Filé powder

For the band, see Filé (band).
Not to be confused with file.

Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, is a spicy herb made from the dried and ground leaves of the sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum),[1] native to eastern North America. It is used in the making of some types of gumbo,[1] a Creole and Cajun soup/stew often served over rice; other versions of gumbo use okra or roux as a thickener instead. Sprinkled sparingly over gumbo as a seasoning and a thickening agent, it adds a distinctive, earthy flavor and texture.[2] Filé can provide thickening when okra is not in season.[3] Filé translates to "string", suggestive of the powder's thickening ability.[2]

Unlike sassafras roots and bark, the tree's leaves, from which filé is produced, do not contain a detectable amount of safrole.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Zatrain's. "Gumbo". Zatrain's. http://www.zatarains.com/Recipes/Gumbo.aspx. Retrieved 22 July 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker, Joy of Cooking, Scribner/Simon & Schuster, New York, 1997; p. 45.
  3. ^ How to make Homemade File Powder at Nola Cuisine
  4. ^ Carlson, M; Thompson, Rd (Sep 1997). "Liquid chromatographic determination of safrole in sassafras-derived herbal products" (Free full text). Journal of AOAC International 80 (5): 1023–8. ISSN 1060-3271. PMID 9325580. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+94-58-6. 

External links