How to Make a Blind Baked Pastry Tart.
Making a Blind Baked Tart Shell is not an overly arduous process but following a few basic steps will ensure success. This is quite a long explanation but is worth the effort in reading all the way through.
Tag: Skills
Make our Stunning Christmas Pudding Soufflés.
Serve these Christmas Pudding Souffles to you guests and you will instantaneously be seen as a culinary genius. People are always impressed by a served a souffle, in fact they are a lot easier than people imagine.
The 12 Best Seasonings , You Need For Sensational Results
These are The 12 Best Seasonings you need to get sensational results in the kitchen. They should be in everybody’s kitchen at home, and in fact, I would go so far as to say I feel culinary naked without these. Some of these you will already have, and all are easily available if you don’t. So, let’s have a look and see my choices and how I would use them.
The 12 Best Seasonings.
Some of these items are used to enhance the way that our taste buds perceive flavours. Some act like all-in-one seasonings, but with all of them the key is restraint. They should be there, but not there. If your guests comment on tasting the ingredient itself, you have overdone it!
I know some of these might seem strange but think about it. The main flavour sensations we are trying to create in our cooking are hot, sweet, salty, sour, and umami. A great dish will encompass at least two of these. And learning how to season is a key skill in becoming a great cook.
Mustard.
Adding a dash of mustard into any white sauce will give them a lift. The French version, been made with wine and vinegar adds an acidic punch as is great to season and lighten a creamy pasta dish.
Mustard also acts as a thickener and stabiliser. Perfect for holding the fatty products and liquids together in a salad dressing or sauce. Try rubbing a layer of mustard with chopped herbs onto your lamb or Turkey roast before cooking. It will produce a lovely flavoursome crust.
Dried Chilli Flakes.
I use these as a basic seasoning alongside sea salt and pepper. The chemicals in chilli effect the taste buds in the mouth and to produce a warming balance to flavours.
I use a medium heat chilli, and some restraint is required not to overdo the dosing. The Capsaicin, which is the active ingredient, can become addictive. Leading to your food become hotter and hotter. Great for you, but not your guests!
Tomato Ketchup.
Many a chef has a bottle of tomato ketchup sitting ready to add into a struggling dish. They may not admit it, but believe me, its not just for the staff lunch.
Try a dash of ketchup in a bolognaise for a super tomato sauce.
If you like to make your own burgers, adding ketchup really brings out the flavour of the meat. Heavy stews can be lifted with the addition of ketchup.
Mayonnaise.
Been an emulsion, mayonnaise is great used as an enrichment in dishes. Try a dash in mashed potato, in place of butter for a healthier option. Fish soups benefit from a spoonful of mayonnaise worked in off the heat just before serving.
If you like to use very lean meat to make your burgers, they can be a little dry. Mix in some mayonnaise to enrich the meat without the saturated fat. If you like to finish you soups with a dash of cream, try some mayonnaise instead for a smooth finish on the tongue.
Worcestershire sauce.
Traditionally British, yet with strong oriental connections this classic sauce is fermented with anchovies, tamarind, vinegar, sugar, onions and garlic. The exact recipe is closely guarded. It’s easy to overdo it when using Worcester sauce, just add a few drops at time to add a satisfying umami finish to the dish.
A classic accompaniment to tomato-based dishes but also great added into stews and casseroles. Add the sauce into the dish during cooking so it blends into the dish rather than been the first thing you taste. Rub a (very) small amount onto a cooked steak before serving. If you are pan frying a steak, deglaze the pan with a few drops of sauce added just before the wine of stock to make a great gravy.
Smoked Spicy Paprika.
One of my favourite ingredients, it differs from standard paprika by been made from dried and smoked peppers. This give the spice a smoky almost campfire background that I find addictive. Like standard paprika its available in mild (dulce) and hot (picante) versions according to the type of peppers used. I find the hot version to bs more useful, by adding one of our five flavour sensations into the mix.
