Cooking with "Modernist Cuisine" (Part 2)

[emannths]

Chris: check the coffee chapter. I'm guessing that 160F has to do with the milk.

ETA: McGee, p. 26: "Heat around 160F does unfold the whey proteins..."

Edited April 29, 2011 by emannths (log)

[Chris Hennes]

The temperature give for steamed milk in the coffee chapter is 140°F, plus this milk is discarded and rinsed off the garlic anyway. I'd guess it has to do with the garlic, but I don't know what it's supposed to do.

As for dehydrating in the oven: I don't have any tricks to share, other than turning the food frequently for even drying, and using the lowest temp you can.

[emannths]

Hmm. No idea then. 160F does tend to be a magic number for heating milk in guides for milk foams and other heated milk stuff.

[Chris Hennes]

OK, new guess as to why we cook the garlic to 160°F:

This is what the garlic all looks like right now (it's not fully dried yet). Note the green: no, that's not a digital white balance artifact, they really are turning green. I think this is an enzymatic reaction in the garlic that occurs when the temperature is too high. Now the question is: was the blanch in warm milk supposed to deactivate this enzyme by cooking to a magic temperature? Or was it cooked only to that temperature and no higher to prevent the reaction from occurring? Remember that I'm dehydrating in the oven, which is warmer than the milk was. Thoughts?

[KennethT]

Any special tips for dehydrating in the oven?

I've had pretty good success dehydrating in my crappy gas oven by turning it on as low as it'll go, then keeping the door propped open an inch or so with a thick wooden spoon... I've dehydrated cooked pork rinds for puffing really successfully this way... I had a failure making a parsely wafer (spinach wafer in the book) but I don't think it has anything to do with the dehydrating - but I'm going to do another trial this weekend.

[FoodMan]

OK, new guess as to why we cook the garlic to 160°F:

This is what the garlic all looks like right now (it's not fully dried yet). Note the green: no, that's not a digital white balance artifact, they really are turning green. I think this is an enzymatic reaction in the garlic that occurs when the temperature is too high. Now the question is: was the blanch in warm milk supposed to deactivate this enzyme by cooking to a magic temperature? Or was it cooked only to that temperature and no higher to prevent the reaction from occurring? Remember that I'm dehydrating in the oven, which is warmer than the milk was. Thoughts?

I bet you McGee will have an answer for that...the book is at home though. I think this kind of coloration usually happens due to the reaction of sulphur in the garlic with acid or the metal of cooking utensils (copper causes it I think), heating should have deactivated the enzyme however.

[Chris Hennes]

McGee doesn't suggest any temperatures, but does mention that for pickled garlic "this discoloration can be minimized by blanching the garlic before pickling."

[Chris Hennes]

OK, once fully dehydrated they started to brown a bit so I took them out at that point. The green color appears to have mostly faded:

Unfortunately I sliced them too thick so I don't get that ethereal look that the book shows. If only I had a team of ass-kicking Fat Duck alums here to help me slice this stuff...

[emannths]

Garlic greening is a major industrial problem that plagues garlic processors (seriously--google "garlic greening"). One way to prevent it is to store your garlic at room temperature--many weeks of RT storage may be necessary to reverse the effects of cold storage. This article indicates that higher temperatures (they test 70-90C) lead to a blanching of an already-green garlic puree and that room temperature storage of the same puree makes it less green. So I'm guessing that higher temperature processing during dehydrating doesn't promote the greening.

ETA: and your green garlic turned brown proves them right!

One more addition: This paper (sorry, subscr. required) states that "degradation temperature of garlic green pigment was 70 °C."

Edited April 29, 2011 by emannths (log)

[Chris Hennes]

Going with that theory then, I just blanched another set to 170°F (about 76°C) and made sure it stayed there for a minute before rinsing. I'm now cooking them in my smoker, which allows me to set a lower temperature. Plus, it's really windy outside today, so it's got better circulation than my oven. Of course, now my garlic chips will be mildly smoke-scented (the machine is well-used, anything I put in there is going to pick up smoke flavors whether I add smoke or not).

[FoodMan]

I am not able to find the garlic chip recipe in the KM. The only one there seems to be for a fried version of the garlic chips on page 159. Is this an oversight?

[Chris Hennes]

They have a Best Bets for Dehydration on pages 185 and 186, but they don't seem to mention this exact preparation there. I think I read somewhere that the KM includes "selected" recipes from Volume Five, but I'm not sure where that was.

[KennethT]

OK, once fully dehydrated they started to brown a bit so I took them out at that point. The green color appears to have mostly faded:

Unfortunately I sliced them too thick so I don't get that ethereal look that the book shows. If only I had a team of ass-kicking Fat Duck alums here to help me slice this stuff...

Mandoline?

[Chris Hennes]

I've only got one of those V-slicers: it's great for normal stuff, but the thin setting doesn't quite get THIS thin (1/32 inch).

[vice]

I can't imagine how to safely slice garlic on a mandoline, but perhaps my imagination isn't too good. Microtome?

[bmdaniel]

I can't imagine how to safely slice garlic on a mandoline, but perhaps my imagination isn't too good. Microtome?

I highly recommend the kevlar gloves.

I wonder how this garlic mandoline works http://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-12021-Garlic-Slicer/dp/B004NYB84Q/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1304107099&sr=8-5

Maybe a truffle slicer?

[lstrelau]

A truffle slicer would work too (adjustable thickness from paper thin up). Kevlar gloves might be useful though!

[KennethT]

I've sliced small things before on my mandoline... you just have to be really careful and go slower than if you were slicing zucchini or something... but it's still a lot faster, and consistent than using a knife. I have a Super Benringer (sp?) that I got at the restaurant supply store. Cheap, works great and easy to clean.

[Chris Hennes]

Hard to justify spending $20 on a gadget to create a garnish for a single dish. Maybe I should just work on my knife skills.

[therippa]

Hard to justify spending $20 on a gadget to create a garnish for a single dish. Maybe I should just work on my knife skills.

Maybe you could use a razor blade like Paulie did in Goodfellas?

[vice]

We could all use more practice. And with that nakiri I don't think you can blame the blade

[Chris Hennes]

Nope, no blaming the tool here. It's ALL end-user error.

[mkayahara]

Knife skills aside, I'm sure you'll find plenty of uses for a $20 Benriner!

[vice]

I'm starting in on the Braised Short Ribs from volume five: today I put the flank steak in its marinade, and I just started the garlic chips. Here's the flank in its marinade (of soy sauce and fish sauce):

Can we actually go back a few steps here -- flank steak somehow works its way into braised short ribs?

[KennethT]

Knife skills aside, I'm sure you'll find plenty of uses for a $20 Benriner!

My thoughts exactly. I bought it years ago and it has certainly paid for itself many times over. I'm sure you'll find other uses for it other than the odd garnish here and there.