Mjx

Would using a heated wire to cut it help reduce breakage?

There's a discussion of these units in the VacMaster VP210 vs. VacMaster VP112 topic (yep, the 215, too).

If you know/calculate the cubic capacity of your tray, and you have have an accurate measuring container (e.g. marked lab beaker), you can then translate the milliletres into cubic inches or centimetres (e.g. 50 mL = 50 cc/3.051 cubic inches). From the two measurements, you can determine how the chocolate is going to fit into the tray. You can you use this conversion calculator: http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm

When I've had more garlic than I was likely to use before it started going off or sprouting, I've frozen it in various forms and states (whole, sliced, minced, put through a press; raw, browned in various ways). For cooking purposes, it works out fine, and takes up very little space in the freezer. I put it in a small bags, and press it as flat as possible, so taking a out just little out is nice and simple. Freezing ruins up the texture, so I wouldn't use it for fresh applications (apart from the pressed garlic, possibly). I've never looked for frozen garlic, but it probably exists. The jarred stuff has a texture I find unappealing (which would no doubt vanish in cooking, however), and takes up more room and costs a more than freezing your own; the occasional botulism issues associated with it pretty much put me off it all together.

Food companies are all about making money, it's no surprise that they're having R&D and marketing do their damndest to create something irresistible. And feeding children significant amounts of food that's going to damage their health is clearly irresponsible, unless it happens to be the only alternative to starvation. The thing is, if someone decides to have children, they're responsible for prioritizing their well-being, even if it involves a hell of lot of frequently thankless work. Regardless of what food companies do, parents, not food manufacturers, are responsible for most of what their kids eat. No one want to see their kid's eyes well up with tears, or have a screaming meltdown (depending on the kid's preferred negotiating style) because they want to eat a bucketload of crap and the parent is saying NO, but that's just part of being parent. Can I see decent parents caving in and letting a kid eat maybe one of these a month? Sure. Nothing wrong with occasional crap. If these showed up in a kid's lunch box several times a week, I'd start wondering about the parents (Are they silly/weak enough to really believe their kid when she says 'I hate you!' because of the lunch choices? Do they simply not think their kid's health is worth the hassle of arguing about lunch?) For Lunchables to be cheaper than making an analogous lunch from scratch, the quality is just not going to be good. Plus, the ones with fruit are only ones that don't look guaranteed to to give Junior a promising head start on chronic constipation.

I use this one (http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Signature-Series-Digital/dp/B002SC3LLS) I don't believe that scale would have the precision for MC@H gelato though. I ended up spending several hours last night looking at scales. I found one that would measure 0.01 gram up to a kg. It was about $200 however. And for that I could get a pressure cooker. But it would let me use one scale for all my kitchen needs. I gave up on the idea of mg scales as they are too expensive. I'm looking to get my hands on one of the Jenning models, which are priced very comfortably; definitely not $200! I have one of their models, and it's extremely accurate (I just need another with greater precision, for really small amounts).

I've heard of, but don't think I've ever seen them, and from the silly name I thought they were already for kids... no? And I could look at the company's web site, but it's more fun for me to think that rather than water, Lunchables previously included little bottles of Four Roses or Thunderbird.

Hm, that seems pretty close to what you can find in the US too. The particoloured mayhem that you find is in some places is just gimmick (to my mind, like ice cream shops that feature bubble gum and Smarties flavours), but doesn't define US doughnuts; in their basic forms, they're what you describe.

Leaving aside the spellings (which I thought was one of those advert-y things, like 'lite'), isn't there at least signficant overlap (unlike 'biscuits' or 'muffins')? I've never had a do[ugh]nut in the UK, but I didn't think that two very different things were involved, and so far, I no one has said 'Krispy Kreme? That's not a doughnut... THIS is a doughnut!' (imagine images here).

The could have been made via spherification, but (depending on how big these things actually are), they might just be a water-based liquid that beaded up on the surface.

