What are You Cooking the Week of January 7, 2018?

Home Forums Cooking — (other than baking) What are You Cooking the Week of January 7, 2018?

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  • #10684
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      At 4 1/4 ounces/cup, 4 cups or 17 ounces of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt works out to about 1.18% salt by baker's percentages.

      Of course, just like how you measure flour makes a difference, your teaspoon measure could be off by 10-20%. (I've got a digital scale that measures is milligrams, 5687.5 milligrams of salt is a teaspoon.)

      Remember wheat flour has some sodium in it and so will other ingredients, like milk or egg.

      As I have said before, when I did some tests on several bread recipes cutting the salt to 1% did not appear to have a noticeable impact on either flavor or texture/crumb.

      #10685
      Italiancook
      Participant

        Someone please tell me why milk and egg whites have sodium in them. Is that because the animals are fed foods with salt? Until I read this, I didn't even know there was salt in these items!

        #10686
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          I just did a quick test with two of my measuring spoons, a round one and a rectangular one that fits in the salt container better.

          I measured what appeared to my eye to be a level teaspoon of salt several times.

          5687.5 mg is what the chemistry texts say is a teaspoon of salt.

          The round one generally came in at about 5750 to 5850 mg, or just a bit high.

          The rectangular one came up with two readings in the 5750 mg range and two in the 7500 mg range! I guess that rectangular shape is more deceiving as to when it is level.

          #10687
          BakerAunt
          Participant

            Italian Cook: Salt occurs naturally in lots of food. Of course, humans have gotten into the habit of adding to what is already there. We do need some salt, but most of us probably get enough from just basic foods without hitting the salt shaker.

            • This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.
            • This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.
            #10690
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              It's because both are a complex blend of naturally occurring substances.

              Milk contains water, fat, proteins, lactose (milk sugar), minerals, pigments, enzymes and compounds called phospholipids.

              Egg white contains water, proteins (including albumen and mucoproteins) and globulins.

              In both cases, several of those compounds have sodium in them. There are other naturally occurring elements in eggs as well, notably sulfur in the yolk.

              Some of it is based on the type of animal, some cows produce a milk that is higher in butterfat, for example. There are at least two breeds of hens that produce an egg that has a blue shell.

              Eggs that are high in riboflavin (Vitamin B2) can have a greenish tint to the egg white.

              And it is also somewhat affected by diet, corn fed hens tend to produce yellower egg yolks, for example, and high-omega eggs come from chickens that have been fed a diet specifically designed to produce omega-3 and related fats in eggs, though I think most of that is in the yolk.

              But there's only about 62 mg of sodium in a large egg, most of that in the egg white. So if you're watching your sodium intake, unless you're eating 4 dozen eggs a day (like Gaston in Beauty and the Beast), it is probably not something to worry about.

              Interestingly enough, when I was looking at almond milk the other day, it actually has more sodium than cow's milk does, though there is very little sodium in almonds, 1 mg in a cup of almonds. I'm guessing they add it (along with things like vanilla) to make it taste better.

              #10691
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                One of the higher sodium content vegetables is celery, 32 mg in each stalk. I have a friend who is a celery fanatic, she could eat an entire bunch of celery in a few hours.

                #10695
                skeptic7
                Participant

                  I measured 2 cups of flour with a one cup measuring cup, sifted, spooned and leveled with a knife.
                  I then measured 2 cups of flour with a two cup measuring cup, sifted, spooned and leveled with a knife.
                  The two cup measuring cup has about a tablespoon less flour. This was such a useful cup, and a present besides but now I wonder how accurate it is.
                  The discussion of accuracy in measurements earlier made me want to mention it.

                  #10698
                  chocomouse
                  Participant

                    Tonight we had venison steaks with roasted root vegetables: parsnips, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato, white potato, and onion. I drizzled them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and added rosemary and thyme.

                    #10726
                    skeptic7
                    Participant

                      I made Mediterranean White Bean and Vegetable soup with Fennel from "366 Delicious Ways to cook Rice, Beans and Grains" by Andrea Chessman This is a very tasty soup but the vegetables dominate the soup, with the beans an after thought. I made this with out any salt, but it tastes best with a grilled cheese sandwich or cheese pizza to add salt and fat.

                      I cooked this in two parts in the slow cooker, first cooking the beans and then heating it up with the vegetables and herbs.

                      #10727
                      BakerAunt
                      Participant

                        For Friday dinner, I made my Rosemary Maple-Glazed Chicken with cut up sweet potatoes on a sheet pan. Peas from the freezer were the side dish.

                        #10730
                        luvpyrpom
                        Participant

                          Been eating leftovers or take out for most of the week. Did saute some sugar snap peas with lotus root. Bought some tri-tip steaks and will try to cook that later this weekend.

                          #10748
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            Lunch for me today was a turkey sandwich made with the no-salt Challah and some of the turkey breast tender that I roasted yesterday. I am hoping to find some ways to infuse some additional flavor into the turkey without adding salt.

                            Supper was pain perdue (French Toast), also made with the no-salt Challah.

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