10 Questions
What is the purpose of rotating the food every 6 to 10 hours when cooking with sous vide?
To ensure even cooking and prevent overcooking
Why might you need to use a plate or bowl to weight down sous vide pouches?
Because the air released from the food makes them float
What is the purpose of quickly searing the meat after sous vide cooking?
To add flavor and texture to the meat
What is a common method of finishing sous vide meats?
Pan frying
What is a benefit of grilling as a finishing method?
It adds a smoky flavor and grill marks
What is a common tool used for torching sous vide meats?
Iwatani torch
What is a use of roasting as a finishing method?
To sear the top and sides of sous vide meat
At what temperature is roasting or broiling usually done?
450ºF / 232ºC or under
What is a common method of quickly chilling sous vide meat after cooking?
Placing it in an ice bath
Why is it important to choose the right finishing method for sous vide meat?
Because it determines the flavor and texture of the meat
Study Notes
Fusion Cuisine
- Criticisms of fusion cuisine include its lack of normative structure and respect for tradition.
- Practitioners of fusion cuisine deconstruct and reassemble cuisines, resulting in "new culinary sentences" that are not grammatically correct.
- Fusion cuisine is a haphazard mixing of cultures that lacks respect for tradition.
- The increasing processes of globalization and consumerism make it unlikely that fusion cuisine will disappear soon.
Producing Fusion Dishes
- To produce a fusion dish, one must know each ingredient well to create a good dish.
- Understanding the flavors and complexities of each ingredient is essential to pairing them properly.
- Knowing the best cooking technique for each ingredient is crucial to bring out the best flavor.
- Balancing a dish involves combining flavors and adding a little bit of acid to bring out the flavor.
Modernist Cooking
- Chef Ferran Adria made modern cooking popular in his restaurant, El Bulli.
- El Bulli offers a unique experience of food, with dishes that are innovative and experimental.
- Modernist cooking techniques include:
- Modern Emulsification
- Foams
- Gelatinization
- Low temperature cooking
- Spherification
Foams
- Foams can range from very light (airs) to very dense (mousse-like).
- The density of a foam depends on the texture and wetness of the foam.
- Types of foams include:
- Airs: dry, coarse foams with little liquid
- Dense Foams: thicker, fine, wet foams
- Light Foams: finer and wetter than airs but not as thick as dense foams
- Bubbles: coarse foams with larger bubbles
- Froths: wet, coarse foams
- Set Foams: foams with solidified structure
- Espuma: dense foams created by a whipping siphon and served hot
Stabilizing Foams
- Foams need to be stabilized to last more than a few seconds.
- Stabilizers can be:
- Agar fluid gels (0.25% to 1.0% ratio)
- Gelatin (0.4% to 1.7% ratio)
- Xanthan gum (0.1% to 0.4% ratio)
Gelling
- Gelling is a wide-ranging and important technique in traditional and modern cooking.
- Gelling products can be produced using various techniques and ingredients.
Sous Vide Cooking
- Sous vide cooking involves cooking food in a sealed pouch at a controlled temperature.
- Finishing methods for sous vide dishes include:
- Pan Frying: adding flavors and textures to the meat
- Grilling: adding smoky flavor and grill marks
- Torching: adding a crispy crust to the meat
- Roasting: adding a crispy crust to the meat or searing the top and sides
Critics argue that fusion cuisine lacks normative structure and deconstructs traditional culinary languages, creating 'new culinary sentences' that are not grammatically correct.
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