any food cooking questions?

[2b]

Sorry to drag up an old post jas but you did offer . Every time i stay in a fancy hotel and get the buffet breakfast I carve for days after , not only the eggs Benedict (Mmmmmmm.....hollandaise sauce) but that Swiss yogurt with the soft muesli and fruit in it. I just can't find it anywhere and it's driving me crazy can you please enlighten me and put me out of my misery as to how to make this stuff at home ?

[jasemateau]

shit i havent made yogurt nearly a decade, so lets see how my memory serves me.

take natural yogurt from supermarket (no sugar, no addatives apart from cultures)

1 kg can turn into 5 litres in 20 hours,

take your yogurt and mix it with full fat milk, at this stage you can add your muesli but not the fruit,

it will take a few days in the fridge, however you can have it in 12-20 hours if you leave it in room temp, cover it with a damp steralized teatowel, (dip it in boiling water for 10 seconds) the towel needs to be moist not saturated so need to wring it out.

cover with plastic film or glad wrap as we aussies know it to be, to keep out forgien matter,

just keep you eye on it durign this time of the year if you choose the room temp option, really should be done during the cooler months.

it will loo seperated and water will be sitting on the top dont worry about it,

now put you honey, fruits, berries, whatever.

the reason why i said not to put any sugars in it at the raw stage you need the cutures to muliply , if you have sugars in there your inticing things like wild yeast, and other unwanted bacterias in there to take over and spoil the whole batch.

by all means put the sugars in once you have got it to it's final stage and simply retard it in the fridge.

now hollandase sauce is made like REAL mayonaise only with clarified butter.

whisk youe yolks over a lightyly simmering pot, and add the butter in a very fine line, or slow pour so slow that it is just a bit faster than drips forming.

faster and more user friendly cany warm you yolks gently the same way and put them in a blender and add the butter the same way, dont for get salt pepper and vinegar!!!!!!!!!!

aoili is the same meathod only with olive oil and oven roasted roasted garlic, better still if you have always got olive oil in the house chuck a few knobs of roasted garilc in there.

mmmmmmmm roasted garlic fused olive oil.

i buy olive oil in 4 lire tins and fuse it with either roasted garlic or lemon skins, (just the yellow not the white)

always have beautiful food with simple tasty foundations like that.

no prbs 2b my pleasure

[Torsten]

Jason, why are you concerned about high room temps when making yogurt? I used to have a little yogurt incubatorthat would fit 4 beakers. From memory it would take at least a couple of days to finish it even at high temps. Might even be more than 2 days - this was quite a few years ago. Maybe it depends on the amount of inocculation? The incubator was quite warm, but I can't remember what temp though. At low temps it tends to just go off.

Having made a lot of yogurt I can say that this process is unlikely to yield the yummy stuff they serve on breakfast buffets ;)

Commercial yogurts are usually made by adding a substantial amount of milk solids either to the starter or to the finished product. The yummy stuff also has substantially higher fat content. Fat = yummy ;)

Have a look in a deli or even good supermarket for some high fat yogurt. King Island probably produces something like that as they seem to be just fat factories down there. King Island = yummy ;)

Failing that, you could probably stir some top quality natural cream (ie not the normal stuff with gelatine in it) into the yogurt. In fact, stirring yogurt to a smooth consistency dramatically improves the textureand makes it taste creamy even without added cream.

Part of the attraction of muesli in yogurt is the contrast of textures. Put your muesli in just before consumption if you like the crunchy texture.

Every hotel uses different fruit, so can't advise on that.

[Green Osiris]

12cc of high-protien cum aids in binding the elements of a good home yoghurt blend..

jasemateau, since this topic has resurfaced, and also since you originally offered to share your vast experience in the kitchen....... How do indian restaurants get their beef so meltingly tender ? VINDALOOOO. ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH. I've heard of a method which involves a rub of bicarb. True?

I have also recently aqquired a pressure cooker, but I think there's a secret beyond high pressure steeping for bloodied chunks of bovine flesh.

[coin]

Commercially yogurt is incubated at 42-44 degrees.

The amount I use is 1/4 cup of good quality yogurt to 1 L of milk. Whip up the yogurt to make it smooth - makes it easier to blend into the milk

You should bring the milk just to the boil, let it cool to the above temp (or lower if you're guessing - i.e. bit warmer than body temp), then add the culture.

It takes only 8 hours. Any longer and the yogurt is too sour.

'Greek' yogurt is always high fat/creamy..this is what I'd use for cooking any sauces. it doesn't split as easily and tastes better.

Room temperature might be ok in India but not here during most of the year..

You can use a thermos, or all the usual mushroom home incubator ideas..fish tank heaters, etc.

In India they use a crock pot that's filled with boiling water first, then emptied. it holds heat pretty well.

I've been using unhomogenised milk - I thought it would separate kind of weirdly, but it actually produces a homogenous yogurt that firms up really well.

i don't know about cum in yogurt, but if you blend toasted almonds/cashews into the milk, then strain it through muslin/cheesecloth, the resulting yogurt is pretty damn good on it's own or used for lassi or in a korma or something like that

[devance]

I am really big fan of cheese.

But I am not a chief.

I know that a little soda bicarbonate will make souffle rise but too much makes a green colour..

Cumin is the spice for making Mex U.S. chili.

Hot peppers is just a sideshow.

More the better.

[devance]

http://users.chariot.net.au/%7Edna/Makekefir.html

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

I like to make my own buttermilk but have never tried kefir.

