FoodMan

I think that is EXACTLY why we should throw such techniques away -- if our facts are wrong, discard them. Kind of like the "searing meat seals in the juices" statement I hear on Food Network every week. I know it's wrong, you know it's wrong, the celebrity chef in question probably (maybe?) knows it's wrong. Yet we're stuck with "searing seals in juices" because decades of chefs believed it to be true -- without bothering to pull out a scale and verify it. Is it still "modernist" if Cook's Illustrated discovered that years ago? In that case it is just "modern"

I think the maple vinegar is ready to use. It's been significantly more than the 4 weeks it needed per the recipe but it was still a bit too sweet at 4 weeks. Now, it is still on the sweeter side, but it is much better balanced with the tartness. This is a delicious product and like no commercial vinegar I ever bought. I cannot wait to try it on or with something.

I am trying this first. In my quick lookthrough I was not sure it would work without the autoclave (don't have and won't buy anytime soon). But mason jars and a pressure cooker...those I sure have. Ah these expensive "modernist" equipment

Same here. It's not about affluence at all. Cooking and learning about it is my top hobby. Spending $461 (an no you do not need another $1000 worth of ingredients or "chemicals") on a set of books for that hobby is very much a good investment. I am not sure a gender-divide exists specifically when it comes to MC.

They do it to 1- shorten the cooking time significantly 2- infuse it with flavor, as in soaking the pasta in tomato water. I have not tried their method as outlined in the book yet. (BTW Alton Brown rescently made lasagna with soaked softened pasta INSTEAD of boiling it, that sounded like an excellent and convenient idea)

Its been a while, but I am pretty sure I did not use it.

Ramps are not like radishes. They are a wild leek. So, I would substitute young garlic shoots, small leeks, or even mild spring onions for them, not radishes. For dessert, I highly recomment the Coffee, Mint, Buckwheat, Passion Fruit dish. That was the first dish I made from Alinea and it is stunning. You can simplify it and make the cake, buckwheat ice cream and maybe the passion fruit pudding along with some form of the coffee cylinder component (freeze in a sheet and break into shards?).

I have no iota carrageenan, does anyone think it can be replaced with Agar agar? I'm trying to decipher http://cdn.khymos.org/wp-content/2009/02/hydrocolloid-recipe-collection-v2.3-screen-res.pdf and it looks like they are quite similar, but really to much info that I do not understand to be able to say if they can be exchanged. Looks like I should have about a third of agar agar compared to iota carrageenan. Unless anyone says it will not work I will try ..... Well it might work ok, but I would hesitate to replace Agar for Carrageenan. The texture might suffer since Carrageenan makes for a soft and elastic (perfect for mac and cheese) mixture in the presence of Calcium. Agar does not do that. You might be better off making a half or quarter recipe and use only the citrate to serve right away instead of storing or freezing it.

Our GE fridge makes and dispenses those crescent shape ice "cubes" as well, but I have 0 complaints. It's been going strong for over 8 years and it's there when I need it (drinks, shocking, brines, stocks, drinks, drinks and more drinks). I could not care less if it is cloudy or not. Like I said, it is extremely convenient and tastes good with a filter than only needs replacing every six months or so. No way I would go back to the pain-in-the-ass ice cube trays or spend the $$ and space on a dedicated ice maker even if it makes see-through ice.

Houston, Texas. Home cook, Advanced Amateur and small-time blogger.

Thank you for the recs. Looks like Treadwell might be the most likely option at this time.

I would leave the core in. To core the carrots though, cut them into 3 inch lengths or so and then into quarters lenghtwise and slice the cores off.

This is beautiful work Chris. I know they recommend pork belly in the book but that seems too rich. Maybe pork tenderloin might work better.

