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bag-cooking-msg - 12/24/16

 

Using plastic bags to warm pre-cooked foods at SCA events. Vacuum food sealers.

 

NOTE: See also the files: caldron-cookg-msg, Camp-Cooking-art, canning-msg, cook-ovr-fire-msg, drying-foods-msg, no-fire-cook-msg, Preservng-CMA-art, cmp-ckng-bags-art.

 

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NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with separate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make  no claims  as  to the accuracy  of  the information  given  by the individual authors.

 

Please respect the time  and  efforts of  those who have written  these messages. The copyright status  of these messages  is  unclear  at this time. If information  is  published  from  these  messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

   Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                         Stefan at florilegium.org

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Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 00:18:15 -0700

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Casbah! Feast, was Period Couscous References?

 

"Mark S. Harris" <stefan at texas.net> wrote:

>al-Sayyida Anahita al-Qurtubiyya bint 'abd al-Karim al-hakim al-Fassi said:

>  > I froze the chicken dish, the White Tharidah of al-Rashid, (about 14

>  > gallons worth in zip-closed plastic bags) to avoid "church picnic

>  > chicken syndrome". The Seven Vegetable Tagine was bagged and just

>  > refrigerated (about 9 gallons). Fabian made 600 meatballs from the

>  > Andalusian recipe i sent him, and froze them, per my request. The

>  > couscous was made on site.

>  >

>  > However, the food was re-heated courtesy of the gracious hostess of

>  > the feast, Eliska, and quite a few generous volunteers who manned the

>  > pots of hot water.

>You froze the food in regular, store bought plastic zip lock bags?

>Freezer bags or storage bags?

 

Yes, I just used regular storage bags. I filled them about half-way

(that is, i put about 1 gallon of cooked chicken in each two gallon

bag - easier to handle, as it left bag to grip - i was afraid they'd

burst if i filled them all the way, from the weight and strain).

 

I put the bags in the freezer and rotated them every 1/2 hour or so,

squishing them a bit to distribute the cold, until they got frosty.

Then i left them to freeze when i was sure they were cold through.

 

>And then you dropped the bags of food

>including the plastic into the boiling water to thaw and warm them

>up???

 

No, no, no! Would not be safe. We did immerse the bags in hot water,

though... Someone kept pots of water simmering on a propane stove.

Then periodically hot water was dipped out and added to the water in

some large containers we had - tempered with cold water out of the

spigot. I do not think the plastic the bags were made of would

withstand boiling.

 

Fabian says he wants to get double boilers for the next feast...

 

>Sounds very convenient and a lot cleaner than emptying the bags

>into pots and warming the food there, as my wife and I have been

>doing for several years at Gulf Wars.

 

Yes, it was convenient and we didn't have to wash out the pots.

 

>The bags don't melt? Or

>break open strewing the food into the boiling water? Hmmm.

 

As i said above, we did not immerse the bags in the boiling water in

the pots on the stove... I was afraid what you're afraid of would

happen (besides health risks from heated plastic).

 

After it was hot, the food was put into chafing dishes, the lower

part filled with hot water, and 2 sterno cans beneath each dish to

keep the food warm - when serving, the pans got refilled with hot

food fairly quickly, so the food didn't sit around for long.

 

Anahita

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 01:36:07 -0600

From: Sue Clemenger <mooncat at in-tch.com>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Casbah! Feast, was Period Couscous References?

 

This reminds me....many years ago, when Artemisia and Atenveldt were

still one kingdom, I attended an Estrella War, and was kindly hosted by

Duchy Tarragon.  They did a lot of this boiling-bag stuff, too, although

(IIRC) you've got to use the right bags--you can actually buy them, and

a gadget that seals them.

The thing I remember most clearly were the omelets (funny, considering

it's another thread going on right now!)....Apparently, at some point

before the war, the household would hold this omelet party, and they'd

pre-make all the omelets.  Into a single-serving bag would go X number

of eggs (sans shells, natch), a certain amount of cheese, seasonings,

etc. The bags were then frozen and transported.  On the given day, the

omelet bags were boiled, per instructions, and you just slit the bag,

and dumped out this little squarish omelet--a little non-standard

looking, but perfectly tasty, and very easy to prepare.

--Maire, who *should* be packing!

 

Patricia Collum wrote:

> My girl friend (and Mistress, and war autocrat) fed our household at

> Estrella war this way a couple of years ago. She called it "boiling-bag

> cooking" (I've seen this mundanely before). She had whole coolers filled

> with bags marked with the different days breakfast and dinner entrees in

> roughly 2-people servings.

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 00:51:40 -0700

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

From: david friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Casbah! Feast, was Period Couscous References?

 

>Yes, I just used regular storage bags. I filled them about half-way

>(that is, i put about 1 gallon of cooked chicken in each two gallon

>bag - easier to handle, as it left bag to grip - i was afraid they'd

>burst if i filled them all the way, from the weight and strain).

>I put the bags in the freezer and rotated them every 1/2 hour or so,

>squishing them a bit to distribute the cold, until they got frosty.

>Then i left them to freeze when i was sure they were cold through.

>>And then you dropped the bags of food

>>including the plastic into the boiling water to thaw and warm them

>>up???

>No, no, no! Would not be safe. We did immerse the bags in hot water,

>though... Someone kept pots of water simmering on a propane stove.

>Then periodically hot water was dipped out and added to the water in

>some large containers we had - tempered with cold water out of the

>spigot. I do not think the plastic the bags were made of would

>withstand boiling.

 

>Anahita

 

Sir Nathan in Calontir used to provide period food for the Calontiri

royalty at Pennsic by a version of this approach. I believe he used a

seal-a-meal or something similar, with bags that could be boiled. He

also used a high quality cooler. To cooler was paced with bags of

frozen food. For each meal, he pulled out the required bags and

dumped them, still sealed, in a pot of boiling water.

--

David/Cariadoc

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/

 

 

From: "Michael Gunter" <countgunthar at hotmail.com>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 11:29:15 -0500

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Freezing food

 

>You froze the food in regular, store bought plastic zip lock bags?

>Freezer bags or storage bags? And then you dropped the bags of food

>including the plastic into the boiling water to thaw and warm them

>up???

 

I've done this with most of my feasts. Pre-cook and bag them.

Then, at the feast site either boil-in-bag, microwave or defrost

and reheat. It depends on the dish and kitchen facilities

When cooking for 300+ it is nice to have as many conveniences

as possible. I also know ahead of time just how much food I have

and what things need to be changed before the last minute.

 

Of course it makes for some pretty late nights a few weeks before

the feast and you need some place to keep it frozen. ("Excuse me,

could we borrow your freezer? We have 50 gallons of Chicken

Bruet that needs a home.)

 

>The bags don't melt? Or

>break open strewing the food into the boiling water? Hmmm.

 

Get heavy duty freezer bags. And I sometimes double bag them

just to be safe.

 

>THLord Stefan li Rous

 

Gunthar

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 09:45:51 -0700

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Casbah! Feast, was Period Couscous References?

