dougal

Steve - time is an essential ingredient in 'good' breadmaking. Waiting time, while the wee beasties work away by themselves. That is to say that, unless you aspire to the qualities of industrially-produced, wrapped and sliced supermarket bread, faster means worse. You really are going to have to work on this patience thing! But hey, think how much more patience a winemaker needs than a baker!

1/ I don't know of any talking humidity meters (maybe they exist). But I do know of computer-attachable USB thermometers and hygrometers (humidity meters). I'm thinking that those might be usable since this forum is accessible to you. Some work only when they are plugged into the computer, not ideal but maybe better than nothing. This one is an example of a logger that records how temperature and humidity vary with time (while detatched from the computer - just leave it in the fridge!) http://www.amazon.com/Lascar-Temperature-Point-Datalogger-Humidity/dp/B0017QLPNM/ The Lascar EL-USB-2 seems to be about US $80 It will export its data to an Excel worksheet, where it should be about as available as any other data on a computer ... Its more expensive than a cheapo meter, but it ought to be workable for those unable to read a standard meter. I'm sure similar things could be found a bit more cheaply with a bit of searching. 1-a/ Some types of seaweed (like Bladderwrack, I think) can give a tangible indication of humidity. But I don't think that would be a workable solution for Denver, Colerado! (And I've never tried to calibrate the stuff anyway.) 2/ Yes indeed - just give it a go, and find out what happens!

Perhaps I should just repeat my contention that some sort of humidity meter is pretty important - so you can know what sort of humidity you are getting. You can't tell the humidity level without a meter, and without knowing what the humidity level is, you can't know what to do about it. I'm not saying its impossible to learn to deduce conditions from the smell of the meat - but I am saying that, if it were possible, it would only be after a vast amount of trial and, inevitably, error. TWO humidity meters might sound like overkill, but it allows you to see whether or not your humidity is grossly non-uniform (by moving the second one around in the fridge, and comparing readings with the static one). Note that you can overcome some non-uniformity by shuffling things around in the fridge ... Among the things that a fan could do is to make the general humidity closer to the humidity immediately above your wet salt tray. Moving the air over the tray makes the tray effectively much bigger, more powerful. (A salt tray is not naturally a very powerful, fast-responding humidity controller.) This also means that you need to keep a closer check on your salt initially dissolving and later drying out. More air contacting the tray means conditions in the tray change faster! But a fan is optional - and anyway cheap. Even bought new, a cheapo timeswitch, wall-wart and cpu fan needn't cost more than about £10 here, call that $15 US. (Hint: look for an obsolete cpu!) The chances are that you'll have more value of meat in your fridge than that ... The timeswitch is important, because you only want it running intermittently, to stir the air around and gently mix it. You really don't want a steady draught blowing on the meat. A fan can be easily mounted with hot melt glue, or for prototyping (its not permanent) good double-sided sticky tape. However - don't get hung up on worrying about a fan. Its icing on the cake. Not essential. On the other hand, I'd strongly suggest that the first $15/20 gets spent on some means of quantifiably measuring humidity. (And that you record those measurements in your log.) Try to keep the humidity between 60% and 75%.

An interesting thing to do is to compare the nutritional info labels on different products. Here in the UK, its a requirement to list on the package, amongst other things, the protein content (in grams of protein per 100 grams of product - so protein percentage by weight in the product). I've not found higher in protein than the Fage "Total" range. The 0% fat version comes in at a whopping 9% protein http://www.totalgreekyoghurt.com/site/nutritionalvalues_322.aspx "Thickness" (viscosity) can be easily/cheaply altered by 'molecular gastronomy' (or as we used to call it, additive technology - gums and such), but the protein content would seem to me to be a measure of how much actual milk went into the process. Many "thick" fruit yoghurts are only around 3.6% protein ...

Thanks for that. You've just saved me £25. For me, and probably many others - especially outside the US, its a deal-breaker.

I happen to be one of those that enthuses over induction. If you want gas, but can't have it, induction is far and away the closest you'll get. ADDED - you can check your pan bases with a magnet (like a fridge magnet). If it won't stick, that pan will be invisible to (and not heated at all by) induction. I don't know what happened to your old unit. Its highly atypical. I've never heard of one breaking on its own, when at ambient temperature (12 hours after last use). Most likely is a manufacturing or installation problem (yes they do need to be evenly supported, flat, all round. Unless maybe you dropped that cast iron pan on it a while ago and thought you'd got away with it. Without trauma, they should (and do) last a very long time. It might even be an eventuality covered (or rather not excluded) under your property (contents) insurance. The glass ceramic on an induction hob isn't exactly the same as on a 'radiant' hob. Because it has no need to conduct or transmit heat (or infra red radiation). But it still needs even, all round support. And wouldn't welcome trauma. Perhaps surprisingly, induction hobs require more ventilation of the under-counter space than conventional cooktops. Otherwise you'll cook (and kill) the electronics.

