"Ranée at Arabian Knits" wrote:
>
> In article >, Arri London >
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Steve Pope wrote:
> > >
> > > Ranée at Arabian Knits > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Seriously? Do you think other parents or the school are going to get
> > > > worked up over vanilla? Somehow a bottle of Cognac seems more likely to
> > > > push anti-alcohol people over the edge far more than vanilla extract.
> > > > Muslims and Mormons will, for the most part, still use vanilla extract,
> > > > for instance, but won't get wine, beer or liquor.
> > >
> > > I'm not sure if Muslims use alcohol extracts, but I do know they
> > > are not available in the mid-east and Pakistani stores around here.
> > > There a number of aquaeous extracts though, of things like orange
> > > and rose.
> >
> > Standard vanilla extract was never available in the Muslim shops in my
> > old neighbourhood either. Vanilla beans or vanilla powder was found
> > sometimes. But it wasn't a popular flavour with the locals anyway.
>
> I meant in the west, not in their traditional foods. No Muslims I
> have met, either in our family or otherwise, objected to the use of
> vanilla extract in cooking.
>
> > > Now I'm thinking that the popularity of preserved lemon might
> > > have something to do with avoidance of lemon extract -- both
> > > concentrate the oil component of the lemon flavor (the zest, as
> > > opposed to the juice component).
> > >
> > > Steve
> >
> > Could be. Also could be that preserving foods with salt is likely to be
> > an older technique. Probably easier to do at home than making alcoholic
> > extracts.
>
> I don't see how. Split a vanilla bean and stick it in alcohol.
> Done.

But a good Muslim wouldn't normally make/have EtOH at home The
neighbours would talk. Salt and lemons wouldn't raise any eyebrows.


>It isn't as though alcohol isn't made in those places. In fact,
> my mom talked about this fermented drink they had during Ramadan. When
> I asked her how it was possible that they did that when their religion
> forbade alcohol she was genuinely flummoxed.

Illicit drinking of alcohol certainly occurs in Muslim countries. But
there are alternatives to alcohol-containing products.