Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> Sky wrote:
>
>> Since both gumbo file' and rootbeer are derived from sassafras, can they
>> be substituted for each other?
>
> Root beer has more than just sassafras flavor. (Note that the FDA banned
> sassafras in root beer quite a few years ago.) You can REALLY taste the
> wintergreen in some brands of root beer. Birch beer and sarsparilla are
> similar to root beer but not much like gumbo filé. Of course you don't have
> ANY natural flavors in the cheap root beers. (Hmmm... Given that wintergreen
> flavor flavor I mentioned, I wonder how root beer would be as the braising
> liquid for lamb.)
>
> So the bottom line is no, they really can't be substituted for each other;
> they're not very much alike.
>
> Bob
>

If you want something similar to commercial rootbeer, use those little
bottles of McCormick's or Schilling's rootbeer extract and follow the
directions -- they make 5 gallons, and it doesn't keep very well.

If you want to make your own from scratch, and want it to taste
recognizable, rather than sassafras I think the primary flavors should
be wintergreen and molasses with a little vanilla. (wild cherry bark
is another possibility.)

Filé powder won't work at all. Well, maybe as a minor ingredient, but
it won't get you the sassafras root smell you want.

Bob