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Marie5656 Forum-Blogger© Original500© Member  Just hanging out
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MAXIMIZING FLAVOR I In the course of my culinary endeavors I am often queried about the nutritional aspects of food and cooking: everything from the vitamin content of foods, to ways of reducing calories, to avoidance of substances that are “bad” for you. OK brace yourself, because I’m about to espouse some unmitigated heresy: Food is not about nutrition. Gasp! What did he say???? Mouths are agape as glasses fall to the floor. If this were the Middle Ages, such polemics would get me burned at the stake. For me, food is about enjoyment and fulfillment, first on an immediate, sensory level and secondly on a deeper psychological level. As a chef, and a non health-freak, my primary goal is maximizing the physical enjoyment of food. If that in turn leads to enhancing the overall experience, so much the better. Hence, a key differential between a chef and a layman is the chef is savvy about the various means of amplifying the taste of food. This is the first of a two-part article which peruses some of the most common techniques for maximizing flavor in your foods. Keep in mind these guidelines are not about health, convenience or saving time or money. They’re unabashedly about flavor. USE FRESH, HIGH QUALITY INGREDIENTS This one cannot be overstressed. A crucial variable that distinguishes top-notch restaurants is their reliance on fresh, high quality ingredients. Not to take anything away from their chefs but even the best craftsmen in the world are limited if their raw materials are execrable. Really good restaurants, with high turnover, have fresh products coming in daily, or almost daily. Their executive chefs are extremely choosy about their vendors and they scrutinize every delivery. Produce hails from local growers with solid reputations, the seafood has been caught within 24 hours and the beef is prime grade. The home cook can employ similar tactics when food shopping. Avoid the temptation of saving a buck with the “today’s special," meat on its expiration date or the wilted produce on sale. Inspect your meat, seafood, and produce with a fine tooth comb. It might mean forgoing a particular recipe if the requisite ingredients are not at their peak and making something else. Fresh herbs and spices are always desirable but if you do use jarred spices remember whole spices are kaput in a year and ground spices are has-beens in six months. For maximal flavor, you should rely on whole spices and grind them as you need them. Oh, and ixnay on freezing. No food in the world tastes better previously frozen then fresh. If flavor and not convenience is your goal, the freezer is for ice cream, ice cubes and vodka. STORE INGREDIENTS PROPERLY Ideally, raw materials should be consumed the day they are purchased. This is especially true for seafood. However, if circumstances dictate that there must be some lag time, know how to store your various victuals appropriately. Most vegetables do best in a cold fridge in a plastic bag. Some should be wrapped in damp toweling to inhibit moisture loss such as lettuces. Some should never be refrigerated, e.g., tomatoes, garlic, onions, potatoes. Herbs do well in the fridge in a vase of water like flowers. Live shellfish should never be stored in an air-tight bag, (because they’re alive and need to breathe). In a nutshell, you need to do your homework about each item’s stowage. Failure to do so is always punished by flavor loss. PREPARE INGREDIENTS ACCORDINGLY Most foods require same kind of preparation before they are ready to be utilized in the recipe at hand. Often these initial procedures are nothing more than washing, cutting and trimming. However, depending on the food, there are a variety of other techniques that can boost flavor at the prep stage. Nuts and coconut flakes can be toasted prior to incorporation into a dish. The heat releases the essential oils and heightens their taste. Simply add them to a dry pan at low to medium heat and swirl them until they start to brown and their nutty aroma is released. Bread crumbs can also be pre-toasted although here I’d advise adding some fat and seasoning to the pan before doing so. Similarly, many other items that can be added raw can push the flavor curve by pre-cooking them instead. Tomatoes, peppers, and garlic are just a few of the items that can be roasted and then added to dishes like salsas, salad dressings, and marinades. Liquids can be reduced to intensify flavor. Suppose you wish to make a citrus vinaigrette that calls for 1 oz. of citrus juice. Two ounces of citrus juice simmered down to one ounce will carry more citrus punch than one ounce of raw juice. Cream, stock, and wine are just some of the other fluids which can benefit from condensation. BRINING Brining is a method to make proteins juicer and tastier. A brine is basically a salt-water solution. Via the process of osmosis meat soaked in a brine will absorb some of the fluid and therefore be juicier. Moreover, the salt thwarts some of the coagulation of the protein strands during cooking, thus rendering them tenderer. The meat will also absorb some salt, (not as much as you’d think), but nevertheless you can compensate by not salting the exterior as much prior to cooking. The meat will also absorb other flavor elements in the brine. Therefore, brines may contain sugar, fruit juices, aromatic vegetables, herbs, spices, etc. But at the very least, employ one cup kosher salt for every gallon of water. Dissolve the salt in the water and submerge the meat. The larger the piece, the longer the soak. Brining is best for turkey, chicken, pork, and shrimp. Join me next week for more tips on maximizing flavor. Also Visit Mark’s website: Food for Thought Online
 
