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Balsamic Vinegar

May 12, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

MONDAY 12 MAY - 15H00 Ingredient

Balsamic vinegar as we know it has developed in popularity hugely in the passed decade.  Made popular by TV chefs and restaurants this vinegar made from grapes this vinegar has a sweet flavour and full bouquet.  But not all Balsamic vinegars are created equal, many consumers believe it is the addition of the word Modena that makes a balsamic vinegar great, and whilst this is the region that real Balsamic comes from that is where the similarity ends.

MONDAY 12 MAY - 15h00 Ingredient 2 Aceto Balsamico Tradizionele and Balsamico di Modena are actually completely different.  The first is the real stuff, highly expensive and only available in limited quantities.  This is created by using the juice of the Trebbiano grape and aging it for a minimum of 12-years in wood casks.  This vinegar develops a natural thickness during its long aging, Red label are 12-month old and the vinegar is also available in a gold label which is 25-years old.  Balsamico di Modena is the flavour and taste available in most stores, and even this doesn’t come in a standard.  The requirement is the the vinegar is aged for a minimum of 12-months, but it is not a requirement that it age in wood.  The vinegar is usually thickened and has caramel added to it, to try and make it similar to the original stuff.  Many purists would argue that only the original is good enough, but for most purposes the original is a terrible, expensive, overkill – dressing a simple salad with Balsamico Tradizionele is like diluting your Lagavulin single malt with Pepsi.

 

Flavoured vinegars and vinegar reductions are also very popular and there are some amazing products on the market, Thyme to Dine produce a great selection of flavoured Balsamic reductions the work really well with meats, cheeses, etc.

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Filed Under: Ingredients

Superjuice!

May 8, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

THURSDAY 8 MAY - Ingredient post

Pomegranate juice contains a whopping 3-times more anti-oxidants than red wine or green tea.  A single glass of this superjuice contains about 40% of your daily Vitamin C intake, and also contains folic acid and high levels of vitamins A & E.  This ancient fruit is making a new appearance because of its high levels of anti-oxidants.  Because the juice contains a concentrated dose of anthocyanins, a potent anti-oxidant.  With three times the amount of anthocyanins found in green tea or red wine. Anthocyanins strengthen the capillaries and help prevent the onset of problems from aging, heart disease and cancer by stalling the degeneration of cells in the body. 

The juice makes a great base for dairy free smoothies.

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Filed Under: Ingredients Tagged With: Health, LOW FAT, Nutrition

Oh yeah – gruyère!

May 6, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

TUESDAY 6 MAY 12H00 - INGREDIENT POST

Gruyère is a hard yellow cheese famed for its sweet but mildly salty nutty flavours.  The younger the cheese the creamier and nuttier the flavour, as the cheese gets older it is a far more complex and pungent cheese.  Fully aged, around 12 months, the cheese tends to become drier and fine cracks appear in the skin which leads the cheese to becoming grainier.  The cheese is originally from the town of Gruyère in Switzerland, but the French also produce similar cheeses like Comté.

Small amounts of this cheese impart a lot of flavour, add a little to a toasted cheese sandwich for an amazing flavour boost.

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Filed Under: Ingredients

Cornstarch

May 3, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

THURSDAY 1 MAY 15H00 - Afternoon post

This super white powder is made from the white endosperm at the heart of a kernel of corn. Predominantly used as a thickening agent in cooking and as a health-conscious alternative to talc – interestingly it is also the main ingredient in biodegradeable plastic.  Certain powdered sugars also contain a small amount to help keep them from clumping.
Because the corn starch is tasteless it can be used to thicken anything, sweet or savoury.  It also works well to thicken sauces where a high fat content product like cream has been excluded because it adds a silkiness.  It can clump when powder is added to a large quantity of hot liquid, so experts recommend diluting it first in a small amount of cold water before adding it to the hot liquid.  You can also use it for a light crisp crust by dusting calamari, fish or chicken pieces before deep frying.

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Filed Under: Ingredients

Skills you must have: Crème Patissiere

May 3, 2014 by TSJC 1 Comment

SATURDAY 3 MAY 14h00 - Afternoon post
This is one of those recipes, the ones that you have to know.  A crème patissiere, is the classic custard filling in so many pastries and cakes.  It is, however, not the bright yellow stodgy stuff the supermarkets inject into soggy éclair cases, it is a light delicately vanilla scented cream.  The perfect base for a fruit tart, the silky sweet custard balancing the tart fruits.
Use ready made short crust pastry, or make your own (Full recipe & Step by Step Video coming soon) short crust pastry.  Then pour the custard in and tumble berries or any other fruit over the top for a dramatic tea time treat.
Crème Patissiere
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
– 5 egg yolks, room temp
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 3tbsp corn starch
– 1tbsp butter
– 1tsp vanilla
– 1tbsp heavy cream
– 1tbsp brandy
–  1 1/2 cups milk, scalded
In a bowl of a beater add the sugar and the egg yolks, on medium-high speed whisk the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy, at least 5-8 minutes.  Now sieve the corn flour in and continue whisking on a low speed.  Add the hot milk in a slow stream with the mixer running on slow, being sure not to add it to fast or you will scramble the eggs.  once all the milk is added transfer it to a heavy based sauce pan and on a low heat bring the mixture to a slow boil, stirring continuously.  When you start you will notice a light white foam on the top of the mixture, from the air bubbles caused during the mixing.  As the mixture thickens this light foam will start to disappear.  Once it has all disappeared swop from the wooden spoon to a whisk and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, whisking continuously until thick and creamy.  Now stir in the brandy, butter and heavy cream.  If you are worried about the smoothness of your crème patissiere just run it through a fine sieve, but if you keep an eye on your cooking temperatures this recipe is almost fool proof.  Remove from stove, transfer to a bowl and loosely press a sheet of cling wrap to the custard, this will stop a skin from forming.
If you want a slightly thicker custard you can add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch, but this custard is the right consistency for filling delicate eclairs and light fruit tarts, it is not stodgy or heavy.
To make a quick fruit tart, take a nice sweet short crust pastry, will share my recipe soon, line a pie tin with it and bake it blind till crisp and golden.  Once the crust has cooled, line it with a thin layer of preserve, in this case I used raspberry, you can mix the raspberry jam in with a tablespoon or two of crème patissiere so that you can get away with putting less but getting it everywhere, which makes the tart less sweet.  Top it with the light crème patissiere filling the tart shell 3/4 and then tumble fruit onto the top, you can just cover a central portion with fruit and not the whole tart as this is still a lot of fruit.  For extra sweetness I like to glaze the fruit lightly with a drizzle of raspberry jam and honey mixed together, heated and strained.
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Filed Under: Baking, Ingredients Tagged With: Eggs, sweets, tarts

