Let's talk about food

Hey Schraf,
I am enjoying the cheese I got from your company.
A little pricey to put in my lunchbox on a daily basis,
but worth it for a once-in-a-while indulgence.I ordered the Cheesemaker's Passport package.
These are definitely for the discerning palate.
I suspect that many North American consumers would expect much blander flavor and softer texture in cheeses for direct consumption, as opposed to cooking, but the quality was not lost on me.
I can't get anything comparable in these parts.I would only say that I might prefer to get the cheese package without the bread.
Don't get me wrong - the bread was very good, but it doesn't really travel as well as the cheese and, while I might be willing to pay a premium to ship specialty cheese cross-country, I don't really want to pay to ship bread with it.But all in all , a definite thumbs up !EZThis message has been edited by EZscience, 05-15-2005 03:18 PM

Rancidity is a serious concern with all unsaturated oils.
They also become quite bad for you if you eat them like that.
Rancidity occurs when the double bonds in the glyceride chains become oxidated. Keeping them cold will delay the process, but here is a better tip. Buy your oils in smaller containers, and as you use them, transfer the remainder to increasingly smaller containers so there is a minimum air space above the oil. You can't get oxidation without oxygen. I buy some expensive oils and that is what I always do.

Different oils are suited to different purposes. I am sure that Schraf could say a few things about this, but as an ardent cook myself, I can give you the basics.
Starting with olive oil, a mostly mono-unsaturated oil, you don't want to fry in it because it burns before it reaches the desired temperature.
However, it is great for sauteeing vegetables (sauteeing is a much more gentle cooking than frying), or pouring directly on a salad, because it is very light and can have wonderful aromatic properties.At the other end of the spectrum of cooking oils you have peanut oil.
The glycerides in this oil have very long, saturated carbon chains and it can be heated to very high temperatures without burning.
Thus it is the 'oil of choice' for Chinese stir-frying and such.
However, these heavier oils have less flavor of their own and are harder to digest.I have recently taken to stir-frying with grape-seed oil.
It is much lighter than peanut oil, but still heats to a good hot temperature.What ever oil you use for frying you can tell when it reaches optimum cooking temperature. You will see a whisp of smoke come of the pan. Put the food in immediately.Enjoy !

OK - now I have to go to the fridge...Zamorano (a sheeps milk cheese from Castillo, Spain)
Aged bourenkaas Gouda (Holland)
Montgomerery English farmhouse cheddar (UK)
Pargmigiano reggiano (Italy) OK - that would have been a good idea. I really like strongly aromatic olive oils I have tried in Spain.
Right now I am about to open a bottle of Romanico cold pressed EV bottled in Catalonia.However, I would like to sample a bottle that you think represents one of the best Spanish oils.If you can suggest a comlimentary vinegar, I will test it in a salad dressing !

I think that would be a different 'sting' you two are talking about.
The smell of rancidity is very recognizable and not remotely desirable (and I have lousy olfaction, comparatively). I think when Schraf said 'sting' she probably meant something analogous, but not similar.

OK. I am trying the Theresa Arrojo oil and the Italian Pofi vinegar.
One question. With an oil of this quality, is it best appreciated as is, without cooking? I mean, if I am going use it to saute something with other spices, should I save it and use a cheaper oil ?

Hey Schraf,
Check this out.And for Your Salad, Perhaps a Chilean Organic, 2004?By FLORENCE FABRICANT
Published: May 25, 2005JUST as wine now cuts a broad swath across the temperate regions of the globe, increasingly olive oil is following suit. In the way pinot noir and chardonnay have spread beyond Burgundy, countries that do not border the Mediterranean have jumped on the olive oil bandwagon. Suddenly, for them olive oil is becoming an important ingredient in local cuisines, and a worthwhile export.Edited to fix link to NY Times (I hope). EZThis message has been edited by EZscience, 05-25-2005 03:25 PM

Hey Schraf. The olive oil is really beyond anything I have tried before in terms of quality. You really don’t want to spoil its natural aromas with any other ingredients. It is best by itself.
I drizzled it on steamed asparagus and baked sweet potatoes and savoured the result.
Then I made a salad dressing , half and half with the Pofi vinegar, and just a pinch of basil and ground black pepper. Fabulous.I also got a special mole sauce from you guys I'm going to try out later this week....

That's pretty cool Schraf.
I like the concept.
As someone directly involved with agricultural research I have always been bothered by the 'bigger is better' approach to agriculture as a business. It's all driven by economics - and economics of production - nothing that really favors the consumer. Depending more on local production to the extent possible makes much better environmental sense. We waste literally millions of barrels of oil every year just moving food around, no to mention large-scale agriculture reducing the quality of food for sake of reducing costs of production. I just wish CSA were a feasible option for more people. We are really frustrated with the quality of food available in our local grocery stores, but we don't have any alternatives and most people don't seem to know the difference. Unless more consumers become educated, it's not going to change.

