CONCEPT 13: SALTY MARINADES WORK BEST Flashcards
What ingredient in marinades turns a tough cut tender?
Salt
What is a marinade?
Seasoned, traditionally acidic liquid in which we soak meat before and sometimes after cooking.
The effectiveness of a marinade relies on what ingredient?
Salt
As in a brine, salt in a marinade affects meat in what four ways?
Restructures proteins molecules in meat, creating gaps that fill with water to increase juiciness, as well as loosening the bundles of muscle fibers, making them more tender and easier to bite through and chew. In addition, the salt dissolves some muscle proteins, which act like a sponge to soak up and hold moisture within the gaps. Salt also enhances the meat, enhancing inherent flavors. Finally, osomosis causes water to move across cell walls from areas with a lower concentration of dissolved substances (marinade) to higher (the meat).
So much salt is used in a proper marinade that you could call it what?
A brinerade.
Along with salt, why is it important to use ample amounts of potent flavors in a marinade?
In a marinade, the salt will bind to the muscle proteins in meat, increasing the electrical charge of these protein and making them less attractive to electrically neutral flavor molecules. So whatever flavors do enter the meat, we want them to pack a punch.
Are most flavor molecules in herbs and spices fat or water-soluble?
Fat-soluble
For a marinade, why is it important to know that most herbs and spices are fat soluble?
The water in meat repels fat-soluble flavors. This means that there is very little flavor contribution from herbs and spices in marinades except on the surface of meat, and we must use as many water-soluble flavors as possible.
Name two foods whose characteristic flavor compounds are water-soluble.
Onions and garlic.
What flavor “potentiators” are available for marinades?
Water-soluble glutamates, like those found in soy sauce, enter meat in a fashion similar to salt.
Are glutamates a salt?
Although categorized as salt, glutamates are not the same as sodium chloride and, therefore, play no role in holding moisture; glutamates provide umami flavor only.
Is sodium chloride present in soy sauce?
Yes
What is the benefit of oil in a marinade?
It dissolves some of the fat-soluble flavors and helps them to cling to the meat’s surface and even penetrate exposed fat.
What notable ingredient should you leave out of a marinade?
Acid
What do acids do to meat?
Commonly thought to tenderize, acids make meat mushy.
Why don’t acids work in marinades?
To tenderize meat, you need to break down muscle fiber and collagen, the connective tissue that make meat tough, thus increasing the meat’s ability to retain moisture and become easier to chew.
Ingredient such as citrus juice, vinegar, yogurt, buttermilk and wine do what to meat?
They weaken muscle tissue but their impact is confined to the meat’s surface. And, if left too long, will turn the outer layer mushy, not tender.
TEST KITCHEN: THE SHORT JOURNEY OF A MARINADE
Different marinades based with soy, yogurt, red wine, and lemon/garlic were all made without added salt. A majority of tasters found little to no difference among various chicken breasts. However, most tasters found the soy to be juicier than other samples. The chicken, however, didn’t absorb any of the dark-colored flavor compounds deeper than a few millimeters.
What is the “salting out” effect?
A high concentration of salt forces even water-soluble out of the water into the oil. The oil in that mix distribute those flavors evenly over the flesh (not just parts in direct contact with the WSFC, garlic in this case).
What is a trivet?
Object placed between a serving dish or bowl, and a dining table, usually to protect the table from heat or water damage.
Quick marinade for 1 pound of shrimp using oil, garlic and sat.
2 minced garlic cloves, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt for 30 minutes at room temp.
Why do chiles have a distinct advantage in pastes and rubs?
The principal oil-soluble pungent flavor compounds in chiles are not as volatile as those in herbs and spices, so they evaporate less quickly from the surface of hot meat and seafood.
Best way to cook shrimp in a skillet.
Low and slow guarantees tender, well-cooked shrimp.
Why does cooking shrimp low and slow in a skillet work so well?
You can cook the shrimp in a single layer, only flipping them once. Higher heat would make it almost impossible to cook a single layer of shrimp without some of them becoming too tough. It also helps keep more volatile flavor compounds stay on the shrimp rather than evaporate in the air.
What besides salt, what is another important component in marinades?
Oil
Why would omitting oil from a salt and garlic marinade reduce flavor?
Oil protects and stabilizes allicin, which quickly degrades into less flavorful compounds when exposed to air. Once in oil, allicin dissolves and is protected from air. Oil also coats the product and spreads flavor evenly.
What is allicin?
The compound in garlic responsible for its flavor.
How is allicin produced?
When garlic is cut or crushed.
Why is allicin so unique with regards to marinading?
It is one of those unique small molecules that is soluble in both oil and water. Therefore, allowing it to migrate into a meat along with water from the marinade.
What is meat immersed in when marinading?
Solution of water, flavor compounds, fat and salt.
What are two more names for broad bean chili paste?
Chili bean sauce and horse bean chili paste.
In sichuan peppercorns, what provides the aromatic, gently-floral fragrance and notable numbing effect on the tongue?
The husk
Explain the steps for cooking a simple long-grained white rice.
Cook rice in small amount of fat until chalky and opaque, 1 to 3 minutes. Add water and salt, bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cover until liquid evaporates.
Is it better to use a skillet or wok on a Western stove? Why?
The wok is traditionally shaped with a conical bottom designed for pit-style stoves where flames come in contact with both sides and bottom of the pan. When a wok is placed on a Western stove, heat does not reach the sides. A skillet comes in contact with more of the heat allowing it to grow very hot; more heat means increased evaporation.
When making stir-fry why do you add shrimp in at a different time than pork, beff or chicken?
The different muscle structure of shrimp requires cooking to an internal temperature about 20 degrees less than meat to avoid overcooking.
What is better for stir-fry shrimp, a heavily soy-based sauce or sweeter, spicier sauces flavored with garlic and chiles?
Sweeter of spicier sauces with garlic and chiles are better suited and reduce to a consistency that tightly adheres to the shellfish.
Explain the different steps when making a beef stir-fry and a shrimp stir-fry.
Traditionally, meat is cooked first to create a nice caramelization and removed until the end. With shrimp, you cooked the vegetables first and remove them before adding the shrimp. This ensures your shrimp aren’t overcooked.
