The Cooking Thread

[insbordnat]

Nice one TG. I'm generally in favor of doing whatever I can on the smoker, even if I use it as an outdoor cooker. Especially for long "low and slow" cooks.

[canexplain]

Hummm. If I posted just that I thought this, you would think I was crazy..... cr****

Inventor Spills Wine Secret: Put It in a Blender

http://news.yahoo.com/inventor-spill...120011900.html

[insbordnat]

So I've heard the same thing, and it's a concept not dissimilar from the Vinturi (aeration) gadget. Aeration can improve the flavor of some wines.

My gf and I put a cheapo bottle of wine through the Vita Mix, and sure enough, the flavor was improved.

Would I put anything remotely good in a blender? Absolutely not. Mature wines have complex molecular structures that give them flavor, aroma, etc. - those compounds are formed by reactions taking place in the bottle over time. You blend them, and you can damage those structures. For fanatics, it's possible to "bruise" wine.

So 2 buck chuck - Vita Mix. '82 Chateau Lafite? Decanter and then in my gullet.

[canexplain]

I looked at the Vinturi, but I always think the bigger the better. Below is my aerator. I can't figure out how you pour the wine in ... cr****

[jackstraw94086]

So I've heard the same thing, and it's a concept not dissimilar from the Vinturi (aeration) gadget. Aeration can improve the flavor of some wines.

My gf and I put a cheapo bottle of wine through the Vita Mix, and sure enough, the flavor was improved.

Would I put anything remotely good in a blender? Absolutely not. Mature wines have complex molecular structures that give them flavor, aroma, etc. - those compounds are formed by reactions taking place in the bottle over time. You blend them, and you can damage those structures. For fanatics, it's possible to "bruise" wine.

So 2 buck chuck - Vita Mix. '82 Chateau Lafite? Decanter and then in my gullet.

a blender may perhaps have some negative effect on a quality wine, but if it does it certainly has nothing to do with breaking molecular bonds. A blender can mess with cell walls at best.

[RotationSlimWang]

Oh how I love listening to douchebags talk about the molecular structure of wine.

[jackstraw94086]

I've read a few shootouts between the top selling aerators and the results are always mixed. In the end it's just an expensive gadget.

I have the Vinturi (got in a white elephant gift exchange and NOBODY stole it) and I'd say it's more hassle than it's worth. The only real value to it is when you're already drunk and laughing at the duck quack sounds it makes. But by then you're not tasting the wine anyway.

[insbordnat]

a blender may perhaps have some negative effect on a quality wine, but if it does it certainly has nothing to do with breaking molecular bonds. A blender can mess with cell walls at best.

I'm not a chemist, so maybe my terminology is off (intermolecular bonds?). But any VOCs that are present in wine I could see being disrupted.

[unit300021]

Having an aerator help a lot with cheap wines. But I've tried it with nicer wines and I really didn't see much of a difference between aerated and not.

[jackstraw94086]

I'm not a chemist, so maybe my terminology is off (intermolecular bonds?). But any VOCs that are present in wine I could see being disrupted.

Perhaps, but I still find it somewhat implausible from the mechanical blending itself. Blenders can break up long glucose chains. Not sure this would necessarily affect how one perceives any taste from any VOCs. Now if you blended for a while I can perhaps believe that the heat transfered from the blender may have the most significant effect (still if any).

[disgustipated]

Having an aerator help a lot with cheap wines. But I've tried it with nicer wines and I really didn't see much of a difference between aerated and not.

The price of a wine is not a determining factor A decanter is not some magical vessel that turns an uninteresting wine into something more interesting.

All wines can use a bit of coaxing to open up.

Two general rules for decanting are 1) a young wine that is tight 2) if it's an older wine with sediment you want to remove or an unfiltered wine with sediment. Otherwise just aerate in the glass. No need for a venturi, they do work but you can do the same by swirling the wine in glass. Oxygen is both the best friend and worst enemy of wine. When decanting there is a point of no return in which the wine starts to deteriorate, it will lose it's firm fruit and start to get flabby. If you have a tight wine and dont have a decanter, cover the top of your glass and give it a hard shake.

I don't see blending breaking up glucose chains because glucose is the first sugar attacked by the yeast and is turned into alcohol. Will putting a wine in a blender aerate it? Absolutely. Faster? Sure. Better? I don't think so. It won’t make a bad wine magically good, and a very delicate older wine might have only a brief period, a matter of minutes, when the wine is in full bloom, as opposed to a younger wine, which could show it's true potential for hours. Hyperdecanting could miss that magic moment, just as decanting it too soon would.

