Cooking Oils

BlueBrooke .@. writes:

A lot of people can taste the difference between the oils, but I sure
can't. I can't taste any difference -- to me, oil is oil. I use an
appropriate one, or one that's recommended in a recipe, just in case
someone else who is eating it can tell.

I used to spend a lot of money on different oils, but I don't anymore.
I never noticed the "nutty" or "woodsy" or "fruity" taste they were
supposed to have. Or maybe I just don't know what these words mean as
culinary terms?

I'm the same way; I never pick up subtle differences in tastes. Oil
just tastes like oil, and doing things like infusing it with herbs does
nothing for me. I like nuts, and when I read through seed catalogs,
there are supposedly "nutty" varieties of everything from lettuce to
squash, but they just taste like lettuce and squash to me.



--
Aaron -- 285/254/200 -- aaron.baugher.biz

"Aaron Baugher" wrote in message
...
Jackie Patti writes:


http://www.localharvest.org/.

Holy Cow! Pretty expensive. I'd be happy to buy this stuff if I could afford
it. I probably eat two pounds of beef on most days.

http://www.eatwild.com

I found a place about 2 hours away from here. I guess there aren't a lot of
farmers here in Los Angeles. I think I'll plan a trip out there to see what
they have. Even if its expensive, I'll come home with something :-)

I know of someone who used to buy a cow, raise it and then give it to a
butcher for some sort of split of the meat. Then he'd deep freeze the meat
and have enough for, I dunno, a long time I guess.

I live in a small place with a little fridge. I've thought about putting a
big freezer in the garage or something.

There are a couple of local butcher shops in the area. I should pop in and
ask them where they get their beef and so forth. You never know.

Any product
containing "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" ANYTHING is
bad, don't eat it at all.

I'll definitely watch for that.

Oh, thanks to all for the info on the oils, etc, too. I've got some walnut
oil and peanut oil up in the cabinet and butter in the fridge. Over time,
I'll try cooking with olive oil, lard, sesame oil (which I'm looking forward
to trying), etc.

A lot of my food burns, by the way. I prefer rare meat, actually. The
problem is I put stuff on the stove, go back to the computer for a few
minutes, and... the food burns. Is that bad? Does the oil burn too? I hadn't
given that much thought.

do I need to start making my own
mayo?

1 egg, 1c oil and 1t lemon juice, mix in a food processor... is that how to
do it? Doesn't sound too hard. Is a food processor and a blender pretty much
the same thing? I have a blender. I had to google food processor to see what
it is.

Mike

Here's a really easy mayo recipe that was posted here a while back, you can
vary the type of oil, vinegar (or lemon juice) and seasonings to taste.

Boatmotor Mayonnaise

1 egg - as fresh as possible
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
½ teaspoon of mustard powder or
½ teaspoon prepared Dijon or deli mustard
2 teaspoons of wine/cider vinegar
2/3 of a cup of olive oil
2/3 of a cup of sunflower oil (or any combo thereof)
I also add several cloves of roasted garlic

Place all ingredients into jar. Use stick blender on high until the mixture
thickens, about 30 seconds. Place lid on jar and store in the fridge. Will
keep for about ten days. Makes about 1 ¼ cups.

If you don't have a stick blender you can get them for about $20 and they
are wonderfully handy.

em wrote:
|| do I need to start making my own
|| mayo?
|
| 1 egg, 1c oil and 1t lemon juice, mix in a food processor... is that
| how to do it? Doesn't sound too hard. Is a food processor and a
| blender pretty much the same thing? I have a blender. I had to google
| food processor to see what it is.
|
| Mike

"FOB" wrote in message
...
Here's a really easy mayo recipe that was posted here a while back, you
can
vary the type of oil, vinegar (or lemon juice) and seasonings to taste.

Are those little lemon shaped lemon juices the same as the stuff you buy in
a bottle? I don't think I'd use a whole bottle of lemon concentrate in ten
years.

Yes, it's just a handy dispenser.

em wrote:
| "FOB" wrote in message
| ...
|| Here's a really easy mayo recipe that was posted here a while back,
|| you can
|| vary the type of oil, vinegar (or lemon juice) and seasonings to
|| taste.
|
| Are those little lemon shaped lemon juices the same as the stuff you
| buy in a bottle? I don't think I'd use a whole bottle of lemon
| concentrate in ten years.

em wrote:

I live in a small place with a little fridge. I've thought about putting
a big freezer in the garage or something.

There's only two of us here, but I find having a freezer indispensable.


A lot of my food burns, by the way. I prefer rare meat, actually. The
problem is I put stuff on the stove, go back to the computer for a few
minutes, and... the food burns. Is that bad? Does the oil burn too? I
hadn't given that much thought.

Oil is somewhat damaged when it reaches it's smoke point.

IMO, the main problem is just that dinner is burnt.

I'm easily distracted like that too. I watch a DVD or play an audiobook
when working in the kitchen. If there's time I need to waste, I do the
dishes or laundry (my washer is in the kitchen). Cause I *know* if I
leave, I'll forget and burn something. Even a timer doesn't help me; I
hear it but then forget about it.


do I need to start making my own
mayo?

1 egg, 1c oil and 1t lemon juice, mix in a food processor... is that how
to do it? Doesn't sound too hard. Is a food processor and a blender
pretty much the same thing? I have a blender. I had to google food
processor to see what it is.

A food processor has different attaches to shred or slice foods, or to
whip them or such. For the purposes of mayo, a blender would pretty
much be the same. You have to add the oil gradually.


--
http://www.ornery-geeks.org/consulting/

em wrote:

"FOB" wrote in message
...
Here's a really easy mayo recipe that was posted here a while back,
you can
vary the type of oil, vinegar (or lemon juice) and seasonings to taste.

Are those little lemon shaped lemon juices the same as the stuff you buy
in a bottle? I don't think I'd use a whole bottle of lemon concentrate
in ten years.

Fresh is best, but the bottled stuff is a lot more convenient. And yes,
the lemon shaped plastic things are pretty much the same as the large
glass bottles.

I make lemonade often and compromise between laziness and best taste by
using a half cup of bottled juice and a whole lemon for 2 quarts then
sweeten with stevia.

--
http://www.ornery-geeks.org/consulting/

Aaron Baugher wrote:
BlueBrooke .@. writes:

A lot of people can taste the difference between the oils, but I sure
can't. I can't taste any difference -- to me, oil is oil. I use an
appropriate one, or one that's recommended in a recipe, just in case
someone else who is eating it can tell.

I used to spend a lot of money on different oils, but I don't anymore.
I never noticed the "nutty" or "woodsy" or "fruity" taste they were
supposed to have. Or maybe I just don't know what these words mean as
culinary terms?

I'm the same way; I never pick up subtle differences in tastes. Oil
just tastes like oil, and doing things like infusing it with herbs does
nothing for me. I like nuts, and when I read through seed catalogs,
there are supposedly "nutty" varieties of everything from lettuce to
squash, but they just taste like lettuce and squash to me.




I don't really notice the difference between "extra virgin" and regular
olive oil.