CHOW: General Topics Digest

Powdered Condiments

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:04:00 -0700

Ohio’s Barry Farm sells unusual products like honeydew jam and rhubarb ketchup, but what greygarious found most enticing was the unusual selection of powders. Cheese powder, sour cream powder, dehydrated tomato powder, and granulated toasted shallots make interesting and unusual condiments.

Mixed into homemade macaroni and cheese, the cheese powder “added a little of the addictive ‘blue box’ flavor whose appeal is a guilty pleasure,” says greygarious. “I combined the sour cream, cheese, and granulated shallot on popcorn–yippee!” Johnathan Sundstrom, winner of the 2007 James Beard Award, has taken powdered condiments into high cuisine with things like ham powder. So if you feel like it, sprinkle instead of saucing.

Board Link: Interesting powders and jars from Barry Farm

Premium Ice Cream: What Makes It Special?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:49:00 -0700

You can buy cheap ice cream by the gallon; premium ice cream comes in cute little expensive quart containers. What’s so special about the expensive stuff? One essential difference is that cheaper ice creams tend to have more air whipped into them—the term for this is “overrun”—while the premium ice creams tend to be denser, says babette feasts.

“Some manufacturers take a quart of base and churn it into a quart and a half, others will churn it into a half gallon,” she says. “Same amount of product, different amounts of air.” Premium ice creams have more butterfat (and also more fat and more calories) per ounce than cheaper, aerated ice creams. So you have to choose: Do you want ethereally light ice cream that melts away instantly in your mouth, or rich, heavy ice cream that sticks around for a moment?

Querencia explains the difference in quality this way: “To me the luxurious quality in more expensive ice cream is that it is smeary rather than puffy. When you smear it with your spoon against the dish, it doesn’t fluff.”

Jon Snyder, founder of NYC’s Il Laboratorio del Gelato, would call that fluff “feathering,” and would say it’s a sign the ice cream’s too airy. For more on ideal ice cream qualities, see CHOW’s “How to Judge Ice Cream.”

Board Link: You scream, I scream…

Yellow Watermelon

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:07:00 -0700

Yellow-fleshed watermelons are “totally legit,” says schrutefarms, who got one by accident. It turned out to be “the JUICIEST watermelon in the world, to the point that it dripped all over my kitchen cabinets and floor.” They’re also “really, really sweet,” with a fleshier texture than their pink cousins. “The yellow watermelons I’ve had have a more muted / delicate flavor and thinner rind than the red watermelons I usually buy in the states,” says cimui.

CDouglas likes a watermelon variety with orange flesh called OrangeGlo: “The flesh tastes almost like tropical orange sherbet. Truly amazing.”

Board Link: Whoa! Yellow Watermelon!!

Image source: Flickr member zilupe under Creative Commons

Aged Boerenkaas Cheese

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:37:00 -0700

There’s nothing wrong with young Gouda cheese, with its soft, creamy texture. bulavinaka likes Beemster Graskaas, aged only one month, which has a creamy mouthfeel and slightly nutty taste.

But aged Gouda is a different beast. “My favorite is boerenkaas (the name means farmer cheese),” says Caitlin McGrath (who also writes for CHOW’s Home Cooking Digest). It’s aged for a minimum of a few months, but starts to get brilliant at about five years of aging. “These aged ones develop strong caramel notes and the salty crystals that create intense bursts of flavor (as in Parmigiano-Reggiano),” she says. “I’m not a huge fan of Gouda in general, but I like the aged ones, and love the older boerenkaas.”

moh also loves aged boerenkaas, with its delicious characteristic salty crystals. “This cheese is one of my favorite breakfast cheeses, served with a good crusty artisanal bread smeared with really good french butter, and served with stone fruits like cherries, plums, apricots,” she says. “Such a lovely way to start the day.”

jumpingmonk loves super-aged cow’s milk Goudas. Such finds are rare, says jumpingmonk, but the best are 12 years old or older, a rich brown, and so “hard and brittle that the easiest way to ‘cut it’ is to hit it with the meat tenderizer and let it shatter.”

