patrickamory

I have been thinking it would be nice to have a carbon-steel Sabatier, for some reason.

I was tempted but I don't have the counter space. And we've pretty much perfected cooking on the stove for various rices: - Carolina rice - the Julia Child method (salt, double water, stir, boil, stir, cover tightly, simmer 12 minutes, then sit 2 minutes with the flame off, fluff - wooden implement essential) - Jasmine rice - the Kasma method (rice to halfway metal bowl on a vegetable steamer in a stockpot over water, pour boiling water to 1/4-1/2" on top, steam for 25 minutes - longer if you like) - Sticky rice - ditto (soak rice overnight, place in Thai sticky rice steamer over water, cover and steam for 15 minutes) - Basmati rice (rinse 5 times in warm water, bring pot of water to boil and drop rice in, let it cook and strain it) - Persian rice, yields a tahdig (rinse 5 times in warm water, bring 2-1 water, let it come to the boil together, simmer for 20 minutes until water is gone, put oil or ghee on top, cover and simmer for 40 minutes) We make these so frequently that they don't feel like an imposition. And it's actually enjoyable. Furthermore Kasma strongly recommends against using a rice cooker for Thai rices - she says it makes them mushy on the bottom. I haven't tried this, simply reporting.

Jenni, Mjx - it is absolutely unfair and awful, but it is highly unlikely to change soon. Laws here are a patchwork across municipalities, states and the federal government, and there is no one-size-fits-all for this kind of thing It's really not that difficult to deal with - just mentally add 20% to the prices. Which are in general much lower than most Western countries anyway.

I am 100% certain that this is true! There was a 3-page post on tipping in the Village Voice food blog today: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2011/10/how_much_to_tip.php

Fair enough, I should have been more specific. I sloppily use the term carving knife to mean "big knife."

Can't speak for eG as a whole, but I hunt it down and remove it (same as I do with venison); I've always understood that if left in, especially if the leg is from an older animal, it can make for an aroma that is beyond just 'gamey'. I think this is why I sometimes enjoy lamb shank and sometimes find it inedible. I prefer it with the gland removed. A friend made an amazing braised version once and she'd bought it at a halal butcher, where perhaps they remove the gland as standard?

It's a Togiharu chef's knife. I think it's the Inox steel Santoku, 7" long. I use it for nearly everything, way more chopping than actual carving, though we do always use it to carve roast chicken.

Surely, which is why they're a good choice if you're looking for up-close-and-personal hunting weapons. Seriously, though... carving cooked joints of meat is a different game. They don't cut back, do they ? Haha, loved your post at the link! Agreed that it's a different game, but to me it's about the sharpness and the balance, which I assume have been preserved but in a different form for a different purpose. All I can say is that it's night & day compared to the Wusthof Tridents that I treasured for years. And it's not just for carving meat - I use my carving knife for vegetables, fish, fruit or anything else. There is no knife I'd rather use. Totally in love with it.

What is egullet's position on the gland-removal issue?

Me too, along with Mounds. Unfortunately either they've changed or I've changed.

Interesting observation... but they did have a tradition of carving up human beings. Don't some of the most prestigious Japanese knife makers trace their origins to pre-Meiji Restoration sword makers?

Ida Davidsen's sandwich (smørrebrød) restaurant in Stockholm is one of my favorite lunch spots in the world.

Always wanted to check out this place...

There's a great recipe for a yogurt relish with shredded apple, toasted black cumin seeds and grated ginger in Foods of India.

Someone got me this knife as a birthday present two years ago and it changed my life. It's the only knife I use: http://korin.com/Togiharu-Inox-Steel-Santoku?sc=22&category=52099 I have a full set of Wusthofs sitting in a knife block that only get used when I need a small knife or two people are chopping.

Julie Sahni recommends 20-25 minutes for evenly browning onions for most Indian dishes, and I've found that is about right. Requires good cutting skills for evenly sized pieces, and nearly constant stirring. Many other writers e.g. Madhur Jaffrey underestimate the length of time required. I learned the hard way not to try to caramelize anything in a Le Creuset, eventually found the confirmation in a Richard Olney cookbook. Do it in an all-clad or similar pan.

ojisan - that does make a big difference. If only I'd done that earlier - and I'd actually noticed that Millser was coming up as Mirusa in Google Translate. I should have Googled "Iwatani Mirusa" and then I would have found one of those exporters that specialize in shipping Japanese goods to the US (with consequent VAT savings, I'm guessing). I've actually used them before for buying audio equipment, but they weren't coming up under "Iwatani Millser." Instead I've bought what I hope will be a new 800DG via a Japan proxy bidder site from Yahoo Auctions Japan. Spent a few more dollars. Hope it was the right move - fingers crossed, will report back when it arrives.

