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A friend of mine really likes sour patch candy and I'd like to try to make it into a foam but I don't quite know where to start. I'm thinking of trying a few things. Put the candy into a liquid an let it it, then blend it. Or perhaps melt the candy. Once it's liquid I have an idea about what to do next.

The book mentions that there are no cvap ovens that let you directly control wet bulb and dry bulb temperature. The holding drawers have aseparatefood temp and air temp dial that is set in degreesfahrenheit. I would imagine that these correspond to wet bulb and dry bulb temp. My question is, which is which?

I want to try and start taking some great food photos as I document what I cook (especially out of Modernist Cuisine). I was wondering if anyone have some good advice on what to buy and how to set up and light shots against a plain black and plain white background? I think that shots that Scott takes over at Seattlefoodgeek.com are excellent. Maybe someone can speculate on his set-up?

I don't know where Mr. Marchesi comes from, but I don't think it's Milan. For me, a risotto Milanese has to be made with bone marrow, otherwise it's just a risotto and NOT Milanese. And as I can't see any bone marrow in his recipe, it is not a Milanese. Sorry. Unless somebody proves me wrong. Robby

I'm planning on purchasing a Sous Vide Professional in the next month. Before Christmas Williams-Sonoma had a great sale price, around $600, but now everyone seems to be charging the same as Polyscience does on their site, $800. Has anyone found a better current price out there?

You can find them here!

Where can i get this? It is for the Silken Tofu recipe... (Volume 4 page 113 I think) I have tried numerous places, but this is seriously hard to find. The big chemical companies who produce this dont sell to end users. Tarjei

In MC, I wassurprisedto see the only mention of catalytic technique inchar-broilersas: "(charcoal) radiates heat with an intensity much greater than can be mustered by all but a few exotic catalytic gas grills." p.2-10, ...especially considering a main focus of the book is on 'exotic' methods and modern equipment! Does anyone have a review of current commercial grade catalytic charbroilers? TEC has even produced them domestically in South Carolina since 2006, and recently sold the technology to ITW/Vulcan -so we may see a new line out of Vulcan soon. I've been looking into the Rankin Delux TurboBroiler TB-3 or TB-8 series, and the TEC Searmaster II specifically. Any other brand name review and model is welcomed as well, those are the two i have found most interesting, reasonably priced, and available. Charcoal is a difficult proposition in my commercial kitchen, and indoors in general. I would like to hear from anyone who has experience with this type of charbroiler. It becomes difficult at first to give credibility to these devices when claims of "searing in juices" and juice meters are plastered all over theiradvertising, however I would also like to see if anyone has discussion on the different effects of dehydration that wouldoccurbetween this type, gas burner with radiant element/lava rock, and charcoal charbroiler. with the radiant catalytic element type, there is significantly less convection around the product being cooked -which keeps me interested in them. Does anyone have any relevant input?

I'm very much a beginner on my journey through MC, so be prepared for plenty of basic mistakes as I get started. I'm a big sucker for crackling. I'm not using it with a roast, but rather I intend to use the recipe to make crackling hors d'oeuvres for a party. I'm trying out this recipe as I write this post, but thought it would be a good time to point out some of the things I've found a bit difficult (the dehydration step is taking a while in the oven!). 1. I pressure cooked the pork skin for an hour at 150kPa, but it seems to me like it came out a bit too soft. It was literally falling apart. I'm not sure if this is right or not, but it made it very difficult to remove all the fat from the skin. I'm not sure if this is because I neglected to use a trivet, or if I cooked it for too long. 2. Because of these issues removing the fat from the skin, when dehydrating the skin in the oven a lot of oil was produced. The skin then began to cook a bit in it. I'm not sure how long to leave it in there for, but the skin is starting to change colour and harden up a bit so hopefully it's coming along well. Once it's finished dehydrating, I'm going to try deep frying it at 200 degrees until puffy, then serve it with salt.

Hi on page 2-24 there is a guide to cook you fish under the broiler. I layed the fish on shallots and covered the fish(salmon filet)in white wine with only the skin above the wine. pretty quickly after the fish whent under det broiler the skin startet turning dark, wich only made the proces of burned skin faster after 6 min in the oven the skin was burnt and the fish still raw inside Did I miss something in the guide or do you have any suggestions to what I might do different next time? Sincerely Soeren

Is there a spreadsheet available for calculating values in tables from pages 2-276 - 2-279. Been googling for a while and would like to do calculation for various steak sizes and meats and not 6" logs etc. Thanks

I'm looking for a place that uses many modernist techniques in Chicago, as I will be visiting there, and I haven't really gotten a chance to experience modernist cuisine in a restaurant. I don't want anything too expensive (like Alinea). In like the $75 range. Thank you very much!

