The General Chat Thread

BaZmO* · 20-12-2018 03:14PM

Dial Hard wrote: »

The problem with buying them in bigger quantities in the likes of Eurasia is that, while they're a fraction of the price, in many cases they'll have gone stale kong before you've even made a dent in them, even with proper storage.

True enough, but I don't ever buy more than the 100g bags of spices which just about fill up (with some leftover) these mini kilner type jars that I have from IKEA. Any leftovers I just dump. I make a lot of curries so I don't tend to have too much leftover. Even with that I still save a lot that buying spice jars in the likes of Tesco or Dunnes.

korken-jar-with-lid-clear-glass__0468760_pe611677_s4.jpg

korken-jar-with-lid-clear-glass__0468760_pe611677_s4.jpg

rubadub · 20-12-2018 03:28PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

I hope you don't buy your spices in Tesco so. Mad prices compared to the likes of Eurasia.

BaZmO* wrote: »

True enough, but I don't ever buy more than the 100g bags of spices which just about fill up (with some leftover)

I do not get spices that much cheaper in the asian supermarkets near me anymore. I think the prices in the supermarkets might have dropped, and the asian shops I go to might be more expensive than city centre ones.

e.g. 56g of garlic granules is 56cent in tesco (2.59 for 50g of schwartz)

52g paprika 69cent
50g chilli powder 69cent.

eurasia prices do not show anymore.

this place does 100g chilli power is 1.05
https://www.asiamarket.ie/east-end-chilli-powder-100g.html

100g garlic powder is 1.25
https://www.asiamarket.ie/east-end-garlic-powder-100g.html

Dizzyblonde · 20-12-2018 04:16PM

My spices - bedlam! I had to put a little push light in so I can see everything, but the shelf is low down and deep so I can rummage.

Markcheese · 20-12-2018 05:23PM

I have a jar of cinnamon sticks in the cupboard and am struggling to date it, it's probably about 25 years old, and they're still good..

Dial Hard · 20-12-2018 06:55PM

I suspect if you compared them to a fresh* batch you'd smell/taste a marked difference.

*Relatively speaking, given cinnamon sticks are dried, obvs.

Muahahaha · 20-12-2018 07:53PM

Ryath wrote: »

I keep all mine in a 30cm wide IKEA pull out 3 drawer pantry unit. It's from there older Faktum range. Bottom pull out is tall enough to store all my oils and vinegars.

Trying to only buy spices and herbs now that have a label on top of the lid. Does make finding them way easier. Must actually sort them alphabetically.

Wow that is a really neat solution, especially having the further two drawers below for oils & vinegars. I must pay Ikea a visit, they have some really clever designs when it comes to practical kitchens.

Ryath · 20-12-2018 10:23PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

Wow that is a really neat solution, especially having the further two drawers below for oils & vinegars. I must pay Ikea a visit, they have some really clever designs when it comes to practical kitchens.

Well worth a visit if you’re planning a kitchen
As I said mine is from the older range that they discontinued a few years ago. I put in the kitchen myself a bit over 8 years ago. I priced around a lot of places. Most were close to IKEA on price for just the carcasses shelves and doors but if you started adding on drawers and pull out larder prices shot up and still had cost of labour. We had a small enough space so needed the pull out larders to make the most of the space. It's still in perfect nick nothing broken and it does get a lot of use.

Can’t remember exact cost somewhere in the region of €3.5k including appliances which cost about 2k but there was great value at the time they had 10% cash back voucher then got induction hob, combo microwave oven and extractor in a 3 for 2 deal from them.

Nearest in the new range seem to be this.
https://www.ikea.com/ie/en/products/kitchen-products/kitchen-cabinets/metod-base-cabinet-pull-out-int-fittings-white-ringhult-light-grey-spr-49168899/

Only 20cm wide and two drawers so you might need two! There is other options with drawers that would work too though.

kylith · 22-12-2018 09:47AM

I was delighted with having a spice drawer next to the cooker. No more losing stuff down the back of a shelf. Bit of a hodge-podge of containers. I like the M&S jars cos you can get a teaspoon into them.

