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malcolmjolley

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Posts posted by malcolmjolley

    little cucumbers for cornichons

    in Ontario: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    A Gremolata reader sent me a query

    I've seen them Malcolm. It depends on the store and their labelling practices but there were some available at my local grocer named "lebanese cucumbers" that were about the size of a baby carrot. I presume pickling them and drawing the water out might get you closer to what you need. Otherwise a farmer's market that sold fresh cucumber might bring you some babies if you asked nicely (or are they from a totally different strain?).

    CharityCase: Where? But, where? This sounds like a good lead. Again, it's not for me (no, really, I swear) but for a Gremolata reader*. So I have no idea what the pickling process may or not be.

    *For the record, I always encourage readers with an ingredient query to post on eG themselves, but I do offer to post for the shy ones and send them the thread URL, so they can visit and check.

    little cucumbers for cornichons

    in Ontario: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    A Gremolata reader sent me a query about where to find cucumbers small enough to pickle into proper cornichons.

    I have to admit I'm stumped for now. Has anyone ever seen these retailed in the GTA?

    I thought I would ask around the city's bistros, too. Does anyone know which of the city's French restaurants make their own cornichons?

    sushi kaji

    in Ontario: Dining

    Posted

    Kaji is considered the best. I don't think there's really any competition.

    Hiro is very well respected, and considered part of the league of Toronto uber-chefs.

    EDO has a reputation for very good susho, too.

    Live Seafood in Toronto

    in Ontario: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    There are still a number of Chinese shops around Dundas and Spadina that have aquariums in the back, where you can select your meal while it's still swimming. I can never remember their names, but the one I go to is bigger sized one on the east side of Spadina just north of Dundas.

    Richmond Hill and Markham are also supposed to be hot beads of this sort of thing. A friend of mine always goes up there for lobster (which has been fantastic). I want to say "Big Land Farms", but I'm sure that's not it. I'll see what I can dredge up from the Gremolata network...

    Best Cheese Shop

    in Ontario: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    I wouldn't be surprised if the Cheese Boutique would FedEX you a styrofoam box if you asked. Of course, this would not be cheap! And maybe this isn't the best weather...

    La Fromagerie is a new small cheese store, and I bet they would also be willing to send you an order one way or another - ask for Hazel.

    Of course there is always Andy Shay's Shay Cheese, which delivers throughout the province, but he's on hiatus for the summer.

    Finally, why not approach producers directly? The Ontario Cheese Society has a list of member/producers. And there is a similar Quebec assoc. and site: www.routedesfromages.com, which seems to be down - see also Andy's column on visiting cheesemakers at Gremolata, here.

    BTW: Yes, we are a little Toronto-centric at Gremolata, but we try not to be. I'll keep checking out this thread for info on good cheese shops in Ontario outside of the big smoke.

    Berkshire Pork

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by malcolmjolley (log)

    A Gremolata reader asked me today if I knew anyone who had eaten Berkshire Pork and what the big deal was, compared to "regular" breeds.

    I've read a bit on this, but I've never had any (not sure there are even raised on Ontario). So I'm taking it to eG hoping for some first hand accounts...

    [edited for spilling]

    The Healthy Butcher

    in Ontario: Dining

    Posted

    Pricewise, I'd say there is a slight premium but not too bad. The two steaks came to about $25 and the chicken breasts were $8. That's about 20-25% more than I'd pay at my local supermarket, but worth it, I think.

    True enough, James, but the steaks and chicken you buy at your local supermarket are probably 20 to 25% water, since they're wet aged.

    Compared to the city's other premium butchers, I think Healthy is actually a little cheaper.

    Striking Back at the Food Police

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    I can happily eat anmd enjoy a bag of cheese doodles with the rest of them, and am a big fan of freedom to eat whatever I like. But this org is still pure evil. This isn't about "freedom": crap food is always available, all the time. But try finding something fresh and nutritious in a poor neighbourhood, along the highway or in most North American public spaces. The fact the the Center for Consumer Freedom started as a tobacco lobby group speaks volumes about what their trying to do with their clients' money.

    I did think it was interesting, though, that both Pepsi and Kraft were quite public in wanting to dissasociate themselves from the CCF and a t least pay lip service to developing healthier brands.

    Striking Back at the Food Police

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    South African Wines

    in Wine

    Posted · Edited by malcolmjolley (log)

    From what very little I know, Platter is the bible.

    South Africa is certainly one of the most exciting wine regions right now. The investments that were made post-1994 are literally coming to fruition.

    I am sure your friend will drink well.

    Edit...

    Didn't address wines to try now. Any of the Fairview / Goats do Roam labels are great value (though given their troubles with the EU over their name, maybe not available in the 5th Republic).

    If you can find (or for that matter, pronounce) the Boekenhoutskloof "Porcupine Ridge", I think you'll get a sense of the great values that are coming out of South Africa.

    The Wines of South Africa is a decent online resource, too.

    (Shameless self-promotion: Gremolata did a profile on the Porcupine Ridge earlier this year, here.)

    Priming and Seasoning Wine Glasses

    in Wine

    Posted

    I hope I'm not going over the top on the shameless self-promotion scale, but this story demands to be shared on eGullet.

    Gremolata's intrepid LA correspondent, Ben Wiener (who posts here once and a while), wrote in today's update about the bizarre California practice of "seasoning wine".

    The piece is here.

    Is this widespread? Has anyone else had this happen to them? Does anyone work in a restaurant that does this? What is it exactly? And what's the point?

    Does smoking kill the palate?

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    I don't know. I am inclined to go with the "no" side, not just as an ex-smoker but as a serial quitter for many years I had lot's of opportunites to compare and contrast. Technically, I don't think there's much of a difference as much as I would liek to think there was.

    I do think there might be something to the smell enhancement theory, but this could just be that when you smoke your clothes and hair reek so much your olfactory system numbs a bit. Now, like Carswell I am super-sensitive to second-hand smoke (can smell it 100 yards away) and want to wretch whenever I come across someone that has that "just-had-a-smoke-break-stench".

    Life is generally better without the cancer sticks, despite how nice it is to have one or two after a leisurely meal, so once you get over the unpleasant effects of withdrawal and murderous cravings, you can enjoy your meal without worrying about when you're going to get to the part where you smoke. And that's probably worth as much as anything.

    Artwork in Gourmet, Not looking good enough to eat

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    I am continually surpised at how much hostility there is for Gourmet here at eGullet. I've never really thought of it as bleeding edge, so I don't get too dissapointed when there's a crappy issue, which I think happens to all magazines from time to time. I admit I'm not a big fan, but I kind of expect it to be boring.

    I guess Ruth Reichl's appointment raised some hopes that the magazine would be somehow different or would raise the bar somehow. Is that what's happening?

    I also wonder if it's popular outside of our rarified circle and whether circulation has grown over the last few years. Anyone know?

    Why DO those fancy tomatoes co$t so much?

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Gina Mallet's Last Chance to Eat (on which I have posted ad nauseum) tells the whole story of how "on the vine tomatoes" came to our supermarkets:

    Around 1993, there were just too many round, red tomatoes on the world market, and the Dutch couldn't compete. One grower simply gave up; he couldn't afford to have his tomatoes picked, so he chopped up the vines and sold the tomatoes as they were.

    The first "vine tomatoes" were actually mass produced Dutch hydroponics. Which explains why, when I was in Florida last spring, the only "vine" tomatoes I could find were from Ontario!

    There's a reason the lady won a James Beard for Best Food Writing.

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