So, I've only had them for about 3 days now, but I had to share my reaction so far even if it is a selection of random and maybe incoherent thoughts. - Holy crap. I knew they were about 50lbs, but they are much heavier than I expected somehow. - I usually flip through a new book, noting the pictures and interesting recipes, notes...before I go back and actually read in more details. I only managed to do this with Volume 3 and a quarter of volume 2 so far. This is so difficult to do with MC (in a VERY good way). There are so many things that give me pause to read or just look at. - I love the layout. Instead of being text text text picture text text...you get all that plus the boxes, sidebars, thoughts, some humor, The Science of, The Chemistry of...It makes these books so much more easier to wade through. Almost like a walk in a park with lots of nice foliage. Otherwise it could get tedious and maybe boring. - I love the What not To do with ____, especially the microwave one. But I still have a lot to go. - Did anyone really find these difficult to READ?? I am postive I will be reading these cover to cover. Maybe not in order, but I will. The language is fluid and sharp. The paper feels great and the font size and shape seem perfect. Granted I have a lot to actually delve into in detail but I do not understand Ruhlman's comment about it boring him or giving him a headache. - Girardet's fish cooking method is so damn neat. - I need to find the sweet spot (or was it zone?) for my grill ASAP. - After living on the formal dinner table for a couple of days, my dear wife moved them to the bar. They actually look good there and I have no actual bookshelf that they will fit in (too heavy). Dear wife promises she will make room in the kitchen for them...I'm skeptical... - What "recipe" to try seems beside the point now, but possibly the macaroni and cheese - Negative? honestly not really at this point, but one thing that confused me a bit is that volume 3 seems to start on the plants section and then delves into cooking methods and techniques abruplty (like batters and frying). I would've assumed this would be on volume 2, but then again V2 is so large that maybe it made more sense to not have it there. Like I said, my thoughts are not all together now and I could be worng about the specific order.

Got it today. Worked from home to wait for the UPS guy and he did not show up till 7:30 PM. I immediately reached for the Animals and Plants volume (V3).

No, not at all. You cannot use salt to get the same result. Jenni is correct, "Lime" gives these preserves a unique crispy texture. For a more scientific explanation, I quote Dave Arnold from Cooking Issues in his long post about corn "nixtamalization": I really would like to try that banana idea...

No more than 20 minute drive or so.

I would really appreciate some solid recommendations for the Niagra Falls area. Preferably something unique as opposed to a run-of-the-mill tourist joint. Any suggestions? P

Yes I would be opposed to it because it makes no sense, unlike say the requirement for the children to be vaccinated before going to school. I would love it if my kid's school offered really tasty, healthy and fresh made food even if it is a 1 or 2 dollars more, but I do not appreciate having to be forced to buy it. The fact that this Chicago school is forcing the kids to buy the same junk food as every other school just adds insult to injury. Like someone said up-thread this is really simple, those who want to pack their kids their lunch should be allowed to do so and those who elect to buy the school's food can still do that. If I am faced with the option of the school not offering any lunches, that is fine as well. The parents need to feed their kids, not the school. Does anyone really think that what the Chicago school is doing is really doing the kids any good? I very much doubt even the motive behind it. I still think it's some kickback of some sort. The obvious answer, of course, is that parenting begins at home and is best left out of the school system. But I don't think that's so easily implemented because if you run with that line of argument to its natural conclusion, one can very quickly end up with "child abuse" instead of "parental rights". It's funny you mentioned the angle about kickbacks, because I received that impression as well. I don't really buy the slippery slope argument here. Of course, if someone is feeding their kids dog food, then it's not a matter of parental rights anymore. We are just talking about parents packing their kids a sandwich or some leftover rice and beans. See, if we follow the whole argument to its eventual eventual conclusion, some people are not fit to take care of themselves let alone their kids, but unfortunately they can still have kids. That is definitely a different subject

