Nayan Gowda

Pie Floaters are delicious, but they are far from a National dish in Oz. They are however a gastronomic icon in South Australia; along with Fritz and sauce sandwiches.

Check out the "Encyclopaedia" and "Hungarian Recipes" section on Chew Hu It was my life-saver (almost literally), when working in Hungary a couple of years ago. No connection, etc, etc

And moreover, what food is it? Pasta, at a guess...

Lizzy, Just out of interest were the two whites you had, the same wine?

Heating destroys the pepperiness of arugula/rocket, so just sauce it like you would any other pasta verde.

Catherine, I'm not sure where in the UK you are, but if you are anywhere near a commercial vineyard then it may be worth contacting them as some do produce verjus. Cheers, Nayan

How will the higher concentration of sugar affect this wine ? Will it likely end up sweet with the yeast dying early, or strong, or something else ? It is going to be much sweeter than the original recipe; it will also, of course, be stronger unless you pro rata the brandy addition for the amount of water used. The original recipe would yield potential alcohol from the fermentation of the sugar alone of around 17%. This is higher than most yeast could tolerate; so the addition of any more sure is unlikely to yield anymore alcohol. Why does the recipe ask for the - what's the correct word for the mixture, anyway ? wort ? - the mixture to spend a night in a bowl before transferring to the fermenting vessel ? Not sure about the word for the mixture, but I presume the reason that it spends a night in a bowl is to help acclimatise the yeast to its medium; it also gives you a chance to see, easily, if the yeast has started acting or not. Why hold off on putting the raisins and lemon juice into the mix ? Again this is to do with the yeast. The wee buggers don't really like extreme environments, especially when just starting out. If the acidity, or sugar concentration were too high they might struggle establishing themselves.

I can't help, but I will follow this thread with interest because I'd love to know too. Had a lot of great food when I worked out there a couple of years ago; turned my (prejudiced) view of German food completely on its head. I still dream about Saumagen mit Castagnien from the Pfalz.

I laughed at this. I was supposed to, right? That's a good sign? Absolutely! For those that don't know, Blue Nun is a wine brand from Germany that was iconic in the 70s and 80s (at least in the UK). It was the way many people were introduced to wine for the first time, and was popular as it was innocuous, sweet and lowish alcohol. And it was cheap. It is still around, but has been adapted to modern tastes by making it less sweet. I often put it in blind tastings, and it is invariably a pleasant surprise. Glad I could help, Dale.

If you are talking about drinking rather than tasting, then I'd suggest when you drank it, where you drank it, what food (if any) you drank it with and who you shared the bottle with. If it is a note from a tasting, then when and the context of the tasting (eg Bordeaux horizontal, vertical of Blue Nun) are generally fine.

Marmish, In some recipes it might matter, where you are trying to get the essence of that particular wine in the finished dish, but in this case it honestly doesn't matter what (red) wine you use. Anything cheap and cheerful that is not faulty would fit the bill. Cheers, Nayan

Blether, Just wondering... I was reading today that homebrewing is actually illegal in Japan. Is that really the case? Cheers, Nayan

First tip would be to start making notes on every wine you try; even brief ones. You might not initially have the descriptive or tasting acuity to make more than general notes, such as saying citrus, dark fruits or tropical fruits, but the more you do it the better you will get. When you do a wine course you are told to look at set elements of a wine ie, colour, acid, wood, fruit, developed flavours, tannins, bubbles, sweetness, persistence of flavour, alcohol level etc. You don't necessarily need to address each one with each note; you only need to ensure that when you read a note again in the future it is able to evoke the difference that particular wine and another. Your notes are going to be personal to you, so make them useful for your needs. One thing to definitely remember is to make a note of whether you like it or not (use a numerical scale if you want; I believe Hugh Johnson uses a scale along the lines of; don't bother, buy a glass, buy a bottle, buy a case, buy the vineyard...); I found an old tasting book of mine the other day with some excellently descriptive notes, but I could not for the life of me figure out whether I actually liked any of them! While you might make brief notes on wines as you taste them, don't leave it too long before you formalise the note in some way; do it while the impression is still fresh (I find if I wait more than a couple of days, my initial notes seem to have lost their clarity). You might choose to put them in a book, or use an excel spreadsheet, but one way I recommend is to utilise the excellent Cellartracker (no connection, etc, etc). You don't need to use it to record wines in your collection; it is also a powerful tool to record wines you have tasted and drunk. You don't have to share your notes with the rest of the community either if you don't want, but you can have a look nd see what others thought; always interesting even though other opinions should not be taken as gospel. Most of all, have fun!

Cut them up and steep in EVOO (with other aromatics, if you want) for a while; great dressing base.

Here's the wholesale market in Manchester. Have yet to go. http://www.manchestermarkets.com/Wholesale-Market/New-Smithfield-Market/New-Smithfield-Market_22_p1.asp

I'd favour an Italianate solution and whizz up the basil in some oil. Still won't be able to keep it indefinitely, but it will extend the time you can use it.

But it does have the perfect name for what it is; rather like shampagne...

There's a statement from the California ABC on Heather McNeil's Blog that may interest you. The whole thing really is just protectionism.

The difference between radiant and convectional heat?

I put water in the pan and watch where it boils. EDIT: uneven temps are sometimes caused by the element/gas, so you might want to use a diffuser just in case it's the stove and not the pan.

Told you they were responsive!

Email Zwack. They are very responsive to requests for information about their products.

Erm, you might want to have a wee Google to find out what Pommes Dauphinoise actually are... Personally I'd avoid fruit in the sauce of this dish, as the carrots would give enough balancing sweetness to the plate (though I have a very English/French palate).

Make it easy on yourself. Do Pommes Dauphinoise (or any potato dish that can be cooked as a whole and portioned up for serving), steamed french beans and vichy carrots.

Good call about the SB Nick.