General Chat Thread II

Gloomtastic!

rubadub wrote: »

haha, I was over just 35mins ago and turned back, I live really near. Still queues so I wasn't sure if I would be able to get beer before the stupid 10pm deadline -which I think should be scrapped around this time, and the morning limit esp. as many supermarkets have early morning priority for various groups.

I can see a Facebook campaign starting. Could be one of the good things to come from this.....

beertons

Has anyone ran out of something they rarely buy? Worcestershire sauce here. Can't remember when we bought it last.

sammyjo90

beertons wrote: »

Has anyone ran out of something they rarely buy? Worcestershire sauce here. Can't remember when we bought it last.

Literally had to buy it monday!
Lots of tomato sauces and chillis being made

Faith

beertons wrote: »

Has anyone ran out of something they rarely buy? Worcestershire sauce here. Can't remember when we bought it last.

Cornflour. I can’t remember the last time I used it, but I suddenly needed it 3 times this week.

otnomart

beertons wrote: »

Has anyone ran out of something they rarely buy? Worcestershire sauce here. Can't remember when we bought it last.

Just checked my press for my own bottle of Worcestershire sauce and it is ancient.
I went off it for a while, so haven't used it in ages.
Might start using it again, because at the moment the more flavour the better.


One thing I did run out yesterday were: sundried tomatoes, I had lots in a airtight container, but all gone now.
Looked for them at the supermarket but they don't have them, only carry those in olive oil which I am not mad about.
I know where I can find them, but it is a shop where I used to get only get a few things anyway, and haven't been there since it all started.

Alun

As long as I don't run out of Marmite, I'll be fine!

BaZmO*

I never do a "big shop" so it's quite a change having to do that each week. Normally it's a quick trip to the shop on the way home from work.

I'm not doing too badly though. I like to do a roast chicken on a Sunday, and with the leftovers I then get the likes of a Risotto on the Monday and maybe a Curry or Spanish Stew on the Tuesday. Most important thing is trying to make something we'll all eat. Kids can be soooo fussy.

I did a load of batch cooking before this all started so I've loads of meatballs, bolognese, curry, chilli, etc. in the freezer so that helps when I want something relatively quicker.

We're both working from home. I thought this would be easier but I'm busier that normal so it's a bit hectic during the day with the two kids, and another one on the way!

The only thing I hate is the shopping trips. Either people being totally oblivious to social distancing or being total panickers. It just leaves me feeling stressed by the time I get home even though I'm normally quite a calm person.

From a cooking point of view it's a good challenge to really go after those items in the back of the cupboards to see if you can make use of them! :pac:

The Black Oil

Lunch time trip was my first outside queue experience ~ 20 minutes. Bought meat at the local butcher, only one customer at a time and gloves outside the door.

Made Jamie's 15 minutes cajun steak and beans recipe. Took longer than that. :pac:

BaZmO*

How well does the likes of steak etc. freeze and then defrost? Thinking about getting an organic meat box from the local butcher to cut down on trips. I never freeze raw meat so not sure if the quality deteriorates?

sammyjo90

I always freeze my steaks, never had a complaint about them.
Only the fact they are frozen when they want one! :pac:

Ultrflat

I find frozen steaks seem a little dull in flavour if frozen . Ideally steaks should be at room temp before you cook them.

If you plan your meals according to what you get, do the steaks that night. That way you can fully enjoy them.

I just don't feel steak maintains it's flavor when its been frozen.

L1011

I'm having to get used to meal planning - never did it before beyond maybe one day ahead! Having to figure out what I'll want 5 days later is problematic. Its not 6 as we've long fallen in to a habit of a takeaway on Fridays, although we've had to change where we get it.

Haven't yet run out of something but I always keep a slightly ridiculous stock level and put stuff on the list (shared google doc) when the last container is opened. Had to find the spare tabasco today so its back on the list



My local Lidl had decent stocks of flour today - only standard cream flour and Odlums rather than own brand so pricey - but if you want to bake and are out anything will do I presume!

rubadub

So He’s Started Baking: Here’s What Happens Next

Gloomtastic!

The Black Oil wrote: »

Made Jamie's 15 minutes cajun steak and beans recipe. Took longer than that. :pac:

They always do! :rolleyes:

kylith

I got some strong flour in Dunnes, but could not find yeast so looks like it’s time to start sourdough again.

54and56

Has the country run out of Strong White Flour all-together? Tried several supermarkets and Deli's today and no luck. Also tried www.kellswholemeal.ie and www.amazon.co.uk and no luck. Is Strong White Flour all imported?

Is Italian 00 flour considered to be Strong White Flour? Some places told me it was but I'm sceptical.

L1011

54and56 wrote: »

Has the country run out of Strong White Flour all-together? Tried several supermarkets and Deli's today and no luck. Also tried www.kellswholemeal.ie and www.amazon.co.uk and no luck. Is Strong White Flour all imported?

Is Italian 00 flour considered to be Strong White Flour? Some places told me it was but I'm sceptical.

