COOKING TIPS

 

 

 

Beans - How to Cook

Dried beans are nutritious, flavourful, and versatile, and they are a key ingredient in soups, stews, salads, and many other dishes. Except for lentils and split peas, all dried beans must be soaked before cooking.

 

Soaking lets the beans absorb water and softens their tough skins, and this results in a more even cooking and a shorter cooking time. As a rule, first rinse the beans in cold water to remove dust and any debris or wrinkled beans that float to the surface. Then place the beans in a bowl or container and cover them with two inches of cold water. Soak them overnight, at least 6-8 hours, and even longer for some varieties. If you cannot soak the beans in advance, a "quick" method can be used. Place the beans in a large pot and cover them with two inches of water. After bringing the beans to a boil, turn off the heat, cover them, and let them soak for one hour. Quick soaked beans will take longer to cook. In both cases, the beans are ready to be cooked as directed, or you can drain and store them in the refrigerator for a number of days.

 

Blanching Vegetables

If you are tired of your vegetables loosing colour, texture, and flavour before you serve them, then blanching may be the solution. Prolonged exposure to heat deteriorates vegetables. Blanching lightly cooks only the outer layer of their flesh.

 

To blanch vegetables plunge them into boiling salted water for a short period of time, and then immediately stop the cooking process by placing the vegetables into ice water until they cool. Green beans and other fibrous vegetables retain their crispiness and colour. For other vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes and peaches, a brief blanching loosens the skin while keeping the flesh firm, making them easier to peel. In all cases the colour is set and the flavour is retained. You must remember not to overload the pot because this will increase the cooking time. Blanch in batches if necessary. The vegetables can be used immediately in salads and other cold dishes, or they can be stored or frozen for later use. A quick sauté or stir fry is all that is needed to finish cooking the vegetables, and if they are being added to a dish such as a soup or stew, adding them during the last few minutes of cooking will insure colourful results.

 

Braising

Braising is a wet-heat method of cooking. One benefit of braising is that the liquid absorbs flavours from the foods being braised and makes a terrific sauce.

 

Usually, meat or vegetables are first seared in hot fat. Then they are simmered in liquid in a pan with the lid tightly in place. To prevent burning, the meat could be placed on a bed of mirepoix (diced carrots, onions and celery), which will keep the food from direct contact with the pot and will add more flavour and moisture to the liquid. Finally, the meat is cooked over low heat for a long time. Braising can be done on the stovetop or in an oven. The indirect transfer of heat in an oven will cook the food more evenly and is less likely to burn it. Relatively tough cuts of meat benefit from braising - because slow cooking breaks down the tough connective tissues. More tender foods like fish and shellfish may also be braised, but must be cooked for a shorter time at a lower temperature in less liquid.

 

Baste

To moisten food while cooking with a liquid (melted fat, pan dripping, sauce, or other liquid). This keeps the meat, and other foods, from drying out and encourages colour and flavour.

A spoon, brush, bulb baster, or miniature mop can be used. Simply use the cooking juices from the pan and moisten the meat you are cooking.

 

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Cooking Chestnuts

Chestnuts come from the nut-bearing Castanea tree, which is rare in the United States due to a blight in the early 20th Century. They are now cultivated in Europe and are imported fresh from September through February. Chestnuts are unrelated to horse chestnuts (which are inedible and dangerous to eat) and water chestnuts (a tuber with an apple-like crispness that is widely used in Asian cooking).

 

To roast fresh chestnuts, make a one-inch slash on the flat side of the nut's shell with a sharp knife, just barely revealing the flesh. Place the nuts on a cookie sheet in a preheated 400º oven until the skins split and the flesh begins to brown (about ten minutes). Peel away the shell with the help of a knife. Chestnuts can also be blanched. After boiling for 3-4 minutes, wrap them in a towel and squeeze hard to crush the skins and extract the meat. Keep fresh chestnuts up to one week in a cool, dry place, or two weeks in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

 

Caramelising Sugar

Sugar is caramelized when it is melted into a clear golden to dark brown syrup, reaching a temperature from 320 to 350 degrees F. The example here is a medium amber.

