Dave the Cook

Danny: Could you outline the process you went through in designing your meat specs? For instance: What was behind the decision to use Niman Ranch pork? Do you feel it is a superior ingredient? Or is its reputation, from a marketing standpoint, so valuable that it's worth its premium price, regardless of its effect on the quality of the final product? Perhaps a combination of these notions? Grass- or grain-fed beef? Do you think there is a growing market for grass-fed beef? Finally, chickens: what's it take to make a Blue Smoke bird? Thanks for taking time out of what must be a very busy schedule to join us here for a couple of days.

Jaymes: I haven't tried it, but I ran across it in my research. I'm going to give it a shot, maybe as a topping for some kind of cake. It might also be interesting in beverages -- coffe, tea, hot chocolate. Got any tips? How do you use it?

Snowangel: I didn't test this specifically. However, I did test making caramel on the stovetop. This is why I like these follow-up sessions. I can throw in a few things I learned that didn't really fit. I didn't include the test because: 1) It was much harder to ensure identical conditions -- the heat of the pan, the color of the sugar as it caramelized, the distribution of sugar in the pan, the temperature and humidity of the environment -- all of these contributed to what I felt were inadequate circumstances for reporting purposes; all of these defects were resolved by the setup for broiling; 2) The results appeared to be the same as for the broiled caramel; 3) The article was running too long already. I put 200 grams of sugar and 4 fluid ounces of water in a stainless steel saucier and applied medium heat. I stirred very gently until the sugar dissolved, then left it alone until the mixture turned a medium brown. The timing for each type of sugar was virtually identical. I did not note any foaming action. This doesn't mean it didn't happen, only that I didn't note it, because it wasn't on my list of things to watch. However: -- I feel certain that had one type of sugar behaved in any significantly different manner, I would have made notes to that effect. -- The mixture was approximately 12 ounces (by volume) in a 3-quart pan; in other words, the space was only about 12% occupied, and in no danger of boiling up. This might not be conducive to creating the situation you describe. In candy-making, I think you would use more of the pan, if you follow me, and the situation, if it were to occur, would be riskier. It's pretty hard to find out what makes up the last 0.05% of refined white sugar, especially if you want to know how it might vary according to source. But what I did find out was that the largest component is ash (left over from the refining process), followed by potassium, sodium and a litany of elements in extremely minute quantities. This is always expressed without reference to beet or cane sugar. It could be that analysis of sugar regardless of source renders the same results, or that these are composite results. I just don't know. Ash is inert. In combination with certain other elements, potassium and sodium can precipitate or participate in chemical reactions, but they are present in such small amounts that it's hard (though not impossible) to believe that they would lead to big differences in the way beet and cane sugar behave in the presence of heat. I haven't made a study of candy making; I don't make candy even for fun. But I did look at the candy sections of the cookbooks in my collection, and not a one mentions a difference between cane and beet sugar. I find this significant. The most likely cause of boiling up would be moisture. Certainly if you are using brown sugar this could happen, at least until the water had evaporated (though the moisture content even in brown sugar is rather small). But the difference would not relate to cane or beet source, it would relate to the moisture in the molasses that is added to white sugar to make it brown. White sugar is extremely dry. This is why, among all the refined vegetable products in your pantry (corn flour and meal, all types of wheat flour, pasta, cereals, etc.), sugar has by far the longest shelf life, and is least amenable to supporting insect colonies. Finally, I would suggest that you try it yourself and see what happens. You shouldn't take my word for it, or the word of anybody else, especially when you have the means to test it. Then let us know.

Thanks, Steverino. I had parsed the O and T correctly, but went down the wrong path on the F, thinking it a gerund, rather than a noun. Things just fell apart after that. And now I realize that I've seen ROTFL before. But that Maggie, she's a clever babe, and not above a little teasing, I think.

I have to go along with Fat Guy. I think we've all learned this lesson before: Pronunciation guide to proper nouns

I'm having the same phenomena -- especially around the rim. So I know how you're feeling. The other night I had to fry some chicken. For the good of the pan. You know.

