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Just realized my mom's banana bread recipe works better with overripe bananas than I thought
I always tossed bananas with brown spots, thinking they were ruined. Then last week I used some that were practically black, and the loaf came out way sweeter and more moist. Anyone else have a family recipe that actually depends on ingredients being past their prime?
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jessica_robinson2329d ago
My great aunt's ham and bean soup is basically built on the same idea. She always said the key was using a ham bone that's been sitting in the freezer for at least three or four months. I thought she was just being quirky, but I tried it with a fresh bone once and the soup was way less flavorful. Something about the fat breaking down and the meat getting that smoky, concentrated taste over time. Now I purposely save ham bones and let them age a bit before using them. It's funny how our grandparents knew these tricks without any science talk, they just knew what worked.
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jamiew5329d ago
Yeah @jessica_robinson23 you're spot on with that. I do the same thing with turkey carcasses after Thanksgiving. I'll wrap the bones tight and leave them in the freezer for a couple months before making stock. The difference is night and day... fresh bones give you a thin, watery broth but the frozen ones come out thick and almost jelly-like. Your great aunt knew what was up with that ham bone trick.
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alice_hart23d ago
Have you ever noticed how the same principle works with something like chili or stews? My mother-in-law used to make a big pot of beef stew, then freeze it and reheat it a month later, and it always tasted better the second time around. The flavors just kept melding together in the freezer. I think your great aunt's trick with the ham bone is similar - the freezing process must be breaking down the connective tissue and letting those smoky salts really soak into the meat. My grandmother had a ham bone in her freezer she called her "lucky bone" and would add it to everything from beans to collard greens. There's a reason she never used a fresh one.
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