![]() When cooked, the grains of aged rice do not clump together. This is ideal for a traditional farming society where a grain surplus is needed to get the population through lean years.Īs the rice dries, its properties change. If rice is dried further, to about nine per cent, it will last for several years. This makes it shelf-stable, allowing it to keep for a good year or so. When rice is harvested, it needs to be dried to reduce the moisture level to between 12 and 14 per cent. WhiteĪnyone who has dropped a mobile phone in water knows that rice is hygroscopic, or water-absorbing. Photo: William Meppem What is aged basmati rice? E. ![]() Jill Dupleix's chicken tagine with figs and olives. Wash in warm water and avoid using detergent as this can permeate the porous terracotta and give detergent odour to the food next cooked in the pot. ![]() The pot also makes an attractive serving dish on the table. To cook vegetable stews, slow-cooked meat dishes, lasagne or whole chickens, place the food into a cold oven then set the temperature.This helps cook the food with steam but also prevents the pot from cracking. Soak the unglazed part of the cooking pot in water for 10 to 15 minutes before use as terracotta is porous and will absorb the water, which will evaporate when heated.However, it can sit over a low flame or electric hob with a diffuser underneath without cracking as long as the heat isn't turned up too high.Ī cold terracotta pot cannot go into a hot oven nor can a hot terracotta dish go into a sinkful of cold water. And it will never work on an induction cooktop. A cold terracotta pot cannot go into a hot oven nor can a hot terracotta dish go into a sinkful of cold water. Terracotta means cooked earth. More than 10,000 years ago people worked out that if they cooked wet clay in a fire, it would harden and hold its shape if put over a flame.įood could be cooked on it and if they moulded the clay into a vessel, it could hold liquids, allowing them to make stews and porridges.Īcross the planet millions of people still cook on terracotta, from the ollas of Spain and comales of Mexico to the tagines of Northern Africa. I have been given a terracotta cooking pot. ![]()
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