 

To start, add some water to dry sugar in a pot, stirring, until it reaches the consistency of wet sand. The acid from added lemon juice will help prevent recrystallization. Instead of using lemon juice, you could add acidity with vinegar, cream of tartar or corn syrup. Always start with a very clean pan and utensils. Any dirt or debris can cause crystals to form around it. Heat the pan over a medium flame. As the sugar melts, you can wash down the sides of a pan with a wet brush, which also prevents crystallization by removing any dried drops of syrup that might start crystals. As the caramel heats, it colors in amber shades from light to deep brown.

 

Caramelising Food

All meat and vegetables contain some sugar (in the form of carbohydrates). Under intense dry heat, as in roasting or sauteing, these sugars break down. The result is the brown color and rich flavor called caramelisation.

 

Making Crepes

Crepe batter should be allowed to rest for 1 to 24 hours before use. This allows the gluten to relax, and the flour to absorb the liquid therefor collapsing any air bubbles in the batter. If crepe batter is made in a blender it can be used immediately and does not need to rest.

 

The basic recipe for crepes is 1/2 cup liquid to 1/2 cup flour to 1 egg. An expensive crepe pan is not necessary. Any good non-stick pan will work fine. Coat your pan with a thin coat of butter or oil first then heat over medium-high heat. Once the pan is heated, no additional fat should be needed but if your pan develops a dry spot use a oil dampened paper cloth or a quick spray of cooking oil. It is best to use a ladle and to quickly coat the bottom of the pan with a thin coat of batter. The quicker the thinner the better! Tilting the pan is a good way to evenly distribute the batter. When the edges of the crepe are dry and begin to pull away from the pan, use your fingers to gently lift and flip the crepe. The second side should be done in seconds and be ready to be placed on wax paper to cool. Putting a sheet of wax paper between the crepes will keep them from sticking together and can be immediately placed in a plastic bag for storage in the refrigerator or freezer.

 

Chiffonade

When translated literally from the French, "chiffonade" means "made of rags." In culinary terms it means finely cut strips or ribbons of leafy vegetables or herbs.

To chiffonade a cabbage for coleslaw, cut a cleaned, washed head into quarters, remove the hard core, then thinly slice the quarters across the grain. Greens with large, loose leaves, such as chard, can be rolled up and sliced thinly. Smaller leaves, such as basil, can be stacked, then rolled and sliced across the vein. For leaves with a central woody stem, such as kaffir lime leaves, roll from tip to stem, slice parallel to the vein and discard the woody stem.

 

Chop

To chop means to cut foods into pieces. This is a larger cut than dice or mince and generally does not need to be uniform.

 

To chop vegetables, first trim the stem and peel if necessary. To hold your chef's knife properly, grasp the handle with three fingers and put your forefinger and thumb on opposite sides of the blade. With a rocking motion, keeping the tip of the knife on the chopping board, slice down through the vegetable at regular intervals, using the full length of the knife. Use your other hand to feed the vegetable toward the knife. To do this safely, curl your fingers in and use your fingertips to grasp and move the item. With a little practice, you'll be chopping quickly and safely.

 

Clarify Butter

While clarified butter doesn't have as much flavor as whole butter, it does have a higher smoke point--making it useful for saute--because the milk solids, which scorch easily, have been removed. Also, without milk solids butter won't spoil as quickly. In the days before refrigeration, cooks in India perfected a special clarifying process that significantly prolongs freshness. This highly clarified butter is called ghee.

 

To clarify butter, first melt unsalted butter slowly in a pan. Simmer over low heat, without stirring, until the milk solids have separated and sink to the bottom. Other impurities will rise to the surface, while the butterfat in the middle layer becomes very clear. Remove the pan from the heat and skim off the foam with a spoon. Then carefully ladle the clarified butterfat into a separate container. Be careful to leave the solids behind. One pound of butter will yield approximately 12 ounces of clarified butter.

