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I had to look up "rapeseed oil"...it's canola oil! Americans know canola oil means Wesson Oil (remember those commercials for fried chicken hosted by Florence Henderson?) Far cry from EVOO, which was mainstreamed by Rachel Ray. She bugs the crap outta me, btw.
So I'm not sure how you can say EVOO is on your shelf, but you use canola oil.
Rapeseed fields are very pretty. :)
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/...44_968x493.jpg
Combining Rape and Seed ends up looking like mountains of feces plopped among land tracts?
It's not about sophistication, turmeric and saffron simply don't taste the same.
Easy to have extra virgine olive oil on your shelf but cook with something else - extra virgine isn't suited for frying and can get a little bitter if you do.
I mean the shelf of the supermarkets. Not my shelf. And I use olive oil, cold, but not for cooking/frying, for that I use rapeseed oil (or Colza oil).
Technically not homemade - but last saturday I had a cooking workshop (got it from my mum for christmas, went with her), seafood themed. The menu included oysters (in three ways), langoustine (carpaccio on top of stewed beef, and fried with shrimp brandade), scallops (fried with beurre blanc and stewed leek, and sliced with cauliflower and bacon dressing), and lobster (with pasta and sauce américaine).
:D
US supermarkets have long aisles of cooking oil choices. Seriously, it's almost too much. Canola, vegetable, olive, peanut, corn, sesame, sunflower, safflower, saffron...light, lite, virgin, extra virgin, seasoned...liquids, solids, sprays, spritzes....with/without additives, natural, organic, domestic, imported....brand names, genericsQuote:
Originally Posted by earthJoker
:eek:
I speak about olive oil (I don't use olive oil for cooking, not really the best for that).
Here is the list:
http://www.leshop.ch/leshop/Main.do/...oliven%C3%B6l/
You see, all of them extra virgin. Makes you wonder what they do with the rest of the olives.
This is gonna sound really nerdy....but I found a 6 1/2 inch 'Wagner 1891 authentic' cast iron skillet for six bucks at a consignment store. Later, I found the same skillet at an antique store with a $28 price tag. :eek:
I've fallen in love with cast iron skillet cooking lately. They're heavy, but can go from stove-top to oven, and are practically indestructible. Since they're oil-seasoned, cooking means using less oil. Even for eggs--I just add a bit of water. I can cook with the large skillet, directly on a charcoal grill, when the power goes out. Plus, they make the best corn bread ever! :D
I would love to have an old style iron skillet, it would also work on my induction stove, which is sometimes a problem.
Another nerdy thing...but I wonder how others figure what "homemade" means. Obviously, must of us don't churn our own butter or butcher our own meat, but there's a ton of room in-between. I figure that buying whole is the first step to being homemade, so I try not to buy pre-cut ingredients.
Is it still a "homemade" meal even if someone uses pre-cut meats, pre-cut veggies, frozen or canned, adds some pre-measured seasonings or sauces, and heats it up? It's the Hamburger Helper dilemma that seems better than fast food. :hmm:
Interesting question. Over the last few weeks I have come to the conclusion that I should really stop buying ready meals and have a better idea of what I am really eating. Also read an article the other day in the NYT that gave me the idea that foods with a more distinct taste can actually help you reduce the amounts you eat.
That sounds like what my kids say when I experiment with "tastes" in the kitchen. :p And later make peanut butter toast because they're hungry :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Hazir
Subjective question mostly, but I'd say no.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
Homemade to me is what I cook when we're home.
Fresh veg: I'll generally go organic. Pre-cut is never as good - the 'edges' of the cuts are always faded and browning - it's not as fresh. You can't beat a whole veg. Fine beans sold in this country annoy me as they're mostly pre-trimmed. I have to retrim them as the trimmed edges are faded and brown. I'll buy from a market stall if I can, as they never trim.
Fresh meat: Organic, free-range cuts of meat. Will pay extra for this. Absolutely no 'processed' meats. Freezing fresh meat to cook later is fine though.
Fresh sauces: Nothing out of a tin or a jar. Nothing processed. Fresh ingredients, fresh herbs and natural spices. I always cook everything from scratch. Freezing homemade sauces to reheat at another time is fine.
Acceptable exceptions are:
Quality tinned chopped tomatoes (Napolitana or Cirio). These I use quite a lot. Tin must contain nothing more than tomatoes and water. Perfect in pasta sauces.
Shop-bought pastry for tarts & flans etc. Again perfectly acceptable, and even chefs recommend this as making pastry is time-consuming and not that straightforward.
Whenever I buy anything nowadays I study the ingredients list closely. I'm immediately suspicious of anything processed. Added salt and sugar is another big no-no.
Even when it comes to buying normal stuff like sugar, i'll avoid the processed white stuff and go for natural cane sugar.
"Homemade", in my view, is more sophisticated than "home-heated", "home-tossed" and "home-mixed", with the possible exception of salads. "Homemade" implies at the very least that the basic shape and size of raw products, the tertiary structure of proteins and/or the distribution of fats have been changed by me or someone else in the home.
But is homemade really always better? It is my consistent experience, that pancakes when made from scratch simply don't come out as good as pancakes made with a mix. You can get close, but from scratch never wins. And believe me, I have tried hard.