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Marie5656 Forum-Blogger© Original500© Member Just hanging out
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MAXIMIZING FLAVOR II This is the second of a two-part article about the various techniques for maximizing the flavor of your food. These methods are blind to any health, economic or convenience concerns. They’re straightforwardly and solely focused on boosting flavor. Previously we discussed the importance of using fresh, high quality ingredients, proper storage and preparation procedures and brining. Thus, we continue our overview of flavor maximization principles. USE ENOUGH SALT Get over your salt phobia. Man is biologically engineered to be receptive to the taste of salt, (via our taste buds which are specifically wired for, among other flavors, the sensation of salt). Sodium is also a necessary nutrient, albeit not to the amounts in most peoples’ diets. Finally, even without the natural aid of our taste buds, salt in and of itself combines with other elements in food to enhance flavor. For getting the whole nine yards out of salt, season your food prior to cooking and depending on the dish, (e.g., casseroles, soups, and other concoctions built in stages), add a little more as you go. This incorporates the salt into the dish more proficiently. Also, try to eschew generic table salt and opt for Kosher or sea salt instead. USE ENOUGH FAT Hey, I warned you that this is not about health. Whether your cholesterol levels like it or not, fat tastes good. And like salt, fat enhances the flavor of other foods. Some flavor elements are only soluble in fat. This is why one of my culinary professors used to tout: “All flavor in food comes from fat and salt.” With the exception of sugar, he’s on the money. Wrap your roast in caul fat, work seasoned butter under the skin of your chicken or turkey, employ prime grades of beef, (which have higher intramuscular fat), finish dishes with a touch of cream or butter, don’t be a sissy with the olive oil,…….you get the picture. MAKE RECIPES FROM SCRATCH There’s no disputing that ingredients prepared from scratch are superior to processed foods. Of course this takes more time and effort but again, our solitary emphasis is flavor enhancement. Thus, the less boxes and cans in your repertoire the better. SEAR YOUR FOOD PROPERLY Before searing any kind of protein, preheat the pan, add the oil, and wait till you see the first wisps of smoke. Season the meat, add it to the pan, and then don’t touch it until the first side is completely seared. Flip and repeat on the other side. This is not executed, as the old wives’ tale suggests, to seal in the juices. It’s performed to caramelize the foods surface which intensifies the flavor. This also leads to the next flavor optimizing principle: DEGLAZE YOUR PAN After searing any food you should take advantage of the fond, i.e., all those little browned bits on the bottom of the pan. They are highly concentrated in flavor. Turn the pan on high, add alcohol, stock, or even water and scrape the bottom of the pan as it cooks. Melt all the goodness and then incorporate that liquid into a sauce. KNOW THE SPEED LIMIT Sometimes you need to cook foods low and slow, like a Bolognese sauce which benefits from having the flavors meld over time. Other times you need to cook the food quickly to sear it without overcooking it such as scallops or shrimp. And still other times you’ll need to do both. For example, when making a stew you begin by searing the meat briefly in a hot pan. Then, after all the ingredients are added you decelerate and simmer for an extended period of time. AVOID UNDERCOOKING AND OVERCOOKING Cooking foods to the precise degree of doneness is certainly one of the thorniest tasks chefs face. Undercooking your food will fail to develop the aforementioned sear and cost you flavor development. But I think overcooking is even worse because as opposed to not producing enough flavor, it will impart noxious flavors. While perfectly seared food confers a rich and intense flavor, overcooked meat borders on licking an ashtray. Moreover, the more proteins cook, the tougher and drier they become. Hence you’ll achieve a vile synergy of dry, tough meat that tastes burnt. Vegetables too take on the same charred flavor from excessive cooking. Some vegetables, like garlic, turn scathingly bitter when burnt and will ruin your entire dish. HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS Many dishes are augmented by adding a touch of brightness such as acid, (vinegar or lemon juice), or a spice such as black pepper, hot pepper, mustard powder, etc. Foods that have just a little bit of bite awaken our palate but…………….. DON’T ALLOW ANY FLAVOR TO DOMINATE Much like a good wine, the array of flavors in a dish need to be in harmony. Too much acid, too much salt, too much sweetness, etc., and you’ve quashed the equilibrium. There certainly are dishes that lean toward a certain flavor dimension but that flavor’s influence should not be excessive. Our palate is an orchestra and the flavors are most sensuous when all the instruments are synchronized. Also Visit Mark’s website: Food for Thought Online
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