Food

[Henry Krinkle]

Do you know what kind of peppers you'll be getting? That will make a difference for me. If it's red or green jalapenos/ fresnos/ serranos/ cayennes or things like that I'd go pretty basic.

Try to keep them either all red or all green. Aesthetically a mix of the two makes for an unappealing looking sauce.

If it's green I'd tend to keep it fresh- the peppers, some scallions, some garlic, water , vinegar ( I prefer apple cider vinegar when making vinegar based hot sauces), some salt and a pinch of sugar. If you want a little bit of cilantro is not going to hurt. If you can get your hands on some tomatillos a very few of them would go great here. Too many and you will get tomatillo salsa, which is no bad thing, but that limits it's use.

If it's red substitute scallion with white onion, and maybe more of it, and omit the cilantro. If it is something that has a bit of fruitiness and sweetness like fresnos you can bring that up with some red bell pepper or shredded carrot. You'll want to be careful with both of those ingredients as they can tone the heat down quickly.

If you get other peppers I can give you better pointers when you've got them, such as if you get hotter peppers like Scotch bonnets and you like mustard, you could do a Bajan hot sauce.
@skywatch might have a few ideas for you as well.

[skywatch]

I saw Hank's ping, and I will be happy to share my approach to Caribbean habanero sauce. @geoffbot, I forgot if you are anti-honey in your vegan approach. This uses honey, but you could probably substitute agave syrup. These ingredients don't have exact quantities, because it depends on the heat and sweetness you want. Generally there should be just enough sweet to balance the intense heat, and enough acidity from lime and vinegar to keep it bright. The honey, salt and vinegar act as preservatives, so it can stay fresh in bottles refrigerated for months. Liquify in a blender until very smooth:

8-12 ripe orange habanero peppers (with nitril gloves on, remove seeds and stem-cap first.)
1-2 whole carrots (chopped to fit in blender)
3-5 Tbsp yellow or Dijon mustard (generous amount)
3-5 Tbsp honey or other sweetener
1 Tbsp whole dry coriander seeds, finely ground just before adding
1 Tbsp dry garlic powder (it preserves better than fresh, but you can use fresh garlic if using sauce quickly)
salt to taste
powdered or fresh ginger - to taste
lime juice (1/2 cup, 100 ml or so, to taste)
white vinegar (1/4 cup, 50 ml to taste.. apple cider vinegar also works)

Don't pay attention to the exact measurements. If you get the balance right, the extreme heat will hide underneath a fruity quality that resembles mangoes. It should be bright orange and smooth texture. Shake strongly before using, as the carrot solids will float to the top.

[Henry Krinkle]

I saw Hank's ping, and I will be happy to share my approach to Caribbean habanero sauce. @geoffbot,

Sounds a bit like my Bajan sauce.

I've done Carribean fermented sauces with Scotch bonnets where I therw chunks of pimento wood right into the ferment. It ends up with both a barrel aged flavour and that wonderful smell of Jamaica.

[geoffbot]

Sweet - thank you chaps. I'll do that soon.

[chuckmiller]

English Muffins

In the USA we get Thomas' English Muffins from nearly any large grocery store.
English Muffins | Thomas' Breads (thomasbreads.com)

Is this a legit traditional English food or has it been Americanized?

Do Brits toast their muffins, add anything (like butter) to it?


CM

[scottjc]

For me, what you call English Muffins, are an American invention.
Muffins over here are generally a sweet cake, often with fruit. The only time we see your version is somewhere like McDonalds.
This is a blueberry muffin.

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[geoffbot]

English Muffins

In the USA we get Thomas' English Muffins from nearly any large grocery store.
English Muffins | Thomas' Breads (thomasbreads.com)

Is this a legit traditional English food or has it been Americanized?

Do Brits toast their muffins, add anything (like butter) to it?


CM

Yeah we call muffins what Scott said. Those look kinda like crumpets, though ours are a bit different with fully holey tops through to the bottom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumpet

[scottjc]

Yeah we call muffins what Scott said. Those look kinda like crumpets, though ours are a bit different with fully holey tops through to the bottom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumpet

I don't know that the 'muricans have anything to correspond with our crumpets.

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[tribe125]

I’m going to disagree with Scott and Geoff. When I was a kid, muffins looked like this -





At some point, sweet muffins with fruit appeared, and were assumed to be an American thing. A muffin was never a cakey sort of thing when I was growing up, and I’m pretty sure that the Muffin Man in the nursery rhyme wasn’t selling sweet muffins.

I’m a fair bit older than Geoff and Scott, which may explain why I think more or less the opposite to them. As far as I can tell, what the Americans call English muffins are indeed English muffins - but younger English generations have grown up with something else.

[scottjc]

I’m going to disagree with Scott and Geoff. When I was a kid, muffins looked like this -





At some point, sweet muffins with fruit appeared, and were assumed to be an American thing. A muffin was never a cakey sort of thing when I was growing up, and I’m pretty sure that the Muffin Man in the nursery rhyme wasn’t selling sweet muffins.

I’m a fair bit older than Geoff and Scott, which may explain why I think more or less the opposite to them. As far as I can tell, what the Americans call English muffins are indeed English muffins - but younger English generations have grown up with something else.

Very interesting information as I can't even recall my parents mentioning that kind of muffin.
Could it be a north/south thing?

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