jackal10

Yes, I have the book. I do prefer McGee's book. Depends if you are eating the skin or not. I find cooking a fish with a blowtorch (or very hot grill) hard to control. Even then you need to let the fish stand so the heat evens out. Its a different dish from the long-slow cooked low temperature one Lots more to come. I'm in the middle of writing the carbohydrate unit...a long tangled and sticky tale. Are people put off by the science stuff? I'd like to include some chemical formulas in the next unit.

I agree DON'T. You will lose your money, and your friends (who won't understand why you now start charging them). If you must, go work in a restaurant for a year, doing stages for nothing even. What you learn will more than pay for itself, even if it is negative...

Bullshots (vodka and consomme)

Fish was originally in this unit, but got edited out. Fish proteins are more delicate than meat proteins, so the decomposition tenperature is lower - only about 45C/110F. Most ovens don't go that low, so it can be a problem. Its about the temperature of hot water tap water. For short periods double wrapping the fish in foil, or putting it in a heavy casserole delays the heat transfer for hour or so, but not for very long periods Its one of the reasons why fish cooked in batter is so moist and delicious - the thick batter coating protects the fish from the hot oil. Sous-vide, or steaming, or warm smoke, with quite a lot of space between the fish and the heat source, such as an empty steamer basket or two below the the basket with the fish in it, works, as does very gentle poaching or frying. More solid fish, such as tuna doesn't conduct heat that well, so the "blackened" style, where the outside is seared briefly, but the inside is still comparatively raw also work. My favourite summer method is to put a thick layer of green herbs directly on the BBQ and the fish, such a a whole salmon on that, turning after 10 mins or so with fresh herbs. It smokes/steams. The herbs char and stick to the skin of the fish, but since you peel that off it doesn't matter. As with meat, a good remote reading digital thermometer will take out the guesswork.

I'd expect to release the sections on egCI as they get written. It would be great if other people join in the project - JAZ has a great unit on taste in the works. No one has comissioned a book yet, although I believe FG has something for the whole of egCI planned - there is lots of good material there. I'd hope some publisher might take it up, or other publishing routes like articles or TV. However, this is for fun, rather than income,,, I have about 20 soft sweaters, but some are fit only for gardening. Why? I don't follow the reference...I could never compete with Nigella - I don't have the figure for it.

Craig Camp says so. Actually he says counterclockwise - widdershins- but that is just related to the belief that stirring it the wrong way keeps the devil out (or in, as you prefer). Since this is Indian cookery, clockwise is appropriate. Its an old superstition. It may be that stirring continuosly in the same direction breaks up the grains less. Can you take some photos?

Ok, here you are: Asparagus with Indian Spices Asparagus and coconut risotto

Ahh, but that is beauty of slow cooking, that the time element is far less important. It takes the hassle out of a busy kitchen, and is ideal for restaurants. You can set the meat to cook in the morning for dinner, and forget about it. Whenever you want it for service, its ready. If the guests are an hour late or an hour early it doesn't matter. Doneness is enitirely dependant on the temperature you set the oven, not how long it cooked. No settling time, either. Just take it out and carve...

Asparagus and coconut risotto Entry for Monica's competition. I have not tested this recipe, as asparagus is out of season here Could also be described as kedgeree or pilau or even Korma... You can fancy this up by serving with asparagus ice-cream, parmesan, and/or prawns/crayfish 1 lb Asparagus 1 Onion or shallot, finely chopped 3 oz Butter or ghee 10 oz Risotto rice 750 ml Chicken or vegetable stock 4 oz Coconut cream 1 tsp Korma curry powder mix 1. Cut an inch or so of the tips off the asparagus and reserve. Steam or put them in a hot oven in a little oil for 4 minutes until just tender. 2. Chop the rest of the asparagus and put in the stock. Bring to the boil. Boil for 10 minutes and strain out the asparagus. 3. Melt the butter in a saucepan and soften the onion. Add the spices and stir until the aroma is released 4. Add the rice and coat with the butter. 5. Add a ladle-full of the stock, and stir until adsorbed. 6. Keep addng the stock a ladleful at a time until it is all adsorbed. Be sure to only stir clockwise. 7. Stir in the coconut cream and the asparagus tips. Reserve a few for garnish. Check and correct seasoning - it will need salt. ( RG984 )

Asparagus and coconut risotto Entry for Monica's competition. I have not tested this recipe, as asparagus is out of season here Could also be described as kedgeree or pilau or even Korma... You can fancy this up by serving with asparagus ice-cream, parmesan, and/or prawns/crayfish 1 lb Asparagus 1 Onion or shallot, finely chopped 3 oz Butter or ghee 10 oz Risotto rice 750 ml Chicken or vegetable stock 4 oz Coconut cream 1 tsp Korma curry powder mix 1. Cut an inch or so of the tips off the asparagus and reserve. Steam or put them in a hot oven in a little oil for 4 minutes until just tender. 2. Chop the rest of the asparagus and put in the stock. Bring to the boil. Boil for 10 minutes and strain out the asparagus. 3. Melt the butter in a saucepan and soften the onion. Add the spices and stir until the aroma is released 4. Add the rice and coat with the butter. 5. Add a ladle-full of the stock, and stir until adsorbed. 6. Keep addng the stock a ladleful at a time until it is all adsorbed. Be sure to only stir clockwise. 7. Stir in the coconut cream and the asparagus tips. Reserve a few for garnish. Check and correct seasoning - it will need salt. ( RG984 )

