andiesenji

This one gives even me pause....... However, I don't eat chocolate - I have an allergy. I also am unable to consume cheeses "flavored" with any type of "raw" liquor or fortified wine because of an allergy to alcohol. I have stewed or reduced fortified wines to get the alcohol content below the level that affects me and have "washed" cheeses with the resulting liquid. Several years ago, on the PBS show "California Heartland" one of the artisan cheesemakers in the Sonoma or Napa area, either wrote or discussed an artcle about the development of a "niche" for flavored cheeses because of the apparent added value was attractive to consumers. I remember scanning it but it is probably on an old hard drive as I can't find it by doing a simple search. Purists still have a huge number of choices of "unadulterated" cheeses and if adding something to the stuff allows cheesemakers to stay in business, I am all for it. It is very possible that a cheese with "something added" may bring a new consumer into the land of "real" cheese, and open the market a bit more, thus spurring producers to greater efforts and possibly even lowering the price of really good cheeses. I don't think anyone has mentioned smoking yet. I am not really fond of most smoked cheese but there is one called "Aged Full Moon Swiss" from Wisconsin (Mousehouse Cheesehaus) that is extraordinary. I found the article online - I thought the search had turned up nothing, but it just took a while: cheese article It's hard to believe it was 11 years ago.

I'm impressed by all the lists. Mine are sort of "catch-as-catch-can" as I begin with a certain amount of orginization then find myself re-thinking sources (and how easy it is to get stuff into my van. (Smart & Final always will load my van without me having to hang around waiting). Here's my most recent one.

I agree wholeheartedly that some combinations are greater than the sum of the parts and this is one of the superior combinations. Another that does it for me is the combination of white Stilton with dried apricots. I love Stilton on its own but there is just something about the combination of salt/tart/sweet that does wonders for my tastebuds. I have made cheese, mostly soft fresh cheeses, but a few hard, aged cheeses in the past and it was not necessarily an inferior cheese that I used with herbs, spices and fruits, but something that teamed well to get the results I wanted. "Additives" from the obvious to the microscopic, have been going into and around cheeses for thousands of years. The molds that produce the blues, and other living organisms that affect and enhance cheeses are important, if sometimes strange. (Consider Mimolette, for instance.) Wrapping cheeses in leaves was probably one of the earliest methods of affecting the flavor as well as assisting in preservation. "Pure" cheeses, without ANY outside influences, would be pretty bland, on the whole.

I am very sorry. My post was not intended as a comment on the socio/political/economic principles of biodiversity. All I intended to point out was the flavors of the rices that are being grown and sold by producers that are growing varieties that grow well in the cooler areas of the Sacramento delta. Lundberg Family Farms is one of my California favorites (and completely organic before it became fashionable). Carolina Gold, grown in the Carolinas, the Louisiana rices and the Texas rices all have unique flavors without genetic manipulation. I have cooked all of these rices in an IH cooker and find that they do exceptionally well. It is particularly suited to brown rices and the rice "medleys" such as Lundberg's "Jubilee" blend "of Wehani®, Black Japonica™, short and medium grain red rice, short and long grain brown rice and sweet brown rice." The original poster asked about the advisability of purchasing an IH cooker to replace a damaged rice cooker and I have only tried to give my experiences with the ZO.

I do have the Ernest Mickler books and they contain some mighty fine recipes, and some good advice.

My point, exactly. It would be a terribly dull world, culinarily speaking, if we were unable to choose the type of foods we eat and the way they are prepared. What works for one culture may be anathema to another. A few months ago, my reading group got into a similar discussion as the book we were reading included a description of a meal that featured a rice dish. Out of the eleven people attending that day, three did not care for rice at all, in any form. I mentioned my preferences, two people said they they loved the steamed rice served in Chinese restaurants and had never been able to duplicate it at home. The single man in the group stated that he only liked brown rice cooked in a vegan vegetable broth and he had no idea how his partner prepared it. The remaining four (all seniors, like me) stated that they liked any kind of rice, fixed any old way, including Minute Rice, Rice-A-Roni, Boil-in-Bag rice and the Uncle Ben's Microwaveable "flavored" rices which they had just discovered. I like to buy "local" rices, that is, varieties developed and grown in California. Particularly since the Rice Commission act of 2000 established a tight control on "engineered or biotech" rice production. However vast the areas of rice production in the state, it is still second to Arkansas in total rice production. I love Wehani which, in my opinion, has incredible flavor. I also support Native American companies that market wild rice - not a true rice at all, but a worthy contender. I strongly believe that people should support local growers and biodiversity by buying the native crops of their regions, in fact, I believe it is imperitive for the society as a whole to survive. Now clilmbing down off my soapbox.

