dougal
-
Posts
1,279 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by dougal
-
-
However, the French Government did try and 'ram it down the throats' of diplomats and their families at the recent NATO summit.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/poli...icle6074135.ece
The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, having put international diplomacy under strain over the past fortnight, also appears to have been provocative on matters culinary at the Nato summit.The Times has learnt that Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister’s wife, politely declined to eat the veal and foie gras served by her French hosts in Strasbourg last weekend. Although friends say that she does not seek to impose her longstanding views about animal welfare on others, her refusal to eat such food was noted by officials at the summit.
...
Foie gras canapés were offered to leaders and their spouses at a reception at the Rohan Palace on the Friday night. ... Foie gras, stuffed into guinea fowl, was also on the menu when Carla Bruni had lunch with Michelle Obama on the Friday.
I've not exactly been an ardent admirer of Mrs Brown, but as a quiet avoider myself, I'd like to draw attention to her quietly standing by her principles, even when 'put on the spot' diplomatically. Well done!
-
It sounds to me as though your unit has a thermostat limiting it to that 63° (in 'serve mode').
Or maybe two elements, one with that thermostat.
Anyway, you need to keep that stuff out of play, so that the PID has control.
It seems the best hot baths for retro-fitting with PID control are the dumbest.
If you could keep it in 'brew mode' you should be fine.
If not, you'll need to bypass that thermostat. And preferably the whole brew/serve thing. If you don't have prior experience of tinkering with mains electronics, see if you can find a friendly (and adventurous) repair shop.
Ideally, you want to bypass ALL the controls (except maybe a simple on/off switch) - basically connecting the heater element directly to the power (via that on/off switch). And then supply the power via your PID.
Just tell the repair shop that you want to use an EXTERNAL thermostatic control (which you already have), and you want to use it because it is ADJUSTABLE, and they should understand!
Wattage.
To maintain a specific set temperature, the energy consumed will depend on the heat lost from your urn. Which will increase with a higher temperature setting.
But once it is 'up to temperature', the power used does NOT depend on the rating of the heater element.
If you use a higher wattage heater, it will run for fewer seconds on each PID (2 minute?) cycle. The product of watts times time (energy) will be the same.
And so should be the heating of your PID's solid state relay. (As long as you observe the current (wattage) limits the supplier has indicated.
Most appliances (so likely your urn) have a plate (or sticker) with various details like model ID, serial number and the maximum wattage rating.
The only thing you really need to watch is that the power drawn during 'warm up' - until it gets close to the set temperature - is going to be greater at that stage with a higher wattage element - so it will warm up faster!
Two ways around that. Either fill it with pre-heated water, or bypass the PID (plug the urn directly to a power outlet) and watch the temperature for yourself until it is in the right neighbourhood, then switch off and reconfigure to use the PID.
-
Plain nitrate seasoned (but uncured) pork isn't particularly good tasting, or healthy.
Plain nitrAte is no more harmful than a spinach salad. There is more nitrate in a couple bowls of spinach or celery stalks than there is in a whole salame, even if ALL the nitrate were to go un-reduced.
Just sayin'...
Ah, but the US FDA has this idea that Nitrate + frying (or high temperature cooking) -> nitrosamines.
Now most folks fry or grill (or US English griddle) their sausages. Generally the outside of the sausage gets to very high temperatures indeed. More charred than bacon.
So I'm not going to be the one suggesting that Nitrate is a good idea for fresh sausages!
There is always the question of dosage, too. The salami would be using a carefully controlled (minimised) dose. The quantity in some traditional recipes (such as those in Mrs Grigson's Charcuterie) would not be permitted in commercial foodstuffs these days.
When the poster says "Most likely I don't know what I'm doing", I'm not going to assume that he knows a sensible dose of Nitrate and has a sufficiently accurate scale to measure it.
Better I feel to point out (accurately, I believe), that seasoning with Nitrate isn't a wonderful taste sensation that you are missing, that curing takes time, and there's very little difference between the tastes of nitrate- and nitrite-curing (its only the residual nitrate that makes the difference!)
And nitrate can be very bad for infants. Not that they would be expected to be eating some 'Argentinian' sausage!
Although there was some research published (last year IIRC) about the US diet actually being deficient in nitrate and nitrite and this being associated with poor coronary health.
ADDED - here's a reference to the paper http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutri...o-bad-after-all
-
Chad - sorry to hear of your hassle and disappointment.
We really must convert you to weight measures!
However, for a domestic mixer, that you can lift and put away in a cupboard, and yet is able to handle a LARGE batch of dough, take a look at the Electrolux DLX. Start right here with the references in this thread.
