Human Bean

Bien sur; les petites croutons, formidable!

The main way I've had duck (and the only way I've ever cooked it) is as Chinese barbecued duck, which I love, but generally only make when the ducks go on sale (farmed, frozen, generally around Christmas. They come with a packet of orange-flavored goop that I've never used). I'm also of the opinion that duck seems to be expensive. But then, I also regularly pay $10 per pound for large scallops and shrimp. I suppose that once you subtract the weight of duck bones and fat, the price per pound of useable duck meat is comparable to the seafood. I guess I have to adjust my priorities. And cook something other than barbequed duck, so I can save the fat.

I assume that this dish is finished with a bit of melted butter from the unused portions left over from bread baskets. Yum. Fine dining at it's finest! edit: add butter; even more yummy

Having started this thread awhile ago, I'd like to declare that the turducken fad is just so OVER, especially now that you can buy prepared ones that you only have to heat. But I doubt that this'll happen. The new fad (even though it's been going on for awhile) is deep-fried turkeys. My local retailer just put up this year's display of turkey fryers. But this is mainly a cheap excuse to again post a link to Alton Brown's words on turkey-frying (scroll down to the bottom).

Great to see the (possibly Smug) Scientific (optionally, Bastards) having a go at this. Wish I could add something on the scientific front, but I'm a computer geek, not a bio-geek. But, I did find something amusing in the salt link posted above, written by a BBQ-er. There's a section, "Why Kosher salts works better in brines" that utterly fails to answer the question. Emphasis theirs, not mine. This is, of course, utter nonsense. Salt doesn't absorb water, it dissolves in it; quite the opposite of what the writer said. A minor point perhaps, but I found it charmingly uninformed.

Great link, thanks mamster!

Um, I think you meant 1.25 times as much Morton compared to table salt. In the salt thread, there's a link to an article that contains information from the Morton Salt Consumer Affairs department, where they give the following numbers: table salt = 10.2 oz per cup Morton Coarse Kosher = 8.1 oz (The article also mentions that Diamond weighs 5 oz, but that info didn't come from Morton). Cook's Ill also gave some measurements recently, but that info isn't readily at hand at the moment. edit: add link to mention of salt thread

It sounds like you're asking for recipes for canning; I can't help, because I've never done that. You might try a Melinda's-style carrot/onion/hab recipe for that; as always, google is your friend. I've generally preserved habs by drying; cut a top-to-bottom slit in them to aid the process. You can freeze them, but they'll be somewhat mushy after defrosting - probably okay if you're just going to make fresh salsa with them. I've had varying amounts of success with refrigerating a fresh salsa; sometimes it's radically different a mere 24 hours later. Something I've been trying lately is adding powdered vitamin C tablets to fresh salsa - about 3 grams per quart. It's main function is as an anti-oxidant, but also adds some sourness. I can't say that this method has been staggeringly successful though; I'm still experimenting, but the concept seems promising. One thing you might try if you haven't already is to add mangoes to a tomato-based hab salsa - the fruitiness of the habs and the mangoes go well together. I made one a couple of weeks ago for some friends, and it was a big hit. I don't have a recipe, but it was tomatoes, sweet onions (Walla Walla/Vidalia/Maui, take your pick), yellow-skinned mangoes, habs, lime juice, a bit of garlic and salt/pepper. No cilantro; it didn't seem right at the time. The main defect of this sauce, surprisingly enough, was that it wasn't hot enough after being in the refrigerator overnight. Store-bought habs may have contributed, but I made a point of surgically removing most of the heat, since these weren't regualr hab eaters. I guess I overcompensated in the heat reduction.

Interesting idea - I'll have to try it. I usually have a few different kinds of cheese in the fridge at any given time, and I suppose that if they're well wrapped and reasonably non-pungent, they could all live in the same container. I bought Foodsaver yesterday, after having been convinced in another thread that it would be beneficial to buy a large chunk of P. Reg. at Costco, then cut it up and seal the smaller pieces. Also, a local retailer has accessories on sale, and that helped. Today I bought some bottle stoppers for (Trojan shill alert ) my bottles of Jim Dixon's imported artisan EVOO, and one of those square containers for storage and possible experiments with vacuum marination. Costco also sells refill kits (rolls, maybe bags?) but I haven't been back to check the cost-effectiveness of these yet. I found it amusing that although I haven't seen a Foodsaver infomercial in recent memory, after I got home with the thing, I found that this thread had been bumped from the depths, and there was a Foodsaver commercial on the teevee after I was done watching the video that came with the machine.

Welcome eo eG, fiore! Does anyone (Jinmyo?) know if Sichuan peppercorns are also banned in Canada? Wouldn't think so, not much citrus industry to protect. If they're still available OTC in Canada, I'll have to try to remember to get some on my next trip to Vancouver (which, sadly, isn't all that often). I do have some Sichuan peppercorns, but they're several years old (pre-ban), and a mere shadow of their former selves.

Um, learn not to care if your white plastic cutting boards don't look pure at the driven snow?? Seriously, as long as they're not spreading contagion and are free of the remnants of previous tasks, what's the difference? The food doesn't care. Nor should you. Obviously you do care, and the previous suggestions should help. I also have white plastic cutting boards, and they get stained. You'd think that plastic wouldn't have that problem, but it does. I keep 'em clean and sanitary, and don't care what they look like. Not a direct answer to your question, but an option to consider...

