dougal

Hi Jeniac. Ummm. The recipe is "Fennel-cured Salmon"... ... but leave out the fennel... ? Don't worry - I very successfully did something rather similar with Gin and Juniper berries instead of the Pernod, bulb fennel and roasted fennel seeds. You are going to need a 2 to 3 lb single piece of nice, fresh salmon fillet, maximum one and a half inches thick, with its skin still on. White sugar, (light) brown sugar, and kosher salt - if you have a cup of each, that'll be more than the recipe calls for. Apart from that its just two tablespoons of whole white peppercorns. And the fennel! (1/4 cup Pernod, 1/2 cup of seeds and a whole bulb of the stuff.) The book very helpfully suggests various alternatives to the fennel - citrus juice and zest, black pepper and coriander, dill, horseradish, ... its a versatile technique! It is also stated that the quantities can be scaled back in proportion to the weight of the salmon piece, so a 1 lb tail piece would be fine. As to equipment, the recipe calls for a pan or dish in which the samnon can lie flat, with a minimum of space around it. A snug fit. Some plastic wrap. And another dish to fit inside the first. This is going to need to be weighted somehow and will be used to gently press the fish while it is curing in the refrigerator. Before getting the book, I had used a suitably-sized ziploc plastic bag to retain the cure, and pressed it between two identical shallow oval serving dishes. That works too. Ever bigger ziploc bags are going to be useful - that's the thing you may have to hunt for! So, that's it! Now, just clear a bit of fridge space, and sharpen the slicing knife! Enjoy! PS - There is a "search topic" button near the bottom left corner of each page. Just above the jump to page numbers and the "x User(s) are reading this topic". Click in the box saying "enter keywords" (those words disappear when you click) and type in your keyword(s), and click the "search topic" button alongside. Now that I know its there, I'm using it more and more...

Pedrissimo - how long a 'run' do you get? It strikes me that you'd be unpacking the whole kaboodle to put in another handful of wood... But it certainly does show that while nice toys may be fun, they aren't the only way to have fun...

Hmmm. Would it be a worthwhile thing to vac-pack the non-uniformly dried sausage, and keep it thus, in the fridge for a week or two? I'd expect that sealing it in would be the best way to even out the moisture distribution. You should be well protected against big bad botulism, the worry would be whether any other moulds or other nasties are going to take advantage of the conditions... hence keeping it really cool, while it evens itself out.

Chartier surely has to be top of the list. You'll know you are in France. Its *busy*. And fun. I think markets, charcuteries, traiteurs and patisseries should provide you with splendid lunches. You may choose to visit a Monprix or such for some (eventually disposable) picnic-ware. Valuable money-saving tip: get yourselves cheap hiking-style insulated drinking water bottles. Compared to buying soft drinks, or even water, on the streets you are likely to achieve payback on the first day. Enjoy the trip!

The curing salts (nitrate and nitrite in #2, as used in sausage that would be eaten raw) are there to protect aginst botulism. They do change the taste of the meat - and that's why, in this age of refrigeration, we still cure meat. We like the taste of it! (And the dark colour it produces.) I do think that "oxidises the meat" is a simplification that invites being called an over-simplification! If anyone is interested in the detail of the action of these curing salts, I was given a very detailed explanation, and lots and lots of references, here: http://forum.rivercottage.net/viewtopic.php?t=12943 (the thread developed from humble beginnings...) Using curing salts *and* fermentation makes for a "belt and braces" approach. And there's no harm in that! But personally, I'd be a bit wary of eating a raw sausage without the benefit of either fermentation or curing salts... whatever temperature it might be said to have been dried at.

... to acidify the sausage to the point that the deadly, but tasteless, odourless and not visually evident Botulinus bacteria can't tolerate.

The cheap digital scale is what changes things. Precision as to what the author intended is now possible. However, as always, we may go a bit heavy on this and light on that - each to their own taste. To be more precise about something PigeonPie said above. Here in the UK, volume measures are routinely given for *liquid* quantities. The first time that I measured 200ml in a measuring jug, and checked it on the digital scale, was the last time I used a jug for measuring. I enjoy baking bread. I now weigh the liquid additions. The improvement in reproducability has been remarkable. For any aspiring home bread baker, I'd pass on three tips - use 'bakers percentages', in metric (makes it trivially easy) and weigh the water! There seem to be a new generation of scales, (aimed at diamond dealers or somesuch, and frequently sold in shops with an 'alternative' clientele), that are getting cheaper, and appear to be fantastically sensitive (0.01g !). Overlooking the question of just who constitutes the mass market for these things, it would seem that the days of weighing out yeast and saltpetre (as just 2 examples) could be approaching rapidly. Having said all that - I really like the way that Nigel Slater emphasises that precision measurement is utterly un-necessary for the great majority of cookery...

