melkor

I bought some of these and was disappointed that they don't stack. The bottom is too big. ← They stack with the bands removed.

It undoubtedly isn't that sharp. Just learn to use some water stones and you'll be all set. The Korin knife sharpening video is a good place to start.

The knife arrived yesterday, and I used it last night to break down two ducks. The knife is sharp, feels good in my hand, and it was much easier to get the skin and fat off than with my chef's knife. One thing I noticed, however, is that the tip of the blade was less sharp then the middle and base, so it was hard to maneuver around bone in the really tight spots. I also need to use a bit more force at the start of cuts to get past the tip. Did I just get a dull tip, scrape too much on the bone early on, or am I missing something? ← Who knows if the tip on that particular knife was more dull than usual... Nearly every new knife needs to be sharpened correctly when you get it.

The few things that we buy in bags get transfered to mason jars or cambro tubs once they're open.

Rougie is cheap in duty free stores all over the world. It's one of the things I keep in my pantry for ski trips. It's garbage compared to the fresh product, but bread toasted in a bit of melted canned foie to go with your morning breakfast is nothing to complain about. It's also good as a filling for ravioli.

What else would you do with an umbrella handle glut?

I never said either of those things. I've had amazing soft cheeses made in the US, for example from Bobolink, and have written exactly that on the topic you're referencing. However, I also think the overall state of the soft cheese business is pretty dismal, so I mostly buy hard cheeses. But I don't think we should give up and just buy all our soft cheeses from Europe forever. Eventually, I hope we'll figure out how to do a better job. Don't you hope so too? As for the quality of imported Parmigiano, no, I didn't say it's all C-level. I said most of it is, and surely that's correct. I haven't been to Italy in forever, but as I mentioned above I get occasional hand deliveries from cheese shops in Reggio Emilia and I have never, ever had Parmigiano Reggiano in America that has been as good. I think it's correct to say that most Parmigiano Reggiano sold in the US is C-level, some is B-level, a very little bit of it is what Sam calls high-B-level (that's what you get at the better New York cheese places), and none that I've seen has been A-level. There may be some out there, but if it is out there it's pretty rare because I do get around to a lot of the best cheese shops and it has never crossed my path. ← The overall state of the hard cheese business is pretty dismal as well, the reality is that most cheese is mistreated by grocers and cheese mongers in the states. The same is true for most wine. That the product is handled carelessly both in transit and once it makes it to our shores is a different issue. Parmigiano, like butter from Normandy, truffles from Alba and Perigord, San Marzano tomatoes, Pinot Noir from Burgundy and countless other things tastes the way it does because of where it's from. Some things speak of place, others don't. Carrots for example taste the same wherever you grow them, grapes - not so much.

Cultivated truffles from Oregon are no closer to foraged truffles from Alba than Wisconsin Parmesan is to Parmigiano Reggiano. You're deliberately twisting my words to make an absurd indefensible point. Why are there no good bagels on the west coast? There are lots of culinary mysteries... The recipe for good bagels as I understand it is, some flour, a little malt, a bit of water, and a Jew. I've got the first three and was born the fourth. Still, no good bagels within a thousand miles. Then again, I don't recall ever having a decent bagel in Israel either... You've argued elsewhere on the site that there is no good soft cheese available in the states, you're arguing here that all imported Parmigiano is 'grade C' - when did you last spend time in Italy or France shopping for cheese? The Parmigiano Reggiano reserva that I get at Dean and Deluca isn't as good as the best I've had in Europe, but it's not far behind. I'd agree that all the domestic alternatives are horrible, but I for some reason don't find that surprising.

Eh? Since when is growing vegetables the same as making cheese?

I think the better question is why is real Parmigiano so much better than all the imitations - Grana Padano is nowhere near as good, why would something made in Wisconsin be better? This topic is a good example of what seems to be an eGullet specific theory that anything good in the world can be made as well or better anywhere else in the world. Let's just take a look at a few Italian products that are both made domestically and imported from Italy: Balsamic vinegar - the domestic product is horrible. Parmigiano - again, horrible domestic copy that bares little resemblance to the real thing. Burrata & Mozzarella di Bufala - the domestic product is acceptable in a pinch, but not in the same league as the real deal. Truffles - have you tried the potato flavored earth-turds from Oregon and the southeast? Some things are just better when they're there made by the people that have always made them in the place that they have always been made.

You reduce the vinegar somewhat by heating it and you cool the rice less when you add the warm liquid to it.

It seems that people with small hands have more luck using a santoku as their all-purpose knife. I've got no problem using one for light prep work, but if I'm going to be doing any significant amount of work I much prefer a cleaver or a western style blade.

Thanks! I just wish I could make them more consistently. It's tough only making two or three drinks a day to get enough practice.

I think you're likely to be up the creek with your fabulous Jura machine. Most of the super-auto machines have a milk frother rather than a steam wand so you end up with the rabid styrofoam stuff rather than microfoam. Without properly textured milk, you won't be able to pour any sort of art.

Here's the latte I made myself early last week.

I will defer to Melkors judgement on what you should do. I just try to keep my salt levels to 2.5-3% or so in most everything. Good luck! Bud ← I don't think you're making a mistake by doing so, but at 5% there's no reason to panic - I believe commercial brines are much saltier.

Now that you've got it going just leave it. If you're worried it'll be too salty (qrn is right, you've got a lot of salt in there) then just rinse it before you cook it. I wouldn't worry about it - it's not like you've got 10x as much salt as you should.

Hamburger. There's nowhere near enough fat in round for it to handle the extended smoke & steam for pastrami.

The difference between Montreal smoked meat and pastrami is in the way the meat is cured. Smoked meat is dry cured, pastrami is cured in a wet brine. From there they're both given a spice rub, smoked, and then steamed for service. There's no boiling involved in either.

Pastrami is also steamed.

All you need is a bunch of sesame seeds, some olive oil, and a little salt. Toast the sesame seeds, throw the whole mess in the blender and let it run until you've got a smooth paste. If it ends up chunky you didn't put in enough oil.

Use more oil and the texture will improve.

my experience tells me 1T of whole spice yields 1 1/2T or just under ← Uh, maybe 1 1/2 tsp from 1T, but it'd be hard to end up with more ground spice by volume than the whole you spices you started with. I don't think there's any specific formula that works across different shaped spices. Measure by weight or don't measure and you won't have this problem.

Steam it.

To me, what defines a metropolitan area, in terms of food, is where people go to eat. In the SF Bay Area, plenty of people who live in the East Bay or on the peninsula go into the city to eat, and San Franciscans eat at Chez Panisse, etc. That's why I think it makes sense to discuss a contiguous populated area as one area. I don't buy into the concept that people and restaurants don't matter if they're outside the city's boundaries. ← I'd argue that the bay area is made up of multiple culinary destinations, but whatever. If you're talking about contiguous populated areas as a single unit then you're going to have some trouble with the swath a few hundred miles south of here that starts dozens of miles north of LA and doesn't end until you're in Mexico. Never mind the mess that leaves you with in the northeast. Obviously people and restaurants matter, regardless of where they are but what exactly does that have to do with the city of Detroit and it's non-status as a culinary destination?