Heat Flashcards
1
Q
How to get desired results from heat
A
Know the results you seek, then work backwards to figure out the necessary steps.
2
Q
Food is primarily made up of four basic types of molecules:
A
Water, fat, carbohydrates, and protein
3
Q
The science of heat
A
Heat causes chemical reactions that affect the flavor and texture of food. Heat reacts with water, fat, carbohydrates, and protein molecules in different ways.
4
Q
Freezer burn and dehydration
A
The result of the food’s cell walls bursting as the water they contain expands and then crystallizes or vaporizes on the surface of the food.
5
Q
Water content and heat
A
Cook most of the water out of a food, and it will become crisp or dry. Cook water into starches, and they will be tender. Vegetables that lose water become limp.
6
Q
Steam
A
As long as food is wet and giving off steam, its surface temperature isn’t hot enough to allow browning to begin. Contain and recycle steam with a lid to allow food to cook in a moist environment if you want to prevent or delay browning. Steam replaces some of the air in vegetables with water.
7
Q
sweating
A
A way to cook food through with steam without allowing it to develop any color, trapped steam maintaining the temperature right around 212°.
8
Q
Steam and cooking vessels
A
Pans with sloped or curved sides are better at allowing steam to escape than pans with straight sides. The taller the sides of the pan or pot, the long it takes steam to escape.
9
Q
Salt and steam
A
Let salt help, drawing water out of the food (sweating onions) it touches, to create steam when desired. When the goal is to brown swiftly, wait to salt food until after it begins to crisp. Or salt far enough in advance to let osmosis occur, pat the food (eggplant, zucchini) dry, and then place into the hot pan.
10
Q
carbohydrates and heat
A
When heated, carbohydrates generally absorb water and break down. Cellulose (the fourth type of carb after sugar, pectin, starch) isn’t broken down by heat, so cellulose-rich produce (fibrous, stringy), like collard greens etc. should be cooked until they absorb enough water to become tender.
11
Q
Starches
A
A type of carbohydrate, starches absorb liquid and break down. Legumes and grains and seeds need water and to be cooked until tender. Too little water and they are dry, crumbly, or tough. Overcooked are mushy. Starches are eager to brown and burn easily.
12
Q
Sugar and heat
A
When exposed to heat, sugar melts. Hot sugar confectionaries require specific temperatures. Sugars in vegetables start to disappear after they’re picked, so the fresher the sweeter.
13
Q
Potatoes, sugars, and starches
A
At their sweetest when first harvested, freshly dug potatoes are so full of sugar that if fried, they’ll burn before they cook through. When making potato chips or fries, use starchy, older potatoes and rinse them of extra starch until the water runs clear.
14
Q
carmelization
A
At extremely high temperatures, sugar molecules darken in color, and decompose and reorganize into hundreds of new compounds, making abundant new flavors. Besides acidic flavor compounds, they make bitter, fruity, caramel, nutty, sherry, and butterscotch. This can happen in vegetables too.
15
Q
cellulose and heat
A
Cellulose in a vegetable or fruit is what gives it fibrous or string texture. This isn’t broken down by heat alone, but needs to absorb enough water to become tender. Leaves have less cellulose fibers than stems or stalks.
16
Q
Tubers
A
Potatoes, yams, Jerusalem artichokes are starches
17
Q
Bulbs
A
Onions, shallots, and garlic are sugars
18
Q
roots
A
Sweet potatoes, rutabaga, turnips, radishes, carrots, celery root, beets, and parsnips are starches and sugars
19
Q
Leaves
A
Salad and cooking greens, pea shoots are cellulose (and sugars when fresh)
20
Q
seeds
A
Fresh and dried beans, grains (whole and milled), nuts, peas, corn, cornmeal, grits, hominy, quinoa are starches and cellulose
21
Q
Fruits
A
Zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, winter squash are sugars
22
Q
Flowers
A
Artichokes, broccoli, squash blossoms, cauliflower are cellulose (and sugars when very fresh)
23
Q
Pods
A
Okra, snap peas are cellulose (and sugars when very fresh)
24
Q
Pectin sources
A
Pectin (carbohydrate, a kind of indigestible fiber) is found primarily in the seeds and peels of citrus fruits, stone fruits, and apples.
