Friday, November 11, 2011

25 Essential Food Tips

The Char of the Burger
- Use high heat so the interior of your burger cooks in its own rendered fat.

The Crumb of the Bread
- Generous hydration and a long rising time will result in a tender, open crumb.

The Spice of the Curry
- Add your spices directly to the hot oil at the beginning of your curry, not at the end.

The Savor of the Barbeque
- Low and slow with frequent basting will tenderize the meat.

The Consistency of the Custard
- Once the mixture starts to thicken, turn your heat down and whisk vigorously.

The Yellow of the Yolk
- Don't overboil your eggs and you'll get a properly yellow yolk.

The Chew of the Pasta
- Al dente, people.

The Salt of the Soup
- Homemade soups are notoriously undersalted.

The Fluffiness of the Biscuit
- Proper hydration and soft handling will let you steer clear of a dense hockey puck biscuit.

The Silkiness of the Challah
- Vegetable shortening is a highly refined and processed fat, but it will make your challah texture silky.

The Thickness of the Beans
- Boil down your beans to achieve a gelatinous texture that coats the back of a spoon.

The Bitterness of the Coffee
- If your grind size in the filter (or similarly in a French press) is too small, the water drips too slow and the coffee is exceedingly bitter.

The Lightness of the Cupcake
- Once you add the dry ingredients, mix lightly, not excessively, to achieve a tender crumb.

The Airiness of the Icing
- Room temperature butter, when creamed with sugar, allows air particles to suspend within the fat, giving the icing a light, not heavy and greasy, consistency.

The Saturation of the Fresh Toast
- Toast your pain perdu ("lost bread", or simply day-old bread) prior to frying so it will absorb more egg-milk mixture.

The Creaminess of the Scrambled Egg
- Low heat and frequent stirring.

The Juicyness of the Roasted Chicken
- Mark Bittman has this one right: high heat (425°) gets the interior juicy and the exterior crispy.

The Freshness of the Coffee Beans
- Limit the access of staling air to your beans by freezing in between grinds.

The Boredom of the Salad
- Fight against boredom in your salads by making fresh vinegarette or aioli dressings every mealtime.

The Richness of the Soup
- Carmelizing vegetables will improve the depth of flavor in your stock.

The Lightness of the Pancake
- Mix in this order: Fat, Sugar, Egg, Milk and Dry Ingredients simultaneouly.

The Flavor of the Cookie
- Bring out the intensity of your cookie's flavor by decreasing the amount of leavening agent (baking power and/or baking soda) and relying on your creaming skills combined with eggs for airiness.

The Size of the Matzoh Ball
- Get big matzo balls by soft-handling the dough.

The Depth of the Red Sauce
- Make your own flavor-rich tomato paste by slowly boiling down peeled whole tomatoes.

The Green of the Green
- Don't overwilt your greens; when you've gone from bright to dark forest green, you've gone too far.

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