phaelon56

Thanks to the eagle eye of Rachel Perlow, who is always spotting good bargains on Amazon (use your eGullet link please!), I recently acquired a Bodum vacuum pot coffee maker. This is a totally manual operation that requires an external heat source to boil the water. Bodum, one of the leading manufacturers of vac pots, offers an electric version in two sizes as well. Many of you have likely seen an electric vac pot for sale at your local Starbucks as well. Vacuum pot coffee brewing has been around for a long time - since the 1840's. It's believed to have been developed in France (figures). I believe its real heyday was in the 1930's through the early 1950's. The introduction of the electric percolator (an insult to lovers of good coffee everywhere) appears to have hastened its retreat to semi-obscurity, just as the appearance of the original Mr. Coffee auto drip maker pushed the percolator into the dustbin of history. Vacuum brewing has made a well deserved comeback due to the relative ease of operation and the quality of the coffee it produces. There appears to be a bit of renewed interest in electric percolators as well but I'll hope that goes the way of the brief resurgences of disco music and bell bottom trousers - some styles should stay where they are. Popular brands include Hario, Cory and Bodum. The method of filtering ranges from cloth to glass rod to plastic mesh. Older vac pots are considered highly collectible and see great interest on Ebay. You may find one at a yard sale or thrift store - check carefully to ensure that any and all rubber gaskets are present and not cracked or deteriorated. In many cases replacement gaskets are available but it could drive up the cost of your "bargain". So, with $39.95 invested and a bit of Jamaican Blue Mountain taken from the freezer and thawed, I set out to put this gizmo through its paces (the coffee was a birthday gift from my parents - pre-roasted and fresh enough but I froze it right away for later use as most of my coffee consumption is in the form of espresso). I should add that I was shamed into doing this by Mayhaw Man, who diplomatically pointed out that, in another thread, I had promised to do this post haste and still hadn't delivered. I owe him for that great blog but I also just needed a kick in the pants to get started. Here's the gear filled up with water and ready to go - the vertical black cylinder supporting the upper pot on the right is just used to "park" the upper pot on the counter when necessary, due to the glass rod assembly that protrudes below the pot. On the stove and firing up. The very limited instructions advised that a separator ring was recommended for gas stoves to ensure safety of the glass pot but I've seen elsewhere that it's suggested only for electric stoves. I just put the darn thing right on the burner and kept the gas at medium. I used a bit more than one standard coffee scoop of grounds per 6 ounces of water and used a medium fine grind - about what you'd use for auto drip coffee or perhaps just a tad coarser. I may use a bit more coffee next time. The grind should be a bit finer than one uses for French Press but use your judgment - if using a blade grinder you may have to go coarser than I did to avoid coffee dust in your grind. The fine powder sometimes yielded by blade grinders could clog the filtering arrangement and impede the movement of the coffee. It is recommended that the top should not be added until the water is almost at the boil. I was unaware of this at the time and left the top on the entire time but it seems to have worked just fine anyway. In the next photo we see the water heading north. It has boiled and the vacuum pressure created in the lower pot has caused it to head up the glass filter tube and settle in the upper pot. It's a great concept - the water rises when it boils, passing through the coffee and settles in the upper pot at just below the boil - the ideal temp for brewing. A bit of water remains in the lower pot because the glass syphon tube does not contact the bottom - there's about 1/4" of clearance. The water remaining in the lower pot will mix later with the finished coffee. It's recommended to leave the grounds and water in contact with one another for one to three minutes - then remove from the heat. Some suggest breaking up the grounds that float on the surface when the water first appears in the upper pot, just to ensure that they're evenly dispersed but this is personal preference. The bubbling that is visible in the upper pot is the vapor that's emerging from the vacuum in the lower portion of the pot - it is NOT boiling! Recirculating boiling water through the coffee grounds repeatedly is how percolators do their nasty and reprehensible thing - yuck. I don't like percolator coffee.... can you tell? After being removed from the burner (Bodum provides a sort of plastic sleeve/trivet assembly that the pot can be placed in after removing from the heat), it's placed at room temp on the counter and the coffee quickly begins its trip south to the lower pot, leaving the grounds in the upper pot. This happened very rapidly with my first attempt - probably a sign that I didn't grind finely enough. Okay - now we have a pot of coffee - appears to be very full bodied like French Press coffee with lots of coffee oils included. The test is in the cup (my favorite coffee mug) After all this hoopla... how did it taste? Delicious. I tested it black before adding half 'n half and it was indeed a very smooth and full bodied cup of coffee. My reference point is having recently made this same coffee (JMB) with a Melitta manual drip filter cone. The vac pot coffee seems fuller bodied but doesn't quite have that sometimes overwhelming presence of oils and aromatics that is more typical of French Press coffee. This initial test has been promising. I drink French Press coffee on rare occasions and often find it to be just a bit much for my liking. The vac pot method appears to yield most of the advantages of press pot coffee but minus the sludge. I need to do more testing but the cup was extremely satisfying and it's a very cool process to watch. There are some fancy vac pot sets on the market (some Hario models among others) that use a spirits burner and may be placed on the dining table to brew the coffee and entertain your guests. It's a fascinating process and I can see the appeal although it's less convenient than some other methods. It's worth mentioning that cleanup was a cinch - I just rinsed the grounds down the drain and put the two parts of the assembly in a dish rack to dry. If you remain intrigued and wish to know more.... everything you ever wanted to know about vac pot coffee (and even stuff you probably don't care about) may be viewed at Coffeekid.com - personal web site of Coffeegeek founder Mark Prince He has some good tips and hints on buying used vac pot gear as well as a detailed discussion of the history of vacuum coffee brewing.

