Digijam

That's pretty much what my wife said. Though I did get my revenge when a water bath so large it's got its own postcode turned up on the doorstep the other day. I've only just dared tell her I now need to buy an industrial-sized transformer before I'll even know if the damn thing works. For approximating sous vide using a regular oven I found it's worth also placing the food in a stockpot filled with water, (either keeping the bag's tied area above water or using a cheap vac sealer), just to help smooth out oven temp fluctuations.

Silverside is actually a little different to topside. It's cut from the back of the thigh, whereas the topside is the inner thigh muscle. Silverside is quite a bit tougher, with a coarser texture, and a thick 'silver' membrane running through its two overlapping muscles. I've only tried a 24 hour 55c roast with the topside cut, but judging by how melt-in-the-mouth tender the results were I'd say it should work well on silverside, too. It might even benefit from the slow cook more.

One overripe banana and a desire to pop my eGullet image uploading cherry equals... Banana souffle. Threw together a base of the pureed banana, rum, grated coconut, cinnamon and a little nutmeg syrup. Wanted the fruit to shine through and as light a texture as possible, so heated the base with a little cornflour to hold it together, rather than using raw yolk, bechemel or gelatin. Folded in one whisked egg white per ramekin and whacked 'em in the oven at 220c. 10 minutes to cook. 1 minute to eat. 30 minutes for mouth to stop burning.

If you can make it to Yorkshire there's always Pennine Tea And Coffee. I've only tried ISI models - if you intend using it for hot and cold foams I'd recommend getting either their Gourment or Thermo Whip model. The basic ISI cream whipper is more prone to valve blockage (and comes with a big 'not suitable for espumas' warning in the instruction booklet).

Just to clarify, I assume you mean puffing occuring in storage, rather than any ballooning that might occur during cooking? Presumably the latter is almost inevitable without the aid of a pro-level (chamber-based) vac system?

Che, I'm in the same boat as you. Dunno if it's of any help, but if you're not looking to fork out for a chamber vacuum sealer, then Foodsaver's approved UK seller is Best Direct. I'm more tempted by the Reber over at Sausage Making, though. It's not cheap, but the pro-level billing and inclusion of suction capacity data is kinda reassuring. As for water baths, I'm following the herd and regularly scanning ebay for a bargain. The tricky thing is not only getting one cheap but also getting it over to the UK without doubling the bid price.

One of the main brands in the UK is Opies - which are a little less spicy than per Jack's description. You can get them shipped worldwide from Britsuperstore The taste of the walnut is pretty much railroaded by the vinegar, though. As with pickled eggs the attraction is actually that texture - in this case a slightly crumbly skin with mushy interior. And like pickled eggs, they go great with asparagus and parmesan.

Probably a dumb question (I'm still a real rookie when it comes to pastry work), but what's the reason for using both corn syrup and glucose? I know there are chemical differences, but thought one could generally be substituted for the other. Do they behave in a significantly different way?

I had the same problem first time round. Some of the recipes call for heating, so maybe you're right about it helping the alginate to fully dissolve. It's available at Chemistry Store, but I can't vouch for them. Alternatively, the Texturas one is available from German supplier Buchgourmet.

For ratios it's worth visiting that Texturas website, which has three key recipes - including one that's likely the same as for Chef Goldfarb's mango caviar, and another that uses citrate to balance out an acid ingredient. Adria does mention using baking soda to do the same ph-balancing job in this recipe at Starchefs, but I'm guessing that by doing it this way there's a greater chance of getting a bitter flavour if the balance isn't exactly right. The Texturas syringe has a surprisingly wide opening (about 4mm), so any non-hyperdermic drug store model should do the trick. Jonathan: The ravioli should be stable enough to heat - there's another Adria recipe at Starchefs here, where he melts caramel wafers onto the ravioli - so I'd suggest adding a little more alginate and/or increasing the bath time.

Great post. Been doing similar experiments myself since getting hold of some alginate, calcium chloride and sodium citrate. Getting the ravioli shapes right is a bit tricky, but El Bulli style caviar is a cinch if you try using a dropper or syringe.

