scott123

With the trans fat scare, I'm surprised no one's come out with a palm oil based margarine. I would try all the supermarkets in your area, as well as health food shops. Someone will have either a canola or a corn oil margarine. The word you're looking for is lubricity

It's too much to quote, but the article delves into cellulose in ice cream quite a few times. If you've consumed commercial ice cream, the odds are pretty high you've consumed cellulose ice cream. It's fairly common in the industry. I obtained a sample of CMC from a friend who's a baking supplier. So far, all I've done with it is mix it with water. The gel it created was very similar to pectin. Having worked quite a bit with soluble gum fibers like xanthan and guar, I was amazed by it's clarity/vibrancy. For what it's worth, it makes an especially pretty gel. If I need a stabilizer for my ice cream, I reach for xanthan/guar, as they're cheaper and much more easily obtainable. ← I have tasted different stabilizers in ice creams, made from the same formulation with 3 freeze/thaw cycles comparing to no cycles. The CMC definitely reduces the ice crystals formed as it is still very smooth texture. -NhumiSD ← I don't sell my ice cream commercially, so it's not subject to freeze/thaw cycles, but if I did, that's valuable information to know. Thanks. I guess my real reticency to using CMC in ice cream is that I'll probably like the results and then end up having to track down/pay big bucks for more. I also feel like I might stumble on a more ideal application for it. As everything I make is low carb/sugar free, I'm always looking for ways to put novel ingredients to use in my quest to mirror a dessert's high carb counterpart.

Ice Cream: Combination Chemistry It's too much to quote, but the article delves into cellulose in ice cream quite a few times. If you've consumed commercial ice cream, the odds are pretty high you've consumed cellulose ice cream. It's fairly common in the industry. I obtained a sample of CMC from a friend who's a baking supplier. So far, all I've done with it is mix it with water. The gel it created was very similar to pectin. Having worked quite a bit with soluble gum fibers like xanthan and guar, I was amazed by it's clarity/vibrancy. For what it's worth, it makes an especially pretty gel. If I need a stabilizer for my ice cream, I reach for xanthan/guar, as they're cheaper and much more easily obtainable.

Come on, this is no where near as scary as Velveeta fudge. Every dessert, chocolate or otherwise, should contain a tiny amount of salt. It's an unwritten rule. The jump from salt to MSG is not that significant.

So, did you do it? I hope you weren't skimpy!! I'll go out on a limb here and wager that the chocolate milk was better with msg. Anybody want a piece of this action?

Sorry, I thought the pork and scallions implied Chinese dumplings. Chinese dumplings. Mushrooms are, indeed, good in pierogies, but I'm not fond of them, especially the Chinese variety, in dumplings, or egg rolls, for that matter.

I'm sorry, but, as far as I can tell, the article doesn't explain it at all. Since all flavors are perceived by the brain/are a result of brain chemical 'alterations,' I fail to see what makes msg different. If you're trying to say that there's some safety issue with MSG, I think that the article clearly explains that- with the exclusion of a trace amount of the population, MSG is perfectly safe. ← I disagree, It is not safe. it doesn't belong in chocolate or in food for that matter. the article states all products containing msg, must clearly label it, that is wrong, manufactures hide it under different names to disguise it. Now let me ask you, if it's safe, why are manufactures trying to hide it? there are even some products that state no msg on the label, that do have msg. I say keep it away from chocolate, it's already in too many foods as it is. ← I used to feel the same way and then I read Steingarten's book. Although there are a lot of people who doubt MSGs safety, this sentiment draws less from fact and more from xenophobia. It's cultural bias, plain, pure and simple. Other cultures utilize MSG like it's going out of style with no adverse health impact whatsoever. It must be hard not to be able to eat tomatoes/tomato products, soy sauce and parmesan. If you don't want to eat tomatoes, hey, that's your deal, but personally, I love 'em. ← I can eat tomatoes, or parmesan, or anything where it's naturally occuring. what i have problems with is the foods they add it to. the naturally occuring msg in food is not the same as what they add. what about issues of it's addictive qualities, which many feel is a big contributor to the obesity problem in the US. even the website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby group supporting MSG admits that it makes people eat more. http://www.msgfacts.com/facts/msgfact12.html The MSG manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their products. I've also read it has been scientifically proven that msg causes obesity. go to www.pubmed.com and enter msg obese in the search. ← There is absolutely no difference between the free glutamates in tomatoes and the free glutamates in MSG. Zilch. If someone told you that they're dead wrong. If you're going to have issues with MSG, then you have to have issues with tomatoes. And parmesan. And soy sauce. And, for that matter, your own biochemistry. In the time it took you to read this post, your own body created a fraction of a gram of free glutamates. Your own body is poisoning you! Btw, tahini causes hives. And mate gives you the runs. Marmite is a suspected carcinogen. Gravlax screws with the reproductive system. Berbere incites promiscuity. If you're going to be biased against one culture (Asian), why not be biased against all cultures? That way you can perpetually live in fear. Wouldn't that be great?

