The General Chat Thread

confusticated · 24-03-2014 05:08PM

MissFlitworth wrote: »

I'm away on my travels in September and I'm already being an absolute pain in the ass about places we'll eat. The horror is that there are more places than available eating slots

One can always create more eating slots.

'grats pw!

Hermione* · 24-03-2014 11:56PM

MissFlitworth wrote: »

I'm away on my travels in September and I'm already being an absolute pain in the ass about places we'll eat. The horror is that there are more places than available eating slots

The only solution is to adopt hobbit-style eating habits to try to minimise the gap between places to eat in and meals which need to be eaten! Second breakfasts for all!

Markcheese · 25-03-2014 10:51AM

Second breakfast would work well ... (breakfast normally the most under whelming meal of a holiday ,) ties in nicely with a late lunch , afternoon bite and late dinner .... (and of couse seperate dessert after a wander round for digestive purposes only .... I suppose if it's a real late boosey night you might need something on the way home just to keep you going.... Till breakfast like..

B0jangles · 25-03-2014 06:30PM

If there is anyone else out there who is annoyed by how salty bisto is when they are making a traditional sunday roast with thickened gravy, then have I got the solution for you!

You all know the problem - you use a stockcube or stockpot to make the base, add the juices from the cooking meat to enrich it, then finish by thickening with bisto, so by the time you are done the Dead Sea has nothing on your gravy when it comes to saltiness (bisto is fecking 30% salt).

But the actual thickening agent in bisto can be bought on its own - it's just potato starch and pretty much every asian supermarket has it. I tried using it as an experiment a couple of weeks ago and it was so successful I've even converted my Da who is not a fan of change when it comes to cookin' roasts. You use it in the same quantity and by the same method as bisto but you get to adjust the salt to your own taste afterwards. If you need your gravy to be a bit browner, then good old gravy browning is still widely available.

Alun · 25-03-2014 06:46PM

I can't say I've ever found it a problem, but I never use stock cubes or pots as a base, just the juices from the meat and either just plain water, or the water from cooking the veg to release the juices from the pan and then add the Bisto (1 or 2 tsp depending on how thick I want it).

I don't find the end result too salty at all, at least not for me, but then I do have a bit of a 'savoury' tooth as opposed to a sweet one. I can imagine that using stock pots, which are also pretty salty, and Bisto as well might tip the balance though.

fiddlechic · 25-03-2014 06:58PM

For roast chicken, I generally just squeeze half a lemon and a glass of wine into the chicken juices, and whisk up and voila, gravy.
For other roasts, I either use red wine or stock. And if it's a "sunday roast" with all the veg trimmings, I make a quick vegetable stock with the peelings, some peppercorns and a bay leaf, and use a ladle or 2 of that to loosen up the crispy bits! I either freeze the rest, or make soup from it. If the gravy's too thin, I make a roux.
I hate things that come salted, as I tend not to like too much salt, so bisto is not for me!

But potato starch sounds very interesting! I presume you don't have to get it "cooked through" the same way you do with flour?

B0jangles · 25-03-2014 07:42PM

^^^ Yes, exactly - it thickens when the gravy gets close to boiling point and is fully cooked at that point. ^^^ And I do like salt in my food - I'm definitely more into savories versus sweets, I just hate when it is forced on me so that I can't choose to season to my own taste

BaZmO* · 25-03-2014 09:02PM

Stock pot and gravy? That's way too much IMO.

When I make gravy I just add flour to the trivet of veg that the roast was cooked on (carrots, onion, celery, garlic, herbs) along with the juices. Cook out the flour, add a glass of wine, simmer for a bit, push through a sieve, then just keep it heated in a pan and it will usually reduce a bit. Takes a bit of work but I do it while the roast potatoes and veg are on and the meat is resting.

B0jangles · 25-03-2014 09:20PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

Stock pot and gravy? That's way too much IMO.

When I make gravy I just add flour to the trivet of veg that the roast was cooked on (carrots, onion, celery, garlic, herbs) along with the juices. Cook out the flour, add a glass of wine, simmer for a bit, push through a sieve, then just keep it heated in a pan and it will usually reduce a bit. Takes a bit of work but I do it while the roast potatoes and veg are on and the meat is resting.

I know, I totally agree but I think a good few of us come from families where gravy equals oxo + meat juice + bisto so being able to switch out the saltscapade that is bisto for something else just has to be a benefit

Ann Landers · 25-03-2014 09:37PM

B0jangles wrote: »

If there is anyone else out there who is annoyed by how salty bisto is when they are making a traditional sunday roast with thickened gravy, then have I got the solution for you!

You all know the problem - you use a stockcube or stockpot to make the base, add the juices from the cooking meat to enrich it, then finish by thickening with bisto, so by the time you are done the Dead Sea has nothing on your gravy when it comes to saltiness (bisto is fecking 30% salt).

But the actual thickening agent in bisto can be bought on its own - it's just potato starch and pretty much every asian supermarket has it. I tried using it as an experiment a couple of weeks ago and it was so successful I've even converted my Da who is not a fan of change when it comes to cookin' roasts. You use it in the same quantity and by the same method as bisto but you get to adjust the salt to your own taste afterwards. If you need your gravy to be a bit browner, then good old gravy browning is still widely available.

Fascinating! I'm not a big fan of using flour or cornflour as thickeners so I'm definitely going to try this. I was only yesterday reading an article about ways to use up leftover mash spud and one of the suggestion was to use a small amount to thicken up sauces and soups. (think the same amount as you's use of the other thickeners) Must be same kind of idea as using potato starch!

