nickrey

On, but only barely tightened. The book notes that the jars might explode if they're overtightened. Many of us use pressure canners, which are simply oversized, pressure controlled, pressure cookers. When using these, the lids are kept on. Don't get stuck on the phrase "barely tightened": it is not as crucial as it may sound from Matt's post. However, pressure does need to escape from the jar so as he says, don't overtighten.

I think this hits the nail on the head. People bemoan the cost of copper pans yet they are much cheaper than purchasing a new stove. Sure the width and diffusion of the flame may be more important but there are other variables that impact on this equation, eg metal conductivity. Ok, maybe not as much but I can tell from experience that they result in huge improvements if you do not have the unlimited resources that seem to be assumed in much of the MC discussions. If you cannot afford a new stove with superior burners, you can get a huge lift in evenness of cooking by using high conductivity pans.

As a rhetorical question: doesn't this equally reflect the gender balance of chefs who use these techniques in their restaurants?

Not in Sydney as yet. One of our other state capitals, Adelaide, has banned them outright.

Looking forward to the blog Pam.

I'd suggest one or more of the following: Gougères; small pieces of melon wrapped in prosciutto; stuffed olives wrapped with anchovies; paprika spiced almonds; stuffed boiled eggs halves; tuna empanadas (served cold with aioli).

Ah yes, the cat staring at the great God in the corner. Seems they have their own little cargo cult.

One book that I use quite often for food pairing ideas is the Flavor Bible.

Shudder. Don't believe everything you find on the Internet and don't try this at home.

I use the Ruhlman recipe and have had one bad batch early on when the centre was not cured. Tend to work on feel after having done it a number of times now. The feel is like a well done steak. If it has too much give, leave it until it is more solid. This will also address the relative lack of saltiness so long as your mix was in accordance with the recipe. I also tend not to measure, using up to a quarter of a cup to cover.

I only do up to two passes. Suspect more will result in mush.

I've used it a few times already. It seems really good. Posts of food here and here.

Thanks for the blog. I'm sitting in Romsey down in Victoria as I write. Am delivering a leadership workshop and boy it's cold after Sydney... In all my years in Australia, and it is many, I've never come across shopping trolleys that require coins. Must be a Bendigo thing.

I just purchased a US built Masterbuilt electric smoker converted to 240V through an Australian-based company. It can be had for $400 plus postage off eBay.

No knife needed. Fall apart tender.

Tonight, after a number of days preparation, we had BBQ ribs with Memphis BBQ sauce. I must confess to not following the recipes exactly but why should this cookbook be different from any other I have? The dish comprised smoked and sous vide cooked pork spareribs with the Modernist Cuisine Memphis BBQ sauce (a caution for Aussies, our chili powder is way stronger than the recommended chili powder; I'd cut it down by a factor of four at least -- I really like hot food but had to over double the amount to negate the effects of the powder. I've had this problem before with Chili powder amounts in US-sourced Mexican recipes). The accompaniments were: a white cabbage coleslaw (similar to the book, tangy and flavoured with mustard and horseradish to give a bit of bite but with the addition of some grated carrot), a hot potato salad in which the potatoes were cooked sous vide but the recipe was for a German hot potato salad. Finally it was accompanied by green tomatoes deep fried in Panko breadcrumbs.

I seem to remember that rarerollingobject said that she works near Chinatown in Sydney. I'm still guessing it's her.

Just recently I took delivery of my brand new Masterbuilt Electric Smoker. I got it to do my bacon, sausages, and all the smoked items from Modernist Cuisine that require smoking followed by sous vide (eg. pastrami). Bought some pre-marinated chicken from the local store and put it in the smoker for 5 hours at around 85C (185F). Brought the chicken inside and put it into the refrigerator. Next I put it in a baking dish with some cherry tomatoes (drizzled with balsamic and olive oil) and cooked it for around 30 minutes at 180C (350F). This roasted the tomatoes, reheated the meat and did a final cook to bring the meat up to a stage where it was more appealing (not red around bones, etc). Served it with some asparagus wrapped in serrano ham and fried in butter. Because of the low temperature cooking, I had to bring the cooking temperature up to ignite the smoking chips. Did this a few times during the five hours. The smoke flavour was all through the chicken but subtle at the same time. Absolutely delicious.

I have had the Atlas Marcato 150 for around 30 years. It's reliable and still working like new. I find the 150cm more than sufficient for my needs.

As did I.

PeterB or rarerollingobject?

The idea is great Dcarch. If someone was to produce them food safe, I'd be one to buy them. For the computer ones, it's too far off spec to recommend to others: the manufacturers make them safe for computer uses, not for someone to stick them into food. Even as an avowed early adopter, I wouldn't go near this.

After I take off the breasts for cooking and the legs for confiting, I use the remainder of the duck for stock. First I roast briefly to brown and render off some of the fat, which is tipped into ice cube trays for subsequent freezing. I then make the stock with traditional aromatics (carrots, onion, celery). The stock is made in a pressure cooker. This serves to render out any residual fat. I then strain, refrigerate, skim off fat (which again goes into ice cube trays). The stock is then canned as I have more cupboard than freezer space. Delicious stock, lots of fat. I toss the meat though as all the flavor has been sucked out into the stock.

Get meat a bit faster versus a whole heap of unknowns that could very well be toxic ... We've all tried to warn you subtly but let me be a bit more forceful: Don't do it, it is not worth it.

With the "paper" that is printed on being almost indestructible and stain proof, my suspicion is that you wouldn't be able to get anything that would write on it and not simply wipe off.