Mjx

Alkermes! Actually purchased a couple of days ago, but didn't have much chance to get online while on holiday.

I'm a little curious about which locations you mean, and the source of information regarding indifference to organic food. I just Google "life span/expectance by country" dcarch But those are predictions, extrapolations based on trends, and still don't indicate anything about the food consumed by the portion of a given country's population that actually reaches anything close to that age.

While objectivity can't be overemphasized, to be fair, a lot of people do have fairly visceral reactions when it comes to food, and I'm not so sure what percent of consumers (even eG members) are on board with the nose-to-tail thing. I mentioned up-thread that the actual anatomical portions involved don't particularly trouble me, but I should add that the fact that the pathogen count is evidently so high that ammonia is deemed necessary in processing it is bit disturbing. And I'm with pretty much everyone who noted that, at the very least, they want to know what they're eating; sometimes you feel like a nut (sorry, 'testicle'), sometimes... you don't

I'm a little curious about which locations you mean, and the source of information regarding indifference to organic food.

Thanks! I'm thinking of experimenting with alchermes to colour some of the layers.

No, definitely not - according to the same source. Also, according to KA, it doesn't last more than a week or two in the fridge. I'd venture to disagree, although in principle, it should be true. The thing is, fresh yeast is more vulnerable to temperature variation. It also is often packaged in nice little blocks, which are universally attractive to small children (I've noticed this in the US, Denmark, and Italy, anyway), who like to pick one out to carry about the shop, until a parent notices, confiscates it, and sets it on the nearest shelf. There's just no way of knowing whether the yeast has been kept within the ideal temperature range: if it's spent a couple of days on a warmish shelf, obscured by a tin of beans, it may not be in great shape.

Yes, every time, now. But I only started after my first batch of 'dead' dough; even then, I was a kind of on again/off again about proofing yeast... until the second batch of dead dough. Then I became very conscientious about it. However, I do bake a lot of bread, so statistically, the odds of my getting a dud batch of yeast are increased. Dead dough is salvageable (it does add substantially to the time needed to finish the bread), but if you're slated to bring the bread for a dinner party or something, it can be a minor crisis. Even if it turns out to be unnecessary 99.999% of the time, proofing only adds a couple of minutes to the overall time (I can't imagine anyone baking bread when an added minute or two, or even ten, is just not an option; I admit to usually only waiting for the earliest signs of yeast activity, rather than a full bloom), and, at least if you're counting on having the bread ready at a specific time, it sure beats the drill surrounding adding more (live) yeast to the dough because the original yeast is moribund, or the slight letdown of running out to the bakery to get a stand-in for your bread.

Ooo... How large are the cakes this recipe yields? It doesn't say what size pan is used, what size did you go with?

ATK's The Best Recipe claims to have nailed it (it isn't one of their recipes I've tried, but so far, I've found them consistently reliable), have you tried that one yet? An approximately two-page discussion of their efforts precedes the recipe, so it gives a clear idea of the effect of various tweaks, which is the sort of thing that comes in handy, if their idea of perfection differs from yours.

Looks good to me, too. I grew up with it, and this is pretty much what I expect and demand.

I'm feeling a bit shy about saying that I (+1) really hope to be in on this, since our plans to make it this year were a complete bust, but I'm feeling hopeful, since the +1 is talking enthusiastically about setting up a fund for this, starting now (among other things, he saw the pictures). Anyone know what the closest international airport happens to be?

My boyfriend is dying to get the Gaggenau model SJMitch mentions above (to match the regular Gaggenau we already have), but even though I bake bread at least once a week, I have doubts. My boyfriend mentioned 'steamed vegetables/other things!' I had to point out that it makes more sense to use a steamer basket for a minute on the stovetop, and he hates most steamed things. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it seems like using a steam oven for many of the suggested/possible uses isn't that great: I can't see my way to firing up the oven for 15 minutes to heat leftovers, either, but that may have more to do with the sort of leftovers we usually have, which are easily heated very quickly on the stovetop. But if I could get that steam oven for free, I'd consider it worth it for baking bread

There's also the option of smoked salt. Got a small jar of it as a gift a couple of years back, and ignored it, since it struck me as silly, but recently ran out of salt, and had only the smoked stuff... it's fantastic. Extremely smoky, so even a small pinch adds smoke without oversalting (I've even tried a pinch in my coffee; quite good).