And its meat grinder attachment really does make the KA part look like a plastic toy.
Has anyone (even by gross stupidity) managed to damage a DLX?
-
I've been trying - with little success - to replicate the taste, texture and color of the Argentinean fresh sausage. A few times I got close, but I know I'm missing something. Most likely I don't know what I'm doing. It could also have to do with the ingredients I use.
The recipe I had the best results with calls for Saltpeter and Sodium Tripolyphosphate, both of which I have omitted, as I couldn't find them anywhere. I have used Cure#1 instead. I'm thinking of using #2.
I know Saltpeter is still used in Europe. Has anyone seen it used in fresh sausage?
Also does anyone know where to order these chemicals in the US. I tried my local pharmacy and the look I got said I'm nuts.
My guess is these chemicals were intended for preservation purposes, but the side effect is that sausages taste great. I'm not concerned about the preservation aspect, but I am about taste and texture.
How long did you wait before eating the sausages?
Cure #1/#2/nitrite/saltpetre(nitrate) take time to act. A few days at least. And they'll alter the taste (and colour) in the same way that bacon and ham aren't just pork. But they need time to do it.
The point about nitrAte/#2/saltpetre is that it can act even more slowly than nitrIte/#1 - and in the absence of enough of the right bacteria, the nitrAte will just sit there (this is different to nitrIte). Plain nitrate seasoned (but uncured) pork isn't particularly good tasting, or healthy.
And, saltpetre is one of the ingredients in, umm, fireworks. So you may get some odd questions as well as odd looks these days.
Phosphates are used to hold extra water in commercial sausages. Manufacturers say that thereby 'succulence' is added. Customers say "you are selling me water instead of meat".
If you want to treat it as a 'molecular gastronomy' additive - sorry - "ingredient" then thats your choice.
IMHO, better would be to work on your meat mincing (US English: grinding) and cold mixing technique - as explained in 'Charcuterie'. That way, you should be able to make a more succulent sausage naturally!
Yes, the whole point of Charcuterie these days is that salting, curing, drying and/or smoking all produce attractive results, even if they were originally preservation methods.
But saltpetre in a fresh sausage isn't a very relevant preservative.
-
... I am trying to understand precisely what is meant by "mechanical" adhesion to the surface, at a molecular level. So there are no bonds between the iron atoms and the polymer molecules? Is the idea that some of the polymer chains get tangled up or "wedged in" microscopic crevices in the pan's surface? How strong is this adhesion?
I doubt there's any significant chemical bonding/reaction between the iron and the 'seasoning'.
I think its going to be almost entirely mechanical. So, yes, hooked in, 'keyed' into defects in the surface, though there may be other effects - even atmospheric pressure would likely also be helping to hold the skin in place.
So I was thinking that a 'rough' (sandblasted and cleaned?) surface would be a better substrate for seasoning than a mirror polished one.
But the skin of seasoning is relatively weak, and weakly attached. Which is why you don't go scrubbing at the thing to clean it.
I understand the prime reason for 'seasoning' as being to protect the pan (and thereby you) from rust.
The seasoned surface is also supposed to be somewhat microporous - both giving cooked food something to catch onto, and also somewhere to hold a wipe of oil.
So that it does cook (and releases) better with less oil than an unseasoned surface.
-
... I'm astonished by the amount of misinformation about this subject on the web: in particular, a lot of sites actually advise against using polyunsaturated oil, while others claim the oil doesn't matter at all, it's all about the carbon molecules. For the record, here's what McGee has to say about seasoning cast iron:The oil penetrates into the pores and fissure of the metal, sealing it from the attack of air and water. And the combination of heat, metal, and air oxidizes the fatty acid chains and encourages them to bond to each other ("polymerize") to form a dense, hard, dry layer[...]. Highly unsaturated oils—soy oil, corn oil—are especially prone to oxidation and polymerizing.
Note that in this case we want oxidation and polymerization. And it certainly sounds to me like there is more going on than just bonding the carbon molecules to the iron.
Unless you are getting into exotic materials (fullerenes?), forget about the notion of "carbon molecules". We may get some carbon, but I think to call it molecular would be misleading.
Oil molecules are in essence long strings of carbon atoms, 'joined' one to the next, (with, in this context, pretty inert hydrogen atoms stuck on the side).
If any of the Carbon-Carbon bonds are 'double' bonds then you have an 'unsaturated' fat. If many are double bonds in the same molecule, its "poly-unsaturated".
If you can induce a double bond to partially break - and become a mere single bond - you thereby get a reactive site on the molecule, eager to find something to join up with.
If two such sites, on different chains, get near one another and join up with each other, (which might be assisted by linking via an atom of oxygen, we've got 'polymerisation' happening.