I don't know North American fridge brands, but ... If your fridge has a condensate drain (so that the excess moisture that condenses on the cooler plate can flow to the outside of the fridge), then a fan is fairly optional. In that situation, you are just using the fan to stir the air in the box, evening out temperature and humidity. You might not even need one. Generally fans aren't waterproof or watertight. Two approaches - either put it where it can't get dripped on or otherwise inadvertently wet, or else give it a little roof to protect it! And using a low voltage (5 or 12 volt) fan inside the fridge, with its mains transformer safely outside in the dry should be a safe way of working. You might well choose to have the whole setup (fridge and controller included) protected by an RCD, for maximum safety. Using a cheap mechanical timer switch (as commonly advised for security light switching) to control the power to the transformer (or wall-wart) allows you to run the fan for a short time (15/30 minutes) every few hours. The lead from transformer to fan can be thin cable which shouldn't interfere with the door seal - so just leading it out over the seal is the easiest route and the least damaging (to the fridge's future). Lead that low voltage cable out at the hinge side of the door. Duct Tape, as always, is useful for keeping the cable in its place. And just to note that if you give the fan slightly less than its rated voltage (say 9 volts dc for a 12 volt dc fan) it should run more gently, more quietly, and likely longer. So you don't NEED a 12 volt wall-wart for a 12 volt fan. Just don't give the fan more than its rated voltage .... Natural air circulation in the fridge is by cold air from near the chiller falling to the bottom and pushing the warmer air up to the chiller. You might choose to blow air from top to bottom, or bottom to top, -- you just don't want the fan blowing directly onto your work- that would make for very uneven (and locally excessive) drying. I'd suggest mounting the fan in the space normally taken by the door shelves. Its out of the way and clear of any part of the fridge's workings and electrics. And on many fridges this permits you to run a bit of pipe as a top-to-bottom air duct -- without needing to interfere with the fridge shelves. Sticking an inch and a half fan onto some matching scrap plastic pipe should do the job. What you don't want is a big mains voltage fan blowing constantly straight at your product! Anyone that hoards any scrap computer equipment would likely have several suitable fans. You aren't limited to just one. And any wall wart ought to be able to power several identical little fans (connected in parallel). If you are intending using wet salt to moderate the humidity, try and create airflow over the salt (perhaps sufficiently important to deserve its own fan). And of course, if you put the wide and shallow salt tray at the top of the fridge, then it doesn't get dripped into! And the same goes for the fan or fans. Humidity meters can be fairly cheap. But humidity controllers tend to be expensive. You'd typically use such a hygrostat to either drive a tiny heater (like the fridge light), so that the fridge worked harder, thereby making more condensation (to drop the humidity), or else to run a mister/fogger to increase the humidity. Even a cheap, cheap, cheap meter will tell you more than you can guess about what's happening, so you can take control action. However, if your fridge lacks a condensate drain, some people would advise making a hole to the outside world so that a fan can exchange some' air with the outside to control the internal humidity. (If you intend cutting holes, the door is a very safe place to do it.) But removing the condensate differently (like with a sponge) is probably a much simpler solution!

Contact EdgePro direct. They would know of any local stockists. But they seem happy to deal direct, worldwide AFAIK. Just ask, its nothing like a mega-corp. They are actually friendly and helpful ... (like changing 'kit' contents on request).

If you don't culture the cream (as per Andiesenji's post) you make 'sweet cream butter' which is very, errrr, 'creamy'... ! But thst might be exactly what you were wanting for patisserie purposes, as one suggestion. And some people revel in that creamy, rather than buttery, taste. The 'washing' process's effectiveness determines how the butter matures. Unless you are very rigorous with the washing, you'll get some milky bits left in the butter, and as that 'cultures', the flavour of the butter will change over a very few days (even in the fridge), going "off" much faster than commercial butters.

'Fraid I doubt it'll do the trick. You need to beat the cream until it separates. Ice cream makers are generally rather gentle.

Personally, I use parchment with a little coarse semolina above and below. But I've heard about this american thing, which is a kinda tiny version of a commercial oven loading conveyor. The "super peel" http://www.breadtopia.com/super-peel-in-action/ Anyone been hands on with one?

