dougal

A useful point to remember is that 1 kg of water is exactly 1 litre. Flour does settle in storage, but without vibration, not much. When you empty sacks or bags into a bin, you are fluffing it up to a slightly greater volume, because of its looser packing. I'd guess that 25 kg would fill a 30 litre container. I expect that you'd have a 'using' container of a couple of litres to take any excess, and save you wrestling with the big one every time you bake. Quality in storage is another question. "White" flour keeps pretty well - not least because its had the nutritious, but oily, wheatgerm removed. Wholemeal flour (ie with the wheatgerm) doesn't 'keep' as well. I think 6 months would be pushing it. The oils oxidise and taste/smell "rancid". Just a gentle reminder also that your large storage container(s) need to be proof against insects (and maybe rodents too). I've come across folks just putting a sack inside a nice immaculately clean dustbin with a tight-fitting lid...

I reckon Davidson's "Mediterranean Seafood" is the book for you. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mediterranean-Seaf.../dp/1903018218/ Botanical illustrations, names in many languages, cross referenced to appropriate recipes... ... and its an inexpensive paperback! PS - Probably swimming crabs, (Spanish "nécora", Catalan "cranc", Davidson says) which he suggests using to flavour fish soup...

I know their own writers are on strike, but really...

Well, I'm about to be playing with some Acidophilus culture capsules from the local health potion shop, but sausagemaking.org sell what they call 'LS-25'. At £6 ($11?) per 25g sachet. I'm happy to experiment as long as there's a sensible amount of nitrate in there too. If you are 'flying on one engine' then you'd better trust it!

You could try Chef'n spatulas at Amazon - they carry some, although not the entire range we get locally [Canada]. Particularly they are not showing the 'square edged spoonula' of which I'm so fond. ← Many thanks for that. I wasn't aware that the brand was distributed over here. Looks like my "Lakeland" one is a "Switchit dual ended spatula - small frost" by Chef'n !!

I noticed that most people are using a bactoferm acidifier. I went the way of Sausage Maker. I haven't noticed any overly tanginess, but I have noticed strange measurements when trying to use Fermento. For instance, if I use the Fermento for Bertolli's Fennel Salami and used as instructed in the recipe, the flavor is good. Yet, if I would following the dosage recommended on the container, I think it would be incredibly sour. I didn't break down and buy bactoferm when I placed a Butcher Packer order as I still have a lot of Fermento. However, I did buy some of the exterior mold/penicillium. Does anyone have a smaller, practical ratio for spraying a small amount of sausages? ← Bactoferm and Fermento These US products aren't (seemingly) available to me here in England. However, I learned (probably from this thread, way back) that they are entirely different. And easily confused as being thought to be equivalent. But they aren't. Fermento is an inert flavouring product, that does little or nothing for food safety. The quantity of Fermento to be used is simply a matter of strength of flavour. The various Bactiferm offerings, by contrast, are live cultures. F-RM, for example, has the function of feasting on sugars (like dextrose), and thus making lactic acid, thereby acidifying the dried sausage. (M-EK - for the exterior - doesn't acidify.) Acidification to pH ~4 is one hurdle against c. botulinus. Fermento has no equivalent acidification function. I'd echo jmolinari's point that the amount of acidification produced by the (Bactoferm) culture should be more dependant on the amount of food (sugars) available, than on the amount of starter culture mixed in. However in summary -- Fermento is not a functional alternative to Bactoferm -- Not all Bactoferm cultures provide the safeguard of acidification

I was initially entranced by the qualities of a wooden-handled silicone-bladed spatula. But thinking of hygiene made me wince every time the 'joint' was submerged in the food. (I still use a really narrow version for scraping out jamjars!) So I adopted something rather like Derek's. Its a single piece of icy translucent white silicone - with a stiffening metal spine fully encapsulated in the silicone. So no hygiene worries. It has slightly flexy blades at both ends (slightly angled to the central axis), and yet its stiff and robust in the mid-section. Its maybe 1" wide at one end, 2" at the other. Its a brilliant tool. I'd love to have a few other (differently shaped/sized) similarly-constructed tools. But I've not found them. Yet. My stick spatula came from Lakeland (a UK kitchen store). Its a splendid "spirtle"

