Fats are an essential ingredient in baking, directly imparting flavor and influencing tenderness and flakiness in pie and tart crusts. Most pie and tart crusts need to be made with a solid fat in order to create their characteristic tender and flaky texture. The role of fats in creating crusts […]
Mayonnaise and similarly prepared dressings may break for several reasons: The oil was added too rapidly for the egg yolk to absorb it. The sauce was allowed to become too thick. The sauce became either too cold or too warm as it was being prepared. A broken mayonnaise can be […]
Sachet d’épices (spice sachet) and bouquet garni (bundle of herbs) are bundles of spices and/or herbs that are used to add flavor to a simmering broth, soup, or stew. A basic sachet or bouquet will flavor 2½ to 3 quarts of liquid. Sachet d’Épices To make a sachet, cut a small square […]
Nappe is a French term describing the consistency of a sauce that will coat the back of a spoon. Ice cream base that is cooped is cooked to this stage before cooling and then freezing. Cooking it to this stage indicates that the proteins have been fully cooked and the […]
Here at the CIA, we believe in teaching people how to cook confidently. And while we love sharing our favorite recipes with you, in a perfect world, you wouldn’t need them because you would be busy dinner-freestyling! But to do that, you need all of the information! So today, let’s […]
As salad dressings go, oil and vinegar—their cute couple name is Vinaigrette—are sort of the popular kids. Everyone likes them, they get along with anyone/salad, and here’s where this metaphor falls apart: you don’t need a recipe. But sometimes a salad and/or your brain are just begging for a creamy […]
At it’s very most basic, a stew is bite-sized pieces of food cooked in a liquid, generally over low heat for an extended period. You can stew meat, poultry, fish, beans, vegetables, fruit—virtually anything—in broth, wine, beer, vinegar. Again, virtually anything. Stews are kitchen workhorses. You can make big batches […]
Chocolate shavings and curls are the simplest way to finish a show-stopping cake or other special occasion dessert. To create chocolate shavings and curls, you need a good-sized block of chocolate at room temperature. You can use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate for your curls. Look for larger […]
Clarified butter is a staple in professional kitchens. Made by melting butter to break the water and fat emulsion, you first skim away the milk solids and then the pure butterfat—the clarified butter itself. Unlike vegetable oils, which are 100% fat, butter is a mixture of water, milk solids, and […]
Sugar is the defining ingredient of candy making. It provides sweetness, bulk, flavor, mouthfeel, and preservation to candies of every description. Without sugar, there simply would not be such a thing as candy. In chocolates, the sugar is already contained in the chocolate itself, and we may add little or […]
Low and slow cooking is an ideal way to turn tough cuts of meat into tender, succulent roasts, braises, and barbecue.
Sometimes the classic, tried-and-true way just doesn’t work for you. For me, I was always hung up on the perfect fried egg. Sunny-side-up, runny yolk with a little bit of texture, crisp underneath, and set–not runny–whites. I knew the tricks. After all, I did learn from the best at the […]