Karri

My point is that no one should believe that study because the focus group is not big enough, the specifics are not... specific enough. It seems like a half-assed attempt at media-rave to me.

And that is not my argument, you really don't like discussin the point, do you? What I said is the numbers seem quite high, and a study like that won't tell you anything reliable. In the US if I travelled to 5 different cities and asked a total amount of 136 people their favourite flavor of ice cream, could I extrapolate that data to cover all and every single US citizen? Or in this study's case if I asked the same person 136 times, which is a possibility.

I am interested in finding out who this study was financed by.

Something is fishy here, just because there has been some credit card fraud done in some countries, it shouldn't prompt a country to block the whole country off? I'm pretty sure that isn't even legal?

First of all my apologies, secondly: "Researchers tested 136 packages of chicken, turkey, pork, and ground beef purchased at 26 grocery stores in five cities around the country, and found that 47 percent contained Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a common cause of infection in people." -Quite the focus group this study had going for it. Contextually I understand it means the total, not that they purchased 136 packages of each? No specification of how many packages of each, etc. etc. edit: Just read the actual study, yes total of 136, and the different types vary, pork seems to have been the least tested. editedit: "80 unique brands from 26 grocery stores" <- different suppliers, or no?

Bringing out your opinions as facts is a great way to steer a conversation forward, as... I... have... heard. Foams are foams, just because it was a hip thing and people who didn't -or still don't -know what they were doing; did it, it doesn't mean that all foam dishes are bad. Just like AaronM said. But it is a dividing subject, I actually did a bit of a study on this matter at my workplace, and the saffron foam we use for a dish is much less appealing to some guests, than the Tomato cappuchino that is served in a glass with a white tomato foam on top. The reason I believe is you connect it in your brain, Cappuccino -> foam, and it looks like 'a frothy red coffee'

Just watched an episode of Heston Blumenthals 'In Search of Perfection' where they made aerated chocolate, he just put it through a cream sifon and then vacuum sealed it in a container with high edges, but he stopped it short, because if you vacuum for too long it will collapse on itself.

It's like this: Either you love it or you hate it, if you hate it you are just too 'low-brow' to understand the intrinsic value of this innovation, it is constantly evolving and it is the future. If you just can't understand what an amazing thing it is, maybe you should just.. you know... maybe get over it and get on the bandwagon! (Sarcasm, geddit?) Only two things come from Texas.

So now we await the subculture or separation of the "spuma movement". First they will develop a way to recognize one another, perhaps a little bit of saffron foam preserved in polymer? Next comes their own lingo, or has that happened already? With the airs and whatnots. And to Ferran Adria never being accused of stealing any ideas, I believe they made the Maxim of Maximus or whatever it's called, but then again as the saying goes "good artists borrow, great artists steal". (I am not saying he stole anything, but if you put Iberico ham fat in one more way somewhere I think the pigs are going to go on strike) To dislike or to like foam is in my opinion a question of taste, and everyone here should know what arguing about opinions and tastes is like... It never leads anywhere.

No. Too foamy-looking. Indeed.

So... anyone like modern art?

Please explain what is prune whip?, prunes whipped with cream to form a pruny whipped cream? And a deconstructed sushi roll? That sounds like pretty much the smartest thing I've heard of in a while...

Chris: So we should set down the ground rules first? I propose that everything that gets passed through a sifon is a foam, be it hollandaise, or whipped cream.

I have a sense that the places where you've had the spumas really didn't have an idea of what they were doing?

Sorry, inverted argument? My english fails me sometimes... What I mean was what gfweb said.

Eating with the eyes is so multi faceted that it can't really be called to the stand here. Just as was said before what looks good to you does not look good to the next man; therefore it is necessary to establish certain ground rules around your own preferences. Certainly not every single fine dining restaurant in your respective areas are doing spumas? edit: And as you argue the point that food that looks good but tastes bad is still bad food, you should agree on the counter argument then? Foam or no foam.

Obviously what's happened is that somewhere along the way somebody reinvented the wheel... Was it Mr. Adria or whoever, I don't know. But foam is here to stay for many places, simply for it's capability to add dimension or for the fact that it is so much more economic... You may not understand what a difference the dimension is, when everything is not on the same level, it has been researched thoroughly in the marketing and advertising world; how things draw your attention when they are on a certain height, separate from other items. This can all be extrapolated and used in a beautiful plate of food... How do you think the pictures (or if you're rich, your EYES) of plates from 3 Michelin star restaurants look so amazing, like little works of art? It's because the design process encompasses all... And in my opionion Ferran Adria's plates don't even look so amazing, yeah they are cool and funky...If you want to see amazing check out Albert Adria's new e-book, or book. There are some of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. And what's prune whip? (cowers)

When speaking of foams you are talking about lecithin (or no) based sauces that are usually foamed á la minute. This is completely different from an egg or cream based foam which is like a velvety kiss and complements everything. Hollandaise from a sifon is lighter, fluffier, generally better in my opinion. And the key point here is that it is incredibly economical! From 1 dl of sauce you can get about 10 times more plates of food than if you were using it normally. And the main idea of foam is to add dimension to a dish, something that has been lacking for a long time. If you think about a fish dish for example, fish is almost always flat, the veg won't really make a difference, but add a beautiful creamy cremolata passed through a sifon and you have these parts of the plate that rise off the plate.

Cooking Master Boy is a very old chinese cartoon about a boy who is/becomes the greatest chef in the world. It is filled with amazing effects and dumplings in the shape of dragons that fly out of the bamboo wicker when it is opened. I remember that series was great!

No significant quality lost for mash when you make it, store it, and heat it up and add butter and salt while heating it.

Life is a lottery

jsmeeker: Alright just tested out the polenta tonight, and indeed it works. You keep it on the flame/off the flame it makes no difference, but when you want to use it again just add some water (we used stock) and put it back on the heat and whisk it until it gets liquid again, and obviously the desired consistency is the amount of liquid you add!

Isomalt can cause indigestion if consumed in large amounts, but have you thought about an espresso steamer? Or would the pockets be wet?

As always if you put it on a Gauss scale that measured cultural habits, or the general 'outgoingness' of people? Possibly daredevils who always need another rush of adrenaline; be it base jumping, or kiteboarding will try anything for breakfast? Former: Would you most likely find a 15% bottom a 15% top and the general 70% in the middle? Thoughts? I write like yoda, feverish. edit: I was looking for this and this is also what was pointed to earlier, but in my understanding the paradigm has shifted from breakfast and lunch being the heaviest meals of the day. They still are in certain lines of work as was mentioned afore. But city-life, working in an office it would be quite redundant to pound five rashers of bacon and three eggs every morning so you could go sweat it out over Solitaire in the office?

Is it really about familiarity since at a hotel breakfast people tend to sample pretty much everything? Or maybe there is a need to differentiate between a hotel breakfast where it is more of a social gathering, and your own home... At the hotel where I work at we have a lot of Spanish traditional breakfast items, your sweet pastries and sauces and such, and they are among the 'top-selling' items during breakfast. Also Tortilla Española is very popular even though you wouldn't see many Spaniards having it for breakfast.