Mallet

I think the fact that we're fishing our way down the food web is symptomatic of the problem, and no cause for rejoice. It's a classic ecology problem: first to go are the top predators (shark, tuna etc..), then the formerly "trash" fish they fed on (who enjoy a temporary and artificial increase in abundance, because we wiped out all the predators), and so on ...

If this were true, then shouldn't it be impossible to fish a species to extinction, or near-extinction? The collapse of the cod stocks (which were never expensive) dramatically shows otherwise. The simple fact is that for many/most species we can fish with such efficiency that a stock will collapse before it is no longer worth it economically to continue fishing. This strikes me as a very dangerous way of thinking. Dr. Worm and his collaborators (including Ransom Myers, who recently published a similar story on the abundance of marine predators) are well-respected in their fields and have published many articles on this topic. While controversial, the predictions are based on hard data and cutting-edge modelling techniques.

I think the results of the article taste-test are pretty much in line with my own impressions to date (although I haven't some of the cuts sampled in the article, like the Niman Ranch and Wagyu). I have even come to find that well-marbled grain-fed beef can verge on tasting greasy. Having said that, I wouldn't mind if I could find grass-fed beef which was a bit older before slaughter because I think what I get now could use a little more fat.

If the graham cracker crumb crust is well chilled (maybe even frozen?), it would probably hold up better to spreading as well.

Every spirit is an aphrodisiac in sufficent quantity

Now, it's not just the science geek in me that's fascinated by this stuff. The fact that the culprit of these contamination outbreaks is a rare but deadly mutation of a beneficial bacterium (while some sources merely call E. coli harmless, other reputable sources point out that its normal form aids significantly in digestion) means that we can't just go wiping out all sources of E. coli in the environment without negative consequences. And managing the food chain so that only the nasty O157:H7 (and a couple other deadly mutations) get wiped is a significantly more challenging task. And it doesn't even start to address the possibility of other such mutations arising. They're bacteria, after all--they reproduce fast and mutate fairly easily. ← Cool story. The clincher, though, was presented in The Omnivore's Dilemma (feels like I'm quoting this book a lot lately .... ). Apparently this particular E. coli strain is also relatively acidophilic, which is what allows it to survive in our acidic stomachs. Normally, a cow's stomach would be relatively neutral owing to its grass diet, providing an inhospitable environment for E. coli O157:H7. Cattle primarily fed grain (mostly corn), however, possess a much lower stomach pH and, in addition to being detrimental to the cow's digestion, this greatly increases the potential for infection in humans. While the basic biology is ultra-fascinating (it better be, or else I should change programs ), we can't forget its interaction with policy and agricultural practice.

Looks great! It looks like there is a fair amount of size variance in the case though...

For my first Thanksgiving away from home, I made a pretty "traditional" dinner. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures Starter: Leek and Potato Soup Main + sides: -Pre-salted Roast Turkey (12 lbs) -Bread stuffing -Mashed Irish Cobbler potatoes -Turnip and béchamel gratin -Roasted beet salad (Bouchon) -Salad of mixed greens -Gravy -Cranberry sauce -wine (and lots of it!) Desserts: -Pumpkin chiffon pie with gingersnap nut crumb crust (Pie and Pastry Bible) -Cranberry chiffon pie with chocolate wafer crust (Pie and Pastry Bible) PS: what kind of oysters are those?

I made the roasted beet salad as a side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. It was really nice and super-easy.

And from today's Science issue: Infectious Prions in the Saliva and Blood of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease Candace K. Mathiason et al.

I have a soft spot for Propeller Porter

too....many.....choices......

It seems like the pre-salted chop kept its shape a lot better as well.

I checked out the recipe from Cook's Illustrated, they would have me wrap the turkey in plastic wrap over the entire pre-salting period! It seems to me that defeats much of the purpose. I'll go with 48 hours salt time (start Saturday night). Icing down the breasts seems like a pretty good idea, I may do that as well. edit: another question: do you get the salt to stick after it's been dried? When I was trying to S&P my chicken the seasonings just bounced off harmlessly. I hesitate to rub oil on it beforehand, fearing that this may interfere with crispiness.

I'm cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving (oddly enough, I've never had one...) and was definitely thinking that pre-salting is the way to go. I'm picking it up on Friday morning, but am only cooking it Monday night. When should I start pre-salting?

I'm pretty sure you dip-n-sweep unless specified otherwise.

You mean like THIS?

For sure, the risks associated with trans-fats must be agreed on in order to make a decision. I disagree with your interpretation of the FDA quote, however. Here's the full quote I take this to mean that eliminating trans-fats completely would require cutting many essential foods, and that's what would be causing the potential health risks. The trans-fats themselves are not beneficial.

Where did you get this from? The FAQ you linked certainly made no such claim.

I find it hard to get worked up about the "slippery-slope" argument (it tends to take emphasis away from the particular case and it's hard to avoid sounding hysterical, no matter how justified). The proposed law is ridiculous enough on it's own (de)merits.

I'm not sure that the evidence supports the claim that trans-fats are no worse than sugar, saturated fats, or that eliminating trans-fats will have negligible benefits. A few studies I quickly pulled off Pubmed 1 2 The problem with the butter/margarine thing is that you are replacing trans fat with satured fat. In most cases (e.g: vegetable oil), what is likely to happen is trans-fat being replaced with unsaturated fat, and the evidence for this being beneficial seems pretty much unequivocal. Note also that study 1 claims that the bulk of trans-fats in human breast milk comes from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, and not dairy products. I'm not sure how to respond to the slippery slope argument. IMHO, in this case I have a hard time seeing the negative. Edited to add that false certainty is certainly a bad thing, but that shouldn't stop us from making the most sensible decisions based on the evidence at hand, keeping in mind the pros and cons.

I almost hate to say it, but this doesn't sound so bad. First, only artificial trans-fats are to be regulated. Second, this step was taken after an usuccessful attempt at education/voluntary reduction. Maybe this will push NYC McDonald's to fry it's fries in beef tallow once more

I really like The Bread Bible. Here's a very basic recipe (not from the bread bible) using active dry yeast. Ingredients: 1/2 cup warm water (70-90 F) 1 envelope yeast 1 tablespoons sugar 6 cups flour 2.5 tsp salt 2 cups warm water 1 tbsp lard (optional) 1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water with the sugar. Let sit 10min. Sift flour in large bowl and mix in the salt, make a well in the flour and add the 2 cups water and the lard. Stir until the lard softens/melts. Add the yeast/water mixture and gradually mix in the flour, until the dough comes together. Knead dough ~10min on a floured surface, adding as little flour as possible to keep it from sticking Put dough in a lightly greased bowl, lightly grease/oil the top and let double in volume (about 1-1.5 hours) 2. Punch dough and divide into 2 pieces. Knead for a minute or so, and form into a bread (shape: your choice), cover with a damp towel or oiled plastic wrap and let double (again, about an hour) 3. Bake in 375F oven, about 1 hour. If you want, you can do any of the rises overnight. For example after you mix the dough and cover it, you can stick it in the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for an hour before proceeding or baking.

I suppose carrots would be too obvious?

I recently did a pre-salted roast chicken (Keller's simple roast chicken) and a pork shoulder chop (3/4-1 in). Both turned out great (the pork was so good, I was hungrier after eating it than before ), I was worried that the relatively thin chop would dry out during the process but it was not so!