DIY mince pies a no-no

[Mary Fisher]

I've been checking up on mediaeval feast menus today, it's incredible how much stuff was put away.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Surely it doesn't usually take more than one?

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

ROFL!

Mary

[Huge]

Ah, I see. I woz whooshed.

[Fraser]

Yup, OE has ROT13, go to "Message/Unscramble".

A bit like the "reveal" button on teletext, for those not familiar with it.

Fraser.

[Suz]

Going to try this tomorrow.

[Suz]

What on earth do they taste like Bob? Totally sweet or a bit savoury? I adore fruit and fruit sauces with meat, put like the meat to be the main flavour.

[Andy Dingley]

Selenium is horrible stuff. I prefer to use a bath of molten saltpetre and caustic soda for bluing, and they're less than pleasant (you get to trade off the extra caustic properties for a lower eutectic melting point than plain potassium nitrate).

But cold solutions of selenium are less of a hazard than the old days of bursting overheated metal rectifiers. Now they really were a foulness you could taste.

-- Klein bottle for rent. Apply within.

[Bob Eager]

Just not as sweet, and they stay a bit more moist. If you think about it, ordinary minced beef doesn't taste very savoury on its own. This is very finely minced. But essentially, you end up with slightly less sugar, more moistness and they are a little smoother.

The meat isn't so much a flavour as a texture here.

Mrs Beeton has a recipe, but there are loads around.

[N. Thornton]

Jungf ebg13 naljnl?

[Huge]

BTW, I have a single barrel .410 "poachers gun" which has "browning", which is coming off in places. Is there any way to repair it?

[N. Thornton]

Some of the copiers to be raided are pretty old.

So if fuser rollers are PTFE and its safe, why are all the pastry rollers sold wood, not PTFE? I can think of an explanation, but I'd rather hear something better :)

Regards, NT

[Steve]

I suspect Teflon coated rollers don't have the desired properties when rolling pastry.

Steve

[Peter Parry]

Cost - wooden roller costs about 20p to make - The 5mm wall thickness machined aloominum ones with PTFE/Teflon coating I'm talking about are I suspect an awful lot more than that.

Who (other than an Aga owner and then only if it was branded "Aga") would pay GBP25 for a rolling pin?

[N. Thornton]

You just answered your own question :) Also there are companies who sell to people who pay high prices for fancy equipment, like Cucina for example. Just look up Peugeot pepper mills. I think the only non wooden rollers Ive seen were marble. Copier rollers would surely be better.

NT

[Andy Dingley]

Browning is just posh rust.

Dismantle, grease bits (like bore innards) that you don't want affected. Clean the surface (0000 wire wool) to an even surface and then degrease. Now brown it. A "browning cabinet" can be made from a warm airing cupboard full of damp washing. Steel lockers with lightbulbs and saucers of water work too. 24 hours usually suffices, but it's temperature dependent,

Like all this stuff, a good result is more about cleanliness beforehand, especially the degreasing. Browning is easy, but _even_ browning is harder. Rubbing gently with a white Webrax pad (the abrasive-free sort) every few hours can help to even things up.

I made this recently, which had the ironwork "aged" by browning it, then hot-oil bluing it. Browning first gives a rough surface so the oil adheres better. I used the shower as a browning cabinet.

bottle for rent. Apply within.

[Andy Hall]

Nah, they don't do them. :-)

Does the toner add to the flavour of the mince pies?

.andy

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[Steve]

Too slippery, you need some drag to stretch the pastry as you roll it. I think it help develop the structure.

Steve

[Peter Parry]

No, but it helps develop the colour :-).

[Andy Hall]

..... and makes them all look the same? ;-)

.andy

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