Archive for July, 2006

I saw an amusing article on CNN today. It seems that scientists in the U.K. have been working on a way to help people cook the perfect boiled egg. It is still in development, but the intent is to use heat sensitive ink that will appear when the egg has reached the perfect desired... »

There is a lot to be said for Italian cooking, not the least of which is that it never overcomplicates the ingredients. If French cooking is about elaborate food, then Italian is about simplicity. But never does that simplicity result in anything bland; quite the opposite, it actually celebrates the very ingredients it uses. Take... »

The technique of Breading is used to coat foods that are to be cooked afterwards by frying or baking. Breading adds three wonderful aspects to our food. First, it creates an additional crispy texture that may not already exist in the item being breaded. Second, it creates a barrier to prevent moisture from escaping,... »

In my previous article about enhancing flavor, I wrote about carmelization, a technique in which we change the food we are cooking to make it taste different. In this article, I will write about the use of Flavor Carriers. A Flavor Carrier is a substance, usually a liquid, that is capable of dissolving molecules... »

The kids went out with their Mom yesterday for a day out on the town. Their plan had been to go to an amusement park and go on some rides, so imagine my surprise when they came home and exclaimed, “we caught dinner!” It seems that there was a trout fishing lake there, and all... »

Welcome to my first post in a series dedicated to Enhancing Flavors. In this series, I will write each article about one technique that will help you maximize the flavors in your cooking. Each article will explain what the technique is, why it works, and will give some examples of how to use it.... »

I can still remember when my mother first introduced me to the culinary delight that is basil. Her garden had a generous amount of it, and it was easy to smell it even though it was sharing space with chives, mint, sage and other herbs. She pulled off a few leaves, and gave me... »

A White Sauce is something that every aspiring cook should know how to make, because it is the starting point of so many good things: a good cheese sauce; cream soups; white gravy; bechamel sauce — the list goes on. After I explain how to make the basic white sauce, I will go on to explain... »

Every culture has some form of soup, usually many, and for good reason: soup is good food! Soup, however, is not just a bunch of ingredients thrown together in a pot with water and heated through. Soup must be built from the ground up, with flavor upon flavor added until it becomes heaven in... »

It has been said many times in many ways. “You are what you eat”. “Variety is the spice of life”. “Man does not live by bread alone.” They all sum up my philosophy of food, which is that Food is Life. Of all the things we do that are necessary for survival, none are... »