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is there any difference in buying already grounded beans VS buy non-grinded beans and grind at home? isn't the same since the goal is just to grind them into small pieces??

Is it available for Melbourne Australia??? I want to buy

The recipe is from the restaurant I work in. Proportion: meat mince 4kg : bread crumbs 480grams : milk 1.2kg (if my memory is right) + 1.6 blended onions I am mainly curious about what are the functions of each ingredients, I am not really satisfied with the result but I can't really change it since I don't think I am allowed to change it, I am not the boss =p Having said that, I am not sure whether it is intended or that's they way it should be... but I really feel the meat ball when finished is too soft. Too soft in the mouth, I personally don't feel this should be a good "meatball" feel. Previously I thought this "softness" was because of placing meatballs in a stew liquid overnight. Later I realised it's not that big difference. It's mainly the recipe because... as soon as I add eggs in the mince mixture... it becomes very "watery", "light" and "soft" The amount of eggs I add is about 9 eggs.

There's a meatball recipe I am using. And I am not sure what are the functions of some of the ingredients, please enlighten me =) Recipe and Method: Meat Mince *mix mix mix until the meat become "sticky" Add: onion blended *mix mix mix bread crumbs, add milk and let them soak up the milk *mix mix mix eggs *mix mix mix till all mixed up make ball shape -> deep fry -> place in a stew liquid -> boiled once -> cool down, leave in fridge overnight, reheat and serve. ******* What are the functions of bread crumbs + milk? Do they need to be mixed before adding to the mince or the crumbs can be added to mince by itself, then milk also by itself into the mince? ******* What is the function of eggs? (just to bind them together? But when the mince is mix properly, it's quite "sticky" already...shouldn't this already stop from breaking up during cooking?)

If the marinade liquid is...lets say 10kg, the food being marinated is 5kg. Then let's say the same recipe marinade liquid is 20kg, but the food is 5kg or less. Is it the same? if both the marinating duration is same. Same goes to Stew liquid....stew time is same, but the food being stewed is more or less, with the liquid being constant.

Also, regarding "the best" coffee... obviously I know it's very subjective and can be a personal thing of what is best coffees to them... however, there are still lots of common and accepted of what are great qualities of coffees....take a piece of steak for example, most people would agree if it's juicy, tender, good marbling ... gives a great steak. Of course there would be some of might prefer a chewy steak, etc... accordingly, I would love to know how to make "great" coffees, then I could adjust from that to suit my individual taste or make for my friends according to theirs =)

Sorry for the confusion, but I really haven't set myself a budget. I just thought if I spend money everyday, 1-2 coffees a day, the same amount of money I spend in a few months could have easily be spent on some equipment and coffee beans, then months and years following that, I will be saving a lot in the long run. What is Reasonable....I still don't really have one. I won't be spending thousands obviously, few hundreds probably seem a bit expensive, however, I am still quite open to possibly $250 max IF the equipment is well worth the price tag and has a long working life. For example, one time I went to a coffee shop and they sell syhpons for $150-$200 (if my memory serves me well), if syphons for example are the "best" method to make coffee and they last for quite a long time, then maybe this $200 could be well spent and in the meantime, it would also have saved me a lot of money for not needing to buy coffees EVERYDAY!

Firstly, thank you for all the input in the other post, I am still reading the responses and digesting them. From the other post, I wanted to save some money in the long run by not buying coffees outside (not completely not buying out, but not EVERYDAY lol). But I still wanted good coffees, I am willing to buy some reasonable priced equipment to make good coffees at home, and then possibly pour it into a thermo and bring to work or something.... ***** Now....speaking of making of good coffees, I guess I have to go back to the basics.... that is: How to make coffee out of those coffee beans? In cooking perspective: How long should I cook them in "water"? What the temperature should be? Does temperature matter? What should be the ratio of coffee to water to milk? etc.... ***** Then if making good coffees require XXX amount temperature, duration, ratio, .... then which equipment gives best results? And what are these equipment advantages and disadvantages? ***** Thanks =) (btw, I am going to a coffee shop now and going to do some work with a nice cup of coffee =) )

Hi people! I am in a hurry, so I make this quick =) I always buy coffee outside => costing me so much money overall. My goal is to save some money, but still trying to have good coffee, so I decided to make at home. My equipments: Filter paper, cooking pot, and cups...... how do I do it??? cheers

