cross-posted from: https://belgae.social/post/2229041

I found only two sources in Brussels for “citrate de sodium”:

• pharmacy: €50 for 250g
• in a packet of lemon chicken flavoring in an Asian shop

I’m not going to pay €50 to a pharmacist in order to make a smoother macaroni and cheese. I’m also not interested in bringing in flavored Asian sauces. One option would be to go to the American section of a large grocery store and buy a Kraft mac & cheese kit. Fuck that. I boycott Kraft Heinz. Probably would not find Velvita, but if I did it’s a bit off to be making mac & cheese from scratch and then having to resort to a kit of sorts anyway.

Is there a better option?

It seems fondu with cheese is a thing here. How are people emulsifying their cheese for that?

Update: it’s apparently European additive “E331” which groups 3 different things. Are they about the same for emulsifying cheese? Note as well that it’s not in the emulsifier grouping of additives for some reason.

Should I try a vet?

I normally ignore all the coconut milks labeled as “light”, because of course it’s silly to buy something thats diluted just to get a lower fat label when I can just add water myself if that’s what I want.

Given that I only buy standard coconut milk, this is my finding:

• generic grocery store brand in western country: 86% coconut extract + water + E412
• organic generic grocery store brand in western country: 85% coconut extract + water
• Aroy-D: 70% coconut extract + water + E435
• Mae Ploy: 53% coconut extract + water + E415 (xanthan gum) E435 (polysorbate)

IIUC, the generic western stuff is clearly better, no? I was expecting the popular Asian stuff to come out ahead because Thai people would starve if they did not have it.

What’s with the emulsifiers? Someone tells me it’s a thickener, but I thought it was more to ensure a consistent texture so you don’t have particles floating in water and clumping together. Or is it doing both jobs?

I suppose the more water there is, the more thickener they would use to compensate for cheating you out of the real stuff (coconut). If we compare the first two western generics, one is organic, which leaves out the emulsifier. Could that be the only difference, and we are paying more for organic just because they leave out the emulsifier, because that demographic likes a simple label? The organic is 4× the cost of the other despite being the same brand (though potentially different ultimate sources, I suppose). I got some organic on promo for ½ the normal price, but still even paying double the non-organic seems like a bad deal.

Not sure organic coconuts makes much difference, or even if it’s fair to say the cheaper stuff is GMO. But even if it is, not all GMO is the same. Some GMO techniques are more invasive and risky than others. Which case is it for coconut?

Update

Saw some pricey “Suzi Wan” or “Suzi Lee” branded stuff (forgot the name). Only had ~68% coconut extract. The stuff was like triple the cost of the generic stuff that has 86% extract. I really don’t get it.

I didn’t do a taste test. Perhaps if it’s low in coconut extract the other additives improve the taste. I guess I shouldn’t assume max coconut gives the best taste.

A systematic investigation of acid-base neutralization, CO2 production kinetics, gluten inhibition, and the Maillard reaction as applied to a 125-gram flour batter, with an interactive stoichiometric calculator that adapts to whatever is in your refrigerator

When working with miso paste, I normally spread the miso paste over my empty bowl. Then I ensure the soup is well below boiling temp when filling the bowl. This ensures that the probiotics are not killed. That’s my own process. I started doing that after reading similar advice: to add the miso to the pot last, after turning off the heat and letting the temp drop a bit.

For storage, I normally refrigerate the paste after opening. I don’t recall why.. whether it was pkg guidance or just intuition. Some random articles concur (ref 1, ref 2). Ref 1 actually says freezing it is sensible, but probably not good for the probiotics.

I bought a new kind of miso paste (imported from Japan), called “AKA MISO -- Maruman Nama Miso pak”. The suggested recipe on the pkg says to bring the pot to a boil, add the miso, return to the boil, then turn off the heat. So I have to wonder: is the supplier unaware of the health benefits¹ probiotics? Or might there something in the paste that’s risky if not dead?

Along the same lines, there is no mention of refrigeration on the pkg. It just says to consume before the date which is about 1 year out. Does that mean it remains shelf-stable after opening? Or is it just stable enough if it’s cooked to death? I suspect the importer botched the label and forgot to add “refrigerate after opening”.

Ingredients: water, 29% soybean, rice, salt, alcohol. I was surprised at alcohol. Would that kill the probiotics?

¹ Certain gut bacteria is essential for health. But I hear that there is no evidence that probiotic food actually has health benefits. I think someone in c/cooking said that. I’m merely speculating that in the absence of research, probiotics are more likely to bring health benefits than notable risks.

Also curious where people stand on brown sugar vs. powdered for fruit dip if you care to share.

The arguments in this short podcast sounded pretty convincing to me. That said, I don't have the proper background in chemistry to back what is said, so I thought of sharing it, hoping to get some input. So please, let me know what you think about it!

The theoretically best technique (IMO) is to dump the rice in a tub of water and let it sit for 30+ min. That starts the hydration without wasting heat (thus a faster cook). Then I grab a handfuls and rub the grains together to wash mechanically. I know it’s working because the water gets quite cloudy on every cycle. After dumping and repeating 3—4 times, the water is still a dirty color.

How many times does it take?

If you don’t wash brown rice at all, there is a nasty ring of mud around the pot at the level the rice expands to. If you wash ~4 cycles, there is still a faint ring of mud (or so it seems).

