What New Ingredients Are You Trying Out?

[judiu]

Heidi, it's not like you're hosting a formal dinner party, right? If the skin's too tough to chew, just do a subtle spit, put it on the side of your plate, strip the meat off the next bit and eat. %)

[jayt90]

I'm trying to deal with Urbani Italian white truffle salt, one of those impassable deals at Costco (100 g for $7).

It is very strong, almost like an intense garlic smell, and will overpower many dishes. A pinch is all I use on pasta or salads.

Does anyone have experience with this? What works with it?

I have heard that it is a secret ingredient for some chefs, but frankly, I wonder if they use it to excess to gain a few wondrous compliments.

[Shalmanese]

I'm trying to deal with Urbani Italian white truffle salt, one of those impassable deals at Costco (100 g for $7).

It is very strong, almost like an intense garlic smell, and will overpower many dishes. A pinch is all I use on pasta or salads.

Does anyone have experience with this? What works with it?

I have heard that it is a secret ingredient for some chefs, but frankly, I wonder if they use it to excess to gain a few wondrous compliments.

Sprinkle on popcorn or fold into polenta/mashed potatoes. Works really great with starchy foods.

Also, great on eggs.

[bonkboo]

I picked up a durian fruit over the weekend. Not too smelly while unopened. Do I just split it open and serve the innards?

[heidih]

I picked up a durian fruit over the weekend. Not too smelly while unopened. Do I just split it open and serve the innards?

There are "lobes" inside - it is quite user friendly.

[Plantes Vertes]

I'm trying to deal with Urbani Italian white truffle salt, one of those impassable deals at Costco (100 g for $7).

It is very strong, almost like an intense garlic smell, and will overpower many dishes. A pinch is all I use on pasta or salads.

Does anyone have experience with this? What works with it?

I have heard that it is a secret ingredient for some chefs, but frankly, I wonder if they use it to excess to gain a few wondrous compliments.

Could you cut it with normal salt to reduce the flavour?

[Paul Bacino]

Been using Honey powder--that my wife bought!!

Dont know much about it , seems exciting. I used on my Oatmeal today

[Ashen]

ultra sperse - using it for thickening and sauces but also want to try a few experiments using it in pizza dough as a conditioner to modify texture.

[andiesenji]

Been using Honey powder--that my wife bought!!

Dont know much about it , seems exciting. I used on my Oatmeal today

I've been using granulated honey for years. It is great as a component in rubs, especially for pork, in "fillings" for sweet rolls, mixed with spices, and for teas, lemonade. I don't care for the flavor in my coffee.

Whipped cream with honey instead of sugar really complements the vanilla and is a superior topping for pumpkin pies.

You can use it in baking cookies without adjusting the recipe as in liquid honey.

[Anna N]

Cardoon! A friend gave me some. A truly ugly and uninspiring vegetable but I was game to give it a chance. After cleaning, destringing, par boiling etc, and building a gratin with a puck of Modernist cheese, I conclude that its ROI won't earn it a place in my meal plans!

I am, however, grateful for a chance to try it.

Edited November 27, 2013 by heidih
Rotate image (log)

[BeeZee]

Anna, my sister's MIL makes cardoons for us (she's Sicilian) the traditional way (breaded/fried) and they are good, but agree that it's a labor of love. We are fortunate that she makes a big batch and we freeze them for reheat/crisp in oven later.

[Anna N]

Anna, my sister's MIL makes cardoons for us (she's Sicilian) the traditional way (breaded/fried) and they are good, but agree that it's a labor of love. We are fortunate that she makes a big batch and we freeze them for reheat/crisp in oven later.

I truly don't mind the work if the end result is something tasty. I found them completely lacking in flavour, texture, colour.....lacking even a characteristic that I could hate. Thank goodness we are all different! I love pickled herring but I know I'm in the minority among my friends and relatives.

