Which food things make a difference, which don't?

[James Boston]

I can only comment on one of the questions. My father's only hobby, as far back as my memory goes, has been vegetable gardening. So, I've always had the freshest of produce. Store-bought produce is crap.

I've just recently discovered a local butcher I want to start using, hopefully it will be good.

[samjjones]

"Skinning" baby back ribs vs. not "skinning" them.

[El Diablo]

All,

Thanks for your posts. It seems pretty clear to me that my first order of business is upgrading my balsamic vinegar I use on salads!

I'll do some more experimenting with some of these things and report back soon.

[matrix]

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Sea salt v. regular salt

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masked man:

I strongly suggest you go for "Fleur de Sel" rather than just sea salt.

Fleur de Sel is harvested by hand off the village of Guerande in Brittany in July and August, when the sea is calm and the weather conditions are just right.

It is the absolute creme de la creme of sea salts - it comes slightly damp.

Whilst working my last job in some fine dining restaurant we weren't allowed to use anything but.

It's pricy - but it's more than worth it.

You can get some remarkably from amazon

[matrix]

as for other stuff in general...

It depends what you are making.

e.g. 25+ Oak aged Real Balsamic will do wonders in a salad dressing or with fresh strawberries - the good stuff is quite thick and syrupy and not watery at all - but you wouldn't want to use it in a reduction as the heat denatures a good amount of the delicteness of the flavour.

Try and find if you can cold pressed oils - rather than the ass produced equivalents - the most obvious example is extra virgin olive oil. But if you use sesame oil or walnut oil or suchlike the intensity of flavour is so much better in the cold pressed version.

Organic produce is always far and away better quality and flavour than non organic the difference between eggs is particularly pronounced. If you can go one step better and get produce directly from the farm it's usually better still.

and unpasteurised cheese is almost always better than it's pasteurised cousin.

In general supermarket meat is pumped with extra water - butchers meat is usually not.

Freshly ground anything is much better (and keeps better) than preground stuff.

[LittleOldLady]

[ QUOTE ]
as for other stuff in general...

It depends what you are making.

e.g. 25+ Oak aged Real Balsamic will do wonders in a salad dressing or with fresh strawberries - the good stuff is quite thick and syrupy and not watery at all - but you wouldn't want to use it in a reduction as the heat denatures a good amount of the delicteness of the flavour.

Try and find if you can cold pressed oils - rather than the ass produced equivalents - the most obvious example is extra virgin olive oil. But if you use sesame oil or walnut oil or suchlike the intensity of flavour is so much better in the cold pressed version.

Organic produce is always far and away better quality and flavour than non organic the difference between eggs is particularly pronounced. If you can go one step better and get produce directly from the farm it's usually better still.

and unpasteurised cheese is almost always better than it's pasteurised cousin.

In general supermarket meat is pumped with extra water - butchers meat is usually not.

Freshly ground anything is much better (and keeps better) than preground stuff.

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Back in the day when I was married, and we cooked everything ourselves from scratch (and even grew our own fruits and vegetables for a while), we did all our own meat grinding. This I recommend. If you do it yourself, you know for sure what quality/cut of meat you are getting and can control the amount of fat in the finished product.

[slamdunkpro]

Fresh herbs v. dried herbs

It depends on the dish. Fresh herbs are better in sauces and as garnishes, dry herbs are usually better in long cook products.

Ground pepper from peppercorns/grinder v. ground pepper from shaker
Fresh ground wins this hands down, Also fresh ground cumin, coriander, fennel, & nutmeg.

Sea salt v. regular salt
Let’s face it salt is salt is salt. Sea salt has additional minerals in the flake so it’s not a pure salt. It all comes down to the crystal size. Kosher or large flake salt is better for dry applications like pulling proteins out of meat before searing. Table salt is fine in soups, cookies and of course, the table. Pickling (popcorn) salt is very fine to allow it to dissolve in cold water. Again it depends on the task at hand.

Fresh chili peppers v. powder
Both have their place

Specialty (virgin/extra virgin) olive oil v. grocery store (virgin/extra virgin) olive oil
People spend big bucks at gourmand stores for fancy EV olive oil. As long as it’s cold pressed EV and it tastes good to you, who cares where it comes from.

specialty balsamic vinger v. generic balsamic vineger
TO drizzle on salads – aged. For marinades and reductions, a good supermarket bottle is fine.

