Hi Everyone

Today while looking for something else, I came across this website:
http://bronmarshall.com/?p=133
It is about New Zealand ginger gems which are done in special rectangular gem irons.

Has anyone seen these before, or has seen them in Australia?  I'd love a set of these and to try the recipe.  I guess I'll give the recipe a go in mini loaf pans, but not quite the same as using cast iron.  Not sure about postage from New Zealand.. hmm.. I guess I could email one of the sellers on that trademe site mentioned on the webpage.

Thanks

VM
A muffin tray would do the same thing....worth a try, I will give them a go.
Muzz

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Thats a great recipe.

I just love ginger flavour and the with the golden syrup they would be yummy.

Look here and you will some irons mentioned.

http://www.aussiecampovenforum.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1199310959

Thanks Carolyn and Murray.  Yes they do sound delicious.  We'll be making them today (well my 10 year daughter will make them, she cooks/bakes everything and I don't have to do it LOL).  She'll do it in a muffin tin or the mini loaf tin, BUT I would still like the cast iron gem irons like they showed on that website.

Carolyn I have a round set like the one shown in that picture.  Thank you for the link.  I bought it two days ago for $10 from a camping store.   The gem holes are really tiny though (eggs could sit in them), so I was after the bigger size.  I used this gem iron yesterday morning on an electric hotplate (ceramic hotplate, I was brave to put cast iron on a ceramic hotplate LOL) and cooked little pancakes for the kids.  Had to turn them over with a teaspoon.  They came out great, but was a bit of work all that turning over.  The way the cast iron held the heat evenly and browned the little pancakes nicely without burning them has really endeared me to finding more cast iron gismos and using them.  

I have seen (on ebay) the tradional australian gem irons which are 4x3 round hollows joined up.  I will try and get some of those for the traditional cast iron effect on the food.

I know what you mean on that other board by wanting a round cast iron type muffin tray.  Goodluck in trying to find one.  You'd think they would have invented a round version of the 4x3 one to fit in camp ovens.

Quick note to anyone who tries these - use self raising flour.  I couldn't tell by the recipe so we tried both, and while both were good, the self raising flour definately was what was used in the recipe as it is a much lighter result.

We also experimented and did the first batch (plain flour) in a normal nonstick muffin tin - almost burnt around the edges and sad looking (due to the high heat of the recipe).  The 2nd batch was in the little gem tray (see photo) and worked out much better.  The recipe did two batches (the photo is the 2nd batch) and as you can see the bases of the gems were not burnt like the muffin pan version.

I'm definitely convinced about the benefits of baking in cast iron now.  Oh the ginger gems were delicious too.  I'll certainly make them again.

I am a bit confused though... I've noticed that in a lot of camp oven baking uses normal bakeware inside the camp oven, isn't this stopping you from getting the benefits of using cast iron?  Do breads/muffins baked inside a camp oven but in regular pans burn easily?  Or does the camp oven provide some sort of insultation?  Thanks

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Well done Violetmay,   I feel I can just smell and taste them hot from the pan, just how I like things.

P.S. as a beginner I appreciate just how many beads top and bottom if thats what you used and the time.   Most things seem to take longer for me than the recommended time.


I am so glad to have two more female cooks on the forum, I think the advantage of having people of all types and cooking for various quantities of people takes us all out of our squares.

I was offered that round cast iron gem scone maker but felt they might be a bit small.   I will keep my eye out for the rectangle ones in your original recipe when I go to NZ in the camping shops if I see any and they dont weigh a ton I will bring back two.  I am sure if I dont find a home for the second one the ebay kid will manage to sell it.  

Hi Carolyn, I'll gladly buy one off you/pay postage etc if you brought two back LOL!!  I know you can buy cast iron and cast aluminium ones.  Not sure you'd want to bother with aluminium though, but it would be lighter in the plane.  I think the option of having none or having one made out of cast aluminum, then you'd obviously go the aluminium.

I was at the library today as just as we were leaving I quickly looked up "collecting kitchenware" in the catalogue and found this most amazing book called "300 years of kitchen collectibles".  Oh my goodness it has a special section on gem irons written by the man who runs this website (http://www.panman.com/) - he's a collector of gem irons and old cast iron stuff.  WOW is all I can say.  Lots of amazing cornbread ones with corn/wheat shapes, lots of amazing shapes.

The book has lots of historical titbits too.. my next thing to try is  an ebelskiver/aebelskiver. This is a cast iron round 7 hole pan with a handle (I'm sure I have seen then in camping shops as egg poachers).  You make a pancake batter, cook it a bit (stovetop), then put some apple slivers on it, then keep moving the pancakes around a bit and cooking one side at a time, until you've formed a ball.  Just seems so odd, I can't imagine how you'd ever get the ball shape LOL!!

Yeah, I thought those round gem trays would be too small too, but it's still fun to use.   Those ginger gems cooked in about 3-4 minutes too, super super quick, so it's not like you have to wait 15 minutes per batch.

There is one of those egg poachers currently on eBay.  Heat looking little things.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/7-Egg-Cast-Iron-Poacher_W0QQitemZ180209681164QQihZ008QQcategoryZ62117QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Once you get castironitis there is no knowing where it'll all end. I have several cast iron gem scone trays of various sizes and a CI Griswold waffle iron which really gets a work out when the grand kids come. They can eat 'em faster than I can cook 'em. A lot of fun !
Violet May if you buy a gem scone tray on eBay make sure it's cast iron, I've seen aluminium ones listed as "Cast Iron" buyer beware.

pd

Voiletmay - your on.  I love a shopping challenge.  From past experience not much to buy in NZ anyway.

I got some very small tins at Queen Victoria Building the other day on sale and very cheap.   Will take their photo when they have something in them  :D.  I thought they might go well in the CO. 

My thoughts on the cast iron are that for some cakes/pastry/bread cooking maybe the tins will do better than cast iron as they
heat quickly.   It was interesting to note in that ginger gem recipe that you heated the the cast iron till the butter sizzled.  I noticed in here enameled tins are used for some things.

I would only get the NZ ones if they are cast iron.  I have a vision of them falling out the overhead locker and being killed by them  ;D

P.S.  It wont be for a while.


PD mmmmmm just wondering how secure is your property  :D :D seems you have everything anyone with castironitis fever might want  ;D ;D

Hi Carolyn

I think you are going to have to be a very clever shopper to find a cheap gem iron when you go to New Zealand.  I've found how to buy one online
http://www.tablepride.co.nz/cs/default.asp - search for gem iron in the shop search.

Get ready for a shock when you see the price!!

I mean they would have to be cheaper than that.  I was expecting they'd cost $10-$20 each.

Derek, thanks for the link for the egg poacher.  Seems to be the only way to get one.  I had a look today in a few places I thought I had seen it, even saw a catalogue (got some of those falcon pie dishes ordered) but no egg poacher.    I think it would be such a useful thing too, little quiches, eggs with tomatos/bacon/cheese, cakes, lots of things could be cooked in them.