FlashJack

A marvellous topic. Twice recently I have given books as a wedding gift to young not-cooks. McGhee On Food & Cooking -- the single one that explains everything. Endlessly useful. I wish there were an update. Every Australian household needs (and mostly has) Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion. Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking These are my Trinity. Salt, Fat, Acid is a good primmer. I adore Pepin but find Techniques oddly disappointing.

That indeed is the problem. The buttons are completely dead although at first they were not. Given that the interior light comes on, I suspect it's a logic board issue. My neighbour, a veteran of many hospitality setups, suggested a local repair wizard but I expect Anova makes parts hard to find and the whole thing is not worth the while. I'll probably buy another APO because I don't know of alternatives that are as good. I love the humidity control and that it goes low enough for prooving dough. Is there anything else worth investigating? Something longer lived?

I should have left well enough alone. In anticipation of a neighbour coming over to bake, a few days ago I cleaned the well-patinated (read grubby) glass door of my APO. Nothing unusual – BKF and a spray cleaner. I then had only the wi-fi symbol (flashing) and the Start button lit. Interior light comes on but otherwise nothing. First thought: that’s odd; maybe I’ve got moisture into something. Second thought: I’ll leave it a while. I unplugged it for a couple of days. Today I plugged it in. Internal light still comes on if I open door but there are zero lights illuminated on handle. Thoughts? And at risk of raising two issues, I’m surprised no one has griped about Anova trying to impose subscriptions on its apps. A cash-grabbing betrayal of trust I think. Other views?

I have friends like that. Then I have good friends.

Jo, I'm confused/appalled/intrigued. What differences between Falk and Darto could lead to this? Please forbear another attack on my wallet. I'm happy with my Darto -- I have 6 or 7. Why would they be unusually susceptible to rice attack or the Falk so resistant? This is metallurgy meets mystery.

Thanks Paul. As @liuzhou pointed out in the subsequent post, rice has useful abrasive properties. I'm not too worried. As you implied, it's best to just get on. I wonder if others have seen what I have.

At risk of digressing somewhat, I have and like most of Darto's pans. Once seasoned, they are kind-of-non-stick. My favourite is the big paella, which I use for fried rice. No matter how well seasoned, I find fried rice rips off that built up seasoning. I'm now thinking is might be lecithin in the egg yolk. Yet I'm sure many of you use Dartos and other well seasoned heavy steel pans precisely because they are great for fried egg. Is there some weird chemistry in the combination of rice and egg yolk?

Most of the recipes in the 5-vol set use only traditional ingredients. So long as you have or can get a good range of flours you'll be fine. I'm sure I'm forgetting some breads that use advanced chemistry but even the non-traditional things aren't very unusual. You might, if you see a recipe you particularly like, need to get a little dextrose, maltose or diastatic malt powder; that sort of thing -- cheap and easy enough to find. I recall buying bromelain for something. Just skip that one and there are plenty more. Don't fear needing to buy a chemistry lab, especially if the recipe selection has, as it should, an emphasis on "at home".

That's a great recipe and you did well with it. Congratulations.

That's a totally different beast than I produced. Well baked. Wife happy = success.

Be prepared for disappointment. I did it. Totally overrated. Report back.

This seems as good a thread as any to ask if anyone has thoughts on or experience with the Diavolo gas pizza oven. Reviews appear positive but those I've seen are not well informed. @scott123 any views? Usual retail here is $AU600 but on sale at a convenient shop for $249 -- a suspiciously large discount.

Welcome Neely from Jack in Melbourne.

Yes. 1% = 1 in 100 0.1% = 1 in a 1000 0.05% = half of 1 in 1000; 1 in 2000. Maths hurts.

After a desultory search I couldn't find a thread on vinegar making. Is there one? I have reasonable wine-making experience but am new to making vinegar. After separately collecting red and white wine leftovers I introduced the same mother to each (in ~3l glass containers) and left them a few months to do their thing. All good; the mother grew and I took off some and successfully started clones. I racked each container off a couple of times, ending up with clear batches with a decided acidity (I don't have a pH meter). I pasteurised each to prevent any further fermentation and left them a couple more months. The white is very sharp. I'll likely dilute it to tame it a bit. The red is bland. No or near-no acid. What went wrong? Supplementary question: the white was made with quite colourless wines -- no oxidised heavily oaked chardonnay. It has taken on an almost whiskey hue. Do some makers strip the colour from their vinegar? How?