Hello and welcome to cooking issues. This is Dave ARL, your host of cooking issues coming to you. From newsstands Studios back in the actual newsstand again, back changing studios from our Rockefeller Center here in whatever I guess this area is called Rockefeller Center. That's the name of the neighborhood. Yeah, not like you know, lower Eastside it's like, we're in the place and it is the place. Yeah, yeah. joined as usual with Anastasia the hammer Lopez, how're you doing? Okay, I appreciate this about Eunice does he first of all, call in your questions live if you're listening on patreon 2917410 1507 917-410-1507. And if you don't know what the Patreon is and you want to call in live just go to patreon what is it? What is it patreon dot cooking issues.net.com dot slash tagging

issues and Patreon a toss us a

couple of issues.

A couple of bucks and we give you some stuff you know you get early access you can call in etc etc. is what I appreciate before we talk any more. So, Rockefeller Center a little bit of a WAG of the finger you already have your Christmas garbage out your Christmas garbage. You've already started to put your Christmas garbage out. Christmas Garbage should not go out before Thanksgiving. This is just how it works. We had

a pretty bad call with them this morning.

I mean, I'm happy to talk about that shouldn't Yeah, we should because

I'm really want to pull our people a little

bit. Let me just let me ask you a question first. And not question but tip of the hat to us so they wag the finger at Rock Center. Anastasia Lopez is the owner of the world's greatest Christmas hat Christmas hat. Yeah, the Stasi Lopez owns the world's greatest Christmas hat. But for as low quality individuals as the two of us are for his for his kind of like ranted bottom of the of the grease trap. We can be at times the Stasi does not pull out her head early.

No, they don't come out after Thanksgiving. That's true, as it should,

as it should. In the booth the booth we got of course, Joe Hasan, what's up, Joe?

Hey, how are you guys doing?

Doing? Right? Doing okay. We haven't had a show since Billy Joel. So we got to talk about we got John. He's at home because he didn't want to get as sick people. This is a good idea. John is he doesn't have that. He doesn't have the COVID as they say not don't mean to call you out. But he's calling in because he didn't want to get other people sick. Which I think is honorable right? Yep.

Yeah, thank you. And have fun of them for about a week.

Yeah. Nice. Awesome. Terrible. If you're going to be sick or sick for like, you know, a week right stuff. Yeah. Like I What's the longest you've ever been six says three days?

Because your body's like gets it? Yeah. it down to three days

down to three days. Yeah. It either it gets you or you get it. That's it. Yeah. And we got Jackie molecules. Where are you today? Jeff?

Well, Rockefeller Center

are you really in Wahaca?

I am Wahaca. Yes, I'm in like a hawk in version of a we work I guess it's pretty bare bones. But

if we work in your in Wahaca. He said, Oh,

yeah, there bone I'm trying to

imagine. I'm trying to imagine something more depressing than being in a place as beautiful as Wahaca. And then being in a WeWork.

I'm in a room with no windows. It looks a little bit like a prison cell. There's a big whiteboard. Wow. But the internet's fast.

Oh, there you go. There you go. That's like, you know, like, when I used to French culinary they would ship us around from city to city and to do demos. And they're like, Oh, how was filling City? I was like, the basement of the Sheraton was great. You know what I mean? It's like, you know,

what, okay, poor poor, poor people.

Poor. Wow. Okay. So describe this. Oh, well, okay, listen, let me ask you a question. I have a theory that we had an unpleasant phone call today. This is a hospitality related question. So this is actually in the purview of our of our show. Oh, before we get into it, though, I'm gonna apologize to all you guys. We had a technical issue beyond anyone's control. Speaking of Rock Center, technical beyond any of our control correcto beyond our control. Yeah, beyond our control. So at the last minute, we had to cancel last Friday's special taping with Sandor Katz but good news. He's going to be back on the show went on.

January fourth,

January 4, January 4, why does that name mean some regular time? Oh, it's the 14th That's important. That's the both of my boys birthday. Yeah, not the fourth. Yeah. I like to have all my shoulder on the same day so that I only have to remember one date makes it makes it easy. I can't remember anyone else's birthday, like I noticed as His birthday is close to mine, but I don't know when it is. I remember my wife's birthday. My mom's and that's pretty much it. That's it. And my kids because I put them on the same day. Yeah, right. It's true. They were born on the same day, but it wasn't my wasn't my doing. So he's going to come back. And also, remember, folks, next week, on Tuesday, we are going to do a show. But that is get all of your Thanksgiving questions to us. Early. Right, I want all your Thanksgiving questions early. Hey, can we do a obit shoot, if you're not a Patreon person? You're not going to hear it until black? Friday, right? Yeah.

