Thank you. It has a tiny bear in it.
- Posts
- 5
- Comments
- 75
- Joined
- 3 yr. ago
- Posts
- 5
- Comments
- 75
- Joined
- 3 yr. ago
Coffee @lemmy.world Brandywine Coffee Roasters
That looks really nice. As much as I like boutique coffee, I'm also a big fan of an inky, oily Italian espresso.
Your setup seems pretty solid. Since you've gotten into espresso relatively recently, is there anything you're considering changing and what, if anything, would you have done differently?
Do you leave your Flair on the countertop? I've considered getting one, but I always come back to thinking it's got a pretty substantial footprint, both while resting and when I would move it around to get leverage.
It's an efficient, considered routine that is giving you results you like. You're brewing and drinking fresh, no time on a hot plate. You've messed around with pour speed, saturation, and bed distribution and dialed them in to match your preferences. I'd assume it's well made coffee.
If you don't grind your own beans that might be a change that could dramatically improve your results.
but I can’t really control that very well with the spout of said kettle.
Unfortunately this is just kind of a hard limit with non-gooseneck kettles.
You can do a lot to try to mitigate your issues, whether that's transferring the water to something with a finer spout or different stirring technique. But a pourover setup benefits from a gooseneck. It lets you get the tip of the spout closer to the bed, which lets you control how heavy the flow is into the bed, which lets you control how aggressive the disruption of the bed is with your pour. Without the ability to control that you just have one fewer way to control your coffee brew, and it's a particualrly crucial method of control. The limited aperture also helps control pour speed, which with normal kettles is precipitously difficult.
You could of course use a different brewer. An Aeropress, OXO Rapid Brewer, Clever Dripper, Moka pot, French press, and many other brewers are actually kind of a pain with a gooseneck, it's great to just dump water and go on those. But those aren't pourover and, generally, lack the control you'd get out of a full pourover setup.
I will say I think high end kettles are unnecessary. I don't use one. While it's certainly nice if a kettle hits a specific temperature accurately and quickly, I can boil water and let it cool down a bit before brewing. If necessary I do have accurate thermometers. I also tend toward lighter roasts, so the water being close to boiling is usually fine. It's a little less control, but well past the point of diminishing returns and not worth $150.
If the goal is just good coffee you could probably rig together something with what's on hand. You could also get a brewer that matches well to your current kettle. But if you're putting up with the pain in the ass that is hand grinding and you want to make coffee a hobby, you should prioritize eventually getting a gooseneck kettle, electric or otherwise.
I don’t think it’s partially likely the Tuni would be a huge step up in quality of grind vs that Cuisinart, which is largely in line with the other grinders I mentioned, but I do think it would make your workflow easier. Even with RDT those plastic box catch bins tend to be a bit of a pain with static. Any static mitigation beats no static mitigation. And a catch cup for espresso is definitely nice.
Yes, it’s definitely restrained. And I’m sure you’re right that the choice of yeast played into it, I’ve had some wild Bourbons. I think everything about this coffee was tightly controlled.
I’m passingly familiar with yeast inoculation of coffee in the broad sense. Apparently it helps produce more consistent flavor profiles vs just letting the ambient critters do it, which makes sense. It’s been the norm in alcohol production for a long time. It definitely worked in this coffee, the flavor profile is really clear. Like you I’m more used to details on how a coffee is fermented in funky coffee.
I was actually under the impression yeast inoculation has gotten fairly widespread, so I’m curious why Promethium chose that as the element they wanted to highlight. Maybe it’s not as common as I thought, or this yeast is abnormal, or how a coffee is fermented is an element Promethium thinks isn’t highlighted sufficiently. They didn’t even mention how the fruit was removed (it’s a washed coffee or I’m giving up on all this) but did claim a roast level. I might email them.
Coffee @lemmy.world Promethium Coffee
I’m not familiar with the company. I can’t find any unbiased reviews or details on it from anyone I’d consider reliable. Their website isn’t very forthcoming. I did watch about half a review from a random YouTube channel, but in some form that video’s an ad. I see it’s listed on Wayfair and Walmart before any “real” coffee gear website.
I’m assuming this is a grinder engineered in China to target people trying to get into high end coffee. I think it’s impossible, given its feature set and price, that this grinder effectively can produce a “good” espresso grind.