25
Pectin and heat
Pectin functions as a gelling agent when combined with sugar and acid and exposed to heat. It makes possible fruit preserves and fruit pastes.
26
Heat and collagen
Collagen is the main structural protein found in animal connective tissue. Sustained low heat changes it into gelatin, especially with the help of acid, water.
27
The Maillard reaction
Heat's most significant contribution to flavor, when proteins are heated in the presence of carbohydrates. This browning creates new and complex flavors.
28
Carryover
Continue cooking that results from residual heat trapped within a food. Proteins are particularly susceptible to this
29
Ingredient temperature
Cold or room temperature makes a huge difference in how something (meat, eggs, dairy) cooks. Always let meat come to room temperature before cooking to cook faster and be less likely to overcook. This temperature difference can matter more than the oven temperature
30
Volatile aromatic molecules
Most aromatic and they evaporate into the surrounding air, smelling and tasting more compelling. More powerful when warm
31
Warm food flavors
Sweet, bitter, umami are more intense when food is warmer: good for cheese and tomato, bad for beer
32
Optimal food temperature for eating
Most food should be better warm or room temperature than hot; excessive heat burning taste buds or making it harder to distinguish the taste
33
smoke
Most of its flavor is in its aroma, and is make up of gases, water vapor, and small particles resulting from a combustion. In food, smoke is a by-product of burning wood.
34
What food absorbs from smoke
It absorbs the aromatic compounds similar to vanilla and cloves, and sweet, fruity, caramel, flowery, and bread flavor compounds caused by the chemical reactions caused by burning wood.
35
primary decision regarding heat
Whether to cook food slowly over gentle heat, or quickly over intense heat. The easiest way to determine this is to consider tenderness; already tender food should be cooked as little as possible, food that needs to be made tender benefits from longer, more gentle cooking. Sometimes these cooking methods must be combined (browning and simmering meats, reverse for potatoes), to get browned outside and tender interior
36
Cooking in the oven
The oven is the most imprecise heat source, fluctuating wildly. Pay attention to how the food is cooking to judge timing and doneness, and think of temperatures and cooking times as strong suggestions, not fixed rules, always check before the recipe says it should be done.
37
aim of cooking with gentle heat
tenderness: to allow delicate foods (eggs, dairy, fish/shellfish) to retain their moisture and delicate texture, and to transform the dry and tough into the moist and tender. Is combined with intense heating methods for tough meats and starchy foods
38
aim of cooking with intense heat
(except for boiling) is to brown food: when applied to tender meats, this leads to brown surfaces and moist, juicy interiors. Is combined with intense heating methods for tough meats and starchy foods
39
gentle cooking methods list
simmer/coddling/poaching
steaming
stewing and braising
confit
sweating
Bain-marie
low-heat baking and dehydrating
slow-roasting, grilling, and smoking
40
intense cooking methods list
blanching, boiling, reducing
sautéing, pan-frying, shallow/deep frying
searing
grilling and broiling
high-heat baking
toasting
roasting
41
Boiling
cooking food through at a roiling boil is the exception rather than the rule. It is called for only when cooking vegetables, grains, and pasta; reducing sauces; hard-cooking eggs. Basically everything else can be brought to a boil and then simmered to cook through.
42
simmering
it is gentler than boiling water and won't make delicate foods fall apart or agitate tougher foods so that their exterior surface overcooks before cooking through completely. Anywhere between 180-205° and should look like a just poured glass of beer or champagne.
43
heating sauces
Tomato sauce, curry, milk gravy, and mole sauce should be boiled and then simmered to cook through.
44
heating dairy sauces
In general, keep sauces containing fresh milk at a simmer because some of the proteins can curdle about 180,° although milk sauces with flour are an exception to this rule, the flour interfering with coagulation. Sauces made from cream contain little to no protein and avoid this risk. However, the sugars in milk and cream are eager to scorch, to after the sauce has come to a boil, reduce to a simmer and stir frequently.
