jerky is made from thin strips of whole meat

Ah, you innocent northerners. A lot of our jerky now is
made out of chopped and formed meat.

I have come across that kind, mostly at C-stores, gas stations and
beside the cash registers in building supply and hardware stores,
and I have sampled it on occasion but some of us are willing to pay
a bit more and hold out for the real thing and/or make our own.

It's increasingly difficult to get real jerky;
maybe that's part of the increased appeal of
dehydrators, which allow you to make your own
to yur own specifications (even bak kwa).

Speaking of pork candy, I just picked up another jar of Rousong
and am using it in [...] Western [...] split pea soup

I have had it stirred into fried rice, which is good though
sybaritic.

So was my last batch of pea soup!

Rossini wrote a set of pieces called Sins of
Old Age, of which normal food enriched in this
way might qualify. Rossini's sins musically
depicted are four hors-d'oeuvre, radishes,
anchovies, pickled gherkins, and a theme and
variations on butter, and four "mendiants,"
dried figs, almonds, raisins, and hazelnuts.
Also a whole lot of nonculinary things.

Was it you who was sorely let down by some Utz product or other?

Others here. They aren't available in Canada. I did have a similar

Ah. My appreciation of Utzina has narrowed down to
Grandma's.

letdown when Vickie Kerr, a potato farmer in rural central Ontario
sold out her Miss Vicky's thick cut kettle cooked chips to a bigger
company who in turn got bought out by Frito-Lay. She used her own
potatoes, peanut oil and sea salt and nothing else. Now they no
longer use peanut oil but generic vegetable oil and the brand is
little better than regular Frito-Lay chips (but still priced at
twice as much!)

I was sorely disappointed by Miss Vicky, finding
her stale, flat, and unprofitable. Later on, I
encountered her on a party table, and approaching
her with trepidation, found her to be pretty
identical to the kettle-cooked version of Lay's.

The US hot dog industry would be nowhere without mechanical
separation.

The US hot dog industry would be $21.98/kg without mechanical
separation (and snouts and ears).

And who would buy? Cheap at half the price!

I don't buy at $22 per kg, preferring sirloin steak at that price
point but I will at $11 when the nasty dogs are $5.50 or more.

After my concert yesterday I went with my friend
Dave the violist to Temple Bar, where to go with
the bizarrely lactose-ridden Untitled Art horchata
stout I got a "foie dog," which was billed as made
out of prime beef ground with foie gras. It turned
out to be totally unrich, tasting almost exactly
like a Munchner Leberkase - utilitarian protein
and almost no fat. I was hugely disappointed, a 3 oz
dog on a milk bun priced at $12, which even with its
garnish of "celery root and truffle aioli" was an
extortion of the highest order.

... Whisky. By diligent effort, I learned to like it.

Worth the effort. Like riding a bicycle, you don't
tend to unlearn that skill (though I did so, in the
case of the bicycle).

Chocolate mendiants
categories: candies
yield: 10 oz, 50 candies

100 g 70% dark chocolate
100 g white chocolate, preferably 35% cacao
30 g crystallised rose petals
30 g crystallised violet petals
30 g pistachio nuts, chopped
sea salt flakes, optional

Take two sheets of nonstick baking paper and use
a marker to draw twenty-five 4 1/2 cm circles on
each - try drawing around an egg cup or a small
round pastry cutter. Turn the paper over and
place on a cool flat surface.

Take the dark chocolate, chop it into small
pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Fill a
small saucepan 1/4 full with water and bring to
a simmer. When the pan is barely simmering,
place the bowl of chocolate on top, making sure
that the water does not touch the bottom of the
bowl. Without stirring, leave the chocolate until
it is half melted, take the pan off the heat and
allow the rest to melt in the residual heat.

Meanwhile, very lightly toast the pistachios in
a small frying pan. This will only take a minute.
Tip the pistachios on to a plate to cool, and have
the other toppings to hand as you will need to work
quickly once the chocolate has melted.

Uusing a couple of teaspoons, spoon the chocolate
onto the circles on the baking paper in batches of
six. Decorate with pistachios and rose petals, and
a few sea salt flakes if using. Continue in batches
with the rest of the chocolate. If the chocolate in
the bowl starts to solidify, place back on the pan
of hot water briefly, just until it is melted enough
that you can work with it again.

Clean and dry any equipment scrupulously to ensure
that it is free from any residual grease and water
and repeat as above with the white chocolate.
Decorate with the crystallised violets.

Leave the mendiants to cool and set, but do not put
them in the fridge, otherwise the chocolate will lose
its glossiness. When set, carefully peel off the paper
and place into an airtight container or cellophane
bags and boxes tied with ribbon, if making for gifts.

Louise Robinson, greatbritichchefs.com
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