morphone

JK1002, the Blue Elephant has two levels of classes - the one day tourist classes, and a week-long master class for pros (or so they say it's for pros). I'm interested in a more intensive professional class. I'm hoping Blue Elephant (or some other site) will be what I'm looking for. Once I get to Bangkok I will do some more scouting and will report back. Peter, thanks for the tips. Will definitely check out hotels and Le Cordon Bleu.

I'm headed to Thailand soon, and I'd like invest a week or two in a pro-level chef training course while I'm there. I found one school in Bangkok called the Blue Elephant, but I'd like to find a few more options to explore before I pick a program. Does anyone here know of any other courses/trainings/etc? English-speaking instruction would be ideal.

Do you think that underbaking would contribute to hollowness? I know that can cause them to stick and not foot enough.

Hi Steve, do report back once you've tried this to tell me if it works. Also, will you be putting the wooden spoon in the oven door?

Has anyone tried the recipes from I Love Macarons by Hisako Ogita? It's nearly impossible to find now, but I I have copies of the base recipes.

I've heard good things about the Italian meringue technique, though I'm really hoping to master the French method first. I have Herme's book, but sadly I don't read French. I'm wondering if maybe I'm not whipping the egg whites enough, before mixing in the almond/sugar, and that's causing the hollow insides? I'd also like to see them foot a little more, but they are footing almost perfectly. And how long do you bake yours for, and at what temp? I'm at 300°F for 12 minutes, and I think I need to leave them in a little longer. Been experimenting with leaving a wooden spoon in the door, and that seems to prevent them from sticking so badly.

I've been making macarons, and they've been turning out pretty well, though the most recent batches have been hollow - they have a crisp, smooth, shiny outer shell and a foot, but between the shell and foot is just empty space. They taste great and seem perfect in every other way. Any idea why this is happening? This happened across the board, for both the larger and smaller shells that I piped out.

Thanks for this. What do you think of that book? Are the recipes unique or sort of run of the mill? I've been eying it online, but haven't been able to take a look at it.

Also, I have a recipe here that calls for heating the milk to 170F, but another recipe calls for 114F. I know you shouldn't boil milk (why, I don't know) but what difference will it make heating the milk to 114 versus 170 (or anywhere in between)? Will there be a difference in consistency, or will the cultures work faster if it's brought to a higher temp?

Wow, thanks for all of this! I've ordered a few books and I'm excited to get started. There are two Ball books, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. Any idea what the difference is or which it better? They were only published two years apart from each other, so I'm not sure what the major difference can be. And is the acid/food ratio really that important is everything you're using is sterile? I've had preserves that vary across the board as far as sweetness/tartness go, so I'm not sure how this works.

No one knows? Meh...

Thanks, everyone! I'm really excited to give this a try, and hope to have a fair amount of reading under my belt before fruit rolls out this summer. I have this paranoia of screwing it up or contaminating the whole batch... any tips from personal canning experience? Caveats?

I recently picked up a used yogurt maker and I'm very excited to try it. I've searched the internet for recipes, but many of them seem... questionable, or like the same recipe repeated over and over. I'm looking for yogurt recipes (your standard fare - plain, vanilla, fruit, honey, etc) and any tips that you might have. For example, I know there are different kinds of starters, such as "French style," but I don't know the difference and the Goog hasn't been a huge help. Also, is there a different technique used for using different milks, such as cow, goat, sheep, etc? Any tips, caveats, or recipes you have would be lovely!

I've gone through the web looking for an older copy of the American Heritage Cookbook, but there are several different versions and I'm not sure which is which. Here are the copies that I've found: The American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Eating & Drinking (Hardcover - American Heritage Publishing Company 1964) The American Heritage Cookbook (More than 500 great traditional recipes and 40 historic menus, tested and adapted for modern kitchens) (Paperback - Bantam Books 1975) The American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Eating & Drinking, 2-Vol. Boxed Set by eds. American Heritage (Hardcover - American Heritage Publishing Company 1964) The American Heritage Cookbook, (Unknown Binding - American Heritage Press 1969) The American Heritage Cookbook More Than 500 Easy to Make Recipes by Helen McCully (Hardcover - American Heritage Publishing Co. Inc. 1969) American Heritage Cookbook (Hardcover - Random House Value Publishing 1992) American Heritage Cookbook: Boxset 2 Volumes (Hardcover - Random House Value Publishing 1982) Which is which? Who published the actual American Heritage Cookbook? Or are there many with no actual "original"?

I just bought the River Cottage Handbook on making preserves, and I'm interested in getting one or two more. Can anyone here recommend a decent book on the subject? Ideally they would discuss a natural process, with as few unsavory ingredients as possible, or they would spend a fair amount of time discussing traditional ways of making jams (as opposed to modern ways that utilize newfangled equipment).