Battery operated ones are usually mounted with just a couple of screws. Being quite light weight they don't even have to be big screws, let alone into anything seriously solid. So, they are really pretty easy to install or relocate. Having such alarms installed, yet without a battery kinda defeats the object... ... and the object of an *audible* alarm is to save life, by alerting people in time to make an escape. Not to protect property. For that you would have a sprinkler system installed! As to where a good place for a smoke alarm might be -- that depends on the house! If there were a fire, the smoke would be trying to rise. Smoke tends to travel along the ceiling, looking for a way out. So any staircase provides a chimney for the smoke and therefore a prime location for an alarm (or two, or more). Another reason for alarming the staircase is that it is probably the primary means of escape from upstairs. You want to know the moment there's any smoke anywhere near a staircase! For a flat I'd locate smoke detectors on my exit route, and anywhere the ceiling was higher than average - as that's where the smoke will try and flow to. A single storey building isn't quite as critical, since people should be able to escape through the windows. But if you have bars over the windows, you might as well be 10 storeys up -- you'll need to exit via the doors... But outside occupied bedrooms sounds very sensible. As a general comment, I'd suggest that trying to ensure that the airflow through the kitchen (hey, and the bathroom) should be to the outside - rather than to the rest of the house. You'll probably need some definite form of active or passive extraction, but you'd like the house to vent through these rooms, rather than have them vent into the core of the house. This will have the effect of reducing problems with damp (and greasy dirt), as well as with smells, AND smoke alarms. If the airflow goes the wrong way, it might (quite apart from smoke alarm questions) be worthwhile trying to turn it round!

Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about the fire hazard of extending the cable run, or using two heaters... BUT it would scare me silly to be leaving a live mains power cable over a gas flame for many hours! Just goes to show that we all have different risk tolerances, I suppose. I did wonder about the idea of putting the stockpot into an insulated container (like an insulation filled cardboard box), but Auber's Application Note indicates that one should expect better control with a greater energy throughput -- but I suspect that this may principally relate to the effectiveness of convection mixing to spread the heat. ANYWAY... the reason for digging up this thread was to note that, with all this publicity, Auber are now out of stock (likely until March) on both models of ready-to-run PID.

Congratulations to The Sportsman, but surely its strange that The Granville just stays on a bib? Next year!

Sealed in a bag, I wouldn't expect you'd be having much fat drain out of the meat. At best, it'll be sitting in a puddle of melted fat, won't it? Is sv a good idea for fatty cuts?

Ummm.... since when do NFPA codes apply in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Europe? In the UK (and I suspect elsewhere in the EU), because of Health and Safety at Work legislation, any legal/admin problems would more likely occur the other way round - with using domestic equipment (mixers and slicers lacking safety guards and interlocks, etc) in a commercial environment!

Hi Cookman - Jeffrey Hamelman is Director of the Bakery and Baking Education Center at King Arthur Flour Company. He is also the author of the excellent "Bread - A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes".* This explains why the quote you have given matches, word for word, the one I gave up-thread! Incidentally, looking through Reinhart's BBA, I noticed that he speaks of using a (measured) cup of boiling water into a large pan -- but I've not spotted **any** instruction whatsoever to remove the pan during baking! I'm sure that a pan as large as is illustrated will boil dry during the first half of the bake, but I'm all the more surprised by Saucée's 2 minute removal, citing "Harold McGee and Peter Reinhart". * Incidentally, I think Hamelman's book, though under-hyped, is rather special, being written primarily for the working professional manual baker, while being carefully kept accessible (and thus very useful) to the serious amateur.

Remember the domestic "steam breadmaker" ? Those folks say http://www.steambreadmaker.com/bread_makin...read_baking.htm There is no doubt or dispute about the value of 'steaming', or the reasons why its so beneficial, but I'm now rather mystified as to where Josh has got the idea of removing the steam pan after just 2 minutes...

Really Josh? I don't have McGee. I don't know what he says about steam, but I'd hestitate to accept his contradiction of specialists. Reinhart on page 92 of BBA, says that steam is valuable "only during the first half of the baking process". Its possible that you may be confused by commercial oven practice with a steam lever -- giving a blast of steam on demand. You will see various bits of advice about not using that lever to admit more fresh steam after the first couple of minutes of baking. Hamelman says "The benefits of steam occur only during the first third or so of the baking cycle. If the baker neglects to inject steam at the time of bread loading, he or she cannot compensate by steaming the oven several minutes later. In order to ensure that the crust remains thin and crisp, it is important to finish the bake in a dry oven. For this reason, the oven should be vented or the doors notched partially open for the last portion of the bake." - (Page 27). On page 192, Hamelman makes clear that these commercial ovens should have their vents opened (to release the damp air) "once the bread has begun to colour, usually after about 15 minutes of baking." Dan Lepard on page 22 of The Handmade Loaf says "For the first 10 minutes of baking, the loaf needs to expand to its fullest extent ... A moist environment enables this to happen." That's why I think I have some support for what I do myself: I actually thought that was pretty mainstream advice from the experts.

Boiling water into a hot pan is the best way I know of to get plenty of hot water vapour into the oven air, in a domestic electric oven. About a cupful is all that's needed. About 1/3 of the way through the bake, (so after its fully risen and 'set'), I remove the pan, whether or not it has boiled dry. Opening the oven to take it out allows a lot of the moisture to escape -- the crust wants much lower humidity for the last half of the bake, so that's good too.

A combi is a whole lot more useful than a plain microwave taking up the exact same space! I survived (in a little style) with one for a couple of years. The oven indicated, at 220v and 2.6kw, will plug straight in to a UK domestic socket -- hence I'm pretty sure it would do in Holland too. 2.6 kw isn't much power for an oven... It does seem expensive, though. A warning: in the UK, "commercial" equipment is generally priced *before* adding on the VAT - I'll let you check the Dutch "small print"! Anyway, be careful it isn't even more expensive than you expect. If you have room for that thing, do you have room for a standard oven housing, to take a normal (single) oven? It'd be cheaper, more powerful, though therefore likely needing a pro to do the electrical installation. The housing wouldn't need much physical installation to safely secure it...

AND I'll bet you didn't **see** any steam in the oven, before you reopened the door... This has do do with why Ice Cubes **appear** to be a good idea. But aren't. You only *see* steam, when it *cools*. And condenses to a fog of water droplets. With ice you have *lots* of cooling. Therefore some visible condensation to cold fog. Many people (even unscientific bakers) think that the steam from a pan (or even a spray) disappears quickly and so "must" have been vented away somewhere. Actually it just disappears because it has turned into *hot* (and so invisible) vapour. And even when you don't see it, its there, and working hard for you. A quick, simple experiment. Boil a kettle hard. Notice that, once its boiling furiously, the steam only becomes visible an inch or so outside the spout. After its been cooled down by the air. For bread baking, you want the hot, invisible stuff, just like in that first inch. What you should be aiming for, is hitting the dough with *exactly* the blast that you experienced, when you reopened the oven door. The damp air transfers heat much more quickly than the normal dry air you usually meet when you open the oven door. As you can testify. Fast initial heat transfer is what you are after for well-risen bread. And some dampness. If you want it condensing anywhere, its on the dough... NOT around some really cold ice, chilling the oven. The dough should be the coldest thing in the oven! Pull out the bottom shelf a few inches, so you can more easily target the hot pan with the boiling water. You don't need much, or for long. And it doesn't need to be visible! Don't go for the visible, but cold, fog from ice cubes. The oven environment is supposed to be *hot*, isn't it?

Would there be any problem using *two* of the 300w heaters (controlled together, as though one 600w) ??? Or three.. ? ADDED: A charity/junk shop pan (of about the right size) could donate its lid to be customised to provide openings for heater(s) probe, etc...

