Wayyyyy OT: European measurements

There's also "vanilla sugar"-- mostly sugar with vanilla flavor.

If it's the same as in France, which I suspect it is, then you would be looking a this:

Vanilla flavored sugar in a package, that is about 7.5g Don't know if you have that in the US though.

Grrrr.... s/25/15/g

(though I would have thought 10mL a better "intensity" :< )

Hmmm... is this how vanilla is typically introduced to a Rx? I.e., do they not use (liquid) vanilla extract?

I would assume it would be harder to control the sweetness if you had to introduce sugar every time you introduced a certain amount of vanilla flavor (e.g., using extract, the alcohol boils off).

And, this still leaves the question of how to equate that to "liquid measure" :<

(sigh) I guess I'll just have to plan one interation just to get the flavoring right and then work on the rest of the Rx from there...

I assume that's primarily the weight of the *sugar*. (1.5t?)

The question is then, how much vanilla to add to 7.5G of sugar to get the same "flavor" :<

I suspect I could probably find it. But, I'd want to come up with a more "portable" recipe, anyway, so that would just give me something to compare (empirically) against (way too much effort there! :> )

I'll try to make some estimates based on the proportions that *I* tend to use (e.g., this much flour, egg, butter, sugar suggest *that* much vanilla...) and tweek it until it seems right.

Thanks!

Like others said vanilla flavoured sugar is common here. IMHO getting recipes right is a matter of trial and error. If this is some kind of pie than it will probably take several times to get it right. Enough chances to experiment with the amount of vanilla.

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So, is it used in lieu of vanilla extract? I.e., possibly as a more subtle flavor?

Biscotti. Pie would be easier! :> (I don't want to end up with 100 pounds of "not-quite-right" biscotti (which will need to be, um, "disposed of") before I get things right! :>

That sounds like a mighty flimsy excuse to me! ;-)

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Hang loose until tomorrow. I'll ask the wife. She has bookshelves of Italian cookbooks. ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
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And a big pressure cooker? I hear that most Italians are tough and stringy. ;-)

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Actually, I'm not fond of "sweets" (despite all the baking that I do -- biscotti coming out of the oven in 18 minutes; brownies go in after that).

However, the biscotti in question I *will* indulge in! (once I get the Rx correct) ;) *Then* my postage expenses will increase dramatically :-/

I think most italian cookbooks are written with units of measure already "converted". Unless it's *in* Italian -- in which case, there might be an explanation of the *types* of ingredients common to "most Rx's" but probably not specifics of how they relate to "real world" units.

(most of the Italians I know measure with their fingertips :> )

Of course. Most recipes are really ratiometric. Tomorrow, Giada's recipe :-) ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
      The only thing bipartisan in this country is hypocrisy

Largely so -- though flavorings tend to see lots of bias. E.g., there is *a* shop here that makes this particular type of biscotti. But, they are very heavy on the vanilla flavor -- makingthem completely inedible (IMO -- which, of course, is the only one that matters to *me*!).

It's been 30+ years since I've had any so I will be able to tailor the flavor to what *I* think is most appropriate (I suspect that if I were to buy some from the original bakery "back East" I would find them less than ideal -- so my efforts are still worthwhile).

Just the wrong time of year to be experimenting in the kitchen. (Murphy, however, seems to always conspire to make things so :-/ )

Naw, you just have to cook them in a slow oven to get them nice and juicy!

The only time I have a sweet tooth, is when a tooth is infected. :(

Wouldn't it be cheaper to fly? ;-)

--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

My favorite (my wife had made it up for me several times)...

...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
      The only thing bipartisan in this country is hypocrisy

That's what americans call "biscotti". The ones I made last night are similar in theory -- though much plainer (nothing "added" besides almonds), *no* butter (I made them for a friend who's having some heart problems so extra fats are off the list -- else I would have made a nice, rich coffee cake!) and

*lots* of amaretto (we go through a little over a gallon of amaretto yearly).

"Biscotti" covers a wide range of baked goods -- i.e., "cookie".

The biscotti I am attempting to make are much larger than the "Biscotti" you tend to think of with coffee (or vin rose). These are ~4 per pound. I.e., a 5 pound batch is where you *start* the Rx. By comparison, the batch of "twice baked biscotti" I made last night was probably only 2 or 3 pounds

*total* (two loaves, 12 biscotti per loaf so maybe 10+ per pound)

Ouch! :<

I have to start rehashing some of my Rx's to try to replace the sugar with something artificial (or "natural" alternatives). Too many friends have "sugar problems" which makes baking more problematic. (I ave Rx's that avoid fats but avoiding

*sugar* is tough! :> )

I've managed to figure out how to make ice cream with Splenda (though I suspect that may be worse than sugar! :> ) but it is a lot of work trying to keep the texture right. Doing something like that with baked goods will probably be more challenging -- since you have to figure out how to do it

*differently* for each Rx (whereas once you can make *one* type of ice cream, you can pretty much make them all!).

I'll try to fix my gelato Rx next as it should be similar to the ice cream approach.

(sigh) *If* I can sort this out, I'll make a trip home and spend a few days baking. Easier than shipping the stuff cross country (especially this time of year as humidty levels rise).

As a kid, we would buy ~100 pounds at a time (fill the trunk of a *real* "full size car") and dole them out to family (10+ pounds each). Always seemed like they were gone before you had your fill, though :<