andiesenji

I have candied many types of fruits, nuts, odd things like Angelica stems, not-quite-ripe seed heads of fennel, edible flowers, chunks of pumpkin, squash, sweet potato, parsnips, and one unfortunate experiment with a turnip(don't try, it isn't pretty). The following is my process that is posted on Melinda Lee's site. Glace or candied fruit And this is my crystallized ginger method Melinda has had the latter posted for several years, I think she put the glace fruit method up a year or so ago. I noted that when preparing dried fruits for candying, it is best to steam them first, to "plump" them without adding too much water to the fruit. Soaking in water may may them too soggy to absorb all the syrup they should. I also said don't try to candy limes. I am speaking here of the Persian lime (seedless). The little Mexican or "Key" limes can be candied but they are full of seeds which do not soften with the candying process. Candying pears is tricky, particularly with the skins left on. It can be done but just a bit too much heat will cause the skin to turn an ugly brown like a dried leaf. Dried fruits that already have a high sugar index are by far the easiest and I usually advise people just starting out to try them first, apricots do beautifully when steamed first to plump them and look like jewels when finished.

I was told to do it cross-grain so it could penetrate into the linear strands. Well, that wasn't exactly the way it was explained to me. The chef who was teaching the class was not big on explaining why, it was mostly "do it that way because I am telling you to do it that way" and "what? are you writing a book or something? All you need to know is how to do it not why." This was a good many years ago and perhaps he himself did not know how the process worked, only that it did. (This was the same teacher who used calipers to determine if we were dicing properly.)

It will take longer for the fruit to be candied all the way through. Go through the process as described in my post, cut one or slice it and see how far the candying has progressed. When I have done them whole, I have found it may take almost twice as long if there is no way for the syrup to get into the center of the fruit.

Early last year several friends and I went to a fairly new restaurant, which was apparently aiming at the "trendy" crowd. The dining area is sectioned into several "rooms" and we were placed in a room with only one other party at a table well away from us. Just as our entree arrived, another party of several individuals, who had apparently been in the bar for some time, were seated at the table right next to us. There was much loud talking, cursing, very loud and offensive, suggestive remarks to the female server and generally obnoxious behaviour. I held a whispered discussion with one of my friends and a few moments later his cell phone sounded (I had called from my cell phone, then disconnected.) He said "yes?", then followed in a louder and somewhat angry voice with, "this is judge so and so, how did you get my private number?" Instant silence from the table next door. He disconnected, apologized for the interruption and we continued with our meal, with only normal conversation at the formerly noisy table. Less you thing he was inpersonating an official, he is a dog show judge and is entitled to call himself such in conversations. It was certainly effective.

Keep the crockpot covered. Enough steam will escape on its own and it will keep the syrup at the correct temperature on the low setting. It will be too cool uncovered. You start with everything room temperature. If you want you can put the syrup in first and let it warm a little, the sugar will dissolve a little easier, but don't allow it to get too hot before you add the fruit.

Regarding fish or seafood, I haven't tried scallops, but many years ago, when abalone were still abundant and I had diver friends bring them to me, after pounding them, I would use a larding needle to insert butter inside the steaks. It is also handy for inserting a composed butter, with herbs and spices between the ribs and the flesh when cooking whole fish, either poaching or roasting as you can do this without marring the appearance of the fish.

I lard the pork tenderloins which from today's "bred for lean" hogs, is very dense with little marbelling and mostly is too dry when roasted. Also lamb, which I really don't care for but cook for others who do. It is a must for venison roasts, usually much too lean and dry - it makes a world of difference. Fantes has two types of larding needles. I have both plus an old one that is similar to the one with the pusher. Scroll all the way to the bottom of this page where you will find a Larding Needle with pusher 6 from the bottom and the other one right below it. Larding needles. It can also be used to insert garlic, strips of pepper or an herb paste deep into a roast, or into the thick meat of a fowl, in particular, stuff that is too thick to go through one of the injection needles. As I mentioned on another thread, I use it for coring very small fruits such as the tiny seckle and forelli pears as I can get into the fruit from the blossom end and leave the stem intact.

The syrup will concentrate as the water cooks out of it over the long period of cooking. I only tried one time to do it with the increasing concentration of sugar and got an unsatisfactory result. The sugar crystallized and the fruit had hard lumps in it, instead of remaining flexible and chewy.

They have to be processed at a fairly low temperature and alternating heating and cooling as noted above. This should keep them from collapsing.

