If you put Republicans and Democrats at the same dinner table, you might be apt to say that oil and water don't mix, as the old adage predicts.
But then, there is also the saying, "Politics makes strange bedfellows." The handy thing about the old saws is that there seems to be one for every point of view.
It's nice that the mix of oil and water is usually delightful in the kitchen. While oil and water (and other non-oily ingredients like vinegar, citrus juices and flavored waters) truly don't mix, they do emulsify when shaken together and the shaken result gives us lots of goodness in the kitchen, and subtle flavor and fragrance, too.
Consider a very simple salad, for instance. Shave some common vegetables, carrots, cucumbers, radishes and perhaps a little red onion onto greens on a salad plate. Drizzling a little walnut oil and a squirt of lemon juice over the vegetables results in a surprisingly complex and wonderful taste for such a simple dressing.
Oils and, less prominently, waters, show up throughout the world's cuisine, although we Americans often forget about flavored waters. The two most common waters are rosewater and orange flower water. They are made, respectively, by distilling water over rose petals or orange blossoms. Historically, the waters have been used in such cuisines as Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese, and in the case of orange flower water, European recipes.
A little bit, maybe a dash or a 1/2 teaspoon of orange flower water, goes a long way, flavoring desserts, drinks, and salads -- especially citrus salads. The waters are also used in candy (rosewater in Turkish taffies), cakes and pastries. Flavored waters have been recently introduced to beverages by "mixologists," a term I understand that is au courant for bartenders as exotic cocktails seem the rage. (The swing, back and forth, between the old standards, like martinis and Manhattans, and exotic concoctions can be dizzying. No pun intended.)
As far as oils go, some are more rare than our standards -- vegetable, canola, safflower and olive oils. Legendary white truffle oil is a luxury, and it is expensive, but there is nothing in the world like it, even close to it; and lightly drizzled on pasta or warm new potatoes, its earthy aroma is released, and taste of the two ingredients mingled is magical.
My runaway favorite though, and the favorite because I use it nearly daily in some way or other, is Boyajian oil. A variety of specialty oils is available in specialty food stores in Traverse City. I usually pick up a bottle when I am in Mary's Kitchen Port.
French cooks are said to put a dab of orange or lemon oil behind their ears whenever they are cooking with it. While I am a gullible fool for any anecdotes that make food romantic, I've tried the orange oil behind the ear, and darned if I don't love it. (Read the ads for various alluring perfumes, and you'll see citrus notes play a lot of music in them.)
I use orange oil with chocolate desserts, lemon oil to accentuate lemon desserts (puddings, cakes) and lime in salad dressings. Now, here is a warning, and it is important. Use these Boyajian oils by the drop. Start with just a couple drops of orange oil, for instance in a devil's food cake. A bonus to their powerful flavor is that a small bottle lasts a long time.
I see walnut oil on menus more and more, too. It lends an obvious nuttiness to salad dressing, and I like it in cookies, whether for Christmas treats or large grab-one-for-dessert at summer picnics. Layering flavor again, try walnut oil in a cookie with walnuts (try black ones!) in the dough. Experimenting with waters and oils is interesting and easy to do if you keep control by adding oils drop by drop. Living in cherry country, I like to try orange with cherries, and a touch of lemon with cherries is usually pleasing, too. I haven't considered lime with cherries, but a few drops of lime in a lemon meringue pie add a delightful freshness. Makes me think that spring is really here.
One-Bowl Fudge Drops
5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 T. light corn syrup
1 c. plus 2 T. sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c. milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour stirred with 1/2 t. salt
3 drops orange oil
2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350˚; grease and flour 1 or 2 baking sheets.
In a large metal bowl set over a saucepan containing 2 inches of barely simmering water, melt the unsweetened chocolate, the butter, and the corn syrup, whisking until smooth. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and allow to cool until warm. Whisk in the sugar, orange oil, vanilla, and milk, then whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour mixture and stir until just mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded teaspoons, one inch apart, only the prepared baking sheet. Bake for nine to 10 minutes, until the cookies look dry and on top but are still soft to the touch. Immediately transfer to wire racks to cool.
--Adapted from Lorraine Bodger, "A Year of Cookies"
Sally Ketchum writes and lives in northern Michigan. She can be reached at ketchum1985@gmail.com
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