The double bonds aren't essential, but they should facilitate the polymerisation. (Sure you can polymerise lard, but not I think as easily.)
Get enough oil molecules joining together and the chains get longer, stiffer and more inter-tangled. The molecules lose their ability to move easily relative to one another - and we get something more like a solid than a liquid. Ideally, we want to get past this wax to a 'proper solid'.
With that in mind, we can see what else is happening.
We want our waxy solid polymer to stick to the iron surface. It won't chemically react with the iron, so it has to be mechanically keyed to the surface.
For it to stick (which is what we want), the iron surface must be, just slightly, rough. The more mirror polished it is, the less easily the polymer will stick!
However, that's not really a problem - as long as you prevent the bright shiny surface from rusting! It was said that "seasoning is use" - and so it is; one could just let the patina build up naturally, in its own time. Just wipe it out gently rather than scouring it. And dry it very carefully to prevent rust.
When the fat (or food) burns or smokes, the molecular chains are being wrecked. Those 'inert' hydrogen atoms are joining up with oxygen (the resultant water escapes) and bits of carbon get left behind. Get it hot enough for the carbon to react with oxygen and we describe the result as 'catching fire'.
We don't want a fire, but we do want some carbon. The carbon will be in a messy structure based on that of graphite (sorry, you aren't anywhere near the conditions for carbon's other structure - diamond). But that sooty, graphitic carbon makes a great "non-stick" lubricant.
But it doesn't stick, by itself, to iron.
Which is where the polymer comes in!
We want to trap/embed bits of carbon in the polymer which is itself mechanically keyed to the iron surface. And, I reckon the black surface produced by seasonong is going to be itself somewhat micro-porous, so it will hold a little oil for lubrication and also more polymerisation.
So, we want two things to occur. 'Smoke' to get the carbon, AND our waxy plastic polymer to hold the carbon, and to hold all this stuff to the iron.
So, to obtain the carbon that is going to be embedded, it's important to get to 'smoke' temperature - just as HowardLi describes. And it might help to have additional sources of carbon (like Dave the Cook's flour), though I suspect that would make it hard to get an even layer. And for the 'smoking' oil or fat, it shouldn't matter whether its poly-unsaturated or fully saturated.
But first, we need to lay down some sticky (waxy) polymer.
Now, if anyone says that what we really want to do is to lay down our polymer, keyed to the iron, and then 'carbonise' that polymer - I'd say fine, there's probably quite a lot of that going on as well.
However, the important thing is to recognise that there are two processes, polymerisation and carbonisation. And we need both.
The quickest route to 'blackening' a distressingly shiny pan (if the shine worries you), would probably be to get a thin but nicely even 'gummy' layer (from mid temperature heating, 130C?, of a rewiped but thin layer, 3 wipes over 90 minutes?), before 'smoking' the thing at a very high temperature, until it stops smoking! To minimise the thermal shock on the way to seriously high temperatures, you could heat the pan in the oven before putting it over charcoal .
Similarly, this smoking phase might indeed be performed with a blowlamp, but it would be much more considerate to the pan (thermal shock minimisation) to get the pan properly hot before showing it the flame.
But, its the slow building up of the 'burnt grease', in multiple thin even layers, and immediately wiping out the pan gently, that would give you the even-ness of build-up, rather than merely a filthy crusty old pan.
This should be where the salt comes in.
Salt crystals are being used simply as an abrasive. No magic, no chemistry, just mechanical abrasion.
If you 'sand' down the lumpy bits of 'crust' with a salted cloth, you'll get a smoother, less lumpy surface ... BUT, its not something you'd be doing unless your wipedown had failed to give you a smooth surface.
Its noteworthy that in Andiesenji's splendid photos, the only 'rough' surface in the cornbread pan is above the level to which the pan is routinely filled!
"Seasoning is use" ...
-
Devlin, no apologies needed.
Sad news. But new news to me, and I'm sure many others who respected his work and would not normally see the NYT obituaries.
-
Jim - I'd think that "students" would be learning more with 'instant' yeast from the supermarket. But I doubt you'd easily find cake/compressed/fresh on retail sale. In the UK, I have been able to get it in home quanties (sometimes free) by asking for it specifically at some supermarket bakery counters. Its NEVER on display.
But I'd expect you could find a good 'instant' pretty easily.
To avoid a bread machine product (with lots of 'improvers') check the ingredients listing for the Europe-wide additive ID numbers.
Vitamin C and the ascorbates are E300 to 305 inclusive, and unobjectionable.
Sorbitan monostearate, the usual rehydrating agent for 'instants' is E491.