Thyme to Dine

April 27, 2014 by TSJC 1 Comment

THYME TO DINE

The Ultimate Chocolate Treat in a jar!

There are few words in a sentence that make me happier than ‘jar’ and ‘chocolate’ but when you add ‘toffee’ I’m finished. Made by a local chef in Jozi, A Thyme to Dine’s Toffee and Chocolate Smudge is a light, creamy, chocolatey, toffee treat. I love the fact that I know what all 4 ingredients are, there is no rubbish in here, just chocolate and toffee. I will be coming up with some recipe suggestions in the next few weeks, but for now my serving suggestion is a teaspoon (that’s as far as I managed to get with the first jar). It’s not easy to find and I could only find one retailer in Jozi, so my suggestion is ask your local deli why they don’t stock it and let’s see how we can help grow this delicious product.
Check out www.athymetodine.co.za to find out the whole story behind the product and the chef who created it and support Jozi local.

I only discovered this product because it was suggested to me by one of you guys – so keep those suggestions coming and let’s grow our delicious Jozi products.

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Filed Under: Ingredients Tagged With: chocolate, Toffee

Super Breakfast

April 27, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

SUPER BREAKFAST

Egg-cellent idea!

Eggs used to have a bad rep, but eggs are actually a great way to get clean protein, iron, vitamins and carotenoids. Eggs contain disease fighting nutrients like lutein and zeaxanthin which help reduce the development of age-related macular degeneration. Choline is involved in brain development and it may even enhance your ability to remember things.

For a quick fix, I scramble 2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites and serve it on a slice of low-gi toast topped with 40gms of finely sliced ham, bumping the protein content right up. If you don’t eat pork try finely sliced beef or grilled mushroom.

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Filed Under: Ingredients Tagged With: Breakfast, Eggs, HEALTHY, HIGH PROTEIN

Smoked Salmon

April 27, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

SMOKED SALMON

Smoked salmon is a great source of fat, and yes fat can be good. A 100g serving of the fish contains 3.7 grams of total fat, including 0.45 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. These fats help maintain brain function to protect you from depression, memory loss or even dementia caused by an omega-3 fatty acid deficiency. Each 100g serving of smoked salmon provides 41 percent of the recommended omega-3 fatty acid intake for women, or 28 percent for men. Huge bonus, as you get older these fats help keep your skin plump and healthy looking.

The quickest way to get your salmon fix is a simple New York style salmon sandwich (traditionally a bagel). Spread cream cheese on your toasted ciabatta, top it with finely sliced smoked salmon, onion rings and a sprinkle of capers.
Hint: When eating raw onion rings, once you’ve sliced the onions pour boiling water over them. Leave the water for about 90 seconds then drain and rinse the onions in ice cold water. This will remove the bite from the onions.

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Filed Under: Ingredients Tagged With: DIET, HEALTHY, LOW FAT, Salmon

Prickly Pears

April 27, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

PRICKLY PEARS

Prickly pears are in season, and this incredible fruit should be a part of your daily diet. The fruit of a cactus it has been held by many South American cultures as having huge health benefits. The fruit is known to have hypoglycemic effects – reducing sugar levels, in those with healthy sugar levels it has the effect of balancing sugar levels which helps in maintaining weight. It also contain betalains, the stuff that makes beet root red, which have anti-inflammatory effects.

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Filed Under: Ingredients Tagged With: DIET, Health

Pancetta

April 27, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

PANCETTA

Pancetta is the Italian equivalent as our bacon. It is made from the belly of pig that has been salt cured and air dried, unlike bacon is also commonly smoked after curing. The flavour resulting from air drying is much stronger, making pancetta well suited to adding to dishes as a little adds a lot of flavour.

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Filed Under: Ingredients Tagged With: Bacon, Cured meat, Pork

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The Secret Jozi Chef & The Cookery

Paul Maciel, started well known Jozi restaurant Pronto in 2004, after 12 years Paul sold Pronto and decided to follow his passion for writing and teaching about food with the launch of his blog The Secret Jozi Chef and his cooking school The Cookery. The Cookery and multipurpose kitchen space in Craighall Park.
The venue hosts fun social classes for students during the week as well as interactive chef's table events. The venue is staffed by a team that loves what they do always ensuring a welcoming space. The Cookery is equipped with state of the art Whirlpool and KitchenAid appliances and plenty of room for larger groups to cook.

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Paul Maciel is the Chef Owner, of award winning Italian restaurant Pronto in Johannesburg.

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