[GlorifiedRice]

Sweet Lemons - Hybrid of lemons and Mandarin Oranges I found at the International mkt near me

http://i.imgur.com/0H25710.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ScBao0B.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/R80axt6.jpg

Bland, sweet but tasteless...

[Franci]

Anna, my sister's MIL makes cardoons for us (she's Sicilian) the traditional way (breaded/fried) and they are good, but agree that it's a labor of love. We are fortunate that she makes a big batch and we freeze them for reheat/crisp in oven later.

I truly don't mind the work if the end result is something tasty. I found them completely lacking in flavour, texture, colour.....lacking even a characteristic that I could hate. Thank goodness we are all different! I love pickled herring but I know I'm in the minority among my friends and relatives.

Cardoons quality can be a big big issue. When they are good they are super otherwise fibrous, bitter and take forever to cook. And you will wonder why bother.

Long time ago, in the Italian forum I posted also a picture of "wild cardoons" we commonly use in Apulia. Very different.

Also, cardo gobbo from Nizza monferrato can be so tender and good that you can it raw with bagna caoda

[Smithy]

Sweet Lemons - Hybrid of lemons and Mandarin Oranges I found at the International mkt near mehttp://i.imgur.com/0H25710.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ScBao0B.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/R80axt6.jpgBland, sweet but tasteless...

My first thought was that they were Meyer lemons, based on the description...but your photos of the produce don't look like Meyers at all. How strange! Based on the mottled green tint, I'd suspect that these - whatever they are - were picked early. Do you think they were ripe?

[andiesenji]

Cardoon! A friend gave me some. A truly ugly and uninspiring vegetable but I was game to give it a chance. After cleaning, destringing, par boiling etc, and building a gratin with a puck of Modernist cheese, I conclude that its ROI won't earn it a place in my meal plans!

post-6903-0-21233300-1385574100_thumb.jpg

I am, however, grateful for a chance to try it.

In former years, when I had a much larger garden, I grew cardoons. I did not pay attention to them - after harvesting the new, young and tender leaves for several weeks - and they went to seed and the next spring I had baby cardoons EVERYWHERE! There were some sprouting from the deck carpet in the areas where it was exposed to rain. I cleaned and blanched them, vacuum sealed and froze them then tried to eradicate all but two plants. Still had some sprout in the oddest places.

Mine tasted just like artichokes and were fantastic cut into 1 inch pieces and marinated in oil with mushrooms - garlic and herbs.

[GlorifiedRice]

My first thought was that they were Meyer lemons, based on the description...but your photos of the produce don't look like Meyers at all. How strange! Based on the mottled green tint, I'd suspect that these - whatever they are - were picked early. Do you think they were ripe?

I really have no idea. I wish I knew what they were

[andiesenji]

They have them at Vallarta - the Mexican supermarket and also at the middle eastern grocery. They are not Meyers. They only label them as "sweet lemons".

And when ripe they have a greenish cast to the yellow, some more than others.

[Smithy]

Andie, what do you think of them? Do they have good flavor? Lots of juice? They almost look like a lime hybrid from the photos...which isn't necessarily bad, but changes their flavor profile.

[GlorifiedRice]

I just peeled and tasted another one...no flavor either.

[andiesenji]

Andie, what do you think of them? Do they have good flavor? Lots of juice? They almost look like a lime hybrid from the photos...which isn't necessarily bad, but changes their flavor profile.

They don't have a great deal of lemony flavor - no "bite" to speak of. The skin does produce a nice zest and doesn't turn gray with cooking, as the Turkish limes do so the peel, which is SOMETIMES fairly thick is good for candying.

They are much lower in acid than most other citrus.

I use the finely minced peel in rubs, marinades and in dressings for fruit salads.

I buy them mainly for making lemonade as they require about 1/4 the sugar/sweetener as regular lemons or limes. And I chop the whole fruits and simmer in water to cover and some sugar - to make a syrup that is flavored with the pulp and the peel and use it as a concentrate.

