eGCI Team

The Truth About Braising Lab Assignment #3 Seminar Led By Steven A. Shaw (aka "Fat Guy") This lab should be a little less exhausting than the previous two, and it doesn't require as much equipment or monitoring. Today we're going to experiment with issues of heat and time, and we'll keep it pretty simple (you are, of course, welcome to devise additional experiments to expand the range of data). We're going to do three things: Step 1: braise in the oven at a low temperature for a long time (200 degrees F until fork tender) Step 2: braise in the oven at a higher temperature for a shorter time (300 degrees F until fork tender) Step 3: braise on the stovetop at a temperature similar to step 2 (trying to maintain a simmer pace that is visually similar to step 2) It's possible that you have a second oven, or a toaster oven that you can use for this, in which case you can do all of the above at once. Otherwise, you should do step 1 alone, and steps 2 and 3 together. The variables we're looking at are heat and time, so we want to eliminate as many other variables as possible. You're all pros at doing that by now, so as close as you can get to identical pieces of meat, similar vessels and matching temperatures between oven and stovetop (it's hard to get a reading on a shallow pool of liquid, but try), the better. That's it. Do all that, taste, take notes, photograph and share. In addition, please reheat those Lab 1 samples and share your impressions. If you have questions about these instructions, please ask them on the logistics topic. See you tomorrow! Click here for the discussion of Lab #3. Click here for Lab #4.

Please use this topic to share your results from Braising Lab #2. All are free to read along, but please post here only if you participated in Lab #2. Thank you!

The Truth About Braising Lab Assignment #2 Lab assignment #2, to be conducted Tuesday and discussed Tuesday night, involves a comparison of braising liquids. We'll test several different types of braising liquids (stock, wine, water) as well as different amounts (meat partly covered, meat completely submerged) and discuss the pros and cons of each approach. I've had to retool Lab #2 a little bit, because I was surprised by the results of Lab #1. I was certain that, in an oven chamber with fairly constant heat, all those different types of braising vessels would perform pretty much the same. But that turned out not to be the case. Such is life when you make a commitment to the scientific method. So, unable to eliminate the vessel variable by proof, we will have to eliminate it some other way. The solution I've come up with is that I happen to have a set of four loaf pans all the same. They're small, but they'll each easily hold a couple of short ribs. They'll also all fit on the same shelf in my oven at the same time, which conveniently eliminates the oven-shelf variable. I'll cover them tight with a double layer of aluminum foil. You'll have to let us know what you come up with to reduce vessel variation. Whatever you have four of the same of, please use it. Or maybe you have two and two. Or maybe you'll have to do this in a couple of shifts. The instructions for this lab are really simple now that we're all veterans. Here's what goes in the four vessels: Vessel #1: meat plus 1/2” of stock Vessel #2: meat plus 1/2” of red wine Vessel #3: meat plus 1/2” of water with roughly chopped onions, carrots and celery Vessel #4: meat completely covered with stock Please take note of weight and temperature readings throughout, as in Lab #1. And note any other observations you may have; no observation is too small. Start by browning each piece of meat, trying to achieve uniform results. Include the browned bits and pan juices for each piece of meat in the relevant vessel. It's not really important for this lab what temperature you braise at, but I'll probably go with my oven preheated to 300 degrees F and turn it down to 275 after the first hour, then braise until fork tender. When the meat is finished cooking take each sample out of its pan juices and let it cool on a plate for a few minutes, until it is cool enough to taste comfortably. The idea here is, first, to taste each piece to see if the meat itself comes out any different when braised in these different liquids and ways. By the way, leave the oven on. Once you have made these observations, make a quick reduction of each type of braising liquid. Strain the vegetables out of the water, and only use as much of the stock from the fully submerged sample as there is liquid in the other vessels. For each liquid at this point, try to skim off as much fat as possible and reduce in a saucepan, skillet or other vessel until you get it to a few tablespoons of rich, almost syrup-like liquid. You may wish to season at this point. Then pour the sauce over the short rib and taste the differences between braised meats when accompanied by their braising liquids. Also note how this set of differences compares to the set of differences from when you tasted without sauce. Now that we have some braising vessels freed up, we'll also reheat the samples from Lab #1, to see what a night in the refrigerator did for them. Put each sample in a vessel with its liquid, and heat in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the liquid is simmering. Pick one sample to taste, make note of your observations, and let the other two cool back down and re-refrigerate them. We'll heat them again tomorrow, and one of them again on day 4. If you have questions about these instructions, please ask them on the logistics topic. See you tomorrow! Click here for the discussion of Lab #2. Click here for Lab #3.

Please use this topic to share your results from Braising Lab #1. All are free to read along, but please post here only if you participated in Lab #1. Thank you!

The Truth About Braising, Lab Assignment 1 An eGCI seminar and lab Braising lab number 1 will seek to ascertain the nature of the differences between braising in various types of cooking vessels, ranging from premium enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens (such as those made by Le Creuset and Staub) to disposable aluminum foil trays. In the introductory materials, I went over the four types of vessels that I think will be ideal for this lab. A quick recap: Top right. An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven; the classic braising vessel recommended by the greatest number of sources. In Le Creuset vernacular, it is a French oven, but everyone else calls it a Dutch oven. I hope you have or can borrow one of these. Top left. A metal Dutch oven, not enameled. Various cookware manufacturers may call this a soup pot, a saucier, a Dutch oven or something else. I hope you have some sort of metal pot in the approximate shape of a Dutch oven, but not made of enameled cast-iron. Bottom left. A ceramic or glass casserole, such as Pyrex, Corningware or stoneware. Warning: do not use these on the stovetop, as they can crack when exposed directly to high flame. When browning meat, you will want to do it in a piece of metal cookware. Bottom right. Aluminum foil trays, with aluminum foil to cover. These are readily available at just about every supermarket, for a couple of dollars. Again, you will need to do your stovetop browning in something else. You may have other cooking vessels. For example, some people swear by unglazed clay pots. Or you may have depth in a given category. For example, maybe you have both a Le Creuset and a Staub Dutch oven, or maybe you have both Calphalon anodized aluminum and All-Clad stainless Dutch ovens. If so, please feel free to do “extra credit” work by using additional vessels. (Note: you may also have a crockpot or a pressure cooker. That's great, but not for Lab number 1. Save those for Lab number 3, when we will be looking at issues of temperature, time and related phenomena.) In terms of the specifics of our braising process, because we are looking at the braising vessel as our main variable, the important thing is that we take steps to minimize the number of variables other than the braising vessel. This is the process I recommend: Weigh. If you have a scale, weigh each sample (by “sample” I mean a short rib or whatever unit of meat you're using for these tests) before cooking. Note the weight of each piece. You may find it helpful to number your samples and cooking vessels. Brown. To eliminate unwanted variables here, be sure to brown using similar burner settings and similar amounts of oil. Visually, you should try to have your browned samples look as similar as possible. For the metal pots, try a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Let the oil heat up, then add the sample. Give it a minute or so per side, rotating so as to brown all sides. When the sample is nicely browned (the photo below, with the ruler, shows two sample browned to what I consider a good color, with two raw pieces for reference; you're just trying to brown the exterior, not actually cook the piece of meat), add the braising liquid. For the ceramic/glass and foil vessels, you will want to do your browning in a separate skillet or in one of the metal pots. Be sure to transfer not only the sample but also the bits and pieces that are clinging to the skillet. Do this by adding a quarter cup or so of your braising liquid, scraping the skillet so as to gather up all the bits, and pouring it all into your braising vessel before adding the rest of the braising liquid. Liquid. Each of your braising vessels is likely to have different dimensions, so putting the same quantity of braising liquid in each is going to result in different levels of liquid. Instead, go by depth. I suggest half an inch of liquid in each vessel. That may be anywhere from a cup to a quart, depending. In terms of what liquid to use, the important thing is that you use the same liquid in every vessel. I will be using veal stock. You may want to use that (if you have time to make up a batch this weekend, it will serve you well all week), or you may want to use some other kind of stock. Store-bought low-sodium stock in a carton or can is acceptable for these purposes. Or you may want to use wine. For Lab number 1, I suggest that you not add any aromatic vegetables. The meat and stock alone together should provide a straightforward flavor profile that makes evaluation and comparison clearer. Braising. I suggest you start with your oven preheated to 325 degrees F. Place all the vessels in there, covered, and give everything about 20 minutes to come up to a nice simmer. You want to see small, slow bubbles in your liquid throughout the cooking process, kind of like a stock slowly simmering on the stovetop; not the large bubbles you'd see when boiling. Once you've reached a state of gentle simmering, note the time elapsed and take a temperature reading on each sample. To measure temperature, holding each sample with tongs, insert the instant-read thermometer into the fleshy part, going deep in and close to the bone (but not touching the bone). Keep modulating the temperature of your oven so you maintain that gentle simmer, and take temperature readings every half hour. Finishing. You don't want to cook the meat to mush. Rather, you want it to be tender but still have some structure. One good test is that a fork goes in easily, and when you pull the fork out the meat grips ever so slightly but releases pretty easily. Note the temperature reading and elapsed time when this happens, and take the sample and its vessel out of the oven at that time. Your samples may not all cook at the same speed. Don't go by time. Go by tenderness and temperature. Re-weighing. Once the samples have cooled a bit, weigh each sample. As you do all this in your four (or more if you can pull it off) vessels, focus on three types of observations: Results. When all is said and done and every sample is cooked and weighed, please line up your samples, keeping careful track of which is which, and taste a bite or two of each (don't eat the whole thing; we need it for the reheating experiments over the next three days). Make note of any differences you can detect. If you happen to have a willing partner, have that person mix up the samples (keeping track of which is which, but without telling you) so you can taste them blind. Progress. Please keep track of times and temperatures throughout the cooking process, and take photos if you can. If you can take a reading every half hour, that's best. Process. Take notes about your experiences, even subjective ones, with each piece of cookware. Did one piece or another have features or properties that made it more usable or enjoyable for you? No detail is too small. When you're done with all your braising, please be sure to label and save, separately, three short ribs so that we can do reheating experiments on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If you have three extra containers, save some braising liquid separately for each of the three samples. If you have even more extra containers and a few extra short ribs, you can also save some together with their braising liquid, so we can compare how reheating goes when ribs and liquid have been stored together and separately. Just be sure to label everything very clearly. Please do your actual braising on Monday if at all possible, because that will help the reheating experiments. Sunday is okay too, however. Saturday would be pushing things. In terms of discussion, if you have any questions about the logistics of this lab, please ask them on the logistics topic. Please do not post any of your results (go ahead and write them and save them in a word processing file, but don't post them) until Monday evening when we start the discussion topic for Lab number 1 results. See you then. Click here for the discussion of Lab #1 results. Click here for Lab #2.

The Truth About Braising An eGCI seminar and lab Truth: the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality (Merriam-Webster Online). Seminar: a group of students engaged, under the guidance of an instructor, in original research in a particular line of study, and in the exposition of the results by theses, lectures, etc. (Webster's Revised Unabridged). Lab: an academic period set aside for laboratory work (Merriam-Webster Online). Braising: cooking with moist heat (James Beard, Theory and Practice of Good Cooking). Participation in this seminar requires that you already know the basics of braising. I'd therefore like to begin this seminar with some quick remedial notes for those who do not yet know the basics of braising. Basic braising, in James Beard's words, consists of “browning a piece of meat, adding liquid and flavorings, and simmering it in a covered pot.” Okay, so now everybody is up to speed and ready for the seminar. When planning for this course, I considered a few issues. For one thing, I realized that much has already been written about braising, including whole books, and there isn't much I should or can add to the pedagogical literature on its own terms. For another thing, there is no shortage of recipes for braised dishes out there in the world -- if you'd like to read a million of them, just use Google. And for still another thing, I think that the eGCI's unique form of online interactive culinary learning should and can be used to do more than repackage the materials that are already out there. These considerations, and others, gave rise to “The Truth About Braising: An eGCI seminar and lab.” Over the course of a four-day period (Monday through Thursday, 14 through 17 February 2005) we will be discussing, in seminar format, the results of five different lab (your kitchen being the lab for our purposes) experiments designed to increase our knowledge of braising. I can promise you now that if you participate in these experiments, you will become more knowledgeable about several key elements of braising than most professional chefs and recipe writers. In keeping with the notion of a seminar, I will not really be teaching you anything. Rather, my role will be to lead the seminar. I will participate in each lab experiment and share my results, and those who join the seminar will do the same. We will have discussion, we will share photographs, we will summarize what we have learned (and what we haven't) and then we will move on to the next experiment. The five lab experiments we will be doing together cover: Cooking vessel. Here we will compare results of braising in different types of vessels, ranging from premium enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens (such as those made by Le Creuset and Staub) to disposable aluminum foil trays. Braising liquid. We'll test different types of braising liquids (stock, wine, water) as well as different amounts (meat partly covered, meat completely submerged) and discuss the pros and cons of each approach. Heat. We'll compare items braised using different combinations of time and temperature, and we'll also compare the oven to the stovetop. Browning. We'll look at the different ways to brown meat, and we'll also braise some unbrowned meat and examine the differences. Reheats. The first four labs will occur at the rate of one per day, Monday through Thursday. The reheating experiment, however, will take place over the entire span of the seminar: we will be refrigerating and reheating Monday's results and tasting them every day to see how braised dishes develop over time. The rules are as follows: All are free to read along, but only those who actually do the lab work may participate in a discussion on a given day. It doesn't matter if you're the world's foremost authority on braising; from Monday through Thursday, you still may not post unless you're actively engaged in the lab work for this seminar. This isn't a lecture where those who know more teach those who know less; it's a seminar where everybody engages in learning together, including me (I will do the experiments with you in real time, and in each case it will be the first time for me) and you (no matter how much you think you do or don't know). Partial lab work is fine: you may only want or be able to participate in one experiment, or in parts of a few. If so, the restriction is that you may only participate in discussion of the experiments you did. Extra lab work is also encouraged: you may have a type of cooking vessel I don't, such as a crockpot; or you may have sous-vide equipment and want to pursue that line of inquiry. Please feel free to do so. I ask only that you check with me in advance, so I can coordinate the discussions and rule out anything that's too far off axis. Nor is it necessary for you to use the same meat I'm using. I will do every experiment with short ribs. If, however, there's a big sale on lamb shanks at your local grocery, go ahead and use those. If you're unsure about the acceptable range of variation (for example, it would not be okay to do all the experiments on turnips instead of meat) please ask. We will leave a planning topic open before and throughout the seminar for these sorts of questions. I'm going to ensure a tight focus for our discussions during the four days of the seminar. The point is to share results, observations and photographs, and to ask questions of one another and draw whatever preliminary conclusions we can draw from our data. The point is not to engage in very much speculation, nor is it to inject a lot of information from other research or texts. After the seminar is over, we will open the floor up to broader discussion: those who did not participate in the experiments can ask questions and offer comments, and participants will no longer be constrained by the seminar's focus. The seminar will follow a structure like so: This topic serves as the course introduction. With it, we will open a planning topic on which you can ask about logistics. I will post the full procedure for the first experiment on Friday, but it is best if you do the actual cooking on Monday so as to be able to get into the rhythm of the class. Time zones and people's personal schedules will make full coordination impossible, but assuming you are on New York time the schedule would look like this: Friday: posting of full procedure for Monday's lab work Monday day: perform Monday's cooking lab work Monday evening: discussion of Monday's lab work (discussion to remain open until the following evening's discussion begins); posting of full procedure for Tuesday's lab work Tuesday day: perform Tuesday's cooking lab work Tuesday evening: discussion of Tuesday's lab work (discussion to remain open until the following evening's discussion begins); posting of full procedure for Wednesday's lab work Wednesday day: perform Wednesday's cooking lab work Wednesday evening: discussion of Wednesday's lab work (discussion to remain open until the following evening's discussion begins); posting of full procedure for Thursday's lab work Thursday day: perform Thursday's cooking lab work Thursday evening: discussion of Thursday's lab work (discussion to remain open until the following evening) Friday: open discussion What you will need: If you wish to participate in the full battery of lab experiments, and I hope you will, you will need enough individual pieces of meat, similar in size and composition, so as to have one piece for each experiment. My preliminary calculation (bearing in mind that we may have to make some adjustments to subsequent experiments based on what we learn in early experiments) is that you will need 20 such pieces of meat. I will be using beef short ribs, because they are small enough that 20 of them is not such a huge amount of food (four people can easily burn through 20 short ribs as part of a meal). You may want to use lamb shanks or duck legs; it's really up to you. If you decide to use a larger piece of meat, like brisket or a chuck roast, I suggest you not buy 20 of them. Instead, buy two or three and cut them up into pieces that are as uniform as possible. When buying short ribs, try to get ones that are as uniform as possible. Some have a lot more meat on them than others. You want ones like the one pictured here on the left, with a nice fat piece of meat on it into which you can stick a thermomether; the one on the right is harder to work with and less useful. If you have to buy a few extras in order to perform some triage, rest assured we'll find uses for the non-conforming pieces. You may also wish to double up and use 40 short ribs, for redundancy. This is what I plan to do. You'll probably want to go shopping twice: once this weekend and once on Tuesday. I would rather not have you buy short ribs on Sunday and have them sit raw in the refrigerator until Thursday. I'm not terribly concerned that anything will happen to you, especially given how thoroughly one cooks a braised dish, but still it's best to have nice fresh meat. I encourage you, also, to put one or two short ribs (I will always refer to short ribs, but you should understand this to mean whatever meat you're using) in the freezer right away, as soon as you do your shopping. Later in the lab work, we may throw in a comparison of fresh versus frozen braised meat. Don't expect to be eating short ribs for dinner four nights in a row. We will be poking, prodding and testing the meat so much that you probably won't have much left in the way of whole, presentable pieces. We'll also be holding some over for the reheating experiments. My suggestion is that you save all your excess meat in a zipper bag and, on Thursday, we can talk about what to do with it: short rib hash, lentils with short rib meat, short rib panini . . . and you'll still have the bones for a nice stock. In terms of equipment, it would be great if you had at least four different braising vessels. Here are the ones I'll be using: Top right. An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. The reason this is important is because it is the classic braising vessel recommended by the greatest number of sources. Le Creuset refers to its product line as French ovens, but the point is that it's a round or oval pot, with a lid and usually with high, straight sides, made from heavy cast-iron that has been coated with enamel to prevent chemical reactions between the metal and the food during long, slow, moist cooking. Maybe you have one of these, from Le Creuset, Staub or another manufacturer, or maybe you have something in a somewhat different shape, such as an enameled cast-iron pot with curved sides. Whatever you have is fine. Just please do me a favor: don't go out and buy a $200 Le Creuset pot for this seminar. I'd much rather see you borrow one from a friend (I borrowed this one from my friend Sam Kinsey). Because, when all is said and done, we might learn from our lab work that you don't need such a pot. Or we might learn that you do, in which case you can always buy one later. Top left. A regular old metal Dutch oven. Who knows what a given cookware manufacturer is going to call this pot: a soup pot, a saucier, maybe even occasionally a Dutch oven . . . the terminology is diverse but the pot is the same. You may have one of these in stainless steel, aluminum or copper, or you may not. The idea here is not so much to have a specific item, but rather to have something that is metal and in the approximate shape of a Dutch oven, but that is not made of enameled cast-iron. I have two of these, the same, from Calphalon, which may be useful for some comparisons because it controls for the cooking-vessel variable. Bottom left. A ceramic or glass casserole. This may be glass (such as Pyrex or Corningware) or glazed stoneware. These are not made of metal, so you won't want to do stovetop browning in them. That means you'll also need a skillet or something (such as one of the vessels listed above) in which to brown your meat. Bottom right. Aluminum foil trays, with aluminum foil to cover. Here we are looking at the cheapest possible vessel for braising. Again, you will need to do your stovetop browning in something else. The only other piece of equipment you will absolutely need is an instant-read thermometer. We will be taking a lot of temperature readings to ensure the consistency of our experiments. It will also be very helpful to have some tongs, because we'll be probing and manipulating hot items and tongs provide the best control. And if you have a kitchen scale, that will give you another variable to track, since meat is a natural and inconsistent product. Ingredients-wise, in addition to the actual meat, you will need: Stock. I will do most of the braising experiments (except for the ones that call for wine or water) with stock as my braising liquid. If you have several quarts of homemade beef or veal stock around, or if you can make some this weekend, that's great. If not, some store-bought will suffice for these experiments; just please be sure to get a low-sodium variety because later, if you want to make sauces out of reduced braising liquid, you will not want a surplus of salt. Other stock substitutions may work out as well: chicken stock is usable for braising beef, and even more usable for braising duck legs. Pork stock works too. You can also abandon the stock premise altogether and use, for example, water (flavored with aromatic vegetables) for all the experiments (except for the ones specifically calling for wine or stock). The comparisons will be just as valuable. Wine. A bottle of cheap but not awful red wine will be needed for Tuesday's experiments. Or you can use an expensive bottle. Don't let me stop you. Aromatic vegetables. Onions, carrots and celery. Please get at least one standard supermarket bag of each (in US supermarkets that's three pounds of onions, and one pound each of carrots and celery). Click here to post any questions or comments about the logistics of the seminar. Click here for the first lab assignment. Click here for the Braising course Q&A. See you next week in the seminar.

Ask your questions about the eGCI course on texture on this thread.

<P>SCIENCE OF THE KITCHEN: TASTE AND TEXTURE <P>PART TWO: TEXTURE <P>by Janet A Zimmerman <P><A NAME="intro"><B>INTRODUCTION</B></A> <P>A friend of mine spent quite a bit of time in Cambodia over the space of several years. On her last trip back, her hosts held a banquet in her honor, which featured, among other things, fried crickets. Being a gracious guest, she summoned up her resolve and tasted one. When she was back in the states relating this tale, I asked her what they tasted like. Her response: "The legs were sharp and stickery, the outside was really hard and crunchy, and the insides were squishy." <P>The reason I'm starting out with this story is not to disgust anyone, nor to make a point about cultural food choices. It's this: if you read her description carefully, you should notice something. (Pause.) Did you get it? That's right -- her description says absolutely nothing about the taste of that cricket. It's all about texture. Sharp, stickery legs, hard carapace, squishy insides. Texture terms, every one. <P>She's not alone in confusing taste and texture. For instance, if you read the copy on boxes of crackers or chips, chances are pretty good you'll see something about the "crispy" or "crunchy" taste. (Note to ad people: "crunchy" is not a taste.) <P>Another example, this one from a cookbook. In The Elements of Taste, authors Gray Kunz and Peter Kaminsky describe one of their fourteen basic "tastes" as "Picante." "Peppery heat does have nerve endings on the tongue just like sweet, sour, salty and bitter, but they're not taste buds per se," they write. Continuing, they state, "Even if science doesn't recognize picante as a taste, try and tell that to a chef in Lima, Peru or Lafayette, Louisiana." <P>With all due respect to these talented chefs, I still have to say, "Sorry guys, you can call 'picante' a taste until the world ends, but it's no more a taste than 'crunchy.'" <P>Why do so many people mistake textures for tastes? In Part One of this class, I described how the same neural pathways that convey the basic tastes convey additional sensory information about the feel and temperature of what we're eating. Thus, we tend to experience all those sensations -- the actual tastes and flavors and the way our food feels in the mouth -- as part of one indivisible whole. It takes a moment or two of introspection to separate the various components of the sensory experience, and many people never take the time and effort to do so. Texture for them remains so invisible that they confuse it with taste. <P>Yet texture is absolutely crucial in any gustatory experience, and concentrating consciously on texture as a separate element from taste is the second, very necessary step in analyzing the foods we cook and eat. <P>We've seen (in Part One) that our sense of taste is limited to only a handful of true tastes. Of course, when you add in our olfactory sense, we can detect hundreds of flavors, but most of us actually experience a pretty limited range of flavors in our lives. In many cases, what provides the most variety in our food is texture. <P>Other food cultures, including many Asian cuisines, treat texture more directly. They revel in some foods simply because of their texture. And often, the textures they love are textures that the typical Western palate finds unpleasant. I remember assisting a Chinese cooking instructor who was describing a certain mushroom he was adding to a dish. He translated the name as "slimy mushroom" and rather apologetically explained that the Chinese word for "slimy" just didn't have the negative connotations that we associate with the term. <P>But while Americans might not consciously think about the texture of our foods, we care deeply about it. Take a look at any restaurant review, and count the number of words used to describe texture, compared with descriptions of taste. Crispy, crunchy, brittle, chewy, sticky, hard, soft, squishy, creamy, silky, slimy, oily, moist, succulent, dry and juicy are just some of the words you'll likely find that are all about texture, not taste. <P>Don't believe me? Here's a sample, from the San Francisco Chronicle's online publication, sfgate.com: "The ravioli in cream sauce had an unpleasant grainy filling, the gnocchi were leaden and doughy, and fusilli in pink sauce was, well, fusilli in pink sauce. A braised veal shank was overshadowed by its accompaniment, toothsome strands of homemade tagliolini. The porcini cream sauce was good, but the mushrooms were sandy. There's nothing worse than grit in a sauce that's supposed to be buttery and smooth (italics all mine)." <P>Not only do all the italicized terms describe texture, but also if you read carefully, you'll notice that no terms in the paragraph say anything directly about taste or flavor. <P>Look more closely, and you'll discover another thing about texture. In many cases, what we like and dislike about the texture of our food is a direct result of what we expect from a particular food. "Chewy," for example, is a textural feature that we like when we're talking about caramel or beef jerky, but not when we're talking about steak or biscuits. Or, as another example, think about the texture of custard compared with that of scrambled eggs. Many people enjoy both, but few would want the former with the texture of the latter. <P>From a very informal survey (okay, sitting around talking over drinks with a bunch of food-oriented friends), I think, too, that the textures we like -- even more so than the tastes we like -- are dependent on the foods we grew up with (which, of course, color our expectations of food for most of our lives). Okra is a perfect example. Of all the times I've heard people talk about okra, two things stand out. First, no one ever talks about the taste. Second, almost without exception, Southerners like it, Northerners say it's gross and slimy. Something tells me that it's no slimier in the North than in the South, so it seems likely that the difference lies in what the two groups grew up eating. <P><A NAME="cat"><B>CATEGORIES OF TEXTURE</B></A> <P>"Texture," of course, is a very broad term, referring to different types of sensations. So what is texture, exactly? In the broadest sense, texture refers to the way food feels in the mouth, rather than how it tastes or smells. There are texture terms that describe the way foods feel against the teeth or how they coat the mouth, terms that refer to sensations of pain caused by some of the foods we eat, terms that describe the moisture content. Let's take a quick look. <P>Toothy Terms <P>Mention texture to the "person-on-the-street," and chances are very good he or she will think of the way food feels and breaks against the teeth. "Crunchy," "crispy," and "chewy," which might well be the three most commonly used texture terms, obviously refer to such sensations, as does the Italian term "al dente" (literally, "to the tooth"). (Interestingly, the term "toothsome" is not primarily about texture; its first dictionary meaning is "agreeable" or "palatable." However, restaurant reviewers seem to have kidnapped the term to stand in for "al dente," so I feel compelled to mention it here.) <P>Obviously, since humans are born toothless, we don't start out liking chewy or crunchy food. We start out eating pureed food and gradually work our way up to foods that require more and more chewing. Because of this, soft foods can play an interesting psychological role for some of us -- many of our so-called "comfort foods" are soft, such as custard, hot cereal, Jello, or mashed potatoes. On the other hand, other people seem to develop an aversion to soft foods, which only illustrates how complex the human animal can be. <P>As adults, most of us like the feel of crunching down on food, of biting into something that snaps against our teeth. Yes, we may like a perfectly silky pureed soup, but too much smooth, soft food soon begins to feel like a diet for an invalid or a toddler. Oftentimes, we'll incorporate a crunchy or crispy element into our softer foods for contrast: think of the topping on a gratin, toasted nuts sprinkled over ice cream, or the crust on a crème brulee. <P>From an evolutionary point of view, a propensity for crunchy food is certainly valuable: it helps to protect our dental health. <P>And what about "chewiness" as a texture? Good or bad? In this case, it's especially true that it depends on our expectations. We certainly like some chewy foods: caramel, for instance. Beef jerky and other dried salted meats may have been a nutritional necessity to our ancestors, but many modern folks now eat it voluntarily. Nothing else can explain the popularity of gum. Still, there's generally a limit to the amount of chewing we want to do, and our tolerance varies with the type of food we're eating. <P>More than crunchiness, our liking for chewy foods varies from culture to culture as well as from individual to individual. Americans have the reputation for liking softer food than many European cultures: think of the typical American sandwich of soft bread, lunch meats and soft cheese, compared with a French baguette topped with some chewy ham and Gruyere. Of course, American preferences are changing, as witnessed by the burgeoning popularity of "artisan" breads -- denser and much chewier (as well as more flavorful) than the breads we ate in the 50's and 60's. <P>Moisture Level <P>Perhaps fewer texture terms we use refer to the moisture content of our food, but those we do use show up frequently. Descriptions of fruit and meat, for instance, almost always include some mention of the moisture level -- juicy oranges, succulent chicken, dry steak. Baked goods are also evaluated, at least partly, in terms of their moisture content, although the more straightforward term "moist" is the one most often applied to cakes and pastries. <P>When we eat foods that are not intrinsically moist, we often add moisture: plain potatoes, bread, or pasta are not foods most people choose over the sauced, buttered and otherwise lubricated versions. Children dip their cookies into milk; adults dip their biscotti into wine or coffee. Since, as we saw in Part One, taste molecules have to be dissolved for our sense of taste to be effective, it's no wonder we prefer moisture in our foods. <P>But we don't want all our foods laden with moisture. Again, we have to get back to expectations here. If something is supposed to be crisp or crunchy and it isn't, we don't say it's "moist," we say it's "soggy." Now, it may seem as if I'm splitting grammatical hairs, but my point is that to most of us, some foods are supposed to contain moisture, and some aren't, and never the twain shall meet. <P>Density <P>Much human ingenuity has gone into leavening. Cooks have used numerous methods including chemical reactions (baking powder or yeast) and physical structure (whipping cream or eggs) to lighten the texture of foods from breads to mousse to cakes to souffles. <P>Of course, we can only manipulate the density of certain foods -- those that require mixing. Baked goods, desserts and sauces are the serious contenders for playing with texture. Meat and vegetables, for example, keep pretty much the same density level regardless of what we do to them. <P>It may seem that as far as density goes, the lighter, the better, but this is not always so. Sometimes we want our desserts dense -- think of fudgy style brownies or flourless chocolate cake. Sometimes we like a dense, chewy bread rather than a light and fluffy Parker House roll. Sometimes we want clotted cream instead of whipped cream, or a quiche instead of a souffle. <P><A NAME="chem"><B>CHEMOSENSORY IRRITATION</B></A> <P>It might sound odd to talk about the burn of chiles as a texture. Certainly, this and other chemosensory irritations are categorically different from the kinds of textures we've been talking about so far. Yet all the burns and tingles we experience from mint, ginger, mustard and the like are non-gustatory, physical sensations directly caused by the foods we eat, and in that sense they fall into the broad category of texture. <P>I began this class with a passage from Kunz and Kaminsky's book, in which I chided them for calling "picante" as a taste, but it's really not a surprising mistake. It seems bizarre to separate, for example, the taste of horseradish from the sinus-clearing, eye-burning sensations we experience when we eat it. Mint wouldn't be mint without the tingle; chiles aren't chiles without the burn. <P>The fact is that we eat these foods much more for the irritation factor than for the taste or smell. Not that they don't have recognizable tastes and odors, but those are secondary to the feelings the foods cause. <P>The big question about chemosensory irritations is this: Why do we seek them out? Why voluntarily eat things that irritate our mouths, eyes, throats, and, in some cases, our entire gastrointestinal tracts? <P>There are various possibilities. Physically, it seems that capsaicin may increase the secretion of saliva and gastric juices, which would aid in digestion. Ginger, which has its own, albeit milder, heat, also aids in digestion and helps to prevent nausea. Chiles (as well as other spices and herbs) inhibit the growth of pathogens in food, which is a boon from an evolutionary standpoint. <P>Other reasons are more psychological. Paul Rozin, a psychologist who has written about food-related behavior, posits that we do it in the same spirit that we ride roller coasters. That is, regulated doses of fear or pain excite our brains and bodies, and we like that. These mild irritations also provide a break for the palate; by momentarily capturing our attention, they give us a chance to pause (figuratively at least, and sometimes literally) before continuing on with our eating. <P>And, as we saw in Part One with bitter foods, although we start out avoiding foods that are unpleasant (whether because of a bitter taste or irritating sensations), coming to like them is a measure of growing up for many people. One Thai cooking instructor I know told the story of visiting her niece and being greeted with the young girl's excited announcement that she now liked chiles. She was proud of the fact that she was becoming more adult in her tastes. <P>Here's a look at some of the most common irritants we learn to enjoy. <P>Capsaicin <P>Various peppers have been embraced by virtually every cuisine in the world, from the fiery chiles used in Thai or Indian cuisine, to the myriad fresh, dried and smoked peppers used in Mexican and South American cuisines, to the paprika that defines so many Hungarian dishes. Capcaisin is the alkaloid compound responsible for their burn, whether mild or searing. <P>Capsaicin is probably the most studied of the substances in food that cause chemosensory irritations. Researchers have isolated five "capsaicinoid" compounds, three of which cause "rapid bite sensations" in the back of the palate and the throat, and two of which cause a longer, lower-intensity burn on the tongue and mid-palate. Variations in the proportions and amounts of these compounds account for the different sensations we get from different chiles. <P>If you eat peppers much, you'll pretty begin to develop a tolerance for them. As we saw in Part One with strong flavors and odors, our threshold for various foods are not static; this is particularly true for capsaicin. Like any other type of pain we experience regularly, we grow accustomed to the burn of chiles, and it takes more and hotter varieties of them to excite the same sensations. That's a big reason that two people can have such a different perception of how hot a particular chile-infused dish is -- what's mild for a chile-head can be brutal for a novice. (Lest you heat freaks start to get cocky about your tolerance, though, just remember that if you stop eating them for a while, your tolerance will decrease and you'll be back where you started.) <P>Mustard, horseradish and wasabi <P>Mustard gets its heat from the reaction of the enzyme myrosin with glucosides in mustard seeds, which produces a very volatile oil, called (not surprisingly) mustard oil. Actually, there are several so-called mustard oils, but we can ignore that for now. The reaction only occurs when the mustard seeds are crushed and mixed with liquid, which is why you can take a big whiff of whole mustard seeds and feel nothing. Once they're crushed and moistened, though, only a tiny bit will cause watering eyes and irritate the nasal passages, as anyone who's inadvertently taken a big bite of Chinese mustard can attest. Mustard has been used in medicine as well as cooking for a couple thousand years, both in tinctures and applied externally to reduce inflammation. (Mustard oils, like capsaicin and other "counterirritants," work in this way by drawing blood to the surface of the skin and away from the deeper, inflamed areas.) <P>Horseradish and wasabi are similar to mustard in both cause and effects. When grated, they form mustard oils as well. Much of the power of the mustard oils dissipates with heating, which is why dishes cooked with horseradish can be relatively mild, with only a hint of raw horseradish's bite. <P>Although mustard, horseradish and wasabi can be staggeringly powerful, their "heat" is entirely different from that of chiles. Fist of all, we feel their effect primarily in the nasal passages rather than in the mouth. Second, although they can clear out your nasal passages faster than any decongestant, their effects are comparatively brief. As soon as your eyes stop watering from too much horseradish, you're ready for more. <P>Other irritants <P>The active oil in peppermint (and, to a lesser degree, in spearmint), menthol, is uniquely refreshing. At low concentrations, it temporarily raises the surface temperature of our skin, making our mouths feel cool and cool liquids feel downright cold. (If you're going to have your temperature taken, don't suck on peppermint candies -- your temperature will be artificially raised, as I discovered one time when I was giving blood.) In higher concentrations, it can be used as an anesthetic, or as a counterirritant like mustard oil. <P>The active ingredient in clove oil, eugenol, has fast acting and powerful anesthetic qualities. In addition to their culinary uses, cloves have been used for thousands of years to freshen the breath and numb the mouth. Clove oil is still widely used for toothache. <P>Carbonation <P>The tingly feeling we get when drinking carbonated drinks is also caused by a chemical reaction. One of our many enzymes, carbonic anhydrase, which creates acid from carbon dioxide and water, has been shown to play a big role in our sensing this "tingle." (Some medications given to glaucoma patients inhibit this enzyme; they can significantly alter the patients' experience of carbonation.) <P>But unlike the other irritants I've been discussing, carbonation also has a physical side -- all those bubbles physically alter the feel of the carbonated drinks. They keep the liquid from lying on the tongue for long; they pop and make the liquid "fizzy." Flat soft drinks taste sweeter and feel thicker without the "scrubbing bubble" effect of carbonation. Cheap sparkling wine (not that any of you would drink it) might be bearable when freshly opened, but all those off-flavors become painfully obvious after the carbonation dissipates, when all the wine can do is lie on your tongue and linger. <P>Carbonation has an additional benefit: it can serve to cut through the heavy texture of rich and fatty foods. Since we're just about to turn to the subject of "mouthfeel," we'll be seeing carbonation again soon. <P><A NAME="mouth"><B>MOUTHFEEL</B></A> <P>Chances are, if you're familiar with the term "mouthfeel," you associate it with descriptions of wine. Wine geeks always seem to go on about mouthfeel, which can seem extremely silly to wine novices. What is mouthfeel, you might ask, and why should you care about it? <P>Good questions. One way to think about mouthfeel is this: take away all the other textural elements I've discussed, and what's left is mouthfeel. Okay, that's not terribly helpful, is it? Mouthfeel, then, involves the way foods coat or don't coat the mouth, whether they seem to linger or disappear immediately, whether they increase your saliva flow (lemon juice) or dry it up (tannins), whether they're smooth and silky or rough and "sharp" against the tongue. With liquids (beverages and sauces, primarily), mouthfeel includes the "body" or viscosity (how thick or thin the liquid is). <P>Now let's see why we should care about mouthfeel. In the case of wine, beer, and other beverages, it's easy to see why mouthfeel plays such a big role in our descriptions. Without anything to crunch into or chew on, mouthfeel is very apparent. With food, some elements of it are more obvious than others. For instance, we tend to immediately tune into how smooth certain foods are or are not -- we notice right away if our hollandaise is lumpy or our ice cream is grainy. <P>Overall, though, compared with all the chewing and crunching we do, with the various irritations we sense, and the density and moisture level of our foods, mouthfeel is pretty subtle. It can get lost among the other textural elements. <P>But it's there in the background, and it very likely makes a difference in the way you perceive your food, even if you don't realize it. Most of this "subtext" mouthfeel involves how lasting, how rich, and how cloying our food is, which depends in large part on the fat level of the foods we're eating. Fats and oils, of course, influence the moisture content of our foods, but they also do a couple other things. They can lend viscosity to sauces and help make them smooth and "creamy." They cause food to linger on the tongue and in the mouth, providing a longer "finish" than foods without as much fat. They soften the feel of highly acidic or astringent foods, making them less "rough." <P>Maybe you've seen the ice cream commercial where the little kids are trying to read the ingredients listed on the labels. They stumble over all the multi-syllabic chemicals, and then turn to the advertised brand, which contains only "natural" ingredients. <P>If, like I did, you run a Google search for "food," texture," and "mouthfeel," most of the results will be either wine descriptions or scientific treatises on the various chemicals used to create and maintain a smooth and rich mouthfeel. I'm not about to get into the argument about whether such additives are good or bad. The only point I want to make here is that many, probably most, of them are not added for flavor. They're there for texture. <P>Like it or not, it's difficult to produce an ice cream that stays smooth, rich feeling and creamy for days, much less for weeks. And if it's difficult with a full-fat ice cream, it's virtually impossible with a non-fat version. That's the problem with low-fat versions of foods that are ordinarily fatty -- they may not taste that different from the regular versions, but they just don't feel the same. Since the low-fat craze hit, food manufacturers have spent millions of dollars on ways to make non- and low-fat foods feel like their full-fat cousins. <P>Because, despite all our concern with "healthy" foods, the fact remains that we like the feel of fats and oils in our foods. If we don't get that feeling from at least some of our food, we notice the lack, and our gustatory experience is less satisfactory because of it. <P>Fat, acid, and astringency <P>But too much of a good thing, in this case, is not so great. Too much rich food can coat the mouth and tongue too thoroughly, feeling unpleasantly heavy and cloying. Most cooks understand this at some level, even if they can't articulate it or don't even consciously think about it. We use a variety of techniques to cut through the heavy mouthfeel of foods high in fats and oils. Whipping cream, for instance, introduces thousands of tiny air bubbles into the cream, which physically lift it from the tongue, giving it a lighter, less cloying feel than plain cream. <P>Mostly, though, we rely on two very different categories of ingredients to counter the heaviness. First, a touch of astringency serves to cut through high-fat dishes. Certain foods and their components are naturally astringent, meaning that they dry out the mouth. This seems like something unpleasant, and too much of it often is. But a little astringency can work to (figuratively) scrape out the mouth, refreshing the palate by giving it a stopping point, so to speak. Sometimes the astringent ingredient is in the dish itself -- a bed of arugula, for instance, working as a foil to a richly sauced beef. More often, it's in the beverages we choose to drink with rich foods -- think about the hops of beer and tannins of red wine cutting through the fat in such dishes as fish and chips or roast lamb. Or a cup of tea with rich pastries. <P>The other major technique for balancing the rich mouthfeel of high-fat foods is to add some acid. We saw in Part One that acid balances sweetness; just as it cuts through the cloying taste intensely sweet foods, it also acts to cut through the cloying feel of fatty and oily foods. Think of salad dressings without vinegar, a beurre blanc without the wine reduction, or Hollandaise without the lemon juice. They'd be too much on the palate without the touch of acid. Introducing a tart sorbet between rich courses in a many-coursed meal was a common technique that's making a comeback. And, of course, we can also get our acid in our beverages, just like we do our astringency. Most white wines get their palate cleansing qualities from their acid, not from tannins. <P>It generally takes very little of an astringent or acidic ingredient to counteract the fat in many dishes. Too much acid or astringency is just as unpleasant as too much fat. It's all about balance. Let's look at a simple salad of greens dressed with a vinaigrette. In most American restaurants and many homes, plain lettuces have given way in salads to mixtures of greens, many of which are mildly astringent and bitter. At the same time, Americans seem to have tended toward more and more acidic vinaigrettes, compared with their European counterparts. It's easy, given these two trends, to go overboard and end up with a salad that's unbalanced. In most cases, all it takes to bring it back into balance is a bit more oil in the dressing, or a bit of cheese. The additional richness makes the acid dressing and astringent greens behave themselves. <P>Umami and mouthfeel <P>We saw in Part One that the umami, or savory, taste is, most certainly, a real taste. But as I mentioned then, umami has a textural element that's even more important (I think) than its taste. Foods that are high in glutamates have a richness and a depth that's lacking in foods without them. Remember the researcher who described umami as that "mouth-filling" sensation? That pretty much sums it up. <P>Ingredients that are naturally high in glutamates contribute a quality of richness to the dishes where they appear. For instance, it's very surprising to many people, on eating their first Thai salad, to find that the dressing generally contains no oil -- the fish sauce provides the unctuous feeling they associate with oil. If you leave out the fish sauce, the salad will not only taste less complex, but it will also feel less satisfying. <P>Food manufacturers that add MSG (monosodium glutamate) to their products do it as much for mouthfeel as they do for flavor. If you tried the exercise at the end of Part One involving MSG, you probably noticed that the water with MSG not only tasted vaguely brothy, but it also felt fuller on the tongue than plain water. I unabashedly admit to adding a pinch of MSG to many dishes, especially soups with meat and poultry. I don't do it for the flavor, I do it for the mouthfeel. <P>You don't have to follow my lead, though. There are plenty of ingredients, like fish sauce, with natural glutamates. Experiment with mushrooms, aged cheeses, cured meats, Worcestershire sauce, or grapefruit to alter the mouthfeel of the dishes you cook or eat. <P><A NAME="text"><B>TEXTURE AND TASTE</B></A> <P>So, now that we've separated texture from taste and we understand it a little better, let's turn around and put them back together (come on, you knew I would do this, didn't you?) They don't, after all, exist independent from each other; they're part of a package. <P>Texture can affect flavor in a couple of important ways, so let's start with that. First, the texture of the food we eat helps to determine how much of the surface area can interact with our taste cells. Think about the difference in flavor intensity between carrot chunks, grated carrot and carrot juice. Put a big chunk of carrot in your mouth, and you don't taste much until you crunch down on it and break it into smaller pieces. Taste a spoonful of grated carrot, and the flavor is much more apparent. Sip on a glass of carrot juice, and you get a blast of carrot flavor immediately. <P>The length of time food spends in the mouth also obviously will affect how strong its flavor seems. We've seen that viscous liquids and rich foods coat the mouth; their tastants thus spend more time with the taste cells than thinner liquids and leaner foods, so they often seem more flavorful. Dense foods, likewise, come into contact with more taste cells than do aerated, lighter foods. Chewy foods take longer to break down enough to swallow than do softer foods, so we get more flavor from them. <P>Does this mean that we want to limit ourselves to those textures that promote the greatest flavor? No, not at all. If you've learned only thing from this class, I hope it's that variety makes the our culinary world go round -- contrasting and balancing textures is just as important to our gustatory pleasure as combining and balancing tastes and flavors. We're human; it's in our nature to embrace variety. <P><A NAME="next"><B>THE NEXT STEP</B></A> <P>Building on all the practice you've had analyzing the flavor of your foods, now you can begin to combine that with an awareness of their textures. Concentrate on all the crispy, crunchy, soft, silky creamy, puckery, chewy, moist, hot, succulent, and tingly aspects of your foods, and I promise you'll get more out of your cooking and dining. <P><A NAME="exper"><B>EXPERIMENTS</B></A> <P>Noticing Texture <P>Pick out two or three restaurant reviews from your local paper. Go through them and underline all the words that describe or refer to flavor (salty, smoky, sour, flavorful, etc.). Then, go through them a second time, and circle all the words that describe texture. Some words may fall into both categories ("buttery," for example, often refers to the flavor of butter, but sometimes describes a texture. Likewise for "meaty"). Compare the number of underlined to circled words. <P>Texture and Flavor <P>This takes a few carrots. Puree one carrot into juice (or buy some carrot juice). Shred one, mince one, dice one, and cut one into large chunks. Taste the various forms of carrot. How does the texture affect the flavor? <P>Fat and Mouthfeel <P>Run out and buy small cartons of milk with differing fat contents -- non-fat, 1%, 2%, regular, and ideally, extra rich (4%). Also get a carton each of half and half, light cream, and heavy cream (if you're not in the U.S., you may have different options, but the point is to buy as wide a variety as you can.) <P>Starting with the non-fat (or lowest fat) variety, take a sip of the milk, concentrating on how it coats your mouth -- how thick it feels, how long it lingers. Proceed through the rest of the samples, moving from least fat to most fat (you may want to pause every two or three for a drink of water or a bit of a mild cracker). How does the fat content influence the mouthfeel? Which one feels the most pleasant? The least pleasant? <P>Umami and Mouthfeel <P>Repeat the umami experiment from Part One: dissolve a half-teaspoon or so of Ac'cent in a cupful of warm water. Taste the mixture. This time, compare it with a sip of plain water the same temperature and concentrate on the differences in the way it feels in the mouth. Does the MSG made the water feel richer? Does it feel as if it's coating your mouth? <P>Balancing Fat and Acid <P>You'll need oil and vinegar or lemon juice for this, plus a few leaves of lettuce. First, pour a little oil into a bowl, and a little vinegar or lemon juice into another. Mix vinaigrettes in the following proportions: one oil to two vinegar, one oil to one vinegar and two vinegar to one oil. Beginning with the plain oil and ending with the plain vinegar, dip a small piece on lettuce into each and taste it. Note how the mouthfeel changes as the acid increases. Which mixture works the best for you? <P>If you like, repeat the experiment using an astringent green such as arugula. Does your preference change? <P>Ask your questions about this course here. </TD></TABLE>