Not all PVC pipe is food grade, although it is supposed to be produced from "food grade" materials. Some PVC pipe, imported from China contains materials one does not want around food. One producer manufactures PVC pipe, intended for plumbing use, mostly underground sprinkler systems or in recreational vehicles, trailers, in the same plant that it also manufactures PVC/cement/asbestos pipe for the south China sea farming industry. Be sure to buy only PVC pipe made in the USA or Canada and is identified by a dye strip in the pipe or a cast-in mfg. number. Before I retired, I worked in a medical office that we shared with an internist/toxicologist who received monthly bulletins about hazardous materials in the workplace. One of the bulletins specifically noted that workers cutting imported PVC pipe with power tools should always wear eye and breathing protection and cover any exposed areas of skin, remove clothing esposed to the dust from cutting and launder it separately from household linens and other clothing.

I have (and love) all these cookbooks. However, my favorite, since my first was given to me in 1951, is Charleston Receipts. The 30th Edition published in 1995 is reasonably priced at 19.95 but a good used copy is available for far less. As stated by one reviewer, any cookbook that has been a best seller for 50 years, must have something going for it. Part of my father's family were among the earliest settlers in the Carolinas and in the house in which I grew up, my grandfather's cook was a wonderful Gullah woman who cooked many lowcountry dishes. I have never been able to produce an angel-food cake as high or as light as she did, using a wood/coal stove and "testing" the oven temp by holding her hand in the middle of the oven. And, beating the egg whites by hand with a flat whisk.

I like stuffing/dressing in the turkey. Many, many years ago I solved the problem of getting it to heat quickly in the center of the stuffing/dressing mass by using something I had in my kitchen junk drawer. I have told other people about it, they have tried it and found it works and some used other, but similar items to good effect. It is extremely simple. Buy an aluminum turkey baster like this one Remove the rubber bulb! This is extremely important! After stuffing your turkey (or goose or whatever - works also with a large, stuffed, rolled pork roast and for an extra-large crown roast) Shove the pointy end into the center of the stuffing/dressing at a slight downward angle to be sure it is centered in the mass. Roast. Remove the baster with tongs as it will be very hot. Transfer all the stuffing/dressing from the bird to an ovenproof serving bowl - cover with foil and place in the still warm oven (temp above 150 degrees) while you mangle the turkey - er, portion or slice into serving-sized pieces. I have used this method with smaller birds and even with a 34-pound turkey, that had an enormous cavity, using two basters, and it worked beautifully. I also used two in "stuffing" that was under a saddle of boar. By this time, I found that the ones I used for stuffing were never used for anything else, so I drilled holes near the top and ran a "string" of braided picture wire through it and formed a large ring so they can be hooked and pulled out with less effort. I got the idea when I was using "potato nails" to assist in baking huge baking potatoes, the supersized ones that had a propensity to be overdone on the outside and still hard in the center, without the use of the aluminum "nails." I thought, if these transfer heat to the interior of a potato, a hollow aluminum tube should do a bang-up job of transferring heat to the center of a mass of stuffing/dressing inside a bird. I was correct!

Also, in reference to European cast iron vessels, an iron age prize for the raiding Danes, etc., was the capture of an experienced smith, who knew how to work iron. Among the Skandinavians, a man who could provide an iron pot was assured of getting a fine wife and a young woman, no matter what her looks, with an iron pot as part of her dowry, had her choice of husbands.

I was born and raised on a fairly modern farm in western Kentucky but many of the local farmers, just as in all of the rural south, used the huge old cast iron kettles or pots, outside over open fires, for heating water for laundry and also for making the lye soap that was still commonly in use in the last half of the '40s and into the early '50s. The same pots were used for rendering lard and for other cooking. People searching around some of the old homesteads, often find single "canoe paddles" but these were actually laundry "dashers" used to move the sheets and clothes around in the hot water. Of course they were also used when rendering lard. The lye soap was a strong disinfectant and there were few germs that could live in boiling lard!

