Alex Cacares -700 is a LOCK

[NunyaBidness]

Odd, I can usually get it there in about 8-10 minutes, depending on the quantity I am making in the same pan that is. What kind of flour are you using?

It could very likely be an issue of moisture content due to climate or the type of flour, try putting the flour in the oven for about 90 seconds before making the roux, it will help if moisture is the issue.

When you are making, does it stop bubbling, if so, after how long?

Just all purpose flour. It stops bubbling after a few minutes, and then its about the consistency of wet sand or in between that and playdough.

[Sacrelicious]

Just all purpose flour. It stops bubbling after a few minutes, and then its about the consistency of wet sand or in between that and playdough.

Wait a sec, are you using whole or clarified butter?

[NunyaBidness]

Regular butter. I switched to ghee the same time I stopped eating flour. Still use 'normal' ingredients when cooking for others.

[Sacrelicious]

Use clarified, its the traditional method of preparing it. Your dealing with pure fat without the moisture and milk solids that are in whole butter, improves the browning and reduces cooking time.

[fitguy67]

One of the only food making things I know how to do well is make pickles. And pickled eggs, which are goddamned awesome.

I'm much more into "food preparation" stuff lyk this...as opposed to "cooking" per se (really the same...fermentation--a key process in lots of non-cooking food prep is really just a slow natural form of cooking.

I make my own yogurt...and here's the way to make really awesome pickles. Strain your homemade (or store-bought, uggghh) yogurt thru a cloth...the sour liquid is whey...just teeming with lactobacillis (what's left in the cloth is wonderful "philadelphia" style cream cheese)...

AnyWHEY, pickling is not supposed to be just absorption of vinegar...it's supposed to be a fermentation process...so don't use vinegar...use water, sea-salt and whey...one major advantage with a real fermented, rather than a merely vinegar-soaked pickle is your batches are done MUCH faster this way.

If you are interested as much in nutrition--as I am--as in taste...and want BOTH...the only cookbook I consider essential is "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon...this book will change the way you think about home-based fermentation (beet "kvass" anyone=drinking the liquid from whey-pickling beets...brilliant nutritionally...minerals far more bio-available this way than normal cooking...)...and you'll discover how essential it is to make your own stocks as the foundation for all soups and gravies...

anyhow, i ramble...the book by Fallon will really show you how to pickle...as well as tons of other things...the same way as your great grandmother did them...much more nutritious and full-flavoured.

____________________

Alex Caceres eats only whey-fermented pickles!

[Sacrelicious]

I have never heard of whey fermentation, looking into it now, though I am familiar with yogurt preparation.

And you are entirely correct about the pickling process, I make my own sauerkraut all the time, and the salt alone ferments it through various lactic acid bacteria. Pickling is a brining process, not soaking in vinegar, very common misconception people have.

I now have something to read about tonight, appreciate the post.

[gabe]

I like ketchup on my patty, fa990ts

[gabe]

BTW, why exactly do we have 2 threads for this now?

Alex Cousinieres in the house

[Sacrelicious]

BTW, why exactly do we have 2 threads for this now?

Alex Cousinieres in the house

Well I thought the title of this one is funnier, plus I felt the explanation of the soft ban system on the first page was a nice touch.

[gabe]

Well I thought the title of this one is funnier, plus I felt the explanation of the soft ban system on the first page was a nice touch.

But the stuff in the first thread will disappear just like that, Keyser Soze style.

[gabe]

But the stuff in the first thread will disappear just like that, Keyser Soze style.

Fuhg. That shoulda been my username here. ha

[fitguy67]

from what i learned from Sally Fallon, adding whey to the brine is really just a way to "jump start" the natural process...that cabbages find really easy to do all by themsilves..as you know from your experience with making sauerkraut...with other vegs...the whey starter just gets them moving in that direction quicker and better

i think you'd really like making and drinking "kvass"..kinda like drinking beautifully-colored sauer-kraut liquid...takes some getting used to, like wine...but a very healthy addiction to develop (Fallon recommends saving the money u'd otherwise spend on "supplements" and using it to buy beets and sea salt as well as yogurt-making and stock-making stuff)...

[gabe]

Hey guys, I don't want to talk to anybody that calls himself fitguy67, softban on that sh!t.

[gabe]

BTW- Kvas is awful. It's a Russian drink, I believe.

[gabe]

BTW #2- Good wine does not take some getting used to lol you're hooked on the first sip my boiiiiiiiiiii

[Sacrelicious]

from what i learned from Sally Fallon, adding whey to the brine is really just a way to "jump start" the natural process...that cabbages find really easy to do all by themsilves..as you know from your experience with making sauerkraut...with other vegs...the whey starter just gets them moving in that direction quicker and better

i think you'd really like making and drinking "kvass"..kinda like drinking beautifully-colored sauer-kraut liquid...takes some getting used to, like wine...but a very healthy addiction to develop (Fallon recommends saving the money u'd otherwise spend on "supplements" and using it to buy beets and sea salt as well as yogurt-making and stock-making stuff)...

Investigating now, I grew up in a small town and my family were all oldschool Russians, so I grew up drinking all sorts of sour cold beverages and soups, I love that stuff.

Question - do you find the whey has a tendency to make the finished product mushy from over fermentation or does it balance out nicely? I'm assuming you would only add a tablespoon or two per batch, right?

[Sacrelicious]

The name threw me off, because growing up I frequently had Okroshka that, after reading, my grandparents mistakenly called "Kvass", just never bothered to look into it.