 

Citrus - How to Section

Removing the sections of citrus intact from the tasteless membrane seems more complicated than just peeling and eating an orange. However, with patience, a little practice, and a sharp paring knife it will become a breeze.

 

Begin by cutting off the top and bottom of the fruit down to the pulp using a back and forth sawing motion. Place the fruit on a cutting board and cut away the peel in strips from top to bottom using the edge of the previous cut as the starting point for the next. Remember to stay close to the pulp and maintain the sawing motion. Then, holding the fruit in one hand over a small bowl, slowly cut through it along one of the membranes down to the center using the sawing motion. Gently repeat this with the membrane on the other side of the section, which should then come free. Carefully place the section in a container for later use. After you have removed all of the sections, pour the excess juice into the container. You now have perfect citrus sections to use as a flavor component or garnish for salads, appetizers, entrees, or desserts.

 

Coconuts: Opening, Grating and Liquado

Opening Coconuts: Open the coconuts by flinging them onto a cement or rock surface (this is how the monkeys do it!) Don't worry about losing the liquid, as it's not the coconut milk called for in cooking. Each coconut should break in 3 to 4 pieces. It is also possible to open a coconut by piercing the eyes of the coconut with a screwdriver or ice pick, draining the liquid through the holes and placing the coconut in a 400 degrees F oven for 20 minutes. Wrap the coconut in a towel and hit it with a hammer to loosen the shell and split it into pieces. Pry out the white meat and then pare off the dark skin.

 

Grating Coconut Meat: To grate the white meat, put the meat through the grating disk of a food processor or use a hand grater. You should get about 7 cups of grated coconut from the two coconuts, which will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

Coconut Liquado: To make the coconut milk, combine the remaining 3 to 4 cups of loosely packed grated coconut with the milk (use 3/4 cup of coconut for each 1 cup of milk) in a heavy saucepan. Heat slowly, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and cool. Strain the milk, pressing down on the coconut meat to extract all the liquid. Squeeze all the coconut through a towel to get any last drops. Discard the coconut.

 

Cookies, Cookies, and More Cookies

Bakers usually classify cookies by the way they are made. Drop cookies, such as oatmeal and chocolate chip, are made from soft, thick dough that is dropped onto a pan with a spoon or a scoop. Sugar and shortbread are two examples of cookies made from dough that is stiff enough to roll out and cut with a cookie cutter. Icebox cookies, such as checkerboards, are made from dough that is shaped into rectangular or cylindrical blocks and then refrigerated. You can pull the dough from the refrigerator, slice, and bake it at a moment's notice. The dough for bar cookies, such as spice bars, is shaped into logs that are flattened on a pan and baked. After cooling, you cut them diagonally into thin, chewy bars.

 

Sheet cookies are baked in a thin layer and can be either cake-like or chewy – brownies and blondies are just two examples. Regardless of the type, make cookies uniform in size and carefully space them to ensure even baking. Remember, cookies bake for just a short time, and will continue to bake after you pull them from the oven. Watch them carefully and remove them about a minute before they are completely done.

 

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Making Pie Dough

It's almost as easy to make pie dough by hand than as it is with a food processor. The most important things to remember with both methods are keeping the ingredients cold, and not overworking the dough. Pie dough consists of fat, flour, water, and salt. Shortening yields the flakiest crust, but not necessarily the tastiest. Butter, which is used in most classic pastry, gives a richer flavour, but the crust is less tender. A mixture of the two will yield a good balance.

