paulraphael

Resurrecting this thread. Has anyone tried reducing / eliminating the cream, and holding the structure with some kind of methylcellulose? Also, what's the point of the baking soda? I don't see any acidic ingredients for it to react with.

It's something you just have to try. The two givens are that you'll get a different flavor profile than with a hot infusion, and a different flavor profile than with infusion into water (the fat in the cream is a much stronger solvent for a whole range of flavor chemicals). Some of the differences have less to do with temperature than with the fact that cold infusion is usually done in a sealed container, so the aromatics don't get out. Hot infusions in a saucepan usually involve container open (or partially open) to the air, and temperature-induced evaporation. But this doesn't happen if you infuse sous-vide — sealed in a bag, those aromatics aren't going anywhere. The trick here is is to hot-infuse at a temperature that's not too hot, and then to chill the bag in an ice water bath before opening it (the latter step makes big difference if the cream will be used cold; less of a difference if you're going to cook it later in an open container). Sometimes hot infusion by sous-vide is too much ... you hold on to more aromatics than you want. The times i've put garlic in an s.v. bag I've regretted it. Edited: I wrote that fat is a stronger flavor for the aromatic chemicals, but I don't think this is right. Those are water-soluble. The fat-soluble ones are heavier molecules that we taste on the tongue.

Here's what I've been doing, as much because it's easy as it's delicious. Works best with a high-powered blender. proportions can be adjusted to suit any taste, so I'm not giving any quantities. -Quarter a bunch of really good tomatoes. -peel and quarter some onion. -peel some garlic. -optionally peel some ginger. -Puree it all until completely smooth in blender. -Pour a portion of it into skillet, preferably one with a light interior. -Pour the rest into a pot and heat. -Reduce and brown the portion that's in the skillet. Deglaze with some of the fresh soup, and pour the deglazing liquid in the pot with the rest of the soup -Add any fresh herbs you want. -Simmer until it has the level of cooked flavor you like. -Season -Optionally swirl in some olive oil or cream You can do this in about 25 minutes. The browning / reducing step introduces deeper, roasted flavors. Without this step the soup is pink and has a very light / fresh flavor. You can adjust the fresh-to-roasted spectrum of flavors with the quantity that you choose to reduce and brown. I've done this with canned tomatoes, and it's good if you can find good ones. You probably won't have to add salt.

You can also get a roll of reflectex, and cut it with scissors to fit. It floats on the water, makes a pretty good seal, and insulates. You can just lift it out of the way to get to the contents. And you can use in conjunction with a lid if you want to save a few joules.

I don't have a problem with ice creams muting the flavor of dark chocolate desserts they're served with. I find the yin/yang of the intense chocolate and softer cream to be quite nice. I prefer this to chocolate desserts served with sorbets and very low-fat gelatos (although I like chocolate sorbet). If we're talking chocolate ice creams, I do eggless and about 10% milk fat (so what many people would think of as a gelato). It's still a fairly rich ice cream because of the cocoa butter (5%). The cocoa butter has a stronger effect on the texture than the milk fat, and not a positive one. I'd use all cocoa powder instead of chocolate if I could control the flavors adequately with powder.

I think a lot about milk fat and egg content with regards to flavor release. Usually I use 2 yolks per quart, because I find minimal impact on other flavors and no discernible egginess. Some flavors I feel are a muted by any eggs, like fruit. Others already have too much hardening fats in them, like chocolate or nut butters. I leave the eggs out of these and use other ingredients as emulsifiers. I aim for milk fat percentages from 10% to 15%, depending on the kind of flavor. I don't care for the mouthfeel and dull flavor release of super rich ice creams. Possibly with the lapsang I'd aim for a recipe that's on the rich end of this spectrum, just to help take the edge off the smoke. Off the top of my head I'm thinking it might work well with cooked pears. Maybe also cardamom. I also like the idea of serving it as a complement to chocolate.

We're all coming to your house for the apocalypse.

Tobacco sounds hardcore. The trouble I've had with Lapsang Souchong is the opposite of the smokiness getting lost. It's just been too assertive, at least in the couple of desserts I've tried it in. As a dry rub for meat, it's been amazing. I still love the idea of some kind of lapsang ice cream, just because I have such a long history enjoying that tea.

I order chocolate online these days. Mostly from World Wide Chocolates, but sometimes from Chocosphere. Both have amazing selections and good prices. The interwebs is also the best source for techie ingredients. L'Epicerie, Modernist Pantry, La Sanctuaire, TIC Gums Chef's Store, Willpowder, probably a few others.

