Duvel

I own both books. They are informative and the drawings are beautifully made and fully sufficient to support the recipes (e.g. different ways to score different fishes). In a way they fit the overall design of the book much better than some stylish photos would have.

Whenever I am able to go back to Germany, my first meal is always a "Mettbrötchen": A rye bread roll, lots of butter and "Mett", raw minced fatty pork with raw onions and some spices. Hits the spot everytime and tell my body (specifically my gastro-intestinal system) that I am home ...

"Salt and Vinegar seasoning". If it contains more than salt and vinegar, the rest is artificially added. And yes, Maltodextrin is not found in nature as such, but has to be hydrolised from corn starch by non-enzymatic methods (because otherwise it would not be found on this label). Malic acid could be isolated from fruits, but to be used in this commodity its food-grade synthetic (and cheap). And "natural flavours" means only that they are derived from natural sources, nothing less So - as far as I am concerned - this is the same artificially flavoured stuff as Tikka, or Numb&Spicy and Cucumber flavoured chips. And just for the record (if you have read my previous contributions to this topic): the fact that it is does not change its appeal to me ...

And how does "Salt & Vinegar" not count as artificially flavoured ?

I am intrigued - does Spargel work with passion fruit ?

I am going to give it a try as soon as it his the market here ...

Behave !

Usually the "squirrel fish" preparation that you are referring to has bones, they are just removed during the prep. Smaller fish can be prepared in nanban-zuke/escabeche-style so you soften or dissolve the tiny bones in the acidic marinate. Works wonders for conger ... I have not encountered any fish that had no bones so far. But the markets here are full of interesting species.

Calabash.

Fry on top of thickly sliced garlic, minimum salt and pepper, medium rare. Slice into thick slices, with salt&pepper on the side and a katsuoboshi-based tare with just a hint of mirin.

Plus one for this. Heston Blumenthal used star anise and fish sauce in his rendition of Spag Bol in "Search of Perfection". It really gives more depth to the dish. I frequently use oyster sauce in lieu of the fish sauce, especially in Shepards Pie ...

Arriving severely delayed at home, aircon has stopped for any reason somewhen last week. 27 oC, 90 percent humidity - nothing cold in the fridge. Made a mixture of Jameson (from the duty free) and Haagen Dazs Royal Milk Tea (from the freezer). Not the most glamorous, but it hit the spot. Kind of bergamot flavoured Baileys'. Three of those and I am at peace with the airline again ...

I used to - fun times. For your decision making for a chilling unit: i think that more than the minimum temperature of your coolant your focus should be on the overall cooling capacity per hour - the more stable your coolant temperature, the more and faster you can condense and the higher your yield. When you say alcoholic black pepper reduction: could you share the proportions ? Which type of alcohol you use (percentages, source) ?

I do like to add XO sauce to anything stewed/braised.

I grew up on kale and I love it. All this "modern" treatment of kale of course is terribly wrong (kale smoothie, anyone ?), but given the proper treatment is one of my favorite seasonal veggies. If you find a brown one (harvested after the soil it grows in was frozen solid), the dump it chopped up into a pot full of onions caramelized in goose fat (with attached skin and other little left-overs), add a couple of heavily-smoked sausages and then boil it for a good couple of hours it's one of the best things winter has in store for you. And as you eat so much of it (including said sausages) you need a significant number of "Korn" shots to somehow digest it. Double win ! So please, no badmouthing the poor kale ...

Maggi.

That only works out if you are interested in getting quick access to the residue. If you want to isolate all or most of the distillate you might need a tiny bit more thought ...

At 150 mbar the boiling point of water is around 55 oC. As you are using a rotor vap - essentially a thin-film evaporator - you can get significant amounts of liquid into the gas phase at lower temperatures. You might raise the temp by a couple of degrees, but if your cooling medium is only 10 oC that would lead to higher losses. If your vacuum pump has a liquid separator (it should) you will find that at 10 oC cooling medium (really ?) you may condense about 80 percent, given a proper design of the cooling section. Much lower you can't get: once your cooling medium drops below 0 oC you will get solidification of the aqueous distillate. To achieve higher condensation rates you might increase the pressure (doubling it will give you 10 oC more in boiling point). You want to aim for a 50 oC differential between boiling point and cooling medium to get around 90plus percent condensation. It will improve also the "trapping" of flavours in the distillate.

That does actually raise more questions than it answers. Why would the addition of Hot Dogs imply a cassoulet-type dish ..?

Could you elaborate why the addition of an Hot Dog would be considered "French" ?

if you are interested in the destillates, tap water as the cooling medium will most likely insufficient. If you let me know the specs of your vacuum pump and your desired application ( reduction of water-based solutions, alcohol etc.) I can give you an definite answer ...

I found Camerons relatives in the local market ...

I would also go with fish, preferably coated and fried (like squirrel fish) ...

I find this rather unlikely. It would not make sense for the shop to deceive a well paying clientele with something pretending to be from one's home country while come from across the border. And it is most probably the French housewive buying this product just as I would pay only a premium to get my Weisswurst that I know so well from home. So, while I admire your enthusiasm for Chinese quail exports, I strongly feel that "French quail" sold here is just that. I will try to make a picture when I am back from Vietnam ...

Unfortunately, most people here (and especially the expats) do not trust in the quality produce from mainland. Its all available and at a fraction of the price of the imported material. Yet, the latter is more popular. It might be a combination of wanting to buy something "safe", from home, as well as not really being bothered with the cost of living*. ____ * Disclaimer: working in the chemical industry, which unfortunately does not keep the same salary profiles as the banking sector, the latter does not apply to me ...