Flash in the Pan

If you've ever made a packaged corned beef and have the experience of the real deli variety, you may have noticed that the home version is decidedly blander. Not only is there the difference in curing, but in the cooking. The packages say to drop the meat into water and simmer for hours. But adding some pickling spice to the water can enormously improve the flavor without your taking on brining the meat yourself. Last night I used some corned beef spice that my wife had picked up from Pensy's - somewhere around 2 teaspoons to a tablespoon. (That's significantly less than the 3 to 5 tablespoons per 5 pounds of meat that they suggest for actually marinating.) I think it's adding that little extra edge that the commercial producers leave out because a) many people like blander food, and b) it's cheaper for them.

Labels: corned beef, marinating, Penzey's, pickling, spice, spices

We've been fans of Penzey's Spices for a long time. But apparently my wife realized that they also had stores, one of which is in the food marketplace in Grand Central Station. It's not huge, real estate there being expensive, but they still have a solid selection and samples to smell. We bought a number of things, including a double-strength Madagascar vanilla with an aroma that should do wonders for baking. (And at $14 for 4 ounces, it had better...)

Labels: food, Grand Central Station, Madagascar, New York, Penzey's, spices, vanilla