Asparagus with Indian spices Serves 2 as Appetizer. This is an entry for Monica's competition. I have not tested it myself, asparagus not yet being in season here. 1 lb Fresh Asparagus 2 T Olive or groundnut oil 2 T FIncely shreded coconut 1 tsp salt 1 tsp Light curry powder of your favourite spice mixture 1. Prepare the asparagus: break off the tough part of the base of the sticks, and if fancy peel from below the bud area 2. Toss with the oil 3. Roast in a hot oven for 10 minutes 4. In a hot pan put the salt and the ground spices, heat until the aroma is released. 5. Mix in the grated coconut 6. Plate the asparagus and either strew the coconut mix over, or leave on the side of the plate, or put a soft poached egg on the plate, and top with the spice mixture ( RG983 )

Asparagus with Indian spices Serves 2 as Appetizer. This is an entry for Monica's competition. I have not tested it myself, asparagus not yet being in season here. 1 lb Fresh Asparagus 2 T Olive or groundnut oil 2 T FIncely shreded coconut 1 tsp salt 1 tsp Light curry powder of your favourite spice mixture 1. Prepare the asparagus: break off the tough part of the base of the sticks, and if fancy peel from below the bud area 2. Toss with the oil 3. Roast in a hot oven for 10 minutes 4. In a hot pan put the salt and the ground spices, heat until the aroma is released. 5. Mix in the grated coconut 6. Plate the asparagus and either strew the coconut mix over, or leave on the side of the plate, or put a soft poached egg on the plate, and top with the spice mixture ( RG983 )

If you flash the poultry in a very hot oven after its cooked you will get very crispy skin. - rather like air-drying Chinese duck before cooking. Of course you can enhance this even further by laquering the skin with dilute honey or syrup. For extra browning add a little alkali, such as bicarb. However only use alkali after it is cooked (acid conditions inhibit nasties like botulism, and you need to kill them first). I don't know but I would agree that the extra time in the flavoured liquid will increas the flavour. Have you tried of marinating instead? Also 180C seems a little high - you might get a more succulent product at 140C, held there for at least 12 mins. Edited to add eGullet does not permit pictures bigger than 640x480. If you need them bigger email me.

Each piece of meat is different, and the temoerature in the centre depends on the thickness. The whole point about the low temperature method is that if the oven is at the temperature of the final temperature you want the meat, it doesn't matter how long you leave it after the temperature stabilises - say 5 hours of so. Blumenthal cooks his meat (sous-vide to prevent frying) for 72 hours at 60C to melting tenderness However you can read off typical times from the graph in the unit. Use with cautions,as these are theoretical models, not measured in practice. There is no substitute for a good themometer Here is the same information in tabular format. The column on the left is the time in minutes Oven temperature C F C F C 65 150 100 212 200 400 0 0 32 0 32 0 32 10 5 41 8 46 15 60 20 10 49 15 59 30 86 30 14 57 21 71 43 109 40 18 64 28 82 55 131 50 22 71 33 92 66 151 60 25 77 38 101 77 170 70 28 82 43 110 86 187 80 31 88 48 118 95 203 90 34 92 52 125 103 218 100 36 97 55 132 111 231 120 40 105 62 144 124 255 130 42 108 65 149 130 266 140 44 111 68 154 135 276 150 46 114 70 158 140 285 160 47 117 72 162 145 293 170 48 119 75 166 149 301 180 50 122 77 170 153 308 190 51 124 78 173 157 314 200 52 126 80 176 160 320 210 53 127 82 179 163 326 220 54 129 83 181 166 331 230 55 131 84 184 169 336 240 56 132 86 186 171 340 250 56 133 87 188 173 344 260 57 135 88 190 175 348 270 58 136 89 192 177 351 280 58 137 90 193 179 354 290 59 138 90 195 181 357

Asparagus won't be here for another few weeks. That said there is Spanish asparagus in the shops, but it is not the same. There are today three, count them three, spears coming up in the asparagus patch in my garden. You've set a really hard task. Asparagus is not usually associated with Indian spicing or tradition. Even Anglo-indian recipes and writers such as Wyvern (Col Kenney Herbert) in the days of the Raj serve it plain, or with hollandaise, or in a charlotte. I'm not going to be able to test these or enter into the recipe database. In any case the new season asparagus is such a treat that I like it plain or with melted butter, or maybe with a soft poached egg to dip the spears into. Best way to cook is to roast in a hot oven (180C/350F) with a little olive oil and salt for 10 minutes, until just soft. You probably know the trick of bending the raw stalk until it breaks - it snaps at the point where it begins to get woody. If you are fancy or a high end restaurant you peel the stalk from below the tip. The trimmings make soup. Here are three ideas: Asparagus goes well with nut flavours, so perhaps a little pile of fine grated coconut, salt and mild curry spices on the side of the plate, to dip into. You could dress it with a curried oil, but I think that would overpower it. A risotto, creamy with coconut milk and mildly spiced like a Korma would be possible, but the spices should be very light, just a hint of spice so as not to overwhelm the asparagus,