Ask your questions about the eGCI course on SOY here.

<TABLE bgcolor="white"> <FONT=verdana> <TD> <P>SOY <br> by Kristin Yamaguchi</P> <P><B>CONTENTS</B> <UL> <LI><A HREF="#intro">INTRODUCTION</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#types">TYPES OF TOFU IN JAPAN</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#drain">DRAINING AND PRESSING TOFU</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#make">MAKING TOFU FROM SCRATCH</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#make2">MAKING TOFU FROM SOY MILK</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#recipes">RECIPES USING TOFU AND TOFU PRODUCTS</A></LI> </UL> <A NAME="intro"><B>INTRODUCTION</B></A> <P>The soybean, known as daizu (great bean) in Japan, is an incredible legume. Native to the Far East, the soybean is one of the most nutritious and versatile foods around. In Japan it is eaten every single day, whether it be in bean form, either dried or fresh (edamame), fermented as natto, as soy sauce, miso or of course a tofu product. It would be impossible to discuss all the aspects of the soybean in just one class, so this time we will focus on tofu, or bean curd, learning how to make it step by step. We will also look at what to do with the by-products of the process and with the finished product. <P>Though it had already been cultivated in China for 3000 years, the first mention of soybeans in Japan is in the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters), completed in 712 AD. During the Nara Period (710 – 794 AD), tofu was brought from China by Buddhist priests. Though tofu remained a staple of the monk’s vegetarian cuisine, it took a little longer for it to gain popularity with the rest of the population. It started with the samurai and the nobility class and finally made its way to the rest of the population during the Edo period (1603 – 1867). <P>Tofu making is a fairly simple task. The beans are soaked then crushed with the addition of a little water. This liquid is then boiled and strained, a process that separates the soy milk from the pulp. The soy milk is heated again, then a coagulant, nigari (a sea-salt derived compound rich in magnesium chloride), calcium sulfate, or other agent, is added and tofu is the resulting product. <P><A NAME="types"><B>TYPES OF TOFU IN JAPAN</b> <P>Fresh bean curd is a very perishable product and should be eaten as soon as possible after making. Some types keep longer than others but try to use it in less than 5 days. It will stay fresher if you change the water every day. The more water you keep it packed in the better. <P>There are 3 basic types of fresh tofu that are made in molds: momen, kinu-goshi and yaki-dofu. Momen means cotton in Japanese and refers to the cloth that is spread in the tofu mold. This type of tofu is weighted down while draining and the cloth leaves a very noticeable impression and is often called cotton tofu in English. A firm tofu that holds its shape well, momen is often used in recipes like stirfries, deep frying and hot pots. <P>Kinu-goshi is often referred to as silken tofu, not because there is any silk used in the process of making it, but rather because of its silk like texture. It is often made with a slightly thicker soy milk and it is left to drain naturally in the molds with neither weights nor cloth. It is very fragile and best used in dishes that don’t require much handling like hiya yakko (cold tofu), salads and soups. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6976.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Kinu-goshi on the left and momen on the right.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Yaki-dofu, is a firm tofu that has been grilled, and you may see it called grilled or seared tofu. It is packed in water and used most commonly in nabe or one-pot dishes and is the tofu you will usually find in your sukiyaki pot. It can be made at home by pressing a block of momen tofu and grilling it on both sides over a very high heat. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i3157.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Yaki-dofu</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>The fresh but "mold-less" variety of tofu consists of yose-dofu, oboro-dofu, zaru-dofu and juuten-dofu. Yose-dofu is made in the same way as regular fresh tofu except that the very loose curds are scooped into the container it will be sold in rather than being molded. Oboro-dofu is almost the same as yose-dofu but has a crumbly texture wheareas yose-dofu is very smooth and creamy. <P>Yosedofu and oboro-dofu are also a popular dishes to make at the table and are eaten warm out of the bowl they are made in. It is probably the most fragile of all the types of tofu and is normally eaten quite simply with a dash of soy and some wasabi or served cold in the hiya yakko style with a variety of toppings. Zaru-dofu is similar except it is scooped into a zaru (a bamboo colander) and left to drain. It is most often eaten cold in the same way as yose-dofu. <P>The method for making Juuten-dofu tofu was discovered after the war and has a much longer shelf life than regular tofu. The tofu and coagulant are poured into tubes or boxes which are then heated so that the tofu takes on the shape of the tube or box. It can be hard to find these on shelves in Japan nowadays though. <P>Fried tofu products are very popular. Atsu-age or nama-age are thick blocks of tofu that have been deep fried. They are often served steak like by being first seared in a fry pan then topped with condiments such as grated daikon, scallions and a ponzu or soy sauce dressing. They can also be used in stir-fries, simmered dishes and soups. <P>Aburage or usu-age, often referred to as tofu pockets, are thin slices of deep fried tofu. This tofu can be split open like a pocket and is often stuffed with various ingredients then simmered or fried. It is also used in inari-zushi where it is seasoned and then filled with sushi rice. They can also be grilled or added to simmered dishes, soups or rice dishes. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7090.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Atsu-age</CENTER></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6965.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Aburage</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Both of these fried tofus can be quite oily, so boiling water is poured over them and then blotted with paper towels to get rid of the excess oiliness. Another common fried tofu product that is easy to make at home but seems to be purchased more often nowadays is ganmodoki. This is a mixture of crumbled tofu, vegetables and mountain yam (yama-imo) formed into patties or balls and deep fried. They can be eaten with grated daikon or other condiments and you will also see them in simmered dishes or oden (a type of hot pot). <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7097.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7098.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Atsu-age made in the style of ganmodoki</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7099.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>You can see the ganmodoki are very light and filled with holes while the atsu-age is quite firm.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Finally there are what I am going to call “flavored” tofus. These are not actually tofu since they are normally made with something other than daizu (soybean) or a mixture of daizu and something else. Other beans that can be used include black beans and fresh edamame. T here is also seame tofu (made with either black or white sesame seeds) as well as some more unusual ones like walnut tofu or kinako (powdered roasted soybeans). Tamago-dofu is made out of eggs. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6971.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Black sesame tofu</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>In addtion, there are the by-products of tofu making or products that can be made with the tofu making products, okara, soy milk and yuba. Okara, also known as unohana is the tofu pulp or lees, it is very high in protein and is used in simmered dishes, salads, soups, corroke (deep fried croquettes), hamburger patties and baked goods. Okara does not keep well and should be used as soon as possible, preferably the day it was made but definitely with in two days. Soy milk, besides being drunk straight, can be used in a variety of dishes from hot pots and soups to desserts. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6968.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Some of the soy milk brands found in Japan.<BR> The one on the left is for making tofu (as well as drinking and cooking)<BR> and the one on the right is for drinking or general cooking uses.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Yuba is the tofu “skin” that is often sold in its dried form as it doesn’t keep well. In its fresh form it is most often treated simply with some soy sauce and wasabi or ponzu, the dried form is very versatile and shows up in soups and hot pots as well as simmered and fried dishes. This is made from skimming of the skin of the soy milk before the coagulant is added. <P>One last type of tofu is called koya-dofu (or kori-dofu). This is freeze dried and was created by monks living on Mt. Koya. The tofu is dehydrated by freezing and becomes almost as light as a feather. It needs to be reconstituted in hot water before using. You can make a similar type of frozen tofu at home by either placing the whole tub of tofu into the freezer or rem oving it from the water and wrapping the tofu in plastic wrap before freezing, I prefer the latter. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6962.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TD><TR><TD><CENTER>Store bought koya-dofu</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>I have also found some interesting products in the markets over the years. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6969.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Just recently I found a cotton tofu that the package says<BR> it needs no draining, you can use it straight out of the pack.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6970.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>This Tofu product somen (somen is a type of Japanese thin noodles)<BR> even comes with a sauce, a sesame sauce in this case.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P><A NAME="drain"><B>DRAINING AND PRESSING TOFU</B></A> <P>Most tofu needs to be drained of the water it is packed in before using, and some recipes require that the tofu be pressed before cooking. There are several methods for draining. You can place the block of tofu onto a Japanese style bamboo colander and let it drain naturally. This can take a couple hours and can be placed into the refrigerator if you plan to serve the tofu cold. If you are more pressed for time you can wrap the tofu in paper towels and place it onto a dish, if are in even more of a hurry you can place the block on top of a couple layers of paper towels on a dish and microwave it for about 1 minute. <P>There is a similar method of simmering the tofu (cut into smaller pieces first) in water but this takes more time than the microwave and I hate to pull out an extra pan. If the tofu is going to be crumbled, you can wrap it in a cheesecloth and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Kinu-goshi (silken) tofu is often fine with out any proper draining, though sometimes I like to wrap it in paper towels for a couple minutes so the extra water doesn’t dilute the sauce/dressing.　 <P>Pressing the tofu rids it of even more water, making it less likely to crumble. There is basically only one technique for pressing tofu and that is putting a something on top of it to press it down. The rest is up to you and the recipe you want to use it for. I like to wrap my tofu in paper towels before pressing. To avoid wasting any dishes, I place the wrapped tofu onto a cutting board and then place a can (of soup/beans/the likes) inside the tub the tofu came in and place than on top of the tofu. You can press the tofu for any length of time, depending on what you will use it for. Typically 30 minutes to an hour is sufficient, but up to a couple hours will be required for some deep fried dishes. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6975.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Pressing tofu</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <P><A NAME="make"><B>MAKING TOFU FROM SCRATCH</B></A> <P>You only need 3 ingredients to make tofu: daizu (soybeans), water and nigari (bittern). Therefore you want to use the best that you can find. Look for newer soybeans and try to use mineral water rather than tap water. Nigari seems to be preferred in Japan over the other coagulants and tubs of tofu are often marked as 100% nigari tofu.　 <P>Nigari can vary in its strength so you may need to adjust the amounts or amount of water it is diluted in before using. The powder type should always be diluted. Daizu need a very long soaking period so you need to plan at least a day in advance. <P><b>Ingredients</b> <P>300 grams (10 ounces) daizu (about 2 cups)<BR> Water<BR> 1 tablespoon nigari (either powder or liquid type)<BR> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7094.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Nigari</CENTER> </TD></TR></TABLE> <P>1. Soak the daizu in about 6 cups of water (about 3 times the amount of water to beans) for between 8 to 16 hours depending on the temperature. The colder the water, the longer the soaking time required. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7087.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Before soaking</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7088.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>After soaking</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7089.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>The difference in the size</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>2. Drain the daizu and puree them in a blender or food processor with an equal amount of water until they make a fairly smooth liquid, a good 3 minutes. It will take about 2 batches in a food processor and 3 in a blender. <P>3. Pour the mixture into a 4 liter (4 quart) or larger heavy bottomed pan and add 5 cups of water, turn on the heat to medium and slowly bring to a boil. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7091.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>There will be a lot of foam on the top. Skim this off with a ladle. This can burn easily so stir it gently with a wooden spoon in large circular motions scraping from the bottom. <P>4. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat to low and very gently simmer for about 10 minutes. Try not to disturb it too much during this time. Occasionally give it a gentle stir to make sure it isn’t burning on the bottom and skim if needed. It should turn a slightly yellow color and have a sweet taste. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7092.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>5. Very carefully pour the mixture into a wet cheesecloth lined colander set over a bowl. The soy milk will go into the bowl while the okara (lees) will be left in the colander. Let it cool slightly and try to squeeze as much milk as you can from the cloth wrapped bundle. The okara can be set aside for other uses. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7093.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>6. Wash out the pan and pour the soy milk into it. Set the pan over a medium heat and test it with a thermometer to see when it reaches 70 to 75 degrees C (160 degrees F). At this point, turn the heat to low and mix the nigari with 100ml (a little less than 1/2 cup) of water. Add the nigari slowly, pouring it down the back of the spoon and then mixing very gently. Do this about three times until you have used up all of the nigari. <P>7. Turn off the heat, place a lid on the pan and let it sit for about 10 minutes <P>8. You have just made tofu! You can eat it warm straight out of the pan in a yosedofu style or you can pour it into a tofu mold to make a momen (cotton) tofu. It can also be poured into a zaru (bamboo colander) or a regular colander lined with cheesecloth. If you want to make a molded tofu but don’t have a mold, you can improvise with either a small bamboo steamer or a plastic container (like tofu comes in) with some holes punched out for draining. Molded tofu needs to be pressed (with some kind of weight) for about 10 minutes and then placed in water until needed. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7095.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>This time, I poured it into small individual sized zaru and let it drain on a cookie rack in my sink. I then placed them in the refrigerator to be served in the hiya yakko (“cold” tofu) style. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7096.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <P><A NAME="make2"><B>MAKING TOFU FROM SOY MILK</B></A> <P>Making tofu from soy milk is much easier than making it from daizu but can be just as good if you have good soy milk. There are some important things to consider though. It must be whole soy milk with a protein content of 10% or higher, the higher the better. The ingredient list should read soy beans only, there should be no other ingredients added. When making tofu from soy milk you usually use more nigari, and since it can vary in strength you may need to adjust amounts and keep in mind that some stronger nigari need to be diluted. I use about 1 Tablespoon to every cup (250ml). You can make it the same as described above, just starting from when the soy milk is added, but for some reason it turns out better if you use the version below. <P><b>Ingredients</b> <P>Soy milk<BR> Nigari <P>1. Mix the cold soy milk and nigari together in a bowl. <P>2. Pour the mixture into cups or ramekins and set on a rack in a steamer over high heat for 5 minutes. Then lower the heat to low and steam for 10 more minutes. <P>3. Serve, these are best eaten warm <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6964.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>They look like this</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>You can also do a similar version in a microwave. Cover the cup with some wrap then place one in the microwave and heat it for about 1 minute (600W). Let it rest for a couple minutes before eating and don’t heat more than one at a time. <P><A NAME="recipes"><B>RECIPES USING TOFU AND TOFU PRODUCTS</B> <P>I have tried to pick a variety of recipes that are quite simple, could be varied easily depending on what is in your house and are well liked even by those who insist they don’t eat tofu. I also tried to vary the type of recipes so you have main dishes, side dishes, salads as well as desserts. <P>Most tofu in Japan is sold in packs of 300 grams. Though there are smaller larger sizes, that is the most common size and the one I have used in the following recipes. All of the measurements of the cups are in US sizes, 1 cup equaling 250ml. The type of tofu I recommend for each particular recipe is in parantheses next to the name. <P>HIYA YAKKO "cold" tofu (momen, kinu-goshi, zaru-dofu) <P>This dish doesn’t really need a recipe and therefore I am not really going to give you one. Hiya yakko can be made with any of the fresh tofus (except yaki-dofu) and it is simply a dish of cold tofu served with a topping. The toppings can vary depending on the season, your taste, or what is in your refrigerator. The toppings can be cold or hot, Japanese, other Asian or western ingredients. There could be one or there could be ten. <P>The most simple is a block of cold tofu, either the silken or cotton type, with some slivered scallions, a large pinch of katsuo-bushi, a little grated ginger and a drizzle of soy sauce. You can add to this with a squeeze of citrus, some shredded shiso, umeboshi paste or sesame seeds. You can top it with various tsukemono (Japanese pickles) or even kimchi, as well as sautéed vegetables or meats. You could add various seaweeds, dressings made out of miso or sesame paste or sprinkle it with salt instead of soy sauce. One of my favorites is a topping made of blanched and minced okra mixed with some grated ginger and just a drizzle of soy sauce on top. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i2040.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>This variation is made with some fresh chopped tomatoes and a sprinkling of salt instead of soy sauce.</TABLE> <P><b>SHIRA-AE</b>: vegetables with a tofu dressing (kinu-goshi) <P>This is a very simplified version of shira-ae. Sesame paste should be available in most Asian stores, either Chinese versions or the Japanese neri-goma work well, but do not substitute tahini or other non-roasted types. Though this can be made with just one vegetable, it is more common to see about three. Most vegetables are blanched before adding to the dressing or reconstituted if dried. This is good with spinach, chrysanthemum leaves and flowers, broccoli rabe, shiitake, mitsuba, ginko nuts, aburage, edamame, konnyaku, various types of seaweed, etc. The following recipe can serve 4 to 8 depending on the serving size and the number and amount of vegetables used and can easily be halved. <P><b>Ingredients</b> <P>300 grams of silken (kinu-goshi) tofu<BR> 3 Tablespoons roasted sesame paste<BR> 2 Tablespoons of mirin<BR> 1 to 2 Tablespoons sugar<BR> salt to taste<BR> vegetables of choice, prepared as directed above.<BR> The vegetables I chose for this day were daikon greens, carrots and white <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6972.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Konnyaku</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6973.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>blanched and cut<CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>1. Wrap the tofu in a paper towel and microwave for about 1 minute then set aside until cool. If you are more pressed for time, place it into a cheesecloth and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. <P>2. Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. I make this in a Japanese suribachi, but a bowl can work just as well. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6974.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6977.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>3. Add to vegetables of choice and season to taste. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6978.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P><b>IRI-DOFU</b>: simmered tofu with various vegetables (momen) <P>This is a wonderful recipe that can easily be varied by what you have on hand. I always try to put something green (snow peas, sugar snap peas, green beans or peas), something orange (usually carrots, but on occasion chicken) and something brown ( fresh or dried shiitake, cloud ears, konnyaku). Vegetables that need a longer cooking time should be blanched before adding and dried vegetables should be reconstituted before cooking. <P><b>Ingredients</b> <P>Serves 4 to 6 <P>500 to 600 grams momen tofu <BR> vegetables of choice (my favorites are green beans, carrots and dried shiitake)<BR> 1/2 cup dashi<BR> 3 Tablespoons sugar<BR> 2 Tablespoons soy sauce<BR> salt to taste<BR> 2 eggs, lightly beaten<BR> <P>This version uses frozen green beans ( no need to blanch), grated carrots (this kind of cut means they don’t need blanching) and shiitake (reconstituted dried ones). <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7218.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>1. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Crumble the tofu between your fingers and add to the pan. The tofu should start to give off water. I don’t drain the tofu for the recipe, I let the heat of the pan evaporate it which allows me to get away with using no oil. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7217.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>2. When there is just a little water left, add the vegetables (they should be prepared in necessary and cut into small pieces) and stir fry until the water is almost gone. <P>3. Add the dashi, sugar, soy sauce and salt to taste, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the the sauce is almost gone. <P>4. Add the beaten eggs and stir gently until the eggs are just set, remove from the heat and serve. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7215.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>This is also great when topped with a handful of katsuo-bushi (bonito flakes). <P><b>GRILLED ABURAGE</b>: grilled tofu pockets (aburage) <P>This will serve one person or more. You can use as many aburage as you want but I usually plan for one per person as part of a larger meal. I often serve this for breakfast with a bowl of natto gohan (hot rice topped with fermented beans). <P>Ingredients:<BR> Aburage<BR> Condiments of your choice, such as<BR> Grated daikon<BR> Grated ginger<BR> Slivered scallions<BR> Soy sauce<BR> Ponzu<BR> Tsuyu (seasoned soy sauce)<BR> <P>1. Heat a fry pan over high heat (alternatively these can be grilled under the broiler, in a griddle pan or over a flame) and then add the aburage in a single layer. This is one time when you do not need to remove the oil with boiling water. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6966.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>2. Cook on both sides until they start to brown and become crisp, remove to a cutting board and cut them into slices. Top with the condiments of choice and eat as soon as possible or it will soak up too much of the sauce. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i6967.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>This version is made with scallions, ginger and tsuyu.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P><b>UNOHANA</b>: okara simmered with vegetables (okara) <P>As you read above, unohana is another name for okara, but it is also the name of one of the most popular dishes using okara. Like shira-ae and iri-dofu this can be made with what you happen to have on hand. As with the other recipes, the vegetables need to be blanched or reconstituted before cooking. <P>Ingredients <P>8 side dish servings <P>300 to 400 grams okara<br> vegetables (popular choices include various greens, carrot, burdock root, scallions, shiitake, even aburage, konnyaku or ground meats)<br> 2 Tablespoons sugar<br> 2 Tablespoons soy sauce<br> 2 Tablspoons sake<br> 1 1/2 cups dashi<br> salt<br> 1 1/2 T oil<br> <P>1. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat, add the okara and prepared vegetables and sauté until just wilted. <P>2. Add the sugar, soy sauce, sake, dashi and salt to taste and simmer until the liquid evaporates. <P>3. Season to taste. This is best served either at room temperature or cold. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7139.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>This version is made with spinach, carrots, shiitake and scallions.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P><b>KOYA-DOFU NO NIMONO</b>: simmered freeze dried tofu (koya-dofu) <P>This is a wonderful simple tasting dish. Any vegetables that take well to simmering can be added. I like carrots, green beans, shiitake and wakame. Various greens and snow peas are good as well, but should be blanched first and added at the end. This simmering liquid can also be used with ganmo-doki. <P><b>Ingredients</b> <P>Serves 4 <P>4 to 6 squares of koya-dofu<br> 3 cups dashi<br> 5 Tablespoons sugar<br> 2 Tablespoons mirin<br> 2 Tablespoons soy sauce<br> 1/2 teaspoon salt<br> vegetables of choice<br> Today, I will simmer it with shimeji mushrooms and snow peas (added at the very end). <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7211.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>1. First you need to prepare the koya-dofu. Place it in a bowl and pour hot water on it to cover and, let it sit for 5 minutes. Place one piece at a time between your hands and squeeze the water out. Cover it with more water and squeeze it again, repeat this process until the water is no longer milky. Cut the pieces in half or quarters. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7212.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>Tofu before and after soaking.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>2. Place the dashi, sugar, mirin, soy sauce and salt in a large frying pan and bring to a boil. <P>3. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the tofu and vegetables and simmer 10 to 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7210.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>4. Let cool slightly before eating. This type of tofu is like a sponge and when you bite into it, the simmering liquid will shoot out. If it is too hot, you could get a serious burn in your mouth. Trust me I know! <P><b>YUBA</b>: tofu skin (soy milk) <P>Yuba is the skin that forms on the top of soy milk when it is heated. This is carefully pulled off and is treated as a delicacy. As only one skin forms at a time and it takes some time for the skins to form this can be quite time consuming. The following recipe can serve as many people as you want it just depends on how long you want to stand at the stove. I like to use a non-stick sauce pan as it makes it easier to pull them away from the sides and clean-up is a lot easier as well. <P><b>Ingredients</b> <P>About 500ml soy milk (2 cups)<BR> Soy sauce and wasabi to serve<BR> <P>1. Place the soy milk in a saucepan and bring to just before the boil over medium heat. <P>2. Lower the heat to low and wait for a skin to form on the top of the milk, this is the yuba. Gently pull it off by what ever method works for you. I like to use chopsticks but you could also try a spatula or tongs. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7216.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>3. Wait until the next skin forms and pull that off as well. Place the skins into a dish and continue until you get tired. It takes over an hour to get the skins from 500ml of soy milk. To prevent them from drying out, I like to give them a little sweep through the soy milk to wet them a little before putting them on the dish. <P>4. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi to taste. This does not keep well and should be served soon after making. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7213.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7214.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR><TR><TD><CENTER>This is all that was left in the pan of 500ml of soy milk<BR> after 1 hour and 15 minutes of pulling off the yuba.</CENTER></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <P><b>MATCHA "MOUSSE"</b>: green tea “mousse” (soy milk) <P>This is a very easy to make dessert that uses soy milk as its base. <P><b>Ingredients</b> <P>Serves 4 to 6 depending on size of the cups <P>3/4 cup soy milk <BR> 4 Tablespoons sugar<BR> 1 Tablespoon matcha (green tea) powder<BR> 2 egg yolks<BR> 1/2 cup fresh cream<BR> 1 package gelatin<BR> 1/4 cup water<BR> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7140.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>1. Sprinkle the gelatin on the water and stir to dissolve, set aside. <P>2. Heat the soy milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat and bring just to the boil. <P>3. Mix the sugar and matcha powder together and add to the soy milk, whisk until dissolved then remove from the heat. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7141.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>4. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl and slowly pour in the soy milk mixture. Next slowly stir in the gelatin mixture. <P>5. Place the bowl inside another bowl that is filled with ice and keep mixing until it starts to thicken. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7142.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Remove from the ice and set aside. <P>6. Whip the cream in a separate bowl until very soft peaks form, carefully fold this into the matcha mixture. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7143.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>7. Pour into cups or ramekins and refrigerate until firm. <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=568><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i7144.jpg" WIDTH=568 HEIGHT=426</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>8. Serve plain or top it with a little sweetened whipped cream. <P>Ask your questions about this course here. </TD></TABLE>