I do have very similar curiosity also. Not exactly your question but similar. I kept thinking that, most of the time, when we cook something, if we actually weight up the food before cooking, then weight it up again after it's cooked. It's very clear. It has lost weight. And usually, some water or liquid content is gone. I always think that, to compensate the water / juices being lost, if we could marinate the food in liquids, brines, juices, water to actually gain weight. Then cook. And the overall would be juicier than without marinating. But I still haven't experimented if there;s actually any weight gain by marinating. *** On a side note, I went to a Korean BBQ once and asked my friend who also likes cooking and he's Korean. I asked him what's the difference between marinated meat and a non-marinated meat, given same type and same piece of meat. He said marinated will be juicier. At least my mouth sensation agrees with what he said especially at the Korean BBQ meat we ate. I would imagine if the meat is not marinated and just grilled, more meat flavour, but less juices (some of these juices could be the marinated stuff?)

I think I am right though ok..... well, lets see... Clear soups are made from ichi ban dashi, right? Miso soups are made from ni ban dashi, right? Conclusion: Dashi for miso soups are "heavier" than clear soup dashi, agree? however.... I can NOT be more right than a Japanese company making their own powder stock!!!!

1gram hondashi powder in 150cc water if using for clear soup? hmmm.... i thought miso soup dashi should be heavier than clear soup dashi?

What do you mean by pre-made cold cooked rice? Cooked rice and then stored in fridge overnight? *** Thanks all of you for your inputs... After digesting all of your inputs, I think the best way(s) probably are (using natural stock): 1. use the stock / flavoured liquid to cook the rice, fridge overnight (dry up a bit) -> next day fried rice. or. 2. no stock use during wok / pan frying the rice, but make sure the ingredients being cooked with the fried rice are well flavoured. Maybe like one of you said, when cooking those ingredients, add a little stock like adding wine / sake / cherry to food. Then add rice, cook.... or 3. My method as on the original post: Modifying the add liquid stock to add reduced liquid stock, almost like adding soy sauce (may be more amount than soy sauce, but the idea is that it's still a liquid, but the amount is only relatively little and it wont make the rice mushy. agree?

I guess my original question can be broken down into: 1. What are the "things" that make those stewable meat tender when cooked for long time? 2. Whether the meat we usually don't stew like a tenderloin steak, also have those "things" -> if so, that means we also could stew them and make them more tender? I don't have a particular cut of meat that I am trying to make it more tender... I am just very curious. I am just very interested to know. And by this knowledge, I could be more creative, who knows, maybe I end up in Iron chef, and the food challenge is a piece of tenderloin, and maybe if I knew the meat can also go very tender after stewed, I could make a nice tenderloin soup? Just kidding, but I am quite curious, that's all. Speaking of meat, What are the reasons to cut across the grain? Only because it "wont be chewy"? And why cutting cross grain will make it not chewy?

I don't think it says on the box, that's why I would like to know *** The company is www.marumoto.co.jp but it has nothing about dashi recipe *** There's however some recipe, but I am a bit confused about them as I don't quite understand what they mean: 使用例 (Usage example?) | 1人分使用量 (portion / amount for 1 person?) みそ汁のだし (1人分 150cc) (miso sauces type dashi?) | 1g 吸物のだし (1人分 150cc) | 1g めん類のつけ汁 (1人分 50cc) (noodle type ... ?) | 1g めん類のかけ汁 (1人分 200cc) (noodle type ...?) | 2g おでんのだし (1人分 200cc) (oden? type dashi?) | 1g

Can we stew a piece of steak (or other lean meat) and make it tender? Stewing in general: those rough pieces of meat initially are quite tough when stewed, then keep stewing, and they become tender. If so, Can a piece of steak do that also? e.g. Can we stew a tenderloin steak to make it tender?

I am pretty good at making fried rice , I had been making since a kid because I love it. And it's easy. For the sake of discussion, let's just say I am going to make egg fried rice (eggs in small pieces), with seasoning. General method in Chinese fried rice (I know this is also in commercial kitchen but different kitchen may vary but still this is the general direction): Hot pan / wok -> egg (stir) -> add rice -> mix / cook -> chicken stock powder -> salt / soy saucee -> cook -> done. General method in Japanese fried rice: Hot pan -> egg (stir) -> add rice -> mix / cook -> hondashi powder -> salt, soy sauce -> cook -> done. My question: If I want to use natural stock, that means liquid stock, right? And so... when and how should I add the liquid stock in the cooking? I was thinking it may go like this: Hot Pan / wok -> egg (stir) -> add rice -> mix cook -> add liquid stock -> Waiting for the liquid to evaporate while infusing flavour to rice... keep waiting, keep waiting (a little like making risotto) but wait till the rice is dry again -> salt, soy sauce -> cook -> done? That easy? Anyone know how do people do it in commercial kitchen if they use liquid stock?

