On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1064

and 25% solids at kitchen temperature, and at the temperatures that the pastry dough reaches as it’s mixed and formed It turns out that butter has the right consistency for making pastry in a relatively narrow temperature range, between 58 and 68ºF/15–20ºC Lard is properly workable at only slightly warmer temperatures, up to 75ºF/25ºC Our flavorful natural fats easily get too soft in the kitchen to make good pastry This is why pastry makers often prechill ingredients and utensils, work on a cold marble surface that keeps the ingredients cool during the mixing and rolling out, and value assistants with constitutionally cold hands Fat Consistency: Shortenings Are Forgiving Manufacturers of vegetable shortenings control the consistency of their products by controlling how much of the base oil’s unsaturated fat is hydrogenated (p 801) Standard cake shortening has the desirable 15–25% solids over a temperature range triple that of butter, from 53 to 85ºF/12–30ºC It’s therefore much easier to make flaky pastry with shortening than with butter Because laminated pastries and breads are especially tricky to make, professionals and manufacturers often use shortenings that have been formulated specifically for their production Danish margarines are workable up to 95ºF/35ºC, and puff-pastry margarines to 115ºF /46ºC: they don’t melt until well into the baking process! However, high melting points have an important drawback: they mean that the fat remains solid at mouth temperature Where butter and lard melt in the mouth and release luscious flavor, manufactured pastry shortenings can leave a pasty or waxy residue in the mouth, and have no true flavor of their own (they’re often flavored with milk solids) Food Words: Pastry, Pasta, Pâté, Pie ... Where butter and lard melt in the mouth and release luscious flavor, manufactured pastry shortenings can leave a pasty or waxy residue in the mouth, and have no true flavor of their own (they’re often flavored with milk solids)... to 115ºF /46ºC: they don’t melt until well into the baking process! However, high melting points have an important drawback: they mean that the fat remains solid at mouth temperature Where butter and lard melt in the. .. tricky to make, professionals and manufacturers often use shortenings that have been formulated specifically for their production Danish margarines are workable up to 95ºF/35ºC, and puff-pastry margarines