So is this Friday? No, this Friday,

next Friday, but next Friday. But if you're not a Patreon, you don't get it till Friday. Now,

even more incentive, that's more incentive. Yeah.

Yeah. So if you're not a Patreon person, and you ask us a Thanksgiving question, you can tune in after you've already messed up your meal to figure out how you could have done it right. Or you could have just spent five bucks. Yeah. Anyway. Alright, so back to where we're going. So I have this theory that you can do any concept at a restaurant or bar as long as it's was does? coherent? Right. coherent? So what? Describe the situation that would describe the pole what information you want to get out of

out of it? I mean, I don't know. I don't know you. It's, it's mind boggling to me. Yeah. Listen.

I mean, it's not a question. It's like, everybody knows that. The feeling of the place, and the feeling of the menu. And the price point. And the location, they have to mesh? Yeah. I mean, ask you, people. Let me ask you a question. First of all, if you're going to Rockefeller Center, I mean, for those of you have never been to New York City, Rockefeller Center is like, it's a tourist joint. It's a work joint and a tourist joint. Right. So like any Christmas movie, you've seen it? Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah. I mean, unless it's Miracle on 34th Street, because that takes place on 34th Street, but like, you know, here around Christmas time, you know, on Fifth Avenue near here, you need a machete to cut through the crowds. It's crazy, you know, I mean, but it pretty much ignores your late night and service put it that way. It's not a late night kind of a place. Right, right, guys. Not yet. Now yet Natalie and I kind of place anywho so the question is, what kind of establishment do you expect? If someone's going to have a bar? Let's say someone's going to open a karaoke bar in Rockefeller Center. Let's just say rice does Yeah. Karaoke bar. sake of argument. For sake of argument, Jack, just for sake of argument. Let's say we're gonna you're gonna open a karaoke bar. How much is a drink at that bar?

In Rockefeller Center? What drink

the cocktail, okay, I don't care. Water. How am I How much is a beer? How much? How much is a Corona with a rancid slice of brown yet last week lime shoved in

this is a street level bar. So it's not like an underground street dish and you have to go into the center and it's across from the skating rink.

Theater, what are we expecting it to be? What

what do you expect it when you walk in? How much do you think you're paying for that beer? Crappy Corona?

or $8 $8 for the krona?

Really? Okay, you bought a place last neighborhood garden prices. I was at Madison Square Garden. Interesting. You should talk about that. You know how much a pretzel cost outside of Madison Square Garden a pretzel. A pretzel people. If you've never been in New York City before and you're like, oh, New York pretzels. They suck. They are terrible. Like New York pretzels used to be good in the 70s or at least my taste was worse whatever. They are rancid, stale, dopey pieces of garbage that can only be saved by copious copious quantities of mustard. They are always both stale and Dopey at the same time. It's a miracle if you asked me how can I make something both Joey and stale at the same time and wrinkly and crappy? I will be like, I don't know how to do it. Dude, I have to do some research to be able to make something this garbage. sallow, underbaked horrible man freaking straw cities. And yet we have a reputation for them. I digress. six bucks. That's how much one of those things cost six bucks, and you're telling me how much is a beer?

Okay, I mean, there were 15 bucks when we were there.

Well, that was in the garden that's in the garden. And it was a it was a big cup of water down urine beer. You know what I mean? But it was it was a large cup. And by the way, Billy Joel sounds like an angel. An angel. The man's voice is so onpoint he I guess now he doesn't drink anymore. He focuses all of his rage into sound. Didn't good 72 years old hit all the notes, all of them. I'm glad he didn't strain his voice yelling at you, Joe that would have sucked Imagine if he couldn't do his job because he was straining his voice yelling you're trying to free that bird from his fans, you know the actual venue, kind of a kind of a nightmare. Oh, so the Stasi is ticket to head the pool water on it? Yeah. She got she got it. Yeah, the Stasi gets the Stasi can Yeah. We were in line for a long time. And there was a danger we were going to miss the opening song but John

made John made it up before us.

Yeah, run to the bathroom.

