Gumbo file' &/or/vs. rootbeer
Sky
be substituted for each other? I've used the former perhaps once or
twice and the latter only with vanilla ice cream as a float or solely as
a sodapop drink. What and how else do the two have in common
(whatever!)?
Sky, who's just curious ;)
--
Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!
Bob Terwilliger
> Since both gumbo file' and rootbeer are derived from sassafras, can they
> be substituted for each other?
Root beer has more than just sassafras flavor. (Note that the FDA banned
sassafras in root beer quite a few years ago.) You can REALLY taste the
wintergreen in some brands of root beer. Birch beer and sarsparilla are
similar to root beer but not much like gumbo filé. Of course you don't have
ANY natural flavors in the cheap root beers. (Hmmm... Given that wintergreen
flavor flavor I mentioned, I wonder how root beer would be as the braising
liquid for lamb.)
So the bottom line is no, they really can't be substituted for each other;
they're not very much alike.
Bob
Lin
> (Hmmm... Given that wintergreen
> flavor flavor I mentioned, I wonder how root beer would be as the braising
> liquid for lamb.)
Considering that the only mint I really "like" (besides that little
chocolate mint plant growing on our patio) is wintergreen, and I do love
rootbeer, I'd be willing to give it a try.
--Lin
Bob Terwilliger
The brand which has that strong wintergreen flavor is Henry Weinhardt's.
BevMo carries it.
Bob
Virginia Tadrzynski
"Sky" <skyh...@NOsbcglobal.SnPeAtM> wrote in message
news:4C11E2...@NOsbcglobal.SnPeAtM...
don't think I'd like that 'little bit o' fizz' in my gumbo (smile). The
only thing I've seen root beer used for (and my recipe calls for a specific
brand - not a store brand) is pulled pork. Boneless pork loin of around 3-4
lbs. and a 16 oz. bottle of root beer in a crock pot until the meat falls
apart.
-ginny
notbob
> Since both gumbo file' and rootbeer are derived from sassafras, can they
> be substituted for each other?
Probably not, as I doubt there are any commercial root beers that
actually include real sassafras. In fact, sassafras was banned as an
ingredient in root beer until the health food whackos lobbied to turn
dietary supplements into a dangerous free-for-all. Read the wiki on
sassafras and follow a few relevent links. Very enlightening.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras
nb
George Shirley
I've a friend who swears by his momma's recipe for cooking a ham, pour
Dr. Pepper all over the ham and the cover it with file', bake. I tried a
slice once at his house and nearly threw up. His current wife won't let
him make it as he is the only one who will eat it.
Virginia Tadrzynski
"George Shirley" <gsh...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:VoKdnVwA3_NV3o_R...@giganews.com...
I gack at the thought of Dr. Pepper, too (smile).
-ginny
blake murphy
his wife won't let him? by god, who wears the apron in his family?!?!
your pal,
blake
Doug Freyburger
> Sky <skyh...@NOsbcglobal.SnPeAtM> wrote:
>
>> Since both gumbo file' and rootbeer are derived from sassafras, can they
>> be substituted for each other?
File' is made from the almost flavorless leaves that act like starch.
Root been used to be made from the flavor filled root bark.
> Probably not, as I doubt there are any commercial root beers that
> actually include real sassafras. In fact, sassafras was banned as an
> ingredient in root beer until the health food whackos lobbied to turn
> dietary supplements into a dangerous free-for-all. Read the wiki on
> sassafras and follow a few relevent links. Very enlightening.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras
About 1990 I read up on saferole and decided to make a couple of
batches of real root beer from scratch using an old recipe. I think
Eric Hughes then at Berkeley posted the book reference on RFC. The
resulting brew was too wierd for anyone who tried it.
piedmont
@NOsbcglobal.SnPeAtM:
> Since both gumbo file' and rootbeer are derived from sassafras, can
they
> be substituted for each other? I've used the former perhaps once or
> twice and the latter only with vanilla ice cream as a float or solely
as
> a sodapop drink. What and how else do the two have in common
> (whatever!)?
>
> Sky, who's just curious ;)
>
Hey Sky,
Read this, I hope it answers your question.
