To get the best artichokes, pay attention to the following characteristics:
Size: The size of the thistle depends on where on the plant it grew. The artichoke growing on the center stalk is the largest. Those growing where the leaves meet the stem are widely and incorrectly referred to as babies; they are actually mature, but they grow in the shade of the leaves and are smaller. Artichokes that cook together should be as uniform in size as possible so they finish cooking at approximately the same time.
Compactness: Tightly packed artichokes are ideal. The leaves seem to have more edible flesh, they cook better, and the inedible chokes are smaller.
Freshness: Leaves should look plump and not shriveled. When bent back, they should snap, not tear. A small amount of brown discoloration at the stem and tips is fine, but avoid shriveled brown stems and leaves. Choose those that feel heaviest. According to Julia Child, "Very fresh artichokes will talk to you when you squeeze the head " squeaky fresh, in other words."
Seasonality: Artichokes are at their peak (and cheapest) in California in the spring, from March to May.
Cooking: No need to spend hours with scissors, just trim the stem and slice off the top so the artichoke will stand tall in the pan and the steam can reach all the leaves (really necessary?). Steaming is the best way to cook any size artichoke. Just put the artichokes, stem side up, in about an inch of water in a heavy-gauge nonreactive pot with a tight-fitting lid. A steaming rack is useful but not necessary. (I used an inch of water and without a perfectly tight fitting lid all the water had evaporated in about 30 minutes. The artichokes, although they were quite large, were probably done after 25 minutes. 35 minutes they were overdone. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick or fork into the stem end. If it is easy to insert, the artichoke should be tender. You can also try sampling some of the inner leaves, but watch out for burnt fingers!
To make your own baking powder, simply combine one teaspoon of baking soda (an alkaline) and two teaspoons of cream of tartar (an acid) for each tablespoon of baking powder called for. This substitution works very well for biscuits.
Unlike baking soda, which keeps forever, baking powder begins to react and lose its potency the instant you open the can and expose the contents to humidity in the air. For maximum leavening power, we recommend buying baking powder in the smallest can available, dating the can when opened, and discarding the contents after three months. Infrequent bakers should check the potency of baking powder that may have been sitting in the cupboard for too long. To do so, mix 2 teaspoons of the baking powder into a cup of water. If there is an immediate reaction of foaming and fizzing (right), the baking powder is okay to use. If the reaction is at all delayed or weak (left), throw it away and buy a fresh can.
In addition to leavening, baking soda plays a second important role in carrot cakes--it is responsible for breaking down the carrots so they are sufficiently cooked to complement the flavors of the cake. We discovered this while testing leavening agents. The carrots came out just right when we used a combination of baking soda and baking powder, but when we used only baking powder the carrots were crisp and undercooked. Curious, we decided to investigate. We found out that, like other vegetables, carrots get their crispness from water-filled cells. A carrot's cell walls retain the water in the cell, like the plastic walls of a zip-lock baggie would hold water in the bag. But instead of plastic, a plant's cell walls are made of carbohydrate chains of cellulose. M. Susan Brewer, associate professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois, explained that cellulose breaks down when it is exposed to heat in the presence of an alkali such as baking soda. This disintegration of the carrots' cell wall permits water to leak out, much as it would out of a baggie that had been pricked with a pin. It is this water leakage that causes the softening effect, according to Brewer.
Baking soda is alkaline. When the soda meets up with an acid--which is the opposite of alkaline--in the presence of liquid, carbon and oxygen combine to form the gas carbon dioxide. The tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide then lift up the dough.
But you have to be sure to use just the right amount of baking soda if you want light, puffy cookies and cakes. If you use too little, you won't have enough bubbles and the dough won't rise. If you use too much, though, you end up with too much carbon dioxide, which causes the bubbles to get too big. These large bubbles then join up with one another and eventually rise to the top of the dough and burst, resulting in a flat product.
Cream of tartar is a natural acidic compound that mixes with an alkaline (baking soda) and liquid in a batter to produce carbon dioxide bubbles that leaven baked goods. Baking soda, therefore, needs an acidic compound to react, and cream of tartar needs the alkaline. Baking powder combines one part baking soda with two parts acid and one part cornstarch, and is generally called for in recipes that do not contain acid.
Baking soda is bicarbonate of soda and is a prime ingredient of baking powder. It is akaline in nature, and when combined with an acid, it creates carbon dioxide bubbles, giving rise to doughs and batters. Since it reacts with water, it should be mixed thoroughly with dry ingredients before adding liquids to insure even leavening. Baking soda alone is normally used when buttermilk or other acidic liquid is used in the recipe.
Baking powder is basically a blend of acid (most commonly calcium acid phosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate or cream of tartar) and alkali (sodium bicarbonate known commonly as baking soda). By adding water to this mixture, a chemical reaction is achieved, producing carbon dioxide which is trapped in tiny air pockets in the dough or batter. Heat releases additional carbon monoxide and expands the trapped carbon dioxide gas and air to create steam. The pressure expands the trapped air pockets, thus expanding the overall food. The most common baking powder is double-acting; it releases leavening gases on contact with moisture and again during baking.
Baking powder does lose its potency over time. Thus, you should always "proof" your baking powder before using it in a recipe by pouring 1/3 cup of hot tap water over 1/2 tsp. of baking powder in a cup. The mixture should bubble enthusiastically. If it doesn't, toss it out. Be sure to thoroughly mix baking powder with other dry ingredients before adding any liquid. Commercial baking powders have about a one-year shelf life, if stored sealed in a cool, dry place.
You must also take care in substituting buttermilk for regular milk when using baking powder, as it upsets the balance of alkali to acid. Buttermilk has more acid than regular milk, which will reduce the carbon dioxide released and thwart the leavening process. To achieve the desired result when using buttermilk instead of milk, substitute baking soda for some or all for of the baking powder. For each cup of buttermilk used in place of sweet milk, reduce the amount of baking powder by two teaspoons, and replace with 1/2 tsp. of baking soda
Simple test to determine yeast activity: Using a 1 cup glass measuring cup, dissolve 1 tsp. granulated sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Sprinkle 2 1/4 tsp. yeast slowly over the surface of the water. Stir the yeast with a spoon. Leaving the spoon in the measuring cup, set a time for 10 minutes. In 3 to 4 minutes, the yeast will have absorbed enouchg liquid to activate and will begin rising to the surface. At the end of the 10 minutes, the yeast will have multiplied forming a rounded crown of foam showing that it is very active.
A packet of yeast contains 1/4 ounce of yeast, which is the equivalent of 2 1/4 teaspoons. Most bread recipes call for a packet of yeast, but we found the amount to be quite excessive. Instead, we prefer to reduce the amount of yeast and lengthen the rising times by hours <97> or even let bread dough stand overnight.
2 oz compressed yeast = 6 3/4 tsp. dry yeast
There are balsamic vinegars you can buy for $2.50 and ones that nudge the $300 mark. The more expensive vinegars bear the title tradizionale or extra-vecchio tradizionale aceto balsamico (traditional or extra-old traditional). According to Italian law, these "traditional" vinegars must come from the northern Italian provinces of Modena or Reggio Emilia and be created and aged in the traditional time-honored fashion.
Unfortunately, there is no way for American consumers to really be sure that the industrial-style balsamic vinegar they purchase in their grocery or specialty foods store is a quality product. Unlike the makers of trademark-protected products of Italy, including tradizionale balsamico, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Prosciutto di Parma (all from the Reggio Emilia region), Italian producers of commercial balsamic vinegars failed to unite before market demand for their products ballooned in the United States in the early 1980s. The result has been high consumer demand with little U.S. regulation--the perfect scenario for some producers to take advantage of the system by misleading consumers about the integrity of their products.
For hundreds of years, tradizionale balsamico vinegar has been made from Trebbiano grapes found in the Modena or Reggio Emilia regions of northern Italy. The grapes are crushed and slowly cooked over an open flame into must. The must begins mellowing in a large wooden barrel, where it ferments and turns to vinegar. The vinegar is then passed through a series of barrels made from a variety of woods. To be considered worthy of the tradizionale balsamico title, the vinegar must be moved from barrel to barrel for a minimum of 12 years. An extra-vecchio vinegar must be aged for at least 25 years.
Because of its complex flavor and high production cost, tradizionale balsamico is used by those in the know as a condiment rather than an ingredient. The longer the vinegar ages, the thicker and more intense it becomes, maturing from a thin liquid into a spoon-coating, syrupy one--perfect for topping strawberries or cantaloupe. This is the aristocrat of balsamic vinegars.
The more common varieties, those with a price tag under $30, are categorized as commercial or industrial balsamic vinegars. These vinegars are what most Americans are familiar with and often use to complete a vinaigrette or flavor a sauce. The flavor profile of commercial balsamic vinegars ranges widely from mild, woody, and herbaceous to artificial and sour, depending on the producer and the style in which the vinegar was made. Commercial balsamic vinegar may or may not be aged and may or may not contain artificial caramel color or flavor.
We wondered how bad--or good--inexpensive, commercial balsamic vinegars would be when compared in a blind tasting. To level the playing field--and ease the burden on our budget--we limited the tasting to balsamic vinegars that cost $15 and under. We included some vinegars from supermarkets (we had held a preliminary supermarket balsamic vinegar tasting and included the three most favored by our tasters in the final tasting) and some from mail-order sources and specialty foods stores. We also included samples of the many different production styles, including some aged in the traditional fashion, some with added caramel color and flavor, and some made from a blend of aged red wine vinegar with added grape must.
We found that a higher price tag did not correlate with a better vinegar. Less expensive (under $5) and more expensive (more than $10) vinegars earned places in all three final categories (see chart PDF, below). In addition, age seemed to play a less important role than we had expected. There were young vinegars in the top category as well as older vinegars in the bottom category.
Across the board, tasters found balsamic vinegars containing caramel color or flavor "sour" and "uninteresting." The top four brands from our tasting contain no artificial colors or flavors whatsoever. Our findings led us to believe that much as fond (the browned bits left in a pan after food has been sautéed) is instrumental in creating a quality pan sauce, must is paramount to making a full-flavored balsamic vinegar. As the must ages, it becomes thick and sweet, contributing an almost sherry- or port-like character to the vinegar. Producers who substitute artificial color and flavor for must end up with a shallow sort of product that was routinely derided by our tasters. Some connoisseurs might argue that the only balsamic vinegars worth buying are aged ones, but we found that age didn't make nearly as big a difference as artificial additives did.
So how can consumers figure out what type of balsamic vinegar to buy? The easy answer is to check the label. If it discloses that artificial ingredients have been added, don't buy it. Unfortunately, it's not only commonplace but legal for the ingredient label to skirt the issue and completely avoid publishing the contents of the vinegar. This is because Italian law dictates that "Balsamic Vinegar of Modena," which is how nine out of 10 vinegars are labeled, is itself considered an ingredient and product, so no further description of the vinegar's contents is required. Label specifications from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration require only that the producer identify whether or not the vinegar contains sulfites, a preservative that produces a severe allergic reaction in some people.
"Whatever you want to call a balsamic vinegar, you can call a balsamic vinegar," says John Jack, vice-president of sales and marketing for Fiorucci Foods in Virginia. "It's become very much of a commodity-oriented business." Even if a vinegar is labeled "Balsamic Vinegar of Modena," a title that conveys the idea of quality to consumers, it may not have been produced in, or even near, Modena. In fact, several manufacturers bottle their vinegar right here in the United States. Young vinegars can bear the "balsamic" title, too. As a result of the less-than-stringent regulations, many producers and importers look forward to the passage of a new regulation in Italy that would make it illegal to label a vinegar younger than three years of age a balsamic. According to an article on a balsamic vinegar tasting conducted by Cook's in 1995, these same regulations were pending six years ago. U.S. consumers are still left in the lurch, because even a white wine vinegar with added caramel color and flavor can legally be labeled as balsamic. So check the label. If the vinegar contains artificial color or sweetener, look further--or follow the guidelines of our tasters.
