JoNorvelleWalker

Time for another batch (batch 3 if anyone is keeping count). I kept to 120g almonds and 60g apricot kernels. I did not skin the apricots. Doing so is an exercise in frustration. I used the same 300ml water and 200g sugar. Unfortunately the sugar was not refined. That was not intentional but it was the sugar that I had. Given that most of my orgeat is going into rum I hardly think it matters. No orange blossom water. One difference: last time as I heated the almond milk the fat clumped. The fat clumped again today. However this time I homogenized the orgeat while still warm, as I would an ice cream base. I'm not sure anyone has an homogenizer here besides Kerry, but it made an incredible difference in the texture.

My granddaughter reports her most recent loaves had a plasticy taste, which she attributes to having kneaded the dough on a silicone mat. Any ideas what might cause bread to have a plastic taste? (Other than COVID-19, of course.)

In first grade my son had a tarantula as the class pet. I would expect an arachnid or two in a delivery of firewood. But not in a delivery of prewashed greens.

Yes we do.

I believe so. The fresh leaves I've purchased did not taste good. I now only buy dried.

Once I found a live hornet in a package. Earthbound Organic.

Social distancing.

The hydroponically grown lettuce I've bought instructs to wash it.

Probably not.

Thanks. I was planning to hold out for the hardcopy of Falastin. I've paged through it at work. It's a pretty book. But for $3.99 I sprung for the Kindle edition.

Except it doesn't taste as good as Tamaki Gold.

I could be wrong but I have read Mexican coke production switched over to corn syrup for their domestic market, although they still export cane sugar coke to the US.

Is it possible your eggs went over 55C?

I use the Turkish bay leaves from Penzeys. I have been pleased with them. The volatiles of bay leaf are almost insoluble in water. Did you have a fair amount of fat in your soup to extract the flavor? Can you describe the "bay leaf flavor" you were expecting and not finding? McGee describes bay leaf component smells as "camphor, lavender, pine, woody". Could you be expecting the flavor of California bay leaf, which is a different genus? McGee describes California bay leaf smells as "fresh-harsh, medicinal, woody, pine". A showcase for bay leaf is @lesliec's bay leaf ice cream.

Yes, last night I found the Demeyere dimensions on the UK site. The problem with converting from inches is that the imperial dimensions I saw had apparently been rounded to the nearest inch. I wanted to replace an All Clad LTD with an induction pan that would accommodate the All Clad double boiler insert.

@JAZ It is like pulling hens' teeth to find actual dimensions of Demeyere pots and pans. For the 3.2 qt. saucepan what is the height and width in centimeters? I have more cookware than I'll ever need* but that has not stopped me yet. *even some All-Clad that I half three quarters regret.

So far so good for me.

Steam.

Thanks, I ordered one to try.

http://kokubousa.com/goods/kitchentime/tray/2099.html

My bias, when baking cakes, if I want a neutral oil I use a different recipe.* Though seriously, when I want a neutral cooking oil grapeseed is my choice. The thought of Canola (sorry Canadians) makes me gag. Canola tastes rancid even if it's not. (Unlike girl scouts and girl scout cookies.) For deep frying purposes I choose peanut oil. I also keep sunflower oil on hand for many Georgian recipes that call for it. Much olive oil passes my lips but I would not pretend it's neutral. *I can't abide oil based cakes in general. God created butter for a reason.

Thanks, I'd prefer a US dealer but eBay from Japan is worth thinking about. Amazon sellers used to offer them, and I believe I've previously purchased Kokubo from umamimart.com. The Kokubo trays themselves are durable, however their thin plastic lids eventually crack (considering almost daily use after several years). By the way, umamimart is one of my favorite sources of Japanese bar and kitchen products.

Anyone know an online source for Kokubo mini ice trays in the US? I found a store in Hawaii that has them for instore pickup but the logistics would be difficult, what with the virus and all. Kokubo has an office in California, however they don't seem to be geared towards retail sales.

I like APO toast but I've never tried toasting sandwich bread. Also worked for English muffins.

I was referring to All About Dinner that I only recently saw. However I see All About Dinner has been published for over a year, so not exactly new.