Anonymous Modernist 10
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Posts posted by Anonymous Modernist 10
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For my forthcoming class in Modernist Cuisine, I'm preparing what I call an "asparagus sunrise." It consists of a mousse of green asparagus in the center of the plate, with four radiating stalks of white asparagus. A perfect egg yolk (130 min at 63C) will sit on top of the mousse. Then to finish it off, I wanted to have a light, airy foam, like the sun peaking through the clouds.
I tried the cava foam portion from the Oysters and cava foam recipe (MC 6-327), but substituting a non-sparkling Gewurtztraminer wine for the cava.
When dispensed from a cream whipper, it foamed up nicely -- maybe even too much. But then it very quickly deflated, leaving a slightly sticky wine behind. I'd like it to stay intact for at least a couple of minutes.
Was the problem caused by not using a sparkling wine, which would have added some of its own bubbles?
iSi has a recipe for a Riesling espuma that calls for 900 ml of Riesling, 90 g of sugar, and EIGHT sheets of gelatin, which seems like a lot, but maybe not for 900 ml of wine.
Another possibility might be the citrus air (MC 6-312) with lemon and lime juice and soy lecithin and xanthan gum. The lemon/lime would go pretty well with the asparagus, although it would make the wine pairing even more difficult.
I suppose I could try adding some soy lecithin to the remaining wine, and charge it again.
Any other thoughts?
Your class sounds intriguing. What else are you making? Are you doing demonstrations, or will your students be cooking as well?
For your foam, you should try adding 0.8% gelatin to your mixture in addition to the xanthan gum. It will stabilize it quite well when it comes out of the siphon. -
FoodCanon said:
I am experimenting in using Sous Vide to make "Char Siew" a popular Chinese BBQ pork disk where the pork is marinated in sweet/salty sauce and roasted. The cuts are normally tough cuts like pork belly, shoulder etc.
It has basically 3 stages:
1. Brining/marinating
2. Braising or slow cooking the meat
3. Charring the meat
I am considering using SV method for steps 1 and 2
Wonder whether anyone here has advice or experience on this?
The traditional wok way of making it is documented in my blog here:
http://www.foodcanon.com/2011/04/auntie-rubys-char-siew-revisited.html
http://www.foodcanon.com/2011/03/auntie-rubys-char-siew-this-food-blog.html
It will depend on what cut of meat you are using. From your recipe, it does, indeed, seem like this is more of a brine than a marinade. If you have a tough cut that requires a long cook time, you can brine and cook it sous vide at the same time. A more tender cut though would mean that you would have to brine it first and then cook it sous vide.
I agree that for the end step, a high heat wok or grill would be ideal.
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jmelanson said:
I’ve tried this, with less desirable results. I used a beef chuck roast, cut off most the fat, about 1kg. Sliced across the grain, about 1cm thick. Sprinkled meat with 1capsule of NOW brand bromelain. Vac packed, cooked at 53C with polyscience circulator.
The result was meat mush. Much of the meat broke down into a mahogany colored paste. The taste was fine, very savory, but the texture (and color) was disgusting (and I have a strong stomach).
Any ideas what happened? I have checked the temp with a lab thermometer, less than .1C off. The bromelain from NOW foods was fresh; just opened container.
Were able to squeeze out any jus at all?
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We use the Worthington MAP/ Pro that you can buy at Lowe's.
edit: formatting.
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jfkriege said:
I am looking at building a drying chamber for cured meats. It would have basic humidity and temperature control. I had a question about the environment inside the chamber as I am trying to figure out what controls I feel like building.
Is there ever a time that the humidity would have to be raised? My assumption is that once the chamber is sealed, and a closed system is formed, thehumiditywould rise above the desired 70-90%RH, and it would only have to be controlled in a downward direction. Does anyone know if this is a correct assumption? It would save me having to build a water injection system.
I will make sure to do a build log and code for anyone who is interested.
Thank you,
Joshua
Hi Joshua. First of all, I would recommend still using an RH sensor. The moisture/quantity of the food as well as air circulation will affect your outcome. -
On Volume 5, p152, the Pate A Choux recipe calls for Methocel SGA150 in the dough recipe.
I looked at a PDF reference of this chemical in the Dow website and MC Volume 4, page 60 - I could not find the reasoning behind the inclusion for the dough.
On Volume 4, the table shows it is for "tender", "edible films/wrappers" - what does this chemical compound actually do to the finished, baked product? Does it give it a glazed effect?
The Methocel helps to stabilize the foam without modifying the texture very much. -
lachyg said:
I agree, this was fantastic. I ended up using rock salt as kosher salt is quite expensive here (!!), and after 10-12 hours it came out a tiny bit too salty. Is it the fact that I used rock, is it a 'stronger' salt? Or could I have just used too much or put it in for too long?
Would I be able to confit chicken leg / thigh?
The potatoes were very good too, although I needed to cook them for another 15 minutes.
Hi lachyg. Where is "here?"
Rock salt is not a stronger salt, as all salt is the same. The difference between different types of salt is the size of the granules. What happens is that the salt draws out the liquid, but then eventually, the liquid dissolves the salt. The size can have an effect on this. You may have just put too much salt on, as the difference in size may have affected your judgment of how much to use.
You can definitely use the same method for chicken. Chicken is a more tender meat, however, so you would only want to cure it for about 2-3 hours.