A battery of other stuff means its a bread machine product - so find a different one!
In the UK, the Instant that I can confidently point to is Dove's Farm.
http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Doves...-Yeast/17257011
125g pack is just about £1 (about €1.10).
I've tasted (but not baked with) tap water in the Balearics which was supposedly at least partly artesian. And it tasted foul.
While at the supermarket, it might be worth picking up a couple of cheap 5 litre bottles of a 'plain' table mineral water (like a supermarket own-brand) to eliminate that variable for at least one test batch. "Natural" isn't always best!
Breton Fleur du Sel is excellent table salt, but maybe better reserved for topping some breads with. Its expensive, and I doubt anyone would detect it by taste within the bread!
However, the thing about 'grainy' salts is that they tend to dissolve slowly.
Hence, I think (and its only my opinion, no authorities to cite) that such salts are best pre-dissolved in the water before adding it to the dough. If you are wanting to delay salt addition, the way then is to grind it finely before adding it (so it dissolves faster).
My thinking here is that, as the relatively large crystals slowly dissolve in the dough, while they dissolve, each will be surrounded by a small but very strongly saline yeast-killing zone. It may not kill much yeast, but it'll probably zap some.
Dissolving the salt first means that there are no 'hot spots' where any yeast could encounter a high enough salt concentration to kill it.
Ordinary kitchen salt dissolves so readily that I don't think the effect is nearly so marked.
This is a small detail, but when you are struggling to preserve the yeast, pre-dissolving might make a worthwhile improvement - and it certainly cannot do any harm!
Added: about the flour. Allinson's is a respectable brand, up-market but mass market. You should have no quality control problems there.
Its not as though you were dealing with a "single estate" product which might vary from year to year.
Regarding the whole wheat, that's just what it is. Very very low extraction. Our retail whole wheat flours do tend to have quite large bran flakes. I've been sifting such stuff at home for a while, and I think that the tasty but lighter product after sifting is more like a French T80.
The only thing about such true whole wheat flours is their relatively short self-life before rancidity. Impressive distribution if it can be sold 'in date' in Spain!
-
Jim, please forgive the obviousness of some of my points below, but Sherlock himself said something about eliminating the impossible so that what remained, however improbable, was a possible solution!
I recognise that you must have far greater expertise with a wood oven than any of us (quite possible exception Jackal10
) are ever likely to lay claim to. So, humbly, my thoughts.
Isn't SAF Gold the osmotolerant one?
Why would you choose to use it for non-sweet baking?
I seem to recall that it didn't show up too well in one back to back test with Red.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/9629/grea...-gold-smackdown
Gold isn't available in the UK that I know of.
Is it really available in Spain?
"Proofing" instant yeast really doesn't seem to me to show much. Ever! It really doesn't like it. That just ain't the way its designed to be handled.
However, what was this "English Strong Flour imported into Spain" ??? We don't actually produce much hard wheat anywhere in Europe, and most of the 'strong' flour is a blend incorporating some proportion of North American wheats.
What exactly was it? How was it supplied? And how old was it?
But even 'old' flour made from decent grain should still rise... (even if it doesn't taste so good!)
The Amylase activity (Falling Number) really should be OK in "Bread flour" from any reputable mill, but it can be a significant problem for those who try to begin with grain that they mill themselves.
The water. "Straight from a spring". Anyone ever check the mineralisation?
Javea is on the Costa Blanca. Its a limestone area. (The clue was in the word Blanca.)
http://books.google.com/books?id=rcXKBiIZa...num=5&ct=result
Anyway, water from a spring in a limestone area is likely to be very high indeed in Calcium. Super-'hard' water. I've no idea about other mineralisations.
I just wonder if that might not be a bit much for the osmotolerant yeast?
I simply don't know how any microbiology in the spring water might affect the yeast and the bread.
Naturally, the chill was taken off the cold spring water before it went anywhere near the yeast, wasn't it?
"Straight from the spring" tends to mean pretty chilly.
Instant yeasts do disperse in cold water, but the number of revived (ie live) yeast cells is said to be maximised by using water around blood heat for the dough-making - tested as for baby's bathwater.
Cold water makes for more dead yeast cells, even with instant.
Isn't the osmotolerant Gold slightly more delicate than ordinary Instants, like SAF Red?
And I really think we must be dealing with a lot of dead yeast cells - however they were caused.
Maybe from yeast transport, storage or handling. (Instants want very low humidity storage.) And the Spanish coast, even in Spring, is probably more humid than Toronto.
Maybe from technique (like the water temperature).
Or maybe from an interaction with something in the other ingredients. Heavy chlorination would be the usual suspect, but here, might it be excessive hardness and other mineralisation? And there's been no mention at all as yet of the salt being used.
