On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 416

for its dissolved proteins to coagulate (normally these proteins, which constitute as much as 25% of the total, coagulate within the muscle) High-Temperature Baking At the other extreme, a very hot oven is often used in restaurant kitchens to finish cooking through a portion of fish whose skin side has been browned in a hot frying pan; pan and fish together are then slipped into the oven, and the fish cooks through in a few minutes with heat from all directions, without the necessity of turning it A 500ºF/260ºC oven can also be used to “oven fry” pieces of fish that have been breaded, spread out on a baking sheet, and moistened with oil Cooking Under Wraps: Crusts, Envelopes, and Others An ancient way of cooking fish is to enclose it in a layer of some material — clay, coarse salt, leaves — to shield it from direct heat, and then cook the whole package (see box below) The fish inside will be more evenly and gently cooked, though checking the temperature is still essential to avoid overcooking Showy preparations with an edible crust of pastry or brioche (French en croûte) are baked in the oven A more versatile technique is the use of a thin envelope of parchment (en papillote), or aluminum foil, or a leaf, either neutral (lettuce) or flavorful (cabbage, fig, banana, lotus, hoja santa), which can be used with almost any heat source, from grill to steamer But once the contents get hot enough, nearly all the heating is done by the juices of the fish and vegetables themselves, which surround the food and steam it The envelope can be served intact and opened by the diner, releasing aromas that would otherwise have been left behind in the kitchen Roman Fish in Parchment Stuffed Bonito ... all the heating is done by the juices of the fish and vegetables themselves, which surround the food and steam it The envelope can be served intact and opened by the diner, releasing aromas that would otherwise have... or brioche (French en croûte) are baked in the oven A more versatile technique is the use of a thin envelope of parchment (en papillote), or aluminum foil, or a leaf, either neutral (lettuce)... flavorful (cabbage, fig, banana, lotus, hoja santa), which can be used with almost any heat source, from grill to steamer But once the contents get hot enough, nearly all the heating is done by the juices of the fish