Trout, straight from the creek (Western NY). If I'm picking up something from the shop, then I'd say monkfish.

I've been really happy with all the recipes I've used from Rossetto Kasper's The Splendid Table (Emilia Romagna).

Agreed, but using a screen doesn't seem like a shortcut so much as an alternative. Just to get an idea of your point of departure, what characteristics are you aiming for, when you make a pizza?

I've never had a pizza stick to whatever it was baked on, so I'm not getting the non-stick argument for the screen. I can't imagine that heat transfer through a screen would ever be such that you'd get those charred spots on the underside of the dough (but you may not want that). The only real advantage I can see to a screen is that, being lighter, it would be easier to remove the pizza from the oven on the baking surface, but since a peal is pretty easy to get hold of in NYC, this seems a minor advantage.

Layered with white? What did it taste of?

No seriously, the CDC site is pretty accessible: The overviews are meant for everybody to read, and although they don't go into as much detail as the monographs and articles, they're comprehensive and useful (plus a great way to pass a rainy afternoon when you realize your mood is too cheerful, and you want to do something about it). I didn't find anything on the site (yet) that specifically addressed thick glop in tinned legumes, but I'll bet there's something in there!

Damn. That duck prosciutto is impressively beautiful and delicious-looking.

Pink slime was my thought, too.

Boiling won't destroy all bacterial toxins (although it is effective on one of the most common offenders in preserved foods, botulinum toxin), but even heat stable toxins are destroyed when cooked long enough at a high enough temperature. It's certainly a good idea to carefully boil tinned goods for ten minutes or more, before eating. Leaving aside the fact that the wikipedia article only states that these toxins remain stable at temperatures up to 100C (not at any temperature), wikipedia is not particularly reliable: anyone can edit it, anyone can make mistakes, and there isn't enough fact checking/copyediting. The statement about toxin stability doesn't even cite a source. Reliable (even if only for self-interested motives), original sources such as the CDC's website are a better bet: If wikipedia screws up, its an 'oops!'; if the CDC or a similar cite blows up on its facts, it's a multimillion dollar lawsuit.

Heat does destroy most (including botulinum toxin), if not all bacterial toxins; the cdc.gov site (hardly casual about foodborne illenss; e.g it recommends throughly cooking sprouts) adresses the prevention of foodborne illness, both briefly, in their overviews (www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/diseases/) and in individual monographs, also available on their site. The thing is, just getting things hot doesn't do the trick: You need to keep a rolling boil for a decent chunk of time to be reasonably certain. And if something looks dodgy, it isn't worth taking chances. I buy as few tinned/preserved/vacuum-packed things as possible, and use them immediately. Then, if something looks like it's gone to hell, I go back to the shop with it (yeh, they love me), I've still got the receipt.

If you have any friends in France who take cooking seriously (or friends who know people who take a cooking seriously), they might have some great suggestions. I'm afraid the first (and only) thing that came to mind is Dumas' Encyclopedia, not exactly contemporary cooking or detailed recipes.

Offhand, I'd say the gloop was gelatinized starch, but it could also have indicated some sort of bacterial growth (lots of nasties, e.g. C. botulinum, have no smell, that's never a safe indicator). I've come across tinned legumes of various sorts where the liquid had gone thick, and rinsed them well, then brought them to a boil in enough water to cover, and boiled them for 10+ minutes (I routinely do an extended boil for pretty much all vacuum packed/tinned goods goods, regardless). According to the CDC's downloadable Botulism Manual (1998), 'Botulinum toxin can be inactivated by heating to 176°F (80°C). Therefore, heating home-canned foods before consumption can reduce the risk of botulism intoxication.'); I've never had any problems. However, if in doubt (and botulism isn't the only possible pathogen, you can spend heaps of time freaking yourself out, investigating the CDC site), it can't hurt to err on the side of caution, and toss them.