Paneer is the curdled proteins out of the milk. Cream is just fat which is removed mainly by techniques like centrifuge ( atleast that is the most basic way to describe it). A little amount of fats and milk solids in milk are incorporated in Paneer during curdling and the rest washed away with the whey. Also making paneer withextraadded cream before curdling gives a slightly creamier paneer but it does not firm as well when pressed. ← I disagree. The curdled proteins create a mesh framework, trapping liquid and quit a lot of fat. I'm not sure how much fat ends up in the curds, but I'd wager to say that it's more than what ends up in the whey. What I do know for certain is that a full fat milk paneer will taste richer and creamier than a skim milk paneer. Although I haven't used cream for paneer, I know someone who has and they swear it's a creamier/richer end product. I believe they went with a 50/50 cream/milk mixture. Luckylies, the one thing to remember is that the fat in cream makes it a lot harder to curdle. Adding cream will require additional acid.

Okay, fine... Morris County

I'm sorry, but, as far as I can tell, the article doesn't explain it at all. Since all flavors are perceived by the brain/are a result of brain chemical 'alterations,' I fail to see what makes msg different. If you're trying to say that there's some safety issue with MSG, I think that the article clearly explains that- with the exclusion of a trace amount of the population, MSG is perfectly safe. ← I disagree, It is not safe. it doesn't belong in chocolate or in food for that matter. the article states all products containing msg, must clearly label it, that is wrong, manufactures hide it under different names to disguise it. Now let me ask you, if it's safe, why are manufactures trying to hide it? there are even some products that state no msg on the label, that do have msg. I say keep it away from chocolate, it's already in too many foods as it is. ← I used to feel the same way and then I read Steingarten's book. Although there are a lot of people who doubt MSGs safety, this sentiment draws less from fact and more from xenophobia. It's cultural bias, plain, pure and simple. Other cultures utilize MSG like it's going out of style with no adverse health impact whatsoever. It must be hard not to be able to eat tomatoes/tomato products, soy sauce and parmesan. If you don't want to eat tomatoes, hey, that's your deal, but personally, I love 'em.

When I lived in NYC, I ate some great dumplings. Oh boy, were they wonderful. A thin wrapper, no strange ingredients (no mushrooms!), fresh pork, scallions, well seasoned- they were amazing. Then I moved out to here and ever since, it's been doughey city. Any leads on extraordinary dumplings in the Morristown area? I don't care if the restaurant sucks, all I care about is the dumplings- that's all I'll be getting- to go, so the decor is meaningless to me as well. Surrounding towns- Madison, Chatham, Florham Park, Bernardsville, Mendham, E. Hanover, are fine, but not too much further than that. Sorry about the limited area but I can't travel that far. P.S. If anyone has a lead on a phenomenal chicken dumpling, an even scarcer commodity, I'd like those as well.

I'm sorry, but, as far as I can tell, the article doesn't explain it at all. Since all flavors are perceived by the brain/are a result of brain chemical 'alterations,' I fail to see what makes msg different. If you're trying to say that there's some safety issue with MSG, I think that the article clearly explains that- with the exclusion of a trace amount of the population, MSG is perfectly safe.

just curious, why no basil? To me, basil and tomato together is God's way to put a smile on my face, especially when they are both fresh. ← I don't want basil in everything. If I'm making, say a bbq sauce with canned tomatoes, I don't basil in it. If it's an Italian dish, sure, basil's no problem, but not every tomato-based dish works with a basil note.