Yeah, that's a good example of people. If you don't want to deal with the situation. run to the bathroom. And here's another wag wag of the finger Oh, here's another wagging the finger. They scan your ticket once and then they don't let you rescan in so like I had like the lady was like this tick was already skin I was like by you lady by you when you made me leave to go in line so I can hang out with Anastasia while we wait to see what she got us scams. Okay, go go go go go and go and go in. People were little bit on edge. Imagine all of Long Island showing up to Matt. Imagine the entire Long Island is has pent up energy for two years waiting for Billy Joel to come back to the guard. They it's all bottled up.

Why did that guy behind us call the Ticket people.

carpetbaggers? Which I don't even understand. What does that mean? carpetbaggers or Northern people who go to the South after the Civil War and try to take political positions away from Southerners. Right? Yeah, yeah. But what the relevance that has to the

people than any other part is or a person perceived as an unscrupulous opportunist.

guy behind us. All us all. You guys. Carpetbag not you he points to mistakes here. He's like you guys. You're okay. You're okay. Like, okay, all right, that

sounds like you guys went to a Knicks game.

I mean, like I was, I thought I was gonna miss the opening. Because the Stasi was like, the dudes gonna go on at eight. He's gonna play his tunes and get off. It was eight or nine whatever it was, it was like one or two minutes after we're in the line. You know how like, what's that? What's that character that like? runs real fast. You know how he just vibrates? He just can just vibrate. He can like heat things up. I was vibrating. Like, was the flash we

were gonna miss that opening. Hey, but if John got the opening, that's all that matters. It's

important. Oh, for those of you that are going to pay to go see Billy Joel in concert. Don't worry that you're staring at the back of his head because his piano rotates. So everyone stares at the back of his head for a little while. For a little while. Okay, enough goes back to the things. Wait. So how much should you say for a beer? Yeah.

I said eight but I mean, I've been in Mexico for three months. I'm skewed.

How much for a cocktail. Joe? How much for a cocktail? Here?

Oh, a cocktail here? I would say at least 18 What does it look like? What is the cocktail look like?

In a plastic cup?

Does it look like trash? Or is it look good?

It's gonna be one of those like you know like it's those those fake Platt it's the fake glass plastic the kind of thing that glasses a pool? Yeah, my didn't have like a rock of us with me a like a radio city. Little stirring thing. Oh, you know, plastic, you know, the lights up? Kind of.

So glass, a slice of orange slice of orange no matter what cocktail you got.

And what what century was the orange slice then? Like, like last century? It's like a 19th century or so. Alright. But like what kind of ice is in that glass?

I'd like I mean, definitely not good. Yeah, no, it could be. I don't know.

So it's $18. Trash can ice served in glasstic. With like, with like, a real sad slice of like orange where it's a little bit dark. So you're like, is that an orange or lemon? I can't tell it because it color is so garbage like that. There you go. That's your Yeah, where the seed is literally left in it. So you can still see that God dang seed and it's floating in the top of your drink. And that's 18 bucks. Yep. And you're happy to pay? Yeah, you're happy to pay that? No. Well, whoever

dragged you up here, you're unhappy with them.

I think you get our point. We're trying to figure out like we're trying to match price, expectation and deliverables. No one wants to go. If you're if you're going to a karaoke bar in Rock Center. My question is do you care about the quality of the drink at all? Or is it just you getting beers?

Probably were like something It's bad, like a tequila soda, you know, like, whatever the well is like anything, anything but well, basically.

I mean, they could probably just even have the cocktails like in a like, like in the end of the Spencer even on the fountain that's

yeah, too complicated and they're not gonna do

that turns out to those places that try to get good value by doing because I've looked at concepts like that I could do a really good one if if we if someone had the money for it, but in order to do really good cocktails on tap system, you'd need to invest in the tap system. So the tap system costs but then after that your labor costs go down, whatever. So so what I'm hearing is free pours. Yeah, I what I think is, it should be a fun cool beer and shots thing where you can have good beer and shots. You guys can have interesting fun shot that like like, I've never been to one but apparently Texas has the best beer in shots places. This is true. Anyone who has been to Texas?

I mean, yeah, sure. It could have been shot spots. This court by the way, we have it we have a discord comment. And he says the best karaoke bars are BYOB.

Yeah, that is true. It's true. But then you lose all the revenue.