I candy the tiny seckle or Forelli pears, cut in half and cored, however they have to be very hard or firm, not yet ripe. Otherwise they fall apart. . ← Agreed - thanks! It is indeed very informative. I have a dessert that I was serving poached seckel pears with (a savory tart) that would do well with a bit of sweetness. Would love to use a whole seckel pear. I'm assuming that I can do it whole... I just want to use an itty bitty thing to scoop out the core from the bottom. Your thoughts.. ← Scroll all the way to the bottom of this page where you will find a Larding Needle with pusher 6 from the bottom. I also use, in some instances, a sculpting tool you can find at most art stores. There are several shapes that work beautifully, with a very sharp wire which will cut into fruit without deforming it. This is a set that will give you an idea of the shapes. There are larger ones also. sculpting tools I also use a couple of wood-carving tools.

Felicitations and Mazeltov!! I remember when the store in Alexandria, VA opened. One of my friends, who lives a few blocks away, sent me a "Nyanh, Nyanh, Nyanh!" email. I introduced her to TJs when she was out here for a dog show and like you, she bought enough to fill a suitcase plus a tote bag (had to buy both) then proceeded to snack on various items on the plane trip home. She said that quite a few folks on the plane were taking notes from her TJ's receipt. She wrote that the day the store opened, there was a huge traffic jam (well, more than usual) and the police had to direct traffic. They do sell wine and liquor at that store and she says it is not unusual to see people checking out with two baskets, one full of wine bottles, the other with groceries.

It depends on your crockpot, generally low is just right, you should be able to see it simmering very, very gently. I stated in the first post the "light" simple syrup is 1:1. Equal parts, water and sugar. Regular simple sugar is two parts sugar to one part water, you don't need that heavy a concentration. The water is going to reduce during the prolonged cooking anyway. It is even possible to use less sugar but the process takes longer. Larger fruits can be candied whole also, but those take a long time. When I do clementines, it usually takes a week for fruits that are no more than 2 inches in diameter, even with the core punched out - for those I use a larding needle. Other fresh fruits are a bit more complicated - however I candy dried fruits of all kinds with great success. I candy the tiny seckle or Forelli pears, cut in half and cored, however they have to be very hard or firm, not yet ripe. Otherwise they fall apart. Whole figs can be candied and they take probably twice as long as the kumquats.

Now I want to explain why the heating and cooling is important. As the fruit is heated in the syrup, the liquids in the fruit tissue are driven out. As the fruit cools, it draws the syrup into the spaces left when the fruit liquids were driven out by the heat. This heat/cool process gradually causes the syrup to penetrate deeper into the fruit. Consider that when candying chestnuts, the process takes 4 or 5 times as long because the nut is far more dense than citrus. The relatively low temperature is important because if you cook it too vigorously, the fruit will eventually break up.

Not a problem, they can easily be done "whole" - however it takes some prep. You get a better, and more rapid, result it you remove the core, or rather punch a hole in the center from the stem end to the blossom end. The easiest way to do this is to use one of the "leave-in" oven meat thermometers with a round dial that is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. I place the dial face down so the probe sticks up and push the fruits down on the point. This is a lot safer than trying to hold the fruit and punching something through it. (I speak from experience that running a very sharp ice pick into the palm is no fun at all! ) The process is easier if you have a crockpot. Mix up enough "light" simple syrup, (equal parts, sugar and water) place the fruit and syrup in the crockpot, so the fruit is covered with some extra liquid - the fruit will float. Turn it to high until the syrup is bubbling then reduce it to low. Cover and allow it to simmer gently in the syrup for about 6 hours. Turn off the crockpot and allow it to cool completely. Turn the crockpot on again, top up the syrup if needed and cook it on low for another 6 hours. Cool completely. Repeat this process three more times and if you leave it cooling for an entire day, that is okay too. Keep adding syrup as needed to keep the fruit completely covered. The syrup will get thicker and thicker. At the end of the fifth process, remove one or two fruits from the syrup and set on a rack to drain. The fruit should look sort of translucent and very shiny. Cut one into pieces and taste. If the texture and flavor is the way you want, remove the rest of the fruit from the syrup, drain on a rack set in a sheet pan for at least 24 hours. Having a fan blow air over them will speed up the drying process. If they are not candied all the way through, just repeat the above process for an additional 1, 2 or 3 sessions. Only the largest fruits should need this long. It will take at least two days until the surface is just slightly tacky. Now place some granulated sugar, as coarse as you can find, into a shallow container and add a few fruits at a time, shake them around until they are well coated. It is best to allow them to continue to dry for a couple of days on parchment paper. Store in a tightly closed glass jar. Do not store in plastic bags.

There are vending machines that sell individual fruits, apple, orange, banana, pear, at the hospital next door to my office. Since the cafeteria is only open certain hours and some people may forget to bring a snack, this helps those working the night hours to get through.