Obviously.... having fresh roasted whole bean coffee on hand is ALWAYS the preferred method and it should be ground just before brewing. If your circumstances or preferences dictate that you use the prepackaged bricks you're describing, I suggest freezing in small containers. Get some ziplocs and immediately after opening the vac packed ground coffee, separate it into one day / one pot portions in individual bags. Squeeze the air out of each, throw all together into one larger ziploc and then freeze. Only remove one bag at a time as needed. Roasted coffee deteriorates rapidly when exposed to air, even after being transferred from the original package to an "air-tight" container. If it's pre-ground the process is even faster. It's a natural oxidation process and can't be stopped but you can delay the effects with proper freezing. Opening the package from the freezer to remove small amounts from a larger container introduces moisture into the contents every time you open and re-close it - not good. By the way - always allow the small bags of ground coffee to come to room temp before opening.

Here's how to do it: make some medicore espresso with little to no crema foam milk that's too warm and preferably low fat - 1% or skim - generate lots of light foam by keeping the steam wand very close to the top the entire time pour in the milk tip the glass and pour the espresso in slowly spoon the foam on top Photograph and discard I need some cool skinny clear glasses to do this. Hmmmm.... one of our local restaurant supply places is liquidating their entire inventory (they've sold mostly to retail customers rather than the trade in recent years). They had some kick ass deals going on glassware - I'd best check it out and see if I can get a few interesting sets.

Appearances can be deceiving. Check out this cappuccino I had at Coffeelia's, a small cafe on the island of Cozumel Mexico. It has the exact layering you describe and they weren't going to great lengths to achieve it. Most of the places on the island that offer lattes or cappas use Parmalat milk at room temperature and don't know how to create microfoam (which requires good cold milk of a decent fat content. The result is milk that separates into liquid and dry foam - it then sinks rather than emulsifies with the espresso. The extra foam is added to the top by spooning it on. Of the many coffee drinks I've photographed and subsequently consumed, this was by far the best looking and worst tasting. An extra shot of espresso didn't help. I was there again recently and tried a mocha, thinking that the chocolate would help, but it made little difference. The good news is that the food is tasty - fresh squeezed OJ, great egg dishes, excellent Belgian style breakfast crepes and when you request hot sauce they bring a small bowl of habanero's dripping with homemade sauce. It is worth a visit. The latte shown in my current avatar was the absolute best that I had on the island - at Cafe Manati. I think this layering is worth exploring. Vanilla syrup will stay in a completely separate layer from espresso and might serve to separate it from another ingredient. I think it's time to develop an eGullet signature coffee drink. We can't let the boozehounds.... uhhh... I mean beverage aficionados over in the Fine Spirits and Cocktails Forum hog all the glory.

