Tri2Cook

It's actually the aging part that I was curious about but I very much appreciate the recipes. With that last recipe (the large batch), I can mix it now, fridge it and it will be okay until the holidays?

They have a product here in Ontario that is exactly the same thing but goes by a different name. I can't remember the name off the top of my head but it would probably be different where you are anyway. Look for something in the flour area that has "instant" somewhere on the container and read the label, there may be something available from another company. Edit: the one available where I live is Robin Hood Easy Blend Flour.

More info please?

Agreed. You have to start with the traditional method if you aspire to the traditional result. I'm talking more about using other processes and techniques to achieve that goal once you are completely familiar with what that goal is and how it was originally achieved. Making a classic dish with untraditional methods that tastes as good as the original isn't likely to work if you don't know how to make it the traditional way and what it is supposed to taste like. I also agree that, for the person doing the cooking, it is about more than just what ends up on the table. For the diner, it typically is not.

I've intended to give the Satan's Whiskers from Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails a try because the name fits the theme but haven't got around to it yet. The recipe is 1/2 oz. each gin, sweet and dry vermouths and OJ plus 2 tsp. Grand Marnier and a teaspoon of orange bitters. Shake with ice, strain, orange twist. That sounds like a lot of bitters to me but, being a cocktail novice, I guess I should trust the recipe.

Trimoline is invert sugar and probably what he actually uses, the recipe is most likely provided for those who don't have Trimoline. Invert sugar and glucose (powder and syrup) all have their roles (stabilization, ice crystal control, boosting solids content without over-sweetening, etc.) and are usually used in combination (frequently with a commercial stabilizer as well). None of them are actually necessary for a good batch of ice cream, they're just tools that can help you achieve specific and consistent results. As far as color, Trimoline is more white than clear. Closer in color to frosted glass than glucose syrup. I have no idea what the homemade stuff should look like, I've never made it.

If he admits the shortcut version isn't as good but is better than not having it at all, I disagree... but that's exactly the excuse a large percentage of the population is looking for. He's telling the majority "them" what they want to hear. I just don't subscribe to traditional = right, non-traditional = wrong. I feel that it's the end result that determines right or wrong, not the process of achieving that result. If the traditional process is the only way to achieve the traditional result, then that's the way to do it (assuming you're going for the completely traditional result, but that's a different subject). Writing off a different way of doing something without tasting the result because it isn't traditional just feels extremely limiting to me.

That sums it up for me. If the old way is better, do it the old way. If you find a new way (quicker, easier, more streamlined, more accessible, etc.) that gives you equal or better results, go for it. There's nothing wrong with respecting tradition but, in my opinion, there is something wrong with assuming something isn't as good because it wasn't done in the traditional manner. Of course, it does require the ability to admit when something isn't as good as the traditional version even though it was easier. Many people like shortcuts and may mistake easier for equal to or better than.

Hmmm. I realize and freely admit that I'm a cocktail novice but I'm not nearly as offended by these videos as some seem to be. I'm not saying that's a good thing, maybe if I were more experienced in this area I would or should be. I didn't get that feeling of smugness. To me it came across more as "There's a reason people don't do this, are you sure we want to?". Maybe I just haven't been interested in this subject long enough to draw my personal boundaries between what is a cocktail and what isn't. To me the pudding was less silly than the ice egg. The technique with the pudding led to a specific end result that they were looking for, the ice egg was just a showy way to ice the drink. Yes, the encapsulation is on the "it's been done" list but it's still a valid flavor delivery system for those more interested in achieving a result than worrying over whether a technique is still cool or not. Would it be less offensive if they had simply infused tapioca with cucumber syrup like a more traditional bubble tea instead of using encapsulations? Disclaimer: I'm not shooting down anyone's opinions. I genuinely respect the knowledge of the cocktail experts and enthusiasts here. I'm just enjoying the debate and adding my thoughts on the subject.

Well this is depressing. I thought I had someone headed to the land of rye and rye may be a challenge to find. Maybe I should just order some from one of the online places and have it shipped to her house.

Waking up an old topic to proclaim my dislike for "bake" as a descriptor. For some reason seeing "blah, blah and blah with bleh bake" as a recipe title drives me nuts. I tend to automatically write the recipe off without even reading it. Just needed to get that off my chest.

So I'm guessing I should probably put together a short list in order of preference. I didn't realize this might be a tough assignment. I suppose any of them are better than what I can get here, which is none.