 

David/Cariadoc wrote:

>Sir Nathan in Calontir used to provide period food for the Calontiri

>royalty at Pennsic by a version of this approach. I believe he used a

>seal-a-meal or something similar, with bags that could be boiled. He

>also used a high quality cooler. The cooler was paced with bags of

>frozen food. For each meal, he pulled out the required bags and

>dumped them, still sealed, in a pot of boiling water.

 

Yes, Fabian is considering buying a Seal-A-Meal set up. The plastic

used for this can withstand both freezing and boiling and, i think,

microwaving, and the bags are heat sealed so they're less likely to

pop open. So this is safer in several ways than using zip-shut

plastic bags.

 

He has a household and is thinking how convenient this would be for

feeding the household at events - cook the food *well* ahead of time,

freeze it, and pull out and pop it in the cooler for an event, then

heat up the water and drop it in.

 

I think this is a good idea for camping events, although i'd *never*

do this for a feast... well, if various folks are cooking dishes

ahead of time, some things can withstand home freezing - which takes

longer than commercial, often forms ice crystals in the food which

can change the texture to mushy, and if the packets aren't properly

sealed the food gets freezer burn and tastes like the other stuff in

the freezer...

 

The meatballs were fine and the White Tharidah seemed not to suffer

from being frozen for 2 days. But some things just don't survive home

freezing without getting a weird texture.

 

Anahita

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 13:04:25 -0400

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

From: Gorgeous Muiredach <muiredach at bmee.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Freezing food

 

>I've done this with most of my feasts. Pre-cook and bag them.

>Then, at the feast site either boil-in-bag, microwave or defrost

>and reheat. It depends on the dish and kitchen facilities

 

Hate to be the one to raise attention to this again, but...

 

Ya got to be careful how you do it.  It works fine, and I've used that

technique before.  Just make sure that

a)your contents are defrosted before you re-warm them

and

b)you use actual boiling water, not just lukewarm water...

 

BTW, saranwrap and other wraps don't melt in boiling water, so just about

any ziplock bag should handle boiling water without flinching.  It's always

a good idea to *under* bag though.  If you fill the poor thing to the brim,

it'll just want to explode ;-)

 

Gorgeous Muiredach the Odd

Clan of Odds

Shire of Forthcastle, Meridies

mka Nicolas Steenhout

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 13:09:59 -0400

From: "Sandra Kisner" <sjk3 at admin.is.cornell.edu>

To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] boiling bags

 

>BTW, saranwrap and other wraps don't melt in boiling water, so just about

>any ziplock bag should handle boiling water without flinching.  It's always

>a good idea to *under* bag though.  If you fill the poor thing to the brim,

>it'll just want to explode ;-)

 

   It's been a long time since I tried boiling something in a bag, but I seem to recall that the problem was the bag touching the side of the pot, not the hot water, causing melting problems.  Is this the case in the experience of anybody else?

 

Sandra

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 12:33:37 -0500 (CDT)

From: "Pixel, Goddess and Queen" <pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Freezing food

 

> BTW, saranwrap and other wraps don't melt in boiling water, so just about

> any ziplock bag should handle boiling water without flinching.  It's always

> a good idea to *under* bag though.  If you fill the poor thing to the brim,

> it'll just want to explode ;-)

> Gorgeous Muiredach the Odd

 

Actually, I've had otherwise brand new out-of-the-box Hefty freezer bags

die on me when the side seams came apart. I probably should have waited

until the stew had cooled a bit more, but it wasn't boiling. It was hot to

the touch but not so hot that I couldn't taste it without cooling. Once

there was more than a ladle's worth of stew in the bag, it split open.

 

Margaret the Perfectly Normal

 

 

From: Marilyn Traber <marilyn.traber.jsfm at statefarm.com>

To: "SCA-Cooks (E-mail)" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 12:37:47 -0500

Subject: [Sca-cooks] seal-a-meal

 

I have had a seal a meal off and on since teh original 'daisey' seal-a-meal

back in teh early 80s.

 

I currently have the one they were flogging on TV about 5 years ago.

 

I heartily recommend them. Mine hasn't gotten used in the last couple of

years, but when I worked for US Foodservices and tended to get either whole

uncut slabs of meat, or teh 40 count chicken breasts, and cases of veggies

it was amazingly useful.

 

Best [IIRC} 150$US investment.

margali

 

 

From: "Patricia Collum" <pjc2 at cox.net>

To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] boiling bags

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 11:07:17 -0700

 

> It's been a long time since I tried boiling something in a bag, but I

> seem to recall that the problem was the bag touching the side of the pot,

> not the hot water, causing melting problems.  Is this the case in the

> experience of anybody else?

>

> Sandra

 

We actually clothespinned the top of the bag to the side of the pot. This

kept the contents submerged better, and we could tell our serving by the

spot we had clothespinned it to. No melting problems, but we did 1) make

sure the water was boiling before the bags were added, 2) limit the number

of bags in at a time so they wouldn't cool the water too much. This led to a

bit of a line (like at the microwave at lunchtime at work) even with 2 large

soup pots of water going. Sometimes the bags would boil free of their

clothespins- look out, you're lunch is escaping!

 

Cecily

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 14:01:08 -0400

From: "Nick Sasso" <NJSasso at msplaw.com>

To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Freezing food

 

I completed my food safety certification this summer (and it was a

hoot), so I I want to add a few documentable cents' worth.  Please be

sure that you are handling the food properly according to food agencies'

guidelines to be sure you are serving safe food.  The general guideline

of thawing before cooking is safe, but not required according to the

June 2002 materials provided by Serv-Safe, the industry standard in

Restaurant Food Safety training.

 

According to the manual and the standards for the training, thawing of

a food product can be performed as a step in the cooking process, and

the previously cooked food needs to be brought up to 160F in order to be

ensured safe by their guidelines (I can provide chapters and verses if

requested). You should bring the food through the 40F to 140F zone as

quickly as possible, and stir or agitate often.  Boil in bag will be a

challenge if large quantities are brought to heat at once . . . . gotta

ensure even heat distribution for safe reheating.

 

The key will be to follow safe freezing and storage techniques at the

front end to increase convenience and safety at the back end.  Cool you

food in flat containers, no more than 2 to 3 inches deep, depending on

food item.  If you were to put your food into the bag and then lat flat

to cool then freeze, you will have a much safer reheat on the back end.

 

Melting is but one issue for plastics. Remember that there is chemical

leeching that can occur before melting. This could lead to anything

from nothing at all to off flavors to your wonderful meal to adverse

physical reactions in diners sensitive to plastics or their degraded

by-products. There are products on the market designed for reheating,

and often can be re-used for economy sake.  So, you get to make the

choice yourself (testing might be good here) as to what products you

wish to store and heat in.

 

fra niccolo difrancesco

 

 

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 12:08:23 -0700

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

From: david friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Freezing food

 

>I've done this with most of my feasts. Pre-cook and bag them.

>Then, at the feast site either boil-in-bag, microwave or defrost

>and reheat. It depends on the dish and kitchen facilities

>When cooking for 300+ it is nice to have as many conveniences

>as possible. I also know ahead of time just how much food I have

>and what things need to be changed before the last minute.