Those little packet of "taco sauce" from Taco Hell, (er, Bell, sorry) also do a fine job of copper cleaning. A much better use of it than eating the stuff. Actually, it's the vinegar and salt that does the trick for both ketchup and "taco sauce."

Another go at this (largely unrelated to Maggi, but anyway...): If you take the beans and salt, throw out the wheat, add maybe a bit of the (apparently optional ) water, and that yummy bug poop, you get dow see, Chinese fermented black beans, more-or-less. It's not soy sauce (and certainly not Maggi), but probably another umami fellow traveller.

Steak! (Sorry, dunno why I said that.) RICE is for tourists. Water is for tourists that don't know the meaning of the term, "Montezuma's Revenge." Maggi is for tourists in loud polyester Hawaiian shirts, shorts, and socks with sandals. Edit to remove irrelevant reference to sock color.

In general, I find mayo to be rather unappealing, but not quite to the level of 'revolting.' I don't have the bottled stuff on hand, and rarely make it. About the only thing I use it for is tuna salad. Ketchup, OTOH, I don't have any particular objections to, but generally only use it with burgers and fries. And my cup size is 16 ounces. Oops, wrong thread.

[smartass] That's the second time in a few hours that you've said that. I could be wrong, but I think that shoyu typically also contains water. [/smartass] Maggi is nasty, but if someone happens to like it, they're welcome to it; my not having it means more for you.

My lunch nearly made a return visit after reading that.

[Jinmyo] Gah. [/Jinmyo] Swiss imitation soy sauce. No thanks.

Thanks for the suggestions; I'd tend to think that a low-moisture cheese would be mold-resistant, and suitable for long-term refrigerator storage; I've never tried it. I don't own one of those vacuum sealers, and they seem to be rather expensive, although they do seem to be useful. I'll definitely consider it. But can anyone say that freezing is a bad thing for P-Reg, or other cheeses in general? Since there's not much water, you don't have the problem of ice crystals destroying it, and I've never noticed any irrevocable damage, except for a brick of co-jack that was way too crumbly after thawing. Co-jack has a much higher water content than P-Reg, so I'm not surprised at this.

Indeed. I consulted the Portland, OR phone directory, and didn't see any laundries on 92nd Street. Maybe the solution for stained ties is not to wear a tie that shows stains - there are lots of patterns where a stain wouldn't be noticeable, and might be an enhancement. Not that I wear a tie anyway, so how would I know?

Since the thread is relatively undefined yet, I suggest a couple of things that you should NEVER spill on yourself, due to their relative inability to be removed: Turmeric. Bright yellow spice/dye found in Indian food and American prepared mustard (French's for example). It nearly takes an act of (deity) to remove this; I have a polyproplyene cutting board that has persistent stains from fresh turmeric. This seems implausible unless you've dealt with it. It even stains stainless steel knives; if you want to impress your friends with your solid-gold knives, rub them with fresh turmeric - it'll look impressive, but will eventually fade. Soy sauce. Surprisingly persistent. Having said that, I wouldn't wish to limit discussion to persistent stains or their removal, though that's welcome of course; I expect (and hope?) that stories of embarassing spills will predominate. Carry on.

I was at my local Costco today, and noticed that they had wedges of Parmigiano Reggiano in a refrigerator case. $10 per pound; a reasonable price. It appears to be the real thing, judging from the printing on the rind - I doubt it's bogus or counterfeit, but I'd have to look closer. I understand that a P-Reg really should be tasted before purchase, but I'm not that critical. I've bought small chunks that smelled rather like old socks, but tasted okay. I'm not looking for the best of the best, just something that will be noticeably better than generic 'Parmesan.' The wedges average about 1.75 pounds, which is far more than I can consume in a short time. I've frozen P-Reg before for storage, but have heard conflicting advice about that. So, freeze or refrigerate for long-term (several months) storage?

Ever since an unfortunate incident last year with the Super Benriner, I've been interested in Kevlar gloves for cut resistance, rather than heat resistance. It appears that they perform both functions well. I haven't bought any gloves yet; the King Arthur glove looks interesting, but I'm checking into industrial supply sources that might possibly be less expensive. Google wasn't particularly helpful after a quick search. But it looks like Kevlar might be a winner over silicone given their dual-use capabilities.

Although McGee is a room or two away at the moment (the book, not the man), it's too late and I'm too tired to look it up. Nonetheless, I don't think that fat itself can carmelize (Maillard reaction), that'd be carbs (sugar) and/or some amino acids from protein. Most bacon certainly has sugar which can brown (dunno about that pig jaw, er, stuff) but that probably wouldn't be the same thing as turning opaque, (or quasi-crystallizing, as our bio-scientist puts it, more-or-less).

Dunno the answer to your question, but maybe it's a protein-denaturing thing like egg whites. Although the predominant part of the white stuff is fat, maybe there's enough protein to do the egg white thing. When I cook bacon (Mmmm, bacon) it's in the microwave, so I never see that. You're a biologist, maybe you can tell us... Edit: 'cuz I've never heard of guanciale before. Ewww.