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Chelseabun

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Posts posted by Chelseabun

  1. Hi everyone! 

    I've been a long, long time lurker of this site.  I discovered this site by doing some Google searches on storage of food and chocolate making/tempering and then proceeded to spend many numerous hours reading the forums(you really don't want to know :x).  I've wanted to become a part of the community for a long time because everybody here is so friendly and helpful, so here I am! It took me long enough! 

    I'm not a professional, just a big ol' food enthusiast. :) I love to cook, bake, read recipes, read articles about food (the history of food), make chocolates (I dabble in tempering and specifically making fondants with invertase), and try to add as many herbs into desserts as humanly possible! In general anything that centers around the topic of food I am interested in, and usually I will try to bake or eat anything at least once with an open mind! 

    Thanks for having me here and I hope to get to know people more as I post! Have a good day everyone :) 

     

    Hi Tinyragebaking, welcome to EGullet.  I lurked for a long time before joining too! I am looking forward to reading your posts. Regards.

  2. Chelseabun, my mother suggested rhubarb too...but I've never been a fan, really. I guess because it wasn't available where I grew up. More importantly, I have not seen it frozen (but admittedly have not sought it out). Will have to add it to the long list for years when we have more guests. I hear many people are fans. :)

    AnnaN: YES. That is it! Thank you thank you thank you!

     

    I have rhubarb growing in the garden so make it from fresh during the summer months. However, it needs to be sweetened well to make it palatable LoL.  I only mentioned deep fried turkey as it would give me an opportunity to build an Alton Brown style 'turkey derrick' LoL complete with flashing warning light on top! 

     

    With regard to the Pilgrim Fathers - is that what thanksgiving is about or is it about other things? You are being thankful for the harvest or thankful that you have food or thankful that you are American?  I'm guessing partially patriotic and partially religious? Or is it about family and friends or community and sharing food? I'm from the UK so only hear about it through the media.

  3. What? No thanksgiving menu topic yet? Surely it hasn't all been said already.

    We're having about 10 people over. Some are insisting in bringing dishes I would rather make myself. We order a smoked turkey from a local BBQ place. The menu is pretty standard, the exciting part is the pie extravaganza afterward. Inspired by an account I read somewhere a few years ago, we are making n + 1 pies (where n= number of guests). Then we invite everyone we can think of to help us eat them.

    Proposed pies (subject to revision):

    1. Pumpkin

    2. Maple pecan

    3. Apple

    4. Biscoff

    5. Bacon rosemary pecan

    6. Blackberry

    7. Cranberry sage

    8. Mincemeat

    9. Masala pear

    10. Lemon sponge

    11. Peach custard

    I'm also trying unsuccessfully to track down a dinner roll recipe I found here on eGullet last year-- it was a no-knead recipe, had a bit of lemon zest in it. If that rings any bells, I'd be grateful for someone to point me the way to it.

     

    You could add Rhubarb pie to the list? That's always been a favourite of mine from way back! Is it true that the Pilgrim Fathers got the idea of Thanksgiving from their time in Leiden (Netherlands) before making the journey on the Mayflower?  We certainly don't have a thanksgiving tradition in the UK but if i were to make a thanksgiving dinner it would have to have lots of pumpkin and i recon a deep fried turkey!!

  4. Thank you for posting this. That is exactly what my starter was doing until it suddenly stopped doing it! But let me ask you this. Do you Feed it at approximately the same time every day or do you feed it according to its rising and falling cycles?

    'Yeastie' (my name for my starter) gets fed about the same time each day but when it was started (about two weeks ago) initially  was fed about once every two days (i.e. when required). Now i am thinking about baking with 'Yeastie', i will increase the feeds to approx. every eight hours (i.e. according to it's rising and falling cycle approximately).

     

    I really wish i had the answer for you.  I thought you had it working out well when you posted the photo of your starter fermenting.  I am used to using commercial yeasts for bread, beer and wine-making.  Wild yeast cultures are new to me.  I am learning with you here.  Regards.

