[The high-power blender topic]

I find that my Vitamix (vita prep ) produces michelin star quality vegetable purees, excellent and very smooth hummus and good nut pastes. There are few tricks:

-use small quantities, I fill it no more than 750 ml / 3 cups

- use plunger to get things going, increase speed gradually

- add liquid: cooling liquid, milk, cream, juice (fruit or same vegetable just juiced) but you cannot make good, smooth, creamy puree with too little liquid. add gradually

- cook your vegetables to really soft, overcooked stage

- if using roasted, add more liquid

 

See how smooth my roasted pumpkin puree is in the attached picture

[What slicer to create long ribbons]

12 hours ago, dcarch said:

Nothing proposed/linked so far will give you long ribbons.

 

You can practice using a regular sharp knife. It will give you what you want.

 

dcarch

I do it with a vegetable peeler but it is very intense, labour intensive and the ribbons break. Just had an idea to stea my husband's drill and try a drill and peeler combo, until I get a suitable machine  Afraid my knife skills are not there to do it with a knife

[What slicer to create long ribbons]

8 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Is this the sort of thing you are looking for?

Yes Kerry. Except for the price tag, ouch!

[What slicer to create long ribbons]

6 hours ago, kayb said:

My spiralizer has a blade that will do ribbons.

 

Which one is that?

[What slicer to create long ribbons]

thank you but perhaps i was not clear.i want really long ribbons, that go several turns around an apple for example. I have a mandoline but that is for flat pieces, it cannot follow a curve and produce the length i need

[What slicer to create long ribbons]

I would like to make long, continuous ribbons of fruit and vegetables: apples, carrots, beets, turnips, potatoes etc. What is the best tool for the job? I was looking at Benriner Turning slicer but it seems it only creates a spiraling ribbon and I'd like a flat one. Any advice?

[Home Made Ice Cream (2013– )]

I made black sesame and hazelnut gelattos folliwing MC at home recipes. Super smooth, no issues, but you have to blend the nuts with all the liquid in the recipe. I have Vitamix Vitaprep 3

[Infusing fruit and veg with cocktails in vaccum - how long ahead?]

I plan to infuse cubes of watermelon, pineapple and cucumber with cocktail mixes (mojito, pina colada and gin tonic respectively) using vacuum chamber sealer and serve them as cocktails on a stick. How long ahead can I do it? I am concerned that at some point the fruit may get an off putting texture. I have to make 150ish of those so time is critical. Any advice is highly appreciated!

[Swirl effect in cremeux cake that is freezable]

Nobody? 

 

Do you think using gelating at 1.5%-2% would work or would it break after thawing, even if the swirls are thin?

[Home Made Ice Cream (2013– )]

I have just made my new favorite ice cream flavor, roasted nori. I steeped roasted nori in warmed cream/milk mix, that I then used for my ice cream base. The flavor is very intriguing and works great in fancy plated desserts (I served it with rosemary shortbread, rosemary caramel sauce and atop of almond praline). 

[Swirl effect in cremeux cake that is freezable]

I am making cremeux based lemon cake and want to add blueberry swirl effect to it, made with blueberry coulis. What is my best bet to set the coulis so that it is freezable? I have tried with LM pectin but it was still flowing. Maybe I did not use enough pectin or did not get it to set right. 

 

Can someone advise, either on another gelling agent or how to do it right with pectin? I would really appreciate.

[Cremeux: Sugar addition curiosity]

I have just made cremeux in sous vide bags, basically mixing all the stuff together and cooking at 82C for an hour. Then added some gelatin and emulsified butter in it. This was fruit juice based cremeux, works like a charm, super smooth texture.

[Sliceable fruit cremeux recipe]

Thank you pastrygirl.

 

I need it to be freezable. Trying to figure out if chiboust is but I love the idea of hibiscus in reduced juice.

[Sliceable fruit cremeux recipe]

Hi,

 

I am looking for a sliceable, freezable fruit cremeux or similar recipe to use as a filling for a cake. It can also be yolk free but I am after a creamy, smooth texture and nice fruit flavor. I want to make it from cooked rhubarb. Thanks for any pointers,

 

Bojana 

[Ideas for pork belly dish in 45 mins]

Reporting back. The time was extended from 45 min to 60, which was great.

 

I sliced off few slices from the block and rubbed them with miso, mirin, and mix of spices: chilli, sichuan pepper, coriander, garlic, ginger. I shortly seared them and then smoked on tea, sugar and orange rind mix for 10 min.

 

The rest I cooked in pressure cooker in soy, water, mirin, konbu, rice vinegar and ginger. I left some of pork belly in a biggish block and some sliced. After 45 mins, the meat was beautiful and tender. I cut the cubes from teh block and caramelized and crisped in the pan. The smaller pieces from the broth were chopped tartar style and mixed with some finely chopped quick pickles.

 

We made a variety of tempura vegetables and beetroot yuzu puree/sauce. We glazed the meat with reduced broth.

 

It was absolutely divine, pork belly three ways, crispy veggies and quick pickles with beetroot yuzu sauce. We won the challenge.

[Ideas for pork belly dish in 45 mins]

Thanks guys. Yes, I am helping someone in a competition and it has to be pork belly. It can be any style, as long as it is well executed. I have done some spectacular dishes with pork belly in 60 mins in my day, combining PC cooked stock and thin seared slices but I feel 45 min is not enough for decent stock. We'll see. I will look into Bun Cha and other suggestions

[Ideas for pork belly dish in 45 mins]

I will have 45 mins to cook a  spectacular pork belly dish. I am drawing a blank here as I normally cook it low and slow. Thinking pressure cooker...

 

Can you help with ideas? Complex/very technical is not a problem, as long as it fits in 45 mins.

[Fruit flavored creme anglaise]

I would use dehydrated fruit, pulverised. If you can afford, freeze dried fruit.

[Getting a ganache-like texture with an olive-caramel mixture]

I have answered my own question so I thought I'd share.

 

Basically, I calculated the cacao butter % of a ganache that I normally make, with white chocolate and raspberry puree. Then I weighed my olive caramel, and using a blender, emulsified in it melted cacao butter that would bring it to the same cacao butter content as my ganache has. Worked like a charm

[Restaurant books for pastries and desserts: your favorites?]

For restaurant books where desserts are only a part of, I recommend Eleven Madison Park (even with the recipes in imperial metrics, it is still very inspirational) and Volt, Inc

[Getting a ganache-like texture with an olive-caramel mixture]

I'd like ganache like texture, does not have to be ganache. I wanted it as pure flavored as possible. If nothing else will work, I will make it with dark choco ~70-75%

[Getting a ganache-like texture with an olive-caramel mixture]

I have blitzed 200gr of taggiasca olives, drained of oil, with some water, just enough to form a smooth puree. Separately, I have made dark dry caramel, which I have then mixed with the olive pure. The resulting liquid is super tasty, the consistency of thick coulis.

I want to turn this into ganache, without adding too much sugar to it. What would you suggest?

 

Things I thought of, not tested yet:

- fluid gel with 0.7% by weight of low acyl gelan

- mix of white chocolate and gelatin

- add some cream (how much??) and cook down the resulting liquid slowly until it is thick

- use cocoa butter or butter in addition to white chocolate

 

What would you suggest? If you have working recipes, even better

 

I have just about any modernist ingredient. I want to use the ganache for macarons

Thanks!

[Recommendation for high-end canapé and finger-food book]

Can you please recommend a book about high end fingerfood and canapes?

 

thanks

 

Bojana

 

[Converting recipes for different % cocoa in chocolate]

Are there rules how to convert recipes if you change the type of chocolate you work with. Going from 66% cocoa to 55 or even 39%? I am mainly takling chocolate mousse, cremeux, ganache etc, not pure chocolate applications such as bonbons.

 

I can see adding extra gelatine or reducing liquids could work but how do you go about it?

[Sous Vide Octopus]

Hi, I have few questions regarding cooking octopus!

 

As we speak, I have some octopus tentacles in the marinade (soy, mirin, red wine, rice vinegar, ginger and garlic). Never cooked with it before so few questions:

• sous vide time and temp: what do you recommend? I saw 85C for 4 hrs. Do you think there is a difference with Keller's suggested 77C for 5 hrs?
  
• Do you need to clean it? Before or after SV? And is it just the skin on the smooth end of tentacle that needs cleaning?
  
• I plan to cool it, and then finish it on the grill for service. Any better ideas here?
  

Thank you so much

Bojana