Cooking Chart
February 13th, 2009This chart that I have come up with has actually been playing in my head for a couple of years now. It really was inspired a few years back when I was reading through an INICON PDF document, “An introduction to technological applications of Molecular Gastronomy” which was posted online. A very important read that really curved my culinary thinking and sight along with 3 other books from 2 different authors.
Taking the basic natural elements of Gas, Liquid and Solid, a table could be formed in which one could study the simple process of dispersion, applied correctly in food preparation.
Eg. Liquid + Gas = (gas dispersed into a liquid) / a thickened solution + nitrous oxide = a foam discharged from a cream siphon.
The possibilities are wide and only limited to tests and the imagination.
I am taking this applied concept and idea with the following table. This comprises multiple cooking processes. When we cook a veal cheek for example, we colour it, then submerge it into a flavoured solution and cooked till it is soft and tender (solid dispersed into a liquid).
Traditionally they say,
1. Colour the meat so it does not give a pale finish. Caramelization.
2. Cook in a stock so it gets a nice flavour.
3. Cook till it gets really soft like butter.
Now to evaluate,
1. This is obviously wrong; as we know that (in this case) to colour a piece of meat is for its flavour as it is released into the solution during the final cooking. The colouring is a result of the Maillard process. Browning has nothing to do with Caramelization. The Maillard process is the chemical reaction of meat turning brown, this occurs at any temperature. (Any increase of 10 degrees doubles the speed of the reaction). If glycine and glucose are dissolved in boiling water it stays clear, then turns a slight yellow and eventually turns brown. And in this conversion the result of colouring meat releases the utmost important odorant, in which we all relate to – “charred flavour” either from a piece of meat or fish etc (compare a white chicken stock to a browned chicken stock). Caramelization has nothing to do with browning. When sucrose is heated it dissociates into simple sugars (fructose residue and glucose residue). The activated fructose reacts with other simple sugars to form long chains known as FRUCTOSE DIANHYDRIDES. Odorant molecules are formed, brown molecules are formed and the common caramel is obtained. (Caramels are not limited to just sucrose; glucose caramels, fructose caramels could also give us a wide range of possibilities as they all have different odours and flavours.
2. Yes and no. Now we all know that if a piece of meat is cooked in water for a long period of time the water gets flavoured, leaving a less then flavourful piece of meat. Now to consider this first, the important factor to braising will be temperature. This must be kept below boiling point to prevent the outer portions of the meat from being badly overcooked. Often, braises are cooked in a low oven with the usual specified temperature range from 165 – 175 degrees (F) in a cover. However this will raise it to a boil unless it is uncovered. The chamber should be kept below 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Leaving the braise uncovered will allow cooling evaporation. The braising liquid concentrates creating flavour (therefore using an already flavoured solution is important). At the same time, the meat cooking releases flavour (in the form of liquid from the meat) into the solution in which it is cooked. As the proteins coagulate due to heat, fibrils squeeze out some of the water they had contained and shrink, a thin elastic sheet of connective tissue around each muscle cell then squeezes the unbound water out of the end of the cells (this can be easily tested for observation: vacuum pack a piece of meat, cook en sous vide and you can see the end result of the amount of liquid released – coagulation resulting from heat). Now the important point of braising is cooling down the cooked meats in the solution. As it cools, the meat will absorb a certain amount of the solution which will intensify the flavour of the meat itself.
3. Absolutely. A piece of meat is made up of many individual muscle cells or fibres. These fibres are filled with many fibrils, which are made up of actin and myosin. When a muscle contracts, the filaments of actin and myosin slide past each other. Selecting the cut of meat for braising is as important as it is to know how to cook it. Lean meat is made up of about 75% water, 20% protein and 3% fat. As explained, cooking will squeeze out the liquid from a piece of meat. So in choosing a piece of meat which is not as lean and contains more proteins and fat ratio to water would be much more ideal for braising, say comparing a piece of cheek to a cut of tenderloin. A piece of cheek definitely will match up to contain a bigger ratio of collagen, which will transform into gelatin as a result of heat. If cooked well, the result will produce a soft texture, yet slight bounce from the gelatin and overall satisfyingly moist mouth feel.
References:
1. On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.
2. An Introduction to Technological Applications of Molecular Gastronomy, INICON, online PDF article. http://www.inicon.net/
This is just an example where taking this basic principal and applying it to the table will aid the chef for multiple cooking possibilities.
( K-15) Based on the chart, oven roasting is followed by scalding where in this case is scalding of hot oil. This is a process that is used for Chinese Roast Duck. And so on, a mix of multiple cooking processes would benefit the chef for an ideal end result. Tender interior with a crisp surface, etc.