I'll look around and report back if I find it but this one went totally under the radar for me. From 1999 until this past summer I was only here in town a few times a month for work and was living elsewhere. We still have a Hmong population but most of the more recent Vietnamese influx has not been from the highlands. I assumne you mean the North side rather than North Syracuse? I know where a quonset hut junk place is - they sell video games and used DVD's etc. - it's on Hiawatha west of the Carousel mall. Since my initial post of 18 months ago in this thread... a few things have changed. Bangkok Thai in Liverpool on Rte 57 near John Glenn Blvd - my new favorite Thai place. Superior (IMHO) to the other ones in town and they offer a full range of "Thai Hot" in their entrees - this scale starts above "American Hot". Antonio's - was not wowed by my last meal there - the veal was tough. I've eaten at Illario's Tratoria on North State a few times and was very pleased with both the meals and the seervice. I have also tried Asti Caffe on North Salina a few times and although the people are ncie and service is good, I felt that the food didn't quite measure up to what Illario's offers. Food at Mai Lan Vietnamese has gone downhill, accompanied by a big price jump on everything except the Pho. I still treasure the family who owns this place - they're kind, warm and welcoming people. Just not thrilled with the food at this point. new Centruy on Kirpatrick has been very consistent and of special note is the fact that they upgraded to Trung Nguyen coffee for their iced coffee with condensed milk. It's a Viet import coffee and really rocks. I've tried a bunch more pizza places and still find nothing locally that is superior to Cosmo's on Marshall Street near the University - that is assuming that you like traditional NY style pizza. IMO they have the best sauce , good crust and are one of the few local places that still uses real whole milk mozzarella instead of that godawful cheese blend that now seems ubiquitous. My presently reduced budget ahd prevented a return visit to L'Adour or a visit to Kettle Lakes but both places are in my plans. I dined recently as the guest of a friend at Mirbeau Inn and Spa in Skaneatles. It was an exceptional meal and very soothing, genteel atmosphere - very pricey by local standards but worth it for a special occasion (i.e. tasting menu for two with two small sparkling waters, one cafe au lait plus tax and 20% tip - about $175).

I'm just procrastinating and have not had a good free morning to test it out in. I'm off from work today and hope to get to it this afternoon. I'll gladly discuss my failures in a public forum as readily as my successes (most of them, that is!). Our ongoing cold, dark and gray weather has been an impediment to doing anything much beyond heating up some leftovers and pulling espresso shots but today is looking like a good sunny day - it might even hit 50 degrees if we get lucky!

Please elaborate - enquiring minds want to know! I have a Polder countdown timer that I use as a rough guidelien when pulling espresso shots (although I often stop short or allow the pull to go past the pre-set time). The magnet is indeed totally useless. I also use it to time my roasts when roasting beans but I just use the timer on the stove for those other rare occasions when I need to time cooking processes. Then again.... I rarely cook much of anything that dictates precise times - most of my dishes are based on look, feel, touch and smell.

There are actually two threads - one dedicated to the topic Cold Brewed Coffee and one that was latched on to a French Press thread - scroll down on this one more Cold Brew coffee info

When did Texas co-opt what I've always known to be a Pork Carolina or a Carolina Pork Sandwich?

I often drink tonic with a small splash of Rose's Lime Juice as an apertif or happy hour drink when I'm out getting wild. Here's the curiouser and curiouser part.... in Belize, where I typically had it with fresh lime juice (Rose's was generally unavailable but excellent fresh lime juice was abundant).... the tonic was sometimes a pale pink color! The bartender advise that it happens from exposure to light. Any idea what is or was going on here? It tasted fine - less sweet and used real sugar instead of HFCS.

Easy. Invite Mayhaw Man for a visit and cook it in the yard.

All standard espresso machines from relatively cheap to fairly expensive generally pump at 15 bars. Higher end semi-auto machines buy you more thermal mass which translates into better retention of heat in the brewing head and also better temperature control - less variation in the brewing time and more consistent results. Higher end superautos do better than cheaper ones in these same areas but the Gaggia and the Saeco should be more or less comparable. On regular espresso machines the Gaggia's use two dissimilar metals for the upper and lower sectionsof the boiler - this leads to boiler corrosion after about ten years but their big selling point is super-fast warm-up time due to a unique boiler heating design (and a heavy duty commercial grade 58mm brass portafilter - most Saeco's use a 53mm aluminum assembly). Both companies are reputable and are, I believe, among the largest commercial producers of home espresso machines. Either should be fine for a superauto. The Saeco gets excellent feedback in the Coffeegeek Consumer Reviews - Saeco Magic Deluxe but the Gaggia has no reviews - it may be a newer or less widely distributed model but I think Saeco has also been in the consumer superauto business longer than the competition. By the way.... if you stumble on a hot deal or closeout at a Starbucks store on a superauto model - I believe they are selling re-badged Saeco's. I mention this because Starbucks has a stellar reputation for customer service after the sale on their machines. My friend had a Starbucks Athena model espresso machine on which the auto button stopped working, about one month short of the two month warranty expiring. They had discontinued the model and offered to repair it but also advised that he could receive a full refund or full credit toward purchase of another machine. That's what I call bend-over-backwards service.