<TABLE bgcolor="white"> <TD> <P><A NAME="appendix4"><CENTER><B>APPENDIX IV: APPROVED COMBINATIONS FOR VELOUTES</B></CENTER></A> <P><table width="100%" border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top ><b>Name: Veloute</b></td> <td width="15%" valign=top ><b>Base stock</b></td> <td width="15%" valign=top ><b>Puree or flavour</b></td> <td width="25%" valign=top ><b>Garnish/Finish</b></td> <td width="30%" valign=top ><b>Notes</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Agnes Sorel</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >mushroom</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >julienne of mushrooms, chicken, tongue</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Celebrated beauty and Mistress of Charles VII of France (1422-1450)</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Bagration (gras)</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >veal</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >macaroni; grated cheese (think thin mac-and-cheese)</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Pierre Prince Bagration (1765-1822) Russian General killed at the Battle of Borodino.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Bagration Maigre</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >mushroom</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fish quenelle</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Boieldieu</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >quenelles of chicken stuffed with foie gras</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >(Francois Adrien) French Composer of Le Calife de Bagdad and La Dame Blanche (Q.V). One time organist of Tsar's Chapel. (1775 - 1834)</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Borely</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >mussels</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Bourdaloue</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >rice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >tomato Royale (red); chicken Royale (white); haricot beans (yellow); asparagus Royale (green); carrot Royale (orange)</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >French cleric and preacher 1632-1704</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Cambaceres</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >pigeon</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >crayfish bisque</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >pigeon quenelles stuffed with crayfish</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Jean, Jacques Cambacérès, Regis de Cambaceré 1753 - 1824. Duke of Palma</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Cardinal</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="30%" valign=top >See Homard<br> Named after Cardinal Richelieu?</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Carmelite</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish: sole and whiting; lemon juice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >quenelle of filets of sole and fish quenelle</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Religious order</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Carmen</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >tomato; rice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >dice of tomato and red pepper</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Bizet’s Opera</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Caroline</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >almonds; cream of rice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Roayle with almond milk</td> <td width="30%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Celeri</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >celery</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >celery</td> <td width="30%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Ceres</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >green wheat</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Chanoinesse</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >crayfish</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >soft roes in butter</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Cannoness</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Chartreuse</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >dice of tomato<br> small ravioli stuffed with spinach, foie gras, and chopped mushrooms; chervil</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Cherville</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >game</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >Rabbit</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >morels, rabbit meat, cream, madeira</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Chervreuse</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >semolina; cream</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >julienne of truffles, and chicken; </td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Chicoree</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >endive</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fried bread croutons</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Choisy</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >lettuce</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >sorrel and rice</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >See Judic</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Clermont</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >celery and chestnut</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >roundels of fried onions and small balls of chestnut puree; cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Columbine</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >pigeon</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >flavour with caraway</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >julienne of pigeon fillets and quenelles</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Comtesse</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >asparagus</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >lettuce chiffonade; asparagus tips</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Cressonniere</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >watercress</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >watercress leaves</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Pourpier</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >purslane</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Crevettes a la Mignon</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >shrimps oyster juice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fish quenelles, ½ pink, ½ white, green peas, truffles<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Crevettes a la Normande</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >shrimp tails, poached oysters, butter, cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >D’Artois</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >White haricot beans</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >parsley; brunoise of vegetables</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > Dartois (or a la d'Artois) is the name of various recipes dedicated to the name of Comte d'Artois, the future King Charles X of </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:120%; font-family:Verdana'>France</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 120%;font-family:Verdana'> (1824-1830).</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Dame Blanche</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >sweet almond cream</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >white of chicken and chicken quenelle</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Comic Opera by Boieldieu from the novel by Sir Walter Scott</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Danoise</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >cucumber</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fried bread crouton</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >duck</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >artichoke</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >duck, mushrooms, </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:120%;font-family:Verdana'>marsala</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Dieppoise</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >mussels, leeks, mushrooms</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >mussels, shrimp tails</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Derby</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >soubise (browned onion, rice)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chicken quenelles stuffed with foie gras, rice, cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >curry</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Diane</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >partridge</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >game quenelles, truffles,cream, </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:120%;font-family:Verdana'>Madeira</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Divette</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fish quenelles, truffle, dice of crayfish</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Butter and cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Doria</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >cucumber</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cucumber balls, rice, cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Daughter of Labouchré, married Prince de Rudini</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Dubarry</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >cauliflower</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >small cauliflower florets, parsley, cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Marie Jeanne Gomard de Vaubernier, Comtesse Dubarry (1741-1793) <br> Mistress of Louis XV. </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Ecreivisses a la Joinville</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >crayfish (prawn)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >crayfish tails, julienne of mushrooms, <br> butter and cream<br> serve with glass of fine champagne</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Francots de Joinville, <br> Duc d´Orleans third, son of Louis Philippe. Sailor and author (1818-1900)</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Ecreivisses a la Lucullus</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >crayfish tails<br> Cognac</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Lucullus lived in Ancient Rome from "15%"-57BC</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Ecreivisses a la Princesse</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >whiting quenelles, asparagus tips<br> butter and cream<br> serve with glass of fine champagne</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Elisa</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >sorrel</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >sorrel and chervil<br> cream and butter</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Excelsior</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >barley</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >pearl barley</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >green asparagus</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Fanchette</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >asparagus</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >stuffed lettuce leaves cut into roundels, peas</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Favouri</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >asparagus<br> lettuce</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >asparagus tips, shredded sorrel<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Gasconne</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >tomato</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >onion</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >dice of confit of goose</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Georgette</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >artichoke bottoms</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >tapioca or sago pearls</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >tomato<br> carrot<br> tapioca flour</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Germinal</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken with<br> tarragon</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >asparagus tips, chervil</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Gosford</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >green asparagus<br> tapioca</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Homard d’Cardinal</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >lobster</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >lobster royale</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Homard a Cleveland</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >lobster Americaine</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >tomato cubes; lobster meat</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Omit the egg yolk liaison; like Lobster Bisque but thickened with roux rather than rice</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Homard a l’indienne</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >lobster Americaine with curry</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >lobster meat; cooked rice</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >This is where the unsold prepared lobster was recycled</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Homard a L’orientale</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >lobster Newburg</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >lobster meat; cooked rice</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Crayfish, prawns, shrimp, or crab may be substituted for lobster</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Homard au Paprika</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >with paprika</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >red pepper</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Homard au Persane</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >as Orientale but with pilaff rice, saffron and cubes of red pepper</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Indienne</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >Curry</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >rice<br> coconut milk</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Idma</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >curried chicken quenelles<br> asparagus tips<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Isoline</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >crayfish (prawn) butter</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >tapioca pearls</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Jacqueline</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >carrots, peas, asparagus tips, rice</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Japonaise</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >Japanese artichokes</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >small crouton</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Jean Bart</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fish quenelles<br> tomato Dice<br> macaroni<br> julienne of leek</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Jeanette</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >salsify</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >rice, dice of chcken</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Joinville</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >crayfish</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >truffles<br> mushrooms<br> butter<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Francois de Joinville, Duc d´Orleans <br> Sailor and author (1818-1900).</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Juanita</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >rice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chicken quenelles<br> hard boiled egg yolks <br> tomato dice<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Laitue</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >lettuce</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fried croutons<br> chervil/parsley<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >La Valliere</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >celery</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Royale and dice of celery<br> (profiteroles stuffed with chicken)<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Louise de la Baume le Blanc Duchesse de Lavalliere. Court “favourite” of Louis XIV.</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Lison</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >rice<br> celery</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >tapioca or sago pearls</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Mais</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >sweet corn</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >grains of sweet corn<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Marcilly</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >peas</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Sago or tapioca<br> chicken quenelles<br> butter and Cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Marie Louise<br> Marie Stuart</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >barley cream</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >macaroni; brunoise<br> brunoise; pearl barley; carrot balls</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Empress of France, second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Martha</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >onion</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chicken quenelles stuffed with vegetable brunoise; green peas; chervil/parsley<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Mathurine</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >Fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >salmon quenelles</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Milanaise</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >tomato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >macaroni, julienne of whit mushrooms (truffles), ham</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Mogador</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >foie gras</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chicken, tongue julienne, truffles</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Montespan</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >asparagus</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >tapioca, peas</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Montorgueil</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >vegetables, shredded sorrel, chervil/parsley</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Morilles</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >morels</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >morels</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Nelusko</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >grilled nuts</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chicken quenelles</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Nivernais</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >ordinary</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >carrot</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >brunoise of carrot</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Nymphes</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >royale and dice of frogs legs</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Orge</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >barley</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >pearl barley</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Orties</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >nettles</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fried croutons<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Oseille a l’Avoine</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >oats<br> sorrel</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >shredded sorrel<br> cream</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Oyster</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >Fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >Oyster</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >4 poached oysters per serving</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Delicate.<br> Doesn’t hold</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Petit-Duc</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >woodcock</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >dice of woodcock fillets, game royale<br> glass of brandy</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Pierre-le-Grand</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >mushrooms</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >julienne of carrot and celery. <br> serve with a glass of vodka </td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Peter The Great, Emporer of Russia</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >celeriac</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >dice of celeriac</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Poireaux</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >leeks</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fried crouton</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Regence</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >fish</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >barley<br> crayfish</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chicken quenelles<br> pearl barley</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Riz</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >Rice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >rice</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Saint-Hubert</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >game</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >dice of game, truffles, red currant jelly, brandy</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Sultane</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >chicken</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >sweet almond milk<br> pistachio butter</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >crescents of chicken and crayfish forcemeat; truffled</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >Pink crescents in a pale green soup</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Windsor</td> <td width="15%" valign=top >wtrong: originally calves foot </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >rice<br> turtle herbs (thyme, bay)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chicken quenelles with hard boiled yolk of egg, julienne of stock meat</td> <td width="30%" valign=top >As “Brown Windsor” it was the typical, and much abused thick brown soup </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="15%" valign=top >Xavier</td> <td width="15%" valign=top > </td> <td width="15%" valign=top >rice<br> sherry</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Royale<br> chicken</td> <td width="30%" valign=top > </td> </tr> </table> </TD> </TABLE>

<TABLE bgcolor="white"> <TD> <P><A NAME="appendix3"><CENTER><B>APPENDIX III: APPROVED COMBINATIONS FOR PUREES</B></CENTER></A> <P><table width="100%" border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> <p><b>Main Ingredient </b></p></td> <td width="25%" valign=top> <p><b>Ingredients and Variants </b></p></td> <td width="25%" valign=top> <p><b>Named </b></p></td> <td width="25%" valign=top> <p><b>Garnish </b></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Apple </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> 2 lbs./1kg apples (Granny Smith) 1 tbs. sugar </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Apple </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>crème fraiche or yogurt cheesy croutons </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2 tsp. curry powder </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>toasted coconut </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Apricot and Marrow </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>1 lb./405g dried apricots 1 lb./450g marrow, pumpkin or courgette (zucchini) ½ tsp. ginger 1 tbs. sugar </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>crème swirl mint sprigs </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Asparagus </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2 lbs./1Kg asparagus trimmings </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Comtesse (version A) (white Asparagus) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a few asparagus tips, parsley, cream </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Gosford (green Asparagus) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Montespan </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>peas, cream swirl </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Broad Bean </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2 lb./1Kg shelled broad beans 1tbs. sugar </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Pythagore </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>A few shelled broad beans removed from their skins </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a)4 oz./100g hazelnuts </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>toasted nuts </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>b)juice and rind of 2 lemons </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>lemon slices cream swirl parsley </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Haricot beans </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>1 lb./500g soaked or tinned haricot beans </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Comtesse ( version B) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>crouton, parsley </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>(8oz/200g dried) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a)1lb./500g leeks </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>b)mixed vegetables </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Dartoise </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>garnish with small dice of coked carrots, potatoes, turnips, celery etc </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>c) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Maria </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>As above with cream added </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>d)2 tbs. tomato puree </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Bretonn </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>e)½ bottle red wine </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>f)8 oz./200g sorrel or watercress 6 lettuce leaves </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Conde </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>cream </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Broccoli </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2 lbs./1Kg broccoli </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>small sprigs of broccoli </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a)1 lb. apple wineglass Calvados (optional) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>apple slices softened in butter </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Brussels Sprouts </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>1 lb/500g brussels sprouts 1 lb./500g potatoes </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Flamande </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>crispy bacon bits </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a)8 oz./200g chestnuts (use canned or canned puree) 1 tsp. sugar nutmeg </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>b)Can substitute hazelnuts for chestnuts </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>c)2 tbs. mustard (add with stock) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>cress sprouts </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Cabbage </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>cabbage (mostly) carrots turnips leeks </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> Garbure </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>croutons </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a) lots of home-grown vegetables </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Gabure Fermiere </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>cheese croutons </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>b) lots of shop vegetables </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Gabure Paysanne </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>c) turnips, green beans </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Garbure Bearnaise </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>salt pork (cooked with the vegetables) or confit of goose croutons </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>d)potatoes, courgette (zucchini)s, beetroot, </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Garbure Dauphinoise </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Its traditional in the South West of France to “faire La Chabrot” which consists in finishing its soup by pouring wine from one’s glass into the remains in the plate and drinking the mixture </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Carrot </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2lbs./1 Kg Carrots 1 tbs. Sugar </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Crecy </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Cream strips of carrot </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Crecy a la Ancienne </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>croutons </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>b) 1 lb. potato </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Crecy a la Briarde </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>croutons, chopped parsley </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>c)8 oz./200g apple </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>apple slices softened in butter </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>d)2 tbs. coriander seeds </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>cream swirl, sprigs fresh coriander </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>e)4 pieces fresh ginger </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>finely chopped preserved ginger </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>f) 1 lb./500g leeks; 1 tbs. mustard </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>toasted almonds </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>g) juice and grated rind of 4 oranges </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>caramelised orange slices/blanched strips of orange zest </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>h) leeks tomatoes mushrooms rice </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Genin </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>shredded sorrel/watercress </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>i) 1 l.b/500g peas </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Medicis </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>cream, parsley </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Cauliflower </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2 lbs./1 Kg cauliflower 1 tbs. sugar </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>DuBarry </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>cauliflower sprigs parsley </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a)Make with milk, </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Grand Tante </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>thicken with egg yolks </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>b) 4 oz./200g sharp cheddar cheese 1 tsp. English mustard </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>cheesy croutons </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>c) caramelised cauliflower - cook the cauliflower first in a hot non-stick pan or wok (+ oil) with the sugar until caramelised </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>caramelised cauliflower sprigs </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>(or Use roasted cauliflower) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>eGullet </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>d) 2 oz. white chocolate extra vanilla (optional) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Blumenthal </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Dust with cocoa or chocolate curls </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>e) red pepper, de-seeded and chopped; chilli to taste </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>chopped red pepper </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Celeriac </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2 lbs./1Kg celeriac </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Pierre-le-Grand </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>celeriac dice, cream </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Celery </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2 lbs./ 1Kg celery (or lovage) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>garlic crouton </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a)2 tsp. curry powder </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>b)2 tbs. dried dill seeds </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>dill fronds </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>c)8 oz./200g chestnut (tinned or puree) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Clairmont </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>balls of chestnut puree </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>d)make with chicken stock </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>La Valiere </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Fried Onions, cream profiterole stuffed with chicken </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>e)2 tbss rice diced celery </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Lison </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>sago pearls </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top>Courgette (zucchini) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>2 lbs./1 Kg courgette (zucchini) or marrow </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>courgette (zucchini) strips </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>a)Use cucumber instead or courgette (zucchini) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>Doria </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>mint spigs cream swirl </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>b)1 lb./500g fennel juice and grated rind 2 oranges </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>fennel frond/diced fennel </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>c)2 tbs. fresh rosemary (may need sieving) </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>rosemary sprig </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>d)2 tsp. curry powder </td> <td width="25%" valign=top> </td> <td width="25%" valign=top>toasted nuts </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Fennel</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs. fennel<br>dash Pernod</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fennel fronds<br>finely diced fennel</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >4 oz./100g ground almonds</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >toasted almonds</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >large red pepper, de-seeded and chopped</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >red pepper dice</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Jerusalem Artichoke</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1Kg peeled artichokes<br>lemon Juice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Palestine</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >bacon bits</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Leek and Potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb. leek<br>1 lb. potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Parmentier <br>When served iced, called Vichysoisse</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chives<br>cream swirl</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Add 8 oz./250g carrot</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Bonne Femme</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Add 8oz./250g wild mushrooms</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Pastourelle</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >mushrooms, fried potatoes, cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1Kg leeks</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Poireaux</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >croutons, cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Lentil</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g soaked lentils (8 oz./250g dried)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Esau</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream, croutons</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >glass Madeira<br>make with game stock</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Gentilhomme</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >diced Ham, croutons</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Marsala<br>1 tsp. truffle oil<br>make with game stock</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Imperator</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >ravioli stuffed with foie gras,<br>truffles, Royale<br>Quenelle of Pheasant</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >8 oz./250g dried lentils, soaked<br>8 oz./250g sorrel or watercress</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Mere David</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream, sprigs of watercress</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Lettuce</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 large lettuces</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Pere Tranquil<br>(lettuce contains traces of opiates)<br>Also called Crème Judic</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Mushroom</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs. mushroom</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >crouton</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb. apple</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >apple slices softened in butter</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >spring onion<br>ginger</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chopped spring onions<br>shiitake mushrooms slices softened in butter</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Nettle</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g young nettles<br>1 lb./500g potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Orties</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream, croutons</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Onion</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1Kg onion (in addition to those in the recipe)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >nutmeg</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >make with milk</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cheesy croutons</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >12 sage leaves</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >deep fried sage leaves</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g onion<br>1 lb./500g potato<br>large leek</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Flamande<br>(Version b)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Parsnip</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1Kg parsnips</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fried onions or leeks</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 tsp. curry powder</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g turnips</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Nip and Nip</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Pea </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1Kg peas (frozen peas OK)<br>1 tbs. sugar</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Pois Frais </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >extra peas</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Saint Germain</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >croutons</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Suzon</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >poached egg (preferably quail eggs)</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Faubonne</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >julienne of vegetables</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Fontanges</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >parsley, cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >large bunch mint</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Pois Frais a la Menthe</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >mint sprigs</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >lettuce</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Ambassadeur</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chopped <br>lettuce/chervil/parsley/<br>sorrel/watercress</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Saint Cloud</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream swirl</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g pear<br>2 bunches watercress</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Saint Marceaux</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >slices of pear/watercress</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g leek</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Camelia</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >shredded leek, cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >make with mutton stock</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Greque(A)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream swirl/cooked white of leek/chicken breast</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >thicken with tapioca</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Lamballe</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >julienne carrots, leeks cabbages</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Longchamps</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cooked vermicelli , chopped parsley</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Longueville</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >spaghetti instead of vermicelli</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Marigny</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >peas, French beans, <br>chopped parsley</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Marcilly</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >garnish with chicken quenelles</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Navarin</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >garnish with prawns, chopped parsley</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Pumpkin</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1Kg pumpkin<br>use milk</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Potiron </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cheesy croutons </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb. 500g leeks</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >4oz./500g gruyere cheese</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Bresanne</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cooked Pasta shapes</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >saffron (infused in milk)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb.500g tomatoes</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Greque (b)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >fried croutons</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb. 500g potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Marianne</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cheesy crouton</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb. 500g potato<br>8 oz. leeks</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Marichere</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >shredded lettuce</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Smoked Haddock</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./1Kg skinned undyed smoked haddock<br>make with milk</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Chowder</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >croutons<br>cream<br>poached egg<br>bacon bits<br>cubed cooked potato</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >8 oz./250g sweet corn kernels (frozen or tinned OK)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Sorrel or Spinach or Swiss Chard</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g green leafy vegetable<br>1 lb./500g potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Sante</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >make with water</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Sport</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >garnish with pasta</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Sweetcorn</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1Kg sweet corn</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Mais</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Sweet corn kernels</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 tbs. curry powder</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >toasted nuts</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >tin crab meat</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >few prawns</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >8 oz. salted peanuts</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >toast rounds spread with peanut butter or chocolate spread</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Tomato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1Kg tomato<br>2 tbs. sugar<br>1 tbs. rice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >basil leaves</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >4 oz./250g celery<br>4 oz./250g carrot</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Andalouse</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chopped and de-seeded red pepper</td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >red pepper</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >made with milk</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Carmen</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chopped red pepper and cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Malakoff</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >shredded spinach</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >make with chicken stock</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Milanaise</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >macaroni, truffles (or mushrooms) ham, cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Pompadour</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >shredded lettuce</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 tbs. rice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Portugaise</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cooked rice</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Solferino</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >carrot and potato balls,</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Turnips</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb. /500g turnips<br>1 lb. 500g potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Freneuse</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Bonvalet</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chopped French beans and peas, chopped parsley</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >2 lbs./1kg Swede (Rutabaga)</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Norvegienne</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >julienne of beetroot, cream</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >make with milk<br>pinch mixed spice</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Vierge</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >slices of French bread</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top >Watercress</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >1 lb./500g watercress<br>1 lb. 500g potato</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Cressoniere</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >cream, crouton</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25%" valign=top > </td> <td width="25%" valign=top >sorrel, parsley, watercress or other herbs</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >Herbes</td> <td width="25%" valign=top >chopped herbs (see also Sante)<br>see also watercress and Haricot or watercress and lentil</td> </tr> </table> </TD></TABLE>

<TABLE bgcolor="white"> <TD> <P><A NAME="appendix1"><CENTER><B>APPENDIX I: APPROVED COMBINATIONS FOR BISQUES</B></CENTER></A> <P><table width="100%" border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td width="20%" valign=top > <b> Name</span></b></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top > <b> Main component (puree)</span></b></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top > <b> Thickening</span></b></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top > <b> Finish</span></b></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top > <b> Garnish</span></b></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="20%" valign=top >Volaille “a la Reine”</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >chicken</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >2 oz./50g rice</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >3 eggs, ¼ pt.//100ml cream, 3 oz./75g butter</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >white meat of chicken, diced</span></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="20%" valign=top >Gibier (Game) “au Chasseur”</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >roasted game, such as 6oz each of rabbit, partridge, and pheasant </span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >½ pt. 200ml cooked lentils</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >butter glass/50ml of burnt brandy</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >wild mushrooms</span></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="20%" valign=top >Ardennaise</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >originally thrushes, now any feathered game</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >5 oz./125g black rye bread</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >butter</span></p> cream</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >julienne of game</span></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="20%" valign=top >Lapereau au Currie</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >rabbit (legs)</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >2 tbs. chopped onion, softened,</span></p> curry spices,</span></p> potato or corn flour</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >cream</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >Cooked rice</span></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="20%" valign=top >Mancelle</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >partridge or game</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >chestnuts</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top >butter</span></p></td> <td width="20%" valign=top > game julienne</span></p></td> </tr> </table> </TD></TABLE>

