odd recipe note

[redbird]

adrian_turtle just walked over with a copy of The Bakery Men Don't See, open to the "Ideologically Labile Fruit Crisp," and asked whether I am in contact with Eileen Gunn, whose recipe it was.

After I said not really, Adrian said "I assume she didn't test the recipe." The specific untested part is the long list of possible sweeteners, which starts with various kinds of sugar and ends "...treacle, fruit preserves, raisins, dates, or gummi bears."

One of Adrian's friends just tried baking rainbow challah, using gummi bears for the rainbow colors. She reports that the gummi bears melted, then solidified into hard candy, and the resulting loaf was stuck to the pan.

This recipe is where I got (slightly paraphrased) "take into consideration any special-interest groups, such as 5-year-olds." I'd thought "consider special interest groups, such as five-year-olds" was from the suggestion to sweeten with gummi bears, but apparently not: having gotten out the book, I see that the special-interest groups and the suggestion of gummi bears are on different pages. Because I am not five years old, when Adrian quotes the part about "special-interest groups" she usually means that she is cooking me sweet potatoes or using ginger in a recipe.

Somewhere along the line, I also combined two different parts of this recipe to get "if you feel the need to peel and slice berries, call 911 or consult your therapist."

Comments

[pameladean]

Gummi bears might work better with a fruit crisp than with bread. I don't feel inspired to try them myself, but if they are just in with the fruit mixture rather than embedded in dough, it might all go better. Baking times would be different too, which would probably have some effect.

I don't like gummi candy at all or I would actually try it.

Though I have to wonder if it was just an in-joke. It's never quite safe to put one of those in a recipe, but people are funny.

P.

[redbird]

I do like gummi bears, but our family fruit crisp recipe is sweetened with maple syrup.

[pameladean]

A genius move that should not be messed with! P.

[redbird]

It's also easily vegan (just use Earth Balance, as we do, or some other margarine instead of butter), because other than the maple syrup it's fruit, grain, and nuts.

[pameladean]

Thanks for the information! I'll look into this, as crisp season is upon me. P.

[athenais]

I mean, I am in touch with Eileen Gunn, so if you want to reach out to her we can make that happen. But several other of your friends probably are, too, and I feel sure she cannot have tried using gummis if they turn rock hard and make things stick to pans. It probably seemed like it must work. This is how all of my baking disasters happen: I substitute something that seems likely and am so very wrong.

[conuly]

The Bakery Men Don't See

That's a heck of a reference for a cookbook to make.

[adrian_turtle]

Just so. It was right next to Her Smoke Rose Up From Supper, on the shelf and otherwise.

[redbird]

It is.

The cookbook was a fundraiser for the (since-renamed) Tiptree Award, for SF and fantasy that expands or explores our ideas of gender. Much of the funding for the award has been raised via bake sales at sf/fantasy conventions.