avaserfi

So true. It seems so many people want to skip to 'the best part', but each volume is loaded with information even when it seems like the information might be common knowledge they MC team tries to go above and beyond, often succeeding. Start from the beginning and enjoy the entire set.

Sounds like you visited Red Blossom in SF? Like with other beverages, I think connoisseurs may value different things than casual drinkers, who might value lack of bitterness or astringency, and presence of sweetness or certain kinds of tastes. Some of the things that many tea drinkers I know value (I don't advocate a really clinical way of evaluating tea -- I don't think you need to take notes and look for all of these exact characteristics; they're just things to look out for): Texture or thickness - people sometimes talk about the "tea base". A tea might need time for a roast to calm down, or, in the case of pu'er and other post-fermented teas, might need time to mellow out or recover from very humid storage. But many people will say that the tea base is something you can't easily "fake". However, being able to tell when a tea is thick, whether from the texture in your mouth or from the appearance of the brewed tea, is not always easy. Aftertaste - For oolongs, especially, the aftertaste is very important. Aroma - Again, this is especially important with oolongs, to the point where some people use special aroma cups. While I don't personally usually do this, you can enjoy the smell in the empty tasting cup, under the gaiwan lid, as well as the smell from the brewed tea. Feeling in the mouth / throat - the way the tea makes your mouth and throat feel. Visual appearance of the tea - while a good tea isn't bad simply because it's cloudy, most tea should have a clear appearance when brewed. The color will obviously depend on the processing of the tea. Some people are also very interested in the way drinking a tea makes them feel. This can get a little more esoteric, but I do think it's important. A good tea will often make you feel relaxed and comfortable, whereas another tea might make you feel more anxious or agitated. Call me a wacko, but I don't think it's as simple as the amount of caffeine. As far as some external resources, two tea friends of mine have some sites which I think allude to some of the subjects above: http://marshaln.com/ http://myteastories.com/ You can also check out http://teachat.com/ - it's a forum owned by a tea vendor, but they take a pretty hands-off approach, and many serious tea folks do hang out there, and you should be able to get some good tea / vendor recommendations. Also, make sure to use good water. Water is "the mother of tea", and some teas may work better with one water than another. Mountain spring water with some mineral content, but not too much, is what most tea lovers I know prefer. Filtered tap water may also work well, depending on where you live and what type of filtration system (reverse-osmosis will take basically everything out, so it's not ideal). And pre-heat your brewing and drinking vessels. There are some good "daily drinkers" out there, if you just want something that tastes pretty good and isn't overly astringent or bitter. But, if you think about it, even higher priced teas are a pretty good value - depending on your brewing style you can make quite a bit of tea with a fairly small amount of tea leaf. It was Red Blossom. I don't always take notes, but I have noticed I tend to learn more about tea (or other food/beverage) styles and brewing habits/results by taking notes. If I did it constantly the practice would get old, but occasionally I use it to learn about the food or beverage I have. Also, it can be interesting to use as a tool to track changes in my palette or the food/beverage being consumed. Thanks for the info. I have some reading to do.

I've recently started trying to learn more about tea on a recent trip I picked up a Wuyi Oolong - Heritage Aigiao and a Pu-erh - Grand Shou 1997. Along with those I picked up an inexpensive gawain and have been doing some experimentation and tastings, much like I would with coffee. I take notes, pay more attention and am enjoying the experience while learning. I did grow up in a tea drinking family, the tea was a very different experience in terms of flavor and treatment. This has encouraged me to start learning more about teas as I never really noticed how different they are and complex they can be. That said, does anyone have a good suggestion for a few interesting 'daily drinkers' which aren't too expensive? The two I got above weren't cheap, but I was on a trip and I got a couple ounces of each as souvenirs. Also, I'm curious aside from the obvious taste what are indicators of high vs low quality tea? Any reading suggestions for someone newly interested in this world?

"Cheating?" I originally got my chile verde recipe from my Mexican neighbor and it and every other chile verde, salsa verde etc., recipe includes tomatillos. They make a pickled sauce using just chiles, but it is a flavoring condiment, not the dish itself. I don't think that tomatillos "dilute" the flavor, they enhance it in its many variations throughout Mexico where the seasonings change, from region to region, but the base is always chiles (often poblano with other, hotter peppers), tomatillos and onions. The local produce market has Hatch chiles and they showed up at three different vendors at the farmers' market yesterday. As I said in a later post hyperbole! I love tomatillos, but for me, the perfect chili verde doesn't need them "authentic" or not. I would expect the the rendition of chili verde I make is more of a Southwestern variation than one found in a region of Mexico. Care to share a link to your recipe? Maybe I can be converted.

Cheating????? I employed some hyperbole, but I still think tomatillos are a no-no in chile verde . All the green and base flavor comes from Hatch chiles when I make it. I think tomatillos end up diluting the flavor of a great chile. When making chile verde I use a ton of roasted green chiles, pork shoulder, onion, garlic, Mexican oregano and pork stock. I don't think it needs anything else.

This is my favorite time of year! Hatch season. I hate the weather, but love the chiles it brings. I saw some very early in the season and picked up 10 or so pounds. I'll get more soon enough. The first thing I make is a one year supply of chili verde. I don't use anything but hatch chiles for the base. No cheating with tomatillos here. Then I roast the rest and freeze them before skinning and seeding. The skin protects the chiles from freezer burn for year round access.

I'll be trying out your recipe within the hour. Thanks. You are certainly determined. I am interested in hearing about your results/thoughts.

That's pretty much what I do. 54.4C until cooked through and crisp the skin in the oven. Works perfectly.

I've been on a similar journey, but I had some luck starting with a base recipe from a Vietnamese friends father who has been making pho for years. Of course, the base recipe was a little vague, but I worked with it to make a bowl I am very happy with. I think the use of a pressure cooker really helps the stock develop full flavor. A higher ratio of meat/bones to water can be used to intensify the stock's mouth feel and flavor, but I tried to balance the stock intensity to avoid overwhelming the other flavors. It may not be exactly what you are looking for, but hopefully it can give you a good reference point. http://www.consumedgourmet.com/2011/05/pho.html

I just visited their shop for the first time as well. I grew up in a tea drinking family and was excited to expand my knowledge on the subject. I found the staff helpful and well informed. I walked away with a Heritage Aijiao Wuyi Oolong and Grand Shou Pu-erh from 1997 for myself along with gifts for a couple friends/family. Now I've got a lot more learning to do.

I recently went to an In-N-Out for the first time while in CA and ordered a double double animal style. The cashier didn't have a clue what I asked for. I got a blank stare then she asked me what I wanted. I repeated myself to no avail, she just asked if I wanted onions on the burger. So I got a double double with onions. Maybe it was the lack of the animal style burger, but I was very underwhelmed.

I just got back from a trip to SF. We ended up not doing any high end fine dining, but ate very well. Boccalone in the Ferry building for lunch is a great place for a hot sandwich or to grab a cold one for the plane ride home. Miette in the Ferry has some fun desserts as well. Incanto was very pleasant. Great service, good sized portions and everything was well prepared. farm:table is a nice small joint for breakfast. Simple, but done well. Katanaya Ramen had some very good ramen. We ended up going here twice because it was right next to our hotel. Red Blossom Tea Company had a wonderful tea selection and very knowledgeable staff. Tartine is well known and for a reason. Good bread and pastries, but a little pricey. I still think it is worth it, they had one of the best croissants I have ever eaten. Burma Super Star was a real surprise and seemed to be a local hot spot. I needed to find a meal near Golden Gate Park and came across this little restaurant. There was a 40 minute wait in the cold and it was worth every second. Great food, remarkable service. Cotogna was the only let down of the week. We had 9:45 pm (kitchen closes at 11) reservations on a Wednesday and the place was very full and loud. The service was pretty good, but none of the dishes we had were salted properly. The vinaigrette salad had little to no seasoning while everything else was under salted significantly, as if the cooks in the kitchen and whoever was at the pass were not tasting as they worked. For the record I have no affiliation with any of these establishments and went to each one only once unless otherwise noted. If anyone wants further elaboration on the meals or places discussed above just ask.

Has anyone ever run into a situation where an item did not fit in the chamber? Is it possible to use a chamber vacuum sealer as an edge sealer in this case?

I just finished my bottle of Glenlivet Nadurra and am looking to really branch out and try something new. I've mostly had various lower end whisky - primarily entry Glenlivet and Johnnie Walker black, but not much else. I typically budget about $50ish a bottle because I can't justify spending too much more. Does anyone have some good recommendations on what I should look for? I don't really know too much about different brands etc. Right now I am learning, but mostly enjoying a drink every so often.