Yeah. Hey, how the

business model but

then you can just do it at your house. But best karaoke is in my garage. Go to Mount Kisco. When my mom and my mama they're always there now, because the COVID the COVID. Anyway, yeah, I mean, if you don't have a liquor license, you could do whatever you want.

They want no BYOB is not possible anymore. Here in New York. Yeah, it is what I mean,

when did they change that?

I heard it's not when I talked to

you don't have a liquor license. I'm allowed to bring whatever I want. If you don't have a liquor license, I can bring whatever I want. That's always been the rule. When did they change? They changed

it? Yeah. After COVID. After COVID They changed? Yeah, because I asked about that. Because I was like, alright, well.

You can't sell beer, and let people bring beer.

Right? Right. But now don't

sell a website says no, BYOB is generally not legal in New York State. Generally

not. Generally, I want to know specifically, you open,

you open a bodega in front of the bar, where you can buy your beer and then pretend you're bringing it in yourself.

That's how the cat joints work. Like they can't have cats that you pet and sell food. So they have to like have a separate area where the food is sold. And then if you bring the food into where the cat is, well, that's on you. That's your problem. You know what I mean? All these weird roles. And that's like the same with the dog place. It's like you can't have the food delivered to where the dog is you have to go like that place like Boris and Horton where you can bring your dog and you go to a separate like through a door to get the fruit whatever laws here is so like arcane and dumb. When did they get rid of the byo? COVID after COVID

Doesn't say But yeah, that sounds about right.

Also, like leave it to New York, generally. Yeah. I mean, generally,

they're like if you are part of the mafia, so Okay.

All right. Tom Meadows Hey, Cookie Hey.

Quick discord question very quick. We want to encourage people to join the discord which is the live chat he wants to know how you feel about nuts for nuts while we're on the subject nuts.

I mean, I liked the name right and that's for nuts. So for those of you that haven't been to New York, like we have these nut vendors called nuts for nuts that you go around the city and they serve you you buy like you give them like $1 or two I haven't bought one in years and they give you like like a nut sack and in the nut sack you can get you can get like they have peanuts they have frickin do like the coconut you like the nut coated coconut can't stand the smell of nuts for nuts. I like I don't mind you don't like caramelized sugars

that specific

way so we have to wait wait John, you're against and Jack and I are pro the smell? No,

I'm pro Oh, you're pressed?

No No Where are you on nuts for nuts? I love them. Yeah, the person in discord just wants me to say deez nuts but like the fact the matter is that I think they're fine they the issue is sometimes they get burnt and sometimes they're a little over I really like the candy though I grew up eating these things called like boss Boston baked beans and then the there's also like French Bert peanuts I think is the other name of them where they're like these like hardshell caramelized nuts so I'm a kind of a fan of that favorite flavor and I actually liked it the coconut chunk sometimes anyone here a pro coconut chunk and the nuts for nuts. Yeah. I think it's a little strange that that's all they freakin sell. It's like a weird thing to be like, because I'm not like, you know Are Mom, I'm a bit peckish, I would like a small sack of something, you know what I mean? It's like it's never something where I'm like, that's really going to do me, I just need a tiny sack and nuts to make it through the day. But they are rather filling with all that mean like it, studies show that if you if you don't go crazy, and you just eat a small sack of nuts, that it can actually tide you over. But you have to give your body time to register the fact that you've eaten the nuts, right? So if you show up at somebody's cocktail party, and you are bored out of your freakin skull, right, then you're going to drink all the wine so that you don't have to open your mouth or talk to people just to have your mouth doing something, you're going to eat all the nuts and all the cheese, then it's not like the nuts are going to fill you up. But if you're walking down the street and you just eat the little second nuts, you're like, Oh, that was more filling than I thought. But I think my brain still hasn't. My heart still hasn't gotten to where my brain knows that that small sack of nuts is actually going to tide me over is that makes sense? Yep. That's good feeling. And that's for us. But I think it is. It is a it is a a decent quality street food New York City street food could be a lot better than it is. Our best thing is the hotel cards. That's a hot. Start looking at me. I'm not going to call anybody up. Let me ask you a question. You're about to go to a concert. You with me, Joe? Yeah, you're about to go to a concert. And you stop by a HELOC cart. Right. Now, for those of you that don't know, there's a wide range of things. But basically, you're either going to get something that you can eat in your hand, right? Something that comes on a pizza, or you're gonna get something that's in a tub. Right? You with me? So far? All right. So you're gonna get the same mix, whether it's lamb or chicken, or the mix. The mix is the answer, right? Everyone knows the mix is the answer. It's always the mix. Right? And they have two sauces. They have a white and a red. You gotta get both. I think it's my opinion. Anyone? Both. I'm just I'm just a white guy. I'm a I'm a both I'm a both anyway.

