Deryn

It always amuses me how much governments love to conduct giant experiments on the people they are supposed to serve. I notice that no mention is made of the antibiotics and hormones, and the kinds of feed being fed to the animals they condemn as being the cause of diabetes and obesity (and I think there is a good chance those, not the 'meat' itself, are the problem there) - just the supposed effects on the environment when methane is released. Honestly, that article sounds like a load of propaganda which isn't even well written .. the dots are not connected. I am not a big meat eater but my intuition tells me that meat per se is not the cause of obesity. In fact, I would probably be slimmer (thanks, Dr. Atkins) if I did eat a lot more meat - but, I would want to make sure that meat was pasture raised and as free of hormones and antibiotics as I could get it. And frankly I cannot see (cow made) methane blasting major holes in the atmosphere either (or if I can, it is just a funny scenario in my head when I dream in cartoons - a billion cows standing around in fields, clothespins on their noses, emitting a constant stream of bubbles of smelly gas orbs that float skyward. The earth itself has released large amounts of methane (which may indeed cause some warming I gather) several times in history apparently long before people (and cows) were even present. But, now .. along with a carbon tax I am sure there will be a methane tax. Hmmm .. what will be next that can be taxed? What else that is key to the food supply and food cultures around the world will be declared as bad for you and the environment? Not much left to criticize. Save the minnows (but don't eat those either) - get rid of the cows and pigs and chickens, and the vegetables and fruit (unless they are GMO and use loads of pesticides), and the grains (because carbs are bad for you) and the fish (unless farmed in 'sustainable' farms and fed hormones and antibiotics)? Meal worms anyone? My note to the Chinese people - enjoy the meat if you like it and can afford it - but buy local and from farmers who raise their animals without those hormones and antibiotics.

Haha kayb - that certainly is quite the expression on your daughter's face! Hope she learned something about cooking while visiting you. Hope you are mending well (and not in too much agony) and will be back on your feet sooner than later. I realized the other day that I now have so many small appliances that other than requiring the sink I think I could still cook a lot if I had to sit in a chair and use a table rather than the counter height large appliances. The IP, the wok, the induction burners (2), the 'griddle' thing, Vitamix, Thermomix, mixer, sous vide circulator, toaster, etc. all can be put on the lower table and plugged in. In fact, I actually haven't used my cooktop in months and am currently wondering if I really need one any more. The dishwasher is accessible, the oven is accessible, the microwave though higher up is moveable (not built in so far), and the bottom shelves and freezer portion of the fridge are accessible - but that darned sink is still a problem. I am always planning for 'what if something happens' and the 'getting older alone' kind of scenarios ... but I haven't figured everything out yet obviously.

I don't see many vegetables. Are you craving those at all? Do people grow gardens and make salads or consume many vegetables there (aside from perhaps beets? and cabbage?)?

I have discovered that up here oregano is the new mint - and should have been grown in a container only. I planted one small plant last year in a sort of 'rock-herb' garden down below my decks above a granite retaining wall. The original plant very much survived the winter and now I am also finding patches of oregano everywhere within 40 feet of it - in the grass, as 'weeds' popping up in a patch of gravel I have been two decks, and anywhere weeds are growing anyway. The only good thing is it smells better than stinkweed I guess. I definitely will never have to buy oregano again either.

Your garlic looks absolutely amazing, Kerry. Bravo! Is the texture soft or ? Now, if you don't use all of it right away, do you think it needs to be stored in the fridge or would you try storing it as dcarch says he does his - on a shelf in his pantry?

Thank you, VilleN.

That black garlic ice cream is certainly intriguing. Might be fun to present that to guests who are expecting chocolate ice cream, and serve a few chocolate covered cloves with it.

So episode 231 (as noted by bybyrd) is the one I should listen to, VilleN, to hear all about Johnny Hunter's 3 day technique? As for these shortened techniques, I have to wonder if the outcome is really the same even if the taste, colour (and perhaps even texture) is similar. According to the article mentioned upthread, the nutrient properties change drastically between 5 and 25 and (less so after) 90 days. I guess that may only matter if you care about something other than getting it done fast and/or being able to say one is including 'black garlic' in a special dish - and, I think I may care as much about the reasons it was 'invented' in the first place - which I think also included preservation and health aspects.

