Starkman

Hello all, Say, I was reading somewhere on this board, and someone mentioned some sort of contraption that can freeze things (like food) instantly, using a gas of some sort, I'm sure. I don't remember the details, so I'm not even sure how to search this board for it. Does anyone have one of these machines? Are they for professional use only? Thanks, Starkman

It's just a mnemonic, a memory aid like "Roy G. Biv" for remembering the light spectrum. ← I . . . I can't believe I missed that! Sheesh, I'm dense! Thanks, Starkman

Excellent. Thanks, Starkman

Oh, I didn't meant to sound insulting. Hek, if few are familiar with online courses and how-to videos for baking and candy making, well, that just means that there's a void in this arena that many could fill. We folk who are both learning to bake and who are...broke, would greatly appreciate it (and be willing to contribute something). There's a guy named Jacob whose website freeculinaryschoolcom gives a great start for cooks who are green and just learning to cook. Jacob has several lessons covering basics which a beginner will eat up. He doesn't have any videos on the site (at least not that I have found), but there are pics. I was just hoping there was something along this line, along with how-to videos, in the baking / candy-making arena. (Oh, and thanks, Sugarseattle, for noting the two books.) Thanks again, Starkman

No! What in the world does BethV mean??? Man, this is cool. Thanks for all your time enlightening us wish-I-coulds wanna-bes! Thanks, Starkman

Thanks very much. I'm surprised there aren't more suggestions. It seems to be confirming my suspicions: there's not much out there for crash-course baking instructions. Hmm! Something has GOT to be done about that! Thanks again. Starkman

I'd venture to say that one reason acidity is overlooked by the home cook is because cooks are afraid of what the acid might do . . . like curdle a diary or egg product. Also, there's that nasty change of color if the food item to which the acid is added is in a reactive pan or something like that. Starkman

Hmm. The knife I see on the link you give is a seven inches. I'd like the knife to at least be nine inches, though I do like Victorinox.

Hello all, Okay, there are several online sites that will teach you the basics of cooking. One great example of a site that teaches you how to get started in learning to cook propertly is Free Culinary School. Of course, our own eGullet has excellent courses in the eGullet Culinary Institute. But most of the courses are about cooking and not baking. What I want are some good sites (preferably with video and/or pictures) that teach you the basics of pastry and baking (and working with chocolate, and making candy, and . . . the whole kit and kabutal). Cooking sites with courses and the like are a dime a dozen, but where are the baking sites??? Thanks much, Starkman

Okay, so I was reading the T-fal Ulimate and Anolon in the Kitchen Consumer section, and I happened to run across this Anolon 9" Santoku they are offering. Does anyone know anything about it? Is it any good? Hek, for $40.00, it sounds pretty darned good . . . well, at least, if nothing more, for every-day home cooking. Thanks, Starkman

This site is deadly!

Okay, so does "rancid" mean spoiled, as in you can get sick from it, or does it just mean chemically changed, as in wine in a bottle that's been sitting around for five days? Starkman

Boy! Inflation is everywhere! Ha! Starkman

Just watched Alton Brown's Good Eats show about making southern biscuits. Looks now like I'm going to have to make some! Starkman

Nice knife, but just too short for me. Starkman

What you remember probably was referring to glass cutting board or the like. Using a granite counter is also a no no. There are borosilicate (glass) honing rods, steel rods that are glass smooth. There is also a line of glass stones by Shapton but you don't sharpen them on the glass side. The glass provides the plate then they add abrasive to the other side. Although some have tried to sharpen on the smooth glass side, they get nowhere in their endeaver and wonder what their doing wrong. Cracks me up every time I hear a story like this. ← Gads! I wouldn't think of using a knife on glass! I thought, however, it did have something to do with a stone, so you've cleared that up. In the interim—before I get a stone, that is—I'll just have to stick to using the bottom of a ceramic mug! Thanks, Starkman

Say, I read somewhere on this site (if I wasn't misunderstanding the post) that it's not good to use glass something-or-other on Japanese knives? Would this have refered to a honing stone or a sharpening stone of some sort? Thanks, Starkman

Thanks a lot for for the information! Starkman

Well, I know that I'd like a Gyuto, a 9 incher if they make one. I'd also like a Santuko, but if the Gyuto performs as well on veggies, then I'd pass. Really, I like the all-around aspect of a Gyutoo. I don't need top of the line, and I'd like a CS/SS combo. I'd like something, too, like a Deba, something that can handle rougher cutting that would put the Gyuto in jeapordy. As to handles, well, I hate those slick, small plastic kind. I'd like something with a bit of a bite in it to grab a hold of. I've never tired a Japanese handle, so I don't know how they feel. I've seen ceramic "steels" mentioned to be better than a standard steel, so I'd probably want something along this line as well. That's about it. Man, have I been doing the reading, too! I'm learning! Starkman

I am not. I'm not. No, I'm not . . . I'm . . . My, it's dark in here!

Thanks very much for the input, folks. I greatly appreciate it. Starkman WAIT! One more question... per doughery's statement, "If you're not familiar with Japanese sharpening stones . . . ," I take it the stones with which one sharpens Japanese knives (be they single or dougle bevelled) are NOT the same as ones with which western knives are sharpened? Thanks again.

Hello all, In that I am looking to purchase a few kitchen knives, and in that Japanese knives are more recognized, can someone point me in the right direction as to how to obtain a crash course knowledge of these knives? I've seen a lot of Japanese terms, styles and models mentioned, but it's very difficult to distinguish amoung these terms to know which is which. And then there's the different methods and manufacturing processes to consider. Help! Where can I find information that is succint, to the point and won't take reading a 500 disseration just to get an idea what's going on in this field? (Internet resources area the welcomed priority, and then books.) Thanks, Starkman

Is, then, something that is considered edible considered food? Starkman

Hello all, I was thinking the other day, and I got to wondering, particularly about edible flowers: what constitutes what makes one flower edible and another not edible? Now I'm not talking about the simple things, like, "Well, gee, if you eat that flower, you'll be dead in an hour, and quite frankly, I don't think I'm strong enough to tote you to the cemetary." I'm interested in a more precise understanding of what really constitutes something as a food (e.g., flowers, fungus, offal, etc). Is it the presence of nutrition? Is it "Well, you won't die from eating it"? or "It doesn't taste good, so we don't eat it." What about insects, bugs and things like these? Said to be full of protien, does that mean these critters should still be eaten? Has anyone checked to see if there are harmful products in these critters that outweigh the protein? The cuisine of some countries include foods that are allowed to literally rot. I can't help but ask the question: Doesn't common sense tell us that foods that are rotten should not be eaten? Why then people consider these "foods" as edible? (I don't to offend any culture's manner of preparing cuisine, but I have these questions that bother me.) Finally, people around the world have been forced to eat all kinds of things in order to survive. Some of these "foods" have not become part of the daily cuisine. But should they have become such? What consitutes something as as a food? Thanks, Starkman

I make a recipe similar to Bette's (as noted above), but here's the secret for a lighter, flufflier pancake (that's seldom ever mentioned): once the ingredients are mixed, let the batter rest for a minute or two. It will get airy, almost like foam, but that will subside once you drop the batter on the griddle. Starkman