It has just been brought to my attention that Blackpool (and one suspects other places) are now offering seaside rock in a variety of flavours other than the hitherto ubiquitous peppermint and occasional fruit flavours.
So here we are again with another round of links to interesting items you might have missed the first time around. Again not too much heavy science but a lot of oddities …
Cats vs Dogs. Who wins? Well from an evolutionary perspective scientists have concluded that cats are better.
The Dong Tao chicken is a somewhat gruesomely bizarre breed with elephantine legs and feet. It is very popular in Vietnam where it is prized for its meat, which is considered far more delicious than that of normal chickens.
For some time I’ve been collecting fun things one can do which shouldn’t be either especially scary (so no bungee jumping) or outrageously expensive (so no world cruises). I now have a list of 50 which don’t quite form a bucket list for me, although it is interesting to see which ones I’ve done and which I haven’t. When I get round to it I shall put the list on my website, but meanwhile I thought this month we would have a selection, just as a taster.
Ten Fun Things To Do (which shouldn’t cost a fortune).
For quite some while — probably 2-3 years; maybe more — Marks & Spencer have been selling a range of “Southwold” beers, which we know are brewed for them by Adnams of Southwold.
Over the years I have tried probably most of them and found them at least acceptable and often quite pleasant. But then, as regular readers will know, I am partial to the odd pint of Adnams — with the exception of Broadside which I find too heavy. I especially like Adnams “Ghost Ship” and their current very hoppy lager.
Herself was shopping in a local M&S this afternoon and noticed two “Southwold” beers she’d not seen before: “Southwold Hibiscus Wheat Beer” and “Southwold Spruce IPA” in small (330ml) bottles. Being thoughtful that way, Comrade Wife bought me a couple of bottles of each to try. And I have done so.
The result? Let’s say they are not to my taste, for as the names imply they are slightly flavoured with the non-traditional ingredients.
The “Southwold Hibiscus Wheat Beer” (4.3%) is described on the bottle as “an infusion of Southwold Wheat Beer and hibiscus flowers”. It has a very slight red tinge to the otherwise mid-brown colour; and it has a fruity/flowery bouquet and slightly sweet taste.
The “Southwold Spruce IPA” (6.5%) is described in similar terms as “an infusion of hops with the fragrant, pine filled aroma of Norway spruce trees”. It is a rich brown with a slight pine bouquet.
The underlying beers would be perfectly acceptable, but I’m not a fan of what’s they’ve been turned into. I don’t much like fruit flavoured beers (which is essentially what the hibiscus one is) and I decidedly do not want my beer smelling or tasting of bathroom disinfectant.
Sorry guys, you might just as well not have bothered!
Southwold Hibiscus Wheat Beer, Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Southwold Spruce IPA, Overall Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
[American] State legislatures have muddied the fruit/vegetable waters … The custom of creating state symbols dates to the [1893 Chicago World’s Fair] where … exhibits [included] the world’s largest conveyor belt, a US map made of pickles, Bach’s clavichord, a herd of ostriches, and a 22,000-pound Canadian cheese. Also featured at the Fair was the National Garland of Flowers, for which each state was asked to select a representative flower.
State flowers were soon followed by a host of other official state symbols, among them birds, trees, animals, insects, reptiles, fossils, minerals, gemstones, songs, and folk dances. Utah and Delaware now have official state stars. Maine, Massachusetts, and North Carolina have official state boats. Texas has designated the cowboy boot its Official State Footwear. In the food category, we have official state fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, herbs, beverages, muffins, cookies, and pies.
Maureen Evans
Eat Tweet: A Twitter Cookbook
Artisan; 2010
According to the blurb on the over of this book Maureen Evans was the first person to tweet recipes — not surprising as her partner is Blaine Cook the original programmer on Twitter.
Using her Twitter account @cookbook, since 2006 Evans has condensed many recipes into the 140-character Twitter format, and along the way gathered 223,000 followers! Yes, with a little ingenuity recipes can be condensed into this tiny format, as this “pocket book” of 1020 recipes proves. And it’s fun too, in a geekish sort of way.
The book is divided into the usual sections: Vegetables, Soups, Main Courses, Cakes, Bread, Drinks etc.; there are also sections on how to read the recipes, tools, conversion charts — the latter necessary as being Canadian Maureen Evans measures everything in cups (also more concise for the Twitter format) and °F. The recipes are generally designed to serve 3-4 normal adults. Apart from the introductory material there is little text other than hints and tips interspersed with the recipes, of which there are 4 to 6 to a page. And nothing in the way of illustration. But in this context somehow it doesn’t matter.
Having said that, this could be the only cook book you’ll ever need, because Evans covers nigh on everything — certainly more than enough to always eat well. And it really is everything … from the basics of stuffing and roasting your turkey, which is actually two recipes:
Stuffed Turkey: Rmv giblets(use in Turkey Stock),rinse,pat dry(+inside). Lightly stuff main/neck cavities. Skewer-shut neck; cross,tie legs.