"Better" can mean many things. Homemade is better if you enjoy making food almost as much as you enjoy eating it. If you really love the taste of pancakes then it's entirely possible that pre-mixed is better for you, or that you need a truly magical recipe :o
Homemade doesn't always mean better tasting, I suppose, and you do get excellent packet stuff out there nowadays. So long as you buy quality, which will tend to avoid things like added salt, sugar, flavourings, colourings and other nasties.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hazir
Homemade does allow you to tweak the ingredients to your tastes though, which is half the fun. Experimentation.
But isn't it disheartening that 10 years of tweaking doesn't get you further than approaching texture and taste of a ready mix?Quote:
Originally Posted by Timbuk2
I suppose it would be, yes.
Strangely though, pancake batter only has, what, 3 primary ingredients? Milk, plain flour, & eggs? Pinch of salt? Not sure how packet stuff could be so different. But if your tastes prefer it, then all good.
Everyone has their way of doing things. For me, generally, I prefer mixing up stuff and evolving my favourite recipes over time. Other people trust the pre-made stuff more, or don't have the time/inclination to make up stuff from scratch. Or prefer the taste. :)
Foody tastes are utterly subjective.
What is more objective though is what is healthy and what isn't. Which is why I said if one goes for the pre-made stuff, avoid the added nasties, which usually means buying higher quality/more expensive.
Most of what I cook would be semi-homemade. I use canned tomato sauce and paste when putting together my spaghetti sauce. I don't make my own pasta. I think most people fall in this category.
I did make my own veggie stock last week, and it turned out pretty well. Though it smelled like Thanksgiving as a result and I had no turkey, so that was a little disappointing. ;)
Pancakes can be complicated:
http://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/...Country/17870/
Mixing flours and adding powdered milk and the like can take baking to another level :o
True about the pancake batter. I've never really understood the flour thing. Many recipes call for certain types of flour, or sifting. Not sure what that means when buying all-purpose or pre-sifted flours. The best homemade cake I've ever had was made using hand-sifted flour. But I don't know if that meant sifting pre-sifted all-purpose flour, or what.
:noob:
It's difficult to find a flour sifter today. My mom and grandmas used to keep one in their kitchens.
They also used the flour sifter to shake powdered sugar over cookies and cakes.
But it's hard to find one today...outside of antique shops selling them as decorative ornaments.
Next up home-roasted coffee :o
In attempts to eat (and drink) better, I started making my own almond milk. Surprisingly easy and tasty. I still prefer 2% milk but this has less calories so I'll give it a try for awhile.
Been on a granola kick, so have been making homemade versions of it as well. And granola bars.
Do oatmeal cookies count as granola? :D
I've been experimenting with bread and cracker crumbs, trying to replicate Japanese Panko. Harder than it seemed. :eek:
Haven't tried to make Panko but I do make my own breadcrumbs out of leftover bread. Unlike my childhood, now it takes us a week to go through a loaf of sandwich bread so it's nice to have a use for it. I grind it in the food processor and then freeze what I don't use.
I'm becoming one of those people I used to make fun of. :p
;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Catgrrl
Bread has so many secondary uses! Heels/crusts make great homemade salad croutons, too. I haven't figured out the tortilla or pita leftovers just yet....but until then, the birds love it just the same. :noob:
There are no leftovers of pita bread or tortillas in my house ;) I eat every last bit!
I tend to "cook for an army" and end up with lots of leftovers. :noob:
Speaking of breadcrumbs, I do one of my favorites to day, Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad.
Mmmmm :yum: I love Schnitzel. Never made it myself though.
Yum, please share your recipes! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by earthJoker
So it turns out it's possible to make mayonnaise using milk and oil (and salt, lemon, pepper etc of course) and an immersion blender. Really nice. However it also turns out that extra virgin olive oil turns into a ridiculously bitter and utterly vile substance when blended in such a way. Something about polyphenols becoming exposed? I don't know, but whatever the reason I strongly recommend against blending olive oil for more than a little while.
Good thing about blending olive oil, I heard they were about to make that illegal over there.
Is the texture substantially different or is it just taste? Now I want to try putting olive oil in a blender just to experience this. But I sure as hell don't want to clean it.
Also, why would you want to make mayo with milk? Does it have any particular advantage?
Oh, I didn't saw this post. Well it's quite easy. Prepare your Schnitzel form veal, it needs to be large and flat. Different styles to do that, I use a hammer and hammer it flat.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
Then you but it both ways into flour then egg (raw and mixed) and then breadcrumbs. After that for 30 seconds each side in a pan with hot oil. You need enough oil otherwise the breadcrumbs will get black.
Serve it with a lemon slice and cowberry jam.
Just made my own almond butter. I roasted raw almonds before blending them, and I think I had them in the oven a bit too long. Doesn't taste too bad to me, but the kid will be the real test. This attempt has made me want to roast my almonds more often though. They are so delicious straight out of the oven! (Cooled a bit of course)
Did you mean almond milk? :confused:
Fresh-roasted warm almonds are delicious! My Greek-in-laws-by-marriage do a lot of home nut roasting. Some taste better than others. (I can't remember if it was hazel nuts or what, but they roast some dark-shelled nut whole, watching it carefully like a souffle, then crack the shell to eat the meat. I found it bitter, mushy and gross, but they absolutely love it.)
Almond butter is delicious. Almond milk is all right