While passing through the restaurant kitchen I noticed how wonderful the smell was coming from the Bulls tail which was cooking in the pressure cooker. This smell was the steam coming from the blow off valve in the top of the pot, or another way of looking at it is these are the Volatile molecules escaping without being utilized……………
Imagine going to the supermarket for 5 days in a row to buy all the stock they had (200 jars in total) of 1 particular type of Yogurt just for the glass jar. Well I did and it was all because I really liked the shape of the glass jar as it was a good quality glass and the absolute stereotype of what a tub of yogurt should look like. Symbolism is a very powerful thing to use when you want to guide the way people perceive something when eating your food, it allows you to be suggestive and build familiar expectations before they even open their mouths to taste what you have prepared. Although the Risotto was made only using the Whey from yogurt (then the solids at the end to add the fresh yogurt touch) it is still a hot risotto. The first shock that you get is the fact that it is hot whereas your mind tells you things that normally come from a yogurt jar are cold, the second shock you get is that it is savoury and not sweet and the 3rd is an obvious one but the fact that it is a risotto in a yogurt jar still surprises people.
I said I would not write about yogurt again (or at least for a period of time) But realistically this story is about using yogurt risotto as an example and not actually about yogurt itself……………………
For those of you who don’t already know the blog whitejacket.net it is well worth a look. Ben used to work for me during my short time in Burj al Arab in Dubai, he is a very well accomplished Chef with a similar philosophy to food as I have.
Below you will find a link to a professional review he gave my career and my site, Check it out.
Last week I made a kombu stock which I was intending on using as a base for risotto. So in keeping with the kaiseki traditions I infused the kombu at 60 degrees for 30 minutes to take advantage of the umami properties.
But I observed something very funny when I returned to it 7 days later………
There are a breed of Chefs who operate in a catagory all of there own and who seem to have immunity to the rules of the kitchen. The people I speak about are the “Temp Chefs”!
I had forgotten about them for a long time as I have not required there services for many years. Don’t get me wrong, they have there place and can really help you out of a bind when needed. And before I get on my soapbox I would like to say that I have also come accross some good ones in my career, I am only speaking of the typical stereotype temp Chef.
When we created the Ikea Swedish Tapas menu 6 months ago we started with a line of what the Spanish call “Leche Frita” which means Fried Milk. It is a very traditional dessert all over Spain and is very typical to eat at home.
The debate on the Whole topic of the name “Molecular Gastronomy” has picked up some pace on eGullet, check out the link below to follow the comments.
First of all you will have to forgive me for the photo’s, but I could of come with a story about trying to keep the photos basic for a basic food story………
I am very often surprised with the amazing quality of the regional dishes of Spain, in every region and every town there is a different specialty on offer and it seems they are all claiming to be the best at it. Read the rest of this entry »
I am sometimes writing topics on www.egullet.org, and I wrote one today which I thought might be interesting to also be debated on my blog. See the below topic.
Who is sick of the going back and forth debate regarding the name of our new cuisine?
You can now find me on wikipedia!
What is Value for money and how does it relate to food?
I have traveled the world and Worked in many countries but I must say the country which is the most fixated on the concept “Value for money” is Spain. Please understand that I am not saying that this is a bad thing but merely discussing the different concepts people have when it comes to dining.
While designing a menu for Autumn I always lean towards Offal and Game, this year is no exception. For our Autumn menu I was trying to create a sandwich which fit the season.
Since when did water become the latest fashion accesory? There have been some very good examples of a ridiculous wastes of money throughout time but this one has to take the all-time stupidest award!
One of my strongest beliefs in the world of cooking is “You take out what you put in”! So I make it a habit to read everyday, but the books I read are not your typical books you read in bed to relax (although I do).
I love to read Conceptual cooking books (without recipes, only theories) as they encourage you to think for yourself without giving you all the answers. I also read books about industrial design and architecture as they give you a different perspective on visual presentations. Psychology is also another are of interest as we deal with some of the most interesting people on a daily basis who face some kind of a challenge when it comes to different food. Production industry text books are not for the light hearted as they contain so much heavy information, but in the same token if you can handle them they are a wealth of information and most things are able to transform into a restaurant setting (I only read 1 chapter per day as this is as much as I can handle). The last category of books that I read are Historical theoretical cooking books, As I find most of the theories which were “common knowledge” back then have all pretty much been proved wrong today. But in the same token I have the highest of respect for the Chefs who came before us as they were the pioneers of our trade and they were doing it with far less equipment and knowledge, in these books I will often come across some astounding theories which were way ahead of there time and very insightful.
Now getting to the point of the latest must read! It is the new book from Hervé This. I have every book from Hervé but so far this is by far the best. Again a pretty heavy read (compared to his usual style), but some really interesting pieces of information on the “Inner workings” of things we eat and use everyday. Find the link below for Amazon.
One of the best smells in the world (according to me) is the smell of freshly picked tomatoes, but not the fruit itself, the stems! When slicing fresh vine tomatoes for a sandwich I will always use the core where it was attached as it has the strongest perfume. But we all know that you can’t eat tomato vines or leaves as they are part of the infamous nightshade family and they are poisonous………………………………. Or are they???????????
For many years I have been trying to capture the pure essence of the stem and use it in something to add a perfume, but to no avail! As soon as the stem comes into contact with heat it changes into a flavour similar to tea complete with the tannin. The closest I have come is through using vacuum boiling and infusing a small amount of water and also through Rotovap distillation, but even at such low temperatures you still loose the volatile molecules which give it that very distinct note. I have also “Dunked” them into bolognaise and tomato sauce when I have removed it from the heat (70 degrees) so it will keep a bit of that fresh vine flavour.
The psychology of food is something which has always fascinated me as it limits us in so many ways. Take for example the old belief that tomato vines and leaves are poisonous and can make you sick. How many of us have tested that theory? I have done many tests in the past and after I have felt sick as I believed I had eaten too much, when in fact it was my head telling me that I should be feeling sick.
There are many foods which can be harmful if eaten in significant quantities, but we still eat them. See the examples below:
There are many things which we have included in our diet which have some kind of a poison, this is the plants defense system to stop animals eating certain parts such as the seeds which will ensure the species survival.
Today I received some of the best vine tomatoes I have seen so far in Spain (Which is normally the biggest thing I am complaining about), So my tests will once again resume in the hope of finding the perfect solution on how to use them. So I hope this little story has begun to convince you that we are wasting this amazing part of the plant, and to seek some solutions in using them, at the very least we should be placing them all around the table when we are eating some fresh tomato salads so you get the perfume. On this topic we have been very slow to start to use it as there have been many examples of animals eating the tomato vines then coming back the next day to eat some more, plus there was a study in Israel where cattle ate only the vines for 42 days and did not get sick.
It has taken us a very long time to dismiss the claim that this part of the plant is poisonous. Imagine that the tomato was brought to Europe from Mexico either by Hernán Cortéz in 1521 or Christopher Columbus in 1493. Before this time they also believed that the tomato itself was poisonous, So I think 500 years is a pretty long stretching “Wives Tale”.
But either way I always find it very ironic that it was the Spanish to bring the tomato to there empire which stretched around the globe throughout Asia, South America and Europe, but I still struggle to get a great tomato here in Spain :-(