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Duvel

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Posts posted by Duvel

  1. GreenVC2017-Abdullah (iop.org)

     

    tl;dr: 

     

    Potato starch has a lower gelatization temperature than corn starch, meaning it thickens faster, and - depending on cooking time - more complete (i.e. leaves less to no starchy residue that may impact the mouthfell). It also has a higher bulk density, so all in all you need less potato starch than corn starch for the same effect (think 2/3).

    • Like 3
  2. I like Nami, and most if her recipes are decent. So is this one, but it neither gives the right texture (compared to the original, which is smoother), nor the taste I am looking for … as I said: it’s ambitious (and I have played around a lot 🤗).

  3. 33 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

    If you enjoy egg salad, have you tried the Japanese"7-Eleven" egg salad sando.  There are a few variations floating around. Ideally, it's made with Japanese milk bread (Shokupan), but I can't easily find good samples and so have taken to using challah.  The egg-y challah seems to go very well with the egg salad mixture.


    Oh dear … that’s an ambitious target. Shokupan of course, crustless. The egg salad is tricky: there is an excess of yolk, plenty of kewpie and - from sources I trust - a drop of fish sauce (I know no one believes me, but the closest I’ve ever gotten was with fish sauce). Anyway, as much as I’d like to I am still those last 5% away from the iconic original (of which I had a looooooot) …

    • Like 2
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  4. 14 hours ago, Honkman said:

    Shepherd’s Pie - ground beef, carrots, peas, onion, garlic, tomato paste, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, flour, chicken broth and obviously topped with mashed potatoes made with russets, milk, egg and melted butter

    IMG_9141.thumb.jpeg.216692a2de1375bd248dcb840b4046b2.jpeg


    Such a perfect surface pattern browning 🤗

    • Like 3
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  5. 1 hour ago, chromedome said:

    I was just explaining the Two Tone movement/music to my GF two nights ago, as we watched the designer on a reno show do a kitchen all in black and white. I commented that I'd need to listen to vintage ska in order to cook in that room, and it kind of snowballed from there.

     

    Now that you mention it - Reel Big Fish goes well with stir fries ...

    • Like 1
  6. 2 hours ago, gfweb said:

    People look back and say that circumcision is good for you..strictly after the fact reasoning.


    Exactly …

     

    And once a significant number of

    people have succumbed after eating pork intestines or oysters in a surprisingly warm environment, codifying a law against eating them will protect their ancestors at least from that danger. I think there is a point to be had.
     

    Bleeding out animals to make the meat spoil slower is a smart practice as well. Eating fish on Fridays maybe less so, but then religion isn’t a strict science …

  7. 1 hour ago, gfweb said:

     

    Opens up another discussion...were the dietary laws (and other restrictions on Jews) done for practical reasons or religious ones designed to set the people apart from others?

     

    Not necessarily set apart, but maybe help them to thrive in a certain environment, e.g. the matzo as a long lasting & spoil resistant bread alternative ? 

     

    A colleague in university came from Haifa and whenever I had a Mettbrötchen (raw minced pork on a rye roll) for breakfast, he said that that would be a death sentence at home. I always assumed for religious reasons, given that pork is a no go for both Jews and Muslims alike, but one day he explained that pigs carry so many diseases/parasites in warmer climates plus the ambient temperatures in conjunction with the raw mince would make my favorite snack probably as healthy as slurping raw sewage. So, to forbid certain foods can have significant benefits for a population.

     

    I never got him to try it, not even on a Matzo cracker ...

     

     

    • Like 2
  8. 10 hours ago, KennethT said:

    So I see no reason why they couldn't have either mixed the dough at night for it to leaven while they were sleeping, or mix it in the morning before packing up and have it rise during the travel time.  In the heat of the day, I'd assume it would get quite a bit of lift in 12-14 hours or so of walking.


    Maybe we see this topic from a wrong angle: not that they were forced to prepare the unleavened bread hastily (as the legend says) , but maybe the did so by design, i.e. to create an (barely) edible derivative of flour they could transport and live of for longer time than from bread. I mean crackers will keep significantly longer than bread, due to the low water activity. Plus bread with its sponge-lke texture will likely trap moisture in a desert environment due to the drastic day/night temperature change more easily and thus limit its shelf life.

    • Like 3
  9. 8 minutes ago, gfweb said:

     

     

    Of course yeasts were present in Egypt and everywhere else. 