Gloomtastic! · 25-03-2014 09:44PM

Like Bazmo, I roast the joint on top of veg but instead of flour and wine, I just add............ Bisto!

Never realised there was 30% salt. Don't use too much in gravy, maybe a desert spoon so about a tsp of salt, not bad really. Might switch to gravy browning after seeing Mary Berry recommend it last night.

Malari · 25-03-2014 09:48PM

So everyone does roasts, do they?

It's something I never do (partly because I could never match momma's definitive work, partly because it's so much effort for 2 people!) but I do love them!

Ann Landers · 25-03-2014 09:54PM

When I'm doing pan gravy, I would usually only use about a quarter of a stock cube and no Bisto.

BaZmO* · 25-03-2014 10:16PM

Malari wrote: »

So everyone does roasts, do they? It's something I never do (partly because I could never match momma's definitive work, partly because it's so much effort for 2 people!) but I do love them!

Normally just roast chicken with all the trimmings, beef the odd time. There's only 2 of us too and it's a bit of effort, but we get a beautiful dinner on Sunday, chicken and stuffing sambos for lunch on Monday, and then another dinner (Risotto) on Monday night. Works out quite economical in the end.

Ann Landers · 25-03-2014 10:22PM

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Might switch to gravy browning after seeing Mary Berry recommend it last night.

I thought gravy browning was just food colouring?

Merkin · 26-03-2014 03:08PM

It is. It doesn't actually add in any flavor.

Made from caramel, molasses and spices, gravy browning is used for giving gravies in England an appetising brown colour. It comes as a dark-brown liquid or powder. It was popular in the first half of the twentieth century, but is not widely used nowadays. Do not confuse gravy browning with gravy powder.

Neyite · 26-03-2014 03:26PM

Malari wrote: »

So everyone does roasts, do they? It's something I never do (partly because I could never match momma's definitive work, partly because it's so much effort for 2 people!) but I do love them!

Not much effort if everything goes in the oven - meat, stuffing, veg, potatoes, the lot. And you can shut the oven door and go on boards for an hour or so uninterrupted.

Its when you start doing mash and non-roast veggies that you start making work for yourself.

IvyTheTerrible · 26-03-2014 03:46PM

I'd love to cook more roasts but we sort of rent and our cooker is old, very hard to regulate temperature, and not very well sealed, so roasting a chicken smokes us out!

Ann Landers · 26-03-2014 05:19PM

Neyite wrote: »

Not much effort if everything goes in the oven - meat, stuffing, veg, potatoes, the lot. And you can shut the oven door and go on boards for an hour or so uninterrupted.

Its when you start doing mash and non-roast veggies that you start making work for yourself.

Yeah, the last half an hour or so of doing a roast is kerazy. Up until that time, it's a doddle.

iwantmydinner · 26-03-2014 05:58PM

Neyite wrote: »

Not much effort if everything goes in the oven - meat, stuffing, veg, potatoes, the lot. And you can shut the oven door and go on boards for an hour or so uninterrupted.

Its when you start doing mash and non-roast veggies that you start making work for yourself.

Mash is such bloody hard work. I always seem to forget that until I'm in the middle of making it though...

Minder · 26-03-2014 06:39PM

Mash is a doddle with one of these

oscarBravo · 26-03-2014 08:05PM

Yup, I swear by mine.

BaZmO* · 26-03-2014 08:52PM

Minder wrote: »

Mash is a doddle with one of these

I have that exact one. Best kitchen invention ever!

Dubl07 · 26-03-2014 08:57PM

I love my ricer but I'm on the hunt for a really brilliant garlic press. I'm happy to chop it by hand but there are moans from the other chef in the house.

So, your mission should you care to accept it is to recommend an efficient garlic press that squeezes the garlic through the base, doesn't get mush up the sides and is easily cleaned in the dishwasher.

iwantmydinner · 26-03-2014 09:06PM

I haz potato ricer! Excellent invention. I still find mash a tedious pain of a job though.

Gloomtastic! · 26-03-2014 09:17PM

Dubl07 wrote: »

I love my ricer but I'm on the hunt for a really brilliant garlic press. I'm happy to chop it by hand but there are moans from the other chef in the house.

So, your mission should you care to accept it is to recommend an efficient garlic press that squeezes the garlic through the base, doesn't get mush up the sides and is easily cleaned in the dishwasher.

Like you, I have been searching for the perfect garlic press for years. Got this one at Christmas and it's not bad. Not perfect but it's the best I've come across so far......

https://www.josephjoseph.com/product/rocker

Dubl07 · 26-03-2014 09:40PM

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Like you, I have been searching for the perfect garlic press for years. Got this one at Christmas and it's not bad. Not perfect but it's the best I've come across so far......

https://www.josephjoseph.com/product/rocker

That's a really interesting concept - it brings us right back to the teaspoon and salt scenario from the seventies but with a 21st century upgrade. I'm tempted.

Loire · 26-03-2014 11:05PM

I keep seeing these ricers in TK Maxx and always pass them. But with so many thumbs up, perhaps this will be my weekly impulse purchase this week!

fiddlechic · 26-03-2014 11:51PM

What's the advantage of a ricer over a masher?

BaZmO* · 26-03-2014 11:55PM

fiddlechic wrote: »

What's the advantage of a ricer over a masher?

Guaranteed no lumps.

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