Or just maybe its a combination of small contributions from more than one of these areas acting cumulatively, to produce a magnified final effect.
Apart from having fewer live cells (and hence slower rising), those dead yeast cells provide exactly the same "dough conditioner" as does 'deactivated yeast' - no surprise there!
But what 'conditioning' does it do? It makes the dough more extensible (easily stretchable) - making it relatively 'unmanageable' (somewhat as though the hydration was excessive) AND it weakens the gluten - so it can't hold a rise properly.
This will be familiar to those that have ever tried to use 'fresh' yeast after it has gone stale ... the dough offers less resistance to kneading and while rising very slowly seems all too ready to go 'over-proofed'. "Pitta bread" anyone?
So I'm tending towards blaming Glutathione from dead yeast cells. Even though I don't know how they got that way, it seems to me as though lots of them were dead in the dough.
Thats my 2 €uro cents worth!
Did you get any clues from talking to any of the local bakers?
Or pick up any interesting local ideas? Or products made with their very soft local flour?
-
As I've suggested on other threads, check eBay for "pocket scales" if you don't fancy supporting your local 'head shop'.
Some scales have a calibration facility which sets the top end exactly (calibration weight needed).
Perhaps more usefully reassuring is to obtain a 'check weight' that is of the same order as the typical quantities you actually measure.
I prefer to have a more sensitive scale, and then use the least significant digit mostly just for rounding purposes. That way, I can believe that my expectation of accuracy is justified.
Agreed absolutely about real accuracy needing a well controlled environment.
My first scale died after it was accidentally exposed to moisture. So add 'dry' to the environmental requirements!
I've found disposable plastic cups (or picnic 'glasses') to be useful as lightweight scale pans. Paper cups tend to sometimes catch some stuff in the seams (throwing off your accuracy). Or you might prefer to shape some aluminium foil.
The weight of your scale pan is included in the maximum range of the scale. So, to measure say 95 gram quantities - you probably need a scale with a 200 (not 100) gram maximum.
If you don't already know, learn how to use the Tare function!
-
... What else is worth trying? I have tried green and blacks, which is ok, hate cadburys, again too sweet. I have tried some top end stuff, the charbonnel and walker, I find it does not mix well, same with the chocolate societys hot choc. Any recipes or hints? ...
Mixing/dissolving is the difference between cocoa and "drinking chocolate" in my terms.
Cocoa needs persuasion to mix well.
I've used Waitrose's "Cocoa". Very plain packaging.
100% cocoa.
Zero sugar, powdered milk, stabilisers, emulsifiers, etc, etc, that make up the bulk of most 'drinking chocolates' AND help the cocoa to disperse. Just one teaspoonful of the Waitrose Cocoa makes a mugful. BUT you MUST slowly mix the powder with a teaspoonful or so (very very little) COLD milk, to make a paste in the mug, before you add the hot milk.
Take your time and squidge it about to make the paste while the milk heats. Do that and it dissolves/disperses pretty well.
Its surprisingly cheap, and you can sprinkle just a pinch of it on your cappuccino as well ...
Probably not the most exclusive product, but it might meet your requirements!
-
Dunno. (Yet!)
Wallets Court has struck me as being more about service, ambiance, etc rather than special food.
My suggestion for extraordinary value is still The Granville at Lower Hardres (behind Bridge). Its in The Sportsman's family. No tasting menu, otherwise very comparable - but much easier to get into! http://www.shepherd-neame.co.uk/pubs/pubs....ille_canterbury
The Fitzwalter Arms at Goodnestone has become a metaphorical member of The Sportsman's extended family. http://www.thefitzwalterarms.co.uk/about.html
Neither are far off the A2.
Both should be worth your while.
-
After 'havering' for way too long, I'm about to spring for an N2006P (and an Auber PT100 probe).
There's an SSR all ready and waiting for its intro to the (not all that vast) rice cooker.
I'd been wondering about making my own PID with an Arduino, but frankly I've not had time to do it, so the auto-tune on the N2006P beckons.
Re the deep fryer, as I said above, I think the only time the element is likely to get 'hot' (for the bags) should be during the recovery from the chill of launching the cold bags. The chip basket might just be enough to maintain separation...
-
... Pretty good PIDs can be found on eBay UK for about £30. I'm using 4 of them they're great...
Are you using the "N2006P" ?
What probes are you using? The N2006P supplied thermocouple probes seem to be not fully immersible, but rather designed to bolt through the wall of the bath ...
The immersible PT100 probes from Auber would seem a good high accuracy match.
