Mouthwatering Boat Recipes (mainly plant based)

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Weav's recipe was roughly followed, but I used a tablespoon of golden syrup instead of the date syrup. As a ginger lover, I used two flat tablespoons instead of one.

GINGERNUT SNAPS (not hard enough to be called gingernuts)

½ cup white sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 tbl golden syrup
¼ cup low acidity extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
juice ½ lemon
zest 1 lemon
2 cups self raising flour
2 flat tablespoons ground ginger
1 scant teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

With no mixer on board, the technique was modified and worked perfectly well:

- Whisk sugar, syrup, oil, egg, zest and juice until well combined
- Mix in sifted flour, ginger and soda and knead lightly to form a smooth dough
- Roll walnut sized pieces of dough into balls and flatten slightly
- Dip one side into extra white sugar

My oven burns extra hot or not at all, so I baked these for 10 minutes, then left them to cool in the oven, producing a nicely crisp result.

This is an excellent boat recipe. With the exception of the lemon (and lemon extract could be substituted) all the ingredients keep well long term unrefrigerated. This could easily be made even months after provisioning.

Thanks Weav .

When you get to a place that you can can get date syrup, you will see why I use it..

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by weavis

When you get to a place that you can can get date syrup, you will see why I use it..

Curiosity made me look this up. I have just learned it is a Middle Eastern / North African sweetener that can substitute honey or maple syrup or agave syrup. It sounds like it would be a very useful general sweetener (I don't usually use much sugar except in jam).

It seems to be dead easy to make - just soak pitted dry dates in water overnight or boil them up or even simply blend them without soaking. Straining seems to be optional.

I will try some instead of honey in the next cake I bake (and next batch of gingernut snaps). I love experimenting, so thanks for the tip Weav .

SWL

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Curiosity made me look this up. I have just learned it is a Middle Eastern / North African sweetener that can substitute honey or maple syrup or agave syrup. It sounds like it would be a very useful general sweetener (I don't usually use much sugar except in jam).

It seems to be dead easy to make - just soak pitted dry dates in water overnight or boil them up or even simply blend them without soaking. Straining seems to be optional.

I will try some instead of honey in the next cake I bake (and next batch of gingernut snaps). I love experimenting, so thanks for the tip Weav .

SWL

Your very welcome.

[Buzzman]

Wow! There's certainly a few GNs that I had never heard of..!

McVities? Tower? We certainly can't get them over here.

Anybody want to do a swap? I'll send you one or more of mine and ditto via return post?

I might even be able to get hold of some of the thin, softer ones, as my son lives in Brisbane and so I know the Brisbane-based factory (and all supermarkets as far south as Coffs Harbour supplied from there) have the thin ones.

Then you could compare what I'm seeing/feeling/tasting...

...and you would KNOW the difference.

Send me a PM.

Perhaps we should even start a Ginger Biscuits thread....????

And they do look dark brown.

Is supect they bake them slow, low and long, in order to get them hard.

I'd take even money that SWLs will dissolve if dunked in tea, but happy to be proven wrong!

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Buzzman

The (IMHO) *best* Ginger Nut biscuit in the whole wide world (like, I'd know...) is the Arnott's Ginger Nut, made in Australia....BUT....only the ones made in the Sydney factory, as they are thicker and crisper/harder than any of the so-called Ginger Nuts made in other Arnotts factories around the place.

Found out why years ago when I complained about not being able to get them while in NZ, even though the packaging was the same....

Apparent;ly, when Arnott's took over any local bakery they simply adopted their Ginger Crisp/Ginger Nut recipe and used the one type of packaging.

I was particularly P*****d Off when in NZ several years ago and having taken a few packets over in my luggage, to dunk in my cups of tea whilst boating down the Waikato, and some thieving scullers stole them from my foodbox in the communal kitchen at Lake Karapiro.

They were haivng sculling trials while we were gearing up to float down the Waikato in the annual Seagull Marathon.

Bloody K1W1 kids.....gnash, gnash, grrrrrrrr....

Won't ever make that mistake again. Lock and key next time, in the boot of the car!!

The problem is, the *fake* Ginger Nuts (really should be Ginger Snaps) are too thin and dissolve in your tea, making a b*****y mess in the bottom of the cup, whereas the harder, Sydney ones can be dunked for some time before they begin to soften, and *must* be dunked if you don't want to break a tooth..!!

