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cnspriggs

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Posts posted by cnspriggs

    Food and wine matching

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    Do you have any books you think are really great for the food and wine matching suggestions? I know there are lots of books with matches but many times they are recommendations of wines with recipes that don't clash and haven't really dug into the flavours of the food and the wine to create a special harmony.

    I'm looking for something that really delves into the subject and doesn't regurgitate the 'classics'.

    Saute versus Fry Pans

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Fasinating! I agree with Darren72-your posts are always interesting even if I am now left a little less sure of what I want. It is interesting to me that classically if you 'stir fry' you use a carbon steel wok but if you 'saute' you use a copper pan....quite different materials for the same application.

    From what you describe I'm not sure I see the difference between your description of 'saute' and what I imagine 'stir fry' to be??

    There is no difference. The difference between "stir fry" and "sauté" is that the former is tyically applied to cooking Asian foods (classically, in a wok) and the latter is typically applied to cooking Western foods.

    The term "stir fry" is a relatively modern addition to the English cooking lexicon (mid 20th century), and is generally credited to Buwei Yang Chao in the book "How to Cook and Eat in Chinese" where it was used to describe the chǎo technique -- although the complete chǎo technique involces a bit more specificity than what we have now come to think of as "stir frying" -- which generally now means "tossing around a bunch of Asian ingredients over high heat." More information stir-frying here on wikipedia.

    Saute versus Fry Pans

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    From what you describe I'm not sure I see the difference between your description of 'saute' and what I imagine 'stir fry' to be??

    It's a fact that very few (Western) home cooks do any real sautéing, which involves movinjg the food items around almost constantly. 

    <snip>

    If the food is just sitting on the heat and not moving around, it is frying, not sautéing. 

    <snip>

    Sauté pans are designed with straight sides so that the cook can throw in the chunks of food and vigorously shake the pan back and forth on the burner grate, bouncing the food items off the straight walls of the pan back onto the cooking surface.

    <snip>

    Saute versus Fry Pans

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Hi there,

    Thanks for the reply. In fact I've read the Understanding cookware article many times but I still finish reading it unsure as to what exactly I want.... One of the main things I struggle with in the kitchen is browing onions. I know it sounds silly but for some reason I find it challenging getting the onions to a really dark brown for a curry base without burning the onions in parts or the spices. While this is the impetus for the purchase I also love trying to cook and would like to see what copper is all about. It's a 'treat' purchase for a new job I have so I'm happy to spend a little bit more but can't buy more than one so was hoping to figure out which style of pan would work best for me. Currently leaning towards Falks Sautépan cilindric.

    With its upright sides, the saute pan allows you to bounce food around - the 'jump' of 'saute' - without it flying out.

    Those same sides will prevent you from sliding something like an omelette out of the pan, where the low frying pan accomodates you.

    You're looking at stainless lined copper? I think it might be overkill for a straight saute pan. A solidly built stainless pan with a good thick disc base [probably encapsulated aluminum] will saute, and go on to shallow braise, just as well.

    That said, Falk's saute evasee might be a shape that would work well for you - I like mine  :smile:

    Have you checked out the excellent eGullet Culinary Institute article on Understanding Stovetop Cookware?

    Saute versus Fry Pans

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I'm looking to buy copper of either a Saute or a frying pan but can't afford both. Would you say that a Saute pan can do what a frying pan can do but not the opposite? That was my impression but having never had a good quality copper pan in either wasn't sure.

    Cheers!

    Getting good gear in the UK

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Following up to my own thread I'm wondering if people here would agree with some comments I've heard. Do you find that you investigate the kitchen equipment you want to buy in stores and then order online as it is much cheaper (even with international shipping) that way?

    I'm in need of many pieces for my kitchen (best quality copper skillet, chefs knife, espresso machine, mixing bowls etc etc) and am new to the UK so hoping to find some great sources to buy but will shop online if that is what is recommended.

    Thanks!

    Woks on the outdoor bbq

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Can any Aussy out there confirm if Weber has any carbon steel woks down under? In the UK I've written the distributor and they insist that only stainless steel is available.

    I had one of the Weber woks when V and I lived back in Australia. It was carbon steel and absolutely awesome. Chili crab done on the weber for a messy BBQ. Honestly I don't know how I feel about the stainless version, but the steel one was good for so many things -  stir frys, tea smoking duck it just made the usual outdoor different when everyone was expecting you to do the usual steak, lamb chops etc on the grill.

    Cheers

    Tom

    Getting good gear in the UK

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    I'm curious if there are some loyal shoppers out there for buying kitchen goods(pots, pans, knifes, baking sheets, bowls etc etc). What are your favorite shops (and location please)? Any chains that are good quality? Independents that source great stuff or offer great service? Warehouses that offer good value? Retail opportunities to buy professional quality? Interested to hear what you love!

    Horsham

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Hello all!

    I'm moving to horsham and am interested to know if there any little gems in the area. I've searched 'horsham' on this site and haven't seen anything but of course sometimes the gems are a little out of town. So any food shops/restaurant/cafe etc that are recommended would be great!

    Stuttgart restaurants

    in Elsewhere in Europe: Dining

    Posted

    Hello,

    I was wondering where might be recommended for some great restaurants in Stuttgart. I'll have 2 evenings free there in April. It does not have to be of any particular type of food but I do generally go for restaurants that source local ingredients whether they are used traditionally or not.