Try ringing the changes to your lentil soup with a spoonful of paprika cooked into the soup. Add some into a dry meat rub, to impart an extra smoky ascent to the crust.
Chilli con carne takes on a new identity with the addition of hot smoked paprika.
Make a whole new version of scrambled eggs by cooking some gently in the butter before adding the eggs.
Paprika can burn easily so be careful not to overdo it.
Pesto.
Pesto, whatever herb it is made with becomes an instant explosion of flavour. A range of pesto’s made with different herbs and frozen in small cubes is immensely useful in any kitchen.
Ether add into a soup or float the defrosted pesto into the top of the soup as both a garnish and seasoning in one. Cheese toasty? Spread a little pesto onto the bread, and wham. Mix pesto into soft butter for an herby spread. Try fried eggs, finished with a dollop of pesto.
Add to mashed potato, instant flavour on a plate. Boring shop bought pizza? Add some pesto, and you’ll think you’re in Italy! Try out our own basil Pesto, find the recipe, HERE.
Good Wine, and Fruit Vinegars
Now here I mean REALLY GOOD wine vinegar. This is the one where you will need to look further afield that the supermarket. Try a good deli or even amazon if that’s not possible. If when you taste it, your mouth locks up, its not good enough. Expect to pay a lot more that you think to get a really good vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is the one that gets all the hype, and it can be outstanding. However, to get a top-quality balsamic vinegar is extremely expensive. If its too cheap be suspicious, it likely to the be a harsh unaged raw vinegar. More likely to ruin a dish that improve it.
Use some red wine or red fruits vinegar to deglaze a pan after cooking a steak and before adding the stock. Better than using cheap wine.
Heavy stews and casseroles, particularly game benefit from finishing with a fruit-based vinegar. A few drops of sherry vinegar are a great finish for fried eggs.
Finish tomato soup with a few drops of red wine, or fruit vinegar.
Good Olive Oil.
As above there is a world of difference in the quality of olive oils. As I write this the cost of olive oil has risen sharply due to a poor harvest last year.
The premium oil is known as cold pressed virgin olive oil. Here the olives have the oil remove purely by pressing them. The oil can be purchased in filtered and unfiltered versions. Commercial olive oil is extracted by heating the olive and using a centrifuge to spin out the oil. This is very efficient but the heating process losses some of the flavour from the oil. The flavour of the oil can be defined as been ether fruity or peppery, some been quite harsh on the pallet. Personally, I tent to go for the fruity versions.
I should say that this oil is used mainly as an ingredient. Depending on the type of oil used the smoke point (burning) can be too low and aggressive frying will cause the oil to burn and become bitter.
For frying by preference is to use sunflower oil with the addition of a little butter once the initial heat has been reduced.
Natural flaky Sea Salt
Surely salt is salt. well, no, mined and iodized table salt is well, just salty. Sea salts on the other hand have additional minerals from the seawater the salt is evaporated from. This adds addition flavour and often adds umami notes adding to the flavour profile of the food.
Finish your bread dough with a sprinkling of flaky salt before baking for a great crunch and flavour.
Harissa.
Use this as a marinade with the addition of some olive oil and lemon juice. Add to or serve alongside Hummus.
Rub under the skin of a chicken before roasting. Pop a half a lemon and a couple of cloves of bruised garlic into the cavity, then into the oven. The skin will stop the Harissa burning while the flavours seep into the meat and also stop the breast from drying out.
Use harissa to flavour roasted vegetables, great with roasted carrots.
If you want to try and make your own Harissa, check out our recipe, HERE.
Black Peppercorns.
A little like the Sea Salt there is more to pepper than you might think. Now what I would like you to do is go to your kitchen cupboard, grab that container of ground white pepper and throw it into the bin. That’s not what we mean when we talk about pepper!
Peppercorns are small, dried berries, and there are many different varieties available, Including, Szechuan, Pink, Green, Tellicherry, White, Black, Long and Sansho.
