Coffee

Coffee came to Britain in the 17th C. although it didn't really get rolling in any volume until the Turks were beaten at Belgrade in 1717 and they abandoned the siege of Vienna, leaving a mountain of coffee beans in sacks behind. The surplus was used to fuel Austrian coffee houses and that influence extended to Britain where coffee became the 'in' thing to indulge in. The culture developed a bit differently - lots of sweet delicacies and whipped cream in the Continental coffee houses and less of that in Britain. Bach was inspired to write his 'Coffee Cantata' perhaps under the influence of a particularly tasty piece of pastry.

All of the coffee as grown in Arabia at the time although the origin was apparently in Ethiopia, and the Dutch made inroads in that by establishing plantations in Asia and England in the Caribbean and Ceylon The first coffee house in England was opened in Oxford in 1650 and is still open today, albeit as a wine bar.

I was reading some social history of the British Isles and the contest between tea and coffee affected the development of trade and custom for many years. There is a very interesting timeline of coffee at https://brewminate.com/a-timeline-and-h ... of-coffee/

There doesn't seem to be a long tradition of cooking with coffee, although some of use use it in rubs for grilling meat. After reading about the history, I thought I would post here and see if anyone used coffee much in their cooking, or had some favourite recipes using it.

[Jenise]

When I lived in England 30 or so years ago I would say tea vs. coffee was about half and half, but the rub was that coffee was invariably instant Nescafe. If offered coffee or tea at someone's home, therefore, I always chose the latter but would of course have to specify without milk otherwise that's how it showed up, even in Chinese restaurants.

Say, I looked up my old English house the other day. It was quite elderly, an 1800's manor house of a local silk merchant that got divided in two when a fire burned out the center. I got the good half. Take a look:

https://themovemarket.com/tools/propert ... d-sk11-7js

Back to coffee, I add leftover coffee to a few things. It emboldens a Beef Bourgogne and a pot roast gravy. I mix it with red wine to make a pan sauce Red Eye Gravy for breakfast ham and grits. I add powdered espresso to French onion soup. Jeff G once shared a coffee granita, I've copied that. I use fresh ground coffee to sugar and salt to coat steaks cowboy style. Those are the primary things I've used coffee in.

I've also made jellied espresso, and sprinkled espresso over the ladyfingers in tiramisu.

I've considered bolstering beef stews and broths with coffee but never have.

Some breads, esp. rye, may use coffee or espresso. Likewise in many other baked goods, particularly in ones with chocolate. Espresso in small amounts can enhance chocolate flavor.

Very lovely house Jenise, that must have been a great experience. I also keep a jar of expresso in my pantry and have several recipes which call for it in the liquids. Very good.

There doesn't seem to be a long tradition of cooking with coffee, although some of use use it in rubs for grilling meat.

Southern red-eye gravy comes to mind.

-Paul W.

Haven't thought of it in years but I used to do an ancho chili & coffee braised beef to serve on polenta. Also not made in years, a roast lamb using coffee grounds, not liquid coffee. Coffee flan, coffee panna cotta and tiramisu with lady fingers dipped in coffee spiked with any sweet liquor are often requested desserts.

[Jenise]

Haven't thought of it in years but I used to do an ancho chili & coffee braised beef to serve on polenta. Also not made in years, a roast lamb using coffee grounds, not liquid coffee.

With friends last night we were discussing "things we haven't made in years". How something you used to love somehow fades completely out of mind for a long, long time. In the next week I plan to do just one of those dishes--something inspired by an article I read in the L.A. Times back in the 90's for a paste called 'Garlipeno'--raw garlic, jalapeno peppers and olive oil whizzed to a chunky paste in a blender. IIRC it was suggested for skirt steak/carne asada, but I put it on flank steak, spreading the meat to capture this lovely paste in the channels natural to that cut. It is SOOO good; how could I have forgotten it?

Sounds like a chimichurri sauce?

[Jenise]

I see where you're going with that, but no. Not a sauce for adding after the cook, it's a thick chunky paste that's sensational smeared into stringy textured meats before grilling.