 

To begin making the dough, cut the cold fat into walnut-sized chunks and add them to a bowl containing the sifted the flour. Using your hands, rub the fat chunks with the flour in order to break the chunks into smaller pieces. Don't rub too hard or too long; you don't want the fat to soften. When the particles are the size of hazelnuts, add the already combined salt and cold water to the bowl and mix until the liquid is just incorporated. For the food processor, place the flour in the workbowl fitted with the steel blade. Pulse flour to sift then place pieces of cold fat on top. Pulse just to cut fat into flour, so the pieces are reduced to the size of large peas. With the machine on, pour water through feeder tube and allow dough to form into a ball. Wrap the dough and refrigerate until firm. Pies with liquid fillings often have soggy crust if flaky dough is used. Working the fat and flour until it is the size of coarse cornmeal will yield a mealy dough more resistant to liquid. Remember, the secret to good pie dough is right in your hands (or your wrist as the case may be).

 

Knead Dough

Kneading dough can be done in a mixer, with a dough hook, or by hand. After you have mixed wet and dry ingredients together, you will have a shaggy mass. Transfer this dough to a lightly floured surface. Now, push down and forward on the dough with the palms and heels of your hands. Fold the dough over onto itself and push down and forward again. Lift the dough, give it a quarter turn. Continue kneading and turning. If the dough sticks, just scrape it up, dust the counter with flour, and continue. A well-kneaded dough should be smooth and elastic. To test a dough made from mostly white bread flour, pick up the dough and stretch it back. Look at the surface. It should be smooth and even, not webby. There also should be some resistance from the gluten when you pull on the dough. The same test applies for wholegrain flours. They don't contain as much gluten, however, so they'll feel slightly less springy.

 

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Emulsify

To emulsify means to combine two liquids that normally do not combine easily, such as oil and vinegar. Emulsifiers are contained in egg white, gelatine, skim milk and mustard. Mayonnaise is a mixture of oil and vinegar or lemon juice that is emulsified by the addition of egg yolk, which contains the emulsifier lecithin.

 

This is done by slowly adding one ingredient to another while whisking rapidly. This will disperse and suspend one liquid throughout the other. The two liquids will soon separate unless a third ingredient is added--this is called a liaison or emulsifier, which stabilises the mixture.

 

 

Egg Whites - Whipping

Whipping egg whites is a simple task, but light and fluffy results require the proper equipment and procedure. First, the separation of the eggs is essential: even a drop of yolk will drastically reduce the desired eight-fold volume. A stainless steel (or unlined copper) bowl is necessary - glass, plastic, and aluminium will all cause problems, either in volume or colour. You will achieve the best results by hand with a large balloon whisk. A electric mixer with a whisk attachment will do a good job, but there is a greater chance of over whipping and making the whites grainy and unstable.

 

Begin by adding a pinch of salt to the whites which will help break them up. Then start whipping slowly, in a small circular motion. As the whites begins to froth, use more of the bowl by whipping in larger circles. When the whites begin to fluff you can make the foam more stable by adding a pinch of cream of tartar. The whites will then begin to stiffen, and are done if they hold a peak when you pull the whisk from the bowl. Sugar is usually added for flavour and to enhance stability in dessert recipes. However, it also increases whipping time and reduces lightness and volume. To achieve the best results, add sugar slowly and only after the whites begin to develop peaks.

 

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Freezer Techniques and Safety

Freezing extends the life of food, but not forever and not under all conditions. Freezing food brings bacteria to a standstill, but does not kill it-chemical activity continues but at a much slower rate. Freezer burn is the reaction of meat to the formation of ice crystals and leaves the meat dry and stringy. Additionally, the fat in meat continues to oxidise and eventually becomes rancid. Under perfect freezing conditions fish, poultry, and pork will hold for two months while beef will last a year. Commercial food processors use blast freezers that reach temperatures of minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit very rapidly. This minimises oxidation and the chance of freezer burn. When operating properly, however, home freezers are designed to keep food at 0 degrees. Raw meat will take hours to freeze at this temperature, instead of minutes, creating conditions for freezer burn. You can help the situation by wrapping food properly. Use resealable plastic bags especially designed for the freezer, but make sure you squeeze out the air. Or, you can tightly wrap food twice in plastic and then wrap it in aluminium. Be sure to label and date it. Remember, if food is just about to spoil it can't be saved by freezing.

