Martin Fisher

Heavy cream was back in stock last Tuesday.

My grandfather used to say, "There isn't a single rock on this farm—they're all married and have big families."

I agree somewhat. I think, it may be even more basic, in terms of umami rich flavor enhancers made by humans, look at the cultures that have done a heck of a lot of fermenting for a heck of a long time, and, both lived close to the sea and cultivated crops high in glutimates, Japan, arguably, tops the list. The less the fermenting and access to umami-rich fermentables of a culture, the fewer the man made umami rich flavor enhancers.

It may or may not be soy. "The most commonly used sources of hydrolyzed vegetable protein are soybeans, corn, and wheat. Animal hydrolyzed protein is sometimes made from milk protein (casein) or from whey proteins derived from cheese production." Source: Umami, Unlocking the Secrets of the Fifth Taste, by Ole G. Mouritsen and Klavs Styrbæk, page 169 (interesting book, by the way.) Here in the USA, as per the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, foods containing the major allergens milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat or soy must be clearly labeled as such. The only allergen noted on the label is fish (Anchovies.)

First, are the fruits fully ripe? If they're not, you're likely flirting with frustration. Seeds from immature chiles tend to lack vigor and germinate poorly, if at all. Second, optimum soil temperature (touching the seed) for chile germination is between 80° and 85°. So be mindful of evaporative cooling which can lower the soil temperature in the seed zone. Both are common issues that can lead to headaches or failure when starting chile seeds.

Unfortunately, Lea & Perrins (USA version) is the only readily available Worcestershire sauce, here, that's reasonably decent. Some interesting reading: History of Worcestershire Sauce (1837-2012), by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi, 213 pages. As to the pronunciation of Worcestershire; my father, who's quite a jokester/prankster, called it "What's this here?" sauce when we were children.

They ditched the HFCS five years ago and reverted back to sugar.

Well, of course it's not the alleged original recipe or the British version. It's actually referred to here as "The Original Worcestershire Sauce" and the term 'original' is often used to differentiate it from other Lea & Perrins Worcestershire products, a low-sodium version, a thick version, etc.

FWIW, I also think it's an old Dexter pizza knife. Dexter currently sells a couple pizza knives (here and here), which, when combined with the optional helper handle, equates to essentially the same design.

Here in the USA, Heinz sells Heinz labeled Worcestershire Sauce. It's cheap, nasty and definitely NOTHING like Lea & Perrins; they're distinctly different formulas. Edited to add.... Heinz labeled Worcestershire Sauce ingredients: Distilled White Vinegar, Water, Molasses, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt, Sodium Benzoate As A Preservative), Natural Flavoring, Caramel Coloring, Anchovies, Polysorbate 80, Soy Flour, Garlic Extract. Lea & Perrins Original Worcestershire Sauce ingredients: Distilled White Vinegar, Molasses, Sugar, Water, Salt, Onions, Anchovies, Garlic, Cloves, Tamarind Extract, Natural Flavorings, Chili Pepper Extract.

I used to be able to find it locally, but not in recent years.

Depends on the curing method, cut of meat, muscle fiber orientation, temperature, etcetera With salt box style curing, you're basically exposing the outer parts of the meat to a high concentration of salt - for a relatively short period of time - that will later equalize throughout the meat. One of the major problems with that method is it's unpredictability, it's very easy to over-cure/over-salt - especially small cuts. The Marianski's do a good job of describing some of the particulars here.

If you're 'salt box' curing, as in the recipe, 12 hours is likely sufficient. For consistency and to avoid over-salting/curing, I use a specific amount of cure and sugar - 2.25 - 2.50% salt total via the cure calculator on my website (which is in desperate need of an overhaul) - and let it cure longer before hanging it. If using Morton's Tender Quick similarly, one tablespoon (~15 grams) of MTQ per pound of meat is ~3% in-going salt, so, about 2.5 teaspoons for 2.5% in-going salt. HTH

I wholeheartedly agree.