When making licorice ice cream I've always just gone down the melted candy route. Figure it's less hassle than trying to make a syrup from scratch. There is a recipe using the root here: Licorice - Herbalism Forum . But I'd expect you're going to have the same problem of expense, given that a bag of licorice root costs about the same as a bag of the candy. And that recipe still call for food colouring...

Oxford dining options are pretty limited, for some weird reason. But there is also Chiang Mai Kitchen , a pretty decent Thai restaurant in a beautiful building just off the High Street: http://www.chiangmaikitchen.co.uk/. For something more European, Italian eaterie Branca on Walton Street isn't too shoddy : http://www.branca-restaurants.com/. But whether they'll be able to cater for your friend is another matter.

Not sure about those two, but for online you could try Wild Harvest or TFC Express, though I'm not sure if the latter sells the lamb to non-trade customers.

Definitely. Has that ice cold but heavy bodied quality that reminds me of Kilkenny. Could never sink more than 4 or 5 of those in a session, either. But it may just be down to the fact that Cotswold is less suited to winter drinking than lighter lagers or warmer, flatter ales... or maybe it's just me being a big girl's blouse. By the way, Erica, probably a bit too late, but have you tried any of the bottled ales from the Ottery Brewery near Honiton, Devon? Their Otter Bright is made with lager malt, and so isn't that far removed from the Cotswold.

After painstaking (and painful) research at several locals - esp the excellent Horse And Groom at Bourton On The Hill - I'd say it's more an ale/lager cross than the name suggests, and a whole lot heavier than Budvar. Definitely worth holding out for if they start bottling, though do be warned it's a real meal in the glass sort of drink, so maybe not one a restaurant might shift many of. Not to customers working their way through a gourmand menu, at any rate. Which reminds me, must get down to Fairford...

The Cool Chile Company usually do them. Think they have a stall at Borough Market. Tamarillos are vaguely related to tomatillos, aren't they? Only closer to the cape goosberry end of the spectrum. Could be good for a chutney. If only Peter Kay were here.

If Carlsberg made fast food joints...

And eggs.

Hi Carlovski, I believe yoghurt is similar to single cream, in that the fact content isn't high enough to bind the casein proteins sufficiently, so the proteins clump together and cook, resulting in curdling at higher temperatures. McGee basically suggests to avoid taking the yoghurt near the boil and removing as much of the whey as possible beforehand. Rapid mixing in is also usually mentioned, to help disperse it before anything gets a chance to set, I guess. But how you fixed the curdling I have no idea. Strangely I did notice a Madhur Jaffrey programme the other week, where she didn't seem at all bothered about highly visible curdling in one of her completed dishes.

I've tried baking it in a dusted steel pan on top of the stove, heating it as I add the toppings, then putting it into the pre-heated oven. Helps get oven cooking time down to about 6 minutes. Though it doesn't solve the toppings problem - still need to pre-cook the tomato to approximate the higher temp caramelising of a real pizza oven.

Have to say I've had no problems with the Bifinett model, and find it works on any kind of bag. Given that it carries a 3 year guarantee, there's a Lidl on every street corner to return to if need be, and it's dirt cheap (a tenner), there's really not a lot to lose if it's just for tinkering at home with sous vide or to minimise freezer burn. Not that it's likely to be sturdy or powerful enough for commercial use, admittedly.

I searched for ages on the web for a vacuum sealer, but came up empty. In the end I managed to grab one at Lidl of all places. It's made by Bifinett. Been using it for a year now and it's still going strong. Whether Lidl still stock 'em I have no idea, though somebody is currently flogging one on ebay if you're quick. Mark

A little west of Sarlat, but definitely worth a mention is Le Jardin D'Epicure - it's on the D702, just outside of St Cyprien. The number is 05 53 30 40 95. Had a fantastic dinner there about five years ago now, but from what I hear it's still going strong.

They sell whole hams for far less, I think about £300 - £350. Unfortunately it's no good comparing prices in Madrid to those in London. Sayell Foods sell Jamon Iberico leg on the bone for £50/kg. Unfortunately it isn't open on a Saturday. ← You could also try Gourmet Warehouse. Not sure if you can buy in person from their London headquarters, though their delivery prices are lower than Sayell's. Prices are also about £50 per kg, for ham on the bone as well as handy sized (0.5kg or 1kg) boneless cuts.