The General Chat Thread

Picked up some almond butter today on impulse. Have heard raving things about this stuff so I hope its nice.

Not usually a fan of almond flavoured things so I hope this doesn't taste strongly of almonds.

Whispered wrote: »

How long would you usually expect it to take for an oven to heat to say 200deg.

Mine takes just under 10 minutes

StripedBoxers wrote: »

Not usually a fan of almond flavoured things so I hope this doesn't taste strongly of almonds.

dee_mc wrote: »

It doesn't taste like almond flavoured things to me at all - there's none of the bitter edge you get from, say, marzipan.

Most marzipan has artifical flavouring added. I have never had marzipan I like but I love almonds. I hate most almond cakes too as I guess they also use the same chemical. I think marzipan is made from bitter almonds too.

I remember even seeing some tv chef making marzipan and in the end, bang in with the fake muck and ruins it.

I would doubt any almond butters would have this stuff added though.

This is the culprit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzaldehyde

Whispered wrote: »

Mine is taking 25mins. I'm guessing it's on its way out.:(

Have you tried sticking the grill on to heat at the same time, it'll boost the temperature!

Whispered wrote: »

Wouldn't work because the grill is in the oven so only one goes on at a time.

Ah, mine has the option of using both at the same time!
Back to the drawing board so.

StripedBoxers wrote: »

Mine takes about 10-12 mins too.

I tried some, oh its so good. Must try it with an apple. I'll pick one up to try out

I absolutely can't stand anything shop-bought that has almond flavouring, its disgusting as for that marzipan stuff. Vile.

The butter has a very slightly nutty taste but that's all, its so good. Dying to try it with different things now.

It was €4.89 in Dunnes, steep enough for a small jar?!

I buy the bigger plastic tubs in Holland and Barrett when they're buy one get one half price, must look out for them in the cent sale because it's still ridiculously expensive!

Guys, needing some advice here. I'm in Ukraine at the moment and the missus pointed out fish to me in a market that she said are monkfish. They are approx 4" in length. Has anyone came across these before and if not monkfish, what might they be?

I will take a picture tomorrow to help.

Kovu wrote: »

If they look like a large, ugly, dark, flattened blob with an underbite, it's a monkfish

A good description of a monkfish! But these do not look like what we get in our waters. Missus says they are adult fish but they are very small.

I'm thinking of buying a nutribullet or similar. Are there any you'd recommend that are a bit cheaper or should I go all out for the real thing? I know Aldi do a version and I'd be happy to get that but I am getting it for a gift and so have a timeframe to get it in (end April).
Hope this is ok here, the person I'm buying for is on boards too, but I don't think they are ever in this forum.

Whispered wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying a nutribullet or similar. Are there any you'd recommend that are a bit cheaper or should I go all out for the real thing? I know Aldi do a version and I'd be happy to get that but I am getting it for a gift and so have a timeframe to get it in (end April).
Hope this is ok here, the person I'm buying for is on boards too, but I don't think they are ever in this forum.

We have a Nutribullet and use it almost every day. Smoothies are made with water so it avoids dumping sugary orange / apple juice in there. My go-to smoothie for myself and the kids is: A bunch of spinach, an apple and a banana and maybe some blueberries / strawberries if they're handy. Put all that into the cup, fill with water and blitz for about 5 seconds. Really nice and a great way of getting spinach into the kids. Once you clean it straight away it's a doddle - just rinse under the tap.

Can't comment on the Aldi one but it's probably the same thing or thereabouts.
HTH
Loire.

As far as I know NutriNinja needs to have liquid to blitz, so no, you can't do nut butters with them. Unless, if they have produced a special attachment to allow dry-blitzing that I don't know of. If so I need one!!

I own a NutriNinja for a few months now and I use it every single day, sometimes twice a day. I got it on bargain from Argos thanks to rubadub.

For nut butter, I use a cheap small food processor I got from Tesco a few years ago. It does the job well. I'd need to pulse and pause so the motor doesn't overheat.
This food processor also came with a stick blender which is great for soup and homemade mayo, and before I got the NutriNinja, I had been using this along with the beaker provided to make smoothies. It's fine for soft ingredients like banana, avocado, mango, etc, but gritty for the likes of ginger, spinach, kale.
Also it came with a whisk that I don't use as it's too flimsy.

But going back to your question, I would highly recommend a NutriNinja if the price is right.

Mrs Fox wrote: »

But going back to your question, I would highly recommend a NutriNinja if the price is right.

Thanks, Decisions! I tried to do peanut butter in my cheapo blender and after half an hour it was still gritty and grainy. I hate having too many things in the kitchen so whatever I buy will have to do both. I wouldn't really use it for smoothies but my husband would. Nut butters and coffee grinding is where I'd get my money's worth (guess who the healthier in our marriage is ).