gfron1

A Cloaca By Any Other Name Each week during the summer I race over to my farmer’s market to snatch the freshest eggs available. There are a number of people selling them, but two vendors consistently have what I want – fresh, cage-free, grain-fed eggs. One vendor from in town calls herself the Egg Lady. Because of that bold claim I usually go to the other vendor. The other vendor lives up in the mountains in Pinos Altos. I also try to support her because earlier in the summer she lost a quarter of her flock to a black bear. However, both are raising their chicks the way I prefer and both have decent prices - $3/dz Large. The Egg Lady only carries chicken, but PA Eggs also carries duck and sometimes guinea fowl (My spouse’s favorite animal from the time he was raised in Zambia). For months now I’ve wondered about the difference in eggs. From a value perspective, it seems like I was getting a better deal with the duck eggs, but my spouse didn’t like the taste with his morning friers. I’ve also heard numerous times that duck eggs are richer and best for desserts, but I’m from Missouri and you really need to show me. (L-R Chicken, Guinea, Duck) This weekend, I decided to quasi-scientifically prove which eggs were best. I purchased a dozen of each type of egg and headed home to make a variety of desserts that would highlight the egg in both taste and structure. I opted away from the soufflé and other obvious choices, and headed to some of my favorites: Flan from Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook; Portuguese Egg Custards from eGullet’s own Filipe; Chocolate Temptation from Pierre Herme; Pecan Genoise from me. Each dessert was made in identical technique with identically measured ingredients. All items were baked simultaneously with regular pan rotation for even heating. As best as I was able to control the confounding factors – I did. Differences in size/weight My eggs were variable in size. At eye level, the duck eggs were much larger than the other two, with the Medium chicken eggs being just slightly larger than the guinea eggs. The chicken and duck seems comparable in their ratio of yolk to white, but the duck was much more yolk. With a little basic math, and a standard measure to work from, I was able to level the playing field. I used an egg conversion chart from Amernick’s The Art of the Dessert. She breaks downs an American Large egg, and then converts it into the weight of the yolk and white of that egg. By doing this I was then able to crack all of my eggs, and convert them into standard sizes. The standard therefore became 1 Large Egg = 50 g; 1 Large Yolk = 20 g; 1 Large White = 30 g. Even if you disagree with these sizes, it did allow for standardization with the recipes. (Notice the color differences) (Do you see the differences now that they are lighly beaten?) (And now the whites - look how pale the duck eggs are) A Peck of This. A Peck of That. I gathered a group of people who self identified as Super Tasters. We put out an appeal through our store’s listserve, in which we defined Super Tasters, and let people volunteer. Our first volunteer was a no go because she was allergic to eggs, but the next three were up for the job. We gathered on Saturday night to eat and watch a movie. I had the genoise, Egg Custards and Flan finished so they could be served at their proper temperature, and for the same reason I made the Chocolate Surprise on site. Each taster was given a score sheet that allowed them to judge based on texture, taste, and richness. They also selected their favorite of each, and were invited to provide tasting notes. Each tasting was completed double blind – meaning that neither they nor I knew which was which until we cracked the code at the end of the tasting. Here are some previous eGullet topics on eggs that you might find interesting: How to Showcase Superfresh Eggs What to do with Duck Eggs Uses of Duck Eggs Guinea Fowl Eggs Unusal Uses of Eggs Expanding One’s Eggfolio Egg Cookoff All About Eggs (eGCI) The Wit & Wisdom of Eggs (eGCI) Egg Weight All About Eggs (eGCI) Separating Eggs

Testing this theory... Lexi being a bit more obedient than usual: The blur you see is Lexi deciding that she likes the rind more than she likes posing for pictures: I will add, however, that not much chewing occurred, so rounding the edges might be a good idea.

We add them to soup.

I'm not sure about healthiest, but HERE'S a previous topic on making the best.

