Yes, lye. I understand why you might be worried about it. I confess that it’s worrisome having a dangerous caustic alkaline in the kitchen. However if you take the proper precautions, it’s no more dangerous to work with than a strong drain cleaner. The big problem is getting it. I confess I didn’t plan terribly […]
READ ONWhy is that about 90% of New York City street vendors — like this friendly fellow here — reply as such when asked for a knish? The reason is twofold. First, the knish has nosedived in quality over the last several decades, especially the type sold from carts. That’s brought demand for the knish way […]
READ ONI’ve talked about the why’s of bagel boiling, but didn’t address all the additives that can, and often do, go into the boiling pot. Everything from sugar to malt syrup to baking soda to lye are used as additives, all of which have the effect of creating a darker, crispier crust. Why darker? Because sugars […]
READ ONPeople seem to be forever debating the origin of the bagel, but the fact is, nobody really knows it. The earliest printed reference to the bagel comes from a public edict issued in Krakow, Poland in the year 1610. It decrees that all women, upon giving birth to a child, are to be given a […]
READ ONI was little more than a kid, but I can still recall that bitter conflict as if it were only yesterday: elf versus granny, granny versus peanut man, peanut man versus pretty much everybody else. It was a dark and ugly period of retail baking history. I was a mere foot soldier in 1982, a […]
READ ONWhat could possibly go better with a pregnant houshold than pickles and ice cream? Last week was the first half of the combo, this week is the second. But before you run screaming for your pull-down menus, check this recipe out. Sweet, sour and aromatic, it’s a pickle that really does go perfectly with ice […]
READ ONIt’s pregnant lady week here at joepastry.com, or should I say it’s another pregnant lady week. The good news is that the face-down-on-the-couch period seems to be ending. The bad news is we’re entering the “anything goes” phase of the mama-to-be diet. This week’s requests are: Ice cream and Pretzels Who am I to refuse? […]
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