ray goud

To put Boos anywhere near the category of the other large corporations cited is preposterous. They have a long history but that does not imply they have a research department (as previously speculated) which analyzes the woods they use for any type of toxicity exposure to the end user. The very fact that they offer walnut which is a known toxin-bearing material (juglone) shows that they are unaware of possible liability on their part. Walnut is offered because it is pretty, not because it has any material advantages which negate its problems. Since pecan is the state tree of Texas, which is "down South" on my map, speaks for itself. Ray

Toxicity info about pecan is not known because so little of it is used as lumber. Usually when a pecan tree is brought down it has ended its useful life in producing the nuts. While it was growing it was shaped to be more easily harvested (the nuts) by machinery (shaking) and that in itself makes the lumber less useful and worthwhile. It is sparsely available as veneer, and as lumber in its growing region but I don't know of tests for its toxicity. Perhaps the most direct route would be to contact horse enthusiasts "down South" and ask if they use its chips and dust for bedding. I myself would not trust it, there being so many other choices available. One should not assume that a company of any size or reputation would test its raw materials for any given reason, unless it was looking for characteristics which make that material either more or less difficult to use in manufacture and later durability. I won't assume that any cutting board maker really cares about toxicity, regardless of how large or old the company is. Industry is permeated (usually rightly so) with the attitude that "if it was good enough before, it still is". If the wood species makes it more attractive and sells better, they'll use it. They aren't making anything for ingestion, so no regulatory agency is going to test their products. And they are under more pressure to maintain their market after mandates were made to use non-wood boards in commercial settings. I doubt that any board maker did any comprehensive toxicity tests. They are likely much more concerned about dependable adhesives, tooling, shipping, etc. As tme4tls says, hard maple is till the best. White oak does not have open pores; the pores are filled with tyloses. Sap wood is not acceptable, especially in cutting boards, unless that sap wood is maple (!). In other woods the sap wood is softer and more porous than the heartwood. The heartwood of maple is very small and not attractive. Cutting boards are much more trying on the wood characteristics than is furniture in general. Sapwood showing on a cherry desk may or may not be attractive, depending on the customer (I personally don't like the sapwood, so few of my customers ever see it), while that same cherry sapwood is unacceptable in a cutting board. Ray

OK. I am a professional wood furniture designer and maker. I have seen the previous posts and must add my two cents. First, walnut has no place in any cutting board because of its potential toxicity. "The Boardsmith"'s use of walnut is problematic also because he mixes sapwood with the heartwood, in addition to using walnut at all. Walnut provides a dubious attractive appearance and no more, often less (especially because of its open grain). Oak is acceptable if it is white oak, because the otherwise open pores are filled with a natural substance called tyloses which the tree provides. That is why white oak barrels are waterproof to a great degree, but not red oak. Black cherry is an ideal, if a little softer, species of wood for cutting boards; in addition it can withstand tremendous heat, which is why glassblowers use it. The absolute best cutting board wood is hard maple, whether end grain or not. It has extremely tight grain, is very hard, and is completely nontoxic after fabrication. It won't win any prizes for stunning beauty, though. If one wants an expression of art, look elsewhere from a cutting board, which is a tool. Ray

A friend of mine just got an induction cooktop, and the Demeyere pans. They are SO HEAVY that I doubt he can do the "saute flip" with them. Ray

Macaroni and cheese, with ham and mushrooms, a la Pierre Franey. Ray

Chris, my personal and professional experience is that you are 99% correct. If there is a failure in a rebuilt unit it is usually a design flaw in the entire line. At GE we retested everything to specs, though that may not be the case with all makers. Ray

Before I voluntarily left in 1978 I was the Master Repairman for the General Electric Servicenter/Rebuilding Center in Westport, CT. This was before Black&Decker bought them out. Everyone there and everyone who worked for GE Small Appliances at the time would agree that the best bargain was a rebuilt appliance. Because they were returned for either gift exchanges or for an initial defect. When we got through with each appliance it had been inspected twice, and repaired if necessary, and were resold for a fraction of the price with a FULL warranty. I don't know if the companies today operate the same, but if they do it is one of the greatest little-known bargain out there. Ray

That depends on what you want one for. Generally, one should choose any instrument which has the target reading at about the midpoint of its range, for the greatest accuracy. Thus, if one wants to know when one's kitchen oven is about 350 degrees, they should use a meter which has a maximum range of about 700 degrees. I have an outdoor pizza oven and for that I chose a meter with a 1200 degree range, because my desired temp is about 600-700 degrees. Works for pressures and flow rates, also. Ray

I do know some metallurgy from my years in making surgical instruments, and those knives are improperly made, in my opinion. They aren't performing the heat treating properly, if at all. Either keep getting the company to replace them (and hope for a better-done job in the future) or find a better brand. Ray

Go to a well-stocked library, or spring for the price of and buy, "The Food Lover's Guide to Paris", by Patricia Wells. It would be a tiny fraction of what one spends just to visit Paris, and offers a multitude of great places to check out. Wells lives in France, and really knows her stuff. Ray

