Comments for Four Pounds Flour

Comment on Chocolate Delight: Tunnel of Fudge Cake by 24 hr appliance repairs

24 hr appliance repairs — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:44:18 +0000

Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after
I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again.

Regardless, just wanted to say superb blog!

Comment on Learn all about ICE CREAM then learn all about PEPPER! (then make pepper ice cream?) by Houston

Houston — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:17:50 +0000

Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
I’ve tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same results.

Comment on The Joys of Jell-O: Jell-O Ices, A Grand New Idea by baseball bat reviews

baseball bat reviews — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:26:05 +0000

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Comment on The History Dish: To Make Hot Buttered Toast by Selkie

Selkie — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:17:42 +0000

I wish I could remember where I read/heard that, because I cannot find a corroborating reference.

Comment on The History Dish: Pearlash, The First Chemical Leavening by Sarah Lohman

Sarah Lohman — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:10:50 +0000

Yes! I thought I was crazy–my first reaction when you brought this up was “Isn’t Hartshorn a thickener?” I actually wad unaware it was used as a leavening, so I’ve been learning lots about it. And I did not specify “American” leavener in the article, so you are very right, too.

In the original American cookie recipes I’ve seen in manuscripts, they’re usually unleavened–they’re thin, crispy cookies. But I’m going to keep a lookout for a recipe that uses hartshorn so I can try it out.

Thanks for bringing this up!

Comment on The History Dish: Pearlash, The First Chemical Leavening by Nom Nom Panda

Nom Nom Panda — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:05:16 +0000

Oh, I didn't realise you meant first in America! In Marye Audet's book The Everything Cookies and Brownies Cookbook she says "In the 1600s immigrants brought cookies to America. [...] The leavener that was most often used was a type of ammonia made from the antlers of a deer." but as you say there are plenty of other sources that claim pearlash is first, as it appears in the oldest American cookbook, printed in 1796. And at Cooks Info, it says "It appears that Hartshorn was being used for a gelatin in the 1600 and 1700s, and that only at the end of the 1700s did it start to be used as a leavener." Who knows who's right? Dry distillation involves burning, much like how you obtain pearlash. But I would have thought that hartshorn would be classified as a chemical leavener not so much because of how it is produced, but how it works in your baking. Thanks for the interesting posts. Am looking forward to reading more of them. :)

Comment on History Dish Mondays: The Original Christmas Cookie by The History Dish: Pearlash, The First Chemical Leavening « Four Pounds Flour

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 13:36:34 +0000

[...] the loveliness of orange and caraway (for a modern version of this recipe, I highly recommend using this recipe, and replacing the coriander with orange zest and caraway). But after swallowing, a horrible, [...]

Comment on The History Dish: Pearlash, The First Chemical Leavening by Sarah Lohman

Sarah Lohman — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 13:34:39 +0000

I have to admit, I don’t know very much about hartshorn. It appears very rarely in American cookbooks; I don’t think we had the right kind of deer here, so importing it from Europe would be probably be prohibitively expensive. I thought perhaps the distinction was that pearlash had to be chemically manufactured, but hartshorn salts, used for baked, have to be “distilled.” So does that lump it in with yeast as a natural leavener, or is it the processing more like that of pearlash? I’m honestly not sure!

The declaration that Pearlash is the first chemical leavener originally comes from a different source–several in face. But now I’m going to do more research to find out if that declaration can be considered accurate!

Thank you! And cute panda.

Comment on The History Dish: Pearlash, The First Chemical Leavening by Nom Nom Panda

Nom Nom Panda — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:26:49 +0000

Great blog! Are you sure pearlash was the first chemical leavening agent though? I thought hartshorn was used in baking as early as the 17th century.

Comment on Hudson Made: Salt of the Earth by Sarah Lohman

Sarah Lohman — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:03:06 +0000

I have not, but I own it! Perhaps it’s time to pick it up.