I'd say come to Cambridge, except I'm going to be in Paris. In Birmingham I'm told the club scene is good, if you like dancing and loud music. Its also the Balti (curry) capital of the UK. Connections are good and lots of places in easy reach. Stratford-on Avon for the Shakespeare for example, or London, if you are flying from there. You could even take the train to Paris.

gus_tatory: Buy a thermometer! I expect you will find that the "warm" temperature is about 60C/140F, but measure it to check. Unfortunately most ovens are not designed for the very long slow cooking - yet. It does seem strange at first - cooking the meat by just warming it, but have courage. The meatball photos's came from Prof. Hall, a fellow member of my college, and Director of the Herchel Smith Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Cambridge. http://www.hslmc.cam.ac.uk/index_hires.htm. Scroll down for the section on Food Science. They are pioneers of MRI, have developed techniques to measure temperature and pH (acidity) and have even built ovens that can work inside a scanner and got wonderful movies of bread baking, and all sorts of other food processes. Wonderful stuff.

Jsolomon: Its all about eventual temperature. If the kinetic method works for you stay with it. However the long slow roasting is easier to control, and results in a tenderer results since some of the collagen has time to soften. Blumenthal goes further and cooks his meat sous-vide for 72 hours at 60C for a fork tender result.

The issue is not what is the best. The right ingredients can be flown anywhere, and there are skilled bakers all over. The issue is what is the average standard, and IMHO the average bread in the US (and much or the world) is pretty awful - factory made, and full of chemicals. France, and french influenced palces such as former colonies like Vietbam, have in general better, fresher, bread.

I must disagree. Besides I don't think there was a value judgement implied. Seeing everything as "better" or "worse" seems to be a US cultural hang-up. French wheat and US wheat are different - different climate, different varieties, different growing conditions, different farming practices. This means that french flours tend to be softer (lower gluten content) than US flours. The local breads have evolved to make advantage of the flours. Softer flour means the bread stales quicker, but has a softer, looser interior texture - bigger holes. You can't support such a texture in a large loaf, hence a baguette, baked twice daily. The people near Lake Como produce Cibatta, for similar reasons. So making a baguette with US flour means you get a different loaf to that made with french flour, just as making, say a San Francisco Sourdough with European flour gives a different result, even with San Franciso leavan (I've tried). Not better, or worse, just different. If authenticity is the criterion, then, of course, only bread made in the place of origin with local wheat is "true", same as any other local food, such as cheese or wine. Personally I rejoice in the differences.

Tweed jacket would be perfect in London in May. It doesn't really get warm until late June. As Flanders and Swann say "April brings the sweet spring showers, On and on for hours and hours. Farmers fear unkindly May Frost by night and hail by day. June just rains and never stops Thirty days and spoils the crops."

You are right! One watt is a joule per second. I use an electronic thermometer with a cable that goes through the oven door. I bought it originally from http://www.meilleurduchef.com/, but I see Amazon sell them from Pyrex, CDN and other makers. The wire that goes through the door is the key thing, and the single thing that improved my cooking the most. I prefer ones that just measure, rather than being too clever, though I can see that remote wireless displays/pager might be useful. However I guess these would be on the same band as my wireless phones, wifi etc - its getting crowded there.

Yes, they apply to all meats. In particular for poultry long slow cooking at 60c/140F allows the legs and thighs to cook, without overcooking the breast meat. Fish, as I say above, has a lower transition temeprature, more like 45C/110F

Two reasons: a) The flour. French flour is much softer than US bread flours b) Baguettes are designed to be eaten within a short time of baking. Local artisanal boulangeries bake small batches all day, and people buy and eat them at the next meal, if not sooner. They stale within a few hours. This does not fit with the US food distribution industry or consumption pattern. The compromises needed to make a product last mean its a different loaf. Even supermarkets with in-store bakeries have to make compromises (flour improvers, lower hydration, part-baked frozen etc) to make a loaf that can be baked with the equipment or labour available, that achieves the necessary economic economy of scale, and that lasts until the customer eats it.

There are various self-heating coffee cans. Two stocked locally are Nescafe (developed at the University of Southhampton) and one called Powerdhot which also has sugar and guaranja. Surprisingly palatable, even if a bit expensive, and rather heavy to carry if hiking or camping. The heating principle seems to be the reaction between water and an anhydrous salt, rather than anything pyrotechnic. Even though the can is quite well insulated, the coffee only gets warm rather than actually hot.