I have another idea, so far not mentioned, which is in addition to, but not instead of, all that has already been said: When one waits a day or more, the cooking odors dissipate so that one tastes the food without first being exposed to the delicious aromas of the cooking food. That's one reason I think that restaurant food is often better than home-cooked, even when the resto stuff is less than earth-shaking. I have confirmed this idea to my satisfaction, though I don't have the resources to do a double-blind taste test. The ideas about flavors melding and bacteria doing their jobs are extremely valid; I just don't think that's all that's going on. I think it's even true if one has an effective vent-hood arrangement, because even a good one isn't anywhere near perfect in a home environment. Ray

We just saw the episode in Prague, and it was great, if for no other reason than it made no excuses for a country which loves its wonderful sausages and beer. Tony even annoyed a local chef when he declined the offer to visit the guy's restaurant and eat street food, instead. So far, the only episode I liked better is the one when he visited his wife's family. Ray

My wife and I, and ALL of our friends and relatives, cannot stand loud restaurants. We consciously avoid returning to those we have found to be noisy. So though they may be making money selling more drinks, they are losing our business. Ray

I may come under attack for this, but who the heck cares about E Bulli? I would be much more concerned if I learned that Harold McGee would cease researching and writing about food, or if Alton Brown retired from TV. For the first, he contributes to knowledge which I can relate to and benefit from in my home kitchen, and for the second, he is entertaining. Neither is a characteristic of Adria, who makes stuff which requires investments in equipment and materials far beyond 99% of the human population, and who costs to experience his personal achievements much more than almost any of us can pay for. The less I hear about ridiculous food manipulations, the better. Ray

I recently bought the B&D square unit, based on the recommendation of Cook's Illustrated. Other than the low price, I am not overjoyed with my decision. Number one, the grids cannot go in the dishwasher; bummer. Number two, it takes too long and doesn't really get hot enough to make browned, crispy waffles with the Krusteaz mix, which is my favorite. And Number three, the waffles are too thin; I'm used to the ones I got from our old GE unit, last made about twenty years ago. Ray

If it was a property of the coriander, all the plastic would have a degradation, instead of small areas. If it was insects in the coriander, there would have been a WHOLE BUNCH to make that many holes to get out! I think it was coriander-loving bugs who wanted to get IN to the good stuff (polyethylene is a poor small-molecule blocker so they would have easily detected the aroma). Ray

Mainly because I am now an adult and not vulnerable to many toxins, unlike growing children, I don't worry too much about plastics toxicity. However, the table cited is unreliable because of unknown future revelations which may come to light. Also, PVDC is NOT a form of PVC, as they state. It isn't healthy, but it isn't the same. What's most important, is that it would be far better, instead of relying on anyone's gathered chemical properties, to avoid overheating any plastics because they all can break down to more elemental forms. That includes some of the most innocuous materials such as silicones. Also, some materials, such as phenolics, are listed as pretty safe, but that is only as they are presently used. Considering unregulated rogue suppliers such as those in China, not even the phenolics or nylons can be immune from close observation. Neither is allowed by the FDA for use as body-implantable devices, for example. Ray

They've got to be kidding. What a waste of time and energy! How did those ice cubes materialize? From a good fairy? And why boil them in any case, since a microwave does a much better and faster job, and after one peels the spud with a peeler? Jeese! Ray

I haven't seen any mention of this book's remoulade recipe, on its page 279. I have made it several times, using different fresh herbs, and it has turned out wonderful every time. Plus, it's very easy to do. Hats off to them. Ray

The simpler the better: slices of juicy ripe tomato and mashed potatoes or fries. Ray

" "This has happened to me numerous times, and with butter right out of the fridge. My solution is to microwave it more gently -- at level 5 or 6 instead of 10 -- and to stir it a bit (well, slosh it around in its container) halfway through. No more explosions. " You didn't learn from the first time?

I just made my first full-size pate de campagne from this book (adding prunes as a garnish) and it came out excellently, though I will reduce the amount of cinnamon and cloves for the next one. Ray

OK! I've watched this thread a while and I finally have to add my own two cents: In 2003, I decided to build a wood-fired backyard oven, and I did (!). I looked around for recipes for things I could cook in it, besides the obvious pizza, and couldn't find much at that time. So, I decided to wing it: one can cook anything one wants in such an oven that can be cooked in a conventional one. So just go and do it. Nothing will turn out inedible, unless you walk away from it while it's cooking, and even the most mundane will result in the tastiest you've ever had. Just do it! I must add a caveat that I am a designer by heart and history, and I have made a rotisserie I can slide in the FRONT of the oven. If you are still in the building stage, poke a couple of holes in the sides of your oven to accomodate a rotisserie setup. You'll never regret it. Ray

MEAT LOAF! Home-ground, of course. Ray

Darienne, if you turned it off to cook a roast, then fell asleep or forgot ( a la old-timer's), what is the point of having the device? The food burns, or the fire starts, and it's just like it was never installed. That's my point: it isn't "smart" enough, or designed well-enough to deal with when one turns it off deliberately. Somewhat the same as with the smoke detector which goes off during kitchen broiling, then is disabled by the owner (the SCREECH), then is never turned back on. Ray