Woohoo. A good morning to me! Just got this note in my inbox. Hopefully it will arrive with all volumes accounted for...might have to work from home on Friday We thought you'd like to know that we shipped your items, and that this completes your order. Your order is being shipped and cannot be changed by you or by our customer service department. The following items have been shipped to you by Amazon.com: -------------------------------------------------------------------- Qty Item Price Shipped Subtotal -------------------------------------------------------------------- Amazon.com items (Sold by Amazon.com, LLC) : 1 Modernist Cuisine: The Art... Shipped via UPS

Are you advocating that people should regularly consume McD's? And I question the nutritional value of their offerings. My breakfast today consisted of scrambled eggs w/cheddar, homefries and a dash of Tabasco; large orange; orange juice and a tall glass of milk. Slightly over 1,150 calories, 49g protein, 56g fat and 119g carbs. More important for my purposes are the total g of protein than the calories or fat. I eat like this almost every day. I'd be hard pressed to find an equivalent meal at Mc'D's that provided a similar macronutrient breakdown. I first mentioned McD's as an example. While not devoid of nutrition, those who choose to feed that cheap , badly made and bad tasting food to their growing children on a REGULAR basis (as in 5 to 7 days a week...and yes I know those who do) are doing them a huge disservice. My kids eat at McD maybe once a month and that to them is a big treat. It is my responsibility to make sure they eat well. So I do appreciate what Mrs. Obama is trying to do with her message. she is not stepping on any lawns or forcing people do anything. You do not have to be a nutritionist to give some common sense advise like "soda makes you fat and drinking water is probably a better option". She is the first lady and that's her cause. That is really not the point of this thread though and we are deviating from it a lot. We can discuss all kinds of political, economic, culinary and sociological issues that have come up but that might not be such a great idea, so to get back to the topic at hand, Yes I would be opposed to it because it makes no sense, unlike say the requirement for the children to be vaccinated before going to school. I would love it if my kid's school offered really tasty, healthy and fresh made food even if it is a 1 or 2 dollars more, but I do not appreciate having to be forced to buy it. The fact that this Chicago school is forcing the kids to buy the same junk food as every other school just adds insult to injury. Like someone said up-thread this is really simple, those who want to pack their kids their lunch should be allowed to do so and those who elect to buy the school's food can still do that. If I am faced with the option of the school not offering any lunches, that is fine as well. The parents need to feed their kids, not the school. Does anyone really think that what the Chicago school is doing is really doing the kids any good? I very much doubt even the motive behind it. I still think it's some kickback of some sort.

Nice. If my kid's elementary school served that food I'll have him buy it everyday. Now, his school cafeteria serves two types of food: crap and slightly-above-crap. For example, Mozzarella sticks are actually a lunchtime regular meal. That falls under the "crap" heading. I have no clue what that huge Hobart mixer is there for in the cafeteria kitchen and no idea what the surly lunch ladies actually do other than plop "food" in plates. Oh, you should see their disgusting "Burrito" that comes out of a microwaved packet. So, 90% of the time we pack a good lunch for him and he loves it. Everyone is happy with that arrangement. Now, if they are going to mandate I buy lunch for him everyday then you bet I will have a huge issue with it and will make as much noise as possible. The Chicago school is not doing anything to help feed the kids better. All they are really doing is providing kickbacks for whoever they source their junk from. Plain and simple. The fact that lots of parents make very poor choices when it comes into their chidlren's nutrition (McD's every day for breakfast comes to mind) is sad, but really has nothing to do with this particular ban on brown bag lunches.

I just cannot stop thinking how crazy it is to make this dish! To pick through each pine nut and "peel" it must've been mind numbing. How was the end result? Were those marinated in something? You had 50 courses in that amazing meal and I cannot stop thinking of pinenuts...

You are a lucky lucky guy, Steven. Our trip to elBulli was back in 2005 for our anniversary and it was by far the most memorable dinner ever on so many levels. I do regret not taking some more pictures of the food. You are in for a special treat. I so want to go back to beautiful Barcelona after seeing your pics of Boqueria...

I stand corrected then...maybe it's not much bullcrap.