melting. PECAN:
This oil-rich nut is an American native.  See Nuts for toasting and
grinding. PEPITA: See Pumpkin Seed PEPPER:  There is PIPER NIGRUM,
Peppercorn, and the CAPSICUM FRUTECENS and  CASPSICUM ANNUUM, the
family of vegetables know variously as peppers  and chilies.
Peppercorns came to the Western world originally from  Madagascar. The
success of medieval spice traders made black pepper  more widely
available and only a little less precious than it had  previously been.
Representing the FRUTESCENS contingent, bell peppers  are related to
chilies but lack the capsaicin (the compound that  makes them hot),
Bell peppers are therefore known as "sweet". Until  recently, bell
peppers of any color than green were an oddity at many  markets; today,
there is a profusion of yellow, red and purple ones.  Red and yellow
are acknowledged to be the sweetest. Roast bell  peppers as for
chilies.  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at
www.synapse.com/~gemini

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