There haven't been many, but my biggest disappointment, (by weight and cost, as well as by expectation shortfall), has to be Advanced Bread and Pastry by Suas et al. I've probably said enough about it previously. However, for the avoidance of doubt, my opinion of it hasn't improved with the passing of time.

The main risk TO a CERAMIC knife would be to its handle. Metal knives will also suffer accelerated corrosion to the sharpened edge (apart from anything else like the metal having been worked) there's a lightning conductor effect with the sharp edge - remember that corrosion is an electrochemical process. But that ain't a problem with ceramic. Then there's the slight risk of chipping by jostling... However, blade up, its a danger to the machine filler-and-emptier, and blade down, the plastic cutlery basket will suffer in time. But ceramic knives CAN be very cheap. My parer was about £6 (under $10). I wonder if they are likely to get so cheap that they become a disposable item for the average kitchen, rather than a treasured foodie possession? In the dishwasher - does anyone actually wash (non-meat) FoodSaver bags? Instructions say you can, but I've not thought that they seemed to clean that well, and all those tiny channels look like great places for nasties to hide. And to turn things around, Magimix food processor bowls are said to be OK in the dishwasher, but they certainly lose their clarity, and its my interpretation that they become more easily cracked. So I never put them in the machine. They are made of polycarbonate, which I know to be embrittled by various chemicals, so for me, they are hand wash only.

Four points. 1/ UK Hovis-branded instant-mix is actually a bread machine product. Its loaded with a cocktail of "improvers" (or was, the last time I checked the small print 'ingredients' listing.) IMHO that's really not ideal as a basis for generalisation. And "rehydrating" instant-mix products outside a dough mix is not an assured means of getting lots of live yeast - as a control, I'd suggest that an instant mix yeast be used in an instant mix! What yeast preparation did the research authors use? 2/ Wouldn't "intracellular glycerol" be a mechanism for ordinary 'osmo-tolerance'? Surely some of these folk have looked to see HOW regular osmo-tolerant yeasts function? And have they compared their stressed yeast to commercial osmo-tolerant products? Isn't that the real question? http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Salt-stressed-yeast-leads-to-bigger-softer-bread-Study/?c=zAc5rMw%2BSS6n5mlaYV5JaQ%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily {ADDED - this is Artisanbaker's link} 3/ This journalist, and his headline-writer, seems to have generalised this to ALL bread, rather than just (very) sweet breads. You'd never guess that the study referred to sweetened breads ... and did not compare against an osmo-tolerant control. I suspect that already there may be people on this wonderful internet claiming how superior this method is for recipes that involve no added sugar whatsoever. 4/ Lubricant? A lubricant for the bubbles? Really? And this Glycerol is INSIDE the yeast cells, and it is 'lubricating' bubbles that are where? How might 'lubrication' of bubbles allow greater dough expansion? Where's Boyle's Law? Sadly, that comment makes me highly sceptical of their interpretation. Yes, I can accept that Glycerol inside the yeast cells ("intracellular") would help to reduce the osmotic pressure (difference) across the cell membrane, which in a salty or sugary solution leads to the yeast cells losing water (drying out) and hence becoming less 'functional'. A tiny total amount of Glycerol - in precisely the right place, right inside the yeast cells - does have the potential to change the functionality, the 'metabolic rate', of the yeast in difficult conditions. Its hard to believe that tiny traces of Glycerol in the bulk of the dough, could possibly act as significantly on the physics of the bubbles, as it might on the biochemistry of the yeast cells. Also, I strongly doubt that there's any specific connection between SALT specifically (as opposed to, say, sugar) and the expression of osmotically-balancing Glycerol. Or that pre-stressing a 'standard' bakers' yeast strain is going to produce a better result than using a bakers' yeast strain that has been carefully selected and grown for its ability to retain functionality in a challengingly sugary environment. While this research might have shed some light on part of the mechanism of osmo-tolerance (if that wasn't the result of the cited paper from 2001), I rather doubt that this particular pre-stressing method has much potential for making 'better' bread. However, I'm a mere amateur ...

Folks might have better luck with this link to the abstract http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122610047/abstract? I note that the abstract doesn't talk about getting the yeast to rise at all with so much sugar around, but getting it to rise faster. What specific "Bakers Yeast" preparation was being used? Compressed, actively dried or instant-mix? (Not cream because of the hydration step.) My presumption would be that during the 'stressing' they are hoping to selectively grow the more osmo-tolerant cells before introducing the main dough. If yeast multiplication is indeed involved, oxygenation (even whipping) should help increase the rate. But wouldn't the cell osmosis conditions be as easily (or maybe better) manipulated (to select by stressing) with a sugar, rather than salt, solution? And isn't an osmo-tolerant yeast simply a strain that has been pre-selected to better withstand the different cell osmosis conditions when (typically) strong sugar solutions are involved? What mechanism do the paper's authors suggest might account for their findings?

