Mjx

I would really like to hear your report on that combo. I don't doubt you could work them all together in a dish, but when I think about their flavours, regions where each predominates, and various culinary cultures, it feels forced and kind of questionable (sort of like putting Darth Vader, Wolverine, Hello Kitty, Mad Max, and Bertie Wooster together in a room; you could write that book, but...). What makes this seem like a good idea, or at least be palatable enough to be interesting? I'm not being sarcastic: you've clearly thought about this, and I'm curious about the sequence of ideas behind this.

Yeast are classed as fungi (not animals, or, for that matter, plants).

No. Mouths were. Fingers rare in nature. Not for humans! Mercifully, we're not discussing the guilty pleasures of other species I personally have a weakenss for this stuff: http://www.royalunibrew.com/Default.aspx?ID=196&PageNum=3 I can drink this by the litre, and feel that this should be something I'd be expected to be ashamed of, but can't actually seem to be.

I'd simply ask whether there are any ingredients or combinations of ingredients that should be avoided in the food you prepare for them. The common perception of people with any sort of dietary restriction is that they are vocal, even annoying about it, but there are many who are extremely discreet about this sort of thing, and, in fact they've become so used to avoiding certain foods, they don't give it a thought (in which case they can offer useful tips).

Have you tried the health food shops in your area? All else failing, you can order online (e.g. from Just Tomatoes or the like).

That seems as though it may be the go-to solution (it's described here, note at the bottom: http://becca-bakes.com/home/tag/freeze-dried-corn-powder/), and here is a source for the of freeze-dried corn, mentioned in the foregoing blog: http://www.justtomatoes.com/jtstore/pc/Just-Corn-3p58.htm You may also be able to find that (or similar) corn in a health food shop.

So. Getting back on topic. I grew up in Florence, and my experience and conclusions (supported by other Italians I've known who've lived outside of Italy) are that going after the best tomatoes locally available is more likely to bring a dish to the desired place than trying to match/parallel what would be used in Italy. Some general guidelines regarding size and texture would be useful, but emphasizing the importance of becoming familiar with what is locally available seems far more important, particularly since many Americans seem to prefer sweeter tomatoes than Italians do.

Don't know that I'd go so far as that; if you buy something uncontaminated, transferring it to a sealed container keeps it that way. I can think of just one occasion that I bought something put it in a container that sealed well, and found things hatched in it. The problem is you can't really tell if it's contaminated or not when you buy it. Some bugs, especially weevils, will not hatch unless the temperature gets pretty warm. I used to sell whole and milled barley, wheat, oats and corn. Corn was definitely the worst. But as has been mentioned, a day or two in the freezer will kill the eggs. Absolutely! Still, whether you have your pests trapped in a container or trapped outside of one, it does mean you have the problem isloated, and you can control their spread to uncontaminated food. My boyfriend once staggered home with about a dozen bags of spelt flour that were deeply discounted; he was delighted. I was... less so, since, when I looked at the bottom of the bags, found that every one was contaminated with wriggly little larvae (nope, he hadn't noticed). Well, since it was a gift, kind of, I couldn't throw it out, so I scraped off alll the visible fauna, put all the bags in a bin liner, and shoved it in the freezer for about a week. Then, I opened every bag, sieved it to remove remaining life forms, packed the flour in plastic tubs, and put it back in the freezer. I did use it all, although I never did get around to mentioning it to my boyfriend, the time never seemed quite right.

First thoughts are: 'What sort of pan are you using?', 'Would you consider switching to a recipe that uses weights, instead of volumes (like the one that Kerry Beal posted upthread, 5 posts back)?', and 'Do you have an accurate thrmometer in your oven?' Macarons can be exacting, and if your measurements aren't consistent from one batch to the next, it can be really difficult to pinpoint where a problem is.

Edamame!

Don't know that I'd go so far as that; if you buy something uncontaminated, transferring it to a sealed container keeps it that way. I can think of just one occasion that I bought something put it in a container that sealed well, and found things hatched in it. Depends. Insect can find the smallest of holes to get in. Just opened a pack of new fresh bought Gold Medal flour. It was crawling with tiny bugs 1/3 the size of ants. dcarch Ack. So unpleasant for you. I should have clarified, though: by 'tightly sealed container', I mean a glass or firm plastic one with a lid with a seal, and that has to be twisted or levered off; any bug that can get into those belongs to a category I hope to never encounter. When I'm shopping, I usually examine the bottoms of paper or carboard food packages before buying, since (I guess?) stockists don't, and it's not that unusual to see really obvious traces of infestation there.