 

What we have tended to do is a partial pre-cook. One of our favorite

soups, for example, is A Pottage from Meat (Platina). It's basically

a meat broth thickened with bread crumbs and eggs. We do everything

prior to the thickening, freeze it, then for the feast thaw, heat and

thicken.

--

David/Cariadoc

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/

 

 

From: "Barbara G. Dodge" <awench1 at cox.net>

To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2002 21:54:00 -0400

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re:  Boil in Bag

 

If you have a large kettle with a pasta insert, this would solve the problem

of the bags touching the sides of the kettle and make for easier retrieval.

 

>     It's been a long time since I tried boiling something in a bag, but I

> seem to recall that the problem was the bag touching the side of the pot,

> not the hot water, causing melting problems.  Is this the case in the

> experience of anybody else?

 

Sandra

 

 

From: "Phlip" <phlip at 99main.com>

To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re:  Boil in Bag

Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2002 22:06:51 -0400

 

This is the first I'd seen of this thread or difficulty.

 

The only reason you should have that sort of difficulty with a boil in bag

is if you don't use a pot to boil the water in that's big enough. The boil

in bag should be free to move about, rather than being jammed in place- not

only does that allow more even heating of the contents, but the  nature of

water as a calorie absorbant prevents hot spots on the side of the pot.

 

Phlip

 

 

From: "Phlip" <phlip at 99main.com>

To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Boil in Bag

Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 14:11:17 -0400

 

> So where does one find bags for boiling...other than the seal a meal type.

I have looked in every grocery store I have been to and cant find anyting.

Lots of other bags, but none for boiling. I think they would be very

convenient for leftovers...but Im not sure I want to go out and buy the seal

a meal gadget.<

 

I've always used the seal-a-meal bags, with or without the gadget. The

gadget is more convenient, of course, but if you leave the bags oversized,

you can seal them using an iron on a towel. I won't presume to tell you

which setting- it's been my experience that different irons tend to vary in

their actual heat, but it's usually one of the hotter settings- DON'T use

steam.

 

I found mine to be well worth the money. You might find one cheap at a yard

sale. Haven't used Margali's yet- she has one of the new-fangled type which

puts a vacuum seal in them, but I always found that removing as much air

space as you conveniently could and wiping the inside of the top of the bag

worked just fine. Keep in mind, though, that if you don't use the proper

equipment, you'll likely need an assistant.

 

Phlip

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:09:43 -0400

From: "Terri Morgan" <online2much at cox.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking experiment a success

To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

It works very well for STC and for omelettes (pack them raw, boil to  cook).

I've cook for Crusades that way each time I've gone - serve on a half-loaf

of round bread and no worries about the clean-up. (Site rules about grey

water and trash there are fairly strict.)

 

Hrothny

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:12:40 -0600

From: Anne-Marie Rousseau <dailleurs at liripipe.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking experiment a success

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>, "Elaine

        Koogler" <kiridono at gmail.com>

 

yay for seal a meals!

for Estrella this year, we did seal a meals for pretty much the whole  

week. stews, barley, veg, etc (period recipes of course ;)) were all cooked at home and sealed, then frozen.

 

worked like a charm!! one hint...if they're frozen, you dont need as much ice. also, seal in several bags rather than one giant one for easier thawing, quicker heating up and you can more easily adjust for numbers of diners.

 

its not as much fun as cooking over a fire, etc but given that we  

wanted to fit in plenty of shopping, classes, fighting and equestrian fun, it worked well :)

 

--Anne-Marie

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:14:48 -0400

From: Guenievre de Monmarch? <guenievre at erminespot.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking experiment a success

To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> I wouldn't have tried any kind of pie or easily squishable item because

> it does squeeze it a bit. I wonder how they did the "pot pie" item.  

> The cobbler I can see.

 

If your foodsealer has a "seal immediately" feature (I think they all do,

just by hitting the seal button you use to make the bags during the cycle),

it works fine for pies as long as they have a fairly stiff crust - I've done

meat pies and open quiches with the only ill effect being a slight

"patterning" on the surface of the item from the texture inside the  

bags...

 

Guenievre

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:31:03 -0600

From: Anne-Marie Rousseau <dailleurs at liripipe.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking experiment a success

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org, "Georgia Foster"

        <jo_foster81 at hotmail.com>

 

heck, you can even do an approximation of herbolade in a boiling bag  

(that's the eggy cheesy herby thing in le Menagier and Forme of Curye.

 

recipe:

Herbolade:

One Herbolace Or Two of Eggs (Menagier a Paris )

Take of dittany two leaves only, and of rue less than the half or naught, for know that it is strong and bitter; of smallage, tansey, mint, and sage, of each some four leaves or less, for each is strong; marjoram a little more, fennel more, parsley more still, but of porray, beets, violet leaves, spinach, lettuces and clary, as much of the one as of the others, until you have two large

handfuls. Pick them over and wash them in cold water, then dry them  

of all the water, and bray two heads of ginger, then put your

herbs into the mortar two or three times and bray them with the ginger. And  then have sixteen eggs well beaten together, yolks and whites, and bray and mix them in the mortar with the things above said, then divide it in two and make two thick omelettes, which you shall fry as followeth.

First you shall heat your frying pan very well with oil, butter or  

such other fat as you will, and

when it is very hot all over and especially towards the handle,  

mingle and spread your eggs over

the pan and turn them often over and over with a flat palette, then  

cast good grated cheese on the

top, and know that it is so done, because if you grate cheese with  

the herbs and eggs, when you

come to fry your omelette, the cheese at the bottom will stick to the  

pan, and thus it befals with

an egg omelette if you mix the eggs with the cheese.  Wherefore you  

should first put the eggs in

the pan, and put the cheese on the top, and then cover the edges with  

eggs, and otherwise it will

cling to the pan.  And when your herbs be cooked in the pan, cut your  

herbolace into a round or square and eat it not too hot nor too cold.

 

Erbolat (Forme of Curye )

Take persel, myntes, saverey and sauge, tansey, verveyn, clarry,  

rewe, ditayn, fenel, southrenwode;

hewe hem and grince hem slale. Medle hem up with aryen. Do buttur in  

a trap, and do the fars therto, and bake it and messe forth.

 

Our version:

1 lb bag irradiated, mixed interesting salad greens (spinach, arugula, etc)

minced fresh parsley, sage, savory, marjoram, a touch of mint, fennel, or whatever fresh herbs you can find. About one handfuls worth when its all in a pile (go easy on the mint).

1 small slice fresh ginger

2 T butter or olive oil

16 eggs, beaten

2 cups shredded cheese

optional modern addition: a bit of minced garlic or onion

 

In a large bowl, pound the ginger till the juice gets out. Fish out the stringy bits if desired.  Add the greens  and herbs and pound until slightly wilted. Melt the butter in a large deep pot with the garlic if you wished it. Add the greens, then the beaten eggs. Stir till blended. When the eggs are about set, add the cheese. Don’t stir, but cover and let cook until the cheese is melted.

Serves 8.

 

BOILING BAG VERSION:

sautee the greens in a bit of olive oil or butter with the ginger  

(minced). let cool.

beat the eggs

put into boiling bags, about 2-3 eggs worth, plus some greens, plus  

some grated cheese. squish out the air and seal.

