Q I have been trying a number of new recipes recently, including many of yours. Where does one start with the ingredient "salt and pepper to taste." Does this mean none is necessary? Many recipes say to add the salt and pepper to taste just before serving. At the point of serving, I often feel rushed and simply forget. Is there a rule-of-thumb amount to add to a recipe that lists this ingredient?
Mary Koronko
ASalt is one of our basic seasonings. It's added to many foods to bring out their full flavour potential. Pepper is another basic seasoning, used to lift the flavour of foods and add pungency.
Some recipes, such as those for baked goods, which are essentially formulas, will let you know exactly how much salt to add. Savoury recipes for things like meatballs also tell you exactly how much salt and pepper to add.
That's because most folks don't want to sample raw meat to see if they've added enough.
Countless recipes, dating back all the way to when people first started writing them down, simply call for "salt and pepper to taste."
This means that, near the end of cooking that stew, soup or other creation, you taste it and add additional salt and pepper if your taste buds feel it requires it.
Sometimes you will have to, sometimes you won't, and there are reasons for this.
For example, if you've made a dish that featured spicy bits of chorizo sausage, the spiciness of the sausage will infuse other elements in the dish with that taste. So, when you taste it, you'll likely decide no added pepper is needed. If you've made a soup with store-bought chicken broth, a type that's rich in sodium, you'll likely not need to add any salt. But if you've used an unsalted homemade broth, you would need more salt to round out its flavour.
I could list hundreds of other examples, but it's for those kinds of reasons that you'll see "salt and pepper to taste" in recipes. For the one cooking the recipe, review what you're putting in the pot before starting out. If a number of the ingredients already contain salt or a peppery element, then you'll know that little or no added salt and pepper will be needed. Of course, the only way you are going to know that is to taste what you're preparing, something Mary has got to get into the habit of doing.
Q Do you have a good recipe you can share for a baked, glazed ham?
Annie
AI love ham and have created a few recipes over the years for baking a large family-sized one.
Today's method is a twist on one of my preferred ways to glaze the ham: a mix of sweet maple syrup and smooth and spicy Dijon mustard. Those ingredients are used in today's glaze, but for even more flavour I've added two other types of mustard - coarse-in-texture whole-grain Dijon mustard and pungent, Englishstyle mustard.
Also, rather than stud the ham with whole cloves, as is often done, I mixed ground cloves right into the glaze and, for interest and added aroma, stirred in two other ground spices - cinnamon and nutmeg.
The large bone-in hams you'll see for sale at supermarkets are smoked and fully cooked. The purpose of baking them is simply to heat them up and make that glaze rich and appealing in colour and taste.
You may be able to buy a whole ham (the back leg of the pig) at a butcher shop.
At supermarkets, the two main types you'll see for sale are shank portion ham, the lower part of the leg, and hip portion, the upper part of the leg. I prefer the shank portion, as it's meatier and easier to carve.
You'll also see spiral-cut hams for sale, which are machine-sliced at a process-ing plant before being packaged. I don't buy them - the slices seem to be coated with a filmy liquid and are too large. Also, with a good sharp knife, there is nothing particularly challenging about slicing a baked ham.
Baked Ham Glazed with Three Mustards, Maple and Spice
After the ham is baked and out of the oven, it will have a heavenly crust - your guests may start slicing and eating it in the kitchen.
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 2 hours Makes: 10-12 servings
1 (8 to 9 lb.) bone-in, shank portion ham
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp whole-grain (also called country-style) Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp English-style mustard (I used Keen's brand)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Preheat the oven 325 F. Trim the ham of any tough outer skin. Use a sharp knife to score the top and sides of the ham in a diamond pattern, making shallow, criss-crossing cuts about 1 1 /2-inches apart.
Set the ham in a shallowsided roasting pan. Bake the ham, uncovered, 75 minutes.
Make glaze by placing the remaining ingredients in a bowl. When the ham has baked 75 minutes, baste the top and sides with 1/3 of the glaze. Bake ham 15 minutes. Baste with 1/3 more of the glaze and bake 15 minutes more. Baste with remaining glaze and bake another 15 minutes, or until the ham is richly coloured and hot in the centre.
Transfer the ham to a serving platter, tent with foil, rest it 15 minutes, and then slice and serve.
Send your cooking question to cookbook author Eric Akis by email at eakis@timescolonist. com, by fax to Ask Eric at 250-380-5353 or by regular mail to Ask Eric, sa国际传媒, 2621 Douglas St., V8T 4M2