Highly recommended: 365 every day value, Masserie Di Sant'eramo, fiorucci riserva
Recommended: Cavali balsamic seasoning, fini, colavita
Not recommended: Regina, Giuseppi giusti, Grey poupon, manicardi
Barley malt syrup is a natural sweetener that can be found in many natural foods stores. More nutritious than white sugar, malt syrup is derived from roasted barley kernels.
Turkish bay leaves come from the bay, or laurel, tree that grows throughout the Mediterranean. The California bay leaf is larger and more aromatic than the Turkish and comes from a shrubby evergreen tree, a different species altogether. Turkish bay leaves are quite easy to find, California bay leaves far less so.
To investigate their flavors, we made béchamel sauces with each type of bay leaf. A béchamel sauce made with the California bay leaves was described as "medicinal" and "potent," "like something you'd put in a cough drop." The sauce made with the Turkish bay leaf, on the other hand, was described as "mild, green, and slightly clovelike" and "far superior in nuance and flavor." We advise readers against substituting California bay leaves for Turkish in any recipe.
Always buy beets with the tops on if you can; fresh tops mean fresh beets. Loose beets may simply be recent "break-offs" or they may be old and therefore quite tough and lacking in flavor. With the exception of certain varieties of baby beets, there is not a great difference in flavor and texture between small and medium-sized beets. Very large beets, on the other hand, are sometimes tough.
While raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries grow on bushes and out of dirt's way, rambling strawberries are often sandy. Rinsing berries can bruise their delicate flesh. The best method of cleaning strawberries is to wipe each berry lightly with a dampened paper towel or brush it softly with a mushroom brush. Raspberries and blackberries are so delicate that they are difficult to wash at all (in our opinion, local berries don't need washing), but blueberries can be turned into a colander and sprayed lightly with water. If you find yourself with a surfeit of fresh berries, the best thing to do is to place the unwashed, unhulled berries in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a clean kitchen towel. Cover them with a second towel and refrigerate. You will have extended their lives by days.
Also see berries.
Cook's illustrated liked Wyman's frozen wild berries better than fresh imported berries from Chile (in December). (Compared with cultivated berries, wild berries are smaller, more intense in color, firmer in texture, and more sweet and tangy in flavor.) The fresh imported berries tied for second place with Whole Foods frozen wild berries. While frozen cultivated berries trailed in the tasting, all but one brand received decent scores. Flavor aside, the cost of frozen berries is $8 per cobbler versus $25 for the fresh South American berries. You could make three cobblers using the frozen berries for that price, and the money would also buy better quality. Why did frozen wild berries beat fresh berries? The imported berries are picked before they have a chance to fully ripen to help them survive the long trip North. As a result, they are often tart and not so flavorful. Frozen berries have been picked at their peak--when perfectly ripe--and are then individually quick frozen (IQF) at -20 degrees. The quick freezing preserves their sweetness, letting us enjoy them year-round--and at a price just about anyone can afford.
When the craving for blueberry cobbler hits in the off-season, frozen blueberries are your best bet. They are picked at the peak of freshness and quickly frozen, unlike the so-called fresh berries that are shipped unripe from South America and cost a small fortune. Our tasters ranked Wyman's frozen wild blueberries above four other brands. Wyman's blueberries are primarily distributed on the East Coast but are also available nationally in some markets, including parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Illinois. www.wymans.com
365 Grade A Fancy Frozen These cultivated berries were very sweet, with just a hint of tartness. Compared with other brands, they lacked complexity.
Cascadian Farms 100% Organic Frozen This mix of berries includes "wild" blueberries. Berries had tart punch characteristic of wild berries and a pleasant "jammy" sweetness.
Fresh Blueberries (South American) Imported fresh berries lacked that "picked at peak ripeness" flavor you get with local fresh berries, but they were still sweet/tart and juicy.
Shaw's Individually Quick Frozen Whole This supermarket brand was the most disappointing. The berries were watery, bland, and flat tasting, with a mushy consistency.
Whole Foods Frozen Organic Wild Juicy and complex in flavor, these wild berries were described by tasters as "sweet," "sour," and "slightly tannic."
Wyman's Frozen Wild These small blueberries were intense in color and flavor, with a pleasing balance of sweetness and tanginess and a clean, fresh berry finish.
Pouring brown sugar out of its narrow box into a measuring cup can be a messy, frustrating chore. You can transferring the brown sugar to a large, heavy-duty zipper-lock bag for storage. Not only does the sugar remain more moist during storage, but a cup measure fits inside the bag easily and can be loaded up by pressing the sugar into it through the plastic. No pouring, spilling, or sticky hands.
There's nothing worse than hardened brown sugar, which is impossible to measure and can't be incorporated into batters. Your best bet is to keep the sugar in an airtight container. I like the old tupperware canisters, but if you do end up somehow with hardened sugar, here's how to bring back its original texture.
Place a cup or so of brown sugar in a glass pie plate or bowl, cover with a small piece of waxed paper, and then top with a slice of bread to provide a bit of moisture. Loosely cover the pie plate or bowl with plastic wrap and microwave until softened, about 30 seconds.
It is possible to achieve a soured, or "clabbered," milk from regular milk. For 1 cup of milk, simply add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and let the milk stand for 5 minutes. This milk will be similar to buttermilk in sourness and acid content, but it will not be as thick.
To determine if soured or "clabbered" milk is an acceptable substitute for buttermilk in muffins, we compared corn muffins made with the two types of milk. Tasters easily identified the batter made with soured milk; it not only lacked the distinctive buttermilk "tang," but also had a texture more like cake batter. In cooked form, the soured-milk muffin still reminded tasters of cake. Compared to the buttermilk one, it was flat and dull, with a sweet finish and a smooth texture. The buttermilk muffin sparkled; each bite triggered bursts of tart and sweet, as the buttermilk seemed to heighten the lemon and sugar flavors. With this overwhelming endorsement of buttermilk, should you ever consider soured milk? Certainly. If it's Sunday morning and using buttermilk means getting dressed and going to the store, consider soured milk. But if both are available, definitely opt for the buttermilk. To make soured milk, bring the milk to room temperature. (If the milk is too hot, it will form one large curd rather than lightly curdling when added to vinegar or lemon juice.) Measure one tablespoon distilled white vinegar or lemon juice into a one cup measure, add the milk to make one cup, and let the mixture stand until it curdles. (If the milk is at the right temperature, it will curdle almost instantly.) Allow to stand for five minutes after curdling, then proceed with the recipe.
1 cup buttermilk = .75-1 cup soymilk + 1 Tbs vinegar or lemon juice ?
Buttermilk is a misleading word. Many assume that this product is infused with butter and high in fat, when the truth is quite the opposite. The name refers to the watery end product of butter making<97>the "milk" left behind after the solid fat has been removed through the process of churning cream into butter. Years ago buttermilk was a popular beverage, esteemed for its light, watery consistency and crisp, tangy flavor. Like most things modern, however, buttermilk and the way it is made are no longer that simple.
Today buttermilk is a fermented product made by adding bacteria that produce lactic acid (usually Streptococci or Lactobacilli) to pasteurized or ultrapasteurized milk. The milk is heated to 72 degrees, and the harmless bacteria convert lactose (milk sugar) to lactic acid, which gives the final product a slightly thickened, rich texture and tangy, somewhat salty flavor. The ripening process is complete within 14 hours, at which point the milk is cooled to 45 degrees to halt fermentation. Sometimes butter flakes (also called liquid butter) are added to give the velvety liquid a "churned" look and feel. More often than not, salt and/or citric acid is added to enhance flavor.
Capers are actually pickles made from the unopened flower buds of the Capparis spinosa shrub, which grows in the Mediterranean. In France, Italy and Spain, the shrubs are cultivated for capers, and Roquevaire, in Provence, is known as the "caper capital". Capers are never used fresh, and are preserved one of two ways: in a salt and water brine, sometimes with added vinegar, or in salt. The brine method is most common, and available in most supermarkets; the salt preserved capers are more costly, and available only in specialty stores. Capers also vary in size, from the tiny non-pareilles to surfines, capucines, fines, and capotes -- increasing in size and decreasing in value. Caperberries, quite large and usually complete with a stem, are formed when the buds are allowed to open and set fruit.
Tien Tsin: China Chili Peppers. Very hot. Bright Red 1-2 inch pods. Add whole to soup, stir-fry, and other dishes. Best stored in refrigerator. 60,000 heat units.
Ancho chiles, which in Spanish means "wide" chiles, are spade-shaped pods measuring about three to four inches long and approximately the same width at the top. New Mexico chiles taper to a blunt end and have narrower shoulders than the anchos, measuring about two inches wide and six inches long.
The triangular ancho and longer pasilla have a similar wrinkled, reddish-brown skin, but their aroma and taste are quite different. Ancho has a fruity rather than hot flavor; it's a little like a spicy raisin while pasilla is everything you want from a fiery pepper: dark, earthy, and rich.
The jalapeño and the chipotle are the same pepper. To make chipotles, jalapeños are smoked. You can find them dried (and reconstitute them yourself), but it's easier to buy them canned, in adobo, a tomato, vinegar, and herb paste.
other types: mulatos, japones, cascabels, de arbols, piquins, and New Mexico greens and reds.
Chocolate chips. cooks illustrated likes tropical source,ghiaradelli,guittard, nestle okay. Didn't like hershey's or bakers
Chocolate that has formed whitish-gray streaks and marks is said to have bloomed. Bloom occurs when cocoa butter or sugar rises to and crystallizes on the chocolate's surface. Fat bloom is usually the result of storage in a warm environment; sugar bloom happens when the chocolate undergoes extreme temperature changes. Chocolate that has bloomed is perfectly safe to eat.
The whitish blemishes that sometimes appear on packaged chocolate chips is not a function of their age. Appearing as a powder or film on the chip, the haze can develop at any time and may be caused by any one of several things. It could simply be scuff marks resulting from the chips having been bounced around in the packaging process or during shipping. Another possibility, called bloom, occurs when the sugar or fat in the chocolate rises to the surface. Neither scuffing nor bloom presents any reason to worry about the safety of the chips.
Sugar bloom results from extreme temperature changes. A change from a warm humid environment to a cool environment causes moisture to condense on the chips and dissolves some of the sugar they contain. When the moisture evaporates, it leaves a gray, slightly grainy film that is basically fine sugar crystals. Fat bloom appears when chocolate has been sitting in temperatures above 75 degrees. The fats melt and rise to the surface of the chocolate, creating an oily gray sheen.
Bloom can appear on all types, shapes, and sizes of hard chocolate. Commercial chips seem particularly prone to bloom because retailers have a wide range of storage conditions that are not necessarily sensitive to chocolate, said Bowles. "There is nothing wrong with it," Bowles confirmed; "there is no harm to your health" To prevent bloom bloom development, manufacturers recommend that you wrap chips and other forms of chocolte tightly and store them in a cool, dry place, but not in the refrigerator.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which establishes "Standards of Identity" for all chocolate and cocoa products, "real" chocolate must contain, among other highly regulated ingredients, both cocoa solids and cocoa butter (the combination of which is known as chocolate liquor). The percentage of chocolate liquor varies by type of chocolate, but each must meet with the established minimum standards if it is be labeled "chocolate" in the United States.
What we know as white chocolate is a confection that usually contains much the same ingredients as milk chocolate--cocoa butter, milk, and sugar--except for one crucial component: cocoa solids. Without cocoa solids, white chocolate does not meet the FDA's standard for a true chocolate. Since the standardization of white chocolate has been pending for a number of years, manufacturers are able to use the term "chocolate" by applying for an extended permit to market-test the item containing white chocolate.
Until the FDA sets standards for white chocolate, quality will continue to vary, so look carefully at the ingredient list before making your next purchase. High-quality white chocolate contains cocoa butter and may go by the name white confectionery. The inferior stuff, sometimes called almond bark or described as a white coating, contains palm kernel oil instead of cocoa butter and gets its chocolate-like taste from flavorings.