You're rushing to make the show. You have a ticket that's covered in poop water.

Yeah. Do you get the bucket or do you get the hand hold on the bread?

You also have how long of a walk to get to the ticket entrance.

We haven't said why. What do you get? You get the hand holder the bucket. Jack and Joe What do you get the hand holder bucket? The handhold but you can't get both? You can't get both? You don't get the bucket? You don't get the bug you don't get the lamb over rice

was very issue. Did I delay anyone getting in there with

I'm just want to say we almost missed that opening. So there would have been Oh,

please. No worry. You were sitting up with a beer up in the nosebleed. I was waiting in

my window for Dan to get ready so that I could like be that high at that high altitude to watch Joel anyway. All right. I think like I think everyone would pretty much agree that the best street food in New York at this point the best commonly available street food is hauled off guard like straight you know what I mean? It is mean they are a varying qualities. But across the board, they serve a delicious product and and if you have been at Nastasia is theoretical karaoke bar and you've had too much to drink of shots and beers. And your voice is a little hoarse because you sang too much journey right? A Hello cart is a good way to keep that I call that a boat anchor right so a hello cart. And that's when you need the full bucket John, although you're gonna eat pizza with it is like late night. You need a boat anchor to like anchor all that stuff that you did to your stomach at the bar. You know what I mean? And haul carts. Great for that. I think. Yeah. You know, we don't I don't know why, like every city has their own street foods. It's good like and why when people try to bring it to other places. It doesn't work. People have tried doing crepes here. And it just never works. I don't know. Why is it because we don't care about crepes.

Maybe we don't give a crap.

That's the name of our new place guys. I don't give a quip crap. Yeah, but I mean, I love crepes. I love I love them. They're great.

If you go to like Jackson Heights that were Queens then you get good street food from other places. But you don't want Manhattan street food

right? But that's where the tourists are. Where street food awaits? Me. So the point my point is, is that New York City

slices kind of in New York street food, even though it's not served in the street,

you eat it on the street, but there may be trash they're only miraculous in their cheap price. Like

with $1 Pizza, not the dollar slices. I you know how many dollar slices i I've eaten a lot of them but they're not. I would not consider the B Street food. That's mean.

Do you eat it in the store? No, no, no, no, I

just like don't qualify that. As pizza

Oh, right. Right but no, but that is a street food. Yeah, for sure. And the average dollar slice is better than the average New York quote unquote pretzel. Yeah, yes, I agree there. And also no offense. We need to haven't done a hotdog off yet. But subreddit needs to up its freakin game dude. So Brett is not a great hot dog sorry they're sauerkraut also not a great crowd. You can get amazing crowd in this city. Amazing crowd. I'm not a skinless wiener man. Myself I mean, do any of you guys like a hot dog without a skin on or do you guys all pro skin if you can get the skin first? Oh skin post can probably snap and need to snap stars just stars is like won't even can't even I've done both Wow, I've done both I don't know how to get the word Jeez Louise.

Oh my god.

Again both equally repulsive All right. What's the name of that place

hold up before Yeah. I don't know what you're getting into question finish what your second mental say what else?

What was the name of that the place so they they try to remember there was the guy who, quote unquote invented putting hot dogs in abundance selling them as street food in Coney Island. And Nathan's work. Nathan worked for him and started it was it phentermine or something like that? Has anyone tried that? Oh, I'm talking. Yeah, the brand went out of existence. And then it's come as someone's bringing it back. And they're trying to make like a really high quality New York City hot dog. Again, no offense to the Supreme Court. Whenever you say no offense, it means offense. Right. Yes.

Now get to question, Steve.

Well, John was gonna say something.

