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Thread ID: 84991	2007-11-26 03:19:00	The Leg Of Lamb Was Exquisite!	SurferJoe46 (51)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
615251	2007-11-26 23:14:00	:stare: I knew I shouldnt have read this thread....I left my lunch at home and Im bloody hungry now!:lol:	rob_on_guitar (4196)
615252	2007-11-27 00:02:00	All this talk of baking Yorkshire puds made me hungry. So I spent the last 45 minutes baking the only thing I can bake successfully - muffins. And man are they good! Cheese, onion, jalapeno and mushroom (www.imagef1.net.nz). And a note to Surfer Joe - proper NZ matured cheddar, not processed plastic! I understand that supermarket American cheese is just as you describe it. However, there was a programme on Sky the other day from a series about cheese fronted by an Aussie guy - the episode I saw was about the growth of artisan cheesemakers in America, and apparently they are making some amazing cheeses these days. Probably not widely available in the US of A though. Do you know how to make gems? We used to call them muffins when I was a child, but apparently the proper name is gems - made in a gem iron. My childhood memory is of the smell of the home made butter being brushed into the hot gem iron before the batter went in, then the smell of spice as the gems cooked. All baking happened in a coal range in my aunt's kitchen. How did she do it? Sponges as light as a feather, all through expert control of the heat output of the fire in the range. How many of us could do that now?	John H (8)
615253	2007-11-27 02:01:00	I understand that supermarket American cheese is just as you describe it . However, there was a programme on Sky the other day from a series about cheese fronted by an Aussie guy - the episode I saw was about the growth of artisan cheesemakers in America, and apparently they are making some amazing cheeses these days . Probably not widely available in the US of A though . In this area . . Hemet/San Jacinto we have approximately three mom-n-pop cheese-making concerns that make some really fine cheeses in the Danish/Dutch ( . winchestercheese . com/location . html" target="_blank">www . winchestercheese . com) style . The farms are all producing estate-type cheeses and I have had quite a few of them in the tasting tours they have all the time . We also have some profound wine producers here too . The Temecula Valley (http://www . temeculawines . org/)area makes some of the highest award winning wines in the world . There are also a goodly number of short-run privateer beer companies ( . pubcrawler . com/Template/ReviewWC . cfm?BrewerID=102673" target="_blank">www . pubcrawler . com) here too . I guess you can define where I live as farmland . The qualifier is if you have any cows withing two miles of where you live . . . and I certainly do! This is also one of the largest . . if not THE largest US Potato producing areas too by Inland Empire Agri-Empire ( . agri-empire . com/company_history . htm" target="_blank">www . agri-empire . com) . I think almost every farm-ish area has some sortta cheese company and/or wine-beer processors too . The US isn't just LA, Miami, Las Vegas and New York, ya know! Can't tell ya why as long away and far off as youse are . . but I LIKE that gloppy American "Processed" cheese that you so easily malign! Here's a C/P from some writer who also has a dislike and love for the same product: "According to Wikipedia, process cheese was invented in Switzerland in 1911 by Walter Gerber, but was perfected and commercialized here in America by Kraft Foods . James L . Kraft patented the method of production in 1916, but it wasn't until 1950 that the sliced version became so popular . In truth, we think of process cheese only as those Kraft American Singles, but in fact most of the readily available supermarket cheeses are just variations on a theme . There are brands of pasteurized process Swiss, pasteurized process Gouda, even pasteurized process Gruyère (I'm sure the Swiss are NOT happy that we are giving them credit for these monstrosities) . But of all these varieties, one truly rises to the top and is uniquely qualified to possess the vaunted title of "American . " Process cheese, as defined by the FDA, is usually made from several different kinds of cheese, which are melted and optionally combined with cream, anhydrous milkfat, or dehydrated cream . An emulsifying agent is added to prevent separation, and other ingredients can be added as well, such as water, salt, "harmless" artificial colorings, spices or flavorings, preservatives, and anti-caking agents . The FDA actually specifies several different kinds of process cheese: pasteurized process cheese (e . g . , Kraft Singles), pasteurized process cheese food (e . g . Velveeta), pasteurized process cheese spread (e . g . Kraft Cheese Whiz) . (Makes you wonder whether there's such a thing as raw process cheese . ) Not surprisingly, process cheese was created not for reasons of taste but for reasons of efficiency . When cheeses are cut and packaged for supermarket display, one ends up with a lot of little scraps of cheese that can't be sold . Process