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Greetings, Chefs - Attempting to make both brezen and fresh ramen, and curious to know if anyone's used baked baking soda (a.k.a. sodium carbonate) as an unequivocally successful substitute for food-grade lye (a.k.a. Sodium Hydroxide) in making those bavarian knots or to switch-hit well for kansui (a.k.a. 55% sodium carbonate, 35% potassium carbonate, and 10% sodium biphosphate dodecahydrate) in making ramen. Baking soda is far easier to acquire - but accurate authenticity is of course key, and perhaps never more so with specific elements when engaging them in fusion recipes. Thanks for any insights you may be able to provide! Going to experiment a bit myself, and will post gathered results as they come in.

In some of the other posts most particularly one on homemade ginger beer they talk about different carbonation techniques. My personal belief is that there is good cooking and that there is new cooking and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. A new taste sensation when you have nothing to compare it to can be hard to beat. Once you've tried a few things in the same vein I then can build up the basis of comparison and get more discriminating. Carbonation is one of these things the marrying of cranberries with carbonation is magical. Okay done now what else can we do? To that and after seeing an article in the ginger beer at home posting I bought a Fizz Giz. I like what the guy had to say and the lack of malarkey on his website. And I just didn't feel like building something. The question is what to do with it now it might be fun to do something special such as carbonated hard liquor for New Year's Eve. Anyone have any ideas?

Hello, I have been studying the first book in depth over the last few months and I have a few questions regarding the safety of cooking sous vide (as well as a few other issues). Firstly I wanted to ask a couple of questions on the table on page 193-1 "Extended & Simplified 6.5D Salmonella Reduction Table"; This table is referring to the killing of salmonella in different meats. I wanted to know if using these time and temperatures for all farmed meats would successfully eliminate ALL pathogens that we need to be concerned with, thus rendering it "safe" to serve to a customer? You have also stated that the interior of meat, so long as it's not punctured, should be sterile. I got the impression that this is not the case for chicken, and that chicken needs to be cooked to the times listed in the table. So why would the interior of chicken be inherently different to other animals? Not that I would want to serve chicken raw, I am just curious as to why this would be different to searing the outside, and eating a raw interior, as you can with beef etc? I understand that wild game is a little different, as you are more concerned with parasites and the like, which shall bring me on to my next question; I have seen restaurants serving Venison carpaccio, and I would love to make a venison tartare, but would that be foolish considering this animal is classed as "Wild Game"? It is served raw all over the country, so I am interested to learn how this differs to farmed beef for e.g.? Next, I would like to learn a little about the reheating or "regenerating" of meat. If, for e.g., I was cooking chicken sous vide, and I cooked it at 54ºC for 2h17m to achieve a 6.5D reduction, could I then chill in an ice bath and reheat it to order? In the UK, legislation states that cooked meats need to be reheated to 86ºC to be safe. Now obviously this would ruin a chicken. A restaurant that I know cooks Venison at 55ºC, chills it and then "regenerates" it at 50ºC to order. Is that safe? I am interested in cooking/reheating options. And finally, the last question I have is regarding fish. Now I understand that if I cook fish to the time/temp listed in the chart on 193-1, I will likely result in fish that is overcooked to most peoples liking. However if I freeze it to the suitable time/temp, that renders it safe to serve raw, correct? Now using the current freezer I have, which sits at about -20ºC, I think that freezing in this way will be of detriment to the quality and texture of the flesh. Is that a fair comment? And how could I bypass this stage? Is that just a risk that restaurants take and, much like serving raw salad, occasionally someone might get sick from it? Apologies for the length of this text, and I hope the questions I ask are interesting for you to answer. I look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks very much advance. Iain

I just made a recipe of brown beef stock using the pork variation. I accurately measured the amount of meat that went in (I used pork spare ribs as indicated) and the amount of the liquids. When all was said and done I had barely 2 c. of stock. This is the second time I've made either brown or pork stock and the yield has been less than half of what's indicated. Is this normal? How on earth are you supposed to get 4 c. of stock from only 3 3/4 c. of starting liquid? Neil

After reading and watching the "Dairy-Free Potato Puree" blog entry I've become really interested in using diastase. I've run into a small problem, however. I eat a gluten-free diet, as well as almost everyone I cook for. Diastatic malt powder, while thankfully easy to obtain, sadly seems to be an inherently gluten-filled product. Is there are a gluten-free source of diastase available? I was looking into pure diastase powder, thinking it might be similar to bromelain (safe to use and sold as a powder at vitamin stores). While I did find several sources, and it is listed as non-toxic and even food safe, provided MSDS sheets for diastase indicated that it should not be consumed. While this may mean simply not to eat it straight out of the bag, I'd be very grateful for some guidance. If pure diastase is unavailable and unusable is there another enzyme worth looking into for breaking down starches?