<TABLE bgcolor="white"> <FONT=verdana> <TD> <P>COOKING WITH DISABILITIES </P> <P><b>PART THREE: SENSORY ISSUES, NAUSEA & FOOD ISSUES WHILE TAKING MEDICATION</b><BR> by Judith Benton, Susan Fahning & Jenna Umansky</P> <P> (See Part 1 and Part 2 for instructor biographies) <P><B>CONTENTS</B> <UL> <LI><A HREF="#sens">SENSORY ISSUES</A></LI> <UL> <LI><A HREF="#intro">Introduction</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#taste">Taste</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#olf">Olfactory/Smell</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#tactile">Tactile/Touch</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#visual">Visual/Sight</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#aud">Auditory/Hearing</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#follow">Follow Up</A></LI> </UL> <LI><A HREF="#nausea">NAUSEA</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#food">FOOD ISSUES WHILE TAKING MEDICATION</A></LI> <LI>RESOURCES</LI> <LI>GLOSSARY</LI> </UL> <P><A NAME="sens"><B>SENSORY ISSUES</B></A> <P><A NAME="intro"><B>Introduction</B></A> <P>Eating and the appreciation of food involve all five senses: taste, tactile, olfactory, visual and auditory. Visual, olfactory, and auditory relate to not only the eating process but also cooking. We rely on all five to give an indication of whether we will like the meal or not, the latter four even prior to tasting the item. As we cook, or see a meal presented to us, we look, sniff, and want to touch and taste. If one or more of your senses is not as acute as is typical, you will rely more on the other senses. You may question that the auditory sense relates to our subject, but we will talk about all five of the senses. If, for example, you cannot see or hear, you have learned to rely more on your other senses than most of us do. </P> <P>Susan often thinks of that first bite of sweet corn on the cob, butter running down her arms and chin. For some, this sensation -- the crunch of the corn, the melted butter running down one's arms -- can be heaven on earth, for others a nightmare. Susan loves the crunch and tang of a great dill pickle. Better yet, is the added tang of a jalapeno dill pickle. Again, for some, these different sensations can be cause to run from the table. That snap one hears when one crunches a potato chip or corn chip is music to some, hell to others. Sensory integration problems can make cooking for a person with disabilities very difficult. </P> <P>All of us experience our basic senses in different ways. We appreciate different tastes and textures, for example, than our neighbors. For some, one particular sense is so acute that it overwhelms all of the other senses. </P> <P><A NAME="taste"><B>Taste</B></A> <P>All people react to taste. Someone with neurological disorders often has a different mouth structure and this goes beyond oral motor difficulties. Tastebuds may be rearranged or vary from what is typical in terms of acuity. Susan's other two children have loved, or are learning to appreciate, the wide variety of tastes that she enjoys. This is not always the case and most obviously not with her daughter Heidi who was born with Angelman's syndrome. If Heidi does not like the taste of a particular food there is no conning her into trying just a bite again. Tang and spicy heat must be toned down for her. For others, tastebuds might be duller and spice, tang, etc., can be kicked up a notch. Medications can alter the basic taste one has in one's mouth or alter how food tastes. </P> <P>Slow introduction to new tastes may be successful. While it is important not to get into a power struggle over eating, it is also important to reward the behavior of trying the new food. Have the reinforcer (favorite food) near by so the person knows they will be rewarded for trying something new. </P> <P>People who have special needs often have a weakened or heightened sense of taste. Salty foods such as chips or pretzels may taste good solely because they have an actual taste of salt. Paying attention to seasoning, whether it is too much or too little, is important.</P> <P>We also experience impaired taste when we have a cold. The next time your nose is congested notice how muted different flavors are. Now try to imagine eating this way your whole life.</P> <P><A NAME="olf"><B>Olfactory/Smell</B></A> <P>We all react to smell -- the acuteness of our ability to smell and the degree that it affects our sense of taste varies. Our olfactory sense is closely related to our sense of taste, in more than physical proximity. If a food does not smell good to us, we may not venture to the next step to risk eating a bite and experiencing exactly how much we really do not like it. </P> <P>Smells can greatly affect people with nausea. When one is nauseated the world of taste and smell can be turned upside down. Foods that have been appealing in the past may suddenly become revolting, increasing the distress of nausea. This may apply to people with disabilities; it may also apply to pregnant women. Susan had to forego her beloved bacon for eight months -- the length of one of her pregnancies -- not because of the taste of bacon but because of the smell. </P> <P>When living with a condition that causes one to be frequently nauseated, even daily, diet and nutrition may soon suffer. It may be necessary to not only find food, but also environmental smells that will be tolerated by the frequently nauseated person. Mild odors are usually more acceptable and less likely to interfere with the person's ability to eat. What qualifies as a mild odor will not be the same for everyone. You may need to cautiously experiment by first attempting to achieve a neutral olfactory environment -- as much as is possible. You then can attempt to reintroduce smells of mild food odors that have been tolerated in the past. </P> <P>The environmental measure may seem extreme, but if you have ever taken a whiff of sour milk and had your stomach lurch up into your throat, you can understand what a bad smell can do to your digestive system. Consider how you feel when driving through an area with a thick, unpleasant odor. The expression, "the air was so thick I could taste it," is appropriate in this context. The smell of particular foods while one is nauseated may affect the person´s desire or tolerance for that food in the future as well as the present. It can be helpful to identify an odor that is comforting to the person that they can have available to them in times of digestive distress.</P> <P>Other situations to consider that relate to olfactory issues include the lack of olfactory sense to augment taste and to alert a person not to eat food that has spoiled. Our noses act as our personal guards when it comes to recognition of the proper or improper smell of food we plan to eat or food we are cooking. This can be a real concern for people who live alone. </P> <P>Lacking the ability to smell food decreases the ability to taste it and the person may no longer enjoy food as much as they did before this became a problem. Lack of the olfactory sense is another circumstance that connects issues of texture and eating. The less one can smell and taste food the more important the feel of food in their mouth may become.</P> <P>Judith's father lost his olfactory sense and most of his ability to taste through a combination of horrible sinus treatments as a child in the 1930s and a chemical accident in the 1940s. One of his favorite things to eat was a peanut butter-jelly-cheese-mayonnaise-and lettuce sandwich. The texture was perfect for him; he ate one nearly every day for years. He would never consider eating a pizza again after his first bite of one -- it tasted and felt like cardboard to him. Mashed potatoes and baked potatoes were good to have on the menu; rice was not. Steak was sometimes tolerable, but a medium rare hamburger was his favorite choice. Chicken was eyed with suspicion and soups were rarely the best option, unless it was canned tomato soup. Now pie -- that was his shining icon in the food world. If he could find a place with hot coffee (no matter what that tasted like of course) and a good cream pie or apple pie with a soft filling you could bet he would be there every day for his afternoon break. Somehow, her mom managed to cook around him and still feed them good and tasty meals. Judith owes her early love of Mexican food to her father's inability to smell and taste. He took the family to the spiciest places he could find in the mid-50s. He could depend on spicy heat, so he could taste a little of something and there were many choices for good mushy food. </P> <P><A NAME="tactile"><B>Tactile/Touch</B></A> <P>There are two aspects to touch -- finger-feel and mouth-feel. If you could not see or hear when presented with a meal, picking up a piece of food, pinching it, or squishing it would give you good clues as to what you are going to eat. For example, when presented with an unfamiliar food, if Heidi cannot touch and squish it, she will not eat it. She relies on her tactile sense to let her know if she might be able to trust a food. One of the autistic children Susan knows cannot stand to be touched by any liquid unless it is drunk from a glass. For this child, the idea that liquid would touch any part of his skin or body other than the interior of the mouth is enough to cause a breakdown. </P> <P>Likewise, mouth-feel can be especially important for someone with an altered sensory system. Many of us like a variety of textures -- many people do not. Susan has known far more people with a compromised sensory system that like squishy/mushy-textured food than people with sensory issues that prefer crunchy or chewy food. For some individuals oral motor problems may be more of a determining factor than sensory issues, but it can be difficult to ascertain which the real culprit is. </P> <P><A NAME="visual"><B>Visual/Sight</B></A> <P>All of us like familiar things. Some of us also appreciate the unfamiliar. For some people, the appearance of a particular container can elicit excitement. For example, Heidi knows well in which bowl mom normally makes and serves potato salad. Should she see that container in the refrigerator, she is happy. Should that container be opened and not produce potato salad, she is confused. <BR> Some people have strong color associations. With Heidi, there is the love of white and yellow -- eggs, mayonnaise, potatoes, and cheese. Imagine her surprise when that piece of white is a clove of garlic -- or a spoonful of horseradish. </P> <P>Visual associations can be deceiving. Some may associate the color red with a tomato. If they do not like tomatoes, it can be difficult to try something else red that is nice and sweet and juicy -- like a homegrown strawberry. </P> <P>For a person with color issues or one who may not see very well the presentation of food may be extremely important. We all like our food to look appetizing, but for some of us presentation may go beyond that aesthetic desire into need. Do you serve food on a white plate? Must you serve only on darker dishes that do not glare at the eater? Does all the food need to be clearly separated on the dish or in individual bowls when served, so the diner can know what she or he is eating? What kind of glass or cup does the visually impaired diner need? In what location should it be placed to assure she/he might drink without spilling it on herself/himself or others? Just as it is not productive for Heidi to have her favorite (obsession) foods in front of her on the table because she can see them, it also may not be safe or considerate to have food on the table that the visually impaired diner cannot see. </P> <P><A NAME="aud"><B>Auditory/Hearing</B></A> <P>The sizzle of bacon. The pop, pop, pop of popcorn. If you have a severely acute auditory sense, these sounds may make you swear off these foods forever. Likewise, perhaps the reason a person will not eat crunchy foods has nothing to do with oral motor issues. Go to a dark, silent room. Take a bite out of a potato chip. Before the salt hits your tastebuds, if you are focused, you will hear a noise or perhaps feel vibrations that may or may not be pleasant. Susan remembers well the first time Heidi ate something crunchy -- a Frito. The salt intrigued her, but the first thing we noticed was a shudder. She could not focus on the food for the noise. Her OT advised trying Keebler grahams to introduce her to crunchy foods. They are not as hard as other graham crackers, and quickly mush in her mouth. After a few months taking tentative bites of these grahams, she gradually acclimated to softly-crunchy and was able to move on to other things.</P> <P>Crunchy food is often a problem for special needs children whether they are hearing or deaf. The sensation, or vibration, that occurs when eating crunchy or crispy foods can cause discomfort. They feel the vibration throughout their body. Taste does not matter. The sensation of eating is just too difficult.</P> <P>Being deaf, or having a profound hearing loss, does not eliminate the auditory aspect of food for a person. The vibrations perceived by the person may startle them. Judith loves carrots, but since she has become deaf they startle her when eaten raw, especially if they are ingredients in a dish and not visually apparent to her. She prepares herself for the crunch she no longer hears but is now sensitive to the fact that it shakes her jaws and vibrates through her head. </P> <P>What we cook and how we cook it, whether for ourselves or for someone in our care, is altered when the person has sensory issues. If there is concern for dietary and nutritional consumption, or behavioral issues, it is important to find ways to include foods that may have been refused. It is not necessary to avoid the raw, crisper vegetables and fruits such as carrots, cauliflower, yicama, and apples. Grate or thinly slice crisper varieties for raw addition to your recipes. Matchstick carrots may also be a great substitute for eating larger pieces of raw carrots -- depending on oral motor capabilities -- as they are thin enough to not feel brittle. A good way to acclimate to foods gradually with a harder texture and louder bite is to increase the size of the pieces as tolerance is increased. </P> <P>Disabilities that affect one or more of our basic senses may heighten the others affecting our desire or tolerance for food. In the case of olfactory and taste the two senses augment each other intricately. The degree of acuteness of one will directly affect the heightening or dulling of the other. All of our senses are interrelated and together they form our perception of the world. A person with food sensory issues has a concept of cooking and eating that varies more than is typical. Whether in ourselves or in those we care for it is important to understand the differences and needs that exist -- not to become typical but to assure that good nutrition, as well as increased pleasure in eating is achieved.</P> <P><A NAME="follow"><B>Follow Up</B></A> <P>For a person whose senses function as they should it is hard to imagine eating with diminished ones. To understand fully what it is like try eating a meal without one of your senses. Some senses you cannot “turn off’ but others you can. Eat a meal with a blindfold around your eyes, earplugs in your ears, or with a pinched nose. Is food as pleasurable if you cannot see, smell, or taste it? Could you spend your life eating this way? What can you do to make up for your lost senses? What are you experiencing that you never noticed before?</P> <P> </P> <P><A NAME="nausea"><B>NAUSEA</B></A> <P>Introduction</P> <P>Many medical conditions, including vestibular disorders, can cause a person to spend a considerable amount of their waking hours with a queasy stomach or full-blown nausea and vomiting. We hope to suggest some foods and drink that may help you through these periods. Pregnancy is not an illness or a disability. However, for an expectant woman who is living through weeks or months of nausea this is still a great concern. It is important to not allow yourself to become dehydrated, whatever the cause. Please consult your doctor if you are unable to maintain hydration.</P> <P> Many people use food to soothe them when they are ill. When food is no longer soothing because of nausea, it is important to find other ways to provide comfort to yourself. Music, hot baths or showers, and long walks are all easy ways to comfort you. If possible, this is also an important time to treat yourself to something special. Can't handle eating anything but bland crackers? Buy a box of bread sticks imported from Italy. Can't drink anything but herbal tea? Stock your pantry with a wide variety from different countries. Use this as an excuse to find your new favorite tea.</P> <P>Nausea is also a side affect that is common with many different medications. There are varieties of ways to combat the nausea. Clear liquids are an essential key. Peppermint, chamomile, fennel, and green tea are all good stomach soothers. </P> <P>Peppermint tea or a few drops of the essential oil in a cup of water can be very helpful. If you cannot keep the tea or dilution down it is good to keep a tray of ice cubes in the freezer marked "HELP!" made with the tea or with a dropper of peppermint oil in the water. You may add a touch of sugar or your approved sweetener to the water if you wish. Sometimes ice chips will go down (even stay down) when nothing else will; take it slowly. Sucking on real peppermint candy can also be good, and the sugar is an added bonus for combating the nausea. </P> <P>Chamomile tea, ginger tea, and raspberry leaf tea are mild with calmative properties for the stomach. Frozen for ice chips, the tea may help you to maintain a level of hydration while it is difficult to keep anything in your stomach. Once that is accomplished without distress you can gradually begin to sip the tea in a hot or chilled form. </P> <P>Soothing ginger is versatile. Ginger tea can easily be made by steeping a few slices in hot water. Adding honey to the tea creates a sweet drink with medicinal benefits. Slices of ginger can also be added when making chicken stock. The ginger stock can then be used to make ginger rice. Slice pickled ginger into thin strips and add to the rice.</P> <P>Avoid salt by all means, and stick to the "clear food group" when starting back on the road to a meal; no milk or cream soups, sauces, etc., and beware of fats added to your diet at this point. </P> <P>Make your own gelatin (or have someone make it for you) using real fruit juices which are more nutritious and beneficial than the old standard, convenient product on the grocery shelf. </P> <P>Keeping low, low-sodium or sodium-free homemade stocks (chicken, beef, and vegetable stock, or mushroom broth is also great) on hand in the freezer to heat up when you reach that stage is also a real help. The addition of a cut apple (cored) to the vegetables you are using for stock can ease the digestion and although you do not taste the apple as such, it has a nice way of pulling the flavors together. </P> <P>Eating while nauseous is a challenge but one you can accomplish. After a while, bland foods become dull and boring. However, with a little creativity you can add flavor and texture to your food.</P> <P>Once you reach the stage you are able to keep down something solid, continue to choose from the “clear food group,’ avoiding salt, fats, and dairy. Now you can kick your stock up to the next level. The addition of a little rice, noodles, or small-diced potato to your low-sodium stock or broth will help you to readjust to solid foods. </P> <P>Crackers such as saltines are another way to add crunch to a simple diet. After a few days though, they can become bland or boring. Switch to Italian bread sticks or oyster crackers for variety. Often having a little food in your stomach can help relieve nausea.</P> <P>As you continue to feel better, you may add more small-diced vegetables to your broth or stock. Matchstick carrots are wonderfully convenient to use whether nauseated or not. Mashed white or sweet potatoes, plain rice, and simple pasta can also be included in your diet as you progress. Stewed or sautéed fruits (use no-fat cooking spray) such as apples and peaches may also be appropriate at this stage; applesauce is one choice and may be tolerated better if it is warmed. Your stomach will let you know. </P> <P>Use chicken stock to add flavor to potatoes. Potatoes are binding, as long as they are not flavored with butter or sour cream. Boil peeled potatoes in chicken stock. Then, when mashing the potatoes use chicken stock instead of any dairy or butter. Depending on your tolerance, other seasonings can be added but should be used sparingly.</P> <P>If you can eat soy, the soy cheeses can be tolerated much sooner than dairy-based cheeses and are delicious and nutritious when added to rice, potatoes, or pasta. </P> <P>Recovering from being sick or learning to live with a long-term illness is important. When one part of the body is not functioning well it is important to make sure that you stay as healthy as possible; eating right is a key piece in the total picture. Give yourself a break. Move slowly when you must move at all. This is an appropriate time to accept help from friends and family. <BR> </P> <P><A NAME="food"><B>FOOD ISSUES WHILE TAKING MEDICATION</B></A> <P>Introduction</P> <P>Almost all of us have taken medication at one time or another. For many of us, it has been the occasional aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen for the occasional hangover or fever, or antibiotics for an ear infection. For some, however, medication must be taken daily, making the difference between a life worth living and just a life. If Susan´s daughter Heidi does not take her anti-epilepsy drugs (AEDs), it makes the difference between a little girl who can walk and communicate and one who is having hundreds of seizures every day. </P> <P>Finding the right medication combination can make life wonderful, fun, energizing, and exciting. Finding the right medication can mean accomplishing all that you desire; it can mean finding your life. Living with the medications that you must take is not always easy. Those of us that must adhere to a daily medication schedule have made adjustments in our lives -- to the medication, to the medical conditions, and to the changes these have brought.</P> <P>So, just how do these “must take daily’ medications affect a person's food life? </P> <P> <BR> Some medications can cause side effects or require us to adhere to certain dietary changes and restrictions that create problems concerning nutrition and our ability to eat. A few of the more common side effects related to our intake of food are nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and dizziness. Dietary restrictions or additional dietary requirements may force us to change our eating habits and the food we choose to eat. Nausea due to medical conditions may also prevent one from being able to ingest the medication we need as well as the food our bodies need to stay healthy. This creates a situation that further complicates the relation of food and medication in one‘s life.</P> <P>Often meds require food restrictions such as no dairy, no artificial sweeteners, no grapefruit or grapefruit juice, and no alcohol. As noted in Dietary Restrictions of Part I of this course -- there are now studies that have shown some alcoholic content may remain even after the alcohol has been well cooked. If it is necessary for you to remain 100 percent alcohol-free this is an essential consideration if you like to cook with wine, beer, or other alcohol. Additionally, some medications require us to increase vitamins or minerals. These additions can be difficult to tolerate for an already unsound digestive system. It may be possible for you to go the natural route. Try to eat foods that deliver the additional requirements such as bananas for added potassium, or dairy products and broccoli for calcium, or drink calcium-fortified juices, as opposed to taking more medication.<BR> <BR> For many, meds can alter the basic "taste" in one´s mouth. Susan well remembers a few days on codeine that left a sweet taste in her mouth. It also altered how food tasted. Judith recalls a particularly distasteful antibiotic that affected her ability to enjoy eating.</P> <P>Dispensing medication to children may be problematic if they are unable to swallow tablets or pills. Some of these meds may be liquid and are administered fairly easily with an oral syringe (more accurate than using a teaspoon). Others may need to be crushed or, in the case of one of Heidi´s meds, comes in a granular form. These are usually put on a spoon with a “sticky’ food item or mixed into food. Behavioral problems may require that they be put on something that is not a regular food item that is a favorite of the child´s. Heidi´s “sprinkles’ are put onto a teaspoon of syrup – it is nice and sticky, and not a food item that she normally eats solo. Susan has made it a point to taste all of the medication that Heidi takes so she is aware of what they taste like.</P> <P>Some medications require you take them with food. Most should be taken with copious amounts of water. Some may cause constipation; some may have the opposite affect. In the case of the former, lots of water and fiber may do the trick. If not, consultation with the prescribing physician is the best course of action. It should be noted that there are many herbal and homeopathic remedies available. One should always consult the physician or pharmacist before going this route as many medications, herbs, etc. may interact with each other. </P> <P>Also, note that if one is taking medication it is important to check with the pharmacist about food additives and artificial sweeteners. There is some indication that with many neurological medications, artificial sweeteners may interfere with the effectiveness of the medication. </P> <P>Maintaining a schedule of medication around diet and the ability to eat can be problematic. Certain meds can cause shakiness, which leads to feeding and eating difficulties. Getting a spoon full of soup or cereal with milk into the person´s mouth may be nearly impossible. In some cases caloric needs are higher than average. It is important to pack good calories into a person who may not be able to eat or have the desire to eat. This is common in the very elderly as well as children. If possible, fluids can be taken through a straw followed by foods that will stay in the spoon, or by finger foods appropriate for the person´s oral motor control. If they have trouble chewing, softer foods such as bread, noodles, cheese, diced potatoes, and soft, diced vegetables and fruits may be good. Protein is a major concern and do not discount the benefits of good fats, which can be obtained through food sources such as soy products, olive oil, nuts, and some fish.</P> <P>While many meds should be taken with food, if one is nauseated or vomiting it can be a challenge to keep medication down as well as any food. This is also true for anti-nausea medications -- making it difficult to control severe nausea and vomiting if one cannot keep the medication in one´s stomach long enough for it to take effect. Other delivery options for anti-nausea meds can be considered in this case. There are measures you can take to help yourself through these periods. Please refer to the Nausea section for some helpful suggestions. Be certain to inform the treating physician of any severe problems or dehydration.</P> <P>Follow up</P> <P>All three instructors plan to be online daily for several hours throughout the run of the course and to be available for Q&A here.</P> </TD></TABLE>

<TABLE bgcolor="white"> <FONT=verdana> <TD> <P>COOKING WITH DISABILITIES </P> <P><b>PART TWO: COOKING WITH A PERSON WITH DISABILITIES </b><BR> by Jenna Umansky</P> <P><B>CONTENTS</B> <UL> <LI><A HREF="#bio">BIO</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#intro2">INTRODUCTION</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#obj">OBJECTIVES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#setting">SETTING UP THE KITCHEN</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#look">LOOKING AT YOUR TOOLS AND SUPPLIES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#teach">TEACHING KITCHEN SKILLS</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#plan">PLANNING LESSONS</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#recipes2">RECIPES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#append1">APPENDIX I: Task Analysis of unloading the dishwasher</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#append2">APPENDIX II: ABC of Reinforcement</A></LI> <LI>RESOURCES</LI> <LI>GLOSSARY</LI> </UL> <A NAME="bio"><B>BIO</B></A> <P>Jenna Umansky (Specialteach) was born and raised in Washington, D.C . where she still lives. Growing up with parents who made their own Peking Duck, caviar omelets and all of her baby food, it was impossible not to share their passion. Jenna took her first cooking class at the age of 12 and continues to explore the world through food. She spends her free time volunteering for a local nonprofit catering group, improving her photography skills, and shopping at area farmers markets.</P> <P>Jenna has spent the past six years teaching special education, primarily to inner city students. She has worked with children who have a wide range of disabilities from learning disabilities to mental retardation, emotional disturbances and autism. Currently she is working with children aged 8 to 10 at a special education school outside of Washington. Throughout the course of her career she has taught classes that include a cooking class for teenagers and Daily Living Skills for teenagers and elementary aged children. As part of her Social Studies curriculum this year she is helping her students explore different countries through food.</P> <P>Jenna holds a BA in Psychology from American University and is currently working on a Master's in Special Education. She is also a certified trainer in Managing Disruptive Behavior, a physical restraint system.</P> <P>Additionally, Jenna was diagnosed with a chronic illness in the mid 1990s. Since then she has relied on modern medicine and homeopathic treatments to manage her illness.</P> <A NAME="intro2"><B>INTRODUCTION</B></A> <P>My two passions in life are children and cooking. As a teenager I babysat for a young man who was mentally retarded. While spending time with him I discovered that I loved working with children who have special needs. With one or two exception, every job I have had since then has involved children. In college I did home-based therapy called Lovass, which led me into special education. For the past six years I have taught children with learning disabilities, mental retardation, and autism around Washington D.C.</P> <P>During my first year of teaching, I had a student who had never tasted a fresh blueberry. She thought that blueberries were an artificial flavoring. We spent that year exploring different fruits and vegetables, although none was as big of a hit as berries. Since then, foods and eating styles have been an integral part of my teaching strategies. </P> <P>This section of the course will provide a glimpse into the world of teaching people with special needs to cook. Often the hardest part is simply convincing students and parents that the children can cook. Adaptations for medical issues and different levels of functioning may be necessary, but every student can work in the kitchen. It is important to allow students to take what they learn and use it in different environments. Working together parents and teachers can help increase a special needs person's independence.</P> <P> Although this piece discusses what can be done at school, all of the ideas presented here are easily transferable to the home kitchen. These ideas are not just for special needs children. They can be used to help people of all ages with a variety of impairments or disabilities. </P> <P>The kitchen is a great place to teach and to learn. At the end of this lesson, for example, there is an easy recipe for Chocolate Croissants. It is a good example of how many skill areas can be covered in cooking. Following directions, using the oven, and cleaning up teach daily living skills, reading the recipe teaches both reading and math vocabulary. Completing all the directions in a recipe involves reading comprehension and practices the daily living skills if doing the tasks in the correct sequence. Opening the dough package, putting chocolate chips on the dough and rolling practices fine motor aspects of daily living skills. Identifying temperatures, laying out dough triangles, counting chips and setting a timer all teach math. Teaching in the kitchen lets students work on multiple goals while simultaneously building their independence.</P> <A NAME="setting"><B>SETTING UP THE KITCHEN</B></A> <P>Setting up a kitchen for a person with special needs just means a little bit more pre-planning to make it accessible to people at all levels of functioning– from young children to young adults with special needs to grandparents with fading daily living skills. The basic rule of KISSing applies to all: Keep It Simple, Silly!</P> <P>To start with, label everything. Use pictures if your students can not read, and a label-maker if they can. Programs such as Boardmaker make labeling easy. Put pictures of forks, spoons, and knives on the utensil drawer. Put a picture of canned goods on the pantry shelves, and images of the pots, pans, and cooking utensils on their rightful homes. You will more than make up for the time spent wrestling with stickers when clean-up comes and everyone can quickly find where everything goes. </P> <P>Label kitchen functions like cooking and cleaning, too. Use magnets to put a bright red <FONT COLOR="red">HOT </FONT> and blue <FONT COLOR="blue"> COLD </FONT> sign on the oven, reminding everyone to stay away when the oven is in use. Put a CLEAN and DIRTY sign on the dishwasher to let everyone know whether it can be filled or must be emptied. (Note: teenage boys may be beyond the capabilities necessary to follow the dishwasher signs. It will help everyone else.) </P> <P><A NAME="look"><B>LOOKING AT YOUR TOOLS AND SUPPLIES</B></A> <P>Modern appliances are much simpler and safer to use than old-fashioned gas ones. When they are hot electric stoves have burners that turn red, universally associated with stopping or danger. Ovens with buttons allow for easier programming, both physically and mentally. Digital displays mean that you do not have to read numbers to set the stove: Instead, you can simply match the number to the number on the recipe. Automatic shut-off timers make using the oven safer and simpler, and dishwashers almost run themselves. </P> <P>Just because your prized Wusthof knife is terrifying for both your students and you does not mean that dinner preparation is limited to boxes. Cutting and chopping are safe with the right equipment. Choppers allow people whose hands are not so strong or steady to cut or mince almost anything. Chopping onto a flexible chopping board or an adaptive chopping board allows foods to be safely and easily transferred. Ergonomic knives, spoons, and measuring cups allow for different grasps. Experiment to find which version is easiest and most comfortable.</P> <TABLE ALIGN="center" border=0 CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0"> <TR><TD rowspan="6"><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=300><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i6864.jpg" WIDTH=300 HEIGHT=523</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=239><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i6862.jpg" WIDTH=239 HEIGHT=152</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">Adaptive Knives</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=239><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i6863.jpg" WIDTH=239 HEIGHT=152</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">Adaptive cutting board with side rails<BR> and spikes to hold food in place</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=239><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i6865.jpg" WIDTH=239 HEIGHT=150</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">Manual food chopper</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">Different versions of a vegetable peeler</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Cleaning utensils come in a wide variety of designs. Let your students try different ones to find what they are most comfortable with. Color-code your soaps and brushes to their intended uses. For example, use green dish soap with green sponges and brushes; yellow surface cleaner with yellow sponges; and blue dishwasher detergent. Putting pictures of the sink, counter, and dishwasher on their respective bottles can also help prevent confusion. (Do not forget to put Mr. Yuck stickers on all cleaning supplies!)</P> <P>People with special needs sometimes take longer to complete tasks, but pre-packaged foods can make meals easier. Modern food convenience began with presliced bread and continues to rip and shrink wrap its way through the supermarket. Lettuce for a salad no longer has to be washed and torn. Pasta can be bought precooked, as can chicken. Carrots, potatoes, and broccoli can all be purchased already cut. Just KISS everything at first, and let the raw ingredients get more complicated as students' skills progress. </P> <P><A NAME="teach"><B>TEACHING KITCHEN SKILLS</B></A> <P>One of the first obstacles to overcome is often a student's fear of the kitchen. If a child has been taught that the kitchen is dangerous or that they should not use it independently, then they will often be hesitant to learn how to cook for themselves. Small steps, beginning with basic lessons on safety and cleaning, can help even the most reluctant student learn how to cook. </P> <P>Last year a new student entered my class. She was a quiet sweet girl, who had seen more in life than she deserved to. Her last school gave up on her, giving her father little hope that she would be able to live independently. As part of her daily routine in the classroom she was taught to clean up after lunch. It became her responsibility to throw away her own trash when she was finished eating. If she left a cup on the sink, she had to go put it away. </P> <P>She also had to get her own silverware and put it in the proper place. All she had to do was match the shape of the utensil to a shape on her place mat. No letters, no numbers. It took a couple weeks, but one day she got it on her own. We moved on to the next lesson.</P> <P>Three months into the school year we had our first parent meeting. The student lives with her father who is not home enough because of work. He sat down at a table of seven women and shook his head. "I don't know what you people do here, but my daughter has started setting the table for every meal. And then she cleans the dishes and throws the trash away. And I never asked her. She just started one day on her own. And now she wants to cook!"</P> <P>So she learned to make cereal. Next came a cheese sandwich, hold the mayo. Peanut butter and jelly was mastered on the first attempt. Once she learned to match the numbers on the directions to the numbers on the microwave while making quesadillas, a whole new world of cooking was open to her, and her family. </P> <P> Safety is always the first lesson. Introduce your <FONT COLOR="red">HOT </FONT>and <FONT COLOR="blue">COLD</FONT> signs. Then use plastic knives to teach basic knife skills, such as how to carry a knife, how to hand it to another person, and how to use it safely. If a student is able, progress to sharper utensils. Otherwise, use a manual food chopper. </P> <P> Next comes cleaning. Kitchens do not clean themselves, even if you have special needs. Introduce the CLEAN and DIRTY signs on the dishwasher, and show students how to load and empty it. Walk students through the soaps and sponges for each type of cleaning–dishwasher, sink, and counter-and, if they are able, teach them how to wash or rinse the dishes. </P> <P>A checklist covering all the clean-up skills– dishes, counters, putting food away, and restoring pots and pans-- can be very helpful. Perform a task analysis with the student to determine how detailed the directions need to be. Do you need to be detailed or can it be basic? (see <A HREF="#append1">Appendix I</A></LI> of this course for a task analysis of unloading a dishwasher.) Use either simple pictures or written directions, depending on skill levels. Laminate it with contact paper and punch a hole in one corner to attach an erasable marker with string. The list can either be kept on the refrigerator or carried around as the different tasks are accomplished. This helps the student be organized and builds independence: Instead of trying to guess what comes next, the student simply checks off one step and moves on to the next. </P> <P> <BR> Now it is time to cook! Start with something easy, like a salad of precut veggies and a sandwich on pre-sliced bread. Some students may have difficulty spreading condiments. Again, make sure that varieties of utensils are available. While some people can use regular knives, others might need something wide, like a butter knife, and still others might be better off with a squeeze bottle. </P> <P>Then go on to something a little more complicated that can be scaled up as your students learn. A simple chicken Caesar salad is a perfect example. It can be made by either by relying on pre-packaged goods or by cooking from scratch. At the KISS end, provide a recipe with pictures of a bag of lettuce, precooked chicken strips, and a bottle of salad dressing. For more advanced students, help them cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts in an oven or on an indoor grill slice it, and then place it atop the lettuce with the dressing on top. </P> <P><A NAME="plan"><B>PLANNING LESSONS</B></A> <P>Students will be motivated to learn new kitchen skills if they like the food they are cooking. Before making your lesson plans, talk with them about what they want to learn to cook. Use cookbooks with pictures to help them identity foods they like. </P> <P>Find out if they have aversions, medical or otherwise, to certain foods. If a student does not like white bread, for example, and that is all you have for sandwiches, the lesson will not go over very well. Other students may not like the sensation of eating, and still others have strong affinities for certain things, like a love of white foods. </P> <P>This does not mean that you should only stick with familiar foods! You can– and should– introduce new foods as you go along. But special needs students often need to be pushed harder than regular students are to explore new things. Take small steps and have a positive reinforcer nearby as a reward. If a student loves pretzels, for example, have a couple available as a reward for tasting something new. Praise them for trying new foods, even if they do not like them. <A HREF="#append2">Appendix II</A> of this course provides a useful list of positive reinforcement phrases I often use.</P> <P>And be sure to try the foods along with the students. They will look to you for your reaction: You can not expect them to try something you are not willing to taste yourself! Teach them that it is okay if they do not like it, as long as they try it. But do try to have them taste everything twice. The first time, they will often have an aversion just because it is new. The second time, they will be slightly familiar with it and can actually taste it without a power struggle. </P> <P>When I teach a unit on Japan I include a lesson on making sushi. Cucumber makki (cucumber rolls) are easy to make and do not include raw fish. The ingredients are easy and available at most grocery stores, although it may require a trip to the Asian food section. All that you need are rice, cucumbers, seaweed, soy sauce, and wasabi. If you do not have a sushi mat use aluminum foil or plastic wrap instead. Remember to let the students try each of the ingredients individually. One year after teaching about sushi, seaweed for snack became a special treat in my classroom!</P> <P>The lesson allows for a number of different goals to be worked on at once, as well as teaching about a different culture, and provides an opportunity to try new food. Students are given the opportunity to spread the rice on seaweed, peel and cut cucumbers, and try to eat with chopsticks. These three tasks involve occupational therapy, speech therapy, daily living skills, math and reading. Students are often hesitant at first to try it, although Sponge Bob Squarepants has made seaweed cool. Yet, once they learn that it is okay to eat with your fingers and there is something salty to dip it into (soy sauce) they over come their aversion to it. For students who have a hard time with crunchy foods, use a cucumber that has become a little soft. Remember to have wasabi available for those students whose have less sensitive taste buds and enjoy spicy foods.</P> <P><A NAME="recipes2"><B>RECIPES</B></A> <P>I often begin a cooking class with Chocolate Croissants. It sounds fancy, looks and tastes impressive, and it is easy to do with students of all skill levels. </P> <P><CENTER>Chocolate Croissant</CENTER><BR> <P><TABLE ALIGN="center" border=0 CELLSPACING="3" CELLPADDING="3"> <TR><TD colspan="2" ALIGN="center"><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5865.jpg" WIDTH=400 HEIGHT=234</TD></TR> <TR><TD colspan="2" ALIGN="center"><P><I>Ingredients</I><BR>1 package of premade croissant dough<BR>1 package of chocolate chips<BR>aluminum foil<BR>baking sheet</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5864.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=159</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5868.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=159</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">1: Follow direction on package for preheating <BR>the oven. Change oven sign to HOT. Cover baking sheet <BR>with aluminum foil. </TD> <TD ALIGN="center">2: Place pieces of croissant dough on sheet.</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5959.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=159</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5960.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=159</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">3: Put 10 chocolate chips onto each <BR>piece of dough at the big end</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">4: Roll dough carefully into croissants. If any <BR>chips fall out take off of the sheet and eat them!</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5961.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=188</TD></TR></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5962.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=188</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">5: Bake according to package directions.<BR> Remember to use oven mitts when taking <BR>the tray in and out of the oven</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">6: Set the timer</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5963.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=188</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u12371/i5866.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=188</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">7: Allow croissants to cool</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">8: Share with friends and enjoy!</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Remember, this recipe has been KISSed: The sheet should still be cleaned, but the task will be much easier. Secondly, aluminum foil cools quicker than a regular baking sheet. This makes the removal of the croissants easier and safer.</P> <P>Students who are higher functioning can learn to make dishes that are more complex. It is important to establish a base line and work from there. If a student is able to open a can, use a chopper and turn on a stove and oven, try Baked Clams over Spaghetti.</P> <P><B>Baked Clams</B><BR> (serves 4)<BR> Ingredients:<BR> 9-12 small clams per person.<BR> 1 box of spaghetti or pasta of your choice<BR> 4 cloves of garlic (optional)<BR> 1 28oz. can of tomatoes<BR> Grated Parmesan (optional)</P> <P>Utensils:<BR> Pasta pot<BR> Roasting pan or other pan with high sides<BR> Hand chopper or knife<BR> Can opener<BR> Oven mitts</P> <P>For the pasta:</P> <P>1. Fill a pasta pot with water and place on stove. <BR> 2. Cook pasta according to directions. Remember to set the timer.</P> <P>For the clam sauce:</P> <P>Preheat oven to broil. Remember to change oven sign to <FONT COLOR="red">hot.</FONT></P> <P>1. While the pasta is cooking, clean the clams by rubbing them together to remove dirt and grit. Place on baking sheet.<BR> 2. Open can of tomatoes and pour over clams. If the tomatoes are whole, crush them before adding. Make sure to add all of the liquid to the clams. The clams should be almost completely covered. Add water if necessary to create more sauce.<BR> 3. Peel garlic (use a garlic peeler if necessary).<BR> 4. Chop garlic into small pieces, using a hand chopper if necessary. Add to clams and tomatoes<BR> 5. Bake in oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the clams are all open.</P> <P>*Teach students that if clams do not open, they should not be eaten.</P> <P>Putting it together<BR> Drain pasta and pour into a dish. Pour clam sauce over the pasta. Grate Parmesan over dish.</P> <P>Serve with bread to dip into the remaining sauce.</P> <P>Enjoy!</P> <P>This recipe can be adapted for different skill levels as well as for physical impairments: <BR> If the student cannot use the stove, precooked pasta is available. If the student is able to use a knife safely, the garlic can be chopped by hand. If not, then a hand chopper can be used instead or prechopped garlic can be bought.If the student cannot use the oven safely, then canned clams can be added to canned tomatoes and heated in the microwave.<BR>If eating long pasta such as the suggested spaghetti is too difficult to eat, then smaller shapes such as penne can be substituted.Parmesan can be grated using a variety of different graters, or pregrated Parmesan can be used.<P>Working with special needs students often means working toward independent living and cooking is an integral part of that. Having a limitation does not mean that cooking and eating cannot be enjoyable. When you show someone how to prepare their own meal, you are teaching skills they will use the rest of their life. As the saying goes "Give a person a fish and you feed a person, teach a person to fish and you feed a village."</P> <P>Ask your questions about this course on the Q&A thread. <BR><BR> <P><A NAME="append1"><B>APPENDIX I: Task Analysis of unloading the dishwasher</B></A> <P>Unloading the Dishwasher List #1 1. Move the latch to the off position. <BR> 2. Open the dishwasher.<BR> 3. Pull out the bottom rack<BR> 4. Pick up the silverware basket.<BR> 5. Carry it to the silverware drawer.<BR> 6. Put silverware away.<BR> 7. Open the plate cabinet.<BR> 8. Take out plates. Put in cabinet. <BR> 9. Take out bowls. Put in cabinet.<BR> 10. Do not stop until there are no more dishes left.<BR> 11. Pull out the top rack.<BR> 12. Open the glasses cabinet.<BR> 13. Put away all of the glasses.<BR> 14. Do not stop until there are no more glasses.<BR> 15. Close the dishwasher.<BR> 16. Change the signs on the dishwasher to clean.<BR> <P> Hurray!!! You are done <P>Once skills are mastered the task can be reduced to fewer steps. <P>Unloading the Dishwasher List #2 1. Open the dishwasher.<BR> 2. Pick up the silverware basket.<BR> 3. Put silverware away.<BR> 4. Take out plates. Put in cabinet. <BR> 5. Take out bowls. Put in cabinet.<BR> 6. Do not stop until there are no more dishes left.<BR> 7. Open the glasses cabinet.<BR> 8. Put away all of the glasses.<BR> 9. Do not stop until there are no more glasses.<BR> 10. Close the dishwasher.<BR> 11. Change the signs on the dishwasher to Clean.<BR> <P>Unloading the Dishwasher List #3 1. Open the dishwasher.<BR> 2. Put silverware away.<BR> 3. Put plates and bowls away.<BR> 4. Put away all of the glasses.<BR> 5. Close the dishwasher.<BR> 6. Change the signs on the dishwasher to Clean.<BR> <P>With each progression the number of steps, or cues are reduced as task becomes more familiar. Pictures or photographs of the steps can be inserted if reading is not an option. <BR><BR> <P><A NAME="append2"><B>APPENDIX II: ABC of Reinforcement</B></A> <P>Absolutely, All right, Amazing<BR> Beautiful<BR> Congratulations, Correct<BR> Delicious<BR> Exactly, Excellent<BR> Fabulous, Fantastic<BR> Great, Good, Goody, Golly<BR> Hooray, Happiness<BR> Incredible, I like it<BR> Jolly good<BR> Kool, Keep Going<BR> Lovely, Look at what you did<BR> Marvelous, Magnificent, Makes my day<BR> Now we’re cooking, Nice, Neat<BR> Oh wow, Ooooohhhh<BR> Perfecto, Perfect, Perfectly Right<BR> Quite Right<BR> Righteous, Right on<BR> Super, Superb, Super-Duper, Sounds good, So proud<BR> Terrific, That’s Right, There you go, Too cool<BR> Unbelievable<BR> Very good<BR> Wow, wonderful<BR> Xactly right<BR> You’ve got it, Yes, You’re right<BR> Zoweeee<BR> </TD></TABLE>

