hold the salt please, my cup is perfect right now as it is.
-jim
-jim
~A pinch of salt = great tasting coffee~
- Thread starter ~Rocco~
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Harold:
When I was in the Army (79-03...food service [92G], & infrantry [11B]), and 'in the field' brewing 'cowboy coffee' in 5 or 10gl pots, after we took the pot off the heat to steep a few minutes, we poured in a little cold water over the top, stir it up, cover with the lid and let the pot of coffee further steep.
After about 5 minutes, the grounds would have floated to the bottom (don't laugh...I swear it's true...just ask any active and/or retired 92G's), and then you can begin to pan it up into beverage containers (or even better into 5 or 10gl steel bullets).
"Cowboy coffee...the Army's Lifer Juice". CBJ
Dead on with that one. One of my additional duties was to be the Food Service Officer... In other words I got to be the one who checked the paper work, and signed for the gear, but didn't have to do all the work, but I did like to lend a hand when we were in the field. I'd forgotten the cold water trick, but you are right it worked very well. I never got the egg shell part though... any insight on that one?
Harold:
Nope...no insight with egg shells and coffee. But not to get off thread...in the industry when making fresh stocks (beef, chicken, veal and pork), and in order to 'clarify / cleanse' the stock, we added egg whites and egg shells and as the sediments coagulate with the egg whites, a thick scum will rise to the surface of the liquid. Don't worry, just push the scum aside so you can keep an eye on the simmer of the stock...anything close to a boil will disturb the
clarifying process.
I think the eggshell thing has a two-fold purpose - it is (I think) alkaline, which would counter some of the acidity of coffee, mellowing it out. It also was used supposedly for the old fashioned percolator-type brewers where the grounds were on the bottom, so the eggshells supposedly helped keep them down & not bubbling up w/ the brewed coffee.
Any idea how to do this with a keurig? I used to be a french press guy using premium coffee but we just had a baby so my time is stretched to the limit as it is.
Been trying this for the past few days....it works! I tried it again this morning using my stove-top percolator....great results!
Maybe you could pre-punch a small hole and add the salt that way.
Maybe you could pre-punch a small hole and add the salt that way.
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- #27
I'm glad to hear that it works good for you too...Cheers! =-)
That's actually a good idea. When you put the cup in it punches a hole in the top anyways so I could do that, open it back up and put a little salt in, and then close it back up and brew. I'll try it tomorrow.
Let us know how it works out.
why not try some MSG while you're at it?
Just a bit of info. Lu Yu the author of the Classic Of Tea wrote about adding salt to the water for tea making.
I tried the salt thing (popcorn salt) this morning at work and it worked wonderfully on decaf.
Buy better coffee?.
Seriously, is the salt effecting the coffee or the water? What does one use to "soften" water? Better water equals better coffee. Sometimes......
Seriously, is the salt effecting the coffee or the water? What does one use to "soften" water? Better water equals better coffee. Sometimes......
+1Buy better coffee?.
My understanding is that salt interferes with the bitter tasting compounds. Not clear if it is the sodium (or chlorine) ions binding with some of the compounds in the coffee bean to cause that, or its just that the dissolved salt interferes with our tongue's ability to taste them. So if the coffee is burnt, stale, or over extracted it may taste better to most people. But quality, fresh coffee does not taste bitter, in which case it may just serve to mask some other good flavors. YMMV.
Alton Brown suggested this on Good Eats a while back. The basic premise was to brew it a tad strong and add just a bit of salt to your cup to cut the bitterness. I tried it and didn't care for it too much. I like the bitter taste. It tastes like victory. Going to look for the link...
...hmm. I might have to try this again, it seems he added the salt to the french press.
http://youtu.be/3lhATyrOHrc
...hmm. I might have to try this again, it seems he added the salt to the french press.
http://youtu.be/3lhATyrOHrc
Salt has the ability to do basically two things:
#1 Salt can bind/interfere with the bitter tasting ability of the taste buds so you don't taste those compounds.
#2 Salt can increase other yummy flavours and make them more pronounced, hence why a LOT (ie most) chocolate based recipes and desserts in general have salt added to them (or should at least) because it makes the dessert better.
We are of course speaking of a very small pinch of salt being needed. Any more than that and you just start tasting salty things. Use salt as an amplifier.. not as a means to make things taste salty.
Everyone's tastes vary of course though..
#1 Salt can bind/interfere with the bitter tasting ability of the taste buds so you don't taste those compounds.
#2 Salt can increase other yummy flavours and make them more pronounced, hence why a LOT (ie most) chocolate based recipes and desserts in general have salt added to them (or should at least) because it makes the dessert better.
We are of course speaking of a very small pinch of salt being needed. Any more than that and you just start tasting salty things. Use salt as an amplifier.. not as a means to make things taste salty.
Everyone's tastes vary of course though..
Thinking about it, if I have a cup of burnt or bitter coffee, I put cream and sugar in it and call it a coffee drink.
-jim
-jim
I tried this is my weekend brews and found it to be excellent! Thanks!
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- #40
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