nerdy

recent info i discovered about the cactus & their fruit.... when the spanish came to the new world they really were into them, but not so much for the culinary purposes as for the tiny scale insects that live on their surface yeilding a bright red dye called cochineal. it colors one of my favorite beverages campari. it flourished in the mediteranian climate and was turned into a liqour on the isle of malta, called bajtra. havnt tried it yet but im lookin to do so as soon as possible. i think both the fruit and the leaf of the cactus are extremely versitile, lending themselves to all sorts of sweet and savory applications. el bulli 03-04 has some info on the preperation of nopales to yeild them slimeless. most places in my area that serve them skip the prosess, i still like em slimy, but when processed the proper way the results are really nice.

i modify almost every recipe from a book just a little... unless it requires precise measures(baking, M.G., ect...) but even then i usually adjust flavorants... more of this, less of that... or flip the flavor profiles completely... i thin my faves are the ole standards... la technique, la rousse, chernosky, escoffier, CIA, any 'base' recipie book. when i look at books written by a specific chef, i tend to use them as more of an inspirational guide... flavors, platings.... well thats just me.

im interested in making crab apple vinegar. the majority of this thread references wine vinegars. with the exception of the pineapple. i just wonder if the presence of alcohol is essential to the process.... or if its just sugars in your starter product. ive got braggs cider vinegar w/mother. my current process unless i see some recomendation otherwise will consist of adding unpasturised crab apple juice to a small amount of the braggs, let it breathe for 6 months in the storeroom@my kitchen out of the sun... im also unsure if it will require "feeding" of fresh juice. also the removal of the mother if it grows too large......

from my own experience, blanche ive never tried to create or drink, but ive always sipped a little of my unfinished verte before the flavor/color round of herbs were added... its really different. it lacks the sweetness that my verte developes from the addition of licorice root. i think its closer in flavor to the pastis that ive tasted... id base drink ideas on that.

if you cant find it you can hit up dow chemicals for free foodgrade samples, just give them a good line on why you need a sample.... l'epicierie has some for the cheapest ive seen. (its E461) dow chem has like 6 or so all with different properties...... so whos got some good recipies for this stuff??? ive been adding a little to my sabayon @ work for added staying power... for big parties when you got like 60 peeps the gum helps the warm sauce keep its areation....

im not familiar with this liqour, but walnuts can be very bitter... how does this compare... also has anyone thought of distilling the spirit, then adding just a few walnuts for color? ive found that with anything high in essential oils the complexities of the flavors are lifted to new heights through distillation.... then adjusatments can be made to the spirit for flavor and color.... so one could use high proof alcohol and then through distillation remove the "vapor burn" for lack of a better term of the high proof stuff, because you really need 80-95% alcohol for proper extraction? or thats just what ive read.... ive got plans for wild mulberry liqour this year... macerate berries in 95% grain alcohol, steep for 5 days.... cut w/water(strictly so that theres something left in the still), check the spirit for flavor... might add more berries for flavor if it needs it, or just some hibiscus flower for color if the flavor is right..... any suggestion? dont want to add spice for clean fruit flavor.....

read up on pastis and ricard.... u r correct. ive tried both. as well as my own absinthe, artisinal spanish abinthe, horrid chezh absithe, nice pastis, and crap infused vodka "absinthe"... ( i like mine the best) as per the law. lets just hope that they are too busy? thats jsut been my additude. home built rigs, if constructed properly, well researched and opperated w/ proper ventilation i dont think pose much risk. ive built 3 of variying quality as my experience grew. but i may be a exception. im also not using open flame. and i use an exaust fan. and im not doing it in the woods.... if you are in moonshine teritory, yeah the rangers are gonna be lookin for those guys... but i love the fact that they still exist. we wouldnt have some of the bourbons and whiskeys we have here in the states if it wasnt for those illegal operations. gotta love it and i personnaly think preserve the spirit and idea......

i was under the imperssion that the herbal make up of pastis is somewhat different than absinthe. its not just absinthe sans wormwood. (la fe vert .com) but im no expert. why not home distill, i think riding a bicycle is about just as dangerous. but that said i read alot of books on moonshing. but when you distill from spirits you dont really produce a dangerous product like when you distill from a fermented wash, or so thats what i thought. i guess the danger results from alcohol vapor in an enclosed space. if your stupid enough to do that, well jets just say stupid is as stupid does. but as i said before, forget the legal aspect. no ones gonna come to your house and arrest you for making a little liqour for you and your friends. were not talking about large scale 'shining here.... this is connisour(sp?) stuff. i read some other thread where people were really trying to convince this kid that he'd get busted for tax evasion & or health code violation for hosting some paid for private dinners in his apmnt. people are really afraid of the law.... silly. but in all reality, he'd have to be pullin in serious dough and have alot of people coming in and out b4 anyone would even think twice. people live their entire lives selling drugs. they grow old. probably have regular jobs. but they never get caught(i knew this chemist guy a long time ago...). i think taking chances is essential to the creative process. yes it may be risky, or dangerous, or kind of off kilter.... but who knows maybe it would suceed.