Mill capacity is being bought up by food service / manufacturing due to the massive change in consumption habits. Less "deli" (white baguettes) breads, more white pans and takeaway pizza etc. Probably more bread in general being eaten.

00 is a milling type and can be anything from very high down to very low gluten; however most sold here would be high/strong from what I've seen.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

54and56 wrote: »

Has the country run out of Strong White Flour all-together? Tried several supermarkets and Deli's today and no luck. Also tried www.kellswholemeal.ie and www.amazon.co.uk and no luck. Is Strong White Flour all imported?

Is Italian 00 flour considered to be Strong White Flour? Some places told me it was but I'm sceptical.

Read an article earlier about this. It's for the UK but possible same situation here. Basically says most mills are geared towards supplying in bulk and the few mills/factories that are set up to supply supermarkets are struggling.
https://inews.co.uk/news/consumer/why-no-flour-supermarkets-baking-uk-coronavirus-lockdown-explained-2528688?amp

rubadub

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

I’d start queuing now if today was anything to go by! :rolleyes:

Very few in tesco just there now, and a fair amount of stock.

But they were closing at 10 instead of the usual 11. People were still pulling into the car park at minutes before 10. Lucky I was getting beer or I would have held off until after 10.

Says its closing at 10pm everynight on the site.

https://www.tesco.com/store-locator/ie/

rubadub

Ultrflat wrote: »

I find frozen steaks seem a little dull in flavour if frozen . Ideally steaks should be at room temp before you cook them.

Some freeze steaks on purpose to tenderise them, and cook them cold or even frozen so they do not end up overdone if being seared at a high temp.

My fridge has a blast fan thing in the top shelf. I put stuff like that directly in front of it so its a bit closer to commercial blast freezers which do not expand the cells, though some want them to expand and tenderise.

If I was to freeze steak I would have it in a close fitting bag and lay it out flat so it will not be as prone to freezer burn.

New Home

54and56 wrote: »

Has the country run out of Strong White Flour all-together? Tried several supermarkets and Deli's today and no luck. Also tried www.kellswholemeal.ie and www.amazon.co.uk and no luck. Is Strong White Flour all imported?

Is Italian 00 flour considered to be Strong White Flour? Some places told me it was but I'm sceptical.

00, 0, semola, etc all refer to the coarseness of the flour, not to its strength.It's like talking about granulated, caster and icing sugar.

54and56

L1011 wrote: »

00 is a milling type and can be anything from very high down to very low gluten; however most sold here would be high/strong from what I've seen.

This is the 00 flour I have for making pizza bases. I'd like to get a Sourdough starter going but can't find any strong white flour anywhere. Any chance this 00 flour is strong white and suitable for getting a sourdough starter going????

L1011

54and56 wrote: »

This is the 00 flour I have for making pizza bases. I'd like to get a Sourdough starter going but can't find any strong white flour anywhere. Any chance this 00 flour is strong white and suitable for getting a sourdough starter going????

12% protein is in the middle of the usual range for strong; and higher than "normal" flour (~10%)

New Home

54and56 wrote: »

This is the 00 flour I have for making pizza bases. I'd like to get a Sourdough starter going but can't find any strong white flour anywhere. Any chance this 00 flour is strong white and suitable for getting a sourdough starter going????

Look on the packet, it should have some codes like these: W: 290 - P/L: 0.55 - A: 56.00 - CD: 13

This will help: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_flour#W_Index

Springwell

Ballymore organics might be worth a try for flour also or I wonder would it be worth looking for flour improver to allow you use plain flour?

sharpish

kylith wrote: »

I got some strong flour in Dunnes, but could not find yeast so looks like it’s time to start sourdough again.

I got yeast in my local tesco metro on Saturday. I was shocked tbh, got flour from Kells last week took a couple of days but they warned me. You could try pallas foods for strong flour. they are doing click n collect I believe.

Muahahaha

Springwell wrote: »

Ballymore organics might be worth a try for flour also or I wonder would it be worth looking for flour improver to allow you use plain flour?

Ballymore Organics have lots of stock of flour but delivery wont be quick. I ordered 10kg yesterday as I think we might see shortages coming over the next few months. Looking forward to trying it, I know they supply a lot of top restaurants so it should be good quality.

Alun

L1011 wrote: »

12% protein is in the middle of the usual range for strong; and higher than "normal" flour (~10%)

I got some Lithuanian flour the other day that says it's 11.5%. I haven't tried it yet, but on that basis do you think it might be ok?

Also have some on order from Ballymore Organics but no indication of when it might be delivered.

EDIT: Also looked at the Aldi strong white flour I still have 12%, Aldi Wholemeal 12.5% and some Odlums wholemeal 13.2%.

rubadub

https://twitter.com/qikipedia/status/1246694057885106176

New Home

I'm drooling. I've just seen this recipe, and I'm dying to try it. I need to get chocolate, though, so I'll have to wait another week or so until I've a valid reason to go to the shops. Mind you, I think a teaspoon of this should be the recommended portion, I think this should be renamed "Instant Death By Chocolate".

https://imgur.com/gallery/cmssePr