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I usually mixed ground walnuts and almond jam in mine since my mom made them when I was a child and alternate the others with cottage cheese and powdered sugar for added protein. Not had them with strawberries but will make a point to do so with the next batch in a few weeks.

I right regular fine dice fresh local strawberries as filling for crepes / toppings for x,y,z . . . I make a point of macerating them over-night . . . and left overs go into 2-3 days. operative words: fresh local I'm wondering if the 'forced red color but not really ripe' played a role?

@Pete Fred Those are beauties! I've made a note of the sugar you used.

Every time this thread ticks over I think to myself I really should get some moulds and dive in again. It's nearly six years since I last made a canelé and that was the last time I had a decent one. As I bemoaned a couple of pages back, the canelès here in France are usually pretty poor, even the ones in Bordeaux. So I bit the bullet and ordered copper moulds and tapped up a local beekeeper for some wax. The recipe I generally used to use was Pierre Herme's, but I noticed that I'd changed his icing sugar for caster sugar at some point. There was discussion earlier here as to whether the cornflour in icing sugar is a benefit, so I was curious if it makes a difference and made the batter using icing sugar. So batch number one... They kinda look OK, but there was a big issue with them souffléing above the moulds - they were often more out than in! I had to remove them from the oven a few times to settle back down. Not good. The downside of all the fiddling about is that the canelés end up being more squat... They also needed to bake longer to get an even colour, which affected the thickness of the shell and the texture of the insides... I know that a lot of people like them quite dark, but for me it toughens the shells too much, and the insides become pasty and gummy. I think it also negatively impacts the overall flavour, losing some of the vanilla and rum notes. I wondered if part of the problem with the souffléing might be that these were baked in a small toaster oven, which might not quite have the oompf to do the job properly. So with the other half of the batter I used a regular oven instead. Batch number two... Unfortunately there was the same souffléing, but this time I pulled them earlier so at least they wouldn't be overbaked (to my taste)... I did a better job of seating them back in the moulds this time, so they ended up a little taller. I was hoping that the reduced bake time would benefit the insides... Again, not great. The inside was softer, but not ideal. These cross-sections make it look like the mouthfeel would be worse, but they ate better than the previous ones due to the less tough shell and softer insides. With the oven as a factor now put to one side, I made some more batter using sucre en poudre (caster/superfine sugar) instead of icing sugar. On to batch number three then... What a relief. No souffléing, and a normal bake time. This is my preferred colouring. The shell is crispy all over, but at the top where it's paler there's a little bit of chew, and at the bottom it's more crunchy and brûléed. I like the textural variety rather than it being all crunch. The insides were noticeably softer and creamier, providing even more contrast to the shell. I thought they also tasted milkier, with the vanilla and rum more present. So there you go. Even if you never make or eat a canelé, at least you now know what a half decent one can look like. I'll finish with these full-res shots of my Platonic canelé for anyone who can't get enough of 'em...

Why frozen rice, @lindag?

Martians!

The thing is, the berries weren't bitter on their own. The ice cream mix wasn't bitter in the hour after the berries were added. The bitterness showed up the next day in the finished ice cream.

@Katie Meadow @FrogPrincesse Thanks! I do love citrus curds and make a number of items that incorporate them. Less time consuming than marmalade, that's for sure!

@JoNorvelleWalker Thanks! I will check out that book, more info is always best. Modernist pantry linked to a bunch of videos which I watched, I'm very much looking forward to trying it.

Salmon cooked in browned butter with chervil. A vegetable stew of sautéed onions, potatoes, zucchini, peas and garlic. All were cooked in homemade chicken broth , then topped with shredded basil. It’s so nice to have home grown herbs at this time of year!

I've been experimenting a bit with this and found a method to easily cook it in the Zo rice cooker with the porridge or steel cut oats setting. Makes an amount enough for one or two. 1 can chicken broth ¼ cup frozen rice (I use Cal Rose) thin slice of fresh ginger When finished, my cooker takes 59 minutes. Ready for all the toppings. I could eat this every day.

Another fruit & cheese fest: Trader Joe’s strawberry and jalapeño crisps, Silver Goat Chèvre, and Seascape strawberries from Harry’s Berries. Seascapes are my favorite variety. Not really big or showy but super tangy and flavorful. I put the cheese in the CSO for a few min on the plate warming setting to make it nice and spreadable.

Found them: https://mertenandstorck.com

@Dr. Teeth I said nearly the same as your son! Eggs, sausage and fruit salad for today. (With the prettiest PINK kiwi)

Any idea how to locate Merten & Storck? They might have a recommendation for a Hot Handle holder.

The handle is long and the stupid pot holder only slides down a short way. Which is a long way from a stable hold on the handle. ☹️

Hmm. Most of the things I have cooked in my pan are relatively fast-cooking and I haven't had an issue with the handle being too hot. I have a couple of silicone pot holders that are grabby that would do the job.

Elk, onion and peppers over black rice (white for partner). Kinder honey hot on top.

What isn't great with huckleberries?

Thanks for this suggestion Katie. These pans are very non-stick. Nice long handles. What do you use as a hot handle holder, @Katie Meadow? I bought a Lodge Silicone Hot Handle Holder from Amazon which is NOT 9" as advertised, just a mere 5 1/4". This provides a very sloppy hold of a hot pan.

I’ve used Al Arz and it was good but I have to admit my favorite thing was that the jar was oversized- packed only about 2/3 x3/4 full so there was ample room to stir without sloshing oil everywhere. Speaking of oil, my best tip for getting a good, toasty sesame flavor is to add a small amount of a good quality toasted sesame oil. I like the Kadoya brand from Japan. I add 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil to the tahini cookies in Ottolenghi's book, ‘Jerusalem.’

I don't know where you are in Minn., but do you know about https://myannoyingopinions.com/restaurants/eating-out-in-the-twin-cities-and-environs/comment-page-1/#comment-51839. He's a long time food board poster (& a friend). Maybe you'd find it useful.

So my eldest son, who is presently a teenage malcontent, not given to easy praise, saw this picture and said “Hey why can’t you make that. That looks good as hell” (Direct quote for authenticity) It’s a beautiful plate of food.

Thanks for the info. Vic Stewart's looks interesting.

Not sure where Whole Foods sources their berries, but at least in Europe the sloe bug or hairy shieldbug (dolycoris baccarum) is known to impart a bitter, astringent flavor to the berries it infests. Unsually you can sort the spoiled berries out, but one “surviving” berry per batch is enough to render the product inedible. My mom makes raspberry marmalade very often and every once in a blue moon a batch of her marmalade tastes off …