Why do you even discuss this stuff with him ? Deeply conditioned democratic reflex? Grotesque delusions regarding my persuasive abilities? We're looking at stainless 1/6 pans, and he has this eager gleam in his eye. I'm searching for a ready-made knock box that closely resembles an insert.

Following a conversation with my boyfriend (which anyone seeing from a distance would have interpreted as my giving him the bad news that he had a day and a half to live, and would feel queasy and itchy the entire time), it seems like a designated knock box is not going to happen, but at the mention of a stainless steel insert, he perked up again. Clearly, a metal drill and carpentry need to be involved. Edward J, would you mind having a go at posting an image of yours?

I'm on the lookout for a knock box (or something that will work as one), since the pretty little wooden box my boyfriend made for this purpose has succumbed to a combination of violent blows and pesistent humidity (I was not surprised). Given the fairly hefty pounding these things are subjected to, sturdy construction seems like a must, but since I'm having a lot of trouble finding these in shops, I've been looking online, and am a little concerned, since you can't tell from images whether or not they're well made; the couple I've actually seen in person looked a litttle flimsy/prone to tipping over. So, I'd love to hear about any units you particularly recommend (or would warn against, for that matter). Also, anyone using something that is not a dedicated knock box, which has turned out to be a great solution? Thanks! M.

I've made experiments with cooking down milk or adding powdered milk to regular milk, and liked the results, although I've never done this with any degree of precision (I have some recolleciton of reduging the lik to half its original volume), so I can't offer a recipe. The mouthfeel is less unctous, but the consistency and flavour release seem similar. Of course, it isn't panna cotta any longer, but 'latte cotto'doesn't have the same ring. I also tried making a panna cotta using coconut cream. Not sure where it went wrong, but it was vile.

We ate at several places when we were in Berlin last July, but the one I remember best is Peking Ente. I don't know whether we just happened to be there when they were having a good night, but the food was really good. The route there will make you feel like you're in the middle of a Monty Python sketch, and it gets crowded pretty quickly, so if you do eat there, I recommend going early.

I figure that part of being a geek is being willing, able, and tending to become unhealthily excited about MacGyvering equipment, from, you know, a pair of pantyhose and some duct tape or something, so I'd say being a food geek doesn't mean you need equipment, but it makes it fairly likely that you'll have it, whether you've made it yourself, or purchased it ready-made. My fondness for minimalism is constantly at war with my appreciation of really well-made objects and beautifully functioning tools. When I've lived on my own, I've been able to keep my 'equipment' down to a small pot, cup, bowl, dagger, spoon, and chopsticks. Now, we have a good sized collection of equipment sitting in storage boxes, awaiting our having a kitchen again. Inevitably, some was unpacked, since life just sucked without it (the Silvia, the grinder), but things seem to have added themselves to the collection, despite the fact that there's almost no place to put them: a vacuum sealer, couple of silicone baking mats, an iSi whipper, an oval Dutch oven, chocolate moulds. My boyfriend has had a fondness for tools/things with buttons and switches of every description since before he was able to talk, and in the face of that, my ascetic half didn't stand a chance. Not sure whether I'm a geek. Although 'geek' has pretty much lost any stigma it had a couple decades back, I wouldn't describe myself as a geek, since that's what the kids who also enjoyed punching me during recess called me, but pretty much everyone I know seems to describe me that way, so I guess..? I just do things. Then wipe/scrape up the mess

Airbrush.