And the N2006P seems to require an external SSR to switch the heater current. That's no bad thing at all, but it is another cost - as is providing an enclosure with a modicum of splashproofing.
Regarding insulation.
The way I see it, it makes the container behave, as far as the controller is concerned, as though the bath is smaller - controlling it involves controlling smaller energy flows and the whole thing is more 'twitchy'.
Hence a large insulated container with steady circulation shouldn't be a problem to control, but a small insulated one with more erratic circulation would be more difficult for the controller.
Convection flows depend on temperature difference! Less difference, less natural mixing -- yet more difficult for the controller!
My opinion is that for 'equilibrium' sv cooking, its the maximum temperature in the bath that is the primary control. Excursions below that serve only to prolong the cooking time (assuming the bags get moved around) whereas any overtemperature can change the result.
Regarding deep fat fryers.
Remember to keep the bags well away from the elements - which are typically exposed, unlike in rice cookers for example. (Probably most important as the bath recovers from the chill of adding the bags)
Also, the design of many dffs involves elements that rise up at one side. This promotes gross convection in viscous oil, but could lead to undesirably large temperature variation in the bath.
-
OK. Another tangent.
Lacking an ISI gas whipper and some gelatine, is there any other way that the situation could have been retrieved?
Or, to put it another way, how could one 'whip' cream that doesn't want to whip?
Could one mix in a little beaten egg-white? What could one do to 'stabilise' the foam with things that might be to hand?
-
Can it also be used as a candy thermometer or mostly for meat?
Check the temperature range - the Thermapen FR goes from below most folk's freezers to above the smoke point of most oils ...
Just be careful with your hands !
-
Some books have a web presence, which is really nice IMO. ...
Oh yes, some do. My concern is that the majority of 'serious' cooks' books don't have such a web presence!
-
I don't think the probe part of the combo is 'fast response' - in Thermapen terms.
Actually, the difference between a "fast response" Thermapen and a "regular" Thermapen is the probe. ...
Yes, as I indicated, without a 'fast response' probe, in Thermapen terms its going to be 'slow'.
On the discounted models in question, the probe is not changeable.
It is a (slower) 'thick' one on the combo http://www.thermoworks.com/products/ir/combo_thermapen.html
and a slim-pointed fast one on the 'fast response' units http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/tpen_home.html
So the combo IS going to be slower. Even before considering whether the internal electronics are comparable.
So the combo is not an FR Thermapen, plus an infra-red one, and °F/C use, and all for less money!
The 'Standard' (not FR) Thermapen has an 8 to 10 second response time. http://www.thermoworks.com/products/therma...tpen_other.html
The Combo is not going to be faster than that. I don't know how much slower it is.
However yes, they do indeed offer an even thinner, faster and more delicate option for their 'interchangeable probe' models. And hey, if you damage that super-slim, ultra-fast probe - then just buy another one and plug it on yourself rather than the return-to-base required with the fixed-probe models. Which might explain why they might only offer the most delicate probe on the interchangeable-probe models.
-
Athens. Greece. Mediterranean.
Quirky interesting book, maybe around the subject of food, but not exclusively a recipe book.
The sort of book one could read for pleasure, even if one wasn't obsessed with food.
How about "Honey from a Weed" by Patience Gray?
Its a bit of a classic, first published 1986.
http://www.amazon.com/Honey-Weed-Feasting-.../dp/190301820X/
Unfortunately, its an expensive paperback by the time it gets to the USA. (It is a bit bigger than most paperbacks.)
However, its only $17 in the UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Honey-Weed-Feastin.../dp/190301820X/ (the reviews are additional to the US ones).
She lived with an impoverished sculptor who was a bit obsessed with marble. So they lived 'close to the land' (generally rather frugally) near various renowned marble quarrying sites. Notably in this context, the Greek island of Naxos. But also Spain, and two rather different bits of Italy.
Its all sorts of things - autobiography, travelogue, cultural history, cookbook and even foraging manual.
Its a very unusual, interesting book - and probably very rare in Iowa!
Do you know what subject(s) she teaches?
-
...
I have a couple art instruction books that are spiral bound but also have a back spine, the whole think it mounted inside the hardcover. Probably won't work for a fat book though.
Step forward The Harvey Nicols Fifth Floor Cookbook http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harvey-Nichols-Fif.../dp/1857028597/ the copy of which that I have is 'fat', is wire bound and is encased in a hardcover.
Unfortunately, the wire binding is too tight, and not strong enough for the weight of paper. The pages suffer when turned (you can't flick through them fast when looking for something) -- but it does stay open at the right page beautifully, once you've found it!.
Good content too BTW.