That said, it might be a solid grinder, within its limits. I’m always wary of companies that overpromise, but modern Chinese manufacturing is incredible. It has good features for under $100. The screen worries me, too.
Any other recommendation depends on your espresso setup. If you’re using a pressurized portafilter, you don’t need to worry as much about espresso grind and your options open up. If you liked the results from your Cuisinart (which model did you have?) Bodum and OXO make burr grinders that I think do really nicely for most people and would possibly be an upgrade. A Baratza Encore would almost certainly be the full step up. The Encore ESP or a Fellow Opus might be too far a step up; they show their utility when paired with solid espresso machines.
These comics are extremely charming. I’m not entirely sure what I like so much about them; maybe that there’s still room for wit despite the comic’s brevity and simplicity.
The character herself is also wonderfully compelling. Vaguely feminist in some instances? Certainly often relatable, even across half a century and the Iron Curtain. Prone to some precocious vices but at the same time generally moral and kind as in this specific strip. She’s definitely the sort of person I’d like to meet more of in real life.
I’d like a coffee table book of these.
Unfortunately the hot plates that keep coffee warm also cooks it, so you’re a bit behind the eight ball. If you haven’t, taste the office Folgers fresh vs sitting on the hot plate after two hours. I’d rather have the fresh Folgers over pretty much anything off a hot plate.
To answer your question, the Kirkland stuff is definitely better and not that much costlier than Folgers if you just want a momentary reprieve from the dirt flavor. I will gladly drink that fresh off an okay drip machine, even pre ground.
While the hospital won’t buy the coffee, could you buy through the hospital? Your food operation might have access to something better than Folgers at similar or better prices. I know all that can be wildly complicated, but likely worth a five minute email.
You can contract a commercial entity as an office. I imagine hospital break rooms go through a lot of coffee. That could mean as little as getting a huge bag of coffee shipped every two weeks. I don’t know how in you are with whoever would greenlight that, or how much effort you’d like to put in, or how game your coworkers would be to try something new.
You could also do the selfish thing and bring your own beans and an Aeropress. It has the highest ceiling at the cost of being That Person. I also personally really like Cometeer’s pods, which are way more expensive but discrete.
Cooking @lemmy.world Gochujang Mushroom Ragu Pasta
Knowing the Western bias against short-grain rice, I made an interesting experiment once. I had invited the chef from Harry’s Bar in Venice to Japan, and I asked him to make a risotto. I told him we had many varieties and grades of short-grain rice in Japan and asked him to select the one best for his recipe from a large variety of samples from all over Japan. I had simply numbered each one, so he had no idea of how they were rated here. He boiled the different kinds and sampled each one, and finally said, without any hesitation at all, “This is it!” It was sasa-nishiki, the rice we rate the very highest quality of all! We may not be far wrong in considering Japan a rice paradise.
I vividly remember reading this part of Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art (10/10 cookbook) and being enamored with the idea of risotto from rice grown outside Italy. High end Japanese rice works wonderfully, as does Carolina Gold.
I haven’t written anything like this down, but this would be a close approximation.
Fruit Mousse
Yield approximately 20 fl oz
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 6 fl oz sweetened condensed milk
- Fruit, to taste
- Egg whites, as needed
Freeze the evaporated milk in a mixing bowl. Once frozen, whip to stiff peaks. Fold in condensed milk.
Blend the fruit to very smooth. Fold into milk mixture.
This mixture won’t set with time, so if you want more body whip egg whites to stiff peaks and fold in as needed.
Evaporated milk does whip beautifully if it’s cold enough. The condensed milk could be subbed out for 10x sugar, but it will add richness beyond the sugar.
Bird’s Milk cake with layers of shaved shingled pineapple. I’d want a really pretty top layer dressed with apricot glaze, which I don’t keep on hand but occasionally buy. It might be pretty difficult to cut even with a sharp knife, but I’d be willing to try.
Quick alternative: Pineapple mousse, salted peanuts, maybe a little shaved chocolate. Sincerely tempted to make that tomorrow.
Split poached shrimp/pepper coulis/barley crumble/basil/a good oil.
I think peppers and barley are rough. The lob is to puree the peppers or bake the barley into something… or both. Like me. To be honest I’m probably adding corn to that crumble.