I *think* there may be a difference if you have an Induction hob... I believe you should expect 18/8 to work with induction, and 18/10 not to. (Its only the base that matters.) In any case, always check with a magnet!

They/It creates the 'pink' colour. And there's a texture change too. Bugs=bacteria. You've always got some. Thing is to keep the population seriously low. In human-effect terms. To protect it in storage (functionally), and depending on your palate, provide the 'right' flavour. NitrIte is massively more (curing) potent and requires a smaller excess to be toxic. You don't want any excess. I don't think you should be tasting nitrIte as such - there shouldn't really be any left after the cure is complete. Other things also give 'tanginess'. Note that there are *lots* of different bacteria involved. Those in a "salami starter culture" are there to help acidify the product (thereby providing another important 'hurdle' against (especially) botulinus) -- quite independently of nitrate (to nitrite) reducing bacteria. And the acidity gives a 'tang' too... For more than you want to know on the subject of nitrate and nitrite, try this: http://forum.rivercottage.net/viewtopic.php?p=171709#171709 I previously posted a link (and caveats) to the "Meat Inspectors Handbook" which details calculation of quantities of nitrate and nitrite for US regulatory purposes (whether or not they be exactly theoretically justifiable, it explains what the *legal* limitations are in practical terms.) Here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1273456

Hi Rich - and welcome to the asylum! It might help to recognise the following - in straight nitrAte curing, the necessary first step is for nitrAte to be broken down to nitrIte (by bacteria). Then the nitrIte can react (I'd say chemically rather than biochemically) with the meat, beneficially altering its colour, flavour and texture. As more nitrIte is released by the nitrAte, it goes on to react promptly with the meat. So the rate of curing depends on the rate that the bacteria and nitrAte interact. - but starting with nitrIte means that the first (bacterial) step isn't needed. The nitrIte just gets on and reacts with the meat, basically until its all used up. - however, in nitrAte curing, part of the idea is that a little nitrAte hangs around, to provide lasting protection. Hence, nitrAte is generally advised when curing things that could be going to be stored, long term. And a tiny amount of nitrAte in the product definitely produces a certain 'seasoning' "tang", a taste-able difference (for DIY its your call as to whether its + or -). - BUT the US FDA thinks that nitrAte 'hanging around' (residual nitrAte) is a bad idea in products that are going to be cooked, so its nitrIte (and no nitrAte) for that stuff. Whether this is a real concern is a matter for (high level) debate. The EU doesn't think there's any problem with a little nitrAte in product for cooking. - because nitrIte is not dependent on bacterial action, its action is quicker and "more reliable". - something that Ruhlman fails to make clear is that No 2 is *not* just nitrAte. No 2 is in fact No 1 with a little added nitrAte - giving reliable, quick, not-bacteria-dependent change of colour, taste and texture - and yet with some nitrAte to hang around and zap the bad guys if they ever show up. The best of both worlds! So for the US, consider the rule as being: If you will be cooking it (including *hot* smoking) then use Cure No 1. If its for eating raw, use Cure No 2.

Yes. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_...icle2423100.ece

Maybe worth mentionings for Dan's fans outside the UK that The Guardian (UK national newspaper) publishes a short column and recipe from him each week. Usefully for those unable to get The Guardian easily, these are republished on Dan's website http://www.danlepard.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=7 BUT a recipe that I particularly like are the Knotted Rolls (AFAIK only) listed on the Guardian Blog page. (But its easier - and IMHO preferable - to dress them *after* knotting! And they make really good plain rolls, if you don't fancy the knotting...) This page (for now at least) has the recipe and a video of Dan demonstrating it... http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/food/2007/11/b..._oat_and_h.html LATE ADDED: Also on Dan's site he logs corrections for any typos identified in his books. Which is useful for all readers!

Tesco ?!? I've never even seen MSG (as such) in a UK Tesco! I don't knowingly use it, as such. Though it seems to be a fairly common constituent of "steak seasoning" and such preparations - which I don't use either. Doesn't it occur naturally in Soy sauce? (I do use that occasionally.)