Ideas in Food (gnv64)

IDEAS In FOOD GREAT RECIPES (11m WHY T HEY AKI KAMOZAWA H CI"d ALEXANDER TALBOT O ,I.u I"a ."uholl.h" N •• '1o-,� WORK Copyright e ZOIO by Aki Kamozawa and H Alexander Talbot All rights reserved Published in the United States by Clarkson PotterfPublishers an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House [nc., New York www.crownpublishing.oom www.clarksonpouer.com CLARKSON POTIER is a trademark and POTIER with colophon is a registered trademark of Random House Inc Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kamozawa, Aki Ideas in food I Aki Kamozawa and H Alexander Talbot p cm Includes index \ Cookery Z Chemistry I Talbot H Alexander II Title TX652.K325 2010 641.5 -dcZ2 2010017633 eISBN: 978-0-307-71974-4 Printed in the United States of America &xJk design by Claire Naylon Vaccaro lI/ustrations by Jonathan Correira jackel design by Evan Gaffney Design v3.1 For Aunt Marie and Grandma Kitty, our two biggest boosters, and Amaya, our greatest inspiration CONTENTS Introduction IDEAS FOR EVERYONE Seasoning and Preserving Bread Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto Eggs Daily Fruits and Vegetables Meat and Seafood IDEAS FOR PROFESSIONALS Hydrocol1oids Transgll1taminase Liquid Nitrogen Carbon Dioxide Acknowledgments Fllrther Reading Sources Index INTRODUCTION We both love food It's as simple as that We love to eat and we love to cook, and we're lucky enough to be able to draw on those passions in our professional lives This book is the result of years of eating, cooking, and studying food We know that to take our food to the next level, we need to understand what's happening beneath the surface of what we experience in the kitchen We enjoy juxtaposing science and creativity in the kitchen to create great food We've learned to be methodical in our experiments with new ingredients, techniques, and equipment in order to maximize our results Our business, Ideas in Food is about sharing our passion for food and experience in the kitchen with other food enthusiasts who want to push their boundaries and learn more We are lucky enough to work with chefs and food companies from around the world in both educational and creative capacities Our classes and hands-on workshops on cooking, whether in groups or one on one, are open forums for ideas, and while we present solid techniques and information, we always learn something new from everyone we work with The crux of our philosophy in and out of the kitchen is that there's always something more to learn This book describes many of the things we've discovered thus far We are comfortable walking into a room of skeptics Our workshops are tailored toward each person or group, either focusing on an overview of ingredients and techniques or targeted to specific goals In these sessions, we often face a mixed group of people, some of whom are excited about learning more and others who are dubious about the validity of what we have to offer It is our job to illustrate why a deeper understanding of food and the ways in which it works are so important Knowledge allows us to improve flavor, efficiency, and functionality in the kitchen In a nutshell, it enables us to cook better What we find most interesting is how often people are opposed to the idea of something new simply because they are unfamiliar with it or because they've heard of it only in a negative context We remember clearly when as kids we started reading the labels on candy boxes Sightings of xanthan gum and carnauba wax often led to dramatic exclamations about the fact that we were eating car wax and other chemicals Everyone remembers the story about Mikey and the Pop Rocks that exploded in his stomach when he ingested them with soda, right? The idea that manufactured foods can be dangerous to our health is a common one Some of them, like trans fats, actually are Still, even naturally occurring ingredients like salt, sugar, fat, and caffeine come under fire on a regular basis Many of the concepts that we teach in our workshops have been around for a long time They were originally developed and tested extensively for the food service and food manufacturing industries, have proven themselves to work, and are now making the leap into restaurant and home kitchens The big change is in the quality of the ingredients used and the inspiration of the cooks using them Making cheese at home, for example, is not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination, but understanding how and why it works is This information frees us to explore what's possible in our kitchens Something as simple as adjusting the cooking temperature of a braise or flipping a steak as it cooks can make a huge difference in the final results Appreciating why we this and how it affects the meat allows us to improve our results A better grasp of the ingredients and what happens when we use them is pivotal Our job is to strip away the hype and fantasy and talk cold, hard facts We use the ingredients carrageenan, agar, and transglutaminase, for example, because they work They allow us to gently manipulate the textures of our food and make it a cut above the ordinary Rice bran oil is perfect for frying because it has a high smoke point and a clean neutral flavor Gone is the smell of traditional fryer oil Melting cheese slowly over low heat keeps it from breaking and gives far more pleasing results than melting cheese at high heat No-knead bread requires minimal effort but lots of time to achieve the desired results These are things we know to be true because we've tested them in our kitchen so you don't have to in yours The biggest barrier to using ingredients is unfamiliarity You have to use something in order to understand how it works We've spent hours and hours failing miserably with these ingredients That means we can show other people how to use them, and perhaps more importantly, we can explain what happens when these ingredients aren' t used properly We all know that you learn more from the things that go wrong in the kitchen than from successes Since we are intimately acquainted with most of the ways these ingredients and techniques can and will go wrong, we can help you figure out how things went awry and show you how to avoid the pitfalls in the first place So what is cooking? In our kitchen it's about great ingredients, well prepared to the best of our abilities The rest is philosophy, creativity, and individual expression With a handful of knowledge we exponentially increase our chances of enjoying a delicious meal We divided this book into two parts for ease of use We believe that anyone can use both sections, but the part for professionals utilizes ingredients and equipment that require a little more of an investment of time or money from the home cook We hope that everyone will read both sections and that we will inspire people to be a little more daring in their own kitchens IDEAS for EVERYONE This section is focused on ideas for everyone The ingredients are ones we all have in our kitchens and tend to take for granted Why make vinegar? Because we can make something delicious with unique and exceptional flavors that is not available in stores You could just let your leftover wine ferment on the counter But understanding the science behind the process and having a path to follow allows you to produce consistent results and create new interpretations, like maple vinegar Creativity requires a process We are sharing our discoveries about kitchen processes so that you can take them and create new things in your kitchen In this section we build a foundation by covering ingredients and techniques that will be familiar to almost everyone Many of the topicS were inspired by questions that people have asked us over the years Some are questions we've asked each other Asking questions helps us all become better cooks A great meal can be as simple as scrambled eggs but they should be the best darned scrambled eggs you can make We're going to tell you how to that and why our method works ... in your own kitchen SEASONING and PRESERVING SALT BeefSeasoning Vanilla Salt Everything Cured Salmon and Cream Cheese BRINING Twice-Cooked Scallops Honey Mustard Brine Roast Chicken Brine VINEGAR... toasting process and to evenly distribute the spices The spice blend will keep in an airtight container for a month BRINING BIining is a popular technique for adding flavor and increasing the... that line into overseasoning, food begins to taste like salt It becomes minerally and sharp on the tongue to the point of being unpleasant to eat It's as if our bodies know when a certain threshold