Thanks Blether. The 800DG from Amazon definitely looks better, and the price is right. They say they won't ship overseas, but I bet I can find a proxy who will handle it. Thanks again!

Blether, what is your opinion of this Millser? I can buy it via a proxy from Yahoo Auctions Japan. Good for my purposes? http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m84658409

Mandatory tipping is indeed an American phenomenon, but as someone who has grown up in both the US and UK, I really can't agree with this assessment on service. Service has improved dramatically in the UK over the past 15-20 years, but it really can't compare to most places in the US. In the various European countries, there are vast differences in quality - France and Italy have a tradition of great service; in Berlin in 1989, I experienced some of the worst I've ever experienced. Across the US of course there are great variations as well, from state to state as well as from city to city. The variations depend on local cultural norms as well as the financial expectations outlined above - from California's progressive laws, to states and municipalities that allow server salaries starting at some fraction of the minimum wage. And against that, professional waiters at Manhattan's top restaurants who can expect to earn in the 6 digits including tips. Generalizations, whether in the US or Europe (or, I suspect, Asia), serve nobody in this debate.

Blether - I've come across references to the Millser in posts from Japanese people, but it does not seem to be available in the US. Kerry - thanks for the ebay link to the Little Pro Plus!

http://www.amazon.com/Oster-2-Speed-250-Watt-Blender-Silver/dp/B0000AZUW9 Maybe they sell a sturdier version in Canada? Thanks again everyone. rotuts, I'm still a bit wary of buying a coffee grinder for wet ingredients, but maybe I'll give that a try - it's certainly cheap enough. So the Cuisinart mini-prep is just too flimsy, is that the consensus? I've done some searching on the Little Pro Plus but with no luck. Any other options out there? If not, I'll start by sending away for the Kitchen Aid coffee grinder and report back how that goes.

Further to this, investigating the suggestions so far - It looks to me like the two recommendations from rotuts are for dry-grinding - do you find them okay for wet ingredients? The first is explicitly a coffee grinder. The Cuisinart 15-piece compact from Panaderia Canadiense looks attractive for the many cups - I could whip up a batch of chopped shallot in one, then a batch of chopped galangal in another, and a batch of garlic in a third, without having to clean the container each time - is that correct? However one of the Amazon reviews says: "you have to add liquid, it's not a food processor". That comment was in reference to making purees, but if the ingredients are quickly whipped up to stick to the sides up the cup so that you have to scrape them down or add liquid to get them back to the blades, that's not ideal... That Oster gets a huge number of one-star reviews on Amazon for its flimsiness, but perhaps people are trying to use it to crush ice or similar for smoothies? At this point, the Cuisinart mini-prep recommended by JAZ and Country (whoops, sounds like a radio station!) looks like my best option... unless people have more suggestions of course, or if I'm not fully understanding the other recommendations. Thanks again everyone!

Wow fast response. Thanks for all the recommendations - I'm going to check them out. (My current large blender, which hardly ever gets used, is a 1940s or '50s Waring model that does not fit a mason jar. I really should throw it out, except that it's so cool looking.)

I own a full-size Cuisinart and an Ultra Pride+ wetgrinder, but I'd like a small blender/grinder as well, primarily to mince ingredients to prepare them for the wetgrinder's pounding action - the big food processor is too large for this purpose. I live in a small NYC apartment and don't want a full-size blender. This is not for dry ingredients - I use a spice (coffee) grinder for those. (Note: I'm not looking to make smoothies - this thing doesn't have to be industrial.) The Bamix wand plus processor attachment looks perfect, but I don't want to spend $450. Also, I'm not particularly interested in a stick blender. The small grinder in an Indian mixie such as the Asia Kitchen Machine also looks perfect, but there doesn't seem to be a way to get just the small one - you need to buy the entire machine, and they are huge and expensive! I used to own a Braun Multimix but it broke quickly twice. It's also not easy to store, since the pieces are so awkwardly shaped. I'd love something perhaps the same size or slightly larger than a coffee grinder that can be used for wet ingredients such as garlic, lemongrass, shallots, maybe one medium-sized onion, etc. Any suggestions? I've searched the forums and can't come up with any up-to-date recommendations besides the Bamix + processor attachment.