u/Odd_Grocery_7834

I got Fuchsia Dunlop's new cookbook The Five Tastes: The Magic of Flavour in a Chinese Kitchen a couple of days ago and thought I'd share some impressions.

I already have The Food of Sichuan and Every Grain of Rice in my collection and have cooked quite a few dishes from those books. Fuchsia's style is clearly evident in the new recipes, although I find them to be leaning more to Euro-Chinese fusion (in the best possible sense). The majority of the dishes is weeknight-friendly and comes together rather quickly. As you can see, the sections are pretty much what you would expect from a Chinese cookbook. I only glanced at the theoretical/introductional part (a good 70 pages), which explains what basic flavors are traditionally recognized in the Chinese cuisines and how they come together in a particular dish.

After going through the pages I felt inspired to try new ingredients (e.g., fermented tofu) and to try new versions of dishes I made from other cookbooks (e.g. peanut butter noodles).

All in all, it's a keeper for me. Does anyone have it as well? Any recommendations?

First of all, I am no fan of that cover, to say it friendly. (I absolutely hate it and I cannot understand how THIS was chosen 🤯)

I love the cookbook collection posts and always zoom in, but I think I have never seen this book, which is quite surprising considering it won a James Beard. Not saying that makes it a good cookbook, but it had some attention to it. Does anyone here have it? How do you like it? What have you cooked from it?

From what I have seen in the list of recipes, some sound quite interesting.

Thanks!

(Special guest: I found a recipe that sounded fantastic and I really wanted to try it, but it uses purslane. Since I couldn't find purslane anywhere, I impulsively bought some seeds and now a have a loads of purslane plants... Needless to say, I haven't tried the original recipe because I wasn't in the mood yet :D For anyone wondering, I'd describe purslane as a mix of spinach and beet.)

Famous pita and outcome ratings as introduced by u/ehherewegoagain.

Yogurt, Cucumber and Rose Petal Soup - Abdugh Khiar (Food for Life by Najmieh Batmanglij)
I made this soup for the first time and it was an instant hit. Absolute banger for hot summer days, and looks just amazing. The flavors come together quite nicely. Yogurt, cucumber, and rose petals are combined with walnuts, raisins and fresh herbs. It's a light soup, so next time I'll go a bit easier on the garlic in order to avoid overpowering it.
[pita: 3, outcome: 10]

Honey Balsamic Roasted Cauliflower (Pass the Plate by Carolina Gelen)
I've made this a couple of times already and I like it. It's a really non-fuzzy, sweet and sour cauliflower recipe. Unfortunately, I was quite disorganized this time and had to take it out the oven about 5 minutes early. The cauliflower is usually a bit more browned and the marinade is thicker. Served on whipped tofu with a summer salad (see the next two recipes).
[pita: 2, outcome 8]

Whipped Tofu (Big Vegan Flavor by Nisha Vora)
I have made this spread at least 10 times now. It's very versatile -- you can use it as a creamy component with roasted or raw vegetables, or even put it on a slice of bread and top it with tomatoes and cucumber.... Personally, I findthe recipe is a bit heavy on the flavoring ingredients (miso, nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, etc.) so I usually use a bit more tofu. I add a tbsp or two of cashew butter for an extra creamy result, but even if you follow the recipe to a T, it's very good.
[pita: 2, outcome: 9]

Thracian Summer Salad with Purslane, Tomatoes, and Cucumbers (The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean by Paula Wolfert)
This was the first time I had used purslane, and I was quite excited, but I ended up hating it. Big time. It really didn't work. It was just sour and unbalanced (in my family, I am the one who really likes acidic dressings). I don't know what went wrong, but it was so bad that I don't want to find out. In the end, I added the leftover honey balsamic cauliflower and it became edible, but still... Not a fan.)
[Pita: 3, Outcome: 1]

Charred Salt & Vinegar Cabbage (Smitten Kitchen Keepers by Deb Perelman)
I have made this a couple of times already, and it doesn't get any easier. It's tasty, it's easy, and it doesn't need much attention. Combined with whipped tofu and French carrot salad in the picture.
[pita: 1, outcome: 8]

French Carrot Salad (Milk Street: The New Home Cooking by Christopher Kimball)
Carrots, shallots, tarragon, parsley and a vinaigrette. It was good, but not a huge hit. I felt like something was missing, but I wasn't eager enough to really find out. (I had a Moroccan carrot salad some weeks before I liked it a lot more, so the carrot salad slot is already filled.)
[pita: 4 (grating lots of carrots), outcome: 6]

Caramelized Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter Harissa (The Cook You Want to Be by Andy Baraghani)
This was REALLY good, it went straight to my keep-on-repeat list. Roasted sweet potatoes are combined with a lemony yoghurt and drizzled with an hazelnut harissa butter. It was really delicious and easy to prepare. The only small change I would make is to omit the honey from the harissa butter as the sweet potatoes are already sweet enough, but that's only my personal preference. Perfect recipe! Here served on warm bashed peas (see next recipe), which was a great combination in terms of flavor and looks.
[pita: 2, outcome: 10]

