Shel_B

I've certainly encountered the problem, which I solved by using older plastic bags. There's a small collection of such bags here, and if the produce will be stored for a while, I transfer the goods to one of the plastic bags. Those bags get cleaned and reused as I try to minimize their impact on the environment. Some Ziploc-type bags are also used and reused. The supermarket's compostable bags are put into service when composting food waste. The city of El Cerrito has provided us with small food scrap pails. https://recyclemore.com/residents/food-scrap-collection-pail-program/ The food waste goes into the bags, the bags into the small pails, and the pails are emptied into the larger composting bins outside, which are picked up by the city and turned into compost, which is used by the city and given away a couple of times a year to city residents. In El Cerrito, we can recycle plastic bags and films at the El Cerrito Recycling and Environmental Resource Center.

Comparison of Diamond Crystal salt crystals Sorry for the slight delay in getting this posted ... The top grouping is from a commercial box that was purchased almost a year ago. The lower grouping is from a commercial box that was purchased about 8 days ago.

This is for the Corningware aficionados here. I'm a fan also, and have found this information to be useful: https://www.corningware411.com/p/welcome-to-consolidated-patterns-page.html

Don't your stores offer compostable bags for produce and other items? Plastic bags have pretty much disappeared from the markets here. The markets here offer ASTMD6400-certified bags like these (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) at no charge. In addition, a great majority of shoppers use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic or paper bags provided by the market.

The "problem" didn't exist until Cargill decided to move DC to a more consumer-oriented product. For many years the salt was marketed towards professionals, and the product was found frequently in many restaurant kitchens. It was often difficult to find in supermarkets and even in some geographic areas of the country. There was a brief period where I could not find the product in any local supermarket, and resorted to having my sister send me some from NYC. Cargill expects to increase sales of DC substantially. Due in great part to the "rebranding," Cargill is looking to boost annual revenue from $3 million to $50 million. It should also be noted that at one point a few years ago, Cargill was thinking of doing away with the ubiquitous 3-lb package altogether. Samin Nosrat, the cookbook author, expressed her concern about this on social media, and a lot of customers unhappy with the news created a brouhaha about the possibility, and some (many?) have said that the protestations of these loyal DC customers influenced Cargill to keep the package size. Cargill wanted to change their market strategy and increase sales. Be happy that the 3-lb box is still available and that the market for a well-loved and special product has expanded, making it easier for those who want to use the product to obtain it. FWIW, I prefer the older package design, but more so, I like the idea of being able to easily find and get hold of the product. Cargill could package it in a burlap sack as long as I can get my fingers around those lovely, pyramid-shaped crystals.

You are correct, to a point, IMO. You don't know how well this teapot was treated, how many heat and cool cycles it's gone through, or how many shocks going from cold to hot and reverse. Were it my pot, I'd not put it directly on a burner, but if you insist on using it on the stovetop, then use it with a diffuser of some sort.

Definitely!

I'd like to explore making this mustard. Does anyone have a recipe, technique, or ingredient list that they can share?

Mutti Merriment: My friend Barbara gifted me these four tubes of triple-concentrated tomato paste this morning. She knew my supply was at zero and, since she happened to be across town at the Berkeley Bowl market, she grabbed a few tubes for me. Mutti has become my preferred tomato paste and, unless there's a tomato paste emergency, it's the only paste I'll buy. Recently such an emergency fell upon Casa de Shel, and a tube of the Whole Foods branded paste was called to fill in. It was insipid and uninspiring. My deepest thanks to Barbara. Anyone want half a tube of Whole Foods tomato paste?

What temperature does that translate to on the stovetop?

The novelty of this type of show has worn off. I'm more interested in straight cooking shows in which the host presents a recipe, or a series of similar recipes, and goes into the details of ingredient choice and technique. Something I can rewind and watch several times, and learn from. A video accompanied by a written recipe and a host explaining everything works for me.

DC started producing its salt in 1886 (I understand you were just being silly or hyperbolic since you may not have known when DC started producing its salt). Cargill is producing the salt in its original (although updated) facilities. Diamond Crystal uses the Alberger Process to produce its "crystal flakes." In the business, DC is sometimes referred to as Alberger salt. The process creates hollow, pyramid-shaped grains which account for the salt’s lightness and thin walls, and that form and wall thickness contribute to its crushability.