I liked this chocolate for eating: Poulain chocolatier 1848 76% cocoa
Dutch-processed or "Dutched" cocoa has been treated with an alkaline solution that reduces the chocolate's natural acidity. It also deepens the color of the cocoa, mellows its flavor, and improves its solubility in liquid. Most European cocoas are Dutch-processed, whereas most American ones are natural. In most cases, the two types of cocoa are interchangeable, though in recipes for baked goods such as cakes that rely on baking soda or baking powder for some or all of their leavening, it is best to use the type of cocoa that the recipe specifies since the cocoa's acidity may affect the leavener's effectiveness.
Dutch-processed cocoa is less acidic (or more alkaline) than a regular cocoa such as Hershey's. The theory is that reducing the acidity of natural cocoa enhances browning reactions, which in turn result in a darker color. Because the red pigments in cocoa become more visible in a more acidic environment, the more acidic natural cocoa is supposed to produce a redder cake. Manufacturers also claim that the process of Dutching cocoa results in a smoother, less bitter chocolate flavor.
To determine the veracity of these claims, we conducted a head-to-head test of three Dutch-processed cocoas?Droste, King Arthur Flour?s ?black? cocoa (made from beans that are roasted until they are almost burnt), and Pernigotti, a very expensive brand sold at Williams-Sonoma stores?against Hershey's natural cocoa. All three Dutch-processed cocoas produced darker cakes with more chocolate flavor than the Hershey's, bearing out our research. The Hershey's cocoa also produced a much redder cake, just as promised. But we also noticed textural differences in the cakes. The cake made with Hershey's was dry and airy without much complexity of flavor. Among the cakes made with Dutch-processed cocoa, the cake made with the expensive Pernigotti produced a very moist, soft crumb; that made with Droste was a bit dry with a more open crumb; and the ?black? cocoa cake was very dense, almost spongy, although incredibly chocolatey as well. So if you want a richer-tasting, darker, more velvety cake, use Dutch-processed cocoa, keeping in mind that quality matters. Those who must have a reddish color can go with regular cocoa, but the taste and texture will suffer somewhat.
When developing the recipes for coconut cake and buttercream frosting, we preferred pure coconut extract over imitation. It is worth the extra expense
A slice of bread in the same container with cookies keeps the cookies soft. Sugar is by nature highly hydroscopic, meaning that it attracts moisture. Cookies are much higher in sugar than bread, but lower in moisture. When bread and cookies are placed together in a closed container, the moisture in the bread raises the ambient humidity. In an attempt to equalize the moisture levels of the two, the sugar in the cookies attracts the humidity provided by the bread and the cookies soften.
Cornmeal can vary greatly in texture (depending on how the corn kernels are ground) and flavor (depending on whether the kernels are whole grain or degerminated). We found that whole-grain Arrowhead Mills cornmeal (left) makes the best corn muffins. Its texture resembles slightly damp, fine sand. Whole- grain Hodgson Mill cornmeal (center) has great flavor, but the texture is coarser (akin to kosher salt), making muffins that are too coarse. Degerminated Quaker cornmeal (right) has a fine texture (similar to table salt) and makes muffins that are bland and dry.
Also see polenta
The currants in your scone are not the same as those used to make preserves, syrups, and liqueurs. The two distinctly different fruits just happen to have the same name.
The tiny currants in our scones are dried Zante grapes. The deeply purple 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter), seedless, and most often encountered in its dry form. Zante refers to the Greek island where these grapes first grew, and the word currant is presumably a distortion of Corinth, the Greek city from which the minute raisin grapes were originally shipped. Seldom eaten out of hand like raisins, currants are commonly used in baking and often in savory sauces.
The second type of currant is a relative of the gooseberry. This tiny, piquant, acidic berry grows on a shrubby bush in clusters and has taut, translucent skin. There are black, red, and white currants. Black currants are used primarily to make preserves, syrups, and liqueurs (Cassis); red and white currants are eaten out-of-hand or with cream and sugar and are used in preserves as garnishes or in savory sauces.
Medjool dates are arguably the largest, plumpest variety of the fruit on the market. Excellent for use in the Date-Spice Chiffon Cake recipe (link below), medjools are primarily grown in Israel, though California also produces a small crop.
The color of an eggshell is due to the breed of the chicken. Be they white or brown, the eggs have equal nutritive value and flavor.
It is often said that the fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel. But we didn't find much of a difference when peeling young and older eggs in our test kitchen. We contacted the American Egg Board for advice and learned that the best way to peel an egg is not to strip off big pieces of shell (which is what we had been doing) but to crack the egg all over, breaking the shell into tiny pieces, and then peel off these little bits. The Egg Board also suggests starting to peel from the large end of the egg, which has an air pocket. This lets you get under the membrane without digging into the white. The egg's surface will be much more pliable after cracking, and chances are that the whole membrane, shell and all, will come off in a clean spiral, leaving behind a scar-free beauty.
Readily transformed from a gelatinous liquid state to something light and fluffy with just a bit of whipping, egg whites are perhaps the most mysterious of kitchen ingredients. To make whites even more incomprehensible, their whipping and baking properties are improved by the addition of granulated sugar and cream of tartar. For most of us, however, the rationale behind all of this is about as clear as the string theory of the universe.
Let's start with a few basics. Egg whites are 88 percent liquid (water) and 11 percent protein. (The remaining 1 percent consists of minerals and carbohydrates.) Beating an egg white relaxes its tightly wound protein molecules, which begin to unfold and stretch. With continued beating, the stretched proteins begin to overlap and bond together, creating a long, elastic surface. This is known as the soft peak phase, during which the air bubbles are relatively large and the foam unstable because the proteins have not sufficiently unwound and bonded to form a stable supporting structure. With continued beating, the proteins further bond and envelop the air bubbles, trapping and separating them. The trick here is to neither underbeat the whites (the mixture will not be stable) nor overbeat them (the foam will become too rigid and will rupture, squeezing out the liquid contained in the whites).
Adding sugar delays foam formation. It stabilizes the foam, particularly in the oven, because it attracts water and thus delays water evaporation, giving the protein structure more time to set up. Sugar also separates protein molecules, slowing the bonding process and thus guarding against the effects of overbeating. We also discovered that cream of tartar, an acid, makes it more difficult for the egg white proteins to bond too tightly. Why? Acids donate hydrogen ions, which interfere with the normal bonding pattern of proteins. With the addition of acid the proteins remain more elastic; while they do coagulate enough to maintain structure, they do so more slowly. Consequently, the air cells encounter less resistance as they expand under the influence of the heat, and this results in a higher rise.
What does all of this mean for the home cook? If you beat egg whites with sugar and cream of tartar, the resulting foam will be more stable as well as more moist, and it will rise better in the oven, be less prone to the symptoms of overbeating, and have a finer, more even texture once baked. Egg whites beaten without additional ingredients will be coarser in texture, more prone to collapse during folding and baking, more susceptible to the ills of overbeating, and will result in a drier, less appealing texture when used in a soufflé.
Raw fennel has an anise-like flavour that is excellent in salads or crudites. When sauteed or braised, fennel loses some of its pungency, but the slices soften nicely.
All parts of the fennel plant are used, including its yellowish-green, 1/4-inch-long seeds. Fennel is often used in Mediterranean-style dishes, and tomato sauces.
Fennel and anise share a licorice flavor and scent because they both contain the same essential oil, called anethol, which imparts the characteristic flavor. But they are, in fact, two different herbs. Anise is sweeter and had a somewhat stronger licorice flavor than the fennel. Substituting anise and fennel back and forth in a tomato sauce would be fine, although the results would vary slightly according to which was used. However, substituting them in baking or sausage could be a mistake because of their different sweetness levels.
Feta cheese, a familiar presence on the Greek table, was originally made from sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep's and goat's milk. While many of the smaller, artisanal cheesemakers that have become increasingly popular in this country continue to observe this practice, the feta you find in the supermarket is almost certainly made by a large producer that uses pasteurized cow's milk. To make feta, the milk is curdled, shaped into a block, and steeped in brine.
Packaging feta cheese with some of the brine is key to a moist texture. The quintessential feta should be creamy, tangy, supple, and moist, and you are not going to find these qualities in a block of cheese that has been left to sit high and dry on a Styrofoam tray. One final note: It's a good idea to rinse feta packed in brine just before serving to remove excess salt.
The fettucine (for pasta primavera, for example) recommended by cook's illustrated was a dried egg pasta. They preferred Delverde and DeCecco to Barilla.
Used as a seasoning in Chinese cooking, five-spice powder is typically a blend of cassia cinnamon, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, and either fennel or anise seeds. Another very common variation substitutes ground ginger for the Sichuan pepper, and still others add dried orange peel or omit the cloves. Five-spice powder is inexpensive and is commonly available in the spice aisle at many supermarkets.
Technically all all-purpose flour is bleached. Within 12 weeks of milling, the carotenoid pigments in all-purpose flour naturally whiten; in flours labeled "bleached," this process has simply been expedited through the addition of chemicals, most often chlorine gas or benzoyl peroxide. The chlorine gas actually alters the protein content of the flour, making the proteins less likely to form tough gluten; this somewhat gluten-resistant flour is desirable in tender baked goods such as cookies. In our taste tests of plain muffins, however, our tasters universally preferred unbleached flours, citing "off, " metallic flavors in chemically bleached flour products. Those differences in flavor were, however, virtually undetectable in baked goods made with other ingredients, such as blueberries or chocolate chips.
Like other bulbs, garlic sprouts green shoots, usually in the spring, but also if left unused for too long. While not dangerous, the shoots are often bitter and can adversely affect the flavor of the dish you are making with the garlic. (check this!) There is no need to discard the entire clove, however--simply trim and discard the green shoots. If garlic bulbs are buried, they will sprout long thin shoots similar to scallions or small leeks. Popular in Asian dishes, these garlic shoots can sometimes be found in the late spring and summer in farmer's markets.
Raw garlic cloves contain a sulfur-based compound called alliin and an enzyme called alliinase. These two elements are not in contact in raw garlic, which is why a head of garlic has almost no aroma. When the garlic is cut, the enzyme comes into contact with the alliin and converts it to allicin, a new and very pungent compound that gives raw garlic its typical aroma. This compound also gives garlic its bite.
When you slice garlic, only a small amount of enzyme and sulfur compound come into contact, so just a small amount of allicin is produced. The result is a mild garlic flavor. When you mince garlic, however, more allicin is produced because there's more contact between the sulfur compound and the enzyme. More allicin means more aroma and flavor.
For the strongest garlic flavor, put the cloves through a press or mince them into a smooth paste. Chopped (as opposed to minced) garlic has a moderate amount of flavor and aroma, while sliced garlic has the least. Because heat breaks down the harsh-tasting allicin, roasting or toasting garlic cloves before adding them to a dish will pretty much eliminate any harsh garlic flavor.
Cutting into garlic doesn't make you cry, but it does release a pungent aroma, which is why eating raw garlic is likely to give you garlic breath. Toasting garlic, on the other hand, has the effect of making it taste much more sweet and therefore gives you more friendly breath.
Like other bulbs, garlic sprouts green shoots, usually in the spring, but also if left unused for too long. While not dangerous, the shoots are often bitter and can adversely affect the flavor of the dish you are making (?? test this). There is no need to discard the entire clove, however--simply trim and discard the green shoots. If garlic bulbs are buried, they will sprout long thin shoots similar to scallions or small leeks. Popular in Asian dishes, these garlic shoots can sometimes be found in the late spring and summer in farmer's markets.
Hundreds of chemical compounds are responsible for the flavor and odor of garlic. The two harshest tasting and smelling chemical groups, glucose inolates and sulfur-containing isothiocyanates, are activated when the garlic cloves are cut, but they are also the first to dissipate when the garlic is heated. Heat, therefore, tames the harshness of garlic, eliminating its unpleasant raw edge and helping to accentuate its sweeter, nutty flavors.
Gingerroot is one of the oldest known spices, referenced in the writings of Confucius and in the Koran. Fresh ginger can be kept in the refrigerator, preferably in a plastic bag to prevent dehydration, for several weeks. For longer storage (and easier grating), whole fresh ginger can also be stored in the freezer (try this!!!).
