cdh

There's a whole lot of beers in the world... what do you stock? Are you looking for things that make Bud Light more interesting? Are you looking for porter milkshake recipes? Are you looking for something that plays well with triple-dry-hopped lactose-dosed ipa? Something to do with a flemish red? What offsets the vinegar notes in Vichtenaar? The old classics like Michelada are good places to start...

Hershey's chocolate. That weird sour twang just makes it seems like the milk in the chocolate had gone off.

Truffles are a lot like diamonds. Not common in nature but appealing, so expensive. And cartels have got a hold on mass supply. People have figured out how to make the appealing part for less than the cartels like to get paid for the natural option, so they convince people that the manufactured alternative is bad, and only the expensive natural option is worth considering. If you can't get hold of enough or high enough quality naturals, then looking at the man-mades is only rational... and if you like them, there's no shame in using them. So chuck a drop or two of good truffle oil in there if you like it.

Interesting. So do the Europeans follow this methodology for pan design? They've been using induction for much longer and more widely than here. Are there EU-market pans that are optimized like you suggest, with a thin magnetically active layer wrapped around thicker high-thermal-conductivity layers? I've not paid much attention to multi-metal pan design recently, and have no idea whether such things would even turn up in the US market if they were made.

Just to be a devil's advocate, isn't it accurate to say that carbon steel is an excellent conductor of magnetic fields, and on an induction plate should be an awesome thing to cook in? It's not the shiny stainless nickel/chrome steel that doesn't do magnetism...

I'd bet that meat sourcing and distribution is local, not national, at TJs. Just like the bakery stuff. So we're hearing that NYC and AZ TJs beef leaves something to be desired. I don't generally buy meat at TJ's, but did purchase a super marbelled rib eye from them here in PA a couple of years back because it looked so good... and it was. Never saw another comparable piece of beef at TJ's thereafter, but I had a great experience with one good looking super marbelled steak.

Seeing the curly endive, I'm wondering if China does anything vaguely similar to the hot bacon vinegar sweet/sour dressing that is a traditional accompaniment to the stuff in my very western experience. China does ham/bacon, lots of vinegars, and lots of hot thickened sauces. Do they combine the three and pour it over endive? Or use those flavors in the hotpots this stuff gets tossed into?

Maybe go for the most contrasting style available... I have never knowingly experienced Felchlin's products so I don't know if it is a super sharp fruity acidic French style, or a super smooth and rich low-note Belgian style... but go with the style it isn't for the contrast.

Just to get the link at eye level rather than one click away, there's this: https://www.gofundme.com/znkb4-we-love-katie?fbclid=IwAR1081bk8K14DJ6v597AQ0nMmJ8NPk2NRmp0-flssbpJnbyKzILnz2gTKT8

And what a deep rabbit hole it can be...

For the most part, I also roast my own beans, though I used to use the New Mexico Pinon Coffee that Trader Joes carried for espresso some of the time too. I find that my own roast beats the packaged stuff like Lavazza for depth of flavor and complexity. You can take your espresso equipment in as complicated and expensive a direction as you like... but you can produce drinkable shots with some inexpensive equipment too... if you don't mind hand cranking a Hario ceramic grinder and doing the bicycle pump maneuvers to pressurize a Handpresso. It is all about dialing in the important variables. Grind, both degree and consistency, is of primary importance. Second is temperature. With a big espresso machine with brass boiler and big solid brew group the thermal mass is pretty big. With a handheld like the Handpresso the difference in temperature between hitting extract 3 seconds after filling it with boiling water and loading the grinds vs 10 seconds can be the difference between a great shot and an undrinkable one. Heat dissipates that fast.

So this kickstarter did meet its goals... and I was a backer. I'll be fascinated to see what my $250 buys me. Just a pot with a magnetic stirring functionality will be pretty cool. I hope they figure out a way to make the deep fry function workable by adding a spigot to drain oil. I'll post updates if/when there is news.