I had my carnivorous buddy over for dinner last night - a vegetable would be pointless as he turns up his nose even at roasted cauliflower (not to mention that his idea of a salad is iceberg lettuce with Thousand islands dressing - that combo will never darken my door so we made do with meat and potatoes. De-boned chicken thighs (saving the bones for stock), dusted with a bit of sea salt, adobo and then doused very liberally in paprika. Cooked in a covered sauté pan at low heat for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Turned once, poured off most of the liquid, deglazed with white wine and then added a dash of turbindao sugar and Maille red cider vinegar before cooking down to make a sauce. Idea came from the Paprika, confessions of an addict thread (damn - sounds like my story minus the paprika ) It was decent but I need a better grade of paprika. Oven roasted some wedges of red potato that were tossed with a bit of olive oil that had been blended with seasoned salt, coarse black pepper, and chopped fresh rosemary and thyme leaves. I've only done these a few times but have discovered that sticking them under the broiler for a few minutes toward the end of the cooking time is the key to getting a nicely browned and almost crunchy surface. It must have been good enough - we both had seconds. Ben & Jerry's New York Super fudge Chunk for dessert.

No no no.... just give me coffee flavored bacon and I'll be happy. Leave the coffee alone!

This is correct - most Vietnamese restaurants in the uS actually use Cafe du Monde dark roast coffee - the New Orleans product that is a coffee and chicory blend. My favorite local Viet restaurant has switched over to a Vietnames import - more costly but it makes an iced Viet style coffee far superior to any other brand I've tried Trung Nguyen Coffee My favorite iced coffee drink is a home brewed variation of the Starbuck Frappuccino style drink. I make mine to have far less sugar content and lower fat (not to mention that it cost me 50 cents instead of $4.00!) Use a full bodied coffee such as a good French roast. Reduce by 50% the amount of water used to make the coffee. I sometimes also add a couple spoons of Ferrara's Instant Espresso powder while it's hot. Most important is to use small ice cubes and a good strong blender that is capable of finely crushing the ice. I suggest the Braun Powermax Blender It has a stronger motor than anything else in its class and in my experience actually does a better job at crushing than the Waring and other brands in the $100 - $150 range. Do not over blend - mixture will separate more rapidly after serving if you do so. Lately I've been experimenting with adding food grade carageenan as a binding agent to prevent separation - if doing this use a very small amount - about 1/4 teaspoon in a blender full of ice and mix. My attempts at using pectin for this purpose were disasterous. Using ice cubes made of espresso or strong coffee also adds a nice kick. 1 1/2 cups cold extra strong coffee simple syrup to taste 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract Stir to dissolve ingredients while hot Add cooled mixture to 1/2 cup milk with fat level of your choice before storing. Shake well before adding to blender. This recipe is intended for use with 3 cups of ice cubes.

It's a good deal for a mid-level superauto espresso machine. The lowest on-line espresso machine dealers prices I've seen or the Synchrony are in the $845 range with free shipping (and usually no sales tax). Gaggia makes good machines but there are inherent limitations in super-auto machines that are hard to overcome until you get up into the $2,000 range. Super-autos trade off shot quality for convenience. We use a cheaper model of Saeco in my office (was about $500 new and we bought a refurb for $325). It makes fabulous "regular" coffee or Cafe Crema if one dials in the machine to deliver about 5 - 10 ounces in the cup. It also makes a decent Americano - dial it all the way down to deliver an "espresso" shot and then add hot water. Our little machine does a crappy job of frothing so I never use it for milk drinks. The Synchrony probably froths as well as the semi-auto Gaggia that I used to own - with practice you can produce good foam and very passable milk based drinks. With adequate practice you could quite likely produce espresso comparable to that of the Synchrony by using a $100 De Longhi thermoblock pump style machine (like the one Fat Guy uses). Then again.... you'd need a separate grinder and there are the clean up issues. At work we just empty the used pucks of grounds from the waste bin once a day and I clean the innards of the machine out in the sink once a week. Our little machine has been cranking out 5 - 30 cups a day for nearly a year and never missed a beat. Most superauto's are great little gadgets for the money but even the Synchrony will not produce real, syrupy espresso with real crema and that perfect blend of mouthfeel and intensity. For the same price you can buy a Silvia espresso machine and a used or refurb Rocky grinder or its equivalent. You'll have the potential to make far better espresso but it's more work and more mess. You choose....