Board Link: Waiting for Gouda - what’s your favorite?

Japanese Fried Chicken

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:44:00 -0700

Chicken katsu (pictured) and chicken karaage are both Japanese fried chicken dishes, says almansa, but they are distinct. “Chicken katsu is sliced breaded breast, while karaage is usually leg marinated in soy and sake before frying,” says almansa. “Katsu is more like chicken tenders from a box, while karaage is more like what we think of as fried chicken.”

Chicken katsu is a variant of the dish tonkatsu, says trolley, which is breaded pork cutlet. It’s usually served with rice, shredded cabbage, and a thick sauce made from apple purée that resembles Worcestershire. Chicken karaage, on the other hand, is not sauced as much. It’s usually served with mayonnaise and lemon, says almansa. “My mom usually uses cornstarch to make it super crispy,” says trolley. “We eat ours with a lemon wedge and sometimes a dash of shoyu. No mayo here,” he says.

Board Link: Ckicken katsu vs chicken karaage

Image source: Flickr member adactio under Creative Commons

Taiwanese White Gourd Juice

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:12:00 -0700

There are many brands of Chinese white gourd juice, but Taisun brand, from Taiwan, tastes just like cookies, says Jim Leff. The stuff is “every memory you have of cookies transformed into juice,” he says. “This isn’t what they were trying for. And there’s really no reason for it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

Board Link: Taiwanese White Gourd Juice: Perfect Evocation of Cookies

Do Insects Taste Like Tiny Lobsters?

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:52:00 -0700

Insects and crustaceans are close relatives in terms of biological taxonomy. Chowhounds unfamiliar with the taste of bugs wonder: Do bugs taste like lobsters?

Not really, says 1sweetpea, who has enjoyed beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers. For one thing, insects have tiny bodies and there’s not much meat. They’re also usually deep-fried and salted. It’s hard to discern much individual flavor; mostly what you experience is the crunchy texture. “I have only tasted a few different bugs and, in my experience, all were deep-fried and seasoned with salt, soy sauce, or fish sauce. All had a taste reminiscent of salty potato chips,” says 1sweetpea. Insects also lack the “flavour of the sea” that crustaceans have, adds moh. Their appeal is the crunchiness and saltiness provided by the deep-frying and seasoning, similar to the appeal of salty nuts or pretzels with beer.

“I find eating roasted grasshoppers (chapulines) to be a lot like eating tasty (and somehow slightly juicy) succulent pumpkin seeds—really addictive, and great with beer,” says another_adam. Tsar_Pushka has eaten fried tarantulas in Cambodia. “They don’t taste like shrimp,” he says. “They taste somewhat earthy and dusty, and vaguely sweet (not sure if that was natural sweetness or added sugar). I think the appeal is more about the texture, which ranges from crispy legs to chewy body.”

Board Link: Do insects taste like crustaceans?

Image source: Flickr member dichohecho under Creative Commons

Best Bite on the Chicken

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:35:00 -0700

The “chicken oyster” isn’t what it sounds like (at least, not if you’re thinking Rocky Mountain oysters). It’s a particularly tender piece of dark muscle, the sweetest meat on the chicken. “It is fat-oyster or rugby ball shaped, firm but tender and juicy,” says alkapal. “One of the reasons I think they are so succulent is that they are nestled in a little quasi-pocket of the backbone/hip, and when roasted, they take goodness from being nestled there against the bone.”

Chicken oysters are universally loved by Chowhounds, a real cook’s treat. “They are usually eaten over the sink with the fingers next to the cutting board while no one is watching,” says jfood. “The oysters NEVER make it to the table at Casa jfood.”

“They are on either side of the lower spine, dark, flavorful, and oyster-shaped,” says madkittybadkitty. “Nobody in my family knows they exist … no chicken on my dinner table has the oysters in it.”