Hi Schraf,First, on the subject of swordfish, much of what is available in our domestic markets is now farmed, as I understand it. I have a fabulous Indonesion recipe for it with snow peas, garlic, ginger, coriander, tumeric, hot pepper, lime juice and coconut milk. Just if you are interested.But there is another good reason to avoid swordfish and other long-lived dishes that are ocean-caught such as halibut and tuna. As a function of bioaccumulation over their long lives, such fish now end up with very high concentrations of mercury (and other toxic heavy metals) in their tissues becuase of the amount of industrial pollution in the seas. My mother (who especially loved halibut) actually had to undergo chelation therapy a couple of years ago to lower the levels of mercury in her body. It is a real shame becuase I also love halibut but will no longer buy it because I don't feel it is safe anymore.

There is quite a lot of heavy metals now in ocean sediments as a function of a hundred years of human industry. The problem is bioaccumulation. The concentrations in fish tissues increase as you go up the food chain, so the biggest, longest-lived species can have more than 100 x the concentration of the smaller, bottom-feeders that are actually picking it up from the sediments.In the case of mercury concerns in swordfish perhaps farmed is better, but I don't honestly know about other contiminants it may have. The quality seems quite acceptable to me, but I don't even know where or how they arefarming it. We just don't eat it very often and hope for the best.Of course, in the case of farmed salmon you have probably heard of the increased levels of PCB's and so forth in farmed salmon relative to wild, and wild salmon is sooo much tastier. I buy several large ones when available (like right now), fillet them and vacuum pack these in my freezer. A salmon only lives 2-4 years (depending on species) so it doesn't accumulate as much heavy metal as the longer lived, deep sea fish.

Yes. So are flounder, sole, turbot, snapper and orange roughy. What many people don't know is that tuna is another fish that accumulates heavy metals and it is one of the most widely consumed in one form or another.

Well the heavy metals are only a problem for the very big deep sea fish, so I would expect mackeral, skate, and dogfish are OK. Certainly herring and anchovies.
Are those 'oily' enough for you ?I would like to see you try my Indonesian swordfish recipe.
I would be interested in your opinion as a professional epicurean.
I also have simple cilantro-flavored rice recipe that is a perfect compliment for it. You can substitute another white fish, but it really calls for steaks from a big fish.

Great. I will post it after dinner tonight.

OK - Here we go.Indonesian Halibut (or swordfish) SteaksIngredients listFour fish steaks/fillets — 4-6 oz each
3-4 Key limes (or 1-2 large Persian limes — Key limes better)
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large ‘thumb’ of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 fresh red chile peppers or habaneros, finely chopped
1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise into thin crescents
2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
6 oz fresh snow peas
cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons tumeric
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon sugar
teaspoon salt
several sprigs fresh cilantro (not required if you serve the cilantro rice)First, place your fish in a shallow dish and rub both sides with the tumeric.
Squeeze lime juice over the fish, turning the pieces, and set aside.Heat half the oil in a frying pan and then slide in 2 of the fish steaks and cook over moderate heat, 4-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
Remove and place on paper towels to drain.
Cook the other two steaks tha same. Drain as before and keep warm.Add the remaining oil and heat it, again over moderate flame.
Add the onion and remaining spices and stir fry until onion begins to soften.
Add snow peas and cook 1 minute more.
Add coconut milk, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.
Spoon sauce over fish in a shallow platter (removing paper towels first!)and garnish with cilantro sprigs.This dish goes great with :Peruvian Green Rice (a la EZ)Note: I worked as a cook in Lima for a while back in the early 1980’s and this is one of the great rice dishes I learned to make. Usually it is made with many vegetables and chicken cooked in with the rice, but this is a very simplified version I developed that is a great compliment to other meat and fish dishes.Select a small saucepan with a good fitting lid — this is important.
An aluminum, non-stick pan works best — high quality copper pans conduct too much heat. When we cooked this on a flame or gas stove, we used to put an extra layer of tin between the pan and the lowest possible flame so the rice didn’t stick.Take one large bunch of fresh cilantro (2 if they are small) and place in a blender with 2 cups of water and a dash of salt. Liquify.
Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat over medium heat.
Chop one large clove of garlic finely and add to the pan.
Let the garlic sizzle a bit but don’t burn it.
Add the cilantro mixture and continue to heat over medium heat.
As soon as it boils, add 2 cups of rice (I prefer Basmati or Jasmine, but Texas long grain will work just fine). Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring occassionally.
Once the liquid drops to the level of the rice, stir once more and turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cover the pan. Leave for 40-60 minutes, depending on how dry and fluffy you like your rice. You can even leave it for longer and it will just dry a bit more.All rice recipes on the packages in North America *suck* because they call for 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice and this makes for soggy, sticky rice. My way the steam cooks the rice, not the water, and it comes out perfect every time.Enjoy!This message has been edited by EZscience, 06-27-2005 05:54 PM