TheObessiveBaker

Hi Cathinjoetown,
Duly noted, I've put down the notes from how you've described it. Hopefully I will have no problem finding it! If I get down there then I'll definitely look for it. San Sebastiàn/Donostia itself looks like a very relaxing place. A coastal border, would be perfect for September. Though I think I won't be down there until October/November.


Hi Lavandula,
I see and have noted down Ditsch and Kamps for Germany. Generic is good, just as long as they make it very well. If I do find anything special of any regional specialties, I will let you know for your next return to Germany.
Wow, didn't know there were so many different names for the same type of food. I would be needing some pastry translator when I go to Germany then.
Thank you! I have, my list of foods and their origins are getting bigger and bigger, Hopefully I can come back the same weight as now!
I would have narrowed down the food I want to experience on this trip but it would defeat the purpose of experiencing different things.

The reason behind the trip and tasting all these foods is to find the one pastry/dish that can stand out from a crowd of desserts and make it my specialty. Something that people will want, crave and need. Like the coca-cola back in the 1980s (obviously not putting coke in the desserts but you get the idea).

TheObessiveBaker

Hi IMDonehere,
That is some serious crepe making! I was able to open the picture and looks like there are about 1000 or more of crepes needed to be made. Crepe are always great, most people enjoy them. Have you had the Japanese type of crepes ? They're unlike any other places crepes, the crepe itself is made as a thin cookie-like piece that is filled with fruits, chocolates, ice cream or savory items. You have to hold it with 2 hands to consume it. I've grew up on the Japanese crepes and the first time I had crepes made in the US, I was surprised that they were soft and served on a plate. I still get a little caught off guard every once in a while when I order crepes.

Anyhow, I wanted to ask about the cow blood in the crepe batter, I wonder how that taste like.

Japanese Crepes
(http://s3-media4.fl.yelpcdn.com/bpho...JH75jo4A/l.jpg)

IMDonehere

I have never had a filloa with cow's blood. But the ones made on the stone do take a lot of time. One time our cousin gave us some to take back to the states and the drug sniffing dog sat down next to our luggage at JFK, so we offered the DEA people a filloa.

If you get zoning clearance that look pretty spectacular in a front window.

Here is a picture of a woman preparing the dough for a Gözleme (GURZ-leh-MEH), a turkish crepe. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?p...41271811111555

IMDonehere

No I have not had Japanese crepes, even though our neighborhood is over run with ramen places. I will look though.

ribeirasacra

Filloas are not always made with blood. But when they are it is Pigs blood. They are traditionally made at the time when the families pig is slaughtered.
http://cocinademiabuelo.blogspot.com...de-sangre.html
http://www.largallego.cl/?page_id=89
http://www.mis-recetas.org/recetas/s...loas-de-sangre
We still eat them like this.

TheObessiveBaker

Hi IMDonehere,
Did the DEA people at JFK airport let you guys go with a happy face while holding on to your delicious filloa ?
They actually make the dough roll-able for Turkish crepes, I wonder how they taste like.



Hi Ribeirasacra,
So when filloas are made with pigs blood, do you still put any filling in it ? (Like a crepe I mean)
If it's made when the pigs are slaughtered, I can only imagine how much blood there would be that you will need to use! Our tradition puts the pigs blood in sticky rice and then steam it. Then sprinkle with powdered peanut and dip into this thick sweet soy sauce. Very yummy.
http://taiwanfoodculture.net/ct.asp?...e=2688&mp=1502

IMDonehere

Turkish food is one of the world's under appreciated cuisines. There is a great variety in ingredients and spices. Most Gözleme are wonderful and in many restaurants they make their own.

Gretchen

The big bakery chains you mentioned in Germany, which one is the best one, in your opinion ?
I don't trust chains as much sometimes, because once they grow, the quality goes south. They start using cheaper ingredients to save cost in order to mass produce.
I love it when cities have bakeries on every block

Do you know this statement to be true in Europe? I am also fascinated by your seamlessly bottomless purse that you can start planning another 6 month trip to study Sweden, etc.

sparkchaser

<i>Hi Sparkchaser,
Hmm, that sounds like a great idea! Are there a lot of Döner restaurants and would they be easy to spot ? I will sample some Turkish pastries, they also look delish!</i>

Döner restaurants are all over the place. You will have absolutely no problem finding them.