Board Link: What is a “Chicken Oyster”?

Premium Rice from Japan

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:25:00 -0700

Premium varieties of imported rice grown in Japan (where land is scarce and expensive) can cost from $30 to $70 for a small bag. Is it that good? Some Chowhounds think it’s worth exploring the subtle tastes of varietal rice, a food often taken for granted as a mere accompaniment to the “real” meal. Like olive oil or salt, lowly rice can provide surprising aesthetic pleasure at the higher end.

If you actually buy and try Japanese rice varieties next to each other, you will detect the nuances, says applehome. “Even having had Japonica rice every single day until I was 17 and left my mom’s house, I never really understood the real *flavor* of rice until I did this.” You don’t have to go nuts with a $70 version, says applehome. You can get a bag of Tamanishiki for about $20. “Cook that next to Tamaki Gold, and the standard Calrose (Nishiki or Botan or whatever), and the differences will amaze you,” says applehome. “The flavor of the Tamanishiki just blooms in your mouth. It’s really the same flavor—rice—but what that is, exactly, becomes just that much more obvious.”

Board Link: Why is some Japanese rice $30-70 for a smallish bag?

Seal Meat Ain't Fishy

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:01:00 -0700

Seal meat is a surprisingly savory, totally non-fishy dark red meat, says carswell. “It strikes me as closer to game meat, a cross between, say, bison (in terms of flavor, though deeper) and caribou (in terms of texture, though firmer),” says carswell. “It’s very dark, very tender, and very delicious. If it were available in a butcher shop, I’d gladly prepare it at home.”

carswell experienced seal meat prepared at a fancy French-Canadian restaurant, but seal meat can easily go very, very wrong. Morganna received some frozen seal meat from a friend years ago. Boiled low and slow, it was extremely fatty with a tough texture and a strong, gamey odor and flavor. “I’m sure I used the wrong cooking method,” says Morganna. “It probably would have benefited from being accompanied by a very intensely flavored fruit sauce of some sort, to help relieve some of the gamey-ness.”

Board Link: anybody had seal meat

Toasted Brown Rice Green Tea

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:45:00 -0700

Genmaicha is toasted brown rice and whole Japanese green tea leaves, prepared as a tea, says gibberisimo. Genmaicha is cheap, because the whole point is to have it with food: “The nutty, toasty flavor goes perfect with sushi or other light savory and sweet foods.”

The addition of matcha (fine powdered green tea) gives genmaicha some added sweetness and body, and makes it drinkable on its own. This is known as matcha-iri-genmaicha, and the kind served at a quality Japanese restaurant is “really, really good with some complex but subtle flavors and a gorgeous toastiness,” says Cinnamon.

But the stuff that has matcha mixed in is “a much higher grade … than just regular genmaicha,” says gibberisimo. “Basically if you just like the roasted rice flavor, get the cheapest you can find.” To find decent genmaicha at a Japanese store, take a look at the leaves (if the packaging allows you to). “In general large tea leaves and bits of stem are an indication of cheaper tea,” says paulj, which may have a less delicate taste.

Board Link: Matcha-Iri-Genmaicha vs. Genmaicha, and best one/place to get it? (Brown rice tea)

Mellow Garlic

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:28:00 -0700

Garlic scapes are the green shoots that grow out of garlic bulbs. They resemble green onions, and you can use them that way, too. “They cook a lot like green onions and add a nice garlicky background to food,” says mossgathers. “It’s not an overwhelming, hot garlic flavor. They are mild and tender.” You can also chop them and freeze them for later use.

gordeaux goes on the record as loving garlic scapes to death. They are unbelievably delicious if you like garlic, he says. They make a great dressing for pasta salad when puréed with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper (serve with Parmesan and chiffonaded basil). Tortellini salad with scape dressing shines, gordeaux says. Ultimately, he prefers garlic scapes raw, but he also makes pesto from them every year.

