Shel_B

@FrogPrincesse, A drive to Half Moon Bay is pleasant and filled with nice scenery and enjoyable side trips. I could even make an overnight trip out of it and stay at one or another nice B&Bs. Plus, I can enjoy the company of one or another companions for a drive to HMB, not so easily accomplished for a run into San Francisco to a grocery store. A trip to San Francisco is not so enjoyable. The traffic is often annoying and unpleasant, parking is difficult or expensive, and the scenery offers little that is uplifting to the senses. To avoid the unpleasantness of taking a car into SF, more than likely I'd take public transit, a less than stellar experience and one for which finding a companion would be unlikely.

I'm just starting my investigation into how wasabi is grown here in the US and Canada. Thus far, and in part with suggestions here, I've found five US and Canadian growers, one of which is a short drive south of me. It's an easy day trip and the farm is located in a scenic area with some nice restaurants and other amenities. I'm starting to read some articles and blog posts to get a better understanding of how wasabi is cultivated and what to look for and consider when buying and using wasabi, including, perhaps, uses and recipes beyond just as an accompaniment to raw fish. After reading these articles, I'd like to drive down to purchase some rhizomes, leaves, and stems, and start experimenting a bit. At this point I don't even know if such a visit would be acceptable to the growers but that should be easy to find out. https://californiagrown.org/blog/learn-how-real-wasabi-is-grown/

What are the dimensions of your grater? I have big hands and want a grater that's comfortable to hold and use. Any advice?

To experiment with and explore new-to-me flavors, textures, and techniques. Thinking about tradition and how it's changed over time, and to use traditional flavors and techniques in my cooking. To offer my guests something they've not tried before.

Not yet, but soon.

I looked at every wasabi-labeled product at Nijiya that I could call up, and there was nothing but fake wasabi items or items that was said to contain real wasabi but which was adulterated with numerous other, often polysyllabic-named, ingredients. Instacart wasn't much better. although I did find one product made by Sushi Sonic that was 100% freeze-dried wasabi. It seems to be widely available, both online and in some local markets. If someone is looking for this, be careful, as they have another product, in an almost identical container, that's only 51% wasabi, with the balance being horseradish and mustard.

Excellent! 👍 I'll have time to read through their site later today.

I'll check Nijiya. Thanks! I've never used instacart. Sounds like it might be another search resource. I'll look into it.

That's good information. While more expensive than Pacific Coast Wasabi on a per ounce basis, it's inexpensive enough to purchase as a sample. I suspect that it's the same powder sold by https://wasabia.com/ , Pacific Coast Wasabi Ltd. Might be nice to know for sure, though. Thanks for the link!

It doesn't, already checked. Maybe in San Francisco's Japanese neighborhood, but driving or public transit to the area would be a last resort.

Thank you! I believe that's the place I've heard about but was unable to find ... I have encountered dubious quality and questionable authenticity ... 😞

Looking for real wasabi root, either prepared or whole root. Any ideas where it can be obtained? I've looked at several products that claim to be wasabi, but they all, at best, contain only a small amount of the root. Here's a typical ingredient list from a product described as real: HORSERADISH 40.0 % WASABI 15.0 % IODIZED SALT 8.0 % SOYBEAN OIL 7.0 % CORN STARCH 5.0 % MUSTARD POWDER 1.0 %

I've a need for a simple beef stock but I want better quality than boxed, commercial broth. I don't want to make a full-tilt stock in which bones are roasted, etc., nor do I need anything like that. I'd like to try using ground beef and the appropriate aromatics and additions. Any thoughts on the idea or suggestions to enhance the flavor? I'm familiar with, but haven't used, Better than Bullion and More than Gourmet, and I may consider using one of those or another similar product, but for the moment I'd like to explore the idea of using ground beef.

What is a "blast freezer?" And, I hope you don't mind my asking, why do you have freezers in your dining and living rooms?

This is quite good, although it's not the higher quality gelato one would find in a dedicated gelato shop. I love the combination of vanilla and chocolate - always a favorite - and the fudgy swirl is not at all overpowering. The dessert maintains an easy-to-scoop texture right from the freezer, and it's not overly sweet ... this, I think, will be my go-to ice cream for a while. Try it ... nice for the summer months. .

👍

Now that you mention it, I've used it on a table as well, primarily because counter space was at a premium in the kitchens I used, especially when making large batches of goulash and chili. It sure makes quick work of 10lbs of onions.

@ElsieD,I found that butternut squash was easy for me although it didn't dice as nicely as onions. Haven't tried potatoes. However, in the next few days - maybe a week or so - I'll need to dice up some orange sweet potatoes. I'll dig out the chopper and see how it does and get back to you. In the meanwhile, this video may be useful: Even though I've tried it with a few items, as @liuzhou suggests, its strong suit for me seems to be onions and the like, although I've had great results with peppers. I've not used it much, and the things I've tried it with, other than onions, were more out of curiosity than to use the items in my regular cooking.

It may not do a potato, I've never tried it, but it does do more than onions, and I have tried other things. It's not for everyone and for every situation. We all must decide for ourselves. I keep my unit stashed in an out of the way spot and it comes out once a year or so when I want to take advantage of its ability to dice onions. YMMV, and it clearly does.

When sweetie made her annual goulash, she needed a HUGE amount of diced onions. I was in charge of the dicing, and it was a time consuming affair. After the first time, sweetie's daughter gave me this device: The Vidalia Chop Wizard: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) There's now a larger sized version as well: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Of course, it's useful for more than just onions. It's been a big time saver over the years for those few times a year that I need to do a lot of dicing.

A phone app was pictured in the video but there didn't seem to be any mention of an app in the video itself. Is an app needed to use the machine? I found this on Google: The Breville+ app is compatible with the Breville Paradice 9 food processor and offers hundreds of free recipes, classes, and guides that have been tested and adjusted by Breville experts for the appliance. The app also provides step-by-step guidance for over 40 recipes.

I just took the cooked beans (Dark red kidneys from Zursan) from the IP. The beans were a little overcooked but still quite useable. I drained but did not rinse the beans when removing them from the soaking liquid. I added about a quart of filtered water to the beans in the IP and cooked for 12 minutes on high. I let pressure release for about 17 minutes. The cooking liquid was quite picante and would make a nice addition to many dishes. The beans were not as picante as I expected based on a taste made after soaking and before cooking them. However, they still had a fairly strong flavor from the peppers. Overall, I'd consider the experiment a success. I believe that if the beans were cooked less, more of the peppery taste would have remained in the beans rather than leaching into the cooking water. Does that seem like a reasonable conclusion? Using this experiment as a base, I'll continue experimenting with infusing flavor into my beans in this manner. I believe the technique has possibilities. Better quality beans and a more precise cooking time may be helpful ... ?

I agree with blue_dolphin based on my experience with somewhat similar pork products that I've frozen, specifically pancetta in chubs, thick slices, diced, and ground in a food processor.

I observed that as well.

And that's where it went at about 3am his morning. Thanks to all for jumping in.