Darienne

Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it. I would still like to know about the vanilla from those two countries: India & Papua/New Guinea.

That coffee pot is a beauty! We are back in Moab, in the land of wonderful second hand stores , and I have purchased a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, a GE waffle maker, a B&D food processor, and an assortment of bits and bobs. I do have a food processor at home, so this one gets resold in the Mother of all Yard sales which we will have just before we pack it all in, but the ice cream maker and waffle maker go to their new Canadian home in May. I'm still watching for a bread maker for my friend Sheila who is coming for two weeks in April. She will make Chinese dumplings if she had the bread maker to do the kneading.

This morning I made some peach ice cream using as a base Alton's Seriously Vanilla Ice cream and adding peaches to it. The peaches, frozen without any additives, came from my neighbor and the ice cream was for her. She broke up the frozen mass of peaches in her blender and insisted that I add some citric acid to the peaches to keep them from discoloring. I used about 1 teaspoon for 1 1/2 cups of peach mass. It is obvious by now that I had little idea of what I was doing. Just going along...... I suspect that if the peaches had thawed there would have been juice at the bottom of the bowl. The peaches disintegrated into almost nothing in the ice cream...this was not a surprise to me. However, there were crystals in the ice cream also. (It was delicious BTW , if a tad crystallish.) Questions: * were there crystals because I used partially thawed peaches? * is making ice cream from frozen fruit a useful idea? I guess if one wants little chunks, frozen is not the way to go. * does it vary from fruit to fruit? * the bottle of citric acid crystals has no directions on it. ...hmm...I guess I could go to the manufacturer for directions? (too much is going on at once ) * any other comments?

Here I am in Moab, UT, and out of vanilla. I simply did not bring enough. It was from Madagascar. OK. All the vanilla here has no country of origin as far as I have been able to look thus far...except the local health/bulk food store carries two kinds: Frontier from India Singing Dogs from Papua/ New Guinea. My neighbor tells me that one of the kinds I found...forgot the name already...is from Mexico. I thought it had an unpleasant sharpness to it. She swears by Mexican vanilla. I said nothing. So what about the two countries noted above? Thanks. ps. Next I'll try making my own but it will have to wait until we are back home again. Customs frowns upon excessive amounts of liquor coming back into Canada.

I've candied Mandarins but never tried to get zest from them. Will try that for sure. Thanks.

I saw a copy of the Payard book in our local library and HAD TO HAVE IT! It has great and delicious recipes in it. (This from a relative cooking newbie) I also have the Cake and Pie and Pastry Bibles from RLB. Wonderful! And am totally enamored of the commentary by Corriher in Bakewise. I HAVE to know how and why things work!

Thank you for your post. This eGullet forum is so huge that it is impossible to learn about it all very quickly...especially for those of us who are computer-challenged. Your index is invaluable!!

Folks love homemade ice cream. What about a Bailey's Ice Cream?

(To complete the last post from mid-January. By the time we got to Albuquerque it was too late to get a Buddha's hand. I bought both Meyer lemons and kumquats and successfully candied both. I used the Meyer lemon syrup to candy the kumquats with some extra sugar syrup and on ice cream. The Meyer peels were dipped in chocolate. [if it stands still, candy it and dip it in dark chocolate.] The kumquats went into batches of kumquat ice cream and the syrup went everywhere I could put it. Yummm .) Now about ginger syrup: I have used lemon and orange syrup from previous candying events to candy additional lemons, oranges, kumquats, etc with good results. This time I used pre-made ginger syrup to candy lemon peel. The result was not good. After one episode in the ginger syrup, it was evident that the taste of the ginger with the lemon peels was not a go. I drained off the ginger syrup and added new fresh sugar syrup. One more cooking with pure sugar syrup and the peels taste better...not perfect...but better , and when dipped in chocolate they will certainly be acceptable. Just another learning experience for me I guess. Has anyone had a good experience using ginger syrup to candy something else? Thanks.