Organic fruit/veg v. regular
Meh – no difference

Farm/Farmer's market fruit/veg v. grocery store
I always try to get local produce especially tomatoes if possible.

Premium fresh pasta v. premium dried pasta
If I don’t make it myself, regular dry is fine.

Organic meat v. regular
Meh – no difference

Butcher meat v. grocery store
If you have a butcher who actually butchers fresh animals great. Otherwise most “butcher shops” are getting the same boxed vacuum packed primals as your local grocery.

Free range poultry v. regular
Free range or farm birds do put the chicken taste back in chicken. Farm if possible

Grass fed beef v. grain fed beef
Bad news here – the last 6 weeks they all eat grain. Again farm raised grass is somewhat better, but not worth the price.

Farmed salmon v. wild salmon
Huge huge huge difference here. Wild salmon is RED, tender and sweet. Farmed salmon is flavorless and pale.

The biggest thing you can do to make dishes way better is STOCK. Real stock, not that crap in a cube or in a box that’s mostly water and salt. Don’t have the time or space to make and store your own stocks? this is the best source of cheater stock that I have found. Minors isn’t bad but get the low sodium base if you have to use this.

[matrix]

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Back in the day when I was married, and we cooked everything ourselves from scratch (and even grew our own fruits and vegetables for a while),

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When I was about 16 and still living at home we had quite a large veg garden and I decided one year (I had started cooking Christmas dinner every year by then as my mum is/was an awful cook (sorry mum [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] - I still love you regardless tho)) to grow all my own veg.

I did it - I spent 6 months growing peas potatoes parsnips carrots everything - picked the best bit of each crop and froze down everything just as it was at it's peak.

That year was the best Christmas dinner I ever did. Homegrown veg is soooooooooo much better than anything organic or other wise you buy in the shops.

[LittleOldLady]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


Back in the day when I was married, and we cooked everything ourselves from scratch (and even grew our own fruits and vegetables for a while),

[/ QUOTE ]

When I was about 16 and still living at home we had quite a large veg garden and I decided one year (I had started cooking Christmas dinner every year by then as my mum is/was an awful cook (sorry mum [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] - I still love you regardless tho)) to grow all my own veg.

I did it - I spent 6 months growing peas potatoes parsnips carrots everything - picked the best bit of each crop and froze down everything just as it was at it's peak.

That year was the best Christmas dinner I ever did. Homegrown veg is soooooooooo much better than anything organic or other wise you buy in the shops.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I was young, I hatedhatedhated peas. Then we grew our own, picked them, raced into the kitchen, shelled them, and cooked immediately. An entirely different vegetable, exquisite tasting... We used to puree the fresh peas and serve them with quenelles de brochet. We had very good home cooking in those days, even if I say so myself.

[dalston]

Good thread.

The things I feel strongest about on this list are:

Fresh Herbs - especially for any sauce, salad or garnish.

Fresh pepper - you should be picky about your peppercorns as well. i'm still looking for something in the Bay Area as good as the peppercorns from Spices From Hell in Borough Market in London.

Quality of olive oil for salad dressing, cheese and pasta (the latter when it isn't going to be killed by other flavours).

A decent balsamic vinegar (but doesn't have to be hundreds of dollars).

Wild salmon is way better if you are having the salmon relatively plain (ie cold with a good mayonnaise). The more strong flavour in the dish the less it matters, even though the texture of wild remains way better.

Pasta and chillis worry me least. Often I'll want the dried version in preference.

Some good products menioned here available in the Bay Area.
Bariani Olive Oil. California oil thaqt is good without breaking the bank. From $18 a litre from various places, including the Ferry Building Farmer's Market on Saturday.

Tulocay & Co's Napa Raspberry Balsamic Vinnegar with Lemon makes a lovely salad dressing at a very reasonable $10-12 for 16fl oz.

Eatwell Farm's Sea Salt with rosemary is great for soups, salads, rubbing meat and pretty much everything else. $6 for 4oz from the meat store towards the South end of the Ferry Building.