Raw Ingredient and Mise en Place Appreciation thread.

[mordecai]

Originally Posted by SField

you should remember that in most of the US, shallots are very very puny. You can end up wasting a good 20-30% by chucking the biggest layer because they're often so small.

 

[kwilkinson]

Your measuring tape seems pretty content at that measurement. Methinks this isn't the first time it's been there.

 

[mordecai]

Says the guy with the novelty size Benriner

 

[kwilkinson]

Not true!! I have the super Benriner!

 

[mordecai]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Not true!! I have the super Benriner!

That's not what your girlfriend said.

 

[mordecai]

An excellent submission from our favorite knife wielding Zeppelin fanatic. The picture size should tell you who...

 

[kwilkinson]

There's only one man on this forum who can flute mushrooms like that.

 

[mm84321]

Those shallots are too big, in my opinion; the smaller ones tend to have more flavor.

On the topic of mushrooms, how do you guys clean them? I've heard conflicting things about them being waterlogged by rinsing under water. I believe it was on Good Eats that Alton Brown soaked a bunch of mushrooms in water and they didn't even gain an ounce, sort of dispelling the whole myth.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by mm84321

Those shallots are too big, in my opinion; the smaller ones tend to have more flavor. On the topic of mushrooms, how do you guys clean them? I've heard conflicting things about them being waterlogged by rinsing under water. I believe it was on Good Eats that Alton Brown soaked a bunch of mushrooms in water and they didn't even gain an ounce, sort of dispelling the whole myth.
What kind of mushrooms? Regular ones I just peel.

 

[mordecai]

I usually go for smaller fruits and veggies. I can't say that I've ever had a shallot from the guy I get onions from and thought that they suffered from a lack of flavor.

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by mm84321

Those shallots are too big, in my opinion; the smaller ones tend to have more flavor. On the topic of mushrooms, how do you guys clean them? I've heard conflicting things about them being waterlogged by rinsing under water. I believe it was on Good Eats that Alton Brown soaked a bunch of mushrooms in water and they didn't even gain an ounce, sort of dispelling the whole myth.
With squash plants that is true, have not found that with bulbs. You see giant garlic and shallots in pro kitchens all the time.

 

[mm84321]

Originally Posted by iammatt

What kind of mushrooms? Regular ones I just peel.

Small button or cremini mushrooms usually have the most dirt. I suppose I should just try peeling them. Wild mushrooms, like chanterelles, I don't even bother with because their shape doesn't tend to trap a lot of dirt, from my experience.

 

[mm84321]

Originally Posted by SField

With squash plants that is true, have not found that with bulbs. You see giant garlic and shallots in pro kitchens all the time.
Really? Huh. I always thought the smaller, the more intense the flavors. If not with shallots, I think it is certainly the case with garlic. I've always thought that smaller cloves had more flavor. I know that the finer you cut garlic, the more pungent the flavor, due to the damaging of cell walls allowing the chemical alinase to come in contact with aliine to create allicin. The more cell walls you breach, i.e., the smaller your cuts, the more allicin is created which makes for a stronger garlic flavor.

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by mm84321

Really? Huh. I always thought the smaller, the more intense the flavors. If not with shallots, I think it is certainly the case with garlic. I've always thought that smaller cloves had more flavor. I know that the finer you cut garlic, the more pungent the flavor, due to the damaging of cell walls allowing the chemical alinase to come in contact with aliine to create allicin. The more cell walls you breach, i.e., the smaller your cuts, the more allicin is created which makes for a stronger garlic flavor.

It isn't a formula that works absolutely. There are different reasons for fruits and vegetables to get really big. When they're big for the right reasons, you're getting more of a good thing. Otherwise you're usually getting a bunch of water that's been artificially induced.

 

[Rambo]

I give all mushrooms a quick rinse and brush off. If it gains a drop of water then so be it. And I agree that the smaller bulbs tend to be more potent than the larger ones. The supermarket varieties at least.