Comments for

Comment on A Bacon Bean Bonanza by John K.

John K. — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:40:20 +0000

I do a “fry test” prior to smoking. If to salty, soak in cold water for an hour, and fry up another small slice to test for saltiness.

Ruhlman suggests blanching bacon that is to salty (once it’s smoked). He says that it removes the saltiness, and makes it crisp up better.

Love home-cured bacon — I can’t imagine buying the stuff they sell in packages again!

Great site!

John K.
Akron, OH

Comment on Organic Goodness by Owen Maloy

Owen Maloy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:48:29 +0000

Joe – the data I presented does not indicate that organic carrots are cheaper than conventional carrots. The two charts above show that 1.) the price of organic carrots has fallen more than the price of conventional carrots in a given time period and 2.) the resulting price gap between organic and conventional carrots has decreased over the same period. This does not mean that the price of organic carrots has fallen below the price of conventional carrots. Rather, it indicates that the organic carrots have become cheaper relative to conventional carrots, thereby making the “organic price premium” smaller. I could certainly have included items other than carrots in this analysis, but the simplicity of the post and availability of data required a smaller sample.

Comment on Organic Goodness by joe

joe — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:47:04 +0000

I think you cherry-picked with the carrot data – come on now, organic is more expensive 95% of the time.

Comment on Adventures in Earl Grey, part 1: Tuiles by Andrew Maki

Andrew Maki — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:38:19 +0000

The tuiles are quite tasty – slightly buttery, light, crisp, and not overly sweet. Perhaps surprisingly, given the amount of tea I used, the Earl Grey flavor is not overwhelming. To complement the citrus notes of the Earl Grey tea, next time I intend to add bergamot oil directly to the batter, and maybe citrus zest as well!

Comment on Adventures in Earl Grey, part 1: Tuiles by pteams

pteams — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:33:38 +0000

These are beautiful and sound delicious, how’d they come out?

Comment on The Great Sausage Catastrophe: a few notes on homespun sausage making by Paul Godfrey

Paul Godfrey — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:47:30 +0000

I have been growing my on organic vegetables and producing my own organic sausages and meats for some years now and am trying to inspire others to do the same. The benefits of producing you own organic foods are tremendous and it is a lot easier than you may think!

Comment on Operation Urban Rooftop Farm – Where Have I Bean? by John Maloy

John Maloy — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:54:38 +0000

I think as band names go you should just go with Flowers Translate Into Future Beans… clearly a twee indie band with little chance of commercial success, but they, of course, are in it for the music, man… and the legumes.

Comment on A Mushroom called Morchella by Owen Maloy

Owen Maloy — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:37:27 +0000

Forgot to mention that despite morels being pretty damn delicious, in my mind’s eye no mushroom can top the shiitake. It’s meaty, earthy, a bit funky (in a good way), and is pretty cheap relative to other mushrooms available at your typical supermarkets (not including button mushrooms).

Comment on A Spirited use of Breakfast Meats? by Andrew Maki

Andrew Maki — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:13:27 +0000

I think that we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one, and perhaps wait until proper testing to make any final judgement.

As for the your concerns for fat in your alcohol and ruined bacon meat, I refer you to this video explanation of PDT’s Bacon-Infused Old Fashioned posted by the NYTimes Magazine (April 7, 2008).

As you will see, you needn’t be worried about a fat-slick coating the top of your coctail, and no precious bacon will go to waste – not a single slice.

Comment on A Spirited use of Breakfast Meats? by Owen Maloy

Owen Maloy — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:12:32 +0000

I don’t agree with you on this one, Maki. The process of making bacon booze has to be oddly modified in order to not incorporate any of the fat into the alcohol. At least items like peat can be steeped in Laphroaig to release its flavor, similar to tea. But, what really puts me off on this one is that it is a complete waste of bacon. Bacon has a million and one amazing culinary applications. By infusing the taste of bacon into vodka, that is if the flavoring is in fact natural and not artificial, you ruin the bacon. There is no use for the bacon post-infusion. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to put a vodka-saturated piece of floppy and, most likely, oddly colored bacon in my mouth. Last point, on a personal level, I think it’s a bad idea. It doesn’t appeal to my tastes. I would rather have a cocktail accompanied by some crispy bacon or maybe some tapas laced with bacony goodness.