Picture of the tomato confit: After making the veal stock I had a little of the tomato confit left over, so I made some veal Parmesan. I used reverse spherification on a mozzarella mixture, served with some of the tomato confit and then a little tomato water which was leftovers from the confit.

You could soak the bananas in a mixture of Calcium Hydroxide. According to cooking issues it cross links the pectin making the bananas hold up much better to cooking. http://www.cookingissues.com/#Magic_Mineral

Can anyone who has one measure actual temperature vs set temperature next time they use it? Also, is 450F the highest setting or can it go to 500F?

I have been eying this oven for a long while, it looks like a nice alternative to using a full sized oven. I have had a couple hesitations besides the price: My understanding is the maximum temperature is 450F and that some users (in Amazon reviews) report it doesn't reach the temperature it is set to, but Breville claims it cooks "like it is at this temperature." The reviews state otherwise, but of course others claim it works very well. I have seen the unit in person and it seems to be well built and designed, but I have never gotten to use one.

The material isn't the issue so much as its coarseness (or lack of). Many steel honing rods are far too coarse and actually remove the edge rather than straightening it, but there are some high quality options that will work just fine. While using a hone that is too coarse does not do long term damage to a knife , it does remove the edge you are trying to restore. Ceramic hones are the cheapest quality option (I have a Idahone fine), but borosilicate is another good option.

I'm not sure about the quality of the sharpener you do have from what I have seen many of those systems will sharpen a knife (and do so well enough for some), but they do not work as well as a good wet/oil stone and some practice or sharpening jig such as the Edge Pro. Also, as a note, a steel does not actually sharpen a knife. It straightens (or hones) the blade. As you use a knife the edge gets slight bends away from a sharp point. The purpose of a steel is to straighten these bends, restoring the edge temporarily between sharpening. Combined use of both a steel and a proper sharpening regiment yields top quality knife care.

I made the tomato confit (5-62;6-179) and then used it to make the brown veal stock (2-300; 6-11). The tomato confit amounts to an exceptionally good dried tomato. I would certainly make it again, especially if I have access to an overage of tomatoes. I found it was easier to work with fleshier varieties and got a better yield from them as well. The veal stock was very straight forward and is full of flavor along with being velvety smooth and extremely rich. I need to decide what to do with it (it will be a while before I get to have more veal stock on hand). Does anyone have any suggestions? I haven't seen any recipes that call for veal stock in MC.

As promised, the recipe is here: http://www.consumedgourmet.com/2011/07/black-garlic.html

Has anyone done veal Parmesan and cooked the veal sous vide before breading and frying? I was thinking about giving it a shot, but am concerned with overcooking the thin cut of meat. To prevent overcooking, I was going to sous vide, chill in an ice bath, coat with and shallow fry in 232C/450F oil for about 30 seconds until browned and warmed through.

So if i put like half a pot full of onions and salt butter, the onions will release enough liquid to cook on high pressure before scorching? I know theres is ton of moisture in onions. Gotta try soon, not want to use 5-8 hours of cooking onions again for Kellers Onion soup, as good as it is Yeah, they should (I can't make any promises though, I haven't done it), but make sure to melt the butter before adding the onions. The butter provides the initial cooking liquid until the onions exude more. Also, the baking soda is an essential component to pressure cooker caramelization. Try using 0.5% of the onion weight. Edited to add more information. Thanks, i will go and buy 4kgs of onions tomorrow. I would like to try the MC carrot soupe but havent found the complete receipt. You have a nice website btw. It might be beneficial to run a small trial before throwing all 4kg of onions in the pot. Maybe try to do a 0.5kg batch and see how you like it, then adjust if necessary. The technique is fast enough that it shouldn't be a problem.

So if i put like half a pot full of onions and salt butter, the onions will release enough liquid to cook on high pressure before scorching? I know theres is ton of moisture in onions. Gotta try soon, not want to use 5-8 hours of cooking onions again for Kellers Onion soup, as good as it is Yeah, they should (I can't make any promises though, I haven't done it), but make sure to melt the butter before adding the onions. The butter provides the initial cooking liquid until the onions exude more. Also, the baking soda is an essential component to pressure cooker caramelization. Try using 0.5% of the onion weight. Edited to add more information.