Yeah, before questions, everybody, pre order your series All Pro today, go to indiegogo.com/sears. I'll throw, get your sizzle Pro, we really need to get more people buying this thing. Share with your family, share with your friends, put it on your social media, spread the word we need more people to be buying. So please help us out. We'll be really happy you did once you get the sizzle Pro. It's an awesome, awesome tool, preorder it today,

it really does kick the snot out of the original one. I mean, like the original one is good. But like having been using justice prototype for the past couple of months. It just like using Map gas. And just the bigger head. It just is so much faster. I mean, it's crazy. It's crazy. Same Wait. Did you release the fabulous and Jeremiah video yet? I did. Yes. Yeah. I mean, we're does the, you know, the problem with it is is that I mean, to be honest, like we because of the whole Amazon thing, which for listeners of the show, like, you know, they turned off the money tap for, you know, better part of a year. And so we didn't have the money to run the campaign the way that we should have, which is your order 50 of them. And then you know, you send like a bunch of them to like well known people and have them actually use it. So you kind of have to take our what's it called our word for it. But because we just don't have the units to ship out to people, or the time, but if you know, you know, unless something else happens, we won't be able to make it unless the Kickstarter Indiegogo is successful. Which, you know, right now we're, what's it called? We're behind as usual. Rest us. Yep. Thanksgiving questions. All right, Tom Meadows. I discovered the show last year didn't make this one. Didn't I do this one already? I did this one, didn't I?

This is a new one. All right.

I discovered the show last year and I've been listening religiously ever since slowly working my way through the back catalogue. Now I've got working my way back to you baby in my head. I won the burning love and so on. The happiness it's I'm gonna slip away stars.

All right here. This is what happens when we have this is what cuts into the time going.

Oh, this is not talking about theoretical karaoke bars that may may or may not be opening. Let me ask you a question people. For real. For real? Under what scenario is Abby deadly serious here? Under what scenario? Is a wine Santa's a responsible thing to have in a bar environment where you're serving people that aren't your family that you can't like? You know what I mean? Like, is it possible to ask really have the wine Santa be a responsible item?

Raise that if it were tabletop if it were bar top.

And that a karaoke bar.

It's not a matter of that it's a matter of people getting viciously overserved. And look,

what's a karaoke bar. It's gonna happen anyway.

I mean, I don't want to contribute to people's life being unpleasant. You know what I mean? I mean, any more than we already do by doing this program?

Well, if it's bar top, you can say go to it.

I mean, look, I think people would like the issue with the wine Sanchez. It's a continuous fountain. It's like the clam broth. It's like It's like clam broth, but with wine, so it

could be clam broth, Santa, that is gross imagines sober people up or something, something that sobers people up, you know, water sante,

I think also, there's like the hygiene perspective of like, people dropping their cup in there, then they have to fish it out. Or like, they don't hold the cup properly. And, you know, whatever, liquid runs down the fingers and then trickles into the bowl and then gets into the system.

You're seeing more of a partial situation. Yeah, where you have two people? Yeah. Wait, are you who you say that you don't use a Punchbowl at your friend's house party? Because you find them to be to filthiest people?

No, I mean, I would do that with people I know. But I don't just like, you know, a random bar in Rockefeller Center where I don't know anyone else. There are little more on my garden, I guess.