1. Ichi ban dashi: if a recipe for ichi ban dashi use 60g of katsuobushi, how much hondashi I need that would be equivalent to this amount? 2. Ni ban dashi: if a ni ban dashi recipe also need 60g of katsuobushi, how much is the equivalent hondashi?

make Hainanese chicken rice

Smaller the size, easier to dissolve, right? McGee on Food & Cooking p.641: It says table salt is the most dense salt, and it takes the longest to dissolve. p.643: Physical Properties of salt: Flake salts dissolve 4 to 5 times faster than granulated salt, and finely ground salt nearly 20 times faster. I thought, the smaller the size is, the faster it dissolve, no? Salt size and volume Very curious, those relatively more coarse size salt such as rock salt, sea salt ... when we pick up one individual salt and look at it, is this actually packed with many many smaller salts inside? Now, with the table salt too, is it that one salt we see actually is packed with lots of smaller salt particles? Therefore: Let's say a dish required a handful of granulated salt, if coarse size salt is to be used (e.g. rock salt), to get the similar saltiness level, use less than a handful of rock salt? 2 other findings from McGee's book: I don't think this is the main reason but still has some contribution. McGee p.641 about table salt: ... as much as 2% of additives and anti-caking agents. These anti-caking agents dont dissolve readily as salt, therefore, it may cloud the brines for pickled vegetables. I guess in a way, since so much salt is used in this curing process, the 2% of additives and anti-caking agent is a lot here. p.643 on salt physical properties: Solid salt crystals melt at 1600'F / 800'C, evaporates at around 3000'F / 500'C.... no wonder I see some recipes or on cooking shows where people wrap and pack some food in lots salt and bake them in oven for long time.

* What's Kosher salt? I've only seen pink salt, sea salt, rock salt, and table salt. * rock salt is slightly bigger than sea salt.... and they are little bit more cube-shaped sizes (I think, I dont have any sea salts here to compare...) Why avoid table salt? "Finishing" Salt on dishes: What dishes or when you see salt being used as finishing salt without grinding them? I have seen chefs grinded sea salt and used during cooking and as a "finishing" seasoning (like seasoning on fish and chips). And I have only seen once where rock salt (not grinded) is being used as a "finishing salt". Well, not exaclty on the food, it's a tempura dish, tempura on a bed of rock salt. "finishing" salt texture and taste AND its saltiness level So if undiluted....that is...IF we just pick up and taste the different salt (given if we could get the same amount of each), are their taste, texture, and saltiness different? --- My two very small experiment today: 1. Pick one cube of rock salt and tasted it... mild saltiness. 2. Tried to pick about 8 table salt that might equate to the same size of the rock salt and tasted ... quite salty but very similar. (Obviously very difficult to know whether I have the equal amount to compare) 1. Electronic scale 2. Bowl (A): drop approx. 2grams of table salt, pour in 30g hot water (now it has gentle steaming) 3. Bowl (B): drop approx. 2 grams of rock salt (ungrinded), pour in 30g hot water. 5 minutes later. 4. Stir and checked if salt all dissolved. Started taste test. 5. 1 teaspoon of rock salt solution, Taste. Same size teaspoon of table salt solution, taste. Again go back to rock solution and taste and then back to table salt solution. I was quite surprised to find that the rock salt solution is less salty. If the saltiness level of the rock salt solution is 7 out of 10. The table salt solution saltiness level is around 8-10 out of 10 in my opinion. Obviously this is not very accurate because I poured hot water into the table salt bowl first, meaning the water at that bowl started to evaporate first making it more salt concentrated. The other is measuring the weight of salt accurately can be quite difficult. --- more Links / Sources Any more good links and resources I could read about except wikipedia?

