TheCulinaryLibrary

Belle Lowe, Experimental Cookery From the Chemical and Physical Standpoint. 1932 The original source inspiration for McGee, Blumenthal and the Adrià brothers.

Does anyone know the 'science' behind the hot water sponge? Best ratio to dry ingredients etc ? An friend of a friend of mine has a recipe for the most amazingly light sponge I have ever tasted. Unfortunately it's her family's secret recipe from a few generations ago and she doesn't share it, ever! My research has led me to believe it might be a hot water sponge but I cant find out any science about it. Why it works, what does it do, what are the critical factors for success etc. The amount of hot water seems to vary considerably from 1/2-1 cup for an average size cake, and recipes vary as the whether the hot water is boiling or not but I can't find out why.

I agree with FeChef. I keep sofrito up to 2 weeks in fridge then freeze if I don't use. XO is not like worcestershire as it has chilli rather than acid so 4 weeks is about the safe limit I think.

thx everyone

the other brands on the link have the same voltage problem. the Sumeet has great reviews but is 120v. Indian power is 240v like Oz and UK but I can't find an online source of the Indian home market version. thx anyway, will keep looking

ultra pride is 110v and we have 240v in Oz so would prefer 240. Sumeet seems to be unavailable. Any other suggestions?

I'm thinking of buying a wet spice/curry paste grinder. Any ideas on what brands are the best? Premier super-g, Preethi ??

Farinata and Socca are the same thing, it’s just in Nice they call farinata socca. The more oil used, the crispier outside and creamier inside. Non stick pans are good or the dull silver metal ones in commercial kitchens. Always serve farinata hot as it goes elastic as it cools. The longer you leave the batter sit the better your farinata will be (in Italy it’s often made the day before cooking) The traditional batter for 3 x28cmxround farinatas = 1+1/2 litre of water, 500 g chickpea flour, 200 ml extra virgin olive oil + a splash for the pans, salt and pepper. I like a bit of color and use a hot oven and hot oil in the pan, I colour the batter botton on top of the stove then finish cooking and colour the top in the oven.

bruschetta, brush on after toasting (walnut oil is best used cold as it develops bitterness the more it's heated) add to cold sauces drizzle over hot pasta and cooked pizza walnut oil and apples make a great couple, drizzle over the top of apple crumble after it's cooked dukkah + crusty bread + balsamic for dipping + nut oil for dipping

Both fat and moisture (volume of liquid) effect the texture of sauces. More fat or less moisture =thicker sauces. By volume, milk is the primary ingredient in béchamel sauce. Butter is the primary fat ingredient. The difference in butterfat content between low fat (2%) and full fat (4%) milk, in itself, should not significantly effect the viscosity of the sauce, it does however effect both flavor and mouth feel and this could be what you are experiencing. There is a significant subjective difference in mouth feel (texture/thickness) between low and full fat milk. Frost, et.al in ‘Food Quality and Preference’, 2001 confirmed that a combination of adding a non-fat thickener, whitener and cream aroma to low fat milk mimicks the sensory mouth feel of full fat milk. But if you want a thicker sauce you can always try: Adding a little less milk when using low fat Adding a little more flour and/or fat Adding a few grains of calcium chloride to help “bind” the milk particles tighter. (Because it’s salty you’ll need to reduce added salt. Available for $5.99/50g @ modernist pantry.com ) Try thickening your sauce slower at a lower temperature as higher heat breaks the bonds between food particles making sauces ‘looser’.

In the 70's I remember making a salad (adventurous for those times) with steamed cauli flowerettes, chopped dates, chopped bananas and mayonnaise! Nobody in my family likes this flavor combination today though.

It's a matter of choice and dissent. You don't "need to add" aromats to first stock. Historically classic chefs have not agreed on this question and for commercial kitchens it was simply a way of using up left over ingredients. Escoffier seems to be the first to 'systematically' move away from the "meat simmered in water" first stock idea. It probably depends on the type and number of uses you have in mind for your stock. What seems to be agreed today though is that stock is best made on a long simmer and not on the boil.

I would consider it a good starting point and better than I have found so far! thx

A few years back I took my daughter and son-in-law to dinner at Gordon Ramsays when he was at Claridge's. $1000 for 3 people! (not including wine) and the only thing that was truly amazing and that I couldn't work out what they had done, was their sweetcorn soup! It was intense and amazing unlike the rest of their luke warm food. I have searched for the recipe, unsucessfully, every since so if anyone knows what it was or has the best ever corn soup recipe, I'd love u to share.

I'm a big fan of preserved lemon with slow roasted meats, beef, pork, lamb, etc and also with rich Indian curries. Easy as... so making a few jars each year is quick and cheap. I add Nigella seeds to mine. Instead of throwing out lemon rind, I shave it with the vegi peeler, dry, store and use in curries, stews etc or zest and freeze.