FauxPas

Or follow some suggestions that are already here on eGullet. You've been asking about this for a long time and there have been some answers. You want to do apricot 'preserves' - but I think you really want basic jam, from what you have said. And that is the easiest recipe in the world. But maybe you want lower sugar, that's the sense I get from you. And you were also asking about no-pectin recipes before. Then add citrus or use higher pectin fruit. And you can always experiment with different sweeteners, if you want honey or something else. Anyway, you don't really need a cookbook for what you are talking about since the basics are so easy - just take good fruit, cut it up to about 4 cups and add about 1 cup sugar (which will be way less than most jam-making recipes will advise). Put it in a low-sided pan and add the juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon, plus some zest. Cook it down over med high to high heat until it is reduced and thickened to the right consistency. Put a small plate in the fridge/freezer and test accordingly, you can find the jam or jelling instructions anywhere but it is basically put some of your jam on the cold plate and see how it rolls. Start there and then decide if you want more or less sugar/sweetness, thickness or whatever. Just jump in. Try it and let us know how it goes. And then we can help you, And stop kvetching over our advice.

I have a dozen preserving books and most of them have some useful information; they all seem to be strong in one way or another. For a beginner, I think Deryn's suggestion of the Ball Canning book is a good one. It's a classic that gets updated and its recipes seem to have been downsized so the batches are reasonable even for smaller households. it will also help guide you through some of the choices such as liquid vs powdered vs no-pectin in jam and jelly making. It also has sections for chutneys and pickles and salsa if you want to expand beyond fruit jams. I suggest you first try making some very small batches for refrigerator storage before you do the canning process. It will give you a chance to play with recipes and taste and get used to the thickening process w/o investing time and equipment and energy in the canning process itself. Once you are happy with your basic approach to the recipes, then you can do the actual canning. I just find that it's a lot for a beginner to be juggling the jam/jelly/whatever recipe as well as dealing with getting the jars ready and the water bath and so forth. If you break it down into two steps, it will make it less overwhelming. I like a book called The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving, but there are lots of others that are decent. I do have the Ball Canning Book. You might like one of the other books specifically for beginners. Better Homes and Gardens has one, for example. You might be influenced by the pectin/no-pectin/home-made pectin/Pomona's pectin decision, but for a first attempt I don't think you should worry too much. Do very small batches and then you can sample and learn. And same with the sugar/low-sugar/artificial sweetener/honey decision. Jump in somewhere, give it a shot with very small amounts and then you can compare. Somewhere on eGullet, I posted my approach to very small low-sugar batches of jam for refrigerator storage. I do that all the time and it gives me a chance to play around with variations (adding nuts, liqueurs, mixing fruits, etc). Then if i run across a fabulous batch of fruit and decide I want to preserve a bunch of it, I already know my basic preferences. I might want to add more sugar for longer preservation times, but I have an idea of where I want to go before I go through the cost and effort of the real canning process.

These are new to me, saw them in the spice section today - Trader Joe's The Spice Route. About $6 to $7 for the 4, I think. It's in the pics, but if it's hard to see, the 4 spices are Sumac as well as Zhoug, Ras el Hanout and Pilpelchuma spice blends.

Thank you!

Yes, I'm totally thinking that the lower temp for fish removes some concerns! Would you thaw first, or just cook from frozen though? And how do you adjust for frozen if it's only small pieces like this? And yeah, it's a professional operation - they are using proper materials and tracking their lots and so forth. It looks like a good quality vacuum package.

Yeah, it seems right to me also but not sure if I am missing something. The water bath is only about 122F for about 30 to 40 mins. These salmon pieces are about 200 gms or so. I think the original packaging should be fine for that. It looks like a good quality vacuum pack. I'm following some ChefSteps guidelines for the actual cooking and the temp isn't very hot. But when is it a problem to use original packaging, I wonder? Also, would you thaw first or just do the water bath to thaw as well as cook - and adjust the time, in some way?

I'm cooking wild Alaska sockeye salmon tonight. Some of the best salmon we have found here in the desert is from an Alaskan fisherman who is legally blind and calls his business White Cane Salmon. https://www.facebook.com/pages/White-Cane-Sockeye-Salmon/1410114155878301?fref=ts He's an interesting guy and also does a careful job with his frozen fish. He operates a commercial fishing boat in Alaska during the summer and lives in AZ in the winter. His business operates out of Idaho but we get fabulous flash-frozen fish here in the Tucson area at a few Farmers' Markets. This year, he has cod as well as sockeye. Anyway, my question is: would you ever sous-vide directly in the original packaging? See pics below. I am thawing, rebagging and then doing the water bath, but maybe that is not all necessary. I know I may find some answers somewhere else, but I did some quick searches and found such contradictory info and would appreciate responses. If you would use original packaging, what are the criteria for that decision?