Board Link: Garlic Scapes

Brie: Should You Eat the Rind?

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:03:00 -0700

Are you supposed to eat the white rind on the outside of Brie cheese? It’s not required, says goodhealthgourmet. “Sure, some people may think you’re missing the best part, but it’s a matter of personal preference.” The French think it’s gauche to cut off the rind, says jayt90, but pikawicca has seen French people do it.

Whether you want to eat the rind may have to do with how good your cheese is. “Better quality, younger soft-ripened cheeses tend to have a softer, more pliable rind,” says caviar_and_chitlins. “I make my rind-eating decisions on the condition of the rind—if it’s tough and leathery, no. If it’s bloomy and cottony and delicate, then yes.” Cheese expert Laura Werlin says, for the most part, hard cheese rinds are not eaten, while soft cheese rinds are. But personal preference should always win out.

If you’re new to eating the rind of Brie, try it baked, served with apple slices and a baguette, suggests bulavinaka, who didn’t eat the rind “until I was served this at a French-style cafe back in the ’80s. After that, I was sold on eating soft cheeses like Brie whole.”

For more about cheese rinds, check out these CHOW videos.

Board Link: Weird Brie Cheese question

Gourmet Flavored Cottage Cheeses

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:40:00 -0700

Rachel’s Wickedly Delicious flavored cottage cheese comes in flavors like Lemon Verbena Berry and Cucumber Dill.

The sweet flavors are subtle and not too sweet, says rworange. Like yogurt, Lemon Verbena Berry comes with ready-to-mix fruit on the bottom, which turns it a pretty lavender color, says rworange. The taste is a light lemon verbena with a berry background. “It is not as sweet as I would expect and not as solid as some cottage cheese.”

Having said all that, rworange prefers the savory flavors. Cucumber Dill has a flavor a little like tzatziki. “They don’t overdo the dill flavor,” says rworange. “I’d buy it again for lunch. It has a little more oomph than plain cottage cheese.”

Board Link: Rachel’s Wickedly Delicious sweet and savory cottage cheese - lemon verbena berry, sundried tomato pesto, etc

Ume by Mail Order

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:22:00 -0700

Fresh ume, an apricot-like Japanese fruit, has a short season and is hard to find outside of Japan. But you can order them from Mitsuwa Marketplace in Torrance, California, and get them shipped by overnight mail, says mshenna.

You have to call or fax, says mshenna; the ume season is so short that fresh ume don’t ever make it onto Mitsuwa’s website. Fresh green ume are indispensable for making homemade umeshu (plum-flavored spirits) or umeboshi (incredibly sour and salty pickled ume).

Board Link: Fresh green ume, finally, by mail order

The Essence of Soda

Wed, 27 May 2009 15:52:00 -0700

Is all club soda the same? And is it different from seltzer water? Absolutely, says danieljdwyer. Seltzer water is just plain carbonated water; club soda has mineral salts added. “The difference is minor when one drinks them plain, but it can become noticeable when those mineral salts react with various types of alcohol,” says danieljdwyer. Some kinds of alcohol get a strange, metallic taste from the mineral salts; others benefit from them.

Different brands of club soda use varying blends of minerals, and even before the mineral blends go in, the flavor profile of the water depends on the water supply local to the brand. Confusing things still further, soda can be carbonated to different degrees. For instance, “I always found Canada Dry to be very carbonated, with very large bubbles, but also that it went flat very quickly,” says danieljdwyer. BarmyFotheringayPhipps drinks a lot of seltzer, and can definitely tell the difference between the two locally available brands: “Polar seems considerably fizzier, while Adirondack has less pronounced bubbles but a notably more mineral edge,” he says.

If you don’t find any brands to your liking, you can always make your own carbonated water. “You can also use higher quality water than the bottlers do, and still spend a tenth what it costs to buy a bottle,” says danieljdwyer. “And making it yourself allows you to customize how carbonated the water is.” He uses the seltzer maker from Soda-Club and finds it to be very economical. (CHOW likes the Soda-Club as well.)

