The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[KenzSailing]

I’m baking, so let’s talk about flour (sound of everyone scrolling to the next post.)

 

Fair warning: this post is kind of US centric, as flour is low margin, heavy, expensive to ship, and therefore a very local (or at least regional or national) product.  Tariffs are probably also a factor.

 

So BC (before Corona) I thought that flour was…flour.  You know, the stuff that comes in a five pound paper bag that wheezes white dust all over your kitchen the first time you open it.

 

Well, it turns out flour is milled wheat (if you knew this, you are smarter than I.  Not that that’s a high bar.)

 

Now, every day flour is “all-purpose” flour.  That’s what you have a wheezy bag of in your pantry right now. (You do, it’s in the back, lower shelf, on the right.)

 

But did you know some flours are more all-purposey than others?  Tis’ true. The difference is the type of wheat the flour is milled from.  In the US, there is Soft White AP (White Lily), Hard Red AP(King Arthur) and a blend of the two (Gold Medal, the most all-purposey.)  Side note: White Lily is best for fluffy biscuits (I think it’s the PH.)  This shall feature in a future installment of “Misadventures in Cooking.”

 

And then there’s bread flour.

 

And cake flour.

 

These are self-explanatory, which is good, because I’m not sure how they’re different.  But they are.  Trust me on this.

 

And don’t even get me started on whole wheat and spelt.

 

Oh, and in Italy(a wonderful land we Yanks currently cannot travel to, for reasons which are entirely understandable) they mill all sorts of different things.  The most well known here in the US is “00” flour, which is reputed to make the best pizza dough.  I’ve bought some, just in case the coming zombie apocalypse can be bought off with pizza.

 

Then today I bought a container of a US flour from Gold Medal called “Wondra.”  Really, that’s what it’s called. It’s supposed to be uniquely good at crisping up pan fried flour dredged fish.  I’m thinking about buying some very expensive sole and trying not to over cook it.  We shall see.

 

So anyway, I’ve gone from “flour is flour,” to having on hand seven different kinds. 

 

Ah well, at least I can always locate one in the pantry.

 

PS: still hungry for more?  Here ya go:

 

https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/07/wheat-flour-guide.html

 

 

[rafinmd]

I wonder what kind of flour goes into Portugese tarts.

 

Roy

[Texas Tillie]

Remembering the Swans Down Cake Flour in the red box that my grandmother always used. I think it's still available. I remember that it was milled much finer than the Gold Medal All Purpose Flour.🎂🍰🎂

 

Patty

[Roland4]

2 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

And then there’s bread flour.

 

And cake flour.

 

These are self-explanatory, which is good, because I’m not sure how they’re different.  But they are.  Trust me on this.

 

 

They have higher levels of protein. I learned that from one of Jon Ashton's early Sunday cooking demos!

 

Up until a few weeks ago all the flour in our local grocery store was cleverly disguised as empty shelves!!! Selection is almost back to normal now that restaurants have re-opened for indoor dining! Plus it has been too damned hot to be baking bread lately!! 😁

[KenzSailing]

59 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

Remembering the Swans Down Cake Flour in the red box that my grandmother always used. I think it's still available. I remember that it was milled much finer than the Gold Medal All Purpose Flour.🎂🍰🎂

 

Patty

 

Oh right!  I've got a box of that just waiting for me to get up the courage to make the Boston cream pie I have in my designs. It's still thought of as a very, very good cake flour(source: Stella Parks in her award-winning dessert cookbook "Bravetart.") 

 

So that's eight flours for me. Dairy may have its Queen, but I am the king of milled wheat. 

[rafinmd]

1 minute ago, Roland4 said:

Selection is almost back to normal now that restaurants have re-opened for indoor dining! Plus it has been too damned hot to be baking bread lately!! 😁

How is it today?  Down in Maryland our temperature has dropped about 10F/5C from yesterday.

 

Roy

[mskatiemae]

Next trip to Minneapolis try to see the Mill City Museum - a historical site with lots of fun interactive stuff on flour. Of course that will be after the pandemic.

 

Those planning a future Mississippi River cruise can go upstream as far as Saint Paul, then with a hop, a skip and a jump be in downtown Minneapolis. Or, like Roy a few years back, take Amtrak. 

 

https://quirkytravelguy.com/quirky-attraction-mill-city-museum-minneapolis/

[FlyerTalker]

25 minutes ago, mskatiemae said:

Next trip to Minneapolis try to see the Mill City Museum - a historical site with lots of fun interactive stuff on flour. Of course that will be after the pandemic.

 

Sure it will still be there?:

 

[Roland4]

44 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

How is it today?  Down in Maryland our temperature has dropped about 10F/5C from yesterday.

 

Roy

 

Still running about 30C/86F, but with the humidity, closer to 34C/93F. Supposed to be hot through the weekend then cool off closer to the normal 25C/77F range. It will be nice to be able to open some windows and air the house out. Not complaining though. This has been the best summer we have had in years!

