Family Living
Focus
by
Centre Co.
Extension Agent
Beth Van Horn
EGGPLANT
Did you ever wonder why it’s
called eggplant?
Apparently, the first European
eggplants were white (not the com
mon purple you see growing in
most gardens today). With the col
or and shape, the vegetable
resembled an egg thus
“eggplant.”
Years ago, eggplants were used
more for decorative purposes than
for food. Some people thought eat
ing it caused madness as well as
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Alrvllle
WOODBINE MOWER
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Dallastown
TRI-BORO
CONCRETE, INC.
43S LOCUM St.
717-246-3095
1-800-632-9019
East Earl
GOODS LAWN &
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Rout* 23
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Elizabethtown
MESSICK FARM
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RhMmt Exlt'Rt. 203
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Eohrata
WES STAUFFER
ENGINES & EQUIPMENT
23 PlMMnt Rd.
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717-658-2710
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717-442-9970
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leprosy, cancer, and bad breath.
The French and Italians became
enlightened to the vegetable,
which is commonly found in their
cuisine. A good eggplant should
not be seedy. Some people believe
they can tell the seed content and
“sex” of an eggplant by checking
the size and shape of the scar at the
blossom end.
According to the theory, a
“male” eggplant has fewer seeds
than the “female.” Actually, this
method is a myth an eggplant is
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RO 2, Box 115 A
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Palmyra
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740 W. Main St.
717-838-5999
Peach Bottom
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214 Paadi Bottom Road
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Rt. 1, BOX 449
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self-pollinating; that is, it has both
male and female characteristics
and can reproduce on its own. A
better way to judge the seediness is
by size. Small- and medium-sized
eggplants have fewer seeds than
large, overmature ones, which are
practically guaranteed to be seedy.
My favorite eggplant dish is
fried eggplant. Similar to nearly all
vegetables, eggplants contain vir
tually no fat until you fry them.
In an Australian study, an eggplant
absorbed more fat than any other
vegetable when fried! The
research showed it absorbed 83
grams of fat in just 70 seconds
four times as much as an equal por
time. Get one today.
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Along 772 Thru Monlany
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(Formally Sharllaavllla
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610-448-1025
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LEINBACH
FARM EQUIP.
1120 Rltnar Hwy.
717-532-5511
Tamaoua
CHARLES s.
SNYDER, INC.
RD J
717-388-5945
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720 Wtwalar Bctioot Rd.
301-479-5090
Are Amish Friendship Bread And
Similar
DONNA SCOTT
Cornell University
ITHACA, N.Y.
Recently, magazine
articles have revived
interest in sourdough
type starters used to
make various kinds of
breads and cake-like
breads. People are
encouraged to pass por
tions of the starters and
bread-making instruc
tions along to friends.
One such product is
called “Amish Friend
ship Bread,” although it
may or may not origi
nate from the Amish
community.
Several extension
educators in New York
State and in other states
have questioned the
safety of the Amish
Friendship Bread starter
because the instructions
call for leaving the pro
duct, which contains
milk, out at room temp
erature for ten days
before it is used to make
the bread. One article
gives directions for
freezing the starter and
for its regeneration and
reuse and also states that
“refrigerating the starter
will slow it down.”
tion of potatoes adding more
than 700 calories.
Eggplant will absorb less fat if it
is battered or breaded (dipped in
egg then coated with bread). Let
battered or breaded eggplant dry
for 30 minutes in the refrigerator
before frying. Many recipes call
for salting eggplant before cook
ing. This changes the texture of the
eggplant making it more dense
and eliminating the natural bitter
taste.
Rinsing the eggplant thoroughly
after salting will remove most of
the salt; however, salting, even
with rinsing, is not recommended
Sourdough Products
Safe To Eat?
After discussing the
safety of such a product
with two fermentation
experts here at Cornell
University and two of
Christina Stark’s and
my colleagues at Ore
gon Slate and Washing
ton State Universities, I
have concluded that
there is little risk of con
tracung foodbome ill
ness from properly pre
pared and handled star
ters, whether or not they
contain milk. Properly
prepared starters are
safe because they
became acidic due to the
fermentation action of
lactic acid-forming bac
teria present in the mix
ture. These bacteria and
the acid environment
formed inhibit the
growth of other bacten
a, but do allow yeast, if
added, to grow and help
leaven bread products.
But there are some
however’s of which
bakers should be aware:
• If one prepares a
sourdough starter “from
scratch,” one does not
always get a first-class
starter because the fer
mentation microorgan
isms naturally present in
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 27, 1996-811
if you are on a salt-restricted diet.
Ratatouille is a colorful Prove
ncal blerid of un-peeled eggplant,
bell pepper, tomato, summer
squash, onion, and garlic. Cut the
vegetables into large cubes or
chunks; saute them in a little olive
oil until they begin to express their
juices; cover and simmer until ten
der. Season with Provencal herbs
such as oregano, basil, and thyme.
Serve ratatouille warm, at room
temperature or cold. It can be used
as a side dish, entree, or appetizer.
It can also be used as an omelet fill
ing, pasta sauce, or pureed to make
a soup.
the ingredients may not sme ui ngt spoiled mix
be the ideal ones for pro- j ure people are able to
ducing a good starter, or keep a i rea ddy-started
some other necessary starters going with addi
condition may not have tlons 0 f pasteurized
been met. It probably because the organ
lakes experience with j sms are a i re ady there
the art of sourdough to f rom t b e original starter
recognize a really good culture (which may
starter. Most bread j, a ve been started from
cookbooks (Eg., Time/ raw milk, a possible
Life s The Good Cook, source of pathogenic
Breads or Linda C. bacteria).
Franklin $ Good Home , pqj. a good starter,
Cooking: Breads and o ave Brown and Keith
Biscuits”) have sections gieinkraus at Cornell
on sourdough. suggests that one begin
• Discard starter w ith cultured buttermilk
which smell bad, turn or yogurt with active
reddish or orange in col- bacterial cultures. For
or, or grow mold. Good slartcrs that ca ll for
starters are bubbly and water flour, and sugar
have a sour smell; the f an( j perhaps yeast), the
Amish Friendship use 0 f w hole wheat or
Bread starter should rye flour may give a bet
smell sweet and tangy. t er inoculum of lactic
•If you start the sour- acid-forming bacteria
dough “from scratch” than white, all-purpose
with pasteurized milk, it flour. Val Hillers at
will probably not pro- Washington Slate Uni
duce lactic acid and versily recommends
from a good starter discarding the milk
because the pasteuriza- containing Amish
tion process kills the Friendship starter
lactobacillus organisms altogether and using a
in the raw milk that s tarter that calls for
would initiate the fer- wa tg r (or use the advice
mentation. Eventually from Cornell, above),
you just get a foul- Be sure to wash careful
ly pieces of vegetable
such as potato or onion
that may be added to an
initial starter.
• Recognize that a
starter that may have
originally been started
with raw milk may be a
source of pathogenic
bacteria, such as E. coli
0157:H7. Never taste
such a raw starter. The
baking process (to done
ness, of course), would
destroy harmful bacteria
that might be present
• Follow the usual
recommendations for
personal and kitchen
cleanliness while pre
paring starters.
• One can refrigerate
or freeze starters and we
recommend storing star
ters in the refrigerator
after the fermentation
has progressed satisfac
torily (follow the recipe
for this). Sure, it “slows
them down;” but one
can get them going
again by warming them
to room temperature a
day or two ahead of use
in baking.
(Turn to Pago BIT)