Lisa Shock

I have these two, I live near the store. The small one makes about a pint, the larger one holds 2.2 liters. Sometimes, you just want a couple of small servings for dinner, sometimes you want to make a larger batch to serve a group.

Depending on the brand, cocoa powder can contain quite a bit of fat -Moreso than most spices. It's ground finer than most spice, so the texture is finer. I'd just sub cake flour for all but about 1 oz and make that ½oz spices plus ½oz oil. IMO, 8% spice would be practically inedible and possibly dangerous, depending on the spice. The oil in cloves can burn the skin if it's in high enough concentration. A roommate of mine, years ago, burned herself by putting a bunch of it in a bath. Cinnamon would also be potentially painful, and large amounts of nutmeg, while not as hallucinogenic as rumored, can also be toxic.

What country are you based in? Do you recall the brand? It seems like a very odd thing, as neither dairy products nor oils are usually in sorbet. (at least with the American definition) It's generally fruit puree, simple syrup and possibly an acid, and possibly stabilizers. My basic formula is a quart of fruit puree, a quart of simple syrup, and 2oz lemon juice. Check the brix and add more lemon or syrup to get to 26Bx, and spin. Lime juice may be substituted.

Just tried, and got an error saying that you cannot receive messages. Could you check your settings? Also, how much heat can the wax stand? It's already over 100 here, you might want to put an ice pack in the package.

If you're willing to ship to the US, I will make pretzels. Tri2Cook is spot-on about pretzel rolls, I always see them in bags at Costco, the salt having melted away, looking sad.... Also, my plan with ice cream was to stir the crystals in while removing the soft ice cream from the machine, prior to hardening. -Like I do with other swirls and add-ins.

Do you have a probe thermometer? With the chicken just go low and slow, and remember about carryover cooking, pull it when it's about 5 degrees lower than your target temp. You'll do great! Do you have a Restaurant Depot anyplace within driving distance? The two in Phoenix carry halal whole goat and halal whole lamb.

They are pretty easy to make at home, one type uses bread dough, the other: cake batter. Yes, it's fussy and extravagant in terms of using lots of oil, but, mmmmm. It's also a good way to impress guests brunching at your place.

Yes, there are several brands. Be careful, each brand has a 'fine' version, which we don't want. Morton's Coarse A sea salt or some pink salt would ok as well, as long as it isn't too large. I am thinking crystals like you get on a soft pretzel. I have some sea salt that is so big I can only put it into liquids, I think people would break a tooth on it. The size of the sugar crystals would be a good guide. (the sugar crystals are really common, Micheal's has them) -And, thank you! Who knows, you might be able to start a small business selling this, if it works. I am sure there are other applications that I haven't thought of. (Tri2Cook is 100% correct about pretzel rolls/buns.)

I have never seen any, I was just wanting some. I like using the sugar crystals, and thought someone must have made salt like the sugar at some point. I want to put them in ice cream, so I can make a really contrast-y salted caramel flavor. Maybe some other baked goods as well. You up for an experiment? I think the large crystal kosher salt would do it.

Welcome Dario! I look forward to seeing your projects.

I should point out that on the day I left the East coast and drove West, my mom gave me some dead ripe black raspberries from the garden. Many raspberries like 8 quarts. We could only eat so many, and space was limited, and I had just a handful about to spoil left so, I grabbed a vodka bottle I had stashed away and put the black raspberries in it and sealed the bottle. I decided to taste the vodka about a month later. It was amazing. I wish I could always have a bottle of it on hand. (can't get black raspberries here in AZ, and the blackberries we get are weak)

Pectin is activated by sugar, so reducing sugar is not recommended. That said, a 'mistake' could become your syrup... Don't forget that this is also an opportunity to make some things for holiday gift baskets to be given later in the year. Even if it's just more jam, you probably have friends or relatives who would appreciate a gift of a jar. BTW, you can make an easy liqueur by infusing the berries in high proof grain alcohol like Everclear, for a couple weeks, then mix it in equal amounts with simple syrup. (high alcohol content keeps it from going bad) Raspberry liqueur has many cocktail applications, like the Clover Club. It would also make a good gift.

I am looking to see if anyone sells fancy waxed salt crystals. I have never seen such a product, but, I am imagining it to be like the big fancy waxed sugar crystals used to decorate baked goods. The wax keeps the sugar from melting into the product, so, if you sprinkle them on top of muffin batter which has already been portioned in a tin and is ready to go into the oven, you get glittery, crunchy tops instead of the lightly sweet glaze that plain sugar would give. So, does anyone know of a manufacturer of waxed salt crystals? If not, would one of you with panning equipment be willing to make me some waxed large size kosher salt?