If you don't need to remove every bit of skin, simply place the hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel after roasting, while they are still warm, and rub gently. The tiny remnants of skin left behind should not adversely affect the flavor of your dish.
If you are intent on removing every last bit of skin, we recommend the technique used by baker and cookbook author Rose Levy Berenbaum, who, in turn, learned about it from Carl Sontheimer, inventor of the food processor: To skin one cup of hazelnuts, bring three cups of water to boil in a deep pan. Add nuts and one-quarter cup baking soda and boil for four minutes. The water will fizz and blacken. Drain the nuts, rinse them under cold water, and give them a quick rub. All of the skin should slip right off. As the nuts will be wet, place them on a baking sheet and roast in a 350-degree oven until golden and fragrant, about 15 minutes.
Herbes de Provence is a mixture representative of those herbs used most frequently in the south of France. Usually a combination of basil, fennel seed, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage, summer savory, and thyme.
Bruising the lemon grass is the best method of imparting its pungent, lemony flavor to the broth. Lemon grass, a stiff, fibrous grass, is available in Asian markets and many supermarkets. Fresh lemon grass will dry out after about two weeks in the refrigerator, but it does store well in the freezer for up to six months. We found that water-packed lemon grass in a jar is the next best thing to fresh.
red lentils: massoor dal.
Tiny green lentils from France, called lentils Le Puy, are...
Masoors, whole brown Indian lentils, are available at most Indian markets.
Miso is the Japanese word for "bean paste." Commonly found in Asian?most notably Japanese?cuisines, miso is a fermented paste of soy beans and rice, barley, or rye. Miso paste is incredibly versatile, suitable for use in soups, braises, dressings, and sauces as well as for topping grilled foods. This salty, deep-flavored paste ranges in strength and color from a mild, pale yellow (referred to as white) to stronger flavored red or brownish-black, depending on the fermentation method and ingredients. Miso will keep for up to a year in the refrigerator.
Tasters unanimously preferred grade B maple syrup to grade A. Produced by maple trees at the very end of the season, grade B is the darkest hued and deepest flavored maple syrup and is generally reserved for baking and commercial purposes.
Store mushrooms in the original store container. If you open a sealed package of mushrooms but don't use all the contents, simply rewrap the package (with the remaining mushrooms still inside) with plastic. If buying bulk mushrooms, place in a container and cover with a damp paper towel???
Whether made from olives or walnuts, the flavor and aroma of cold-pressed oils are superior to those of refined oils
Okra is indigenous to Africa (originated in Egypt), and was brought to the United States and the West Indies by Ethiopian Slaves some 3 centuries ago. It is one of the most notable "Southern" vegetables, primarily because it will grow in the hottest part of the summer, when almost everything else dies.
When buying fresh okra look for firm, brightly colored pods under 4 inches long. Larger pods may be tough and fibrous. Avoid those that are dull in color, limp or with dark spots. Refrigerate okra in a plastic bag for up to 3 days, but don't wash before storing it. Okra does not last long in the refrigerator, especially in a sealed bag. In ? days it will start to blacken. Frozen okra is pretty good as well.
Okra is often eaten pickled (in the US south and in Japan too?), cooked on it's own, or complimented with tomatoes, onions, eggplant, corn and peppers. However, be aware that adding anything with moisture (such as tomatoes) to the okra while it's cooking will increase it's sliminess. Even any water left over from washing can bring out the slime, so if you are slime-phobic, make sure to let the okra dry before cooking them. However, the "slime" in okra is actually one of the best sources of soluble fiber. So eat up! Many people prefer to eat okra fried or breaded as this reduces it's slipperyness.
In many African dialects the word for Okra sounds similar to Gumbo, which is the reason that Okra is often referred to as Gumbo. In the United States it is far more common to refer to dishes which contain Okra as Gumbo's. In fact, technically you shouldn't call a dish which doesn't contain Okra a gumbo.
Some of my favorite okra combinations are... "Breaded": with cornmeal, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper. "Greek" with lemon juice, oregano, and sometimes feta. American indian: with tomatoes and corn. Indian in a tomato/ginger/green chili/cumin/tumeric sauce.
In the dead of the souther summer, when most vegetables swoon and crumple, okra keeps putting out pods. And after it's harvested, okra can be kept at room temperature for several days without spoiling.
Okra is low in calories (40 per 100 grams) and high in vitamins A and C, as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron, folate, thiamine and magnesium.
Fragata brand is bad.
Despite the misleading name, light olive oils are nutritionally equivalent to regular olive oils. Several years ago, in an attempt to overcome the American perception that olive oil is too heavy and too strong for everyday use, several Italian companies began bottling a refined pure olive oil that had been stripped of its flavor. Although not sold in Italy, light olive oils were a hit with American consumers looking for oils high in monounsaturated fat but without much taste. Light olive oils can be used in any recipe that calls for a bland vegetable oil. Note that these olive oils have lost their flavor but not their high cost and often are twice the price of cheaper bland-tasting oils such as canola, which, by current nutritional standards, has a somewhat more desirable ratio of fats.
Tearless onions: cut them near a flame so the sulfur compounds will burn off before they irritate your eyes, the stove flame or a candle
Or create a physical barrier by wearing goggles.
Oregano, an herb whose name is derived from the Latin and Greek words meaning "joy of the mountains," has been used in cooking for more than 2,000 years. In that time, several varieties of the plant have been developed. Greek and Mexican oregano, two of the most widely used varieties, have distinctly different flavors and shouldn?t be interchanged in recipes. Greek oregano, is sweet and strong, and is an essential ingredient in numerous Mediterranean dishes. Mexican oregano has a pungent, herbaceous taste and blends well with the spicy hot dishes of the region. Mexican oregano is also often paired with cilantro in salsas and guacamole
Although we now associate paprika with Hungarian cooking, this bright red spice is native to the New World and was first brought to Europe by Columbus. The dried and powdered form of a red pepper called Capsicum annum, paprika was introduced in Hungary during the 16th century. Until the 19th century, the spice was always hot. At that time, Hungarian spice millers developed a process to remove the seeds and veins of the fiery red peppers. Because most of a pepper's heat is concentrated in the seeds and veins, the resulting paprika was "sweet." The intensity of the paprika could be controlled by removing some or all of the veins and seeds.
In recent years, much sweet paprika has been made from a mild red pepper hybrid that can be ground whole with the seeds and veins. Most of the sweet paprika sold in this country comes from this new pepper grown in Spain and California. But for paprika with superior flavor and character<97>whether it 's sweet or hot<97>we recommend brands imported from Hungary.
Paprika comes from the dried pods of the plant species Capsicum annuum L., which includes a broad spectrum of the pepper family, ranging from sweet bell peppers to hot chili peppers. There is no one paprika pepper, and as such potency, pungency, and flavor vary according to which peppers are used. There are two major types of paprika, hot and sweet, determined by what parts of the pepper are used. Sweet paprika is made mostly from peppers? mesocarp (fruit wall), while hot paprika is a product of the placenta (the white veins) and seeds. Some hot paprika is quite hot, with a flavor compared to chili powder or cayenne pepper. While some paprika is produced in the United States, the best paprika is thought to come from Hungary and Spain.
In the straight tasting, the Hungarian Sweet most impressed tasters, who liked the ?beautiful? red color and ?peppery, fruity? flavor. Close behind was the Spanish Sweet, praised for its ?smooth, slightly smoky? flavor and ?burnished goldy red ? color. Ranking at the bottom of our tasting was the Hungarian Hot, whose ?muddy orange? color and ?musty,? ?earthy? flavor led one taster to liken it to ?eating twigs.?
Those rankings stayed true in the Chicken Paprikash tasting, where Penzeys Hungarian Sweet emerged as the favorite, praised for its ?roasty,? ?bold,? and ?balanced? flavor. Runner-up Pendery's Spanish won kudos for its ?earthy? quality, rich flavor, and fruity notes. Tasters least liked the hot paprikas; the Szeged Hungarian Hot was deemed intense and slightly bitter, while the Basque Piment d?Espelette was so hot it overpowered the dish.
For dishes like Chicken Paprikash, where the paprika is the front and center, we like Hungarian Sweet to deliver the fullest flavor. Other sweet paprikas, like widely available supermarket favorite McCormick's, will work as well, but we don't recommend hot paprika, which can completely alter the flavor of your dish
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PENZEYS HUNGARIAN SWEET ?Bright red,? ?balanced.?
PENDERY's SPANISH SWEET ?Burnt umber,? ?nice round flavor.?
RECOMMENDED MCCORMICK (CALIFORNIA) ?Incredibly full-flavored,? ?a bit stale.?
NOT RECOMMENDED WHOLE FOODS ORGANIC (CALIFORNIA) ?Slightly pale,? ?uninteresting.?
BASQUE PIMENT D?ESPELETTE (SPAIN) ?One-dimensional,? ?too spicy.?
SZEGED HUNGARIAN HOT ?Rusty,? ?chemical tasting.?
Parmesan is a ?grana,? a hard, grainy cheese. The grana cheese category is composed mostly of Italian grating cheeses. Parmigiano-Reggiano is the most famous (and expensive) of the granas, and its manufacture dates back 800 years. Parmigiano-Reggiano has become an increasingly regulated product; in 1955 it became what is known as a certified name (not a brand name). Since that time the name has indicated that the cheese was made within a specific region of northern Italy and approved by a certifying consortium.
American cheese makers have been making Parmesan only since the beginning of the century and need not abide by any more stringent regulations than basic USDA standards. There is no lack of pregrated products, but only a handful of domestic Parmesans come in wedges.
Other granas considered Parmesan types are Grana Padano (from Italy) and Reggianito (from Argentina).
Rate the cheeses on the basics: aroma, flavor?particularly depth of flavor and saltiness versus sweetness? and overall texture. The Parmesans should also be left to sit on the tasters? tongues to see if they melt smoothly into creaminess in the mouth.
Parmigiano-Reggiano has a depth and complexity of flavor and a smooth, melting texture that none of the others could match. Parmigiano-Reggiano owes much of its flavor to the unpasteurized milk used to produce it, according to Radke. It is a ?controlled-district? cheese, which means not only that it must be made within the boundaries of this zone but also that the milk used to make it and even the grass, hay, and grain fed to the cows that make the milk must come from the district. Consequently, ?just like good wine, a lot of character comes from its soil and climate,? said Radke. This proved to be true in the tasting. None of the other cheeses had the sweet, nutty, creamy flavor that helped Parmigiano-Reggiano earn its high ratings.
Apart from these flavor differences, we also found that almost all of the cheeses in the tasting?except the Parmigiano-Reggiano?were extremely salty. In fact, Parmigiano-Reggiano contains about two-thirds less sodium than the other Parmesans. Radke believes this is because the wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano are so large that they do not become as saturated with salt during the brining process that is one of the final steps in making the cheese. (The average wheel is about 9 inches high, 16 to 18 inches in diameter, and weighs 75 to 90 pounds; domestic Parmesan wheels average 24 pounds.)
The low salt content of Parmigiano-Reggiano makes it more perishable than other cheeses once cut from the wheel. Once cut, the cheese will also begin to dry out. This was evident in the Parmigiano-Reggiano sample purchased at the grocery store. Tasters rated this a few tenths of a point lower than the sample purchased at the specialty cheese store because of a chalky finish. This drying effect was even more glaring with the chalky pregrated products, which received consistently poor ratings.
Another benefit of the larger wheel is that Parmigiano-Reggiano can age longer, said Radke. Parmigiano-Reggiano ages for about 24 months, while domestic Parmesan ages for about 10 months. The longer aging allows more complex flavors and aromas to develop.
The aging also makes a difference in texture, creating a distinctive component that tasters described as ?crystal crunch.? The crunch stems from proteins breaking down into free amino acid crystals during the latter half of the aging process. The crystals are visible, appearing as white dots in the cheese. No other Parmesan had this effect.