Buttermilk if just left to ferment turns into yogurt.

[jasemateau]

memory does'nt serve me too well at all it seems.

oh well

never heard of bi-carb softening up meat,

i am a pastry chef so savoury products are more like a hobby at home only, i do ask questions from the salt boys or the regular chefs at times,

[coin]

i think the only secret is to use pretty fatty beef and to simmer for around an hour or so..maybe more?

i used to buy "gravy beef" for indian dishes...it's cheap, but it seems to be perfect for that sort of dish.

i don't know what gravy beef is exactly? is it the same as "braising beef" and "stewing beef" ? or does it mean offcuts or something??

shin is very good for flavour but you have to slow cook it for ages.

i think chinese cooks use the bicarb thing more than anyone

[Evil Genius]

I´m just getting started with cooking. This week i´m going to the health-food shop and buy something to cook.Anything. I haven´t thought about yet what i am going to cook exactly. Probably Something easy like fish. I swore of the fastfood as i want to gain more control over the quality of my food. I´m kind of a Beginner in cooking. It´s too soon for me to ask questions; the basics are still missing.I just wanted to forewarn you,jasemateau. Soon i´ll be able to spam you with my cooking questions. I think i should see the cooking thing just like some kind of chemical experiment...i initiate the reactions and then i´ll see what´s going to happen.

I am going to learn everything in cooking. I plan to make my own cheese,wine,beer,bread,noodles and all the other cool things that make the girls go crazy if they are homemade. Besides i really have to gain some weight. That´s a good reason for learning how to cook. BestRegs EG

[marsha]

can turkish delight be melted and reset? or can it be made easily at home id like to ummm add a secret funny ingredient to it

[wandjina]

How do indian restaurants get their beef so meltingly tender ? VINDALOOOO. ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH. I've heard of a method which involves a rub of bicarb. True?

coin is right that bicarb as a tenderiser is more common in chinese restaurants, also thai. I knew a guy who worked in a thai joint, and they'd slice up all the meat, then chuck it all in big buckets of bicarb, making sure all the pieces were coated....of course rinsing before cooking. Should work fine for Indian too, but like a good Irish stew, the tenderest beef and lamb has often been stewed for hours.

Try this for a kickarse irish stew (not as stodgy and boring as it sounds, especially if served with cous cous and lots of fresh mint)....copyright wandjina 2005 :D

at least 500gr cheap lamb on bone (6-700gr works well), such as forequarter chops, trimmed of fat, diced chunkily.

Plain Flour

1 tblsp Olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped

few grinds of black pepper

1 big carrot, chopped

3/4 cup of peas

3-4 potatoes, quartered - waxy ones like desiree or kipflerr recommended

real beef of lamb stock 1L (ones in tetra packs very good, but homemade best).

salt as desired (leave till last for tenderer meat IMO)

cous cous

fresh mint

Toss trimmed and chopped lamb (with bones...extra flavour) with flour (coat lightly)

heat oil in big pot, chuck in lamg pieces, toss around till looking seared/brown on outside

Chuck in onion, pepper and rosemary, swish around with lamb till onion looks a little transparent

Pour in stock and water, in a 4-5 litre pot, making approx 3-3.5 L total. Whatever looks right, and won't boil over or boil away to quick.

Put in carrots and peas. stir (of course)

Let it cook/ boil, not on full ball, but hot, depends on stove...but keep your eye on it, and stir occassionally

You want it to stew/cook for at least an hour, and may need to add some more water.

When the meat starts to fall away from the bones, and looks nice and tender (best way is to sample some), chuck in the chopped spuds...Let it cook until the outside of the spuds just begin to dissolve, stirring regularly to encourage this, (don't put em in earlier, or they'll dissapear), which will make the stew nice and hearty.

In the last 10 minutes boil the kettle, put equal parts cous cous and boiling water in a bowl with a dollop of butter or a drizzle of oil (say a teaspoon per cup of dry cous cous), and seasoning of your choice (pinch of beef stock cube is yum), mix well with a spoon, cover, and leave for 10mins. Using a fork, 'rake' the cous cous layer by layer....best method for fluffy dry, as opposed to soggy cc.

Serve stew with a pile of cous cous in the centre, and lots of fresh mint leaves.

Sounds like a simple recipe, but guarenteed yum.

[jasemateau]

you cant melt turkish delight down unless it has gelatine in it, which should only be heated to 80 degrees,

if it has gelatine in it mircrowave it slowly, it will still appear thick tho.

turkish delight is made by making a sugar syrup heated to 115-120 degrees celcius.

then thickened with cornstarch (mixed with more sugar, stops lumps of cornstarch not very nice)

it's called gelatinization, you cant melt it down, its the finished result.

if your turkish delight has gelatine in it, once you have sove down to semi liquid form and want to set it and set it again, spray your mould with oil or brush some oil in it and line it with plastic film (glad wrap) and spray again lighty.

however the only thing that is done as a further proccess, where now you can buy pre-gelatinized starch, where it cooked already dehydrated and milled, this pregelatinzed starch is commonly known in food items you may see in the supermaket products called "thickner",

the number following the thicker reference is to identify the type of starch being from corn or potatos.

unfortunatly i dont know the numbers for each one.

beware of flavour enhancer 621.

thats the old MSG!!!!!!!!!!!

[mescalito]

Flavour enhancers to watch are:

620-625=glutamates/glutamic acid

627=disodium guanylate

631=disodium inosinate

635=ribonucleotides(particularly nasty)

HVP's and HPP's aren't too good for you either.