The document contains letters from readers responding to articles in Fine Cooking magazine. One reader asks the magazine to include nutritional analysis in their recipes to help track fat intake. Another corrects an error about how cheese is made. A third shares shortcuts for making quick Indian curries. A fourth inquires about building wood-burning ovens.

1. LETTERS
are concerned with nutritionalanalysis of
the foods they cook. I find this informa-
tion extremely helpful in keeping track of
the amount of fat my family eats, and it
also helps me decide when I need to mod-
ify a recipe to keep the fat intake in our
daily diet within the recommended 30%
range. To my mind, this analysis is far
more useful than presenting special low-
calorie recipes. I hope you'll consider in-
corporating this information.
-Diana Stiegler,
Albuquerque, NM
RENNET OR RENNIN,
IT'S STILL CHEESE
We noted an error in Ari Weinzweig's de-
scription of how cheese is made (Fine
Cooking # 1, p. 49) . Rennet is any agent
of either animal or vegetable origin that
causes milk to clot. Rennin is rennet that
has been obtained from ruminant ani-
mals. Rennin has been in short supply for
some years, but is now available as re-
combinant rennin. This is the first genet-
ically engineered food ingredient.
-Sharon & Patrick Oriel,
Midland, MI
HURRY CURRY
I was delighted to read Aminni Ra-
machandran's article, "South Indian
Chicken Curry" (Fine Cooking#2), since
my roots also are in Kerala, India. How-
ever, since I have to cook quickly for lack
oftime, I have several shortcuts for cook-
ing foods native to a slower pace oflife.
I stock commercially available jars of
chopped garlic, and I always keep a
gingerroot in a sealed plastic bag in the
freezer. I break off a small section at a
time, but it also can be peeled and
chopped before freezing. Also, Thai
coconut milk (available in most Asian
groceries) is an excellent product, and
freezing it in ice-cube trays gives you
small portions to use as needed. Finally, I
cook curries in a small pressure cooker.
All told, my curries are done in half an
hour from start to serving. The best part
ofcooking Indian curries is that leftovers
actually taste better the next day!
-Hima Thomas, Sturbridge, MA
MODERN KITCHEN SEEKS
WOOD-BURNING OVEN
I would be very interested in a compre-
hensive article about the construction
and use ofwood-burning ovens. Are they
feasible for use in a home or in a commu-
nity building that serves large numbers?
-Nan Crocke1; Ketchum, ID
THE FINE ART OF
WEIGHING FLOUR
In the Letters department of Fine Cook-
ing #3, you discuss two flour-related
topics: weight vs. volume measures, and
the gluten content of flours. Because
there are differences in protein contents
between brands of flours, you never can
know exactly how much flour you'll
need. Weight is more precise than vol-
ume in flour measurement, but unless
you know the flour's exact protein con-
tent, getting the appropriate quantity is
still something of an art.
A couple ofyears ago, when I was the
head cook at a Plymouth, Massachusetts,
retreat, I received King Arthur Special
Flour from two different purveyors. One
company marketed the flour as all-
purpose, the other as bread flour.To con-
fuse matters further, I received the store
brand ofKing Arthur as a substitution on
an order, and it too was labeled all-
purpose. When I called King Arthur in
Vermont, they explained that the "spe-
cial" flour was high in gluten-that is, a
bread flour-and the supermarket ver-
sion was actually all-purpose.
At a Culinary Institute of America
class, ChefRichard Coppedge explained
that King Arthur all-purpose flour was
higher in gluten-forming proteins than
most other all-purpose flours. He also
said that humidity had a definite effect
on the amount of water he used in bak-
ing. This explains why bread recipes,
whether you're using weight or volume,
need a range for flour quantities.
-David Shewmake1;
Ashfield, MA
Editor's note: Ellen Davies, director of
sales and marketing at King Arthur
Flour, concurs with Shewmaker's con-
clusion that both humidity and a flour's
protein content are factors in how much
flour a recipe needs. According to
Davies, King Arthur flour does have a
higher gluten content than most other
all-purpose flours. However, King
Arthur also makes a high-gluten flour-
King Arthur Special-that's designed
for breadmaking, but would produce
tough biscuits and pie crusts. The differ-
ence between these high- and higher-
gluten flours, says Davies, "is like the dif-
ference between skim milk and whole
milk." She offers an additional caution:
a flour's protein content can vary with
the crops. Last year's crop was poor,
which meant protein-poor flour. Davies
says this year's crop is shaping up as an
excellent one. +
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