45
simmering meat
Simmer cuts of meat with lots of connective tissue, such as chicken thighs, brisket, and pork shoulder, as the water and gentle heat with transform collagen into gelatin over time without drying out the exterior. For most floor, place in boiling, salted water, then turn it down to a simmer. For tasty meat and broth, start with simmering water, and add a few aromatics.
46
Simmering starches
Starchy carbs have their tough skins rattled by a simmer, encouraging water to flow inside. Simmer potatoes, beans, rice, and grains until they’ve absorbed enough water (or flavorful stock) to be tender.
47
Pasta simmering trick
Take the noodles from the boiling water a minute or two early and let them finish cooking in a pan of simmering sauce, absorbing flavor and releasing starches which thicken the sauce
48
coddling and poaching
The water for poaching and coddling should look like a glass of champagne the next morning. This is perfect for delicate proteins: eggs, fish, shellfish, and tender meats. Coddling is more egg-specific and requires a container, unlike poaching, where the food is in the water.
49
bain-marie
A water bath, which expands the narrow margin of error for cooking curds, custards, bread puddings, soufflés, and other delicate tasks such a melting chocolate.
50
Bains-marie in the oven
Generally used to regulate heat; even if the oven temperature is at 350°, the temperature of the bath won't exceed water's boiling point of 212°. Be sure to keep carryover of residual heat in mind when cooking this way.
51
how to bake in a Bain-marie
Boil water, put a wire rack in a roasting pan and put the ramekins/cake pan onto and then fill them with custard. Place in oven and pour in enough boiling water to 1/3 up the sides of the custards. Then bake until they jiggle faintly.
52
stovetop bain-marie
For gentle heat on the stove it is heated by steam rather than hot water. Simple place a large bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. This will gentle heat eggs and dairy to room temperature for use in baking, to melt chocolate, and to make certain sauces that contain egg. Can also be used to keep foods warm before serving.
53
braise v stew
braises involve larger pieces of meat, often on the bone, and minimal cooking liquid; stews are made with smaller pieces of meat cooked with chunky vegetables, typically served together in plentiful cooking liquid
54
braise basics
brown the meat, create an aromatic base and brown vegetables, then deglaze meat and place on the vegetable base, then add the deglazing liquid and more water to come up 1/3-1/2 up the meat. Cover and boil, then simmer until the meat falls off the bone or is fork-tender. Strain the cooking liquid, pulse solids for thicker sauce. A day of rest adds flavor.
55
blanching
is boiling by another name. Water must be kept at a rolling boil, so use twice as much as you think you need
56
boiling vegetables
boil them long enough to let heat degrade their internal cell walls and release their sugars, and so that their starches can concert to sugars, developing sweetness, but not to long that their vibrant colors begin to fade or they become mushy.
57
simple boiled vegetables
boil everyday vegetables like turnips, potatoes, carrots, and broccoli and dress them with good olive oil and flakey salt
58
How to know when to pull a vegetables from the blanching water
You have to taste it, and be sure to have everything ready to remove the veggies from the water before putting them into the water in the first place
59
Blanching and ___
to save time, blanch a vegetable and then combine that later with other cooking methods; blanch collards, squeeze them dry, chop them up, and sauté. Partially blanch denser veggies like cauliflower, carrots, and keep on hand for later in the week.
60
Boiling whole grains
Boil barley, rice, farro, and quinoa by boiling like pasta, until they are completely tender. Drain and serve as a side dish or spread and let cool, the drizzle with olive oil and add to soups, grain salads, or for storage.
61
Reducing
To intensify the flavor and thicken the texture of sauces, stocks, and soups by leaving them at a continuous boil. The seasonings won’t evaporate with the water so take care to avoid oversalting/overseasoning
62
To speed up reduction
Use a wider, shallower pan, or into multiple pans. This can also help avoid the time spent reducing from changing the flavors too much
63
steaming oven temperature
To steam a food in the oven, it requires a temperature of at least 450° (the temperature within the vessel will remain below 212° due to recycling water vapor.
64
steaming and flavor
this cooking techniques efficiently cooks food while preserving clarity of flavor
65
steamy sauté
Good for cooking dense vegetables like fennel or carrots: simmer vegetables in water, salt, aromatics and cooking fat until tender with lid ajar. Then pour out excess water and brown.