 

not advisable to freeze, but to cook, just toss the bags into boiling  

water. squish once ina  while to make sure its cooked.

 

enjoy! :)

 

--Anne-Marie

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:39:01 -0500

From: Colin MacNachtan <dcm at mccr.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking experiment a success

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

On Wednesday 21 March 2007 2:07 pm, Michael Gunter wrote:

> I wouldn't have tried any kind of pie or easily squishable item

> because it does squeeze it a bit. I wonder how they did the

> "pot pie" item. The cobbler I can see.

 

As one of the members of the camp in question, I can answer that.  We froze

everything before we vacuum-sealed it.  All the food was actually taken

frozen in a cooler with dry ice in it.

 

Our menu for the week included:

 

The mentioned chicken cordon bleu pie (chicken, ham, blue cheese)

Green bean quiche

Broccoli casserole

Steak and mushroom pie

Sausage/cheese pie

This year none of the "pies" had an actual bottom pie crust.  The crust was

deemed not necessary.  Some had crust toppings, others had biscuit or bread

crumb toppings.

 

Chili - frozen in blocks, then vacuum-sealed and boiled.  To serve, clip the

bag to the side of a big empty pot and scoop out with a ladle.  No serving

dish required.

 

Girl Scout omelets - raw eggs and omelet fixings in a bag, frozen and sealed,

then boiled on site.  They came out much better than expected.

 

Colin

Bryn Gwlad

Ansteorra

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:09:45 -0400

From: "Nick Sasso" <grizly at mindspring.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking experiment

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

<<< I was just given a seal-a-meal as a gift.  Do others have other good,

tested ideas for Pennsic foods? (Thank you to Gunthar for those he already

posted!)

-Ardenia > > > > > >

 

Nearly all of the stewy, brown glop sort of recipes from early British and

other cookbooks will work great.  We found that when we did this for Gulf

Wars about 5 years ago, it was wise to thaw completely as possible before

immersing in water.  I will also step out and say that our best results were

with things that were laid flat and frozen no more than about 1" thick.  Any

starch and sauce/stew/ragout sort of thing will do great.  For pastas and

rice and such, ever so slightly undercook to avoid gumminess.  We did do

some very thin chicken pies from Menagier . . . you need the instant seal

feature to avoid chicken pancakes.  If you use a solid sort of form, you can

do pies pretty nicely . . . think springform pan, only a little shorter.

 

Anything that you would marinade and grill will hold up well.  Also, if you

want to do SOME cooking, you can precook parts of the dish and assemble or

cook on site.  It will save lots of preparation time and dishes anyway.

Then throw it all into the pot for the stew or whatever the dish.

 

niccolo difrancesco

(proponent and owner of a FoodSaver by Tilia . . . bags are reuseable if not

boiled)

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:09:52 -0500

From: "Ysabeau" <lady.ysabeau at gmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking ideas

To: <grizly at mindspring.com>, "'Cooks within the SCA'"

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

The meal I prepared in a seal-a-meal was Al-Madiri Beef - basically a beef,

onion, and leek curry-type stew based on a period recipe that was redacted

by a friend of mine and then redacted again by me, Many Jewels Rice -  again,

a redaction by a friend that I again redacted, and Strawberries in Snow-

from a website. It all worked really well. It all traveled well and was

still frozen after three days in a cooler.

 

The rice was a saffron rice with dried apricots, dried cherries, slivered

almonds and toasted pistachios tossed in along with some sesame oil. It

makes for a very pretty presentation with the fruit and nuts looking like

jewels amid the "gold" rice. I was worried the rice would turn into a big

gummy glob but it fluffed up nicely after it was brought back to slightly

above room temperature.

 

I wimped out on the strawberries in snow and used ice cream instead of the

whipped cream...primarily because the store at the corner had ice cream and

not whipped cream. The kids in the camp definitely liked the ice  

cream even if they couldn't have the strawberries in wine. I did not freeze the

strawberries in the spiced red wine but I think I'll do that next time. I

don't think the hour or so they had to marinate was enough for the flavors

to really blend. The strawberries were really big and (surprisingly) still

half frozen. Has anyone tried to freeze something like that with wine? Will

the wine freeze or just get slushy?

 

Ysabeau

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:19:33 -0700

From: "Sue Clemenger" <mooncat at in-tch.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking experiment a success

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Seal-a-meal "omelets" are wonderful, too.  Just plop the raw eggs (sans

shells), seasonings, cheese, meat, whatever into the bags.  One serving/bag.

Meat should be pre-cooked.  Freeze till needed.  Boil until egg is cooked

through. Works *beautifully* when doing omelets for a large encampment.

 

--Maire

 

 

Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:38:37 -0700

From: "K C Francis" <katiracook at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Camp cooking experiment a success

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

I have a VERY old seal-a-meal with no 'suck' option.  No problem, I just

carefully (and it is quite easy) press until the sauce is just below the

seal area and then press down the seal bar.  I always use it for stew like

dishes. Beef burgandy or tarragon chicken with onions and mushrooms.  Thick

soups are great too.

 

My old household used this method to great advantage back in the mid 80's.

These days with my busy schedule at events and being a court junkie, my best

reason is that I can cook for one and heat and eat my one meal in just a few

minutes.   And then use the hot water for washing the bowl & spoon.

Cooking from scratch, which I loved to do, was to hard to fit in around

evening court.

 

I am always on the lookout for 'boil-n-the-bag' products for the same

reason, but they are few and far between these days.  One freezer brand used

to have great thick soups.  Now it is all microwave.  Wish they would make

the packaging boilable too.

 

Katira

 

 

Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:14:41 -0500

From: Vitaliano Vincenzi <vitaliano at shanelambert.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] seal-a-meal clones

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Hint: Almost ALL seal-a-meal clones will use the Generic bags available

at Target, Kohl's and if you have them, Farm & Fleet stores. We have the

Black & Decker "Fresh guard" model but never buy the Black & Decker bags

because, 1) we can't find them, and 2) they are too expensive when we

can find them.

 

Don't believe the hype on the side that says "only use our bags" or

whatever text is there. They are just trying to put more green in their

pocket. Keep that green for yourself and find generic bags - they work

just as well. :)

 

Anne-Marie Rousseau wrote:

> On picking a seal a mealer gadget...

> One of my primary concerns was availability of the bags. I ended up going

> with the one that sealed, sucked ;) and that was about it, but whose bags I

> could get a my local Fred Meyers (a PacNW based chain that isn't going to go

> anywhere :)) as well as CostCo.

> I actually had a "real" seal a meal but couldn't find the bags except

> online. One may be able to use different bags on them, but I wanted  

> to be sure.

> --AM

--

Lord Vitaliano Vincenzi

aka Shane Lambert

 

 

Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 07:21:09 -0700

From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" <dailleurs at liripipe.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Greetings from the Incipient Shire of

        Tymberhavene inAnTir

To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Hello from Anne-Marie (also in Antir :))

 

One of my favorite "foods that if you serve it to a modern person they'll go

"oo! Breakfast!" even if our medieval counterparts may not have eaten it as

such" (happy, Bear? ;)) is herbolade. There are several versions in the

medieval corpus...off the top of my head I think of the one from le menagier

but I'm pretty sure there's another one in one of the English sources (both

are medieval western European)

 

Its kinda a baked frittata thingie, with eggs, herbs and cheese.