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Yes, you can do it with the same result. Ryugin in Tokyo has done it. It will depend on what type of liquor or wine you use, though.
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I can again confirm that putting the ricotta in the fridge, to cure uncovered, yields a disgusting cracked yellow block of leathery cheese with a moist interior.
Is the cheese supposed to be covered during the aging to stop the evaporation? If so, how does it dry out?
Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out. Yes, you should keep the ricotta wrapped in cheesecloth while drying. This allows the right balance of drying and retaining moisture. -
You need glutenous rice flour to make mochi. Mochiko brand glutenous rice flour has an excellent recipe on the back of the box for mochi.
ETA: you could probably also try Googling "Mochiko mochi recipe" or something similar if you wanted to use the recipe with a different brand of rice flour.
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floridafoodie,
Our recipe is really more of a ginger cola, closer to a Coca Cola type drink, which does not need any fermenting. We use essential oils and fresh ingredients for the flavor.
We do love fermentation though. I think it's fascinating! There is a whole discussion of it in volume 3.
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Hi ayhan,
We hate dumbing things down, as we love precision! But all stove tops are a bit different--they are all calibrated differently--which is why we say "low" heat as that is sort of universal. Most people who have worked with their burners regularly know if theirs is a little hot or cold, even if they haven't calibrated it. It really means the lowest setting on your burner.
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ChrisZ, Chris Hennes is right that you wouldn't want to use lecithin powder. You need the fat and their water content (for a lubricant) of the egg yolks.
You can try using your leftover egg whites for meringue, macaroons, or fruit soufflés.
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Rabbit seems to be the black beast of molecular cooking!!
everybody online seems to let you know that you get mushy texture if cook for to long ?
You a right about that! The reason is that cooking a gamey meat sous vide can have enzymatic issues that lead to that mushy texture. If you cook it at hotter-than-core cooking (see below for the loin example) it will speed up the cooking time and that should help.
Can‚’t find water bath timetable and temperature table guidance online for that wonderfull piece of meat "le lapin".
Any advice from you guys on how to get it texture right ?
You will want to cook the rabbit loin and shoulder separately. For the loin, our favorite way to cook it sous vide is to cook it in a 72 °C / 162 °F bath until it reaches a core temperature of 59 °C / 138 °F (keep your probe thermometer in in order to check the core temperature periodically). This is for a pink coloring. For a shoulder, cook it in a sous vide bath at 66 °C / 151 °F, and hold the temperature for about an hour.The texture will be tender and flaky.
I am planning to do my mother’s recipe "le lapin , moutarde and mushroom casserole"
Is it dangerous to cook mushrooms or cream below 70°c for longhours ?
No, that is fine. -
To answer your questions... 1. The 0.7% salt should be in proportion to the ricotta you get. 2. Yes, you are exactly right. Press it in a small basket with a little weight. 3. You should be hanging the ricotta in the refrigerator. Let us know how it turns out!
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We just recommend adding more water until the dough is workable for this style of pasta. Adding more oil would be fine but then the dough would only be suited for making fresh pasta.
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That's an interesting thought. What kind of dough are you making?
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Judy said:
Recently, a curious reader wrote in to ask:
How long in advance can I season and vacuum prep meat prior to water bath cooking? Specifically - beef filet purchased on Saturday, with intention of serving the following Thursday.
Option 1: on Saturday, I salt it, vacuum seal it, and leave it in the fridget until Thursday. Then I drop it in the sous vide surpreme for an hour, sear and serve. This is the most convenient approach for me as a harried office worker trying to get dinner on the table weeknights, but I worry that the extended time with the salt will damage the texture of the meat.
option 2: on Saturday, salt, vaccuum AND cook. Then put cooked meat in fridge until Thursday, when I warm it up a bit, sear then serve. This seems to be the commonly used option for advance prep, but the double-warming is extra effort.
Option 3: vacuum seal the meat. Don't do the salt or prep until Thursday when I'm about to cook. Involves two rounds of vaccuming, not as convenient, but will this give the best overall finished product and be safest health-wise?
Hope you can help, even though this is clearly a question from a household cook as opposed to a professional cook!
What has worked best for you guys?
Hi Jenny. I take it you're the curious reader!
Option 1: Unfortunately, you cannot always simply blend storage with preparation, which is what you are trying to do here. Salting a meat long before cooking will preserve it quite well but also modify it‚’s texture completely. Think about the texture of steak versus the texture of brisket; curing (which you are doing by salting the steak) makes meat firmer and that may or may not be your desired sresult. If you want that fresh tender texture, it is best to buy the meat soon before you cook it or freeze it.
Option 2: That could also work but, again, keep the texture in mind. You are essentially pasteurizing the meat but it is not ideal for the final result, especially with tender cuts such as fillet or steak. Braised meats such as short ribs, beef shank, oxtail, etc. are perfect for this approach.
Option 3: This will yield the best results for tender cuts, like your steak.
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Potency is based on refinement of the raw product. All types of xanthan have different thickening potential because of this.
By nature all xanthan will be food grade but because it may have been stored or processed alongside other ingredients that are not food grade Sigma cannot always designate it as food grade. It will say so on the MSDS sheet.
CP Kelco at Tic Gums are also very good suppliers of xanthan and should be available online
Reverse Spherification and holding the spheres
in Cooking
Posted
Jonathan said: