Mjx

Stroll on over to the Truffles: molded vs hand dipped discussion!

The previous section of the ongoing Chamber Vacuum Sealers discussion reached the 20-page mark (after which point topics cause the site to slow significantly whenever they load), so we've split the discussion, which continues, here.

I've seen milk, and, I think – this was a while back – possibly one of the pourable fermented dairy products. I do remember seeing a couple of lemon and other citrus curd recipes, and flinching and thinking 'Ew', which would be my exact reaction to such an ingredient in this sort of recipe.

Might have used water instead of various dairy products, to yield a cleaner citrus flavour. Dairy take the edge off many flavours.

Just to be clear, is your primary concern about losing the liquid (i.e. possibly compromising the recipe in some way), making a mess, or damaging the machine?

The previous discussion of this may help: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/99133-waterrice-ratios/?hl=%2Bwater+%2Brice

Does the book by any chance include the caramelized apricot that is mentioned here (6th image form the bottom of the image set, item 22 in the list above that)?: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/138044-my-last-and-anyones-best-shot-at-elbulli/?p=1804527 I really, really need to know more about this dessert, I have not been able to stop thinking about it!

That's the brand I purchased at Williams-Sonoma several years ago and which was useless. Little flavor so one had to use double or three times the amount to get the same flavor one gets with PURE vanilla powder. How can they advertise and label the product as "pure" vanilla powder when it so obviously isn't? A definition of the word pure is: not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material, yet this product is mixed with a substantial amount of maltodextrin. All that means is that it is made with pure vanilla. It can be made of 99% rutabas or toenail clippings and 1% vanilla bean, and it still counts. I don't understand why you are looking for 'vanilla powder', when that is not what you want; look for "ground vanilla bean".

Check out Cook's Illustrated's recipe from January/February 2013. If you don't find it perfect, the background to it will make it easy for you to figure out how to tweak it to your taste.

Before putting the root vegetables in the oven, microwave them until they're pretty much cooked through, and have released most of the moisture they're going to give off, then most of the time they spend in the oven they'll be browning/caramelizing. I roast chickens at 375F (190C) for 15 minutes on each side, and finish with 20 to 25 minutes at 450F (230F), which gives consistently excellent results, and should give you a fair amount of flexibility regarding when/how long you have your pre-cooked vegetables roasting.

That's what it's sold as: vanillin. Bertolini was pretty ubiquitous where I grew up, but I figure no one would call vanillin in pwdered sugar 'vanilla powder', that'd have to be ground vanilla beans...right?

If you're talking about actual ground vanilla beans just use any brand that has been reliable for other spices. Check the freshness date, and get the freshest you can; that seems to matter more than the brand (this is the standard other-than-pod form in which you find vanilla in Denmark, and I haven't come across any brand that I've been particularly dissatisfied with). The advantages/disadvantages are going to be specific to whatever you're using the vanilla in: If you use powder, you get a lot of flecks; if you use extract, you also get a small amount of liquid. The powder can deliver more concentrated flavour, but sometimes you need to bloom it to get the full effect. No idea of equivalents, since there isn't even any standard intensity for all extract or all powders, but you're probably not going to screw things up by using too much or too little. I generally use something in the neighbourhood of a teaspoon for a cake recipe that makes two layers, but there have been times that I've tripled that, when I've wanted really in-your-face vanilla (I usually add black pepper on those occasions; pairs well with vanilla).

Tsk. It was a fun present, and my boyfriend knew I'd get a kick out of it Plus, there's more entertainment value in working out the extraction of the pear from the bottle than there would be from getting smashed on sophisticatedly appreciating the ccs of booze the pear displaced. Oh, I'll get that thing out of there, and may even remember to take pictures. Video won't be happening: I curse a LOT, any video would sound like the opening moments from each scene of Four Weddings and a Funeral, strung together.