As mentioned above, as long as you do not contaminate it, you can keep it at room temp (I suggest ambient temps lower than 85 F) for years if you keep it tightly closed. I scald a spoon, dry it with a paper towel and make sure I don't touch it to anything else while extracting the amount of ghee I need.

They probably used one of these tube molds. I've used them for molding rice and ice cream. I bought them at a local craft store that supplies hobby soap makers.

Cooking rice in the microwave is okay in a pinch, however I prefer the flavor that develops in rice that is cooked and held at the ideal temperature for long periods. I prepared a batch of Louisiana wild pecan rice today and served it with dinner this evening and my guest commented on the flavor. I have cooked this variety of rice on the stovetop and in the microwave and the flavor is simply not the same. I have had people tell me that rice "really has no flavor" except for what goes on it, but I don't believe this. I know what I like but everyone has to suit themselves. If one is happy with a particular way of cooking, that is personal preference. Incidentally, the price of the IH cooker from the vendor I recommended on the other thread is, I think, fairly reasonable at $185.00. Ebay item # 110173871268.

Andisenji, in the other thread, you mentioned that you cook vegetables and potatoes in your Zo. Can you tell me how you do that? I recently acquired a 10 cup Zo IH rice cooker, and I'm interested in learning more ways to use it. It really does make great rice (much better than my old, one-button model) and I'm amazed at how well the keep warm function works. ← It works just like any steamer but it takes a bit of experimentation. For two cups of baby potatoes, that cook more rapidly I put about half an inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Same for cauliflower and broccoli florets and baby carrots. A greater volume requires more water and the same with larger new potatoes. This might help: cooking things other than in the rice cooker Once you try it, you will be able to estimate the amounts - make a note of what works, for next time. I also recommend Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann's rice cooker cookbook. I found it very helpful. I forgot to mention in my post on the other thread that some grains, such as farro, barley and hard red wheat, have to be soaked before they are included in a medley of grains. I use one of these small round cake racks in the bottom when cooking larger potatoes - also works with artichokes - I can fit four of the very large ones, five of the smaller in the pan and this will hold them off the bottom. I have also been experimenting with cooking steamed puddings in it. I can fit a medium pudding bowl - English ironstone, in the rice cooker - it also sets on the rack. recipe and method here. and I came across this article about bread in the rice cooker and plan on trying it soon bread in rice cooker recipe and method

Andisenji, in the other thread, you mentioned that you cook vegetables and potatoes in your Zo. Can you tell me how you do that? I recently acquired a 10 cup Zo IH rice cooker, and I'm interested in learning more ways to use it. It really does make great rice (much better than my old, one-button model) and I'm amazed at how well the keep warm function works. ← It works just like any steamer but it takes a bit of experimentation. For two cups of baby potatoes, that cook more rapidly I put about half an inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Same for cauliflower and broccoli florets and baby carrots. A greater volume requires more water and the same with larger new potatoes. This might help: cooking things other than in the rice cooker Once you try it, you will be able to estimate the amounts - make a note of what works, for next time. I also recommend Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann's rice cooker cookbook. I found it very helpful. I forgot to mention in my post on the other thread that some grains, such as farro, barley and hard red wheat, have to be soaked before they are included in a medley of grains. I use one of these small round cake racks in the bottom when cooking larger potatoes - also works with artichokes - I can fit four of the very large ones, five of the smaller in the pan and this will hold them off the bottom. I have also been experimenting with cooking steamed puddings in it. I can fit a medium pudding bowl - English ironstone, in the rice cooker - it also sets on the rack. recipe and method here. and I came across this article about bread in the rice cooker and plan on trying it soon bread in rice cooker recipe and method

I posted earlier today about my experience with the Zo IH in this thread.

I've been "chewing" on this for a while... when I was an Orkin man in a previous life... we used to make "no lite" fly lites out of pvc rain gutter... which is almost exactly what you are looking for. Flat on the bottom... and you can GLUE the half round to it to hold it in place with PVC glue and put the whole contraption in the dish washer when done to make it sanitary for the next use. hvr ← Or you could just use one of these baguette forms.