Thanks, pbear. I just listened to that (#52) podcast and Dave talks about black garlic (in response to a question sent to him via email) in the very last 'discussion' starting around the 41:50 mark. I found the discussion more than a bit 'scattered' and very general. He talked about what it is and about the fact that black garlic is not 'fermented' per se (and why not), as well as about using a dehydrator to make it (primarily just about the best temperature range to aim for - and how to keep humidity in using a container well wrapped - but not even timing). This particular podcast being from 5 years ago now I would bet that if Dave himself has made any black garlic since then that he has gone the sous-vide route more than likely - or maybe used the combo dehydrator/sous-vide method - but neither was discussed in this podcast as far as I can tell. If VilleN got a revolutionary '3 day technique' description from that particular podcast I really must have missed something because I didn't hear it. On the other hand, Dave does talk fast and wanders around topics considerably at times so perhaps my attention span and brain are not quite in sync with listening to that kind of conversation any more.

Looking forward to further installments re this experiment. Since our growing season is so short where I live, my own intentions are to do exactly the same - create an indoor 'farm' for my year round dining pleasure. Fresh homegrown strawberries in January sound wonderful.

Shelby - I am SO very sorry to hear about all this. Thank gosh that you and yours are safe though. Summer is just about to start - I am sure that even if all is apparently lost now, there is still time to start again and bring in a bumper crop before fall despite this setback. I do hope those corn plants are resilient after all though. In any event, I have no doubt that even if you have replant everything, in no time you will be well ahead of me here in the far northeast. But, take a few deep breaths ... YOU are ok and that is what is most important.

Thank you, VilleN. Do you happen to remember in which # podcast this method was discussed?

How do you store it, dcarch?

Yay. That last link worked, pbear. Thank you so much. So I guess there is much misunderstanding in the culinary world about the nuances of the term 'fermentation' (which, it looks to me, should always be accompanied by an adjective). That probably accounts for the fact that so many sites, etc. talk about how black garlic is 'fermented' implying that would mean they deliver the same benefits, etc. as yogourt or kimchi or black bean sauce, or kombucha or beer for that matter - and that those are all like each other - just 'fermented' foods.

Yes, I did, pbear - but I did hit the full text HTML option .. then just now tried again with the PDF. I get a message that my credentials don't allow me to go further and there is a note on the side of the box that message is in that talks about the price per hour to view. Do you perhaps have a professional or university credential that is letting you in? As for me I care about safety (during the process, etc.), exactly how to get the best results in the most efficient manner (process) and I am also interested in whether black garlic is fermented or not since fermented is supposed perhaps to have some 'good for you' properties that other delightful and healthy foods that are not fermented may not - wonderful as they may be to eat anyway. Fermented or not I love the stuff but I am hoping it IS fermented.

Thanks, AlaMoi. I see it is simply a new term for an old job - which I actually did myself for many years in the Air Traffic Systems arena. Not really sure what that has to do with tea but maybe the OP was pointing this out because he/she is perhaps skilled at user interface design. All Lisa's points are excellent. As a customer though I still want to be able to both find your site (which means if I am looking for tea, the search engine better bring it to me in the first few listings no matter how many other stores there are in the world that also sell whatever kind of tea I searched for) and once landed there, I want to know that you run a professional shop (but then, if you are a UX consultant, you will make it look just like W-S I am sure so my confidence is built) and that others 'trust' you and your merchandise, etc. as well. I don't often buy from sites I am not already familiar with in some manner or for some reason (was I referred there from a trusted site might be enough) if I can help it.

Thanks for that link, pbear. Unfortunately the actual article is behind a paywall ($40 an hour apparently) since I suspect that much of it would have gone over my head anyway. I will take your word for what their experiment consisted of and what their conclusions were - and also guess they were not both chefs and scientists like yourself.

What is a UX consultant? I was just thinking you will need some customers for your site - that you 'direct' there yourself through some other presence and evidence of your expertise or passion perhaps displayed through a blog of some kind - to get you started. A form of 'advertising' but very subtle and cheap - and it would also enable you if you allow comments to find out what your potential customers want/like, etc. Could be very useful to an entrepreneur in a crowded business area. If you were a great baker and wanted to develop/sell baking accessories or flours, etc. you might start a baking blog of some kind. If you are a tea lover and want to sell teas as well as talk about them, learn about them, etc. it would seem logical that you would have a 'tea blog' of some kind. There are many others out there but if you have a different point of view and/or a friendly writing style or great research skills that enable you to carefully assemble info gleaned from other places on the web to 'discuss' with 'followers' or otherwise think you can generate new ideas to excite tea lovers with, why not start there and then as time goes on, add a link to your tea store or carefully mention it in various articles, etc. If you want to sell to or buy stock overseas for resale, you have a lot of work to do just developing the site anyway - lots of things to consider and know about. You could get the blog going a lot faster and then work towards your eventual sales goal as well, learning all the while about your customer base. Anyway, that is how I would approach it all - but of course if you are well funded and have already done your research now and know how to reach your target market already then perhaps it isn't necessary. http://www.blogmetrics.org/Tea