 

One Herbolace Or Two of Eggs (Menagier de Paris, p. 274)

 

Take of dittany two leaves only, and of rue less than the half or naught,

for know that it is strong and bitter; of smallage, tansey, mint, and sage,

of each some four leaves or less, for each is strong; marjoram a little

more, fennel more, parsley more still, but of porray, beets, violet leaves,

spinach, lettuces and clary, as much of the one as of the others, until you

have two large handfuls.  Pick them over and wash them in cold water, then

dry them of all the water, and bray two heads of ginger, then put your

herbs into the mortar two or three times and bray them with the ginger. And

then have sixteen eggs well beaten together, yolks and whites, and bray

and mix them in the mortar with the things abovesaid, then divide it in two

and make two thick omelettes, which you shall fry as followeth.  First you

shall heat your frying pan very well with oil, butter or such other fat as

you will, and when it is very hot all over and especially towards the

handle, mingle and spread your eggs over the pan and turn them often over

and over with a flat palette, then cast good grated cheese on the top, and

know that it is so done, because if you grate cheese with the herbs and

eggs, when you come to fry your omelette, the cheese at the bottom will

stick to the pan, and thus it befals with an egg omelette if you mix the

eggs with the cheese.  Wherefore you should first put the eggs in the pan,

and put the cheese on the top, and then cover the edges with eggs, and

otherwise it will cling to the pan.  And when your herbs be cooked in the

pan, cut your herbolace into a round or square and eat it not too hot nor

too cold.

 

My version (adapted for cooking over a campstove/cookfire and easy quick

prep) (all rights reserved, no publication without permission please):

 

Take a couple handfuls of herb salad greens (and/or bagged baby spinach) and

mince finely with a bit of fresh ginger. Mix with six eggs and beat until

blended.

 

Heat some olive oil in a large pan that has a lid (my cast iron dutch oven

works great for this). Dump in egg/herby goo. When set, you can flip it (or

if you're like me and forget, it will work just fine without flipping ;)).

Sprinkle grated cheese on top, replace the lid and remove from the heat. The

residual heat from the cast iron pot will melt the cheese nicely.

 

I've also been known to do a pseudo version of this in boiling

bags....sautee my greens etc in a bit of olive oil. Beat the eggs with the

grated cheese and seal all in a boiling bag. (don't do more than six eggs

per bag for ease of cooking through). Like the boyscout omelets :))

 

Hope this helps! This recipe is a big hit with people who "don't like

medieval food".

 

--Anne-Marie

 

 

Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:51:37 -0700

From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" <dailleurs at liripipe.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] medieval boil-in bag meals

To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>,

        "'SCA-Cooks maillist SCA-Cooks'" <SCA-Cooks at Ansteorra.org>

 

Hi from Anne-Marie :)

 

then Stefan asks me:

Anyone have some good suggestions for medieval recipes that adapt

well to this technique? I'd like to add more such suggestions to the

bag-cooking-msg file in the Florlegium. And someday when I get one

of the vacuum-sealer machines...

 

to whit I reply:

what recipes DON'T work with boiling bags? :). Any sort of stew thing works.

Herbolades work. Sauces work. Braised greens. Benes. Frumenty. Funges.

Basically any dish that you would have boiled, or simmered into a glop, so

pretty much most of the English and French medieval corpus ;).

 

I've even done roast pork with sauce by making the sauce ahead of time,

roasting the pork at home, slicing the pork and packaging WITH the sauce

and reheating on site.

 

Again, I vastly prefer to cook in a period manner, but when modern site

rules dictate, I have come up with this work around :)

 

--Anne-Marie

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:42:25 -0400

From: "Nick Sasso" <grizly at mindspring.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] medieval boil-in bag meals

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

-----Original Message-----

to whit I reply:

<<<SNIP>>>

I've even done roast pork with sauce by making the sauce ahead of time,

roasting the pork at home, sliceing the pork and packaging WITH the  

sauce and reheating on site. > > > > > >

 

You can even do roasted chicken if you flatten it out before sealing it.

You loose the crispy skin, but it works.  Lamb chops same thing, but you

don't have to flatten much.  Game hens would do as well.  You would be

absolutely amazed what you can manage with a little creativity and a  firm

grasp of fundamentals of boil in bag reheating.  We even did the lombard

chicken from Menagier!  Done flat enough, and thoroughly thawed before

cooking, you can heat them through in about 15 to 18 minutes at a high

simmer. Remember that water, like an oven, has variable heat levels ;o)

 

niccolo difrancesco

(only done b-n-b camping once, and it was a general success)

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:30:17 -0500

From: "Michael Gunter" <countgunthar at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] medieval boil-in bag meals

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

> what recipes DON'T work with boiling bags? :). Any sort of stew thing works.

> Herbolades work. Sauces work. Braised greens. Benes. Frumenty. Funges.

> Basically any dish that you would have boiled, or simmered into a  

> glop, so pretty much most of the English and French medieval corpus ;).

 

As has been pointed out, you can do more than just gloppy dishes. One

of my camp favorites is breakfast burritos. Just make the burritos ahead of

time, wrap and seal. Then drop in boiling water to reheat.

Noodles do fine in seal-a-meals. The first time I sealed spaghetti noodles

I thought they had been squashed to mush. But when they were heated

and poured into a bowl they were fine.

 

Grilled meats do fine. Steaks and chops do great.

Remember, no water gets into the bag. Just heat penetrates so it is like

a microwave. I've even put in frozen microwave items (like Beef Stroganoff)

and then just used the boiling bag and it worked fine.

 

Seal-A-Meals are also great for raw foods that you want to marinate.

The vaccuum seal helps the marinade penetrate deeply. Just unseal and

grill.

 

So pretty much any period dish works well when sealed. Just prepare at

home and boil on site. Pour into your serving dish and have a proper  

dinner with no grey water, no dirty pots and very little cleanup.

 

> I've even done roast pork with sauce by making the sauce ahead of time,

> roasting the pork at home, slicing the pork and packaging WITH the  

> sauce and reheating on site.

 

Yeah. That works fine.

Also, fresh stuff is great. Salads, sliced vegetables (even things like tomato

or avacado) cheeses, raw meats or fish, etc....the sealing prevents oxidation

and cross contamination. It also prevents water from melting ice to get in

or meat juices from getting out.

 

The frozen flat bags also help keep the chill in a cooler.

 

> Again, I vastly prefer to cook in a period manner, but when modern  

> site rules dictate, I have come up with this work around :)

 

My main reason for using the Seal-A-Meal is convenience. I'm almost always

busy at events or Wars but I'm also quite often the main camp cook along

with Elizabeth. I just flat don't have TIME to go and prepare a nice dinner

for even two people after fighting all day, sitting in Circle, attending

Commanders' meetings, working A&S or whatever. So, I can come in, take a shower, get changed and boil some water for a nice hot meal before going to Court or

whatever else calls.

 

Yes, preparing a meal in a period fashion is wonderful. But you usually have

to dedicate a couple of hours to doing it. I just never have that luxury.

