Here's the photo journal of my next tasting. Yum! This is so fun! This time the contenders are: Herman, Nam Doc Mai, Champagne, Fairchild, Florida Red, Choc Anon, Tahar, Ott, Edward and for an interesting comparison the first Georgia peach of the season. My ratings are: 1. Edward, 2. Florida Red, 3. Champagne, 4. Georgia Peach, 5. Choc Anon, 6. Fairchild, 7. Ott, 8. Herman, 9. Tahar, 10. Nam Doc Mai My husbands ratings were the same, except he had a tie for first place: the Edward & the Georgia Peach. Edward - not quite as perfectly ripened as the last one, but still excellent. Florida Red - This one was I think about 1 day past perfect ripeness. But it was very juicy, melting and very sweet. Smooth and very flavorful. Champagne - A little more tart that is characteristic, but still very good. Georgia Peach - First of the season, so not yet of perfect ripeness. It had good full flavor, with a pronounced floral note. Both sweet and tart, more tart than a perfectly ripened fruit would be. Choc Anon - I think these were picked too soon, they started wrinkling before getting soft. Still very tasty. Flesh was firm with no fiber. It was tangy, coconutty and had a slight pineapple taste. Apparently forgot to take a pic of the inside of this one. Fairchild - This one ripened most perfectly of the 3 fairchilds I bought. It was firm and buttery to cut through, but the flesh to pit ratio is pretty poor, and this was the largest fairchild of the 3. It was mild flavored, and pleasant with a slight pine flavor near the skin (which was not bad tasting). I am however a bit underwhelmed by the fairchilds overall. They are good, but I expected from descriptions for them to be outstanding. How do others feel about them? Maybe I got less than optimal fruits? Ott - This had firm flesh and was sweet and mild. The flavor was smooth and simple. It was in fact almost indistinguishable from the Fairchild. Herman - This one got a bit overripe - there was some spoilage by the pit. It had a medium amount of fiber. It was flavorful and sweet, but had an earthy undertone I didn't like. Although that could have been due to the overripeness. Tahar - This one also was a bit overripe. It was a bit stringy with a coconutty flavor. Nam Doc Mai - Once again, this one rated last. This fruit was slightly better than the last one. The flesh is so silky smooth, I really wanted it to taste awesome. It was slightly sweeter than the last one I tried but still had an off earthy undertone to it that I didn't like. Forgot to take an inside picture of this one too.

WOW!!!! I was the original poster back in--------May 2002??!!!! Can't believe this is still going! For the "rest of the story"-----I never did purchase a KA stand mixer after giving it much thought, but ended up buying a very nice GE hand mixer which I have been happy with and for me, seems to be all I need. I use a bread maker just to knead my bread and then I shape the kneaded dough, let rise, and bake in the oven. Glad my original question has been useful for comment for so many others in the last 10 1/2 years. I really appreciate all of these forums on GardenWeb and have learned so much over the years from all of you.

haus proud - "Stew" is as varied as the folks who make it and you've covered the many options very well.... Here's my take on it after doing some testing and looking at some of the science (probably after a reading session of "On Food and Cooking" - The Science and Lore of the Kitchen - by Harold McGee). I personally made it the traditional way forever and always and when I tried a different recipe and method, I fell in love with stew all over again and never returned to the traditional method. Traditionally, you wanted a bit of fat on stew meat, or the finished meat would be dry. Traditionally, stew meat is dredged. It seemed to take a lot of extra fat in the pan to brown dredged meat. I don't follow either of those methods and like my stew much better now that I don't. But as we all know, all taste is subjective and cooking is about choices. I use chuck, because a good butcher will tell you there is a little more fat (even though it's considered a lean cut) and more connective tissue, which add both flavor and tenderness during a long, slow cooking process, as Joe pointed out. When you purchase a package of "stew meat", it can be cut from almost anywhere - more of a mystery meat. I cut my own stew meat and avoid as much visible fat as possible, and cut it into 3/4- to 1-inch cubes. It's a personal thing - I don't like to wrestle a large 1-1/2-inch cube of beef in my stew. I never dredge the meat because I think it interferes with the browning process and tends to make the bottom of the pan a sticky, disgusting mess. But as with most cooking, dredging is a choice - it's neither is right or wrong. I also don't salt the meat before browning. Salted meat exudes more juices and dries out. Adding the salt to the stew after the meat is browned produces jucier meat. I use a small amount of fat for browning the first batch of meat (probably less than a tablespoon), fairly high heat, and brown only in small batches, removing each batch from the Dutch oven and setting it aside, until the entire 2-pounds of meat is browned. Not a lot of fat in the pan, but if there is, I'd dab it out with a paper towel, careful to leave the "flavorful cooked-on goodies". I don't constantly stir the meat while it's browning, but let it sear well, then turn or stir it, until all sides are well-browned. I usually don't add any fat for the subsequent batches of meat I brown, so that saves some added fat. If you brown the meat all at once, you end up stewing the meat pieces because there's too much moisture from the large amount of meat pieces. Browning, without dredging, will render a darker, richer, brown stew with more flavor. I also add a t. of lemon juice while simmering the meat, which is a tenderizer. I remove some of the potatoes and a cup or two of the liquid and blend it in a blender or food processor and return to the pot to avoid the starchy taste of flour/water slurry, which congeals when refrigerated and separates when frozen and reheated. So, to each their own, for whatever reasons... -Grainlady

It depends on the Roma variety, and also...the weather. If your tomatoes are to hot or not watered enough, they will have thicker harder skin this goes for all varieties. The plants do this to help reduce evaporation and protect the seeds within the fruit. You will find when it gets real hot, suddenly your plant stops producing fruit or slow way down, this is heat stress. I grow tomatoes in pots, that way when July/August hit I can move them, to cut back on the amount of sun and heat they endure. The appreciation they show is very obvious. I use Roma for sauce. As far as not having flavor....never had that problem, where I live (Maine) Roma is a favorite of many. What are you guys using for a grow medium or ferts? What many gardeners don't think about is you are not caring for a plant, you are caring for the plant environment. The better it's environment the happier the plant. The plant doesn't need your help, it just needs a proper and consistent environment. The environment you provide will determine how your plants, veggies and fruits turn out. The individual varieties have their own characteristics, but that doesn't mean that is always how that plant or fruit will be. This is because it all depends on environment. It is up to you to learn what each particular variety prefers. Thats my two cents, I am horticulture professional if that matters. I plant somewhere around 100,000 plants a year ranging from veggies to annuals and perennials. I am also knowledgeable in regard to trees and shrubs.