I’m way too lazy to do 10 wash cycles, or whatever is needed. I used to put the rice in a strainer and run it under the faucet for a while. But I think that wastes water and you cannot readily see any indication of when the washing is done.

The other problem: people wash their rice not just to get the mud out but also to get the starches out. I want the starches. I’m not afraid of getting fat.

I’m making savory waffles based on corn and very coarse cornmeal. Of course corn kernals and veg (like peppers) make it tricky because batter doesn’t stick well to smooth non-porous surfaces.

The standard combination of milk, eggs, and wheat flour works well enough as a binder, but only if added in a high enough ratio. If I cut back on the flour, the waffles lose their mechanical integrity and fall apart.

I’m looking for ideas for other binders. This is my speculative brainstorm:

• cheese
• honey
• bees wax
• maple syrup
• molassas
• agave?
• gluten (wheat flour, beer? (wheat beer or any beer?), glutinous rice?)
• cornstarch, wheat starch, tapioca starch
• chicken eggs (the whites thereof)
• vegan “eggs” like VegEgg powder (is that psyllium husk?)
• Aquafaba (chickpea water)
• baking soda (if fried?)
• PVA (polyvinylacetate aka wood glue)

For the gluten intolerant:

• Psyllium husk
• Agar-Agar
• Chia seeds, flax seeds
• Linseed (Flaxseed)
• Guar gum
• Xanthan gum
• Arrowroot
• Carrageenan
• Nonfat milk powder

Chicken eggs seem to be the most common additive that does the heavy lifting for binding -- used in cakes and even hamburgers not for flavor but just as an effective binder. I’m not vegan but I try to gravitate in that direction. I’ve switched to VegEgg -- a pricey powder that replaces animal eggs. I’m not sure VegEgg is as effective as animal eggs. I doubled the VegEgg dosage and it seems good enough but it would be nice to eliminate VegEgg as well just because it’s obscure and pricey compared to eggs. It’s likely a proprietary cocktail of other ingredients in bio shops. Aquafaba is perhaps what I should be considering.

Belgians separate the egg yolks from the whites and beat the whites into a foam for waffles. Is that just to get air into the batter? I don’t want fluffy airy waffles, so I guess I should skip the whipping if I use eggs.

I have no problem with gluten but gluten intolerant people need to use non-wheat flour (like coconut flour or almond flour), so they need to add something else to get the binding effect of gluten. Does anyone add the gluten-free binders to wheat flour just to amplify the binding?

Cheese has a special protein that gives it the sticky melting characteristic. There is an effort underway in the UK to synthesize that so a more convincing vegan cheese can be made (IIRC). But I don’t think we are there yet.

Beer is sometimes used in batter. I’m not sure if that’s for the bubbles, the flavor, or if the gluten in the beer helps as a binder. I have been using almond milk but I am tempted to try a flat beer instead (flat to get dense not airy waffles).

Waffle recipes often include confectioner’s sugar, apparently just as a sweetener. But if I need better binding, should I use honey, syrup, or molassas instead?

Baking soda increases browning, so I wonder if the crispy exteriour helps keep things together.

I mentioned PVA for completeness. Wood glue is strangely used on the heels of some cheeses (WTF?). But I am not seriously considering putting wood glue in my waffles. It might even be toxic in its liquid state.

Was going to title this edible glues but it turns out they exist with a different meaning- as a sugar paste to stick ornaments onto decorated cakes.

I think this is on topic for Science of Cooking - he makes specific adjustments to the standard cookie recipe to accommodate the added moisture from the sourdough discard. These are also the best cookies I've ever eaten, one of the few recipes I follow exactly, and we make them all the time, a double batch.

One adjustment, actually - I use slightly less chocolate chips, but no adjustments to the dough, it's perfect. Browning the butter always results in the same reduction in weight that is calculated in the recipe, even. Every time, I am amazed.

I have actually asked this in a few countries, in China the most common answer I got was Peking duck or thousand year egg, every interesting processes.

I love to challenge myself in the kitchen, in fact its the only place I like to challenge myself.

Anyone who has worked in a kitchen commercially, what is your hardest dish, or one you just remember having the toughest time with? What specifically didn't go right?

In my area, cooking wine does not exist. I can only easily find Sherry (for drinking) at 15% alcohol. I was told it should have 20% to be shelf-stable for ~6—24 months. There is white port at 19½% alc. Not sure if that differs much from sherry in taste, but I suppose 19½% is close enough for shelf-stability. Should I add table salt to the sherry to make it shelf stable? Or add brandy? Or switch to white port? Or even just brandy? My main use: less than ~½—¾ shot mixed with corn starch as the thickening basis for stir-fries. I don’t really use sherry for anything else. I don’t even drink it because I so commonly use it in stir-fries that as a straight drink it’s like drinking Kung Pao Chicken because I can’t mentally dissociate it. I also wonder if I should be looking for dry sherry, or simple sherry. I want the stir-fries to have the sweetness of strong sherry, so I guess dry variants would be contrary to that.

I've heard searing ingredients before pressure cooking them will help enhance flavour but I'm wondering if I should because searing will result in water loss in ingredients and I'm wondering if that will effect the tenderness of the ingredients after pressure cooking

Will the ingredients regain water whike being pressure cooked or will they be stuck with reduced water and reduce the tenderness?

I am aware fat also plays a part in tenderness