Warm Bashed Peas (High Fibre Heroes by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
Liked it a lot and it was soooo easy to prepare. The recipe gives you the option of using peas only or combining them with cannellini beans, which is what I did. Simply heat them up, add a little olive oil, garlic and miso, blend briefly with an immersion blender, leaving it structured, boom.
[pita: 2, outcome: 9]

Fresh Fruit with Savory Sprinkles (The Cook You Want to Be by Andy Baraghani)
So, this is a hard one to rate. The sprinkles are a combination of nori, sesame seeds, chilli flakes, lemon zest and flaky sea salt. I liked it for it's really unusual taste and the unexpected twist it adds to fresh fruit. However, it wasn't well liked by others who tried it, so it's not a crowd pleaser. I used a bit too many sprinkles the first time, and next time I would use less chilli flakes in the mix.
[pita: 3, outcome: 7]

Thai Grapefruit Salad with Shrimp (Milk Street Tuesday Nights by Christopher Kimball)
(In the picture, in case anyone's wondering, giant shrimp or small bowl: small bowl.)
So, I'm sure this is far from an authentic Thai salad, but the few ingredients come together surprisingly well. I wasn't sure that shrimp, grapefruit and fish sauce would work together, but they to. Chopped peanuts add a nice crunch. My mother likes it a lot and asks me to make it from time to time.
[pita: 3, outcome: 8]

Purslane-Cucumber Salad with Yogurt and Herbs (The Country Cooking of Greece by Diane Kochilas)
This was much more up my alley than the other salad with purslane. Think purslane dressed with herby tzatziki. The flavors really comes together well, and I liked the ground coriander in the yogurt. The recipe encourages sheep's milk yogurt for the dressing, but lets you use any kind of thick yogurt. I wasn't brave enough to use only sheep's milk yogurt, so I mixed it half/half with cow's milk yogurt this time. (Added sumac onions and tomatoes to make it look a bit nicer.)
[pita: 2, outcome: 8]

Sumac Onions (Boustany by Sami Tamimi)
I hate raw onions. Besides the pickled red onions recipe from Love & Lemons, I make this recipe quite often when I want to add onions to salds, sandwiches and such.
[pita: 1, outcome: 7]

Cabbage and Kimchi Okonomiyaki (Tenderheart by Hetty Lui McKinnon)
I was inspired by someone in this sub who made Meera Sodha's okonomiyaki recipe, and I also had some leftover kimchi, so this was a great recipe to use it. It's actually the first time I made okonomiyaki and I never had it in a restaurant or as street food, so I can't really compare the recipe to an authentic version, but I liked this one a lot. The gochujang ketchup was a great addition (it was a bit thin though, so I wouldn't add water next time). Easy to put together and tasty.
[pita: 3, outcome: 7]

Peach Chia Breakfast Shake (or Pudding) (At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin)
When I first had this shake, I thought it was quite nice, but not more. To my surprise, I kept coming back to it and made this recipe on repeat over the summer. The combination of fresh fruit and coconut just made a perfect summer drink/snack. I used different fruits (basically, just what I had/what needed to go; peach/nectarine, cantaloupe and mango are my favorites), and made some little tweaks here and there: I reduced the amount of coconut oil as the coconut flavor was a bit too dominant, added a very tiny amount of salt (just as a flavor boost, not so much that it tasted salty in any way) and, if the fruits used were very sweet, a little bit pomegranate molasses. As the recipe states, the thickness of the shake can be pushed to a pudding-like consistency by adding more chia seeds.
[pita: 2, outcome: 8]

Shaved Zucchini Salad with Purslane and Pine Nut Lemon Dressing (At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin)
I really liked the dressing (it's on the thicker side, so I thinned it down a little bit) and I will definitely make that again, I think it will be great for tender leafy salads. The salad looks quite good with the yellow zucchini. Flavorwise, it's solid, but not a banger.
[pita: 3, outcome: 6]

Famous pita and outcome ratings as introduced by u/ehherewegoagain.

