The Cooking Irritations thread

Alun

Any plain flour I've bought has been flour and nothing else, I've never come across any kind of raising agent in it. Certainly the Aldi plain flour I have in the kitchen says under Ingredients simply "Wheat flour".

anothernight

Speedwell wrote: »

Maybe Lidl just doesn't add very much!

I go away for a few years and look what happens!

It's a shame they're adding raising agents to plain flour as well. I wish brands weren't allowed to do that and still call it plain.

Just checked a bag of Tesco "Everyday Value" plain flour and it only has flour (enriched with calcium and a few vitamins, but no raising agents). This is from Tesco UK though so it might be different in Ireland.

Bored_lad

I've used odlums cream flour for croquembouche before and it turned out perfectly.

Alun

It's not calcium carbonate you're seeing on the ingredients is it? Under UK law any four milled there has to have that plus iron, niacin and thiamine added, but not in Ireland. It's not a raising agent though.

Speedwell

Alun wrote: »

It's not calcium carbonate you're seeing on the ingredients is it? Under UK law any four milled there has to have that plus iron, niacin and thiamine added, but not in Ireland. It's not a raising agent though.

Not sure, exactly. You could very well be right. I literally looked for the words "raising agent", though.

anothernight

Bear in mind that Odlums specifies that their cream "plain" flour has raising agents in it. http://odlums.ie/products/cream-plain-flour/
For most recipes it makes little difference, but sometimes you can taste it.

Just checked the Tesco Ireland website and their own brand plain flour has it but their cheaper "everyday value" one doesn't have raising agents.

I'm kinda surprised that in a cooking forum no one else seems to have noticed this!

Tree

Cream flour has had raising agents in it for as long as i have been baking. Not a huge amount, but they help stop your pastry being too tight and flat.
It's not so much that it'd upset the usual amount of bread yeast (i've made breads w/ cream flour, they'ver very tender, better as rolls. the OH used SR once, and nothing at all happened). I'd imagine if you're working a sourdough, soft wheat flour is not what you'd be adding anyway.

anothernight

Tree wrote: »

Cream flour has had raising agents in it for as long as i have been baking. Not a huge amount, but they help stop your pastry being too tight and flat.
It's not so much that it'd upset the usual amount of bread yeast (i've made breads w/ cream flour, they'ver very tender, better as rolls. the OH used SR once, and nothing at all happened). I'd imagine if you're working a sourdough, soft wheat flour is not what you'd be adding anyway.

The Tesco flour I linked that has raising agents is just "plain flour" though, not "cream". Tbh I've never seen "cream" flour outside of Ireland. I always assumed it was just an Odlums thing.

FanadMan

Speedwell wrote:

Oh, I got a good one. Going to someone's mother's house and seeing spice jars on the shelf with herbs faded to brown and spices with no smell, that you know she bought before you were even born. (And I'm 50 this year.) Even worse, knowing the aul wan cooked dinner with them.

I'm new to this thread but this hit my funny bone! When I was a kid and we moved home from London there was lots of unopened boxes for ages.
Years later there was a jar of Schwartz crushed chilli found in one of the boxes. The plastic top was almost rotten - dried out and just shattered as soon as you tried to open it. My mum started using in (couldn't get anything like it or even curry powder here at the time). It lasted for years - dunno if it got more potent as the years went by but it worked! Think if I looked the jar would still be in the house somewhere.

My annoyance (just to keep things on thread) is trying to deal with US foods, recipes and dates. My brother lives in the states and keeps sending food over. He'll send stuff along with a recipe. Only thing is most of the US stuff doesn't have a best before date I've dumped so much stuff that's probably more than safe.

Tree

anothernight wrote: »

The Tesco flour I linked that has raising agents is just "plain flour" though, not "cream". Tbh I've never seen "cream" flour outside of Ireland. I always assumed it was just an Odlums thing.

Cream flour is an odlums thing. They don't call their flour plain flour, and it's a very good flour. I have no idea what you have against raising agents, odlums never claimed to not add them.

Lovely Bloke

Tree wrote: »

I have no idea what you have against raising agents

It was stated in a previous post, the yeast in the sourdough starter doesn't play nice with raising agents.

From brewing experience, anything that the yeast doesn't like can lead to some pretty funky and undesirable off-flavours in the end product.

from the mod of Biology I'm surprised you needed to ask!

Tree

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

It was stated in a previous post, the yeast in the sourdough starter doesn't play nice with raising agents.

From brewing experience, anything that the yeast doesn't like can lead to some pretty funky and undesirable off-flavours in the end product.

from the mod of Biology I'm surprised you needed to ask!

You will also note that I stated in a previous I don't know why you would be using plain flour for sourdough instead of a wholemeal wheat, rye or strong white flour. None of the above would include raising agents and would certainly be a superiour flour for bread making.

anothernight

Tree wrote: »

You will also note that I stated in a previous I don't know why you would be using plain flour for sourdough instead of a wholemeal wheat, rye or strong white flour. None of the above would include raising agents and would certainly be a superiour flour for bread making.

I usually keep a rye and a wheat starter. The wheat starter's feed depends on what I intend to make with it, but there's no need to always feed it strong flour. In fact, I like to make crumpets with it, for which plain flour is better. At any rate, most people feed the starter with plain flour, not strong flour, if they're keeping it white.

