Hub-UK2

I started smoking at the age of 13 and only gave up three years ago (now I am old). Other people having a right to smoke is something I have always felt strongly about but I also feel that non-smokers have the right not to be smoked upon. Whether smoking should be allowed in restaurants will surely be decided by the diners in the long run. When I first went to a non-smoking restaurant (unknown to me) I was quite shocked to find I couldn't smoke between courses but it didn't stop me going again. I am not one of the fanatical converts from smoking. If I didn't like a restaurant because of the smoking I would probably convey that information when I left and would find somewhere else to eat. It's a pity you can't have a smoking and non-smoking room in restaurants but that is just not practicle. If I had to come down on one side of the fence it would be that all eating establishements should be non-smoking. Cinemas have banned smoking completely and it does not seem to have stopped people going.

Wonderful! I was feeling really p . . . off on arriving in work this morning. I read your article which appealed to my sense of humour. Loved it and cheered up.

Hi Monica Why not get on over to Europe for the Albert Roux cruise in the Autumn. Details are on Hub-UK : http://www.hub-uk.com/interesting/albert-r...roux-cruise.htm

Where could I buy corn syrup in the UK? Is there a particular brand sold in the UK?

Early memories are of going to visit my grandmother in South Wales where lunch would be faggotts and peas floating in Bovril gravy and eaten with large slabs of white bread liberally spread with butter. Real comfort food if I can get hold of decent faggotts. It isn't worth making them just for myself. ("Faggots", in British English, are meatballs, fried or cooked in sauce)

The other day I was asked where you could get Corn Syrup in the UK. I have always been aware of corn syrup in a lot of the recipes I have received from the states but it suddenly struck me that I really had no idea about the different syrups. I have always used Lyle's Golden Syrup over my pancakes and that is it! I don't even know what it is made from. Can anyone start enlightening me about corn syrup and anything else you think I should know about syrup.

I almost feel that there are two threads going here. One about basic sorbet and ice cream making by the home user (me) and then those aspiring to professional making of sorbets and ice creams. I don't have a problem with this but I feel that my efforts (which I was quite proud of) are now a bit tame. When I make a sorbet I use an egg white with whatever juice and syrup I am using. I didn't know why excpet that the recipe book said to do so. My wife and I enjoyed the resulting sorbets. I then thought (as I had a book of Michel Roux's with several recipes for sorbet) that I would make a sorbet without an egg - it came out like frozen ice so I went back to using an egg white. Salmonella doesn't particularly bother me as I use my eggs fresh and if I have any doubt I don't use them but I would like to create my sorbets without eggs. Can anyone guide me on this - in simple terms for home preparation.

I was really pleased with the response to the question especially from JD. Those were things I wanted to know about but neglected to ask. The post about about Jacque Chibois' recipe led me off in another direction entirely and I found the website of L'Ecole des Chefs - what a wondeful idea (I have emailed them to see if I can add them to the cooking holidays I market in my day job). Steve Klc you said "Instead of trolling away for tips and recipes for HubUK David--in turn to reprint on your website--why don't you just put a link on your site to the discussions here". I put a link to egullet a long time ago as I always regarded it as a first class facility and if I re-constituted any of this information into an article I would certainly credit the information as coming from egullet as well as providing a link to the site. Whether I get time to do so is another matter. Hub-UK started out as my own personal web site and recipe book (I worked as a freelance web designer at the time) the idea being that it would encourage me to write down my own recipes instead of eventually forgetting them - somewhere along the line it turned into a reference and recipe work. Whatever it became it has given me a lot of fun and led to meeting all sorts of interesting people. An interesting ice cream I made at the weekend was using crushed mint infused in milk - really good. This was roughly the ingredients as I remember them. 5 or 6 sprigs of mint (5 or 6 leaves each) 3 ozs caster sugar 3 egg yolks 2 tsp natural vanilla essence (couldn't get any pods) 7fl ozs full cream milk 5fl ozs double cream

Since I got an ice cream machine for my birthday in November I have been experimenting away making sorbets and ice creams. You certainly can't buy the same in the shops. I would like to expand my repertoire so has anyone got any good tips or recipes. If anyone supplies a recipe can I publish it on Hub-UK so that everyone can share it. David

Why all the discussion? There is only one way to cook bacon. Use streaky bacon with a little fat in frying pan to get it started. Cook until it starts to crisp and then for the last two or three minutes add four or five large scallops. Serve and eat immediately!! David

This is my all time favourite recipe. It makes me feel I can bake I like creating savoury ones as well with caramelised onions. The master of Tarte Tatin is Chef Michel Roux who gave me permission to reproduce his recipe on my site: Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin (Upside-down Apple Tart) - http://www.hub-uk.com/foodpages07/recip0313.htm I learnt to cook it from this article: http://www.hub-uk.com/tallyrecip02/recipe0051.htm And from that I created my own savoury recipe, Hub Leek Tarte Tatin: http://www.hub-uk.com/foodpages20/recip0979.htm but I now prefer using onions to leeks!

How to make a great batter: http://www.hub-uk.com/tallyrecip01/recipe0008.htm Food Tip on Deep Frying: http://www.hub-uk.com/tallytip01/tip0007.htm and whilst on the subject of batters, Sada Dosa or Plain Dosa: http://www.hub-uk.com/foodpages21/recip1037.htm

How to make a great batter is one of the topics Chef Jos Wellman (alias Tallyrand) covered for me. It is always difficult to post a reply without looking as if it is self-promotion but after two and a half years gathering the information and creating over 2,500 web pages I have a lot to share. So rather than post some crafty link or reproducing the whole article I would prefer to be asked for the link then I am not taking up too much space.