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JoNorvelleWalker

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Posts posted by JoNorvelleWalker

    Home Made Ice Cream (2013– )

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    It seems I have been collecting peanut butters and peanut oils. Today I took a batch of Modernist peanut butter gelato to work for a party. It was very well received. I used Once Again brand of creamy peanut butter that is made from only one ingredient, organic peanuts. And which has a dire warning label: "CONTAINS PEANUTS". The peanut oil used was Loriva, which is a nice brown color.

    To be picky, the Once Again creamy is not as smooth as Jif. "Creamy" I guess is relative. To my taste Jif Natural is pretty good stuff, and would work well for gelato once the added sugar and salt were properly accounted for. However no one complained about the slight texture of the gelato made with Once Again.

    I urge anyone who has read thus far to try Modernist gelato. In addition to an ice cream maker it requires an immersion blender, but it is a very easy recipe with unbelievable results. Another nice feature, the gelato maintained a proper serving consistency for forty five minutes sitting out at room temperature, and probably would have much longer. The future may be plastics.

    Kitchen Scale Recommendations, 2011–

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I'm about to do more than breathe on it. I have the scale sitting on a two and one quarter inch thick slab of maple butcher block, as far from windows as I can get it (except maybe for the bathroom). This is not a temperature controlled laboratory, but the temperature is 75 deg F. The scale passes calibration. Precision is about plus/minus one gram. The supplied 10g weights measure between 9 and 11 grams. I replaced the supplied AAA cells with no difference in performance.

    On my analog kitchen scale with 5 gram divisions, both 10g calibration weights measure between 15 and 20 grams together.

    If I have understood your post correctly you are not happy with the accuracy of the AWS scale. Could you please confirm as I was also thinking of getting this model. Thanks.

    Correct. My unit seems to be defective as best I can tell. The scale looks reasonably nice and the feature set is OK (except possibly for the plastic pans). I cannot recommend this model though since mine does not work for the intended purpose of measuring ingredients for recipes out of Modernist Cuisine at Home. I have not yet contacted the dealer or AWS about the problem.

    Kitchen Scale Recommendations, 2011–

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I'm about to do more than breathe on it. I have the scale sitting on a two and one quarter inch thick slab of maple butcher block, as far from windows as I can get it (except maybe for the bathroom). This is not a temperature controlled laboratory, but the temperature is 75 deg F. The scale passes calibration. Precision is about plus/minus one gram. The supplied 10g weights measure between 9 and 11 grams. I replaced the supplied AAA cells with no difference in performance.

    On my analog kitchen scale with 5 gram divisions, both 10g calibration weights measure between 15 and 20 grams together.

    Kitchen Scale Recommendations, 2011–

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I received my AWS GeminiPRO tonight. Like Chris Hennes' rice, it's very cheesy, but not objectionably so. It took much effort to get the battery compartment cover off nondestructively. Batteries and calibration weights were supplied. The problem is that readings jump around a lot. I will try calibrating again after the scale has sat in one place for a while, to see if that makes a difference. Cosmetically it looks rather nice for plastic, better than I might have expected.

    Bread flour: does the brand really matter?

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Anyone know of a mail order source of 50 pound bags of KAF Select Artisan Organic Flour? Amazon had it for as I recall $129 plus shipping, which seems more than a little over priced. I was not willing to pay that much, and as far as I can see now, Amazon no longer offers it.

    I called KAF and they said I would have to come to Vermont or go through a distributor. They do not ship. The representative gave me a list of KAF distributors but did not know if the distributors would sell to individuals. And I do not have a vehicle, I would need to have the flour delivered here.

    I like KAF flour. I have been making bread with it for about twenty years -- most recently about seven minutes ago.

    Some Garlic Questions

    in Cooking

    Posted

    For removing the skin of garlic cloves when I am preparing a lot I use a soft plastic tube. Put the garlic in the tube and rub the tube back and forth with my palm on a smooth surface.

    Is this one of those tubes specially marketed for the purpose? Or have you found some common household item that makes a good tube? I've been intrigued by the "garlic peeler" tubes but - despite my love of gadgets - reluctant to let this particular specialty item take up space in my kitchen unless it got a resounding review.

    I think it was sold for that purpose, but I got it a long time ago and I really don't remember. It works though. My hunch is that the garlic tubes originally were for some other purpose and someone had the idea to market them for garlic.

    Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine at Home" (Part 2)

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I don't believe that scale would have the precision for MC@H gelato though.

    On what basis do you think that? Drug dealers depend on these scales, I don't see why we shouldn't. I've used one of these for a while now and it seems very accurate, and I don't see why it isn't good for +- 0.02 mg or so.