Yup. Espresso is a really tough balancing act between your beans, your grinder, your tamper, and your espresso machine... And you've given us no info about any of what you're using. Let us know , and maybe somebody who has similar equipment can help you dial in your shot... or not... there are lots and lots of combinations out there. As a general rule, varying your grind is the first step... for my particular taste buds, a 15-18g double shot dosage should pull a 2 oz-ish shot in 20-30 seconds. twiddle with your grinder until you get there... and then let us know how we can guide you from there.

Does anybody have a reference to a paper on how this actually works? I understand shaking magnetic stuff with magnetic fields and using that to make heat. I don't understand how magnetic field oscillation could possibly heat up non-magnetic stuff.

Looking further into the details, it seems that they're claiming that stirring is variable, and can be turned on and off, and come on on a schedule. That seems interesting. They're hitting some fascinating possibilities that could be useful. If they can execute on it.

Any idea if you drop a commercially available lotus root back into some mud will it grow? Are they usually viable, like potatoes? Are the commercial cultivars as pretty as your picture there? I'm kinda feeling the urge to swing by my local asian market to grab some lotus root and experiment.

Kickstarter seems to have me figured out and sent a notice of this new project: I couldn't resist sharing it here. I like the idea but wonder whether it can execute satisfactorally. It seems very much like a slightly kitchenized lab stir plate setup, which are quite good at keeping things suspended and at a uniform temperature. I love that people are trying to apply new inexpensive precision controls to old ideas. I wonder if the wattage and heating element can really keep up with things like steaming and particularly deep frying, where you lose a bunch of energy whenever you drop in new cold food.

This is the stuff that I always thought of as gai lan.

You have to wonder at how much stock to put in a royal warrant for kitchens... does Her Majesty ever set foot into one?

I find that a white negroni comes out nicely with gin, Luxardo Bianco, M&R White, and a splash of Salers... enough gentian, but not too dirty root flavored.

I'd not say the tip sheet is incorrect, insofar as they do mention lots of variables that can affect outcome right in the sheet. They say that line voltage (and length of your electrical run) has an effect, and indoor vs outdoor roasting has an effect, as well as how much coffee is in the chamber, etc. But in my experiences with my SR500, at the end of an extension cord out on a patio, with 100g of green coffee in it, the roast goes a lot slower than SM would have you think.

Hmmm... that tip sheet really is YMMV. Sweet Maria's SR500 goes much much faster than mine does. But SM also had a video talking about problems with scorching of the beans in an SR500 that I saw before I got mine, and which has affected how I've been using the controls. I am not a follower of the race-to-first-crack school of roasting, so I don't crank the heat to high and the fan to low when starting out with the heavy green beans in the chamber not moving around much. I start with low heat and high fan for a minute to two at the start to permit the beans to get dried out and start moving around more, then crank the heat, then turn the fan down to medium after the first snaps of the first crack hit. That's usually at about 5 minutes into the roast. The first crack ends at about 7 or 7.5 minutes in, and that is where I generally stop the roast, because my usual beans are fruity Ethiopians, and getting them much past the 1st crack diminishes the acidity that causes the fruit bomb flavors I'm after.

Here's a pretty comprehensive list of green bean souces: https://www.home-barista.com/home-roasting/green-coffee-sources-2018-list-t52138.html I'd add ebay as well... sometimes good beans turn up there at reasonable prices. Sweet Maria's is definitely a fine source. I pay little to no attention to competition scores, largely because the lot that was judged is often not available... Cup of Excellence generally has an auction for the judged beans, no? Not even a clue what AAA is in the land of green coffee. Also, even with 24 hours of degassing, I think you're going to find there is an upward slope on the deliciousness curve for about 10 days after roasting.

Interesting question... cannot fathom an answer for you, though. No commonalities in busting the meat out of a crustacean and popping the adductor muscle in a shellfish... LN2 might make the hulk-smash method of getting at lobster meat extra shattery... but I have no serious ideas about how it could be used to efficiently get at the stuff under a lobster shell.

Interesting article on the recent history of the things. http://mycitypaper.com/time-wafers-no-man/