KennethT

Modernist Cuisine has a complete discussion of just about all hydrocolloids, with guidelines of concentration, hydration and gelling, not to mention pluses, drawbacks, potential problem areas, etc. It is very thorough.

OK... finally got to the book... according to the chart on 3.109, they like pork shoulder at 149F (65C) for 36 hours (their preference) but also recommend 140F (60C) for 72 hours. But you're right, the recipe on 5.78 uses 150F (65C) for 72 hours, but it's then mixed with BBQ sauce - maybe that's the cause for the difference? Hopefully Maxime will be able to weigh in on the disparity at some point...

Phaz, I don't have the book in front of me, but if memory serves correctly, most pork products are cooked between 40 and 48 hours, not 72.... it's the beef products (brisket, beef cheek, short rib) that are cooked for 72 hours. Maybe that caused the dryness?

hzrt8w, I'd love to hear your "short list" of recommendations for chinese (primarily cantonese/seafood, but I'd like to try others as well) food and dim sum... my wife and I will be in hong kong for about 7-8 days in the beginning of July. Thanks!

Habaneros are one of the most common fresh chilis to find in NYC - after Jalapenos... you really shouldn't have to go toa specialty market for them. Even the ridiculously crappy Food Emporium in my neighborhood has them. Fresh Direct has them also. Whole Foods always has them also...

Welcome Keith! I don't know how much experience you have with sous vide, but if you've got a little (or a lot as the case may be) time on your hands, you might want to peruse the old sous vide thread, now closed. It's huge... so huge, that they actually made an index for it. The index is always at the top of the "Cooking" forum and there's a ton of knowledge in there. Basically any question you can think of has already been asked, and answered... probably more than a few times. There's also the 2011 sous vide thread found in the cooking forum as well. And, in case that wasn't enough, you can look at the Cooking with Modernist Cuisine thread, where lots of stuff is cooked SV and then used in other applications.

I typically do 62C for like 3 days for pulled pork - that's the most succulent I've ever made... I think it also matters what the fat content is of the meat - really lean pieces tend to dry out more...

I've used FoodSaver bags, and zip locks, and never had any kind of plastic smell/taste, even when cooking for many hours at 185F. I can't imagine getting a plastic smell at 131F. I agree with Nick - I wonder if it was something else in the bag, or maybe some lactic acid that contributed to it? Did you sear/torch/boiling dunk the short ribs prior to the 2.5 day cook? I usually do that for long cook times just to make sure the surface bacteria is gone and can't produce any funky odors.

[Moderator note: The original Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" (Part 2)] I'm actually making the mustard again, and draining the vinegar left it a bit thick in my opinion (it was like thick cement), so I wound up thinning it with a bit of champagne vinegar. I also felt that it needed more salt. Like Larry, I"ll know more by the weekend, after it's had a chance to age more.

I wouldn't say a tie is necessary at Del Posto - I think jacket/buttondown/slacks is most typical there, with some people less dressed than that. In my opinion, there are few places left where ties are common... I'm thinking Daniel, Per Se, etc. but even in those places I've seen quite a few people who were tie-less (although those who were had pocket squares if memory serves correctly).

This is out there, but peanut/maple/bacon

When we were in Thailand, my wife and I sampled various bugs - we thought the crickets and meal worms were the tastiest. Both were deep fried and salted. When we initially sampled them in the market, the taste was initially crunchy and salty, but then a slight bitterness comes in that was only slightly unpleasant. I would say though, that they'd make GREAT snacks to have with beer. The crunchiness and saltiness are great, and even more savory than a potato chip, and whatever aftertaste there is would be washed down by the beer. Plus, the fact that they are low in carbs, high in protein is an added bonus!

OK - the gellans have been ordered. The total with shipping to me came out to $0.1384 per gram of each, so 100g of each costs $27.68, plus the USPS shipping to you. The gellans will probably get to me by mid-next week, and then I'll distribute and take them to the post office the following Saturday. Once I know the total cost, I'll message each of you privately so you can send payment at that time.