Great stuff!! Thanks peeps "Finishing Salt" What do you mean by "finishing salt"? Can you give examples? Do you mean like those salt and pepper seasoned on top on fried fish and chips? Diluted vs able to tell the difference: In your description, I tend to agree. I tend to believe that the very small percentage of other compounds (in the salt) dissolved in a dish can make a difference since salt level of a dish is usually already at a maximum of 2% of the cooked dish. Therefore, we are basically talking about a small percentage of this 2%. And just a quick thought in mind, I dont think this small percentage of minerals or other compounds (in the salt) are an important agent to make any particular cooking reaction necessary. Good stuff. For chefs who use sea salt, or on menus where dishes are ... e.g. salmon cured with Murray River salt Just marketing thing? Only for "peace of mind" thinking they are using "pure" "natural" salt but in reality, all SALT is NaCl? Any salt is NaCl + something? So... When do we use sea salt? When rock salt? When river salt? ... So when do we use a particular type of salt? And Why the chinese use / suggest to use rock salt over table salt for making cured Kumquat, i.e. Kumquats in big glass jug, lots of rock salt -> cure for many many months to years.

Interesting... Saltiness level with different types of salt of the same weight: So.... * 20g of Table salt = 20g of rock salt = 20g of sea salt = 20g of Murray River Salt? (in terms of their saltiness) Now not sure whether this is true or not, but aren't other salt such as sea salt, river salt has more minerals and other vitamins, etc.... * If so, accordingly, shouldn't 20g of sea salt or other salt be "less" salty than table salt since in the same amount?, since sea salt contains more non-salt things such as minerals,.... marinate with salt vs season just before cooking or during vs Marinated in Brine: Water / Moisture lost or gain: So.... in comparison, lets use 2% salt as this is probably the most we should add before we feel too "salty", so let's say 500g meat or fish and 10g salt. (1) 5hrs (I dont know why I use 5hrs....) duration of just seasoned on a piece of 500g meat / fish. Then cook. (2) Just before putting the meat on the pan, season with 10g salt. Cook. (3) In a brine: 200g water, 10g salt (5% salt concentration), 5hrs, meat in this brine, then cook. At the end: (1) lost the most moisture? and (3) is the "juiciest" because of weight gain before the pan-cooking process? Salty level from these cooked meat / fish: (3) is least salty because already diluted in the brine? while (1) and (2) same because same amount of salt used? Texture: How tender / How firm / how loose the meat is at the end: At the end: (1) is the most firm because lost the most moisture? While (3) is the most tender because again gained water before the pan-cooking process? ... Interesting,... I thought salt actually makes the meat "not-so-tender", that's why some people say when stewing meat in a pot (well, at least in asian cooking anyway), they say season salt last as the salt will draw the moisture out of the meat, leaving it not-so-tender if done too early. Now of course, this is also a myth or their passed-on tradition or only they do it.... but it makes a bit of sense.... gees...complicated lol.

i was born in hong kong. i still watch lots of hong kong and other asian cooking shows and go to asian restauranrs... yes corn starch usage to thicken sauces is very common,... almost most of the time they use corn starch either mix with water or flavoured liquid for slurry. at least thats what i know for many canton style cuisine

Greetings all =) I have many many many many cooking questions I would like to ask..here's two to start of with =) Type of salt and their level of saltiness. and their differences There are different types of salt, sea salt, table salt, rock salt, river salt, ... and in different sizes. What are their differences in terms of salty level? I heard some chefs say sea salt and table salt are same saltyness, then I heard also from other that different salt has different saltyness. For example, river salt is quite mild, less salty than saw salt, and table salt being the most salty. So... I always like to tell myself, some chefs prefer this kind of salt over the other probably because: * That particular salt is very mild -> therefore easy to control and adjust than salt that are very strong * more Minerals and other natural substances which are beneficial to our health... So.... if we compare the same weight of each salt, are they different in terms of saltyness? Seasoning salt during or just before cooking vs Marinated: Season the food (e.g. a piece of meat or fish) while coooking or just before it's place on a pan to be cooked VS Marinate the same amount of salt in this same piece of meat or fish prior to cooking (maybe 1/2 hour before, or 1hr or 5hrs or overnight) What would be the differences? In terms of taste, texture, ... etc?? I'd imagine if I marinade a piece of meat or fish prior, the salt will draw out the moisture, the longer I marinade, more moisture come out? Then taking this piece of meat / fish to be cooked, more moisture will be taken away. at the end, it would be a very firm, relative dry piece of meat / fish. Hmm... cant think of any advantages with marinating salt before hand... umm.... not sure