The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 1063

oven This expansion brings lightness and crispness to fried foods • Protein coagulation Cooking in hot oil precipitates the rapid coagulation of proteins Just as proteins set in a loaf of bread or a pancake, giving it more structure and rigidity, so do they set in the batter or breading coating a piece of fried food It’s this protein matrix—usually comprised of gluten in a flour-based batter, or egg proteins in a basic breading—that gives rigid structure to fried foods, transforming the batter or coating into a firm solid • Browning and caramelization The Maillard reaction— the complex string of chemical reactions that gives flavor and color to well-browned foods—as well as caramelization—the similar reaction that occurs when sugars are heated—take place rapidly at normal frying temperatures This is what gives fried foods their enticing golden brown color and delicious flavor • Oil absorption As water is forced out of food through evaporation, it leaves spaces behind What moves in to take the place of that water? The only thing that can: oil from the fryer It’s an inevitable part of frying, essential to the flavor of the finished food And, despite what many books may tell you, frying at higher temperatures will not reduce the amount of oil your food absorbs (quite the opposite, in fact, see here) Seem complicated? It’s not The beautiful thing about deepfrying is that once you’ve got the right amount of oil heated to the right temperature, all of these things happen on their own, with very little direction needed from you, the cook THE WOK: THE BEST VESSEL FOR DEEP-FRYING F rying in a Dutch oven works reasonably well, but it’s got its problems: its straight sides make maneuvering food inside it difficult You could go out and get a dedicated deep fryer, but you really have room on your counter for that? * Here’s a better alternative: I’d be willing to wager that anyone who complains about how difficult and messy it is to deep-fry at home has never tried deep-frying in a wok Why don’t people fry at home? The most common answers are: it’s messy, it’s expensive (“What I with all the leftover oil?”), and it’s unhealthy Well, a wok can help solve your first two problems; you’re on your own for the third Frying adds fat to your food, period—try eating a few fewer French fries or only one piece of fried chicken if you don’t want the extra calories The flared sides of a wok offer several advantages over a straight-sided saucepan or Dutch oven: • There is less mess If you’ve ever tried deep-frying ...own, with very little direction needed from you, the cook THE WOK: THE BEST VESSEL FOR DEEP-FRYING F rying in a Dutch oven works reasonably well, but it’s got its problems: its straight sides make maneuvering food inside it difficult... home? The most common answers are: it’s messy, it’s expensive (? ??What I with all the leftover oil?”), and it’s unhealthy Well, a wok can help solve your first two problems; you’re on your own for the. .. a better alternative: I’d be willing to wager that anyone who complains about how difficult and messy it is to deep-fry at home has never tried deep-frying in a wok Why don’t people fry at home? The