CSY

My 2 cents: 1. Put the TIP through the BAG til it fits-in perfectly; 2. Twist the BAG(the end that's closet to the TIP)clockwise/Counter-clockwise, twist several rounds till it cannot be any tighter, literally forming a knot;(Note: This way, you don't have shallow TIP-spaces.) 3. Push this knot inward into the TIP, as if you're stuffing the hollow TIP with the knot; 4. Now, with the TIP holding in your hand like an upside-down pyramid, fold down the BAG(i.e. roll the BAG from the far-end to the TIP-end)the way you would fold down the collar of your shirt, as if covering/curtaining the TIP with the BAG. Now you got a "cone". 5. Fill whatever batter you got into the "cone", when all's filled in, twist the "cone"'s open end+release the previous TIP-twist in step 2. Abt. how to use the thing to pipe like a PC and make nice patterns, no clue.

Just a thought: ->PDF's originally from France, said to be made by abbeys, grannies ->Then I assume, they don't always have "apple pectin powder" 50 years ago... ->I use "PDF+recette" to try to find such a no-powder recipe, with my Kindergarden French and a heavyduty dictionary. Here's what I found: <PaTES DE FRUITS> TEMPS >> Cuisson : 1h / Preparation : 15 min / Repos : 1 j INGREDIENTS - 1 kg de fruits prépaprés (épluchés et dénoyautés) - 1 verre d'eau - 1 kg de sucre - le jus de 1 citron Cette recette est valable pour tous les fruits sauf pommes et coins PREPARATION - Cuire les fruits avec environ 1 verre d'eau à petit feu. - Lorsqu'ils sont fondus (comme une compote) les mixer. - Peser la purée de fruits et ajouter le même poids de sucre et le jus de citron. - Cuire à petit feu en tournant très regulièrement (et tout le temps en fin de cuisson), jusqu'à obtenir un sillon au fond de la casserole quand on tourne : compter 1h à 1h10 de cuisson + ou - (on obtient une pate homogène) - Mettre un papier sulfurisé huilé dans un couvercle de bo?te en metal (par exemple de bo?te à gateaux) et verser la pate. - Laisser refroidir puis mettre une nuit au frigo - Découper en carrés et rouler dans le sucre cristal - Etaler sur un plat et faire sécher a l'air libre (endroit froid et sec) pendant quelques heures avant de mettre le tout dans un tupperware et stocker au frigo. Les pates de fruits se conservent ainsi facilement 1 mois (plus, je ne sais pas, on a tout mangé !!!) Nota : pour les baies (cassis etc), il faut les faire éclater au feu, puis les passer au moulin à légumes avant de peser. SOURCE Recette de la Maman de Laurence ----------------------------------------------------- *Its recipe is pectin-free, someone give that a try? *It took me half an hour to figure out the french:mix->boil->stir->pour & freeze overnight->cut & roll in sugar & dry (Strange, Maman de Laurence would freeze the PDF. I remember Steve said that would cause weeping? I don't know Laurence's Mom yet so I can't ask her.) And Steve, Thank You! Now I got a better idea~

Hi! I'm new to eG and nice to meet you all! Thought I might post here after all the eG reading on PDF: 1. Agar -Can I use Agar instead of Apple Pectin Powder? (Agar's a LOT more available here than Apple Pectin.) Will that risk changing the flavor/texture that they become not-what-PDF-should be? -If Agar's OK, is there a conversion, i.e. 1g Pectin=? gram Agar? And that should be Agar powder or agar stripes? 2. Making own purees - Any standard procedure and pay-special-attention techs that one should follow(i.e. quantity, temp, etc.)? I googled up some "puree: baby food" info though... - Recipe-testing stage, can I use only 50% of everything? Or must I strictly follow the quantity described in the recipe? (I'll get a R-meter if that's necessary.) - For PDF's to be that "burst-of-fresh-fruit" good, means there has to be tiny fruit solids/pieces in the pate? 3. There's this article on "gelee de fraise"(Author: Le Cordon Bleu graduate). Says "unlike 'Confiture', this doesn't have any solid in it, just juice". (Recipe attached) -Is it same thing as "strawberry puree"? Why add apple in a strawberry recipe? The recipe: Strawberry: 2 cartons Apple: 1/2 Water: 100cc Sugar: 300cc Lemon Juice: 2 Lemons ->Strawberry+Apple+Water, boil. When boil, simmer for 15minutes, remove foam; ->Turn off heat, pour to a bowl, when cool, cover with plastic wrap, let sit for 1 hour; ->Sieve to get only the juice, throw out the solid; ->Juice+sugar+lemon juice, boil. When boil, simmer for 15-20 minutes, remove foam; ->Pour into a bottle. Thanks!

Hi Dorie, Thank You for the quick reply to all my questions! I'll go through these details and test-run them...with regular sea salt(walked through the supermarkets and didn't spot Fleur de Sel yet, will keep looking.)

Hi Dorie, May I ask s/t about World Piece Cookies? 1. Will the taste be different if I use (regular, quite-smallish-granulated) sea salt, stores here don't carry Fleur de Sel. Yet I do remember that joke "i don't have butter so i use magarine, i don't have brown sugar so i use white sugar...". Cookies deserve more respect than that I think. 2. Food bloggers describe the taste as "a burst of saltiness", does this mean when we're mixing, we should be careful to keep the sea salt not too melted, still "keeping their original shapes, just smaller"? 3. For the bittersweet chocolate, that means cocoa content should be around what percentage? V-brand is not commonly available also. 4. I googled under "WPC", and many nice pics from different homebakers came up, yet there are also some with the color and all being really not that appetite-arousing(Type A. very pale, and CLAY-like, but the taste is said to be non-the lest superb. Type B. very dark, like ink, exactly. Type C. very flat. ). What might the cause be? 5. How long can these cookies keep in a container once made? I know the Q-list is long...