ray goud

I would imagine one can easily find (if wanted) the recipe for garlic ice cream. Every time the Gilroy garlic festival is reported on, by any news group or the Food Network, that flavor is featured because it seems the most surprising. Perhaps the Gilroy (CA) Chamber of Commerce has a lead. Ray

Peter, you already answered your question, by saying that the piercing drives the bacteria in, releases juices, and requires you to buy something new, for one purpose. Ray

Just grind it after blanching the outside surface to kill bacteria. Forget the stupid jaccarding. Do you have a grinder or processor? Do you have a pot big enough to boil some water? Yes? Then you have enough to blanch, grind your own, and be safe from bacteria. Take the opportunity to add some flavorings (spices, fats) and enjoy. Ray

Here's another option: ratafia. Go to the NYT site and search for "ratafia". The recipe appeared in conjunction with a restaurant called "Tafia", hence the name of the resto. Briefly, one soaks any berries in red wine and vodka and waits a couple of weeks (keep in fridge). Then strain off the liquid and enjoy, usually with club soda. And I mean ENJOY! We deliberately look for wild berries to pick for this; simply wonderful, especially with wild blackberries. Ray

Another technique would be to do what McGee recommends for grinding meats: blanch the outside for a minute or two in boiling water, then grind/pierce without any concern about driving bacteria into the center of the meat. I do this whenever I grind before a meat loaf, and it is easy enough to not be a burden. Ray

Yes, I had made a copy of the device now called a "Jaccard" ( I am a former design/manufacturing engineer), though back then it was only called a "piercer", its true description. I was intrigued by how places like Rustler's were able sell such "tender" steaks for so little money. So I tried tenderizing meat using it, and was amazed how much liquid exited the meat while cooking. I came to the conclusion that the meat was probably also marinated, then read news reports back then that it was truly the case. Soon after those reports the various chains of those restaurants came under closer scrutiny and ridicule. After reading McGee I tried duplicating his tests of cooking meat portions which were pierced/not pierced (by the chef's fork) and seared/not seared. The verdict is that if the meat is not physically altered beforehand, it doesn't matter if searing is used; juices will flow if it's altered (seared or not), and won't flow as much (on unaltered meat) whether it's seared or not. The connection to searing comes when some use the term "tightens up" in regard to the meat cooking. And, yes, I DO know that the piercing causes juices to flow, by measurement. So can anyone observe this, even easier than my tests back then, by taking a piece of meat and dividing it in half, than grinding one half but not the other, and cook both at the same temp to the same doneness, then weigh both. The grinding is the extreme of piercing.

I'm not sure what your personal experience is with piercing meat but strongly suspect it didn't involve a Jaccard. We are not talking theory here. Many people up thread were sceptical about the process but willing to try it out. Look especially at the one by NathanM, who is a converted sceptic. I first tried the Jaccard on his recommendation from the sous vide thread. Does it leak more fluid than unjaccarded steak? Not at all. Is it a juicy, tender, piece of meat after cooking? Sure is. I'll also add another: it seems to require less resting than conventionally cooked meat. I am tempted to use a vulgarity, but I will refrain. My "personal experience" involves weighing before and after, a la Alton Brown. This after I purchased and read McGee's two books, so it was quite a while ago. I am mystified that some people still buy into the searing folk non-wisdom, after so many years of refutations. If one destroys or alters the structure of the meat, sure, the tenderness will increase, but so will the loss of juices. Jaccard or not Jaccard, the effects are the same: do-it-yourself Rustler's.

The various claims that piercing meat while raw is OK, but not while cooking (not OK) are bogus; do not pierce the meat at all, ever, if you are trying to retain juices: personal experience, not theory. Remember, searing does not seal the surface. Those "high-end restaurants" being referred to must be of the "Rustler" ilk. That's how they tenderized their awful (and cheap) meat to make it edible. Let's hear from the staff of ANY quality place that they do that now. Ray

My mom had a thermidor built-in oven, and it was a pig; couldn't hold temp well, always took longer to cook anything than was expected, and it broke (hardware) often. I fixed it for her a couple of times, and had (delayed) family dinners with her and my family there often. I don't know the model number, but the experiences convinced me that the brand was forever on my don't-buy list. So I would recommend yours be removed and/or replaced. Ray

No need to worry about the keeps-warm with the Oster unit; it is switchable off or on by the user. Hope you haven't already ordered from Amazon without looking at the Oster and saving $30. Ray