Have just located a can of lychees where no lychees would normally be. Expiration date 2009. Cost...$4.95. Aarrggghhh.... Have to run out and buy them. I was just about to make the ice cream too. As for the DH. He's a great guy. He brings me coffee in bed every morning. Folks like that you treat special. If he doesn't want ginger, he doesn't get ginger.

Truth be known, it is mine own true love who loathes ginger. I don't really know about the others who are coming. I do have a container of recently candied ginger which I intend to dip into chocolate...that is if I have any left by the time I do it. I eat a couple of pieces every day. I do ADORE ginger. Nope, DH suggests that I just reprise the kumquat ice cream. And so I shall. Thanks. ps. And when I get back to the land of lychees, I shall buy lovely fresh ones and make lychee ice cream.

Thanks to you both for the information. The sad thing is that the can of lychees has an expiry date of 2004 and I simply cannot risk other people's health. I googled what I could find under Chinese ice cream and the possible flavors which I can make here are coconut, ginger, or mango. Ginger, my preference, is too risky. Too many people don't like ginger. I'll see if I can find some ripe mangoes tomorrow. I don't particularly care for coconut. I already have made some almond cookies so I'll think about it. We are not lacking for food and drink. Thanks again. Darienne ....hmmmm I might divide the finished product with half ginger (which I love) and half mango.

I have a question about making lychee ice cream. A friend and I are putting on a minor Chinese feast for friends in Moab and I wanted to make lychee ice cream. I found some recipes, all calling for much heavy cream and egg yolks and so on. But I want to try something else and need some input. I have already made Alton Brown's Seriously Vanilla Ice Cream substituting my chopped glace kumquats for Brown's peach preserves and I added chopped pecans at the last. It was perfect, delicious, and not one ice crystal, nor was it hard to serve. Here is the link as best I can do it: My question is: Is there any reason why I cannot simply drain the canned lychees very well, chop them up and substitute them for the peach preserves? (Oh, yes, canned lychees. You can't get fresh in Moab and you can't even get canned. I asked the Thai lady in the bakery section at the local grocery if she had any and if I could buy them from her. She had some. Needless to say, she does not buy them in Moab. Perhaps this should go onto the topic 'You know you are a real eGulleter" when nothing stops you in your quest, not even good manners) Thanks.

Thanks for the clarification. They say that learning something new will help to keep your brain working in your old age. Well, I am certainly learning...and constantly...and endlessly. This is a Kenmore fridge/freezer combo and it was so cold that I really did have to turn it 'up', as in warmer. The ice cubes are still so hard, that I have troubles making our afternoon orange julius drinks. My landlord/lady is definitely not cheap. The appliances are excellent, including a digital run self-cleaning oven. When we do return home in May, I shall check our fridge and chest freezers for temperature. Thanks for the help.

I know I am a bear of very-little-brain, but I have to run this by you one more time. When you say 'make sure your freezer is turned down very low', do you mean a cold temperature of -4°F? For instance, I had to turn my freezer UP to -4°F because it was way lower and far too cold. Having a freezer at -4°F doesn't seem to me to be very cold in the grand scheme of things and I want to make sure I understand it correctly. Keeping ice cream from getting too hard and crystalizing seems to have some issues which are the opposite of what the untutored novice might think would work. I'll leave it at that for now. Thanks.

I don't know how to link up posts so this is the best I can do. Text of post by Toliver, 'Ice Cream & Sorbet Cookbooks', August 29, 2003 "I was bowled over by Alton Brown's simple yet delicious "Serious" Vanilla Ice Cream. You can strain the mixture before freezing to remove any peach bits left over from the preserves. This tasted better right after it was made than it did after ripening in the freezer." Made this ice cream using candied kumquats instead of peach preserves and added chopped pecans at the end. The main thing about it is that it did NOT crystalize or get hard in the freezer. I am struggling to understand the workings of ice cream...I'll get there yet.