Each pepper has its own characteristics, adding that bit extra to the dish. Start with black peppercorns and invest in a pepper mill, you will never look back.
In the past I have even had a pepper grinder filled with a mixture of peppercorns, blended for a particular use.
Instant blends and tricks.
Of course, things don’t stop there, we can make other additions to the table just by using these ingredients themselves.
Mix some harissa, or pesto into mayonnaise to make an instant dip.
Mix some ketchup, Worchester sauce, vinegar and a dash of oil for an instant dressing.
Try some ketchup with a pinch of smoked paprika and Worcester sauce for a super, and quick barbeque marinade.
Use your olive oil, vinegar, and a dash of mustard to make a French dressing.
This is not a definitive list; we could go on and on. I have a cupboard full of spices in my kitchen not to mention fresh herbs, and garlic from the garden. These are the items I use most frequently, and I believe should be in everyone’s kitchen. If you have any favourites I have left out, let me know.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
How To Be A Shortbread Expert, 3 Recipes
How To Be A Shortbread Expert. There are thousands of recipes for shortbread, and an equal number of opinions as to the ingredients, methods, and baking. I suppose really you could think of shortbread as posh pastry, uplifted to celebrity status.
Make Your Own Amazing Buttermilk Bread Rolls
These Buttermilk Bread Rolls will really impress your dinner party guests. They go well with most starters that don’t require crispy rolls served alongside.
How to Make Your Own Pork Sausages.
Learning How to Make Your Own Pork Sausages at Home is great fun. Sausages are one of the most flexible foods we have available to us. Whether it’s a comforting plate of bangers and mash, fending off the cold weather. A quick buttered sausage roll as a snack, or the compulsory BBQ sausage, it’s a year – round, go to treat.
Most people will have a favourite sausage, British or continental. I’ve lost track on how many different types and flavours are available to us today. However, variety is one thing, quality is another, so read on!
So, What’s in a Sausage?
Well apart from any flavourings you want to add, Meat! The problem can be deciding on what is meat. Meat in its natural form has fat, and fat is important to the eating quality of our sausage. Just enough will provide flavour and moisture. Too much and a greasy feel will be left in the mouth. Too little and the sausage will be dry and tough.
Fat also adds flavour. In fact, it adds flavour to most things. As the fat dissolves on your tongue, it transmits the flavour of your food to the tastebuds. This enhances the experience of eating the food and something we are hard-wired into enjoying.
Whatever meat you are using Beef, Pork, lamb, Venison etc the fat is important. For beef sausages suet fat is ideal. For all the others I would stick to pork fat.
Don’t be afraid of fat but do control it. Perhaps one rainy afternoon ill draft out a Food Files page on fats to help everybody understand how they work.
What are Sausage Casings?
There is one rule I like to apply here. Never Trust a Straight Sausage!
There are basically two main types of casing, natural and synthetic.
Natural casings are from the intestines of animals. They will be irregular in diameter according to how far down the gut then are obtained from. This provides sized from a chipolata right up to a salami size. The animal they are taken from will dictate the thickness and strength of the casing. Pork casings are relatively strong and a good size for most uses. lamb casing are more fragile and are smaller in diameter.
Preservation.
Commonly the casings are preserved in salt and need to be soaked and washed before filling. If your local butcher makes their own sausages, they can help you or have a look online. As you will know the intestines are coiled around inside the carcase. This gives the sausage its curved appearance. A sure sign it’s a natural sausage.
Alternative casings.
Synthetic casings for edible sausages are manufactured from animal collagen. Personally, I don’t like the feel of them in the mouth. Some smoked and cured sausages intended as charcutier have plastic cases which are not edible.
If all else fails, you can from the meat into patties coat them in four and fry. To go one stage further egg and breadcrumb the patties. Cook slowly in butter so the meat cooks though without the coating burning.
Mincing the meat.
You don’t need fancy, expensive equipment to make your own sausages. A tabletop hand mincer is fine (although hard work) and I filled my first sausages using a cut off plastic funnel and piping bag.
