Smoking, Curing Meats

Question: I’m interested in smoking, curing and aging pork bacon, ribs and beef. Do you know of a book that I can buy that gives instructions? Is there a pork advisory board that I can write or call?

Answer: In “The L. L. Bean Game & Fish Cookbook” (Random House: 1983) authors Angus Cameron and Judith Jones write, “There are a number of manuals and books on smoking fish, poultry and other meats. A good one is Jack Sleight’s ‘The Home Book of Smoke-Cooking Meat, Fish and Game.’ ”

A check of “Books in Print” shows “The Home Book of Smoke-Cooking Meat, Fish and Game (Stackpole: 1982, $9.95 paper) is still available. The authors are Raymond Hull and Jack Sleight. If the local bookstore doesn’t have a copy, perhaps they can order it for you or suggest an alternative.

You may write to The National Pork Producers Council, a division of the National Livestock & Meat Board, at P.O. Box 10383, Des Moines, Iowa 50306. The telephone number is (515) 223-2600.

Q: Helping a friend move, we found 12 jars of Danish lumpfish caviar. We know it probably isn’t a high quality, but the fun is still there. She thought she had probably had it between eight and 10 years. All jars seem to be tightly sealed and no odor escapes. Is this product still edible?

A: Despite the condition of the jars, we wouldn’t recommend consuming any product that is 10 or 12 years old. Even if still edible, it certainly has lost quality. Canned products are meant to be consumed within about one year.

Q: I received a cookie book from Australia and most of the recipes call for copha. Could you please tell me what this is? Can’t find it in any books.

A: We contacted the office of the Australian Consulate General and learned copha is a white, waxy solid, derived from coconut flesh that is used in cooking. Unfortunately, we were not able to find a local source for the product.

Q: I would like to have it clarified once and for all: Is it true that the raw egg yolk is where the salmonella would be found and not the egg white? This is the information I read a few months ago, but I would like it verified.

A: According to the FDA, it’s true the heaviest concentration of salmonella would be in the yolk, with less of the bacteria in the white. However, they do not recommend using the whites in meringue because the limited oven time it takes to brown meringue would not be sufficient to kill the organisms.

In response to the March 2 You Asked About . . . column on pastry flour, a reader writes that in “In Madeleine’s Kitchen” by Madeleine Kamman (Atheneum: 1984), the author states all-purpose flour may be transformed into pastry flour by removing two tablespoons of flour per pound (four cups sifted) and replacing them with two tablespoons of cornstarch. She further notes that to obtain cake flour one-quarter cup of flour must be removed and replaced with one-quarter cup cornstarch.

Other readers noted they are able to purchase pastry flour at local health food stores.

Address questions on food preparation to You Asked About . . ., Food Section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. Personal replies cannot be given.