Hello! I'm presently travelling and will be staying at Lyon for a day ”” does anybody know about a shop that might carry modernist ingredients? My French is non-existent so the Google is not of much help to me. Thanks in advance! Anton

Since I'll be using a long water bath,Im wondering if I could go with a smaller brisket ( e.g. half of one of the big honkers I usually cook) ?

Tonight I cooked MC Special Sauce according to the recipe on MC@H. I turned out like green onion porridge. Maybe I should have only used the white/yellow parts of the leeks? Taste and texture are nothing like a sauce. Gotta say I was very disappointed with this! Especially since my pressure-caramelized ketchup didn't turn out really good either.

Tonight I made pressure caramellized ketchup and I have two problems with it. I tastes really much like onion. Weight/volume measurements don't seem to work. It says 6 g or 1,5 tsp. 6 grams was like 2/3 tablespoon. I guess onion powders can differ. The taste is really spicy and oniony. It was also too runny. I added some xantham gum and locust beam gum. Hopefully it won't become like jelly

When I cook meat at low temps the meat seems to lose a lot of the moisture. A steak cooked at 56C for 3 hours is a bit dry, especially when compared to one which is cooked at 53C for the same period. This seems to be even more problematic when cooking for days. I once cooked brisket for 72 hours at 58C. The meat was very tough and chevy - basically unedible - and had lost lots of the moisture as well. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong. I have not succeeded to tenderize tough cuts at low temperatures, and they have not been very moist either. So far I've got best results with naturally tender cuts, or if I use tough cuts I just overcook them at 80C.

I have wondered about this subject for quite some time: why not use baking soda to increase the maillard reaction when browning a sous vide steak for example? Is there a reason why not to do so?

I make short pastry at college a lot but the problem is my hands go to warm, cold water doesn't work ether, i've even just tried using my finger tips and again my pastry keeps over working because my hands are too warm, i don't know what to do because my lecturer only wants us to use our hands just because it works for her, she has colder hands than other people and we all vary in body temperatures, me i run a little more hot especially when walking up and down the kitchen.I need some better ways of rubbing the margerine and lard into the flour without touching it as much, there is a robo cook but i doubt she will let us use it, probably come up with some other excuse as to why not just so we will do it her way, no offense to her i mean she's nice it's just like a lot of people these days she can't see past the fact what works for her doesn't work for all people, rather annoying really. So any other ways i can do it? and we don't have ice in the kitchens ether. Reference material:http://www.akkus-adapter.com/fujitsu-squ-809-f01.html

Hello, After having a lot of success making stocks and risottos in my pressure cooker I turned my attention to the marinara recipe in MCAH. Unfortunately, it turned out quite burnt. Does anybody have any tips to prevent this from happening? I'm not sure what I can give for details - I followed the recipe pretty closely, and kept the pressure cooker from being over pressured.

Hello! I was hoping someone could sanity check my work here on the calculation for determining when a brine will be complete using the equation on page 3-171 (6-101). The example uses a 1,000 g of pork chops as an example with 7g for salt and 100g for water, I am assuming this is using Scaling no. 2 with the basic brine based on the percentages...But my question is, If I am using Scaling 1 of the basic brine, how do the numbers correlate for equation. Here's what I did using Scaling 1: Weight of Meat: 275g Weight of water: 523g (water almost 2:1 based on recommendation from 3-170) Total: 798g (meat + water) 1% of total = 7.98g .4% of total = 3.192g So, according to the equation, S = 100 x 7.98 / (7.98 + 523) = 1.503 Then,assuming a final salinity of .7%, T = 275 + (.7 x 275 / 1.503) = 403g!!!! The weight of the meat can't possibly gain 128g right? After doing that, I tried using scaling 2 for determining the calculation (even though I originally used scaling 1). With doing that, I came up with the following result: I set 523g (the weight of the water) to 100%, and used 36.61g for the weight of salt (7% of 523g): S = 100 x 36.61g / (36.61 + 523) = 3,661/559.61 = 6.54 (which interestingly matches the example in the book)... and T = 275 + (.7 x 275 / 6.54) = 304.434g. This seemed like a much more realistic number, so I'm going to use this one. So I guess I'm asking, are my calcuations correct? Is what I did ok? Using Scaling 1 for brining the meat, and then using scaling 2 for determing when it will be ready? Thank you!

Hello!! I tried the Pressure caramelized banana but it was a disaster!!!! It burned and took me a while to clean the pressure cooker. What I realized is that 28minutes cooking is too much!! I could not find any correction for this on the web site. Someone have tried it with successful result? Thanks, Alberto.

I'm planning to brine and smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving, but am not sure which is the best way to brine it. Would it be better to inject the breast with a salt brine, as suggested for chicken in MC, or immerse the whole bird in a brine? Also, what is the highest temperature to smoke it at without compromising the smoking process to minimize the time in the danger temperature zone?