For the finished product I will sometimes use some plain flour (if making white bread) because it changes the characteristics of the bread. Strong flour is not always the superior flour for bread making; it depends on how you want your bread to turn out. Plain flour gives a cracklier crust (though retarding the dough will help with that too. Steam will make it crispier/crunchier, but not necessarily cracklier). Good example URL="http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14140/san-joaquin-sourdough-another-variation-produces-best-flavor-yet"]here[/URL. It also changes the crumb. For an extremely soft sandwich bread (not sourdough. I'm not a masochist), I will often use half strong half plain. It yields a much fluffier, softer, more delicate crumb. Using all strong flour would work too, but the crumb would be slightly rougher.

Beyond sourdough, I still want my plain flour to be truly plain. I can taste the raising agents in some recipes. Example: Brazilian coxinha.

I have no issue with Odlums adding raising agents to their flour because they don't just call it plain. I have an issue with other brands which label their flour "plain flour" and then add raising agents. See the tesco example I linked to.

Through this discussion I found out that none of the flour brands available to me in the UK do this though. Not even Tesco's own brand, unlike its Irish counterpart. Strange.

tringle

Apple Cider Vinegar

If its Cider then it has to be apple

RasTa

tringle wrote: »

Apple Cider Vinegar

If its Cider then it has to be apple

Pear? Elderflower etc

kylith

RasTa wrote: »

Pear? Elderflower etc

Pear is called Perry. I think elderflower is just 'wine'.

AFAIK they're correct: if it's cider it's apples.

tringle

kylith wrote: »

Pear is called Perry. I think elderflower is just 'wine'.

AFAIK they're correct: if it's cider it's apples.

True...and those strawberry and lime and other weird flavours aren't proper cider either.

Kovu

Chopping up a load of lettuce, putting it into a dish and spotting bits of chopped fly in the midst of the leaves
Oh and I microwaved a slug with some broccoli a while ago, that was a yukky one.

Alcoheda

I've a friend who cooks spaghetti by first breaking the whole pack in half, then puts the bundle at the bottom of a pot of cold water and brings the lot to the boil.

I tried to stop him doing it but he flips his lid if you criticize him.

MissFlitworth

Kovu wrote: »

Oh and I microwaved a slug with some broccoli a while ago, that was a yukky one.

Pop?

Kovu

MissFlitworth wrote: »

Pop?

Sorta, I was wondering why I could hear sizzling about a min in so I opened the door and got a really sour smell. Was all bubbling and bleugh....
Was a bought broccoli too, in plastic packet.
Thankfully all ours are coming to a head now so can cut it fresh!!

anothernight

Kovu wrote: »

Sorta, I was wondering why I could hear sizzling about a min in so I opened the door and got a really sour smell. Was all bubbling and bleugh....
Was a bought broccoli too, in plastic packet.
Thankfully all ours are coming to a head now so can cut it fresh!!

Please please please tell me the packet didn't say "washed and ready to eat". Please.

Kovu

anothernight wrote: »

Please please please tell me the packet didn't say "washed and ready to eat". Please.

I don't think broccoli says that.....
Though if you meant the lettuce I'd chopped up don't worry! I'd picked mine from the garden after a heavy shower so assumed it was clean

anothernight

Kovu wrote: »

I don't think broccoli says that.....
Though if you meant the lettuce I'd chopped up don't worry! I'd picked mine from the garden after a heavy shower so assumed it was clean

Not even those microwavable packets? I never buy them myself so I wouldn't know, but I just need someone to tell me that I will be fine!!!

I get organic vegetables delivered every week so I'm used to removing little undesirable critters from things... but if it's a microwavable packet or a salad bag or something like that, I *need* to believe that there will never be anything yucky in it!!!! Though there's regulations for that, right? Right??

Eww

Kovu

anothernight wrote: »

Not even those microwavable packets? I never buy them myself so I wouldn't know, but I just need someone to tell me that I will be fine!!!

I get organic vegetables delivered every week so I'm used to removing little undesirable critters from things... but if it's a microwavable packet or a salad bag or something like that, I *need* to believe that there will never be anything yucky in it!!!! Though there's regulations for that, right? Right??

Eww

I've seen things about bugs and even a frog found in a salad packet! But that was the first time I found an alien in broccoli.

(Found a maggot in a packet of wheelies though!)

anothernight

Kovu wrote: »

I've seen things about bugs and even a frog found in a salad packet! But that was the first time I found an alien in broccoli.

(Found a maggot in a packet of wheelies though!)

Arghh!!! You're making it worse!!!!

Kovu

anothernight wrote: »

Arghh!!! You're making it worse!!!!

Be grand. Unless you're a vegetarian.

anothernight

Kovu wrote: »

Be grand. Unless you're a vegetarian.

Well, guess what? ...

Meh, I've survived all this time. Whatever. I'll be fine. Really.

the beer revolu

tringle wrote: »

Apple Cider Vinegar

If its Cider then it has to be apple

I've been wondering about that lately!
Thing is, people seem to make a distinction between the two but I can't imagine what it is.

FanadMan

Kovu wrote: »

I've seen things about bugs and even a frog found in a salad packet! But that was the first time I found an alien in broccoli.

(Found a maggot in a packet of wheelies though!)

Found a moth inside a sausage roll once