Binding aside, there's the editorial content and the presentation. Its only when the same words get republished with different page layouts and different pictures that you really appreciate how the 'tone' of the writing needs to be reflected in the 'tone' of the presentation!
There's a whole lot of things to be got right simultaneously - and that must be terribly difficult.
Common things that I find off-putting in American books include - volume measures for loose solids, and the use of 'customary measures' - like "a stick of butter" (which is meaningless outside the USA), and references to ingredients only by a non-international brand name.
I can handle Fahrenheit, but its not hard to put Centigrade in as well. But if you are going to do conversions - get them right!
Something that seems much rarer in US recipe books (a specific subset of books on cooking) is attention being paid to designing the page layouts (and even ordering) so that recipes do not involve page-turning!
In recipe books, I like to see call-outs not just for the ingredients (in order of use), but also of the timing. And its wonderous to find the occasional author who flags up the 'holds' in the countdown!
I'm not so keen on seeing substitutions routinely, but what I really do like are the suggestions for recipe variation as regularly offered by Nigel Slater, for one.
Where small quantities of real oddities are called for (pomegranate chutney springs to mind), it'd be nice to have a cross reference (somewhere) to other recipes that use it. And if there's only one recipe in the book that uses it, maybe that recipe's inclusion should be reconsidered, its method re-thought or, OK, some ideas given on substitution or working around.
And in this day and age, just how difficult can it be to have a web presence for the title with any errata, clarifications and maybe even 'bonus content' that failed to make the final edit?
That sort of 'customer care' brings loyalty. But its a trick too often missed.
-
...
The combo has a slightly lower range of temperatures compared to the original but is switchable from C to F.
...
Perhaps important to note that NOT all Thermapens are "Fast Response" Thermapens, and that it is particularly the Fast Response models that seem to have the cult following.
I don't think the probe part of the combo is 'fast response' - in Thermapen terms.
-
...
I'd just make sure what ever model you get that you can override the vacuum and seal when you want to.
I have a wide but basic V475.
It has the removable trough, and an accessory port for bottles, jars and canisters.
It auto-starts on pressing the top down, and there's a button to 'release' the lid which also acts as a 'cancel' button.
But that's it as far as features go.
I got a great bargain on it, but I'd like more control.
OK --- any control.
Like Kerry's "just seal it now" button.
So I could handle liquids.
Has anyone ever 'hacked' one of these things?
I'm thinking that mine seems to have a pressure switch that triggers the sealing process ONLY when the bag is pumped down to a set level.
It ought to be possible to put a pushbutton in parallel with that switch...
It might be that internally the same control board gets used for different models, and its only the switch I'm missing.
I haven't come across anyone posting about 'modding' a Foodsaver.
Or even found a service (take-apart) manual on line.
Anyone ever see anything that might be helpful to me?
-
... why do so many commercial bakers use fresh yeast?
The answer is likely to be any, some or all of the following reasons:
- Because its cheaper. (Barely these days, but it used to be significantly cheaper) And commercial bakers do use a lot of it
- Because its what they've always used
- Because the business has always had proper cool and humid storage facilities to minimise its deterioration over a few days of storage
- Because they use lots of yeast, and so can comfortably use all the delivery well within its short shelf life. Therefore short shelf life is no major disadvantage to them.
- Because they dislike the characteristics of Active Dry.
- Because they misunderstand the Instants. These might be a touch more expensive than Fresh, likely were not in wide use when they were trained, and have been woefully mis-sold, particularly in the USA.
- Because they think dried yeasts are 'full of additives'
- Because "fresh" must mean better, right?
- Because they believe dried yeast "is for home cooks"
- Or because they think there is only ONE type of "dried" yeast, (and they don't like it)
"Fresh" yeast is the factory-made processed product of the late 1800's. Hence its "traditional".
It has a shelf life measured in days.
Its about 70% water.
Freezing it kills many of the yeast cells. Dead yeast cells do matter, see below.
Damaging the product is why "fresh" yeast is not sold from the freezer cabinet in stores.
Active Dry is the processed product of the 1940's. It was designed for the military - to provide a shelf life measured in years, if not decades.
It is as much of a gourmet product as any other military ration. Despite that, its conveniently long storage life made it a domestic alternative to a product that spoiled quickly.
Its actually "Actively Dried" - dried by heating.
It has almost no water, so you use less weight of the product to get the right amount of live yeast.
But many/most of its yeast cells are actually dead. As a result of the heat-drying.
So you need to use more (total) yeast cells to get the same number of live ones to do the work.
This gives a distinct "yeasty" taste to the bread. Which some people do actually prefer.
