Gabriel Lewis

Thanks for all the info Andie, I am planning on doing a little balcony garden next year and maybe I will try some chiles as well, though the climate is far from ideal here I think. Lperry, I realize the importance of scientific names but I was speaking strictly from a culinary perspective. I hardly think you can use the scientific classification of species as means to differentitate between chiles for cooking if some species have tens or more cultivars that in my eyes are completely different chiles. Unless there is some lower level of classification that incorporates cultivars or the like that I am unaware of?

Your explanation helps nicely L, thank you. I guess I had never really considered it before but using the biological classification of species to differentiate between different plants doesn't make a whole lot of sense. After all there are hundreds of "different" types of chiles and yet they only stem from a handful of different species. It seems the peppers I bought aren't rocotos at all but I am curious as to what they are. They are shaped physically similar to rocotos and have quite an intense heat, but lack the distinctive dark/black seeds. I guess I'll try asking the vendor I bought them from but I am somewhat doubtful as to whether or not they'll know (unfortunately I don't have a digital camera). Thanks for the help everyone! gabe

I see these things at a lot of different markets I go to all the time and recently decided to buy some. I find they have a pleasant neutral taste and a wonderful texture. All the info I have read on them seems to indicate they are native to mexico, but I am having a lot of trouble finding any mexican recipes. Does anyone actually eat these things in mexico? And if they do, might they have any recipes or preparations they'd be willing to share?

No problem infernoo, always happy to help. I made a batch of about ten today and discovered a number of things. Firstly, the dough shouldn't really feel at all like bread dough. Normal bread dough has gluten which forms long elastic bonds which makes bread dough stretchy. To the best of my knowledge, masa doesn't really share any of the properties of bread dough. The only real variable is how saturated the masa is with water, so as long as you used hot water to mix your masa and add enough to pretty much completely saturate it, I don't think you can go wrong. I am guessing the ones that seemed "pastey" and uncooked are the ones that didn't puff yes? I have discovered that the puffing is essential to making a good tortilla, if it doesn't puff the middle layer never really gets cooked and the the inside of tortilla is raw and pastey as you described it. In my experience the only reason a tortilla won't puff (assuming you are using the proper method to cook them) is if there is a hole or crack somewhere in the tortilla. It is essential that the air stay trapped inside the tortilla so it will puff up. After you have pressed your tortilla check for cracks or little holes or indentations, if they are any bigger than pin-sized or have any depth to them, chances are your tortilla won't puff. I am still working out the details as to how to ensure that there are no cracks or holes post pressing but I have discovered a few things. Check the eveness of your tortillas, are they of uniform thickness? If one side is too thin chances are it will crack from the heat and allow the air to escape. Don't press your tortillas too thin, I find when I press mine too thin they end up cracking from the heat and not puffing. Make sure your dough is moist, I often rehydrate each individual ball of masa with a little bit of water as I am working with it. I have had the best luck with masa that is essentially fully saturated with water. Check both surfaces of your tortilla press, are there any lumps or indentations? These may contribute to cracking or holes in your pressed tortillas. Use thick plastic sheets that are more or less unwrinkled and hole/tear free. Replace the bags you are pressing with if they get too worn. Additionally, if you find that your tortilla is not puffing when it should be or only part of it is puffing look for cracks or holes where steam is escaping. Often I am able to get them to puff simply by blocking the hole with a cloth or paper towel and holding it there until the tortilla puffs. Try playing around with the forming and pressing of the masa balls and find out what works well for you. I have only been making tortillas for a month and have learned a lot just by paying careful attention. Hope this helps! Mine have gotten a lot better in a short time, but are still a little too thick and have too many cracks along the edges for my liking. I think my tortilla press may be partly at fault but I am not sure. One day I hope to have tortillas that are aesthetically just like the ones from the tortilla factory near my house - a perfect circle of uniform size and thickness with no cracked edges (mine still taste better as they are fresher). gabe

I have been cooking nothing but mexican fare for a while now and have now turned my attention to tuna. Suprisingly enough, tunas are readily available right now in Montreal, the only trouble is I really have no idea as to how to go about preparing them. Anyone have any information or recipes they are willing to share?

