donk79

This is quite a nice book. The Red Truck Bakery is near "back home" for me and their baking is good enough for me to have sought out a hard copy of this book. Baking from the recipes in the book has not disappointed.

This fall, I have wandered back into the realm of hot sauce production. I've turned to fermentation, and am including other garden ingredients in addition to peppers. And I have to say that I am enjoying it! But I am slightly stuck on the preservation stage. I decided that canning was the way to go, for something that I wanted to keep potentially for a year plus. The first batch went into jelly jars. But I really would like something slightly more elegant to dispense from. Is there a bottle form that can be pressure "canned." Is there another good way to process something like this? I am assuming that the acid level is insufficient for hot water canning.

Beeswax is pricey, for bees as well as us. Supposedly, beeswax takes twice the energy to make per weight that honey does. And, as usual, finding something that is high quality and pesticide free is a premium as well. I would say that $14/lb is a good price. Anything cheaper, I would consider suspect, unless I knew the producer well. Honestly, though, I consider any bee product suspect, unless I know the producer.

Picked up a bottle of Oban 14 last night. Have to say, bandaids are not my thing, at least not yet. It wasn't unpleasant, but I cannot say it was something I am seeking either. I did see some Lagavulin 9 that caught my eye. The 16 will have to wait for a special occasion purchase. Is the 9 substantially different than the 8?

Very interesting. I have heard of this, and may have to consider keeping the seeds next time I buy jackfruit. Please do let us know the results!

Resurrecting this thread, because I am curious. When the last post was made in this thread, my Scotch sampling was confined to a few mini's of JW that I bought out of curiosity. My spirit of choice for a long time has been bourbon, and I was unimpressed. However, in the past year, I developed a desire to find something different, something that grabbed my attention more. So I bought a bottle of Mccallan double cask, and was blown away by the nose. The palate was missing imo ( I may have a different opinion now) so I continued searching. I shied away from Islay, because it had a REPUTATION, and I thought I was unprepared for it. But as I tasted different Highlands, Speysides, and other Island Scotches, I kept wanting a little more, backbone, a little more bite. Then, about a month ago, I saw Ardbeg Uigedahl on sale. I had heard of it, and decided it might be a good introduction to Islay. Wow! It is everything that I had been looking for! I am looking forward to exploring further. I am curious to hear what others are currently enjoying and exploring. This is really still a new frontier for me!

For anyone from out of state poking about, Virginia wineries are still hit or miss. There are some really fantastic ones (Horton seems to have matured well as a winery) and some that offer a nice view. I cannot give a hard and fast rule as to how to find the good ones. Personally, I can recommend Virginia Wineworks (winery, sans vineyard) and the Snort (love the name) from The Winery at La Grange in Haymarket. It is well worth researching where you are going so as to not be disappointed by Kool-aid flavored plonk. And it is worth researching to find the good ones as well. There really are some gems worth the effort to discover.

If I think of one, I would name learning to brine meat. But the truth is that Egullet taught me (and is still teaching me!) how to cook. Pretty life changing! Thank you to everyone who shares their experience, wisdom, (and failures!) here.

The sale appears to be referencing the Nano, as purchased through their website. I have it available on Amazon prime for $71.

I ran across vinegar powder in a spice shop last month. When I saw it, I remembered reading about a Modernist technique using maltodextrin. I most likely read about it on Egullet somewhere. Sure enough, that is what the commercial powder contained. My suspicion is that the maltodextrin probably allows for a more concentrated product. But I also suspect that your method may provide a more palatable product. The sourdough especially intrigues me! Regarding temperature, you can most likely get away with higher temperatures early. As things get drier, I think you would want to go lower. Some vinegars have a fair amount of sugar in them still. Carmelization of the sugars and Maillard reactions in the bread are both possibilities, for better or worse!

My thought was easily accessible vinegar powder.

I have to agree with this. Very often, I am now finding sweet corn to be too sweet. It seems like other flavor is being sacrificed for the sake of sweetness as well.

Hoping for better!

So, I happened to be in Staunton this evening, and decided to pop into the Shack, and see if they had a table free for a walk-in. Best food decision I have made in a long time. I kept looking at this as the place that I should check into given the right occasion. I will now say that any occasion is the right occasion. Wonderful hospitality, terrific food and drink, and for a price comparable to Olive Garden (which my wife and daughter love). Drive north, I say! Drive north!

If you do make it further north, then I would encourage you to stop in Staunton. Ian Boden's "The Shack" has been on my list for a long time. Zynodoa is another one worth taking time for. The Shack is more eclectic, but both spots have excellent cooking with a focus on local ingredients. On a more casual basis, try Byers St Bistro. Finally, you shouldn't miss ice cream from "The Split Banana." I never would have guessed that Sticky Rice would be an amazing ice cream flavor. I wish I knew Lexington and south better, but as you can see, I can give some good arguments for taking a day to come further north!

@kayb, If you are a coffee drinker, don't miss Lexington Coffee Roasters. They are consistently great and occasionally phenomenal with their single origin roasts. For that matter, your route could take you close to Floyd as well. If it does, check out Red Rooster Coffee Roasters. For some strange reason, all the best coffee in Virginia seems to come from the hills.

For those seeking a less expensive option, I will raise up the Hario Skeleton line again. I use it for everything from drip, to pour-over, to Aeropress. It is not perfect. I get more fines than I prefer for French Press. But I have been using it for over 6 months now and am not yet being persuaded to invest in a more expensive grinder. I have the Skerton Pro. I have been known to slip a 7mm socket on a cordless drill to drive the grinder when brewing for crowd. This does result in the internals warming up substantially, though, so I don't recommend the procedure.

Slipped by Costco yesterday. Timing is still not opportune. However, I was tempted by this one...

Yes. This has caught my eye for the past month or so. Seems to be largely composed of cheeses otherwise available from Costco. I'm still waiting for the occasion that will justify buying that much cheese at once, or for a cheese on the board that I have to have!

Dry works. I have tried it with a small amount of oil, but it doesn't appear to be necessary.

This is what I do, for just as much as I need at a time. The stuff appears to have an astonishingly long shelf life.

I succumbed to the temptation of a Costco closeout price on these several months ago. Thrown in a skillet to brown for a few minutes, they make a slightly interesting sandwich topper. I have yet to conjure another use for them.

15% matches my experience with locally grown and milled whole wheat flour. Unfortunately, the farm I was buying from has folded. Makes this thread all too tempting!

Hey now! I just barely escape being a mellenial and I thought the same!

We have grown ( or attempted to grow) Black Krims for several years. My wife insists they are her favorite tomato. However, we have yet to see better than two tomatoes from a plant. A month ago, my wife insisted she was finally swearing them off. So when I went to pick up her plants from the plant sale yesterday, what do you think I saw?