Sorry Gellan people.. I made a math error - $100 for 28 ounces (793g) is $0.126 per gram not 0.76 per gram.... plus the shipping of course... ETA: Sorry - one more error - there's actually 7 of us looking to split the gellans, so that's like 56-57g each. I know this is getting a little low on quantity, so maybe we should get two containers of each - which will be 113g per person? Most people requested about 100g of each...

OK - I now have 6 people, including myself signed up for the Low/High Acyl Gellans. Each container has 14 ounces (approx. 400 grams), so I'm going to stop taking requests now. I haven't had a chance to write to everyone yet confirming - but anyone who has written to me by this time is in. If we split it evenly, it winds up being about 66 grams per person, which is a lot because you use very little of the gellans, as compared with most hydrocolloids (or so it seems reading MC). If someone doesn't want that much, let me know, because one of the people will take extra if available. I'm going to get the Kelcogel F Low Acyl gellan, and LT100 High Acyl Gellan, since those are brands specified in MC. It seems like the only place to get it is le-sanctuaire. Their price is $48 for one, and $52 for the other - so that's about $0.76 per gram of each, plus the cost of shipping to me, plus the flat rate USPS to redistribute. There's no charge for the padded envelope/ziplock bags for redistribution since I've got tons of padded envelopes and ziplocks are cheap. I don't know the exact cost for the shipping to me yet, as that's calculated when you place your order, but I will write to everyone to let them know the exact cost once I have it. While we're ordering from Le-Sanctuaire, are there any other CP Kelco items anyone would want? I spoke with the CP Kelco rep, who basically said Le-Sanctuaire is the only place that carries small quantities of their product. I'm sure we can save a bit in shipping costs if more stuff is shipped at once.

I am trying to get a group together to split the cost of purchasing high and low acyl gellans. We currently have 4 people in the group. I was planning on waiting a few more days to see if anyone else has any interest, and then I'll go shopping and get prices. If you are interested in joining the group, please PM me letting me know how much of each you'd be interested in. Once I have everyone's order, I can figure out how much to buy, and what the total costs will be. I was planning on putting each order into a zip lock bag, and sending via USPS in a padded envelope. Thanks.

+3 - but I go one step further by numbering the crates, and then made an excel spreadsheet with the complete contents of the freezer, and the location. So now, when I wonder if I have something, I don't have to open the freezer to find out - I can look at the spreadsheet, see how much I have and see exactly where it is. Since I don't add or remove stuff that often, updating isn't a big deal...

I don't think the prosciutto water should be a problem, primarily because you're baking the dough and the temperature of the finished dough will surely kill anything in it. Great idea btw...

I used my stovetop smoker for the MC pastrami - I don't think it's as good as it would have been in their precise smoker - but if you smoke the meat for like 20 minutes, then bag and SV, I find the smoke flavor is pretty good.

I like the idea of a hard candy, and while making the candy, if you add maybe 25% isomalt, you will add crispy-time, since isomalt is not as hygroscopic as sugar is.

Grapeseed oil is good, but pretty expensive. As others have said, I like peanut oil for roux - it adds a nice nuttiness, as well as being stable at temps high enough to get a nice dark roux.

You can also tell by weight - there are instructions in the book that talk about how to do that.

I'm looking for Low Acyl and High Acyl Gellan... anyone?

I have roughly 600g remaining of Genu LMA pectin. It cost me about $0.062 per gram. I'll share for this cost, plus shipping. I'll cover the cost of the ziplock bag and shipping bag. PM if interested.

I've done dry ice ice cream both with dry ice directly in the bowl, and in a bath of denatured alcohol. The difference comes down to whether you want your ice cream carbonated or not. If doing the direct method, I recommend looking at the dry ice first (mine came in big blocks) - if it's pure white, it's fine, otherwise if you see any dirt, just scrape it off. Then break into chunks and throw in the food processor just before addintg to the ice cream - you can get a much more even distribution that way and guarantee that there are no big chunks for someone to potentially bite down on and frostbite their tongue.