  5. And so it did for quite a number of days. It seemed extremely lively until yesterday morning. I fed it in the same way using the same ingredients and today it appears to be as dead as a door nail. Damn. Just as I was about to use it to make some bread. I will feed it again this morning as always and see what happens but my hopes are dashed.

     

    My first attempt was with a white flour starter (see post #12).  I felt there wasn't something right with it as although it was fermenting, it was very slow.  My second attempt started with rye flour and then after it was established was fed with only white flour.  I found the second starter was active from very early on and i am confident that it will give my bread enough rise. 

     

    I would suggest therefore, you may like to try (alongside your white starter) a second starter (from rye flour).

     

    Just to prove mine is working, here is my starter in slow motion:

     

    http://youtu.be/xbTsG64Vtq4

    copyright statement: This video was shot by me in my kitchen and i therefore own the copyright.

    The background music was provided free by youtube and is therefore covered by their standard licence arrangements.

    • Like 1
  6. And so it did for quite a number of days. It seemed extremely lively until yesterday morning. I fed it in the same way using the same ingredients and today it appears to be as dead as a door nail. Damn. Just as I was about to use it to make some bread. I will feed it again this morning as always and see what happens but my hopes are dashed.

     

    Mine rises up and then deflates.  Are you sure that it hasn't just got very lively and is flat because it needs another feed? 

  7. I considered doing this when I was learning my primal cuts.  When you see butchers demonstrating a hog breakdown, they always seem to go too fast.  At home, I am assuming you can take your time and get the cuts exactly how you want them.  Your stainless steel table looks perfect for the job but might be a bit on the small side for Bovine LoL

  8. Disappointing, isn't it? I was pretty happy with my first batch until, as we say here, it went south. As Mick suggested, I should have stuck with that batch. No reason why I couldn't have done that AND started a new one. I won't be as quick to toss this batch out. Looking forward to hearing how yours goes.

    Yeast multiplies fairly quickly.  I have made cider and wine from wild yeast before.  Just from intuition, it just looked like it was being inhibitted somehow.  I am viewing it as a success though and at least i can say that i was inspired enough by this thread to try a sourdough starter myself. 

     

    We say 'went south' too.  We have a lovely expression (meaning gone south): 'gone pear shaped'!

  9. Chelseabun, I hope you will try again.

    Thank you. That is very nice of you to say that.

     

    I dont know why the ferment was so weak.  It was a very lovely starter apart from that.   It had the 'right' smell about it.  A loaf made from it would have been very nice.  But it would have struggled to produce enough CO2 as it was.  You know, it was organic flour from my local windmill.  I was expecting it to work. 

     

    I will give it another go though :)

    • Like 1
  10. Ah, we are wild bunch, like overfed starter!! You might have to whip us into cold storage to retard the growth! :laugh:

     

    But seriously, if there's one thing I can see on this thread, it's that everyone IS giving it a try. We may go off on tangents occasionally, but we still recognize the direct route. (And very much appreciate your guidance.)

     

    Thats 100% correct. We gave it a go! Mine lasted over four days before being cast into the bin (in yeast terms, four days is many thousands of generations LoL). So it had a good life!

  11. My white flour starter was healthy with a very good if not tangy aroma.  However, it was very (and I mean very) slow (which could be a great positive as that could lead to a great flavour). However,  was not convinced it could be vigorous enough for me to make a loaf with it. So, it has now gone (alas).

     

    Is everyone using a rye starter to then make a white starter? Is no-one just making a white starter? I am sure they dont do that in San Francisco? It seems like adding an unnecessary extra step - but if it works, then i guess it is ok.  I might try it next time, as I have a bag of rye flour waiting to be used.

  12. Mine has started to produce small bubbles. It has had one feeding and will get another one tomorrow. Hopefully, this one will live. Chelseabun, yours looks pretty good.