Roast Turkey: Put StuffedTurkey on roastrack; baste every 30m@325°F 3-3½h for 5-8lb; 3½-4h for 9-12lb; 4-6h for 13-16lb until thigh>165°F.
all the way to some lovely puddings:
Rødgrød med Fløde: Boil3c h2o/c berries &freshcurrant&cherry/c sug. Sieve; +mixd ½c strch&h2o. Stir@med until thick. Top w whipdcrm.
and cake:
Chocolate Decadence Cake: Mlt2c choc/⅔c buttr; beat+⅔c coffee&flr&cocoa. Cream c sug/3egg. Fold all; fill sqpan. 40m@350°F in bainmarie.
Have I tried any of the recipes? No. Do I need to try any of the recipes to know they work? Also no. They are so simple it’s obvious they will work well. OK so perhaps Evans has picked relatively simple recipes, but she is a cooking geek and you can be sure she, and all her Twitter followers, will have tested the recipes to destruction before they hit the book!
Are there omissions? Yes of course; there are omissions in every cook book. For instance there is no mention of Jerusalem artichokes; pheasant; quail; or gammon; nor does my favourite Garlic Roast Potatoes get in. Oh OK, so here is my Garlic Roast Potatoes, in the style …
Garlic Roast Potatoes: Chop 12-16 sm taters 1″ pces. Toss w 2T chopd garlic/T chopd rosemry/2T oil/s+p. Foil parcel. ~40m@200°C
So you may not find your very favourite recipe, but you’ll find something equally as good! And you’ll have a fun time as well!
Overall Rating: ★★★★★
Garlic-Flavored Cola Is Actually a Thing in Japan
… believe it or not, the drink actually exists in Japan!
Locally known as ‘Jats Takkola’, the unusual drink was released last month. It is produced in the city of Aomori … well-known for the huge amount of garlic that is harvested every year in July. Local companies have produced several bizarre garlic-flavored products … such as garlic beer and garlic ice cream, but latest offering, garlic cola, apparently took a fair bit of trial and error before they could make it palatable.
Jeff Potter
Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks and Good Food
O’Reilly; 2010
This book was another of my Christmas presents (Thanks, Katy!) which I’ve been reading in bits and pieces over the last few weeks.
The first thing we need to get straight is that, although it contains recipes, this is essentially not a recipe book. Nor is it a book specifically about ingredients.
The author is a scientist and he takes an experimental approach to working out how things work in cooking — the effects of temperature on proteins; what various chemicals do; how bread works; how taste and smell work. And perhaps most interestingly how chefs use unexpected techniques to produce such different food to what we make at home.
Yes, I learnt a few things. Specifically I was interested in the temperatures at which different proteins denature (ie. essentially the temperature at which they cook) and how too high a temperature will denature the wrong proteins and make meat tough. But this has to be done while keeping in mind that a minimum temperature (or combination of temperature and time) is required to ensure any pathogens (bacteria; fungi; even parasites) present are killed.
And there are simple tips. For instance when cracking an egg do it on the worktop not the edge of the bowl: the former will give larger pieces of broken shell; the latter will give smaller pieces of shell that are much more likely to end up in the bowl with the egg and have to be fished out.
Oh and there is a whole chapter on hacking together hardware etc. for special cooking techniques like sous vide, filtration, using the cleaning cycle on your oven and using liquid nitrogen. Things I am never likely to do.
As I say, yes there are recipes, but they are largely there to demonstrate the effects being described: different types of dough, and oven temperature, for pizza; how whisking egg whites varies depending on the bowl you use; how different gelling agents work. Some of these things I knew, and some I have even done. I’ve not actually tried any of the recipes because although it is interesting to see these effects most of the recipes are not for things which fire me with enthusiasm or which are too much faffing around — I believe in simple, tasty and wholesome food, not a load of faffing about. (Which is why I can’t be bothered with things like cake, ice cream and soufflés.)
So in summary … This was an interesting book and it may turn out to be useful for some things — like more precise temperature control. It is a great book if you’re a geek and/or you want to do a wide range of experimental cooking — but sadly that doesn’t fire me with enthusiasm other than as an armchair scientist.
Finally though, here’s one other good tip from the book … Do check out Maureen Evans’ Twitter recipes feed, @cookbook. She has devised a method of reducing recipes to the 140 character constraint of a single tweet. As an example here’s her recipe for chocolate cake (which isn’t in the book):
Chocolate Cake: Beat¼c sug/2egg. Sift⅓c flr&cocoa/½t bkgpdr&soda/⅛t cardamom&cinn&salt. Mlt6oz choc/¼c cocontoil&coffee. Fold all. 40m@350F.
There you are: I even bring you cake!
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆
December is, of course, the month of Christmas and consequently that takes over most events etc. So this month’s list is rather abbreviated.
1 December
On this day in 1934 author Anthony Powell and Lady Violet Pakenham were married at All Saints, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge (below).
