Conference turris::cooks

    With the warmer weather here, tomatoes will be more plentiful.  If
    you're interested in drying tomatoes and bananas there's a few things 
    that you should be aware of.
    
    1. Remember, if you dry plum tomatoes, some times they become
       sweeter so be aware of what type of tomatoes your prefer
    
    2. What type of banana chip are you looking for???  I prefer platanos
       which are the dark brownish/green looking *bananas* that become
       sweeter when they become too ripe.  Note the coloring when you're 
       purchasing a bunch.  
    
    I'm going to assume that you want the non-sweet banana chips (note -
    platanos not bananas).  This is quite easy to prepare.  Peel the
    platano, slice it into 1/2 inch pieces and then flatten with a glass
    or place between 2 sheets of wax paper and flatten it.  Most people
    lightly fry them in oil - I prefer, for this dish, an olvie oil that 
    doesn't have that much character to it.  In other words, olive oil
    that isn't golden in coloring and doesn't smell fruity (fruity olive
    oil is the best)***  When they are golden brown remove and set them on
    paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
    
    For dried tomatoes the process is quite easy.  Make sure the tomatoes
    that you're using are ripe - good quality.  Slice the tomatoes length
    wise, as one would do for a salad.  Don't slice them real thin.  Place
    the wedges of tomatoes on a type of baking sheet and drizzle with a 
    good olive oil***  Sprinkle them with fresh chopped basil (there is a
    difference between dried and fresh). If you cannot find fresh then
    place a small handful of dried in the palm of your hand and then rub 
    BOTH palms together in order to heat activate the flavor from the
    basil ... sprinkling this over the tomatoes.  Make sure the oven is
    preheated between 300 and 325.  Allow the tomatoes to *dry* out not
    cook.  It's a good idea to have an oven thermometer since some ovens
    are heat faster and are higher in temperature.  You don't want to bake
    them!!!  This can take a couple of hours, more or less, depending on
    your oven.  Once this is completed, allow the toms to fully cool and
    then place in a sealed jar with fresh sprigs of basil, cloves of garlic
    and good olive oil.  These are great with fresh angel hair pasta and
    seafood (adding some of the oil, a bit more garlic, dash of sugar,
    fresh ground pepper, salt, more fresh basil and a dash of dry white
    wine or vermouth)!!!
    
    *** Most people think that Italian olive oil is the best but it isn't.
        In order to allow olive oil into this country (aka FDA) it must be
        pastuerized (heated like milk) to make it pure.  Italian olives
        cannot stand up to this type of abuse, hence the non-fruity
        smelling olive oil.  Spanish olive oil is the best.  It can with
        stand American standards.  It is very dark golden in coloring and
        has a fruit-like aroma.  The best is Goya and cost approx. 1.69 a
        bottle.  Don't put a cap on olive oil when you get it home.  Allow
        it to breath like a bottle of fine wine.  
    
    The olive oils old in Spain/Italy/Greece, etc is 10 times stronger than
    in what's sold here ... The olive oil capital of the world is in Madrid
    That ought to say something.
    
    
    Good luck

    It sure will .... without a doubt!!!  It might be a good idea
    to experiment a little.  Try the banana and apples on a slightly
    lower setting since I'm not quite sure what would be the most 
    appropriate tmeperature.
    
    Banana chips (whether platanos or  bananas) are 90% of the time fried
    in soybean oil (coconut and a few others that clog the arteries.  Olive
    oil doesn't.  I thought that you wanted a recipe that resembled the
    type purchased in a supermarket or basically, a step up.  
    
    The oven method should work fine - jsut use a little imagination!!!
    You pay a very high price in a health food store for good dried fruit.
    Lots of times sugar is added as well.  This way you'll know that it's
    100% natural.
    
    
    Good luck!!
             