1. Labne with Sizzled Scallions and Chile (aka #TheDip) (from Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman) --- Great mixture of fresh, rich and hot. Bonus points: It looks really good with the color contrasts from white, green and red. I made this dip several times for BBQs and similar events, it was always well liked. I sometimes add a minced garlic clove into the warming olive oil and top the dip with pickled red onions. Serve with pita or other flatbread and voilà, it doesn't get much better. [pita 2, outcome 9]
2. Cauliflower, Cashew, Pea and Coconut Curry (from Made in India by Meera Sodha) --- This was quite easy to make and I liked it. I was surprised by how mild the spices where are the end, so I'd up them by 50 % next time I'll be making it. [pita 3, outcome 7]
3. Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Onion with Tahini & Za'atar (from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi) --- Compared to some other Ottolenghi recipes, this was quite easy to assemble and make. I loved the contrast of sweet butternut and red onions with the tahini. Za'atar made a great addition to the final taste. Next time, I will try it with dukkah I made yesterday instead of za'atar. [pita 4, outcome 9]
4. Pressed Cabbage Salad (from High Fibre Heroes by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall) --- I like Hugh's recipes for their comparatively non-fuzzy style, but this one was just okay. I liked the texture of the pressed cabbage, but the dressing lacked acidity and the apple did not come through at all. I think there are better recipes for cabbage salad. [pita 3, outcome 5]
5. Comforting Cabbage, Onion, and Farro Soup (from Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden) --- I love this soup and make it quite often. It's straight forward and rich in fibre. The roasted farro adds a nice nuttiness. Would recommend to double the amount of onions the recipe calls for and to let them brown a bit before adding the cabbage (McFadden explicitly writes to not let them get brown, but I really don’t see why, it‘s delicious). Don't skip the parmesan at the end (it doesn't have to be a lot, though), as it adds a really nice dimension of flavor. When the weather is hot and I feel like it, I add some peas or edamame right before serving. [pita 3, outcome 9]
6. Shallot Tarte (from Deftig Vegetarisch by Anne-Katrin Weber) --- This one was a HUGE hit. It's a savory treat, but definitely has some sweetness to it that nicely contrasts to the balsamico. Rosemary adds a nice herbaceous note. I changed the all-purpose to whole grain flour, as I only use whole grain flours when I bake/cook. [pita 5, outcome 10]
7. Buttered Tomato Soup with Lentils and Fennel (from Something from Nothing by Alison Roman) --- Quite easy to make and delicious. Simple ingredients, mostly pantry staples. Although it uses red lentils, you have to cook it quite long to achieve a certrain consistency, but it's definitely worth it. Will definitely make it again. [pita 2, outcome 9]
8. Whole-Grain Rye Sourdough Bread (from Besser Vollkorn backen by Lutz Geißler) --- This is my go-to bread, I bake it almost every week. As this is a whole grain bread, the crumb is not airy and open, but it's still soft and light, the crust is to die for. It needs some time do make it, but it's relatively low maintenance and it just never fails. It tastes incredible and even people who usually don't eat whole grain bread like this one. [pita 5, outcome 10]

Moin moin,

ich möchte für meine Mutter diesen Schokoflan-Kuchen backen: https://food52.com/recipes/83169-dulce-de-leche-chocoflan-cake-recipe

Für den oberen Flan-Teil werden benötigt:
380 g Dulce de leche
350 ml ungesüßte Kondensmilch (evaporated milk)
115 g Frischkäse Doppelrahmstufe
1.5 TL Vanilleextrakt
1 Prise Salz
5 große Eier

Das Ganze wird bei 180 °C (im Wasserbad) gebacken.

Nun mein Problem: Ungesüßte Kondensmilch werde ich im Supermarkt wahrscheinlich nicht finden (ich lebe in einer Kleinstadt, bei Rewe und Kaufland habe ich es versucht, evtl. habe ich bei Edeka noch eine Chance), und im Internet bestellen möchte ich sie nicht extra. Was nun? Da "normaler" Kondensmilch sehr viel Zucker zugesetzt wird, habe ich Sorge, dass der Flan mit normaler Kondensmilch viel zu süß wird (v. a. in Kombination mit der Dulce de leche). Wenn es gar nicht anders geht, könnte ich die Kondensmilch selbst herstellen. Habt ihr Ideen, wie ich die ungesüßte Kondensmilch stattdessen ersetzen könnte? Zusätzlichen Frischkäse, der im Rezept ja eh schon vorkommt, mit Milch glattrühren?

Da ich nicht so häufig backe, kann ich auch nur schlecht abschätzen, wie sich ein Ersetzen auf die Konsistenz auswirken wird.

Danke für alle Tipps!

EDIT: Hat sich schon eine Lösung gefunden... Danke!

Greetings, fellow fermenters!

Here is my problem, and I hope you will help me brainstorm: For my sauerkraut and other ferments, I want to remove some spices that I added after fermentation is complete, such as whole caraway seeds, juniper berries and bay leaves. I am looking for ideas on how to incorporate these spices into my ferments so that I can remove them once fermentation is complete. I am unsure which materials can withstand prolonged acid exposure. Spice bags are mainly made of cellulose or cotton, but my research suggests that neither of these materials is suitable as they might break down in the presence of lactic acid. Metal tea eggs are not an option as I need to apply pressure when packing the sauerkraut. One idea I had was to use a small ziplock bag and perforate it with a needle. Do you think that would work?

Do you have any other ideas? My absolute last resort would be to grind everything and leave it in the ferment, but I would prefer not to do that (while this might work for the sauerkraut, I want to use other spices that cannot be ground). Thanks a lot!

Edit: Ideally, the solution is reusable.

Edit 2: Solved, thanks!