<TABLE bgcolor="white"> <FONT=verdana> <TD> <P>COOKING WITH DISABILITIES </P> <P><b>PART TWO: COOKING FOR A PERSON WITH DISABILITIES</b><BR> by Susan Fahning</P> <P><B>CONTENTS</B> <UL> <LI><A HREF="#biosf">BIO</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#introsf">INTRODUCTION</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#equipsf">EQUIPMENT</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#mealsf">MEALS</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#recipesf">RECIPES</A></LI> <LI>RESOURCES</LI> <LI>GLOSSARY</LI> </UL> <A NAME="biosf"><B>BIO</B></A> <P>My name is Susan Fahning (Snowangel). I have been married for almost 23 years. Paul and I have three children (Diana age 13, Heidi age 9, Peter age 8) and live in the Twin Cities (Minnesota, USA). My cooking experience is all self-taught. As a young child, my parents uprooted us from the land of Midwestern casseroles (complete with cream of something soup) and plopped us in Thailand and the land of larb and curry. My taste buds never looked back.</P> <P>Nothing I had ever done prepared me for the summer of 1994, when Heidi was born. A child changes your life, but a child with disabilities really exacerbates those changes. </P> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=405><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6263/i4908.jpg" WIDTH=405 HEIGHT=540</TD></TR><TR><TD>Meet Heidi! </TD></TR></TABLE><P> <P>Heidi has Angelman Syndrome (AS), a fairly rare genetic syndrome (but not hereditary in her case). The syndrome was not identified until the mid-60´s and the genetic correlation was made in 1985. It is named after Harry Angelman. Characteristics of AS include non-verbal behavior; gross, fine and oral motor deficiencies; epilepsy (in Heidi´s case, under control with a significant amount of medication), and mental retardation. <P>In short, Heidi has all of what you think you don't want, but is an adorable little girl, almost always happy with a beautiful smile. She is extremely social and very charming. Through her, we have learned to be extremely inventive. Knowing about Heidi, and the fact that we live in Minnesota, explains my EG "handle".</P> <P>We all have the basic senses. Many people with disabilities, like Heidi, have heightened sensory issues. Heidi's taste and feel-of-food senses are heightened. Food meets many needs for her – taste, feel, and smell.</P> <P>I joined the ranks of stay-at-home moms just before my youngest went off to kindergarten, given the logistics of child care of a child with disabilities.</P> <A NAME="introsf"><B>INTRODUCTION</B> <P>All of us, as subscribers to eGullet, are driven here by a love of food. Food is one of the most basic of necessities. Food involves all of our senses – taste, feel, color, smell and sound. As such, it fills some of the most sensual of needs. Just because a person cannot verbally express a love of food, cook the food, need adaptive equipment or positioning, or cannot even make appropriate choices of food, does not diminish the love of food. In fact, for many of this population, those with neurological disorders, food is one of the most motivating and enjoyable aspects of life.</P> <P>Disabilities come in all varieties. We use terminology during our course to refer to some of the associated conditions and we have selected the terminology not because it is necessarily politically correct, but succinct and generally understood. My focus is a little girl who has Angelman Syndrome. As such, she is completely non-verbal, severely mentally retarded, with vestibular issues, and gross, fine and oral motor limitations. Many of the aspects that make Heidi “Heidi’ are also common to people with autism, ADHD, ADD, Alzheimer´s, mental illness, MS, etc. There is no manual that comes with a person with disabilities so we have learned to "think outside the box".</P> <P>Lest you think that the following does not apply to you, I am reminded of a friend: She was amazed at how many of the techniques and equipment I utilize with Heidi, she ultimately used in the care of a very elderly relative with Alzheimer's who had almost no teeth. This person also has many oral motor limitations and sensory and communication problems which greatly influence meal time and eating. <P>A person with autism may not be able to verbalize wants and needs and may have some serious sensory integration problems. A person who has had a stroke may not be able to verbalize, may have oral motor limitations and may require adaptive eating and positioning equipment. A person with Parkinson's may require adaptive equipment. As our parents age, many of us will be providing care for an elderly person who may have Alzheimer's or dementia, or perhaps has had a stroke. Many of the things we do for Heidi may apply to you in the future. </P> <P>Heidi is not able to handle pieces of meat that are not ground or finely shredded, nor is she able to take a bite out of a sandwich due to her mouth structure and oral muscle tone. For example, press on that area between your upper lip and nose -- I bet yours is "spongey". Heidi's is paper-thin. Stick out your tongue and take it between your thumb and forefinger; it's probably pretty dense. Heidi's is thick and marshmallowey. <P>These things come into play when it comes to feeding Heidi. Her teeth are very widely spaced, and given her dental structure, it is impossible for her to take a bite out of a sandwich. Things just don't meet up right, and since she often sucks on her hands (oral motor stimulation and behavioral issues), corrective orthodontia is not a consideration. Crunchy foods can be difficult for many people to masticate and some people with sensory issues do not like the auditory aspect of these kinds of food.</P> <P>In the case of our family, we must weigh Heidi's needs with the needs of the rest of our children – as well as us, the parents. Family health is important. We cannot afford for our other children to resent Heidi, nor can we allow her needs to rule what the rest of the family can and cannot do, what we can and cannot eat. Her eating requirements are different, and over the course of years, I have learned to incorporate her needs with the desires of the rest of the family. <P>Although she is testing at about an 8 to 18 month age level, it is important to our two other children that she appears as normal as possible. Also, with Heidi, we cannot use that old parental threat, "if you don't eat your lima beans, you won't get dessert. Heidi has not reached that developmental level. My Aunt Laura at the age of 95 with dementia, could not understand this form of reasoning either.</P> <P>People with disabilities can bring different things to the table. It is not uncommon for people with some disabilities to have problems with reflux and/or constipation, because motor tone affects not only limbs, but also internal systems. If a person has reflux and/or constipation, consultation with a physician is the best course of action. I cannot speak to the complications that a J- or G-tube adds. And, medications and the fact that Heidi cannot close her mouth (dehydration!) can exacerbate constipation. Lots of water and ground flax seed to the rescue!</P> <P>Heidi takes a tremendous amount of neurological medication every day for seizure control, so I avoid feeding her food that contains a lot of artificial ingredients. This can be very important. The pharmacist has also told us that there is some indication that artificial sweeteners can interfere with the effectiveness of her anti-epilepsy drugs, so there is no "diet" anything in our house, and her personal information sheet that she has in her backpack reinforces this. I also check with her pharmacist before giving her any over-the-counter medications.</P> <P>A large part of working with and for a person with disabilities who cannot vocalize specific or appropriate wants, desires, and needs is learning what he/she is saying in a variety of ways. We are so used to people we deal with verbalizing things that it can be hard to listen to those who cannot speak. We have learned to make things convenient for Heidi so she can express her needs and desires. Just because a person cannot talk does not mean she/he has nothing to say</P> <A NAME="equipsf"><B>EQUIPMENT</B></A> <P>There is no standard list of equipment for people with disabilities. We were fortunate that Heidi was plugged into the school system when she was 18 months old, so we had help from professionals who had seen and done it all. Children with disabilities are eligible for school-provided services. Children with disabilities are usually home-based until age 3, then center-based from 3 to 5, at which point they enter kindergarten. <P>Most often, the local public health service is the first stop – they evaluate children and get families of children with disabilities into the school system. School personnel, along with an Internet support group for caregivers of kids like Heidi, clued us in to different pieces of equipment, catalogues, etc. <P>The internet is a terrific resource for not only information on specific disabilities, but also for equipment, services and support groups. For many people with disabilities, positioning and eating equipment can be very important. Most of us can stand while eating a pulled pork sandwich and a pile of coleslaw with a cheap plastic fork off a greasy, soggy, floppy cheap paper plate. There are many who cannot do this.</P> <P>In the case of Heidi, the following items have, at one time or another, been invaluable:</P> <P>Yellow Scoop Dish. Essential for someone who can use a utensil, but has trouble getting small amounts of food on a spoon. Unlike the rest of our family, she is unable to use her finger or a knife to help get food onto a spoon or fork. This bowl has a non-skid base, which can be essential. For Heidi, we keep the built up side closest to her.</P> <P>Maroon Spoon. This was Heidi's first eating utensil. It has a wide handle and a very shallow bowl, which is good for those learning to eat off a spoon and those without the oral motor skills to "clean out" a spoon bowl that has some depth. </P> <P>Sure Hand Utensils. You can purchase these from many places. We opted not to purchase the built-up utensils, but instead just wrapped pipe insulation, cut to length around our flatware. We secured it with Velcro or duct tape. Some people require weighted utensils, others utensils with plastic coated spoon bowls and fork tines. The following company features a very complete line of adaptive equipment sammonspreston. They have a good selection of adaptive eating equipment. There are many other companies that carry these same things; I know I have had great service from Sammons Preston.</P> <P>Angled spoon. Although one can purchase these, we just took a cheap metal spoon (I think we got it in the mail as some sort of buy-me promo), put it in the vise grip and bent. It worked very well when she needed it. <BR> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=540><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6263/i4910.jpg" WIDTH=540 HEIGHT=405</TD></TD></TR></TABLE><P> <P>Nosey Cutout Tumbler. Most kids learn to drink out of an open cup on their own (with some serious clean up effort on the part of the caregiver). Not so with all children and this cup really allowed us to see what was going on with her mouth when she was learning to drink out of a cup. Again, this is available from Sammons Preston or a variety of other companies.</P> <P>Tumblers (plastic ones). When Heidi graduated from hand-over-hand assistance with the nosey tumbler, we found that some old Tupperware plastic tumblers (on the bottom 116-## -- ## depending on color) did the trick. We found these by accident, and since they are discontinued, bought a whole many on eBay. It took us a long time to find the right beverage vehicle for Heidi. While searching, places like the Salvation Army or Goodwill are wonderful. There is usually a wide variety of different utensils, tumblers, etc. available at prices that make it easy to use them as "try me" cups.</P> <P>Note: There are many people who require food and beverage thickeners because of oral motor problem that limit their ability to get a thin beverage from lip down the throat. </P> <P>Chair: Many people with disabilities also have a vestibular disorder – most easily defined as a balance or grounding problem. In Heidi's case, it is necessary that her feet be firmly planted on a surface in order to attend to task -- be it at school, at church, on the toilet, or eating. The Tripp Trapp chair is a wonderful solution for Heidi. She is firmly supported by the seat and footrest (both adjustable), and best of all, we can belt Little Miss Social into her chair – for the comfort of other diners and her safety. <P>I include the following web site because I believe it best shows the Tripp Trapp chair. The manufacturer's web site is Stokke's Kinderzeat. This is an extremely well- made, stable chair, easy to clean, and looks cool to boot. It will last her for many years, growing with her to adulthood. It is a comfortable chair for children and adults. You can see how much concentration she needs to eat.<BR> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=375><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u6263/i4903.jpg" WIDTH=375 HEIGHT=500</TD></TR><TR><TD>Heidi attending to task. </TD></TR></TABLE><P> <P>Bibs: At home, we use a bib for Heidi if the food is of the major stain variety, otherwise not. In a restaurant, we never use a bib because it makes our other children self-conscious.</P> <P>Food Grinders: Can be essential for people with oral motor difficulties. Some of us can eat a hunk of steak, a piece of broccoli stem, a chewy piece of bread crust. Some people do not have the physical ability to do so. When I need to grind food for Heidi at home I usually use my Cuisinart mini-prep. When out-and-about, the Happy Baby Food Grinder can be especially helpful.</P> <P>Communication: At this time, Heidi is not ready for an augmentative communication device other than the BIGmack (not a sandwich). She is also using a modified PECS system with Boardmaker symbols. PECS is a communication system originally devised for children with autism and it goes hand-in-hand with Boardmaker. Boardmaker is a computer program specifically designed to print "pictures" of things. The pictures are line drawings which can be printed in either black-and-white or in color and can be very specific (a picture of a plate of spaghetti) or more general, as in the lunch symbol, which depicts a plate with a sandwich, an apple, and a glass of beverage. The symbols can be easily printed in either 1-inch or 2-inch square sizes and are usually laminated. <P>The intent of PECS is that the autistic child will make a selection of items offered via the printed symbols, present them to the "giver" and receive the desired item in return. The goal is increased socialization and interaction with a person. In the case of a very social child like Heidi, the system is modified. Heidi is not required to actually give the symbol of the selected item to the presenter, she is merely asked to make an indication since she is so social. At snack time, she requests food by indicating the “lunch’ symbol and beverage by requesting the "drink" symbol. Until she is more proficient with symbols, we (I, Paul, and her teachers) have chosen not to let her choose food by using food-specific Boardmaker symbols – she just wants everything offered by the symbols. <P>If using PECS symbols for specific food items, it is important to make sure that the food items are available. Family mealtime is too chaotic to permit use of the Big Mack with Boardmaker symbols at this time, so we only use it for snacks.</P> <P>To aid in communication, I keep her plastic glasses in an under-counter drawer that she can easily open so when she is thirsty, she will bring one of us a glass. We recently moved, and to help her learn where her things are, I left the drawer halfway open for several days so she didn´t have to search. The fridge items I offer her for a snack are all in a drawer together so that, with my supervision, she can make her own choice. "Obsession" foods (more about those later) are hidden in the fridge at the back of the upper shelves. We label a lot of our drawers and cupboards with Boardmaker symbols to reinforce the communication system. Make it simple for a person who cannot communicate verbally to make her/his needs known.</P> <P>Note: Heidi no longer needs to use built up or bent utensils, but does need the scoop bowl and Tupperware glasses. We have many of each of these items and make sure to always have one of each in each car, two of each at the cabin, and one at each of her grandparents. Mealtime (at someone´s home or a restaurant) is much easier for her if she has "her" things. Positioning and equipment can make a world of difference. Most people with neurological disorders require consistency and routine. </P> <P>Kitchen safety: The opportunity to teach "hot" came naturally when Heidi touched a pan that was hot enough to cause a cry, but not hot enough to blister. We continually reinforce this verbally whenever I am cooking and when we serve hot food. She has learned this concept the hard way (we all remember hot pizza cheese on the roof of our mouths!).</P> <P>Heidi is not very tall (yet), so upper cupboards are not an issue at this point, but when the time comes, we will latch them, as we have done with our refrigerator. Heidi loves to go and open the fridge, grab things and leave the door open. She will also try and grab things (juice jug) that she is unable to hold. After cleaning up several large (not to mention sticky) spills, we put a latch on the fridge. <P>Our refrigerator is a side-by-side with handles on the refrigerator and freezer side that are open. We use something we call Bunny Ears that require two hands to open the latch and are readily available in any large drug or discount store in the baby safety aid area. She has not played with stove knobs -- should they fascinate her, we will use knob covers (also available in baby safety areas). My knife block is wall-mounted and currently out of reach. <P>A caregiver for a person with Prader Willi Syndrome will probably have to padlock all cupboards and the refrigerator and may even have to install a deadbolt lock on the kitchen door.</P> <P>The kitchen in our new house is galley-style, with only one entrance. This can be an ideal setting because it can be easy to gate off, keeping someone out of the range of a hot stove.</P> <P>When I am preparing a meal, Heidi is usually more interested in watching TV or looking for Daddy to come home than helping to cook. On the occasion that she wants to be right in on the cooking action, I bring her chair over and strap her in. </P> <A NAME="mealsf"><B>MEALS</B></A> <P>If Heidi had her way, she would eat nothing other than potato salad, cheese, eggs, butter, and bananas (obsession foods). These are all nice, mushy foods, requiring little mastication. Reality is that no one else in our family could subsist on this diet and nutritionally she needs more variety. <P>As it is good to introduce foods with different textures to encourage oral motor development, one of the challenges has been to incorporate her oral motor/muscle limitations into the diet of a family who likes meat, crunchy foods, smooth foods, sharp-tasting foods – a diverse range of tastes and textures. Mouth feel is important to all of us. But, mouth feel is unbelievably important to people like Heidi who have sensory integration problems. <P>Color of food also comes into play. She prefers white or yellow food, eschewing anything red. She does like red fruit, but one always has to stuff that first mouthful into her mouth (with the assistance of a hand and head-holder) to remind her just how wonderful a local strawberry or homegrown raspberry can be. Through some creative thinking (and a lot of mincing and burying new or different foods into familiar favorites), we have greatly expanded the selection of what she will eat.</P> <P>Let's walk through a typical day in our household.</P> <P>Setting notes: For someone with poor fine motor skills or tremors, placemats, unless plastic with a somewhat sticky back can easily become flying saucers. Likewise, legs can become entabled in table clothes -- resulting in everything on the floor. </P> <P>It is not uncommon for people with neurological disorders to obsess on things. In our case, if we are having something that requires butter or sour cream, it is applied before the meal, otherwise the focus of Heidi is on the butter and sour cream and she won't eat anything else. Although we prefer to eat family style, certain foods are plated. Potato salad comes to mind or else she spends her entire meal obsessing on The Big Bowl of Potato Salad. One of the students in her class obsesses on everyone else's food. </P> <P><B>Atmosphere</B>: It can be important that mealtime be calm and quiet. Heidi, and many other people with disabilities work far harder to get the food to their mouths and masticate than most of us do. So, in our house, there is no loud discussions and no television. There might some muted, calm music. We have noticed that at large family gatherings, the chaos makes it far harder for Heidi to attend to task. At school, her class's lunch is timed to coincide with the least amount of chaos in the lunchroom.</P> <P>Breakfast : On school days, Heidi eats breakfast at school (occupational therapy during breakfast is a part of her IEP (Individual Education Plan, a comprehensive plan that outlines specific goals and methods to be used to achieve these). So before she gets on the bus, she gets her morning medicine followed by a glass of orange juice. <P>Dispensing medication to a person who cannot swallow pills can be challenging and often involve food. One of her meds is a nasty tasting liquid. We tried putting it in with juice (cranberry because of the sharp taste) and all that accomplished was to give her a bad attitude about beverages. She went four days without drinking anything, so we now give it to her in an oral syringe. The other med comes in the form of granules, which are delivered on top of syrup in a teaspoon. I have made it a point to taste every medication she takes so I know what she is experiencing. <P>On weekends, I always fix a big breakfast – pancakes or waffles, bacon or sausage, eggs, toast, or some combination thereof. This is her favorite meal of the day and there is enough variety to satisfy everyone. It is generally the easiest meal for people with oral or fine motor problems. The food is easy to spoon and generally soft. <P>We cut up her pancakes, waffles, over-easy eggs on toast, etc. so she can use her spoon. After almost nine years of an aversion to bacon, I am proud to say that she is now eating my favorite food! I crumble hers up for her so she can use her spoon. With pancakes, waffles, or toast, butter is applied before they arrive at the table. <P>If cereal is in order for breakfast, her´s is eaten with yogurt (plain, thinned a little bit with milk). If we just use milk, the milk just runs down her chin since she is unable to close her mouth. Muffins are a favorite in our house, complete with blueberries from The Cabin. Since muffins tend to be crumbly, in order to minimize mess, hers are broken up in her bowl and moistened with milk (or cream) so she can scoop them easily with her spoon.</P> <P>Lunch : On school days, Heidi takes her lunch every day. Always a sandwich (cheese and mayo or peanut butter and jelly) unless I have leftover frittata or deviled eggs (who ever has leftovers of the latter?) and a banana or grapes. <P>The lunchroom is chaotic enough that consistency is important. Sometimes I´ll add a cookie or a couple of graham crackers. I cut up her sandwich as a courtesy to the school staff. School staff cut up her banana. She gets milk from school. Since she has trouble sipping out of a straw, hers is poured into one of her glasses. <P>Lunch on non-school days depends on how much breakfast she has eaten (some mornings she will eat a dozen pancakes and not really be hungry for lunch). If she is hungry, I will fix sandwiches (cheese, sliced turkey breast, chicken salad, or egg salad) and offer fruit. Sometimes a "cheesy roll-up" – flour tortilla, painted with refried beans, topped with cheese and either micro waved and rolled up or in a skillet and topped with another tortilla fried in butter. This is another easy meal. <P>If she were able to take a bite out of a sandwich, I would make sure that her sandwich was not too thick. I would also make sure that it wasn't too slippery assuring that the ingredients stay between the bread. This is important for a person with limited fine motor skills or tremors.</P> <P>Snacks : Fruit, cheesy roll-up, a hard cooked egg, depending on what we have at home.</P> <P>Dinner : This can be the most challenging meal of the day for a family incorporating needs of a disabled person as it is the most formal meal of the day, and often the only meal we eat regularly at the table together. Although I really object to making a separate meal for Heidi, I will make some concessions. <P>If we want to have steak, baked potatoes, and salad, for example, we modify. Heidi cannot eat chewy meat. Nor can we have butter and sour cream on the table for the baked potatoes, so I prepare twice-baked potatoes. Although more time consuming to make, it eliminates the "during meal" prep -- cutting, mushing, buttering. With a twice baked potato (or mashed potato), she can just scoop and eat, and either Paul or I can get to the business of eating our meals. <P>I aim to make meals that require as little of our time cutting once we sit at the table so that our meals don't get cold. Since she will not eat steak, if I have some leftover chicken, I will shred it and tuck it into her potato or tuck in a hard cooked egg (toothpick in her potato halves identify them). Salad for many must be finely chopped, so I will chop a portion for her and reserve it in a separate dish and make sure that her portion has white salad dressing (ranch, a big favorite). This is another opportunity for protein -- a handful of canned beans, a little shredded chicken, a chopped hard cooked egg. <P>If we're having a cooked green veggie, I will often cook some of it as I'm doing potatoes and chop it finely and hide it into her potato halves. Or, I save leftover cooked veggies for "tuck-ins." If we want pasta with Bolognese sauce, I use a thicker noodle (fettucini or linguine). No matter how finely we chop spaghetti, the noodles end up all over the floor. Her pasta, in this case, is buttered with Parmesan cheese mixed in. I will add a hardboiled egg, shredded chicken or some beans (cannelini or navy) to her pasta for added protein. I cut the pasta very finely so it stays on the spoon and gets into her mouth. <P>I also have a repertoire of dishes that will please everyone – carbonarra is a big hit with all members of the family, and is a great fallback dish, as is frittata when I have little bits of leftovers that need to be used up. Another favorite is chicken pot pie or chicken and noodles. I did a Zuni Cafe; mock porchetta recently, and I minced the pork for her and mixed it with the garlic-mashed potatoes. <P>On a night when we want a curry (Thai), her rice contains either beans or chopped hard cooked eggs, and might be glued together with a bit of cheese, since rice can be messy when one does not have good fine motor control. Roasted cauliflower is another hit in our family, and I make sure she gets the least brown pieces and she is happy. Sometimes I will reserve some of the raw cauliflower and add it to the pan later. <P>The rule of thumb here is to try it and then do what it takes to make it work. Easter Sunday was ham, scalloped potatoes, roasted carrots, salad, green beans, and asparagus. I cut up carrots and minced some ham and tucked them in with the potatoes and all ate well. Although Heidi does not like tomatoes, last summer I got some sweet tiny orange ones at the farmer's market. Because of the super sweet flavor and color, she didn't know she was eating one of her least favorite foods!</P> <P>Eating Out : When we go to a restaurant, we ask for a booster seat which we put upside down on the floor to serve as a footrest. We bring an extra belt (or rope) to secure her into her chair. To astounded other customers (who are often critical), we merely state to them that "she is belted in for her safety and your dining comfort." We also ask at restaurants that they bring her food out first so we can get it cut up and get her going before the rest of the meals arrive. We have not yet been to a restaurant that has not accommodated any of our requests, nor questioned our putting their food into her dishes. <P>Depending on the cuisine of the restaurant, there may or may not be something on the menu that she can eat. Special requests have always been honored. We haven't been to a place yet (a steakhouse comes to mind) that could not tuck some cooked vegetables and chopped meat under a blanket of cottage cheese or into a baked potato, or done a couple of over easy eggs on toast. I learned long ago that if one asked, the worst thing that could happen was that someone would say no (it has never happened).</P> <P> All of these are things Paul, Diana, Peter and I have learned by listening to Heidi. We have just learned to listen to a non-verbal voice.</P> <P>As a caregiver of a person with disabilities, my biggest piece of advice is TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. A tremendous amount of physical and emotional energy can be expended on the person with disabilities and if the caregiver is not healthy, it becomes increasingly difficult to deal with the physical and emotional repercussions. It may necessitate a daily nap, a higher calorie diet, frequent yoga, or a support group, but it is vitally important.</P> <A NAME="recipesf"><B>RECIPES</B></A> <P>Following are some recipes that have been very sucessful. They meet Heidi's needs as well as those of the rest of us:</P> <P>Chicken Dish<BR> <BR> This mixture can be used in a few different ways. I have put it in a casserol dish and topped it with either biscuit dough, puff pastry or pie crust and backed it to make Chicken Pot Pie. I have also served it over egg noddles or incorporated slightly undercooked egg noddles into the mixture, put it in a greased casserole dish and topped it with bread crumbs and baked. One of the nice things about this dish is it is easy to incorporate vegetables, and it is creamy and soft. If making for a person with oral motor difficulties, shred the chicken more finely, for others, just pull it into nice big hunks. Similarly, vary the size of the dice on the onions, carrots, celery and other vegetables.<BR> <BR> 1 finely chopped onion<BR> 3 medium carrots, diced<BR> 2 ribs celery, diced<BR> 1/4 c butter<BR> 1/2 c flour<BR> 2 c chicken broth (hopefully, homemade)<BR> 1-1/2 milk<BR> 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1-1/2 t. minced fresh thyme<BR> 3 T dry sherry or white wine<BR> salt and pepper to taste<BR> 2-3 c shredded cooked chicken<BR> 1-2 c cooked, diced vegetables (I use leftover broccoli, asparagus, green beans, etc.)<BR> <BR> If you are going to bake as chicken pot pie or as a casserole with noodles, preheat oven to 350.º<BR> <BR> In a large saucepan over medium, melt butter. After foaming subsides, add onions, carrots and celery and cook until softened. Lower heat and add flour. Stir constantly for 5-6 minutes and slowly add chicken broth, stirring constantly. When chicken broth is incorporated, add thyme, salt, pepper and sherry. Add the milk slowly, stiring frequently until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens.<BR> <BR> Serve over hot cooked egg noodles or put in a greased 9 x 13" baking dish or casserole and top with raw biscuits, puff pastry or pie crust. If baking, bake until hot and bubbly and (if using) biscuits or pie crust is browned.<BR> <BR> Breakfast Strata </P> <P>8-10 slices cooked, crumbled bacon or 3/4-1 c chopped ham (again, chop as finely as needed, depending on oral motor skills) or 3/4-1 c cooked crumbled breakfast sausage<BR> 1/2 c butter<BR> Additional softened butter<BR> 1/4 c finely chopped shallots<BR> 10 slices bread<BR> 2-1/2 c shredded cheese<BR> 9 eggs, lightly beaten<BR> 3 c milk<BR> 2 T dijon mustard<BR> 1 tsp dried thyme<BR> salt and pepper to taste<BR> <BR> In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the shallots until softened. Set aside to cool.<BR> <BR> Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish or shallow casserole.<BR> <BR> Cut bread into 1" cubes. Place in ziplock bag with shallots and butter; toss to combine.<BR> <BR> In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. Add bread cubes; cheese; and bacon, ham or sausage. Mix well and pour into baking dish. Cover with foil, greasing the side that will face the mixture. Refridgerate overnight.<BR> <BR> In the morning, remove from the refridgerator and preheat oven to 350º. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until set in the center. <BR> <BR> <BR> Ranch Chicken with Pasta</P> <P>1 c. prepared ranch salad dressing<BR> 1/3 c mustard (I use Dijon)<BR> ½ c butter<BR> ½ c finely chopped shallots<BR> 2-3 c chopped (size depends on oral motor skills) chicken white or dark meat<BR> 1/3 c dry white wine<BR> 10 oz dry pasta (I use small shapes – bow-ties, spirals – that have lots of nooks and crannies and are bite-sized)</P> <P>In a bowl, whisk salad dressing with mustard; reserve. </P> <P>Bring water to boil in a large stockpot for pasta. As soon as you put the pasta into the water, saute chicken and shallots in butter until barely cooked. Remove and keep warm. Add wine to skillet, stirring up any browned bits. Whisk in salad dressing/mustard mixture and heat. Add chicken.</P> <P>Drain pasta. Toss chicken/dressing mixture with pasta and serve.</P> <P>Creamed Corn</P> <P>This is a favorite in the summer, but frozen corn will do in a pinch.</P> <P>3 T butter<BR> ½ c chopped onion<BR> 2 c white corn kernels<BR> ¾ c cream (divided)<BR> 4 c yellow corn kernels<BR> salt and pepper to taste</P> <P>Melt butter over low heat in a 3 quart saucepan. Add chopped onion and cook until soft.</P> <P>Put the white corn kernels in the food processor with ½ c. of cream and process until well pureed. Add the white corn puree and yellow corn kernels to the saucepan and cook until heated. Add salt and pepper to taste, and continue to cook a few minutes longer.</P> <P>Custard Pie </P> <P>This recipe comes from my great-grandmother. Note it makes an 11" pie. Yes, you can buy an 11" pie pan, but they can be hard to find. Mine is 100+ years old. </P> <P>Leftover custard pie makes a great breakfast.</P> <P>1 qt Milk minus 2 T <BR> Bit of butter <BR> 5 Eggs <BR> 1 c Sugar <BR> Pinch Salt <BR> 1 tsp Flour <BR> 1 T Vanilla <BR> 1 Pie crust </P> <P>Bake pie crust (remember, 11") in 400-425 oven until set. </P> <P>Rub butter in sauce pan, scald milk. </P> <P>Beat eggs (while milk is scalding) until foamy and add sugar, flour and salt. </P> <P>Add milk to eggs and put in hot crust. </P> <P>Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 (or lower if it bubbles over) and bake until a silver knife comes out clean. </P> <P>NOTE: <BR> Be sure and put a cookie sheet under the pie tin because this may bubble over. </P> <P>It's easier to pull rack with hot crust out of oven and fill with filling than carry filled crust to oven.</P> <P>Jiffy Corn Pudding</P> <P>Jaymes submitted this recipe to RecipeGullet. It is less crumbly than regular cornbread which makes it an easy-to-eat food for someone with limited fine motor skills.</P> <P>1 stick butter or margarine, melted <BR> 8 oz sour cream <BR> 1 large (or 2 small) eggs, beaten slightly <BR> 1 can creamed corn <BR> 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix <BR> 1 can whole corn, drained </P> <P>In bottom of large mixing bowl, melt butter. Add sour cream and combine. Add eggs and beat. Add all remaining ingredients and combine well. </P> <P>Pour into greased 10"x10" casserole and bake, uncovered, at 350° 45 minutes, or until golden and cracking.</P> <P>Banana Pudding</P> <P>Thanks to Rachel Perlow for this one, which is on RecipeGullet.</P> <P>Made for the NJ eGullet Potluck on Sept 21, 2003. The photo is a quadrupled recipe, that's a 320 oz bowl (5 quarts of custard, a dozen bananas and two boxes of Nilla wafers). Feel free to just make the original version. ;)</P> <P>3/4 c sugar <BR> 4 T cornstarch <BR> 1/2 tsp salt <BR> 4 c milk <BR> 4 eggs, beaten <BR> 4 T butter <BR> 1 T Vanilla extract <BR> 1/2 box Nilla Wafers <BR> 4 large, ripe bananas <BR> 1/2 c Cream, sweetened and whipped </P> <P>Mix together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a 2-4 quart saucepan. Whisk in milk and cook over low heat (or use a double boiler), stirring frequently, until thick. </P> <P>Stir about 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten eggs, then return to the pan, stirring thoroughly, over very low heat. Stir and cook about 5 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and add butter and vanilla. Whisk in completely. Strain the custard to remove any possible pieces of cooked egg. Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled. </P> <P>Up to 3 hours before serving, line a clear serving bowl with 1/3 of the Nilla wafers and sliced bananas. Smooth over 1/2 the custard. Another layer of wafers and banana, the rest of the custard. Decorate the top with the remaining cookies, bananas, and whipped cream. The bananas on top should be dipped in acidulated water to keep from browning.<BR> </HTML></P> </TD></TABLE>

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COOKING WITH DISABILITIES: GLOSSARY Cochlear implant (CI) A prosthetic device that enables a deaf person to hear sound. It consists of an internal coil with multiple electrodes that is surgically implanted in the cochlea, an external transmitter headpiece that attaches behind the ear by magnetic connection to the implant, and a processor that is either a BTE (behind the ear) model with microphone located there, or a body model worn at the belt with microphone on the headpiece. The processor and transmitter are connected by a cable. The CI does not restore natural hearing. See cochlear implants for more details. Fine motor (Ability to control the) muscles used for small movements such as writing, tying shoes, feeding. Gross motor (Ability to control the) muscles used for large movements such as walking, clapping, sitting, jumping. IEP An Individualized Education Plan. Every student who is eligible for special education must have one. It is a legal document mandated by Public Law 102-119 also known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B (34 CFR Parts 300 and 301 and Appendix C) or IDEA '97. Comprised of goals to be covered during the school year, it addresses academic, physical, and emotional disabilities. Mastication From Webster´s: From the Greek word mastichan, to gnash the teeth. The common meaning (also from Webster's) is to grind or crush (food) with or as if with the teeth in preparation for swallowing. Mastication, depending on oral motor tone and mouth structure can be easy or difficult. Most of us are able to eat a wide variety of textures -- chewy, crunchy, soft. Most of us can take a bite out of a sandwich. This is not always the case with a person who has disabilities. If one has deficient oral motor tone he/she may not have the capability to chew a bite of steak. Non-typical mouth structure may not allow one to take a bite out of a sandwich. Chewy foods will need to be ground and large pieces of food will need to be cut into bite-sized pieces. Meds Abbreviation for medication. Mental Retardation A person whose IQ is approximately 70 or below. See American Association on Mental Retardation for more details. The classification for mental retardation is: Mild Mental Retardation A person whose IQ is 55-70* Moderate Mental Retardation A person whose IQ is 40-55* Severe Mental Retardation A person whose IQ is 25-40* Profound Mental Retardation A person whose IQ is below 25* The AAMR has also created a classification system based upon support needed for someone who is mentally retarded to function as competently as possible. These classifications include Intermittent, Limited, Extensive and Pervasive. See the AAMR web site for more details. *all numbers are approximate Non-verbal behavior Behavior expressed through facial gestures, body language and, physical movement. Occupational Therapy (OT) Occupational therapy is used to help people gain independence in every day tasks. There is a focus in OT on fine motor skills -- everything from picking the marshmallow bits out of a bowl of Lucky Charms to pulling up pants and zipping jackets. OT may also focus on play and often overlaps with Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy. OT in conjuction with Speech Therapy can often recommend eating implements and drinking cups and glasses. See The American Occupational Therapy Association for more details. Oscillopsia A vision disorder caused by the loss of vestibular function resulting in the illusion that objects are bobbing up and down, to and fro, or back and forth. Oral motor (The ability to control the) muscles of the mouth, including the tongue. PCS Picture Communication Symbols Picture symbols used with people who cannot communicate verbally or have trouble reading. Programs such as PECS and Boardmaker are available for facilitation. Physical Therapy (PT) To aid in gross motor coordination. A physical therapist can also help with positioning and seating. American Physical Therapy Association Proprioception The relation of the body to its own parts and the earth provided by information interpreted by the brain from sensors located on muscles, the skeleton and ligaments that detect movement and position. Speech Therapy (SLP) Most Speech Language Pathologists would prefer to be referred to as "Communication Specialists." In addition to working with a person on communication (verbal or non-verbal), they may also employ methods to aid in oral motor tone. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Vestibular compensation/substitution The balance system can adjust for the loss of some vestibular function -- even the total loss of one side -- through compensation by delegating the job to the other inner ear, vision, and proprioception elements. If most or all of the inner ear vestibular function has been lost on both sides the system wants to step up utilizing substitution for that loss by handing the job over to the eyes and proprioception. However, neither compensation nor substitution guarantees the balance system will return to perfect working order and the attendant vestibular issues will no longer exist. Vestibular disorders There are many causes for vestibular disorders. Acoustic neroma (vestibular schwannoma), autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED), Cogan's syndrome, dysautonomia, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, migraine, multiple schlerosis, perilymph fistula, and otosyphilis, as well as Meniere's disease. Vestibular disorders can result in a variety of symptoms including balance/mobility issues, vision problems and coordination problems. For further information on these and other vestibular disorders and diseases see the VEDA web site. Vestibular function The three major elements of the balance system are the inner ear, vision, and proprioception.The vestibular system includes the labyrinth of the inner ear, the vestibulo-cochlear nerve (the eighth cranial nerve which transmits both sound and vestibular information, separately, to the brain), the brain, vision, and proprioception. It involves the gathering, transmission and interpretation of information by the brain from the inner ear, proprioception, and vision. Depending on the accuracy of this information the brain interprets the position of the whole body and its parts in relation to each other and the earth, as determined by gravity and movement. If this information or the the abilitlity to interpret it correctly is compromised the vestibular function is disabled. Vestibular issues A person with damaged vestibular function may experience disconcerting symptoms that change the way they perceive the physical world around them and their relation to it. Sensations of floating, falling, or stepping into the ground may occur at times, especially while walking on softer surfaces such as sand or thick carpeting and grass, resulting in unsteadiness and imbalance. Movements and situations that come naturally to most people such as bending over, looking backwards, tilting your head back, walking down the aisle at the grocery store, looking at a computer screen, moving eyes and head simultaneously to track movement, watching traffic moving around you, and attempting to move in dim or dark conditions can cause great distress for someone with a vestibular disability. Vestibular Therapy (VT) A program of exercises devised to aid the person with vestibular issues gain a level of greater function through the process of vestibular compensation or substitution. The exercises may be taught and monitored through a licensed physical therapist specializing in Vestibular Therapy. A physician specializing in vestibular disorders may prescribe this treatment and may also give the patient exercises to do on their own. (Terms in italics are contained in the glossary.)