 

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 Garlic - How to Handle

The complaint about handling garlic is usually the strong and persistent odour that it imparts to your hands. So, do you chop garlic yourself or buy a convenience product? The easiest and quickest way to peel garlic is to crush a clove with the flat of a large knife. If there is a green sprout, remove it or it will add an unwanted bitterness. The garlic can then be sliced, chopped, minced, or mashed, all of which involve a knife and your hands. If you need minced or mashed garlic, a less messy alternative is a garlic press. If you are not going to use garlic shortly after you cut it, refrigerate it in an airtight container, or it will turn bitter. Although using fresh garlic can make all the difference in the world, you can also purchase garlic minced, mashed, or as a paste in a tube. You can also buy peeled cloves. While the first three save time and your hands, they are not exact flavour substitutes. They all have additives - such as acids, oils, salt, or potassium sorbate - to help preserve the garlic. These products have a much milder flavour, and the additives impart additional, potentially unwanted, flavours such as tanginess and saltiness. The price of handling fresh garlic must be balanced against its benefits.

 

 

 

Green Salad - Making One Perfectly

In the current culinary frenzy, the joys of simple green salads are often forgotten. A little selectivity at the market and proper preparation can yield a salad worthy of lingering over. A good salad is a mixture of textures and flavours. Instead of just plain iceberg lettuce, mix a soft butter lettuce with a crispy, mild flavoured romaine or a stronger flavoured leaf lettuce. Additionally, it just takes a few leaves of bitter radicchio, arugula, watercress, or baby organic greens to make the salad even more interesting.

 

After bringing your greens home, wash them in cold water and spin them dry. Besides diluting your dressing, moisture will spoil greens more quickly. Store the greens in reusable bags or plastic containers with a slightly dampened paper towel at the bottom to maintain humidity. If you are serving the salad within a few hours, place the dressing in the bottom of the serving bowl and lay the serving utensils crosswise over the dressing. Pile the greens over the utensils, cover the bowl with cellophane and refrigerate to keep them crisp and flavourful until service. The addition of some freshly chopped herbs such as parsley or chives just before serving will also boost the salad’s flavour.

 

Grinder

Spices & Coffee Coffee beans and spices have something in common: Since their delicate aromatic oils break down quickly, they taste their best when freshly ground minutes before use. However, to keep this morning’s coffee from tasting like last night’s curry, you might want to consider this simple solution: two grinders. Designate one for coffee and the other for spices; label each accordingly to avoid confusion. To keep your grinders in top condition, remove loose grounds and residue with a pastry brush. Place a large piece of soft bread in the bowl, grind thoroughly, and remove the oil-absorbing bread crumbs.

 

Grate Lemon Peel

Move whole lemon up and down on grater side with small holes to remove ONLY the yellow part of skin. The white part is bitter.

Rotate and grate lemon until you have enough grated peel specified in recipe.

Also use this technique for grating citrus fruits, such as oranges and limes.

 

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Julienne

To julienne means to cut into narrow, fine sticks that can measure from 2 to 3 inches long and 1/8 inch square. A finer julienne measures 1/16 of an inch square.

 

First, determine the length of your julienne and, using your chef's knife, cut the vegetable into pieces. Next, trim the vegetable so its sides are straight and at right angles. Then, holding your knife vertically, slice each piece into 1/8-inch panels. Finally, neatly stack the panels, or lay the panels out on the board, and cut them lengthwise to create uniform matchsticks. Remember to keep your fingers tucked in, and out of the knife's path. For a finer julienne, simply slice thinner panels and thinner matchsticks. A larger matchstick--roughly 1/4 inch across and 2 1/2 inches long--is called a baton.

 

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Mince

To mince means to cut food into very small pieces.

To mince an onion, first cut it in half from root to tip and peel it. Lay one half on its flat side--this way it won't roll around the board. Slice down vertically, from the root end down, making as many parallel slices as you can. Do not cut through the root, though, since that is what holds the onion layers together. Then, holding the blade horizontally, cut through the onion several more times. This makes a grid within the onion that you can cut across to create very small pieces. The same technique can be used on garlic, shallots, tomatoes or any hard vegetable.

