kitchen skills
Science Meets Art BY JASON ROSS Culinary Instructor Le Cordon Bleu, Minnesota
M
6 real food spring 2014
TRICKS of the TRADE: Whipping egg whites. • Clean the bowl and whisk well before use. • Ensure the egg whites are “clean,” containing no bits of broken yolks. Fat will disrupt the egg whites from whipping and forming a fluffy white mixture. • Do not over-whip the egg whites, as this will cause the “foam” to break and liquid will seep out on the bottom. Once the whites form a soft peak when pulled from the whisk, stop. Folding. Folding combines light mixtures with heavy mixtures without collapsing the lighter mixture. • First, thin out the heavy mixture with about ¹⁄3 of the lighter mixture, mixing freely. • Next, add the rest of the light mixture and begin folding. With a rubber spatula, cut down to the bottom of the bowl. Run the spatula along the bottom of the bowl, scraping the mixture up the side of the bowl (the spatula edge should stay pressed against the bowl as you fold). Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until mixtures are incorporated.
PHOTOS BY TERRY BRENNAN; FOOD STYLED BY LARA MIKLASEVICS
any cooks play willy-nilly with recipes, creating as they go. Pastries cooks, however, more alchemist than artist, stick to the rules and follow recipes as written. That’s the general belief at least. While rules of weights and measures hold up for the pastry cook 95 percent of the time, there are exceptions. There are desserts where pastry cooks should feel free to change things up, mixing and matching as they please. As scary as they may sound, soufflés actually have wide latitude and can be easily adapted to whatever happens to be in the refrigerator. A successful soufflé, all puffed up, crunchy on the top, and meltingly soft inside, has more to do with an eye for good consistency and touch than accurate weights or adherence to recipes. Soufflés have two basics parts. Something flavorful forms the first part, the base: melted chocolate, fruit sauces or jams, nut butters, or coffee extracts, thickened with a few egg yolks. The second part, whipped egg whites, lightens the base and makes the magic that drives the soufflé up and over the rim of the dish as it cooks, forming the signature brown, crisped crown. The ratios and amounts of the two parts can vary and still hold a reasonably stable soufflé. For every 4 egg whites, use roughly 1 tablespoon sugar. Adjust the amounts to vary the thickness of the soufflé’s rising power or level of eggy-ness. Once you get the hang of folding whipped whites into a base, throwing together a quick soufflé can be as easy as poking your head into the refrigerator for a few eggs and mixing up whatever you happen to have on hand.