    If you want to cook the modernist items that use mg, you need to spend $9. You do not need to spend $200.

    That scale and a cheap one for heavier weighs will get you in easily under $50. They are not too expensive. If you want to go ahead and make your whole process easier, more precise and with less dirtied measuring equipment, you can spend another couple of tens of dollars for an additional scale that handles heavier stuff.

    I base my opinion on the manufacturer's literature that the scale has a Linearity of +or- 2d, Repeatability of +or- 2d, and a calibration tolerance of +or- 0.2g.

    http://www.awscales.com/portable-precision-scales-1-gram/237-amw-1kg-digital-pocket-scale

    ...as well as on the many Amazon reviewers who say the scale is inaccurate for small weights.

    The MC@H gelato recipe calls for 0.3g xanthan gum.

    I have never been a chef or a drug dealer but I used to be a scientist.

    Some Garlic Questions

    in Cooking

    Posted

    With all due respect to Cook's Illustrated, I disagree with their findings regarding jarred minced garlic when cooked. I decided years ago that it never measured up to the fresh stuff, even after cooking. Perhaps the stuff has improved since then, or I was using a substandard product.

    I don't know about canned or frozen brands, but Amore makes a concentrated roasted garlic paste that comes in metal tubes that roll up like toothpaste tubes. (Refrigerate after puncturing the seal!) I like their products: sun-dried tomato paste; basil pesto; anchovy paste and roasted garlic paste are all in my convenience-food stock.

    I've tried garlic paste in a tube (I do not recall what brand) and found it unsatisfactory. I use a garlic press, mortar, food processor, or knife as appropriate. I also use a lot of organic garlic powder.

    Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine at Home" (Part 2)

    in Cooking

    Posted

    While I don't have a digital scale, I have a nice analog scale. It's just not very good for micrograms. The smallest division is 5 grams. To make the peanut butter gelato I first weighed out three tablespoons of xanthan gum, then calculated that 0.3 grams was approximately a third of a quarter teaspoon. Fortunately the recipe worked. I've been looking at some digital scales that will measure milligrams. Does anyone have thoughts or recommendations?

    I use this one (http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Signature-Series-Digital/dp/B002SC3LLS)

    I don't believe that scale would have the precision for MC@H gelato though. I ended up spending several hours last night looking at scales. I found one that would measure 0.01 gram up to a kg. It was about $200 however. And for that I could get a pressure cooker. But it would let me use one scale for all my kitchen needs. I gave up on the idea of mg scales as they are too expensive.

    Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine at Home" (Part 2)

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Part of my disappointment is that I don't have the tools for many of the recipes. I'd love to make the caramelized carrot soup (pp 178-179), but I don't have a blender or a (working) pressure cooker -- part of my love/hate relationship with Cuisinart who don't sell replacement parts. Can the soup be made without the pressure cooking step?

    I also don't have a digital scale, pacojet, blowtorch, combi oven, microplane, microwave, nor sous vide setup.

    You have to have the pressure cooker to achieve a higher temperature for the caramelization. The PC is a worthwhile purchase.

    Digital scales are cheap, but you can use cups/tbsp/etc.

    I wing the SV setup at this point by using digital probes. Pacojets aren't for the home cook.

    I really would like to have a pressure cooker again. Maybe if there is enough left over from my tax refund.

    While I don't have a digital scale, I have a nice analog scale. It's just not very good for micrograms. The smallest division is 5 grams. To make the peanut butter gelato I first weighed out three tablespoons of xanthan gum, then calculated that 0.3 grams was approximately a third of a quarter teaspoon. Fortunately the recipe worked. I've been looking at some digital scales that will measure milligrams. Does anyone have thoughts or recommendations?

    I mentioned not having a pacoject only because MC@H devotes a full page to it! Not sure why I never got a microplane. Perhaps because they come in so many shapes and sizes.

    Home Made Ice Cream (2013– )

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Jo -- For the PB&J gelato, did you grind your own peanut butter or did you use commercially prepared peanut butter? If the latter -- did you use a natural peanut butter or a commercial one like Jif?

    Thanks!

    Emily, for the peanut butter I used "Natural Jif" which is not exactly pure peanuts but I like the taste. I lack the technology to produce smooth nut butters beyond my trusty mortar. I would like to make the recipe again using a commercially ground product that was just peanuts with no added salt or sugar.

    Note I made peanut butter gelato, not PB&J gelato. Here it is the season neither for strawberries nor for concord grapes. Though I do have an old unopened bottle of organic concord grape juice in the pantry that I may try. However I can't help but think the resulting color would be disgusting and I like the idea of plain peanut butter better.