Oh, my God, I can't believe that the COVID conversation post COVID Would people use a wind Santa post COVID Like that is like that's where we've gone in the in the discourse is that like, you know, it's from the absurd to the absurd, more absurd. You don't I mean, jumping from one absurdity to the next. All right. slowly working my way through the back catalogue. We're back to Tom Meadows question, by the way. case you were trying to keep track? I think I've got about 200 hours under my belt, Jesus. That's a lot of this. Thanks for all that edutainment has been in real comfort during lock downs in the pandemic. I have a general question about food preservation and pH. I don't see as much discussion of food preservation using high pH ie alkaline environments. I know that lie is used in the preparation of as Mills used to say lutefisk lead Fisk, that's you. I used to call it lutefisk. Because it sounds more like ludicrous. And I enjoy thinking of the song rollout whenever I think of lutefisk right. rollouts a good tune anyway. But I can't think of many other cases where significantly alkaline rather than acidic environments are used up. There are. Why is this? Why isn't there an alkaline version of lacto fermentation? Why don't we have Alkalyn versions of vinegar in our kitchens? I have a couple of guesses. One, I'm going to read your guesses. acidic environments are easier to create slash encounter or at least have been historically, thanks to the ubiquitous presence of lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria acetyl back there's a good word right? Yeah, even a stasis okay with acetyl back they're highly alkaline to highly alkaline environments slash products create tastes, that we are more likely to dislike. This is the thing is is though is that whether you like or dislike something, and this is why like I was interested in having Sandor Katz. So you before he comes on in January for take a look at his new book, what's it called fermentation diaries, journeys, I can't remember the exact name John, you remember new journeys, fermentation journey. So what it is, is it's like, you know, if you want like the, the Encyclopedia of how to ferment things, get the, you know, the big one, this is more just like, places he's gone. And things he's tried. And in the very beginning of the book, he says, I'm not here to crap on anyone's kind of flavors or tastes. And I was like, well, there goes half my questions. There goes half my questions, what do you hate? But a lot of I think it bridges down to that. We like what we like, because we've had it and anything that is edible can be something that we crave if you grew up eating it, right. So I don't think that we're, I don't think it's valid to say that. We don't eat as many alkaline things because we don't like them. I think it'd be easier to say we don't like the taste of many alkaline things because we don't eat a lot of them. That makes sense, the difference. Anyway, any thoughts or risks would be appreciated, and for your demographic information? nostos if you're still keeping it, he's a 25 year old male. And his boyfriend proves cooking as a hobby and he's a linguist, PhD student with an interest in food. Hey, so to the alkaline foods. So in terms of preservation, alkaline preservation that Uh, I mean, there are not a lot of bacteria that create extremely alkaline environments as a byproduct of their being alive. Right. So you do have a point there. But the classic alkaline preservation besides things like lutefisk are like century eggs P Don in, in like Asian cultures and also certain alkaline preserved kind of pickles and vegetables, mainly Asian mainly in Asia. And then the other one mainly in Scandinavia, I'm not aware you guys aware of any other Alkalyn Alkalyn preservation in other other cultures? Other than those two? No, no biome. There's a lot of use of Alkalyn. So for instance, the Alkalyn flavors that we all enjoy are tortilla chips, right. So Nick's summarization is an alkaline cooking environment. And without that alkalinity, we don't really enjoy the taste. And then to go back to kind of a European boiling in alkali, like what to call boiling pretzels, right? Like that is a flavor that we all kind of appreciate. But if it gets too much, we think of it as being, you know, somewhat soapy, right? I don't know, they actually answer the question or no. And we also remember, alkali environments tend to break down proteins. So it's not just a flavor, that gets weird. But things get kind of soapy, right, because fats will kind of can start saponifying in alkaline environments, and the proteins get extremely weak. So like lutefisk is almost like jelly like, you know what I mean? Because it's it's gone undergone a highly Alkalyn environment. They're that good. Good answer or not? Yes. Yep. Yeah. All right. All right. From Miguel cots a few months ago, I started a batch of no Chino with high proof brandy, that was a unsweetened, right. Okay. By the way, no, Chino is like, is like the walnut liqueur. But you got to make it with the green with the green walnuts. Right. And I don't know, it doesn't say where where Miguel is from, but we have a different kind of, typically when we grow European walnut trees here, English walnut trees. What kind of walnuts do they have in France? Are they the same as the English walnuts? John? I don't know. Down there in Grenoble, as we would say. That mean that's where that that's where the famous, the green walnut preserves are from right. Down there, anyway. But American black walnuts are different from English wallahs. Right, but presumably they could both be used for foreign Otieno. So you soak the green ones, the immature ones, which are worthless as knots. But be aware that any and I've never worked with European nuts off off the tree before but the green, the green kind of outside of a green walnut, as soon as you bruise it, it stains the hell out of you. It stains that's why neutrinos black ish, right or yellowish in fact. So you have in America you have walnuts. All right. These are all by the way driven they see trees right so here are the relatives you have you have your Walmart's you have your butter nuts, right. So a butter nut is a close relative to a walnut it's a little bit so butter nut. The shells at the outer rind of butternut The Green was what provided the color for butter, not the fabric so like the Confederate soldiers were like they used as their main dye stuff, butter nuts. So if you hear like butter nut butternut fabric that is from this like close relative to the walnut, slightly different leaves you can get them there people don't raise as many of them is not as well known as the walnut tree. Then the hickories are a close relative as are the pecans. So they're all closely related trees. But the hickory, the hickories don't have as much staining because they they don't bruise and stain the same way that the walnuts and the butter nuts will. So it'll stay in the EverLiving snot out of you and the stain is not going to come out of your hand. It's like not going to come out of your hand you gotta wait for your skin to wipe off for that stain to come out of your hand. Having made things with green walnuts and having tried to Shell walnuts wear gloves. Wear gloves. People wear gloves but These are the tiny ones a green, and you soak them in a high proof liquor. But that wasn't the question. Let's get to the actual question. Now it is ready to be sweetened. And I'm reading that alcohol is actually a poor solvent for sugar. What's your favorite way to sweeten alcohol and not diluted too much? Well, it is true that alcohol I mean, you didn't give me the Miguel, you didn't give me the proof of the brandy. But, you know, unless it's absurdly high, right? It is true that sugar is not as soluble in ethanol water mixtures, as it is in water. Right. And it's has a very, very, very low solubility in pure ethanol, right? Having any water in there at all increases your solubility quite a bit. And I will also say that if you're looking up tables for how much you know what the solubility is, right,

