Category — Food Science

Back in April Popular Science published this article, titled “Bacon: The Other White Heat.” The accompanying video demonstrates how to melt through a steel pan using nothing but cured pork as the energy source. The creator of the “bacon lance,” Theodore Gray, actually used prosciutto, or what he calls “engineering grade bacon,” because it has more structural integrity and dries harder than conventional bacon. Watch the video and be amazed!

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Garrett’s Table is now officially introducing equipment reviews. In a series of posts I’ll highlight interesting equipment that you never knew you couldn’t live without. First up is the brix refractometer.

This relatively simple piece of equipment can very accurately measure the specific sugar content of a liquid. The idea is relatively simple. As a light beam passes through a liquid it is bent. The angle that the light beam is bent depends on a few factors, one of which is sugar content. For every 1% sugar in a solution, the light beam is bent by a specific angle. This angle is measured as 1° brix.

The contraption pictured is essentially a glorified koleidoscope. You place a very small amount of the liquid whose sugar content you want to measure onto the prism. A glass plate then presses the liquid into a very thin membrane over the prism. You then look through the lens. The liquid will bend the light. The bent light reflects onto a calibrated gauge measuring from 0° to 32° brix (demonstrated below). you now know the exact sugar content of your liquid.

I know you’re thinking “this is cool, but is it practical?” The answer is a resounding “absolutely!” Let’s say you want to make a sorbet and, of course since you’re the educated culinarian, you know that, to achieve an ideal texture, your sorbet should have a sugar content between 18 and 20%. Simply place a drop of the sorbet mix on the prism and you can measure it’s sugar content in degrees brix and adjust accordingly. Or let’s say you’re brewing beer. You can measure the sugar content of the beer before fermentation and then after fermentation. Subtract the second measurement from the first and you know how much of the sugar was converted into alcohol, therefore you know the specific alcohol content of the beer. Or, finally, let’s say you’re a sommelier and you want to step up your game and know the specific sugar content of your wines. Well, all you need is your refractometer!

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I’d like to introduce you to a fantastic website, foodpairing.be. Food Pairing is an ever-growing site featuring food pairing “trees” of popular ingredients. The goal is to find new and exciting flavor combinations and understand classic flavor combinations. The food pairing trees are a visual feast and feature a handy synopsis of the major food categories, such as dairy or sweets, that a particular ingredient pairs well with. Here’s a pairing chart for apples:

Click for larger image

Some pairings on this tree are obvious, like pecan and butter. Some are intriguing, like mustard and black tea. These flavor pairing charts are a great starting point to create exciting dishes based on unusual but validated flavor pairings. Stop by Food Pairings and spend a few minutes browsing the flavor trees.

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This is the biggest book I have ever seen. In fact, it doesn’t even fit on my book shelf! At over 500 pages and almost 12 pounds, it certainly is not a casual read.

Heston Blumenthal is the Executive Chef and owner of The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, England. The restaurant was opened in 1995 and is known for unusual dishes like egg and bacon ice cream and snail porridge. In 2005 The Fat Duck was voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine. Blumenthal himself is a rare combination of meticulous craftsman and creative genius. It is clear a few pages into the semi-autobiographical and extensive introduction to The Big Fat Duck Cookbook that he gains extreme pleasure from asking the “whys” and “hows” of cooking and re-writing the culinary rule book. The back of the book contains a detailed index of equipment used at The Fat Duck, including vacuum ovens, refractometers, dessicators, pH testers, and super high pressure cookers. This index also includes musings and studies on topics such as the cooking of potato starches as well as essays by leading experts on how, for example, the tongue and brain decode food and flavor.

Ironically, the recipes in this book are about quality over quantity. The recipes take you from the ala carte portion of the menu through the tasting. Each recipe begins with a stunning, full page photo and is prefaced with a brief introduction to the dishes concept and the creative process Blumenthal used to reach a final product. Scattered between these recipes are eye-catching prints and illustrations. The recipes include “Flaming Sorbet,” “Cinnamon and/or Vanilla Ice Cream,” and “Red Cabbage Gazpacho with Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream.” Each recipe contains meticulous instructions for the preparation of each component and the construction of the final dish. Even if you never attempt a recipe, or even attempt a component of one of the recipes, the photos are exciting to look at and the prefaces a joy to read.

Red Cabbage Gazpacho with Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook contains about everything a cookbook could possibly offer, and it better considering the weight, page number, and price tag. I would highly recommend this book to any dedicated chef wanting to expand their repetoire and their mind. If that’s not you however, Bloomsbury USA recently published a smaller version of the book with a lighter price tag, simply called The Fat Duck Cookbook.

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Some flavor combinations are classic: parsley and lemon, beef and mushrooms, tomatoes and basil. Upon closer inspection, these foods share many of the same flavor and aroma molecules. These mutual molecules explain why the foods pair so well together and why these combinations have stood the test of time.

Today, food and flavor scientists have compiled the Volatile Compounds in Food Database. The VCF is an extensive list of the major volatile aroma and flavor compounds in popular foods and ingredients. Chefs and scientists alike can now use the information from the VCF to predict unusual but delicious new flavor combinations. Who would have thought parsley and bananas taste delicious together? or plum and bleu cheese? These are some new and increasingly popular flavor-pairings discovered because they share multiple aroma and flavor compounds.

Another great combination: Cauliflower and cocoa. The two together create a naturally sweet, savory, and vegetal flavor. This is a soup inspired by the new flavor combination.

The bowl contains crunchy, caramelized cauliflower along with cocoa jelly and a smear of caramelized cauliflower and dark chocolate puree. A velvety cauliflower soup is then poured over garnishes. The soup is very limited in ingredients but rich in flavor.

Cauliflower Soup:

• 1 Tb. unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced (about 50 g)
• 280 g cauliflower florets (about 1/2 head)
• 380 g cauliflower juice* (juice from about 1 head)
• 150 g whole milk (a bit over 1/2 c.)
• Kosher salt and white wine vinegar to taste

Sweat the onions in the melted butter until soft. Add the cauliflower florets and juice. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, until the florets become very tender. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend on high speed for 1 minute. Pass through a fine mesh strainer or a chinois. Add the milk and season to taste.

*If you don’t have a juice you can extract the cauliflower juice by chopping a head of cauliflower into a very loose paste with a food processor. Transfer the paste to a clean dish towel and squeeze out the juice. Discard the dry solids.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.

Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel. Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

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