Gloomtastic! · 22-12-2018 07:00PM

kylith wrote: »

I like the M&S jars cos you can get a teaspoon into them.

Now that there is another discussion point entirely!! Think it was the old Aldi spice jars that had the letter on the top and you could stick a normal teaspoon in there. :rolleyes:

RasTa · 23-12-2018 05:46PM

Had some membrillo with my Manchengo for the first time today. Delicious stuff.

igCorcaigh · 23-12-2018 06:00PM

RasTa wrote: »

Had some membrillo with my Manchengo for the first time today. Delicious stuff.

Ooh, had to Google that but sounds yum

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/membrillo_quince_paste/

Did you make it yourself?

RasTa · 23-12-2018 06:14PM

Nope, I was buying some meat and cheese in the Catalan deli over here and went a bit overboard with the samples and spending but that pairing was the standout. Tucked into some more when I got home

L1011 · 23-12-2018 11:42PM

On the spice jars, I refill the ones I find work - so there's a mix of very random ones in my cupboard, the BBE dates on some would terrify people as they've been refilled multiple times from replacement bags which are resealed and stored in a less useful place. Checked a few there and the cardamoms and cloves show early 2010!

Some things which are very obvious colour and smell wise are in the standard IKEA jars which hold more than any supermarket jar but I find powders clog up the lid hinge very quickly which is a pain.

Bought a spice grinder recently for when I'm doing bigger dishes and the difference is huge. Dishwasherable as well so there isn't even a trade-off in effort versus a pestle and mortar - its just so much easier.

kylith · 24-12-2018 12:17AM

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Now that there is another discussion point entirely!! Think it was the old Aldi spice jars that had the letter on the top and you could stick a normal teaspoon in there. :rolleyes:

It’s so much better than trying to shake out a measure of something, especially of something like paprika that clumps.

Dial Hard · 24-12-2018 12:34PM

Went to make my brown bread this morning and my sister had helped herself to several of the eggs that I bought yesterday specifically to bake with. And then when I got annoyed, blamed me for not telling her how many of them I needed! Yes, If I Only Had A Brain, this is clearly, 100% my fault. Even though you were with me when I bought them and clearly heard me say "These are for the bread."

BaZmO* · 24-12-2018 02:22PM

I was almost taking your sister’s side until I read the last line. So frustrating! But family eh?!

Markcheese · 24-12-2018 05:20PM

RasTa wrote: »

Had some membrillo with my Manchengo for the first time today. Delicious stuff.

Welcome to the magical world of sweet stuff and cheese,
I have some super strong cheddar to go with Christmas cake,
Strong blue cheese and honey...
Goats Cheese and figs... Or jam...
Soft goats and cranberry sauce...

Graces7 · 26-12-2018 02:34PM

Dial Hard wrote: »

Went to make my brown bread this morning and my sister had helped herself to several of the eggs that I bought yesterday specifically to bake with. And then when I got annoyed, blamed me for not telling her how many of them I needed! Yes, If I Only Had A Brain, this is clearly, 100% my fault. Even though you were with me when I bought them and clearly heard me say "These are for the bread."

sharing your frustration.. Had the eggs in a bowl and "someone" ( not looking at the wee cat currently lying across my hand and purring loudly) knocked it off the table... five eggs left....

Graces7 · 28-12-2018 07:23AM

Today is a grazing day. Eat whatever whenever... No set meals, no great platefuls... Grazing...

Shenshen · 29-12-2018 10:35AM

I'm finally finding time to share how my Indian cooking class went - it was absolutely AMAZING!

The class was for dhaba-style cooking. For those of you who, like me, have never heard the word dhaba, they are essentially Indian truck-stops. And as everywhere on the planet, truckers know good meal when they see one, so dhaba-style cooking became quite a thing in India.
The lady who ran the class is a Punjabi, who informed me in no uncertain terms that Punjabs make THE best cooks on the entire sub-continent. And after trying the food, I'm inclined to agree with her.