    Thanks ElsieD.  It is healthy and the aroma is ok if not a bit 'complicated'. These starters though make up to a thick paste consistancy dont you think? the bubble holes in mine seem to stay there so it looks more acive than it probably is.  I am really looking forward to baking off a loaf with this yeast. Sorry your last starter died.  I am very pleased this one is doing ok for you. What flour are you using please? mine is high protein white. Im using bottled water as our tap water i think is has a high level of chlorine

  13. I knew about the acquisition but somehow I thought Kraft had closed the Bournville plant.  That is good news.

    I think it was the plant near Bristol (UK) that was closed.  The Bournville factory was not the only site Cadbury owned.  I think they also have a large plant in Ireland too?

     

    Asadus; I found a great little patisserie with an amazing selection of artisan chocolates in Calais (of all places).  I think the French patisseries in general do a good job on the chocolatier front. 

  14. I know what Cadbury was.  What is Cadbury world?

    Its a kind of exhibition adjacent to the original factory in Bournville, Birmingham UK.  They charge about £15 ($25) entry.  It covers the history of Cadbury (from their perspective) and the chocolate manufacturing process.  I've been there once, it was ok.  Not something I would go out of my way to do again but people who live in and around Birmingham seem to rate it highly.  It might be similar to Hershey's chocolate world?

  15. I have baked bread for years but have always used fresh or dried yeast.  After reading your posts, I have decided its time to start baking bread using a starter. Oh well, here goes nothing.... (this isn't like a commitment thing is it)?

     

    P1020929.jpg

     

    50g of stoneground organic white flour (12% protein) plus 50g mineral water. Photo was taken after 48 hours.

    • Like 2
  16. Chelseabun, have a look at these articles:

     

    http://www.justhungry.com/vegetarian-dashi-japanese-stock

    http://www.justhungry.com/2003/11/japanese_basics.html

    http://www.justhungry.com/2007/01/seaweed_hijiki_wakame_kombu_no.html

     

    From the second linked article above you can also easily cross over to this:

    http://www.justhungry.com/handbook/cooking-courses/japanese-cooking-101-lesson-1-its-all-about-dashi

    and from that one to this:

    http://www.justhungry.com/handbook/cooking-courses/japanese-cooking-101-lesson-1a-making-miso-soup-clear-soup

     

    For myself, miso soup is not miso soup without wakame.

     

    Is there a decent Japanese restaurant near you where you could sample some miso soup?

     

    BTW, from the same site here's a primer on miso:

    http://www.justhungry.com/handbook/just-hungry-reference-handbooks/japanese-miso-primer

    The quality and variety of the miso affects the characteristics of the miso soup you make. 

    I myself never make it with akamiso.  I almost always use shiromiso.  Just personal preferences.  However, akamiso is nice in some heartier dishes like some forms of nabe or braises or stews and whatnot (sometimes mixed w/ shiromiso in varying proportions depending on what is being made).

     

    P.s. Konbu from Japan Centre, London.  This answer set includes the konbu sheets as well as packs of already-made konbu-only dashi stock.

     

    P.p.s. I myself would not use glasswort (samphire) to make miso soup, not for my tastes anyway.  I'm sure it would make a nice stock but I'd call the soups made with it by other names.

     

    Many thanks.  These are great links. I now understand.  My konbu is on order (since last week) and is the wel-pac konbu (also sold by the Japan Centre) but it my take some time to arrive.  I tried an Asian supermarket earlier today.  I was able to buy some Wakame (ready for when my Konbu finally arrives). They also sold the dried Bonito flakes but i am wanting vegetarian dashi only.  For the same reason, i might not have any luck with Miso soup in Japanese restaurants (containing fish). 

  17. Nori and konbu are entirely different - the taste is not remotely close, I'm afraid. You might try ordering some from Japan Centre

    Have you tried making dashi from other seaweeds?  From my experiement, the dashi seemed to be subtle compared to the miso paste that was then added.  The Wikipedia entry on Dash mentions 'Shitake Dashi'.  Do you know what this is used for and could it have been a better substitute for my Miso soup?

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