Gourmet Outdoor Food by Patagonia

Patagonia clothing company launched gourmet outdoors food company called Patagonia Provisions. A highlight is that food is responsibly, sustainably sourced. But it also means a hefty price tag. The concept is quite plausible and the design amazing.

The collection includes canned smoked mussels, smoked Alaskan wild salmon farmed sustainably, trail mix etc. It can be found in outdoor sports stores such as REI, SportsBasement, and sometimes whole foods.

Review for Patagonia Smoked Mussels : At a glance, the smoked mussels seem expensive because it looks like one order of mussels but the can contains quite a few "yolks" of the mussel, dozed in lots of olive oil. It has a distinctive canned taste though still premium. It probably tastes better with soup, salad. We'd rather not consume it straight out of the can. If you already like anchovy this may be a no brainer.

Review for Patagonia Smoked Salmon: amazing, actually wild, tasty smoked salmon. Quite a bit salty but looks amazing served on a plate. It is main course worthy. Probably tastes extra good with a bit more soup and other starchier blander contents due to its saltiness. Makes excellent Japanese salmon ochazuke tea soaked salmon over rice. Generous portion and high quality. Well worth the money.

To learn more about gourmet outdoor cooking, try the wok of life.

How to make Dalgona Coffee

REPOSTED WITH PERMISSION Instagram, TikTok influencers and Youtubers have been raving about Dalgona Coffee, or instagram perfect creamy whipped coffee with sugar and water poured over milk. Its unmistakable iconic lush, velvety, creamy look has made it a favorite for foodies around the world. The crazy part? It is made of just milk, instant coffee, and sugar - humble, easy to obtain ingredients during the pandemic. Instant coffee? Humble yet delicious and still popular in Asian countries like Korea (where Dalgona originated), Japan, and also African countries like Kenya! Yes despite being famous for coffee exports, most of Kenya drinks instant coffee.

Our attempt to make two versions of dalgona : classic and foamy

We attempted to make our own in this blog post. Tell you a little bit about the history and background of dalgona coffee. We will tell you more in just a bit. There are some tricks to avoid bitterness. Because the first time you try this viral drink, you might find it a bit harsh to consume. Surprisingly shocking.

Experimenting with two versions of dalgona: classic and instagram perfect versus foamy and super drinkable. 

Our foamy variation tastes more like a traditional latte except made with super cheap and accessible instant coffee!

Tale of two articles about Dalgona Coffee:

Vaughn Vreeland, writer for New York Times,  called it simply whipped coffee with "butterscotch-hued foam" in How to Make Whipped Coffee. Vreeland explains that the coffee first got popular in Korea after actor Jung Il-woo participated in a TV show  trying the coffee in Macau and associated the taste with a popular honeycomb toffee candy called dalgona. vreeland included helpful gifs in the article but chose to hand whip the creamy crown of the coffee. We don’t recommend that but awesome to know that’s possible.

Tim Carman, food reporter at The Washington Post, just wrote about this internet sensation in a less flattering article - making Dalgona Coffee at home: Dalgona coffee is sweet, milky and pretty. It’s also not for coffee lovers. Tim explains that this "quarantine-chic" coffee got popular in South of Korea. Being a coffee connoisseur, Mr. Carman used Starbucks Instant VIA coffee, which was equally bitter, less frothier. While he explained the history and popularity of the drink, you can tell he's less of a fan of instant coffee based drinks. So this is not a let's make the drink today and be excited article. He was rather critical of the drink it seems.

Ingredients list:

• 2 tablespoons of instant coffee
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 2 tablespoons of sugar 
• 1 full cup of whole milk

That’s it. Crazy!

STEPS

Combine sugar, coffee, warm water in a mixing bowl.
Use an electric whisk to mix and froth up the mixture till volume significantly increase.
The froth should look extremely creamy. That’s the signature of the Dalgona. If too bubbly or watery be sure to add more instant coffee and slightly less water next time.
Fill a nice mason jar or a nice tumbler with cold milk till only 1/2 an inch left near the brim
Spoon the heavy creamy looking froth over the milk till a thick layer filled to the top
flatten the cream with the back of a spoon in a circular motion without lifting the spoon
Only lift the spoon when the cream is smooth
Lift in a clean, quick motion to create the final finishing tip

More details on the ingredients:

• Classic Nestle instant coffee should work well and is potentially frothier than Starbucks VIA and other more premium alternatives
• Adjust to 3 or 4 tablespoons of warm water if want frothier, more bubbly (as oppose to creamy, thick). Potentially makes it tastier, lighter and less bitter. The drink will be less instagram perfect though
• You can reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon, which saves some calories but may compromise the taste, result in bitterness

Pro tip, best practice:

It is super important to get enough instant coffee. It is a must.  Without this instant coffee, warm water chemistry with fast electric whisk

Instant coffee is quite bitter, to make it work, it is important to add enough sugar. Do not skip the sugar to save a few calories, the drink will be undrinkable. 

Sugar should be easy to disolve not large crystal sugar

Donot recommend hand whisking. Even the electric whisk takes 1-2 minutes to get it right.