COOKING

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Eggs

Boiled Egg
Soft boiled - Place an egg into a pan of cold water with a lid on. Bring to a boil rapidly, then turn off the heat and leave for 6 minutes exactly.

Poached Egg
Only use the freshest eggs you can get your hands on. The fresher the egg, the firmer the white will be. This will also reduce the amount of stringy white that forms when you poach an old egg! Heston strains his eggs before he poaches them, which reduces this problem further. However, this may be slightly overkill for the home cook, so just stick to the freshest eggs possible. Poach in water at 80 deg C for 4 minutes. If you don't have a thermometer, poach in water just below boiling point and use your touch to guage when the white is set and the yolk is still soft and runny. This may take a bit of trial and error, but once you've got the knack, you'll never look back . . .

Scrambled Egg
Albert Roux and Heston opt for the bain marie when scrambling eggs. This makes for a very gentle cooking method, stirring constantly to obtain extremely creamy, barely cooked eggs. I have even seen chefs cook scrambled eggs sous vide in a water bath, massaging the bag from time to time. Again the practicality and time needed for both of these methods may not be suited to the home cook. Saying that, I do believe everyone should try the bain marie method at least once! I think a perfectly acceptable method of making scrambled eggs is in a saucepan. The trick is low and slow with continuous stirring. It is up to you to guage whether your heat is too high or if your eggs are overcooking. Be patient and remember that even when the pan is off the heat, the residual heat in the pan will continue to cook the eggs. Near the end of cooking, Gordon Ramsay adds a spoonful of cream or creme fraiche to lower the temperature of the eggs to combat this.

I use 3 eggs per person and start the eggs off in a bit of butter. season with salt and pepper later on in the cooking process nearer the end.

NEVER USE A MICROWAVE to make scrambled eggs, I beg you! This just makes the most rubbery mess ever.

Fried Egg

Eggs Yolks
Mayonaise
Egg yolks contain Lecithin, which is the key ingredient that causes fat and water to emulsify in mayonaise (the fat being the oil and the water from the water content in the egg yolk).

Egg Whites
Merangues
French Merangue
Italian Merangue
Swiss Merangue

Souffles

Flourless Sponges

Mousses

Sabayon

Parfait

Friday, 28 December 2012

Coffee

Espresso
Requires 9 bar of pressure.

Nespresso Citiz

Nespresso Magimix Citiz

I am giving the Nespresso Citiz a mention as I recently purchased one for myself over the Christmas period. It is a capsual/pod machine which uses 19 bar or pressure to extractthe espresso. The machine is only meant for Nespresso capsuals which can only be bought through the Nespresso website or selected boutiques. You are limited to 16 varieties of coffee, but they vary so much that I believe anyone could find a coffee suited for them. There are some companies that make "Nespresso Compatible" pods which can be purchased in some of the large supermarkets. However, they are not much cheaper and the quality is FAR inferior to the real Nespresso pods. I tried a couple of different alternative capsuals and was extremely dissapointed. The coffee was weak, watery and bitter. I won't be purchasing anything but Nespresso pods from now on.

Nespresso Aeroccino 3

The machines operation is very simple and lightning quick (ideal if you are in a hurry). Clean up is easy too. All you have to do is fill the 1litre reservoir with cold water, turn the power on, insert a capsual and push a button (either an espresso shot or a lungo shot). What you get is a beautifull espresso extraction within 30 seconds and a wonderfully creamy crema (the sign of a true espresso, which cannot be replicated with a french press of moka pot).

I picked mine up for £135 as part of a Christmas promotion (RRP £149). I bought a milk frother (the Aeroccino 3) separately on the Nespresso website for £46. This can warm, stir or foam your milk depending on the type of coffee you desire, be it a Latte, Cappuccino or a cold Frappuccino.

Moka Pot

French Press

Instant Coffee

Add caption

Thursday, 27 December 2012

Classic French Dishes

Careme
Escoffier

Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Cream of Tartar

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm

Question: What Is the Difference Between Baking Soda & Baking Powder?

Answer: Both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents, which means they are added to baked goods before cooking to produce carbon dioxide and cause them to 'rise'. Baking powder contains baking soda, but the two substances are used under different conditions. Baking Soda
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. When baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise. The reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will fall flat!
Baking Powder
Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). Baking powder is available as single-acting baking powder and as double-acting baking powder. Single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. Double-acting powders react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven.
How Are Recipes Determined?
Some recipes call for baking soda, while others call for baking powder. Which ingredient is used depends on the other ingredients in the recipe. The ultimate goal is to produce a tasty product with a pleasing texture. Baking soda is basic and will yield a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, such as buttermilk. You'll find baking soda in cookie recipes. Baking powder contains both an acid and a base and has an overall neutral effect in terms of taste. Recipes that call for baking powder often call for other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk. Baking powder is a common ingredient in cakes and biscuits.
Substituting in Recipes
You can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (you'll need more baking powder and it may affect the taste), but you can't use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder. Baking soda by itself lacks the acidity to make a cake rise. However, you can make your own baking powder if you have baking soda and cream of tartar. Simply mix two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda.