slkinsey
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Posts posted by slkinsey
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Less-is-More: you don't season nonstick.
mrbigjas: There are a few things leading to the approximately $110 price difference. First off, yes a 2.5 mm copper/stainless bimetal lid really can cost that much. I've seen prices for copper/stainless bimetal lids that would fit that pot at seventy-plus dollars. It's also the case that the more expensive one is overpriced whereas the less expensive one is quite underpriced. FWIW, you can get a 3.4 quart saucepan from Falk for $175 (no lid).
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Unlike with still wines, where one is more likely to decant older wine, I would think that sparkling wines might be the opposite. I recently read a very interesting book on the science of champagne, and one of the notable differences between aged champagne and young champagne is the amount of dissolved gas (with the aged wine having less). This leads directly to smaller bubble size and other things that are perceived as being desired qualities.
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percyn, was the "D'artagnan Duck Confit" already confit-ed by D'artagnan? I assume that you made confit out of a D'artagnan duck leg using sous vide technique? If it was already confit, I would think that cooking it LTLT sous vide amounted more or less to very complicated reheating.
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All: I'm going to say this one more time, and then I'm going to lock this thread if it continues to wander away from our topic. We are a food-focused Society. The guiding idea behind the eG Forums is that they are for substantially food-related discussion. Let's keep that in mind when making any further posts in this thread. If it's not firmly in the realm of food, please step away from the "add reply" button and think it over.
I have not done a lot of deleting in this thread thus far, and have left some posts stand that I might reasonably have deleted. From this post on my expectations as to topicality will be much higher, and my next piece of moderation will be to lock the thread.
This could be an interesting discussion about how the many ways the transit strike is affecting various facets of the NYC food and restaurant industry. Let's do that.
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Most likely, this is a kind of thing where they bottle a whole bunch of the sauce and then they bottle other things for a while and then they do another run of the sauce, etc. This is more or less set forth in the final sentence of the article, which says "although Baumer posted $54 million in revenue in 2004, a large percentage of it was private-label bottling for other clients." (Emphasis mine.) Baumer, of course, also bottled all kinds of things under its own label besides hot sauce.
My guess is that they lost some stock in the storm, but didn't lose all or even a substantial percentage of it. If Crystal's process is anything liks Tabasco's process, they're aging the mash for multiple years. That makes it somewhat unlikely to me that they had a year's worth of fermenting product sitting around in barrels at the bottling plant. This supposition is reinforced by the article when it says, "Four different companies are bottling the hot sauce" and "[baumer] will continue using private bottlers until he can build a new plant or buy and retrofit an existing building" and "though the sauces have been off shelves for several weeks, Baumer Foods began distribution to Publix Grocery Stores in Florida last week and will begin deliveries to local Winn-Dixie Stores this week." These things all suggest to me that their problem is the need for a new bottling facility rather than catastrophic loss of stock (although I am sure they did lose some stock).
This is all good news, I think, for people who hope to see Crystal hot sauce back on supermarket shelves soon.
The article also makes it somewhat clear that the eventual departure of the Baumer plant from Orleans Parish was a foregone conclusion, hurricane or no: "Baumer has been seeking a new location for its plant for about a year."
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All: I have had to do some minor deleting of quasi-political and off topic material. Nothing egregious, but I thought it was prudent to nip this in the bud before we go any further astray. Let's keep to our topic here, and stay away from any temptations to expand into speculation as to motivations, culpability, etc.
Thanks!
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Our office holiday party, which was to have taken place tonight at a restaurant, has been postponed.
Until after the strike or the holidays?
Same here. Until after the holidays.
Since most places are booked to capacity, I can't imagine it would be possible to reschedule until after the holidays. Given that deposits have been paid, etc. I would think that most firms are locked into their venues.
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Harmless fun? The triumph of form at the expense of substance? Or what the nobles were quaffing at Versailles when the peasants stormed the Bastille?
Things like conspicuous amounts of gold leaf and rubies and XO cognac in cocktails are simply conspicuous stupidity for rubes with too much money in their pockets and not enough good taste (not to mention good sense). What's the point? I could see putting a tiny bit of something in a cocktail if it made a really striking visual effect, and maybe some of the gold garnishes are cheap enough and make a nice enough effect for this to be worthwhile. But really, I can't imagine that this sort of thing often adds anything to the drink to justify the price.