Odin

There are Greek & Turkish bakeries in London, especially North London around Green Lanes. They make magnificient sweet and savoury pastries, breads etc.

sparkchaser

<i>Wow, didn't know there were so many different names for the same type of food. I would be needing some pastry translator when I go to Germany then.</i>

A lot of it is dialect driven.

Franconia has something called a Bamburger (it may exist outside of Franconia but I haven't gone looking) which looks like a croissant but the butter is added to the dough differently so it has a different texture -- it's not flaky like a croissant but it's still light and airy. It's called a Bamburger because it was supposedly invented in Bamburg (I've had the Bamburgers in Bamburg and they are no better or worse than the ones you find elsewhere).

Oh, you should be made aware of something called Mohn. It looks a little bit like a dark, grainy chocolate but it's actually a poppy seed paste. Germans love the stuff. I don't like it but that might have more to do with my first experience with it than anything (I bit into a Mohnschnecke expecting to taste delicious chocolate and was greeted with decidedly not chocolate. I liken it to grabbing a cup of milk but realizing it's orange juice after the first swig.)

IMDonehere

There is one bakery chain that actually produces good stuff, Le Pain Quotidien. You must consume their excellent baguettes in a few hours otherwise they go stale and they make wonderful brownies.

IMDonehere

Obsessive-

If you come to NYC, we have a great variety of bakeries including a new influx of foreign independent bake shops. Many are expensive however. You also have to go to the Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. The best cheesecake, for instance is S & S made in a whole in the wall in the Bronx. The best key lime pie is Steve's in Red Hook Brooklyn.


Here is but a small sample that don't include many of personal favorites.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkin...pas.php?page=3

ribeirasacra

IMDh
No they mix the "bater with the pigs blood. It makes it sweeter than normal.
I used to turn my nose up and the horrible thought of any time of black pudding/bloedworst/Blutwurst. Now I love it.
Best eaten warm.
Read the book "Everything but the Squeal" to find out more.
one day you have to be here around November-December time. However I hate the noise the pigs make when it meets it end.

TheObessiveBaker

Hi Gretchen,
Sorry if I assumed of the chains in Europe, I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I just meant it as in what I've experienced so far, in the US, how chained places become. As for the financial issue, I actually am sweating much more than a pig about it. I am quitting my job on the 25th of this month with not enough to survive for me to go on this trip then come back and do another one. The only thing I have to look forward to, financially, has to do with the injury I suffered last year. My lawyers and I are working on legal actions for a settlement. If it pans out then that is the only source of stable income I have to finance my trip. If this legal stuff doesn't go through, however, it would take me much longer to get to the second trip.
You might think it's extremely foolish of me to take this on when I don't even have the full budget for everything. It's just something I have to do at this point in my life. It's better sooner than later.

I hope this all makes sense.

IMDonehere

Ribei

I guess I mistaken when they said it was cow's blood. They are VERY small towns and they are dairy farmers, but I am sure pigs blood is more commonly used. As noted I have never had it but have had morcilla.

I have seen pigs slaughtered as we have been in Galciia in November/December. And I have seen chickens slaughtered in July because it was too hot.

The next time we return to Galicia (not presently scheduled), maybe we come up and say hello.

TheObessiveBaker

Hi Sparkchaser,
So Bamburger, despite the name, isn't really a burger but named after a place. I have never heard of it. I'll definitely try that.
And thank you for the heads up on Mohn, poppy seed paste = not delicious goodness at all. I don't even really enjoy poppy seed as a whole. Sounds like you had a pretty bad experience with it the first time!
Are Mohn popular in Germany ?

TheObessiveBaker

Hi IMDonehere,
is Le Pain Quotidien in Germany ? I will for sure enjoy their excellent baguettes! DId you say they make wonderful brownies ? Literally (to rebake)?
Mmmm, actually, I was thinking of doing a road trip after I return from Europe to drive from Cali to NY and maybe hit up Montreal midway.
NYC has too many great food places, I can't believe as big of a foodie as I am, I haven't been up there since I was 12. (What great shame on me!)
Thank you for the list, I'm bookmarking it for when I go there!

TheObessiveBaker

Hi Odin,
I am excited about the Greek and Turkish pastries now. I also really want to include Greece into this trip, want to see all the great sights and now the pastries. I'll start researching on those places in London for the deliciousness.

IMDonehere

Le Pain Quotidien is a Belgian chain and the first time I saw them was in Rome.

Here are there international locations, not in Germany.
http://www.lepainquotidien.com/landi.../#.U7jq9LHFmoA

And looks like the one in Rome closed.