most tables for solubility given the scientific literature are given in weight fractions of liquor. And weight fractions of liquor are very different from volume fraction. So just to give you an idea of something that is 40%, alcohol, by volume, is only about 34 35%. Alcohol by weight, right. And think about as your benchmark take green Chartreuse, right as something that is high and alcohol, it's 55% alcohol by volume, right, which is about 49%. Or you know about 50 50% 49%, alcohol by weight, right. And even at that point, regular sucrose because green Chartreuse is is sweetened with with sucrose, I believe with with beetroot, it's yellow, Chartreuse is sweetened with honey, right? Even there, they're getting probably in the area of 250 grams per liter of finished product of sugar in there, which is quite sweet. So unless you want to sweeten it more than that, or unless your alcohol content is in excess of what Green Chartreuse would be at 55% alcohol, I don't think you're going to have a problem, it's just going to take a long time to dissolve, right. And you might want to put it into a bottle cap it and then like like warm it a little bit up to body temperature to help it speed up. It could take a long time, but it'll get in. Now if you like the flavor of something like honey, you know, honey requires very little water to solve a to, you know, to become not a crystal, because as you probably know, it's already 82% sugar by weight, and it's still almost a liquid. So you could use honey as well. But I think you're going to be able to use plain old sucrose in the old days, they would use a two to one sugar mix, right? And do it that way just because it's easier for them to deal with when you're compounding but if you're only making batches for yourself at home, you don't need to worry about it. What I would do if you want to know what the final ABV is, is, I would if you know the ABV going in, right is I would take a very accurate volumetric measurement of what you've done. And then add the sugar wait for it to dissolve. It could take days for to fully dissolve away for it to dissolve and then take another volume measurement and then recalculate your ABV. Does that make sense? Yep. And by the way, the reason alcohol by weight to alcohol by volume calculations are so complicated and you can't trust the internet on this, you cannot trust the internet on the internet. People will tell you, Well, you just it is multiply, you multiply by by 1.25. Or some stupid thing like this because right, or 1.8, or whatever, because Because alcohol the density of pure alcohol is roughly like point seven nine, the density of water is one. And that doesn't work for spirits. It works for beer, because beer is a very low alcohol content. But the more there's a there's what's called I don't know how I forget the technical term for it. But when you mix water and alcohol, if you if you mix a liter of alcohol and a liter of water, you don't get two liters of product, you get less than that. There's a there's a volume contraction happening because of the way that the alcohol in the water molecules packed together. And so you can't just use straight density of the products on their own to figure out the difference between alcohol by volume and alcohol by weight. It's a very it's a complicated formula. And it's not even a real formula. It's one of these empirical things where someone just measured it and then you know, did a curve fit to it. If you're interested in the tables. I would look it's available on the internet. It's also a good read. good read. That's putting it a little too far. It's called a treatise on the manufacture and distillation of alcoholic liquors by Pierre do play and Marcellus McKenney 1871. It's available on the Google Books. In the back of it are a series of things exhaustive series of tables of alcohol by weight versus alcohol by by temperature, how much water to add to a particular ABV to get a particular result. But even more important for what you're doing somewhere in the, you know, around page 400, or you know, 450 starts talking about making liquors and compounding them and how to compound them, or at least how they were done in 1871. Now, I would not trust the knockoff recipes. I have tried a bunch of knockoff recipes from the 1800s for people trying to knock off other people's recipes. And by and large, they don't taste like the original. So if like, there was a time you remember Stoss years ago when we were trying to make fake mineral waters, and we were following Darcy O'Neal's fake mineral water recipes from the 1800s Because that's what people used to do. And so we're like, oh, by the way, would you ever do? What's your favorite? What's your favorite mineral water says?