This essay is sort of a prequel to two that I am scheduled to write for What’s for Dinner, posted at Dailykos.com (and here) Saturday evenings around 7:30 Eastern. Next Saturday I am writing rather long one about jellies (and related items) with lots of technical information and pictures of the process from start to finish. On 05 December I return to write about my favorite holiday goodies.
This got me to thinking that some of those goodies need background preparation before cooking them. Tonight we will discuss several key ingredients in some of my favorites, and some of the biology and natural history about them. Some things, like preparing nuts and persimmons, HAVE to be done in advance for various reasons, and some can be done in advance to ease the workload during the busy holiday season.