 

Mashed Potatoes

The road to light and fluffy mashed potatoes is paved with stiff, lumpy, and pasty failures. Luckily, attention to a few details will ensure delicious results. While it is possible to use any potato, the russet produces the fluffiest mash.

 

Begin by placing peeled and quartered or cubed potatoes in a pot of cold water, bring them to a boil, and cook until tender. Drain in a metal ovenproof colander then, if possible, place colander in a 300 degree oven for a few minutes. This removes excess moisture and makes the starch granules lighter. The amount of butter, milk, cream, or stock necessary will vary depending on the desired consistency, but it is essential that they are always heated just prior to use. (Two tablespoons of butter and six ounces of liquid are a good start for 1-1/2 lbs. of potatoes). After putting the potatoes through a ricer or food mill (never a food processor), add the butter, half of the liquid, salt, white pepper, a pinch of grated nutmeg and whip. Then slowly add the remaining liquid until you achieve the desired consistency, but be careful, over whipping will make the potatoes pasty. For a delicious change use buttermilk or extra virgin olive oil or add roasted garlic or grated Parmesan prior to whipping. You can also cook other vegetables such as parsnips or carrots with the potatoes for a personalised approach.

 

Meringue

A simple soft meringue is made by whipping egg whites with a little granulated sugar (2 tablespoons sugar to 1 egg white), vanilla and a bit of salt or cream of tartar. This slightly sweet topping is heaped over a cream pie and then lightly browned for a finishing touch. A perfect soft meringue will be light and airy with no signs of shrinking.
A hard meringue contains more sugar and is baked at a very low temperature or allowed to dry at room temperature until it is solid (crispy). Meringue shells, fruit cups and cookies are made from hard meringue.

 

Meringue will not tolerate even the smallest amount of fat. Since egg yolk contains fat—separating the whites from the yolks must be done carefully. The mixing bowl and the beaters must also be fat free. Wash them in hot soapy water and rinse in hot water before using to make meringue. Do this for Angel food cake meringue also.

Note: Plastic bowls will sometime hold fats even after machine washing. Always use glass or metal bowls for holding meringues.

 

Adding the granulated sugar as the egg whites are beating should be done very slowly so it will dissolve completely.
Meringue is ready when the sugar is dissolved and the mixture stands up to a peak when the beaters are lifted.
Spread the meringue over the pie filling (after the filling has cooled completely) making sure it touches the pie crust all around. This will minimize shrinking and slipping.
Brown meringue at a high temperature for only a few minutes (400-425 degrees) until the peaks are lightly brown. If using a low temperature the meringue will have a thick crust and be difficult to cut.
Hard meringues require the same handling techniques as soft meringues. They should be allowed to dry completely before adding the filling.

 

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Oysters,Clams, Mussels - How to handle

Buying live oysters, clams and mussels then cleaning them at home assures freshness. Always use a heavy mitt, mesh glove, or side towel to protect hands when cleaning and/or oysters. Clean all molluscs (clams, oysters and mussels) well by scrubbing them under running water to remove all dirt before shucking. Then check them carefully, only live clams and oysters will have tightly closed shells. Discard any that are open or feel unusually heavy. These are either dead or full of silt.

 

Oysters

Protect your hand by wearing heavy-duty rubber gloves or enclose oyster in several thickness' of a folded kitchen towel. Hold the shell in the palm of your hand with the left valve, the deeper side, down. Locate the beak (the hinged part of the oyster--the narrow end), and with a back-and-forth motion gently work the tip of the oyster knife between the shell halves. Once the knife has penetrated the shell (by 1/4 inch or so) make sure the oyster is firmly impaled on the blade by giving the shell a few shakes. It should remain firmly stuck on the end of the knife. Working very carefully, twist the knife back and forth to open the shell. Once the shell is opened, slide the knife across the top of the shell to cut the adductor muscle and run the knife under the body of the oyster. Discard the top shell.

