Mystefied--thought I'd ask the experts! Gazpacho question

M

monj

Well-known member
I make this recipe (full) all summer. (thanks KC/Janet in NC.) But makes a ton. I halved the recipe for the first time and it turned out a weird cafe au lait color. Still tasted great, but the color makes it unappetizing.

I only used 10 1/2 oz consomme (1 can) and added an extra cup of tomato juice one I saw the weird color.... didn't help much. Any ideas? Thanks!

Gazpacho

Here is my favorite from the NYTimes Bread and Soup Cookbook 1972. I make it and keep it in a pitcher in the fridge at all times in the summer.

4 C cold canned tomato juice (try to find Campbells)

3 C undiluted COLD canned beef consomme (not broth)

1/4 t. or to taste, Tobasco

4 T olive oil

1 teasp salt

juice of 1 lemon

3 T wine vinegar

4 large ice cubes

4 large tomatoes peeled and seeded

4 garlic cloves peeled

2 large cukes

2 large green peppers, pith and seeds removed (I only use one, I don't like peppers very much)

10 green onions plus chives

1/2 C parsley minced. ( I often omit)

Place tom juice, tabasco,olive oil, salt, lemon juice, garlic cloves and ice cubes in blender. Blend for 1 minute.

The recipe goes on to say that you should chop the rest and serve it for garnish to the soup. I put it all in the blender together and make gazacho. I think the consomme is the secret in this recipe. Delicious. Try it.

janet in nc

http://www.eat.at/swap/forum1/154656_Here_is_my_favorite_from_the_NYTimes_Bread_and_Soup_Cookbook_1972_I_make_it_a

 
To address the question asked about the color -

Since you halved the recipe, but used less than half of amount of the consomme, perhaps if the cucumbers were more watery than usual it would account for the color difference?

 
My wife's the gazpacho maker in our house. It is excellent, and it has a darker color...

...as well.

I'd don't know what Gretchen is talking about, as I don't see any bouillon in your recipe, just canned consommé, and I think you recipe sounds delicious as written.

Our recipe calls for the consommé as well. And we do use a large can of Campbell's Tomato Juice.

The recipe calls for 3 cups (24 oz.) of beef consommé and you added 10.5 ounces. Half of 3 cups is 12 ounces, so as far as cutting the recipe in half, you were only 1.5 ounces short here. Then you added an extra cup of tomato juice to bring that total to 3 cups, right?

It doesn't make sense to me either. If you cut the recipe in half before you added the extra tomato juice, it should have looked exactly like it usually does, assuming all ingredients were halved. The missing 1.5 ounces of consommé shouldn't have mattered all that much, in my opinion.

Did you notice the color difference in the blender, or did you pour it into a bowl? Could the acid in the tomatoes, lemon juice and vinegar have reacted with the container? Just a thought.

Otherwise, it's a mystery, along the lines of why Gretchen posts criticism instead of something helpful.

Michael

 
That was not helpful. Here are some things that might be the reason.

I suspect these things: tomato juice, beef consommé, wine vinegar. Did you use Campbells tomato juice? I know it has been the thickest and richest tomato juice on the shelf for years. Am hoping they have not changed the Campbells recipe but if they did it might be some ingredient to make the tomato juice bright and red that would react with the rest of your gazpacho ingredients. Did you use first quality consommé instead of one that might have had food coloring in it to make it look "beefier"? What kind of wine vinegar? Red wine? Sometimes that can cloud and discolor foods.

I've made the recipe you use several times and it always turns out fine- I hope these suggestions are helpful.

 
My point exactly. Rather than offer an answer, the recipe itself was criticized.

Not helpful, just critical.

Gretchen, you've been doing this for years. We all know it, put up with it, and eventually some of us get tired of it.

Oy.

 
Which is a big reason why so many great cooks have left this site.

One by one that have dropped out and I often question why I still come in.

 
Yes.

I come here because of the people that remain despite the fact we have to see posts like this on a fairly regular basis. Everyone else pretty much behaves, and treats each other with respect and courtesy. I enjoy that.

Heck, Mimi banned her from the board once. She just changed her screen name and kept right on posting, knowing she was there in defiance of the wishes of the admin. So, what can you do, but like others, stop coming here.

It's just sad.

 
Great ideas, Cathy. Another thought, Mo, what type of fresh tomatoes

did you use? Did you try something different this time than you normally use? Like, this time of year there are some lovely red tomatoes that have a green tinge to them (a few heirlooms, for instance) -- and something like that could perhaps to contribute to a different gazpacho color finish.

 
I make this recipe every year. LOVE it! The consume does bring on a darker color, but

does add to the texture of the gazpacho. It does look more like a carmalized color vs. a rich red color. I add lots of extras as a garnish.... Chopped scallions, mini shrimp, cut up toms, cucs, red peppers, etc. The soup is really tasty, but agree, on it's own is not that pretty. It is still my go to. Love the flavor, texture and ease of this recipe.....

 
OMG, thanks for the reminder about this lovely soup! I have not made it this year

and our weather has been like hell this summer, plus the forest fires are bringing smoke into the valley and today is the first day, I can detect a little smoke smell in the house....yikes. Must make this tomorrow!

 
Let's see Gretchen, Dillward, Charley...I cannot keep up....

I do know that she was banned by the previous administrator for having multiple logins to defend herself in disagreements and all of the rows that she caused. But yet, she is back. Granted, Gretchen has somewhat behaved this time around under her new nom de plume. But it is still so shrill and scolding, and as Cathy has quite eloquently pointed out, not at all helpful.

 
Mo I'm wondering about the vinegar as others have suggested...

What wine vinegar are you using? Here in this house I have a bottle of red wine vinegar that I've planted a mother in, and then I keep topping it up. With my red wine vinegar, I could see some reactions.

 
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