slkinsey
-
Posts
11,151 -
Joined
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by slkinsey
-
-
Is this cooking technique a consequence of using dried durum wheat pasta, where 'graduation of texture' is hugely important. With fresh past made with soft wheat flour this isn't so much of an issue, the overall texture is more important.
Interesting question, Adam. I don't have an answer or even a hypothesis.
But I can say that my experience is that fresh pasta needs lots of water -- perhaps even more than dry, although for different reasons. Fresh pasta tends to be well dusted with flour to keep it from sticking together, and I think that boiling in lots of water is a good idea if the cooking medium is not going to turn into sludge. Also, fresh pasta is often far more likely to stick together in the pot if it is not given sufficient room to separate and expand. Stirring, in my book, is something that I generally want to avoid as I like my fresh pasta very thin and delicate, and stirring is likely to break the strands of pasta -- better to gently agitate in lots of water so that the strands can find their own way. Cooking fresh pasta in too little water, in my experience, is a recipe for "clump o' boiled dough." Of course, one expects that McGee was likely using store bought "fresh" pasta for his experiments.
-
I thought the most telling comment was from Lidia Bastianich, who observed that the "low water" and "cold water start" pasta was lacking the gradation of texture and nutty flavor of "a good semolina pasta cooked properly."
One thing I often find wrongheaded about cooking experiments. I feel the same way about the pasta comparisons done by Cook's Illustrated (or was it Consumer Reports) which rated Ronzoni #1. These things are often done by people who are relative rubes when it comes to an understanding of what properly cooked and sauced pasta should be like. Who wants a strand of spaghetti that is just as soft in the center as it is on the outside? Not me!
-
But you can't make a triple sec. You can perhaps make what some might call "orange-cello."
If all you want is an orange-flavored sweetener, just use orange-infused simple syrup. It's easy enough to make.
-
The reality is, I think, that you may be able to make up something you like, and you may use it as a rough replacement for a quality triple sec. But there's no way you're going to get anything DIY that's even remotely similar to triple sec -- especially if you don't have a still or a rotavap.
-
A bit of each is the way to go, yea. And I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of people eating brisket in this country prefer (or think they prefer) the lean part of the brisket.
-
You need either invertase or acid to convert a sucrose solution to an invert sugar solution (one in which all the sucrose molecules have been "broken apart" into separate fructose and glucose molecules).
However, if you boil a 2:1 syrup for around 5 minutes, you can split apart enough of the sucrose molecules by thermal means alone to get some of the benefits of invert sugar (for our purposes, this means that the saturated solution is less likely to recrystalize). But this is by no means enough to call the result an "invert sugar" syrup.
Regardless, my microwave method doesn't take nearly that long. It really only comes to the boil for a few seconds. You have to keep your eye on it and hit the "stop" button as soon as the bubbles start to climb up the neck of the bottle. The nice thing about using the microwave is that the second you hit the stop button, the liquid immediately stops boiling.
-
Or, if he were willing to share, very popular.
-
You shouldn't need to cook a 1:1 by-volume simple syrup at all. It dissolves completely just from shaking.
Speaking of simple syrup, for home use I have found it a lot more convenient to keep mine at 2:1 rather than 1:1. At 2:1 you really don't need to worry about spoilage. You just have to keep in mind that 2:1 syrup has around 1/3rd more sucrose per ounce than 1:1 syrup. So if the drink calls for 3/4 an ounce of 1:1 simple, you can use around a half ounce of 2:1 in its place.
I also have been making my saturated simple syrups in the microwave. I just put the sugar and water into the bottle I am going to be using, set the microwave to "reheat" and turn it off when the water comes to a boil. Then all you have to do is let the bottle cool and you're all set. Meanwhile, you have sterilized the bottle and its contents.
-
All-metal is, in general, much easier to separate compared to glass and metal. This is because the metal tins can both flex a bit.
-
Funny! PFOA-free nonstick cookware, eh? As they point out on their own web site, PTFE has always been PFOA-free. There is no such thing as PFOA cookware. PFOA (aka Perfluorooctanoic acid, aka C8) is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid that is used in the manufacturing process of making PTFE (aka polytetrafluoroethylene), specifically because its properties as an emulsifier help in the polymerization process. PFOA is removed after the polymerization process. Scanpan is saying that they have developed a PTFE manufacturing process that does not require the use of PFOA. This is good, because PFOA is bad stuff when it gets into the environment, which is does tend to do. But it's the manufacturing process that is different here. There would be no real difference with respect to the PTFE on the pan itself, which is already PFOA-free.
