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Yesterday, I stopped at my local tea place and restocked, I also picked up a "white tipped oolong" Have not researched what it is , but I Just had the first two steepings...Much different than the TGY that I started out with . not sure I like it as well. Have to see if it grows on me.. Bud

A scale is not a necessity, but sure does help. I did not bother to get one until this year when I started ordering many tea samples at a time and so was faced with learning the brewing characteristics of new ones continuously. If you ever do want to weigh them though, a tenth of a gram sensitivity is what's needed. My one gram sensitivity My Weigh kitchen scales are great, but are not right for teas. Here's the one I use, the My Weigh 400-ZH. The price of small, very precise digital scales have really come down in the last few years. ← I do a lot of bakeing ,and charcutrie, and bought a suitable scale from the above seller (old will knott), I added a 222g scale for an added $6 or$7 ...It makes weighing all sorts of little things possible, spices, and of course tea ... going to go for a bike ride tomorrow and stop at the local tea store and get a couple oolongs and keep learning more about tea...I have only been drinking it for 40 + years, but this site has helped me make a quantum leap in variety, and knowledge... Thanks!!!!! Bud

I always salt in the beginning...the flavor of the beans is much better. Something akin to how bland pasta is if you don't salt the water... Bud

OK Guys, Thanks for the advice. I have been unintentionally increasing the times, by getting distracted, so that probably the reason the TGY has been so good.. I am amazed that I get easily 4 steepings out of it. Its also amazing that two tsp's makes such a large mass of leaves...guess thats why it goes 4 steeps...I have used up my first purchase (only one oz.) and will go back to the store and get some more. They also had another oolong variety that was "darker and heavier" not sure what it was but will try some of that as well... They were $3.50 an ounce The eng. bkfst and orange spice are easy to make good cups from no matter what... Again, tnks for the advice Bud

I have been following this thread with interest. I just started brewing loose tea in a seperate, pre heated, ceramic pot. my latest tea is a ti kwaun yin oolong, and I am also using an English breakfast and an orange spice . I am brewing 20 oz batches (the size of my cup), using about 6g per batch My question is , how critical is the temp of the water , and what allowances do I need to make for a lower than 212º temp.? My max temp(depending on barometric pressure) is 201º +- 2º or so. Any direction would be appreciated.... Bud

Yes if its wet, it does not seal well. The proII has a seperate button to seal, so I guess I could keep and eye on it and hit it if the liquid starts to go towards the sealing area...It seals better than the older one, but still not good wet..Thanks.. Bud

I have a foodsaver pro 2 (and another older,completely manual one) Is there something like that I am missing with these things to do SV??? Any direction would be appreciated... Bud ← What is it that you'd like to know? If you don't have the pulse option on your FoodSaver then you probably want to freeze any liquids that will be in the bag. If that is the case, then either seal one end of the bag and put the liquids in the bag and then freeze before vacuuming and sealing. Or, freeze the liquids in ice cube trays and add them to the bag before vac'ing and sealing. If I totally misinterpreted your question, re-phrase. ← Both of my machines have an area that catches stuff that flows out of the bag on vaccuming , but the liquid still fouls the seal.. I guess that I don't know what the "pulse" option is or if I have it...the older machine is totally manual, and you can control when you seal. The Pro 2 has an overide of the vac process so you can vac as much you want before letting it seal. or seal at any time..What does the"pulse " option do??? Sorry for the confusion... Bud

I have a foodsaver pro 2 (and another older,completely manual one) Is there something like that I am missing with these things to do SV??? Any direction would be appreciated... Bud

my grandparents were from the Tyrol and I remember this from my childhood in the late 40's...I have done many of the dishes she made from memory but I forgot about this one,,,Thanks!!! ← You're welcome! How similar is the recipe to what you recall? You should share some of your recipes. . . April ← Its very close ,except I am sure that there was no Cumin. The other things that I remember were Canerderlie(sp.) and a Salt cod in a cream sauce that was served over wide noodles. Grandfather made wine, and we always had homemade vinegar for salads that used it, they were very simple ,always with paper thin sliced onions,and oil. My job was to stir the polenta until it was done... Bud

I would think that it may be a bit strange. Lamb fat is "gamey" as opposed to pork fat ... Bud

Anybody try using ghee instead of oil???It does not burn like butter.. Bud

my grandparents were from the Tyrol and I remember this from my childhood in the late 40's...I have done many of the dishes she made from memory but I forgot about this one,,,Thanks!!!