     

    But Matzoh is baked quickly after the dough is mixed (for that reason) and shows no sign of leavening in the product.  If there is yeast in matzoh it's a contaminant and killed by baking anyway.

     


    Sure, that part is uncontested. My point was that if there was a need to prepare matzo within said very short timeframe, the ambient yeasts in ancient Egypt must have been the pretty powerful ones. If I mix flour with water it’ll take a loooot longer than 20 min before anything ferments …

     

     

    • Like 3
  10. 35 minutes ago, gfweb said:

     

    No yeast!


    As I was searching in the mancave for my Oxfords Dictionary of Ancient Cultures & Languages to prove you wrong, I noticed that I must have lend this to someone else with more need of important facts. But fear not, I used Google and it seems there were yeasts present in ancient Egypt - behold:

     

    Quote

    They believe they have succeeded in identifying, isolating, and even baking bread with strains of yeast that may have been used by Middle Kingdom Egyptians to make bread—and brew beer—more than 4,000 years ago.


    And, given my 20 min account here, they must have been the fast acting type 🤭

     

    Probably something like this, but Ramses II brand  …

     

    image.jpeg.69622a8f2ee3d1b49a9f4b0523b2d007.jpeg

    • Like 2
  11. 16 minutes ago, weinoo said:

    No - it is unleavened bread!

     

    I know - that was my point 😉

     

    Given that it needs to be prepared within a ~20 min time window to guarantee no fermentation takes place, I can only assume that those 20 min refer to the time it would have taken in ancient Egypt (at the time of the exodus) to start fermenting. Hence, pretty active yeasts 😋

     

    • Like 2
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  12. Administrator's note:  this topic was split from the "Why some people eat matzo year-round" topic here.

     

    On 4/3/2024 at 11:21 PM, KennethT said:

    X

    22 hours ago, KennethT said:

    it's just flour, water and salt, baked within 14 minutes (that's from memory, don't quote me)


    18-22 min, according to this article

     

    They must have had some pretty potent wild yeasts in ancient egypt 🤗
     

    • Thanks 2
  13. 13 minutes ago, weinoo said:

    think, despite objections that dim sum are rarely made at home, one might find some nice recipes, tips, helpful suggestions, etc. in:


    I think a huge part of eGullet is that fact that we deal with things that are rarely made at home (or at least by very few people 🤭) …

    • Like 2
  14. Hmm … I already posted Easter linner here, but maybe you’d be interested in breakfast, too ?

     

    I picked up fresh croissants from the only decent bakery open on Easter Sunday some 10 km away from our home. They came fresh out of the oven …

     

    IMG_3032.thumb.jpeg.cebba79bb9278ff67f47e7a00d86ac3c.jpeg

     

    The full monty:

     

    IMG_3033.thumb.jpeg.5d4df922232ea53c75f4b6abf6a0d334.jpeg

     

    And at least my favorite: the cold cuts …

     

    IMG_3034.thumb.jpeg.ec5f6f42c9716e3191454a4b09d6a233.jpeg

     

    An oddity: Easter Brötchen with carrot inside …

     

    IMG_3037.thumb.jpeg.ab457e4213580917ca5b9c5ad9f8ef35.jpeg

     

    The mona or Easter bread. A brioche dough with an hard boiled egg. Perfect with Nutella !

     

    IMG_3039.thumb.jpeg.58ef00b6aa83e979efe31dbb9a96ac99.jpeg

     

    And just in case you were wondering about the rabbits: the big one is callled Mr. Brownie and turned 20 years this Easter. My mom sent it to my then girlfriend (now wife) on our first Easter living in Japan 2004. The little one is called Hasi and belongs to our little one. We bought it 2 years before he was born, and gave it to him upon his birth (his second picture ever is with Hasi). They celebrated Mr. Brownies birthday together …

     

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    • Like 12
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  15. 13 minutes ago, rotuts said:

     

    what sort of potato did you use for themes ?


    I buy them in a bag of 5kg and refill my potato storage container in the kitchen with it, so I can’t say for sure which floury potato was this batch. Normally in this region, it’s either Gala or Bintje

    • Like 1
  16. A lovely sunny Easter Sunday with some flower garden strolling and the first (woodruff flavored) ice cream of the season …

     

    IMG_3046.thumb.jpeg.704a1ae79d5d426448647aa2da9fdb75.jpeg

     

    IMG_3052.thumb.jpeg.864a6ce54f22fb1553891e2df2048c31.jpeg

     

    … led to Easter linner:

     

    IMG_3059.thumb.jpeg.71bb4d6dc9eae1f3dc1e78a90653cfb5.jpeg

     

    Featuring a 10h oven roasted leg of lamb …

     

    IMG_3064.thumb.jpeg.e0085973caf823fb947a4dcbd00dddbc.jpeg

     

    It was perfectly tender and juicy. Served with the already reduced braising jus and herb butter.

     

    IMG_3073.thumb.jpeg.494e4690c51fad87e1ddc5ab7e3449e4.jpeg

     

    Classic green string beans …

     

    IMG_3065.thumb.jpeg.108a99fbd5d79e37d9e90050cb0ac1d3.jpeg
     

    Caramelized leeks …

     

    IMG_3062.thumb.jpeg.931b23579708b5310754ccc04f82d64f.jpeg

     

    Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, Parmigiano and aragula …

     

    IMG_3063.thumb.jpeg.a4a97a49b14a79f88dc5097c6cc4d35e.jpeg

     

    Beans braised in lamb stock with tomatoes and olives …

     

    IMG_3061.thumb.jpeg.f02180fc7eac5ed1547e7bffdd83a84a.jpeg

     

    And some commercial potato croquettes (hooray for air fryers) …

     

    IMG_3066.thumb.jpeg.dd90d8799140e81d273e6a1fd20259f7.jpeg


    Plus a nice red to appease the in-laws

     

    IMG_3067.thumb.jpeg.48cf794dc83919eca3359e7ac1792507.jpeg

     

    Yum 🤗

     

    IMG_3068.thumb.jpeg.adee1b9ac27a3108b083e36b5a7ee63f.jpeg

     

    No complaints. None at all.
     

    Frohe Ostern, everybody 🐣

    • Like 13
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  17. Today’s linner

     

    You may know that asparagus is huge in Germany. The season starts now and is very much anticipated. I know it’s kind of unpatriotic but my first Spargel of the season didn’t come from our town, but a small village in the Palatinate. We had a chat at work the other day and my secretary told me that a farmer in her town grows the best asparagus in the region. I ordered to kilograms (at 16€/kg, which is pretty decent for the early season). So …

     

    2 kg of very fresh asparagus, just peeled and the trimmings cooked into a braising stock with salt, sugar, lemon and butter. I eat one or two raw as a cooks treat. They burst with liquid and flavor.

     

    IMG_2976.thumb.jpeg.1f132f8482bfb30866d365af410b06da.jpeg

     

    Also as a cooks treat: a Duvel 🤗

     

    IMG_2978.thumb.jpeg.f45ed6350eac1b3e8d787e8e4c5b8b84.jpeg

     

    Schnitzel for DW and the in-laws (the love for Spargel seems to had difficulties crossing the alps) …

     

    IMG_2977.thumb.jpeg.a94affab34111645128b4d5374ae4980.jpeg

     

    The works …

     

    IMG_2980.thumb.jpeg.6d5873238d3e3ceb2d77d1945a6ed846.jpeg

     

    New baby potatoes (Drillinge) with caraway …

     

    IMG_2982.thumb.jpeg.809d9c10e893758a2b1ad156bce19ffd.jpeg

     

    Veal Schnitzel

     

    IMG_2981.thumb.jpeg.bf030730e099165d20d778b1e8a3d8e2.jpeg

     

    The star of the show, accompanied by cured pork loin (Lachsschinken), Bastīrma (kind of Pastrami), Tirolean Speck and cured pork neck (Coppa) …

     

    IMG_2983.thumb.jpeg.0eadb2cb040139887f37bc89e7c58c6b.jpeg

     

    Homecured salmon …

     

    IMG_2984.thumb.jpeg.da811fc35650a57f91ce3d0e985bb7e2.jpeg

     

    Everyone else had a Scheurebe Auslese, I had a Duvel …

     

    IMG_2985.thumb.jpeg.047491807da58d7f659d8371166cc488.jpeg

     

    Oh … and sauce Hollandaise ad libitum ☺️

     

    IMG_2988.thumb.jpeg.e6cca5618e3da1d69d0cd169de2bf5c6.jpeg

     