Other textural differences are created by the fact that the curds for Parmigiano-Reggiano are cut into fragments the size of wheat grains, which is much finer than the fragments created in the manufacture of domestic Parmesan. The benefit of smaller curds is that they drain more effectively, said Radke. Domestic Parmesans have to be mechanically pressed to get rid of excess moisture. The consequence, as our tasting panel discovered with the domestic Parmesans that were not pregrated, is a cheese that is much more dense. They characterized as it ?rubbery,? ?tough,? and ?squeaky.?
The tasting did not rule out all of the other Parmesans as completely unacceptable?just most. One scored well enough to be recommended. This was Wisconsin-made DiGiorno. So while there is a somewhat more affordable Parmesan option, the Parmigiano-Reggiano was in a class of its own. When added to a dish it acts as more than a seasoning; it can add a complex spectrum of flavor. And, as I found after learning that Italians commonly eat Parmigiano-Reggiano in chunks as a table food, it makes for a tempting snack while preparing a complementary meal.
Pasta is one of those things that is easy to cook, but hard to cook just right. For perfect pasta, you must pay attention to everything from the water-to-pasta ratio to the time between draining and saucing.
Pasta needs to cook in a fair amount of water, although not as much as many cookbooks specify. We recommend 2 quarts of water for up to 1/2 pound of pasta, 4 quarts for 1/2 to 1 pound of pasta, and 6 quarts for 1 to 2 pounds. If you are cooking more than 2 pounds of pasta, use two pots.
After the water comes to a full roiling boil, add salt (a generous 1 1/2 teaspoons per half pound of pasta; most of the salt will go down the drain with the cooking water) and then the pasta. Stir several times to separate the strands and, if necessary, bend long noodles to submerge them quickly. Use a spoon to push hot water over ends if needed, then cover the pot until the water just returns to a boil.
Begin tasting after four or five minutes, especially when preparing thin noodles like spaghettini. Keep checking the pasta every minute or so from then on. As soon as the noodles seem almost al dente?they should still have some chewiness, but the center should no longer be hard or gummy?remove the pot from the heat and drain the pasta. Because the pasta continues to cook after it is drained, you need to compensate by draining when it is a little underdone.
Never shake pasta bone dry. Instead, pour it into a colander, allow the cooking water to flow out, and then shake the pasta once or twice to remove excess liquid. The small amount of cooking water that remains on the pasta helps to spread the sauce and is especially useful when tossing pasta with relatively dry oil-based sauces.
While there are claims that adding salt to pasta water hastens the boiling point, the only discernable (yet important) effect was in contributing to flavor. Salt rounds out the flavors of the pasta. Whether sauced or plain, we advocate the use of 1 tablespoon of table salt, or 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, for 4 quarts of water and 1 pound of pasta.
Standard American brands are actually better than many pricey Italian imports. This was the surprising (and near-unanimous) conclusion of a Cook's Illustrated taste-test of eight leading brands of domestic and imported spaghetti.
?Fifteen years ago, Italian pasta was better than most of the small, regional brands made in this country,? says C. Mickey Skinner, president of the Hershey Pasta Group, which makes Ronzoni and several other top brands. ?Consolidation in the American pasta business has allowed manufacturers to spend the money needed to upgrade equipment and improve the quality of raw materials.? Skinner notes that most of the domestic pasta business is now controlled by a few food giants who can afford the best high-tech European machinery.
In both Italy and the United States, dried pastas are now produced in factories using very similar manufacturing techniques. The flour and water are kneaded together to form a smooth dough, then mechanically forced through dies (usually made of brass) to form the pasta's shape. Once extruded, the pasta is placed on racks in drying ovens. The length of drying time is key to a good-quality product. If too much moisture remains in the pasta it may spoil; if too little moisture is retained the pasta becomes brittle and breaks easily.
As for the ingredients, they still come from different sources. Italians rely on European durum wheat ? the hard variety that is milled to make semolina ? from Italy and France. American companies use North American durum grown in North Dakota and neighboring areas of Canada. Skinner says American pasta companies now use the finest quality durum in the world. This was not always the case. In the 1970s, largely in response to the increasing American appetite for pasta, North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo launched a program to boost the quality of the local wheat. ?The key to good dried pasta is flour with strong gluten characteristics,? says Jim Jacobs, technical director of the Northern Crops Institute at NDSU. ?When dried pasta is thrown into boiling water, the starch in the flour starts to swell. If there is not enough gluten or if the gluten is very weak, it cannot contain the swelling starch. The starch leaches into the cooking water or onto the surface of the pasta, which makes the cooked noodles taste gummy and starchy.?
Jacobs explains that if pasta contains enough high-quality gluten, the gluten expands and encases the swelling starch molecules in the center of the noodle. The result is firm pasta that does not taste starchy. In addition, strong gluten increases the rigidity of the protein structure in the flour; stronger proteins mean firmer cooked noodles.
?The big push to improve quality,? Jacobs recalls, occurred during the past decade. Most North Dakota farmers now plant newly developed varieties with strong gluten profiles. ?Overall quality is at a very high point and we are making only minor modifications to the gene pool,? he stresses. Along with new equipment from Europe (such as high-temperature dryers that remove water more rapidly than old devices), Jacobs credits better American wheat for better pasta.
Texture criteria included a significant degree of ?chewiness? or ?good bite.? Panelists noted if strands maintained the integrity of their shape and whether they exhibited proper elasticity. As for taste, testers were looking for a mild yet detectable wheat flavor and perhaps a slight, nutlike aroma. Tasters cleansed their palates with bottled water between samples.
The top-ranked pasta, one listed as a favorite by every tester, was Ronzoni, a midpriced ($1.19 per pound) American brand manufactured by the Hershey Foods Company. Along with Ronzoni, Hershey Pasta Group brands include American Beauty, Delmonico, Perfection, P & R, San Giorgio, and Skinner. Hershey Foods and Borden, Inc. (which manufactures Creamette, our fourth-placed spaghetti, as well as Prince, R & F, and Anthony brands), control more than three-quarters of the domestic pasta market with their various regional brands.
American-made Mueller's (the least expensive pasta sampled, at $.79), and De Cecco, the best-selling Italian import ($1.69) tied for second in the rankings, suggesting that low price does not signify poor quality. Creamette and Contadina della Casa Buitoni followed closely in fourth and fifth places, as did Barilla, the best-selling pasta in Italy. Note the precipitous drop-off after sixth place. Delverde, a highly respected import used in many restaurants, and Martelli (an artisanal pasta that costs a whopping $4.29) both showed quite poorly in the tasting.
Cook's illustrated liked barilla's the best.
The first few steps in making any type of peanut butter are essentially the same. Raw, shelled peanuts are roasted, cooled by industrial-strength suction fans, skinned, and ground. After being ground, natural peanut butters are immediately jarred and shipped.
When emulsified peanut butters are made, the peanuts are ground once more, this time with salt, sweeteners, and hydrogenated stabilizers. During this grinding, the stabilizers trap the oil that is extracted from the peanuts in what scientists call a beta-prime polymorph. In layman's terms, this is a lattice-like structure that holds the peanut oil in its weave, suspending it throughout the creamed mass and protecting it from exposure to oxygen, which is the cause of rancidity. This is why hydrogenated peanut butters have a longer shelf life than natural peanut butters.
Mixing the oil and solids of natural peanut (or any other nut) butter each time you want to eat some is not only a nuisance but can also make quite a mess as oil splashes out of the narrow jar when you stir. An alternative is to scrape the contents of the jar into a wide food storage container (such as Tupperware) and then mixes very well. The extra space allows for mixing without splashing oil, and mixing vigorously and completely will keep the oil and butter blended.
Fans of natural peanut butter, tahini, and other natural nut butters know that the butter often separates into a dense, solid mass beneath a layer of oil that has risen to the surface. Before spreading, the oil and the solids have to be reblended, which is often a difficult, messy task. Skip the mixing step by turning the sealed jar upside down until the oil once again rose to the top. Flip the jar right side up again, and the butter is ready to spread.
In Cook's taste test, for eating raw: reese's creamy, jif, creamy, skippy creamy, simply jif creamy, teddie smooth old fashioneod, peter pan creamy, smucker's natural creamy, freshly ground from natural food store. For a peanut sauce: skippy, jif, teddie , simply jif, freshly ground, peter pan, reese's, smuckers. For a cookie: skippy, freshly ground, teddie, jif, simply jif, smucker's/reeses, peter pan. Overall favorite: skippy.
Pears are an uncommon type of fruit that do not ripen successfully on the tree. They must be harvested at maturity, but before they ripen, lest their texture turn gritty and granular. This explains why virtually all pears at the grocery store are more like pet rocks than edible fruit. To ripen pears store don't store them in the fridge. Pears stored in a paper bag or just on the counter at room temperature will ripen at the same rate.
Potato starch, also called potato flour, is a gluten-free flour made from cooked, dried, and ground potatoes. In baking it produces a very soft crumb, and it is often used as a thickener (i.e. in peach pie)
Properly handled, canned pumpkin works quite well in pies, but you may be curious to start with fresh. Having tried virtually every conceivable method of preparing fresh pumpkin, I have concluded that the following one works best: First, choose one of the smaller pumpkins, sometimes called sugar pumpkins, which are firmer, meatier, and sweeter than those grown for jack-o?-lanterns. Split the pumpkin in half (or in quarters, if it is very large), carve out the stem, and scrape out the seeds and stringy bits. Next, arrange the pumpkin with the rind side down on a lightly oiled roasting pan, cover it tightly with foil, and bake at 325 degrees for 75 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 30 to 45 minutes longer, or until the flesh is extremely soft and yields hardly any moisture when pressed firmly with the back of a spoon. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh free of the rind and mash it to a pulp. An ordinary whisk will serve here; you will be pureeing the pulp when you make the pie, so it isn?t necessary to use a food processor at this point. Line a colander with a triple thickness of cheesecloth that has been rinsed in very hot water and thoroughly wrung out. Turn the pumpkin into the colander, wrap the protruding ends of the cheesecloth over the top, and cover with a cake pan topped with a five-pound weight. Put the colander in the sink and let the pumpkin drain for one hour. You will need at least four pounds of fresh pumpkin (and I?d recommend five or even six pounds, just to be safe) to make one pound of stewed, mashed, and drained puree.
Also see berries.
June and September are the two peaks for the domestic raspberry crop, of which the majority comes from the Pacific Northwest, Michigan, and New York. But due to climate-controlled packaging and quick transportation, some berries are now exported to the United States during our winter months from countries such as Chile and New Zealand (where, below the equator, it is summer)
Most frozen raspberries are tastier than out of season fruit, although some are better than others. Unless you have access to high-quality local berries, reach for frozen fruit. It's good news for your palate and your wallet, as frozen berries cost about half as much as fresh. Cook's illustrated liked best (in order of preference): 365, cascadian farm, big valley, and disliked (in order of preference), trader joe's, wyman's, driscoll's fresh.
Until fairly recently, if you left wine to stand, the ubiquitous airborne bacterial called acetobacter turned it to vinegar. Today, winemakers commonly use sulfites or other preservatives to inhibit bacterial growth. Red wine, which usually has fewer sulfites than white, is more easily cultured; But unless you're using organic wine with no added sulfites, an active bacterial culture must be added to wine in order to make vinegar.
After letting wine and a starter stand, with just a cheesecloth to cover, for about 2 weeks to two months, a moldlike film will form on the surface of the liquid. This is the beginning of the mother, the large, slimy substance that forms on top of developing vinegar. Within a few more weeks it will thicken, and the liquid will begin to smell more like vinegar that like wine. At this point the vinegar can be bottled (after removing the mother). For best storage fill the bottles as full as possible, to exclude oxygen. Use non-metal caps, as metal will erode. Letting the bottles age for a few months will mellow the sharpness and allow the flavors to become more complex. The mother can be used as a starter for another batch of vinegar.
The word vinegar comes from the French vin aigre, or "sour wine." Its history stretches back more than ten thousand years, and one can reasonably assume its initial appearance on the scene was accidental. A quantity of open wine was simply left uncovered and unattended long enough to ferment and the result was the first crude version of vinegar.