(I had to google image to see what one looked like) I'm game! If I can find the darn things. I'm pretty remote, but I think I've seen these suckers before somewhere. Let's see what happens

There's a previous topic on consumer friendly spice packets. I sell a brand called Pinch Plus which are 1 tablespoon quantities for $1. Convenient, no waste, but not good value.

Here are some previous topics on substituting and making your own. Have fun (maybe you won't have to end up with a 5 gal pail of it like I have!)

Wow. Okay, so I would fire their marketing folks. If you don't have the connection with their packaging change, then you miss the point (obviously). BTW, I looked at the pics of their new packaging on their website, and they still have the red and white theme, so that's not helpful either. What makes this campaign even more confusing then is their focus on the 15 years (I assume tied into their packaging change). It makes it seem like a magical number. They should have shown the new packaging to make the distinction - I was ready to run out and buy my aged spices!

This ad has a red and white McCormick Cinnamon tin in it. Again, I would suggest going to the link in my initial post. If I'm wrong, I'll back away sheepishly and hide.

If anyone has the new Cooking Light (p.172) they can double check me. But the quotes are from McCormick, showing their products, and making the claim that all of their spices "in rectangular tins are at least 15 years old." I did a double take on the ad which is why I started this topic. I'm as sure as I can be that they are suggesting that aging spices for 15 years is the way to go. And again the irony is that the ad ends in, "Are your spices too old?" Its all very confusing (aka good use of marketing to switch societal concepts).

But that is exactly what makes this interesting to me. They are saying that they will generously age their spices for 15 years for us. But, once we buy them, 2 years is all you get - toss it! So, what is it about the "aging" process - is it a real thing or is it just an excuse for a over buying glut? I'll have to see if Behr has anything to say about this in his book - I seem to remember a good section on a few spices.

I buy the Indian spices because much of my cooking is in that style where you revive the spice in hot butter/oil and create a sauce. But the idea that McCormick wants me to toss out the old addage of freshness, yet they don't give a valid argument isn't flying with me. Unless making your own, no consumer knows how long their spice sat in a warehouse in Jersey, let alone the warehouse in India where it sat before it came to Jersey. And then to tell me to toss old spices...its all seems very contradictory to me.

I like my oils from middle eastern companys (there's a topic about these in MN). I use Romeo, Al Wazir and sometimes Spitiko (Greek). All flavorful and exv, fcp, but not too pricey. Good for cooking or dipping.

Let's follow the logic on this one together. McCormick is running ads that say, "Do you know the signs of aging?" and "If you see Baltimore, MD on the label, the spice is at least 15 years old." and "Except for black pepper, McCormick spices in rectangular tins are at least 15 years old." They then go on to give you toss out dates for the various products. You can see their info HERE. I survive on my Indian market spices which are dirt cheap, but which my friends all say are old and dull (I disagree). My friends want young and fresh. McCormick says, spices should be aged, not fresh, BUT, toss them if they are aging in your cupboard. I used to have Morton & Basset which prided themselves on fresh, young, colorful spices. So WTF! I'm no spice expert, and I guess I can use some help here. Is this just a marketing tool to change the mentality that old spices are bad, or is there legitimacy to the "aging" process that they are suggesting, and if so, are they aged differently at their warehouse, versus my cupboard?

It sounds like our experiences were nearly identical - I had trouble cutting, and over processed the nuts. Next time I would not add the liquid to the nuts in the processor - I would integrate them following the processing. I also wonder if covering it while baking would even the rise of the baklava. I did that at the very end, but I would do it from the start next time to even the inner baking. That might result in a more even finish (although I liked the character of mine).

Definitely worth experimenting. Not only could this allow flavor play, but also the alcohol percentage...why not use everclear?