Don't know that I'd go so far as that; if you buy something uncontaminated, transferring it to a sealed container keeps it that way. I can think of just one occasion that I bought something put it in a container that sealed well, and found things hatched in it.

Storing everything in sealed containers it is simpler and more effective in the long run. I've watched plenty of people wage intermittent chemical warfare on various invertebrate invaders, and it just keeps on, until the food is made inaccessible.

Discussion of quality variation, here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/98705-all-panko-is-not-created-equal/?hl=%2Bpanko

I'd have way more napkins on hand than you think you'll need (cloth, I guess, since usually, when I've come across a 'no plates' thing, it's been intended as a 'green' move): the combination of nice clothing + fried/otherwise potentially messy food + no plates is almost guaranteed to mean that at least some guests will use napkins as plates, and the absence of plates itself increases the chances of accidents requiring napkins.

I'd say that when the two awards a cheese has received are for... package design, it's a distinct red flag (yeah, I know, old post, but I clicked on the link in it for the first time and, well, let's just say this is even better than I'd hoped for ).

I did a really bad thing last week. I lied to someone who wanted to invite themselves to a meal we were having in a restaurant with friends. I made up some excuse to put them off - because they were a pain in the arse vegetarian. We have been out to restaurants with them before and they once demanded to see the kitchen to make sure their veggie fart burger wasn't cooked on the same grill as the meat ones. My other half and I were cringing with embarrassment. They have also had a strop to the server about menus not having enough vegetarian options. So when they found out we were having a meal with some other friends locally, they dropped big hints that they would like to join us, but I managed to supply enough excuses for them to get the hint that we didn't want them there. Guess I am off their Christmas Card list now. *snigger* So how obliging are the rest of you carnivores to your veggie friends? Frankly, this sounds like a problem of people feeling entitled to foist their beliefs on others/be pests, not something specific to vegetarians or vegans. Of the vegetarians and vegans I know, roughly the same percentage of them is as annoying about their food preferences as the rest of the people I know; I simply avoid dining with people who are irritating about food, whether they are vegetarian/vegan or not. For whatever it's worth, my experience is that the long-term adherents of any sort of food-related restriction (I'm talking about 25+ years, like my immediate family, all of whom are vegetarian apart from me) tend to not talk about their 'thing', it's just a part of their life, they don't need to bang on about it. At restaurants they'll ask what sort of stock forms the base of a soup, perhaps, but they don't make a big production of it, just make their choices accordingly.

Any of the ideas here work for you? http://forums.egullet.org/topic/62075-corn-chowder-for-cookoff/?hl=%2Bcorn+%2Bchowder

Is glucose more hygrosopic than sucrose? If it is, I don't know whether you're going to be able to get around that, although using the convection setting fo your oven might help.

I'd stick with sugar (with a tiny pinch of salt added to round out the flavour), unless you have a health problem that makes this a bad idea. I've tried many other sweeteners, and frankly, they don't seem to work as well; they're too present/have distracting flavours of their own.

That does sound like a syrup. I was curious, because traditional Danish recipes (the only ones I've tried so far) yield a somewhat concentrated liquid that you dilute about 1:1 or 1:2 with water, while I have the impression that what you're getting something more concentrated, used perhaps by the spoonful..? Weather isn't looking too ghastly today, and I have several nice clumps of elders staked out

I have this feeling about pretty much all fresh produce. I grew up in a culture that practically fetishises produce quality, but currently spend a lot of time in a region where decent fresh produce is scarce in shops, and my consumption of it is now about as low as it can get without being seriously unhealthy (and when I get my hands on the good stuff, I have to make a conscious effort to not attack it like a starving wolverine). But flavourless, soggy, maltreated fruit and vegetables... I just can't.

That looks lovely, and also inspirational: I'll be heading out to collect for elderflower cordial tomorrow, if the weather isn't absolutely atrocious.

I'm not sure whether this will help, but this page on Zurich's Ecole Chocolat site must include at least some makers who are located in Zurich: http://www.ecolechocolat.com/chocolate-maker.php

FrogPrincesse, thank you, that is absolutely brilliant. And overwhelming; I've not the slightest clue as to what cocktails most of those would be used for (although I'm fairly certain a lot would be used for liqueurs/extracts, rather than [just] in their raw state)!