Different vein but appropriate for this thread.... do any of you strain and save your oil for reuse? Do you refrigerate it? Save specific oils for specific uses? (e.g. chicken frying oil just for chicken, fish oil for fish etc.). Once very week or so I fry up a green plantain for tostones (knwo to some as platanos). I save the oil and reuse it at room temp many times before discarding - as long is it looks and smells clean.

Darn; that's a job that I probably will never have. I think johnnyd wins hands down for having had the most interesting job of anyone who has ever posted on egullet! It even beats my job working as Mr. Peanut and the time I spent working on a tomato ranch (10,000 acres in total - 5,000 of them all growing tomatoes). You can't top diving for sea urchins.

No stories or recipes - just the menu. We ate dinner every Sunday in the home of my paternal grandparents. They were very poor but refused to accept any assistance from their children due to inherent pride and a long standing sense of independence. I can recall stopping into a neighborhood market on my way to school as a child , visiting my grandfather, who worked there as a butcher. He had returned to work at age 70 because they could no longer exist on their meager Social Security checks. Sunday dinner: Jello mold salad made with blackberry, raspberry or cherry gelatine Saltine crackers with sharp cheddar cheese Baked beans Boiled hot dogs White bread Nance's mustard Yellow pan cake with chocolate frosting Every single Sunday from as early as I can remember (age 3 or 4) until I left for college. No wonder I frequent eGulelt and constantly seek out new taste experiences

As a confirmed and unrepentant Brussel Sprouts hater I'm in no position to pass judgement.

An acquaintance of mine in Ithaca NY, who ran a restaurant when I was living there in the early 90's, routinely laughed about people who insisted that they were eating fresh fish when enjoying sushi and would never touch fish that had been frozen. It was his contention, based on his knowledge of NY State food service and agricultural law, that ALL fish to be consumed raw had to be frozen before being served - even if only for a brief spell and then quickly thawed. It was for the express reason stated in the article (killing parasites). Then there was the bistro where I waited table in the 80's. During my orientation they advised me to not be puzzled when I saw frozen Brussel sprouts being used to prepare the menu item listed as "sautéed fresh Brussel sprouts with walnuts". I was assured that these were "special" frozen sprouts available only to the trade - ones that were "flash frozen" in the field and just as good as fresh. In an act of what appeared to be sheer lunacy, they actually implied that these might be better than fresh sprouts. Where do I get me a home freezer that hits -76 degrees F? I want one of those.

Perhaps one of you kind folks has tried one of a few places that I saw mentioned i a recent Syracuse.com forum post. The person who mentioned these two places was heading for Donna's Diner on Rte 5 near Herkimer and ended up in Little Falls. First place of interest is the White Rose bakery - said to look like a scene straight from the 50's with some good breads and pastries offered. There was also mention of the Ann Street Deli - next to a marina (I think Little Falls is on the Mohawk River?). The deli was also praised and I found particular interest in the fact that it was also adjacent to two huge antique markets - literally warehouse sized. Have any of you been there? Sounds like a great destination for a road trip on a nice Spring or Summer weekend.....

Syracuse had a truly excellent Mexican restaurant for a brief spell back in the 80's: La Bamba. It was so successful that the owner moved it and expanded after less than a year at the original location. Soon after, before we could determine whether he was able to maintain food quality and service with the increased volume, he fell ill, sold the busienss and moved away. The new owners ruined it and tanked in less than a year. Some folks tell me that Garcia's in Cortland NY is "decent" mexican or tex-mex food and I might say the same about Jalapeno's in East Syracuse but "decent" is not great. I do happen to love the food at Alto Cinco on Westcott Street but it can hardly be defined as authentic Mexican - more like Mexican inspired. It is really good. I ate there a month or so ago and had an incredible mole sauce - just spectacular. Kettle Lakes, downtown's new spot "bc" and The Horned Dorset are all on my short list as well as a return visit to L'Adour but alas... the budget permits no dining out at the moment (apart from the occasional $10 Vietnamese or Spanish dinner).

Nice looking town and great pics. Gotta love the Crystal Hot sauce on the table with the lettuce - do you pour it straight on or make a dressing with it. I am so damn grateful that my blog preceded Mayhaw Man - this would be waaaay too much to live up to!

Purists will likely shudder at the thought but I've had good luck using a Heat Resistant Spatula You could use the non-heat resistant type if you're careful enough. I make omelettes so infrequently that I haven't mastered the "real" technique. I roll the pan while cooking and allow uncooked egg to slide off the surface and under the edges, lifting them slightly with the spatula to allow this to happen. I then use it to sort of flip the edges to make the folds. Usually works reasonably well.