In the UK, the KitchenAids are the imported, expensive exotica. The basic "Classic K45SS" that is under $200 on Amazon USA is over $450 on Amazon UK. http://www.amazon.co.uk/KitchenAid-K45SS-Classic-Stand-Mixer/dp/B000744SZW/ http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-K45SS-Classic-250-Watt-2-Quart/dp/B00004SGFW/ Whereas the basic Kenwood Chef is around the $200 mark. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-Classic-KM336-Kitchen-Machine/dp/B000Q7ZCFK/ The question of 'superiority' is hard to divorce from consideration of price. Belt driven? On the Kenwood Chef and Major (big chef), the 'liquidiser' (blender, high speed) outlet/interface is driven directly from the end of the motor shaft. And there is indeed a belt between that shaft and the gearbox that takes the drive to the front of the machine, where the planetary beater and slow speed outlets are found. However, some versions do have all-metal gearboxes - these are noisier but transmit the power better. The Kenwoods may not be foolproof (there's always a big enough fool) but they don't fail so predictably when kneading dough, as does that plastic gear in the modern KitchenAid planetary mechanism. Many Chefs have worked happily for twenty or more years. Eventually the motor brushes will wear out. And the capacitors in the speed control circuitry tend to die of old age at about 30 years. But hey, these are cheap parts. And the availability of 3rd party-rebuilt motor/electronic modules for less than like $55 means that they are economically repairable. Support networks count towards superiority. There's also the matter of that high speed outlet that the KitchenAid lacks. Apart from the blender, there are 'continuous' juicers and 'continuous' slicer/shredders that take advantage of that same outlet. Then there's Kenwood's embracing the flexible beater concept. One is included with many models. KitchenAid make you go to a third party. I'm also impressed by Kenwood's recent offering of several 'high end' attachments - and somewhat awed by their prices. One example is the metal pasta extruder that has available a selection of bronze dies. But the prices start around $150 (in the UK) for the basic attachment ... But these attachments will fit a 30 year old machine... I see the high end, best-of-breed attachments and this newly announced Cooking Chef as being a clear statement of branding intent - the Chef is looking to reclaim its throne. Perhaps the bottom end Chefs will be culled to open the way for the new Prospero in the mid-market. Neither the Kenwoods nor KitchenAids approach the Electrolux DLX as a dough mixer or meat grinder. The Kenwood tries but its not quite as good a food processor as the Magimix 5200XL. But as a versatile stand mixer, its pretty damn good. And in the UK, way better than the KitchenAid that you'd get for the same money.

Looks like it's aiming to compete with the Thermomix in the same price range. The Thermomix has a built-in scale, but the Kenwood looks like it may be a more powerful mixer. In a French mail order catalogue (from www.cusinstore.com) I came across an advert for the MyCook Taurus. It weighs, processes and cooks. All for €900 http://www.mycook.es/kitchen-robot/index.php

Sorry, no local knowledge to pass on. BUT ... ... there's a great tool called the Edge Pro Apex, which will enable just about anyone to improve on most factory edges. The first job for mine was to restore a blade with a couple of (OK, fairly small) dings in it. Coarse stone all along both sides until we had got past the damage, then proceeded as though sharpening normally. I fully expect you could 'do it yourself' if the edge is 'merely' chipped, rather than distorted. It is a great tool. Takes away the learning curve. IMHO better to spend money on one of these than on one or more new knives. It'll improve every knife you have. (OK, maybe not a sharply forward curving 'parrot beak' (without special order narrow stones), and you'll need the optional diamond stones for a ceramic blade - but pretty much every blade, even some serrated ones.) http://edgeproinc.com/ ADDED: there's a 'review' on the site saying that the super-fine diamond stone ($20) cuts faster than the Coarse waterstone. Might be an idea for your repair strip-back ... Have you seen Chad's maintenance and sharpening tutorial?

So, could Camembert rind not merely be good, but could it actually be the ideal inoculum for a 'good' sausage casing culture ? Has anyone got access to the experimental detail in this paper? (For example, did they use the Camemberti and Nalgiovensis alone or only together?) ... One more datapoint. From a new (to me at least) page on the Butcher & Packer website: http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207&products_id=334 Bactiferm 600 was M-EK-54. Seems it is and was a particular P. Nalgiovense. Only. Interesting that it should reduce the acidity that is one protection against C. botulinum.

