vice

Should you decide you really want a pump, here's a setup that uses one rated to 100C.

That can't be the first time that's happened.

Are these percentages supposed to add up to 100? I figure they should if everything is scaled to the total batch weight. Then again, I guess there could be as much as 5% loss in the process.

Yep, I have a fillet that will see smoke tomorrow. I went with the Modernist Cuisine proportions for lox-style salmon: simply 3% salt and 1.5% sugar.

Aki and Alex just posted a similar recipe over at Ideas in Food: microwave cheese danish (really a cream cheese-flavored sponge). Man, I need to get an isi siphon.

i did a saffron ice cream for a party a couple weeks ago. it was a hit, and went great with flan. coffee peanut butter is in the freezer now.

Answer: something I'll make this weekend. Also plan to whip up a batch of as-yet-undetermined berry shrub roughly following Neyah White's recipe here. Cherries are abundant at the farmer's market right now, and more stone fruits are popping up every day. All seem very shrubbable.

As you're in LA, check out Smart & Final for gin. My location regularly stocks handles of Beefeater for $22 and Tanqueray for $26. Hard to beat those prices!

Nice! For those playing along at home, consult Jacques Pepin for a masterful and detailed demonstration of the technique: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAekQ5fzfGM

I think I may be starting to understand a tiny bit of what you are saying. Scary. Count me in, too. Stephen's posts (and Andy's interpretation) have really expanded my perspective about the function of bitters in a drink. If a product labeled as a bitters doesn't have a strong bitter taste on its own but can play a similar role to traditional bitters in a cocktail, what should we call it? That's a semantic argument, and not terribly interesting to me. The more relevant issue is understanding exactly what function a dash of "bitters" provides to a drink. Personally, I appreciate that broadened perspective.

Check Ideas in Food. They've talked on the blog about caramelized coconut milk and yogurt, both done in the pressure cooker.

I've been doing this with berries and stone fruits since McGee wrote about it in the NY Times a couple years ago. While it's always seemed to work great, I was never industrious enough to do a side-by-side comparison. Thanks for that!

(as long as you're now on board with modernist techniques) sous vide?

I saw that recipe, and thought it funny that it doesn't actually contain any bittering agent. More of a rhubarb tincture really.

That was my question originally, and I did interpret Baron's answer to mean cure #1, not pure nitrite. Very important to point it out for others, though!

I guess I wouldn't overthink this too much -- the nice thing about butter is that it cuts easily. I buy mine in 1 lb blocks and slice off pieces as needed to go into a run-of-the-mill ceramic butter dish shaped for standard 1/4 lb sticks. On the odd occasion I have some different butter format in the house, it gets sliced and diced accordingly to fit.

If you use a modern (i.e., frost-free) fridge, you will need a humidifier. I haven't used a humidifier with built-in hygrostat, but reviews haven't been favorable (see comments in the link below). I think they are probably less accurate/precise than a stand-alone meter. In addition, there is the issue you mention of a humidity gradient between the top and bottom of the chamber, although this could be remedied by adding a small fan to circulate the air. For a more thorough guide, see jmolinari's excellent post on fridge conversion here.

Strega Salutes all around tonight! Yikes, all three betray an almost complete lack of understanding of how to put their product to good use. Time to get a brand ambassador.

I've got no idea as to the precision, but you can't get much cheaper than this analog gauge.

Time to take another look at bottled cocktails?

Open windows and a fan may be almost as good. Basically, just try to circulate as much fresh air through as possible.

I second this. You'd be surprised how effective fresh air and a little time are. The stink might even be gone in as little as a day if you can have the fridge outdoors in plenty of fresh air and sunlight.

I'm sure food scientists have tried, but it would be really nice if there was a way to deactivate the offending enzymes.

My thoughts exactly. I bought it years ago and it has certainly paid for itself many times over. I'm sure you'll find other uses for it other than the odd garnish here and there. As Chris said he already has a V-slicer, I think that comment was directed towards dedicated truffle or garlic slicers.

Can we actually go back a few steps here -- flank steak somehow works its way into braised short ribs?