What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you
go about reducing the product without all the food settling to the
bottom and burning?

--
Yours,
Dan S.
support your local money-changers guild

Dan S. wrote:

> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you
> go about reducing the product without all the food settling to the
> bottom and burning?

Low heat, stir now and then.



Brian

--
Day 43 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project

"Dan S." > wrote in message
...
> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you go
> about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom and
> burning?
>
Put it on low and stir it. Often.

Dan S. wrote:
> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you
> go about reducing the product without all the food settling to the
> bottom and burning?


Lower the heat to a simmer and allow the chili to continue cooking.
Stir occasionally and your chili will not burn.


Becca

"Arri London" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> "Dan S." wrote:
>>
>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you
>> go about reducing the product without all the food settling to the
>> bottom and burning?
>>
>> --
>> Yours,
>> Dan S.
>>
>
> There's a very advanced technique called...'stirring'. It requires an
> expensive bit of equipment known as a 'spoon'. Simmer your 'chili'
> uncovered while 'stirring' with the 'spoon'.

Actually there is a very basic technique used by those who actually know how
to cook... chili is essentially a stew... to remove excess liquid (whether
water or fat) allow to simmer on low for a few minutes without stirring, the
excess liquid will pool in depressions made with the back of a spoon at the
surface where it can easily be ladled off... a lot quicker, no stirring, and
less likelihood of over cooking.

"Dan S." wrote:
>
> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you
> go about reducing the product without all the food settling to the
> bottom and burning?
>
> --
> Yours,
> Dan S.
>

There's a very advanced technique called...'stirring'. It requires an
expensive bit of equipment known as a 'spoon'. Simmer your 'chili'
uncovered while 'stirring' with the 'spoon'.

In article >,
Dan S. > wrote:

> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you
> go about reducing the product without all the food settling to the
> bottom and burning?

Slow simmer with frequent stirring, or just being careful in the first
place. ;-)
--
Peace! Om

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
-- Anon.

"Dan S." > wrote:

> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you
> go about reducing the product without all the food settling to the
> bottom and burning?

Overnight shipping will get you this:

http://www.ohgizmo.com/2006/02/07/an-automatic-stirrer/

-sw

Dan S. wrote:
> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you go
> about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom
> and burning?
>

I think that different dishes have different requirements. For chili,
I'd use a little corn meal. Works great.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south-Texas

Dan S. wrote:
> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you go
> about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom
> and burning?
>

The easiest way to prevent this is to use a non-stick pan and not let
the heat get too high. If you have a non-non-stick pan, use a lower heat
and stir frequently.

I would probably just add a thickening agent. For chili, crushed corn
tortilla chips work great and adds a distinctive toasted corn taste to
your mix and adds a lot of texture.

Janet Wilder, if I was in the mood, I'd turn the lights down low and
reply with soft music, but you'll have to accept this instead::
> Dan S. wrote:
>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you go
>> about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom and
>> burning?
>>
>
> I think that different dishes have different requirements. For chili, I'd use
> a little corn meal. Works great.

So, greater thickening is what you suggest. I like it.

(BTW, I stirred as much as I could remember to, between checking USENET
and such, but I still burned it a little bit). It was edible.

--
Yours,
Dan S.
support your local money-changers guild

Janet wrote on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:42 -0500:

> Dan S. wrote:
>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How
>> would you go about reducing the product without all the food settling
>> to the bottom and burning?
>>
> I think that different dishes have different requirements. For
> chili, I'd use a little corn meal. Works great.

I'd always understood that adding cormeal to chili about half an houir
before completing cooking was a standard method (and usually necessary).

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"Sqwertz" > wrote
>
> Overnight shipping will get you this:
>
> http://www.ohgizmo.com/2006/02/07/an-automatic-stirrer/
>
> -sw

Clicking the douchebag know nothing sqwartz link will get you not one, not
two, but THREE (3) trojans... do NOT click that link! Thank Goodness for
McAfee.

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> Janet wrote on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:42 -0500:
>
>> Dan S. wrote:
>>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How
>>> would you go about reducing the product without all the food settling to
>>> the bottom and burning?
>>>
>> I think that different dishes have different requirements. For
>> chili, I'd use a little corn meal. Works great.
>
> I'd always understood that adding cormeal to chili about half an houir
> before completing cooking was a standard method (and usually necessary).

Masa.

On Mar 18, 10:11*pm, "cybercat" > wrote:

> Masa.
=============================
Yup. Or peanut butter (not chunky). Turn the heat way way down and
leave the cover off.
Lynn in Fargo
Also, tall narrow pots do not work as well as shallower, wider ones -
more surface area.

brooklyn1 > wrote:

> "Sqwertz" > wrote
>>
>> Overnight shipping will get you this:
>>
>> http://www.ohgizmo.com/2006/02/07/an-automatic-stirrer/
>>
>> -sw
>
> Clicking the douchebag know nothing sqwartz link will get you not one, not
> two, but THREE (3) trojans... do NOT click that link! Thank Goodness for
> McAfee.

