mkayahara

Does maltodextrin give the same viscosity effect as gum arabic? How much do you use? No, but I'm about to start playing with saba in the near future, so I'll give it a try!

But the question on everyone's mind is this: how does your homemade damson gin compare?

Today, I came across this article on an impending shortage of rye in the US. Money quote: Is this going to have any impact on the production of rye whiskey?

I think "a bit of work" is understating it a bit. Nonetheless, there's a good tutorial for making your own tofu here. It's in 3 parts, so make sure you follow the links at the bottom of the post to parts 2 and 3.

I noticed that the other day! But I didn't know how to interpret it. What does it mean?

I've seen a couple of writers mention this recently, notably Michael Ruhlman in at least a couple of his books and Bill Buford in Heat. I frequently use sound as a measure of whether my pan is too cold or too hot: if that sizzle ain't there, the pan wasn't ready yet. (Of course, by that point, there isn't always a lot you can do about it.)

I dunno, I think Bogie would appreciate the way it captures the Zeitgeist...

Short answer: No.Also, the word you're looking for is "Torontonians". I'm guessing not, since they seem to grow pretty much everything in California, but Ontario's whites are generally quite good. I strongly recommend most things, but especially the Rieslings, from Cave Spring and Vineland Estates wineries. And the associated restaurants are also not to be missed. (If you can only do one, do Vineland.)For reds, Ontario seems to have a reputation for Cab Franc, but I've found it to be pretty hit-and-miss. You should definitely consider visiting the St. Lawrence Market!

I haven't tried it, but it reminds me of the technique for making a granita. I think the problem would be that you're separating the freezing and aerating steps, which will tend to promote the formation of larger ice crystals. Then again, you may be able to bust up the larger ice crystals with the force of the blender... Try it out and let us know!

Yes, I was using a mini food processor (about 2-cup capacity). I started off with a 60/40 ratio, but it just formed a paste, so I started adding more maltodextrin. At first I measured it out, but I had to keep adding more and more, and it was still clumping. I ended up adding so much that the final product was noticeably sweet.

Yeah, but I ordered a drink, not a drink and a snack. I don't think it's especially productive to attribute any one approach to "East Coast" and "West Coast" camps, but I think the urge to categorize cocktails into "farmer's market" and what chrisamirault refers to as "minimalist" above is irresistible and not without merit. But I also think there's a case to be made for putting Mojitos into the farmer's market camp, and I'm sure there are cases that could fit into both or neither. Pigeonholes are rarely neat and clean, but that never stops anyone from building them.

Does anyone know how hygroscopic tapioca maltodextrin is? I was trying to make some olive oil powder the other day, which I figured would be easy, since it's pure oil. But the results were fairly gummy, and when I tried to pass it through a tamis, it collected on the underside and clumped again when I scraped it off. My supply of maltodextrin is pretty old (~1 year). I assume it's shelf-stable, but was wondering if it might have absorbed moisture from the air. Thanks!

I tried out the vermouth sorbet on Saturday: I took a half cup of 1:1 simple syrup and topped it off with M&R Bianco vermouth to reach 1.5 cups. Churned that and put it in the freezer to harden. It was really, really wet coming out of the ice cream maker, and better, but still too soft, after a few hours in the deep freeze. I forgot about it until tonight, when I checked on it again. It's still pretty soft, but firmer than it was on Saturday evening. The flavour is strong enough, but a touch too sweet. I don't know where to go from here, since it looks like I need to lower the alcohol level still further to get it to freeze up harder. I can't add more syrup, because that will bring the sweetness over the top (and the sugar might also be contributing to the softness). I guess I could just add more water and hope it doesn't dilute the flavour too far! At least the first batch, while not perfect, is edible.

Great blog, Chris! Many thanks for sharing. I'm about to move into a new house, and I think I'm going to have to get smoker setup like yours.

I've never encountered it so named before, but my guess would be that it's self-rising flour, which contains baking powder.

So what I think I'm hearing is that I might be able to lower the alcohol and raise the sugar level using some simple syrup. I'm a little worried that, by the time I get the alcohol level right, the vermouth flavour will be diluted, but there's only one way to find out! Barring that, I may just do a mixed citrus/vermouth sorbet...

Has anyone tried doing a straight vermouth sorbet? I was thinking I could just freeze sweet vermouth and have the sugar levels be right, but it seems that the alcohol level is too high for it to freeze solid. Any pointers?

I think this might be the post you're looking for, handmc.

I doubt that 2.5 hours is that much too long for a 3-pound chuck roast. If it was too dry, I would think the culprit is more likely the temperature: 300F may be too high, depending on the conditions. Did you check it periodically to make sure it was keeping a gentle simmer and not boiling violently? When you make it again, maybe try knocking the temperature down to 275F or even 250F, whatever it takes to keep it at a simmer, but not a full boil.

Thanks to all for your replies so far. This will only be my second time in the Bay Area, so I'm a little fuzzy on geography. We won't have a car, but I'll look into your recommendations and see what's workable. In terms of what I'm looking for from liquor stores, I'm mostly thinking of American whiskey (Bourbon and rye), since it's ridiculously overpriced here in Ontario.

Wray & Nephew White Overproof?

Definitely looking forward to following along, Chris! One question: is that a really big eGullet mug, or a really small Bodum?

I'll be visiting San Francisco the first full week of May. Am I safe assuming Bourbon and Branch and Alembic are still two must-visits? Any others I can't miss? I'd also appreciate any information on liquor stores to hit, if that won't take the thread too far off course. Thanks!

Jamie Boudreau just posted an interesting recipe for Martini Sorbet on his blog, spiritsandcocktails.com. He uses xanthan gum and agar for texture. As "molecular mixology" ingredients go, these two are relatively easy to come by, since xanthan gum is common in gluten-free recipes and agar can be found at most any Asian grocery.

Just for kicks, I whipped up a batch of that marshmallow cream tonight, but now I have a question: how do I store it? Room temp or in the fridge? Going through the process, it looks like all you're doing is introducing air into a sugar-water mix and stabilizing it with the methylcellulose and xanthan gum. So in principle, I don't see any reason you couldn't introduce the air using an iSi whipper instead of a whisk, but I'm not sure how that would work in practice. It sure is pillowy-soft and tasty, anyway. Edit: typo.