Then again, the price is sometimes the point isn't it? It's all part of the competition to have "the most expensive [insert food or drink item here]." Not dissimilar from the "world's most expensive burger" nonsense that followed DB Bistro Moderne's "super-luxe burger" -- which is very good and was designed with culinary goals in mind -- with absurd and bad-tasting creations designed to ratchet up the price and volume of luxury ingredients (usually inappropriately, as things like waygu beef are not only overkill for a burger, but are actually not good in that form). Ultimately, I suppose superexpensive drinks like this are all about the publicity. I can't imagine anyone is buying them.
Edited to add: I see that the use of gold leaf doesn't have to be super-expensive, but it still seems a bit silly. Than again, maybe it's my bias about garnishes being edible and contributing flavor that's talking here.
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Alas, Malacca is no longer being produced & can only be found among those of us who have secreted away a stash for the future. One of the more interesting products to come along. I was sad to see it go, and I know I'm not alone in that respect.
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I guess there really isn't much value to keeping the bones in when you cook short ribs sous vide.
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I am looking for my first book on the subject of cocktails. I would like it to include classic recipes, history, and sage advice. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
IMO the hands-down best starter book on cocktails is Dave Wondrich's Killer Cocktails : An Intoxicating Guide to Sophisticated Drinking. For more information, see this thread on the book
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With respect to making pasta asciutta (aka dried semolina pasta) at home, I've tried it any number of times and with any number of technologies. Ultimately, I determined that it's a lot of trouble to take for something that won't be nearly the same quality as a good artisanal brand like Setaro or Latini.
For preserving fresh egg pasta, nothing maintains the same quality it has when it's truly freshly made. But freezing seems to be the best alternative.
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Go to Chelsea Market. You can get the flavored syrups ar Buon Italia...
No dice. I could only find a few syrups there: orange, almond, and a couple others. I'm looking for ginger and apple.
Apple syrup?! Feh!
Anyway... try Zabar's. You can likely get jiggers and whatnot upstairs, and they heve plenty of syrups downstairs.
For ginger syrup, I think you're better off making it for yourself to order.
The only bought syrup I think is really worth having is oregat.
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Yea. The problem with drying fresh pasta is that it doesn't really have the strength to withstand drying and storage. It's not designed for that, and I would go so far as to suggest that the properties that confer good drying/storage characteristics are inimical to the Emilia Romanan pasta aesthetic.
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Just about, yea. Angostura bitters have wide availability, and should be on the shelf of any well-stocked grocery store. Bodegas and neighborhood delis are another story, of course.
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Go to Chelsea Market. You can get the flavored syrups ar Buon Italia and you can get jiggers, Hawthorne & julep strainers, mixing cups, pint glasses, stirring spoons, muddlers (albeit not very good ones), etc. at the "Bowery" store also in Chelsea Market. For fancier and antique barware, eBay is your friend.
WRT bitters, you can get Angostura bitters anywhere. Peychaud's and Gary's Orange Bitters you can buy from Audrey at Pegu Club. Fee Brothers, I'm not sure where you can buy that at retail in NYC. The other bitters you may read about in these forums (Stoughtons, Abbot's, Hess House, etc.)... most of them aren't for sale. You have to know someone.
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Here are some maraschino cherries I've had going since the early fall (NY State sour cherries put up with Maraska maraschino). This is a small jar I'm going to give as a gift. I probably have around 10 times more than that. They're getting very tasty, although not all that attractive (the color is going towards a washed out brownish purple).
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As many of you will have noticed, the eGullet Society has embarked upon a major expansion to its volunteer program with the creation of a new volunteer group: eG Specialists.
I am very pleased to announce that two new eG Specialists are bringing their enthusiasm and diverse talents to the NY Forum: Megan Blocker and John "johnder" Deragon.
Megan will be favoring us with a Digest of New York Magazine's food section, and John will be managing the eG Forums Calendar for New York events. You can read more about John and Megan here, in "Meet the eGullet Society specialists."
We hope to announce more new New York specialists soon, and have some exciting projects coming for the new year.
Please join me in welcoming Megan and John to the New York team!
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Okay guys, help me out. What do I do with Cynar?