Molds. Cheesemakers use a technique that the french call "affinage". I think it comes from "fin" (end) and gives the english word 'affinity'. The final maturing of the cheese is deliberately in company with other cheeses - to encourage mold transfer. Hence, I'd think that hanging a bit of mature (and properly molded) salami along with some fresh young stuff would likely be A Good Thing. Another thing cheesemakers do is to take some of the 'right' mold, whizz it with some (unchlorinated, or boiled and cooled) water and then use that suspension to immerse, paint or penetrate (as appropriate) their cheeses. Now, my understanding is that the right mold on salami is a very close relative of the white mold on the outside of a Camembert (and Brie?) cheese. (This idea may have come from Len Poli http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/page0002.htm at the bottom of the page.) Pulling all that together, couldn't one make a suspension from (say) a little of the rind of some decent Camembert, and then benefit the salami by painting or spraying this onto the drying sausage...? Is this reasonable, or a very bad idea?

Re the blood. On another forum (sausagemaking.org), this was recently posted Which suggests to me that the frozen blood may not have had very much salt added to it as an anticoagulent... Now, the reason that subject came up was a result of the failure of an attempt to drycure a (mock "Parma"-style) ham. The problem was putrid decomposition, which was discovered on 'autopsy' to be centered on the main femoral artery. The chap thought some blood might have been retained there. Now, I've heard of the concept of pumping curing brine up the artery to distribute it quickly through the flesh, (which might have made things worse), but my more fundamental question (esp in the light of the green jowls a few pages back), is whether the slaughtering and immediate butchery needs to be done better, (more carefully? perhaps in some ways differently to modern standard practice?) for meat that is to be cured (particularly air cured) rather than conventionally cooked?

On the Molino Alimonti website, the flour specifications include Chopin Alveograph measurements, as well as the more immediately recognisable Gluten and Protein numbers. Alveograph readings (as well as farinographs) are among the flour characterisations explained in this PDF which will hopefully provide some enlightenment! Flours have a multiplicity of different measurable 'qualities' - and official 'headline' designations provide a very incomplete guide!

Nothing, but nothing, is proof against a sufficiently talented idiot ! Dare I suggest that this might possibly be the result of cooking something that was frozen, using the instructions relating to cooking after thawing? That'd account for the *cold* centre while the outside was burnt black...

Ahem! There are indeed 2 US pints in a US quart. And just as Melonpan said there are about 3.25 {UK} pints in 2 US quarts... (I presume everyone knows Google will do such conversions for you - just type in the expression in the search box - like - 6.75 quarts in litres or 2 quarts in UK pints Melonpan, I haven't had a clue which sizes they were referring to either! The round casseroles are (as you listed) in even number centimeter diameter sizes. The ovals are odd numbers of centimeters length. That size number (centimeters) is *cast* into the underside of the pan lids and the underside of the centre of the pan base - can it be different in the US? Looking at Melonpan's table, I'd suggest that the 6.75 US Quart Oval that is so popular, is probably the 6.3 litre "31cm" model... FWIW, ovals are for taking whole chickens without excessive liquid (but are fine for ordinary braises and stews), rounds fit better on the stovetop, and take the heat of a conventional stovetop burner more evenly. Both are offered for sale so as to satisfy personal preference. And as to whether something is considered awkwardly heavy, that'll depend greatly on the strength of the individual. I have a (round so even number) "20cm" thing. Its great for one or two people, but that's it!

Oh, yessss!

I'd recommend wrapping the sausages tightly in plastic wrap and freezing them for about 24 hours before shipping. I'd also advise the inclusion of a freezer (gel) pack in the package. It's likely that they would make it to their destination safely without taking these steps. But, if there are unforeseen delays with the shipment, taking these steps will help guard against spoilage. ... ← Most folks don't have access to polystyrene insulated food shipping boxes. Absent that, can I suggest that bubblewrap, taped to make a sealed enclosure, would add some useful insulation and add very little to the shipping weight? I'd wrap the frozen sausages with the icepack inside maybe four or five thicknesses of bubblewrap. And, in case condensation softened any wrapping *paper*, I'd seek out a Tyvek (or equivalent) envelope.

Its a bracket fungus, but not one of the few I recognise as edible and worthwhile. Especially as you note that it has an unappetising texture ("cork"), I think its very likely one for the compost heap...

Azlee - if you are used to gas, and unused to electric ceramic, the answer *IS* induction when gas is impossible. (Ordinary ceramic is desperately unresponsive, and simmering on halogen... ) For a confined space, you need the cooktop/hob as available prep space. Ceramic makes that possible. Touch controls rather than knobs makes it a much bigger, more useful space. And the low residual heat of induction makes the space available more of the time. It worked for me (and I wasn't quite so cramped!) If you are using *glass* (rather than glass ceramic) things on gas, you'll be familiar with the flametamer concept. The point is that you can get something similar to allow you to use 'non-induction' cookware on induction. Not ideal, but possible. Yes, European kitchens are almost all designed around a 600mm (near 24") module. I'd suggest a tall unit in one corner with an oven above a fridge. Alongside that, I'd have the induction hob, ideally with freezer beneath. On the opposite side, I'd have a 1 and 1/2 bowl sink in a full run of worktop, with shallow cupboards above. If you insist on a dishwasher, you could have one under there (I wouldn't) Look to use every scrap of 3D space usefully. How about hanging the pans above the central aisle? Take the trouble to allow the lowest part of all the pans (not the hooks) to line up... And have you considered that Ikea ought to have European-sized 600mm kitchen cabinets, at a saving that might easily allow you an induction hob and new Le Creuset pans?