I don't know where to buy essential oils and i'm wondering if they are all edible ? Dominic

I just had a look at the errata page and noticed that it was dated April 26, 2011.Are there plans for similar list for the second printing? I assume that while most of the errors on the list will have been corrected (I haven't checked yet), some new ones might have crept in?

Thought I'd share this... http://seattlefoodgeek.com/2010/02/diy-sous-vide-heating-immersion-circulator-for-about-75/ It ended up costing me a little over $100 because of different parts and shipping costs... but mine looks exactly like his and works great. Just takes a little spare time

I received the following response to an inquiry to DOW: METHOCEL SG A150 FDG has been discontinued. Possible replacements are METHOCEL SG A7C, METHOCEL SG A16M, or METHOCEL MX. For samples and pricing information please contact Ciao Imports at (866) 249-0400.

I have a question about the garlic confit recipe in a pressure cooker. Do the jars have to be closed? thanks! 'dmg

Does anyone know where I can find the perforated spoons that I always see being used in spherification demos? There is a picture of one being used on this site as well.

I have always wondered if it makes a difference what side of the foil one uses when roasting/baking/braising in an oven. I would assume that having the shinier side face down (facing the food) would reflect the heat onto the food better and create a more stable cooking environment. Thoughts?

While I followed the recipe carefully, I found the mix too thick to properly and completely dispense from my ISI whipping siphon. Too much of the mixture remained in the bottom even though I sharply rapped on the bottom after inversion. The whole mixture seemed a bit gloppy after using the thickeners. Has anyone tried making this recipe without the thickeners in the potato broth? Larry

Well after great success with the Caramalized Carrot Soup it's time to move onto the French Onion Soup. I've picked up my Preserving Jars 500ml * 4. Anyone got any tips before I proceed, I'm using a Fagor Pressure Cooker which is fine as this is not a sterilastion canning as I take it. I do not have a tray for the bottom of the pressure cooker except for the steamer basket on a trivet which I'll put the cans on or in whichever way you look at it.. I'm not sure how much water to put in. The PC instructions state to put 2 cups in for >20mins cooking so I'll do that as it is a 40min cook. I think that's it! Anyone have any comments before I proceed? I'll get back to you with the results. Reagrds, Vol.

Sale on ducks at Whole Foods led to a duck-buying binge. I've cured and confited duck legs according to the recipe on 3:178 (Duck leg confit with pommes sarladaises). My question: how long will these legs store under refrigeration in their vacuum bags (I assume I should keep them in the cooking bags for optimal storage)? Given that confit is largely a preserving process, I think I should have a pretty long shelf life. Thoughts?

For my forthcoming class in Modernist Cuisine, I'm preparing what I call an "asparagus sunrise." It consists of a mousse of green asparagus in the center of the plate, with four radiating stalks of white asparagus. A perfect egg yolk (130 min at 63C) will sit on top of the mousse. Then to finish it off, I wanted to have a light, airy foam, like the sun peaking through the clouds. I tried the cava foam portion from the Oysters and cava foam recipe (MC 6-327), but substituting a non-sparkling Gewurtztraminer wine for the cava. When dispensed from a cream whipper, it foamed up nicely -- maybe even too much. But then it very quickly deflated, leaving a slightly sticky wine behind. I'd like it to stay intact for at least a couple of minutes. Was the problem caused by not using a sparkling wine, which would have added some of its own bubbles? iSi has a recipe for a Riesling espuma that calls for 900 ml of Riesling, 90 g of sugar, and EIGHT sheets of gelatin, which seems like a lot, but maybe not for 900 ml of wine. Another possibility might be the citrus air (MC 6-312) with lemon and lime juice and soy lecithin and xanthan gum. The lemon/lime would go pretty well with the asparagus, although it would make the wine pairing even more difficult. I suppose I could try adding some soy lecithin to the remaining wine, and charge it again. Any other thoughts?

Does anyone know if there are any plans to release any of the El Bulli books (after '03-'04) in English?

MAPP gas ceased production in 2008, so I was a little surprised to see it still recommended here on the MC site. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAPP_gas The alternatives from Bernz-O-Matic ("MaxPower") and Worthington ("MAP//Pro") appear to be close to all propylene. Any experience on with these non-propane alternatives in as far as leaving residual odors on the food?