A mincer attachment for your food mixer is a good choice. If you really get into it a small electric mincer can be bought for not too much money.
The key thing is to ensure the blade is sharp and you have the right size of mincer plate fitted.
It’s best not to use frozen meat if you can as it doesn’t bind together as well as fresh, Cut the meat and fat into cubes no larger than 2cm and keep the meat in the fridge before mincing.
Chefs will often put the mincer in the fridge or freezer before use to stop the meat from heating up due to friction in the mincer. This also helps with the shelf life of the sausages’.
Its not a bad idea to fry a small patty of the filling before filling the casings. This allows you to check the seasoning before committing to moving on to the filling stage.
Make Your Own Pork Sausages.
You Will Need: –
- Mincer.
- Sausage filling attachment or piping bag and tube.
- Mixing bowl.
- 2 Small bowls.
- Trays
- Spatula.
- Chopping board and knife
- Shallow saucepan (for apple and rosemary version)
Pork Sausages.
Makes 7 good sized Pork Sausages.
- 400g trimmed pork shoulder
- 150g rindless green gammon
- 70g pork loin fat
- 5g mustard seeds
- 2tbsp dry white wine
- 1 slice crustless white bread
- 100ml milk
- ½ tsp mace
- 6g curing or table salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1tsp chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 slice of bread to clean out mincer
The Night before.
Put the mustard seeds in a small dish and pour over the white wine. Cover and leave overnight for the seeds to soften.
Making the filling.
Pour the milk onto a small bowl and add the bread. Leave to soak for five minutes.
Take the meats and remove any sinew. Cut the meats and fat into roughly 2cm cubes and mix together in a bowl.
Lift the bread from the milk and squeeze out the excess liquid to form a wet ball. Add the bread to the meat and discard the milk.
Add the mustard seeds and wine together with the rest of the seasonings and mix well.
Fit a 6mm sized plate to the mincer then pass all the mixture through the mincer back into the bowl.
Return half of the mix to the mincer and re-mince once more back into the bowl.
Take a sturdy spoon and begin the mix the coarse and fine mixtures together. Don’t be afraid to give the mixture a good basing about as this helps the meats bind together.
Butchers commonly add water into the filling while mixing. This arguably adds moisture to the filling making the sausage juicer. Ever noticed all that gunk coming out of shop-bought sausages as you cook them? And I’m sure all that free weight helps with the profits. If you do want to try for a moister filling just add two or three tablespoons of water in as you beat the mix.
That it! You’re all ready to go to the filling stage.
How to fill the Casings.
Take some of the casings out of the container and shake off any excess salt. Wash the casings under running water for a moment then place in a bowl of cold water to soak for twenty minutes.
Piping bag method.
To fill the sausage casings with a piping bag, spoon the sausage meat into a large piping bag fitted with the widest plain plastic nozzle. I have used the cut off tube of a plastic funnel in the past, with some success.
Rinse the casings in cold water and roll the open end over the nozzle, like putting on a stocking! Hold the first 2 inches of the casing closed and squeeze the filling into the casing to form the first sausage, easing the casing from the nozzle as it fills. Stop when the sausage is big enough and twist gently before filling the next one. Tie the loose end of the casing on the first sausage. Continue until all the filling is used up. If you like, tie the sausages at intervals between the links with fine string then cut into individual sausages.
Using a sausage filling attachment.
If you are lucky enough to have a sausage filling attachment for your mincer it’s the same idea. Roll the washed casing onto the filling tube Then load the hopper with the sausage meat. Pull about 8cm of casing down the tube so it’s hanging off the end then slowly start the mincer until the filling appears at the end of the tube.
Stop the mincer then tie off the loose casing tight to the filling. This method will stop air been forced into the casing as the filling begins. Restart the mincer slowly keeping a steady flow of filling coming down the tube been careful not to over fill the casing. A little slack on the skins if fine. Stop filling well before the casing runs out as you will need spare casing available to form the sausages.
