November 20, 2008
I like baking breads, so I found McGee’s paragraph about yeast’s chemical reaction interesting.
Yeast is a single-celled fungus, and comes in many species. The one used for baking and brewing is usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae. When baking a loaf of bread, enzymes in the flour break down the starch of the flour into the sugars glucose, fructose, and maltose. The yeast then grows on these sugars, converting them into alcholol and carbon dioxide.
C6H12O6 –> 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
The above equation means one glucose molecule turns into two alcohol and two carbon dioxide molecules. When the yeast causes this reaction in bread, the carbon dioxide inflates the dough and is trapped inside. When cooked, however, both the carbon dioxide and the alcohol escape. If your bread tastes alcohol-y or beer-y, it’s because not all the alcohol escaped during baking (I think).
Consider the effect in beer, the alcohol obviously remains, as does some of the carbon dioxide.
Posted in Food Science | 
1 Comment » |
November 19, 2008
This post is part of a series called Cooking 101, which introduces the basics of cooking. The series follows the book Culinary Fundamentals, with supplements from The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America. Check out the previous posts here.
Unit 14: Stocks
Part 2: Stock Derivatives
No, this post is not lamenting the sad state of my portfolio, but rather a look at three liquids you may want to consider before or after making a stock.
Rémouillage
Meaning ‘re-wetting’ in French (and pronounced ray-mwee-AHZH), this liquid is made by re-simmering the bones and mirepoix used to make a stock. Essentially you save the bones and veggies when your original stock is finished, return them to an empty pot, and fill it once again with water. Then just simmer away for a while. Your product won’t be as flavorful as the original stock, but it is more flavorful than plain water.
Why would you want to make a rémouillage? First, it can be used as the liquid for a subsequent stock with fresh bones, making the stock richer in flavor. Second, you can cook rice, pasta or vegetables in it, adding a little extra flavor. Finally, you can reduce it to a glaçe (see below).
Glaçe
A glaçe is a highly reduced stock or rémouillage. To make one, you simply simmer your stock/rémouillage to evaporate water, moving to successively smaller pans as the liquid evaporates to prevent scorching, until you are left with a syrupy substance. This will cool into flavorful, a jelly-like solid.
Glaçes can be used to boost the flavor of sauces/braising liquids/soups or as a base for a quick stock (i.e. add some glaçe to water to make a stock). It can be used as a glaze for meats or even as a sauce on its own. The most common kind is a glaçe de viande, or glaçe made from brown beef stock.
Court Bouillon
Court bouillon (KORT boo-YOWN) means ’short broth’ in French, and is a quick, flavorful liquid you can make for use in other foods. Preparing a court bouillon involves simmering mirepoix, other aromatics, and a an acid like white wine or vinegar for about 20 minutes. Court bouillon usually is used to poach fish or other seafood, where a full stock would be too flavorful.
I’ll admit, there probably won’t show up much for people cooking at home. I plan on trying most of them out though to see if they are worth the trouble.
Posted in Cooking 101, Food Profiles | No Comments » |
November 15, 2008
I’m in San Francisco until Monday, so no new posts until Tuesday probably.
Also, does anyone have any restaurant recommendations for San Francisco or Berkeley?
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November 13, 2008
This past Sunday I used my lentils to make a lentil and potato curry dish. It looked pretty simple and I had the ingredients I needed on hand.
How was it? Decent. Not amazing, but not terrible. The main flavoring is curry, of which I used a plain store bought brand, but I could imagine the dish being better if you had a better curry powder. Still, it tasted fine over a bowl of rice and is quite a cheap meal when you add it all up. I would certainly consider the recipe again, but perhaps with some tweaks.
All I needed was 2 cups of dried brown lentils (this recipe is doubled from the book - it makes quite a bit), 6 russet potatoes (3 medium sized, 3 small - though the doubled recipe calls for 4 medium sized, all peeled and cut into chunks), 4 cups of water and three cups of homemade chicken stock (feel free to replace partly with coconut milk or vegetable stock), 2 tablespoons of curry powder (I ended up adding a little garam masala and ground cayenne, though these were not called for), 4 tablespoons butter (optional), salt, and pepper.
I began by placing my lentils, curry, and water+stock in a large saucepot and turning the heat to medium high. I had to stir pretty frequently in order to prevent the lentils from burning and sticking to the bottom. Once boiling though, I turned it down to just above medium-low to keep it at a nice simmer and covered it partially with a lid.
After about 15 minutes of simmering, the lentils should start to absorb water. At this point I added the potatoes, stirred them in, and let the mixture simmer, completely covered, for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, I stirred again, added some salt, and tossed the butter in. At this point, you just want to let the lentils and potatoes cook, covered, until both are very soft. Also, add more water or stock if it gets too dry.
