tomtom11

For me it's an interesting novelty, but must always be accompanied with something else to make it really interesting. I think lot's of chefs wonder what to do with it. Next to the tasting things, they also need to take into account the fact that the sferifications cannot be made upfront a long time (except for inverted), so this makes this technique less suitable for big parties or restaurants on tight budgets. THe caviar is nice for decomposing food into elements (salads, soups etc). And other ideas would be to put the caviar not on top of things but INSIDE thing (cheese-cakes, warm consomme, etc.) For now, the two bags with powders sit patiently on my shelf. I expect them to last the rest of my life (which I hope to be very long from now).

Maybe not fair cuz I didn't cook it nor I don't eat it, but it's definitely a big winner in this thread because this is for many Dutch an alltime favorite meal at a snackbar. Patatje Oorlog (Fries on War), containing Mayo, Peanut sauce, Curry and sliced onions. Actually any sauce will go well, just make sure you mix m all together into a nice and smelly brown diarrhoea. I can't eat this. My system can't take it for long. Another alltimer : Fricandel Speciaal. A meatroll made of things you don't want to know, covered with ketchup, mayo and onions. No wonder the Dutcher a getting taller than the Americans

Blend/mix in a blender, liquidise, etc. (correct English?) Makes that sense in the context of the recipe?

Would be interesting if the industry is forced to state the CO2 value of a product, next to the nutricial value. Here in Holland there is actually a company that can calculate the CO2 emission of a specific activity and how much it will cost by planting trees so you can make the activity CO2 neutral by paying it off.

Jeanne, I believe there are some topics dealing with foams. Dunno if this topic holds it. Maybe check there (for instance, foam Sauce, Step in preparing foam sauce). My answer would be: what is the texture u have and what is the texture u want? If I were to make a solid (whipped cream like) cold pea texture, I'd go for pea-flavored whipping cream. If I need warm whipped cream like pea structure, then the latter won't work as the whipping cream isn't stable. I'd try an pea-flavored anglaise or even use some powders from the Texturas range. If I would want a very light (like soap foam) foam, I'd make a very thin water-based pea soup (no fat) and use lecithine to make it foam. Just use a simple whip to make the foam (no ISI).

Global Warming? What can we cooks do to reduce CO2? What recipes are very CO2-friendly or what techniques in practive are beneficial to our environment*. To state it differently: what can I, as a single cook do? I am curious to hear what is happening in this matter on this globe. I've heard a few things, like cooking with acid, slow cooking (?), using solar energy (directly or transformed to electricity). I am very interested in ideas that have proven themselves in practice. (I think there are already enough ideas in big memo's and treaties) * I know this is a tricky one. When is something CO2-friendly? Buying pre-cooked food and then processing cold? Cooking raw tuna in acid (while the tuna is cought with diesel propelled ships?). Flatulation by cows? I suggest we limit the definition to all the CO2 we as cooks (and final part in the food-processing-chain) add to the globe by using direct energy (either gas-stoves, or non-solar/water-electrical stoves). And even this is a tricky definition... So let's talk practice (and maybe a bit of evaluation of CO2 friendliness). What are your 2cents (that together might make up a million)? Tom

Just a quick note, I'd try doing the caviar inverted, which is dropping calcium rich liquid into a algin bath. You'll might notice that dropping can be difficult because of the thickness of the algin bath. Making the choco calcic rich can be done by using yoghurt. I also see people posting here and adding the actual calcic to the liquid. My 2 cents. Did you find any info on how to make sferes with oil? I printed out the whole thread in pDF, but it's indeed a nightmare to consult.

Thank you all for your kind replys to my question. I consider myself to be very lucky not having any food-allergy (yet). I recently bought MSG to use @ home and I quite like it. For instance in pasta dough and risotto. Only downfall of having this at home is the fact that I don't know whether my family and other guests are allergic, so I probably won't be using it a lot with friends etc. Don't want to trouble them. The alternative will be then to use umami rich food. For instance, I use a lot of ansjovis in braised food (braised beef, tomatoe sauces). This, of course is, no bad alternative.

Ok. I already thought this would be the case. Strangely enough I've seen a message on a Dutch forum where someone stated he got allergic reactions from Vetsin, but not from Ajinomoto, which are both made of MSG. Dunno what that means then.

Maybe try slow cooking coconut milk to get the maillard effect (just like slow cooking of yoghurt makes it brown?

I was just wondering, do you (and LindseyAnn/and others) also get headaches/etc when eating products with high glutamic acid values? See list @ http://www.umamiinfo.com/umami-rich_food/

Yesterday I did an experiment with my big heavy-weight Creuset pan to make a stable temp water bath. I managed to keep 63C up for quite a while (then I went to bed) by keeping the convection oven at a temperature of 100C. My assumption is that the heavy pan keeps enough energy to ensure a stable temp of the water. What I did was: 1) heat up the oven very well (up tot 160C) to ensure there is enough energy in the casing of the oven. Keep it there for 10 minutes or so, then turn back to 100C 2) heat up de creuset with the water on the gas stove to the desired water temp (63C) using a digital meter 3) put the creuset in the oven and set the alarm of the meter to 64C (which never alarmed) I figure that when you want to add for instance salmon, you put it in the creuset after step 2, but put the creuset only in the oven when the water is back to 63C. Also, you might want to have the oven a bit higher then 100C because of the temp of the product. And then use the alarm to ensure you don't go higher then 63C (and then lower the temp or even open the door shortly. Unfortunately I don't have a meter which alarms when going below a temp. It's more tedious, but also nice starting point. It also requires getting to know your oven very well. I also intense heat below instead of fan. With other bath temps you also need to adjust things. Advantage is also that you don't need to worry about stirring the water (I suppose). What do you think of this?

Check out Chufi's bitterballen recipe. U can make bitterballen of the stamppot too. Nice as a appetizer. My neighbour made bitterballen of red cabbage with the braised beef. Also very nice.

I recently bought a big potatoe press (shaped as a x-large garlic press). Works fine with me, gives nice mashes. Also the frying pan (heavy bottom) works very good. I rather use a cheaper mediocre one then a very good expensive one (because of way of handling and cleaning). Mixing bowls are fabulous. The cheese knife is really bad. After 2-3 times in the dishwasher it turned into stainfull steel (rust). Other knives are too light if u ask me. I like the plates and stuff. I could spent hours buying this stuff. Don't know were to leave in my house though (and my wife would kill me if I would come home again with new kitchen stuff). I also went for their dinner (fries with balls). I'll never do that again. What a disgusting food! (The Netherlands) Tom

Check out http://www.cookingconcepts.com/PDF/Espumas_elBulli.pdf (found at another forum). Made by Ferran Adria. It's in spanish but that should not be a problem. Tom