I'm probably not the right one to comment, but having recently
done some baking using recipes from my English great-grandmother,
I'll try to help. I'm sure that our members from across the pond
will correct me if I'm wrong...
At 04:18 PM 1/10/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Here in Pennsylvania suet is
>something we put out for the birds in the wintertime. I
>think it is mostly animal fat/lard, we also call it 'fat-back'.
I think that fat-back is actually slightly different. Just
ask your butcher a day ahead of time to save you some beef
suet and they'll know what it is.
>It this the stuff it means where the recipe calls for 2 oz
>shredded suet??
You should probably get them to shred it for you, if they will.
If not, you'll make a bit of a mess of your carrot grater.
>Am I correct that 'currants' are 'raisins'?
No, dried currants are another fruit entirely. They are generally
available in the dried fruits section near the raisins, however.
Sunmaid, among other brands, sells dried currants (especially around
Christmas time since they are used in holiday baking).
>What is a 'pudding basin'?
I dunno, but for plum pudding I just use a bowl of the right size
to hold all the batter and cover it loosely.
>and how do I steam it?
Support the above bowl in a larger pan (I use the huge pot that we
use for boiling lobsters) with boiling water in teh bottom. You want
to hold the pudding up high enough that it sees the steam, but not the
direct action of the water.
Have fun,
John Lye
'59 TR-3A, '62 TR-4, '70 GT-6+
email: rjl6n@virginia.edu
homepage: http://avery.med.virginia.edu/~rjl6n/homepage.htm
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