Or if you have a little more room, BERKEL - Fly Wheel Slicer VOLANO TRIBUTE - Gold Finish and Flower Flywheel - Handmade in Italy - RED

Teo, have you had any success with lapsang souchong in an ice cream or sorbet? I've had luck with it in savory dishes, but not so much in desserts. Would love to find a way to get the smoke to work in something frozen.

As funk precaution before long cooks, I dip the bags in simmering water for one minute before putting them in the bath. I'm making a few assumptions about the conductivity of the plastic and the thermal mass of any fluids in the bag, but it should be enough to pasteurize the surface. After this routine, even after several long cooks, including 4 hour pre-cooking at 40°C, I've never had a hint of bad funk. I use ziplocs. No problems ever with long cooks. They are fragile, though, during and immediately after the dip in simmering water. So you have to handle them carefully there and check the seal afterwards. Once they cool down a bit they get their strength back.

It's definitely worth checking out a fabricator or scrapyard or two. Here in NYC the prices they quoted were way higher than the manufactured pizza steels, but it seems like in most places you can get a better deal by going that route. You may have to put in some work to get a finish on the steel that you find acceptable ... be prepared for rust, a rough mill finish, and sharp burs on the cut edges.

Try it and compare. The results are different. One extracts at 85°C, the other at 121°C. I find the differences especially noticeable with fish stock.

We were talking about using s.v. for veggie stock, not for the veggies in meat stock.

I made Rachel Khong's 2-minute chocolate microwave mug cakes. They're pretty good! I used decent chocolate (callebaut 70% and cluizel cocoa) and substituted melted butter for half the oil. This time I served them in the mugs (when I tried de-mugging, the results were unaesthetic in a fecal sort of way). This is a good one to have in your trick bag.

Several years ago I bought a boule from a bakery in Manhattan (one I'd bought from a few times before). There was something bizarrely wrong with it. The texture was strange, and it seemed to have no flavor whatsoever. It was like eating nothing. A friend of mine finally figured out that they'd left the salt out.

Agreed ... I've tried it both ways and the pressure-cooked stocks are a bit better and much easier. I still use SV for veggie stocks, as BTB says, and it's sublime for fish stock. I use ziploc bags, which are close to the temperature limit when making stocks, so leaks are a concern. Sometimes I double-bag stocks, out of paranoia. The outer bag stays clean and is easy to reuse. SV is also useful if you're doing Modernist Cuisine-style low-temperature "jus" kinds of stocks, where you're aiming for a red color and rare meat flavor

Certainly it works to just use a pan. It's probably what most people did over the years. The other ways are for if you're in a hurry, or want to make sure you get the smoothest or most durable finish. At least the smarter versions will accomplish this.

It's so easy with a pressure cooker to get the same (or better) result in a fraction the time that I think it's an obsolete technique. Do a test and see for yourself. Make a triple stock, and then make a single stock with 3X higher ratio of solids to water. You're doing the same thing—but simultaneously rather than sequentially. I don't stock up on classical glaces or anything similar anymore. It's so easy to make a superior equivalent (with a specific protein chosen for the sauce) that I'll just do it as needed.

I'd practice a LOT on some cheap knives. But yeah, that's probably what the pro knife sharpeners use for thinning. Even the ones who do all the basic sharpening and finishing on waterstones. Dave Martell said he uses a belt for European knives and for Globals.

Probably doesn't need saying, but the machines are out if you're particular about your bevel angles, or if your knives are ground asymmetrically (most everything from Japan). You can certainly sharpen an asymmetrically beveled knife in one of these machines, but you'll end up with 50/50 bevels on a knife that's designed otherwise, and you'll have funky edge geometry that won't perform so well.

I doubt you'd have to compensate for that reduction. 12g salt / 500g flour is on the high end of normal ... that's 2.4% salt. 5g salt would be 1%, which is low but not outrageously so. I think 1.5 to 2.5% are pretty typical. I haven't seen much change in gluten structure or yeast activity with salt in these ranges. None of this looks to me like a ton of sodium. The real high-sodium bread is the salt-free stuff from Tuscany, because it's inedible until you pile prosciutto on top. Small variations in salt can make a bigger difference with sourdough; the wild yeasts are often quite sensitive to salt level.

My girlfriend thinks we're all nuts for not using GitHub, which would allow for version control and all kinds of collaboration features. I don't exactly know how it works. After looking over her shoulder, I suspect it's not going to catch on around here anytime soon.

That's something i hadn't thought of. Interesting idea. I'd still like to tame the freezer with a shelf or two, even if canning becomes an option.