Wine vinegars are produced from the acetic fermentation of wine. Although any wine (champagne, varietals, fortified wines such as sherry) may be used to make vinegar it is important to bear in mind that the finer the wine used, the more flavorful the vinegar. A good red wine vinegar should at least give a strong hint of the wine from which it was made and also reflect an appropriate mellowness.
During fermentation, acetic acid develops as a result of the bacteria in the "mother" attacking the alcohol in the wine and oxidizing it into oblivion. Most vinegar labels indicate the "strength," or amount of acetic acid present, in much the same way that alcohol levels are noted on wine labels. This is shown either by percentage or by "grain"; the higher the number, the stronger the vinegar. The minimum acidity level for commercial vinegars is 4 percent but most fall into the 5?7 percent range. A milder 5 percent?or five-grain?red wine vinegar (such as most domestic supermarket brands) contains less acid than a 7 percent or seven-grain variety (including many imported brands).
As a general rule of thumb, the higher quality, more costly vinegars have a higher acidity level; less expensive and/or presumably less flavorful ones are apt to have a lower one. Strength and a pleasantly developed full flavor are not necessarily synonymous, however.
All vinegar is made by a double fermentation process. During the initial fermentation, sugar in the wine or other liquid is converted into alcohol; during the second phase, bacteria called acetobacters convert the alcohol into acetic acid.
Commercial vinegar producers use three distinct fermentation methods to produce their vinegars. Experts agree that the Orleans method, named for the French port city on the Loire River where it originated, produces the most complex, flavorful vinegars.
In this lengthy and costly procedure, wine is slowly and naturally fermented in oak barrels for one to three months without heat, until a sticky-skinned mass of bacteria known as the "mother" forms on the surface. The fermentation process is then allowed to continue until all alcohol has been converted to acetic acid.
The second method ? called the "quick process" method ? is faster and therefore less expensive. Wine trickles slowly into a heated tank that is loosely filled with wood shaving or chips, charcoal, or corncobs. As the bacteria in these materials begins to act on the wine, a circulating generator blows air up from the bottom of the tank, exposing the liquid to the maximum amount of oxygen. After about one week of this treatment, the mother will have completely digested the alcohol in the wine, a signal that fermentation is complete.
Since the temperature in the fermentation tank is artificially maintained at about 100 degrees during the quick process, some of the wine's delicate flavors may dissipate. To compensate for this, vinegars made in this fashion are usually aged in wood for several weeks at the end of their production cycle.
The most rapid and least costly method is the continuous or "submerged fermentation" process. Most vinegar manufactured in the United States by high-volume producers is made in this way, including the Heinz vinegar that placed first in our testing. In this method, wine and acetobacter microorganisms are processed in large-capacity stainless-steel tanks in which a giant spindle or propellor agitates the liquid, aerating it for a speedy fermentation period of around 24 hours, at up to 100 degrees. The resulting vinegar is aged for several months in wood tanks, but the aging tanks hold several thousand gallons as opposed to the 50-gallon or less tanks or barrels used in the other two processes.
To complete any of the three processes, most vinegars are filtered or pasteurized prior to sale. This is done to remove any remaining vestiges of the mother, to curtail further bacterial activity, and to preserve the vinegar's strength and quality of flavor. Some inexpensive brands may also use sulfites for the same purpose.
1 Heinz Gourmet Fine Wine Vinegar (United States), 12 ounces, $1.69; 5 percent acidity; 21 points. Surprisingly, the top-ranked vinegar turned out to be an unsophisticated American supermarket staple that tasted ?familiar.? Clarity of color and flavor were singled out as positives. A clear, rich pink vinegar with a mild, faintly fruity aroma tinged with a hint of strawberry. Pleasant, well-balanced, clean taste. Responsiveness to low acidity may have been a factor in high scores. A dissenting taster found the flavor ?thin.? Made from ?grape wine? diluted with water to 5 percent acidity. Sulphur dioxide added ?to protect color.? Quite inexpensive and definitely worth trying. Widely available.
2 * L?Estornell Garnacha Tinto Fine Wine Vinegar (Spain), 12.7 ounces, $7.95; 5 percent acidity; 17 points. A low-acidity vinegar tied for second-place honors. It's worth noting that tasters? comments verged on the euphoric in some instances, with one scribbling ?I think I?m in love!? This vinegar is the color of a burgundy or a tawny port with drifts of very visible sediment. A pronounced medicinal alcohol aroma was not judged unpleasant but the contrast between the aroma and taste universally surprised tasters. A delicious, smooth, almost portlike taste that ?smacked? of berries and/or dried fruits also hinted at wood. This vinegar, introduced in the States two years ago, is made in Catalonia by the Orleans method from 100 percent garnacha tinto grapes, aged for nine months, and bottled in Sarroca de Lerida near Barcelona on the 200-year-old estate of the Vea family, which also produces organic and extra virgin olive oils. Selected specialty food stores.
3 Paul Corcellet Red Wine Vinegar (France), 8.5 ounces, $4.25; 7 percent acidity; 17 points. Tied for second place, this vinegar is cloudy and brownish with a pronounced sweet berry aroma; praised for a mellow and complex fruity flavor that suggested to several tasters it had been aged longer than the others. Widely available in specialty food stores.
4 Maison Martin Pouret Bordeaux Wine Vinegar (France), 6.9 ounces, $6.39; 7.5 percent acidity; 13 points. Cloudy garnet color with a full, fruity aroma; berrylike bouquet with hints of raspberry. Sweet, rather lively taste with overt fruit flavor tinged with a mellow hint of age. Manufactured in Orleans using the city's namesake method, made from wine ?usually from the Loire Valley,? and aged in oak for six months. Maitre vinaigrier Jean Francois Martin's family founded the firm in 1797; today it makes 14 kinds of vinegar. Specialty food stores.
5 Regina Red Wine Vinegar (United States), 12 ounces, $1.69; diluted with water to 5 percent acidity; 12 points. Very clear, light ruby-red color with an unpleasantly sharp, almost sour, stinging aroma with hints of fruit. Weak, flat, and thin taste with an unpleasant sharp edge. Tasters who disliked this vinegar loathed it but several others found the taste clean. Made from ?100 percent California wine? by a division of Nabisco Brands, Inc.; sulfur dioxide added ?to protect color.? Widely available.
6 Badia a Coltibuono Aceto di Vino (Italy), 16.9 ounces, $20; 7 percent acidity; 9 points. Clear, tawny, pinkish copper color with an offbeat, musty, slightly unpleasant aroma also described as astringently sharp; a hint of fruit. Although its raspberry overtones were viewed as positive, overall tasters found the flavor flat; one found it lip-puckering. Produced in the heart of Tuscany's Chianti Classico region. Aged for three years in oak barrels. Selected specialty food stores.
7* Marcel Recorbet Red Wine Vinegar (France), 8.5 ounces, $2.99; 7 percent acidity; 8 points. Opinions quite divided. Cloudy, heavily sedimented, and golden brown in color with an interesting sherry or molasseslike nose. Favorable responses focused on a mild, rich, complex taste described as honest by one taster; those who disliked the vinegar found it overly acidic. Selected specialty food stores.
8 Spice Islands Premium Red Gourmet Red Wine Vinegar (United States), 12.7 ounces, $2.89; 5 percent acidity; 8 points. Mixed response. Slightly cloudy, brown color with glints of red. An off-putting, faintly sour aroma variously described as musky, brackish, and woody. Disliked by those who felt it tasted the way it smelled, with discomfitingly acidic high notes; those who liked it found it smooth and unambiguously mellow. Sulfites added; water listed as second ingredient. Widely available.
9 Dessaux Pure Wine Vinegar (France), 25.25 ounces, $4.10; 7 percent acidity; 6 points. A cloudy, murky-looking pale brown vinegar with a very unpleasant, musty, rotten aroma likened to a barnyard smell. Unbalanced, acidic taste matched aroma; taste closer to that of a cider vinegar. Made in Dijon. Widely available in specialty food stores and some supermarkets.
10 Colavita Aged Red Wine Vinegar (Italy), 16.9 ounces, $1.98; 6 percent acidity; 4 points. Clear, vivid Kool-Aid pink with a hint of brown and an overtly alcoholic, chemical aroma. Astringent and sour tasting, but a bit fruity and with a touch of flavorful depth suggestive of a California Rosé. Contains sulfites. Widely available.
* Indicates that the vinegar was tied with the one listed directly above.
Red wine vinegar has an unmistakably zesty flavor, which is the reason why many restaurant chefs are rediscovering it. ?Red wine vinegar is underappreciated; Balsamic vinegar is sometimes too sweet to work with. Red vinegar is better when you want that sharpness.
The source of that notable edge you taste when sampling any red wine vinegar is acetic acid, the chief flavor component in all vinegar and the byproduct of the bacterium Acetobacter aceti, which feeds on the alcohol in wine. The process of converting red wine to vinegar once took months, if not years, but now, with the help of an acetator, a machine that speeds up the metabolism of the Acetobacter aceti, red wine vinegar can be made in less than 24 hours.
Does this faster, cheaper method?the one used to make most supermarket brands?produce inferior red wine vinegar? Or is this a case in which modern technology trumps Old World craftsmanship, which is still employed by makers of the more expensive red wine vinegars? To find out, we included in our tasting vinegars made using the fast process (acetator) and the slow process (often called the Orleans method, after the city in France where it was developed).
Tasters preferred sweet and fruity vinegars that were ?full-bodied.? Vinegars that were overly acidic or found lacking in grape flavor were panned. Although acetic acid is the predominant source of flavor in red wine vinegar, other factors contribute to overall taste. One is the quality of the red wine used to make it. According to Lawrence Diggs, founder of the International Vinegar Museum in Roslyn, S.D., no single grape variety is thought to make the best red wine vinegar. Still, we were curious to find out if our tasters were unwittingly fond of vinegars made from the same grape. We sent the vinegars to a food lab for an anthocyanin pigment profile, a test that can detect the 10 common pigments found in red grapes. Although the lab was unable to distinguish specific grape varieties (Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and the like), it did give us some interesting information: Some of the vinegars weren?t made with wine grapes (known as Vitus vinifera) but with less expensive Concord-type grapes, the kind used to make Welch's grape juice.
Did the vinegars made with ?juice grapes? fare poorly, as experts might expect? Far from it. The taste-test results were both shocking and unambiguous: Concord-type grapes not only do just fine when it comes to making vinegar, they may be a key element in the success of the top-rated brands in our tasting. Spectrum, our overall supermarket winner, is made from a mix of wine grapes and Concord grapes. Pompeian, which came in second in the supermarket vinegar trials, is made entirely of Concord-type grapes.
Experts also point to the aging process as contributing heavily to the flavor of fine red wine vinegar. ?O? Zinfandel, our overall winner among gourmet brands (see ?Gourmet Red Wine Vinegars?), is aged as is Pompeian, one of the cheapest supermarket vinegars. The makers of Spectrum, however, take a different approach. Spectrum isn?t aged for even one minute, although the red wine used to make the vinegar is aged.
At this point we had discovered that the difference between a good product and a mediocre one was neither wine grapes nor the aging of the vinegar. Could it have something to do with the way the acetic acid is developed?
The Orleans method was the first commercial method used to make red wine vinegar and remains the preferred technique for makers of specialty vinegars. It involves adding a small amount of vinegar containing the ?mother? bacteria to a wooden cask filled with red wine and waiting for them to do their work. The wine converts to acetic acid within a few months. The vinegar is then siphoned to another barrel for aging.
?O? Zinfandel, which is 2½ years in the making, uses the Orleans method. Manufacturers that mass-produce vinegar generally prefer not to use the Orleans method because it's slow and expensive. Spectrum red wine vinegar is produced with the Orleans method, however, and we thought this might account for its high scores. Then we thought again. Pompeian, another top performer, is made in an acetator, in which the red wine is converted to vinegar in less than 24 hours.