 

Um....have I mentioned that I LOVE my Seal-A-Meal?

 

> --Anne-Marie

 

Gunthar

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:41:19 -0700

From: Susan Fox <selene at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] medieval boil-in bag meals

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> what recipes DON'T work with boiling bags? :). Any sort of stew thing works.

> Herbolades work. Sauces work. Braised greens. Benes. Frumenty. Funges.

> Basically any dish that you would have boiled, or simmered into a glop,

 

What completely failed in seal-bags was hand-held pies.  I tried to bag

up Cornish pasties for war once and the vacuum-suck process broke up the

crusts severely.  Next time, I go with conventional zipper bags and

store them on crushed ice, gently.

 

Selene

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:33:53 -0400

From: Gueni?vre de Monmarch? <guenievre at erminespot.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] medieval boil-in bag meals

To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Most sealers have a no-suction or even partial-suction option for sealing -

I learned the same lesson on pies, but still like the *seal* of putting pies

in the sealer bags anyway. But then I have notoriously bad luck on zipper

bags...             

 

Gueni?vre

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:39:09 -0500

From: Anne-Marie Rousseau <dailleurs at liripipe.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] medieval boil-in bag meals

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>,   Susan Fox

        <selene at earthlink.net>

 

for things in a crust, I found that wrapping them loosely in tin  

foil, and THEN putting them in

ziplocks helped keep the crust from getting soggy, plus the extra  

packaging that was slightly stiff meant they didnt get as smooshed!

 

of course the best way to transport tarts and such is in the muffin  

pans (we sometimes do our handheld pies in texas muffin tins)

 

--AM

 

> What completely failed in seal-bags was hand-held pies.  I tried to bag

> up Cornish pasties for war once and the vacuum-suck process broke up the

> crusts severely.  Next time, I go with conventional zipper bags and

> store them on crushed ice, gently.

> Selene

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:44:49 -0700

From: "SCABeathog" <scabeathog at cox.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] medieval boil-in bag meals

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

To bag pasties (and other similar fragile items), I freeze them a bit first,

to firm them up.  I then can  _carefully_ proceed with the vacuum-suck

process. Works great for me!  I have BAD, bad luck with conventional  

zipper bags.

 

Beathog

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:44:10 +0000

From: "Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Boil-in bag meals question

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

> Helen Schultz wrote:

<<<<snip>>>>

 

>   By the way, I did have a leg of lamb that I brought out to Pennsic

> this year (with bone), that I thought would stay frozen much longer than it

> did.  But, it was purchased from Sam's Club in one of those seal-a-meal

> type bags, and even though it had been thawed out for nearly a week (kept

> on ice, though), it tasted wonderful.  It would have been better if

> marinated, though... so might have to work on that for next year.

 

One very efficent way I have used to marinate these "already sealed" things

is to inject the marinade right through the wrapping into the meat, just on

the top surface but at but at different depths, then just set in foil or a

shallow pan to catch any dripping and plop back in the cooler overnight or

all day.

 

Olwen

 

 

Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 13:50:48 -0400

From: "Anne Murphy" <afmmurphy at gmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] medieval boil-in bag meals

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Frumenty is good for camp cooking even without a boil in bag. I use

the slight cheat that I use bulgar wheat, which has been parboiled,

rather than regular cracked wheat. (Bulgar is also usually easier for

me to find.) I use the packaged almond milk (won't work for many

recipes, as it doesn't thicken properly, but does for this.) You just

need to bring it all to a boil, simmer a couple of minutes, and then

cover set it aside while you cook the rest of the meal - not using up

propane or a valuable burner.

 

AEllin

 

 

Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 09:52:27 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Boil-in bag meals question

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

One of the questions to ask yourself is where and when and how often  

will it be used. SCA only? Home preservation? Buying in bulk?

A lot of hunters use them to preserve game. It's also often not

the cost of the machine but the cost of the bags and how easy it is

to get the bags. Can they be purchased locally? Must they be mail-

ordered with an additional s/h cost?

 

Johnnae

 

 

Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 10:23:16 -0400

From: "Saint Phlip" <phlip at 99main.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] seal a meal questions

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Yes, you can try regular bags in a Seal a Meal. They're not as sturdy

as the ones they sell for the machines, but they're certainly sturdy

enough for you to test your machine with ;-)

 

Look yours over- make sure that the sealing lip is clean and free of

debris, and test it. If it works fine on a regular plastic bag, then

go ahead and buy some of the bags designed for your type of machine.

 

I had one that I had used for years- loved it, but, like you said, put

it up when I couldn't find bags for it, and it got vanished in one of

my moves. I do remember reading the instructions, though, and them

mentioning that it could be used on regular bags, although they

weren't as sturdy as the bags for the machine.

 

On 9/4/07, Kathleen A Roberts <karobert at unm.edu> wrote:

> cleaning the garage yesterday, we came upon a dazey

> seal-a-meal that was given to us (used) several years ago

> when the previous owner said that he could not find bags

> for it easily enough.

> nowadays, bags can be found almost everywhere in varying

> styles.  does anyone know...

> how to tell if it is working without buying the bags?

> could i test drive it on a regular plastic sandwich or

> ziplock bag without gumming up the works?

> do you have to use the brand bags with the brand sealer?

> how important is the vacumm feature?  i think this is just

> a straight sealer.

> if this is easy enough to test out, and works, i may be

> starting a few choruses of 'pennies from heaven' for next

> estrella!

> cailte

 

 

Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 14:16:58 -0700

From: "K C Francis" <katiracook at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] seal a meal questions

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

My old machine requires me to press out the air by hand and I find it just

fine for my needs as I only seal saucy things for onsite boiling.  If I

wanted to seal meats and other chunky things, and avoid freezer burn, I'd

get a new machine.  I also have a little hand device that lets me reseal

potato chip bags, etc.  Very handy!

 

Katira

 

 

Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 17:41:43 -0400

From: "Terri Morgan" <online2much at cox.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] seal a meal questions

To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

I travelled to the "Pro Bass Sporting goods store" in our area (looking for

a camp cot) and was surprised to find that there were both electric-plug and

battery operated food sealers in the camping section. After thought, I

realised how handy those would be for hunters and fishers. So if you are

looking for a "Bubba won't break it" model, I'd check the store local to

you.

 

Hrothny

 

 

Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:09:15 -0500

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Vacuum food savers

 

On Nov 3, 2009, at 3:20 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

<<< I've heard that these keep frozen food from getting freezer burn  

since the machine removes most of the air from the bag before  

sealing it. But is there some advantage to using these bags and/or  

this machine for marinating and curing of meat over say, just a zip  

lock bag? Or is this a matter of wanting to both marinate the meat  

and freeze it, and the ease of simply doing that in the same bag? >>>

 

It appears that the marinade or cure penetrates the food faster and  

more completely in the almost-vacuum. Basically air is pulled out of  

the food and replaced by liquid. In the case of a dry curing rub with  

a lot of salt and/or sugar in it, it pulls moisture out of the food,  

creates a brine, which then surrounds and penetrates the food.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 07:19:42 -0700

From: Susan Lin <susanrlin at gmail.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Vacuum food savers

 

When these machines pull the air out the force opens the meat or

whatever up so the marinade penetrates better/faster. If you want to

see this in action put a peep or a marshmallow in one of the

containers (not a bag) seal it and pull the air out. You'll see the

peep expand. When you break the seal the peep returns to normal.