Decide how long you want your sausages to be, then starting at the knotted end pinch the casing at the desired length to force the meat back down the casing then twist the casing together to form a seal. Again, just as when we filed the sausages make sure the casing is not too stretched or it may break when cooked. Keep going until you have formed all the sausages and repeat the process until all the filling is used.
Avoiding waste.
There will still be an amount of good meat trapped in the body of the mincer. To avoid wasting this put a slice of bread through the mincer at the end and the meat will be pushed through. Any bread can be pushed back out of the casing before the sausages are formed.
Using a sausage press.
You can also obtain a sausage press which resembles a big syringe clamped to the table. You simply fill the body of the press with the sausage meat. Clamp on the front and proceed as described above.
If you are using a hand powered mincer or a press a second pair of hands is great help. Otherwise, it’s difficult to control the sausage casing and work the press/mincer at the same time.
Cooking Sausages.
One golden rule – Don’t prick them!!!!!.
The purpose of the sausage casings is not just to make a pleasing shape but also to holds in moisture. If you prick your sausages the moisture will escape leaving you with a dry shrivelled up result.
If you’re having problems with the sausages bursting. It’s possible you have over filled the casings putting too much stress on the skin. The most common cause of bursting is simply cooking too quickly.
Take it slowly.
Whether you’re grilling, frying, or barbequing your sausages the process is the same.
Take the sausages out of the fridge before cooking to let them warm a little. Start the cooking briefly over a highish heat to set the skins then reduce the heat until cooked through. If you’re not happy with the colour a quick blast over a higher heat will do the trick.
It takes time for the heat to penetrate through the meat. Unlike a steak the surface won’t caramelise and gain flavour. It just burns, think of the classic BBQ burnt sausages and you will know what I mean.
If you’re grilling or barbequing rub the skins with a little oil before cooking.
Some varieties of sausage are gently poached, then stored prior to grilling. But for our home-made sausage grill or fry directly from raw.
Make sure they are cooked.
As sausages are a processed meat, they must be cooked all the way though before eating. I always recommend a probe thermometer when cooking. Ensure the centre of the sausage has reached 73ºc to be certain they are cooked.
F.A.Qs.
How long will my sausages keep?
One of the big differences between shop bought and home made is the lack of preservatives.
Use the freshest meat possible and don’t leave it hanging around at room temperature. Keep your equipment as cool as possible and wear disposable gloves when handling meat.
I would aim to use my fresh sausages on the day or the day after making. If that’s a problem, freeze the sausages as soon as they are made. Its best to freeze them separated on a paper lined tray, then transfer them to a bag when solid.
They should keep up to three months in a good freezer. But make sure they are thoroughly defrosted before cooking.
I don’t have a mincer; can I use a food processor.
While I wouldn’t say definitely not, its not ideal. The mincer is not a violent as the processer and breaks the tissues down better. If a processer is your only possibility process the meat in small batches using the pulse control. Don’t overdo it remember the meat is meant to be chopped not pureed. The sharper the blade the better to result.
What is Curing Salt?
Curing Salt is also known as Prague Powder, or Pink Salt by butchers. It is a salt used to cure meats while help preserve them and prevent the meat from turning brown. Sodium Nitrate is added to the salt and given a pink colour to identify it from normal salts.
Curing salt is used in the manufacture of hams, bacon and sausages. A variation of curing salt is used in dried meats like Salami.
I can’t get hold of sausage casings, what do I do?
You can find the casings available online. However, if you want the fillings can be formed into sausage shapes using wet hands. Chill the shapes in the fridge to firm them up then coat then in flour, egg, and dry breadcrumbs. Fry the sausages gently in butter, insuring they are cooked through.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
How to Sharpen a Knife, The Definitive Guide. Part 1.
Learn how to sharpen your kitchen knives, and keep them sharp in this definitive guide. Part 1, using a whetstone.
Making The Best Basil Pesto.