Could you perhaps use frozen berries? They are often quite 'fresh like' when thawed. Mmmmm...I do love raspberries.

Post number two...busy lady. Especially for those of you with grandchildren. I just received a thank you note from the kids at the MultiCultural Center in Moab. Makes it all worthwhile and fun. I get to be a kid again. Using a recipe from by Elizabeth LaBau for 'Conversation Hearts' at About Candy.com, I made the candy dough, colored and flavored it, rolled & cut it into assorted largish shapes (not hearts) and then made Royal icing in six different colors, divided into 12 separate little plastic bags and turned it over to the Center staff. Added some premade bitsies and eyes. The kids had a ball decorating and eating the candies. No, I forgot about photos. After these candies and the Valentine's red heart hard candy lollipops...not to mention the Christmas candies...my stock is running very high.!! The mystery candy lady, indeed. I do love the magic of making confections for kids. They are not sophisticated nor difficult, but they are fun and the kids here are ecstatic. Just think what I can make for them for Easter.

Who else can I tell? Yesterday I made Alton Brown's Serious Vanilla Ice Cream, as cited on Cookbooks for Ice Cream & Sorbets (not exact name) and it is incredible!!! Today it is still soft enough to scoop...set the freezer at -4 degrees F as instructed. This recipe is lower in whipping cream than many and has no eggs! Good-O for caloric intake which is already high enough. Of course, I substituted my glace kumquats...what on earth could I really do with them? ...for his peach preserves, and added chopped pecans. Yummm (means 'yum') I am so excited! A terrific success!!!

Love this topic! My DH and I have his and her digital scales. Of course. And his and her pots and pans and knives. As for measuring cups and spoons, I thought I could get away with only one set of this and that while in Moab, but soon was off to the local stores to buy seconds. And then still needed to borrow second 4 and 8 cup pyrex measures for candying stuff and making lollies for the kids. Miss all the endless small stainless steel bowls I have at home. Am using ugly green plastic things.

OK. I followed your "Do ten things to help eGullet" and the information there still doesn't tell me what to do to get them to attach my order to eGullet. I am not very computer savvy. Edited many minutes later: I see now that you gave me the 'eGullet' link to get the mixer. After much frustration, many errors on my part, I finally concluded business by ordering one KA machine. Oh my.

Thank you all for all that incredible information...especially for the reviewing organizations I had never heard of before...very new to this area of endeavor. Ed bought me the Hamilton Beach 62695 a couple of days ago, and we still haven't used it. But after all the reading and investigation, I think we'll just keep it. I need a hand mixer daily. Back to making ice cream today. We are two hours away from the nearest shopping area (and $50) and all the other handmixers which we have found in Moab are of the discontinued and lower quality nature, for instance, there is only the KA 5 speed which gives no more value than the HB. And there is no Cuisinart, no Braun, no Oster. You pay for the red rocks in the lack of shopping. Tourists don't buy handmixers. This is not worth driving myself crazy any longer. I'll get a KA top quality when this one gives it up. Again, my grateful thanks to you all.

Any chance you could give me the year or even issue of Cook's Illustrated? The Moab library lists the periodical in its holdings and I'll go tomorrow to see if I can locate the equipment test.

Thanks for steering me to the comparison table. Unfortunately the information was all pretty superficial as one would expect when KA is trying to sell them all. I remain in hand mixer confusion for now...am still pondering it all. The problem remains that although Moab appears to have a fairly large number of different hand mixers, they are all older models. Furthermore the CR listings are only up to 2005. Tomorrow I go to the library which says it holds Cook's Illustrated.

Thanks tsquare. One more piece of information. My last two (burnt-out) hand mixers have been B&D and the lowest setting on them was the same as the one you describe on your Oster/Sunbeam/?. Live and Learn. I'm going to have to convince my DH that numbers of watts and amperage is not the only thing to go by. It seems that EVERYONE says...go forth and purchase the KA. OK. (I need more smiley faces available for my moods )