newbie questions -- duck fat, saurkraut, vinegar for stocks

March 25, 2004

Hi all,

I'm new to NT and I have a few questions for anyone who can help. I

would also appreciate and hints for searching through the archives

for these questions, the volume on this list is great but

overwhelming!

Fallon mentions using duck fat. I know a farmer where I get organic

free range duck, and so far I've roasted one and boiled one (I had

planned on roasting it again, but we were going out of town at the

last minute and I was busy doing other things, so I just threw it in

the stock pot). I've noticed with both that there is very little

fat. With the roast duck, there was a layer of fat in the bottom of

the pan, but no more than for say a turkey. When I boiled the next

duck, the stock had just a paper-thin layer of fat on the stock. Is

this normal? And how do you use duck fat?

I add plain white vinegar to my stocks. They become gelatinous,

like jello at fridge temperature, but they retain the flavouring of

vinegar. Is it possible that I'm putting in too much? Should I use

a milder vinegar? I've always used vinegar a lot, but mostly for

cleaning, so I don't have experience with anything " fancy. "

I tried making saurkraut, and it was a failure, though I wasn't too

optimistic about it. I chopped it with a knife, not into the size

of pieces you would get with a grater, but fairly small. I used

whey from yoghurt I made with organic (but not raw) milk. I used

two leftover glass jars -- I think one was from salsa, the other

from mayonnaise. I scalded both of them but forgot to do the lids.

The mayo jar didn't seal and it smelled like cabbage that had sat in

a cupboard for 3 days. The salsa jar did seal, when I opened it I

heard a " pssssht " and it started fizzing. It didn't smell

overwhelmingly awful, but it didn't smell like I would want to eat

it, and not at all like commercial saurkraut. Any thoughts about

what I might have done wrong?

Sorry to barge in and just be asking all sorts of questions. I know

these must be pretty basic, and I haven't read all of NT, so perhaps

I'm overlooking something obvious.

~

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