And that's assuming that 20 pits infused = 20 pits ingested. Not that I'm trying to convince anyone they should do it but people often have a tendency to grab the potential bad and run with it rather than looking at the whole story.

A question: since I'm working with 80 proof vodka, would it be a good idea to make a 2:1 syrup instead of the 1:1 suggested in Katie's recipe then replace the missing amount of water from the syrup with vodka after it cools to keep from reducing the alcohol content too far? It would essentially still be a 1:1 but with 2 c. sugar and 1c. water + 1 c. vodka instead of the 2 c. water. Would there be any reason to do this or will the alcohol content still be okay just using the 1:1?

Thanks. That's not the actual amount of anything that I used other than the vanilla bean and cinnamon, that was just for the picture. I used around double that amount of black pepper, allspice and cloves, the one vanilla bean and two cinnamon sticks, about a 1/2 tsp. sized piece of the nutmeg, 4 thin slices of the ginger and the zest microplaned from about 1/4 of the orange in the 1140ml bottle of rum. I split the vanilla bean open and lightly crushed all of the whole spices and it's been steeping for 4 days now. I don't plan to add anything to sweeten it. The sniff test is giving me subtle spice, I'll do a taste test later today. I hear you on the high proof rum. I would like to have done that and a 100 proof vodka for the limoncello I started the same day but neither is available where I live so I'm just working with what I can get.

I tried the "boil a can of condensed milk" method a while back out of curiosity and to me it seemed like it had a metallic taste. Maybe it was just my imagination because I haven't tried it again to compare and it wasn't strong enough to make it inedible but I definitely remember thinking it had that old tin can taste to it.

Thanks Chris. I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible for this round. I have some friends coming up next spring that will allow me the opportunity to request a few things I want and be a little more picky. For this one, I want something good so I'm open to suggestions if I should consider something besides the Rittenhouse but it's going to need to be widely available and easy to find. I don't want to ask my co-worker to ask his sister to go on a treasure hunt for me.

A co-worker is going to visit family in California next month. He offered to bring back a couple bottles of rye for my home cocktail bar I'm putting together since I can't buy it in Canada. He wants me to let him know what I want and he's going to have his sister pick it up ahead so he doesn't have to go searching while on his trip. I was planning on Rittenhouse but thought I better ask the experts here if that's something that will be easy for her to find and, if possibly not, what would be a good backup plan?

Sounds fun... unfortunately creme de violette is still on my unavailable-where-I-live list.

phan1: Agar-stabilized ganache is indeed tasty... I thought you were looking for "airy". Sethro: I've never tried using a warm fluid gel as the base for a mousse. Sounds interesting.

I don't have experience with alcohol infusions involving pits but I use cherry pits, peach pits and apricot pits (and tonka beans) in pastry work infused into cream or milk. It's not an every day thing but it's not particularly rare that I do it either. Not that it counts as scientific evidence but... I'm still alive and healthy and I haven't killed anybody who's eaten them (with the appropriate advanced warnings in place).

He didn't say the show should have catered to him, he said it wasn't what he thought it was going to be. He was asked here what he would have liked it to be, he answered. He didn't say it should be that, he said he would have liked it to be that. I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.

I think the point Seth is making is that, while making a dress out of chocolate or building a nice showpiece definitely takes skill and knowledge of the medium you're working with, it has absolutely nothing to do with food unless it tastes good as well. If you go to a dinner and someone plops a plate full of modeling chocolate down for dessert, will you be happy? Those things are a part of pastry tradition and I don't think anybody is claiming they shouldn't be but many people who do desserts professionally put little or no focus on those types of things.

Dredging this from the depths. I know, the real rum folks don't care about it. I'm not a rum aficionado but I can honestly say that I've never tasted spiced rum. I have a couple of close friends who like spiced rum so I've decided to include it in my home bar. I also decided to jump in with both feet and make my own rather than go off the shelf. I started it yesterday, this is what I'm working with... My question is, having never tasted a spiced rum, how forward is the spicing supposed to be? I'm trying to gauge when to filter out the flavoring agents. I've asked a friend to bring me a sample of what they have just to get an idea of the spice level involved so maybe this question won't even be necessary. I have a feeling I'm overthinking this and should just spice it to the level that tastes good to me but I'll take any information I can get (other than "don't even bother" since I've already bothered ).

I think they call that a souffle.