Come on own up!!

[sophie]

..................... who's bought all the frozen short crust pastry. Been into 3 stores and can't find any. Only the Turkish filo type pastry and I don't want that. Please don't tell me to make my own - you wouldn't suggest that if you tasted one of my offerings!!

[fatouche]

If you get me the ingredients, I'll make you some in no time for you to keep in your freezer....AND it will be better than the stuff you buy. No charge. I am the pastry queen!


Fatma

[flowerfairy]

Ahhhhh, what a lovely lady Fatma,

[fatouche]

It's the Season of Good Will and all that.....

[dippersgirl]

A hhhhh, how lovely!!!
Next time I come to Girne, I will contact you before hand and order some shortcrust pastry, so I can buy it from you to take to Dipkarpaz! In England I used to make quite acceptable shortcrust pastry, but here it just does not turn out right, mayby I lost the touch.

[fatouche]

Butter and the minimum amount of handling Dippersgirl.

[dippersgirl]

Butter, mmmhhh....., just marg..... will try that, thanks

and what flour do you use?? Turkish kek un?? Or what??

[sophie]

I'm glad I'm not the only one dippersgirl. I used to make really acceptable Yorkshire Puds when back in the UK, but I seem to have lost the touch here.

[Keithcaley]

Sophie, could I suggest that you have your oven temperature / thermostat checked?

After a couple of 'failures' recently (not Yorkshire puds ) I discovered that my oven was running about 30 degrees cooler than the thermostat setting suggested...

A new thermostat solved the mystery.

Also, if your oven has a 'fan' function, using this during the 'warm up period' will ensure that the heat in the oven is distributed evenly and quickly - even if you don't use the fan during the actual cooking.

- And finally, take out any trays etc that are not actually being used, to ensure that efficient convection maintains the even heat distribution.

Tricky things, ovens (and Yorkshire puds )

[numpty]

Hi Keithcaley, how do you check the oven thermostat please x

[Keithcaley]

Hi Keithcaley, how do you check the oven thermostat please x

a) Place an oven thermometer in the oven, with the 'temperature indicator part' visible through the oven door (if it is glass, that is!), and set the thermostat to (say) 100 degrees

Observe advice re. fan, trays, etc to ensure even heat distribution, and leave for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the indicator light on the oven indicates that the 'set' temperature has been reached.

Compare the reading on the thermometer against the temperature that you set on the thermostat. If you do not have a glass door, then you will need to open the door, take the reading, and shut the door again, pretty smartish!

Make a note of the difference, if any.

Allow another 10 minutes and re-check, and note reading & 'set' temperature.

Repeat for other temperatures, say 150 degrees, 200 degrees, and 250 degrees.

You will now have a chart, of sorts, which should tell you what temperature you need to set on the Thermostat, in order to achieve an actual temperature in the oven. For intermediate temperatures, adjust proportionally.

In the absence of a proper oven thermometer, a 'Meat Thermometer' may suffice, although the temperature range may not be as great as a as a 'proper' one, and the scale may be smaller, and thus more difficult to read accurately. Note that meat thermometers usually have a 'calibration point' indicated on the scale for the boiling point of water - 100 degrees Centigrade / 212 degrees Fahrenheit - so that you can check its own calibration by using a small pan of water that is actually boiling. Rubber gloves will protect your pinkies from the scalding steam! If using this method, allow for any inaccuracy that you find when you check the oven thermostat against the meat thermometer. 'Proper' Oven thermometers may also have the same calibration facility, but be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions, as immersing some thermometers in water may destroy them!

b) In the absence of any sort of thermometer, you can at least check the thermostat setting at 100 degrees Centigrade by placing a Pyrex jug, half-full of water into the oven, and find out what setting of the thermostat is necessary in order to make the water boil.

In this case, start off at 80 or 90 degrees Centigrade, and work up in 5 degree steps, which is probably the smallest step that you will be able to estimate with any degree of reliability. Remember that you will need to allow time for the oven temperature to stabilize, which is usually a lot longer than most people think! - And, of course, remember the advice re. Fan, and trays etc.

Method b) will only give you one calibration point, and the discrepancy between the 'set' and 'actual' temperatures will most likely be quite different at different temperature settings (and the difference in the temperature may even be 'positive', rather than 'negative'), but if you suspect a fault, it should still be good enough for confirmation.

Don't panic if your readings are 5 or 10 degrees away from that indicated on the thermostat setting - all cooks are aware that there are ''Fast' and 'Slow' ovens, even if they have not quantified the reason - simply allow for the inaccuracy by setting the thermostat accordingly.

If you do find a very large difference, i.e. much greater than 15 degrees or so, then you should probably call in your oven manufacturer's service agent who will be able to advise, based on his knowledge of the particular product.