Umami addict here. I stock many of the usual, convenient favorites: Red Boat Fish Sauce, Red Boat Salt, Squid Brand Thai fish sauce (It's inexpensive and locally available. I used to buy Tiparos brand, which was also inexpensive and locally available, but, it's, allegedly, no longer approved for sale in the USA.) Maggi Seasoning, Marmite, Italian salt-packed anchovies, Ohsawa Raw Nama Shoyu (and many other soy sauces), GravyMaster Browning/Caramelizing Seasoning (yes, really...a 'secret' ingredient in a couple things I make), Ac'cent brand MSG, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, miso, bonito, dried shrimp, several varieties of dried mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, Maytag blue cheese (occasionally), Roquefort and other blue cheeses, Limburger cheese (one of my very favorite foods), Kerrygold Dubliner (wonderful stuff, sort of a Parmesan, Swiss & Cheddar amalgamation), and many other cheeses, Prosciutto, black garlic, etcetera. Some of my favorite homemade umami concoctions: Tomato Conserva: It's basically tomato paste thickened to the desired consistency. Here's how I make it...... "I switched to this method long ago because I got tired of processing tomatoes in a super-hot late summer kitchen. Zero-heat tomato water and rich tomato conserva. Wash tomatoes thoroughly (preferably a well flavored roma-type, like Martino's Roma or Opalka, but any tomato will work.) Cut out the stem end of the tomato (this makes peeling easier), place tomatoes on sheet pan and freeze solid. Remove tomatoes from freezer and run under a slow steady stream of cold water, the skins will easily slip off. Very coarsely chop the semi-frozen tomatoes (3/4" sized pieces) and place in a cheesecloth or muslin lined colander overnight or until they stop draining (lightly salting will help.) The resulting tomato water will be quite clear. Run the tomato remains through a food mill to remove the seeds. This is a snap because the freezing does a very good job of breaking down the tomato flesh. The resulting conserva should be thick enough so that a wooden spoon will stand up in it. I then freeze the conserva or reduce it to the desired thickness, spread out, on stainless steel sheet pans in a slow oven, stirring occasionally until it reaches the desired consistency. This requires some planning ahead, but it produces some very nice tomato water and conserva without a lot of fuss or heat!!!" Pinçage: It's basically a caramelized, flavor-enhancing mirepoix with the addition of some tomato paste, and, in my case, a touch of Red Boat Salt, fish sauce or anchovy salt. I make it in the pressure cooker. Caramelized Tomato Paste: Also made in the pressure cooker. Smoke-dried tomatoes and chiles. Anchovy Salt: Sea salt, fish sauce and mashed anchovies dried in the dehydrator. Veal Salt: Veal stock, sea salt and Red Boat salt, dried in the dehydrator. Anchovy Butter: Unsalted butter, anchovies, garlic clove and a touch of lemon juice. Anchovy Mayo Miso Butter Miso Mayo Salmon Katsuobushi: I add a touch of Red Boat salt to mine. Various dried-cured muscle meats and sausages: I, almost always, add a bit of Red Boat salt or Red Boat fish sauce in lieu of a portion of the sea salt to kick-up the umami. But that's a 'secret,' so please don't tell anyone. Dry-cured, lightly-smoked pork tenderloin: This is wonderful stuff. Pork tenderloin, sea salt, Red Boat salt and a pinch of sugar. I often dry it to the point where it can be finely grated on salad, eggs, etcetera. It's very easy for almost anyone - even those without a curing chamber - to make following Jacques Pépin's Saucisson of Pork Tenderloin method. Bacon 'Jam' Wild Mushroom Ketchup And many. many more but I'm tired of typing, for now.

I agree that there has been an increasing trend of fraud among SOME "natural/organic" growers over the past 20-30 years, folks who jumped on the bandwagon for the the money rather than a matter of principle. But, in this area away, they are few and far between. I suppose it varies greatly from area to area. I don't think that one, generally, needs to spend much time with a grower to tell the difference between those who are passionate and principled and those who are just in it for the money.

It's nothing new, food fraud has been an issue for a very long time, see here, here and here. There are no guarantees; but knowing your grower, if possible, is a good policy.

I subscribed to a premium vegetarian mail order meal plan back in the late 80's which had been advertised in Vegetarian Times magazine (I went vegetarian for a time as an over-reaction to a bout of cancer in my very early 20's.) The plan was great and introduced me to many foods that I was, at the time, unfamiliar with, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. Having grown up in a very rural setting, there was very little exposure to diverse ethnic foods. It was a wonderful experience.

I wonder if, maybe, someone was pulling someone's leg. Sounds revolting! Having said that, the folks eating it are certainly free to add whatever suits them.

Yep!!!

I'd call it crazy people paying crazy prices. I get that some folks may 'require' the convenience for health reasons or whatever. I worked with the disabled for years, including the profoundly disabled; my Mom has Multiple Sclerosis; I have other family and friends with issues. I, myself, have issues where I wonder if, some days, I'll be able to make it to the end of the day. So I do 'get it.' None of the folks I know in such a situation are well off financially, quite the opposite. Reasonably priced conveniences would be appreciated.

I was back at the store this morning. I asked about custom chopping, slicing, dicing, spiralizing, etc. of any fruit or vegetable in the produce section. The answer was... 'Sure, $6.99 per pound for any and all.' Stuff at the so-called 'salad bar' is $8.99 per pound. That's crazy and outrageous in my opinion.

I'm happy to hear that!!!

Yes. I've recently started digitizing the irreplaceable stuff and archiving it on M-Discs (1000 year archival DVDs.) I'll store those in a very safe place as well as distribute copies to family and friends.

Yeah! I do quadruple backups on different media forms because I'm naturally paranoid!