Friday, July 16, 2010

Save a wife with Angostura bitters!

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Look at what I found! It's my mom's old Agostura® recipe book. The cover is missing so it is difficult for me to ascertain exactly when it was printed. Coming to think of it, I don’t remember it ever having had a cover but  my guess would be that it was printed in the late 60’s or mid-70’s?  The recipes contained within are for the most part  unimaginative but there are a few quaint recipes for turtle stew, lappe and salami d’agouti. Finally there is a chapter with the amusing title of Wife-saving recipes! I can only imagine the ad campaign:
.Are you a wife? Are your meals dull and boring? Then you need saving. You need the magic touch that means so much! Alrighty then, so I won't be quitting my day job, any time soon.

Angostura® bitters is known the world over as an indispensable bar ingredient but did you know that in Trinidad, home of this world famous concoction it is a much used cooking ingredient? According to the official website it is the hallmark of a good cook!

Does it make your food taste bitter ?

No. Like the website says, Angostura® aromatic bitters is not bitter when added to food and drinks. It works by enhancing the flavour of other ingredients without masking the personality of other ingredients; it adds a unique but subtle flavour of its own.

In my experience when you cook or even bake with bitters, what you get is an increase in what the Japanese call umami or the savoriness of the food. This taste has no direct translation except to say that the dish has a level of deliciousness that goes beyond the ordinary. In local parlance, it gives your dish that sweet hand taste. In Trinidad a good cook is described as some one who has sweet han’ (sweet hands) meaning that what ever they cook is “sweet too bad” - sweet here not meaning sugary but lip- smacking go back for second goodness.

Trinidadians cook with Angostura® bitters all the time. So much so, it has become almost a reflex motion for me to put a dash of it in soups, stews, marinades, on ice cream, in pasta sauce as well as in my drinks. So ingrained is it into our cooking culture that it is rarely mentioned in recipes because it goes with out saying that it’s in there.

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So tell me do you cook with bitters or am I the only one who finds it to be almost as necessary as salt? Maybe you use another ingredient to give your dish that magic touch. Do tell.

My next recipe will of course feature Angostura bitters. I just hope that my Jamaican readers don’t slay me when they see what it is…. Stay tuned.

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18 comments:

  1. Hmmm, I've never heard of an Angostora bitter. Now I want to try it out. I don't add anything truly out of the ordinary to my food unless a recipe calls for something different. I do like to use Worcestershire sauce in a lot of stuff. Is that sauce similar to this?

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  2. I'm not sure about it's allergy concerning contents -so I have given it up for now...but I miss it terribly!

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  3. I cook with bitters and totally agree that they enhance the flavors. Love the cook book with the wife saving recipes. Were there hubby savers in there as well?

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  4. Memória if you've ever had a cocktail at a bar I'm sure you've had it without even knowing http://www.angosturabitters.com/history.htm Yes you can use it like worcestershire sauce in your meat dishes but it is more versatile and since you can bake with it, mix drinks, make ice-cream. It started out as a medicine and is even good for tummy aches. The website has all the historical info and Oyster Culture did a fabulous post on all the various types of bitters http://oysterfoodandculture.com/2010/03/20/bitter-and-the-better-for-it/

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  5. Dee I can't speak for the allergy stuff but public relations person G La Rhonde-West responded to my query to let me know that it was gluten free. You could always ask about your allergy concerns. Søren has had no issues using it which is a good thing cause he can't have the malt vinegar in Worcestershire sauce. Still have it under observation.

    @OC Lols NO! I guess hubby's weren't often in the kitchen in those days. Changing times thank goodness.

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  6. I'v never heard about this a before. Where can I find this?

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  7. not only have i never cooked with bitters, i don't believe i've ever eaten anything containing them! thanks for the informative post. :)

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  8. Thanks for visiting my blog. I didn't know that this is used for cooking. I used it in the past to make a very popular drink of Cyprus, where I come from, called "brandy sour".

    http://kopiaste.org/2008/04/when-god-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonada-lemon-squash-and-of-course-brandy-sour/

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  9. YOu know I've heard of it and tried it but haven't owned it. I feel like I should though now! :P

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  10. i was watching a cooking show where the secret to the apple pie was bitters...

    will get it in my pantry :)

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  11. Oh Wiz, in Nigeria we love Angostura in Chapman, a fruit punch! I have a bottle in my pantry and I've been itching to get it out!!!!! I LOVE the photos of the wife-saving recipes! LOL + I've never seen any other Angostura flavours but the regular - love the orange!

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  12. I have never heard of using bitters to cook with , but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense!! I look forward to seeing your recipe!

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  13. I had never considered bitter in cooking (cocktails of course!!) so I am intrigued. GREG

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  14. I called and they assured me it had no nuts or peanuts, but I'm still cautious and decided just to wait a bit longer.

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  15. Indonesia Eats you can find it in the liquor section of your supermarket or at a liquor store

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  16. Great blog. keep up the good work and keep using this wonderful product.

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  17. Wow have not ever used it in my cooking. Thanks for sharing this interesting post.

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  18. I just found the same book my aunt gave to me; it has the cover but no print date! :(

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