Try Audrey's "Little Italy" cocktail:
2 oz : Rittenhouse bonded rye
0.5 oz : Cynar
0.75 oz : Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth
Stir with ice, strain and garnish with Luxardo cherries
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Before this interesting discussion goes off the tracks, I would like to interject with a small moderator's note:
One goal of the eG Forums is to engender a free and lively exchange of thoughts and ideas relating to the subject of food. To this end, Society members are expected to comport themselves with all due civility when engaging in discussion and debate in the eG Forums. In particular, members are cautioned to address the substance of a counterpart's arguments in a debate, and never to make ad hominem arguments or personal attacks.
Furthermore, let us all be aware that the eG Forums are not self-policing. They are moderated, and the eGullet Society has a moderation staff to handle moderation. So, if you feel that someone has said something inappropriate, the correct and only course of action is to report that post to the moderation staff by clicking the
button and filling out the form. Let us not see any more chiding of fellow members or speculation as to motivations in this thread.Thanks, and carry on!
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This is getting away from the topic of this thread, but it does make me wonder about some things. I remember seeing a picture in the NY Times of schoolchildren lining up for vaccinations in the 60s. My father said, "notice something different about this picture?" I thought, "well, it's mostly white kids. . ." He said, "no. . . take a look: not a single one of them is overweight." And then I thought back to my elementary school in Boston. Back in the 70s, each grade in my school had maybe one overweight kid. Now, the same school is probably 40% overweight. What is it that has changed so much?
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And if we're talking about adults, I can't believe that the volume of milk consumed on a weekly basis with cereal and coffee will be significant either.
All those adults drinking venti non-skim lattes are consuming a *lot* of calories in whole milk.
They're consuming a lot of calories in milk period -- regardless of whether it is skim or whole. A venti latte at Starbucks is 340 calories, but it's not like a venti skim latte is only ten calories. A venti skim latte still comes in at a whopping 210 calories. Now, it is true of course that the person opting for the skim latte is consuming 130 fewer calories, but the real issue is the consumption of the venti latte to begin with -- especially multiples of this drink on a daily basis. A venti skim latte still has substantially more calories than a can of full-sugar Coca-Cola. So, if you're drinking 4 venti lattes a day, the difference between skim and whole is the least of your worries.
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Here's the thing I have never understood about drinking 2% milk: whole milk is only around 4%. So what's the big deal? You have to drink an awful lot of whole milk before becoming worried about the fat.
It's not the fat per se, it's the fact that a cup of whole milk is nearly double the calories of a cup of skim milk. That's a lot of calories, particularly given that you're drinking them. Whole milk is a very efficient way to get calories into people that need them, like infants. Very few of the rest of us need to get so many calories so easily.
I guess it depends on how much milk you're drinking. Regardless of whether whole milk has almost double the calories of skim milk, it's still not that high. We're talking about something like 150 calories per cup. And when I was growing up I certainly wasn't drinking more than four cups of milk each day maximum. That's 600 calories compared to 340 calories for skim milk. Now, I can't believe that 260 calories a day is going to make a big difference to a growing active child with an otherwise healthy diet that does not include tons of extra calories in the form of fruit juice and soda. And if we're talking about adults, I can't believe that the volume of milk consumed on a weekly basis with cereal and coffee will be significant either.
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Here's the thing I have never understood about drinking 2% milk: whole milk is only around 4%. So what's the big deal? You have to drink an awful lot of whole milk before becoming worried about the fat.
Q&A -- Understanding Stovetop Cookware
in The eGullet Culinary Institute (eGCI)
Posted
It depends on what makes the pan "nonstick," I suppose. But there is no reason to season a pan with a PTFE coating or similar.
"Seasoning" is the gradual buildup of polymerized fats that fill in pores in the metal that forms the cooking surface and provide some degree of "stick resistance" (the "nonstickness" often claimed by cast iron fans is, in my experience, wishful thinking). There is simply no reason you should have to (or would want to) do this on a nonstick cooking surface. Indeed, there is no way any kind of "seasoning" could possibly be less sticky than the nonstick surface itself. So any other stuff stuck to the surface of the pan will only make it more sticky, not less.
T-Fal's "seasoning" instructions sound suspiciously like "cleaning before first use" to me.