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Fernwood

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Posts posted by Fernwood

    Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    On 2/18/2024 at 11:58 AM, Pete Fred said:

    Made a couple of batches of Swedish caramel cookies (kolakakor/kolasnittar) with slightly different ratios and methods.

     

    These are from Kantine in San Francisco (recipe)...

     

    I'm hitting a paywall for the SF Chronicle but David Lebovitz has a recipe 'adapted from Nichole Accettola' that calls for 200 g butter, 200 g sugar, 100 g corn syrup, 300 g flour, etc.  Are those the ratios you used?

    My adventures with pastries (and sometimes savoury stuff)

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    16 hours ago, PetarG said:

    Also - heard that baking soda is usually best used immediately, but after freezing for 2 days I had no issues, so don't know what's up with that (the cookies have baking soda).

     

    There are batters that depend on the reaction between baking soda and acid for leavening--this activity would not stand up well to freezing which would disrupt the delicate foam of CO2 bubbles from that reaction.  In typical chocolate chip cookie dough, I believe the main effect of the soda is to balance the acidity of brown sugar and promote browning.  This is about adjusting the pH, not leavening--not likely affected by freezing.

    • Like 1
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    Making Marmalade: Tips & Techniques

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Would love to try this myself but we don't see so many citrus varieties in our suburban Connecticut markets and I don't know about a source for Seville oranges.  Are they unusually delicate in storage?  I'm thinking my daughter might be able to find some in NYC and bring them to me around end-January or early-February.  

    Storing Chilies: Jalapeños, Serranos, and Others

    in Cooking

    Posted

    On 5/11/2023 at 11:35 AM, liuzhou said:

     

    That was what I had read. I've only used two of them so far and they were far from mild but also far from the hottest I've met. Experiments shall continue and I'll report back!

     

    In my experience (in New England, well-known chili destination 😉), they will be fairly consistent within a single purchase.  At times I stopped buying jalapeños from certain supermarkets because they were so bland.  I thought maybe they had been bred for "jalapeño poppers", usually found as a bar snack.  

    Leftover Hollandaise

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I have seen (elsewhere) a couple of claims that Hollandaise can be refrigerated and very gently reheated to an acceptable texture.  Is this real?  I am not interested in modernist additives but I do have a good immersion blender.  It would definitely make my Easter dinner prep easier if I could start the Hollandaise on Saturday.

    Heat Resistant Silicone Becomes Cloudy

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted · Edited by Fernwood
    Add info (log)

    Old topic but persistent problem.  I have been throwing out some older silicone spatulas because they come out of the sink or the automatic dishwasher clean, then develop a greasy surface film while they sit in the drawer for a few days.  I think it's mostly cheaper ones that get really icky.  Some brands--I can identify Mastrad specifically--seem to hold up better.  

    I can clean it off before use but I can't help thinking that something is absorbed into the material and then leaches out again and presumably this is also happening while the spatula is in contact with the food (ick).  

    I have been wondering for years whether everyone sees this or if it is promoted by something in my kitchen (water? cooking fats? detergent? karma?).  

    Anyway, I would love recommendations from people who have experienced this for brands that are more resistant.  I think the Mastrad items are very good quality but I would love a couple of smaller spatulas with thinner edges; the Mastrad ones are rather sturdy.  

     

    ETA I'm looking at a Di Oro set online but it's hard to tell anything about the edge profile.

    Gisslen Pumpkin Pie

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    I bake my pumpkin pies (at home) on the bottom rack on a preheated heavy aluminum griddle but it sounds as though that is not applicable to your conditions. 

    I agree that the dough may be moister than necessary.  My crust has the same fat % (I use butter) but only 28% water.

    Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Yet again I forgot to photograph the cookie platters for our holiday party, so I made a demo plate for (virtual) sharing.  We keep making the same assortment year after year because we can't agree to cut any of them.  