COOKING AS A PERSON WITH DISABILITIES: RECIPES AND RESOURCES RECIPES Now that we have run through a primer, I thought you might like to cook a little dish using some of the methods and suggested ingredients in this topic. I have included several recipes to get you started. The recipes included in this section are rated for: (Ease of) hand dexterity; (smooth) texture; low-sodium (less than 100 mg sodium/serving); reduced sodium (200 mg or less sodium/serving); low-fat (7 g or less/serving); reduced fat (less than 12 mg/serving); low-cholesterol (less than 10 mg/serving). The amounts stated at the bottom of the recipes, when present, are good estimates only, falling within these parameters. Tomato, Eggplant, and Italian Sausage Soup (Hand dexterity; lower sodium; low-fat; low-cholesterol) This is a nice garden soup anytime, great for end of the season harvest. Serves 5 to 6 as a main course (2 cup serving plus pasta) Ingredients 3 links Italian sausage (I prefer the soy, OR use meat) 1 T olive oil 1 large sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced (I use the fresh jarred garlic) 3 cups Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch OR your choice of eggplant 8 oz sliced white mushrooms 3 to 4 sweet banana peppers, sliced in 1/4 inch rings, OR 1 medium diced sweet red bell pepper 2 cups low-sodium/fat-free vegetable OR chicken stock 8 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced, OR 2 lbs. canned, no salt added, diced 1 T each fresh oregano and basil, OR 1 1/2 tsp each if dried 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste 6 to 8 ounces red wine (not cooking wine which is loaded with sodium) 2 cups or more water 3 cups cooked pasta; about 1/2 cup pasta per serving. pick a nice shape. Do not add directly to soup. Method Gather all ingredients into a space next to your work area. Prep each ingredient, placing in a bowl or plate and set aside into that holding area for your mise en place. Return any remaining ingredients to their places. Mise en place for soup Slice peppers and eggplant with pizza cutter, set aside. Slice onion with pizza cutter then lay out slices and roll cutter through again, across the layers, to dice. Set aside. Heat skillet over medium heat for a few minutes; spray with olive oil cooking spray. Brown the sausages in whole links until nicely deep golden. Remove sausages, add minced garlic, sliced peppers, and chopped onion, with 1 T of olive oil, or more non-stick olive oil spray. Stir to coat. Using pizza cutter again, slice sausages in 1/4 inch rounds, return to skillet with onion mixture, add sliced eggplant and mushrooms. Stir and cook until onions and eggplant are slightly tender, about five minutes. Place all in your soup pot on medium heat. Add 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth and 2 cups water. Add tomatoes and 2 bay leaves. Cook just to a beginning boil, lower heat, add oregano and basil. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Soup can simmer on low for hours, and is a good choice for your crock pot; may need to replace 1 cup or so water. Add crushed red pepper and salt, adjust to your taste. Now add 6-8 ounces red wine. Let soup simmer on low heat, covered, for another 30 minutes or so. Shortly before you want to serve, cook some interesting pasta, al dente; pick a shape, the pennes, rotinis, and small "horns" all do well with this soup. 1/2 serving pasta per person (1/2 cup, cooked). Ladle the soup generously over pasta in the bowl. (The pasta is prettier, and will not lose its shape or "bite" if you keep it separate until serving soup. You may have left overs; this soup is even better the second day, as most soup is. Keeping the pasta separate will reward you with a finer meal.) Serving soup Serve with fresh grated Parmesan and/or Romano cheese, and garlic toast. A side salad is always nice, and basalmic vinegar and olive oil dressing with some fresh chiffonade basil in your green salad is a very good accompaniment for this meal. Per serving (6), as prepared with soy Italian sausage, the soup has 5 g fat (including the good fat you are consuming with the olive oil and soy product) and 0 mg cholesterol. Parmesan cheese will add: 93 mg sodium; 2 g total fat (1 g saturated fat); 4 mg cholesterol; 25 calories per Tbsp serving. Seasoned Oven-Fried Potatoes with Juicy Oven-Fried Chicken Seasoned Oven-Fried Potatoes with Juicy Oven-Fried Chicken and a salad I promised to include an oven-fried meal for those who are craving the fried goodies and are not supposed to yield to temptation. This meal works out well as chicken or fish and potatoes take the same amount of time at the same oven temperature. You can switch positions of the two pans on the oven racks half way through baking time. While they are baking you have time to make a salad, or steam some veggies to go with the meal. Butter flavored (my preference, or other choice) cooking spray is essential here, don't leave the store without it! I also use the olive oil spray for some recipes, but as olive oil is a good fat, I like to utilize that when possible. I am sparing with all fats, but we do need some in our diet. Seasoned Oven-Fried Potatoes (low-fat; low-cholesterol; low-sodium) Preheat oven to 425º 20 to 25 minutes baking time 15 minutes prep time Ingredients One large baking potato (serves two; fix all you need!) OR two fingerling potatoes per person Butter flavor (or your choice) cooking spray Cajun seasoning (lower sodium) or a mixture of any of these: garlic powder/red pepper or paprika/fine ground black pepper/finely crushed or ground dried basil/onion powder/pinch of salt Method Scrub potato(es), but do not peel. Cut potato in slices crosswise, about 1/4" thick. If using fingerlings, cut lengthwise into slices. The thinner the slices, the crispier your oven fries will be. You can make these as potato chips, but watch carefully after 15 minutes and reduce baking time by at least 5-7 minutes. Potatoes sliced thin with pizza wheel on spouted cutting board Spray shallow baking pan (cookie pan) lightly with cooking spray. Lay potato slices out in one layer. Spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with seasoning. Turn to spray other side. If you like them really spicy sprinkle seasoning on that side also. You can set these aside for up to an hour before placing in the oven. Bake in 425 oven for 20-25 minutes, turning pan after 10-15 minutes. Fat 0 mg; cholesterol 0 mg; sodium will vary, based on the seasoning used, as stated it will be approx 150 mg/serving Potatoes in pan ready for the oven Juicy Oven-Fried Chicken (Hand dexterity; low-fat; low-sodium) Preheat oven to 425º 25 minutes baking time Preparation time 15 minutes I use a 2 mg fat blue cheese dressing for this, usually, but the creamy Caesar is also good, and you can experiment with your own favorites. Ingredients Butter flavored (or your choice) cooking spray 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts 1/2 to 2/3 cup 2 mg fat/per serving blue cheese dressing 2 to 3 dashes Tabasco sauce (optional) 1/3 cup flour 2/3 cup fine breadcrumbs (the Parmesan is good, but your choice) 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp paprika or ground red pepper seasoning Method Mix together flour and breadcrumbs with seasonings. Spray pan with butter flavored cooking spray. Rinse and remove any large fatty pockets from the boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Lay chicken breasts out flat, then brush with dressing (with optional Tabasco sauce) to coat. Dredge breasts through breadcrumb mixture, coating all over. Do not over-coat the chicken by dredging twice. Place inside surface down on pan so pieces are not touching. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake at 425º for 25 minutes, turning pan after 15 minutes. Chicken ready to go in the oven Cajun Oven-Fried Catfish (hand dexterity; low-fat; low-sodium) Serves 3 to 4 Preheat oven to 425º 25 minutes baking time Preparation time 10 minutes Ingredients 1 lb catfish nuggets 1/2 cup cornmeal 1/8 cup flour 2 tsp Cajun seasoning 1/2 tsp garlic powder juice of 1 lemon butter flavored cooking spray Method Mix cornmeal, flour, Cajun seasoning and garlic powder on a deep plate. Rinse catfish in clear water. Carefully remove skin, if you wish. Spray shallow baking pan with cooking spray. Squeeze lemon juice all over the catfish pieces and cover, let rest for a few minutes to absorb the lemon. Roll in the cornmeal mixture and place on baking pan, skin side down. Lightly spray fish with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes at 425º. Do not turn. Serve either the chicken or catfish with Oven-Fried Potatoes, and a big leafy green salad or steamed vegetables. Hearty Bay Scallops Chowder (*low-fat; **lower sodium) Servings: 4 as a main dish, 8 as a soup Another one-pot meal, this chowder utilizes bay scallops which require no cutting. You will need your blender to puree the base. Your pizza cutter will come in handy for cutting. Ingredients 2 medium sweet yellow onions/diced to 1/3 inch 1 T unsalted butter 1 large baking potato (3/4 lb) 1/2 c beer 1 large fresh thyme sprig (or one large dried sprig) 1/4 tsp white pepper, or more to taste 1 lb bay scallops 3 c vegetable broth 1 c chicken broth 2 c baby carrots cut in 2 or 3 pieces 1 ear kernels from cobbed fresh corn (OR 1 cup frozen) 1 lean pork chop (1/2 lb) diced to 1/2 inch 3/4 c skim milk 1/4 c fat-free half-and-half 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste garnish for 4 to 6 servings 1/4 c bacon crumbles 1/3 c grated sharp cheddar (fat-free or regular) Method Gather and prep all ingredients first; dice onions, wash and dice potato into 1/3 inch, cut carrots, dice pork chop. (If necessary, you may parboil the potato and carrots whole first, before dicing.) Set up your blender in your work space. Reserve all but 1/2 cup diced potato in cold water for parboiling with carrots and corn. Cook 1 onion in butter in covered 4 quart heavy saucepan over low heat until very soft, stir occasionally; 10 minutes. Reserve the other onion to cook with diced pork chop. Add beer, thyme sprig, and white pepper to onion and boil down about a minute or so; most of liquid will be evaporated. Add 1/2 cup diced potato, 1/2 cup scallops, vegetable and chicken broths, then simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes; potato should be tender. Cook the reserved potato with carrot, and corn in boiling water, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. While that is parboiling, discard thyme sprig. Carefully purée soup base in several small batches in a blender until very smooth. Transfer puree to a bowl. Cook diced pork chop with 2nd onion, until pork is cooked through and onion is tender. Return puree to pan with pork and onion, then drain and add vegetable mixture, milk, half-and-half, and salt. Cook chowder for several minutes, stirring over medium heat so that it does not reach a boil. Add the remaining scallops and continue stirring until scallops are just cooked through, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve sprinkled with 2 tsp bacon crumbles, and 1 tbsp grated sharp cheddar. I like to serve with small thin sourdough toasts on the side, but you can serve with Oyster crackers or other similar crackers. A green salad completes your meal. Each two cup serving of chowder (not including crackers, or whole fat cheddar) contains about 290 calories and *7 grams fat. **The sodium will depend on your stock and salt additions. You can minimize that greatly by using your own low-sodium stock, as I do. SIDE DISHES Cauliflower Parmesan (Texture; hand dexterity; low-sodium; low-cholesterol) Serves 3 to 4 This is so easy and similar in consistency and taste to cheesy garlic mashed potatoes, but more nutritious. I love the fresh jarred, minced garlic; saves my fingers from the knife. 1 head cauliflower/cleaned, reserving the leaves/remove large stalk 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (OR Parmesan and Romano mixed) 1/4 cup light margarine (OR butter) *1/2 medium sweet onion/ grated 1-2 cloves garlic/ finely minced salt to taste Steam cauliflower head or pressure cook until very tender/adding the leaves for the last 2 to 3 minutes in steamer or final minute in pressure cooker. Saute the grated onion and the garlic in margarine or butter, just until tender, but not browned. Mash with the cauliflower and cheese, adding cheese a bit at a time, salting to taste. Serve with the leaves as side garnish. *You can use your food processor to prep the onion, if a hand grater is difficult for you. I have used both methods to equal success. Simple Curried Sweet Potatoes (Texture; hand dexterity; no cutting necessary; low-sodium*; low-fat**) Ingredients 4 fresh sweet potatoes (not giants) 1 cup lite coconut milk 1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth works as well as crunchy; reduced fat is fine) 1 tsp-3+ tsp curry powder (mild for younger or sensitive palates/digestion; we like it hot) Method Cook sweet potatoes until well done: bake @ 450 for one hour; OR boil for 35-45 minutes; OR pressure cook for 10-12 minutes. Cool a bit and hand peel; peels will slip off quite easily. Return to pot on medium low to medium heat. Pour in coconut milk. Stir/wisk to mash. Add peanut butter of your choice and stir to blend. Stir in curry to taste. I do not add extra salt to my serving, but you may salt to taste. You can serve as is or garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds or peanuts. (Remember to check sodium for the garnish, if that is an issue.) Sodium approx 30 mg per serving, fat approx 4 mg per serving ("good fat" from the peanut butter) Apricot Nutty Rice (Hand dexterity; lower sodium; low-fat; low-cholesterol) Serves 6 to 8. You can enjoy this as a baked rice side dish anytime, or, as we often do, *baked in acorn squash halves. It is a family favorite at Thanksgiving. Ingredients 1 small box wild rice (1/2 cup) 1/2 cup brown rice 3 1/2 cups water 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp butter Orange/Peach/Mango juice 3 tbsp brown sugar 6-8 dried apricots, diced 3 tbsp light margarine OR butter 1/3 cup pecan pieces 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/3 cup carton egg product OR 1 large egg Method Bring to boil wild/brown rice together in water w/salt and butter, reduce heat to low and cover, cook for 50 to 55 minutes. Use kitchen shears or pizza cutter to dice apricots. Drain water from rice into measuring cup. Add enough orange/peach/mango juice or orange blend of your choice to make 2/3 cups. Add apricots and pecan pieces to rice. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, butter, and egg with juice. Pour over rice mixture. Stir lightly, scoop into 6 acorn squash halves or into a 1 1/2 qt casserole. Bake at 350º for 30 to 40 minutes. *If stuffing the squash, split and cut flat bottoms on ends for squash to sit upright once filled. Scoop out seeds, spray with butter spray and sprinkle with cinnamon and ginger. Then bake cut side down in 350º oven for about 20 minutes. When you remove the squash you will then turn it over, filling centers to mounding with rice mixture. Spray again with butter spray. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. 200 mg sodium, 2 g fat (5 g fat with real butter), 0 mg cholesterol. Texas Sourdough Potato Skillet Bread (Low-sodium; low-fat; low-cholesterol) A different and easy dinner skillet bread, that requires very little kneading. You may your food processor to form the basic dough, then only knead in the cornmeal. This is a delicious change served with lunch or dinner. It is especially well suited to serve with grilled meats, and hearty soups or beans. This is not a strict sourdough bread, as there is the addition of yeast, due to the softness of the dough. But you can enjoy it anyway. The recipe is very simple in its basic form and it disappears quickly. You can change the character for variety, by adding cheese, onions, or peppers. For cheese bread add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of your choice grated cheese to the dough; either when you knead in the cornmeal at the end, or as a topping for your loaf. I also like to top this bread with about 1/3 cup olive tapenade, or sliced olives, if you prefer. Serve olive bread with a smoked chicken, corn on the cob and a tossed salad, or sliced ripe tomatoes, for an easy bbq meal. Ingredients 3/4 cup sourdough starter, set out in the morning 1/2 cup warm water 1/2 cup bread flour 1 tbsp yeast 2 tbsp sugar 1 large potato, boiled, and peeled, grated 1/2 cup potato water, warm 4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp salt *1 1/2 tsp lemon pepper 1/4 cup light margarine or butter 2 cups bread flour 1/2 cup cornmeal **1/4 cup light margarine OR butter for coating dough Method Combine first five ingredients for sponge; allow to set for 3 to 4 hrs in open bowl away from drafts. Boil, then cool and slip peeling from the potato. Grate potato; should be about 1 1/2 cups grated. Stir down the sponge; stir in grated potato and warm potato water with the garlic, salt, and lemon pepper. Stir through the 1/4 cup butter or margarine. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time. Mix in with wooden spoon then knead by hand until a very soft dough. Knead in the cornmeal. Form into ball and place in buttered bowl; coat with softened light margarine or butter. Cover dough and allow to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Turn out into a well buttered 8 or 9 inch skillet. Coat again; cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise again for 35 to 45 minutes. Bake in 425º oven for 25 to 30 minutes until nicely browned on top and done. *You can find salt-free lemon pepper if sodium is an issue, or reduce salt in the dough accordingly. **Butter flavored cooking spray is a good substitute for coating dough, and for buttering your skillet, that yields less fat, calories, and sodium. Smoked Salmon Spread Serves 10-12 (2 Tbsp serving) (Hand dexterity; low-fat; low-cholesterol) This is very good with french bread or crackers as a party dip, and makes delicious sandwiches when served on toasted bread with tomato and lettuce. Ingredients 8 oz smoked salmon 6 oz softened fat free cream cheese 1/4 cup sour cream 2 to 3 Tbsp minced fresh chives 2 Tbsp fresh dill OR 1 Tbsp dried 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/4 to 1/2 tsp lemon pepper (to taste) 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder (to taste) Method Remove skin from salmon and discard, then break up salmon into several pieces. Put all ingredients into food processor. Quick Pulse several times on medium setting until throughly creamed, about 30 seconds total. Spoon into serving dish and chill for at least an hour; up to three days before serving. *note: the garlic powder gives an easy and creamier result than fresh garlic, unless you want to take the time to roast it and add it as a paste. Per 2 Tbsp serving (approx 1 oz): 1 g total fat; 12 mg cholesterol; 270 mg sodium This is far over a normal amount I would allow myself for sodium in a single food item, because of the smoking process. However, this is a great treat food for me because it is healthy in many other ways, and I love salmon! So I can indulge in this, monitor my other sodium intake carefully during the day and still be OK. Follow up You can ask questions about this course on the Q&A thread. I am planning to be available online from 8:00AM through 1:00PM, then again from 3:00PM through 6:00PM (US CST) on May 19, when Part I presents, and for several hours each day during the remainder of the three day course. I will also be available for continuing Q&A whenever you are inspired to ask questions or make comments. Please be a little patient, if I am too dizzy to read it may take me up to a few days to post a response. I always make a plan, then if it does not work out I adjust my plan. You are all in my plan. RESOURCES There are thousands of web sites out there with varying degrees of helpful and/or accurate information. We have chosen only a few that we felt were appropriate sources to introduce you to the following topics. New web site for UCP for Advocacy and Info for all Disabilities. You can plug in your own zipcode and they will show you where the local office is for you, or all offices in any state. For a Medical link to info on Diseases and Health Conditions MedlinePlus Healthboards Message board on all different illnesses and disabilities Informational web sites for particular disabilities; providing links to help sites, and to further research and communication. Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Alzheimer's Education and Referral Center Alzheimer's Disease International Angelman syndrome Angelman Syndrome Foundation Arthritis Arthritis info and Support US National Library of Medicine and NIH for Arthritis Autism Cure Autism Now web site NIH Autism web site Lovaas -- A type of behavior modification therapy for autistic children . Balance/Vestibular disorders Inner Ear Balance and Dizziness Meniere's Information Center Vestibular Disorders Association VEDA Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HOH) Deafness/HOH The Hearing Exchange-For People with Hearing Loss, Parents, and Professionals, provides good links to products and services as well as information. Cochlear Implant Facts Cochlear Implants ENT.net Epilepsy American Epilepsy Society Epilepsy Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) For some real world help in coping with your disability: American Physical Therapy Association American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Boardmaker http://www.independentliving.com/home.asp]Independent Living Aids Online shopping, products for people with disabilities. Although this one is titled Products for Seniors, it is more universal than that. Cooking.com has many items for people with grip and vision difficulties that you might not be aware they carry. This Food Chart has the carb/calorie/cholesterol/fat/protein/sodium count listed per serving for over 1,000 foods. You can't find everything there, but he does cover a lot of groceries! The eGCI course Stocks and Sauces Class as linked in the text of our course in Part I: Dietary Restrictions/Sodium and in Part III: Nausea. This link will take you to the first day of the class which provides a link for the remaining days. Disabilities information web sites for/through governmental sources: Free and Appropriate Public Education is mandated by IDEA '97. U.S. Dept. of Education Office of Special Education State agencies related to disabilities are often a good place check out. I know the Tx Dept on Aging covers many services useful to people with disabilities, or who are caring for people with disabilities, of all ages. For links in your state see the following web site. For state specific links (including Puerto Rico) to governmental and private organizations, programs, and services for persons with disabilities and special needs in the United States: Independent Life Resources

COOKING WITH DISABILITIES PART ONE: COOKING AS A PERSON WITH DISABILITIES Including Dietary Restrictions by Judith Benton PART TWO: COOKING FOR/WITH A PERSON WITH DISABILITIES by Susan Fahning & Jenna Umansky PART THREE: SENSORY ISSUES, NAUSEA & FOOD ISSUES WHILE TAKING MEDICATION by Judith Benton, Susan Fahning & Jenna Umansky PART ONE: CONTENTS INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES SAFETY CUTTING EQUIPMENT MISE EN PLACE WHERE TO COOK? DIETARY RESTRICTIONS SODIUM FAT/CHOLESTEROL RECIPES RESOURCES GLOSSARY INTRODUCTION We three, Lovebenton0, Snowangel, and Specialteach, have had our lives touched by disabilities. Lovebenton0 is a person living with deafness and a vestibular disability that presents as constant imbalance, vertigo attacks, coordination problems, and vision impairments. Snowangel is the mother of a child with mental and physical disabilities as the result of Angelman's Syndrome. Specialteach, who was diagnosed with a chronic illness in the 1990s, is a teacher guiding students with various disabilities. We have learned to adapt. The world we exist in is full of challenges many do not even consider. Can I hear the timer go off? Can I feed a family with good food and meet the requirements of a special needs child at the same time? Can I put together a meal without turning on the oven or using a knife? Our worlds often revolve around safety, texture, and medicinal issues. Life can still revolve around great food. During this course we hope to explain challenges faced by people who live in the world of disabilities and how we overcome them. Through our personal and professional experiences, we hope to share how having a disability or living with someone who does, can enhance your life in unexpected ways. If nothing else we have learned how to be creative and safe in the kitchen. We hope you can take this knowledge and adapt it to fit your own needs. Disabilities we will be targeting include hearing impairment and deafness, mental retardation focus (which will cover other mental and physical disabilities such as caring for persons in wheelchairs, Alzheimer's patients, people with mastication problems, as well as grip and coordination problems), vestibular disorders (such as balance and coordination problems, and related vision impairments). We will also target some solutions and suggestions for dealing with problems we encounter in food consumption such as nausea. We are going to touch on some dietary restrictions such as suggestions for low-sodium and low-fat/cholesterol. We will also cover how to add good fat and nutritional elements for difficult appetites, texture and other sensory-related issues, difficulty eating while on medication, and one's abilities to eat. We are looking forward to a Q&A on this course, to encourage open discussion and questions from the forum. More extensive individualized bios for the specific instructor will accompany the topics for each course. Instructor Judith Benton aka "Lovebenton0" Judith Benton (aka "Lovebenton0") has been cooking since she was nine years old. Her stepfather, a gourmet cook himself, took her into the kitchen and showed her the way around escargot nestled in their little shells in garlic butter, salmon smoked to a sublime flake and artichokes, aspic, Chinese vegetables, and curry. She was in a little girl's heaven. But the heart and soul of cooking came to her as she grew her own herbs, started making bread, and creating new delights for her own family. Through many changes and challenges, she never stopped cooking -- whether that was while camping for weeks at a time on a geological survey, or on an archaeological site, catering jobs for movies, or cooking for over fifty Girl Scouts, a school carnival, or for just family and friends, cooking has remained a joy to be shared. Working as an artist in her own business for 15 years, Judith returned to school in 1992 to finish what she had started in 1970, before starting a family. She earned a BA in Anthropology in 1996 from Southwest Texas State University while teaching Geology lab courses. She then moved on to the University of Alabama and earned an MA in Anthropology, specializing in the iconography (sacred symbols) of pre-contact Native Americans in the Southeast. For her thesis, she lived near her research area, the Moundville site, focusing on the iconography of engraved ceramics created there during the 13th to 16th century. In the fall of 1997, during her second year in graduate school, she was suddenly struck deaf in the right ear. Completing her course work and research, she obtained permission to return to Texas to finish writing her thesis. While working on research for the City of Austin she completed the thesis; graduating in the fall of 1998. The PhD fellowship for Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma was waiting for her to arrive the next fall. Early in the summer of 1998 Judith began to lose hearing in the left ear and to experience severe attacks of vertigo. Diagnosed later that summer with bilateral Meniere's disease -- a hearing and vestibular disease of the inner ear -- she was unable to maintain a level of required functionality and was forced to forfeit the PhD program. Fitted with a cochlear implant (CI) in 2001, she can only say that to hear again is "Amazing!" However, it is not the natural ear; many sounds and ranges do not carry. Continuing to work for the City, her condition was worsening and she has been on total disability since October of 2002. Judith´s balance system and natural hearing may only be a memory now, but she is still cooking with joy; hoping some of the methods she has learned by adapting to her situation may help you to adapt to yours. BACKGROUND Cooking with a disability is a recent development in my life, compared to the many years I cooked without these new challenges. When I quite suddenly became deaf in my right ear during the fall of 1997, a hearing loss was the last medical problem that I would have listed as a concern. That sudden loss changed my life. I had lost stereophonic and directional hearing capabilities. I remember that the first question I had for the audiologist when she told me that I was stone deaf on the right without a chance that hearing could be recovered either naturally or with a hearing aid, was, "So I'll never hear in stereo again?" I had not had time to consider the many ways this would affect my life. I had no directional hearing, could not hear someone speaking to me from that side, and my head felt "numbed" to the world. But I was fitted with a crossover hearing aid, which gathers sound on the deaf side and feeds it into the hearing ear. Then everything seemed to come from the left. I had to look around to tell where any sound had originated; people, music, elevators and traffic noises. Sirens in traffic were suddenly terrifying. I was back to "look both ways" for every activity in my life. Within several months, when I thought I was beginning to get a grip on the situation, I began to lose the hearing in the left ear and needed a new hearing aid. Now I had a crossover hearing aid that also amplified sound for the ailing good ear. There was nothing to prepare me for the next level of damage to my inner ears and the vertigo attacks. Without warning, the world was spinning, I was on the floor, and violently ill for hours to days at a time. Finally, after a series of tests, attempts at treatment, and a weeklong stay in the hospital, I was diagnosed with bilateral Meniere's disease. Although I had been dealing with epilepsy since 1984, and in the beginning had learned some safety lessons the hard way, that condition had been controlled by medication. With this new set of challenges, I was now making major changes in my kitchen and dining behavior by adjusting to the way I could physically handle the tasks of cooking and my dietary requirements. As my condition worsened I adapted more methods and equipment to the ever-changing challenges presented by my disabilities. Dietary restrictions had become a reality in my life. I must adhere to a low-sodium diet due to the Meniere's disease while simultaneously maintaining a low-fat and low-cholesterol diet due to an unexpectedly high cholesterol count. Other medical problems require that I keep my iron intake low and calcium intake high, so I subsequently shift and substitute ingredients every day. Despite the vestibular disorder and deafness resulting from the Meniere's disease (with attendant vision and constant imbalance/mobility problems), my continuing joy in cooking prompted me to answer the call when eGCI asked for instructors for a class on Cooking with Disabilities. I could not have asked for two finer co-instructors than the ladies I have delighted in working with on this course. We each bring our own perspective, but much is interrelated, and we hope that you will have the opportunity to take part in each of our lessons. OBJECTIVES The objective of this three-part course is to present suggestions and solutions to challenges encountered when cooking as a person with disabilities, cooking for persons with disabilities, and cooking with persons with disabilities. Lessons will involve the issues of safety, methods, and equipment. Recipes, and their links, will accompany the lessons, as well as links to sites we have found helpful for understanding focus disabilities. We will make use of photographs for illustration, links to products available, and home solutions that help ease the challenges concerned. During Part I, Cooking as a Person with Disabilities, the student will learn methods of choosing, preparing, and cooking food through examples and by following recipes presented that accentuate methods used when vision, hearing, mobility, balance, and grip may be a challenge in the kitchen. In the additional section on Dietary Restrictions, the student will be given suggestions for coping with those problems. By the end of the lesson the student will have learned new methods; suggestions for equipment use, the adaptation of equipment and the kitchen, for dealing with particular challenges of cooking with a disability. This is only a beginning. We hope to explore more methods and equipment as students feel prompted to ask us questions and openly discuss needs in the Q&A. SAFETY Safety will be a major subject in this lesson on cooking as a person with disabilities. Together we will also explore methods to make the cooking we want to do easier and less stressful so we can continue cooking with joy. Of course these two objectives will often cover the same material. I will also touch on some basic food restrictions and problems associated with many different disabilities; sodium, fat and cholesterol, and the addition of healthy fats for the difficult appetite. Part III will focus on the topics of Nausea, Sensory Issues, and Food Issues While Taking Medications. A more determined meal planning and cooking strategy, are often necessary when cooking, and eating, are daily challenges. A quick comment here on safety and use of mobility equipment: I have had to use a walker for extended periods of time and it is actually not a bad situation in a normal kitchen. Be aware not to rely on the walker for stability and strength beyond its capabilities, it gives the person something to hold on to when reaching up or bending down. I do use a cane regularly as a walking and stability aid. It can also be useful in the kitchen, but often you probably just stash it at the end of the counter out of the way as I do, while using counters and cabinets for support. For many of us, the kitchen existed before we began living with our disabilities. You may need to take the time to remake the kitchen into a more useful work area. Consider what is safe and convenient for you. Everyone else will learn to adjust. Keep hot mitts and/or hot pads close at hand. Pull out the oven rack; do not reach into the oven. Always pull out the rack before getting food to place in the oven, or to rotate, or remove food. Burns are bad, and if one loses balance suddenly it may not be possible to know, or to move in, the direction to safety. Double handled pots allow you better control when moving food. Long handled ladles are good for serving to keep hands away from hot foods. Avoid storing anything you need to reach over a heat source. Do not hesitate to ask for help when you need it. Stop. Wait. This can be difficult to do; we may need help now doing things that never required assistance before. Accepting help is easier than accepting injury. I hope that the suggestions here will help to minimize those times you need assistance. CUTTING Let your food processor help you with tasks appropriate to its abilities. Manual food choppers are handy for smaller jobs, with less clean up. Keep your knives sharp; although that may sound scary, you are much less likely to cut yourself using a sharp blade than one that has become dulled. If you do cut yourself with a dull blade it is also likely the injury will tear the flesh causing more problems for treatment and healing. If possible, hold the food stable with a fork instead of your fingers. When that is difficult it can also be helpful to hold the food down with a plastic gripper flat under your hand, while staying at a distance from the cutting blade. If you will be using them in a cooked dish, steaming/parboiling whole vegetables just to the point of slight tenderness before cutting will ease the task. Cook potatoes whole, cool to easy handling temperature, and slip the peelings off before adding to recipes calling for peeled potatoes. Meats can be slightly browned or sauteed in whole pieces before cutting for easier handling. If your meat is frozen, it makes the job much easier if you allow it to become only half-thawed, and then cut into pieces required for your recipe. Enlist the aid of a butcher in your local grocery store or butcher shop. They often will be glad to precut meat, poultry, and fish for you for FREE into usable pieces for your recipe. This can greatly reduce the amount of butchering you have to do on your own. Kitchen shears are also helpful when using a knife is difficult. The food can be held in a deep bowl as you cut. There are products out there developed for those of us who do not have the grip and clamp capabilities needed for regular shears. Cooking.com is a useful site for shopping. Pizza cutters (the good old wheel type) work well as an alternative cutting tool for many things such as slicing tortillas, quesadillas, sandwiches, and multi-use dough. They are also great for a chiffonade of herbs and leafy greens. I have used mine with great success for slicing onions. You can cut the onion into very thin slices by moving the wheel across the onion, a task I find difficult to accomplish now with a knife. If necessary, you can use your knife to cut the onion once so you have a flat side to place against the cutting board. This method is also very useful for other vegetables such as squashes and eggplants. Invest in a pizza wheel that is well-made with a larger handle for more control and easier grip. Cutting technique with a pizza wheel. The rocker style pizza cutters are also good for some of those tasks as well as cutting firmer vegetables, potatoes for fries, and vegetables for stir-fry. Knives with built up grips are also available for those of us with gripping/grasping difficulties. METHODS Adaptations Position your food, dishes, and equipment at levels that are comfortable for you. Everyone else will get used it. Avoid storing anything you need to reach above a heat source. Using porcelain enameled metal, plastic, or stainless steel bowls for mixing and holding your ingredients reduces the chance of breakage and lessens stress. A gripper pad to set the bowls on during mixing aids stability. I am deaf; although the cochlear implant (CI) is amazing, not all tones register. If I cannot wear the CI, I am without functional hearing. At all times, I cannot hear well from any distance in the house beyond 15 feet, definitely not with any background noise (people talking, traffic, music, television, water running, etc.). I often need to rely on my watch for timing if I will be busy in another part of the house. If you are occupied with life beyond the kitchen while cooking, it is helpful to write down when you started your timing and when you need to return to kitchen for the next step. If I'm in the kitchen, or close by, within 15 feet, I can use the microwave timer because it has a high pitch beep; buzzers do not register. For some people the range may be just the opposite. They may need to use a different secondary timer. This is also true for many people with hearing aids and those with moderate to profound hearing loss. Assistance devices are available for the hard of hearing (HOH) and deaf, i.e., light flash response alerts for timers and alarms, similar to the phone or doorbell alerts. There are also vibration alerts; I have even used my pager and my cell phone set on vibrate as timers. I am unable to distinguish when something starts to simmer, boil, or sizzle, unless I am right at the stove. This demands stricter attention. Although the "watched pot never boils," the unwatched pot can boil over. Make a place in your kitchen that is comfortable and safe for you, allowing you to spend the time closer to your cooking project that you need. Independent Living Aids is a good site for many cooking aids, including adjustable knives with guides and slicing guide for roasts, large vegetables, and bread, as well as timers, etc. This site is geared more for people with vision impairments and gripping/coordination difficulties. There are too many products to list for you here. If nothing else, the site can give you a good idea of the products, often quite inexpensive, that are available. I often have double vision, and oscillopsia (jumping vision). I have difficulty focusing, finding large print or viewing with magnification necessary even on good days. Printing out recipes or instructions in large type from my computer is a big help. Non skid rugs or pads to stand on at your work stations will help reduce leg and back stress from fatigue. EQUIPMENT Once the equipment used is no longer necessary, it is wise to remove it from your immediate work space to prevent accidents or the possibility it will be knocked over. Try to reserve a space close at hand to shift all the used equipment and ingredients. Cutting boards shaped with a spout on one end, and flexible cutting boards, are useful aids for reducing transfer spills. Even the disposable cutting sheets now available are useful as flexible cutting "boards." I have to read large print. The link to Independent Living Aids offers many products for people with vision impairments; some for deafness/HOH impairments, and motor skills impairments. Utensils Double handled pots and pans are much easier to lift and to control while moving or transferring food. You may not be able to rush to get new cooking utensils, but when you do invest in new, look for double handles. Put them on your holiday, birthday, anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day, "just cause you love me day" list. I know many of us love those heavy utensils and cast iron skillets. I certainly do. But, you need to consider what you are capable of handling now. I have had a 4 quart cast iron dutch oven, with a hook-on lid that can also be used as a shallow skillet for about 15 years. I am so glad that both pieces have double handles. If you do not already have a crock pot/slow cooker and a pressure cooker, they are worth considering as new additions to your kitchen. The slow cooker is wonderful for those days that you do not have the energy to go through 10 steps to make a delicious and nutritious meal. The pressure cooker is more versatile than you may have imagined and is a life saver for those days that you just do not have the time or ability to spend a long period of your day cooking. They are also good for helping you quicken the steps in a usually long and possibly too tedious recipe that you want to make anyway. There is also the added benefit of one utensil to clean up. You can put them on your lists, too.Cast iron Dutch oven with double handles. MISE EN PLACE First gather all ingredients and tools from one location at a time, to your work space. A small cart with top shelf convenient for your height requirements is helpful. If you are in a wheelchair your lap can be a convenient shelf for moving most supplies. Next, prep everything in the beginning. I don't move or cut as quickly as I once did. This will help keep you on schedule through the steps of the recipe. You can always return meats, etc., to the refrigerator if it will be a long time before they are to be added. Then you can gather those ingredients at once, ready for the next step. Try to reserve a space close at hand to shift all the used equipment and ingredients for ease in clean up and return. This will also reduce the chances for spills and other hazards. WHERE? I am often able to stand at the counter, because I can lean on it for stability; a good alternative to the cane, which impedes my ability to use both hands. At times it is helpful, even necessary, to sit at the table with the bowl(s), colander(s), and the cutting board in front of me for food. You can then transfer all prepared ingredients to your cooking area, to set your mise en place. Again, a cart is helpful. Maybe some days, a bowl in the lap is as much as you feel like doing. Make use of your coffee table or kitchen/dining table for placing food to be prepped, and for food after prepped. You may find that the table becomes a better alternative than your lap. You can achieve more stability at the table, and have more room to work. DIETARY RESTRICTION I have to balance being "too lean" with my particular dietary restrictions, which include low-fat, low-cholesterol, very minimal sodium and iron intake, no caffeine, but extra calcium. Absolutely NO alcohol intake, unless cooked. Recent studies have shown that there may be some alcoholic content remaining even after the alcohol is boiled, so if you must remain 100 percent alcohol-free I would advise caution in using alcohol in your recipes. I often use alcohol-free wine or beer in my recipes, but even those do contain a miniscule amount -- often as much as one-half percent per serving. I cannot say for a fact that the content is reduced to zero after cooking. When I post recipes for fat-free or low-fat, low-cholesterol, etc., it means I have worked out a recipe that is yummy and follows those restrictions. It is not hard and still quite satisfying, to eat within your restrictions once you learn to utilize some tricks and substitutions. I can splurge at times and allow myself that for special occasions, although seldom not more than once a month. I then have to be very, very careful for the next few days. I pay for it. Too much salt, too much fat, cholesterol way over my limits, I can become dizzed out, seeing double for days. Often I have a very rough week while being good! Because of that I sometimes just let the frustration fly away and eat something a bit bad for me; so often I can't eat at all. So tweak away, substitute that fat, or higher cholesterol ingredient, etc., based on your own dietary restrictions and needs. I will continue to post for my dietary restrictions. It is one of my personal challenges. I will often add the higher content food as an OR in the ingredient list. I trust you to know when you feel you can use full fat dairy and to salt to your taste, based on your own allowances. My physical activity is so far below what my body was used to for most of my life, due now to my medical condition (no more mountain climbing, rough out hiking, swimming, archaeological digs, and geological surveys in the midst of nowhere). I am lucky to be able to walk very far and most days climbing the steep stairs in my own house to the second floor is not possible. I no longer have the same caloric needs I once did. I can observe my restrictions and my caloric intake, with grains, rice, pasta, nutritious homemade breads, lots of veggies, fruits, soy products, and small servings of lean animal protein, fish, and seafood. Here is a fine web site for looking up the cholesterol, calories, fat content, sodium, and carbs of over 1,000 foods. Easy to use, it will help you get a good idea of basic counts per serving. Of course buying lean meat trimmed of fat, and de-skinning all poultry and fish, will reduce the fat and cholesterol count in your recipes. SODIUM I have to admit, I'm not a big salt person to begin with. I hardly use it to cook with and never add any extra at the table. But plenty of food out there is salty. I love olives and pickles as well as ketchup, mustards, and table salsas. I make my own Tabasco sauces with our peppers, and salsas with the fresh tomatoes, chilies, and herbs from our garden, so I am not immune to its temptations. And don't forget cheese! That dairy delight is high in sodium, besides the considerations some of us may have for low-fat and cholesterol restrictions. Most of us are cheese eaters and feel deprived if we cannot cook with it, or just eat some when we want it. So, how do you live and eat through all this? One very important point to remember while counting your sodium for the day is that it is important to divide your sodium intake as equally as possible between your meals. If you are allowed 1,500 mgs of sodium per day, and eat three meals a day, you can have 400 to 500 mgs per meal. If you want to snack between, try to pick fresh sodium-free foods such as fruits and vegetables or dried fruits. The sodium content is so low that you need not worry over a few milligrams slipping in there between meals, if you give yourself a little buffer. Most fresh fruits and vegetables have only 10 to 20 mgs sodium per serving. Keeping low, low-sodium homemade stocks (chicken, beef, vegetable) on hand in the freezer to use in your recipes is beneficial. It is often much tastier than what you can buy off the shelf anyway. Watch the sodium count in any processed food. Tomatoes are the worst for sodium content of the canned vegetables (and juices) which we indulge in during the off season. Choose low-sodium or no salt added foods when processed foods are necessary. Remember that "no salt added" does not always give a zero sodium count, but will reduce it greatly. You have much more control. Choices are out there. Take your homemade stock and fresh veggies, rice, vermicelli, etc., for lunch at work, in place of high sodium sandwiches. There are low-sodium/low-fat lunch meats available, but you will do better to cook a little extra for dinner or cook a chicken or fish to use for lunches and increase your vegetables and fruits. Pack a salad, keeping tomatoes and cheeses separate, then heat a tortilla and roll up a salad for lunch, with your choice of dressing. Fat-free sour cream and a bit of salsa together make a nice change from the usual. Cook rice and pasta with a minimal amount of salt. If you are combining the rice or pasta with other foods in a recipe you can often skip the salt altogether, as the other foods and spices will flavor them for you. Beware particularly of low-fat/fat-free processed foods. Quite often there is an "exchange" for flavor and that exchange is lower fat, higher sodium. Indulge in all the fresh fruits and vegetables. Season them with other spices and herbs. A minimal amount of salt, if any, and added garlic, basil, lemon, vinegar, lemon grass, chive, cilantro, ground pepper, crushed red pepper, mustard powder, fresh chilies, ginger, cinnamon, etc., can help to retrain your taste buds to a lower sodium diet without making you feel as though you are being punished. Joy in the cooking, enjoy the eating! It is best if you add the salt after you cook, to avoid building layers of sodium in your preparation. All your ingredients will have worked together by then and a light touch with the salt afterward will reward you for being good. Sometimes you may find it necessary to serve a large group of people. If they are not used to your sodium restrictions, you can handle it in basically one of three ways: Fix your meal as you normally would for you and tell everyone you are a low-salt cooker and you won't be offended if they wish to add salt; cook as you do normally and say nothing - just make salt shakers available to your guests; or separate some of the food out for yourself before adding an appropriate amount of salt. We love to cook, but there are those times when we just want to be pampered. Let someone else cook, serve, and clean up. So, you are Eating Out. Now what do you do? If you have ever requested "no MSG, please," you are well-practiced for this. You can request a low-salt treatment of your food preparation. Ask that no additional salt be added to your food. I once asked for this and had a waitress say, "Oh, but they don't add any extra salt to your food." I just asked her if she would please relay my request to the kitchen anyway. Sure enough, she was nice, probably thought I was wonky, but she did relay my request. My plate came out marked with a cute little green flag. When my husband tasted his food and mine, it was obvious the kitchen had complied with my request. No fuss. That is the only time I have ever encountered a wait person that reacted as though my request was unusual. Another tip for eating out - which is helpful for low-fat restrictions as well - is to ask that your salad dressing or gravy be served on the side. You can dip in a little, still enjoy the flavor, and consume far less salt and fat than you would by having your food doused. FAT/CHOLESTEROL I am combining these two because they so often combine themselves as dietary restrictions. If you haven't tried them recently, fat-free dairy products and low-fat soy dairy alternatives have come a long way in the past few years. The cholesterol count is always considerably lower than the full fat choices. Soy alternatives are usually located in the produce area. You might be surprised what you find there! Soy protein alternatives can also be quite good when well-prepared. An example using a soy protein product is my recipe for Tomato, Eggplant and Italian Sausage Soup. I have included it in the recipe section below. My husband loves the soy Italian sausage in this recipe, on pizzas, and in other dishes. Believe me, he is the original "meat now" kind of guy. For those burger cravings, mushroom garden burgers are mouthwatering when quickly grilled (indoors or out), covered with olive tapenade, a slice of tomato, lettuce, and a toasty bun (with or without melted soy cheese) and your choice of low-fat dressing. Tofu. Experiment with this if you have never cooked with it before. Delicious in stir-fry, for adding to soups, or baked and topped with sauce. Nuts contain good fats and can be good for you in moderation. A naturally cholesterol-free food, nuts add protein variety to a diet. Olive oil is a good fat. The newer Light Olive Oils, although not lighter in fats, can be used in recipes that call for a vegetable oil, as they do not carry the distinctive flavor. Adding a mashed sweet potato to your bread/sweet roll dough will moisten it, lend a touch of sweetness before the addition of sugar, etc., and impart a beautiful rich golden color. Adding a mashed baked or boiled white potato to your bread dough will lend moisture and a rich texture. The applesauce trick works. You can add applesauce to your cakes, sweet breads, muffins, and chewy cookies in place of the requested fat. You can also find light fruit-based baking products developed for substituting the fat in your sweet baking recipes. Low-fat and fat-free sour cream is a great substitute for fat in your biscuit, corn bread, and yeast bread recipes, imparting rich flavor while lessening your fat and cholesterol intake. Low-fat or fat-free sour cream, as well as yogurt, make wonderfully creamy and delicious dressings. Use ricotta cheese, low-fat or fat-free, with the sour cream or yogurt, and herbs, for potato and pasta salads. The dressing will supply you with far less fat and cholesterol, and more nutritional value than the usual dressing. Yogurt is also a good dressing for fruit of all kinds. You can pair a fruited yogurt with your recipe, or blend it with juice. Egg white-based products can work quite well in many recipes calling for whole eggs, including baking. You can also make wonderful omelettes, migas (Mexican scrambled egg dish with strips of corn tortillas, tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers cooked with the eggs, and then covered with cheese), and Spanish tortillas using these products, as well as chopped egg for salads, and stir-frying. Instead of frying corn tortillas in oil, spray each side with butter flavored cooking spray and heat for about 15 seconds per side until soft, on a griddle or large heavy skillet for use in enchiladas and other recipes. Saute and grill your vegetables and potatoes using a flavored cooking spray. This is also great for use in oven-fry recipes; I have included three in the recipe and resources section below.