I'm not a regular, by any means, but I have been there a few times. I bught some Freekeh and sumac there recently. The restaurant section seems like a popular lunch spot and the food looks good - we keep meaning to have lunch there. I'm impressed with their ability to fit so many things into such a small grocery area.

Is that Babylon Market, by any chance?

Any special organizational methods for the contents, rotuts?

I bought the Anova around Christmas when they had the holiday special of $149 or so. It was a while before I got around to trying it out, but I am now doing some cooking with it. Have done a couple of steaks, pork chops and pork tenderloins. I'm still learning but really enjoying the results so far. I did a pork tenderloin a few nights ago. Marinated it with a mix of grapefruit juice/purée, brown sugar, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, garlic, S&P and then cooked in the water bath at 141F and then seared it quickly on all sides. Very tasty! We had leftovers for lunch the next day, pictured here. I also used a (vaguely) Chef Steps' method for making Pomme Purée, but I used far less butter and less milk and didn't bother with the sieve. I just mixed the potatoes with an immersion blender quickly, just enough to make them smooth. Makes a lovely mashed potato by cooking the potatoes just below boiling and cooking them directly in the butter and milk. Seems to make for a richer final product. http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/pomme-puree I really need to follow rotuts' suggestion and start keeping a notebook, though. I need to keep researching and experimenting!

Is this the one? (I like the comment over the bar code)

I haven't seen these Tunisian Preserved Lemon Slices before, has anyone else? (I'm not sure if the pickled beets are new, I just happen to like them.)

I thought bittersweet chocolate was a dark chocolate? Am I missing something? Maybe someone can set me straight, because I am no chocolate expert. (I don't love chocolate, to be honest, though it does have its place! I do like it at times!) I used to use bittersweet chocolate to make dipped candied citrus peels. We have young citrus trees - Cara Cara oranges, ruby red grapefruit and a lovely tangerine for juice, but our trees are not huge. Here is pic of some of the fruit off our trees, though: Our neighbour has a lemon tree, plus AZ Orange and a few others. She shares, because her trees are huge and prolific. Last year, she gave me a lot of lemons and oranges. I juiced some of the oranges and froze the juice. I used the peel from some oranges and lemons to make candied citrus peel, and then dipped those in bittersweet chocolate. The leftover syrup from the candied peel was combined with lemon juice and prickly pear nectar to make a lovely rose lemonade 'concentrate', which I also froze. I gifted some of the peel and lemonade back to her, which she appreciated.

Did you go for the 3 or 4 blade one? I am considering a purchase and still can't decide which is the better choice!

What do you do with the javelina meat? We have a couple of friends who hunt them and we've heard different reports on the taste, but we haven't been offered a sample yet. One family uses it to make chorizo.

Would you/will you do it again? Is it possible to get a list of the wines served in Tucson?

Was the food as good as usual?

gfweb, I have always thought of you as someone with a fabulous sense of humour, but there is nothing funny about this. I hope for the best!!!

Oh no! So sorry to hear that! I hope things can be repaired w/o too much cost/inconvenience. Will they be able to do repairs tonight???

So glad your pipes were OK! I've lived in some cold places and burst pipes are no fun at all. Chili is a perfect meal for that kind of weather! Looks very tasty. Do you have a special ingredient?

We also wanted to mention how delightful Sonia is - she is a sea of calm in a rushed world, but she moves quickly. There is a sweetness and patience there that is rare in people in general, but she also is very articulate and knowledgeable and yet, not afraid to admit when she doesn't know something. She was a real delight.

Make sure you know the price of the trim kits. I don't know if any of them include trim kits in the basic price. I've been keeping an eye on the Thermador 24" combo steam-convection oven and the trim kit adds about $350 on to the price. Honestly, I think I could negotiate that down, but still - it's a factor. Also, I like the fact that the Thermador has both a 24" and a 30" trim kit - more flexibility in placement, especially if you are putting it into an existing kitchen. then again, maybe they all have those options. I just know that some models are out of my current price range.