Bathing almonds in plasma

Do you know where your almonds have been? Last week, a federal judge in the US ruled that almonds grown in the United States and sold raw will have to be pasteurized. The pasteurization is achieved by steaming the almonds, which robs them of some flavor, or by bathing the almonds in propylene oxide (a toxic gas). Imported almonds are exempt. Together with many food enthusiasts and organic farmers, I’m disappointed with the ruling, but there may be a way to satisfy the need for salmonella-free almonds and a great natural taste.…

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What gives Gouda cheese its flavor

Cheeses are satisfying: they have a richness of flavor and feel good when eaten. Thomas Hofmann and collaborators have recently published some of the compounds that give Gouda cheese that feel-good sensation. They called those molecules kokumi peptides after a term used by a Japanese company to promote umami flavors with good mouthfeel. If Gouda cheese is aged for only 4 weeks it lacks the complexity and body of a Gouda that has matured for 44 weeks.…

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Stop burning those cookies

I learned a few things baking rocks. I have been trying to understand biscotti — the essential ingredients, the methods, the flavors — but I kept burning their bottoms. So I placed a few rocks in the oven and snooped around with a thermometer to get those cookies to stop burning. Earlier I wrote on what makes an oven work and what to look out for, today I list what I did to get around the limitations of my oven.…

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TGRWT 15

Chocolate and smoked salmon in the same dish, that is the challenge for the blogging event TGRWT #15 being hosted by Roberto from Mex Mix. The idea of TGRWT is to create a dish using two ingredients that share aromas. Regularly, Martin from Khymos challenges us with a new combination. The last time I tried pairing chocolate with something savory was for the TGRWT #5 and I had a really hard time coming up with Koko Kibe.…

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QED in the kitchen

My cookies are burning, so now I’m baking rocks. I have been baking different recipes for biscotti (that is what cantuccini di Prato are called in the US) hoping to write a post on the hows and whys of biscotti, but my biscotto bottoms kept burning. My oven seems to heat up fine despite its 22 years, so I attributed the burning to my inexperience. Things had to improve.…

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