OliverB

that seems really strange. And wasn't it mentioned somewhere upthread that there is supposed to be a factory packaging/box? Maybe they received a shipment that was packed wrong and if their system indicates to not add extra packaging I could see why they just slap a sticker on. Still strange. Easy to exchange as mentioned above, I'm a book nerd and don't accept books with any damage, returned many many books for exchange. Sometimes they throw heavy art/photo books in a box with a handful of big bubble plastic, hoping for the best. Doesn't always work. But in this case, I'd also get in touch via the contact link and send them a direct e-mail, let them know that there's definitely something wrong. They appreciate the feedback and will forward it - or so they say at least. I doubt A wants a bunch of these returned, though I don't know what they actually do with returned books. They can't sell them as new if they're damaged, don't know if they have insurance and shred them or sell them to used book stores or what. I guess when you ask for a replacement, get in touch as well and ask them to pack it as a gift!

great reads here, great input from everyone, but it confirms my decision to wait for a good discount on this book. At $140 I'd expect little to no experimentation and fiddling on my side, things should work and be tasty, or there should be warnings or suggestions on how to "come up to flavor". Spending all this time (and money) should not be a hit or miss kind of thing IMO. I'll find the time to cook from the big brother of this book, before I splurge again. Of course having a 1st edition (mistake) of that one adds an other level of error research I'm really (still) not happy about. Particularly since it still seems to be impossible to at least get an updated version of the manual.... Almost feels like being a crowd tester for the latest Windows iteration, LOL (so glad I'm on Mac now, so glad) But I'll keep reading here, as I'm sure eventually the book will be on my shelves :-)

it seems strange, but I believe they only discount if they get a discount from the publisher, which might not be happening here (yet)? They're not gonna take a loss on this book, it's not gonna sell tens of thousands. I'm gonna wait for a drop below $100, I'm in no rush to get it. Haven't made one thing from it's big brother yet, I have plenty to keep me busy for months :-D

I'm sure it'll get discounted, the "other" is 27% off, this one will be too. Cost is always an issue, I'd rather buy two books for the price of one ;-) Considering that I have not opened the "other" books in months and never cooked from them - I can wait. I have enough to read as it is, :-D

I'll get this some day, but not for $140, that's just a bit crazy, considering $460 gets you the full not at home set. That's about $92 per book or 19ct per page vs 30ct here. Seems odd there's no discount, considering the heavy discount on the full set. Worth waiting a bit. For around $90 I'll jump on it :-)

I'm wondering, why do you need to quick chill it? It's cooked, there's not going to be anything alive in there that'll make it go bad. I never make gallons, don't have the freezer space, but even if I did, I'd just let it cool down. It'll also get cooked again once you use it, I really don't see where there'd be any danger of contamination. AND you freeze it. As for storage, I also use ziplock bags and fill them with a cup or two (depending on bag size), lay them flat so I get nice thin packages.

interesting, I thought it's that things that are cured with curing salts have to be labeled, but things that are cured with something that is not a salt per se but has the same stuff in it does not, and it's used as a sham by manufacturers. Are you sure? Either way though, it's pretty much the same thing and I prefer my bacon without celery juice. Any way you roll it, bacon will not be healthy (nor will hotdogs) so why not go with the real stuff?

sounds scary. From Italy? They probably just figure it's a good way to get rid of what ever is left over at the end of the year, attach a newfangled "taste" word (I really really do not like the word umami and it's recent use) and sell it to the people bred on TV cooking shows. Ohh, it's umami, must be good then! Saw it on TV! Doesn't umami just mean "yummy" in Japanese? I just refuse to use the word at all cost, used up my yearly contingent in this post :-D You can probably just use maggi (or soy sauce for that matter) with the same effect, add a drop of fish sauce if you like. Just like most of those things that are supposed to do everything, it probably does not work well in any application. If your dish needs all this stuff to go places, it probably should be redesigned from the ground up instead.

