StevenC

The higher-quality versions do show much better acidity. In particular, the Recioto versions have good acidity, which is vital in a sweet wine. As a general matter, though, many of the versions I've tasted, particularly in Italy, have relatively low acidity. It's not necessarily a defect--as I mentioned, it seems to go well with eggs, which can otherwise be a tough pairing.

I didn't notice metal filter assemblies. If I recall, the coffee came either from espresso machines or French presses. The coffee I brought home was ground, and I made it in a French press. I never noticed a chocolate flavor to the coffee in Thailand, so perhaps it's a Cambodian thing.

Soave tends to lack acidity, which is why Italians often pair the wine with egg dishes. (Eggs have a much higher pH than most foods.)

During a two-week trip around Cambodia, I noticed that the coffee always seemed to have a pronounced chocolate flavor. I visited a number of places--Phnom Penh, Kampot, Battambang, Siem Reap--but the chocolate flavor was always there. (I tended to avoid adding sweetened condensed milk, although it actually complemented the flavor of the coffee quite well.) I bought a bamboo container of coffee at the Phnom Penh airport on my way home; when I brewed some a few days later in New York, sure enough, the chocolate flavor was right there. Has anyone else found the same thing? Is it a characteristic of the bean variety, or has something been added to the coffee? I believe there was an article on Cambodian coffee in Gastronomica some time ago, but I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy.

I find that many examples of the 2000 vintage of Chianti Classico are still too young to drink. Hence, the tannins. Moreover, if you were looking for a wine to sip after dinner, without food, a Chianti Classico was definitely the wrong way to go. I'm surprised the store suggested it. Chianti Classico, more than many wines, begs for food. If you had tried the same bottle with a thick steak, your impression of the wine would have been quite different. Another post suggested Terrabianca's Campaccio. I agree. The wine, popular in the United States but difficult to find in Italy, has a richer, more rounded profile. (Frankly, I think Terrabianca's Chianti Classico is more interesting, but Campaccio is still a very good wine.)

They're probably only tartrates. Crunchy, but harmless. Wines from colder northern regions, such as Austria and Germany, tend to have higher levels of tartaric acid, and it can be more difficult to precipitate everything out before bottling.

Hm. Just off the top of my head, it could be mercaptans. Did aeration have any effect?

Are you ready to try making them yourself? Do you need a dough recipe? ←

I just got back from a pierogi-eating adventure across Poland. In general, the dough was always thicker and, well, more doughy than the kind used for classic Italian stuffed pasta, in which the gluten needs to be developed. In fact, I didn't really sense much gluten at all in the pierogi dough, which suggests it may have been made in part with potatoes. The following were among the better examples I tried: - stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms and topped with cubes of fried bacon - stuffed with beef tripe - stuffed with wild mushrooms - stuffed with peppery mashed potatoes and then pan-fried until crispy and brown (the result reminded me a bit of pan-fried Peking dumplings, except, of course, for the potato filling) - stuffed with fresh wild berries and drenched in sour cream

Hi Carpe, In running a few Internet searches, I noticed that the correct title may be "Cozinha Indo-Portuguesa: Receitas da bisavó" (great-grandmother instead of grandmother?). I collect international cookbooks. I usually start a search by going to Amazon and Bookfinder.com, but I don't think these sites will be useful in finding a Portuguese book from 1998. I did find what seems to be an available copy on the Brazilian site Livraria Curitiba. Here is the URL I got when I searched for the book: http://www.livrariacuritiba.com.br/?system...704488&eid=GACI I've never used them, and I can't really tell from the website whether they ship internationally (Portuguese isn't my strongest language). I didn't have any luck with www.fnac.pt, but try them again anyway. Since the book was published in 1998, it's most likely out of print and available only through used-book networks. Depending on good your Portuguese is, your best bet may be to correspond with booksellers in Portugal, who may be able to order the book for you. Alternatively, get in touch with the following cookbook stores, who may be able to find the book: Kitchen Arts & Letters 1435 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10128 Tel: (212) 876-5550 Books for Cooks 4 Blenheim Crescent London W11 1NN Tel: 44-0171-221-1992/8102 Fax: 44-0171-221-1517 Librairie Gourmande 4, rue Dante 75005 Paris, France Tel: 33-43-54-37-27 Fax: 33-43-54-31-16 The following site contains a list of other cookbook stores: http://www.bpe.com/food/chefs-corner/cookbook_stores.htm Let me know if you're able to find the book. The title sounds very intriguing. Good luck!

Spread some strawberry jam on a warm brioche and then pour yourself a Muscat-based sparkling wine... the combination hits a pleasure center in the brain that morning coffee can't approach. I agree, though, that there are many foods that go better with other drinks. For example, I prefer to drink beer with a lot of spicier Indian or Mexican dishes, and despite my best efforts with various Rieslings, I find wine with Chinese food to be a stretch. Even caviar, which has a traditional wine pairing, works better with something else. I think the saltiness of the fish eggs needs to be counterbalanced by sweetness in a wine, which is probably why caviar and Champagne arose as a classic combination--a century ago the average bottle of Champagne was sweeter than it is today. Unfortunately, I find that a sweet wine can easily overwhelm caviar (on the rare occasions I get to eat it). I think a much better pairing is chilled vodka, which gets a phantom sweetness from its high alcohol content.

Because food tastes better with wine, and wine tastes better with food.

I've heard from people in the Italian wine industry that much the same phenomenon has been happening to Vinitaly in Verona...

I've been living in Florence for about nine months now, and during that time and over many previous trips to Italy I've developed quite a liking for horse meat. It is very easy to find horse meat in the Veneto, especially in Verona, where I once put together an all-horse meal for myself from an à la carte menu. (Shredded dried horse meat over rocket with olive oil, black pepper and pecorino as an antipasto; gnocchi in horse ragù as a primo; and a grilled horse filet with roasted potatoes for a secondo... Sorry, no horse dessert). I've also seen horse, pony and donkey in the markets and on menus in Piemonte, Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia. I buy horse meat every so often here in Florence, although it seems not to be as common in Tuscany as it is north of the Apennines. I find the meat has a richer, somewhat sweeter flavor than beef. Depending on whether the horse was wild or farm-raised, the meat can also have a delicious gamey edge. Pony and donkey have slightly different tastes and textures. I had a tagliata di puledro (pony) last month in Vicenza that reminded me of veal. A couple of years ago I ordered a stracotto d'asino (donkey stew) in Mantova. The aromas were luscious, but I found the meat a little dry.

I collect cookbooks from all over the world, but I haven't found much information about Libyan food, let alone a European-language cookbook. (I'm working on Arabic, though!) As far as the Internet, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/d...hneiwa/food.htm has an extensive collection of Libyan recipes. There is also a short page about food on www.libyana.org Good luck, and let us know all about the food you find!

I'm currently in a sommelier program in Italy, and I would like to get a wine certification recognized in the English-speaking world. Two came to mind: the diploma offered by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and its various overseas representatives, and the Certified Wine Professional exam offered by the Culinary Institute of America. Can anyone give me some insight into the relative prestige of these two certifications and how they're viewed in the wine industry? Any recommendations? The advantage of the CWP exam is that I could (I believe) take the exam on its own without having to take the entire program. On the other hand, I realize that the WSET diploma is the preferred entry route for the Masters of Wine exam... years and years away, in any case. Thanks in advance!!