66
cartoccio (it) or papillote (fr)
A parchment-paper package of fish, vegetables, mushrooms, or fruit, which has been steamed.
67
Confit
Foods cooked slowly in fat at temperatures low enough to avoid browning. Famous for duck legs cooked in rendered duck fat. Can also be done with other meats and vegetables. Stores for a long time.
68
Sweating
A gentle way of cooking vegetables in minimal fat until they are tender and translucent, without resulting in browning.
69
Mirepoix
The aromatic combination of onions, carrots, and celery at the root of all French cooking. Is usually sweated
70
Single vegetable soups (English pea, carrot, corn)
Sweet onions, add the vegetable. Cover with water, season with salt, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, remove from heat the moment the vegetables are cooked, chill put in ice bath, and purée and serve with a garnish.
71
Stirrring and heat
Stirring tends to dissipate heat, so stir regularly when you want to prevent foods from browning, and with a wooden spoon, which of strong and soft
72
To keep temperatures in the sweat zone
Watch the Pan closely. Add salt to draw water out of the vegetables, use a pan or pot with real sides to discourage steam from escaping, and use a lid if needed. Add a splash of water if you sense a brown spot starting to form
73
frying
for deep, shallow, pan, stir, or pan frying, the concept is the same: preheat the pan and fat long enough so that food immediately begins to brown once it's added, but regulate the temperature so that the food cooks through at the same rate its surface browns. Don't overcrowd the pan.
74
proteins and browning
Proteins will stick to the pan as they begin to cook. Leave fish, chicken, and meat for a few minutes and once they begin to brown they will release from the pan.
75
sauté
from the French word "jump" and refers to using your wrist to flip food in the pan without a spatula. Sauté small foods that will cook through at the same speed their surfaces will brown
76
sautéing and fat
Use minimal fat, just enough to barely coat the bottom of the pan
77
to pan fry
use enough fat to generously clover the bottom of the pan (1/4 inch), and pan fry larger foods at a slightly lower heat than when sautéing because it takes longer to cook through. Do this with fish filets, steaks, porch chops, fried chicken.
78
shallow and deep frying
Both ideal for cooking starchy vegetables or battered/breaded foods, and the methods are nearly identical.
79
oil temperature and frying
Both shallow/deep frying call for 365° oil (except for chicken thighs, when the temperature should drop down to 325° after they've developed crust). The temperature of the oil should be just past the idea zone before adding the food, which will cause the temperature to drop. Make sure the pot isn't overpacked, the foods aren't touching and there is a single layer, or they'll get soggy.
80
searing
When a blazing hot cooking surface is used for the purpose more of browning than cooking. It can be penetrating enough to cook tender cuts of meat and fish, or can be used to brown the exterior of something before cooking through at gentle heat.
81
number one rule of grilling
Never cook directly over the flames, which leave soot, unpleasant flavors, and carcinogens on food. Cook over smoldering coals and embers.
82
Charcoal
Burns more slowly yet hotter than wood, and lump charcoal lends a delicious smoky flavor.
83
gas v fire grills
gas grills don't led smokiness to food and, since gas doesn't burn as hot as wood or charcoal, can't achieve the blazing-hot temperatures of live fires, so they aren't able to brown food as quickly or efficiently.
84
hard woods v soft woods and grilling
hard woods (almond, oak) catch fire quickly and burn slowly, so good for sustained heat. Fruit woods (grapevines, fig, apple, cherry) burn hot and fast and are great for quickly reaching browning temperatures. Soft woods leave bad flavors (no pine, spruce, or fir).
85
direct heat and grilling
Use direct heat over hottest coal beds for the littles, most tender foods. Use cooler zones for cooking meats on the bone, larger cuts, chickens, sausages and fatty meats that cause flare-ups.
86
indirect heat and grilling
Slow, gentle grilling also known as barbecue, and for smoking meat. The grill is essentially turned into an oven and kept between 200-300°.
87
broiling
upside-down, indoor grilling. They can get even hotter than a typical grill and the food is closer to the heat. Also used to brown.
88
tender meats and rest
It allows carryover to occur and allows the proteins a chance to relax. It retains water better, making it juicer.