BTW, Suzanne: how's that big skillet doing? Mine's still lagging a bit.

Chudge.

Processing ROTFPWMP...

Processing ROTFL...

Thanks. When you say "cook very quickly" do you mean minutes or hours? If I have to develop a dish using them, I need a bit narrower definition of "very quickly". Appreciate your help. Usually around 20 minutes, but different types vary. Mamster has specified French lentils. If memory serves, they take a little longer (ooh, another qualifier -- say 25 mintues), and they hold their color and shape nicely. Some lentils just disintegrate. Also be careful about too much acid in the cooking liquid, as this can slow things way down. Add your acids when the beans are just about done.

So true.

Nice haul, Anna! Lentils are not like most other dried beans. They do not require soaking, and compared to white or red beans, they cook very quickly.

This is interesting, as in dave Cooks experiments here, he found that the beet sugar caramelized a bit faster than the cane sugar. Please note that I fudged a tiny bit on the exact timing. But certainly beet sugar didn't take longer. The pictures at the top of the story show the results of this part of the test. Beet on the left, cane on the right. Well, I'm not going to start in on it tomorrow. Another part of the problem is that there is no dispute over whether or not there is a difference between different brands of brown sugar. Clearly there is. The Big Question is how different brands/colors perform, and if they offer advantages that can be exploited. But if we could decide what we wanted to find out more specifically, I'd be up for a sequel, keeping in mind that the equipment at Dave Labs is rather rudimentary.

To quote Homer (guess which one?) "Oh sure, Lisa! Pork, bacon, and ham all come from the same animal. And does this "magical" animal have a name?!?! Pig = pork = bacon. I get it now. Guess I missed that episode. Mamster: me too.

I think turnover is the most important factor. Any place that move a lot of spices should be OK. But not all of us have access to NYC retailers, so sometimes on-line is better.

I'm sorry. Can I come back and play?

Maragret -- I had exactly the same experience. I am not convinced that they make a difference in the finished dish, but just the grinding and sniffing is worth a premium. Helena -- Do you think the vendor makes a difference, or are you experiencing variability from one shipment to the next? Related note: I buy mine from The Spice House. (If you don't use the link, be careful to prepend "the"-- spicehouse.com is something else entirely.)In 2001, we made up spice kits as Christmas presents, and needed about 2 pounds of black pepper. The Spice House ground it to my specs and shipped it the same day. The grind was so good that there was absolutely no dust in the bottom the container. Highly recommended.

That's West Coast gastronomy. A Southerner would have at least included pork. I don't think that's "kosher" bacon on the list. Oops. I see no reason why mamster's sense of fairness should exempt him from ridicule.

That's West Coast gastronomy. A Southerner would have at least included pork.

If at all possible, I'm in. But I want it on the record that the Dave household considers blue cheese a pantry staple.

Thanks, Elizabeth. mad props

NSM: Seriously, what would you hope to find out? There are many more variables in brown sugar: in addition to cane/beet, there's moisture, molasses content, production methods. An experiment would have to be very carefully outlined. If you can send samples of C&H (we can't get it here, and they seem to have a more comprehensive manufacturing method), it might be interesting. Maggie: thanks. (Caitie thanks you, too.) Also thanks and Hello to HH from another ex-tech writer.

What a great summary. Thanks, Really Nice!

My Mother spent Thanksgiving with us last November. My brother-in-law brought a blueberry crisp for dessert. Some was still left the next day, and remembering many breakfasts with Mom over a piece of apple, cherry or berry pie, I wanted to recreate a little of that for her. Unfortunately, the crisp was no longer, well, crisp. So I tossed some panko with an equal amount of brown sugar. Then I spooned a serving of crisp into a bowl, topped it with the crumbs and nuked it for about a minute. Drizzled a little cream around the edge. Voila: blueberry re-crisp. I don't know how long they keep, Suzanne, but any breadcrumb that can survive a microwave is worth its weight in gold.