Board Link: Is all club soda alike?

Leftover Stew, A Precious Resource

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:52:00 -0700

What’s the best thing to do with leftover stew? Don’t think twice: Freeze it, says Quine. “Trust me, one night, you will have had a HORRIBLE day, be extra frazzled, and need good comfort food for dinner in under 30 minutes.”

If you also make a batch of biscuits, even canned biscuits, and simmer the dough on top of the stew and then finish the whole thing in the oven, you have a generous and comforting meal, says Will Owen. It’s a laid-back version of pot pie.

For a different sort of pie experience, wrap leftover stew in pizza dough and make “hand pies (or one big roll, which we call a ‘calzone’ even though it’s really not),” says Pia. “My favorite thing to do with leftovers.”

Board Link: what to do with leftovers of stew?

Cheese on Pastrami and Corn on Pizza

Wed, 27 May 2009 13:38:00 -0700

Cheese on pastrami is kind of like corn on pizza, asserts Mr Taster: “Many people do it. It might even taste good. But is it right?” The fact that pastrami has roots in kosher Jewish cuisine makes adding cheese seem a little bit dirty. Of course, what is normal and what is disgusting on a particular dish varies hugely by region. “Recently we got some Vito’s pizza for a friend visiting from Vietnam, and she insisted on putting ketchup on it,” says Mr Taster. “She wouldn’t even taste it without the ketchup!”

How about corn on pizza? It’s a fairly common topping in Asia. “Roasted corn on certain pizzas is ok, but I would not call it a ‘pizza’ anymore,” says stricken. linguafood delivered pizza in college and loved a pie that was half corn, onion, and tuna, and half ham, mushrooms, and spinach. “In Germany, pizza deliveries will not shy away from putting asparagus, speck, and hollandaise, or ground beef, bbq sauce, and beans on pizza. Ugh. Think Chinese chop suey pizza,” linguafood says. A popular pizza available from Domino’s in Tokyo is the Mayo Jaga: mayonnaise, potato, crispy bacon, paprika, onion, and corn. “And the mayonnaise was always in the criss-cross pattern,” says valerie. Wrong or not, eat whatever you like—even pastrami pizza!

Board Link: Cheese on pastrami is kind of like corn on pizza

Marvelous, Melty Popcorn Cheese

Wed, 20 May 2009 16:15:00 -0700

Sometimes you have to appreciate the deliciousness of a processed, industrial food product. And the melty cheddar popcorn cheese that comes in 30-pound buckets is one of those products, says TransplantedCajun. It’s not a powder; it’s a “meltable, oily, gooey, cheesy product” that is mixed with freshly popped popcorn to add butter, cheese, and salt all at once. “Kraft Macaroni and Cheese powder does not EVEN approximate this cheese, not even close,” says TransplantedCajun.

Since it’s only sold in those huge tubs for popcorn concessionaires, it may not make sense for home cooks—unless you can find some friends who are willing to split 30 pounds of cheese product with you.

Board Link: Cheddar cheese for Popcorn

Skip the Grapples

Wed, 20 May 2009 09:34:00 -0700

Grapples are apples infused with grape flavor—specifically, a flavor reminiscent of Grape Bubble Yum, says schrutefarms, who is not a fan. foodiesnorth also objects: “The aroma is so manufactured and unappetizing it should be sold as a diet smell. The last thing I want to do after a whiff of chemogrape is eat! BLECH!”

Grapples are definitely designed to appeal to kids, and they’re most certainly not adult food. “My kids love them, but I can’t get past the smell. Ugh,” says toastnjam.

“I actually think they smell awesome but taste completely weird,” says eatinghabit. “Not disgusting, but just wholly unappetizing.” And danhole thinks they’re worthwhile and has bought them for his grandson. They’re actually very fresh and juicy, he says, and a good size, although they’re more expensive than regular apples.

Board Link: does anyone like grapples?