I fry chicken livers, dredged in flour, until they have a bit of a crunchy coating, nicely browned (preferably fried in bacon drippings) then sliced or chopped. I stir the liver and a bit of the fat into cooked coarse Scottish or steel-cut oats, along with some chopped scallions or even some grilled or carmelized onions. If some is left over, no problem, I form it into patties and fry them (also in bacon drippings) and serve piping hot with a dollop of sour cream on top.

For just smashing garlic, I use the flat side of a broad knife. However, when I want to crush and pulp it, along with chiles, ginger, palm sugar, and the other stuff I include in sambals and chile paste, I use a suribachi. I have several mortars of various sizes but the suribachi, with its ridges, just makes the process so easy. I generally begin by grating ginger against the sides, partly to get the pulp and also for the juice. After than I toss in the garlic then add the other things as I work the mixture into the consistence I want.

All this talk of butter is getting to me. I am going to leave the computer, go out to the kitchen and make a batch of cornbread. I need this, we have a Pacific storm coming in and it is cloudy and gloomy and comfort food is acutely necessary.

How about fruit jellies or something like Turkish delight. A completely different texture and appearance to the other items.

johnnyd, Render some suet and try frying potatoes in it, either sliced or cut in wedges. You don't need al lot of fat, you can use it for deep-frying but I simply scrub potatoes, Yukon Golds are especially good, cut them into slices or wedges, dry them well with paper towels then transfer them to a cast iron skillet in two layers, if sliced, one layer if wedges, with about 1/2 inch of fat. When the edges of the slices begin to brown, I try to turn the potatoes in batches, about 1/4 of the skillet at a time but with a smaller skillet and a larger turner, it is possible to turn the entire batch at once. The second side will probably cook faster because the potatoes are hot. When they first go into the skillet, they are cool and will cool the fat a little. I like them very brown and crusty, but you have to fix yours the way you like. I don't think you will be sorry. I think the reason that French Fries in restaurants do not taste the way they used to is because they are no longer fried in beef fat. Back in the '50s, in Wisconsin, my step-dad's sister managed a Howard Johnson's and I know for a fact that their French Fries, fish, clams and other deep-fried items were fried in a mixture of beef fat and lard that came in 10-gallon cans.

I have one of those and it doesn't work as well as the ones with the normal sized pestle. There is zero room between the mortar and pestle and if you try to grind anything, it works its way out of the bowl. The only thing I use it for is to crush pills for my dogs, it works fine for that if I only smash one or two.

I found a can in my storeroom that has been in there a long time, perhaps two years, and when opened it was what I consider a normal color, creamy, off-white. I live in the soCalif desert and summertime temps can be 115, sometimes higher, and although my house is air-conditioned, the storeroom, between the house and garage, is not. There is another unopened can from the same batch and I will leave that for at least several months and see if it changes. When we found the two odd cans in the case at the bakery, we didn't even consider that it might be a packaging error, we thought the stuff was spoiled and contacted the company. They replied with the explanation about the mix-up on the line and identified the stuff by the numbers stamped on the bottom of each can becaue they were very different from the numbers on the regular stuff. This case had been delivered only a couple of days prior to use.

I never gave up on butter. I never trusted the "artificial" stuff, it may have a base of corn oil but has to be chemically and mechanically manipulated to make it solid. In recent years there has been a lot of research shows that hydrogenated stuff is of more concern than natural butter. As far as cholesterol is concerned, I have always believed it is genetics more than consumption that determines the levels. I eat a high cholesterol diet but my tests have never showed it higher than 180, usually below 150. Many of my ancestors lived extremely long lives.

Here is a photo of a few gadgets and etc., acquired since early December '05. Some were gifts, some were purchased. Top left is a little weighted recipe card holder which will hold a full sheet of paper if it is at least 24# thickness. Below that is a "Citrus utensil for peeling, zesting and striping citrus. A ring-pull lid-lifter with a magnet to hold onto the lid (assuming it is steel). Next is a silicone honey dispenser and it is great, the honey comes off of it cleanly. Next are some heavy-duty stainless steel clips for holding bags closed, etc. Next is a set of Food Loops, silicone cords that are perfect for holding stuff together while cooking (or marinating, or whatever.) In the center is the butter keeper which I mentioned in an earlier post. Below that is a peeler for tough or thick-skinned things like squash, eggplant and similar things. Below that is a new whisk with a loose ball of wires and a solid ball inside that which is supposed to agitate better. At lower left is a new jar of Sicilian sea salt, a wet salt. Next is super-fine Velvet de Guerande salt that is almost as finely ground as flour and has a sort of buttery mouth-feel. Next is a wood salt box that has a pivoting top. And last is a veggie scrubber mitt or small things such as several baby potatoes can go inside and be scrubbed under running water.

This site household product chemicals Has a lot of information on various toxicity levels.