andiesenji

I am a huge fan of eggplant and have been reflecting on several reciepes since this topic was posted and simply can't decide on a single favorite. They are so incredibly versatile that they can be a main ingredient in a vegetarian or vegan entree, the "baby" eggplants are especially versatile. Or they can be a side dish, canapé, mashed into a spread or ??? With the large "Black Beauty" types I like to slice them lengthwise (this is easier on a large mandolin and one of the reasons I got the de Buyer V-Pro with the long pusher). I degorge the slices (salting, resting and rinsing then drying with towels) but I also choose male eggplants as they are not as bitter and have fewer seeds, sometimes none. I brown finely chopped (not ground) meat or poultry with chopped tomatoes that have been drained till nearly dry, onions, spices and herbs to taste, stir in some panko or other bread crumbs, spoon a portion onto one of the eggplant slices, roll up and pin with a toothpick and put into a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with crushed olives and into a 325°F. oven for 45 minutes. I do remove the toothpicks after plating - kitchen tweezers work great for this.

I have an ultrasonic cleaner for jewelry and toothbrushes, etc., but much smaller. I haven't a clue.

I have several electric griddles - most are vintage. I usually use my Cuisinart Griddler, opened flat it gives as much area as most flat griddles and with the interchangeable plates, is more versatile, a multi-purpose appliance. The Griddler heats up rapidly and the heat is as even across the plate as any but the most expensive (commercial) griddles, and is superior to most of the flat griddles.

First, there is this previous topic on rendering lard . And then there is the RecipeGullet instruction page by FIFI, who is still missed greatly. I grew up on a farm where the rendering was done is a huge iron kettle in the kitchen yard and the result was canned and processed in half-gallon jars so it could be stored at room temp. I use crock pots for batches of about 3 pounds. I use an electric roaster for batches of about 10 pounds. I've always just chopped it into smallish chunks or put it through a meat grinder if the fat was full of membrane. I buy pork fat at the local Mexican markets as they sell "leaf lard" under that name and for me that is the best for rendered lard and a lot of people think the same. There is an online supplier that ships rendered leaf lard to those who can't find it locally.

Treat them just as you would scallions as in a stir fry dish. Just nip off the root end and trip the tops somewhat and cut them into thirds and split the root end. They become quite tender when cooked briefly. You can also steam them briefly, chill and include in salads. They pair beautifully with ginger. You can chop them fine and prepare a baked omelet - or pancakes similar to egg foo young.

They look like baby shallots. The local Philippine market carries them. I have planted them (very shallow) and as they mature the bulbs break apart and spread out. When mature they are the reddish shallots.

If you look at my tutorial on "skinning" citrus fruits for candying, this is the same process I use when I prepare marmalade but I do the further step of scraping most of the pith off with a grapefruit spoon (the serrated kind). I then stack 2, 3 or 4, depending on how thick they are, of the peels and roll them enough to fit into the marm cutter and push them in until I need to use the wooden pusher. A V-slicer is much easier to use for slicing citrus. I use it for slicing the Persian limes that have no seeds or for slicing Navel oranges, also seedless. It doesn't work well with citrus that contains seeds.

This is a marmalade cutter, minus the pusher. This does not cut whole fruit. The peel is removed tightly rolled and pushed into the cutter which shreds off the edges that are pushed against where the reciprocal blade is located. Meanwhile the pulp and juice of the fruit is cooked with sugar and strained then the shredded peel is mixed back into the syrup and cooked until the peel becomes translucent. They do whop up on ebay more often in England than here. If you want to slice whole fruits, you have to use a very sharp mandolin. I have the V-Pro deBuyer which works great. I never really did well with the straight blade Bron, which is why I used the marm cutter.

I like cane syrup but my usual preference is sorghum molasses because I like the stronger flavor. I know some people do not care for it but it combines so well with smoky flavors that I use it in most barbecue sauces. I used to have a neighbor from Grand Cayman and she used a really thick black treacle that was much stronger than Lyle's for several of her recipes, including the best jerk pork I've ever laid a tooth on. She would visit her home once a year and ship a gallon can (looked like an olive oil can) of the black treacle - plain metal, no label. She said the treacle was in 55 gallon drums and she had to take her own container to get it filled. It had to be heated before it could be poured from the tin. When cool it was extremely stiff.

That works. This recently showed up from one of the blogs I follow.

If you don't want to order it from Amazon, Lyle's products, both the golden syrup and black treacle are sold at Cost Plus World Market in the L.A. and Orange county areas. I bought some last December at the Cost Plus in Brea. I'm pretty sure the stores around San Diego would carry the same items. You can always phone and ask. 372 4th Ave San Diego, CA (0.5 mi) (619) 236-1737

Steen's is available from Asian Food Company. Here Ground shipping is free. They are in Texas so it should get to you in 3 days, it takes 4 days to get to me in California. and you might want to read this.

You can start with this brief abstract. On the right side you will see a list of other reviews and abstracts dealing with this subject. There have been numerous studies at universities all over the world that evaluated various types of rennet. Some time ago I read an informative one from a uni in India but can't find it right now. I subscribe to Culture magazine (quarterly publication) and saw a mention of that study in an earlier issue.