Michael, I too was on the search for a non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening and discovered some mady by a company called spectrum. It is in a blue and white tub labeled "Organic all vegetable shortening". It is made out of palm oil which naturally contains a high percentage of saturated fats and is thus solid at room temperature and can be used as shortening.

Hey Infernoo, I'm not Jmahl and no tortilla expert but I will answer to the best of my knowledge, and hopefully those more knowledgeable than I will correct any mistakes I might make. 1) No kneading is necessary. Masa is not really like a flour dough at all, it contains no gluten and wouldn't really knead so much as fall apart. 2) See above 3) No resting period is necessary either, the more the dough rests the more it dries out. Remember as Jmahl said to use very hot water to mix your dough, in my experience the dough should be fairly moist, pretty much completely saturated with water. If you have not yet bought your tortilla press, look for one like Jmahl's where the force is applied to the center of the press. I made the mistake of purchasing one whose handle presses down off center and produces tortillas of uneven thickness (I now just usually apply force with my hands in the center). Please feel free to ask any other questions if you have any! I am still learning myself but I can now produce tortillas of the size and thickness I want and have them puff 95% of the time, the next thing I want to learn is how to get rid of those pesky cracked edges if possible. Additionally, you might want to try adding a scant amount of salt to your masa, preference varies but I like them like this. Good luck, gabe

Thanks for all the helpful replies guys. I have to say I'm curious about saltshakers admission that he finds rocotos not all that hot as I bit into one today and it was pretty damn hot. And this is coming from someone who has a decently high tolerance for spicy - I regular use 10-15 thai chiles in a dish that serves 2-3. Perhaps they vary quite a bit? This website indicates that manzano peppers have a scoville rating of thirty to fifty thousand and another I found said twelve to thirty thousand, which is compared to jalapenos at five to eight thousand. Additionally, a friend of mine who is a peruivan chef has also told me that they are very hot... I am also a bit confused because most sources seem to indicate that they have black or dark seeds, which is not the case for my peppers. However I am pretty sure that they are rocoto as a peruvian friend of mine identified them as being rocotos and they look very much like all the pictures I have found of rocotos on the net, albeit is difficult to make a comparison times as my peppers are very small (doesn't get hot enough up here). Must rocotos have dark/black seeks or are there exceptions? lperry would you be willing to elaborate a bit on cultivars or perhaps point me in the direction of some good info on cultivars? To me bell, poblano (isn't ancho the dried form of poblano), jalapeno, and anaheim are all very different peppers, and if this is how rocoto is related to manzano I would be inclined to say that they are different peppers as well.

Thanks a lot for your help russ, I will try some pre-salting soon! And your math seems fine to me, 3 teapsoons to a tablespoon and 3 times 1.5 equals 4.5.

I picked up a bunch of lovely (albeit small) what I believe to be rocoto peppers at the market today. I am trying to find a little more about them, and have come across some contradictory information on the internet. One website says that rocoto and manzano are actually the same pepper, whereas another says that they are simply related. Can anyone knowledge weigh in on this? Also, any other information about rocoto peppers is appreciated!

I agree that this trend of (what to call it) buying organic milk with fruit loops is very disconcerting. What I would really like to see is the average person making more informed choices about their food consumption. As Steven has pointed out choosing organic milk that has been shipped very long distances, ultra-pasteurized, and to boot costs signifcantly more does not seem like an informed choice when products like ronnybrook are available. I think it all comes down to how much effort people are willing to put into their consumption habits, which in my experience, is not very much. As others have pointed out, it is probably the prevalence of advertising like the msn special that has lead so many people towards purhcasing organic milk and eggs. Most people I know simply do not want to think that much about their food choices. They see the organic label in grocery stores and something clicks, and into the basket it goes. Nevermind that by now organic is often just a label, not necessarily an indication of quality or health. Ultimately, I think it's a question of how to get consumers to make informed choices, which I think is a difficult one indeed.

