ICED TEA

 This is my summer thing......to discover how to brew thirst quenching Iced Tea.  I pulled up this information from the Canadian Living website and so far so good.

Here are their tips:

1. Use enough tea bags

When foods are served cold, the flavours become dull. A stronger tea - such as Darjeeling, Jasmine or green teas - is necessary to have a well-flavoured tea served cold. Use two tea bags for every 3 cups of water for best results. 

2. Don't oversteep 
If you prefer your tea stronger, use more tea bags rather than lengthening the steeping time. Allowing tea to overstep brings out the tannins in the tea and can make it bitter. For weaker tea, reduce the steeping time rather than taking away tea bags for better flavour. 

3. Add sugar to hot water
If you sweeten your tea, add the sugar to the hot tea in order to dissolve the grains. If you prefer to sweeten your tea afterwards as per each persons taste, use a simple syrup rather than granulated sugar which will leave sugar grains in your glass. 

4. Cool before refrigerating
Putting hot tea into a cold fridge will make your tea cloudy. Allow your tea to cool before you refrigerate.  If you do end up with cloudy tea, try adding a bit of boiling water to it – it will sometimes do the trick!

5. Keep it real
Don't use artificial lemon juice. Only use real fresh squeezed lemon juice from fresh lemons for the very best flavour.     

6. Fresh is best
Iced tea taste best when it is freshly made. Make only what you will drink in two or three days. It's easy to make, so don't worry about having to mix up another batch!

SUGAR SYRUP

Top secret iced tea ingredient: Sugar syrup

Keep this easy to make sugar syrup on hand to sweeten tea. It combines with cold tea much better than sugar. 

In a measuring cup, whisk together 1 cup (250 mL) each granulated sugar and boiling water until clear and the sugar is dissolved. Makes 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) 

BASIC ICED TEA

Easy to make and very good

Ingredients:

5 Tea Baga

2 TBSP Sugar Syrup

Method:

In large heatproof measure or bowl, steep tea in 8 cups (2 L) boiling water for 5 minutes. Discard bags. Stir in Sugar Syrup (if using). Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. Serve with ice cubes.  I also added sliced lemons.

EASY ICED TEA

This recipe IS easy but you have to start making it the night before you wish to serve it. This recipe says do not refrigerate as chilling will cloud tea but I steeped mine on the counter overnight, strained and refrigerated until cold and it did not cloud.

Also, I strained mine into a large pitcher and added the sugar and lemon slices to this before cooling in the fridge.  I served with extra lemon slices and sugar syrup on the side incase my guests wanted a sweeter drink.  

Ingredients:

6    Cups COLD water

1/3 Cup loose Tea (I used Buckingham Palace Garden Tea [how could you go wrong with a name like that???] which is a blend of black tea,Green tea, Jasmine + Cornflower petals)  It worked perfectly!

Ice  Cubes

Sugar Syrup to taste

6     Lemon Slices

Method:

Combine water and tea; let stand, covered, overnight. Strain and pour into glasses, adding ice cubes, about 1 tsp (5 mL) Sugar Syrup and 1 lemon slice per glass. Stir, bruising the lemon slice so it flavours the tea.

If you wish to try other flavours of Iced Tea (I haven't gotten around to others yet), here is the website that I found:

https://www.canadianliving.com/food/food-tips/article/six-rules-for-the-best-iced-tea-plus-recipes

SUBSTITUTES: Eggs

According to thekitchn.com website, the BEST substitute for Eggs in baking is... wait for it ... Carbonated Water!

1/4 Cup Carbonated Water = 1 Large Egg

This site tested 8 substitutes and the Carbonated water was the most successful.  I have yet to try it but I do know if you make cookies omitting the Egg, they do not hold together and you end up with a pile of crumbs before you can even get the cookie to you  mouth.

For other options of Egg Substitutes visit:

https://www.thekitchn.com/best-egg-substitutes-baking-23003895?fbclid=IwAR2-TGvuBlV854miu4LCdvCxr45gZZR1JZgN5MhHQg8-_dhn-SARQy2kl5A

The Difference between Dry Active and Quick Rise Yeast

                                       

   

I just read an excellent article on YEAST.  It answered my questions, so instead of plagiarizing this article, here is a link:

https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-active-dry-yeast-and-instant-yeast-54252

In a nutshell, yeast is a living microorganism used to make dough rise (and in fermenting beer).  Both Active Dry and Quick Rising yeasts are dormant until activated.  Active dry yeast is activated by a warm liquid .  Instant yeast (also called Quick Rise and Rapid Yeast) doesn't require this warm liquid. It can be added directly to the dough (enzymes and there additives are included in this yeast to make dough rise quicker).  The two yeasts can be used interchangeably.

