I taught them to cook vidya4 - Flipbook - Page 21
Autumn Term
19
The class lifts their mixing bowls, twists their hips and
shakes any lumps of fat to the top. They wait for my approving
inspection as I dance around the tables.
‘Perfect Janice.’ Girls are dainty with cool hands. Boys have
clumsy, hot hands which can quickly squeeze the crumble into a
fatty ball.
My Twist and Shake routine is used for a myriad of fatty, floury
recipes and we must progress through the skills of combining the
ingredients FOR THE EXAM – crumble, shortcrust pastry, rock
cakes, flaky and rough puff. Deep down I think it’s a way of using
cheap ingredients to make high fat, sugary cakes and pastries to
fill us up. The British diet and cookery lessons will have to change.
Let’s get this lesson nailed. They peel, core and slice a cooking
apple into a small foil dish, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon,
then top with the light, crumbly crumble which bakes to a golden
crunchiness. The room has a spicy fragrance and I wish I had a
demonstration dish for my supper.
‘We’ve mastered one of the basic skills. What’s the method called?’
Rubbing in is an important skill!