Today my MIL called and asked if I would look at the flour one of my kids gave her ( I buy in bulk, so I send over what she needs) because she wasn't sure if they gave her the right kind or not...So I went to see what she had and I was looking at it quite puzzled for some time thinking, thinking, thinking.....WHAT is this, to myself, it just didn't feel heavy enough for the flour but it was exactly the same color as the pastry flour, the texture was waaay finer than I thought it should be and as I was dumping it into my container I said it even dumps like flour...But WAIT!!!I think it is Diatomecious Earth....I buy that in bulk, organic, too Well, she had the Diatomecious Earth and let me tell you it doesn't bake up at all into bread. I was laughing so hard I was crying...
A similar thing happened to Uncle Alvin. My dad was visiting his younger brother in Alaska and Uncle Alvin wanted to cook up Moose Meat and show Dad just how wonderful this meat was. Well, sometime before he started dinner one of the kids brought back the plaster he had borrowed (I think it was dry plaster) and for some dumb reason put the bag in the pantry. Alvin proceeds to prepare his "gourmet meal" and dredges the steaks in "flour". Needless to say they didn't brown up like normal or taste like normal and the gravy was a complete flop Evidently Dad laughed his butt off, Uncle Alvin~ not so much :-o However, I had never heard of Diatomecious Earth till now, googled it and think I might buy some~ not to bake with though
Carolyn, I have some bread recipes for you and your mother-in-law that will use up that "flour"! Of course, it is bread you give to your worst enemy, not to the family! I can't think of any misidentification of ingredients in my kitchen--all my many culinary mistakes have been from sheer incompetence!
Jane, I buy both the flour and DE in bulk, both come in brown paper bags. looks similar, feel similar...just not interchangeable at all. I have laughed and laughed. I think God has given me something to find funny for a change. Life was pretty rough for a little while...Nothing was funny in the least over the winter months. Things are a little brighter though. this certainly lightened the load..literally, for the day.
My story happened a long time ago, in the communist era, when we recycled a lot and collected 0,5 L bottles (glass, no plastic in those days). Well... marketing and advertising was ZERO. So the same bottles were used for oil, beer and fizzy drinks. As oil sticks to bottles, mom would gather a bunch of bottles and then wash them all. She would use some strong detergent and one day she just left a bottle on the sink with some detergent+water inside (to soak the oil). Dad... thinking it was beer, you know... drank!
Heh heh heh....what a story, Carolyn. It sounds like something that would happen in a sit-com. I'm still chuckling.
