Writer, Eater
This is the opening episode of a new occasional article series on Syrup & Tang, called Duncan's Dégustations. As a public service (or personal torment) I'll be exposing myself to foods I would normally be sceptical about for one reason or another, just to see if my prejudices are unfounded. I've chosen a Betty Crocker packet cake mix to start things off.
Duncan's Degustations – Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil's Food Cake
Where are the good kitchen scales?
How hard is it to make a set of consumer digital kitchen scales that are reliable? Too hard, it seems.
In this article I write a little about some scales I tried and wonder what my readers have found to be reliable. There's also a list of the criteria I use in trying to choose good digital kitchen scales.
Great culinary book reviews
Have you seen the latest reviews (Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Momofuku, Adventures with Chocolate, and more) or my detailed feature Where Are The Good Meat Books? Read them on The Gastronomer's Bookshelf
The Larousse Gastronomique, plus a pile of Christmas book gift ideas
For lovers of food knowledge, the Larousse Gastronomique is an indispensable book… and I recently slaved over a feature for The Gastronomer's Bookshelf about the new edition and the history of the various versions. Meanwhile, co-editor Mark has prepared a Year-end Countdown with a pile of interesting books you might like to know about, starting with baking and Christmas.
Books worth reading
There's a bit of a backlog of things to post about, not helped by 18 days without the internet at home. It wasn't fun. So let's start with a rundown of the reviews that have appeared at The Gastronomer's Bookshelf in the last two or three months! It's been an interesting mix of new books and some serious classics, alongside one book that some of us think never deserved to see the light of day. Read on…
TASTY PRESERVES
Beprickled stinkpots: My only-moderately-helpful guide to durian
Imagine surviving thirteen nights of durian pong, collecting valuable fruit identification info from a durian seller, and then discovering you failed to write it all down for one's readers' pleasure! I bring you tales of stinkiness...
Read more Thu 04 Mar, 2010Burn your hot cross! It's time for something Swedish
Think of Easter and food, and you probably get images of chocolate eggs and hot cross buns. How about a change from the mundane? Scrumptious little buns from Sweden! Cardamom, cream, marzipan. Each bun is about the size of a...
Read more Mon 02 Apr, 2007La Macaronicité 5: macawrongs and macarights, macarons day and night
This has been my month of macarons... La Macaronicité at Syrup & Tang, as I dubbed it. Time to squidge everything together with scrummydumtious fillings and go on a picnic. I report on some who joined in...
Read more Sat 29 Dec, 2007Danish frisky creamy balls
All over Denmark you see signs for frisky creamy balls. At first it seems very odd and rather tasteless, until you realise you're mistranslating. Welcome to the world of fluffy chocolate coated delights... with recipe!
Read more Fri 15 May, 2009Corsica: not the easiest foodie destination
Five days in Corsica, surrounded by the azure waters of the Mediterranean, dwarfed by mountains and cliffs, eating myself full with sausage and cheese. That was the plan. The food part of it didn't quite...
Read more Mon 13 Jun, 2011
