technogypsy

"I wonder what kind of stills the US apple brandy makers are using? The better Calvados is from a pot still. Also all Calvados contains some amount of pear brandy. So add in those two factors and I think it accounts for the big differences Calvados and our apple brandy." Bfishback: 15 August 2009 - 01:46 PM I was in Normandy earlier this year for a Polymer Char conference and my host was kind enough to take me to a couple of Calvados distilleries. The ones I visited claim to us only apples and they were pot stills. I got the impression that this was standard for the region. Now if I can just find a source for Roger Groult's 25 year old Calvados in the states, I'd be a happy panda. of course, a yearly trip to restock isn't that bad. What I actually found I like as much as the apple brandy was the Pommade, an apple wine of 12-14 proof. Kevin

Chad I'm seen both gentlemen's work but could you clarify the only two people making true damascus? That doesn't seem correct? Kevin

Hi Chad, From the sample, I'll be buying your book. It's nice to see someone argue for stock removal stick tang knives. While I agree with you on the evaluation of forged versus stock removal for most knives, I think its different at the very top end. If you take the center 80% of all knives, I'd suggest that a stock removal blade is as good and possibly better than forged. In fact, even the stamped blades are probably better than many forged blades from a local village smithy in the old days. The steel is better, the carbon content known, and hardening doesn't depend on whether you have a magnet. (Disclaimer: I teach material science on the graduate level and am a hobbyist smith). Because stock removal blades expose the metal to less heat and are less skill dependent, its easier to get a good product. Look at how long it takes to learn to forge versus grind a passable blade (weeks versus a day). Years ago, I made the mistake of pointing out metallurgy is now at the point you don't need to do all that to make a decent sword and it was not a popular position. Hopefully cooks are saner than martial artists. Anyway, I think one could argue that for a reasonable priced blade, you get a better product by stock removal, where the cost is in the metal and the heat treatment, not the labor. Where I differ with your comments is on heat treatment and that's because you assume the blades are normalized to remove any heat effects. If it is, you're right but I don't think its commonly done and I think it should be even for grinding. Normalized, the metal should be totally relaxed as it goes into heat treating and all the edge packing, etc would be erased. Where I do think forging gives a better product is at the very high end where a handmade blade can be differentially hardened. This is done by several methods but basically only the cutting edge is hardened. Goddard's method, for example, is to heat the blade to bright red (non-magnetic heat) and just quench the edge. (I can think of 2 others ways to do this - clay coated blades like Japanese swords and heating only the edge with a torch.) Done right, you can get a very hard edge and a soft spine. I suspect that done to a ground blade, you'd also gain the advantages however, it is the kind of handwork that is more likely to be done with a labor intensive blade. (Interestingly, Goddard is also a big proponent of the stick tang as making a better knife than the full tang. Again, it allows a more flexible blade under stress.) Anyway, I'm geeking on this too much, but I'd suggest Selection and Hardening of Tool Steels if you need more reading at stadium. I find dragging the Journal of Rheology along normally means lots of space around me. I'm looking forward to reading your section on sharpening as I still use sandpaper on glass.

My dad always made his from venison, wild pork, and mushrooms. I always loved it cold the next day.

I'm also interested. Have you tried them in a Manhattan? With maybe Evan Willaims 1783 Bourbon?

I too started with a water bath and hot plate then I went the Sous Vide Magic route too and was happy until I tried some sort time stuff. I was seeing so large temperature variation (I may of overloaded the unit to be honest...one could calculate the maximum mass one can add to the water to minimize the temperature drop but I didn't want to look up the formula) so I added a lab stirrer I borrowed (I did use a stirrer and rod). That worked great to get a faster return to temperature at the top. I was seeing about 1 half a degree C different with it. I think an air bubbler might work too but haven't tried it. But for anything over 30 minutes, I find the SVM works fine. I did think of using an old polysci chiller from the lab but then starting worrying traces of ethylene glycol and methanol....

yes, it could be caused either nickel or just the start of rusting. Not all stainless is rust free. It depends on the composition of the steel. Many grades use a lot of nickel with can also cause it. I've seen SS labware go gray from acids... You could try adding a little lemon juice or vinegar to the wash. If its metal salts, you'd need to reduce them or change the counterion to more soluble form. Is the water very hard? I hope that helps.

I've drank Pu-erh since I trained in Shing Yi Chuan in the 80s. My teacher dragged us to Chinatown NY occasionally and I developed the taste. I don't know a lot about the tea but my experience in both the US and in China has been to only buy what I could taste. I've been lucky my job requires trips to NYC, SF, and Beijing often. Pu-erhs are much cheaper now in Beijing than they have been so I can believe the glut. From the thread, many of you know a lot more . I think it is a semi-fermented aged tea: does anyone have a reference on how thwey actually make the stuff? I love the tangerine versions I've had but to be honest that mainly because tea in a dried tangerine skin is just cool.

My mother grilled one side of the toast, flipped it, and then added the egg. You want it runny so it soaks into the bread when you eat it. The boys now call it Grandma's toast. Since I'm originally from NE, I learned it as "toad in a hole". Scouts in Texas call it one eyed jack.