Mjx

'Focaccia' does mean different things in different parts of Italy, and there's also been drift in the use of the term over time: for example, there are baked goods that were called 'foccaccia' in Florence when I was a kid, but no longer are, at least, not by everyone, and in some places, there are things now called 'foccaccia' that once had other names. I'm fairly certain that this is at least partly due to the increase in tourism, and efforts to make things more recognizable/appealing to foreign tourists.

The oude kriek was not the tartest kriek I've had (there was an amazing one that was remarkably tart and intensely fruity, but I forgot to make a note of the name, and just keep hoping it will show up again; I'll recognize the label), but the vinegar/acetic acid note (especially on the nose) seemed to overwhelm the entire profile, and that was what left me wondering. It may be part of the profile, it's not something I've been able to determine from what I've read.

Thanks, @FrogPrincesse. There isn't a large selection of kriek here (mostly Lindemans and Boon), and I hadn't seen 'oude' before, so thought it was something specific to the producer, Hanssens Artisanaal. The reviews on a number of sites have left me puzzled, as they range from 'mildly sweet with a pleasant tartness' and 'very tart but balanced', to variations on the theme of 'vinegary'. One thing that has leapt out at me is that the 'vinegary' assessments are overwhelmingly from Scandinavian countries (though the associated names suggest a variety of nationalities), so I'm wondering whether storage mightn't be a factor in the way it tastes (I'm in Denmark, where the storage of food and beverages is very, very, casual), especially as the summer was very warm, and air conditionaing is a rarity here. This is one of the more expensive krieks, here, so I'm on the fence when it comes to trying another bottle.

I love kriek, try all the various kinds I come across, and like most of them. Recently, a friend shared a bottle of Oude Kriek with me, and I found it remarkably, almost undrinkably vinegary (although I like most sour things, even extremely sour ones). Is this characteristic of this brand, or does it sound as though this was a bad bottle?

Usually, I lightly toast the rice (or oat, or millet) flakes first, which makes them more bread-crumb-like, but even when I've forgotten to, or skipped this, the results have been fine, perhaps a tiny bit denser.

Most health food shops carry rice flakes, and some supermarkets, too; if they seem really expensive, look elsewhere, because they shouldn't be outrageously priced. I've found that rice flakes don't add a noticeable flavour to meatballs, particularly the ones I make, which are fairly well-seasoned, so the herbs, spices, tomato paste, and so on dominate. The texture is not noticeably different to meatballs made with ordinary bread crumbs.

I regularly use rolled oats (both fine and coarse), rice flakes (my favourite, in terms of texture), rice panko, or millet flakes (I replace them 1:1 by weight) when I make meatballs, and the results are very satisfactory: I'm very picky about the texture of my food. I've used potato flakes and crushed potato chips in a pinch, but the results were heavier and a bit pasty in terms of consistency. ETA I also used gluten-free-bread crumbs on one occasion, but the results were similar to the potato-chip or -flake meatballs, probably because of the lack of gluten: no structure. ETA, I forgot to mention that I usually (i.e. unless I forget) lightly toast any grain flakes before I use them: a couple of minutes in a pan over medium-high heat does the trick. I think the texture is slightly better when I do this, but it may be imagination, and as I said, I'm very picky about food texture.

Do the programmes need to be in English/have English subtitles, or are you up for ones that are in Italian, if the recipe procedures are carried out clearly enough to follow by watching? I'm asking because I really enjoy La Cucina delle Monache (The Kitchen/Cuisine of the Nuns), which is in Italian only, but quite clear, as far are recipe procedure goes.

I never found an oil sprayer that met all my criteria, so I'm still looking. For now, I'm continuing to brush/flick oil onto the food with a pastry brush; when the surface is loose (e.g. breaded), I freeze the food, because otherwise it's a maddening mess. I've used this, https://www.kunstogkokkentoj.dk/product/dragsbaek-sprayfedt?variant=051-001-00 (it's rapeseed oil, which used and cultivated extensively in Denmark and the surrounding region), and held the can as far from myself and as close to the food as possible without defeating the purpose of the spray, because I've also been unhappy about the idea of inhaling an aerosol of oil (I thought about using a face mask, too). For most purposes I use grapeseed oil (it's the most affordable neutral-flavoured oil I can find on a regular basis), but I've no idea whether it would solidify in the refrigerator.

An online search should give you plenty of results; this is one option: https://www.realwasabi.com/pages/fresh-wasabi

Could you fill the bottle with something like the glass beans that are used (or at least, used to be used) to top up photo chemicals before closing the bottle? They're chemically inert, so they should be safe and not affect on the flavour, and with the bottle filled to the top, there would be little room for the CO2 to leave the beer, so it'd stay in solution (and the glass beans are easy to clean, and reusable; I think the ones that florists use would also be an option).

The vegetarians I know eat cheese (and wear leather, but not fur). I suspect that this is because originally, they were unaware of the rennet element, and if and when they did find out about it, they figured they may as well go on eating cheese. This is just my hypothesis: I've never asked! The vegetarians I know best (including everyone else in my immediate family, lifetime vegetarians) are neither intrusive nor political about it, so I've seen no point in bothering them about this.

I make peposo relatively often, and was taught to use...whatever's cheap (and usually, tough) at the butcher's that day. It's a great dish, but it's also Tuscan, and Tuscans are notoriously cheap frugal. That said, beef cheeks sound great.

I can't tell whether all these versions are crunchy: I've never tried a crunchy wheat gluten strip, but I've had several versions of the chewy/flexible ones. The're not everyhere here, I don't see people wandering about eating them, or the empty packets on the ground, but they're readily available in SEA food shops. I find them kind of disgusting, but my boyfriend loves them, and if he opens a packet, the MSG slathering guarantees that if I try one, I will continue to eat them until there are none left.

It not that it doesn't look real (at least, it looks no more unreal/surreal than that sort of thing in general), it's just that something about the image it doesn't look like the Starbuck's imagery I've seen in the US and EU, so it it registers as 'off'. Is there any sign of anyone trying actually trying this out of disinterested curiosity?