check for celery juice on the package, which contains nitrates (or nitrites? I can never remember) naturally, which is why this whole "uncured" us nothing but a scam to make you believe you're eating healthy bacon (like there is such a thing, LOL) If you cure it with curing salt, you have to label it as cured. If you marinate it in something that just happens to contain exactly the same stuff, you don't have to label it as cured and can name it what ever, thus the "uncured" scam you find on every supermarket shelf nowadays. Eat your bacon, enjoy it, but don't believe that one is healthier than the other. It would not taste that good, if it were healthy ;-p

I doubt it's "uncured", there really is no such thing in bacon. Look on the label, I'm sure it says it contains celery juice, which naturally has nitrates in it, thus cures the meat. This whole "uncured" thing is largely a scam. I doubt you bought raw smoked pork belly slices there. But the "some weeks ago" part makes me think you should throw it away, even regular bacon is supposed to be eaten soon after opening. If you want to keep left overs, best to seal them and stick them in the freezer. Or cook it all up right away, cooked bacon always gets eaten quickly, long before it might go bad :-)

I made veal stock once, just from roasted bones (the butcher had to dig deep into his freezer for these). There is definitely "gelatine" in the bones, as soon as the stock had cooled it turned into a very thick jello. Was a great stock, added the often quoted "mouth feel" to sauces immediately. It also smelled pretty bad while boiling and I've never made it again, since I rarely make sauces to begin with. I do make chicken stock for soups, left over chicken pieces and sometimes a pack of chicken feet, so there's definitely meat in there (and fat, which I don't remove unless it's excessive). But seeing that boiling chicken meat produces little to no gelling, I'd say most of the gel comes from the bones?

you could also use your favorite sauce and freeze it in portions, thaws quick in the microwave and should keep for a good while. Just an idea, I don't make sauces very often (hardly ever), can't help with recipes.

regarding Maggi, be aware that there are different versions of this sauce, depending on where they're made. All are a vegetable extract of some sort and quite salty and could IMO be replaced with a very good soy sauce if you don't have Maggi handy. I have a bottle from Germany which contains MSG, I'm pretty sure there is at least one version w/o MSG. Asian markets here sell it in giant bottles, now I guess I know why! Would last me three lifetimes, but that might just change now, I love Maggi since I was a kid and occasionally licked the dried on "crust" ring around the spout off, when mom wasn't looking :-D They changed the bottle design now. It's also great in soups, I actually should use it more. Originally developed in Switzerland the company was founded in Germany, where it still resides today.

this will be fun :-) also just poked around the net a bit, french roll, though the best seem to have some rice flour in them and are crispy almost to the center if I read that correctly. Pickled carrots or similar are in the mix, meat (pork belly!) of any kind, marinated in 'Vietnamese' sauces/spices, mayo or a simple yolk/oil mix and cilantro seems to be a staple. I'm getting hungry just thinking about this, sandwiches are a fun thing to play with!

I'll be watching, never heard of this nor have I ever eaten it. What would be the best recipe to start off with?

I salt before, generally when I get it out of the fridge and put what ever on while I let it come up to room temperature (an other one of those often disputed things, necessary or not? I don't care, I have it sitting there while I do other things. I've never salted/rubbed anything a day before or even hours before, I somewhat doubt it makes much of a difference. Whole chicken might develop a nicer crunchy skin, I don't know. Pork I often use Dizzy Pig rubs, beef I mostly only use s&p, chicken the same. Beef might get some finishing salt on the cutting board, and lately I've made "board dressing" to put the meat on for resting and slicing (garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil - all mashed up together. Great, try it!) There's a whole bunch of science, but personally I never found it made much of a difference to do this hours or a day before (I've tried) so I just do it when I get to it while prepping dinner.

makes me want to buy that dehydrator I've always wanted.... Gorgeous stuff up thread! I don't have any fruit trees aside of oranges that aren't very good. But I'm gonna get that machine one of these days :-)

I didn't read the whole thread, but to me it's a "throw together" kind of thing. Basil, pine nuts, parmesan or other hard cheese, garlic and oil, salt and pepper. Or arugula. Or dandelion. Or watercress. Or walnuts. Or almonds. But always olive oil, garlic, salt. Adjust to taste. Probably would be good w/o the greens too! Add oregano or thyme. Or curry if the rest of dinner allows. etc

I haven't played with this stuff yet, but I just had the vision of bacon ravioli, bacon stuffed with something good and sealed with TG all around, then fried up. Would that work? Bacon pocket with gooey cheese or something like that inside?

