On "America's Test Kitchen" they recommended nabisco original graham crackers made with molasses for making the best graham cracker pie crust. They don't seem to have it at Ralph's. All they had was a bunch of nabisco Honey Maid graham crackers. America's Test Kitchen said those are pretty good but not as good as the original ones. Do you guys know if they still sell the original ones? Does it say honey maid on the box or not? Should I keep looking in other stores or am I out of luck?
I belive ATK is referring to the Honey Maid brand. They must be. Nabisco don't make any labeled "original", or any graham crackers not under the Honey Maid brand (except for something called "Teddy Grahams", which I don't think you want). Honey Maid has been around since the 1920's. That's pretty "original".
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As an aside, it would be easy to boost the molasses flavor by substituting brown sugar for white sugar in your crust recipe.
IMO it would be sheer stupidity to be literal in the interpretation of recipes... Original or imitation graham crackers don't matter much if used only as crust for a cheesecake.
Exactly, but this goes back to my point about ATK/Cook's Illustrated/Alton Brown. Sometimes they go out of their way to make distinctions that have very little difference. The concepts may be good - i.e., reduce cooking to a pure science, but the way they execute it is problematic. In most cases they commit the same errors that they claim to address because their evaluations are purely subjective. The "very best super high quality" skillet that they use is only the best because it functions they way THEY THINK is best in THEIR kitchen they way that THEY use it. Often the VERY BEST INGREDIENT is something that is only available in the NE region of the US, so it makes no difference since it isn't available in my supermarket.
There are some pretty weird graham crackers out there, which a person might want to avoid when trying to make a specific recipe. I ran into a similar problem when I was making a graham cracker crust. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but I also didn't want extra flavorings. What I found were boxes and boxes of cinnamon, chocolate and extra-honey-sweetened or frosted crackers next to some no-fat, low-carb and other modifications.
If I was just buying the grahams for snacking, it wouldn't have made a whole lot of difference, and for the cost, if I didn't like them, I could have thrown them out without much loss. But if I was taking the time to make my own crust and my own pie, I didn't want some funky off-flavored graham crackers to ruin it.
IMHO, the "official, original" Nabisco Honey Maid Graham Crackers themselves aren't what they used to be.
The physical size has been creeping down to where they are now noticably narower than they used to be. The individual "halves" used to be square (1:1), but no longer. It would appear that this is a gradual cost-cutting measure. (?)
And the flavor is not what I remember as a child (or even just 10 years ago, etc.) To me, they taste much more like the "generic, low-quality" graham crackers you see from the 2nd-tier and OEM sources. Is it the type of shortening they use or ???
Is it possible to make your own? Are there recepies, etc?
Yes, but often beginning cooks like the security that comes with a very specific recipe. It very easy to refer to beginners as stupid when you yourself have a lot of experience at something, but it's not all that helpful.
Any minor differences between brands can be easily adjusted in the crust recipe.
When I was young about 15 and already know how to bake....Whenever a new recipe book comes to my hands, it had already become my habit to ask myself if its really necesssary to go to great lengths just to get the specific material that the cookbook author specifies in the recipe that is incidentally not available. in the cupboard or the local stores. My mom who was my first baking tutor at the start told me if you want to succeed in baking is to follow the book to the letter.( especially with ingredients and measurements...) I thought about it....what is the difference?.......I don't believe that these recipes were mandated by god that it will fail and I go to hell if I deviate occasionally. One recipe I ;disobeyed ' IIRC from a borrowed cookbook It says all purpose flour.....so I ask myself what is the difference between two brands of equally well known all purpose flour..? They are both similar IMO ......how does it differ from toilet paper?.......I have used different brands and they feel the same to my arse. So what the big deal about brand name? Anyway to cut the story short I made that recipe ( IIRC a soft roll recipe ) and I don't care if whatever the brand I am using ( I only had Pillsbury APF during that time and the recipe states Gold Medal )and in the end it comes out fine . Then my mom came to see to checked what I have done( if I really searched the local stores for the ingredient declared in the recipe) and seeing that it comes out perfect even if I am deviating from the ingredients specification.... She just said with a repressed smile.( maybe out of slight embarrassment?)....you are really a smart kid..... Then she said .....If I am in your place I will never do it unless I got the ingredient what the recipe states........
Therefore the moral of the story is to use Lots of COMMON SENSE in whatever you do in the kitchen.....including baking Unfortunately that lack of practical thinking is also found among professional chefs and bakers, and occasionally I got into trouble with a bakery workmate several years ago for the same reason..... Heres one story. In a town bakery I was working with 3 other bakers . There was an order for a batch of hearth baked bread but the baker who was assigned to the task was adamant... He will not do his recipe as he does not have any high gluten flour.....as written( what is really needed for that recipe) in his already old recipe book. I ask him,,,,if you don't mind I would like to give a try would you allow me...He said smugly....Do you think you can do it?...... I will try..... He replied. a bit offended ....Okay its all yours!....and immediately went out of the bakery. What I did was simple.... I added gluten to the lower protein flour in stock (which was about
12% ) ,I included a bit of diastatic malt syrup and the results were incomparable with the ones I remember was being made with that baker I mentioned using high gluten flour. I have kept that mindset that recipe descriptions are not absolute truths that must not be disobeyed.
IMO It will come out just fine....if the crust is a bit flavored you can modify the filling and deviate from the recipe so that there will be harmony between the crust and the crumb...and you will come up with a pleasing end product. Just like in mathematics....there is an infinite permutation.. of numbers and theway they are arranged and used ...so is in the cookbook recipes ...you have many ways to manipulate the recipe ..and that is limited only by your imagination.
That is the motivation of the iron chef....HARMONIOUS CREATIVITY. Occasionally when I am in that sticky situation that I had to improvise I keep this in mind.... ...COOKERY IS 99% COMMON SENSE AND 1% RECIPE. and the outcome is always positive!
Yes, non-Honey Maid Nabisco Graham Crackers are still made. I've seen them in the grocery stores here in South Carolina. They come in a red box labeled "Nabisco Grahams" with "Original" underneath. Here's a link to a page with a picture of the box:
Thanks for the right answer, Mike. I really needed to see what the box looked like. I tried googling it but I couldn't find it before. I'm going to spend about $31 to make the recipe on America's Test Kitchen for coconut cream pie, so I definitely do not want to settle for anything less than the best tasting ingredients. I'm going to use real vanilla and real cream too.
Chembake has forgotten more than most people every knew about baking. Moron? Hardly. And before you start calling someone a moron, you might look into your own skills. Any 5th grader would have been able to do a Google search to see what products Nabisco makes.
What a oathetic person you are! You lack common sense about ingredients and you want to demonstrate a recipe that you barely undestand.! You better have to re think about your skills. Do I belong to the kitchen or to the mental institution as you could not make out of available materials and still come out with a good product
Oh really?....and you think you know more. of what you are doing...LOL! You have such a such a weird aspiration... for a neophyte kitchen practictioner . Trying to look for ingredients that are considered museum showpieces as they are not common ,is like looking for a Dodo to cook for Thanksgiving.!
Please accept my sincere suggestion for your new year resolution:I have no malice in my motive here but.... I just want you to improve your fledgling capabilities in the kitchen.
''I PROMISE TO USE MORE COMMON SENSE IN EVERYTHING i DO' ...!
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