That needs a little more emphasis!
You can't reach 100% (that's percent, not degrees proof) ethanol by distillation alone, the mixture tops out at 95% or so. To remove the last bit of water, a third compound must be added to allow the last of the water to be left behind as the ethanol boils off. IIRC from my college chem classes, that third compound is benzene, which is a carcinogen. (Google says cyclohexane also works, You still don't want to drink that).
So, stick to the 95% ethanol, not the 100% stuff!
Apparently in California Everclear is now sold at only 120 proof. Probably not as effective as the stronger stuff for making homemade limoncello, but we'll see when I decant my next batch. There's also a batch under the bar that was made with Wray & Nephew Overproof rum at 126 proof. I can't find any references to making 'rumoncello', so I'm in terra incognita with that one.
Bill
This came up before DPH remembered the word for it. Some laboratory work requires anhydrous ethanol without the contaminants it is a specialty product and expensive. Our Everclear is still 190 proof.
Buy 100% Alcohol | For Sale $30.00 | 200 Proof Alcohol
– Lab Alley
This year has been terrible for peaches around here. I had one box of good ones which were local, and so they were small but juicy and flavorful. We usually get boxes of Ontario peaches which are ripe and good, usually in August, or we did when I was a kid. The Ontario growing season was weird this year, extremely cold and wet through June, so everything was late, and the Ontario peaches that have made it here have been terrible (mealy texture, dry, no flavor). So I had a bunch of peaches in the fridge threatening to spoil but they were no fun to eat.
So we made some sweet pie dough (flan pastry), peeled and cut up some peaches, and sprinkled them with about 50g of sugar, a good pinch of freshly ground nutmeg (brought all the way from Grenada!), a little squeeze of lemon juice and a splash of peach schnaps. Melted a knob of butter in a non-stick pan and fried the peaches on high heat until they softened and started to caramelize around the edges. Rolled out the dough, dumped the peaches in the middle, kind of folded up and pleated the edges so the middle was still uncovered, and baked for about 45 minutes until the pastry was done. I would have got a picture but we ate it all up! Great way to improve mediocre peaches.
So we made some sweet pie dough (flan pastry), peeled and cut up some peaches, and sprinkled them with about 50g of sugar, a good pinch of freshly ground nutmeg (brought all the way from Grenada!), a little squeeze of lemon juice and a splash of peach schnaps. Melted a knob of butter in a non-stick pan and fried the peaches on high heat until they softened and started to caramelize around the edges. Rolled out the dough, dumped the peaches in the middle, kind of folded up and pleated the edges so the middle was still uncovered, and baked for about 45 minutes until the pastry was done. I would have got a picture but we ate it all up! Great way to improve mediocre peaches.
Yes so $23 vs $40. Not that bad as sometimes we are more than double the cost.
Sounds good. I think peaches and peach desserts are underrated.
Not in Georgia mind you. Atlanta alone has 71 Peachtree 'streets'.
Agree, though the peaches need to be picked ripe.
I recall seeing a recipe that called for grilled peach halves, done on the bbq to get a bit of char on them, but I can't remember the details.
Speaking of which, last weekend at the farmer's market I picked up some tomatillos. Tonight I roasted them over charcoal, as well as poblano, jalapeno, and New Mexico pepppers from my garden. Also half a sweet onion, slightly charred but slow roasted on the grill until it was soft, and a lime also roasted on the grill. I didn't bother roasting garlic because it always seems to get tough, but I mashed a couple of cloves from, yes, our garden with some salt, and whizzed all these things together in the food processor. Salsa verde! (I have some fresh coriander leaf but can't decide whether to put it in the salsa.)
I live in the same area code as Gilroy, California "the Garlic capital of the world". So my supermarket carries jars of crushed garlic, minced garlic, peeled whole garlic cloves, and roasted garlic. Let me tell you, when somebody else roasts the garlic and all you have to do is pull it out of a jar, your horizons open up dramatically. To name one example: refrigerated roasted garlic, finely minced, makes a wonderful addition to a breakfast omelet.
I thought the area of Western NY State was the garlic capital of the US, but I am disabused of the notion!
My wife remarks that the little girls of her Catholic school in the Bronx would wear a garlic clove on a string to keep the evil humors away (in flu season). Didn't seem to bother me!
Chili Con Carne in the InstaPot. It's time to use some of the things in the cupboards.
Chuck, coarse ground, from the freezer
Tomatoes, canned diced
Onions, fresh, fried
Shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated
Black fungus, rehydrated
Cloud fungus, rehydrated
Green pepper, fresh
Red Kidney beans, canned
Beef au jus powder
Jeera (Cumin), finely ground
Chili flakes, recycled
After starting the warming on the stove, it just went into the InstaPot on low pressure for 5 minutes and will be left until the valve drops (probably 20 minutes after shutting off)
Mouth is watering, as the chef's samples were very promising considering how many ingredients were canned, dried and frozen.
Ah, who cares as long as your mouth is happy, right?
I rarely get to cook this as the Mrs. has a real problem with the Jeera. I will have to package this, have the dishes washed and the place aired out before she gets home tonight. Not kidding.
Cheers.
Chuck, coarse ground, from the freezer
Tomatoes, canned diced
Onions, fresh, fried
Shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated
Black fungus, rehydrated
Cloud fungus, rehydrated
Green pepper, fresh
Red Kidney beans, canned
Beef au jus powder
Jeera (Cumin), finely ground
Chili flakes, recycled
After starting the warming on the stove, it just went into the InstaPot on low pressure for 5 minutes and will be left until the valve drops (probably 20 minutes after shutting off)
Mouth is watering, as the chef's samples were very promising considering how many ingredients were canned, dried and frozen.
Ah, who cares as long as your mouth is happy, right?
I rarely get to cook this as the Mrs. has a real problem with the Jeera. I will have to package this, have the dishes washed and the place aired out before she gets home tonight. Not kidding.
Cheers.
Attachments
Last edited:
Many times I noticed that they started talking about garlic in the USA with special reverence.
Images from the film run along the blade of 2049. In our translation, garlic was grown in these greenhouses in the Los Angeles area. Touching inscription in Russian - virgin soil.
Images from the film run along the blade of 2049. In our translation, garlic was grown in these greenhouses in the Los Angeles area. Touching inscription in Russian - virgin soil.
Attachments
Last edited: