Desperate assistance needed from USA

I've been over several times to visit her family in New York, but 'bearclaws' seem to get forgotten every time we've been over, so I haven't yet seen one 'in the flesh' as it were! We have a baby on the way due in August so it's going to be 2004 before we venture over there again, so unless I get help from you kind folks, this issue is going to fester for another 9 months! End my pain and suffering.....please?!!

by thechas Mar 30, 2003

Hi Guru,

I will see what I can do.

Around here, bear-claws are only available on a sporadic basis.

I will keep my eyes open when I am near bakeries.

I do hope that there is not a large regional variation in the size and shape of a bear-claw.

Actually, I think there are regional variations, as I don't believe the ones around here have almonds.
They are usually large cake donuts with sculpted "bear toes" (claws) on one end.

Chas

You are a diamond! All help gratefully appreciated!

by munroe Mar 31, 2003

Mike, I'd love to help you, but your e-mail is not listed in your Peer info!!

by road-dog Mar 30, 2003

but here's a photo:
http://tinyurl.com/8ha2

by oldefar Mar 30, 2003

I had no idea that you had been so misled as to believe a bear claw could be a French pastry. I sincerely hope your wife makes them using an authentic Danish recipe.

I know some Danes in Florida who could possibly provide assistance. I have provided similar assistance in the past to Wisconsain transplants to Atlanta who suffered extreme kringle withdrawl. Pesonally, I have had no success in meeting my needs for Danish pastry in anywhere in the central or southern Florida area, and have only survived thanks to the roadside hot dog providing eye candy enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

by oldefar Mar 30, 2003

Road Dog posted a French bear claw? For shame!

Bearclaws are Danish pastries in the upper Midwest and left coast of the US. Here is a link to what I think you are looking for - made with almonds instead of that froggy jelly thing.
http://tinyurl.com/8hav

There are a handful of US Danish bakeries that export via the internet. The ones in Racine WI make a fine kringle, and I have enjoyed quality bear claws in Seattle and California.

The best comes from a recipe my great-grandfather (Bager) passed on to my aunts. They won't give me a copy of it for fear I will publish it. :)

by road-dog Mar 30, 2003

Its the only damn picture I could find on short notice. We had a bro 6 time zones ahead of us hanging!

Besides, in the interest of fairness, if felt I had to find SOME redeeming value in the French.

When the mighty blondezilla (the wife) makes them, she uses a dogeared and flour encrusted cook book of indeterminate orgin.

Thanks for the pastry history though! Your criticisms are duly noted

To all of you.

Many, many thanks. Regardless of the debate on France vs Denmark (and Danish troops are fighting in Iraq...the French AREN'T!), I appreciate the help and assistance from y'all.

I can leave for work this morning safe in the knowledge that another of lifes little niggles has been eraditcated from the list of 'stuff I NEED to know'.

Thanks to you folks, my world is a happier place!

by thechas Mar 30, 2003

Hi,

Here is a link to a web page with a picture of 1 type of Bear Claw.

http://tinyurl.com/8ha2

These are VERY different from the ones I have had at our local bakeries.

Chas

Theresa took one look at the picture and started jumping up and down and telling me that was EXACTLY what she meant!

Thanks pal...I can sleep nights now!

by ghstinshll Mar 31, 2003

Most of them that I've seen have had almonds in or on top, but then have some kind of fruity inside, and are "cut" to have fewer toes like, like 3 or 4, and are usually rather large pastries. They're very "puffy" too, like they rise in the making orsomething...

I am impressed! I just thought Bearclaws were something you got at the local grocery bakery!

I had NO idea that such a precious form and rich history was inside the great paw'ed pastry.

I am going to seek a better bearclaw and tantalize the old taste buds soon!

~Thanks~ :)

Got my old taste buds drooling too! If you find a good purveyor of such goodies within an hour or two drive of Binghamton, NY...let me know and I'll go hunting when I'm over next!

Just as an aside, my 'pet' name for the wife is 'Honeybear'. To me, a 'bearclaw' is something that scratches me when she rolls over in bed! :-)

And as a postscript to the above...my company is called Honeybear Computers. Paws for thought there?!!

by tomsal Mar 31, 2003

Enough with the bearclaws -- what the hell's a scone?

;)

A sweet doughy 'cake', cooked with raisins, currants or sultanas. A scone is traditionally baked as a circular cake about 3-4 inches in diameter and about an inch and a half thick. Usually cut in half horizontally and served with cream and strawberry jam (jelly), as part of a traditional English 'Cream Tea'. In Cornwall, in the far South West of England, clotted cream is used. Clotted cream is manufactured by heating regular cream gently, and skimming off the crust that forms. The liquid part is drained off so that clotted cream has the consistency of margarine or soft butter. Millions of calories in a spoonfull, but oh so heavenly! Available mail-order worldwide.

As opposed to most US companies that often only accept US issued credit cards and rarely ship outside North America, virtually all British retailers accept Visa of Mastercard from anywhere in the world and WILL mail goods anywhere in the world! God knows how many times I have tried to order stuff from the US and they either can't process a foreign-issued credit card or won't ship outside North America! My pet peeve is that I can't book and reserve a Greyhound ticket from the UK with MY visa, yet anyone ANYWHERE in the world can book a coach ticket on UK's National Express coaches and get their tickets delivered within 72 hours!!

and made with potatoes! (Ok sometimes oats or flour) hmmmmmmm were my grandparents wrong?

http://tinyurl.com/8jx0

after reading that I'm almost sorry I brought up the preceding! Holy Cow! I had no idea! Even the Cornwall, Devonshire, Somerset regions have variations. Not to get into which one is the scone proper, but including all "scone clones" I am starting feel more like I'm trying to learn about wine the first time all over again! (I still feel I don't know much about wine!)

Maybe I'll just stick to the liquid forms of bread for now.
:)

by kethry127 Apr 1, 2003

Now I'm hungry. I've not seen bearclaws where I live, but I do have a lovely English shop near my house that makes wonderful scones. I think I'll have to stop by after work

Guinness is for breakfast...thought you knew that??

by oldefar Mar 31, 2003

It is great on cornflakes! More nutritional, and can help cure a hangover besides.

As an aside, Gator-aid is a great mixer if you arrive late to a gathering and need to catch up. A tip from a USAF flight surgeon. :)

Beer and Coca-cola are the only two beverages safe to drink anywhere in the world, but Coke rots the teeth. Another tip from that same flight surgeon.

I've always found this fascinating. As a youngster I researched hangovers a bit and found they are mainly due to dehydration and the leeching of B complex vitamins by alchohol. For the first, more liquid is good, and a low alchohol content beer likeGuiness shines for avoiding dehydration. The B-complex issue is interesting when you realize one of the highest best assimilated sources of it is Brewers Yeast and yet our bodies end up devoid of it drinking modern beer.

The reason we get bad hangovers is mainly due to highly attenuated specialized yeast for higher alchohol production which is then stripped back out of the beer in modern production so that "filtered" essentially means we took all the b complex vitamins out, amoung other things.

Go figure. :)