Have you ever needed to do a lot of microscopic work with hors d’oeuvres or making garnishes and could never find the right tools. Maybe you lent your zester to your Sous Chef last week and never got it back. Or maybe you chipped your paring knife de-boning that ham yesterday. I found the perfect solution.

 

A kit of tools made for garnishing whatever your mind can dream of. The cool part is that it comes with its own little roll-up case, to keep it together and not mistake it for your paring/boning knife again.

 

Here’s What You Get

• Melon Baller x 2
• Channel Knife
• Apple Corer
• Peeler
• Butter Curler
• Lemon Zester

Garnish Set on Amazon.com

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Photography: Goldschlager by Phil Schatz

Goldschläger, yummm! Even better, Goldschläger and Jägermeister to make a liquid cocaine shot or even drink. Today I set out to discover what the deal is with the yellow flakes, and how exactly they are not supposed to kill you when ingested.

Goldschläger has it’s origins in Switzerland, however it is created in Italy. The word "Goldschläger" actually means "gold leaf maker". It is a cinnamon schnapps that has an alcohol content of 43.5% or 97 proof. Currently each bottle, 750ml, contains less than 0.1 grams of gold in it. Yes, it is actually gold. However, the street value of that amount would only be about $2.50, and good luck trying to pawn those flakes off at your local pawn shop.

Initially, Goldschläger contained a larger amount of gold. Until reports of allergic reactions, as we humans are not able to digest gold. Go figure. So I guess we just pass it through. My issue is that why is it not toxic even at these amounts. Lead is a heavy metal, as is gold, and if you were to drink this amount of lead daily, (because we all know most of us drink a bottle of Goldschläger daily), you would surely have problems down the road. (surely not because of the large amount of liquor intake).

I did some scrubbing. I actually did find some cases where people have had reactions to the gold in Goldschläger. It seems mostly because they had previous allergies to gold, such as wearing gold jewelry. Here is an article I found at this link.

"Central New York Poison Control Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York Health Science Center, Syracuse, USA.

We describe the case of gold allergy after ingestion of GOLDSCHLAGER, a gold-containing liquor, in a patient with a previous allergy to gold jewelry. The patient was not aware that genuine gold particles were contained in the schnapps liquor and that ingestion could result in a reaction similar to that experienced by individuals sensitive to gold jewelry. Clinicians should be familiar with the presence of gold particles in GOLDSCHLAGER liquor and the potential for allergic reactions to occur in those so predisposed.

PMID: 10434381 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]"

So be warned. If you have any reactions to gold touching your skin. Don’t partake in the liquid cocaine shots at your friends bachelor party.

Additional Resources:

• To determine quantity of Gold in Goldschläger
• Goldschläger Chicken Recipe
• WikiPedia
• WebTender - Drinks Made with Goldschläger

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The Bible is to Christianity as On Food And Cooking is to Cooking. This is non-negotiable algebra. This book is not a mere cookbook in all actuality it offers very few recipes within its 900 pages. The main purpose of On Food and Cooking is to explain food. Explain how food works, and how the ingredients behave when you change certain properties. In many ways, On Food and Cooking is a chemistry book focused on food and written for chefs.

For example if you look up the word “honey” in this book, there will be a portion of a chapter devoted to this ingredient. Here is what it covers.

• The history of honey, starting in pre-historic times
• The symbolism behind honey
• Ancient uses of honey
• About honey bees
• A recipe from 1699 on how to make honey wine
• How honey is made
• How honey is gathered
• About bees and bee hives
• The chemical composition of honey
• How honey is processed
• Culinary uses of honey

You can look up almost any ingredient you have ever thought of and get as just a comprehensive answer as the honey example.

Sometimes the book does get a little too detailed when it comes to chemistry. Often times you will find pages of chemical models and explanations of proteins, peptides, and fatty acids. However, the value of this book comes in the form of reference. If you have a question about food, no matter how odd, chances are that Harold McGee answered it in On Food and Cooking.

On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee - Amazon.com Link

If I could, I would have a 60 quart Hobart standing against its very own wall in my kitchen. Ready to whip up some whip cream, for myself and a date, late at night to top off some strawberries. However its sheer size, weight, and cost make this option quite uneconomical.

Luckily, there are some mixers on the market that actually can fit on your kitchen counter and that do not explode and burn up when you actually put it to work. I did some research and found 5 that warranted a mention. So let me cover them.

1 - KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6 Quart

I thought I would mention this one first, as it is by far the most commonly used mixer in home kitchens. This model is the most powerful of the KitchenAid line to date. It probably has the largest amount of accessories, add-ons, and attachments of any other mixer on the market.

Specs:

• Price Range :$370 - $400
• Watts: 575
• Weight: 31 pounds
• Speeds: 10
• Warranty: 1 year

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2 - Delonghi DSM7 Esclusivo 7 Quart
This is definitely a different looking mixer. It looks as if it was designed to be a piece of contemporary art. However, any misgivings I had initially that stemmed from its looks faded as I looked over its capabilities. Its shape is meant to reduce any spillage that happens with traditional mixers, and it even has a 10 year warranty.Specs:

• Price Range :$400 - $450
• Watts: 1000
• Weight: 27 pounds
• Speeds: 6
• Warranty: 10 years on motor

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3 - Cuisinart SM-70BC 7 Quart
Cuisinart has been a trusted brand for quite some time. I believe there mixers in the past consisted of plastic hunks of junk. The design looks a little quirky, but I believe that is meant to accommodate the plethora of attachments that are available for it. There is also a cool timer feature, which shuts the mixer down after a preset amount of time.Specs:

• Price Range :$449
• Watts: 1000
• Weight: 25 pounds
• Speeds: 12
• Warranty: 3 year warranty, 5 year motor warranty

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4 - Viking VSM700 7 Quart
That’s right, you can have Viking in your home too. Just like the name on those ovens in your work kitchen. I wouldn’t mess with this mixer, or drop it on my toe. It even comes with wheels on the bottom to move it around. This mixer is meant to get some serious work done.Specs:

• Price Range :$500 - $550
• Watts: 1000
• Weight: 31 pounds
• Speeds: 3
• Warranty: 1 year warranty

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5- Hobart N50 5 Quart
Looks like I can get a Hobart on my kitchen table top! Restaurants buy Hobart because if they get something else it will break down. If a mixer breaks down it costs money to fix, usually a lot, and costs money due to service downtime. This mixer is no frills. You tell it what to do and it does it, no questions asked, no whining.Specs:

• Price Range :$1,700 - $1,800
• Watts: 1000
• Weight: 55 pounds
• Speeds: 3
• Warranty: 1 year warranty