Iraq Food Service Operations
Tricks of the trade
As you might imagine, not all kitchen staples are readily available in Iraq. Some basic items that we take for granted in other, hmmm... metropolis areas, have to be planned on months in advance and even then may not make it. So, what is a chef to do? Our team has spent a lot of time learning how to provide more with less and they have become well versed in working from "scratch". Here are a few of the things they have learned along the way.
Basic Subtitutes...
Bread Crumbs = crushed corn flakes or other dry cereals.
Butter = 1/2 cup solid shortening & 1/2 t salt
Fresh Milk = 1/2 C each evaporated milk and water
Buttermilk = use 1 T lemon juice or vinegar and enough fresh milk to make 1 C. let mixture stand 5 mins.
Ketchup = 1 can tomato sauce added to 1 1/4 C brown sugar, 2 T vinegar, 1/4 t cinnamon and a dash of clove and allspice.
Baking powder = 1/2 t baking soda and 1/2 t of cream tartar will yield 1 t baking powder.
