"fritters" news and stories

Red & White Clover are both edible raw in salads, as cooked greens, and more. The young and tender shoots and greens can be tasty, but older ones can get tough. Just stick to ones that look fresh and haven't gone grass-like and you should be fine. The flower heads are nutritious and full of protein but they should either be soaked in salty water for a few hours or briefly boiled or cooked before eating; so that they are easier to digest. Eating them raw is usually not as good an experience. I like them stir fried or sauteed until well done, or lightly battered and made into fritters or tempura. I find that the saltiness of the tempura dipping sauce works well with them. If the blossoms seem past their prime, or even going to seed, all the better. Because then you can dry them and grind them into a protein rich and nutritious flour. Just don't try to cook and eat them unless they are soft and fresh, or they will be quite unappetizing.

I was personally introduced to them when I was studying wilderness survival, and one day we had to prepare and eat them every way we could. It wasn't a high point of the week long course, but not the low point either.

One time when I was leading a three week trip in the wilderness and it was near the end of the course. Most of the food was gone and we had been living off the land for a few days. Most of spices were gone, as well as the staples, but we still had a liter bottle of soy sauce and of cooking oil, that had been hidden at the bottom of a food pack; and a few pounds of biscuit mix. I sent half the students off to pick berries. Raspberries, Blackberries, and June Berries; all of which were growing near our camping spot that night. The rest I split up and asked to go into the meadow and pick the biggest, fattest, best looking red clover blossoms they could find; as well as any wild onions. That night for dinner we had Red Clover fritters, some with wild onions, some plain; dipped in a sweetened and spiced soy sauce. For desert were fruit biscuits. Everyone ate until they were full, a hearty appetite the best sauce of all.

I don't think I've ever had a corn fritter. Or maybe I have. Is there another name they go by here in the Northeast?

This Wikipedia page says that a fritter is "any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried." Is that accurate? That seems like a rather broad definition to me. If that's the case, I guess I have had fritters, though definitely not of the corn variety.

Anyway, it's National Corn Fritters Day. Here's a basic recipe for corn fritters, and here's one for Southern Style Corn Fritters. How about a Corn Fritter Casserole? And if you're wondering what corn fritters would taste like with maple syrup, why not make them Vermont style?

• Summer is for grilling: Grilled Caponata with Charred Bread, Beer Can Chicken with Dirty Bird Rub, and Grilled Peach Upside-Down Cake.
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• Or how about Dennis Franz?
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• Make some vegetarian dinners: Portobello Mushroom and Almond Pesto Lasagna, Zucchini Fritters with Roasted Red Pepper Dip, and Grilled Vegetable Salad with Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette.
• Another celeb: Jane Seymour makes a centerpiece with flowers and crayons.
• More recipes: Pineapple-Shrimp Tostadas, Asian Chicken Cutlets, Chicken Burgers with Barbecue Onion Sauce, and Spiked Pink Lemonade.

• A recipe for a traditional Easter Meringue.
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• Be careful when handling your Easter chicks.
• A sampling of winters-end red wines you might have not tried yet.
• This week's recipes: Baked Chicken Legs with Tomatoes, Haroset with Dates, Pasta and Chickpea Soup, Passover Fritters, and Ricotta Cheesecake.

Looking at the picture of these perfect Apple Fritters with Vanilla Ice Cream, featured at Not Just Desserts, made me realize just how long it has been since I had a fritter. I suspect it has something to do with the popularity of retro desserts - mini doughnuts and cupcakes, etc - at restaurants over the past few years because even though fritters have homestyle appeal, they don't have a very retro sense about them. Trendy or not, this photo is enough to spark a craving in anyone's mind.

The fritters are made by dipping apple rings into a lightly sweetened batter, similar to pancake batter. The rounds are then deep fried until golden. The apples are cooked, but are not as tender and soft as the apples in other desserts that feature them, but that just adds texture to the dessert, especially when you serve the hot fritters with some creamy vanilla ice cream.

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