    Sugar cookies (vanilla + lemon); Ginger Spice; Pistachio Cranberry shortbread (+ orange); Coffee Snaps; Spritz (vanilla + almond); Golden Bars (brown sugar & pecans); Meringues (peppermint + mini chocolate chips).  My daughter made this batch of meringues so tiny that it's tempting to grab them by the handful.

    IMG_3257.thumb.JPG.445d0bb535d662b02dff90aa4e0d7975.JPG

    We will not discuss how many of these cookies made it back into the tins.

    • Like 5
    • Haha 2

    DARTO pans

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    4 hours ago, kayb said:

    Package contains, according to DHL, a "flying pan steal."

     

    I must have gotten six emails from DHL with that phrase and I giggled at every one.  (easily amused, I guess)

    • Haha 1

    O Cafe NYC

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Thanks, Paul.  I have read your underbelly posts about coffee and coffee ice cream with fascination and I will be interested to hear what you have to say about the coffee at O Cafe.  

    • Like 1

    Foraging for favorites

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Anna N said:

    Good plan. 

    "There are old mushroom hunters
    and there are bold mushroom hunters
    but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters."

     

     No idea who the credit for this. 

     

    I have heard the same saying with "electricians" for "mushroom hunters".  Both versions make sense to me. 

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

    O Cafe NYC

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Anyone familiar with this little joint in the Village?  I assume some Brazilian roots because of items like pao de queijo and brigadeiros on the menu.  I would love to know about the coffee in the latte my husband brought me--such a bright flavor, not at all like typical espresso of my experience.  At home in CT we have access to a pretty great local roaster with quite a range of coffees.  I wish I knew about the coffee in that O Cafe latte so I could try for something similar from Willoughby's.  

    DARTO pans

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Now that DHL has made contact they have become my most constant correspondent.  I think today's second email was to notify me that my package has cleared customs in Miami.  I particularly enjoyed this line:  "Description: FLYING PAN STEAL"  😉

    DARTO pans

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    On 10/13/2018 at 11:48 AM, Jacksoup said:

    Another DHL e-mail says my shipment will arrive on Tuesday.  Glad I’m working at home that day.  About sending out the orders alphabetically, my last name starts wth G.  So, maybe?

     

    On 10/13/2018 at 2:01 PM, HungryChris said:

    Mine is supposed to arrive on Tuesday as well and I am quite a bit farther down the alphabet at S.

    HC

     

    Any joy?  Email today from DHL says mine is scheduled for delivery next Monday.

    Papaya - Ripe? Unripe? Help needed.

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by Fernwood
    Acknowledgement of edibility of green papaya (log)

    16 minutes ago, KennethT said:

    Oddly enough, my wife REALLY dislikes ripe papaya - she says that the smell reminds her of vomit, slightly, and finds it just completely off-putting.  

     

    I feel the same way and I have wondered if it's one of those things where there's a genetic variability in being able to smell a particular aroma compound, or at least in how intensely it's perceived.  Papaya never did anything to hurt me but I couldn't stand it as a kid, found it rather nauseating.  It wasn't something I was routinely exposed to growing up in New York but we went to the Bahamas once when I was around 11 years old.  Every morning at breakfast I would say No papaya, please--I'll just have the second course (no memory of what came after the fruit) and every morning they served me the papaya anyway and I had to sit there and smell it until it was removed.  Ick!  

    Green papaya is fine in SE Asian food but I guess those Bahamian ones were nice and ripe....

    • Like 2

    Unexpected Food Gifts

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

    Another unexpected gift. For no apparent reason someone I only slightly know decided to bring me a mango. Not any old mango, but this monster. I have pictured it beside a regular sized chicken's egg and beside three regular mangoes to give you an idea of scale.

     

    mg2.thumb.jpg.15afc6483157074c255b292b6ae2be47.jpg

     

    It looks like a piece of art glass!  All the mangoes in my market are either plain yellow or a standard red-green combo color scheme.  I have never seen such a showy one. ❤️

    • Like 3
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