Sunday, January 15, 2012

Ekströms Panna Cotta and Bootleg Milk

Panna cotta with berry compote
Food Diary (January 15, 2012)
Breakfast: Sourdough toast with boiled egg
Lunch: Pasta with sweet corn
Dinner: Carrot soup, hummus, bread
Baking/sweets: Panna cotta with berry compote

I’ve always wanted to try making panna cotta at home. Well, someone read my mind, maybe it was Santa. I received a pack of panna cotta from Ekströms to try, courtesy of Smartson.

The panna cotta I got is a convenience product. Its quite simple to prepare, heat until the first bubbles appear, cool, refrigerate and eat. Convenience comes with its downsides, although very minor.

The panna cotta is made from cream and milk, so its lighter and lower in fat. It’s a good thing if you are concerned about calories, however this does affect the taste slightly. It is not as creamy and luscious, though it does have the texture that a panna cotta has.

The panna cotta is quite mild in taste, actually somewhat bland. On its own it lacks oomph but its great when paired with something else. I had it with berry compote and it was great, the sweet and tart compote lifted the somewhat bland taste of the panna cotta.

Overall, great product considering convenience, and as long as its accompanied with berries or something else.

Panna cotta with berry compote

Today's Favourite Photo

Today’s Favourite Blog
Bootleg milk sounds bizarre but in New York it is reality. In the US about one third of the states prohibit the sale of raw milk, due to alleged health concerns. In New York it is legal but sales is restricted to the farm where the milk is produced. New Yorkers who don’t want to drive all the way to the farm can buy it from the city’s thriving black market.

The state doesn’t have the resources to stop the sale of illegal milk. Or maybe they are perhaps turning the blind eye.

Raw milk drinkers say it is healthy while the regulators state otherwise. The Center for Disease Control says raw milk is dangerous. From 1998 through 2005, 45 incidents were recorded related to raw milk, accounting for 1,007 illnesses.

Maybe both sides are right. At least it seems that access to raw milk is going to get easier. Black market milk sounds bizarre though. 

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22 comments:

  1. I love panna cotta. That photo looks delicious!

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  2. Look at that drip! ... I meant the berry compote ... luscious!
    We get raw milk here at the local farms as well but everyone knows to boil the bejeebers out of them. Drinking it straight from the udder might be a safer option than after it's been exposed for awhile. :D

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    1. Thanks for the clarification re drip:)
      I remember getting raw milk when we were small, some guy drove around in trucks delivering it. Straight from the udder is a viable option, especially if you have a big backyard:)

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  3. Interesting panna cotta! One of my fav desserts :)

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  4. Oh the pannacotta in a carton is very convenient - no need to measure anything out. Perfaps try adding some vanilla beans, cinnamon or kaffir lime leaves to it before cooking to introduce another flavour? :-)

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    1. Good idea. It has 'real' vanilla but definitely not enough.

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  5. I'm a huge fan of panna cotta! It's pretty famous dessert in Japan and we also have several kinds of packages too. I have to admit I use the packages all the time... One day I hope to make it from scratch though. =P Love the second picture... Got to make one soon for myself!

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    1. I didn't know it was famous in Japan. I didn't know about package panna cotta until this sample I received. Very convenient.

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  6. As a definite non-fan of panna cotta (I hate all the jelly-ish desserts), I must admit yours looks extraordinary! Actually a bit like from a science-fiction film! Actually I would love to taste it!
    American authorities and raw milk... (Luckily I'm in a good mood today.)I wonder what they would say about the mass poisoning French authorities offer just on the other side of the border: there is a raw milk disributor, where either I can get milk into my own bottle or buy a bottle too and fill it. I suppose half of the region will be dead in a couple of months! (Wait, it's been there for at least two years now!).

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    1. Thank you, a science fiction film version, interesting observation! Didn't taste sci fi though, pretty lack luster had it been not for the berries.
      Lucky you were in a good mood:) Raw milk...one day it will be normally available.

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  7. I had no idea about this thriving black market that was hiding right under my nose in my own city! I'll have to keep an ear to the ground for more news about it.

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  8. Your panna cotta looks wonderful. I had not heard that there is a black market for raw milk here...interesting.

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  9. heat, cool, refrigerate and then eat- hey I can do panna cotta after all! LOL!

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    1. Of course you can, should be a piece of cake for you!

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  10. What a beautiful looking pannacotta. I grew up on fresh milk (the type that came straight from the cow and was put into glass bottles with a silver cap and the cream would set on the top) and I think that's the only way to drink milk. I'm sorry my blog keeps disappearing from your system. I don't know what's going on there or how to sort it. One of those bizarre cyber annoyances I guess.

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    1. Thank you.
      I guess its one of those cyber mysteries that is too difficult or impossible to solve

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  11. Pretty pannacotta you have there! It's interesting to read that there's a black market for raw milk in New York. Raw milk is not readily available in the supermarkets here but I've seen it being sold in borough market and the same stall sells the milk online too.

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  12. I've never really been into pannacotta, but man I want that pastry case!

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