 

 

Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 08:17:06 -0700

From: Susan Lin <susanrlin at gmail.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Vacuum food savers

 

Thank you. I guess there is an advantage of using this machine for

marinating. Do you have to worry about the marinating liquid being sucked

into the vacuum machine? Or do you use only a dry cure?

 

If I'm using a wet cure I'll often use one of the containers they sell

(there is one that says it's for marinating) because it doesn't let the

liquid get sucked into the machine..  But if there isn't too much liquid you

can use a bag.  My husband has recently been into sous vide cooking.  He

uses the bags and it hasn't been a big problem as long as there isn't a lot

of liquid in the bag.

 

If liquid does get sucked out you just have to clean the machine well (where

the top of the bag goes) - messy but not terminal.

 

Shoshanna

 

 

Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 14:38:12 -0600

From: Harry Billings <humble_archer at hotmail.com>

To: sca cooks <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] vacum food saver

 

When using the bags to freeze corn [off the cob] found that it worked best if you bagged it, froze it and then sealed it. Otherwise the bags did not seal right YMMV.

 

plachoya

Ansteorra

 

 

From: Charlene Charette <charlene281 at gmail.com>

Date: February 3, 2010 3:35:09 AM CST

To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] Feeding yourselves with out living in a kitchen at war

 

On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 2:14 AM, Stefan li Rous

<StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:

<<< Baroness Claire posted a good article on using plastic bags to freeze and

cook food in which is especially useful for a camp where most of the group

is involved in other activities.

 

I'm not sure if she is specifically talking about using the commercial

boil-in bags and vacuum sealers or not. I've been told that you can use

regular plastic bags for this, although I'd not tried it. >>>

 

Only bags specifically rated for boiling should be used. Regular bags

may 1) melt or 2) leach bad things into your food.

 

--Perronnelle

 

 

From: "Eule" <eule at ecpi.com>

Date: February 3, 2010 11:29:44 AM CST

To: "'Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc.'" <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Ansteorra] Boil In Bags not Necessarily Safe

 

Stefan mentioned:

"I'm not sure if she is specifically talking about using the commercial

boil-in bags and vacuum sealers or not. I've been told that you can  

use regular plastic bags for this, although I'd not tried it."

 

To which Eule offers:

I have heard, from several sources, that you should not use regular

plastic bags and should only use those intended for boiling.  The

different plastics break down in different was and can be release nasty

chemical bits.

 

Here's the link to one article I found.

http://camping.about.com/od/campingrecipes/a/ziplocbaggies.htm

 

Eule/Steve

 

 

From: SoldierGrrrl <soldier.grrrl at gmail.com>

Date: February 3, 2010 11:44:55 AM CST

To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] Boil In Bags not Necessarily Safe

 

After doing some searching, I've found some that do appear to be safe

for boiling.

 

http://www.sorbentsystems.com/boilablebags.html

 

http://www.kleerpak.com/Stock-Vacuum-Bags-Vacuum-Pouches.htm

 

I hope this helps with some of the food prep for GW and Estrella.

 

Helene Dalassene

Incipient Stronghold of Hellsgate

 

 

From: alpage1225 at sbcglobal.net

Date: February 3, 2010 12:05:02 PM CST

To: " Inc.Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA" <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] Boil In Bags not Necessarily Safe

 

The Seal-A-Meal and similar bags for vacuum seal systems are safe for boiling -- Gunthar and I use them all the time for feasts and camping.  Glad also makes a boil-in-bag for those without a vacuum seal option.  However, most other plastic bags for storing and freezing are not safe as they can melt or deteriorate during the boiling process, resulting in inedible food and a big mess to clean up.

Countess Elizabeth Seale

 

 

Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 15:29:17 -0400

From: Elaine Koogler <kiridono at gmail.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] pomegranates was Making verjus

 

<<< Did the vacuum sealer crush the seeds, or did you stop it before the vacuum

was complete? >>>

 

Actually, with mine, you don't have to do the vacuum thing at all...you can

simply seal the bag...keeps out any new air but doesn't squish the

contents.

 

Kiri

 

 

Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 15:31:06 -0400

From: Elaine Koogler <kiridono at gmail.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Pennsic queries....

 

We haven't really

done the cooking-bag thing yet...unfortunately I had to add some ingredients

to the stew I made the last time I did this.  The only thing you have to be

careful about is that, with soups and stews, not to use the vacuum as you

will suck out juice as well as air...and it makes a HUGE mess!

 

Kiri

 

 

Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 13:38:06 -0600

From: Susan Lin <susanrlin at gmail.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Pennsic queries....

 

food saver sells containers where you can suck out the air - OR, you can

freeze the bags open and upright and after they're frozen THEN seal them.

 

On Thu, Jul 1, 2010 at 1:31 PM, Elaine Koogler <kiridono at gmail.com> wrote:

<<< The only thing you have to be careful about is that, with soups and stews, not to use the vacuum as you will suck out juice as well as air...and it makes a HUGE mess!

 

Kiri >>>

 

 

From: Michael Gunter <dookgunthar at hotmail.com>

Date: August 18, 2010 11:44:20 PM CDT

To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] camp meals

 

<<< If anyone is interested in first hand experiences on this, please let me know. My household has been using this method for food at Pennsic for a decade or more. It makes meals ever so much easier. We have good period foods, like bruets, or pompes in sauces etc, with minimal cooking time on-site and minimal cleanup. Due to field conditions, we've settled on using one of two grains to serve under the wet food, either couscous or rice.

 

Haraldr >>>

 

If anyone attended the Central Region 12th Night I did a couple of years ago at the Fisheries Dept, I did a good 80% of the feast in Seal-A-Meals since kitchen facilities were very limited. We had several Turkey Fryers out back to heat the large bags of pre-cooked food and then just served it out.

 

Now I do almost all my War camp cooking ahead of time so there is very little mess when eating in camp.

 

Gunthar                                    

 

 

From: Haraldr Bassi <ansteorra at haraldr.drakkar.org>

Date: August 27, 2010 2:34:22 PM CDT

To: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>

Cc: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

On 2010/Aug/19 00:47, Stefan li Rous wrote:

On Aug 18, 2010, at 9:08 PM, Haraldr Bassi wrote:

<<< If anyone is interested in first hand experiences on this, please let me know. My household has been using this method for food at Pennsic for a decade or more. It makes meals ever so much easier. We have good period foods, like bruets, or pompes in sauces etc, with minimal cooking time on-site and minimal cleanup. Due to field conditions, we've settled on using one of two grains to serve under the wet food, either couscous or rice.>>>

 

<< What is a "pompes"? >>

 

Meatballs.

 

<< Did you pre-cook the rice and add it to the bag with the rest of the food and then boil them together at camp? Or did you use the boil-in-bag rice packaged in the little bags with the holes in them and boil them separate from the other bags and then put them on the eating plates separately? >>

 

Rice is always a par-boil for ease of cleanup in the field. They generally don't have a decent enough whole grain brown rice in the boil bags. We use our boil cauldron to heat our shower & wash water so it never gets washed until the end of war. Rice is cooked in a dedicated pot.