There's an Arnott's factory in PNG (used to be a branch of the Australian company, but they sold out to a local business - Paradise Foods a few years ago).

I think they must still use the Sydney recipe for their Ginger Nuts 'cos they are the real toothbreakers you describe

They're the ones I carry! If you don't have a brew to soften them,it may help to smash them into small pieces and suck on them like a gobstopper

[Buzzman]

Yay! One more place in the world to buy 'proper' Ginger Nuts..!!

If you'd like to swap packets, send me a PM..

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Buzzman

Is supect they bake them slow, low and long, in order to get them hard.

I'd take even money that SWLs will dissolve if dunked in tea, but happy to be proven wrong!

You're right on both counts:
The batch I made do dissolve when dunked.
Long slow baking is one key to getting a hard gingernut.

Have you ever made biscotti or rusks? The initial mix is baked, sliced, then baked very slowly at only about 80-100° C for ½-1 hour to completely dry them out.

To make them "real toothbreakers" I would delete the oil completely or at least reduce it (biscotti that are akin to concrete don't contain any shortening). If anyone has a packet of the Sydney or PNG versions could you please check what the fat content is and what is listed under "ingredients"?

The flavour of the lot I made is perfect using 2 tablespoons of ginger in the mix, so nothing needs adjusting there. To make them look more like the Arnott's version, all brown sugar could be used (Arnott may add some molasses enhancing the colour even further).

We are munching on a few with coffee at the moment, so the current batch won't last long and I will experiment with another lot .

SWL

[Buzzman]

Sydney factory - Arnotts packaging (but assume is same elsewhere)

Ingredients:
Wheat flour, sugar, Golden Syrup, vegetable oil, baking powder, ginger, salt, natural flavour, emulsifier (soy lecithin), antioxidant (E307b from soy)

Nutrition info:
Servings per package: about 9.5; 2 biscuits per serving (26.4g)
Av. qty/serving % daily intake Av. qty/100g
Energy - 467kJ 5.4% 1770kJ
Protein - 1.2g 2.3% 4.4g
Fat-total - 2.3g 3.3% 8.9g
- Saturated - 1.2g 4.8% 4.4g
Carbohydrate - 21g 6.8% 79.5g
- sugars - 11.4g 12.6% 43.1g
Sodium - 69mg 3.0% 260mg


Hope that helps..!!

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

You're right on both counts:
The batch I made do dissolve when dunked.
Long slow baking is one key to getting a hard gingernut.

Have you ever made biscotti or rusks? The initial mix is baked, sliced, then baked very slowly at only about 80-100° C for ½-1 hour to completely dry them out.

To make them "real toothbreakers" I would delete the oil completely or at least reduce it (biscotti that are akin to concrete don't contain any shortening). If anyone has a packet of the Sydney or PNG versions could you please check what the fat content is and what is listed under "ingredients"?

The flavour of the lot I made is perfect using 2 tablespoons of ginger in the mix, so nothing needs adjusting there. To make them look more like the Arnott's version, all brown sugar could be used (Arnott may add some molasses enhancing the colour even further).

We are munching on a few with coffee at the moment, so the current batch won't last long and I will experiment with another lot .

SWL

This ginger biscuit recipe is meant to be the middle ground of taste and hardness. It was a long time ago when I compiled it (and even longer since I made them). Its more of a taste sensation that a ginger 'snap' type hard cookie/biscuit offering.

when I live in Florida, a new York family opened a 'Deli' in Punta Gorda. Italian background and they prepared a lot of their own products. Biscotti being one of them. I love Biscotti. He made 3 flavours that made coffee lonely to have on its own. A slice of biscotti, a hammer to break a piece off and a gallon of coffee to dunk. Such richness of taste.

sigh.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Buzzman

Sydney factory - Arnotts packaging (but assume is same elsewhere)

Ingredients:
Wheat flour, sugar, Golden Syrup, vegetable oil, baking powder, ginger, salt, natural flavour, emulsifier (soy lecithin), antioxidant (E307b from soy)

Nutrition info:
Servings per package: about 9.5; 2 biscuits per serving (26.4g)
Av. qty/serving % daily intake Av. qty/100g
Energy - 467kJ 5.4% 1770kJ
Protein - 1.2g 2.3% 4.4g
Fat-total - 2.3g 3.3% 8.9g
- Saturated - 1.2g 4.8% 4.4g
Carbohydrate - 21g 6.8% 79.5g
- sugars - 11.4g 12.6% 43.1g
Sodium - 69mg 3.0% 260mg


Hope that helps..!!