I'm about to embark on my first set of recipes from Modernist Cuisine at Home. ”˜Pressure-Cooked Garlic Confit‚’ and ”˜Pressure-Caramalized Onions‚’ are among those recipes. My question relates to canning jars. On page 33 there is a discussion on ”˜Pressure Cooking in Canning Jars‚’ and mentions mason jars specifically. Unfortunately I did not remember this as I purchased canning jars from the local kitchen supply store. I did not realise at the time that the ones I purchased were not mason jars; they do not have the separate sealing lid which fits inside the screw-top lid. The lid is all one piece. Can these be used as canning jars for pressure cooking?

Hello, I see in Volume 2 that a Chamber Vacuum Sealer with the options listed below is recommended. Is there a table top sealer that has all these features? Dual Seal Bars to double the throughput of the machine Double-Seam Sealing Wire Both Above and Below which provides a more secure seal and allows the use of specialized, thicker retort bags Digital Pressure Gauge to seal bags more consistently Programmable Settings for more control and convenience Soft Air Release to protect delicate food from decompression damage External Vacuum Port for use with rigid containers Gas Injection to preserve delicate food under inert gas Cyclone separator to protect the vacuum pump from water and debris in the vacuum line http://ultrasourceusa.com/index.php/equipment/product_category/category/vacuum_chamber_machines http://www.henkelman.com/Equipments/Table-top-models/Table-top-models.html http://us.multivac.com/our-products/chamber-machines/table-top-and-floor-machines/table-top-machines.html http://vacmaster.aryvacmaster.com/cgi/ary.wsc/category.htm?l=Vacuum-Packaging-Machines I know the recommended Gear Guide model is the ARY Vacmaster VP210C, but it doesn't have all these features.

Hello! I tried to make sense of the correction/clarifications on the Goan Curry recipee, but it didn´t even sound close to the recipee i got in the German version of MC under the name "Currysauce nach Goa-Art" (5 - 95). Question 1) In step 4 all the spices are added to the tomato, ghee, onions mixture "sauteing until they start to smell" In step 5 everything gets in the oven, roasted for 10 minutes with 170C° "until they start to smell" In step 6 everything is grinded in a coffee grinder or a Mixer --> Looks like step 4 is wrong and should be done like in the other recipees after step 5 (roasting the spices) and step 6 (grinding the roasted spices)? Putting an Onion-Tomato-Spice Mixture into a coffee grinder in step 6 would destroy it. Why roasting the Onion-Tomato-Spice Mixture again in the oven in step 5? So it is a mistake in the sequence, isn´t it? Question 2: One ingredient is cane vinegar. So, the only cane vinegar i could find so far is a mixture of 50% water and 50% cane vinegar, resulting in 5% acidity. Is that the vinegar which should be used for the recipee? Question 3, linked to question 2) My recipee doesnot demand water whatsoever. Is that explained by the usage of pure vinegar, which should be watered down? "On pages 5·95 and 6·224, the recipe for Goan Curry Sauce should call for 250 g of water with a scaling of 208%. This should be placed just above cane vinegar. For more corrections to this recipe on page 6·224 only, click here. On page 5·95, in the recipe for Goan Curry Sauce, ‚“see page 2·424? should read ‚“see page 3·290.” Thank you for all your help! Best regards octabeer

I would love to see a Modernist Cuisine screen saver here. Wonderful photography

After three days, do you take the steak out of the bag, or can you leave it in the bag with fish sauce and put it straight into the sous vide bath?

If I wanted to try a methylcellulose clarification for a consommé, but don't have any sga250 (or equiv) methylcellulose handy... How bad would things turn out by using F50 (lower viscosity - higher temp formation) instead? Am I better off just going the old fashioned egg white route? TIA

I would like to make a round thin circle of goat cheese that I can lay over a hot Ravioli. I do not want it to melt away. I would like it to not be two tough. I just want a thin coat that I can lay over the Rav. How should I go about doing this?? Thank you for your help Levi

I recently got my modernist cuisine at home and saw that many of the recipes contain wondra flour. However, living outside the US (Israel) I am not able to obtain this product. Is there any suggestions on how to replace it with an equivalent product? If I replace it with normal flour will the recipes work? Thanks in advance, Yariv

I'm trying to make the aromatic chicken broth recipe from Modernist Cuisine at Home (p 266) and am very confused about the spice amounts. The recipe says: Star anise / 4g / 1 star anise Black peppercorns / 4 g / 1/2 tsp The problem is those volumes don't come close to matching the given weights. 4g of star anise is almost 5 whole star anise pods, and matches what appears to be in the photo for step 3. Same for the peppercorns: it appears the volume is off by 4x to get the amount shown in picture 3. Which one is correct? 4 star anise pods in 4.5 cups of broth seems like an awful lot? Neil