I know it's hard for you to imagine using more than 1 over the
course of a 12 hours but yes, some couples need even more than 3.

(The site is perfectly safe, BTW)

-sw

brooklyn1 wrote:
> "Sqwertz" > wrote
>> Overnight shipping will get you this:
>>
>> http://www.ohgizmo.com/2006/02/07/an-automatic-stirrer/
>>
>> -sw
>
> Clicking the douchebag know nothing sqwartz link will get you not one, not
> two, but THREE (3) trojans... do NOT click that link! Thank Goodness for
> McAfee.

There are no "trojans" at that site.

You're a retard.

Dan S. wrote:
> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you go
> about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom
> and burning?

If you run the lid under very cold water (to get the lid cold) and put
it back on the pot, water from the chili will condensate on the lid.
Remove carefully, repeat.

"Dan S." > wrote in message
...
> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you go
> about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom and
> burning?
>
> --
> Yours,
> Dan S.
> support your local money-changers guild

If you have a Big Lots handy they sell a heat diffuser for about a buck'

Turn the heat down as low and possible and leave the cover off.

If you're looking for a Quick Fix then it depends on what you are cooking.

For Spaghetti sauce use an extra can to tomato paste

Or

Start adding seasoned bread crumbs a little at a time - careful they take a
few minutes to absorb the excess moisture.

For Chili bread crumbs or some tortillas & a little water put into a blender
or a slurry of masa harina & water/beer/tequila

Don't forget slurries of flour, corn starch, arrowroot

Dimitri

Dimitri said...

>
> "Dan S." > wrote in message
> ...
>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you
>> go about reducing the product without all the food settling to the
>> bottom and burning?
>>
>> --
>> Yours,
>> Dan S.
>> support your local money-changers guild
>
> If you have a Big Lots handy they sell a heat diffuser for about a buck'
>
> Turn the heat down as low and possible and leave the cover off.
>
> If you're looking for a Quick Fix then it depends on what you are
> cooking.
>
> For Spaghetti sauce use an extra can to tomato paste
>
> Or
>
> Start adding seasoned bread crumbs a little at a time - careful they
> take a few minutes to absorb the excess moisture.
>
> For Chili bread crumbs or some tortillas & a little water put into a
> blender or a slurry of masa harina & water/beer/tequila
>
> Don't forget slurries of flour, corn starch, arrowroot
>
> Dimitri


I don't get it. "Reducing thickened food?"

Wouldn't that turn it into some form of cement?

I know... badly phrased subject title.

Andy

cybercat wrote on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:11:08 -0400:


> "James Silverton" > wrote in
> message ...
>> Janet wrote on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:42 -0500:
>>
>>> Dan S. wrote:
>>>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How
>>>> would you go about reducing the product without all the
>>>> food settling to the bottom and burning?
>>>>
>>> I think that different dishes have different requirements.
>>> For chili, I'd use a little corn meal. Works great.
>>
>> I'd always understood that adding cormeal to chili about half
>> an houir before completing cooking was a standard method (and
>> usually necessary).

>Masa

Isn't Masa Harina cornmeal?

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> cybercat wrote on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:11:08 -0400:
>
>
>> "James Silverton" > wrote in
>> message ...
>>> Janet wrote on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:42 -0500:
>>>
>>>> Dan S. wrote:
>>>>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How
>>>>> would you go about reducing the product without all the
>>>>> food settling to the bottom and burning?
>>>>>
>>>> I think that different dishes have different requirements.
>>>> For chili, I'd use a little corn meal. Works great.
>>>
>>> I'd always understood that adding cormeal to chili about half
>>> an houir before completing cooking was a standard method (and
>>> usually necessary).
>
>>Masa
>
> Isn't Masa Harina cornmeal?
>
So I thought, until I bought regular cornmeal and added it to chili once. I
don't know what the difference is, but there is one.

"James Silverton" > wrote
> Isn't Masa Harina cornmeal?
>

Damn, wiki is good for something! Check it out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masa

cybercat wrote on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:54:04 -0400:


> "James Silverton" > wrote
>> Isn't Masa Harina cornmeal?
>>
> Damn, wiki is good for something! Check it out:

Well, whatever Wikipedia says, I've been using them interchangeably for
decades but I guess I only use them in chili, cornbread or dusting on a
baking sheet for oven frying.
--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Dan S. wrote:
> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you go
> about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom
> and burning?
>



Pour some of it out into a small saucepan and simmer till reduced, then
add back to original pan.

gloria p

"Andy" > wrote in message ...

> I don't get it. "Reducing thickened food?"
>
> Wouldn't that turn it into some form of cement?
>
> I know... badly phrased subject title.
>
> Andy


S/B Reducing TO thicken food.

IMHO

Dimitri

On Mar 19, 4:36*am, Martha Stewart's Prison Bitch
> wrote:
> Dan S. wrote:
> > What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. *How would you go
> > about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom
> > and burning?
>
> If you run the lid under very cold water (to get the lid cold) and put
> it back on the pot, water from the chili will condensate on the lid.
> Remove carefully, repeat.