What, then, can explain why Spectrum and Pompeian won the supermarket tasting and ?O? Zinfandel beat the other gourmet vinegars? Oddly enough for a food that defines sourness, the answer seems to lie in its sweetness. It turns out that Americans like their vinegar sweet.
The production of Spectrum is outsourced to a small manufacturer in Modena, Italy, that makes generous use of the Trebbiano grape, the same grape used to make balsamic vinegar. The Trebbiano, which is a white wine grape, gives Spectrum the sweetness our tasters admired. ?O? Zinfandel contains a surprising ingredient?fresh Bing cherry juice?which is added at the two-year mark; the mixture is then aged for another six months. The final product tastes rich, complex, and, needless to say, sweet. Pompeian vinegar is finished off with a touch of sherry vinegar, added to give the red vinegar a more fruity, well-rounded flavor. Also significant to our results may be the fact that both Spectrum and Pompeian start with wines containing sweet Concord grapes.
In the end, the disparity between the best-tasting supermarket vinegars and the middle of the pack was not overwhelming. More significant was the performance of the supermarket champions in the gourmet round; both Spectrum and Pompeian bested gourmet competitors that cost up to eight times as much. Which vinegar should you buy? The answer comes faster than it takes an acetator to convert red wine into vinegar: Skip the specialty shop and head to the supermarket.
highly recommended spectrum naturals organic red wine vinegar pompeian red wine vinegar
recommended eden selected red wine vinegar whole foods red wine vinegar star red wine vinegar heinz gourmet four monks recommended with reserations colavita aged progresso gourmet quality regina
Brown rice can be classed as either long, medium, or short grain. Long grain rice is about four times as long as it is wide. Medium grain rice is twice as long as it is wide. Short grain rice is round. In general, long grain rice cooks up fluffy and separate, while medium and short grain rices tend to cling or become starchy. This is due to the ratio of the two main starches in rice, amylose and amylopectin.
Long grain rice contains between 23 and 26 percent amylose, the starch that does not gelatinize during cooking. With such a high amylose content, properly cooked long grain rice remains dry and separate. Medium grain has an average amylose content between 18 and 26 percent and short grain falls between 15 and 20 percent. As these numbers indicate, individual lots of rice will behave differently and my tests with brands from different health food stores proved this. I found medium grain a favorite for salads, where I want some starchiness but not too much. When making pilafs, I prefer long grain rice, especially brown basmati, because individual grains cook up separately.
The best rhubarb stalks are deeply colored in shades of red and pink and are firm to the touch, not flimsy. Peeling is superfluous; crisp, medium-sized stalks (about the size of a regular celery stalk) are not improved by peeling. Peeling also removes the lovely blush color from the stalks. Do cut away the leaves, however.
Deeply colored stalks invariably possess deeper flavor (an observation supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture). Mature rhubarb, which has been left in the ground too long before being harvested, is likely to be tough and stringy?even peeling didn't improve the sinewy stalks. In fact, we found peeling to be superfluous; crisp, medium-sized stalks?about the size of a regular celery stalk?were not improved by peeling. Peeling also removes the lovely blush color from the stalks.
Like other grains, rice kernels are protected by inedible hulls. These straw-colored coverings are removed mechanically when ?rough rice,? the term used to describe just-harvested grain, passes through a sheller. When the outer bran layers are left intact, the grain is called brown rice. Rice can be processed in a milling machine that removes bran layers by rubbing the grains together. The remaining starchy endosperm is polished and sold as white rice. Although brown rice contains twice the fiber of white rice, there is still not all that much ? only about half a gram per cup of cooked rice. Brown rice also contains slightly more protein, as well as two to three times more vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus, than white rice. Brown rice has volatile bran oils which have been linked to cholesterol reduction in humans. Because these oils can oxidize, brown rice should be purchased in small quantities (as much as you will use in a couple months) and/or stored in the refrigerator. Brown rice may contain numerous immature green or broken kernels. Although there is nothing wrong with green or broken grains, they will cook differently and can give a finished dish an uneven texture. Therefore, buy brown rice in clear packages or in bulk from bins and make sure that there are few imperfect grains. Top processors limit immature or broken kernels to less than 4 percent.
For the noodle soups, there are two excellent kinds of rice noodles, and their names are often used interchangeably. Rice vermicelli is a long, translucent, hair-like noodle; the other variety of rice noodle we use is also translucent, but is flat, like fettuccine. Both are sold in Asian markets and increasingly in supermarkets and natural food stores.
The dried stigmas of the flower of the saffron crocus. The crocuses are grown in most Mediterranean countries, in China, and even in Pennsylvania, and the saffron is harvested by hand. Each flower produces only three stigmas, or threads, which means that about one-quarter of a million flowers are needed to produce one full pound of saffron. Needless to say, saffron is exceedingly expensive. Luckily, a little goes a long way. Good saffron should not be more than a year old, and the threads should be a bright orange/red color?not yellow, bleached, or with white streaks. Saffron should have an intense perfume and taste of honey. Your local supermarket is unlikely to carry good-quality, well-kept saffron threads; the best come from specialty shops. And remember, cheap saffron does not exist, so beware any bargains. A gram can run you $5 to $10, depending on quality.
Known as the world<92>s most expensive spice, saffron is a subject of confusion and mislabeling in stores. More than 70& #44;000 hand-picked flower stamens go into every pound, which accounts for saffron <92>s astronomical cost. Luckily, a little saffron goes a long way. While many supermarkets carry tiny vials of saffron, the origin and quality are often suspect. You should also avoid powdered saffron, which is sometimes adulterated with turmeric. We recommend that you buy real saffron from a reputable gourmet store or spice dealer.
Kosher salt is a coarse, flaked salt with no additives and is so named for its use in the preparation of meat according to the requirements of Jewish dietary guidelines.
Many cooks prefer kosher salt for its clean flavor, as it lacks the iodine and other additives found in standard table salt. Its coarse texture is both aesthetically pleasing and functional, particularly in curing meats; the large surface area of its crystals allows it to dissolve more readily than table salt.
Because each large crystal of kosher salt takes up more room than a small crystal of table salt, more kosher salt must be used to get the same salty effect. If substituting kosher salt for table salt in specific recipes, increase the measurement by 30 to 50 percent. Kosher salt is available in most supermarkets, usually in large boxes. Morton and Diamond Crystal are two common brands.
Kosher salt is mined salt, not sea salt, as is sometimes believed. It has a large, coarse grain and is additive-free (additives make table salt free-flowing). The size of kosher salt grains makes it easy to pinch them between your fingers to sprinkle on foods, whereas the tiny grains of table salt are easier to shake from a shaker. From brand to brand, kosher salts differ in their weights and volumes, but in general, if substituting kosher salt for table salt, use about 30 to 50 percent more kosher salt than table salt.
While supermarket shelves are chockablock with numerous varieties of salt, our tasting showed that in most instances there<92>s not much difference between them all. For salt that<92>s sprinkled on foods at the table, however, tasters preferred the coarser texture of sea salts over everyday table salt. Maldon Sea Salt, which is hand-harvested on the southeastern coast of England, received high marks. Its uniquely jagged shape contributed crunchy texture to the foods tested. Tasters also appreciated the other top-shelf salts tested, including Fleur de Sel de Camargue, Celtic Light Grey Sea Salt, and Esprit du Sel de Île de Ré.
Salt is either mined from ancient seas that dried up millions of years ago or obtained by evaporating seawater. In their pure form?sodium chloride?salts from both locations taste the same. What distinguishes one salt from another in color and flavor are the type and amount of minerals (such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium) and/or clays attached to the crystals of sodium chloride. The size and texture of the crystals?whether big flakes, irregularly shaped large grains, or regularly shaped small grains?are largely determined by the way the salt is processed.
What is referred to as sea salt is obtained from seawater held in large, shallow ponds or large pans. As the water evaporates, coarse crystals of salt fall to the bottom. The crystals are then collected by raking. Maldon sea salt is made from seawater that is artificially heated. This process produces relatively large flakes. The white fleur de sel, or ?flower of salt,? is harvested by skimming off the thin film of salt that forms on the surface of the pans. As a result, it is extremely expensive. (The brand we tested costs $36 a pound.) Table salt is usually obtained by pumping water into an underground salt deposit to dissolve the salt, pumping the brine to the surface, settling impurities, and vacuum-evaporating the clear brine. Rapid vacuum evaporation yields the tiny, regularly shaped grains that fit through the holes in a salt shaker. Some table salt is taken from the sea and then processed by vacuum evaporation to yield small crystals.
Kosher salt can be mined or harvested from the sea. Processing is designed to produce coarse, irregular crystals that will cling to meat for the purpose of koshering, in which the salt is applied to draw blood and juices out of just-butchered meats. Kosher salt is manufactured under rabbinical supervision, which, along with the large size of the crystals, is what distinguishes kosher salt from most other salts, especially table salt. Unlike kosher salt and sea salt, most table salts contain additives. Iodized table salt contains potassium iodide, which protects against thyroid disease. Dextrose may be added to help stabilize the iodine, and calcium silicate or one of several other drying agents are often added to prevent caking. Many chefs claim these additives can impart an off flavor.
Flat crystals or crystals with holes cause a taste sensation different from that of regularly shaped small crystals. And, based on our testing results, it's clear that large crystals provided more pleasing sensory stimulation than fine table salt. In fact, tasters really objected to fine salts sprinkled on the beef, calling them ?harsh? and ?sharp.? Tasters did like kosher salt on meat, but not as much as sea salts, which have larger crystals. Does this mean that our tasters were reacting to the additives in table salt that the chefs had warned us about? It's possible, but given the results in our other tests, we are not convinced. In fact, the one fine-grained sea salt in our tasting (La Baleine) finished next-to-last in this test, and it does not contain any additives. It's hard to sprinkle fine-grained sea or table salt evenly over meat, and we think tasters may have been hitting pockets with a lot of salt and reacting negatively. In the biscuit tests, Morton table salt was the winner, and most of the sea salts landed at the bottom of the ratings. The explanation here is simple. Small salt crystals are more evenly distributed in baked goods than large crystals, and tasters didn't like getting a big hit of crunchy salt. In the spring water, chicken stock, and pasta cooking water, tasters felt that all nine salts tasted pretty much the same. Why didn't the fancy sea salts beat the pants off plain table salt in these tests? The main reason is dilution. Yes, sea salts sampled right from the box (or sprinkled on meat at the table) did taste better than table salt. And while crystal size did undoubtedly affect flavor perception in the tenderloin test, we suspect that our tasters were also responding favorably to trace minerals in these salts. But mineral content is so low in sea salt (by weight, less than 1 percent; see ?What about Those Minerals?? on page 26) that any effect these minerals might have on flavor was lost when a teaspoon of salt was stirred into a big pot of chicken stock. One final (and very important) point. Our results should not be taken to mean that all salts behave in the same way in the kitchen. For example, salts with a fine texture may seem saltier than coarse salts because of the way the crystals pack down in a teaspoon when measured (see Kitchen Notes on page 30 for more information). What, then, can we conclude from the results of these tests? For one, expensive sea salts are best saved for the table, where their delicate flavor and great crunch can be appreciated. don't waste $36-a-pound sea salt by sprinkling it into a simmering stew. If you like to keep coarse salt in a ramekin next to the stove, choose a kosher salt, which costs just pennies per pound. If you measure salt by the teaspoon when cooking, use table salt, which is also the best choice for baking.
Asian sesame oil is a dark-colored, thick oil with a rich, nutty flavor. Made from toasted or roasted pressed white sesame seeds, it is typically used to flavor stir-fried and sautéed foods but is not usually used for frying because of its low burning point.
All soy sauces are long-lasting and, with proper storage, will remain usable for a year or more after opening. The subtle bean aroma of light-colored versions is more likely to fade slightly several months after opening, so purchase these in smaller bottles. Once opened, tightly cap bottles and store in the refrigerator or in a cool, dark place.