Ask your questions about the Thick Soups course on this thread.

<TABLE bgcolor="white"> <TD> <FONT=verdana> <P><B><U>SOUPS</U></B> <P><B>PART ONE: THICK SOUPS</B> <P>by Jack Lang and Andy Lynes <P><B>CONTENTS</B> <UL> <LI><A HREF="#intro">INTRODUCTION</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#def">THICK SOUPS: A DEFINITION</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#equip">EQUIPMENT</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#basics">CREAMS AND COULIS</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#veloute">VELOUTES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#bisques">BISQUES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#recipes">THE RECIPES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#bib">BIBLIOGRAPHY</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#append">APPENDIX: APPROVED COMBINATIONS</A></LI> </UL> <A NAME="intro"><B>INTRODUCTION</B></A> <P>"…soup of the evening, Beautiful soup!" (Lewis Carroll, <I>Alice In Wonderland</I>) <P>There is something deeply reassuring about eating a bowl of soup; it not only satisfies hunger and warms bodies, but also feeds the soul. The ability to make good soups, like the ability to bake good bread, is a basic kitchen skill that every cook worth his salt must acquire. Once mastered, you need never want for a simple, quick meal again. <P>Soup making calls on many of the same fundamental disciplines of cooking that its very near cousins stocks and sauces require - chopping, sweating, clarifying, sieving, pureeing, the preparation of meat, fish and vegetables etc - and are therefore an excellent vehicle for learning these kitchen basics. <P>This module of the eGCI will cover soup making in all its guises. We begin in part one with thick soups, leaving the more demanding clear soups and delicate bouillons to part two. Thick soups are generally more straightforward to prepare than clear types, and far more forgiving in terms of the leeway available regarding quantity and types of ingredients, how those ingredients are prepared and for how long they are cooked. For example, you may roughly chop your vegetables if they are ultimately destined for the blender, but you will not want to garnish the crystal clear consomme (see the eGCI "On Consomme" course ) you have labored over for hours with anything other than a prefect concasse of tomato or vegetable paysanne. <P>Having covered the basic disciplines, we then move on in part three to the likes of chowders, bread-based soups, cold soups and broths, and the varieties that don't fit neatly under the thick or clear headings as we have defined them. <P><A NAME="equip"><B>EQUIPMENT</B></A> <P>Making thick soups requires a few pieces of special equipment. The good news is that it's likely that you will own most of them already. If however you need to make a purchase, you will find the following items to have a wide range of cooking applications and useful even when you are not in the mood to make soup: <UL> <LI>Blender: essential if you want a velvet smooth result without raising a sweat</LI> <LI>Mouli-legume (vegetable mill): purees like a food processor or blender, but also strains fibrous material that a blender would incorporate into the soup</LI> <LI>Sieve: passing your pureed soup through a sieve will improve its texture. <LI>Chinois: a very fine sieve for the finest, lightest results</LI> <LI>Ladles: a small bowled ladle for pushing soup through sieves and a large bowled version for serving the soup, drip free</LI> </UL> <P><A NAME="def"><B>THICK SOUPS: A DEFINITION</B></A> <P>Broadly speaking, thick soups divide into two main types: <UL> <LI><B>Purees and Coulis:</B> The thickening component is a puree of the primary ingredient, usually a starch. In olden times these involved much labor, but now with food processors and stick blenders they are easy. The term "puree" usually refers to a vegetable main component, while the term "coulis" to a meat or fish base, such as a Bisque. <LI><B>Cremes and Veloute:</B> In classical cooking the thickening was flour (roux) based, either a béchamel (milk as dilutant) for Crème soups, or Velouté (stock as dilutant) for veloute soups. Making the base sauces is covered in the eGCI course Stock Based Sauces. In these lighter days, the flour-based roux is omitted and the mouth texture provided by more cream or equivalent high-fat or high-starch component such as a more puree (for crèmes), or egg yolk for veloute. </UL> <P>There is no hard-and-fast distinction; the same (or nearly the same) soup can be prepared as a puree, a crème or as a veloute, depending what is on hand. <P><A NAME="basics"><B>CREMES AND COULIS</B></A> <P>A good thick soup relies on the building of flavors. The process is a short and simple one, but you have the opportunity at each stage to add depth to the finished product. The following describes a method for making what might be viewed as a generic thick soup, taking elements from both the creme and couli styles. <P>Start with a base, usually onion or shallot or maybe some fennel if your soup is going to include some fish or shellfish. Sweat in butter and some oil, being be careful not to color or burn the base as it will send a bitter note running right throughout your soup. This is the foundation of the dish and it will balance out the flavors you add after it. <P>Next, add your main ingredient (carrot, potato, mushroom etc) and cook until tender. This will provide both the character and body of the soup so make sure you are using the best available of your chosen ingredient. <P>Now add your liquid. What that liquid is will depend very much on the main ingredient, but generally a well flavored chicken stock will be most suitable (for detailed instructions on stock making, see the eGCI course on stocks and sauces). However, fish stock may be a more appropriate choice for fish soups. Other alternatives include an aromatic vegetable nage or sometimes water will do just fine. <P>Pulses such as lentils and dried beans make excellent soups. These should be soaked if required and may either be cooked in advance or added to the base along with the cooking liquid and simmered until tender). <P>At this point you should blend and sieve the soup. How smooth a result you require will dictate whether you use a mouli, blender, sieve or chinois. if you aspire to be the next Thomas Keller, you may even wish to employ all four. <P>The final stages are crucial - too heavy a hand with the cream or seasonings will undo all your good work. Heavy (double) cream has the effect of mellowing flavors and too much of it will send them to oblivion. Similarly, too much salt and pepper may render the soup inedible. Taste carefully and remember that you will be eating a whole bowlful rather than just a teaspoon or so - what is nicely savory in small amounts could be unpleasantly salty or pepper-hot in larger servings. <P>If you are using soft herbs like tarragon, basil, parsley and coriander, add these at the end of the cooking time. If used earlier, their delicate and volatile flavors and aromas will simply disappear up the extractor fan. More robust varieties such as bay leaves, rosemary or thyme can be safely added towards the beginning of the process to allow their flavors to permeate the soup properly. <P><A NAME="veloute"><B>VELOUTES</B></A> <P>You will find any number of "veloutes" on modern restaurant menus. It is a term widely used to describe both sauces and soups, but is more often than not misapplied. Given that classical veloutes are roux based and further thickened with a liaison of egg and cream, you are highly unlikely to have encountered the real thing anytime recently. These methods, though sound, have become deeply unfashionable in professional kitchens of repute. Most chefs would sooner serve you a Big Mac and fries than admit to cooking with a roux. Your average "veloute of celery" will simply be made from a base (as described above), puree, stock, maybe some wine and cream. <P>In truth, it is easy to have some sympathy with this attitude. Classical veloutes may well be overly heavy on the modern palette and sit uncomfortably on the stomach to boot. Veloutes are very economical, which was why they were beloved of classical hotel kitchens. They dilute a little flavouring with a lot of stock and thickeners. Properly made they are very delicate. Alas all too often they are watery wall-paper paste. <P>The basic classical proportions for a veloute soup are: <UL> <LI>50% veloute (3 ½ oz./100g roux per quart/1.5L dilutant), <LI>25% puree or primary ingredient <LI>25% stock or water </UL> <P>Begin by making the roux base by melting butter in a saucepan and stirring in flour until it is amalgamated and forms a smooth paste. This may be cooked for a few minutes to increase its color. A hot stock or broth is then whisked in brought to the boil and then allowed to simmer for 30-45 minutes to cook out the taste of the raw flour. Next add whatever puree you are using, be it mushroom, pea, asparagus or whatever takes your fancy. <P>Make a liaison of 3 egg yolks beaten into 1/5th (75ml) of cream in a separate bowl then pour into a quart (1.5l) of the soup. Remove from the heat and whisk so that the yolks cook and thicken the soup but do not scramble. DO NOT BOIL after adding the egg liason or it will curdle. If this happens to you, curse, sieve the bits out of the soup and start again with the liaison. A teaspoon of corn flour added to the liaison makes it less sensitive to overheating.The soup may then be enriched even further by the addition of butter. <P>Veloute soups may be served cold, in cups. In this case, as Escoffier writes “See it be sufficiently thin not to impaste the mouth of the consumer” <P>The following is an illustrated example of a veloute soup using the above method and quantities. <P><CENTER>Veloute Georgette (carrot and tomato)</CENTER> <TABLE border=0 CELLSPACING="5" CELLPADDING="5"> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3123.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3124.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">1: Make the roux</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">2: 30gms roux to 500ml stock (4oz to a quart)</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3126.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3125.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">3: Allow to simmer gently on the side of the stove for 30 mins </TD> <TD ALIGN="center">4: 250g/8 oz of carrot and tomato flavour 1lt/1.5pts </TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3127.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TR></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3129.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">5:Cook and puree the carrot and tomato ( I microwaved them for 10 mins first) No need to peel the tomatoes, as we will be sieving later </TD> <TD ALIGN="center">6: Add the veloute and blend</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3130.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TR></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3131.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">7: Sieve; some will get left behind</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">8: Mix an egg yolk with a teaspoon of Tapioca flour (or arrowroot or cornstarch or omit) </TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3139.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3136.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">9: Mix with a little of the cold veloute, like making custard. Heat the rest to boiling. Pour the boiling veloute on the egg mixture, stir, return to the pan and reheat until it thickens; If you used tapioca or cornflour you can simmer gently without it breaking.</TD> <TD >10: Finish with a cream swirl, and chopped chervil, parsley or chives</TD></TR><TABLE> <BR><BR> <P><A NAME="bisques"><B>BISQUES</B></A> <P>Bisque is usually prepared with crayfish (prawns), lobster, or even shrimp and provides an excellent way to use up trimmings such as heads and tails. Bisque “A la Ancienne” indicates thickened with bread rather than rice, and garnished with fried bread croutons. <P>Larousse Gastronomique tells us that the word bisque is centuries old and "suggests a connection with the Spanish province of Vizcaya which lends its name top the Bay of Biscay". It also states that it was "not until the 17th centuary that crayfish became the principal ingredient of this dish" which was originally spicy boiled meat or game. <P>Start by cooking the shellfish; make a Mirepoix: 1 oz/25g each of carrot, onion, and parsley stalk or celery cut into very small dice. Brown this in butter; add a bay leaf and a sprig of thyme. Toss in about 1 ½ lbs/ 750g of the shellfish, cut into pieces. If only cooked shellfish is available, use only the heads and shells reserving the tail meat for garnish. <P>Flame with a glass (2 tbs) of brandy. Add ¼ pt/100ml of stock, white wine, or water, a large pinch of salt, and a pinch of ground pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the shellfish and reserve the tail meat, return the heads and shells. Add 3oz/75g cooked rice. <P>If you have a tough-enough liquidiser or food processor, blitz the lot. You may need to do this in small batches, and wrap a towel round the top of a food processor, as the contents will try to escape. Otherwise remove the hard parts of the shells and pound them in a mortar, blitzing the rest. Sieve twice, and then through a fine sieve to remove any trace of shell. <P>Thin to consistency with stock or water. Correct the color with a little tomato paste, and check the seasoning. Finish with 2/ ½ oz/60g butter and 3 tbs of cream. Garnish with reserved tail meat. <P><A NAME="recipes"><B>THE RECIPES</B></A> <P>One of the joys about soup making is the almost inexhaustable variety it offers. The basic methods described in this course open up a world of possibilities, limited only by your imagination and good taste. The recipes provided therefore are offered as examples of some of the significant styles which incorporate a range of thickening agents from which you can develop your own soups. In addition, the <A HREF="#append">appendix</A> to part one of this module provides an extensive listing of "approved combinations" for your consideration. <P><CENTER><B>Ultimate Universal Thick Vegetable Soup Recipe</CENTER></B></A> <P>About 2 lb (1kg) vegetables peeled and cut into chunks (see below)<BR> 4 oz (100g) butter (olive oil if you must)<BR> 1 lb (500g) onions<BR> wineglass (150ml) dry sherry (or Madeira or white wine)<BR> 2 pints/1.5Ltr water, stock or milk (see below)<BR> Seasonings<BR> <P>Peel and roughly chop the onions. In a large pan melt the butter and sweat the onions until golden. Add the peeled and chopped vegetables and the sherry or wine. Stir around a bit. Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper or tinfoil to seal, put the lid on the pan and place on a very low heat for 45 minutes. Shake occasionally if you remember. <P>Add the stock (use a good chicken stock for preference) to the vegetables. Add, milk if you want it creamier, or water if you are feeling mean or fat. Milk is better for white soups like onion, celery, or cauliflower. Don't boil after you add the milk.<BR> <P>At this point you can have it as a chunky soup. Otherwise liquidize, either with a handheld blender in the pan or in batches in food processor. Sieve if you want a smoother texture. Sieve twice if you are a grand restaurant. Reheat gently (don't boil). Add more water, stock or milk if too thick. Check for seasonings. It will probably need quite a lot of salt and some pepper. Serve and add a swirl of cream, crème fraiche or garnishes as you like, or as specified below.<BR> <P>The following is an illustrated example of a thick soup made using the universal recipe described above and serves two as a starter. <P><B><CENTER>Puree of Carrot (Potage Crecy)</CENTER></B> <TABLE ALIGN="center" border=0 CELLSPACING="5" CELLPADDING="5"> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3119.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3120.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">1: 125g(4 oz) of onion and<BR> 250g (8 oz) of carrot</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">2: Sweat the onion in butter and add the carrot</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3121.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3132.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">3: Cover with a kartouche<BR> (circle of greaseproof paper)</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">4: 45 minutes over a gentle heat<BR> or in a low oven</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3133.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TR></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3134.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">5: Add the liquid (2 cups stock or<BR> milk or water) and blend</TD> <TD ALIGN="center">6: Pass the soup through a sieve</TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3135.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=250><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u7620/i3137.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=187</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD ALIGN="center">7: Reheat, dilute if required<BR> check seasoning, add crouton</TD> <TD >8: Left:Puree de Crecy a la Ancienne<BR> (carrot with crouton)<BR> Right: Veloute Georgette (carrot and tomato)</TD></TR><TABLE> <BR><BR> <P><CENTER><B>Brill Soup</B></CENTER> <P>Although often forced to play second fiddle to its more illustrious cousin the turbot, brill is a prime fish with handsome good looks and fine, delicate flesh. This soup then is something of a guilty pleasure, requiring as it does for the expensive fillets to be blitzed to a puree and dispersed amongst more work-a-day ingredients. The luxurious results however justify this act of apparent culinary wantonness. You may of course substitute a less noble fish, salt cod works particularly well, but the texture will not be quite as smooth. <P>a knob of butter<BR> 1 tablespoon of olive oil<BR> 1 onion, roughly chopped <BR> 1 small or half a large bulb of fennel, roughly chopped <BR> 1 clove garlic, smashed<BR> 1 large potato, cut into 1/2 inch dice<BR> 1.2 litres/2 pints fish stock<BR> 4 x fillets of brill (i.e the meat of one fish approx. 450g/1lb in weight )<BR> 150ml/5floz heavy(double) cream<BR> salt and pepper<BR> leaves from 8 stalks of parsley, chopped<BR> leaves from 5 stalks of tarragon, chopped<BR> <P>Sweat the onion and fennel in the butter and oil until tender but not coloured, add the garlic and cook for another 30-45 seconds. Stir in the potato dice and cover with the fish stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the potato is nearly cooked through. Add the fish and poach gently until done. the time this takes will vary depending on the thickness of your fish, but allow between 5-7 minutes. <P>Puree the soup in a blender then pass through a sieve back into the pan. Season the soup and add the cream, a few tablespoons at a time, tasting as you go until you have the consistancy and flavour you want. Stir in the herbs and ladle into bowls. <BR><BR><BR><BR> <P><CENTER><B>Red Lentil Soup with Chili and Warm Spices</B></CENTER> <P><TABLE ALIGN="center" border=0> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=260><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6340.jpg" WIDTH=260 HEIGHT=195</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=260><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6339.jpg" WIDTH=260 HEIGHT=195</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=260><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6341.jpg" WIDTH=260 HEIGHT=195</TD></TABLE></TD> <TD><TABLE ALIGN=center border=0> <TD WIDTH=260><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6406.jpg" WIDTH=260 HEIGHT=195</TD></TABLE></TD></TR> </TABLE> <P>This soup is slightly unusual in that it employes lentils as its main thickening agent rather than a starchy vegetable, which is then enriched with creme fraiche, which also lends a refreshing note of acidity. The spices listed here should be taken as a suggestion, feel free to use your own favoured combinations. <P>1 tablespoon groundnut oil<BR> 1 Medium red onion, roughly chopped<BR> 1 teaspoon each of grated garlic and ginger<BR> 1 red chili, finely chopped<BR> 1 tablespoon cumin<BR> 1 teaspoon ground coriander<BR> 1 teaspoon ground tumeric<BR> 170g/6 oz red lentils, washed and drained<BR> 2 medium tomatos, skinned and roughly chopped<BR> 1.2 litres/2 pints chicken stock<BR> 100ml/4fl oz creme fraiche<BR> salt and pepper<BR> fresh coriander, chopped<BR> <P>Heat the oil in a large pan and sweat the red onion until tender but not colored. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 30 seconds, then add the chili and spices. Cook for a minute or so then add the lentils and stock and bring to the boil. Add the chopped tomatos and simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Allow to cool slightly, then puree in a blender (you may have to do this in batches). Return to the heat, stir in the creme fraiche and adjust the seasoning. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a swirl of creme fraiche and some of the coriander. <BR><BR> <A NAME="bib"><B>BIBLIOGRAPHY</B></A> <P>Larousse Gastronomique - Prosper Montagne (Editor) <P>Time Life's The Good Cook: Soups - Richard Olney (Chief Consultant). Out of print. <P>A Celebration of Soup: With Classic Recipes from Around the World - Lindsay Bareham <P>The Conran Cookbook - Caroline Conran, Terence Conran, Simon Hopkinson <P>Cooking At The Merchant House - Shaun Hill <BR><BR> <P><A NAME="append"><B>APPENDIX: APPROVED COMBINATIONS</B></A> <P><UL> <LI><A HREF="#appendix1">APPENDIX I: BISQUES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#appendix2">APPENDIX II: CERMES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#appendix3">APPENDIX III: PUREES</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="#appendix4">APPENDIX IV: VELOUTES</A></LI> </UL> <P>Ask your questions about this course here. <P><B>Course Editors:</B> Carolyn Tillie & Andy Lynes <P><B>HTML Formatting:</B> Andy Lynes </TD> </TABLE>

Ask your questions about the Science of The Kitchen: Taste & Texture course on this thread. Janet will be available to answer from Monday April 26 onwards.