Just made some TI KWAN YIN from the local tea store..My first oolong.. This forum has been very helpfull in figuring out how to brew it..I pre heated a teapot and used about 2 1/2 tsp, loose in the pot, to make 20 oz. (enough for my cup) 4 mins steep time for 4 steepings...Amazingly, they were all very good...Still getting used to a new tea however.. Bud

Pasta freezes well. I cook 1 pound of linguini and end up with 3 pounds of cooked. divide it up into either single or multi person serving packets in flat cheap1 gallon plastic bags. make sure its spread out in a thin layer in the bag and it thaws in a couple minutes with hot tap water...This saves 25 minutes when you are at altitude as We are. sea level its probably not worth it... Pizza dough, again in the cheap thin 1 gallon size bag,and make it so it is thin and spread out so it thaws very fast. The frozen dough takes 5 mins in the M/W on really low and 45mins, on the counter at 70º or so, to rise and be able to use. Bud

My boards are Ultra high molecular weight Polyethelene from a Butcher supply house. While I could run them thru my planer , I find that I can clean em up to a fairly smooth surface, and get rid of knife grooves, with 60 grit paper on a 6" Porter Cable orbital sander. Most All the boards are cut to a size to fit either horizontally or vertically in the Dishwasher.Several are larger so they have to go horizontally.I have about 8 boards, so I only have to do the sanding thing every year or so... Bud

I have hung it in my drying chamber (60º+-at70% humidty) for 2 to 2 1/2 weeks. Not rolled ... I don't think its to critical...Might look at Len Poli's site.. Bud

I was rooting around in the bookcase the other day and found 20 or 30 French magazines from the mid to late 90's...They were Cusine Gourmande ,Cusine Actuelle,and Cusiner.I had forgotten them,but am really glad I saved them.. These are amazing mags...They assume for the most part one knows how to cook and are a bunch of recipes(up to a 100+ per issue), with pictures of the finished product. Each issue is slanted toward a general subject, the time of year ie. spring , holidays ,and, locations ,type of meals etc.. Really great inventive things that I have not seen in things like CI CL bonapite etc. If there were such a US type magazine I would think it would be well received. Now all I have to do is brush up on all my French cooking terms and get started on some new stuff to cook...Anybody else using these mags? Bud

Sorry for the probably dumb question, but what does this do?? Bud

A few years ago I was dry ageing beef loins using various methods..I did several wet ages up to 60 days. I was not overly impressed with the wet aged method. I also did dry ages up to 45 days, and found them to be much better. The one age that I did, that was the strangest , was a leg of lamb that I did for at least 50 days, (I forgot about it). I cut the Dark outer layer off and cut it into bright red, inch thick steaks and grilled it. It was spectacular! Bud

Capital Tea, in Denver Colo. Nice folks and good selection.. Bud

I bake at least 10 loaves at a time, and put them, two each, in the big ziplocks. and then to the freezer.Then take em out one at a time. they take a couple hours to thaw and then go into a paper bag in the drawer till they are used up.If you dont keep them in paper bags , and use plastic they will mold Bud

For the last 20 years or so, I drank Constant Comment from bags. at least two cups/bags a day. A year or so ago, I was at a local tea shop and started buying loose tea of various types...I also got one of the mesh, in cup, strainers. One day I took a bag of Constant Comment and ripped the bag open and put it in the mesh strainer I was shocked at the increase in all of the flavors of the bagged tea.It was ten times stronger in all the flavors. There was no clue it was the same tea... I still use the loose tea most of the time but when I am out of the loose the ripped open bags are much much better than the bags alone... Bud

As I recall trichnia. are killed by 137ºF, at that temp its still pink...But safe.Google USDA/Pork/ Temp, and you will probably find it.. Bud

You are essentially using the method I use for bacon. That is, I add the %ofsalt in the cure I want in the finished product. Then let it sit in a bag, till all is absorbed. It works very well and gives no over/under salted suprises. I try for 3.5% salt in the final, which works well for my tastes. Your % assuming 2.4 lb (1088g) is at 2.3%(again assuming the 25g is all salt, if not, even less%) which would be a bit light for me. I dont think you have any problem Bud

← Exactly. It isn't guanciale if it's made with belly. Just unsmoked bacon, correct? ← the spices are the same as guanciale ,just the base flesh is diffferent, Probably otta be "pork belly in the style of guanciale" Bud