jmolinari

Sounds like ractopamine, which goes by Paylean, in the pig industry...builds muscle at the expense of fat as well as various neurological and physiological problems in the pigs.

Apparently there's going to be an Ivan Ramen book. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG http://eater.com/archives/2013/02/06/sneak-peek-at-ten-speeds-fall-cookbooks-manresa-pok-pok-le-pigeon-ivan-ramen-more.php

Someone suggested starting a topic to discuss dishes made from this book. I think it's a good idea. I got the book a couple weeks ago and read through it. It's fantastic. While i have Dunlop's other books and have cooked from them A LOT, this one seems more streamlined for weeknight dinners with dishes that don't require 8-10 marinade or sauce ingredients. I've cooked a couple meals from it and everything has been awesome. Last week it was chicken with black bean sauce and spinach with fermented tofu. Both were delicious. Last night it was pork tenderloin with chinese chives (not a recipe in the book, but i took the recipe for the chicken livers with chives and subbed pork tenderloin), stir fried cabbage with dry shrimp and bok choy with shiitake (i used dry, rehydrated). Everything was delicious. I really liked the baby bok choy. The flavors were clean and light. Wife thought it was kind of bland, but i liked it. The cabbage was also delicious, though wife and daughter didn't agree I thought it was funny that my purple cabbage turned my yellow/orange tiny dry shrimp green. Forgot to take pictures of the dishes. What is everyone else making?

damnit...my DVR keep taping this, but every time i go watch it's preempted by some music opera show. Looks like they're releasing a DVD march 12th. http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Chef-David-Chang/dp/B00AK51NYW

Sausage at 140 is great. The sear in pan.

My copies never showed up. Nice. I imagine the cabbage and shrimp is similar to the one in "cradle of flavor" which is basically sauté dry shrimp in oil. Add cabbage and maybe a splash of water. Cover and cook a few minutes.

Apparently i was so excited by "Every grain of rice" that i ordered it twice on Amazon. Ooopsie. Delivery date moved up a couple weeks. I should have it Wednesday. I'll let everyone know if they changed the measurement methods from weights to some stupid volumetric equivalent.

In these cases, there's nothing like internet time travel! http://archive.org Could this be the blog you're remembering? It's the only entry on searing I could find. http://web.archive.o...kingissues.com/ To Salt or Not To Salt –That’s the Searing Question They apply scientific methods to determining how to pre sear (calling into question anyone's blind comparison that might not have optimally pre seared) but they take pre searing for granted. I could have sworn there was a blog post on searing. I'll see if I can find it in the archive.

Do you have a link? All I could find was this episode: http://www.heritager...-3-Harold-McGee They discuss preheating to inhibit lactic acid bacteria, but no blind taste tests comparing searing methods. Alas, i don't. The Cooking Issues blog, on which the testing was described, has been down for a long while.

Correct. Dave Arnold and the Cooking Issues team found a definite improvement by presearing.

I've foudn that it takes a good 20-30 minutes in open air for the red color to come back to steaks.

Wont help. The software is based on a product immersed in water which has a very different heat transfer rate than air in an oven.

Me too. Use a Duetto II, 95% of my coffee..but for work i make a brazen pot and bring it in a thermos... great stuff

good stuff Rotuts. The brazen is quite a bit cheaper at $199, and the adjustability of brew temp and pre-infusion is great. Granted, this is all meaningless without a quality grinder

Behmor Brazen. adjustable brew temp, calibration by altitude, and many many amazing features.

I dont think that could happen. The condensed vapor would be replaced near instantly by the water that is still above boiling point. The pressure released would reseal almost instantly as well.

You are right, the liquids are boiling VERY vigorously. In pressure cooking "boiling" as we know it is separated into two parts that work independently. When something boils normally, the liquid has reached its maximum temperature and bubbles boil to the surface. In pressure cooking, when the liquid has reached the maximum temperature the pressure STOPS the bubbles from breaking the surface - this is why pressure cooker stocks are so incredibly clear (no actual movement during cooking). Bubbles break to the surface only when the pressure cooker is reaching or loosing pressure. The faster it looses pressure the more violent the boil. You can "see" this yourself by laying your hand on the handle of the pressure cooker and feel the vibrations inside while it's reaching pressure - and no vibrations while it's maintaining pressure. All that being said, I don't recommend a cold-water quick release, or even normal release for stocks. To acheive the most clarity (by moving the ingredients the least amount possible) and flavor (by condensing the vapor in the cooker) natural release is best. Ciao, L Thanks Pazzaglia...the question is WHY is this occurring during the cold release. I wonder if my seal is being lost because of metal contraction....that's the only reason i can think of. Theoretically with the cold water release the vapor is condensed in the cooker. I don't care about clarity:)

Question for the PC experts. A couple of times, especially when making stocks and the cooker is particularly full, when i've done the cold water quick release i get a loud rumbling sound from the inside and liquid spewing out of the cooker at the gasket. As though the liquid inside started vigorously boiling. Anyone experience this before? It's an 8 quart Fagor duo. Hmmm. i wonder if the cold water is causing the metal to contract, breaking the seal at the lid causing rapid depressurizing and liquid boiling and expanding... That acutally sort of makes sense-ish.

Thanks Enrique. What were the differences? Better or worse with iota?

I made pressure cooked risotto last night. Had a kabocha squash and decided to make pumpkin risotto. I didn't follow the MC@H recipe to separately make a sqush puree (didn't make sense to me), so added cubed squash to the onions after the saute', also added some baking soda to help caramelize the squash while cooking. Sauted for a couple minutes and added the rice and liquid and pressure cooked for 6 minutes. Liquids were canned chicken broth in which i boiled the seeds and center fibers of the pumpkin and some wine. 350g broth, 50g wine to 200g rice. Opened, and it needed probably 5 more minutes and additional liquid. Finished with a chunk of butter and shaved aged gouda. Astounding. I will never go back to standard risotto cooking method. Every grain was perfect. Next time i'll do 7 minutes in the PC. Questions: 1) I looked in both MC and MC@H and i couldn't for the life of me find the ratio to be used for risotto to liquid for straight pressure cooking. I had to derive it from the sample recipes (it's 2:1). Not hard to do, but wouldn;t it make sense to state the ratio in the same table as cooking times? 2) There is a small note in MC@H that says if you use more rice than listed in the recipe it could take longer to cook. This doesn't make sense to me. Why would it take longer to cook based on the amount of rice used?

Not sure. I assume what you said regarding phsyical agitation. Interesting idea with the blender! Guess you must try! pressure cook the recipe and throw in a blender.

It's because the liquid doesn't boil in the pressure cooker. Tonkotsu broth needs the boil to emulsify the fat and collagen into the soup. This is on my "to make" list

I thought the iota carrageenan was for freeze/thaw stability....

I had a make another batch of Mac and cheese sauce as i like to have it in the freezer. i decided to try the ratio in MC@H instead of MC (which by the way is written very obtusely, with ratios referencing one of the cheeses as 100%, but not the other, but anyhow....) I used 93% of cheese weight in beer and water, and it basically made cheese soup. I used a gouda and cheddar. Luckily i had enough gouda to add to the "soup" to make it into a sauce. The final ratio of cheese/liquid i ended up with ? 61%, which is, i think, exactly what the ratio MC calls out. I now have about 3 quarts of cheese sauce. HAH! Anyone use 93% liquid for their M&C?

I have definitely noticed a difference in texture when presalting a rib steak that then froze before sous viding.