Blow Torch (was Re: [Sca-cooks] Creme Brulee)

[Nicolas Steenhout]

At 10:51 PM 7/11/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Druighad at aol.com wrote:
>
> > Use a blowtorch(acetalyne- sp) to melt the
> > sugar into a nice crisp crust.
>
>Can anybody absolutely confirm ever having used an acetylene torch, or a
>blowtorch (both very specific items I have never seen in either a home
>or commercial kitchen)?

<SNIP>

>I have, however, often seen fairly ordinary propane tanks (about the
>size of a large aerosol can) from the hardware store, with a torch
>nozzle mounted on it, used for this purpose.

I've never used acetylene for dessert making.  I use what you describe as
an ordinary propane tank.  It uses propane.  I have never heard it named
any other thing than "blowtorch".  But then, given English is my 4th
language, I am certain that there are good chances I'd be wrong here :-)

The one I have in the house at the moment, loaned by a friend, is a
"BernzOMatic", just classic stuff.  I used to own one, not sure where it
was left.  Also used to have it in restaurants and use it often :-)

My best memory of it is when my manager walked into the kitchen and asked
me: "How long would it take to prepare meringue?".  For some odd reason, I
knew exactly what he was talking about.  We had a wedding party, on top of
the regular folks we'd serve in the dining room.  75 or so people in the
party, nearly 200 in the dining room, 5 of us in the kitchen, counting a
dishwasher.  And so the idiotic manager had neglected to include the Baked
Alaska the bride had requested, on *all* the prep papers he'd given us...

And so I sent someone to the local equivalent to 7/11, to purchase frozen
sara lee kind of cake.  Someone else to scoop ice cream from the (closed at
that hour) ice cream stand we had, into metal bowls.  Meanwhile, I started
the meringue, thank the gods I used to keep egg whites in the fridge.  Cake
arrived, scrap the icing, remove ice cream from bowl, patch cake on ice
cream, spread the meringue over cake.  Pull the blowtorch (or whatever it
is) and brown the meringue!  That is the moment the groom picked to poke
his head in the kitchen, with bits and parts of meringue that flew all over
the place from whisking the thing.  I had meringue all over my face, hair,
uniform (which had suffered a fairly busy night on the line).  I had the
torch in my hand, lit, and I suspect I had this manic smile and wild look
in my eyes, running on pure adrenaline.  Groom came in, saw my face, said a
few *quick* thanks and disappeared back out...  Baked Alaska for 75, in
under 20 minutes...

Ahhh, good memories... :-)

Nicolas
http://www.bmee.net
"You must deal with me as I think of myself" J. Hockenberry