I'm not sure which previous topic Alana is referring to, but possibly one of these: Finishing Chocolates with the Showroom Finish Molding v. Enrobing Hand Enrobing

I like that approach to your recipe count, but let me throw your comments back at you to see if its helpful. I agree that for the most part I only use 5-10% of my recipes from any given book (obviously more in some). So, what if that percentage will apply regadless of your count. What if that percentage is because you're matching food likes and dislikes. And so if you put 10 recipes, any given reader will only use 1. If you do 100 recipes, any given reader will only use 10. What if the 10% is how many of your recipes a reader will be attracted to. Just theorizing... The same then goes with the technique idea. What if its a recipe that is beyond or below my skill level, then are we lopping off a set number of recipes that won't be made? I find the whole idea interesting...its the science of cookbooks. Go with your gut and keep seeking feedback - I think you're on to something.

Thanks Pat for kicking this topic up. I also thought it looked great. I'm looking forward to the final product. I think the quantity of recipes is important to discuss. When I buy a community fundraiser cookbook, I settle for a few recipes. When I buy a professional cookbook, and pay appropriate prices, I need quantity and quality. I'm not sure what that balance is...

Well it has a name...the gfron1 (oh wait, that's what I call all of my dishes). It was really good. We debated about the cheese. I really wanted blue cheese and still think that would be a better choice. Everyone else like the more subtle but biting cheddar because it allowed the tuna to be highlighted. I think a goat would be interesting too. I also want to find a way to pan fry it instead of oven broiling - I think it would net a better texture. I made these to be bite sized, but I could have just as easily picked a larger tuna, prepared it the same way, stuffed it with goat and topped it with toasted pinon. Its a definite make-again.

Well worth the wait! Thank you so much for letting us share that with you.

Two plays on the tuna. First, tuna stuffed with aged cheddar and wrapped in pancetta. I baked this for 10 minutes, cooled a bit to let the pancetta set up, and then popped it in my mouth. I de-seeded it but pushing a chop stick into the center and feeling for the seeds, as I pushed them out the other end. It worked. Then we used some of my juice concentrate, added a bit of orange juice and served it with our fillet mignon.

Tonight was the spouse's turn. It was our 'thank you' meal for some friends. We started with some fresh baja shrimp that they brought back with them last week (they have a house in Mexico). Then I got to try out an idea with prickly pear tuna. I've been playing with concepts over in the Prickly Pear topic. Tonight it was tuna wrapped in pancetta and stuffed with aged Irish cheddar. I wanted to use blue cheese, but didn't have any in the house. This was a really nice combo. Then my spouse got going. A light salad was followed by very lightly grilled meats served on a toy that our friends had made for this purpose. A brief history. At Alinea they serve a dish on a hot stone with a rosemary sprig sticking out. Interesting idea, but I wanted to have more possibilities with the aromatics. So I had our friend make "bricks" that had a hole in the center for the aromatic, and glazed on top for sizzling presentation. This is just a prototype that she'll keep working on. So, the first dish was salmon fillets with orange, and fennel orange aromatic. Then fillet mignon with a prickly pear tuna orange sauce. We were duly impressed. Plated: For dessert we had a peach half poached in rooibos vanilla tea sweetened with agave nectar.

Not online, but check out THE BOOKS on top of this list.

(Note: short, jovial response not appropriate here based on John's response) When I realized my only option in town was the hand cream from our health food co-op, I bought the cream and called the 800 number on the package. It was a small operation so the person I spoke with had definitive knowledge of the product. I explained what I planned on doing with it. There was a clear under and overtone to the response. Basically he explained that (overtone) their plant was not certified for food product use and they did not market their product for that use. His less legalistic response (undertone) was that there was absolutely nothing in there except cocoa butter, and that nothing else is processed in their plant except cocoa butter - to which he added his "health food store" response that they don't use any additives of any kind in their products. He made it clear that it wasn't what the product was designed for, but didn't dissuade me. In the end, you would have had to have heard the conversation to appreciate it (I think we've all had similar ones however). When I hung up the phone I had no concerns about using the hand cream.