Topic: Where has it all gone wrong?

[976bar]

if you follow the link on the recipe I used, it definitely says 2 cups (500ml)

My apologies 976bar, so it does....I was looking at the "SnS base" and not the "Saffron base".....

You did have me worried for a minute

[976bar]

well impressed on your saffron visit - i love the base.

on the oil all u need is here http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2684.0


i always take the oil off before blending nowadays to avoid the phaffing.

the way to get the oil out is to add a lot of water - try 500ml 1st followed by upto say a further litre. get the base on low simmer and stir very little. there is a stir action that u can use by keeping the top section of the spoon still and stirring at the bottom - that keeps the base moving on the bottom of the pan without disturbing the oil on top. leave the base essentially undisturbed for between 1 and 3 hrs. the oil will rise. it may even be a good idea to got out or do something else as there is always an urge to stir and u don't really need to.

the key reqt's are lots' of water, v.low heat and plenty of time.

Many thanks to Jerry and everyone else who helped me out here. I finally got round to adding the water yesterday afternoon and simmering for around 2 1/2 hours to get the oil to separate. Please see photos below. I ended up with about 350ml of reclaimed oil and a nice base to which I am going to make curry this evening.

Once again many thanks for the help guys!!

[JerryM]

976bar,

well pleased. i know hard to believe - but the saffron is one of the easiest to reclaim from. some are real stubborn (coconut seems to an offender). i also think the saffron produces the best oil - quite a suprise given the simple spice mix.

next time give it a go at taking off before blending. i split my cooking 2 hrs before and 1 hr after blending. on the last saffron batch i used 1000ml oil and reclaimed 920 ml. i was aiming at 60ml per portion and ended up having left over oil. on the last base i aimed for 45ml per portion and was a tad short so intend to settle at say 50ml.