Comments on: Cooking Basics http://youaredelicious.net Musings, tips, and recipes for sustainable eating and a tastier you. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:12:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: hui http://youaredelicious.net/index.php/cooking-techniques-and-quantities/comment-page-1/#comment-215 hui Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:53:50 +0000 http://youaredelicious.net/?page_id=32#comment-215 your local asian food market is your best friend :) on of those magic knock offs are seen at the korean store i showed u other day for just 25 dollars! your local asian food market is your best friend :) on of those magic knock offs are seen at the korean store i showed u other day for just 25 dollars!

]]> By: Rhea http://youaredelicious.net/index.php/cooking-techniques-and-quantities/comment-page-1/#comment-213 Rhea Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:34:44 +0000 http://youaredelicious.net/?page_id=32#comment-213 <p><p><p><p><p>Sara-</p><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p>First let me say hurray for you for growing things. Not everyone can. And very good choice in selecting basil as one of your crops!</p><br /> <p>Now onto your question. Before I answer, I must ask any basil leaves reading this comment to leave the room. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p>Basil gone? Ok. So the thing is, when you make pesto, you aren't mincing the basil; you are downright pulverizing it. To do that, I highly recommend a food processor, and the more brutal the better. You are likely to make large amounts of pesto at once, so it’s worth it to use a large machine. So Cuisinart, Vitamix, Robot Coupe… whatever you have, fire it up. Cleaning the many parts is also worth it.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p>Now if you often make small batches of pulverized or pureed stuff and don’t want to clean all of the parts of a food processor every time, you might want a Magic Bullet (http://www.buythebullet.com/index.php, but don't buy it at their website. It's cheaper elsewhere). That’s on my kitchen wish list.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p>An alternative is using a mortar and pestle, which some cooks swear by for pesto, salsa, gomasio (Japanese sesame seed seasoning), and other ground concoctions. If you’ve ever had guacomole made tableside at Rosa Mexicano, you will understand.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p>On the other hand, if I’ve misunderstood you and simply want to mince leafy things, check out my definition of chiffonade that I just added above.</p></p></p></p></p> <p><p><p><p>Sara-</p><br /><br /><br />
<p>First let me say hurray for you for growing things. Not everyone can. And very good choice in selecting basil as one of your crops!</p>
<p>Now onto your question. Before I answer, I must ask any basil leaves reading this comment to leave the room. </p><br /><br /><br />
<p>Basil gone? Ok. So the thing is, when you make pesto, you aren’t mincing the basil; you are downright pulverizing it. To do that, I highly recommend a food processor, and the more brutal the better. You are likely to make large amounts of pesto at once, so it’s worth it to use a large machine. So Cuisinart, Vitamix, Robot Coupe… whatever you have, fire it up. Cleaning the many parts is also worth it.</p><br /><br /><br />
<p>Now if you often make small batches of pulverized or pureed stuff and don’t want to clean all of the parts of a food processor every time, you might want a Magic Bullet (http://www.buythebullet.com/index.php, but don’t buy it at their website. It’s cheaper elsewhere). That’s on my kitchen wish list.</p><br /><br /><br />
<p>An alternative is using a mortar and pestle, which some cooks swear by for pesto, salsa, gomasio (Japanese sesame seed seasoning), and other ground concoctions. If you’ve ever had guacomole made tableside at Rosa Mexicano, you will understand.</p><br /><br /><br />
<p>On the other hand, if I’ve misunderstood you and simply want to mince leafy things, check out my definition of chiffonade that I just added above.</p></p></p></p>

]]> By: Sara http://youaredelicious.net/index.php/cooking-techniques-and-quantities/comment-page-1/#comment-210 Sara Sun, 29 Jul 2007 12:35:05 +0000 http://youaredelicious.net/?page_id=32#comment-210 BTW, I wanted to add that this summer is the first time I've ever grown anything in a garden. I used to think I had a black thumb. BTW, I wanted to add that this summer is the first time I’ve ever grown anything in a garden. I used to think I had a black thumb.

]]> By: Sara http://youaredelicious.net/index.php/cooking-techniques-and-quantities/comment-page-1/#comment-209 Sara Sun, 29 Jul 2007 12:33:52 +0000 http://youaredelicious.net/?page_id=32#comment-209 How do I mince basil quickly? Must I really get a food processor? How do I choose a small one that'll do herbs and other leafy stuff? The basil in my garden is screaming "pesto me!" but I don't wanna mess with my roomate's monster VITAMIX... How do I mince basil quickly? Must I really get a food processor? How do I choose a small one that’ll do herbs and other leafy stuff? The basil in my garden is screaming “pesto me!” but I don’t wanna mess with my roomate’s monster VITAMIX…

]]> By: marji http://youaredelicious.net/index.php/cooking-techniques-and-quantities/comment-page-1/#comment-85 marji Thu, 05 Apr 2007 18:44:35 +0000 http://youaredelicious.net/?page_id=32#comment-85 Thanks! This section is a real gift -- both to those who have a small gap in their knowledge, and (sigh) to those of us who could fit what they know about cooking into that saucepan of boiled water they nearly burned. I'm printing up the "techniques and terms" and your "helpful little table", and plan to put them up in the kitchen. Maybe they'll embolden me to try a recipe a little more often -- you know, to actually cook and (gulp) maybe even bake! Thanks! This section is a real gift — both to those who have a small gap in their knowledge, and (sigh) to those of us who could fit what they know about cooking into that saucepan of boiled water they nearly burned. I’m printing up the “techniques and terms” and your “helpful little table”, and plan to put them up in the kitchen. Maybe they’ll embolden me to try a recipe a little more often — you know, to actually cook and (gulp) maybe even bake!

]]> By: Rhea http://youaredelicious.net/index.php/cooking-techniques-and-quantities/comment-page-1/#comment-18 Rhea Fri, 23 Feb 2007 05:47:19 +0000 http://youaredelicious.net/?page_id=32#comment-18 <strong>Good question. Keeping it strictly to cooking for now, here's the difference: whipping is a method intended to incorporate air into something like heavy cream or egg whites, making it expand and become fluffy. Whisking is any action that mixes ingredients with a whisk. Sometimes it's done just to, say, combine dry ingredients for pancake batter. Other times it's done with the firm intention of beating air into a poor, unsuspecting ingredient. To put it in left-brain terms, whisking is to whipping as a parallelogram is to a square. Fun fact: you cannot make fat-free whipped cream by whipping skim milk (believe it or not, someone I know once tried this!)</strong> Good question. Keeping it strictly to cooking for now, here’s the difference: whipping is a method intended to incorporate air into something like heavy cream or egg whites, making it expand and become fluffy. Whisking is any action that mixes ingredients with a whisk. Sometimes it’s done just to, say, combine dry ingredients for pancake batter. Other times it’s done with the firm intention of beating air into a poor, unsuspecting ingredient.

To put it in left-brain terms, whisking is to whipping as a parallelogram is to a square.

Fun fact: you cannot make fat-free whipped cream by whipping skim milk (believe it or not, someone I know once tried this!)

]]> By: Ho http://youaredelicious.net/index.php/cooking-techniques-and-quantities/comment-page-1/#comment-15 Ho Thu, 22 Feb 2007 05:09:43 +0000 http://youaredelicious.net/?page_id=32#comment-15 Great site, thanks for the info, basic and otherwise! Speaking of which, what is the difference between whipping and whisking something? Besides the kinky overtones.... Great site, thanks for the info, basic and otherwise! Speaking of which, what is the difference between whipping and whisking something? Besides the kinky overtones….

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