Good and safe preserving comprises multiple layers of preventive measures, counter-counter-measures and safeguards. There are a lot of bugs out there, after all, so it pays to cover every last anti-microbial base. We’ve talked sugar, we’ve also talked heat. This time let’s talk about acid. Acid is a time-tested bug killer. It’s found in copious […]
READ ONI know, the very fine Obsession with Food linked to this, but it’s just too cool. Ya gotta love steam power!
READ ONSourdough starters may be about unrestricted microbial growth, but preserves are about putting the hammer down. As mentioned in the previous post, jams put the squeeze on bugs primarily (though not exclusively) via sugar. Sugar does two things to ruin a bug party. First, it dissolves into solution and binds up water molecules, preventing microbes […]
READ ONPreserving is like government surveillance. Once you start looking for it, you start seeing it everywhere: at the mall, at the corner bar, in your house, at work, at the ball game, your daughter’s locker at school, on a hike, a car trip, a picnic, a trip to the moon. It’s everywhere man. Just about […]
READ ONOr is Michael Chiarello the new, male, West Coast Martha Stewart? The sensibilities, the smile, the temperament all seem the same to me.
READ ONIf you’ve had a moment to look over the sourdough recipe from this week, you were probably struck by how much time this recipe takes. Up to 15 hours to ripen the dough in the refrigerator, plus another 6 or more in the shaping, proofing and baking stages. Such is the price that has to […]
READ ONI got so busy gabbing I almost forgot this week’s recipes. Blueberries are out in force here in Kentucky/Indiana, which means it’s preserving time! Jam recipes are fairly uniform, what I like about this link is that it’ll help you find a pick-your-own farm if you don’t know where to go: Blueberry Jam And you […]
READ ONFunny how things come together all at one time. No sooner than I start talking about salt rising bread than some just about falls in my lap. You may remember from previous posts that salt rising bread is a peculiar hill country foodstuff leavened with a pathogenic bacteria called clostridium perfringens. Well, since it’s on […]
READ ONHow do you know when your starter has over-bubbled? It can do that you know, when all the food in the bowl has been consumed, in which case it falls and all its liquid runs out in a yellow, stanky pool. A perfectly ready-to-go sponge or starter looks like, well, a sponge. It has a […]
READ ONMy outlaws were in from Chicago for the weekend, which seemed like an excellent time to roll out some chocolate croissants. Doing so, I realized that not at one point last week did I talk specifically about chocolate croissants. Dough yes. Chocolate no. That admission made, I should say that a chocolate croissant is far […]
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