Archive for the 'Fine Food' Category

Before You Temper Chocolate, Here’s What You Need to Know

Friday, February 26th, 2010

You need re-education if you are ignorant about chocolate candy making but don’t pass a casual remark that chocolate candy making is not a complex process. There is a possibility that a few others may concur with you since the items required for chocolate candy making are easy to acquire: thermometer, double boiler, mixing bowl, spatula, cookie cutters or candy molds, and of course, chocolates. The truth is that it’s actually a complicated task.

Melt chocolate chips on a double boiler and during this step, you must be stirring the contents constantly so you don’t burn the chocolate. Once this melted chocolate has dried on the cookie sheet, candies of various designs could be made using candy molds or a cutter. Fruit candies can also be made with this chocolate mush.

If the candies are made for casual offering to friends or relatives, you do not need a thermometer because it is not necessary to temper your chocolates perfectly. But if the candies are for commercial purposes, you should temper with a thermometer next to you.

Tempering alone can make your chocolate candy glossy, creamy and silken since they are not so naturally. You temper chocolates in three steps–heating, cooling and re-heating–but exact temperatures should be maintained during these steps, failing which, chocolates will not be tempered and chocolates will become blotchy, chalky and flaky.

Dark, semi-sweet and white chocolates are tempered only at their own tempering temperatures. Tempering is made difficult by the crystallization of fatty acids of the cocoa butter into six types of crystals. These six types of crystals by multiplying at six different temperatures hamper type V crystals alone from forming; these crystals make chocolates shiny, smooth and crisp. The formation of type IV crystals, which appear along with type V crystals, does not benefit anyone because type IV crystals quickly melt at low temperatures.

Tempering of a large amount of chocolates is done only with a tempering machine that not only takes care of controlling temperatures with the help of a computer chip but frees you from the hassles of manual tempering as well. Though manual tempering is a tough process, artisanal chocolatiers still prefer tempering chocolates only by hand.

By knowing how to do manual tempering, chocolatiers can do it whenever necessary, like at times of black outs when there are power outages. Tabliering, one of the manual tempering methods, is done by working melted chocolate on a marble slab or any cool surface that soak up heat. In “seeding”, another method of tempering, some tempered chocolate pieces are used to “seed” melted chocolate so it tempers properly.

If you fail in maintaining accurate temperatures in both the methods, you may be forced to repeat tempering again and again, the reason why manual tempering is tricky and complicated.

The Wonderful Profits of Cream Whippers You Should Savour

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

If you have met Cream Whippers, they are also called as cream siphons or just syphons. Its very plain how they work. They are used together with a cream charger. To foam the cream, the nitrous oxide contained in the cream chargers are utilized. Within the cream whipper is where the trick takes place. Inside the whipper, the measure of the cream is doubled with the assistance of nitrous oxide. Whipping and dispensing cream is now very handy with the use of a Cream Whipper.


Cream Whippers are very casual to utilise and it permits you to have ze sty whipped cream in merely a couple of seconds! For those who enjoy whip cream, you should have one of these in your kitchen drawer. They are likewise exact to utilise for adding whipped cream to chocolate, desserts, pies, cakes, ice cream, or fruit sweets.


Forget the trouble of manual beating by shifting to Cream Whippers. The finest thing about whippers is you can make twice the quantity of whipped cream as compared to manual whipping. They likewise keep it freshly in the fridge for up to 10 days. You can right away fix your own whip cream just the way you like it and not have to subject yourself with what is accessible in grocery stores.


Preparing your cherished treats doesnt have to be as dull as it used to be. Spared from all the pans and bowls you usually had in cooking them, you can now include your children in assisting you make treats for the entire family and guests when they come in for a chat.

Japanese BBQ at Its Best

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Grilling scrumptious Wagyu beef at your own table is a revolutionary japanese restaurant trend.

Long gone are the days of grilling dinner and being smothered in a haze of oily smoke while trying to talk to friends. Recent Japanese BBQ technology has produced a grill set combined into a smart table. The smoke-free table invention vents the smoke instantly down and out through a duct system. Sizzling marinaded beef smells are totally smoke-free!

Thinly-sliced and diced Wagyu beef marinaded in salt or miso are prepared by the japanese chef. Platters of beef and veges are brought to the table and everyone enjoys grilling their own food. The technique is to grill only a few pieces at one time in order to fully enjoy the strong flavor of the wagyu beef. Chefs recommend cooking the beef primarily in the middle of the grill. Sliced wagyu needs 30-60 seconds per side, while diced takes 2-3 minutes per side. Grill the veggies around the edges of the grill until they arrive at the desired tenderness.

Dipping sauces such as tare (a sweet thickened soy sauce) and ponzu (a thin citrus-flavored soy sauce) heighten the flavor of the grilled wagyu beef.

The word Wagyu was originated from two Japanese characters which meant “Japanese style” and “beef”. Wagyu beef is delicately tender. The flavorful flavour comes from its rich marbeling of fat. Varieties of wagyu are named after the area of Japan where they are raised, such as the familiar Kobe beef.

For the American palate Japanese Wagyu cows were intercrossed with Angus. This formulates a redder beef with slightly less marbeling. Rich in Omega-3s, wagyu beef is tender and full-flavored.

Every Japanese restaurant has its own unique atmosphere and presentation. What you’ll find in common is the remarkable experience visitors have cooking at their table grill, and the amazing flavour of wagyu beef.