I don't think it's really a "new" fruit and I'm not sure the information about being a hybrid of a lemon and mandarin is necessarily correct.

the Mexican sweet lemon, sometimes sweet limes, has been around for many decades - in the late 40s and 50s, it used to be popular in California home gardens was called the "Limetta" - when my dad still had his home 2 1/2 acres - in Sepulveda in the San Fernando Valley, there were several of these as well as other citrus. Those fruits varied, from tree to tree, in color, some greenish yellow, some yellow-orange and some had a blossom end protrusion like a tangelo. We ate them off the tree when they were fully ripe.

When I see my ex-neighbors this weekend, I will ask him to ask his brother who has a "ranch" in Ojai and grows "exotic" and unusual citrus varieties . He got a degree at Cal-Poly Pomona in Agriculture with an emphasis on citrus culture.

Edited November 28, 2013 by andiesenji (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

Andie what I ate has NO lemon flavor at all...

Its all tasteless with a hint of Mandarin Orange and a bit of sweetness.

The zest smells of CITRON.

Its like taking 3 Tablespoons of Mandarin orange juice and stirring it into 1 cup water

[andiesenji]

Some fruits in some crops have less flavor than others.

I bought some Fuji apples to use in a couple of recipes - I had to substitute my eating Golden Delicious because the Fujis have little flavor and not much sweetness - in fact they taste rather like Red Rose potatoes with a hint of sweetness. Very odd.

The peel tasting of citron is similar to those I have - but there is also some other flavor - a bit of lemon grass. Possibly the ones you got had been held in cold storage too long - that can affect citrus flavor adversely.

[Smithy]

Some fruits in some crops have less flavor than others.

I bought some Fuji apples to use in a couple of recipes - I had to substitute my eating Golden Delicious because the Fujis have little flavor and not much sweetness - in fact they taste rather like Red Rose potatoes with a hint of sweetness. Very odd.

The peel tasting of citron is similar to those I have - but there is also some other flavor - a bit of lemon grass. Possibly the ones you got had been held in cold storage too long - that can affect citrus flavor adversely.

Cold storage too long, picked too early, packing house too rough: all those things affect citrus flavor. My parents raised oranges and, later, added minneolas; we also had pet trees with lemons and satsuma mandarins. We always lamented the fact that people didn't really know what those fruits should taste like. Dad used to say that the best place to store an orange is on the tree. I suppose it's the same for most produce; I have friends who live in Africa who won't touch a banana in the United States.

Lest this topic drift too far afield (but I am keenly interested in the citrus question and what those fruits might be, Andie): I'll add that my latest "new ingredient" is sourdough starter. I began it from a package and have been trying to keep it alive and use it. The results have been good, but the recipes from which I'm cooking are a bit, er, vague for this beginning bread baker.

[andiesenji]

Looking forward to reading how your sourdough experiences turn out.

I have, from time to time, purchased several starters from Sourdoughs International and have the various books published by Ed Woods. And in fact have recently activated the Red Sea culture - and will give it a week to "develop" as I have plans to bake next weekend with a friend who is bringing me some "artisanal" flour from Lebanon - a semi-hard flour that is not grown in the U.S.

I also have asked a friend who lives in Sweden and is coming to SoCal for a trade show, to bring me some rye flour from that country to make Limpa - because I have yet to find one in the U.S. that produces the exact texture and flavor I want in this somewhat sweet bread - that is time consuming to make - takes at least two days and three is better, according to the lady who taught me many years ago. I've also lost the recipe so my friend is trying to get a "real" one from a home baker she knows.

I love "playing" with different flours and various seeds and grains, nuts, flavorings, in various baked goods.

A recipe for citrus, almond, hempseed and honey "bread" has been promised and I bought some Kamut flour for it and just ordered the hempseed from Amazon earlier today. I've used the latter before, but not lately. I had fairly good results but maybe not impressive enough to keep my interest.

I have about 40 books on bread baking and am getting ready to put some on ebay as I no longer bake as much as I once did.

I do plan to hold onto this one and a few others that I do refer to from time to time.