OFFICIAL THREAD: General Cookery and Discussion

[patrickBOOTH]

I don't know where to post this, but this seems reasonable. I have begun pickling and I am wondering if anybody has more experience doing it that could shed some light on a few things. Does the jar really have to be boiled before pickling? It seems to always be a first step, but it seems odd considering you're putting somewhat dirty vegetables in the thing with somewhat non-sterile hands. Also, I hear about different % of salt to use, however anywhere you read you get a slightly different metric. I see this a lot: salt weight/(water weight+vegetable weight) but this would be wrong. If you were after something that is 2% salt weight this would give you slightly under 2% because you don't account for the salt weight in the denominator. Does that matter? Also, I see some recipes that only call for making a 2% salt solution and pouring that into a jar of vegetables. This doesn't account for the weight of the vegetables themselves. Is that ok? Basically I want to know how easily I can get botulism. I know it is rare, but is it something that grows quickly? Am I overthinking this and it really doesn't matter how much salt you use if it will be eaten relatively quickly?

 

[edinatlanta]

I don't know where to post this, but this seems reasonable. I have begun pickling and I am wondering if anybody has more experience doing it that could shed some light on a few things. Does the jar really have to be boiled before pickling? It seems to always be a first step, but it seems odd considering you're putting somewhat dirty vegetables in the thing with somewhat non-sterile hands. Also, I hear about different % of salt to use, however anywhere you read you get a slightly different metric. I see this a lot: salt weight/(water weight+vegetable weight) but this would be wrong. If you were after something that is 2% salt weight this would give you slightly under 2% because you don't account for the salt weight in the denominator. Does that matter? Also, I see some recipes that only call for making a 2% salt solution and pouring that into a jar of vegetables. This doesn't account for the weight of the vegetables themselves. Is that ok? Basically I want to know how easily I can get botulism. I know it is rare, but is it something that grows quickly? Am I overthinking this and it really doesn't matter how much salt you use if it will be eaten relatively quickly?

You could quick pickle and avoid most of the problems. You should absolutely sterilize your jars. I am in no way a germaphobe or afraid of food but it's just not worth the risk. Either way works.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

The whole reason for me pickling is to get probiotics, and lessen the sugar content in vegetables such as onions and beets. Quick pickling does none of that.

 

[Joffrey]

Do any of you have suggestions for sides to serve along soft shell crabs?

 

[Texasmade]

Do any of you have suggestions for sides to serve along soft shell crabs?

Cajun rice.

 

[edinatlanta]

Do any of you have suggestions for sides to serve along soft shell crabs?

Succotash!

 

[Piobaire]

Do any of you have suggestions for sides to serve along soft shell crabs?

Poverty.

 

[NakedYoga]

Hat tip to @Piobaire for the focaccia recommendation from a while back. I made some weird hybrid orzo carbonara thing tonight and decided to try the focaccia.

This was the first time I've ever made bread at home, and soon after I started the stand mixer I thought I had already screwed it up somehow because it just wouldn't turn into a dough ball like in the video. It was way too sticky. So I started adding more flour a teaspoon at a time, and then finally just decided to go for it after it finally resembled a dough ball for the most part. Maybe next time I should portion the dry ingredients by weight rather than volume.

Well, it still turned out ******* killer. So, so good. Tomatoes and rosemary from our garden. I almost didn't want to use these tomatoes since they are so sweet I eat them by themselves like candy as a snack.

And, of course, it passed the wife and son test, so everyone was happy.

 

[edinatlanta]

Yeah you simply must measure out your ingredients. Baking is a chemistry and you'll find rather quickly that a cup is meaningless. Just wait until you get into hydration percentages and ****.

Also get Forkish's Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast. I'm always amazed at I put those four things together and you can't convince me at the start they will turn into anything. And then they do, magnificently.

 

[NakedYoga]

Yeah you simply must measure out your ingredients. Baking is a chemistry and you'll find rather quickly that a cup is meaningless. Just wait until you get into hydration percentages and ****.

Also get Forkish's Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast. I'm always amazed at I put those four things together and you can't convince me at the start they will turn into anything. And then they do, magnificently.

I have to admit I thought it was pretty cool coming back after about 30 minutes and seeing the dough had risen. Like a kid doing a science experiment.

 

[beargonefishing]

I have to admit I thought it was pretty cool coming back after about 30 minutes and seeing the dough had risen. Like a kid doing a science experiment.

If you take the sublingual troches the viagra hits for a faster rise.

 

[Omega Male]

Very big Cobb salad. All greens from mah gahden.

 

[jcman311]

Very big Cobb salad. All greens from mah gahden.

View attachment 1440726

That's a big salad. I take it you had some "naughty greens" first?

 

[javyn]

Microwave your ears of corn next time. Four minutes on high. If you have like five or more just add a minute per ear. Slice bottom and all the silk falls off. So much quicker and easier than boiling and TBH the results are probably better. Certainly just as good.

I've done this for years, great tip. The results are definitely better than boiling.

 

[javyn]

Quarantine cooking photo dump