-
Yea. Brisket sous vide can be really tasty, but I haven't ever found it eye-opening. The most interesting effect you can get is infusing the meat with whatever flavorings you might have in the bag. I often will put in some caramelized onions and a little fresh rosemary.
-
I don't think there is any meaningfully restrictive definition of "salad" at this point. Originally, it would have referred to salted and probably dressed vegetables as explained above. The OED has it's primary meaning as: "A cold dish of herbs or vegetables (e.g., lettuce, endive), usually uncooked and chopped up or sliced, to which is often added sliced hard-boiled egg, cold meat, fish, etc., the whole being seasoned with salt, pepper, oil and vinegar." The also give a secondary meaning of long standing, as figuratively and allusively referring to "a type of something mixed."
But it's easy to see how you could start with something cold that is mostly vegetables with some fish, and then over the years, end up with something cold that is mostly fish with some vegetables and still call it "salad." That's just the way these things work. Similarly, it's easy to see how you could start with something cold that is mostly vegetables with some potatoes, and then over the years, end up with something that is cold and mostly potatoes that you still call "salad" -- and when you are introduced to a dish of potatoes that is hot and includes bacon, but is still dressed with vinegar, it's easy to call that "salad" as well, because it's similar to what you would know as a kind of "potato salad" except that it's warm. It's a small step from this to a warm "salad" comprised mostly of squid. We see similar things happening now in the cocktail tradition, where there is a general movement to call any cocktail served in a V-glass a "Martini."
All of the things I describe above could be called something else other than salad, probably more accurately. The one common factor that makes things "salad" would seem to be the presence of some kind of acid as a primary component of the dish. Although, as with all things, some people have taken that out as well and still call it "salad."
But, really, any word that can be used to describe a hot dish of potatoes, bacon and vinegar; a cold dish of field greens dressed in vinegar and oil; potatoes, celery and onion with mayonnaise; warm squid with herbs and a vinaigrette; mixed diced fruit in syrup; cold pasta dressed in just about anything; and flavored gelatin encasing canned fruit and/or various vegetables -- well, that word doesn't have a meaning that can be nailed down in any meaningful way.
-
That part of Boudin's FAQ is a little disingenuous. All sourdough cultures are comprised of "micro-organisms that slowly and naturally ferment and raise the bread" and are capable of "producing a deliciously sour flavor." Some cultures seem to produce more acid than others, it's true, but I still believe that getting a lot of sourness (if that is the goal) is primarily a matter of technique and ingredients.
-
Actually, I've tried sourdough from a couple local bakeries and they weren't sour either, which makes me suspect that the local lactobacilli may be inherently degenerate.
I'm wondering if those really sour breads, from say Boudin in San Francisco, don't have something else added to the dough to up the sour factor.
Checking the Boudin website, it's impossible to find the ingredients to any of their breads; I have an email going out asking them for an ingredient/nutritional listing. As a matter of fact, even their link to nutritional info doesn't give one any info.
A few things. First of all, "sourdough" is a bit of as misnomer. Sure, the bread is "sour" compared to bread leavened with commercial yeast, but not necessarily the lip-puckering sour that some commercial "sourdough" breads have. What you will find once you get used to eating sourdough bread, is that breads leavened with commercial yeast will start to seem lacking in flavor and complexity.
One thing you will find is that the commercial "super-sour" breads almost always are dense with a tight crumb. My guess is that these are made by blending in a large percentage of mature starter or "old dough" followed by a very brief, warm rise and then right into a steamy deck oven (Acme uses 60 pounds of 12 hour old sponge in each 300 pound batch). The ones at the supermarket are undoubtedly made via some industrial process.
-
Quady's "Deviation" is aromatized with Damiana and Scented Geranium.
-
As I have noted a few times recently, it seems like bacon is perilously close to jumping the shark. Not only does it seem like an interminable length of time that internet foodies have been making a fetish of bacon, but even the fast food and "casual dining" megachains have been catching on with their offings of just about everything "baconized." Even relatively late-to-the party old media are starting to go bacon-wild, and as Steven noted, "typically by the time a trend gets recognized by the New York Times it is already on the decline among the people who actually drove the trend."
Now Win Rosenfeld of The Big Money weighs in with similar thinking.