TASTE AND TEXTURE PART I: TASTE <P><B>SOME DEFINITIONS AND TECHNICAL TERMS</B> <P>In line with most of the writing on the topic, I'll use "taste" to refer specifically to what we perceive through the taste buds and "flavor" to mean the perception that results from the combination of our senses of taste and smell. <P>Technically, the sense of taste is called the gustatory sense; the sense of smell is called the olfactory sense. <P>Both the sense of taste and the sense of smell are often called the chemical senses, since they transmit information generated by chemicals to nerve cells, resulting in neural impulses. <P>Chemosensory irritation is the term used to refer to the burn of mustard or the capsaicin in chiles, the tingle of carbonated beverages or the cool afterglow of menthol. These and other sensations (other than tastes and smells) are also called cutaneous sensations as they are perceived on the surface of the mouth ("cutaneous" = "of the skin"). <P> <A NAME="taste"><B>TASTE, SMELL AND FLAVOR</B></A> <P>Being the annoying, teacher's-pet, know-it-all child that I was, I loved amassing facts so I could spout off and prove how smart I was. I especially loved facts about biology and physiology; my older sister and her best friend actually gagged me and tied me to a tree in the backyard when I wouldn't shut up about the humidity of the air in our lungs. Looking back on it, I can't say that I blame them. <P>But my point in bringing this up is this: for a long time, I thought I knew a lot about a lot of things, the sense of taste included. I knew, for instance, that the bumps on the tongue were taste buds and were the site of our sense of taste, that there were four basic tastes and that we tasted the four tastes on different parts of the tongue. I also knew that an onion would taste like an apple if you plugged your nose, which was a riddle from sixth grade science class that, for some reason, I still remember to this day. <P>Unfortunately, it turns out that just about everything I thought I knew about taste was wrong, or at least incomplete. Now, taste researchers are learning an amazing amount about how our sense of taste works, and one by one, I'm correcting my earlier mistakes. <P>Those bumps you see on your tongue, called papillae, are not taste buds. But they contain taste buds (or at least some of them do), which in turn contain the taste cells, which is where the real action happens. Like any other sensory function, taste is, at the neural level, all about electrical charges. The molecules in your food that are responsible for the basic tastes change the electrical charge in the taste cells, which causes them to fire and convey information about taste to your brain. <P>Scientists agree that the number of different tastes we can perceive is very limited, but they don't all agree on exactly how many basic tastes there are. Sweet, sour, salty and bitter are universally accepted as true tastes; some researchers posit a fifth taste called "umami," a Japanese term that's usually translated as "savory." Some would also argue that "metallic" and "alkaline" (or soapy) count as basic tastes; however, since ideally those two tastes do not occur in our foods, I'm going to ignore them here. <P>The chemicals in salts and acids that account for their characteristic tastes act directly on the ion channels in the taste cells. Those in sweet and bitter substances are less direct; they bind to surface receptors that are coupled to certain proteins (called "G-proteins" for reasons we need not get into), which begins a series of reactions that ends in the change in electrical charge. Glutamate, the molecule which is now thought to stimulate the umami taste, also binds to receptors, but much less is known about what happens between the binding of the glutamate molecules and the change in polarization. <P>Because there are a number of reactions involved in our perception of sweet and bitter tastes, it's not surprising that scientists tend to concentrate on these tastes. The more steps involved, after all, the more opportunity for experimenting with the process. For example, by altering one of the G-proteins in mice, researchers actually changed their taste preferences. The altered mice no longer sought out sugar water and avoided bitter compounds, as normal mice would, but instead drank bitter solutions as readily as they did plain water. <P>But it's not just rodents' taste buds that are the subject of study. It's long been recognized that a chemical in artichokes, cynarin, makes other foods taste temporarily sweeter to most people. More recently, researchers have been working with chemicals that can block our ability to taste sweet or bitter flavors (it's thought that adding these "bitter blockers" to medicines might make them easier to take). Some preliminary research with humans seems to indicate that capsaicin, the chemical that puts the "heat" in chile peppers, temporarily lessens our sensitivity to bitter and sweet flavors but leaves our perception of acids and salts unaffected. <P>To react with the taste cells, any taste molecule, or "tastant," must be dissolved, which is the reason saliva was invented. That's why, when you swallow a pill – however bitter – you won't taste it if you get it down before it starts to dissolve. It's also why so many nasty tasting pills are encased in a coating that's hard to dissolve. Some tastants dissolve best in water; others are fat-soluble. Still others dissolve in alcohol, which incidentally also dissolves the water- and fat-soluble molecules as well. This is part of the reason why a little alcohol in a dish can make such a big difference to its taste. <P>What is still commonly taught about localization of taste sensitivity on the tongue is based on the misinterpretation of some early data from taste research. Now it's known that although particular taste cells do seem to respond best to one type of stimuli (salt, sour, sweet or bitter), they are capable of responding to all of them in some degree, and all four (or five) tastes can be sensed on any area of the tongue that contains taste buds. So, that map of the tongue we all learned about – the one where we taste only sweet things on the tip, bitter at the back, sour on the sides and salt along the edges – is wrong. (But many people still believe it; be gentle when you break the news.) <P>The temperature of the food we're eating has a noticeable effect on how intensely we can taste it. Bitter substances taste less bitter hot than at room temperature, which explains why cooled coffee seems more bitter than the hot brew. <P>Sweetness, on the other hand, is much less perceptible at very low temperatures than at room temperature. If you've ever made ice cream or sorbet, you may have noticed that the frozen product seemed less sweet than the mixture did before freezing. Similarly, if you've ever drunk a lukewarm soda pop, you likely noticed how sweet it seems. Those drink manufacturers expect their products to be quaffed over ice or straight from the fridge, and they keep that in mind when formulating their recipes. Cocktails, too, are meant to be drunk ice cold; a lukewarm cocktail is a miserable thing indeed. <P>Sweetness may be the flavor most noticeably subdued by cold, but all flavors, even bitterness, decrease in intensity at very cold temperatures. Despite its popularity, ice-cold beer doesn't have very much flavor, which is why beer aficionados prefer their brew warmer than it's often served. Likewise, chilling a white wine can be easily overdone – most white wines are best cool but not icy. And that's why even foods that are supposed to be "cold," like salads, benefit from sitting at room temperature for a while; they have much more flavor than they do straight from the refrigerator. <P>Let's go back to neural pathways for one last point. Other neurons in the "taste pathway" respond to and convey information on the intensity of any given taste, the temperature of the food, "mouthfeel" and sometimes pain at the same time the taste cells convey their information about salty, sour, sweet and bitter. These other stimuli are also responsible for the fact that tastes seem to originate from the entire surface of the mouth, and not from just the papillae that contain the taste buds. Thus, while in theory we can talk about "pure" taste sensations, in practice it's much more difficult to isolate them. This is especially true for taste and our sense of smell. <P> <A NAME="olfactory"><B>THE OLFACTORY SENSE</B></A> <P>Anyone who's ever had a bad head cold knows how much our olfactory sense contributes to what we think of as taste, as does anyone who's ever tried to enjoy dinner while seated near someone with overpowering perfume or cologne. When all you can smell is gardenia blossoms or Old Spice, it's hard to taste your potatoes or cauliflower. <P>While we can discern only a small handful of different tastes, our sense of smell is much more sensitive. The average person can identify thousands of different odors and discern about ten intensities of each of those. Roughly a thousand different types of olfactory receptors are located on a small patch in the upper part of the nasal cavity. <P>We sense smells when odor molecules reach the receptors and dissolve; because the receptors are located above the path that air follows when we breathe normally, we can smell odors better if we sniff, drawing the air up to the receptors. The odor molecules can reach the receptors either through the nose or up through the pharynx, the passage connecting the mouth with the nose, which is why one of the best ways to detect the aromas of our food is to exhale with the mouth closed as we're eating – it forces the air up through the pharynx. <P>The connection between the mouth and the nasal passage accounts for the fact that taste and smell combine so thoroughly to produce the phenomenon we think of as flavor. The passage of odor molecules through the pharynx also accounts for the fact that although holding or plugging your nose will greatly diminish the flavor of your food, it will not completely eradicate it (an onion will not taste like an apple). It takes pretty severe nasal congestion to do that. <P>All substances, including foods, release more odor molecules when warm or hot than when cold, so their smells are much stronger. That's the reason garbage is so much more revolting on a hot day and the reason warm or hot foods tend to smell so much stronger than cold foods. <P> <A NAME="natural"><B>NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS</B></A> <P>Maybe you've heard wine geeks talk about flavors of berries, oak, apples, melon, toast, pepper and even grass in various wines. Wait a minute, you say, wine is nothing but grapes and yeast, so how can it have all those other flavors? That's where the molecules come in. As wine ferments and ages, it goes through a lot of chemical changes, which result in all sorts of tastants and, especially, odor molecules being produced. Some of these molecules are very close to the odor molecules in other fruits or even vegetables, spices and grass, so they trigger the same receptor cells that the actual fruits, vegetables and spices do. We thus perceive the wine as smelling and tasting like all those other substances. <P>Some researchers spend their time delving into the molecular structure of the foods we eat in order to isolate the molecules responsible for various flavors (they have, in fact, isolated more than 4000 such flavor compounds). They can then concentrate them and add them to other foods as "natural flavors." But they can also go one step further and analyze the concentrate with a chromatograph to see how the molecules are actually put together. With such an analysis, researchers can then sometimes reproduce the compounds artificially and use them to create such monstrosities as buttered-popcorn-flavored jelly beans. <P>The problem with either natural or artificial flavors, the reason they never quite taste like the original, is that foods have numerous molecular compounds responsible for their characteristic flavors (fruits, for instance, can have hundreds of such compounds). Researchers necessarily focus on a few that seem to provide the most recognizable flavor and aroma, but they can't reproduce them all, so the resulting flavoring is fairly one-dimensional. Technology is improving in this area, though, so who knows? Maybe someday watermelon candy will actually taste like watermelon. <P> <A NAME="thresholds"><B>THRESHOLDS AND DESENSITIZATION</B></A> <P>All of our senses react best to changes in stimuli. Studies with infants show that they quickly become bored watching the same scene; their interest increases whenever a new element comes into view and then fades if the object stays in view for long. Similarly, we can usually "tune out" a constant, unchanging noise without much effort, but our ears will still perk up at the sound of anything new and different. <P>It's the same with taste and smell. We get used to odors and flavors pretty quickly if they don't change much, and it takes stronger and stronger concentrations of the taste or odor molecules to elicit the same reactions. That's why some people wear so much perfume or cologne, especially if they've been wearing the same scent for a long time – they've adapted to the smell, so they keep dousing themselves with ever-increasing amounts to be able to detect it. <P>Likewise, someone who uses a lot of salt regularly will require more and more of it in order to notice it; that person's salt threshold has increased. It doesn't even take long-term exposure to a certain taste to become desensitized; depending on the taste, we can start to adapt quite quickly. As we'll see in the next section, it can happen with chemosensory irritants as well, such as the capsaicin in chile peppers. <P> <A NAME="tasters"><B>TASTERS, NONTASTERS AND SUPERTASTERS</B></A> <P>So far, I've been working on the basis that everyone's sense of taste and smell is exactly the same -- that we all taste the same things with the same intensity. But this is not true. Certain medical conditions can affect our gustatory and olfactory senses, and some physiological factors also affect our sense of taste. <P>If you're old enough, you might remember a day in science class when the teacher passed out little slips of paper and told you all to put them on your tongues. She then sat back and watched, probably with some amusement, while some of the class sucked on them for minutes with nothing but a puzzled expression and others immediately spat them out, violently and with looks of betrayal. <P>Those little slips of paper were coated with PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil), or PTC (phenylthiocarbamide), chemicals that taste extremely bitter to some people but are tasteless to others. It turns out there's a genetic component to how strongly we taste things. In technical terms, the ability to taste these chemicals is determined by whether one has a particular dominant gene: those with two recessive "taste" genes are known as "nontasters," those with one recessive and one dominant are "tasters" and those with two dominant genes are called "supertasters." Overall, about a quarter of the population are nontasters, one quarter supertasters, and the remaining half are tasters. <P>Supertasters have a significantly higher number of taste buds than tasters, and both groups outnumber nontasters for taste buds. The averages for the three groups are 96 taste buds per square centimeter for nontasters, 184 for tasters, and a whopping 425 for supertasters. Not surprisingly, then, supertasters tend to taste everything more strongly, not just those two chemicals from science class. Sweets are sweeter, bitter things more bitter, and salty things saltier. I've heard more than one supertaster report that pickled foods taste like ammonia. Supertasters are less likely to enjoy the taste of alcohol as well. <P>When I first started reading about this phenomenon, I thought, "I want to be a supertaster -- it sounds so refined, so superior." Alas, I concluded, I'm not. Then, as I continued to read up on the subject, I realized that it might not be so great to be a supertaster. Not only do many foods taste unpleasantly strong to them, but also (since our taste buds also convey information on temperature, pain and mouthfeel) the bite of chiles, mustard and ginger is unbearable and very hot or cold foods can be practically unpalatable. Foods with a high fat content seem unpleasantly greasy. Thus, supertasters tend to be very picky eaters. Nontasters will eat damn near anything, neither greatly liking nor disliking what they eat. Tasters, the least homogeneous group, vary a great deal in their likes and dislikes, but overall they tend to genuinely enjoy the widest variety of foods. <P>So, we've looked at the way we perceive the basic tastes on the cellular level. Now, on to a more general look. <P> <A NAME="big"><B>THE BIG FOUR (OR IS IT FIVE?)</B></A> <P><B>Sweet</B> <P>We're born with an affinity for sweet tastes, one of the few instincts we have and apparently the only taste preference we have from birth. From an evolutionary standpoint, it makes perfect sense: sweet foods are energy-rich foods. Even though most of us in the developed world don't lack for calories, we still like sweet foods, at least to some degree. Many of us, however, lose some of our love of purely sweet foods as we grow older; we prefer our sweets tempered with a touch of acid or even bitterness. <P>As an element of flavor, sugar and other sweeteners often have the effect of softening or rounding out sharper flavors, which is why a sweet ingredient pairs so well with acidic or bitter ones. But eating sweets can temporarily skew your taste buds so that mildly acidic foods will taste very sour. That's why only the sweetest of wines can match well with desserts. And heavily sweet foods also have a tendency to deaden the palate somewhat, which is one reason that very sweet drinks and foods are usually served after meals. <P>Sugar also has an interesting effect on some other flavors, allowing us to perceive tastes we wouldn't otherwise. Researchers in England had their subjects chew mint-flavored gum, which was sweet, until the flavor had gone. The molecules responsible for the smell and thus the flavor of the mint were still present, but the volunteers could no longer perceive them. However, when they added a pinch more sugar to the gum, they once again smelled and tasted the mint. <P><B>Salty</B> <P>As a rule, our love of sugar only barely edges out our fondness for salt. Most of us start to develop a liking for salty things between four and six months of age. Salt being an essential mineral for life, it's no wonder we seek it out. Add to that the fact that it's an excellent preservative for food, and it makes even more sense, from an evolutionary standpoint, that salty foods appeal to most of us. <P>If sugar rounds and softens flavors, salt heightens and perks them up, often without really making its presence explicitly known. If you've ever eaten pasta cooked in unsalted water or bread made without salt, you know what I mean here. They're incredibly bland, compared with the versions cooked with salt. But the pasta and bread cooked with salt don't taste salty, so much as they just taste like something. Any time I make a dish that seems one-dimensional, flat or boring, my first remedy is almost invariably to add a pinch more salt. It's not always the answer, but in most cases, it's a good guess. <P><B>Sour</B> <P>It takes most children much longer to develop a fondness for sour foods than either sweet or salty foods. Some of us never really take to purely sour foods, although most of us grow to enjoy mildly acidic ingredients, since acids are as much of a flavor booster as salt can be. <P>But the tang of citrus or vinegar perks up flavors in a different way from salt. I describe the difference by saying that salt heightens flavor, while acid sharpens it. Acidic ingredients make us salivate, which, as we've seen, means that more tastants reach our taste buds. So while sour ingredients make their own presence known, they also make other flavors come forward. Sometimes when you're tasting a dish and it's a bit "flat," it's difficult to tell if it needs more salt or more acid. If you think you've added enough salt to a dish but it's still not quite right, try a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar to see if that's what's missing. <P>While sugar and salt are nutrients we need for survival, acid does not appear to be. So why, then, can we distinguish sour as one of the basic tastes? The reason isn't entirely clear, but it may have been beneficial for our ancestors to be able to gauge the pH level of the water they drank. Or perhaps the ability to reject unripe fruits, which tend to be sour, made for fewer stomach aches and less gastrointestinal distress. <P>Just as important as their taste is the role that acids play in mouthfeel, and we'll investigate that aspect of them in the next section. <P><B>Bitter</B> <P>The last of the "big four" tastes is bitter. Although we can detect bitter tastes early in our development, we don't tend to enjoy them; instead we do our best to avoid them. A liking for bitter tastes develops very late in life compared with the other three; indeed, some people never develop a taste for bitter foods at all (very generally speaking, Americans tend to shun bitter foods more than other cultures). That's probably the reason that the bitter foods we do eat are often looked upon as sophisticated and "grown-up." Coffee, dark chocolate, quinine (tonic) water, beer, bitter alcoholic aperitifs, bitter salad greens like arugula – we speak of them as "acquired tastes." <P>And it's no surprise that bitter foods are scorned by so many. In the wild, bitter things are usually trouble -- they make us sick or kill us. In terms of evolution, we probably developed the ability to detect bitterness so we could spit out the offending plants before we swallowed them. So why on earth do some people develop a liking for something so initially repelling? Part of the reason is that bitter foods, like spicy foods, make our taste buds stand up and take notice, so to speak. They provide novelty, which we've already seen is something we need if we want to avoid becoming desensitized. Think of bitterness (in small doses) as nature's palate cleanser. <P> <A NAME="umami"><B>UMAMI</B></A> <P>Earlier, we took a quick look at what researchers have found about glutamate and how it results in the flavor known as "umami" (often described as "savory" or "broth-like"). We saw that they aren't agreed on whether it counts as a basic taste. <P>On the one hand, the Japanese have long regarded umami as a quality separate from the "big four" of sweet, salty, sour and bitter. And it's true that current research suggests that glutamate triggers taste cells in a completely different way from the tastants that trigger the other four tastes. Two researchers from the University of Miami have isolated a receptor that binds glutamate and proposed that it underlies the umami taste. <P>Empirically speaking, it's possible to measure the glutamate levels in foods and thus determine their umami level. Generally, protein-rich foods like cheese, meat, seafood and mushrooms contain significant amounts of glutamate. Aging, curing and fermenting enhance umami, as does ripeness (a ripe nectarine, for example, has more glutamate than an unripe one). Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which occurs naturally in many foods and is used as an additive in others, is the form of glutamate we're probably most familiar with. <P>But that's not the whole story. Part of the problem stems from the wide variety of foods that are high in glutamate. Although many of them can be accurately described as "savory," some of them, like grapefruit or green tea, don't seem to fall into that category as neatly. It's thus not always easy to recognize the umami "taste" in the same way we can recognize the other four tastes. <P>To complicate matters further, Japanese chefs (and now some Western chefs as well) seem to use the term umami metaphorically rather than literally. That is, chefs will speak of the umami of any food, meaning the best or perfect specimen of that particular food. They don't seem to be talking about glutamate levels; they almost seem to be speaking of what, given my philosophy background, I would call Platonic forms. <P>Whichever sense of the term umami people mean, though, it's clear that whatever it is, taste or sensation or Platonic form, it's not easy to talk about, at least not for non-Japanese. Even the experts have a hard time defining it. One sensory psychologist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia (the place for taste research) described it as "that meaty, mouth-filling, savory sensation" -- not what I'd call the most precise definition. <P>But even though the psychologist's response was not ideal, it says one thing loud and clear to me. She doesn't call umami a savory taste, she calls it a "sensation" -- more specifically, a "mouth-filling" sensation. I assume that most taste researchers are pretty precise when talking about this sort of thing, so when she said it was a sensation she no doubt meant it. <P>From my experience as well as my research, I think umami is not so much a taste as it is a cutaneous sensation. Or, more precisely, it seems to me that we experience glutamate simultaneously in two ways: as a unique combination of taste and sensation. And further, I think it's the sensation part, the textural element, that we experience most strongly, and thus I'll talk about umami again in the section on texture and mouthfeel. <P>There is one undeniable effect of umami on our sense of taste, however, so let me mention it before we go. Foods high in umami (glutamates) intensify many other flavors. They do this in ways we don't quite understand. One theory is that the presence of glutamates makes certain taste molecules adhere to our taste cells longer than they would otherwise, so their taste is more intense. Whatever the exact mechanism, though, the food industry has counted on the flavor boosting qualities of MSG and other glutamates for years. And so have countless cooks who use fermented foods, mushroom essence or aged cheeses to enhance their menus. Food scientists and chefs might not know precisely how it works, but they know it does. <P> <A NAME="four"><B>THE FOUR TASTES IN COMBINATION</B></A> <P>For the most part, the basic tastes don't occur in foods solo. We've seen that our sense of taste reacts best to changes in stimuli, so perhaps it's no surprise that we like foods that excite more than one type of taste reaction. Because sweetness, salt, acid and bitterness are the foundation of our entire experience of flavor, the balance among the basic tastes can make or break a dish, even if we don't consciously realize it. Experiencing and studying the ways these tastes combine and balance each other, then, is one of most basic and crucial steps in analyzing dishes and learning to cook. <P><B>Sweet and Sour</B> <P>Lemonade, sweet and sour pork, the perfectly ripe orange: all of these share, to varying degrees, a balance of sweetness and acidity. Probably the first example of the sweet and sour combination that most of us taste and enjoy is the flavor of fresh fruit. We often talk as if ripe peaches, strawberries and pears are sweet, period, but actually their sweetness is balanced with a slightly tart element. Oranges and tangerines might display their acid more obviously, but virtually all ripe fruit has a sour edge that holds that sweetness in check. <P>It's a two-way street with sweet and sour ingredients. On the one hand, sweetness is full and round, but by itself, it can be cloying and overwhelming. Sour ingredients by themselves are sharp and "cutting." Add a bit of something sour to your sweet base, and you get the best of both worlds -- round, full flavor with a sharp edge that cuts through the cloying sweetness. Add more acid so that sour is your primary taste, and you still have the softening effect of the sweet ingredient to hold the tang in check. It's a match made in heaven. <P><B>Bittersweet</B> <P>No, wait, the match made in heaven is the bittersweet one. Sweetness does have an affinity for both the sour and the bitter; it's a toss-up which is the more sublime combination. <P>We've seen that purely bitter foods are rarely eaten alone; most often the bitter is balanced by sweetness. Bitter aperitifs all contain a hefty dose of sugar or other sweetener, as does tonic water. The bitter edge to coffee is something many people prefer to soften with sugar. <P>But looked at from the other direction, the sweet is also balanced by the bitter. Like acid, a touch of bitterness can cut the cloying quality of purely sweet foods. That cola you're drinking? You might not notice it, but it's got a fairly strong bitter kick to it. Even the sweetest milk chocolate contains a bitter undertone, and few sweets are more popular than chocolate. <P><B>Sweet and Salty</B> <P>Maybe this coupling is not as obvious as sweet and sour or bittersweet, but sweetness and salt do a lot for each other as well. A pinch of salt can add amazing depth to caramel or custard, even though you don't really taste anything salty. Likewise, a tiny bit of sugar in a savory dish can bring together the flavors in a way that salt alone cannot. <P>But the match-up between salt and sugar goes further than merely supporting the other's feature role. While French and Italian cuisines rarely use a noticeable sweet element in savory dishes, this combination is very common in Asian cuisines. British and American cooks make use of it as well, in such dishes as lamb with mint jelly or roasts served with Cumberland sauce. And think about the snacks we eat – salty popcorn and a soda. Honey roasted nuts. Salted nuts in caramel. We enjoy a lot of sweet and salty combinations. <P>Unlike bittersweet or sweet and sour combinations, though, sweet and salty elements seem to balance each other in a different sense. While bitter and sweet (or sour and sweet) combine so thoroughly as to almost be a single new taste, sweet and salty combinations don't really lose their duality. It's as if our taste buds keep themselves entertained by switching back and forth between the two tastes without ever really reconciling them. <P><B>Salty and Sour</B> <P>Since salt and acid are both sharp, it's perhaps surprising that combining them would work. But, on reflection, of course it does. Almost everything pickled is packed in a combination of salt and vinegar, and even when salt is the sole ingredient added (as is the case with cabbage to make sauerkraut), acid is a byproduct of the fermentation process. But this combination is not universally liked. I mentioned earlier that supertasters often report that pickled foods taste like ammonia, and I know plenty of people who don't seem to like anything pickled. Me? I could eat a whole jar of pickles or olives standing in front of the refrigerator. (They have to be really good pickles, though.) <P>Many cookbooks will tell you that acid will help an oversalted soup or stew. Research, however, shows that the story is not that simple. The tests aren't very conclusive, but in small amounts, acid seems to enhance salty flavors; in larger amounts, some, not all, acids do seem to diminish the salty flavor. I find that the amount of acid necessary to counteract too much salt in, say, chicken broth, will make the broth overtly sour, which may not be an improvement. <P><B>Salty and Bitter</B> <P>Now, this may not seem like a combination we'd ever strive for, but salt actually helps to cancel the bitterness of foods. A couple of years ago I heard Harold McGee, a food scientist and author, report on an experiment he participated in wherein the subjects added salt to tonic water. They used a salt other than sodium chloride, one that didn't taste "salty," so they didn't have that taste to contend with. McGee said that given enough salt, the tonic water eventually tasted just sweet, not bitter at all. <P>If you add table salt to tonic water, you can start to taste this effect, but it will begin to taste salty before it stops tasting bitter, which can be confusing. If you're interested in another way to test this phenomenon, though, try adding a little extra salt to a salad dressing for bitter greens and see if it doesn't help to temper the bitterness. <P><B>Sour and Bitter</B> <P>Nope, not by themselves. I can't think of a single food or dish that combines only these two elements, or at least not one I'd want to eat. But with a sweet element, it can work. Think of cranberry juice -- not only are cranberries sour, they also have a bitter edge. Add sugar and the juice is surprisingly refreshing. Likewise with grapefruit juice; it may be mostly sweet and sour, but a little bitterness is there too. <P><B>Taste Triads</B> <P>The sour-bitter-sweet combination is also common in cocktails. And, if you add a bit of salt, you have the basis for one of the classic cocktails: the margarita. A well made margarita is a good mix (some might say the perfect combination) of all four elements: you have sweetness from the triple sec, sourness from the lime juice, which also has a definite bitter side, and the salt on the rim. <P>I'm getting ahead of myself here. However, it does lead me to the next level -- that is, combining more than two of the basic tastes. As I've just mentioned, we do it occasionally, although we might not realize it. A chocolate lover who eats orange filled truffles is combining sweet, sour and bitter flavors. Sweet pickles are not only sweet and sour; they're also salty. Likewise for some vinaigrettes. Generally speaking, when three of the basic tastes are present, one appears as a mere background note, not as prominent as the other two. <P>Threesomes, you see, are tricky. No, I didn't mean it that way, but now that you mention it, it's not a bad analogy. Even leaving aside the menage à trois types of relationships, friendships among three friends typically require a lot more balancing and effort than do friendships between two people. It's the same with basic taste elements. Adding a third one to a twosome inserts a whole new dynamic; it can be a brilliant success, or a dismal failure. <P> <A NAME="other"><B>OTHER FLAVOR CATEGORIES</B></A> <P>Now I'm going to venture out past the four basic tastes. We're on much shakier scientific ground here, because researchers don't write about flavor categories the way they do they do about the sense of taste. Chefs and cookbook authors are not much help either. Generally when they mention categories of flavor, they don't offer much in the way of explanation; rather, they assume we know what they're talking about. And even those authors who do explicitly mention flavor categories are not in agreement on what they are. One book lists 14 elements of taste ranging from "bulby" to "spiced aromatic" to "oceanic." Another lists such flavors as "pungent" and "puckery" and other less helpful categories as "intense." <P>I'm not disparaging these authors' efforts, honestly. It's tough going when you try to categorize flavors. Although I've tried to stick with the sorts of terms that show up regularly in cookbooks, reference books and restaurant reviews, my list is somewhat subjective as well. <P>Why group flavors into categories at all? Well, it's because we're all human here (I assume) and that's what humans do -- we categorize things. It's the way we learn about the world. So you probably categorize foods without even really thinking about it. Listing some basic categories and analyzing how our foods fit into them is simply a way to harness that usually unconscious process and improve upon it, enhance it, sharpen it. <P>What follows here is not exhaustive; it's not definitive, but it's a starting point. Keep in mind that not every food falls into one of these categories, and many foods fall into more than one: <UL> <LI>Earthy: Think mushrooms. Also carrots and other root vegetables, which often also have a sweet dimension as well. </LI> <LI><P>Fermented: Wine and beer obviously fall in here, but also sour cream, yogurt, cheese, buttermilk. Some breads, especially sourdough. Soy sauce and fish sauce are both fermented, but the salty taste partially masks the fermented flavor.</LI> <LI><P>Herbal: We'll look at herbs and spices in detail in the second part of the course, but for now just think of the clean, "green" scent and flavor of dill, parsley, basil and the like.</LI> <LI><P>Meaty: This term is so often used to describe a texture that it's difficult to isolate it as a flavor alone, but that's what I'm aiming for here. So mushrooms, although they can have a "meaty" texture, do not always or even often have a meaty taste.</LI> <LI><P>Nutty: Nuts, obviously, but also some grains and cheeses and even avocados have a hint of nuttiness about them.</LI> <LI><P>Poultry: No, everything does not taste like chicken, but most of the birds we eat fall into this category. Apparently, so does a mushroom called chicken of the woods.</LI> <LI><P>Seafood: The natural name for this category would be "fishy," but that term has such negative connotations that I hesitate to use it. It's used to describe old fish. But fresh seafood and fish do have a common element in their flavor, and that's what I mean by "seafood." (Freshwater fish, although generally milder, also fit in here.)</LI> <LI> <P>Spicy: This one's tricky. We often use the term to mean "hot" in the sense of chile peppers or horseradish, but as we'll see in the next section, "hot" is not a flavor, it's a chemosensory irritation. So think about "spicy" as what's left over after you remove any of those sensations: usually somewhat bitter, often musty, and always fragrant.</LI> <LI><P>Starchy: This is one of those terms that have elements of both taste and texture. Since there's a whole group of foods we commonly refer to as "starches," it's not hard to identify this taste. It's what's common to potatoes and some other root vegetables, rice and corn, to name a few. We'll talk again about starch when we get to textures.</LI> <LI><P>Vegetal: Here I'm thinking mostly of green vegetables, and not of the culinary vegetables that are botanically fruit, such as tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Likewise, I wouldn't include roots and tubers like potatoes and carrots here.</LI> <LI><P>Toasted/Roasted: Think about the difference between a slice of bread and a slice of toast, or the difference between raw almonds and roasted ones. Basically we're talking about the flavor effects of browning here.</LI> <LI><P>Smoked: Cheese or meats, fish or fowl, these foods get their flavor from the smoke they're cured in. They generally also have a salty side, as the curing process usually involves brine or salt.</LI> </UL> <P> <A NAME="beyond"><B>FLAVOR AND BEYOND</B></A> <P>So, now that we have a starting list of flavor categories, what do we do with it? Along with the information on basic tastes, use it to begin analyzing the foods that you cook and eat. As you taste a dish, ask yourself which basic tastes it has, and which flavor categories it belongs to. <P>"Why?" you may ask, "what's in it for me?" First, if you like to cook, analyzing foods in terms of tastes and flavors (and, as we'll see, textures) can provide you with a lot of knowledge about substituting ingredients and improvising in the kitchen. For instance, suppose I have a recipe that calls for beets and I don't like them. To come up with a workable substitute, it helps a lot to know that beets are sweet, starchy and slightly earthy. What other foods have those attributes? Maybe sweet potatoes. Maybe rutabagas. The point is, I've got a place to start. <P>Second, the better you get at analyzing at tastes and flavors, the better you'll be at figuring out what's in dishes that you like (or those you don't like, for that matter). Maybe this has happened to you: you're at a restaurant eating dinner. That sauce on your prawns is delicious and you'd really like to know what's in it. Let's face it, you're probably not going to get a recipe from the chef, but if you know your flavors, you can do some experimenting and probably be able to come up with at least a close approximation. <P>What's even more amazing is that with enough practice, you may even be able to tell not only what's in a dish, but what's missing from it. Suppose you're trying your hand at cooking something new, and it's blander than you expected, or it just needs something. If you've had practice tasting critically and thoughtfully, your chances of figuring out just what that "something" is are much better than if you haven't. You'll be able to think back to similar dishes that did taste good and isolate what those dishes had that your current dish lacks -- garlic, or lemon juice, or salt, or a pinch of sugar. Spices, perhaps. And believe me, if you can rescue bad tasting food, or make average food good, you've got an enviable skill. <P>So now that you’ve made it through the theory, it's time to practice a little. Take some time to try at least some of the experiments that follow. Start to analyze what you eat and drink. After that, we’ll turn to texture, mouthfeel and chemosensory irritations, but we’re hardly leaving taste and flavor behind. They’ll be coming along for the ride. <P> <A NAME="experiments"><B>EXPERIMENTS</B></A> <P>None of these experiments are very difficult or time consuming; most require only a couple of common ingredients to perform. As you read through them, they may, in fact, strike you as terribly simple and obvious. Indeed, they are simple. But to get the most out of them, they do require two things: thought and concentration. If you're going to perform them, take the time to really think about your sensations as you do. You may want to take notes, if that helps you to concentrate. <P><B>Temperature and Flavor</B> <P>Buy two cans or bottles of any one type of juice drink or soft drink, preferably not something with a lot of carbonation. Leave one at room temperature while you chill the other as cold as you can get it (if it's just starting to get a little slushy around the edges, that's perfect). Taste them both and compare. Does the warmer drink taste sweeter? Can you taste other flavors (good or bad) that seem to be missing in the ice-cold drink? <P><B>Salt</B> <P>This requires a kitchen scale. Gather as many different kinds of salt as you can: iodized table salt, non-iodized salt, kosher salt and, if you can find it, at least one of the specialty sea salts: Fleur de Sel, or the gray salt from Brittany or something similar (most of them are French). <P>By weight, measure out equivalent amounts of each. It's crucial to measure by weight and not by volume, because the different grain size and shape in the various salts result in vastly different amounts of salt per unit of volume. You won't need much, so use the smallest measurement you can. Mix each kind of salt with enough hot water to make a 2 or 3% solution. <P>Let the solutions cool and taste them. It helps to have some unsalted crackers and some water with a little lemon squeezed in it to "cleanse" your palate between tastes. Can you tell the difference? If so, what is the difference? <P>Now taste the various salts sprinkled on top of tomato slices. What differences do you experience this time? <P><B>Umami</B> <P>First, run out and buy some monosodium glutamate. The most widely available form of MSG that I know of is Ac'cent; you should be able to find it at any grocery store. (I know, you're thinking, "MSG? Is she serious?" Yes, I do know about everything written concerning MSG. I've read the scary stories. The deal is, it's really difficult for the average consumer to isolate glutamate any other way, and I honestly think a little monosodium glutamate in the diet is not harmful. However, if you're concerned or you think otherwise, by all means skip this experiment.) Next, dissolve a small amount into a cupful of hot water (hotter than tepid, but cool enough to sip without scalding your tongue). Say, half a teaspoon of Ac'cent to a cup. Sip it and think about it. What's it taste like? What's it feel like on your tongue? <P><B>Sweet and sour:</B> <P>First, make a simple syrup with sugar and water. In a small saucepan, add one cup water and two cups sugar. Heat to dissolve and bring to a boil. Simmer for a couple of minutes and let cool. Meanwhile, squeeze a couple of lemons. <P>Mix two tablespoons of syrup with one cup water. Taste the mixture. Now, add one tablespoon lemon juice and taste again. What does the addition of the lemon juice do to the sugar water? <P>Next, start at the other end. Mix two tablespoons of lemon juice with one cup water, taste, and then add one tablespoon of syrup. (You'll have the opposite proportions, obviously.) What do you think of that mixture? Try different proportions and think about the balance of sweet and sour. What proportions do you like best? <P><B>Bittersweet</B> <P>Get as many chocolates of different sweetness levels as you can find. Many chocolates are now labeled by levels of cocoa mass and cocoa butter. For instance, a chocolate labeled "70 percent" contains that amount of cocoa, with the remaining 30% being sugar and other ingredients (milk chocolate will have the lowest percentage of cocoa and will also contain milk solids). Include unsweetened chocolate (sometimes called "baking" chocolate) as well. Starting with the least sweet, taste them and compare. If you start with unsweetened, it will probably be almost unbearably bitter. As you taste, think about the level of sweetness you prefer. <P>Now, for part two, get some caramels or caramel sauce. Taste the chocolates again, this time with a small bite of caramel accompanying each taste. How does the additional sweetness alter the chocolate? Do you find your previous favorite too sweet with the addition of the caramel? <P><B>Salty and Sour</B> <P>Scoop out the flesh from a ripe avocado and mash it up. Taste a small bite as a basis for comparison. Divide the remaining avocado into three portions. To the first, add a pinch of salt. To the second, add a squeeze of lemon juice. <P>Taste the first sample. Now add a squeeze of lemon to the salted avocado. How does it change the flavor? Is the salt more or less pronounced, or is it unaltered? <P>Taste the second sample (the one with only lemon juice). Add a pinch of salt and taste again. How does the salt affect the acid? Does it make the lemon flavor more pronounced? <P>Now add enough salt to the third portion to make it taste noticeable salty to you (this could vary quite a bit depending on your tolerance for salt). Add a squeeze of lemon and see if that diminishes the salty flavor. <P><B>Sweet and Salty</B> <P>Make a small batch of popcorn. Divide it into three portions. Sprinkle one with salt, one with sugar, and one with a combination of salt and sugar. Taste the three samples and concentrate on the way the salt and sugar affect each other. <P>Another way to experiment with salt and sugar is add a pinch of sugar to a savory sauce, such as tomato sauce, and see how it changes the flavor. Or add a pinch of salt to a sweet sauce such as caramel or a custard and see if it intensifies the flavor. <P>Ask your questions about this course here. <P>Look out for the announcement of "PART TWO:TEXTURE" soon.