Shel_B

I liked the Bacon Chipotle salt a lot, and bought a large jar an Amazon. (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

This moning, while at the Berkeley Bowl Market looking for some pasta-specific items, I came across this wondeful treat in the cheese fridge. I've had it before - it's not always available - and it's delicious. A baked, lemon-flavored, Italian ricotta cheesecake made with buffalo and cow's milk ... in-effin'-credibley delicious.

Yeah, I see it more as supplemental than the main coffee source. Great for that, IMO, and yours,too,it seems

I've owned several Nespress machines, including thr one in your link. For a capdule machine they are pretty good. However, none of the three that I've owned brewed hot enough to make a great cup. I loved the convenience, the recyclable capsules, and the variety of blnds. Eventually I just used mine for those afternoal with, But for my morning cuppa joe, I went back to th French press.

It's not necessary that you get it ... we all have different levels o tolorence, different kitchens space and setups, different tools. I toast them dry in a small stainless steel clad skillet. Thanks for your comment about them losing flavor and scent rapidly. That's all I needed to hear.

Bought this yesterday and had it for dinner last night. Awful. Sauce was watery and flavorless, chicken had a nice texture though.

Just like with other spices, the flavors and aromas are enhanced and increased. Like you, for some reason I overlooked this technique with peppercorns.

That's good information and an excellent place from which to start further investigation. Thanks, Yvonne!

Whole black peppercorns are used here daily. Often they are pan toasted. It's tiresome to toast a small amount almost daily. I'm thinking of toasting enough to fill, or half-fill, the pepper grinder. Will toasted peppercorns hold their flavor for a week or more? Will long-term storage of toasted peppercorns end up with reduced, or changed, flavor? In short, is there a benefit to doing this? Thanks

Sad to admit, I've not used blocks because neither of the nearby Japanese markets carry them, or at least they weren't available the times I looked, and because the only blocks that I was familiar with were large and very expensive. I've since learned that smaller, more budget-friendly blocks are available. I may have to go into San Francisco's Japan Town to get good quality blocks. I'm hesitant to buy online until I become more faiiar with quality and what to look for. Maybe you have some thoughts about buying online? I've been buying bagged and shaved katsuobushi, and have definitely noticed qualitative differences, and some are smokier than others. I've been trying different brands and have noticed that price isn't an indicator of anything. Same thing with the kombu, although I'm narrowing down that ingredient to a couple of brands and styles. It seems that kombu from certain areas are more highly regarded than from other locations. Any kombu suggestions? Thanks for your help and support.

I like to experiment, try new things. The whole thing came about almost accidentally. I wanted to cook some salmon, was tired of baking, broiling, pan searing ... the dashi was in the pot ... 1 + 1 and I thought why not poach in dashi, see what happens. This time, the second time I poached salmon in dashi, I decided to salt it first. Didn't see the Diamond Crystal, but the smoked salt was handy, so I grabbed it ... why not, I thought (Actually I thought WTF ..} But isn't cooking about experimenting? Don't you at least sometimes stray from tradition? In anycase, I'm cooking for me, and I liked it and shall cotinue experimenting with the concept.

I use kasuobushi, the salted salmon added an additional and subtle layer of smokiness. And a different flavor of smoke as well. It was accidental and I'd like to experiment more with adding additional smokiness to my dashi ... see where the concept takes me.

I seasoned the salmon with some alderwood smoked salt, let it sit a bit, wiped off some of the excess, and poached the salmon in the dashi. That was the only smoke added to the broth.

Ovr the past months, I've been enjoying my homemade dashi a couple of times per week. Last week I got the idea to poach a piece of salmon in the dashi, and that was OK. Today, for lunch, I seasoned the salmon with some alderwood smoked salt, let it sit a bit, wiped off some of the excess, and poached the salmon which I had with rice and veggies. I decided to save the dashi poachimg broth, and had a little before storing the balance., OMG, that subtle smoke flavor and slight hint of saltiness really kicked that dashi upstairs. This is something I want to experiment with. It appears to have some great possibilities. Has anyone here tried something similar? Am I an innovative and creative genius or, once again, late to the party?

Will the butter used in the sauce give up it's water after 45 min or so of cooking? If so, then why not start with ghee or clarified butter?

Based on the info I've accumulated, news reports and reviews, the butter I used was made by Bunge, and they were rated poorly in a few reviews. I'd like to find a european-style butter, or even an american butter that's of a brand I trust, like Clover-Stornetta for something local or Plugra perhaps. I don't know what would be lost in the cooking process, but my intent is to just get a known, good quality butter. There's a market nearby that carries many brands and many varieties in those brands. I'll just see what they offer and pick one. If it's one that's nuanced in flavor, it would be nice to see what happens to those flavors during the process. I'm not too concerned with fat content, but again, it would be nice to see how it affects the result. I don't think it will, at least not much. I'd like to see the results for myself rather than rely on opinions from others

Yesterday I made another batch of ghee, and this was the best yet, although not quite perfect. The heat may have been a skosh too high, but the result gave me a medium amber liguid as clear as spring water. Judicious skimming and careful pouring negated the need for any filtering. After cooling, I tasted, and this was the nuttiest-tasting ghee I ever made. Some milk fat solids stuck to the bottom of the pan, so that's why I thnk the temp was too high. The pan cleaned up quickly and easily though. Next batch will be made with a better quality butter, mostly to see if there's any qualitative difference between brands. Thanks to everyone who jumped in earlier ... the info was helpful.

Mine is not as gritty as that pic ishows

I used unsalted butter, most noticeable at roomtemp, not when warm, such as spread on toast. I didn't strain, er se, just poured off the liquid carefully and skimmed any crud off the top.

Some time ago, I made a batch of ghee, following what I thought was previous techniques ... it's not difficult, there's relly not much to follow. The results were typical except that they were a little gritty. If you can imagine the crystals in aged Reggiano, broken up, dissolving on your tongue, that might be close to what was in the ghee. In any case, has anyone experienced something like this, does anyone know what might cause the issue?

Some time ago, I mentioned that my sister sent me a salt sampler, and while I've not used many of the samples thus far, I have used one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) with great success. A couple of days ago it was used to season the 2lbs of ground turkey that went into the turkey-bean-vegetable chili recipe that I'm developing, and man, did I like the result. I can't strongly recommend the other salts in the sampler just yet as I've not used them, or used them enough.But if you want toadd some smokiness to your ground meat, this is a ine choice. (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

My experience is quite similar to yours. I'm revisiting this thread because I used the diffuser last night with my very wide All-Clad pot, which is wider than my widest hob, and the results were beautiful.

I've been using this diffuser for quite a while now, and it works better than expected. I am using an octagonal variant. I have several pots that are quite a bit wider than my hobb, and heating has always been uneven. No longer. Looking at the bubbles coming up through the sauces and stews, they are evenly spread across the entire surface. No need for special pliars, I just let the thing cool down of its own accord. pretty good I don't use it in the oven. No need to. My cookware is already pretty good. Using Al-Clad D5 and Le Creuset for the hob in question.

@blue_dolphin Did you ever find containers that were suitable?

I am going to make a long-braised chuck roast. The meat is sitting in the fridge until cooking starts in the morning. It has been salted, and while sprinkling the salt, I realized that I've no idea what a good or proper amount of salt should be for this situation. Is there a formula or calculation that can be used? Besides the weight and thickness of the meat, what other factors should be considered? Thanks