[Hannibal]

Well I thought the title of this one is funnier, plus I felt the explanation of the soft ban system on the first page was a nice touch.

i would have thought its more relevant to keep the excellent recipes all in one place, rather than implement some kind of little girls club house rules

but hey, you're the one providing most of the recipes

[Sacrelicious]

i would have thought its more relevant to keep the excellent recipes all in one place, rather than implement some kind of little girls club house rules

but hey, you're the one providing most of the recipes

Copy and paste em into this thread!

[gabe]

Sacre gets a yellow card for this thread.

[Sacrelicious]

Sacre gets a yellow card for this thread.

[Hannibal]

i read some reviews of sally fallon's book and it sounds like homeopathy new age hippy mumbo jumbo

here's some things she says:
never apply garlic to hot oil
refrigerate your tomatoes
no caffeine , tea or coffee
eat whole grains
drink milk, but only raw milk
try to eat historical diets
eat foods that are found to grow in the same environment..because your ancestors would have had access to only those vegetation
she really advocates probiotics and eating fermented foods like kim chi, sauerkraut, creme fraiche

[Sacrelicious]

Well, regardless, those have all been shown to be healthy for a person, though I'm not a follower of any of them, likely will be dead by the time I'm 50 because of it. That being said, a good recipe is still a good recipe.

[Sacrelicious]

Just found this online:

1 loaf bread (rye/wholemeal)
1 bucket
Boiling water
Some hops (a good pinch)
5 gm brewer's yeast
1.5 kg sugar
1 tbs honey
Enough bottles (I think she used wine bottles.)
Raisins (10x number of bottles)

Slice and toast the bread, but don't burn it.
Chuck the toasted slices of bread into the bucket, along with the sugar and honey. Mostly fill it with boiling water, and cover the bucket with a towel. Chuck in the hops. Make a paste of the yeast, and once the bucket has cooled to blood temperature, throw it in.
Let it stand for five hours. Put ten raisins into each bottle, followed by the strained kvass. Put lids on the bottles, but make sure they aren't on too tight, or you'll have glass and kvass everywhere. (She used corks tied to the bottles with string.)
Wait a couple of days, then drink.


That actually sounds strangely appealing.

[Hannibal]

Well, regardless, those have all been shown to be healthy for a person, though I'm not a follower of any of them, likely will be dead by the time I'm 50 because of it. That being said, a good recipe is still a good recipe.

they have also been shown to be unhealthy: dairy and grains
i think garlic can burn easily, but not even sauteed? is there any science behind that?
what about refrigerating tomatoes? how has that been proven? i just know they taste worse after being in the fridge
what about eating foods that grow together in the same meal? what have you read that proves this?
no caffeine? i dont think any study shows that caffeine in moderation is harmful, and there are numerous studies touting the benefits of tea and even coffee

[Sacrelicious]

they have also been shown to be unhealthy: dairy and grains
i think garlic can burn easily, but not even sauteed? is there any science behind that?
what about refrigerating tomatoes? how has that been proven? i just know they taste worse after being in the fridge
what about eating foods that grow together in the same meal? what have you read that proves this?
no caffeine? i dont think any study shows that caffeine in moderation is harmful, and there are numerous studies touting the benefits of tea and even coffee

I'm not saying I'm in strong agreement or anything, just saying arguments can be made.

Trust me, I'm on your side here.

[fitguy67]

Sac, ur right about the small amount of whey needed...and u wouldn't need it at all with cabbage...but a few tablespoons of whey per litre of water gets things going for pickling most other things (cucumbers/carrots/peppers?etc. etc.)...just like making yogurt...only need a few tablespoons of starter yogurt to work...
so no danger of anything going mushy or soapy...

BTW Fallon's book is anything BUT NEW-agey...it describes food-preparation methods that were common decades and decades ago...but have been lost...most notably making real stocks as the basis for all soups, stews, gravies...

______________
now to change gears...

Who's got a GOOD recipe for Tex-Mex Chili

[Sacrelicious]

from what i learned from Sally Fallon, adding whey to the brine is really just a way to "jump start" the natural process...that cabbages find really easy to do all by themsilves..as you know from your experience with making sauerkraut...with other vegs...the whey starter just gets them moving in that direction quicker and better

i think you'd really like making and drinking "kvass"..kinda like drinking beautifully-colored sauer-kraut liquid...takes some getting used to, like wine...but a very healthy addiction to develop (Fallon recommends saving the money u'd otherwise spend on "supplements" and using it to buy beets and sea salt as well as yogurt-making and stock-making stuff)...

I'm making some lacto fermented beet "kvass" tomorrow, gonna use it as a base for a soup. Will take pics.

[Sacrelicious]

Sac, ur right about the small amount of whey needed...and u wouldn't need it at all with cabbage...but a few tablespoons of whey per litre of water gets things going for pickling most other things (cucumbers/carrots/peppers?etc. etc.)...just like making yogurt...only need a few tablespoons of starter yogurt to work...
so no danger of anything going mushy or soapy...

BTW Fallon's book is anything BUT NEW-agey...it describes food-preparation methods that were common decades and decades ago...but have been lost...most notably making real stocks as the basis for all soups, stews, gravies...

______________
now to change gears...

Who's got a GOOD recipe for Tex-Mex Chili

Its not tex mex chili, but if you want the best chili recipe ever, I've got one.

[Sacrelicious]

I'm declaring this thread officially closed, go to the OTHER Alex Cacares thread to continue conversation on these matters.