When my potatoes were soft, another 15 minutes or so, I added freshly ground black pepper and tasted. It was surprisingly bland. I added a little more curry along with some turmeric, garam masala, and ground cayenne. It tasted ok after the additions. I served mine over rice and garnished with some plain yogurt.
Tips
- Optional garnishes are yogurt and cilantro.
- I think some cilantro may have helped add some freshness to the taste. The whole thing tasted decent, but not particularly good.
- As I mentioned earlier, this recipe might be much better with a better curry powder, but no promises.
- Although I didn’t love this dish, it does taste much better than it looks.
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dried brown lentils, rinsed
- 7 cups liquid (combination of water, vegetable or chicken stock, or coconut milk, though don’t use all coconut milk)
- 2 Tbsp. curry powder
- 4-6 medium to small russet potatoes
- 4 Tbsp. butter (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cilantro (optional garnish)
- Yogurt (optional garnish)
Recipe:
- Combine the lentils, curry, and liquid in a large saucepot over medium-high heat. Stir frequently until boiling, then turn heat to medium-low or until simmering. Let it cook, partially covered, for around 15 minutes, until the lentils start absorbing water.
- Add the potatoes, stir them in, and cover. Let them cook for 10 minutes before stirring again. Add the butter and some salt. Add more water if necessary.
- Allow the mixture to finish cooking, covered (anywhere from 5-15 minutes). It is finished when the potatoes and lentils are very tender. Add black pepper to taste. Serve with yogurt or cilantro over rice.
Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.
Posted in Failures, Recipes | 1 Comment » |
November 11, 2008
When I first started cooking, I read in a cookbook that unless you’re able to get tomatoes at their peak of freshness in season, it’s better to buy them canned. I was surprised, as I had always assumed that fresh produce tasted better. The book explained that canned tomatoes were always picked at the peak of freshness, while fresh tomatoes at the grocery store were often not, due to shipping times.
This makes sense, and I experienced it a couple months ago buying a few tomatoes from a grocery store down the street. They just didn’t taste like anything. I opened up McGee to see if he had a more detailed explanation. According to McGee, tomatoes that fully ripen on the vine build more sugar, acid, and aroma compounds, giving them more flavor.
An important element of ripe-tomato flavor is provided by the aroma compound furaneol, which resembles sweet-savory caramel (it also contributes to the flavors of ripe strawberries and pineapples).
So canned tomatoes can be picked when ripe and canned, preserving their fresh flavor. What I found most interesting, however, is what happens with supermarket tomatoes.
McGee explains that most supermarket tomatoes are picked while still green. They are then shipped to the supermarket and reddened artificially with ethylene gas (the gas isn’t bad, it is naturally in plants and helps control ripening). This means that many red tomatoes you see in stores never had a chance to gain their flavor and were turned red to look more appealing.
Posted in Food Science | 1 Comment » |
November 10, 2008
This is an easy tomato basil cream sauce recipe is great if you’re looking for a change from basic tomato sauces for your pasta. It sounds pretty fancy too, so you could probably impress some people with it.
All you need is a 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, half an onion, a 1/4 cup of heavy cream, 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, salt, and pepper.
I first cut my half onion into thin slices and made a chiffonade of the basil (roll it up and cut thin slices along the rolled edge). I put a small saucepan over medium-ish heat and added the butter to let it melt. Once hot, I added the onion and sautéed it until it was soft and translucent.
Next, unsurprisingly, I added the crushed tomatoes and a little salt and pepper. I simmered this for about 15 minutes so a little water could evaporate and the flavors could meld. You generally don’t want to go longer than 20 minutes for a basic tomato sauce (unless it is a huge quantity), because you can actually ‘cook out’ the fresh tomato flavor.
Finally, after the fifteen minutes of simmering, I added the cream and shredded basil, stirred them in, and let the cream heat up for a minute or two over low heat. Feel free to add more salt if it needs it. That’s really all it takes. I make tomato sauce pretty frequently because it is so easy, but this is a good way to add some variety, even if it isn’t the healthiest sauce you’ll ever eat.
Tips
- There are probably better tomato-basil cream sauces out there, but I doubt any one is as easy as this.
- The recipe called for 1 tablespoon of basil, but even with my 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons, I thought it could have used a little more.
- The recipe, adapted from Anderson’s How to Cook Without a Book, recommends fettuccine for the pasta (I used spaghetti).
- This recipes is just a basic quick tomato sauce plus cream and basil.
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- Half a small onion, sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. shredded fresh basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Recipe:
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat with the butter. Add the onions when hot and sauté until soft and translucent.
- Add the tomato sauce, stir, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes - some water should evaporate and the flavors should meld a bit.
- Turn the heat to low or medium low, and stir in the cream and basil. Let the mixture heat through for a minute or two. Serve over fettuccine or another pasta.
Posted in Recipes | 1 Comment » |
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