Cooking For Engineers

[at]

pse tell me where to buy above in singapore. i have always avoid trying recipe using shortening as i heard it is unwise to bake with such ingredient.

[Michael Chu]

[PPP]

Last night ... Aug. 7, 2008 ... I decided to print-off Michael's recipe for Chinese almond cookies ... I chose the "printer-friendly" format, & cliked on "print", choosing to make 2 copies of the recipe. To my horror, I saw that the pages being printed off on my printer were numbered "9", as the "last page", & on to "8", etc. I scrolled down the recipe on my computer screen only to notice that there is a tiny little option asking to 'HIDE' the "comments" which were 32 in number ... and this is what the recipe was printing first ... a whole bunch of comments, & using up my printer paper ... I was running out of printer paper, & tried to stop the printing job, but it wouldn't stop ... I am FURIOUS ... Does this Michael not understand that choosing the "printer-friendly" format usually means that ONLY THE RECIPE itself is transmitted to the printer? How stupid is this Michael? And why is the option to "hide" the 32 comments from people who have used this recipe worth printing when the person has chosen the "printer-friendly" format of the recipe, way at the bottom of the recipe, which one sees only after cliking on "print", as I did ... and only because I noticed that the so-called "printer-friendly" format was "9" pages long?!!

[Dilbert]

this is a well identified problem called "User Error"

/q
I was running out of printer paper, & tried to stop the printing job, but it wouldn't stop ... I am FURIOUS
/uq

two thoughts:
(1) few would consider a nine page supply of printer paper "adequate"
(2) acquiring some basic computer skills - such as how to stop the printer - could be useful.

I also recommend you research the meaning of "printer friendly" -
and perhaps "internet etiquette" while you're on a roll . . .

[Edison]

In the recipe, you metion to avoid using partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Why is that?

[Richard X]

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil indicates trans fatty acids. Trans fats are bad for you, so you should avoid them. Even though some packaging will say 0 trans fats, they really mean 0.5 g or less of trans fats per serving - who knows how much you're actually using or eating!

[Ev]

Tuesday, September 02, 2008 8:57 PM



I have been trying and trying to solve the problem of:

how to grind almonds to a fine powder, to use in making almond paste or cookies etc:

I have used the FOOD PROCESSOR with the blades, to chop up the almonds but this has left a rather COARSE almond flour.

I used an inexpensive "burr" Coffee bean grinder ( $40.00)
hoping that would work.
It did for the first short whle and then the fats in the almonds accumulated in the BURR mechanism and blocked the Grinder up so it was useless.

I am wondering if a BURR Coffee bean grinder in the $150.00 rqange would work better on the almonds and not get clogged up due to the fatty nature of the almond nuts?

I have NEVER used a BLENDER and wonder if this might be the way?

Also I know , or think I know, that industrially, almond flour is made on a grinder with TWO rollers (stone, I think).

But these are expensive. I mention this as it shows there MUST be a way to make almond powder using a machine.
I mean, almond paste is made in huge quantities industgrially, as well as ALMOND FLOUR.

SO what I am trying to understand is:


1. the BEST way to achieve a fine almond powder: wopuld it be these industiral grinders with the STONE ROLLERS?

2. Or will a small relativley inexpensive KITCHEN appliance do an EQUAL job?


And would a BLENDER be the inexpensive solution?
Say I want to grind 1-2 pouinds of almonds (not all at once!) to make almond flour for cookies or almond paste. Would a blender be a good solution.

I have not used a BLENDER as yet?
Anything to watch out for when purchasing one?

I find it STRANGE that there is so little INFO on HOW to grind almonds to a flour, and that there are so few (if any) machines dedicated to the task.
DOes no one cafre for Almond flour?

I have a KitchenAid and looked to see if there would be an attachment for it to grind almonds.
But the attachement would only grin GRAINS and NOT "oily" nuts.

SO that makes the KitchenAid useless for this task.

Quite frustrating.

Any ideas?

Perhaps purchase two stone rollers?
YOu would think stone rollers would get plugged up as well with the oily almonds.
How can you get a FINE Almond flour from oily almondfs in the first place?

Oh yes, I tried a hand grinder which as burrs in it.
For grinding poppy seeds. That too got clogged up.


SO really this is a "science" to get nice fine fluffy almond flour from OILY nuts.

By the way, when I ground the almonds, I did not blanche (peel) them.

Wonder if that has a bearing on the "clogging" issue?

[Dilbert]

Ev -

not sure if almond ever gets to the "bread flour" stage - there is a lot oil in the nuts.

here's a link on "how to" - curiously similar approaches to your efforts

http://www.trulylowcarb.com/AlmondTLC.htm

[Ev]

Thanks Dil.

[Emilio Rot]

I wish to know if for this recipe...the almonds are roasters or semi-toasted or no. Also it is very important for to get the ALMONDS in POWER.
Best regard.
Emilio Rot.

PS: Additionally I will appreciate ever so much, if you could inform to me... I am highly interested to grind ALMONDS/NUTS/HAZELNUTS in besides in several grain sizes. Do you know some Chooper or Small Grinding Machine suitable for making it???

[Ben]

The recipe has baking soda but no acid for it to react with. One teaspoon is a fair amount - about enough to neutralize two cups of yogurt, buttermilk or orange juice. I've often noticed this in recipes and wondered why -- is it for flavor, or are "non-acids" still acidic enough that adding a lot of soda will give you more lift? Or is it maybe just supposed to be baking powder?

On Trans Fats - Butter has almost as much trans fat as Crisco -- and since butter and tropical oils also have lots of saturated fat, the American Heart Association is still recommending margarine, trans-fat and all. I would just stick with plain Crisco or go with traditional lard (my favorite).

To the tireless almond grinder -- I feel your pain. Have you looked into a home mill used for producing flour? You might consider asking at the King Arthur Flour forum -- lots of hard-core bakers over there who grind their own flour at home (and, I'm sure, nuts). www.bakingcircle.com

Of course, I would just go the easy route and buy almond flour and almond paste online - real cheap if you but in bulk (6-7pounds). http://americanalmond.com

[Dilbert]

according to the FDA ( http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2003/503_fats.html ) butter has no trans fat.

Crisco has been reformulated to reduce/eliminate transfat; many bakers have noticed Crisco does not "perform" as before.

[Ben]

Dairy and meat definitely have trans fat (I can't get the link to work, But see NYTimes Article"Trans Fat Fight Claims Butter as a Victim" 3/7/07) I think the FDA lists trans fat for butter as zero because there is less than .5 gram in the serving size(of 1 Tb). Butter has 3.12 g per stick. The new Crisco you mention has slightly more, but it is still low enough to come up as "0" on the nutrition label.

It's interesting that you say the baking qualities of Crisco have changed -- I think bakers are generally going to have a harder time than people who use Crisco for frying. The former use shortening to improve the end product while the latter just want a sturdy oil that won't go rancid quickly.

[Dilbert]

edited that post to show the link.

as you point out, the definition of "zero" is problematic.

[neeki]

these are also nice if you bake them with a cashew on top. we buy these (sans almond, with cashew) in singapore for chinese new year.