I think Xanthan Gum is most commonly used by the food processing industries, and its used not only for special diet foods. There was a recent thread in this forum on the stuff http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=42991 Searching the forums for Xanthan gives lots of other hits... Although there are plenty alternatives, as above, and plenty more - no-one has mentioned alginates yet! (Or pectin.) There's also the possibility of doing your sauce as a Ferran Adria-style foam - he uses gelatine to stabilise the foam (see The Cooks Book), although he does seem to think this is appropriate for vegetarians...

For *cold* smoking with a Bradley, this is a scheme that I gather has been much copied to de-couple the smoke generator (and its heat) from the chamber, and the food. http://www.johnwatkins.co.uk/personalpages/coldsmoking.htm I'd have thought that there ought to be better materials than cardboard and plastic , but its widely reported to be a workable solution...

Thanks, I doubt I'm the only one interested in how you get on!

I gather that one can 'whip' rather than 'churn' an ice cream mixture. (And freeze the foam.) Question: Is this a reasonable alternative to an ice cream maker? (I'm looking for more justification for buying one!)

Vince - here's another voice in the Induction chorus... But because I'd call it a 'hob' too, I can't advise on specific 110v models. When you said its worth noting that that is exactly how conventional (and halogen) ceramic 'hobs' *do* work. Induction is very different. And in the UK pretty rare, and expensive. My induction hob is a very basic one, but its damn good. The wider ones (over here) seem loaded with non-essential toys. I don't want timer functions on a hob! And the wider ones seem disproportionately expensive... I find 9 levels of 'on' adequate for me. But someone that would make really tiny adjustments to a gas flame might appreciate the more expensive models with 15 power levels. As the units become more complex, be sure that the 'user interface' is utterly simple. You really don't want to have to think about *how* to work it. You don't have the visual feedback of flame size - so you are reliant on the units indication of its power setting (as well as whats happening *in* the pan, of course). Its responsive, simmers steadily and is super-easy to clean. But you probably should avoid banging pans around the way some folk do on gas... Don't forget that if you intend deglazing your roasting pan that it will have to be magnetically susceptible too, just like your stovetop pans. And a minor point. The touch controls on mine *demand* a perfectly dry operating finger!

General Clarification. Marks & Spencer have 24 'outlet' stores for clearance of end-of-line and surplus stock items. These do not seem to sell food items. (BTW the 'outlet' word isn't very common in english English, and would ordinarily be taken to mean 'discount clearance store'.) In general, the 400+ M&S stores sell foodstuffs, but their major business remains clothes, housewares, and the like. In recent years, following successful trials in the heart of the business centres of the cities, they now have a number of stores specialising in selling almost exclusively food. These "Simply Food" stores are aimed at the lunch market (so lots of sandwiches) and commuter convenience (so lots of ready meals). Full branch details are here http://www2.marksandspencer.com/thecompany...res/index.shtml which includes the phone numbers and locations of every store. It wouldn't do any harm to phone ahead to check stock availability, if there is a *very* specific product that you are seeking. But of course, the larger branches will carry the greatest range and depth of stock. The Marble Arch branch (at the West End of Oxford St) is the largest and the Company's flagship. Good hunting!

The best online resource I have found is http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese.html Dr Fankhauser explains things with appropriately scientific rigour. One needs an extraordinary large amount of milk, to produce a seemingly insignificant quantity of cheese! As to kit and skills, for making hard cheeses one needs to be able to hit and hold *steady* temperatures in the range of 30-40C. We are talking about maintaining a temperature to within 1C (say 2F) for quite extended periods. Thats tricky! And one needs some form of press. I found a glass bottle that was a nice fit inside an offcut of PVC pipe. Upturned bowls provided a stable weight on my bottle/piston. Obviously a decent thermometer is called for, as is a large water bath to surround your (large) milkpan, to steady the temperature, making all changes slow. While its fun to have a go at, (and the results were pretty satisfying), I shan't be stopping buying cheese just yet...

I think Pigeonpie has it right. Any oxidised material is going to be cleaned off. Why oil a board? Surely that is to control (minimise) the absorbtion of undesireables into the surface - by filling all the absorbant spaces with the desired oil. And because it washes/rubs off gradually, the board ought to be re-oiled from time to time. I've tended to use sunflower... for my bread board and carving board. Routine chopping is done on plastic. Tim - while it probably is disapproved by the Health and Safety authorities to use wooden boards in *commercial* kitchens, I doubt there's much law on what you get up to at home... Gas safety, yes. Rats, probably. Chopping boards? Nah... but I can well believe that Environmental Health wouldn't like wooden boards in a kitchen preparing food for public consumption. Aren't butchers supposed to sand down their blocks, on a daily basis?

And I can't recall ever noticing any foodstuffs at the M&S 'outlet' at Ashford... even 'seasonal specialities'...