> Filé powder
> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
>
> Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, is a spice made from dried and
ground sassafras leaves. It is used in the making of some types of
gumbo, a Creole and Cajun soup/stew. It is sprinkled sparingly over
gumbo as a seasoning and a thickening agent, giving it a distinctive
flavor and texture. Filé can provide thickening when okra is not in
season.[1]
>
> Unlike sassafras roots, sassafras leaves do not contain a detectable
amount of safrole.[2] Safrole is toxic to the liver and somewhat
carcinogenic.[3][4]
--
regards,
piedmont (michael)
the practical bbq'r!; http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/
SeeSig>(mawil55)
zxcvbob
If you want something similar to commercial rootbeer, use those little
bottles of McCormick's or Schilling's rootbeer extract and follow the
directions -- they make 5 gallons, and it doesn't keep very well.
If you want to make your own from scratch, and want it to taste
recognizable, rather than sassafras I think the primary flavors should
be wintergreen and molasses with a little vanilla. (wild cherry bark
is another possibility.)
Filé powder won't work at all. Well, maybe as a minor ingredient, but
it won't get you the sassafras root smell you want.
Bob
sf
wrote:
> Since both gumbo file' and rootbeer are derived from sassafras, can they
> be substituted for each other? I've used the former perhaps once or
> twice and the latter only with vanilla ice cream as a float or solely as
> a sodapop drink. What and how else do the two have in common
> (whatever!)?
>
> Sky, who's just curious ;)
Would you just heat up some root beer if you wanted sassafras tea?
--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
brooklyn1
sf
> Read the wiki on sassafras and follow a few relevent links.
Dear god, nb. It's people like you who got me into trouble with the
Wiki word police. Say Wikipedia when you mean Wikipedia or I'll
continue to call it Wiki too.
notbob
> Dear god, nb. It's people like you who got me into trouble with the
> Wiki word police.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_God
I didn't read it, also.
nb
JL
Sky wrote:
> Since both gumbo file' and rootbeer are derived from sassafras, can they
> be substituted for each other? I've used the former perhaps once or
> twice and the latter only with vanilla ice cream as a float or solely as
> a sodapop drink. What and how else do the two have in common
> (whatever!)?
>
> Sky, who's just curious ;)
>
I have heard of the older version of "root beer" sold as "sassperells"
used in various foods i just cant remember which?
--
Mr. Joseph Paul Littleshoes Esq.
Domine, dirige nos.
Let the games begin!
http://fredeeky.typepad.com/fredeeky/files/sf_anthem.mp3
Becca
> If you want something similar to commercial rootbeer, use those little
> bottles of McCormick's or Schilling's rootbeer extract and follow the
> directions -- they make 5 gallons, and it doesn't keep very well.
>
> If you want to make your own from scratch, and want it to taste
> recognizable, rather than sassafras I think the primary flavors should
> be wintergreen and molasses with a little vanilla. (wild cherry bark
> is another possibility.)
>
> Filé powder won't work at all. Well, maybe as a minor ingredient, but
> it won't get you the sassafras root smell you want.
>
> Bob
When I was a kid, my sister and I would dig up small pieces of sassafras
root for my grandmother. She would steep it in a pot of hot water, then
sweeten it. I tasted it when it was hot and tasted like root beer. I
never tasted it chilled.
Becca
sf
> When I was a kid, my sister and I would dig up small pieces of sassafras
> root for my grandmother.
My grandmother made it too, except we didn't harvest roots although we
did have sassafras growing in the woods.
> She would steep it in a pot of hot water, then
> sweeten it. I tasted it when it was hot and tasted like root beer. I
> never tasted it chilled.
I've never equated sassafras tea and the taste of root beer, nor do I
taste any mint in modern root beer. We don't drink sweet tea
either... not even when it's sassafras. ;)
jmcquown
news:4C11E2...@NOsbcglobal.SnPeAtM...
> be substituted for each other? I've used the former perhaps once or
> twice and the latter only with vanilla ice cream as a float or solely as
> a sodapop drink. What and how else do the two have in common
> (whatever!)?
>
> Sky, who's just curious ;)
>
Given that file' is a ground powder made from sasafrass and the other is a
sickly sweet liquid full of artificial crap, one would think the answer is
obvious. I guess you weren't around for the gumbo cook-along ;)
Jill
blake murphy
> On 6/11/2010 11:07 AM, zxcvbob wrote:
>> If you want something similar to commercial rootbeer, use those little
>> bottles of McCormick's or Schilling's rootbeer extract and follow the
>> directions -- they make 5 gallons, and it doesn't keep very well.
>>
>> If you want to make your own from scratch, and want it to taste
>> recognizable, rather than sassafras I think the primary flavors should
>> be wintergreen and molasses with a little vanilla. (wild cherry bark
>> is another possibility.)
>>
>> Fil� powder won't work at all. Well, maybe as a minor ingredient, but
>> it won't get you the sassafras root smell you want.