A well-made soy sauce has not one but a colorful range of culinary faces. In a dipping sauce it can provide a quick, bright flavor hit that dances off the food it coats. In a braise its presence might be more surreptitious, an underbelly of flavor nuances. In whatever application, when it is good, its flavors should resonate the way sound does from a gong struck by a padded hammer. There should be a beginning, a middle, and an end, none of them clashing.
Soy sauce is a complex seasoning with an ancient history. Originating more than 2,500 years ago in China, it was first used as a preservative and quickly moved on to become a flavoring. In the seventh century Buddhist priests introduced it to Japan as a replacement for meat- and fish-based seasonings. Over the centuries, it has become one of the defining flavors of both cuisines.
Like wine, soy sauce consists of simple ingredients transformed by the process of fermentation. The process typically begins when a blend of soybeans and roasted wheat is inoculated with a mold called Aspergillus. The mixture matures in vats for three days, long enough for a culture known as koji to develop. The culture is then transferred to fermentation tanks where it is mixed with salt and water to produce a liquidy mash. The mash ferments, or ?brews,? for as little as several months or as long as several years. The liquid element of the fermented mash is then filtered out and bottled up as soy sauce. The fermentation process produces literally hundreds of new compounds with complex flavors.
At least that is true of soy sauces made in the traditional way, as just described. As you might suspect, however, there are many soy sauce producers that shortcut this age-old process. The label on some soy sauces states that they are ?naturally brewed? or ?traditionally brewed.? Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration sets no standards for such labels, so they can mean anything. But you can detect synthetically brewed soy sauces?the kind that can be produced in less than a week's time?by reading the label. In the making of these sauces, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (versus whole soybeans) and hydrochloric acid are boiled together for 15 to 20 hours. Caramel, salt, and corn syrup are typically added for coloring and flavor. So you can easily identify this type of soy sauce by looking for hydrolyzed vegetable protein on the label's ingredient list.
Although soy sauce originated in China, most of the soy sauces found on U.S. store shelves are from Japan or are made Japanese-style in the United States. Sometimes called shoyu, they are typically brown-amber in color. They have a relatively thin consistency and are considered to be sweeter and brighter in flavor than the Chinese versions because they are made with a higher proportion of wheat. Chinese soy sauces, which tend to be very dark, lend a deeper, richer color to a dish. They also tend to have more full-bodied flavor, though some can be as light as Japanese-style soy sauces. The synthetic soy sauces on the market typically have Chinese-sounding names, such as La Choy, and are dark in color but otherwise unrepresentative of Chinese soy sauces.
Tamari is a Japanese soy sauce that tends to confuse many consumers?and rightfully so. By definition, it contains no wheat, but many products that call themselves ?tamari? do contain wheat. In general, tamari tends to be richer and stronger in flavor than other Japanese soy sauces. So it is generally better used in braises or other cooking applications than served as is.
In general, the soy sauces that did well in our tasting were pleasingly distinct and balanced in flavor. They were neither overpowering nor blasé. Saltiness was acceptable so long as this was not the only personality trait. All of the soy sauces that were disliked in the plain tasting failed to gain approval in the stir-fry test. Not all of the soy sauces recommended performed consistently in both tastings. The clear favorite, however, an organic soy sauce by Eden Foods, was remarkably consistent.
It was interesting to find out that the winner, Eden Selected Shoyu Soy Sauce, which is made in Japan, is brewed outdoors in cedar vats for about three years so that the fermenting soy sauce is subjected to seasonal changes in temperature. Sally Gralla, a spokesperson for Eden Foods, explained that most soy sauces are brewed indoors in steel tanks for a shorter period of time, about one year.
According to Dr. Daniel Y. C. Fung, professor of food science at Kansas State University, the amount of time a soy sauce is given to ferment can be a contributing factor to its palatability. But that's not everything. Wheat and soybeans are very complex food systems, he says. When bacteria, yeast, and mold start growing, they produce a large variety of compounds that will create a great diversity of flavors. The grade of wheat or soybean, the type or quality of mold starter, the temperature at which the wheat is roasted, the amount of salt used in the brine, the amount of air let into the vats during aging...all can affect the fine balance of flavors in soy sauce. ?It is a science as well as an art to make soy sauce,? says Fung. ?Much like winemaking.?
All of the above can also contribute to the ability of the sauce to retain flavor during cooking (or, as we found with many soy sauces, the inability to retain flavor). At the heart of soy sauce flavor are amino acid compounds, some of which are volatile. These are the compounds that give the sauce its aroma, says Dr. Ronald Schmidt, professor of food science at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Add heat to the mix, and these aromatic compounds quickly dissipate. Depending on the soy sauce, this can significantly reduce the taste experience?which tasters actually found to be advantageous with the particularly awful-tasting products.
Finally, it was no surprise that the one synthetic soy sauce in the tasting ranked miserably low.
Ranking: Eden Selected Shoyu, San-J Reduced Sodium Tamari Natural, Naturally Brewed Higeta Honzen (William Sonoma), Eden Organic Tamari Traditionally Brewed, Kikkoman, San-J Organic Whole Soybean,
Not recommended: Pearl River Bridge, Yamasa Naturally Brewed, Eden Organic Tamari Naturally Brewed, Ka-Me Dark Chinese, La Choy
Cook's Illustrated pdf has more details (some preferred raw but not cooked)
Virtually all of the yams sold in American supermarkets are in fact sweet potatoes. Real yams are thick, tropical-vine tubers that can grow up to 7 feet long, depending on the species. Although many southern growers refer to their crops as yams, they are in fact sweet potatoes--edible roots that are part of the morning glory family. There are two basic types of sweet potato grown in the United States: those with light-colored flesh and thin skins and the darker-skinned varieties that are often erroneously labeled yams.
Tapioca comes from the root of the cassava plant. Also called manioc, this plant is grown throughout most of the tropical world and is harvested when its roots are about 6 to 12 inches long. The starchy root can be boiled and eaten, and in many countries it takes the place of rice or potatoes in the diet. To make what we know as tapioca, the starch is separated from the cellulose in the root. Pearl tapioca is made from tapioca starch that is heated. To create Minute Tapioca, the starch is partially gelatinized and then pasted together into pellets to improve its thickening powers.
Tapioca is made from starch extracted form the root of the cassava plant, also called manioc or yuca. Cassava is the main source of starch in the diet of people living in many African and South American regions, where it is eaten much like potatoes are in the United States and Europe. Tapioca comes in various forms, with pearl, flour, and instant (or Minute, a trademark) being the most common.
After the cassava starch grains are removed from the root's cells, they are heated and ruptured, which converts the starches into small, irregular masses. These masses are baked into flakes that are finely ground to form tapioca flour or forced through sieves and then baked to form pearl tapioca. Pearl tapioca, which comes in various sizes, requires hydration before cooking. It is used almost exclusively to make the aptly named tapioca pudding. When hydrated, the white pearls become translucent, slightly swollen, and jelly-like; they lend their grain and body to whatever dish they are added.
Tapioca flour?though it has considerably less thickening power than pearl tapioca?is used mostly at the commercial level for soups, fruit fillings, and glazes. In Asian cuisine it is referred to as tapioca starch and is almost as popular as cornstarch for use as a thickener in both sweet and savory dishes.
A third type of tapioca, called instant, Minute, or quick, is made by mixing tapioca flour and water to form a dough, which is slowly cooked and stirred. The dough is then dried, pulverized, and cooled, forming more uniformly sized and shaped granules. Instant, or Minute, tapioca, as the names imply, does not require soaking for cooking, making it a great timesaver in the kitchen. Because of its small size, this type of tapioca is often used as a thickener in pie fillings.
Tomato paste is used for recipes that require a deep tomato flavor, such as cream of tomato soup or Bolognese sauce. Cook's illustrated tasted pastes raw and preferred Amore, sold in 4 1/2-ounce tube. Described as "intense" and "fresh," Amore is the only tomato paste that contains fat, which could account for its bigger flavor. The Amore brand also scored points because of its tube packaging. Just squeeze out what you need and store the rest in the fridge. No fuss, no waste. A distant second was Redpack, which tasters described as "sweet" and "bold." Cento, Rienzi, Muir Glen, Contadina, and Hunt's trailed. Tasters particularly disliked Hunt's paste, detecting a "weird" flavor that was identified as dried herbs. We then tested the first- and last-place brands in our Weeknight Pasta Bolognese and were interested to learn that tasters could still tell the difference. They picked out (and downgraded) that distinct dried herb flavor in the Hunt's paste. On the other hand, the sauce made with the Amore paste was well liked for its deep, round tomato flavor.
Cook's illustrated ranking: hunts, progresso, cento, muir glen, pastene, red pack, contadina, and lastly, rienzi. However, they said that after long simmering the taste differences disappear.
Often sold in supermarkets as "raw sugar", these tan crystals don't melt as quickly as regular granulated sugar
Vanilla bean pods are the fruit of the vanilla planifolia orchid; it is the only member of the orchid family that produces an edible product. Vanilla beans are picked green and flavorless, then cured over a period of several weeks. The result? A dark, intoxicating pod boasting 110 volatile flavor compounds. Most prized by chefs, certainly, is Tahitian vanilla, with its bewitching floral scent and stunning seed density (compared with traditional Madagascar beans).
Vanilla beans dry out quickly when they are not stored in airtight containers. Even the sealed glass vials sold in grocery stores turn out snapping dry beans. Storage tips from our kitchen to yours: immerse whole, supple vanilla beans in a simple sugar syrup in a sealed glass jar or plastic container, then store in the refrigerator. (The syrup can be made by cooking equal parts granulated sugar and water together until the sugar is fully dissolved.) If the beans are already dry, grind them in a spice grinder and store them in sugar: the sugar will act as a flavor ambassador in the desserts you make with it.
Natural vanillin is a powdery coating found on high-quality vanilla beans after drying and fermentation. Synthetic vanillin, by far more common, is made from wood pulp and used as a cheaper form of vanilla flavoring. Extracts using synthetic vanillin are labeled "artificial vanilla," whereas those labeled "pure vanilla" must contain 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon during extraction.
Commercially sold vanilla extract is made by steeping chopped vanilla beans in vats of warm alcohol and water. When the flavor of the tiny black seeds has been extracted, the beans are strained and discarded. A touch of sugar or corn syrup may be added for sweetness before the potent liquid is bottled. It is possible to duplicate the commercial process at home with excellent results. Pour one-half cup vodka ? it's a good choice since it has little aroma or flavor, but brandy or rum may also be used ? into a small container or jar with a tight-fitting lid. Split a six-inch vanilla bean lengthwise and add it to the alcohol. Cover the container tightly and shake once a day for at least a week to loosen the seeds from the pods. (The beans can steep indefinitely, but need a week to yield most of their flavor.) When stored in a cool, dark place, homemade vanilla extract should last indefinitely. In a side-by-side test, butter cookies made with homemade extract were deemed superior to cookies made with bottled pure extract; they had a much stronger vanilla aroma as well as a truer vanilla flavor.
It can be difficult to remove the seeds and stringy fibers of pumpkins and winter squashes. A spoon can?t easily sever the stringy mass, and a knife tends to poke the flesh. He has found that a hook-shaped French butter curler does a good job of scooping out the seeds as well as severing the fibers.
Yogurt was no doubt first made by chance when milk was accidentally fermented by wild bacteria. Today, the process is more controlled. Milk (either whole, low-fat, or skim) is pasteurized and usually homogenized. (Some companies leave whole milk unhomogenized to retain a separate cream layer in their yogurt.) Active bacteria cultures are then added to the milk.
This milk with active cultures is then poured directly into the cups, which are incubated for several hours in a warm environment. The bacteria turns the milk sugars (called lactose) into lactic acid, causing the proteins in the milk to coagulate and thicken. Lactic acid also gives yogurt its characteristic tang. Next, the yogurt is cooled and then refrigerated. If re-pasteurized (something that is rarely done today), the bacteria will be killed. All the yogurts we tested contain live and active cultures.
Cook's review, july 1996. Which cultures the Yogurt contained seemd to make no difference. Their favorites were Dannon premium plain lowfat and Alta Dena plain nonfat.