Learn how to make the best Basil Pesto. Simple tips and tricks to get the best from this classic sauce.
Easy Soda Breads to Make at Home.
Soda Breads are so easy to make at home. Everybody loves making bread, it’s so satisfying and rewarding why not give it a try. I know what you are thinking, I can’t make bread. It takes too long. Too much kneading involved. I don’t have time. It’s too difficult. I don’t have a stand mixer, or I can’t be bothered.
Well apart from the last one, I can help you. Soda bread is actually easier than making a scone, it’s pretty much a bung it in recipe, no special equipment needed.
I’ve given you two recipes here, plain white and a wholemeal version. I like to include some seeds, black pepper, and rosemary in the wholemeal version. But these can be left out if you wish. The method of making each bread is identical. The trick is to handle the dough as little as possible and then let it rest.
Grab your mixing bowl and give it a go.
You will need: –
A mixing bowl
Scales
Measuring jug
Baking tray
White soda bread.
Makes one loaf.
225g plain Flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp baking powder
200ml buttermilk
½ tsp Salt
If buttermilk is unobtainable, use 160ml of plain yoghurt (not Greek style) mixed with 60ml of milk. Aim for a consistency like single cream.
Bake 200˚c (180˚c Fan) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Seeded wholemeal soda bread.
Makes one loaf.
175g wholemeal Flour
175g plain Flour
35g pumpkin seeds
35g sunflower seeds
¼ tsp (heaped) baking powder
½ tsp (heaped) bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
½ tsp (heaped) salt
12 turns black mill pepper
250ml buttermilk
Pinhead oatmeal to sprinkle on top.
If buttermilk is unobtainable, use 200ml of plain yoghurt (not Greek style) mixed with 90ml of milk. Aim for a consistency like single cream.
Bake 200˚c (180˚c Fan) for 25 to 30 minutes.
Making Soda Bread.
Place all the flour/s into a bowl large enough to get your hands into. Add the raising agents, seeds/herbs if using, and salt then mix into the flour.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the buttermilk. Working from the middle outwards begin to mix the flour into the liquid with the spatula. Don’t beat the mixture, just fold together to make a damp dough. Keep a little buttermilk back until you are sure you need it all. This will depend on how thick your brand of buttermilk is.
When the mix is almost combined, tip the dough out onto a very lightly floured worksurface. Then bring the dough together with your hands. The dough should be tacky and soft. Too dry and the bread won’t rise, it’s better to add a little more liquid if you’re not sure.
Treat the dough gently.
Resist the temptation to knead the dough, just pat it out with the palm of your hand to form a disc 3-4 cm thick. Transfer the dough to a lined baking sheet and using a scotch scraper cut across the dough to a depth of 4mm. Then turn the bread repeat the cut to mark out four or six wedges.
Now this is where I get into one of my personal theories. It’s not general practice, but I think it makes sense.
Don’t bake the bread immediately!!!
If I am dealing with a self-supporting mix like scones and bread using raising agents. I always leave them to sit for at least ten minutes before baking. The logic is to give a little time for the gasses to build up in the dough and lighten the dough before setting the loaf in the oven. It a little bit like leaving a yeast dough to rise before cooking. Don’t try this with a light cake mix or sponge. They will collapse if not baked at once.
Dust lightly with flour then bake at 200˚c for about 25 mins. When cooked, the bread should have a heavy hollow sound when the base is tapped firmly. Lift the bread onto a cooling wire and eat barely warm with butter or good cheese.
N.B. Some supermarkets sell cultured buttermilk. This is different to true buttermilk been thicker which will make your dough too dry. Add a little milk if needed to bring the consistency down to single cream.
This may be the only bread you ever need to make. It really is worth the effort, perfect for a picnic, light lunch or to show off at a dinner party.
Give it a go!!
Enjoy Life !
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Boiling, Poaching, Simmering, The duffer’s guide to wet heat.
The duffer’s’ guide to cooking with wet heat. Discover the correct way to use wet heat.