There is a good selection of oven thermometers available on eBay, etc. - and possibly also in some outlets here in TRNC, but I am not personally aware of any.

[Groucho]

Most meat thermometers go up to 190c and a jam thermometer up to 180c - at least by then you should be able to judge the variation from actual...

[Owl Lady]

Good God Keith, been cooking for over 55 years since school offerings, never used a thermometer, just bunged it in and prayed, and hoped for the best. Always came out ok. After reading all those instructions will continue to buy in or eat out!!

[Keithcaley]

Owl Lady,

I quite agree, it's a 'Palaver'!

Obviously you, like most people, have never had an oven that has suffered from a faulty thermostat, (or even, possibly, any other fault...) and again, like most people, have got used to your oven, be it Hot or Cool, Fast or Slow, and have been able to cook perfectly satisfactorily...

I would not suggest that most people would ever need to run a comprehensive check routine such as the one that I described, and it was only because I was specifically asked a question about the procedure, that I posted the information.

- And, I hope that you never have need of the information, and may your quiches never suffer from 'Soggy Bottoms'

I would just add that there are other things that can go wrong with ovens, for which the cause is not immediately apparent, and which can result in a great deal of 'Head Scratching' until you come to the conclusion that there is actually a fault, call in the Service Agents, and the man diagnoses the cause of the problem in about 2 minutes flat!

Actually, Sophie's issue might be explained by something as simple as her having used an oven in the UK which ran at 10 degrees or so higher than the stated temperature, and now uses one here that runs 10 degrees cooler. Neither condition would generally be considered a 'fault' as such, but adapting to the change can really throw you, if you have 'blind faith' in the oven thermostat, rather than assessing the oven's performance from the results, or using some method of checking the oven temperature...

Happy Baking everyone! - the Season is upon us

[sophie]

Keith I don't know whether you're right or wrong but certainly my dear old Ma (a dyed in the wool, Yorkshire tyke) made amazing YP and her method was to have the "batter as cold as ice and the fat as hot as hell" I was brought up believing, together a lot of older Yorkshire people of my vintage, that the YP's were a starter, 'cos beef or any meat was a luxury and the YP helped fill us up. Lashings of real beef gravy of course.

[bigbadbob]

Not just a starter Sophie. My gran used to drop rhubarb into her Yorkshire puddings part way of cooking and then served them with her homemade raspberry or blackberry vinegar!

What a Pudding! (Sorry not a pastry one!) Wendy BBB's other half.

[Bonnie]

I'd just love some rhubarb, even a can would do to make a rhubarb & apple pie

[karmels]

Bonnie you will have to go South for the canned or the fresh.

[Keithcaley]

Sophie, If you stick to your Ma's advice, you shouldn't go far wrong!

I think that the most common cause for failure with 'Yorkies' is not having the fat hot enough, so if you're still having trouble with 'em, try cranking the temperature up past the setting that you've been using, and give the oven a bit longer to get up to temperature (using the Fan-Oven setting if you have one), making sure that there are no unnecessary trays left on other shelves in the oven. A 'Blue Haze' over the fat is a good indicator that it's hot enough - actual Flames probably mean that you've got it a bit TOO hot

I'm not trying to teach my Granny how to suck eggs here (I shudder to think just how old my Granny would be now! ) - just trying to diagnose your problem - there has to be a reason!

My Dad, who was a Baker before the war, and a cook in the R.A.F. during it, always used to serve enormous Yorkies as a sweet course, and we'd apply jam or syrup to taste. It was like being in Heaven!

If the worst comes to the worst, there's always Aunt Bessie

[Owl Lady]

What is wrong with my Aunt Bessie?? Tin hat at the ready.

[Groucho]

What is wrong with my Aunt Bessie?? Tin hat at the ready.

They are too expensive and tough.... nothing beats homemade!

Oh and recently I discovered a mini doughnut tray makes wonderful individual Yorkshire Puddings for accompanying roasts - I know some like a soggy bottom but the mini doughnut tray ensures a really evenly cooked pudding and blimey they nearly hit the roof of the oven!

[Keithcaley]

Groucho,

I think that you missed the point!

Owl Lady was talking about her Aunt Bessie

[Groucho]

Groucho,

I think that you missed the point!

Owl Lady was talking about her Aunt Bessie

Oh her with the soggy bottom!

[Keithcaley]

I think that you're on dangerous ground there. ..

[sophie]

BBB, you sound as if you were much posher than we were. Raspberry or blackberry vinegar - good grief, that would have been considered as only suitable for the aristocracy!! Our family were LNER through and through. (Sorry well of topic from my origin posting re frozen pastry!!)

[Owl Lady]

Grouch leave my soggy bottom out of this more saggy!!!