Stews, Soups Gather Extra Measure While Ripening In The Fridge

January 07, 1988|By Phyllis Magida.

Q-Why do soups and stews taste better when they are not fresh. When I make oxtail soup, for example, it is better after it has spent a night in the refrigerator.

Mrs. B.R., Chicago

A-One reason that reason soups or stews are said to taste better after a 24-hour, refrigerated rest has to do with the cooling and ripening that takes place after a stew is cooked. The theory is that a just-cooked soup or stew contains little pockets of flavor that are not distributed throughout. A 24-hour cooling off and chilling time allows the soup to relax and the flavors to combine completely. Some dishes, such as the Polish national stew called bigos (hunter`s stew), are supposed to sit for at least 3 days (and sometimes as long as 4 or 5) in the refrigerator to develop maximum flavor. Another reason you may enjoy the day-old dish better than the just-made variety has to do with fat. Some people do not enjoy fat in a stew or soup. When a dish has been allowed to chill overnight, the globules of liquid fat collect on the top in a solid piece and can be removed. No amount of careful skimming of a just- made dish can get rid of all of the liquid fat as easily as it can be removed in one solidified piece.

Q-My neighbor insists that brown sugar is better for us than white sugar. I say they`re exactly the same. Can you clear this up?

Thomas Vee, Chicago

A-Both brown and white sugar are equally low in nutritional value. Brown sugar is brown because it contains molasses, a by-product that occurs when cane sugar is refined. It is the molasses that gives brown sugar its aroma and flavor. In the past, brown sugar was purposely purified only to a partial extent so that some of the molasses by-product could remain in the finished brown sugar.

Today, most brown sugar is reconstituted by mixing purified white sugar with molasses. This includes sugars such as Barbados, Demerara and Jaggery. Barbados sugar is a dark brown, moist sugar that resembles U.S. dark brown sugar but comes from the island of Barbados; it has a taste that somedescribe as slightly ``rum-like`` and a small grain, fine enough for cakes. Demerara sugar comes from the Demerara district in Guyana and resembles U.S. light brown sugar. It has a refined, brown-sugar flavor and a drier texture than regular U.S. brown sugar, but because its crystals are larger than American brown sugar crystals it is best used on cereals, in coffee and in meat dishes such as glazed ham. Jaggery (aka gur), a crude, dark sugar from India, has an aromatic, winey smell. It is good for flavoring Indian dishes such as vegetable curries, but not for baking. Jaggery is sold in sticky, coconut sized balls wrapped in paper. It costs $1.99 a pound at Kamdar Plaza, 2646 W. Devon Ave., 338-8100. Jaggery also is available at Apna Bazaar, 2314 W. Devon Ave., 262-4200, where it sells for $2.29 a pound.

Q-I am trying to locate a meat loaf pan with a tray beneath it into which the fat from the meat can drain during cooking. Do you know where one is available?

William Port, Skokie

A-The kind of meat loaf pan you describe is available by mail through the Chef`s Catalog. The pan costs $6.95 plus 47 cents for Illinois tax, plus $3.75 for postage and handling (delivery in Illinois). When you order, request Lean Meat Loaf Pan number 9421 and enclose your name, address and check or money order for $11.17 and send to the Chef`s Catalog, 3215 Commercial Ave., Northbrook, Ill. 60062-1920. The pan can also be purchased over the counter for $7.42 at either of the following Chef`s Catalog`s retail stores: 151A Skokie Valley Road, Highland Park, 831-1100, and 1163 Ogden Ave., Suite 413, Naperville, 717-1777. Telephone orders using MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club and Carte Blanche are accepted.

Similar disposable meat loaf pans with perforated inserts to fit into the bottom of each pan are also available at all 88 Dominick`s Finer Food Stores. Sold in the baking section under the label E-Z Foil, they come two to a package. The aluminum foil pans are relatively inexpensive.