I bought an Oster unit at Target. It is all stainless, shuts off after boiling, has a keeps-hot feature, comes off its base, leaving the base/cord behind (therefore safer), and only cost $30. What more can one want? Ray

Wow! I don't ever remember so many replies to a post in as short a time as this one. Talk about touching a raw nerve. Everyone has touched on, in a very short time, all the salient points about the whole unitasker concept, including many satirical swipes at Alton Brown. I only wish I could have seen the original post and added something before others had. As it is, just about everything has been said, and very well, too. I can only add that I too hope that the original dinner guests were perhaps joking in a subtle way. Ray

Before you try to get a nice taper with a table saw, check out tablelegs.com(the Matthew Burak website) Good prices on a zillion different styles in many different woods; turned legs, tapered legs, notched legs, etc. They'll even mortise 'em for you, should you so desire. (ETA link) I will wholeheartedly echo and reinforce HungryC'c tip about the legs. Burak is the man. Ray

I agree completely with Jaymes, and can only add that even the quietest fridge and dishwashers are still far too loud to welcome into my relaxing area. Ray

Re: FDA recall; luckily none of the recalls are for their "Seafood Seasoning". Thanks for the info, though. Ray

My favorite seafood cookbook is "The Seafood Cookbook" by Peirre Franey and Bryan Miller, (1986). It's worth looking for a used copy (online?) if not currently in print. It is a virtual cornucopia of cooking literally all types of seafood. I use it very regularly, and would use it more if my reliable fish market was more convenient to get to. One thing I learned from it is: if in doubt how to quickly cook a meaty piece of fish, roast it at 450-500, at ten minutes per inch thickness. Another tool in my arsenal is the "Seafood Seasoning" by Frontier Natural Products Co-op, available online, and comes in an oxygen barrier bag, so it lasts a long time. Apply that to a thick cut, then a coating of mayonnaise (!) and roast at high temp. Unless you do something more creative like a bouillabaisse..... Ray

Our soapstone counters (including the portable island) are going on five years old, at least. I love them, wife does not. She expected something that would never show wear, I don't care. Seal with mineral oil, and touch up scratches with same oil. They are absolutely stable regarding cracking or "movement". I guess a few million years of their formation within the earth guaranteed that. They used to be used for lab counters before man-made and cheaper alternatives. Their complete immunity to stains and heat are what sold me. I think that in 50 or so more years I might resurface them if I am physically able to. I LOVE how I can set down a searingly hot pan on it, or place on it another pan I'd like to quickly reach room temp. Not for everybody, but they are for me. Ray

What do you mean by "a little past their prime"? They were in danger of lurking bacteria, or what? Usually older beef is more tender. When I want to cook beef that long I go for boneless beef ribs. They can be kitchen cut to whatever shape one wants, or not. I don't know how available they are in general, but my butcher carries them regularly. Ray

The fresh-air exchangers are not common at all around here, unless one has a very expensive, newer house. We have quite a small, sixty year old house and I don't ever imagine having the money to buy one of those units. If you're going to have an exhaust that powerful and don't open a window or have an exchanger close by, then the air will get in some other way, like through the furnace, or the fireplace flue, or somewhere else you'd rather not like. I think the whole situation is an unforeseen consequence of putting commercial-size equipment in homes. Rather the same thing happened thirty or so years ago when people began putting monster gas stoves meant for restaurants in their home kitchens and had to have fire-rated walls installed behind the stoves. Eventually the stove makers got the message and now make them safe to put in homes, with the performance of the commercial units of the past. I guess if enough people want big exhaust blowers a market will grow for companion equipment to provide make-up-air (maybe they can combine both?). Ray

"Long story short"??? What you need is a heat-exchanging fresh-air input. Log on to Fine Homebuilding's website (you may have to pay) and search for those quite expensive units which admit fresh air while preserving some fraction of the heat or cooling while doing so. Definitely not a DIY deal. Ray

They say that because they assume we are all dimwits and will defrost at high power, causing a sudden increase of pressure inside the package. I have consistently ignored the warning and defrost without even piercing the packaging, without ANY problems, because I defrost at reduced power. Ray

On the contrary to your experience, I find the OXO to be poorly made. The first unit I had was replaced by the maker, and the second one failed, also. As far as getting the greens dry, I don't believe the OXO spins fast enough to do the job. My workhorse is an old unit with the pull cord, which reverses direction on each pull (annoying), but it really gets the job done, and it STILL WORKS after about ten years! Ray

Saliva is only slightly acid between meals. Immediately before and during eating the pH of saliva becomes slightly basic, not acid. Ray

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