Actually, I have been thinking of running an experiment to track my oven's temp during cooldown. I often roast one thing at high heat, or make pizza, then stick in something else to roast with the residual heat, like heads of garlic or vegetables that might be getting a little iffy. (if I cook 'em, they'll last another 5 days or so) Anyway, I am always looking to get more out of that cooling oven, and I think there's a good chance that I can get to at least stage 1, maybe stage 2.

Oh yeah, a jar of this stuff would be great as part of a gift basket. Gotta remember this for the holidays!

I think people need to try it at lower temps. You can sacrifice a cup of sugar at a fairly low cost... As for ice cream, yes, you can use it, and I am sure it will taste delightful. That said, an ice cream would actually benefit from traditional caramel sugar (sugar and water) cooked on the stovetop. Some of the sugar inverts in this process and helps create a smooth texture. You can also make stovetop caramel in about 15 minutes, and this takes a lot longer -unless you produce it in bulk and store it carefully sealed. But, that all said, most ice cream is just made with granulated sugar and comes out just fine. So, use whatever is most convenient.

I think it will be great with farine torréfiée, as well.

Over at Serious Eats, Stella Parks has developed a method for roasting granulated sugar so that it caramelizes but remains granulated. (doesn't invert) This looks like a great way to boost flavor in many baked goods where traditional caramel sugar would not be appropriate or convenient. It looks like someone could make a lot of this stuff and store it. (Mods: I recall someone asking about granulated caramel sugar a couple of years ago. I recall replying that I had only seen little packets of it that came in in a European instant creme brulee boxed mix I saw demonstrated at a food show. Feel free to add this onto that thread, if it seems appropriate. I could not find it.)

Also, you don't need to go 100% on the oil. I recall being in a class taught by someone who runs a famous NYC bakery, and he replaces the butter/shortening with about 10% oil in many items just to improve shelf life.

It was also VERY common for kids in HS shop class in the first half of the 20th century to cast aluminum copies of old cast iron pans. You can find almost every Wagner and Griswold pan out there re-cast in aluminum.

If it's black, it could be very dangerous. Some of the white types aren't so bad. You have, however, two things to consider: there can be tiny 'roots' extending further, on a microscopic level, than the naked eye can see, and, people over the age of 60 have declining immune systems. Foods that a 20 year old can eat and maybe just have minor indigestion can cause a seriously debilitating bout of illness in a senior -and in a child under the age of 6, pregnant women, people undergoing chemotherapy, people sick with something else, people with organ transplants taking immuno-supressing drugs, and anyone with a compromised immune system. If it's just you, and you like taking risks, that's up to you. But think long and hard about who else you're serving it to.

I threw salt into the water, then the chicken. I let it get to 165 and then just kept it there for about ten minutes, turned it off, pulled out the chicken about 10 minutes later and chilled the meat in a container and the broth in the pan. I wasn't really trying to be precise, I was just trying to get it done quickly. I probably could have done better if I had paid more attention to it. I was doing a couple of other things at the same time.

I found these but, the 7" diameter might be too much. That said, they could be cut in half after cooking, so, you'd have half circles.

Here's an interesting photo. I was given some boneless, skinless thighs and asked to make chicken salad. The catch was, there weren't many (5) and I needed to serve 7 people. I usually add vegetables to the chicken salad, but this group was the picky senior citizens I cater for sometimes, and they nixed celery and all nuts. (they make me sad sometimes) Anyway, normally, I'd roast the thighs to concentrate flavor, but, I chose to poach to retain the volume and to make sure the meat remained tender -just filtered water and salt. I had a busy day, so, I pulled the thighs out when done and placed them in their own container to cool. I stuck my pot in the fridge to cool down. A few hour later, when I went to put the stock into a smaller container to freeze, I found a remarkable art deco suprprise:

Yeah, culturing yeast isn't easy, especially if you don't have access to a sterile room and sterile equipment. When I made it, I had access to a lab, lab equipment and an autoclave. Even so, there are many hidden variables and I admit that I got very lucky in having a good outcome. Modern dry yeasts (instant and active dry) are really a lot more reliable, consistent, and keep longer than fresh commercial cakes of yeast. Bakeries used to have all sorts of issues with culturing fresh cake yeast, which was the only type available for over a century. (before that, we just had sours and their vagaries) It would lose potency, get infected with spoilage bacteria and mold, take on unwanted yeast strains, and generally be unreliable. It was more reliable than sours, so people kept using it, but, it had issues. Then the dry yeasts were developed, and solved all of those issues and had the added bonus of taking up much less space than fresh. It could also be stored for years instead of days. This is one modern type of processed food that is really good at what it does, and vastly superior to commercial yeast of the past. And, it makes exactly the same types of loaves as cake yeast. (-If modern commercial style bread is what you are looking to make. Once again, traditional soured breads have more bioavailable nutrients even when made from the exact same flours as a yeast-raised bread.) Today, if a bakery is the sort to use yeast, generally instant is preferred.