Which should you use.  Doesn't really matter apparently.  Use whatever you have on hand.  Just remember it takes longer for Dry Active Yeast to rise so if the recipe calls for Instant Yeast, use an extra 10-15 minutes for the rise.

Oh yeah, and my tip ... check the best before date.  It can make a difference.  AND, refrigerate.  It keeps the yeast fresher.

How to Make Cake and Pastry Flour

The recipe calls for Cake and Pastry Flour and you have none????  Here is how to make it, per Anna Olson.

Measure 1 Cup All Purpose Flour.  Remove 2 TBSP of this flour and replace it with 2 TBSP Corn Starch.  Mix in with a whisk.  You have just made Cake and Pastry Flour!

TIPS

I love tips.  One of my favourite that I use ALL the time is:

To stabilize whipping cream, add 1 TBSP of skim milk powder to each cup of whipping cream and it won't weep with time.

So on this TIPS page, I will just keep adding 'good things to know'.

1.  To test Baking Soda for freshness, put 1 TBSP vinegar in a small bowl.  Stir in 1/2 Tsp baking soda.  The mixture should fizz immediately - and quite vigorously too.  If the two don't fizz on contact, or the fizzing is gentle/minimal, it is time to invest in a new carton of baking soda.

2   To test Baking Powder for freshness, put 2 TBSP warm water in a bowl.  Stir in 1/2 Tsp baking powder.  While you won't see quite the vigorous reaction you get from baking soda/vinegar, the mixture should definitely bubble and foam.

3.  To test Yeast for freshness:
Dissolve 1/2 Tsp sugar in 1/2 cup warm water.  Stir in a packet of Active Dry Yeast or 2 Tsps Instant Yeast.  Go away and come back in 10 minutes.  The yeast has started to bubble and expand.  Give it another 10 minutes and it is domed and very light.

4.  Don't have Cake & Pastry Flour?  Make your own!  Cake & Pastry Flour is milled finer than All Purpose Flour and it has a lower protein content to ensure you get tender cookies and pastries.  To make your own measure 1 Cup All Purpose Flour.  Then Remove 2 TBSP and add 2 TBSP of Corn Starch.  Mix together.

My Gluten Free Flours Course

I went to a City run Course on Gluten Free Flours.  I did learn a bit, but am still confused.  I believe a lot of this is trial and error which can be quite expensive.  Here is what I learned.

Make your own Flour Blends; Below are 4 varieties of flour mixture:

1.  1 Medium Flour + 1 or 2 starches
2.  1 medium + 1 heavy flour + 1 or 2 starches
3.  2 medium flour + 1 or 2 starches
4.  1 Heavy Flour + 1 or 2 starches

LIGHT (STARCHES):

Light starches blended with heavier flours help your baked goods be lighter, fluffier and chewier.  Used on their own, they are great for thickening and binding.  They have very little nutritional value to use sparingly.

*  Arrowroot (use straight)
*  Tapioca Starch (aka tapioca flour)  -  makes baking gummy, chewy, so cut with potato starch
*  Potato Starch (do NOT confuse with potato flour - they are different)
*  Corn Starch - good if you want a crispy coating then fry


MEDIUM

Medium flours have the original nutrient content of the grain or bean.  They are light in flavour and are great assets to light, fluffy baking.  They should be blended with a STARCH for best results in baking.

*  Fava Bean
*  Garbanzo Bean (aka chick pea) - use for savoury foods
*  Millet (lighter than brown rice flour) --C
*  Sorghum -- C
*  Quinoa -- C
*  Oat Flour - can use without a starch flour
*  White Rice Flour (use sparingly as it has little nutritional value)

HEAVY
*  Brown Rice Flour --  C
*  Amaranth
*  Coconut - absorbs liquid so use only in small additions
*  Almond  --  C

NOTE:  C = KEEP COLD

My Instructor's Favourite Blend is:

2 Cups Brown Rice Flour
1/3 Cup Tapioca Starch
2/3 Cups Potato Starch
2 TBLS Coconut Flour

Use this mixture as 1 to 1 with wheat flour

Lastly, some interesting tips:

1.  Use ground chews with a bit of water as a thickener for soups
2.  Some good GF food web sites:
     http://minimaleats.com
     http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com
     http://www.allergyfreealaska.com

3.  Can't find the food you need or don't like shopping in grocery stores, you can order your
    food on-line at    https://well.ca  .  They are in Ontario but ship free of charge to most major
    cities in Canada.  Check their web site for details.