If this helps any, saag paneer is just saag with cubes of fried paneer. As far as saag goes, I'm still looking for the definitive saag recipe. I think my recipe is too complex. I've been second guessing the ginger in it. Next time I might use less or just omit.

That's on 46, right? That's 2nd on my list. First on my list is Time For a Bagel in Morris Plains. If you get there at 5 o'clock in the morning when the bagels come out of the oven... heaven.... absolute heaven. And don't show up after 11:00. They'll have nothing left.

1. Skin contains more collagen than any part of the bird 2 Collagen is what provides body to stock. 3. Stocks made with a greater proportion of skin will have a greater viscosity/body than those made with less skin. 4. Chicken feet have more skin per lb. than any other part of the bird (second is wings). All fact. Now opinion. Some people are big fans of bones. I'm definitely not one of them. There are those that believe that adding meat is the only way to add flavor to stock. Harold McGee is in this camp. I believe that chicken skin not only adds a tremendous amount of body, but it provides a substantial amount of flavor as well, especially when roasted. Yes, I'm a bit non-traditional when it comes to roasting chickens for stock. If you want body, skin is your ally. That's inarguable. For flavor, there's your controversy. I agree with Harold McGee, to an extent (meat) but feel that skin has something to offer as well. I've seen some stock recipes where the skin is discarded. That makes me cringe.

I just remembered something. There's high levels of free glutamates in human breast milk. That's probably a big part of the reason why we're so attached to the taste- conditioning. The concept of MSG and milk seems like a possibility. Once milk is in the picture, chocolate becomes much more plausible.

Salt accentuates sweet flavors. Which is why, if you're making a chocolate dessert, you always add a tiny amount of salt. That's common knowledge. As far as adding MSG to chocolate... ... ... That's really tough. I've always associated MSG with a meaty, iron-y kind of note. Meaty and chocolate don't immediately appear complementary. But then you've got mole. And chocolate does contain iron. So... maybe. I'd definitely add MSG to a mole. And maybe, at some point, I might add it to eating chocolate. Can't hurt to try, right? It's funny, I've been thinking a LOT about MSG in desserts lately. Maybe there's a bug going around.

Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "there are many ways to skin a cat"

Meat holds water. When you freeze it, this water expands, rupturing the protein framework. When the meat is thawed, water is released. A good way of telling if meat (any meat) has been frozen is to check for excess juice in the package. This can be overcome by proper preparation of said bird... ← Freezing a chicken impairs it's ability to retain water. This is irreversible. You can brine the daylights out of it and it won't be as tender/moist as a fresh/never been frozen bird.

If you can afford a Weber Genesis Platinum, then I'm guessing a Webber Charcoal Grill might be within your budget as well. I would use the gas grill as a gas grill and the charcoal grill for that purpose. Or, if you're handy, you can build a charcoal grill with brick. That's what I plan on doing should I ever have a back yard that would accommodate it. A brick charcoal grill with a brick wood burning oven.

It's very sad, but this approach is fairly common in the diabetic community. As you are probably guessing, it's not the healthiest approach. It is her life and telling people how to eat can be tricky business, especially siblings, but if you could suggest to her an alternative approach, you might very well be adding years to her life. Diabetes doesn't have to be that restricting but it should involve some moderation and a certain amount of self awareness.

Hmmmm... I spend a lot of time pounding brownie batter on the counter trying to get out air bubbles. Maybe some form of vibrating table might be more suitable for the job.

If I'm plating food, I try to serve it as hot as possible due to the flat, airy shape of the plate allowing for the food to cool quickly. If the food is in a well insulated bowl, though, I heat it until quite hot and then let it cool until edible. I do that with most of the foods I eat. Heat until too hot to eat, then let cool until edible. I find that the prolonged heating/cooling time allows the temperature to conduct more evenly throughout the food.

Hot hazelnuts combined with hot oil will blend to a silky smooth paste. If the nuts/oil aren't hot, though, a vortex won't form and they won't blend well.