None of this is to say that I don't still love bacon. It's tasty as hell. But I long ago stopped obsessing about it, eating it every chance I had, and thinking things such as bacon-flavored mayonnaise were charming, cool or even delicious.
Thoughts? -
Just to liquify it. I've never seen much point to the whole "heat by friction" thing for my uses.
-
I continue to get good use out of mine. So far, very happy! Last night I was looking for a quick and easy meal. I had picked up some cockles, baby octopus and squid tubes on the way home, and I knew I had some Spanish paella rice. Figured I'd cook them together in a frypan.
So, I made small dice of some celery and onions. The rest of the celery and the onion were looking a bit old. Those went into the Vita-Prep, along with some aging carrot from the fridge. Then I had a jar with around 4 medium-sized "fire roasted red peppers" I had picked up on sale at Fairway. Dumped those in the VP. Then poured in some chicken stock I hadn't used up the other night. Liquified all that for a minute or so. Ran it through a fine sieve to get any fiber out and end up with just the liquid. Softened the onion and celery in some olive oil. Threw in the squid and the 'pus. Threw in the rice and the broth. Simmered a while and tossed in the cockles. Turned out brilliant, in a large part because of the amazing broth I was able to put together in around 60 seconds using the VP.
-
It can actually be a good technique for getting a very sour final dough, although I find that it's very tricky to do this and not end up with a doorstop. There's a reason the really sour breads tend to be dense with a tight crumb.
The best I've been able to do with the "up-front souring" technique is to use the soured dough (which I mix stiff rather than fermenting in a sponge) together with the balance of the flour and a large proportion of very active fresh starter. Then you have to do your fermentation fast (single rise) and get the dough in the oven before the acid has a chance to do its dirty work on the gluten.
-
It's not correct to imagine that all the yeast do is leaven and all the lactobacilli do is sour. About 50% of the leavening comes from the lactobacilli. The amount of gas produced by sourdough microflora is roughly proportional to their size. Yeast cells are a lot larger than lactobacillus cells, but there are a lot more lactobacteria than there are yeast cells so it evens out. I do know that people who study this sort of thing have managed to leaven a dough using only lactobacilli and no yeast whatsoever.
All you're doing by using an "extremely sour starter," by the way, is contributing a slug of up-front acid to the dough. All the microflora will be severaly inhibited and populations in decline when the starter is very sour. If you want to use the technique of chucking in a big slug of acid to the dough, it's better to do an extented "over-pre-fermentation" of some percentage of the total dough until it is very sour, then mix that pre-fermented dough into the final dough along with an amount of healthy, active starter.
-
Hey, that's bigger than my freezer!
-
That doesn't make any sense, Mike. If the yeast are active, then the bacteria are active (provided you are feeding your culture properly).
If the starter itself is sour, this means that it is over-mature and neither the yeast nor bacteria are optimally active and healthy. If you are counting on acid contained in the starter to contribute sourness to your finished loaf, then all that is required is for you to ferment the "new batch of starter" longer (e.g., until it reaches the amount of sourness you want).
I should hasten to point out that the storage starter should never be allowed to become "sour" as a matter of good practice. The optimum pH for lactobacilli is 5.0 - 5.5. This is the initial pH of a dough with a 5% to 20% inoculum. When the pH gets down to 3.8, there is no more growth of lactobacilli. And at 3.6 and below the lactobacilli no longer produce any acid. What this means is that, when a starter is refreshed with a large inoculum (say, 30% or higher) the lactobacilli will start to drop out over time due to this inhibition. This is when the culture is likely to be "infected" and taken over by other, more low pH-tolerant lactobacilli such as L. pontis.
-
Are you sure you're seeing blood spots and not protein spots? See here: http://oukosher.org/index.php/common/artic...nd_blood_spots/
-
Just because it looks fresh at the fish market doesn't mean it has never been frozen.
The safest way is to fish it yourself or buy it alive.
From the standpoint of potential parasitic infection, there is nothing particularly safe about this whatsoever.
Good Drinks When With a Minor
in New York: Dining
Posted
No one under the age of 21 is allowed in a NYC bar by law. Period. This is not to say that it wouldn't be possible to get him in to a bar if he just happened to not be carded. But you're going to have to be lucky. And he would be putting himself at risk by breaking the law, not to mention that he would be putting the bar at risk as well.
If you want to have drinks in a place where he is allowed to be by law, you're going to have to go to a bar that is part of a restaurant.