Thanks, but actually, I don't have a glass cutter, and I cannot think of anything else I'd use one for (I'm open to suggestions!), so I'm reluctant to get one. This I'm going to try (apart from step 1, since the liquid has already been transferred – to me). In fact, I'm thinking a cheese wire will be even better for doing this, since it's springy, and really thin, which should make for neat slices. Thanks! Eh, thanks..? On the one hand, this looks interesting, but knowing the way things often go for me, it also looks like an opportunity to add another spectacular entry to the I will never again . . . discussion. I'm going to have to pass on this one

Has anyone taken the trouble to remove the fruit from a bottle of brandy or eau de vie? How did you do it, and how did it work out? I've got a now-empty-except-for-the-pear bottle of Pircher Williams sitting in the refrigerator. That pear sems like it might be pretty tasty, perhaps as part of some dessert, so I'd like to get it out of there. I know I could break the bottle, but prefer to avoid that, since that inevitably unleashes a number of tiny glass splinters, some of which could end up in the pear. I think I can fit a boning knife into the mouth of the bottle, but that risks messing up the edge of a decent knife. Is there some obvious, perhaps even well-known way to get the pear out? I'm fine with small pieces, but prefer to avoid pear puree. Thanks!

Sounds like a modernist take on funnel cake, although that would not use bread dough (which I doubt would pass through a whipper even if it was really thinned down, although I may be mistaken).

À chacun son goût The OP is asking for technique suggestions, rather than opinions regarding the desirablity of a given dish, so that's the relevant point.

Although I've never tried a mushroom panna cotta (I tend to like mine traditional), you could try infusing the cream with the mushrooms (dried ones would probably give more intense results). Cream has a tendency to mute flavours, so your best bet if you want the mushrooms to be in evidence might be to use them in a sweet version of a duxelles, served over a traditional panna cotta, instead of trying to flavour the panna cotta with them.

Metal measuring cups (the parallel-sided, flat-bottomed sort) do an excellent job, and you get an array of sizes, too.

I haven't had noticeably tannic results with this method. I've also steeped more leaves as briefly as 3 minutes, and the flavour has been intense and complex. I never boil the cream with the leaves in it: I boil the cream, remove it form the heat, add the leaves, steep, remove the leave, and bring it just to a boil once again, before combining it with the chocolate. This is exactly how I do it as well! Except I just dump the tea in and strain it out I've done that too, but putting the tea in a tea ball (or my tea shark) does makes for slightly quicker leaf removal

I've made several tea ganaches, and have had excellent results from steeping a pinch the leaves (in a tea bal) directly in warm cream for about a quarter of an hour. I forget which chocolatier recommends boiling the cream twice, but essentially, that's what I do: boil the cream, steep the tea in it, bring it once again to a boil, remove the tea ball, and carry on.

Isn't white pepper used in the same way as black pepper, but for those dishes in which little black flecks would cause the same level as horror as one experiences when seeing someone use the fish fork for the entree? ETA hat-tip to PG Wodehouse.

It seems that you include the crust when making a panade with this type of bread, yes? I don't always use the crust, but doesn't seem to make a tremendous difference one way or the other.

'Good quality' isn't particularly useful when deciding what to use in a panade, and neither is the specification of the bread as 'white' (although whole-grain breads tend to be pretty compact, I've often used bread that was somewhere between white and whole grain, with great results). The texture of the bread (and how much panade you use) seems to matter most. I've found the fine-textured sandwich-type bread tends to break down and turns pasty in a panade, making for a denser end-product, whereas open-structured 'rustic' type breads, with a hard crust and a very resilient, chewy crumb retain their texture a lot more, and make for a less compact whatever-you're-using-your-panade-in.

This stout (I've used other stouts than Guinness, and they've worked beautifully) and ginger cake is amazing. If you make it, make sure that the pot you use for combining the stout, molasses, and baking soda is huge (e.g. a stockpot; I've also transferred the stout-molasses mixture to a huge bowl, and worked in that, instead). I think it's even better with butter than vegetable oil (170g butter).