Hog Roast Cooking

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

The hog roast we love today hasn’t varied much from the time of our ascendents, although we have become a little more sophisticated with our spit roasting techniques, adding herbs and marinades to produce fabulous flavours while slowly turning the hog roast over wood or gas flames.Our caveman ancestors would also have had problems with their cooking times to start with; you can imagine their hog roast, crispy on one side and rare on the other. I’m sure they also had their very own Marco Pierre White who got rather angry with anyone who complained their spit roast was over cooked.Takeout hog roasting or spit roasting has become very popular and is now a stock menu item at many weddings. A whole hog goes a long way and feeds up to 120 guests when served into a bun or bread roll. So besides the juicy mouth watering flavour of a hog spit roast you are getting incredible value for your money plus you have the added bonus of a theatrical event. There’s usually a gasp of delight when the hog is raised from its oven and the heady aroma assails your nostrils as the sight of the golden brown hog with amazing crispy crackling comes in to view.

Eat Well with the Aerogarden

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Everyone knows it’s important to eat well to stay healthy. We have it instilled in us from an early age that eating well will make us grow up big and strong. But now those days of having constant help with our food choices are over, we have to fend for ourselves, cook our own meals and do our own food shopping. Sadly this has resulted in a lot of us buying the cheapest and easiest meals to cook, which usually means they are less than nutritionally balanced let alone healthy. One way to ensure you keep eating lots of greens, vegetables and salads is to grow your own. If you constantly have them on hand, there’s a higher chance you’ll eat them. One of the best ways to grow your own salad is to use a product called an Aerogarden. It’s a hydroponic indoor garden that can grow a variety of fresh herbs, flowers and plants at the touch of a button, all you need to do is add the seeds, water and nutrients to the Aerogarden then wait as your plants grow. When the Aerogarden needs more water or nutrients, the lights will flash to indicate what it needs on the front display panel. Couldn’t be easier!

Whole Foods

Sunday, January 4th, 2009

Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined. If they are processed and refined it is very little. For the most part whole foods do not have added sugar, fat, salt, or other ingredients. It is very common for whole foods to be confused with organic. Although they are similar, such as not adding other ingredients, they are not the same. Whole foods usually have a short shelf life because they are not processed. They are mostly sold at farmer’s markets because they do not last that long.

You can give your body the nutrients that it needs on a whole food diet, it is a matter of making sure that you get what you need daily. A way of accomplishing this is eating fruits and vegetables that are raw, nothing added, every day. Whole foods such as vegetables and fruits with yellow or orange skin, legumes, nuts and seeds, and unrefined wheats have many antioxidants that help to protect the body.

Examples of whole foods are fruits and vegetables, grains that have not been filled with additives, meat that has been unprocessed, poultry, fish, and milk that is non-homogenized.

People do get their nutrients from supplements these days but it is best to get these nutrients from the foods you eat. Eating whole foods will give you the nutrients you need in a healthy, clean way. Finding out which whole foods are the best to have for your body is a good way to start learning what to look for to get those nutrients into your body.

Candy Recipes for Christmas

Friday, October 24th, 2008

Santa loves candy too! So this year whip up some candy in addition to your usual cookie recipes. Here are some Christmas recipes for candy to try. They’re simple and easy to follow:

Chocolate Pretzel Treats With Caramel

  • 20 mini pretzels
  • 20 chocolate covered caramels
  • 20 pecans

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
  2. Arrange pretzels individually on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  3. Put one chocolate covered caramel candy on top of each of the pretzels.
  4. Bake for 4 minutes.
  5. While the caramel is still melted, top each with a pecan and let it cool off before storing or serving.

Sugary Sweet Candy Drops

  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup water, hot
Preparation:
  1. In a heavy, 2 quart saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt.
  2. Cook over low flame and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil.
  3. Cook until it forms a hard ball without stirring.
  4. Wipe crystals from the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Remove from heat.
  5. In a large glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until peaks form.
  6. Pour the warm syrup over beaten egg whites while beating with electric mixer on medium.
  7. Increase to high speed and continue to beat 5 minutes. Add vanilla. Beat until the mixture becomes stiff.
  8. Drop separate spoonfuls onto wax paper. Cool.
  9. Store at room temperature.

Energy Levels

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Energy can be defined as the capability of an individual to do his work. It can be availed either externally or even created internally. However, the external energy is what every person adds to their bodies in order to produce a feeling which enables them to do their work. Ephedrine and caffeine are some of the substances of external energy. These substances usually work by encouraging hormone glands and making them to produce adrenaline at high speed.

Actually, caffeine controls blood vessels and decreases the efficiency of breathing and increases work load on the heart. Ephedrine also works in the similar method however it is a higher concentration that lasts for longer period. Green Tea and Bee Pollen are some of the healthy external energy boosters. However, still these energy boosters do not deal with the root cause of this problem. Cola Nut and Guarana are tow types of herbs that even work as supplements of energy and must be avoided because they create adrenaline such as Ephedrine. You can learn more about these kinds of alternatives by watching this health show.

Next one is the internal energy which is produced inside the body. Generally, energy in human bodies is catalyzed on the levels of the cells; these cells possess two different functions to remove waste and to generate energy. One of the main reasons why most of the people lack in energy is because they have lots of toxins and waste in their cells and the energy in the body is not sufficient to remove these toxins and waste. This is a complicated problem and symptoms such are inability to focus, mood swings, dizziness, irritability, congestion and fatigue are caused.