Return to Rudiments

Recently in class, we returned to some more basic concepts and ingredients, to really learn and understand how they work to form the dishes that we make. After learning about the ingredient we practiced a skill that involved the ingredient. When we were performing our labs a heavy emphasis was placed on mise en place and a practical skill. It was crucial for us to gather all that we needed to perform the lab before we began. We went through quite a few of these but below I will talk about 4 of my favorite.

Egg:

We learned about the components of an egg and some of the chemical properties of them. A skill known as tempering allows you to slowly change the temperature of the egg proteins so that they don't tense up, causing the egg to remain tender. (eg. soft vs rubbery scrambled eggs.) In our lab following our egg lesson, my partner and I made mayonnaise. The key skill that we practiced was emulsifying. It is similar to tempering in that you want to quickly mix small amounts of the foreign substance into the eggs a little bit at a time. As you go, you can add more and more (in this case oil) to the eggs until it is all incorporated. If you are too ambitious and go too quickly, it will break and your oil will separate from the egg.

Butter:

We learned about the standard components of butter and their ratios. As with the egg, once you know what makes it up on the molecular level, it is a lot easier to understand its uses and the skills involved. For example, making brown butter, the goal here is to gently allow the butter to melt which separates the water, milk fat, and the proteins/ milk solids/salts. Once they separate, the water begins to evaporate and the higher heat causes the maillard reaction to take place. This causes the solids and proteins to change color and flavor. We used this concept in our lab to help add a new layer to mashed potatoes. It was simply adding brown butter to the potatoes right after we mashed them. With a little bit saved to drizzle on top, we were graced with beautiful, rich, fluffy, and nutty mashed potatoes.

Poach:

We learned that poaching is designed for cooking foods that are already tender at temperatures just under a boil. One thing that I had never hear of, was poaching in flavored water. This method, in particular, is especially good for cooking fish. Things that would go great in fish poaching water are aromatics, spices, and herbs. As the fish cooks the water will impart its flavors on to the fish. This method maintains the delicate texture and flavor of the fish making it one of the best and easiest ways to cook poultry and other seafood. After our lesson, we practiced poaching with eggs. Unfortunately, my slotted spoon had holes that were too big which caused my yolk separated from the whites when I took it out. None the less, it was a good learning experience. later that week, we made a meal that involved a poached egg. I decided to make eggs Benedict since it's up there as one of my favorite breakfasts. This time I used a slotted spoon with smaller holes and the eggs that I made were much nicer.

Salt:

We started out lesson by pinching salt and measuring out results to get a better idea of how much salt we actually add when we pinch measure. The results didn't really surprise me, but it was still nice get a more precise value. Getting used to pinching salt and measuring by feel and sight is a really good way to grow your comfort and ability in the kitchen, since it is such a key ingredient to cooking. Seasoning at all levels in the cooking process helps develop flavors and keeps them throughout the result. A few tidbits that we learned at the end were

• that you are only supposed to season fish right before cooking

• slating fruit and vegetables draws out the moisture

• salt doesn't dissolve in fat

• bringing helps season meats deeply

• pasta water must be salted heavily

Following the lesson, we made pork Schnitzel with sautéd broccoli and lemon which allowed us to practice seasoning meat.