I will share the recipes as promised early next week, when I'm back at work and can scan them in. The ingredients are sometimes listed in Hindi and sometimes in English, I've made little notes. The instructions are all English.

The main difference to how I would have cooked Indian food before is that instead of adding the all ground spices to the fried onions, ginger and garlic, the teacher would have kept some back for "tempering". This basically meant heating up some ghee in a small pan, adding the spices, frying them for a minute of so, then pouring the hot mixture into the otherwise ready dish.

Here's while we were cooking :

And here's just before we got to eat it all :

oscarBravo · 29-12-2018 11:13PM

Wow, that looks unreal. Do you mind sharing where the cooking class was?

Shenshen · 30-12-2018 09:15AM

oscarBravo wrote: »

Wow, that looks unreal. Do you mind sharing where the cooking class was?

In Pune, India. I was over there for work, and added the weekend to explore the town and take this class.
The link to the cooking school is here, if you're ever around that corner of the world I would highly recommend her!

Dizzyblonde · 30-12-2018 09:17PM

Glad you enjoyed it Shenshen, the food looks amazing and I can't wait to see the recipes

beertons · 31-12-2018 11:06AM

Anyone doing anything exciting today? I've kept the nye tradition going with making sushi, and got a bottle of vintage Cava from m&s. Have loads of crab, prawns and avocado at home. Wondering will any tuna steak do, for slices, or will I have to go to a special shop for it.

beertons · 31-12-2018 12:06PM

Scratch that, have enough fish, going to do teriaki chicken instead.

Shenshen · 02-01-2019 11:49AM

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Glad you enjoyed it Shenshen, the food looks amazing and I can't wait to see the recipes

They're attached here now.

Translation for ingredients in Hindi :

Haldi = Turmeric
Jeera = Cumin
Dhania = Coriander
Elachi = Green Cardamom
Kastori Methi = Dried Fenugreek Leaves
Makki atta = Maize flour
Besan = Yellow Split Pea flour
Palak = Spinach
Curry/Kari Patta = Curry Leaves
Toovar Dal = Pigeon Peas or Yellow Split Peas
Chana Dal = Chickpeas

B0jangles · 07-01-2019 01:08PM

So it seems that tesco can't get their dried soya mince at the moment, which is a real pain because I've no idea where else to buy it.

I'm not really in the market for a Holland & Barrettesque totally organic gmo-free 30 euro a kilo version - anyone know where else to get it for an ordinary price?

This is the tesco version: https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=260261027

Shenshen · 07-01-2019 02:07PM

B0jangles wrote: »

So it seems that tesco can't get their dried soya mince at the moment, which is a real pain because I've no idea where else to buy it.

I'm not really in the market for a Holland & Barrettesque totally organic gmo-free 30 euro a kilo version - anyone know where else to get it for an ordinary price?

This is the tesco version: https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=260261027

Depends where you are - there's a Polish shop here in Cork sells it, near the Kinsale Rd roundabout

B0jangles · 07-01-2019 02:27PM

Shenshen wrote: »

Depends where you are - there's a Polish shop here in Cork sells it, near the Kinsale Rd roundabout

Ah nice - I'm nowhere near Cork but there are plenty of good polish supermarkets near me that I can check - thanks!

rubadub · 07-01-2019 02:34PM

B0jangles wrote: »

I'm not really in the market for a Holland & Barrettesque totally organic gmo-free 30 euro a kilo version - anyone know where else to get it for an ordinary price?

not sure what price it is usually but H&B seems cheap enough, and is on offer

https://www.hollandandbarrett.ie/shop/product/holland-barrett-natural-soya-protein-mince-60082699?skuid=082699

In the health food shop near me I have asked them prices on bigger bags than stuff on the shelf, I think I could get a 3kg bag of some grain at less than half the price per kilo than the 500g bags on their shelves.

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