 

Larry

[mskatiemae]

58 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Sure it will still be there?:

 

Yes. 

https://www.mnhs.org/millcity/learn/architecture-and-art

[KenzSailing]

2 hours ago, mskatiemae said:

Next trip to Minneapolis try to see the Mill City Museum - a historical site with lots of fun interactive stuff on flour. Of course that will be after the pandemic.

 

Those planning a future Mississippi River cruise can go upstream as far as Saint Paul, then with a hop, a skip and a jump be in downtown Minneapolis. Or, like Roy a few years back, take Amtrak. 

 

https://quirkytravelguy.com/quirky-attraction-mill-city-museum-minneapolis/

 

A Museum of Flour?  The world's "Biggest Ball of Twine" just got knocked down to number two on my bucket list.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, mskatiemae said:

Yes. 

https://www.mnhs.org/millcity/learn/architecture-and-art

 

 

I'd rather wager putting money down on another Crystal cruise than betting that any particular building in Minneapolis will survive.

[BEAV]

5 hours ago, Roland4 said:

Still running about 30C/86F, but with the humidity, closer to 34C/93F. 

 

Supposed to be 107 here tomorrow. 

 

I’m afraid KenzSailing’s dough won’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of raising at that temperature....

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by BEAV

[travelberlin]

On 8/12/2020 at 10:55 PM, SusieQft said:

I hope this is not an omen for the Crystal 2022 world cruise.  That will be circling the globe without flying the easy way, assuming it goes as planned.

I have done two around the world trips by plane. No pandemics interrupted those trips. The WC 2019 with Crystal was also perfect. Being booked on the WC 2022, I am optimistic that if Crystal will sail, by then we will have a treatment  against Coronavirus. There will always be a rest risk and that will have to be a personal decision.

Ivi

[travelberlin]

One more positive review of a river cruise in a beautiful area in Europe. I think that those river cruises in Europe are a good option for some of us. 

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/5527/&cache=disable/?source=99360&fbclid=IwAR3UJ1C4FPmVjtVXd1Jas7ziI8q4l6sRg2c_EJg1P3W3g52dM2s-mF9FfnY

[rafinmd]

This is probably my first and definitely oldest sunrise (I think) photo.  It was taken on the SS Rotterdam on August 14, 1997, my first HAL cruise and my first cruise with Rick Spath as cruise director.  I was thinking I had lost the metadata but then realized it was a film camera and there was no such thing.  It was taken after our stop in Ketchikan and before our galley tour on the last sea day so while it was probably sunrise August 14 it might have been sunset August 13.

 

 

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise comes from my August. 2018 Grand Panama Canal cruise, San Francisco to New York.  On August 15 we were at sea off the coast of Mexico.

 

 

Roy

[claudiaYVR]

Option to old reruns of the Love Boat: Netflix Spanish mystery series High Seas (Alta Mar). 

[mskatiemae]

2 hours ago, claudiaYVR said:

Option to old reruns of the Love Boat: Netflix Spanish mystery series High Seas (Alta Mar). 

Thanks for the tip - watched the trailer. Finished "The Crown" recently and need a new Netflix series. 

[KenzSailing]

 

My 30th anniversary cookbook just arrived.  I don't have time to crack it now, but I am atwitter with excitement.

 

Any recommendations on what to try first?  

[BWIVince]

3 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

My 30th anniversary cookbook just arrived.  I don't have time to crack it now, but I am atwitter with excitement.

 

Any recommendations on what to try first?  

The Portuguese custard tarts, of course!!  😁  ...Since this IS the Bistro thread, and you do have the flour.  😉

 

I’m curious to hear your thoughts when you do have time to flip through it...  I love it, but my thoughts on it were kind of complicated.  (Shocker.)

 

Vince

[Camillus112]

6 hours ago, claudiaYVR said:

Option to old reruns of the Love Boat: Netflix Spanish mystery series High Seas (Alta Mar). 

 

Saw all available seasons/episodes in Spanish (my first language), but have to concede it is soap-operatic.  However, it is still interesting and entertaining.  The last season deals with a virus on board...rather relevant.

[Roland4]

5 hours ago, BWIVince said:

 I love it, but my thoughts on it were kind of complicated.  (Shocker.)

 

Vince

 

And, in other news, the sun rose this morning!!!!😁😁😁

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise photo is from the Crystal Symphony, coming into Puerto Chiapas, Mexico, on August 16, 2018:

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

18 hours ago, BWIVince said:

The Portuguese custard tarts, of course!!  😁  ...Since this IS the Bistro thread, and you do have the flour.  😉

 

I’m curious to hear your thoughts when you do have time to flip through it...  I love it, but my thoughts on it were kind of complicated.  (Shocker.)

 

Vince

 

Vince.

 

My first skim is in tune with your thoughts.  I figured it would be an aspirational cookbook, as it also has to showcase Crystal's chefs and cooks (couldn't very well start with "Step one, open a can of tuna.")

 

In that regard, and with its sumptuousness (wow the food porn pix) is succeeds very well.  Have to admit, it heightens my regard for what goes on in Crystal's galleys.

 

As to what I'll try, well, I think I'll start with the cocktail section!