Anonymous Modernist 11058

We have not specifically made the recipe in the book, but have tried adding liquid lecithin to vinaigrette a few times. My wife, who abhors precision in cooking, is usually in charge of the vinaigrette. The puzzling thing is that it doesn't really seem to work. In fact, the last time rather than getting an extra-stable vinaigrette we ended up with a super unstable vinaigrette. It would separate quickly, unlike anything I've seen before, certainly much worse than a dressing made without the lecithin. Why could this happen? Another question about lecithin: how does one clean it off of stuff? Normal soap doesn't seem to work, and even after a trip through the dishwasher it seems like we don't have complete cleaning.

My prediction, based on the 8" diameter quoted, is that if I put such a sieve in the bowls I have it will come to rest about 2 inches from the bottom of the bowl. (I think this is fairly sensitive to the actual outside diameter of the sieve, though.) So it sounds like the trick is to find the right bowl.

I know that the YG is for dairy applications. I just didn't realize there were so few dairy applications! I only have MCAH, not the full MC. Is there any way for me to get the Sour Cream Spaetzle recipe? That sounds interesting.

I got some Activa YG to use for making the ricotta goat cheese dumplings from the book Ideas in Food. But I have not been able to find any other applications for the Activa YG. Can anybody suggest any other interesting things to try with it?

I noticed that MC recommends sieves purchased from a lab supply rather than the standard kitchen items. I'm intrigued at least in part because I've been frustrated by my inability to buy a coarse but well made sieve, and this would give me the ability to control the mesh size, assuming I can figure out the actual measurement of the mesh size I want. But I'm curious about two things. 1. It appears that these are available in brass and in stainless steel. The stainless costs more. But I routinely see Prop 65 warnings about lead in brass, and I might expect brass to be sensitive to acids, since it is mostly copper. Are the brass ones actually food safe? Dish washer save? 2. How do you actually use a sieve like this? I can buy a tiny receiving dish for it which isn't much use in the kitchen. If I use it with the mixing bowls I have on hand it will either rest on top (with the 1 to 1.5 qt bowls), which is not so good because some of the mesh is hanging over the counter, or it'll fall fairly deep into the bowl (4 qt), leaving not much room at the bottom. (This was based on an 8" diameter sieve.) If I'm trying to force a puree through the sieve, as opposed to simply draining stuff, it seems like lacking a handle is a major downside.

I noticed that MC recommends sieves purchased from a lab supply rather than the standard kitchen items. I'm intrigued at least in part because I've been frustrated by my inability to buy a coarse but well made sieve, and this would give me the ability to control the mesh size, assuming I can figure out the actual measurement of the mesh size I want. But I'm curious about two things. 1. It appears that these are available in brass and in stainless steel. The stainless costs more. But I routinely see Prop 65 warnings about lead in brass, and I might expect brass to be sensitive to acids, since it is mostly copper. Are the brass ones actually food safe? Dish washer save? 2. How do you actually use a sieve like this? I can buy a tiny receiving dish for it which isn't much use in the kitchen. If I use it with the mixing bowls I have on hand it will either rest on top (with the 1 to 1.5 qt bowls), which is not so good because some of the mesh is hanging over the counter, or it'll fall fairly deep into the bowl (4 qt), leaving not much room at the bottom. (This was based on an 8" diameter sieve.) If I'm trying to force a puree through the sieve, as opposed to simply draining stuff, it seems like lacking a handle is a major downside.

I tried Modernist Mac & Cheese using extra sharp cheddar on my kids. My picky daughter objected to the sauce hardening as it cooled. She didn't like the texture of the hardened sauce. This lead me to wonder if there's a way to make the sauce thinner, but still clingy, so that it doesn't harden so soon, or stays softer when it cools. The obvious notion of just adding more liquid doesn't seem right. It seemed like residual water on the pasta diluted the sauce somewhat and this made it prone to draining off the pasta into a pool on the plate, so further dilution would presumably exacerbate this problem.

I tried Modernist Mac & Cheese using extra sharp cheddar on my kids. My picky daughter objected to the sauce hardening as it cooled. She didn't like the texture of the hardened sauce. This lead me to wonder if there's a way to make the sauce thinner, but still clingy, so that it doesn't harden so soon, or stays softer when it cools. The obvious notion of just adding more liquid doesn't seem right. It seemed like residual water on the pasta diluted the sauce somewhat and this made it prone to draining off the pasta into a pool on the plate, so further dilution would presumably exacerbate this problem.