cheese provides a solution to this problem, combining these scraps together into something edible and salable . And furthermore, it has a very long shelf life and can be sold quite inexpensively, which might explain why this food has become so ubiquitous . A side-benefit of the added emulsifiers is that the cheese can be melted uniformly, something which fast food establishments find particularly useful . But what about the taste? For me, delight in food ultimately comes down to how something tastes (and, secondarily, how it looks) . I don't care if it saves me time or money, I don't care if it behaves in a predictable manner when heated, I want something that tastes good . (And if you think Kraft Singles taste bad, you should try some Miller's Kosher process cheese . ) For the life of me, I can't think of any manner of cooking that wouldn't benefit from using a better cheese than process cheese . To be sure, a grilled cheese sandwich is a much better way to consume process cheese than eating it raw, but melting some cave-aged raw-milk gruyère over a couple of slices of buttered bread would be far superior, no? Mac & cheese? You can simulate the behavior of process cheese with some flour and milk to emulsify . Perhaps one day pasteurized process cheese will go the way of asbestos, lead paint, and other "technically advanced" toxic substances . Or maybe they will figure out a way to make it with scraps of good cheese, without preservatives and stabilizers . Till then, keep your singles to yourself!" Anyone who ever visits needs to buy a grilled cheese sandwich ( . roadfood . com/photos/3852 . jpg" target="_blank">www . roadfood . com) at any restaurant they find here . . the treat is well worth it .	SurferJoe46 (51)
615254	2007-11-27 17:25:00	Joe we get those here also, called Toasted Sandwiches here . Fillings vary from place to place . Are our New Zealand products readily available in USA? We do export a lot of foodstuffs to Nth America . Meat, Dairy products etc . You have several cities with larger populations than our entire country so i guess you have to feed the masses somehow even if it does mean importing from our small country:-)	Bantu (52)
615255	2007-11-27 19:44:00	And NZ wine has a very good international reputation	Mercury (1316)
615256	2007-11-27 19:50:00	(snip) Anyone who ever visits needs to buy a grilled cheese sandwich (www.roadfood.com) at any restaurant they find here..the treat is well worth it. Just snipped the bulk of your post for brevity, but thanks for all that - v interesting. As noted by Bantu, toasted sandwiches are big here too. Many homes have their own toasted sandwich maker. Ours pairs well with bread made from our breadmaker! Yum. There is another thing that used to be very popular - toastie (or tastie) pie makers. Very low tech - basically one or two pairs of opposing square pans on a hinge (each pan about 4 inches per side), with long handles that clamped together when the pans were closed. You then stuffed the pans into a heat source like an open fire or pot belly stove. Each pie was made by buttering two slices of bread and placing them on opposing pans. Then you piled the filling on one slice, and closed it up and clamped the handles together. The pan clamped down on the bread, and one of the best things about these 'pies' was the crust. My cousins used to fire theirs up in their blacksmith's forge. A very happy memory of my childhood... You can still buy them at Kathmandu www.kathmandu.co.nz	John H (8)
615257	2007-11-27 22:07:00	There is another thing that used to be very popular - toastie (or tastie) pie makers. Very low tech - basically one or two pairs of opposing square pans on a hinge (each pan about 4 inches per side), with long handles that clamped together when the pans were closed. You then stuffed the pans into a heat source like an open fire or pot belly stove. Each pie was made by buttering two slices of bread and placing them on opposing pans. Then you piled the filling on one slice, and closed it up and clamped the handles together. The pan clamped down on the bread, and one of the best things about these 'pies' was the crust. My cousins used to fire theirs up in their blacksmith's forge. A very happy memory of my childhood... You can still buy them at Kathmandu www.kathmandu.co.nz I remember them from overseas - we used to call them jaffle irons. Very low tech and too much hassle. Even the electric one we have sits unused. We now use a Breville flat grill which is far less messy and much quicker. But have to admit, yeah they made wonderfully tasty "toasties", and of course the range of fillings is endless.	Greg (193)
615258	2007-11-27 22:15:00	mmmm steak,onion,peppers, bacon bits and melted cheese wrapped in 2 slices of toasted home made bread ....there should be a drool icon!	rob_on_guitar (4196)
615259	2007-11-27 22:58:00	Amen brother. I am going to get lunch now! :p	wratterus (105)
615260	2007-11-27 23:22:00	Anyone who ever visits needs to buy a grilled cheese sandwich (www.roadfood.com) at any restaurant they find here..the treat is well worth it.That cheese looks ewwwwww	bob_doe_nz (92)
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