    To save anyone confusion, the MC gelato recipe and the MC@H gelato recipe are different. Both recipes are said to produce similar results.

    Ruben, I had checked the pistachio sources from the blog post on your website. Callebaut is regionalized. If you select some countries you see pistachio paste as a product, but for the US they offer only hazelnut. I saw Whynut looked local but I did not ask if they exported. Because of the bioterrorism laws here, importing food or "food contact surfaces" (i.e. cookware) can be a nightmare.

    There is a local candy company that must use pistachio paste. Perhaps I will ask if they will sell me some or at least tell me who their suppliers are.

    By the way, can anyone tell me how the eG multiquote feature works?

    Home Made Ice Cream (2013– )

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    I'm having some of my peanut butter gelato from MC@H. Wonderful stuff. All the texture and mouthfeel of ice cream but with no egg or dairy. Easy to make. Particularly good, I would think, for those who do not care for custard. After a few hours of hardening the gelato was perfect for scooping. After a few days in the freezer it gets quite hard indeed, but no icyness develops.

    What I really would have liked to have made is MC@H pistachio gelato. Sadly I could find no pistachio butter or pistachio oil locally. Even more sad are the prices of the online sources.

    Question for anyone who can answer: are pistachio butter and pistachio paste the same thing?

    Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine at Home" (Part 2)

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I have made espuma hollandaise (well, bearnaise actually), although not prepared sous vide. While good, I don't feel that using a siphon adds anything to the presentation of the sauce. I cook my hollandaise and bearnaise in a copper pot over direct heat.

    The pictures of the procedure on page 107 show the sauce being added to what looks an awfully lot like a Thermo Whip, with instructions to use a water bath -- something iSi says not to do.

    Tonight however I made my first real recipe from MC@H: peanut butter gelato (pp 370-371). I had set off to make pistachio gelato but was unable to find the ingredients locally. The result astounded me. Other than the salt being a little much, the gelato was perfect, and wow, did it taste like peanuts. I had three scoops. Then I compared it to a bowl of my twenty something percent butterfat custard vanilla ice cream. Texture, mouthfeel, and meltdown were remarkably similar. I had two more scoops.

    Would the MC version of the recipe be any better?

    MC@H is a beautiful book, but I have to say I am a little disappointed. I was hoping for something like On Food and Cooking, but with pretty pictures. I realize now that was not the intention of the book.

    Part of my disappointment is that I don't have the tools for many of the recipes. I'd love to make the caramelized carrot soup (pp 178-179), but I don't have a blender or a (working) pressure cooker -- part of my love/hate relationship with Cuisinart who don't sell replacement parts. Can the soup be made without the pressure cooking step?

    I also don't have a digital scale, pacojet, blowtorch, combi oven, microplane, microwave, nor sous vide setup.

    Home Made Ice Cream (2013– )

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    Thanks for posting, JoNorvelle.
    The one remaining question I have is about time spent at temperature. Pasteurization works by heating milk for a specific amount of time, presumeably to minimize effects on flavor. For example, flash pasteurization heats milk very briefly to minimize flavor effects.
    Standard pasteurization today heats milk to around 161°F for 15 seconds; UHT pasteurization to 275°F for one second.
    I'd be curious to know if you pick up any cooked flavors by heating to 185 and holding for a minute (a slightly exaggerated mimicking of making custard with a low number of yolks). I might try this myself.

    I did the experiment as best I could. The milk got up to 185.2, as when I lifted the pot off the stove at temperature, the burner cover stuck to the bottom of the pan! I was measuring seconds but I got a bit discombobulated. After a minute or so I cooled the pot in a water bath.

    The milk tastes fine to me for drinking -- which is good because there is a lot of it. I will leave further milk experiments to people with better equipment, more agility, or at least more milk.

    Maybe some whole egg in your custard would give more thickening at a lower temperature?

    Dextrose vs. Atomized Glucose: The Same?

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    I prefer higher butterfat in ice cream than Migoya specifies. In my case, if I had dextrose, I would substitute it for a portion of the sucrose, as dextrose is less sweet than sucrose. Somewhere on the web there is an old paper (circa 1930, as I remember) on dextrose in ice cream. The researchers tested a large number of volunteers and found that with low butterfat people preferred an all sucrose formula, however at higher butterfat people preferred about 10 percent dextrose and 90 percent sucrose (the actual ratio is stretching my memory here).

    That being said, recently I've been able to make something that I like using only sucrose. I still would like to get some dextrose and atomized glucose to play with.

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