    Thanks!

    Blanching almonds in milk?

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Hi!

    I have a stollen recipe that ask for 250g of whole almonds to be blanched in milk and then skinned. Can anyone tell me why they might want to use milk instead of water for blanching? Also are there any guidelines to follow when using milk instead of water?

    thanks!

    Cooking masala trouble

    in India: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    I have to say that so far what you are saying about cooking the onion tomato mixtures is what I am finding to be the most successful at making the recipes from this book taste more closely like what I get at the restaurant. I find the spice and quantity level generally ok. Strangly I'm still finding that dry cooking the onions a bit before adding the oil is working very well and for sure adding spice mixtures after onions are well cooked is also working well. When work slows down in a couple weeks I'll try a couple side by side comparisons of the methods and report back.

    cheers!

    I grew up with Indian food.  when comparing family techniques to well regarded Indian cookbook authors, I have to say that I think many cooking times, especially for the preliminary steps, are very short estimates.  (I also often double or triple the flavorings and spices in ratio to the meat/veg/main ingredient.)  I usually put in the whole spices after I brown fry the onions.  (This is Jule Sahni's terms for cooking the onions.  You aren't carmelizing them in the Western sense, because you are not slow cooking to develop the sugar and make them golden.  Instead, you are cooking at a medium high heat and aiming for a rich brown color.)  I think the tips above about type of pan, amount of oil, and ratio of onion to oil are all good.  Generally, I use at least 3 onions sliced, a large pot (not non stick) 4-8 quart, plenty of regular vegetable oil.  Depending on the wateriness of the onions, it takes 10-30 minutes, more or less.  My family always stresses that the more you cook the onion tomato mixture, the better and richer your final dish will take.  Then I add the whole spice, then ginger-garlic, then tomato.  Once I add the tomato, I can easily cook it for 20-30 minutes again, or longer depending on volume, pan, etc.  I have some dishes where I add the whole spices first, and I have not noticed any burnt taste from the spices.    different regional cooking will use chopped onion and onion from the food processor, before and after cooking.

      the tips I have found most useful when adapting cookbook recipes to my expectations for how the dish should turn out:  double the onion, ginger garlic, spices, and cook the masala for much longer than recommended.

    who is your favorite chocolatier?

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Out of curiousity-I tend to prefer chocolate from Italy or Germany. Where do you all think their chocolate lies on the sweetness scale(I'm typically buying in the 70%range)?? My instinct says lower than US French or Belgian.

    As a rule I find there is a corrolation between country and sweetness for artisan chocolates. American chocolates are the sweetest and most intensely flavoured, French chocolates (eg LMduC) have very little or no added sugars and subtle flavours, with Belgian chocolates (eg Marcolini) somewhere in between.

    I have tried Marrie Belle's chocolates (actually, Torres I believe). These are beautifully decorated and formulated for a longer shelf-life. Perhaps it is unfair to compartable these to fresh artisan chocolates, however in these I again noted a much sweeter formulation than to the European taste.

    Cooking masala trouble

    in India: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Hi Gabriel

    Thanks for the reply! My cook book is insistent that the mustard seeds do not pop because if they are popping then they are burning and burning either the mustard seeds or the cumin is to be avoided. Curious as to everyones thoughts on this. This is why I've been frustrated by the onion part because I find if I try to carmelize the onions in 8 mins as per instructed the seeds that were already in the pan were burning by the end of the 8 minutes. As for adding the seeds after the onions have started cooking I was thinking along the lines that if the onions take 20 mins I would add the seeds at around 15 minutes into the onion cooking so the seeds have time to cook before the onions are finished.

    Cheers!

    If I were to cook the dish you have described above, I would probably throw the cumin seeds into very hot oil for 10-15 seconds, or until they turned a dark shader of brown. I would add the mustard seeds at this step too, and immediately cover the pan with a lid. They pop very vigorously at first, and I usually move on to the next step (typically adding onions or something else that will lower the temperature of the pan) when the popping has subsided to intermittent popping and the mustards seeds have turned grey. If your seeds continue to pop after you add the onions it is probably because you added them too early and not all of them had a chance to pop, and thus started to pop again when the temperature was high enough. You could also add seeds at the end of the caramelization stage, but I wouldn't recommend this at it is trickier to do. You only have a very short window of time between full caramelization and burnt and you have to add the next ingredient to cool down the pan before your onions burn. It is also tricky to ensure that all the onions are fully caramelized, and that there is virtually no water left in the onions.

    Cooking masala trouble

    in India: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Well the first experiment I tried was moderately successful. I decided if the key was to get the water out of the onion I would first cook the onion on a non stick pan without any oil until they were quite dry. There was no browning at all at during this processes but the onion sure did look dry by the end. Then I added the oil and browning came on quickly and evenly-no brown edges with white insides. I added the seeds after the onions were moderately brown so they would also get fried but not for so long that they had no choice to burn. The tomato and rest of the steps went well. Will try a few more variations on the method soon.

    As for the oil-at present I'm happy with canola. I also find it quite neutral and when I don't have ghee on hand canola is working for me. However in the future perhaps I'll do an oil taste test and see if anything will replace it.

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