Dave the Cook

What tool is used to determine whether or not a food writer is good or bad for business? Serious question.

I find Steve Klc's article to be shrill, a little thin, and not up to his usual standards of generosity and ebullience. But the Steves have provided what I think is ample additional evidence (I only wish it had been in the original article) that Schrambling is too big for her britches. I had never read her before, so I used the links, and came to this conclusion: Steve Klc missed the point. The question for me is: how does she flourish in a job that lets her write on almost any subject, with no apparent editorial interference, and with a knack for thematic development that has all the traction of a crack-crazed skateboarder on a greasy half-pipe? She can string words together pretty well, and frankly, she's more entertaining when she bites. But from one paragraph to the next, she reverses field -- you have to sprint 50 breathless yards to catch up to her point. Food writing at this level is a lot about personality; after three or four of Schrambling's columns, I worry that she suffers from severe bipolarity. She has serious flaws as a writer. So how does she keep finding work? Who decides she's worth publishing? How do they decide to keep her on despite her flaws? Egullet has a half-dozen folks who can write better than she can, but none of them is working at the NYT or the LAT. Why is that? Moreover, the same could be said for a number of other writers, most of them male. I like, even admire, Steingarten, for instance. But give Shaw or mamster his budget (or, to open the field, give Trillin all that cash) and I think you'd get a better column in Vogue every month.

328 here, Lily.

The peanut butter is good. Coffee and creme is disappointing.

Green's is the largest in town -- two locations: one on Buford Highway, one on Ponce de Leon. The latter will be easier if you're staying downtown, and you can stop by Krispy Kreme on the way. I haven't been in a couple of years, but Mink's out in Marietta (I'm guessing Delk Road) used to be more interesting than Green's. Better staff, more diverse selection. Call first, they may not still be in business.

Mostly for whipping egg whites. A copper-related chemical reaction stabilizes the foam, much like cream of tartar does.

Sorry, I didn't explain fully. If you take a piece of stainless steel and submerge it in brine for a while, chlorides will destroy the surface layer that keeps stainless stainless. (This doesn't happen in salty air because oxygen in the air continuously renews the surface layer, and the mirror polish doesn't give rust a place to take hold.) If you then bring it back into the air, I am certain that it will rust -- unless the surface layer is restored. Maybe this restoration happens more easily than I think, and that may be related to properties of the alloy, as you suggest. I guess it would depend on which oxidized first, the chromium or the iron. Thanks for clarifying.

"Rust-resistant" would be even more accurate. Drop your s/s pan into salt water for a while and see what happens.

Same here, and/or a shot of pepper sauce.

Added liquids create steam. The eggs cook, but the steam helps keep the temperature in check. The result is a soft, fluffy scramble. Free liquid (especially in a steam table or on the plate) is an indication of overcooking. The proteins have been allowed to tighten excessively, squeezing out residual moisture. The eggs themselves will be dry and tight. Butter is for lubrication and flavor. And because it's butter.

What do you mean by weird?

I wasn't suggesting that they are related in a corporate way, if that's where you thought I was going. I am suggesting: - They are all after the same price point. And I think FW offers a good value in their Millenium line. I looked at it pretty closely for an eGulleter a couple of months ago, and the S/S line looks pretty good. I don't think it's in the same category as All-Clad or Demeyere or Sitram, but it's about half the price. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a friend on a budget. - All three lines are knocking off All-Clad. ChefMate and FW have a closer look. - The handles on the CM and FW -- it's that All-Clad style that Cuisinart and Calphalon have emulated. - The lids on the CM and FW are both that recessed type that you see on KitchenAid. It's a good design, I think. That's all. Nothing sinister or convoluted.

I've never read a "manual" (such as it is) that came with clad cookware that didn't warn about separation of the bottom clad layer. High-end stuff comes with a significant warranty, though. Demeyere, for instance, warns about the problem, but also has a 30 year guarantee.

Chefmate: RevereWare: And just for fun, here's Farberware, which both these lines remind me of:

I didn't know you could train them to a leash. Seriously, what is a fish collar?

Any idea why? Not sure. All that occurred to me was all the acid in the wine, and the long cooking time. Doesn't seem sufficient, does it? Guess it's possible. Lots of salt, maybe?

Revere is owned by World Kitchens, the same company that owns, among other things (the list is pretty long): OXO Corning Ware Chicago Cutlery Pyrex Ecko So far as I know, there is no connection between WK and Chefmate or the Herald Group.

Any idea why?

Also requires a 220V outlet, so if your range is gas, add another couple of hundred bucks for the electrician.

For much the same reason that a pound of feathers is a bigger burden than a pound of lead, I assume. Well, yes -- good point. Volumetric considerations aside, however, the body puts cellulose to work in a different way than it does fat, as G alludes:

I don't know. Sugar cane was being cultivated in India around 300 BC. Alexander noted it. I should make myself a little clearer. Obviously molasses existed before Europeans came to the New World. But I believe it took slavery and ocean travel to make it a cash crop.

That second link is great, Ron; I hadn't seen it before.

Technical answer Cane syrup is made from cane juice. You crush the cane, filter the juice, then cook it down to the desired consistency. In addition to amplifying certain flavor components (and changing others), the heat stabilizes the juice, which would ordinarily have a shelf life of about three hours. (I think there are a couple of companies in Central and South America that pasteurize and can it, unreduced, as a beverage.) Molasses is the byproduct of crystalization. If you're making granulated sugar, you take the filtered juice and run it through a series of evaporators in order to get rid of most of the water. Then you introduce seed crystals to the remaining solution (which is about 65% solids). When you think you've got all the crystalization you're going to get, you centrifuge the solution. The white crystals get packaged. Off-white crystals get re-melted and go through the process again. The leftover liquid, which still contains quite a bit of liquid sugar, is molasses. Since the filtering and evaporation stages are heat processes, this liquid has been cooked, which is why it looks like caramel. It could be filtered and bottled at this point, or you could cook it down further to get different grades of molasses. In fact, most of it is diluted and re-evaporated to extract more sugar. Eventually it's used for animal feed, pharmaceuticals and alcoholic beverages. Marketing answer If you've been paying attention, you'll have noticed that both products are simply concentrated cane juice. And in fact, the mildest and sweetest molasses on the market is made in the same way as cane syrup -- from filtered cane juice. I don't think you could tell them apart. It's only when you start cooking it way down (headed towards the blackstrap zone) that molasses develops real differences.

A little more about NZ SBs, please, including names. There is very little of this in the stores here (Atlanta); the closest we get are Aussie Chards, and some Semillon Blanc. If I have to waylay a clerk, I'm going to need specifics. Mrs. Dave is quite fond of SB; I'd like to find something that's not from the US West coast.

Yeah, but lousy when it's cheap.