89
direction to cut meat
Cut meat against the grain, to shorten the fibers and make it more tender.
90
oven spring
the initial increase in the volume of a baking dough because of water vaporizing into steam in the hot oven (high heat: 425° and up). This initial rise is generally the most substantial in the baking cycle.
91
oven temperature categories
low: 175°-275°
medium-low: 275°-350°
medium-high: 350°-425°
high: 425° and up
92
350° in oven
the middle C of baking. Hot enough to encourage browning but gentle enough to allow most food to cook through.
93
low temperatures in oven
175°-275°
Offer enough heat to leaven and dry out meringues but are also gentle enough to prevent browning
94
medium-low temperatures in oven
275°-350°
Most baked goods (cakes, cookies, brownies, pies and biscuits) prosper with the delicate heat. Proteins set, doughs and batters dry out (but not too much) and gentle browning ensues. Chewier and lighter gold than hotter temperature cooking.
95
medium-high temperatures in oven
350°-425°
Lead to browning. Cook savory dishes through at medium-low temperatures, then crank them up to medium-high to develop golden-brown tops on gratins, lasagna, pot pies, and casseroles.
96
high temperatures in oven
425° and up
Lead to rapid, though sometimes uneven, browning. Use high temperatures when achieving structure quickly is important, as it is for cream puffs and flaky crusts, and oven spring.
97
dehydrating
is baking at the lowest possible temperatures, to remove water from food without reaching browning temperatures.
98
toasting
350° to 450°
For thin slices of bread for toppings, toast at 350° to avoid drying them out.
Thicker slices can be toasted at high heat (up to 450°)
Going much higher risks imprecision and burning, so go lower to get the luxury of time.
99
Slow-roasting, grilling, smoking
200-300 degrees
Meats and fish that are rich in fat can be cooking slowly in the oven or on the grill at very low temperatures so that their own fats render and moisten them from within.
100
Difference between roasting and toasting
Roasting implies browning on the surface of a food while roasting also cooks food through. Originally, roasting referred to cooking meat on a spot above or beside the fire; what we know as roasting today -cooking meat in a dry, hot oven- used to be called baking until 200 years ago.
101
Radiant heat
Is emitted by the heating element in the oven and dries out exposed food as it cooks them, leading to crisp dry skin on chicken.
102
Convection oven
One or two fans consistently circulate hot air so food browns, dries out, and cooks more quickly than in a conventional oven. When using convection reduce the temperature by 25 degrees or monitor with extra vigilance.
103
conduction
The surface of any food touching hot metal, the principle at work in stovetop frying. Food cooking on a pan in the oven will cook with radiant heat and conduction creating an uneven result, unless cooked on a wire rack or flipped and moved.
104
oven browning
This gains momentum, so start food that must brown quickly at high temperatures and then turn the oven down as browning begins to prevent overcooking. If browning happens too quickly, turn down the temperature, loosely cover the dish with foil, and move the rack away from the heating element.
105
Roasting vegetables
Make 400° the default temp, but change it as needed. Don't pack things too closely, or they'll steam and get soggy. For even browning, leave space and stir, rotate, and change racks. Don't combine vastly different vegetable types on the same tray; they won't cook evenly.
106
Roasting meat types
Well-marbled, tender cuts of meat such as prime rib and portion loin are ideal for roasting because they’re juice enough to stand up to the fry heat of the oven.
107
Roasting meat types
Well-marbled, tender cuts of meat such as prime rib and portion loin are ideal for roasting because they’re juice enough to stand up to the fry heat of the oven.
108
Roasting meat temperatures
Start room-temperature roasts in a hot oven (400 to 425 degrees) and then gradually decrease the temperature in 25 degree installments after browning commences, until done. Going to hot will cause rendering fat to smoke (after rendering, cook meat at temperatures below 375, the common smoke point)
109
Layering heat
Using more than one type of heat to get the needed results. Break the cooking process into chunks so you can finish cooking delicate things at the time of serving (preventing overcooking). Slow cooked foods can be reheated. Layering cooking can also get tasty contrasts: crispy and tender.
110
sputter
sizzling that has lowed and become more pronounced and aggressive, a sign that there could be too much fat present and needs to get taken out of the pan
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