I have a few, well, a lot of question about pre-salting. I know I should probably just try it but I like to get information from a lot of different sources, so if you're willing any answers are appreciated. When pre-salting do you leave the meat uncovered in the fridge? If so, why, and why does the meat not dry out? What kind of salt do you use? Does it matter? What types of meat and cooking techniques is pre-salting most appropriate for and why? Do you add any additional salt in the cooking phase of preparation? Roughly how much salt do you use per unit weight or volume of meat?

Great story Chris, particularly the ending. I identify well with the compulsion to cook; I have been known to come home from an 8 to 10 hour shift in the kitchen and cook for three hours (although this is sometimes fueled by the need to use food before it goes bad). Sometimes I wonder if I'm crazy given all the time and resources I pour into food and cooking, I know that I love it but I'm not always entirely sure why. I too am eager to see how the story develops, I have cooked in a number of kitchens other than my own and know that it often makes for an interesting experience.

Glad you found your leaves. I too love Marche Hawaii- it's a little bit of a trek for me but nothing else comes closes for asian ingredients that I know of in montreal. For your soup spoons I would suggest chinatown first, there are a number of shops in there that feature a lot of diningware and the like. Are you just looking for the chinese style soup spoon with a fat bowl? Because if you are, there are a lot of stores that sell diningware that would sell plain white spoons of this nature... though I am pressed to think of any at this moment (none too uncommon though).

Ok so I just made corn tortillas for the first time using this very helpful guide and they turned out pretty well. By the time I made my last tortilla I had something of a setup going. I had a 10-inch fairly well seasoned cast iron frying pan well heated on medium heat. I would take a piece of masa dough and roll it into a 1-inch diamater ball before flattening it into a patty and placing it in the tortilla press. I would then place the tortilla in the pan and flip as soon as it would slide freely, I would then cook it on that side for about a minute before flipping it, at which point it would puff up immediately. Sounds ok right? It seemed pretty good to me but I still have some question I am hoping someone can help me with. The biggest problem for me seemed to be aesthetics. My dough seemed to crack very easily and I was never able to press out a very uniform, clean looking tortilla. I am also curious as to whether or not the indentations in Jmahl's picture (the one just before the masa ball is pressed) serve a purpose. I would very much like to one be able to turn out pretty tortillas like that. The other things were that my seemed to pick up a few more brown spots than the tortillas in the demo, and they never puffed quite so voluminously all the way out to the edges of the tortilla. Anyone have any advice/tips or detailed information that might help me solve these problems? A detailed description of pressing (I know, I know it's simple but any information at all is usually helpful to me) would be great. Happy tortilla making! gabe

I think it varies largely from herb to herb. As others have mentioned, basil does not store at all very well, the best method I have found is simply to put them in a vase like you would flowers and change the water every so often (do not refrigerate). For cilantro, I always get cilantro with the roots attached and place them in a jar of water and then cover the bunch with a clear plastic bag. Everytime I take the jar out to use I pick away the yellowing leaves and try to space out any stalks that are too close together. Remember that it is moisture by and large that will cause your herbs to spoil, so it best to try and keep them as dry as possible. Parselys and mints store very well, and I usually do little with them beyond a plastic bag and perhaps a paper towel in the bag.

bbqboy, do you have any more information about the little flea market in hillsboro, like an address perhaps?