================================
I've had luck by folding a clean terry cloth towel (or several
thicknesses of paper towels) till its just bigger than the lid. Put
it flat so that it covers the entire surface of the pot. Replace the
lid, wait a few minutes and take off the lid to see if it's "dry"
enough. Repeat as neccessary.


(You can do this with paper towels too.)

On Mar 19, 10:19*am, Lynn from Fargo Ografmorffig >
wrote:
> On Mar 19, 4:36*am, Martha Stewart's Prison Bitch
>
> > wrote:
> > Dan S. wrote:
> > > What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. *How would you go
> > > about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom
> > > and burning?
>
> > If you run the lid under very cold water (to get the lid cold) and put
> > it back on the pot, water from the chili will condensate on the lid.
> > Remove carefully, repeat.
>
> ================================
> I've had luck by folding a clean terry cloth towel *(or several
> thicknesses of paper towels) *till its just bigger than the lid. Put
> it flat so that it covers the entire surface of the pot. Replace the
> lid, wait a few minutes and take off the lid to see if it's "dry"
> enough. Repeat as neccessary.
>
> (You can do this with paper towels too.)

==========================
OOPS! My mistake.
I do this for rice so it doesn't clump while I'm keeping it warm)
Lynn in Fargo
who (having a senior moment) accidently hit "send" too soon.

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> cybercat wrote on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:54:04 -0400:
>
>
>> "James Silverton" > wrote
>>> Isn't Masa Harina cornmeal?
>>>
>> Damn, wiki is good for something! Check it out:
>
> Well, whatever Wikipedia says, I've been using them interchangeably for
> decades but I guess I only use them in chili, cornbread or dusting on a
> baking sheet for oven frying.
> --

Aparently masa is corn meal made into a dough then dried. Weird. All I know
is, if the bag says "masa" it works better.

Gloria wrote:

>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How would you go
>> about reducing the product without all the food settling to the bottom
>> and burning?
>
> Pour some of it out into a small saucepan and simmer till reduced, then
> add back to original pan.

To refine that answer a bit: Let the solid stuff settle to the bottom, then
ladle off the liquid from the top into a wide pan like a skillet. Put the
skillet over high heat to reduce the liquid. (A wide pan does better at
reducing than a tall one.)

You could strain the entire pot of chili into another pan and reduce the
liquid in that other pan.

You could brown some more meat and add it to the chili so that the
meat-to-liquid ratio was right.

Or you could put your chili into a centrifuge to separate the liquids from
the solids.

Bob

James Silverton wrote:
> Janet wrote on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:42 -0500:
>
>> Dan S. wrote:
>>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How
>>> would you go about reducing the product without all the food settling
>>> to the bottom and burning?
>>>
>> I think that different dishes have different requirements. For
>> chili, I'd use a little corn meal. Works great.
>
> I'd always understood that adding cormeal to chili about half an houir
> before completing cooking was a standard method (and usually necessary).
>

I like to make a chili using beer and that recipe requires the corn meal
to thicken it up. Just a little corn meal works so well.
--
Janet Wilder
way-the-heck-south Texas
spelling doesn't count
but cooking does

James Silverton wrote:
> cybercat wrote on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:11:08 -0400:
>
>
>> "James Silverton" > wrote in
>> message ...
>>> Janet wrote on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:42 -0500:
>>>
>>>> Dan S. wrote:
>>>>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How
>>>>> would you go about reducing the product without all the
>>>>> food settling to the bottom and burning?
>>>>>
>>>> I think that different dishes have different requirements.
>>>> For chili, I'd use a little corn meal. Works great.
>>>
>>> I'd always understood that adding cormeal to chili about half
>>> an houir before completing cooking was a standard method (and
>>> usually necessary).
>
>> Masa
>
> Isn't Masa Harina cornmeal?
>

Basically, but not entirely.

--
Janet Wilder
way-the-heck-south Texas
spelling doesn't count
but cooking does

cybercat wrote:
> "James Silverton" > wrote in message
> ...
>> cybercat wrote on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:11:08 -0400:
>>
>>
>>> "James Silverton" > wrote in
>>> message ...
>>>> Janet wrote on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:42 -0500:
>>>>
>>>>> Dan S. wrote:
>>>>>> What if I add too much water to my chili, for example. How
>>>>>> would you go about reducing the product without all the
>>>>>> food settling to the bottom and burning?
>>>>>>
>>>>> I think that different dishes have different requirements.
>>>>> For chili, I'd use a little corn meal. Works great.
>>>> I'd always understood that adding cormeal to chili about half
>>>> an houir before completing cooking was a standard method (and
>>>> usually necessary).
>>> Masa
>> Isn't Masa Harina cornmeal?
>>
> So I thought, until I bought regular cornmeal and added it to chili once. I
> don't know what the difference is, but there is one.
>
>
I think masa is made from dried corn treated with lime.

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/wha...asa-harina.htm

--
Janet Wilder
way-the-heck-south Texas
spelling doesn't count
but cooking does