My SOP: Assemble and prep. all the stuff that's going into the pot (meat, vegetables, herbs, spices, booze, etc.) Preheat the oven to 125C/255F, and briefly heat a Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot/pan (I sometimes use a big heavy saute pan) over medium. Brown any root vegetables and onions, adding garlic (if you're using it) right at the end, so it gets about a minute; remove to a bowl. Turn the temperature up to medium high, and brown the meat. Kill heat, and add the vegetable back to the pot, then add herbs and spices. Mix this a bit, then add broth to about halfway up the meat; I add booze at this point, a splash of rum, vodka or akvavit, or a glass of sherry or port. Scrape the fond from the bottom, put the lid on, and put the the pot in the oven. I check every hour or so, to see that the liquid level hasn't dropped significantly. Depending on the thickness of the meat, it may be ready at any time between 1.5 and 5 hours. Something like pork shoulder I'd give at least 3 hours. I don't use a thermometer, since the temperature won't tell you how tender the meat is (and my sister still hasn't got around to sending over my Thermapen). Once the meat has reached the consistency you want, you can finish it in the oven, removing the lid and letting the heat and dry air reduce the cooking liquid and brown the meat (turn the heat up, and keep a close eye on progress). You can also take the meat out of the oven, and do your reduction on the stovetop. Once you get the hang of it, you can figure on half an hour of preliminary work, then the oven does the rest.

Just apropos point 1: I don't know whether I once saw somebody do this (and forgot), or it just makes sense, but I flick my knife over, and use the spine to move what I've cut. Dragging the blade that way would have to dull it.

I found one recipe without condensed milk on epicurious: http://www.epicuriou...rfect-Flan-1902. I've never tried it, so I've no idea of how reliable it is. I searched for [flan recipe] (also [flan receitas], to see what the Spanish-language offerings included), and although there are some recipes without condensed milk, most do use it. According to the Cook's Illustrated web site (originally published July 2006), it is possible to make a substitute for condensed milk (397 g); I've converted the measurements to metric weights: * In a saucepan, combine 355 ml (180 g) milk powder and 118 ml (123 g) whole or 2% milk; whisk until very smooth, about 1 minute. * Whisk in 133g sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract (I think this might actually be more useful without the vanilla), and cook over low heat, whisking constantly until the sugar and milk powder dissolve, about 5 minutes. * Cool before using (whisk again just prior to using, to make sure it is perfectly smooth). * This may be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

I have to say I was very pleased with the results of adding rum to bean cooking water, to the extent that when I do a side-by-side, I'm planning on making the no-booze control batch as small as possible, since those have tended to not turn out as well. Jaymes, it sounds like I need to start experimenting with beer in cooking water; that sounds really good.

In a lot of countries (not just France) horse meat is sold openly, and isn't regarded as unusual (e.g. in Italian supermarkets, packets of horse bresaola sit beside the ones made from cows, it's just one more type of sandwich meat). I've eaten it, it's fine, tastes a bit like beef, a little sweeter. Have to say my feelings on horse meat itself are essentially neutral. Horse meat as such shouldn't be much of problem, since over the millennia, people all over the world have cheerfully eaten it (including in the UK, e.g. "They eat horses, don't they?" Susanna Forrest, The Telegraph, 13 January 2013). Mislabelling it – I wish this went without saying – is clearly unethical, as well as illegal. On the other hand, the presence of drugs harmful to humans is a significant problem, and if the animals in question were not raised for consumption, that's a legitimate and reasonable cause for concern (but this is a broad issue that is hardly exclusive to horse meat).

After reading the article, which mentions that Zilmax was originally developed as a drug to treat asthma in humans, I did a search to see what side-effects it has, and there seem to be no current references to this use. Now I'm wondering whether it has been pulled for human use for any reason (I checked for the compound name, zilpaterol hydrochloride, in hopes of getting a broader overview). Anyone else find something in google scholar?

I recommend Unmentionable Cuisine. This is arguably a bizarre cook book (it does have recipes), but despite its provocative title it's a good read, and I'm fairly certain it's nowhere near as controversial today as it was when it first came out (the gist of it is that one culture's 'weird/gross' is another's bog standard fare).

Shaoxing wine is relatively interchangeable with medium-dry sherry. No idea where you would get a meshuval version of that. Chinkiang black vinegar might be tough. Maybe try a combo of regular white wine vinegar and balsamic. You will get the acid but the taste will definitely be different. . . . . Since both chinkiang vinegar and shaoxing wine are made from rice, not grapes (unlike balsamic vinegar), wouldn't those be kosher (apart from at Passover), unless the rice is likely to have been full of insects when it's processed?