All about the cooling interval

[Fat Guy]

Julia Child once wrote of a braised dish that, if you refrigerate it overnight and reheat to serve, "It will only be the better for a sojourn with its flavor elements."

I think this is an understatement, because it makes it sound like a cooling interval is optional. In my experience, it is optional only in the sense that you have the option to make your dish better or worse with no more or less labor.

Braised dishes, and dishes that are like braised dishes (chili, some soups), are quite a bit better on the second day. So much so that it is inconceivable to me that, given the choice, anyone would eat a braised or braised-like dish on the same day it was cooked except in a situation of dire necessity.

But I've been thinking: what is it about the overnight rest that so improves a dish. Is it truly, as Julia says, "a sojourn with its flavor elements"? Is it thickening due to gelatin from the meat? Thickening from the tomato elements? Molecular breakdown/tenderizing due to repeated heating and cooling? And most importantly, how long does it really take to realize the benefits of the overnight rest? Overnight? An afternoon? An hour?

Today I've experimented with chili and I've concluded that the benefits can accrue in three hours, which is the time it takes my size pot of chili to cool to room temperature prior to reheating. I'm wondering if it can be done in less time, though.

Thoughts? Experiences?

[Doodad]

If I had to guess, and it is a SWAG that I am performing, I would think that it is like opening a bottle of wine. You are allowing air and time to play with volatile elements (especially herbs and acids) to allow them to oxidize a bit. Just my hunch.

[MikeJ]

This is a very interesting question. I've often noticed that a loaf of sourdough tastes noticeably more sour the day after baking, and sourer still the day after that, but I've never figured out why... surely all the acid-producing microorganisms are killed in the baking process, so there can't be acid being added to the bread.

Presumably some process (oxidization?) is acting on the bread to bring out certain compounds and suppress others.

I guess you could design an entire meal comprised entirely of foods that taste better the next day - boeuf bourguignon over thick slices of toasted sourdough, and for dessert maybe chocolate torte, which I have noticed also tastes better the next day.

[Darienne]

I think a number of dishes taste better the second day. My DH, Ed's Macaroni and Cheese dish always tastes better the second day. I have no informed idea why. Perhaps it dries out slightly and there are more crunchy chewy bits the next day.

Cole Slaw is better. Of course, we always make enough to last several meals.

[Doodad]

Cole slaw I get. Made some the other day rustic style. Acids need time to break the cabbage down. I am not sure that is what happens with mostly liquid dishes although some braises are very acidic.

[ray goud]

I have another idea, so far not mentioned, which is in addition to, but not instead of, all that has already been said:

When one waits a day or more, the cooking odors dissipate so that one tastes the food without first being exposed to the delicious aromas of the cooking food. That's one reason I think that restaurant food is often better than home-cooked, even when the resto stuff is less than earth-shaking. I have confirmed this idea to my satisfaction, though I don't have the resources to do a double-blind taste test. The ideas about flavors melding and bacteria doing their jobs are extremely valid; I just don't think that's all that's going on. I think it's even true if one has an effective vent-hood arrangement, because even a good one isn't anywhere near perfect in a home environment.

Ray

[JAZ]

Cole slaw I get. Made some the other day rustic style. Acids need time to break the cabbage down. I am not sure that is what happens with mostly liquid dishes although some braises are very acidic.

The original post was about cooked dishes, and if the reasons for their tasting better the second day are connected with heating an cooling, then any changes in coleslaw would be from a different cause.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I just think it takes time for everything to get absorbed and infused into everything else, flavors marrying and such. Occasionally I've tried cooling more rapidly and then reheating something like pulled pork or cassoulet, and it didn't seem as good or worth the effort. Better just to plan ahead and let time do its work.

Edited February 19, 2010 by David A. Goldfarb (log)

[Anna N]

If we are not going to insist that something has to be "cooked" meaning must have heat applied then I have to say that the first lesson I learned about things improving over time was with a quick aioli. It was my first attempt and called for minced garlic to be added to mayonnaise. I tasted it right after combining and it was so awful I couldn't imagine why anyone would make it or eat it. For whatever reason I did not immediately toss it but stuck it in the fridge. A few hours later I tasted a tiny smidge and HOLY COW I got it! It was so totally different that if I had not made it myself I doubt I would have believed it. Time had done its work.

Edited for spelling!

Edited February 19, 2010 by Anna N (log)

[Doodad]

Cole slaw I get. Made some the other day rustic style. Acids need time to break the cabbage down. I am not sure that is what happens with mostly liquid dishes although some braises are very acidic.

The original post was about cooked dishes, and if the reasons for their tasting better the second day are connected with heating an cooling, then any changes in coleslaw would be from a different cause.

Agreed. Sorry if I was not clear. Cole slaw is (to me anyway) all about acids breaking down the vegetables. I don't associate it with the same process as a braised dish.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Made a cassoulet this week, preparing a day in advance and reheating on the second day before serving it, and it was good on the second day and again on the third day, but it was really good for lunch on the fourth day after being cooked once and reheated three times, cooling overnight in between each reheating.

[paulraphael]

When one waits a day or more, the cooking odors dissipate so that one tastes the food without first being exposed to the delicious aromas of the cooking food. That's one reason I think that restaurant food is often better than home-cooked, even when the resto stuff is less than earth-shaking.

I think this is worth exploring. Kind of a pain to test, but not conceptually difficult. You'd need to make two identical batches on subsequent days, and have someone besides the cook do the tasting.

[Fat Guy]

One thing I'd guess is that once food reaches a refrigerator temperature in the mid-to-high 30s it's not likely to be undergoing a ton of chemical activity. Things like pickling seem to proceed at those temperatures but otherwise the whole idea of refrigeration is to slow chemical reactions down. So I have to think the process of cooling and reheating is far more significant at a physical-chemical level than a night in the refrigerator at 37 degrees F.

While the most convenient answer here is "Just cook it a day ahead," it would still be useful to me to know if it's possible to achieve the same results by starting the morning of a meal, braising 'til midday, cooling for a few hours, then reheating for service. My chili experiment, albeit not heavily controlled, indicates this may work.

[scubadoo97]

One thing I'd guess is that once food reaches a refrigerator temperature in the mid-to-high 30s it's not likely to be undergoing a ton of chemical activity.

Very true but on the reheat is where you will find the additional "chemical activity". But what exactly is going on? With a dish like braised short ribs there will be re-uptake of some of the braising liquid into the meat as the meat cools. Extra fat is removed from the refrigerated dish before re-heating and the liquid is further reduced on the re-heat. All of these things are altering the dish and I assume improving it.

Edited February 19, 2010 by scubadoo97 (log)