Ask Behr anything food related thread

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#8,876
#8,876
Behr said:
I just don't know and actually need to forget about it for a day or two. Logic tells me my grandma used any and everything, like you suggest, but I can't make myself believe she put cukes, zucchini and carrots in hers, although she grew all of them in large quantities.

Unless something changes, these are the veggies Im using.
Cabbage
Green tomatoes
Onion
Green bell
Red bell

Vinegar. I think red wine vinegar or Apple cider vinegar would work best, but I'm pretty sure she would have used white.

Sugar. Most recipes I've seen use brown, but again, I'm stumped. Brown sugar was/is more expensive, but you don't use as much. I know she used brown sugar in her baked beans because that's how my mom made them.

Pickling spice. Only one recipe I've seen, that seems to be the closest to what Im looking for, calls for it. I know for sure she and my mom used that stuff for other things, I'm really inclined to think I need this. It just makes sense, it has all the ingredients, and then some, that the others call for.....mustard seed, celery seed, turmeric etc. It also has crushed red pepper flakes. Almost certain that's why I could never get the heat right.:good!:

Also, all of these recipes make 8 quarts. I'm not making that many. I've got to break it down to two quarts and that will make a difference if I don't get it just right.

Blah, blah, blah. Just thinking out loud.
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Mama used apple cider vinegar for certain things. Might have put it in chow chow, doubt Granma did. I think if she had used brown sugar, I would have remembered ...brown sugar was for cookies (oh, her brown sugar cookies!). I remember a grinder, not sure what they used it for. There were different sizes you change on the base to get different size cuts. Doubt my family used carrots, not something they could grow in our soil, remember Daddy trying. They were all misshapen. Definitely not zuchinni; I can remember when they started growing that. A huge producer, but "foreign". Mama was always trying to find a way to cook it so people would eat it. Settled on zuchinni bread. It was so good we used it to bribe our kids to behave on camping trips. She always made us a couple of loaves to guarantee their behavior😍.
 
#8,877
#8,877
Behr said:
Yea, but you never know. Same here. I can't see my grandma putting cucumbers in hers simply because I don't remember them being in it but, it would make sense for her to because it seemed like the majority of her garden was green bean, tomatoes, corn and cucumbers.

My thought on that old cookbook is, my grandma had to get the recipe from somewhere, at least the idea of it. One dated 1948 had to be close to what she did. Wouldn't it?
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Wouldn't be surprised if her recipe was back to the 1800's. I know a lot of my family's were handed down...Mama had one recipe she had written that had an egg sized piece of lard as a measurement😀.

Edit: he's right about the peppers. There were only two kinds, green (bell) and red (hot). The red were long, skinny, not too big, and you strung them and dried. When you wanted some pepper, you pulled one off the string. I remember they put them in green beans.
 
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#8,880
#8,880
It will never live up to this hype. It's been interesting and fun talking about it though. For me anyway. It will be pretty cool if I can figure it out enough to be satisfied with it. It would be a fine condiment on fish.
 
#8,881
#8,881
Behr said:
That's the problem, no one remembers enough about it. Lol. For all I know, my grandfather put Jack Daniels in it when my grandma wasn't looking and that's what gave it the "bite". It wasn't heat from peppers, it was 80 proof.
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This would explain why no one quite remembers what was in the chow chow. :)
 
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#8,885
#8,885
I suppose I should be ashamed to admit this, but I had never heard of chow chow until a couple of years ago. Duke's sweet pickle relish was the closest thing I knew.

Son-in-law persuaded hubby to try it at the Bywater here in AVL, and now he loves it.

I'm standing several feet away, poking gingerly at it with a long pole, but it seems to have a massive following.

I'm still not sure exactly what one does with it. Eat it on a plate? Put it on hot dogs? Stir it into something? Add it on top oft something-something??
Enquiring minds and all that. :hi:
 
#8,887
#8,887
VolNExile said:
I suppose I should be ashamed to admit this, but I had never heard of chow chow until a couple of years ago. Duke's sweet pickle relish was the closest thing I knew.

Son-in-law persuaded hubby to try it at the Bywater here in AVL, and now he loves it.

I'm standing several feet away, poking gingerly at it with a long pole, but it seems to have a massive following.

I'm still not sure exactly what one does with it. Eat it on a plate? Put it on hot dogs? Stir it into something? Add it on top oft something-something??
Enquiring minds and all that. :hi:
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Use it as a condiment kinda like relish.
 
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#8,888
#8,888
Do all those thing, it's very versatile. Now for the Chef's Creations Sriracha Sweet and Sour Shrimp............

Tasted like a mediocre sweet and sour shrimp dish you would get at a neighborhood Chinese restaurant with barely detectable heat. Shrimp is a little bigger than I thought they would be. I would buy it again simply because it's not terrible and easy to heat up and eat. Am not familiar with what sriracha should taste like so I can't comment on that aspect.
 
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#8,890
#8,890
All mentioned.

I haven't had any "good" in my adult life. If it turns out the way In hoping, I look forward to frying some fish. I would think it would work nicely with baked or broiled too.

Glad you liked your shrimp hman, I think Ill get one along with my Oreo's tomorrow, just to see how it compares with all the other sriracha flavored items I've tried.
 
#8,892
#8,892
hmanvolfan said:
Do all those thing, it's very versatile. Now for the Chef's Creations Sriracha Sweet and Sour Shrimp............

Tasted like a mediocre sweet and sour shrimp dish you would get at a neighborhood Chinese restaurant with barely detectable heat. Shrimp is a little bigger than I thought they would be. I would buy it again simply because it's not terrible and easy to heat up and eat. Am not familiar with what sriracha should taste like so I can't comment on that aspect.
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did you wash it down with a PBR
 
#8,895
#8,895
Bought the ingredients for the chow chow yesterday, got everything but the pickling spice. SOB! It was on my list too.

Got the veggies at the Farmers market, including some cayenne peppers. Gonna stop by Publix after Church and get the spice. Will start the soaking tonight or tomorrow night. Hopefully Tuesday I'll have a report on this coveted condiment.
 
#8,897
#8,897
hmanvolfan said:
No. Had a couple rum and cokes last Saturday and that's the first alcohol I've had to drink since the middle of last October. Chemo sucks. :p
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The part mom hated the most was not being able to have raw vegetables unless it was at home, so no salads, sushi, etc. That's when I learned to make sushi.
 
#8,898
#8,898
Behr said:
Bought the ingredients for the chow chow yesterday, got everything but the pickling spice. SOB! It was on my list too.

Got the veggies at the Farmers market, including some cayenne peppers. Gonna stop by Publix after Church and get the spice. Will start the soaking tonight or tomorrow night. Hopefully Tuesday I'll have a report on this coveted condiment.
Click to expand...

Have you decided on fine or course cut veggies?
 
#8,900
#8,900
malinoisvol said:
Have you decided on fine or course cut veggies?
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Volly brought up a good point in you couldn't tell where one ingredient started and where it ended, meaning all the ingredients were incorporated into one flavor, with the perfect amount of heat.

So, yea. I don't think the taste will be effected by the texture, that is unless it was from one extreme (chunky) to the other (puréed). So finely coarse. :)
 
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