Egg wash for presentation, but taste buds for reality, is it not?
Vrai! We eat first with our eyes… but we really eat with our mouths.
I have an affinity, really a longing, for foraged greens. Dandelion is up there, as are fiddlehead ferns, ramps, and wild onions. Number one is definitely morels, and the next time I go morel hunting I’ll definitely post whatever I cook.
I bought these, sadly. City living has its perks, but I wouldn’t trust the local dandelions either.
Cooking @lemmy.world Mushroom Galette
I think the cream, here, is an optical illusion. It’s two parts skyr and one part heavy cream, shaken with dill and a little salt, so thinner than actual sour cream, and it melted into the broth as I plated it. It’s probably only 30-40ml of dairy.
I would plate it with a shameful amount of sour cream, though. Next time for sure.
Unfortunately, while I enjoy regional breakdowns using cabbage or meat, or how the beets are cut or grated, this is mostly just me, so generic Eastern Europe filtered through Alice Waters’ sensibilities.
Any visual allure is a testament to beets.
I cooked this based on vibes using what I had on hand, I only bought the beets and the dill, but here’s the gist.
- 3 parts beets, peeled and julienned
- 1 part carrot, peeled and fine julienned
- 1 part parsnip, peeled and julienned
- 1 part yellow onion, julienned
- 1 part Yukon gold potato, cut into thin wedges, skin on, not much thicker at their widest point than the matchstick cuts
- Butter
Vegetable stock
Red wine vinegar, to taste
——
In a thick bottomed pot on medium heat, sweat the beets, carrots, parsnips, onion, and potato in butter until the onions are translucent. A little color is okay, but they don’t need to brown.
Barely cover with stock, simmer, and cover. Simmer until the veg is soft and the broth has taken on the color of the beets, stirring occasionally, some ten to fifteen minutes.
Finish with a splash of vinegar. Portion and garnish as desired.
——
I used four small-ish beets, three quarters of a pretty big onion, one average carrot, two small parsnips, and five small thin skinned potatoes. Probably a liter of stock. Even if my average and your average don’t match, the ratios are after the knife work, so more or less by weight. I finished with about 20ml of vinegar for the whole pot. The acidity helps the sweetness of the beets pop. It yielded around two liters.
To me only the beets and potato are strictly necessary. Throw in other vegetable and, in a fight, the beets will win.
The carrot being cut thinner is not a typo, I like how they cook down when they’re a bit thinner.
Cooking @lemmy.world Borscht!
I’m also worried about online recipes. Decent cookbooks routinely have recipes that benefit from adjustments or lack good instructions. Online recipes are already worse than that and AI is going to make them much worse. Sometimes you want a known good recipe.
In my experience the recipes in these seven books are particularly trustworthy. They deliver what they say on the tin, the listed quantities are good, and they’re well written.
- The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
- Bravetart by Stella Parks
- Essentials of Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
- Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop
- Victuals by Ronni Lundy
- Mooncakes and Milkbread by Kristina Cho
- Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji
I wish I could add Mexican and maybe regional Indian cookbooks of this caliber, but I haven’t read any I liked this much. All the classic French books are also excellent and very reliable (Larousse, Bocuse, etc.), that’s kind of their thing. Joy of Cooking does cover similar ground.
I recommend two plant focused books, both deeper cuts.
- Vedge by Richard Landau and Kate Jacoby
- From the Earth by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo
I cooked through Vedge with a few skips during COVID and it’s haymaker after haymaker, I can’t heap enough praise on it. From the Earth is pretty dated, and sometimes that shows in the ingredients, but also shockingly solid.
To learn to cook from the ground up, I’d favor YouTube over books. The books work, but video simply conveys more information. And as lists of recipes I don’t find those books particularly useful.
Ruhlman’s Ratios is an extremely versatile cookbook for soups, sauces, batters, and doughs that walks through a mindset that will let someone easily overhaul recipes to fit their vision or what’s on hand. You can find it very cheap and I think it can help most okay to even amazing cooks improve.
I recommend looking for many of these used, online or in person, or skimming them in a library. The Joy of Cooking in particular is practically falling out of trees they’ve printed so many of them.
I’ll share the link in the post.