In short, pour yourself a glass and enjoy tasting it evolve over time.

[mountmccabe]

The pernil was marinated for several hours last night, got rubbed then went in the oven at 475 at 11 pm. At 11:45 I turned the oven down to 270 and covered the pork with aluminum foil. I woke up at 5 am and checked it; the pork was at 195 F. The corners were a little warmer. I moved it to a plate and let it set for a bit then grabbed a knife to cut it apart... which was entirely unnecessary. The fat cap just came right off, the meat just fell apart. The bones stuck to nothing. I wasn't expecting pork for breakfast at 5 am but damn was it tender and delicious. Some of the outer bits were a little overdone and dry but the vast majority of it was fantastic.

Before I started into it:

[canexplain]

The pernil was marinated for several hours last night, got rubbed then went in the oven at 475 at 11 pm. At 11:45 I turned the oven down to 270 and covered the pork with aluminum foil. I woke up at 5 am and checked it; the pork was at 195 F. The corners were a little warmer. I moved it to a plate and let it set for a bit then grabbed a knife to cut it apart... which was entirely unnecessary. The fat cap just came right off, the meat just fell apart. The bones stuck to nothing. I wasn't expecting pork for breakfast at 5 am but damn was it tender and delicious. Some of the outer bits were a little overdone and dry but the vast majority of it was fantastic.

Before I started into it:

Yumm, I'll make home made mashed potatoes (garlic mp's are way over pushed) ... cr****

[TomAz]

John are you often up at 5am on a saturday? i mean that's worse than me even.

[TomAz]

In short, pour yourself a glass and enjoy tasting it evolve over time.

sanity.

tonight i am having a Ridge zin, not exactly 1er cru territory but still very nice nonetheless. and some stilton. this is very good. and feeling it soften over time is fun. that's definitely not what she said.

[canexplain]

I made some soft camels (no reference Tom's earlier remark). I want to cover them with chocolate but I don't have enough to cover them all. I also have a bag of butterscotch morsels. Should I cover half of them with one kind of dip and one half with the other or should I just mix both of them together for the simplicity and have butterscotch chocolate? cr****

[stinkbutt]

I would imagine it taking a lot of chocolate to cover a camel

[bmack86]

Can you still smoke it after you douse it in chocolate?

[canexplain]

fuck I did it again grrrrrr..... anyway..... off to the kitchen after this flick. What a waste. It's a flick with Freddie Printz. He was ok I thought anyway. cr****

[mountmccabe]

John are you often up at 5am on a saturday? i mean that's worse than me even.

Not anymore. I went to be thinking about the pork in the oven plus the entire place smelled like roasting pork so.

[canexplain]

I didn't know if this paste should go in the food or camping thread haha ...... Now back to the other board. They fucking don't know what CHESS pie is. cr****

You may want to consider ditching those organic, nutritional Clif energy bars in favor of good, old-fashioned Cheetos on your next hiking trek or off-piste ski expedition. Lifehacker has picked up on a Reddit thread that expounds on the virtues of chips (Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos — anything greasy) not merely as tasty snacks but also as excellent makeshift fire kindling. The (armchair) science behind it: The oil in the chips is quick-igniting, while the carbohydrates provide further fuel. Works as well as birch bark to start a roaring blaze, apparently. And much, much better than PowerBar Gels.

[canexplain]

Lunch .... bread homemade, rest bought buy yummy .... cr****

[insbordnat]

Looks tasty Ron.

[canexplain]

I'm going over to my daughters and her fiance for dinner. Humm let you know how it goes ......

[miscorrections]

Why is this in the cooking thread? You are not cooking. This is why the Default Thread exists.

[canexplain]

Why is this in the cooking thread? You are not cooking. This is why the Default Thread exists.

I did dessert. A turtle cream pie so Miss C, is it still ok if I post. Pretty please.

[miscorrections]

It is never ok for you to post.

[fatbastard]

Why are there 2 pieces of chocolate on the same plate of lasagna?

[canexplain]

Why are there 2 pieces of chocolate on the same plate of lasagna?

It was just my dessert so I put it in the pic. Just had meatloaf tonight so I didn't take pics. Pretty good ... cr****

[Courtney]

Lunch .... bread homemade, rest bought buy yummy .... cr****

...Your lunch involves massive sticks of butter?