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Clear coulis'


aussiebarracuda

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Hey guys, wanna have a play around with some clear coulis...lemon thyme in particular.... want the consistancy to come out similar to what mirror glaze is..... have never really come across any recipes for something like this... anyone have any??

Cheers in advance,

Pete

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thats not a coulis though.  Isn't a coulis suppose to be simple processed fruit pulp with added simple syrup?

Coulis is one of several interchangeable pastry terms. To me it implies nothing but a clear sauce.

I think powdered agar is the best way to go. Cornstarch tastes...like cornstarch, and gums are slimy even in small doses.

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thats not a coulis though.  Isn't a coulis suppose to be simple processed fruit pulp with added simple syrup?

Coulis is one of several interchangeable pastry terms. To me it implies nothing but a clear sauce.

I think powdered agar is the best way to go. Cornstarch tastes...like cornstarch, and gums are slimy even in small doses.

Wait what? coulis clear? never heard of it, not once. Is it possible the coulis you tried was the creative use of the term ie. "coulis"? huh, perhaps I'm about to learn something new :smile:

does this come in pork?

My name's Emma Feigenbaum.

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thats not a coulis though.  Isn't a coulis suppose to be simple processed fruit pulp with added simple syrup?

Coulis is one of several interchangeable pastry terms. To me it implies nothing but a clear sauce.

I think powdered agar is the best way to go. Cornstarch tastes...like cornstarch, and gums are slimy even in small doses.

Wait what? coulis clear? never heard of it, not once. Is it possible the coulis you tried was the creative use of the term ie. "coulis"? huh, perhaps I'm about to learn something new :smile:

Same here. I've always thought of it as a fruit sauce, but it is also commonly used to mean "sauce" in general. I didn't know anyone used it to mean a clear sauce specifically.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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I don't know why I said "clear" either. It must have stuck in my brain from the thread title.

I think in todays landscape you could call anything dairyless a coulis, like basil coulis etc. Not necesarilly even fruit based.

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There are plenty of words out there for sauces. Use them properly.

I know I am sounding like a jerk when I say it, but coulis is not an interchangeable word. Too me its the same as calling a "hollandaise with white wine and shallots" a "Buerre Blanc". Its not a Buerre Blanc, its a hollandaise with white wine and shallots.

Why even say coulis at all, just put -Lemon Thyme- on the menu description, nothing else. I mean, what is it just sugar, water and herbs? then it would be a syrup. What else is going into it, everything has a name.

Edited by chiantiglace (log)

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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You could always try blending up some fruit into a puree, freeze it into a solid block, put it into a cheesecloth lined strainer and let it defrost and drip through.

Mix in some simple syrup to taste.

Kind of like what Vadouvan did with his cucumber/melon soup here.

I assume the same principle would work for fruit.

John Deragon

foodblog 1 / 2

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I feel sorry for people that don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day -- Dean Martin

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There are plenty of words out there for sauces.  Use them properly.

I know I am sounding like a jerk when I say it, but coulis is not an interchangeable word.  Too me its the same as calling a "hollandaise with white wine and shallots" a "Buerre Blanc".  Its not a Buerre Blanc, its a hollandaise with white wine and shallots.

Now I'm sure you're channeling Chef Andreini*-- one of his pet peeves is exactly what you describe.

Coulis can be a fruit or a vegetable, pureed, and strained. And I'd also thicken with agar-agar.

(*) one of our teachers who swears he'll write a book on the subject ...

"Oh, tuna. Tuna, tuna, tuna." -Andy Bernard, The Office
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what about using an apple jelly as a cooked fruit coulis -

1kg apples (something sharp-tasting but not a cooking apple such as a Bramley. you want the flesh to stay firm after cooking) , chopped into 1cm dice without peeling or coring, cover with 1 litre water, bring to the boil in a non-reactive (not aluminium) pan and simmer for 15 minutes until the fruit is very soft but still in defined pieces. Line a strainer with muslin and pour the apple and cooking liquid through it. Don't press it but just leave it undisturbed for 1 - 2 hours. Return the strained liquid to the pan and boil until reduced by half. Add 500g sugar and boil until the setting point is reached (a tsp of the liquid on a plate left for 5 minutes should feel like jelly when pushed with a finger, probably after 10 - 15 minutes boiling), skimming is lightly towards the end of the cooking time.

Then, dilute it just a tiny bit and spoon it over whatever. I'm making some at the moment so the recipe is on my mind.

regards

Dan

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Yea but then you dont have a coulis any more, you have a berry flavored syrup.

The whole point of the "coulis" is the fruit pulp.  Am I wrong?

Yes, I think so.

I did a Google define:coulis search. It returned 10 results. Of those that seem relevant here, several of them specifically have the word sieved or strained in the definition. So yes, I would say that strained sweetened fruit puree is still a coulis, and would not cease to be a coulis by virtue of being strained (which doesn't remove all the pulp anyway, just the fraction that is too large to fit through the pore spaces). I also don't think it matters whether your puree, strained or not strained, is sweetened with simply syrup or with sugar. I certainly would consider a sauce made by cooking, pureeing, and straining raspberries, and sweetened with simple syrup, to be a coulis.

Edited by Patrick S (log)

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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Hi Pete,

Just checked the apple jelly this morning (I find that fruit jellies need to be left overnight before you can judge the setting quality of the fruit accurately). Extraordinary toffee apple flavour. Here is the apple jelly, just spooned onto the plate and then just stirred and dragged across with a spoon. It should work very well with the lemon and thyme flavour you want:

_MG_1461.jpg_MG_1460.jpg

regards

Dan

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Hi Pete,

Just checked the apple jelly this morning (I find that fruit jellies need to be left overnight before you can judge the setting quality of the fruit accurately). Extraordinary toffee apple flavour. Here is the apple jelly, just spooned onto the plate and then just stirred and dragged across with a spoon. It should work very well with the lemon and thyme flavour you want:

_MG_1461.jpg_MG_1460.jpg

regards

Dan

Dan

does the apple jelly work beceause it is essentially pure pectin, reduced and sweetened? I guess you could flavor it with anything then, right?

Dave

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Dave,

Absolutely. It's just the pectin in the apples that holds it together. Look for slightly under-ripe sharp tasting apples as they will contain more pectin than sweet ripe ones.

Anthony, it looked as beautiful as that on the plate. Helped by a little morning sunshine.

Dan

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