Yes, I have over an acre of land, though a fair bit of it leads down to that lake you see behind the apple tree and is still 'wild' - only evergreens and rocks grow there - and is quite steep. I agree about the weed invasion problem along that border ... perhaps I could inset the bed a couple of feet (wide enough for the mower to pass by between it and the 'weed farm') but still follow the same line. Not sure I am really up to trenching that much this summer but that too is a good idea. Thanks, ElainaA.

A bit of a tour around my yard - showing off the huge hostas (edible), daylily patch (edible), poppies (not edible as far as I know but I didn't plant them - the last owner liked 'flowers' - I like flowers IF they are edible as well as pretty), chives the last owner planted not realizing they are also VERY edible, rhubarb patch, two things that survived this past winter in my (as yet unweeded) 'herb' patch - the one located directly in the ground - sorrel and oregano, and my blooming wild apple tree (in the weeds). The latter is a bit hard to photograph since it is 'airy' and the surrounds are a bit busy with trees, water, weeds, tall grasses, etc. Herbs I like to have in the house or on the deck in pots or otherwise close by. Don't want to have to walk around the house to harvest them when I remember at the last minute that I wanted to add some to whatever I am already cooking. Considering where to place the bushes, etc. that I bought - and where to locate a real bed, primarily for seed-based edible growing. I think it would work well along the edge of where the grass has been mowed. I don't think I really want a big square/rectangle in the middle of the yard so I was thinking a meandering strip about 2 feet deep along the edge to the left of the apple tree would work well. Opinions? Please excuse the lack of 'neatness' in my yard. Not going to ever look like a dutch garden. It's 'rustic' and 'lived in'.

Neighbour says we will have frost tonight! I don't see that on the weather report I read but she could be right - it is just above 40 degrees right now and it isn't even midnight. Glad I didn't quite get anything planted yet (it has rained pretty well every day since I bought the plants but we have been 'promised' a sunnier weekend so I was waiting). The plants will be ok - they are all bunched up together for warmth. Needless to say though I am a mite jealous this year of even northern NY gardens with so much produce already ready to collect.

Thanks for the link, Kerry. After you let on earlier in that other thread that ChefSteps was where you got whatever you were following, I searched there but was unable to unearth that post. They have really changed and hidden so much on their site since the last time I spent time there. That is a very different technique than I have found elsewhere too. I would really love to try making some but will wait to hear how yours turns out. Also found (in the process of searching for 'recipes' to make black garlic earlier) this article: Starchefs.com talks about black garlic Interesting that the person who wrote it says black garlic is not 'fermented' at all - that the process merely caramelizes sugars but doesn't 'ferment'.

Is there a link to the TMX recipe, Kerry, that you can share? Thanks for sharing your trials - I am intrigued.

Kerry - I know this is the EZTemper/chocolate thread but I am very interested in what 'recipe' you are using to sous vide that garlic (to make black garlic). If you have a moment to detail (perhaps in some other thread?), I would appreciate it. I looked it up and some say you need at least 140 degrees (in order to ensure no botulism) but absolutely no hotter than that either. Others say 119 degrees is sufficient if fermented for 26 days. But, I didn't really find a 'recipe' per se (timing, temp, technique, etc.). Some say make it in a rice cooker on 'warm' for 2 weeks. Some say use the dehydrator and wrap in Lexan, plastic wrap and foil to make airtight. Have you managed to produce good black garlic (if you did and ate it, I presume it was safe) before via sous vide? I think black garlic with its deep balsamic nuances would be wonderful with chocolate. That should be a winner!

June was always strawberry picking month in Ontario - just north of NY (and a lot north of NYC) - though it would not surprise me if the season was a bit late this year. Do you have any u-pick farms in your area (up the Hudson perhaps?) If so, and they are in operation, I would say those are local berries. Do stall owners have to declare they themselves grew the produce they sell at that market? Perhaps they hopped on over to a u-pick and got a few to supplement any they can grow on a smaller property?