Saturday, June 20, 2009

despumating tammied fecula

While exploring rabbit recipes I found one for Coulis de Lapereau au Currie in Escoffier's Guide to Modern Cookery. An excerpt:
...besprinkle with one-half tablespoon of fecula and a sufficient quantity of curry, moisten with the strained cooking-liquor of the pieces of rabbit, bring to the boil, and set to simmer for seven or eight minutes. Rub through tammy and then despumate for twenty minutes...
Well, that left me mystified three ways: fecula, tammy, and despumate? It mystifies my system's dictionary three ways too, unless you think the august Auguste sensed the future unique lamenting voice of one Ms Wynette. Online dictionaries were a little more helpful, though.

Fecula is a powdered starch made by grating roots and stems, and may be tapioca, potato, arrowroot, or many others.

Tammy, or tamis, is a rough woolen cloth used for straining.

Despumation is the process of clarifying a liquid by skimming the scum from the surface.

Feculent was already one of my favorite words, but today it was elbowed aside by fecula.

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