 

Clams

Use the tip of the knife to release the meat from the top shell. Then run the knife under the clam meat to loosen. This clam can now be served "on the half shell."

 

Mussels

Mussels are rarely served raw, but the method for cleaning them is similar to that used for clams. Unlike clams and oysters, mussels have a dark, shaggy beard that is normally pulled away from the shell before cooking.

 

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Parboil

Partial cooking of a food in boiling or simmering liquid. Similar to blanching, but the cooking time is longer. Useful when cooking roast potatoes or potato wedges to speed up cooking. Allow approximately 10 minutes for potatoes, more for meat.

 

Poach

To cook food gently in hot liquid that's just below the boiling point. Liquids can vary from broth's, to water, to syrups. Poaching is used with fruit or fish.

 

Pasta - How to Cook

It does not matter whether it is fresh or dried, cooking pasta is one of the easiest culinary techniques to master. Begin with plenty of cold water, 4 to 6 quarts for one pound of dry or fresh pasta. Bring the water to a rolling boil, and then add 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons of salt. Although it is a matter of personal style, putting oil in the water serves no obvious purpose. After the water returns to a boil, add the pasta all at once and stir to prevent clumping. Fresh pasta will cook much faster, 1 to 5 minutes, than dry, 8 to 14 minutes, depending on the shape. The preferred degree of doneness is firm to the bite or as the Italians call it al dente. When the pasta is done, stop the cooking immediately by draining it in a colander. Shake the colander vigorously to get rid of trapped water. Pasta should not be rinsed unless you are making a pasta salad. Sauce the pasta and serve it as soon as possible. Finally, do not forget that one pound of dry pasta will feed six to eight, while one pound of fresh pasta will only feed four to five.

 

Quick-Poach Eggs

Bring 1/2 cup water to boil in skillet on medium heat.
Break eggs, one at a time, into a cup.
Gently slip egg into water andcover.
Cook 2 minutes or to desired doneness.
Remove eggs with slotted spoon.

 

Breaking eggs into a cup first lets you examine the egg's quality before adding it to a recipe or cooking it to eat as is. Once in awhile, eggs may have blood spots or are spoiled, recognizable by an off odor. In these cases, the egg should not be used.

 

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Reduce

Applied to cooking, this means to boil a liquid until its volume is reduced by evaporation. This thickens the liquid and intensifies the flavour.

This is done by rapidly boiling a liquid to decrease its volume through evaporation. This concentrates the flavour, so season a reduction after it's made -- not before.

 

 Refresh

To submerge a cooked food, usually a vegetable, in cold water to cool it quickly and stop further cooking. It's also know as shocking.

 

 Render

The melting of animal fat over low heat so it separates from any connective tissue. This tissue turns crisp and brown (known as crackling) and the clarified (clear) fat is further processed by straining. To cook fatty meats, such as bacon or spare ribs, until the fat melts.

 

 Resting

Heat drives meat's juices from the surface when it cooks. Letting meat "rest" before slicing lets these juices seep back towards the surface (liquids always take the path of least resistance). The result is a more flavourful piece of meat.

 

Refreshing Fruits And Vegetables

After blanching, remove foods from boiling water and immediately plunge into ice water. This stops the cooking process and cools foods to a manageable temperature. Refreshing is especially important with green vegetables (such as broccoli) when you want that bright green colour but don't want to lose its natural crunch. When skinning tomatoes, refreshing them prevents them from overcooking and falling apart in your hands when sliding the skin off.

 

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Sauté

Basic Techniques Cooking with a small quantity of fat or oil at a high temperature is known as sautéing. It is a simple technique that maximises flavour while minimising cooking time. Sautéing is most effective with fish and thin cuts of tender meat. Thicker pieces would burn before the inside was cooked, and so it is necessary to decrease the heat after the initial browning. Cooking time will depend on the size and thickness of the food and personal taste.

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