home made absinthe doesnt have to be terrible, if you know what you are doing. ive been home distilling it for years.... it had become quite popular.... is pernod making absinthe? and is pernod liqour 'pastis'? im not sure if either of these are true... if it is where did you see pernod absinthe? id love to try it.... i know vintage bottles are available, but arent cheap. i reccomend to anyone who really wants to try it and has any bit of diy blood in them to make it yourself. (home diatillation provides the cook or chef with countless possiblities, i recently saw on iron chef america someone whip out a copper potstill and make a liqour to compliment their dish... ) once one understands the basics of the chemical process of distilation, you will see how easy it is.... ive got wild mulberry liqour on my agena for this summer... imagine that? its relatively simple and relatively inexpensive to create... as long as youve got a lil mcguyver in you and arent scared of "laws" that prohibit home distillation... the atf have bigger threats to worry about id like to think..... and after 5 years of my home distillation endeavours(sp) no one is blind, including me.... or has killed thier loved ones like that guy they based alot of the prohibition on.....

as to earlier posts someone listed a shrimp stock for a sfer... shrimp is higher in calcium than some milk products... so its ph can be up to 7. so youd need to adjust stuff to make it work. or reverse. ph of 4 works well, right?

it shouldnt the maltodexterin should keep it dry, they put in commercial food products for that purpose, we were experementin with some and found @ diferring volumes it would change the texture, some similar to candy bar interiors. that were dryish and crunchy. go look at commercial food product ingredients. youd be amazed. how bout the recipie for the 'soil'? just fresh taragon and maltodex in a robo and the sift? thats my guess???

just checked this thread. i think the most entertaining aspect is the people trying to persuede you from not doing it. the law has more to worry about. even the fn health inspectors do. ADVERTIZE! i have been home distilling absinthe for YEARS. i sell it. hell i wish i could sell more, but im kinda lazy about my entepeneureal (sp?) endeavors lately. or should i say blowing all my money on equipment and chems like this kid. but im a professional cook. i take 80%of what i buy for my own fun to work and use it practically. like my thermowhip or methycel or maltodex... or some el bulli book or a vac sealer. hell its where all my money goes.... i forego paying bills somtimes(fn ebay...... s.o.b.s....) but its what i love and generally without money im less likely to get in trouble @the bar.... but i enjoy your idea. i have tried simply to gather cooks to discuss food and ideas with huge failure, i even found an organic chemistry student interested in talking but id feel weird just me and some guy i barely know..... im amazed that you can convince people to come over and pay 40 bean for a few courses.... its relatively a deal, since more singular effort goes into your dish, rather than @ most restaurants where your chef is on yr ass for speeds sake. i could do what you do but i think even where i live id be hard pressed to do that. but i like the idea. i like tax free money(used to try my damnedest to make it any way possible). but gotta say. props. big ups. 1 thing though. friendly criticisim. from a fellow food nut & a food professional: more color. gotta make it pop. i used to write graffifi, like i now like to cook, obsessively for 7 years, i learned alot about color. CONTRAST IS ESSENTIAL! and a newer revalation in my own gastronomic growth: texture! gotta have differing textures. i like sous vide but you gotta compliment the softness with crunch. it looks as if you might pre sear from photos, but thats gonna just turn into flavor in yr bag. git a skin on chix and take the skin, season it and fry it crispy(adria serves skin by itself, ive done duck skin w/confit duck{im sure everyone has}) serve it as a tuile, just like fish skin (if u ever watched the jap iron chef, they do it all the time & who dont like a lil crispy salmon skin roll @ the cheap sushi place near home). or find other ways to incorporate all textures. they said that alot @ school. ok thats enuf. ill rattle 4ever if i let myself.

how could you hold the warm (methycell) mousse? like for service(4hrs) will it need to continulally re areated or will it basically hold air at room temp? (i wanna do an amuse tomato water mousse, parm chip, baby basil) i dont care if its hot or room temp... i guess id rather prefer room temp. i got a isi thermo, but i find the foam it creates is rather dense and usually requires cream to make a nice texture. my only attempts @ methyl mousse has been w/ cold product, ima try the hot. if no one answers me, i guess ill figger it out on my own. (ha!) ive also got a organic chem student friens who i can bug... and a girlfreind in foodscience/production.... but these blogs seem sometimes a little more oriented to cooks..... whatevs...

some things I've been doing: sabayon made wth agar and fruit puree, puree with versawhip or egg white and gelatin...no added fat. ← ive heard (dufresne) that xantham gum and hydrolized soy protein/or methylcellulose can create moouse like products, as far as stability, i had an accidcental one stand up for a long time but have yet to repeat my inital sucess.

mehylcellulose as all nerds know reacts backwards compared to most gellifiers(sp) as it is liquidy when cool and solid when warm. thusly as chef dufresne has already done one can make "noodles" by adding methylcellulose to a product, resting to remove air (or vacuming product) then piping (or squeeze tube) into hot (barely simmering) water bath. as per amnts not sure. i saw a recipe in arts culinare. i have also been able to (accidentally) make a "moouse" from watered down juice by areating methylcellulose into the product. un fortunately i aint been able to repeat it! damn!