    And later - for the gentlemen of drinking age: Auchentoshan 18 …

     

    IMG_2989.thumb.jpeg.ca36e326d41b212f8ced3b676c2edb87.jpeg

     

    No dessert. None needed. No complaints 🤗

     

     

    • Like 9
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    • Delicious 12
  18. Had another “German food, but light” request from the in-laws. Inquiring minds need to know, so I asked: it seems that the Catalan gastrointestinal system is sometimes overwhelmed with pork products (not entirely sure, how this manifests itself - surely inquiring minds don’t want to know). So, an easy pork-free weekday dinner:

     

    IMG_2964.thumb.jpeg.90947174359afa1749f3610aaa9aff8e.jpeg

     

    Pumpkin-cheese bread rolls with three dips: Obatzda (ripe Camembert with butter, fresh cheese and spices), Heringssalat (pickled herring, red beets, apple, onion, sour cream) and Fleischsalat (smoked vegetarian bologna, cornichons, onion, mayo).

     

    IMG_2965.thumb.jpeg.7dd4b2d723beb8f8ff4bdfb7009dcf9d.jpeg

     

    Fresh Brezel

     

    IMG_2968.thumb.jpeg.afdea803468b78da15319be61952d0d3.jpeg

     

    Some of which where prepared with herb butter, parsley and chives …

     

    IMG_2967.thumb.jpeg.d4c8700732361894cf960427ffd10fcb.jpeg

     

    Weisswurst (all veal version: some popped during the tempering, but they were great. Mildly spiced with mace, lemon peel and parsley, these actually felt light) …

     

    IMG_2966.thumb.jpeg.2d602b76df3abbceb8bad0da1739561f.jpeg

     

    All in all a great success. The lightness of the meal was underlined by me serving only Riesling, (and one Duvel for me) and the lightest of Japanese whiskey in my portfolio as a digestif 😎

     

    • Like 12
    • Delicious 7
  19. Warm enough to fire up the BBQ outside, but not warm enough to dine al fresco (at least not for everyone 🤭) …

     

    IMG_2859.thumb.jpeg.9866931b84e29d7364e34f6a8e8fd8e9.jpeg

     

    Meats: sausage, Grillfackel (spiced pork belly wrapped around wooden skewers), pork collar steaks and chicken filets.

     

    IMG_2861.thumb.jpeg.312e88ef28190f28b6f4988883e7460e.jpeg

     

    Homemade herb butter bread …

     

    IMG_2864.thumb.jpeg.5725f9e4bc96ecb6b21b7ed167aa835f.jpeg


    Tomato mozzarella pesto …

     

    IMG_2860.thumb.jpeg.2f8e6777709753d8afc659118bf8165a.jpeg

     

    Roasted courgettes with dried tomatoes and feta cheese …

     

    IMG_2863.thumb.jpeg.612725ea121b836d8c70394a1d3dfaea.jpeg

     

    Potato “pockets” with cream cheese filling (hooray for air fryers) …

     

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    Kartoffelsalat with bacon and cucumbers …

     

    IMG_2866.thumb.jpeg.2bacad66f5e0a39ba65bee83c1007ddd.jpeg

     

    There was also an off-dry Riesling and copious amounts of a new lime mint soda - no complaints 🤗

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  20. Pizza & movie night, “in-laws edition”. It’s not that easy to find a movie they haven’t seen and - for some odd reason - is not animated. So, the “real life” version of The Lion King, preceded & accompanied by:

     

    Salami & mushroom …

     

    IMG_2842.thumb.jpeg.20fa7b2228a982af87abd9ce09a14313.jpeg

     

    Rohesser & artichokes …

     

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    Capers, olives & anchovies …

     

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    We had to choose the Spanish version, with subtitles for me (and little one, even though we are not allowed to tell that to the in-laws) …

     

    IMG_2849.thumb.jpeg.530703ecd5c7f883f28948555e391af4.jpeg

     

    No complaints (on the pizzas, mind you 🤗)!

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    • Haha 3
  21. 1 hour ago, AlaMoi said:

     

    I think I may have semi-mastered seared scallops for dinner . . .

     


    They do look nice. If you want to go all the eay, you could potentially improve them with a 10 min quick cure with 2:1 salt:sugar to draw out more surface moisture and a sear with a high-heat stable fat, e.g. ghee

    • Like 2
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