Hey everyone, I'm back in town for a month visiting my parents and I have decided to make some mexican/latin food. My current problem being a source for those hard to find ingredients. I did a couple of searches and browsed through 20 odd pages but nothing turned up, so apologies if a thread of this nature already exists. Specifically I'm looking for tomatillos, a good selection of fresh and dried chilies, fresh mexican cheeses, a tortilla press, and mexican oregano. Anyone know anything or have any suggestions? I know of one place in Woodburn but am curious to find more. p.s. anything close to beaverton/tigard is a plus, although distance won't really stop me

I'm very interested to find out whether the good store people are suggesting is Apna Bazaar or India direct, anyone know?

Hey everyone, thanks for all the help. I will check out the forums suggested and hopefully find some answers. As to the set of waterstones bit I had planned on getting a 1000x, 4000x, and 8000x but didn't realize there were two sided stones available (as far as I could tell these went for a minimum of aobut 50$ a stone). As to the chisel edge question, I suspect I don't have a chisel edge either but am still uncertain as I have seen "left-handed" shun knives advertised.

I have a 10-inch Shun cook's knife and a 3.5-inch paring knife that I like very much. However I have had some issues keeping them sharp in the past. I am well aware of the knife sharpening tutorial and Q&A session, I have read through them both several times but I still have some specific questions I was hoping to find help with. First of all, does anyone know if Shun knives are chisel edge? This may be something of a stupid question but it doesn't seem obvious to me and it has been suggested to me that the best way to touch up a chisel edge knife (in lieu of a steel) is a fine grit waterstone. I am looking to purchase a set of waterstones for sharpening in the future but do not have the budget for it now, but would atleast like to purchase something that can keep my knife quite sharp inbetween visits to a professional sharpener. Whether it be a good ceramic steel or a fine grit waterstone does not particularly matter, I just want to make a good choice and don't feel sufficiently educated right now to choose without outside help. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated

If you have a food processor blueberry frozen yogurt is a simple and lovely summer desert.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt Serves 4 as Dessert. This is a very simple way to make delicious creamy frozen yogurt. 1 T lemon or lime juice 1 c frozen blueberries icing sugar 1/4 c creamy yogurt Place frozen blueberries, lemon or lime juice and icing sugar in food processor and process until well blended and pasty. Add yogurt, beginning with the lower quantity and process until yogurt is fully incorporated and you have smooth and creamy frozen yogurt. You really do not need very much yogurt but this recipe can range from almost an icy sorbet to a more mellow thick frozen yogurt depending on the quantity you add. notes * I recommend a creamy unsour yogurt with a decent amount of fat. * This works well with virtually any fresh fruit, just be sure to cut larger fruits into small chunks before freezing to insure smooth processing. I got this from the instructional video that came with my cuisinart and have loved making easy frozen yogurt ever since. Keywords: Easy ( RG1752 )

Thought I would try and revive this topic rather than add to the pile of individual threads. I am seeking a good source for cheese or muslin cloth, preferably sold in large surface areas at a reasonable price in bulk. Anyone know anything?

I too had considered the possibility that in my zeal had added too many layers of oil. I cannot speak for Jesse but I for one am sure that I removed all industrial protectants; my wok has been seasoned and scrubbed bare several times. Ben are you suggesting that I only burn in one thin layer of fat per heated session? Could you elaborate a bit on what you mean by "Re- season it but wipe it clean after each heating."? It's not like I've been trying to slather on the oil and burn in a perfectly seasoned wok in one session, I always make sure the wok is wiped of any excess oil before applying another layer. Although from you suggestions it seems I am probably trying to stick on too much seasoning too fast. I simply have been trying to achieve a more or less even patina with minimal sticking from the outright. As for seasoning over time, I believe carbon steel woks season more or less the same as cast iron pans do and there are two schools of thought on this, to quote Fat Guy: There are many schools of thought regarding how best to season and maintain a cast-iron pot. The extremes are, on the one hand, allowing carbonized surface matter to accumulate over time thus forming a second organic skin over the metal, and, on the other hand, trying to keep as little carbonization as possible from occurring and using the organic material merely as a way to smooth out the surface irregularities. Although I would imagine wok seasoning generally favors the first method...