slkinsey

In other words: "No, we don't carry it. And no, we're not going to tell you why."

Ingles and Piggly Wiggly usually carry it, right?

I encourage you to try Sweet Marias for roasting supplies and green beans. They have reasonable prices and are a good resource.

Curses!

I'm not sure how much one needs to know: 1. Just about everyone in the world agrees that decaffeinated coffee, regardless of process used, does not taste the same (or as good) as coffee that has not been processed this way. 2. The Swiss Water people claim that by using "saturated" soaking water, their process removes only the caffeine (a tasteless and odorless substance) and none of the flavor agents. 3. These two statements are at odds. 4. One doesn't have to know all that much about chemistry and coffee to understand that it is highly unlikely that the Swiss Water system manages to remove 97% of the caffeine from the coffee beans without dissolving some of the flavor agents into the soaking liquid. 5. Therefore, it is highly likely that Swiss Water's statement in #2 is not entirely correct.

Well... I don't have any trouble believing that using "saturated" soaking water mitigates the absorbtion of flavor agents into the water to some degree. But I do have a hard time believing that it eliminates it entirely. Think about it: soaking coffee beans in hot water makes... well, coffee (albeit green coffee). Try soaking some coffee beans in hot coffee, then drying them out and brewing with them. I can't see any possible way this wouldn't negatively impact the flavor.

Ah... right. (Me: "duuuuh.") But. I still don't see how the "saturated" soaking liquid could have so much of the flavor stuff in it that none of the flavor agents would be dissolved into the soaking liquid and still be effective at dissolving 97% of the caffeine. Maybe I don't quite get it, though. If one had a solid substance that contained a lot of sugar and a lot of salt, would it be possible to soak that substance in a sugar solution such that 97% of the salt was dissolved into the soaking medium and none of the sugar?

Fundamentally, the only difference between the various methods of high-end caffeine removal is the mechanism by which the caffeine is removed. This from "Home Coffee Roasting" by Kenneth Davids:

As stated above, I don't see how it could possibly prevent the dissolution of flavor agents into the soaking water entirely or even mostly. In order for that to be the case, the soaking water would have to be literally saturated with all of the flavor compounds, which is to say "a solution that is unable to absorb or dissolve any more of a solute at a given temperature and pressure." I hardly see how this could be the case, and if it were I cannot but imagine that the use of a saturated liquid as the soaking medium would inhibit the dissolution of the caffeine into the soaking liquid.

My understanding is there are different decaffination processes. The "Swiss Process" is not supposed to do this. Jason, that is the Swiss process... otherwise known as the "Swiss Water Process" to indicate that it uses water rather than a chemical solvent to dissolve the caffeine and flavor agents. This page from the swisswater.com site you referenced illustrates the exact process I describe above. Edited to add: the swisswater.com people's use of "used" soaking water may mitigate the dissolution of flavor agents into the soaking water I don't see is any way it could prevent it entirely or even mostly. For sure, the more careful the decaffeinization process, the better tasting the coffee. But the fact is that they're monkeying with the beans and there is no way decaf can ever taste as good as regular made from the same beans.

I was only joking about the butter. But seriously, do you know what happens when coffee beans are decaffeinated? The green beans are soaked in water (or a solvent) until the caffeine and the flavor agents have been dissolved into the liquid. Then the beans are removed from the liquid and the caffeine is removed from the liquid, theoretically leaving behind all the flavor agents in the liquid. Finally the beans are recombined with the liquid where they supposedly reabsorb the flavor agents (minus caffeine), after which process they are dried and ready for roasting, etc. This does not strike me as a recipe for great-tasting coffee.

Is there such a thing as truly excellent lowfat butter?

I'm with Holly. No such thing.

Wait... you made a lowfat, low-calorie dessert for Thanksgiving?!

That's a great point, Soba. To make an example, I was able to buy a "bloc de foie gras de canard" large enough to garnish ten portions of turkey last night. It cost only around 25 bucks, and I have some left over. Part of the increasing popularity of foie gras in America is that foie, along with related duck products, is no longer a rich man's food and is affordable in one form or another to just about everyone.

Soon, I hope. That place rawks.

I have tried the Wine Clip on a number of different wines now. The response both from myself and my guests has always been "I can't tell the difference."

Try dipping a kipper in them then. That's a pretty good idea! Then I could have whisky for breakfast! I'd be interested to hear which Irish singles you think are good, as they are only just now making themselves known on these shores and the selection is undoubtedly better on your side.

You can always make the dressing ahead, then moisten with stock and reheat.

Tin is the traditional treatment. Stainless steel lined is much more expensive, and there are some technical limitations in terms of sizes and shapes that may be produced with the stainless/copper bimetal. For making delicate sauces where high temperatures are not a concern, it is possible that tin's greater thermal conductivity may offer even more control.

- Crumble and render some sausage. Set aside - Saute medium dice of onion and celery in the sausage fat until translucent. Add butter to keep moist. Can add small dice of carrot and a little garlic if you like. Set aside - Toss cooked ingredients with equal parts cubed cornbread & sturdy white bread - Mince equal parts parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme and toss with bread mixture - Add pecans or other such things, if you like (I like pecans, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes can be really good too -- some people like slices of apple) - Moisten with stock and heavy cream -- add a few beaten eggs if you like the dressing more bound together - Put in baking dish, cover with foil and bake in oven ~30 - 40 minutes. Remoisten with stock to the wetness of your preference and bake with the foil removed ~10 minutes to crisp the top.

That sounds great, Seth. I especially like the gravlax. I used to make gravlax every year for Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll get back to that next year now that you have inspired me.

Sounds great, ludja! I'm glad you revived this thread. Maybe more people can share their Thanksgiving menus with us. C'mon people... this is a food web site and there aren't more people who want to brag?!

What, exactly, do you think grilling would add to this soup? In your two examples (pureed grilled vegetables and shredded grilled duck) it doesn't strike me that anyone could tell the differnce between grilled and, say, oven-roasted or pan fried. In re to saving some burners, I think it's a good idea to make the soup course 90% the day before and then reheat it for service, adding herbs or other fresh ingredients at the last minute.

I am definitely going here soon. Like, maybe tomorrow around 1:30. Anyone interested?