    My answer to .1
    I agree with you in that Spanish olive oil is more aromatic and heavier
    than Italian oil, but I don't agree with you in the capital of olive
    oil being Madrid... If you want to know, olive oil is not produced
    anywhere near Madrid, but in Andalucia, being the provinces of Cordoba
    and Jaen the main producers followed by Sevilla and the rest of the
    provinces. Madrid consumes oil, Andalucia produces it...take it from a
    daughter of a former producer, I should know! Have you ever heard of
    Aceites Angel Camacho? it comes from Moron de la Frontera....

    I lived in Spain for a few years and I know that - it's called a focal
    point, not the area it's is produced ... an area, so to speak.  Madrid 
    is the art capital of Europe as well but that doesn't mean all is 
    *produced* there solely.  I have been to Adalucia, Sevilla (that's where 
    Goya is produced), Barcelona, Valencia, Toledo, Cadiz, etc. *8-)
    
    I was told by my *professor* (chef) that the olive trees in Italy were
    diseased - something like that  - and died.  Italy is still rebuilding
    it's crop to the level of excellence it once was.  Still, they cannot 
    compete with the U.S. FDA requirements of
    homogenization/pastuerization.
    
    The reason I brought that up was to save folks alot of money that
    could be wasted on expensive bottles of Italian olive oil.  Two
    weeks ago, a friend of mine spent $12.99 on bottle of olive oil
    from Italy.  It had very little character of aroma and was a waste
    of money.  You wouldn't continue to buy a bottle of wine that's
    characterless and bland; the same holds true for olive oil.   Do be
    careful though.  When a bottle says 'Light' it doesn't mean it's less
    in calories, etc (it's low in sat. fats anyway), it means that the
    taste is much lighter.  Basically, it taste like vegetable oil.  And,
    not all Spanish olive oils are good.  Iberia and Goya, off the top of
    my head, are very good and notice the price difference between Spanish
    and Italian.
    
    Thanks,
    
    
    /gail
           

RE: .2

>I'm trying to come up with low cal 
>snacks, and olive oil just doesn't do it :^)

Dried bananas are not going to be "low cal" no matter what you do with them.
Granted, frying them in oil only makes it worse, but there's a considerable
amount of sugar (not to mention natural banana oil) in bananas to start with.
Drying in fact makes it worse by removing the moisture and thus increasing the
calories per unit weight.

--PSW

    I have "fruit driers" for sale in places that sell toasters, yogurt
    makers, etc. Don't know if they work but they must reproduce the "oven
    method" to an exact degree. 

    I do not know where to put this so here goes.
    
 My wife and I have been looking thorough some Victorian magazines for center
   pieces and I am writing here to see if any one has a fast way to
   make sugared fruit. The one recipe my wife found in her cookbook
   takes more than a week to do from start to finish.

 Also how does a person build a fruit pyramid.

> My wife and I have been looking thorough some Victorian magazines for center
>   pieces and I am writing here to see if any one has a fast way to
>   make sugared fruit. The one recipe my wife found in her cookbook
>   takes more than a week to do from start to finish.

My recipe takes the same amount of time...I think that's the best way to go.

>> Also how does a person build a fruit pyramid.


at a crafts store, buy a styrofoam pyramid form.  Mount the fruit on the
pyramid by sticking long sticks into the pyramid, all around the form and
then propping the fruit on the sticks, side by side. If you are going to 
make a pyramid of large fruits like pears and apples, simply stack the 
fruit, making each layer up, smaller by placing a piece of fruit between 
two pieces on the next lower layer.  Fill in gaps in the pyramid with 
unshelled nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts which add texture
and color.

    I would actually like to buy some dried fruits -- specifically apples,
    blueberries, peaches and pears. I've heard that Idylwild in Acton has
    them, but I'd like to avoid that trip if possible. Has anyone
    seen such items in the southern NH or central Mass area?
    Thanks,
    Sue

I've seen dried apples, peaches and pears (mixed, with others) at the
wholesale clubs in Nashua.

Another place to try is Bursey's Farm Stand in Wilton.  They
seem to have a good seletion.  I have bought dried-fruits there
in the past and have always been pleased with the quality.

....helen