I had to butcher a milk fed lamb earlier this year, legs came off easy and I left them whole, I tried to do something fancy with the ribs, but gave up quickly, not having a bandsaw. Also they are very small on such a small animal, in the end I decided to go "rustic" and leave things a bit in chunks to cook on the grill. I have butcher knives and looked up cuts in books I have (some German ones too) but I had to eventually get the thing cold again, and had to wing it a bit. But I did cut inbetween the large muscles and removed silverskin where possible, left some pieces to deal with once I thaw them, as it was all getting too warm. Including me, it's not easy work!

a quick rinse is all I do. You can't wash off bugs and I'm not gonna treat them with chemicals. Same goes for all veggies and salads and fruits at the supermarket. Somebody picked it, somebody packed it, somebody shipped it, somebody unpacked it and stacked it on the shelf. Did every somebody wash hands? Yeah, right. I do wash lemons/limes with a veggie wash if I want the zest, to get the wax and what not off. Other than that, never had a problem in my life, nor did my wife or kids. I'm sure it's more "dangerous" to work in an office with 20 people...

whoah, $3 for one bar? Count me out. Other than that I really like this idea, I'm not a fan of sweet stuff at all, would be great to have a savory alternative to a bag of potato chips, I'd be all over that. At a buck a bar that is.

First I thought it'll be a condensed version of MC, but apparently it's all new or mostly new stuff, and I have to make some room next to MC for it in the near future. But, do I get it when new, like I did with MC? And it's errors? Or wait for the 2nd printing? I still wish I could at least get an updated (2nd printing) kitchen manual for my first edition books, having to deal with a very large book, a manual, AND an error list is not all that convenient. Other than that, I'm quite excited about this new book! I don't mind spending hours in the kitchen, but having a selection of recipes that rely on the same technical background but might shorten prep time is good for a family of four :-) I'll definitely be getting this! I'd also get the Modernist Bread from the "leaked" list (got me there for a while, LOL) and since Nathan is great at bbq, I'd not mind a (not necessarily modernist) bbq book....

I doubt I'll ever buy an electronic cook book, the idea of having any kind of expensive reader/ipad/laptop in the kitchen is not appealing at all. Until they make one you can put in the dishwasher (and maybe use as cutting board and plate warmer too?) I'll stick to books. Which I of course treat as if they were $800 gadgets, and keep them far away from spills and stove, on the far end of the kitchen, LOL. I did however just buy 4 more (cough): Vegetables from an italian garden - very nice book partitioned by season with little "booklets" (shorter pages) at each season's start talking about the veggies in season, followed by great recipes also sorted by veggie (Asparagus, Artichoke, etc) Handy and tasty. Charred and Scruffed, a great bbq book that tells you to throw the meat straight on the coals! Some other great ideas in there too that I already applied very successfully. Spilling the Beans, a nice book about beans and grains and a whole bunch of great recipes to combine the two. Made a wonderful beet humus and plan on several of their bean dishes. Eat with your Hands, an other of the unusual cuts and ideas books that seem popular lately, I find it a lot of fun to read and there are quite some things in there that I'll be making soon. As I mentioned above, I don't need any more cookbooks. Well, maybe a couple. Or three........ ;-)

I haven't made it in a while, but I used Ricky Carrol's recipe from Home Cheese Making and it came out great. I used fresh whole milk from Whole Foods (thus creating the most expensive moz I've ever eaten) figuring it'll be better with "better" mils and if I go through the process, might as well. I did wear rubber gloves I bought for that purpose, the hot curd 'rubber' is pretty - well - hot. It worked well the two or three times I did it, eventually I figured it's not worth the effort, as I can buy very nice moz at Whole Foods that's just as fine. But I like the idea of this as a science project, I have to keep that in mind!