That won't work. Think about why we weigh ingredients ... I doubt it's possible to get volumes precise enough to make such a comparison.

According to a N.Y. Times article titled "What Happened to Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt?" dated August 1, 2023, "While the makeover has landed Diamond Crystal national distribution at retailers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, the salt inside the boxes is unchanged. The three-pound box is $12.99 on Amazon (compared with $8 five years ago) $8.99 at Trader Joe’s, $10.29 at Whole Foods and $6.99 (before shipping) at the online restaurant supplier WebstaurantStore." https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/dining/diamond-crystal-kosher-salt.html?

Based on what I read here, I bought some recently in part to see if the salt had changed, . I purchased the old-style, brown box marked as being for "Food Service Packaging." I opened the box and checked the salt crystals, maybe it was just the power of suggestion, but the individual salt grains felt smaller. I want to examine them more carefully, and in direct comparison to my older stash, but it'll be a few days before that can be done. Any suggestions on how to best compare individual salt crystals? I thought I'd lay a few out from each box, alongside one another, photograph them with my high-quality camera and lenses, and compare the images.

I found another supplier for the Pasilla de Oaxaca chilies, and am very happy with their product. A two-ounce package was ordered, larger than what I'd generally been getting. More importantly, they are well-sized, supple, and fragrant, with a nice, but not overpowering, smokey aroma. I was surprised to see them shipped from Nashville, TN, a place I'd not expect to find a well-stocked spice shop. They have a varied assortment of chile peppers, and their prices look pretty good ... worth a look, IMO. The price was $8.00 an ounce and shipping was $5.25, one of the two best prices I've found for this pepper. I'm a very pleased pepper purchaser and now have enough of these peppers to last a while. https://www.surajspicesteas.com/collections/spices-chiles

How about some pics? Living in a small space, I love seeing how folks solve their storage problems.

My Easter Bunny Memory ...

@Smithy That's quite a rabbit hole ... more like a warren, I'd say.

After my last purchase of Pasilla de Oaxaca peppers, which was unsatisfactory because the chilies I received were old, brittle, and dried out, I searched for another supplier of these often-hard-to-obtain peppers. I was very pleasantly surprised to find my local spice shop (Oaktown Spice Shop) had them in stock. I grabbed a bag and was very happy with the quality of the peppers. They were supple, fragrant, and of a good size. And here's the bonus: the price was lower than I've found anywhere, $14.25 for two ounces. Every place I've checked online was about $11.00 or more for an ounce or so. I got excellent quality, supported a local business, got a great price, and saved quite a bit on shipping.

Boiling water is not usually needed. I say that because there may be a situation that I've not encountered in which the extra heated water would be helpful, but ... in more than seven years of using the Vitamix, with several sized and designed containers, I've never used anything but hot tap water. The tap here produces 120 to 130 degree hot water. Tip: when making some nut butters, especially almond and cashew butter, I clean the container with refrigerated, filtered water (add water, start the machine, whirr around, pour out results) and use the resultant mixture just as I would when making nut milk. Sometimes it's thin, sometimes not, but in any case, I don't waste the liquid.

I've ground spices in the Vitamix. Vitamix has a container and blade assembly designed for pulverizing grains. Note the upward angle of the blade: The blades are designed to push dry ingredients away from the blades to prevent packing. I've also used it to "grate" hard cheese, like pecorino romano, reggiano, etc. I've had the container for about six years and, thus far, have not observed any "clouding." Maybe it's yet to come, but thus far the container looks almost like new.

This morning, I came across two recipes from Texas in which smoked brisket was used. In one, burnt ends was the only meat. In the other, smoked brisket was used with other meats. It's not a big deal but FWIW, it's nice to know that others have used an idea similar to what I posted.

An acquaintance recently purchased a new VW and claimed she discovered a sausage wrapper in the glovebox.

@Maison Rustique @Katie Meadow Since my original post, I've given more thought to the idea and moved toward using the BBQ as an additional flavor element while making the chili using more conventional techniques. Seems like we're all on the same page. Now I've got to decide on the meat. Brisket or center-cut chuck seem to be good choices. I've already started gathering other ingredients, such as the peppers. Thanks for jumping in.