Hi all! OK, so I’ve assembled most of the ingredients for the little slice of heaven you folks call “Apple Crumble”. Flour? Check! Bird’s Custard Powder? Check! Demerara sugar? Hmmmm…
A place in my area sells British foods - it’s where I bought the Bird’s - but they are quite expensive. For example, a small pack of demerara sugar - like 500g - was over $7! :eek:
Anyway, I figure that in a pinch I could use dark brown sugar, but I was wondering if Turbinado sugar would be an acceptable substitute - the Sugar in the Raw brand is available at most markets here in the States. I have such wonderful memories of the apple crumble from “The Stockpot” that I just wanna get it absolutely right, if you know what I mean!
Also, is there any particular type of “cooking apples” I should buy? I really love me some Granny Smith apples, but can’t remember if they’re “cooking apples” or not.
And lastly, a “bonus question” if I may ask… What makes British sausages so… mushy? The ones we make here in the States are… meatier (for lack of a better word) and are much more like German sausages than British ones. It’s not that I don’t like them - I do! - but I always found the texture a bit odd at first, having only eaten ones from the USA and BDR beforehand.
According to this site, muscovado sugar is closer to demerara (raw but purified) than turbinado is.
Granny Smith apples are terrific for cooking, and I believe that’s their primary purpose for many people, though they’re my personal favourite as an eating apple as well.
No idea on the snags. Good luck with your cooking.
Rex, you answered your own question about sausages. IIRC, British sausages are allowed a much higher percentage of “filler.” In the US, sausages are pretty much all meat, with seasonings. British sausages are…well…I’m sure there is a named meat in there somewhere!
The classic British cooking apple is the Bramley which does cook down to soft consistency. We have always used these . The other day we went to buy them at our local market but none could be found . The market-stall holder suggested using Granny Smiths instead and we found they were almost as good although they finish up with slightly firmer consistency.
As to sausages , yes some have that horrible , mushy texture. I think this is because they use that horrible " mechanically extracted " meat. This is common among the major brands. Instead try to find some proper butcher’s sausages which used minced ( ground ) meat and have a much better taste and consistency. You might have to pay more for them but they are worth it. The best types to look for are Cumberland and Lincolnshire. These contain herbs which add to the taste.
Of course, the irony in all this is that here in the States we have to pay a premium for the “mushy” sausages that we 'Merikins think of as “British” and you apparently think of as “nasty” and “commercial”. The ones you’re talking about sound similar to the ones we have here…
It’s sort of like an article I once read in the Wall Street Journal about how the number one food item French people on holiday buy here and take home with them is French’s Mustard… which I personally find to be the lowest form of mustard on the planet! heh.
If that’s true, it’s even more ridiculous, since French’s mustard is a completely American product. The company founder was a guy named French from New York.
Is there confusion here between French’s mustard ( which I presume is a brand of mustard sold in the US ) and French mustard which is a generic name for a style of mustard and includes Dijon and similar types? This is a sort of brown colour and is milder than English mustard which is yellow.
The thing with French’s mustard is that it is unlike almost any mustard available in Europe (though UK gets Heinz’ similar product). It is more like thick mustard flavoured vinegar, and though useless for most things it is really needed allong with Heinz ketchup to get the frankfurter in a bun with red and yellow paint just right.
It will astonish none of us I hope that French’s has a website, where you can learn more than you care to know about the company and its products.
French’s does make a Dijon mustard in addition to their yellow/vinegar style. I’ve had both, and they’re certainly great mustards for deli sandwiches, or for making potato salad. I’ve never eaten any sauces that used them however.
Perhaps the French tourists are just tickled by the name of the company? (But then again they call themselves “français” don’t they, as the adjective describing their nationality?)
No, the WSJ article said that the French buy it because “it’s essential for enjoying American-style hot dogs” - basically the same reason I’m wanting to make this apple crumble with Bird’s and demerara sugar. Of course, this article was from the early 1990s, so it’s possible that the French have banned hot dogs or something by now.
BTW, French’s (brand) mustard is now available in the UK; I bought a bottle in Tesco a couple of weeks back for a catering event (I chose it solely because of the squeezy bottle, but I took the remainder home afterwards and I quite like the stuff).
In fact, in the UK we can actually buy a different product labelled “soft brown sugar”, which would make a reasonable substitute. Dunno what it would be called in the States, tho’.
I chose this recipe because the measurements are in handy-dandy Imperial measurements but I just noticed something…
The recipe calls for a “half pint” of milk… Is that 10oz (1/2 an Imperial Pint) or 8oz. (1/2 a US pint). I’m asking because I’m not sure if all “kitchen measures” are (were?) the same in the UK and US.
In other words, I know a British pint and gallon are larger than the American ones, but I’m 99% sure that “teaspoon” and “tablespoon” are the same on both sides of the Atlantic.
Apple Crumble
A full-on childhood comfort food for me. My mum’d use plain ol’ brown sugar (not even especially dark), and it was so good you’d want to mainline the stuff. I doubt the old dear had ever heard of Demerara sugar (which is available here, but it is a little dearer than the others and you have to hunt it down).
Sausages
Australian ones must be like the British ones in that they are crap. They are commonly known here as Mystery Bags.
The US ones may be near all meat, but what meat? The 'merkins themselves use the phrase “lips and assholes”, and I think they’re right. UK and Australian sausages tend to have bread mixed in with the meat. The meat is also very fatty, so the bangers shrink to half their size and usually burst when you cook them.
US: Lips and assholes UK, Australia: Lips, arseholes, fat, bread, and preservative.
Not much of a choice really, but still, I loves me bangers.
I have never heard of Demerara sugar, but am well familiar with Demerara Rum in Guyana. I wonder if the Demerara sugar is from the same Guyanese source?
