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07/25/2001 Archived Entry: "Answering More E-mail"

Q. I don’t know whether you count calories when you travel, but a good friend of mine does. And it’s not easy when you go to Europe where everything is listed in “kcal.” Do you know how to recalculate those “kcal” into the familiar calories that we have on every food package in the US?
--Olga

A. Kcal or kilocalories are 1,000 calories. So add three zeros to the number of kilocalories and you have the calories, usually a pretty scary number. Note, too, for what amount of food the kcal are given. It is often not one small portion. It could be the whole package. Also note that Kcal are often indicated by the use of a capitol “C,” while calories are noted by a small “c,” which is why the terms are often called “big calories” and “small calories.” It can get pretty confusing.

In case you didn’t know, calories are a measurement of heat or energy, in this case the energy generated from food metabolism. A calorie is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water, which is one milliliter, by one degree Celsius (Centigrade) or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. A kilocalorie is the amount of heat necessary to increase the temperature of 1000 milliliters of water, which is one liter or a little over a quart, by one degree Celsius. The word calorie comes from the Latin word for heat, calor.

I must say, I feel sorry for anyone who feels compelled to count calories while on vacation. Now that I think of it, what is your friend doing eating processed foods? Tell him/her that if it has a label, he/she should probably not be eating it at all.


Q. Recently, I got a large amount of fresh red peppers and would like to roast some of them. How long can I keep them in my refrigerator after they are roasted? I can store them in a tightly covered jar or plastic container, but of course there is no preservatives in them.
--Anonymous Pepper Roaster


A. Any day now, there will be locally grown sweet red peppers in the market. Last week, the first green ones appeared, and they are simply unripe red peppers. (or yellow, or orange, or whatever color other than green). I can’t eat enough of them when they are in season, but I don’t have the time to roast peppers every day. Like you, I want to store them for at least a short while. Even for a long while.

I roast peppers over the gas burner of my kitchen stove, having no outdoor grill to do it on and, in any case, preferring to stand at the kitchen stove and make turning peppers over the fire, then peeling peppers, a meditative morning exercise. If you can and want to do it over a charcoal fire, they will taste even better. I never, never, never would cut the peppers in half and put them under the broiler, as I have seen demonstrated on television lately. The peppers lose moisture with that method. Indeed, you get none of the sweet juices that, when you roast them whole, collect inside the peppers. If you are lazy, try roasting them directly on the oven rack at about 450 degrees, cooking them until the skin blisters and blows out, separating itself from the pepper’s flesh.

After I roast and peel the peppers – peeling is the most tedious part of the job – I cut them in half, making sure to reserve any juices that drip out, remove their seeds and the soft membranes, and spread the halved peppers flat on a platter or in a shallow ceramic casserole – with their juices. To preserve them for up to a week or so, I just cover them with olive oil. I spread them out as much as possible so I don’t have to use a vast amount of olive oil to cover them. I season them as I eat them – with salt and pepper, garlic, parsley ... that’s usually enough.

I suppose if you have a quantity of peppers that you can’t eat in one week, you can freeze some of them after they are roasted. Their texture is bound to be compromised, however. They will get softer. So I wouldn’t want to eat them as is. You could make a pureed soup with them, or a pureed sauce ... something in which their softer texture won’t matter.

I also preserve red pepper by simmering them in vinegar and packing them under olive oil with oregano and garlic.

Just about everything I know about red peppers, plus a number of recipes, can be found in Naples At Table


Q. At least one year ago I got your recipe for Olympic Seoul Chicken and it was great. Then I had an idea to substitute ribs instead of the chicken, and it was WONDERFUL!!

I’ve been making it ever since, and I’ve often made it for picnics. Everyone is SO impressed, but it is very easy.

I brown the ribs in a non-stick skillet (no oil necessary since they have so much fat). Then, I mix up all the ingredients for the sauce. I use about two tablespoons of grated fresh ginger instead of powdered. I also crush the garlic instead of chopping it. Pour the mixture over the ribs, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Then I take the cover off, and keep turning the ribs while the juices dry up. Be careful not to let it get too dry or the honey will burn.

If you make this ahead and want to heat it later, heat it in the microwave instead of the oven. I tried to reheat it in the oven once, and the honey burnt on the bottom of the pan.

I just wanted to let you know how much we all love this!
--Debbe I.

A. I really like the idea of using ribs in that recipe. I also like the switch to fresh ginger instead of the powdered. That recipe, which won a chicken cooking contest years ago, was developed before fresh ginger was widely and readily available everywhere in the country.

I just wonder: How tender are the ribs with that fairly short cooking time. I have to try it.

Let me also note that living without a microwave, as I do, I would reheat the ribs in the oven, in a covered pan. It should work well if you add a little water to the glaze so it doesn’t reduce and burn before the ribs are heated through.