 

We've taken to using a similar method for our breakfasts making eggs. I understand that we've recently identified an Andalusian recipe titled "Eggs in a Jar", which uses a disposable glass bottle to cook eggs. Our method uses disposable freezer zipper seal bags, which is a wee bit less expensive and doesn't leave shards of glass in camp.

 

<< Could you please send me a copy of this Andalusian recipe and perhaps your redaction or post it here? Surprisingly, I don't remember ever discussing this recipe on the SCA-Cooks list, although I seem to remember some mention of cooking eggs in a plastic bag. Is this a regular plastic zip lock bag or one of the boil-in bags which tend to me made of different materials? >>

 

It's in the Wusla manuscript and translated on page 162 of Medieval Arab Cookery, by Maxime Rodinson, A.J. Arberry & Charles Perry.

 

{begin quote from Medieval Arab Cookery}

"Further reading reveals some curiosities, such as recipes for 'an omelette in a bottle' in the Wusla and the recipe for 'mock brain' in the Syrian additions to the text. The translation of these recipes follows:

 

Sixth (omelette recipe): Omelette in a bottle. Take the eggs and other ingredients (necessary for omelette-making), put them into glass bottles and close the bottles tightly. Throw into boiling water and allow to boil until the omelettes are cooked. Then break the glass carefully and the omelette will remain in the shape of a bottle. Fry in olive and sesame oil. This omelette is used in the Tashāhīr.2

 

{mock brains snipped}

 

2) Chapter VIII, #42: A, f.86r.; B,pp. 149-50; C, ff. 74v.-75r. D, f. 88v. Tashāhīr is the name of a type of dish which is mentioned several times in the Wușla without actually being defined at any point. I have no further information on this word which does not appear in our dictionaries."

{end quote}

 

Our camp's interpretation uses quart freezer bags. The storage bags are not heavy enough to withstand the vigor of a boiling pot nor even the vigor mixing the omelette in the bag before cooking. I usually eat mine from the bag supported by my bowl simply so I don't have another dish to deal with at war.

 

Thanks,

Haraldr

 

Thanks, Stefan

 

I'd be happy to expound on either or both if there is interest.

 

Haraldr

 

Stefan -------- THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra

 

 

Date: Sun, 13 May 2012 00:30:07 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Sous Vide was Thermomix is the "flying car"

 

<<< What is a "sous vide"?

 

Stefan >>>

 

It is a method of cooking vacuum sealed food in a hot water bath.  The idea

is to apply lower heat for longer periods.  It produces precise temperature

control for the food.  SousVide is a brand name for the device controlling

the water bath.

 

Bear

 

 

From the FB "Better SCA Camping" group

Robin Caputo

6/22/15

As I'm writing up advice for a friend of ours who is running her own camp for the first time this year, I realized that there is a piece of equipment I use for Pennsic every year, but which I rarely mention on the forums. It's a vacuum sealer (aka Seal-a-Meal). All of the food I prep for Pennsic at home that will end up in a cooler gets vacuum sealed. This includes meat, cheese, chili, soups, sticks of butter...

 

It saves SO MUCH work at War, because I never have to open a cooler, see that something has thawed and leaked, and now I need to empty EVERYTHING OUT, wash and bleach the cooler, and try and figure out what got contaminated.

 

I've bought or have been gifted about 12 vacuum sealers over the years... and this refurbished basic model last just as long and is as useful (and easier to use) than the Cuisinart high-end models.

 

One tip I will give everyone who wants to use their vacuum sealer more... how to vacuum seal liquid-heavy items easily....

 

1. Take your liquid-rich item and cool it until it can be easily and safely poured into a cheap ziploc bag (store brand, storage-style. NOT one with a zipper tab). Get out some of the air, zip it shut, and put it into a Vacuum seal bag you have half-made (only sealed one side).

2. Put this into the freezer so it lays flat, and arrange it so that the inner bag doesn't come out of the outer bag.

3. Freeze Overnight.

4. Take the package out if the freezer, open in inner zipper so that any trapped air can get sucked out, and complete the vacuum sealing process.

 

All the air is eliminated, you don't waste expensive bag material trying to vacuum seal cubes (which you do if you pre-freeze liquids in tupperware and then seal it), and the packages stay flat and stackable.

 

If you're REALLY into being super-efficient (or, as my friends like to abbreviate that... OCD)... hot-glue together a 2" tall luan frame that is 1/4" smaller than the inside width of your favorite cooler, and put the double-bag in that. So, when the bag freezes, it freezes into the perfect size to stack into your cooler.

6/23/15

 

Mariana Garcia

Make sure that all the air is out or it will explode in the water...lol

 

Robin Caputo

No... not really. Small air bubbles won't expand enough to burst the heavy-duty plastic film used for vacuum sealing... especially since water contracts as it melts, giving you more room in the bag, and plastic becomes more flexible as it heats.

 

Ananda Stevens

Can you freeze stuff in these bags, or do you have to put it into a freezer bag?

 

Alicia Van De Kop

You can totally freeze stuff in those bags. I've frozen soups and stews in seal a meal bags, tossed them in the cooler, and (at the event) tossed them into a pot of boiling water. Presto! Dinner!

 

Robin Caputo

Oh, absolutely!! You can 100% freeze directly into the bags. The only issue with freezing liquid-heavy things directly into the bags in a low-tech model is that if the liquid gets sucked into the "sealing strip area", it won't seal properly, you get all sorts of liquid in the drip tray, and it makes a mess. Using the double-bag method, you can even freeze stock without any fuss, muss, or mess. If you use a forming frame, you can also make neat rectangles out of any bag.

 

High-tech models have a "liquid - low vacuum" setting to avoid this problem... but this method works for the bargain-basement, cheapest model.

 

For regular meat, I just toss it into the bottom of the bag, suck the air out, seal it, and squish it into whatever shape I want.

 

Gunnarr Inn Hviti

Not trying to derail the cooking theme here, but those vacuum bags are also great for sealing spare socks, underwear, etc for emergencies. Tent fails and everything gets soaked, including you? Bust out the bag marked 'Still Dry' and change into dry clothes. I use ours for this in our backpacking and cycling gear, for those things that absolutely need to be dry when I want them.

 

Silena Preston

6/24/15

We use this method in our camp as well. We actually premake everything and portion it out in individual servings and then freeze those and just drop it in hot water for 5-10 mins (depending the density of the contents) and then pour it into plates and serve. It's amazingly easy and no one has to slave over a stove and people can eat when they want.

 

Sheryl Logan

Great idea I do family style but for wars when everyone is running around like crazy this would be so much better

 

Ellen Johnson

6/27/15

for sealing bags, rule #1 is to not use water any hotter than a simmer. I will cook and seal/freeze soups, stews, sauces, bacon (yes, fry bacon, seal it, freeze it, and at the event just put in simmering water for a few minutes--you get crispy bacon without having to deal with getting rid of the grease or worrying about a small tipping a hot grease container over).

 

<the end>



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