I have had the Zo IH rice cooker for well over a year and I use it all the time. Get the 10 cup, it is more versatile and reasonably price. I like this vendor, have bought several appliances from them and like their service. IH rice cooker at ebay express I cook a lot of mixed rice, that is, browns, blacks, mahogany, wild, as well as white, along with other grains and seeds, even nuts. The "endless" keep warm feature of these cookers is terrific for any kind of rice, grains, etc. I cook a batch in the morning and leave it on the "keep warm" setting until evening. It may sound weird, but it makes the rice flavor richer and the texture is just the way I like it. I have served rice prepared this way to many people and everyone mentions that the flavor is exceptional, in fact, they ask where I got the rice and it is just the stuff available to anyone. I have been buying the rice "medley" sold in bulk at Winco but many stores now sell similar products. I use rice in many applications, sometimes needing just a cup or less - making a larger batch of any type of rice, then vacuum sealing portion-sized bags for the freezer saves a great deal of time. I like rice in salads (great for dieting) and having it on hand is ideal and it is a lot cheaper than the "instant" rice which has all kinds of additives I don't want in my food. Over the years I have had many types of rice cookers, in fact I still have one of the first Panasonics that was sold in the US. They all work well but this one does it best. I had the "neuro" fuzzy logic cooker before I got this one and it worked almost as well - I gave it to my daughter who uses it almost daily. Having the larger size allows me to cook other things, such as potatoes, other root vegetables, without taking up stovetop room and it holds them at a perfect temperature until I am ready to use them. You might want to read this brief article about rice cookers

Ah. If only I was thirty or even twenty years younger. My chocolate experience is limited - I am allergic to the stuff but love the aroma and have used the artificial flavor extracts. I do cook with it for other people but have to rely on others to taste the results. There is such a huge competition in coffee and coffee products, that anything "new" is difficult to promote. In just the past year two, seemingly popular coffee shops here in my area, went bust for no apparent reason. One week they were "trendy" and a month later the customers had dried up. And there was no competition anywhere close by. Very strange. I think your imagination will prompt you to come up with many flavor adventures.

Just a quick note, regarding all those "aged" rectangular tins. They are becoming collector's items and since they don't take up much room, stick them away someplace. Last year I opened a crate of antique china that had been packed up when I was having my kitchen remodeled back in the early '70s, (three houses ago), and found a bunch of spice tins that had been placed in the crate by mistake. They were the tins with the sliding metal tops and last year I sold most of them for $15.00 each. One (paprika) had never been opened.

I love it but I prepare it with fresh, frozen or even canned asparagus and rather than toast, I bake crispy, corn waffles (unsweetened) and the flavor combination is just perfect. I also "wash" it in simmering water for just a few seconds to remove some of the salt.

Here are a couple of my English sauce pots. I don't know when they stopped making these. I remember them from when I was a small child and I was born in 1939. They are very heavy - the sidewalls are somewhat thinner than American-made pots, but the bottoms are thicker. I have several and they all have this distinctive "barrel" shape. One is perhaps twice the size of the larger one in the photo - I can't lift or even move it without help. It has a stubby secondary handle on the side opposite the main handle and it too is hollow and will accept a tapered stick. Note that the measurements cast into the bottom, refers to "Imperial" pints and quarts. The large one has a tin lining and one can see the tin has puddled in the center of the bottom. This was probably done in the home back in the late '40s. It was common to buy tinning kits for cookware. I saw it done many times, it was a cinch on a wood/coal stove, just pull up one of the lids in the stovetop and place the pot or kettle so it was exposed directly to the fire, then open one or more of the air intakes to increase the temp. On these pots the handles are hollow so a tapered "broomstick" can be banged into the handle to give more leverage. Our cook kept the sticks in a bucket of water next to the stove so the wood would swell and fit more snugly in the handle.

I sometimes will make a few at a time, after roasting and grinding green beans. I use a tamper to get the grounds firmly packed, and a small brush to clean the edges of the pod before sealing. I also crease the base of the flap prior to filling, so it is easier to close it before sealing. I have even tried flavoring the grounds, prior to sealing, using one of the Lorann flavoring oils, I did have to buy one of the precision droppers that dispenses half a regular drop. These flavored pods go into a tightly sealed container - one with a gasket and a wire snap latch, to "mature" for a day prior to use. The choices of the type of coffee are endless. A little powdered vanilla (the black stuff, not the sweetened vanilla powder) can be placed in the pod with the coffee., etc.

I have some cast iron pots, sauce pots, actually, that were made in England in the 1890s. I think the same style was made at least into the 1950s.