>>
>> Bob
>
> When I was a kid, my sister and I would dig up small pieces of sassafras
> root for my grandmother. She would steep it in a pot of hot water, then
> sweeten it. I tasted it when it was hot and tasted like root beer. I
> never tasted it chilled.
>
> Becca
i used to make sassafras tea when i was a kid, too. it was good.
your pal,
blake
Goomba
Jeßus
Interesting (and frustrating) topic.
About a year ago, I looked into making my own 'root beer', and after
doing considerable research ended up more confused than when I
started.
No two recipes are the same - and seem to contradict each other one
way or the other - then there's the small matter of sourcing some of
the ingredients!
Proper Sassafras is likewise banned here in Australia. Impossible to
find. I *did* find a couple of sources for Wintergreen - but after
doing some reading on wintergreen... I'm not so sure I want to use it.
It doesn't seem to take a lot to reach toxicity levels.
I also really wanted to make a big batch in one of my fermenters -
much like I do with ginger beer, ciders and plain old beer. All the
recipes I've seen call for brewing it in bottles.
Ranée at Arabian Knits
Jeßus <no...@all.invalid> wrote:
> I also really wanted to make a big batch in one of my fermenters -
> much like I do with ginger beer, ciders and plain old beer. All the
> recipes I've seen call for brewing it in bottles.
Can you plant your own sassafras?
Regards,
Ranee @ Arabian Knits
"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13
Doug Freyburger
>
> About a year ago, I looked into making my own 'root beer', and after
> doing considerable research ended up more confused than when I
> started.
>
> No two recipes are the same - and seem to contradict each other one
> way or the other - then there's the small matter of sourcing some of
> the ingredients!
That's because root beer was originally a tonic made from locally
available roots and which species were available varied region to
region. I've tried recipes a couple of times and I had to go to a few
herbalist shops to gather the roots in those recipes.
> Proper Sassafras is likewise banned here in Australia. Impossible to
> find.
In the US it is banned for human consumption. That means it can be sold
for the aroma so it was available at some herbalists for use in popouri.
When I bought it at an herbalist shop the owner glanced at the other
ingredients that I had and asked if I had read the label that it is not
for human consumption. "Oh yes, I read the warning. I want that
sassafras to make some popouri". Before buying it I had spent several
hours in the botany section of the nearest large state university's
library reading up on each ingredient.
Based on the smell I suggest skipping "spikenard" if it's in your
recipe. Near as I can tell that was responsible for the main wierdness
in the flavor of my second batch.
> I *did* find a couple of sources for Wintergreen - but after
> doing some reading on wintergreen... I'm not so sure I want to use it.
> It doesn't seem to take a lot to reach toxicity levels.
I thought wintergreen was just another type of mint and as such not
toxic? Birch beer is a regional drink in the US that has some national
availability. Souix City brand sells in various stores nationwide and
they have okay Birch beer. Otherwise it's regional centered maybe in
Pittsburg. It was available in Niagra Falls when I was a kid and I get
a few bottles of the Souix City brand per year these days.
> I also really wanted to make a big batch in one of my fermenters -
> much like I do with ginger beer, ciders and plain old beer. All the
> recipes I've seen call for brewing it in bottles.
Somehow its fermentation makes also all CO2 and almost no ethanol. I
don't know how much ethanol is actually produced in the brew but it is
below my ability to detect it.
Doug Freyburger
> Je�us <no...@all.invalid> wrote:
>
>> I also really wanted to make a big batch in one of my fermenters -
>> much like I do with ginger beer, ciders and plain old beer. All the
>> recipes I've seen call for brewing it in bottles.
>
> Can you plant your own sassafras?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras
It's a tree that grows across a lot of zones in the US. They are common
enough that their leaves are used to make file' powder so they should be
available at least through special order from ag supply places.
Doug Freyburger
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras
>
> It's a tree that grows across a lot of zones in the US. They are common
> enough that their leaves are used to make file' powder so they should be
> available at least through special order from ag supply places.
For some reason I tend to picture sassasfras trees mixed with sumac
trees at the edge of woods especially at the side of the road. The two
types don't look similar but they seem to like similar growing
conditions so they mix and compete in the same places.
I've had sumac as a mild spice in Armenian food. I wonder if it's the
same tree that I see on the roadside.
Bob Terwilliger
> I've had sumac as a mild spice in Armenian food. I wonder if it's the
> same tree that I see on the roadside.
Wikipedia implies that it is, but there are around 250 different plants
which are called "sumac." Some might be better-suited for culinary uses than
others.
Bob