Thanks, that is very useful.

Interestingly, Arnott's gingernuts don't contain any eggs.

The fat content is 8.9% compared to roughly 12% in Weav's recipe:
4g fat from 250g flour
5g fat from 1 egg
58g fat from 1/4 cup oil
Total fat content is about 67g in roughly 550g of biscuits = 12%

I will put my thinking cap on and have a bit of a play.

SWL

[weavis]

I just had a thought.
If you want crisp, swap out the baking powder for baking soda.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by weavis

when I live in Florida, a new York family opened a 'Deli' in Punta Gorda. Italian background and they prepared a lot of their own products. Biscotti being one of them. I love Biscotti. He made 3 flavours that made coffee lonely to have on its own. A slice of biscotti, a hammer to break a piece off and a gallon of coffee to dunk. Such richness of taste.

sigh.

I love biscotti too and they are dead easy to make. I think I will make the next lot biscotti like (more eggs and no oil). They won't look anything like Arnott's gingernuts, but will taste similar and have that "toothbreaking unless dunked" quality.

For the batch after I will reverse it and use no eggs and decrease the oil making the ingredients Arnott-like. I am just about out of Golden Syrup though. NornaBiron bought me my last lot in Crete a few years back and I have been using it mainly in Anzac biscuits that I make occasionally if I get nostalgic for home.

I ordered a kilo of ground ginger last winter, so I have lots to experiment with .

SWL

[NornaBiron]

I've used this recipe before with half fresh root ginger, they were real tooth breakers!

1" root ginger, finely grated, or 2 tsp ground ginger (I used half and half)
500g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup treacle
175g butter

Preheat oven to gas 3
Sieve flour and salt into a bowl.
Put sugar, treacle and butter in a saucepan over a low heat, melt together then allow to cool.
Add all ingredients together, mix well.
Roll tbsp amounts into balls, place on baking tray and bake for 15 minutes
Cool on a rack

They were very good!

[Seaworthy Lass]

I made another batch of Gingernuts today. The recipe still needs work, but with all the taste testing it was a serious sugar overload and enough for a little while .

My system was craving a dose of vegetables and pan roasted tomatoes seemed just the thing to add to tonight's salad. If ripe tomatoes are chosen, these are luscious. Try them warm with baby spinach leaves and shaved parmesan . Recipes don't get much easier than this.

PAN ROASTED TOMATOES

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 medium ripe tomatoes (enough to fill a pan), halved lengthwise and cored
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or a teaspoon of dried thyme
freshly ground salt and pepper

- Gently fry the tomatoes using medium heat, skin side down first and flipping occasionally until they are slightly blackened in patches. It takes about 20 minutes.
- When done sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper.

[Seaworthy Lass]

The order of ingredients used in Arnott's NSW Gingernuts combined with the nutritional content of the biscuits gives a good indication of the likely proportion of ingredients used in this Aussie classic.

I think I have worked out a recipe that will reproduce them very well. The only problem is that I have no golden syrup left to test it out and will not be able to source any until next year. If anyone feels like giving it a go and reporting back, here it is:

GINGERNUTS

1 packed cup (200g) brown sugar
½ cup golden syrup
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups (250g) self raising flour Edit: plain with 1 flat teaspoon baking powder would be better
1 flat tablespoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt

- Combine sugar, syrup and oil and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved. Cool. Edit: just cool enough to touch, otherwise dough is too stiff. Don't overheat the sugar mix, as it will turn to toffee. The sugar doesn't need to dissolve completely
- Sift flour, ginger and salt
- Mix everything together and knead lightly to combine well.
- Roll into 32 balls, flatten slightly and place well spaced on 2 lined baking trays
- Bake at 150-160°C (less if fan forced) in a preheated oven for about 15-20 10 minutes until golden, changing the position of the trays at the halfway mark
- Allow to cool in the oven
- Stack on a metal rack to allow air circulation, place this on a baking tray and bake at 80°C for half an hour Edit: unnecessary
- As soon as they are cool, store in an airtight container.

These should fall into the "toothbreaker" category and pass all dunking tests .