The dead yeast also acts as a "dough conditioner". (You can buy "deactivated" yeast specifically for use as a conditioner.) Its function is to make the dough weaker, smoother and more stretchy, (more "extensible"). Some bakers like that. Its easier for automated shaping. Especially with 'strong' North American flours.
Personally, I think weak, very extensible dough is what I want for pizza, rather than bread.
But, again personally, I don't like the strong yeast taste, even in pizza.
Because the grains have a protective covering of dead yeast cells, the stuff has to be rehydrated carefully - typically 10 minutes or more in warm water.
Frozen, or slightly stale, 'fresh' yeast has plenty of dead cells.
So it then works rather like Active Dry, with more extensibility and more yeast taste.
The processed product of the 1970's is Instant Mix yeast (though the term I prefer is "Easyblend").
Its vacuum dried, at low temperature.
This is much less damaging to the yeast cells than heat drying.
The first misunderstanding is about speed - its NOT faster. The only thing 'instant' is the availability -- you don't need to prepare by rehydrating the yeast with warm water for 10 minutes -- it is "instantly available" without the 10 minute wait.
Its got much less dead yeast than Active Dry. And again no water.
So, if you use the same weight of Easyblend as Active Dry, then you will be putting in more live yeast cells. This is just like putting in a larger quantity of 'fresh' yeast - which gives quicker rising, so less bread taste, and more taste of yeast, because there's more yeast in the product.
So - second misunderstanding - do NOT use the same quantity as of Active Dry - use LESS, like 25% less by weight than of Active Dry.
Its not as 'bulletproof' in storage as Active Dry, but treated well, it stores for ages.
Third misunderstanding - in storage, what it needs protection from is humidity, more than temperature. Keep it sealed (once open, in a 'small' sealed container) and cool does no harm. Freezing really isn't helpful. Vac packing however, is great.
The fourth misunderstanding is to confuse "Easyblend" yeasts with special "Bread Machine" yeasts. And wooo, the manufacturers and their marketing departments deserve the blame for this one, big time.
Special yeast products are produced specifically to assist the automated processing in bread machines.
These are derived from Easyblend yeasts but have an additional cocktail of "improvers" derived from industrial breadmaking.
While they undoubtedly can 'help' a bread machine loaf to more closely resemble a supermarket loaf, I and many others would rather not use them. I want my bread to be better than the supermarket's.
The problem is that the marketing (product names, etc) of Bread Machine and Easyblend yeasts is completely unhelpful in distinguishing between them.
The word "rapid" might be applicable to Bread Machine yeast/improver cocktails - but it is misapplied regularly to Easyblend - which is only more rapid than anything else if you use it to excess. But then salesmen want to shift product, and you'll shift more if you tell people to use an excessive quantity. Doh! Pack instructions in the USA can be guilty of this.
You can use Easyblend perfectly well in a machine, but you miss out on all the 'improvements'. Hence the marketing confusion.
To tell the difference from the pack, you really do have to look closely at the small print ingredients listing on the label.
An Easyblend yeast will only have a trace (normally way less than 1% of the yeast's tiny weight) of soapy stuff, to help it rehydrate. This will typically be a "Stearate". It might be described as an emulsifier. Honestly, its nothing to fuss about if you use detergents in your home, especially those designed for dishwashers. You might find a trace of Vitamin C as well, sometimes called by one of its chemical names, Ascorbate or Ascorbic Acid. There's way too little to do you any good, and anyway it is destroyed in the oven. But it is good for dough, (it protects the yeast from chlorine/chloramide in your water, and also strengthens the dough), and, hey, its less harmful to you than Orange Juice.
However, anything else, enzymes, stabilisers, preservatives, whatever - indicates a Bread Machine yeast. And if you are not using such a machine, there's no need for them.
Different manufacturers have differing strains of yeast. One 'fresh' product is unlikely to be identical to another.
And manufacturers may choose to vary the strain they use in different preparations.
But that's about that manufacturer's specific product, rather than the generality.
And, yes, there are special strains available, for special purposes. But few of them are available retail (especially in the UK). If you don't know about osmotolerant yeasts, you probably don't need to worry about them!
For domestic manual bread baking, an Easyblend yeast is the best product.
In taste terms, its way better than Active Dry, most authorities (including Prof Calvel) say it produces results equivalent to, if not better than, (fresh not stale) 'fresh' yeast.
Its got no storage problem. It keeps for months (at least).
And its more convenient to use. Just add it straight into the flour.
When one takes wastage into account, its likely cheaper, per loaf, domestically, than 'fresh'.
What's not to like?
Foie Gras
in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining
Posted
Is it possible that Mrs Brown was well-enough informed to disagree with your assumptions?