I have a ProCook outlet not very far away. They seem to sell more 'shiny' stuff than 'pro' stuff, as compared to (for example) my remembrance of Leon Jaeggi. Even at the outlet, I rarely see things cheap enough to be tempting. But I have bought knives from them when extraordinarily deeply discounted - even more so than the present half price offers. The knives look good and feel good, but the steel is fairly ordinary. (OK, great for the price I paid.) However, now that I have an Edge Pro Apex to keep them properly in shape, I notice that they are the knives I seem to be reaching for. So, the knives could be interesting - particularly if you have a proper sharpener (or stones). I'm NOT talking about a steel - if in doubt take a look at Chad's sharpening tutorial or buy his book 'An Edge in the Kitchen'. Now I have to decide whether I really feel the need for a boning knife ...

As Chico Marx famously said "You can't a fool a me, there ain't no sanity clause".

While I have sequentially added different rice varieties to a pot, I've never done a 'dry blend'. That's because my different rices have ostensibly had different requirements. However, seeking out varieties to make a compatible 'dry blend' does sound like a very nice idea. Thanks for sharing!

For sausage stuffing a piston stuffer is massively better than a screw-feed unit (such as a mincer ('grinder') with a 'horn' on the front). Its much easier to use, and it makes better sausages. Better? Yes really - if you are trying to maintain an interestingly varied texture. A screw-feeder is fine if you are after a uniform homogenous 'banger' effect. Lots of comments in the Charcuterie thread in the main cooking forum. Kenwood mincers. The A720 fits antique 700 series machines - only. The 900 series and KM machines can take either the A920 or the better, newer A950, which has bigger plates (and two different sized stuffing horms). So check the model number on the serial number sticker/plate BEFORE buying bits! BTW, the Electrolux DLX mincer makes even the A950 look like a toy. And incidentally, for anyone with an old 110 volt Kenwood, you can get an overhauled 240 volt (replacement) complete motor unit for about £26 in the UK - so overseas postage extra. Makes it a 240v machine! Same chap does refurbished gearboxes too, btw ... http://www.kenwoodchefusedmixersandspares.co.uk/cat2.cfm?recordID=13918

Here you go! http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/acatalog/kitchen_shears_new.html#a113A A useful store for you to bookmark, I expect. Someone I Used To Know was left-handed. I have a similar (but right-handed) pair, and find them much more useful than the pair of 'proper poultry shears' that languish somewhere in the bottom of the kitchen drawer. Someone I Used To Know broke the tip off one of the blades of my shear/scissors - whatever else they are good for, they aren't tin openers. My own preferred package opening tool is a cheap (less than £1) Ikea kitchen knife. It has a conspicuous bright yellow handle and a curved (undercut, 'parrot beak') blade that isn't too dangerously sharp. http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10129639 Easily located, reasonably safe, great value and wonderfully effective!

There are so many books, and so many interpretations of great. There are bestsellers, now and in their own time. And those books better known as classics than as currently useful. There are the authors with names and faces known by the general UK public. (Nigella, Jamie, Delia, Gordon, Hugh F-W ...) There are the currently fashionable. Often associated with the book-of-their-latest-tv-series. And there are those authors with a principal career in daytime low-budget tv. Ubiquity being their sp, if not their usp. There are the great restauranteurs. And the books of the great restaurants. And yes, there is often a considerable cross-over between several of these categorisations. However, there are books that deserve to be called 'great' despite only incidentally, if at all, meeting those criteria. So, what treasures deserve to be spoken of in the same breath as Jane Grigson's Charcuterie? (and for that matter any of her other works - I don't think anyone has mentioned Mushrooms or The Vegetable Book) Great for their timeless (or at least non-trend-following) and well-presented content. I'd suggest a few that seem to have stood the test of time (for a little while at least!) Erlandson's Home Smoking and Curing Roger Phillips' Wild Food Davidson's North Atlantic Seafood (and maybe his Oxford Companion to Food) The Roux brothers' Patisserie Lepard's Handmade Loaf (Art of Handmade Bread) and hopefully his upcoming (but delayed) British Baking Bull's Classic Bull (I think the original gastropub cookbook) There are others that I could add, like Simon Hopkinson's Roast Chicken & other stories, Alastair Little's Simple Food and even Nico Ladenis' My Gastronomy - but I'm trying to keep it terribly short, books that are recognised as being quite simply outstanding in their field and yet under-publicised outside that niche.