I buy Old Fashion Ribbon Cane syrup locally. (Fashion is spelled the way it is on the label.) I think it is comparable to Steen's and Fain's, both of which I have tried in the past as well as Lyle's Black Treacle (also a cane syrup).

Darienne, you can use this same banana process for bananas in banana bread, cake, cookies, pudding and etc. Last year one of the America's Test Kitchen had a segment on banana bread and used this method. I got a chuckle out of it because I have been using this method for years since hearing it described on an NPR broadcast of The Splendid Table at least fifteen years ago (I know President Clinton was in the White House at the time.) It worked so well I did some experiments with other fruits (pears, peaches, nectarines) that were not quite ripe and needed a little "boost" to up the flavor.

There are actually two types of microbial rennet that were developed for commercial use and the one derived from molds is specifically forbidden for use by the European Food Safety Authority because of safety concerns with the "parent" molds. Cheeses made from this rennet often have a bitter flavor. (I don't know why.) The other type is the genetically engineered Chymosin (Chymax) made when cow genes are inserted into bacteria, fungi or yeasts and this is produced mostly from aspergillus niger. I don't like to use any genetically modified product and I want nothing to do with aspergillus niger or anything derived from it. One caveat. Soy proteins are used in the production of Chymosin and people that are allergic to soy can react adversely.

If you can't find panela easily and have an Indian market in your area, you can substitute jaggery - the flavor is so similar I really can't tell the difference.

I thought the problem with the high temp pasteurization was that it messed with the casein micelles. I'm sure you are correct. I used to get regular pasteurized milk that was non-homogenized (cream top) or sometimes I could get milk locally from a friend who has cows. Unfortunately, she married and moved over to Hesperia, which is a bit too far to drive for milk. I have an electric pasteurizer and did pasteurize all the milk I used. That milk made wonderful cheeses. I experimented with various combinations and finally settled on the mix with the manufacturers cream, which I also use to make butter.

I've been using liquid vegetable rennet for years with no problems. I do add calcium chloride for most cheeses to get a firmer curd. I think the problem is usually with the ultra pasteurized milk. For some cheeses I buy the NON ultra pasteurized Manufacturing Cream (Alta Dena here in CA) and mix it half and half with supermarket fat free milk. I think this mixture gives me enough of the non super heated milk fat to produce a good, firm curd that I use for aged cheeses made with cultures.

Ship them by FedEx or UPS - do NOT trust them to checked baggage. I never lost my own knives but did have a gift set, packed inside a large suitcase, covered with clothing and etc., stolen when I flew from L.A. to Chicago. A camera was also taken.

That's beautiful RG. I have two bowls carved from Mexican liquidamber heartwood that is the same color - it's a very hard wood and I got one of the bowls in Chiapas forty years ago and the other in Taxco in 1985. The red heartwood often shows a "flame" pattern in the grain and also has a natural satiny sheen that is not seen in many bare woods. Rosewood, African blackwood, tulipwood also exhibit this effect.

Regarding bananas in yogurt. You can get a lot more flavor from bananas by peeling, placing in a bowl and microwaving for 4 minutes, drain the expressed liquid into a small saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon or two of lemon juice and cook over low heat till reduced to 1/3 the original amount. Mash the cooled bananas with the liquid and add to the yogurt, blending well then adding the other ingredients. I guarantee that the banana flavor will be much stronger and sweeter.

I don't see you heating the curds after draining the mass. Ricki at New England Cheesemaking heats the curds in a microwave to bring them up to 135 degrees. However, I've always used hot water in a slow cooker as it is easier for me to handle, keeping the water temp around 150°F. I cheat and ladle the curds into a very fine cheesecloth "bag" (butter muslin) and immerse it in the hot water to heat through before stretching it. You do have to wear rubber gloves when handling the curds while stretching, and this would be essential for children. Some people develop "asbestos hands" and can handle it easily but I've never been able to do this. Read this entire page which answers most questions. I stir the milk briefly after adding the rennet then leave the curd to set about 10 - 15 minutes before putting it back on the heat to begin cutting the curd while bringing the heat up to 105°F.

I seldom use mirepoix for my stock but often use onions. As for celery, I don't use it all that often because I don't always have it on hand but I do grow lovage (it grows like a weed here) and use it as I like the flavor and I tie it in a bundle which is easy to retrieve from soup or stew.

I have a fairly extensive collection of salts. With some I don't notice a lot of difference but with others there is a distinct difference because of the other minerals the "natural" salt contains. These include the Fleur de Sel de Camargue, Velved de Guerande, French grey sea salt, Ile de Ré, Cyprus black sea salt flakes, the "Real salt" from Utah, the Peruvian pink salt and the Murray River pink salt flakes. The list of salts I have is here. Granted, I am sort of a "nut" when it comes to salt (and pepper) and while I haven't done a "blind" test with the salts dissolved in water, I have tasted various salts sprinkled on unsalted butter on plain bread and have been able to guess 8 out of 10. Not perfect, but I think I did pretty well. At age 73 my taste is not quite as sensitive as it once was but I do fairly well.