How to portion a chicken on the bone.
The article explains how to portion a whole chicken, providing detailed, step-by-step instructions. It emphasizes the benefits of working with a whole free-range bird, including better flavor, cost savings, and the ability to create stock. The guide also highlights important hygiene practices while preparing the chicken for various dishes.
All you need to know about – Eggs
All you need to know about – Eggs. As a cook there are a number of ingredients life would be very difficult without and eggs are definitely one of them. Whether it’s in baking, mousses, meringues or just a fried egg butty we use eggs almost every day. Having an understanding of eggs, and how we can use them, opens a wealth of opportunities. It may also shed some light on the how and why of what we do with them, and possibly what went wrong.
Eggs have suffered from a good deal of bad press over the years. Back in 1988 the government put out a warning that vulnerable people should not eat eggs that we not completely cooked through. This was because teats had shown extremely high levels of Salmonella in the egg which if not completely eradicated by cooking would cause food poisoning. I remember some hotels refusing to serve eggs with a runny yolk to protect themselves from possible litigation.
I’m please to say that today that that danger has been averted and the recommendation now states that it is safe to eat UK Lion Stamped Eggs undercooked. If you’re not using stamped eggs, it still a good idea to check if the flock has been inoculated against salmonella.
Always check the use by date on the eggs, this is not only for safety but gives you an idea if the egg is going to be suitable for the use you want to put it to i.e., Poached Eggs take a look at my Poached Egg, Kale and Bacon post for the best method to poach an egg.
What is a fresh egg?
Now let’s have a look at why freshness is important if we want to poach or fry an egg.
look at the image of a fresh egg above, the yolk is sitting central in the white and the white is sitting up proudly supporting the white. Its this robustness of the white that will form the shape of the cooked egg.
Now in the shot above of an old egg, the white is flat, has no strength to it and the yolk is unsupported. try to poach that and you are likely to get a lonely yolk with strands of white string moving around the pan. However the older egg white is more suitable for meringues and could be used for Butter/Sugar Batter cakes. Have a look at the yolk, the deep rich colour may make you believe it’s a better more nutritious egg. it’s could be if its from somebody who has their own birds. Its more likely the colour has been controlled by additives in the chicken feed. This also applies to brown eggs, see below. Where a belief has grown that they will be better. Its of course the classic route to success. Produce what people think or has been led to believe is better.
Eggs are safe to eat after the use by date in fact the F.S.A advice states that “eggs can be eaten after their best before date, as long as they are cooked thoroughly until both yolk and white are solid, or if they are used in dishes where they will be fully cooked, such as a cake”. So if you have some eggs past their best before date, don’t waste them, get your baking hat on!
A very common question at the cook school related to the storage of eggs. Current advice is that you should store them in the fridge at home. But you say, in the supermarket, they are just sitting on the shelf at room temperature? Yes, that’s right, and there is a logic, have a look at the box you bought then in. It’s there to protect them, right? We yes but it also has a second function. Notice that the eggs are stored pointed end down. The blunt end of the egg contains the air sack where bacteria can enter by keeping this at the top, we keep it away from the yolk which will keep the egg fresher longer and protect the vulnerable yolk. Having more of the liquid egg surrounded by the box means the egg will dehydrate less and be less prone to drawing in contamination. This also has the advantage of keeping the yolk in the middle of the egg which looks much better if you are making hard boiled eggs for a salad.
You should also note that the box prevents the shells touching. If the eggs were in contact with each other contamination could spread from egg to egg and spoil the whole batch. So, if you have one of those metal wire chickens sitting proudly on your worktop, send it off to the charity shop and keep your eggs in the fridge in their box. The shell is porous and will ready absorb flavours in the vicinity of the egg. Now this means we need to be careful not to store our eggs close to strong cheese or onions then try and make a sponge with them. Of course, if you have a truffle or two on hand you can place them in a contain with the eggs and infuse the essence of truffle to impress your friends.
Don’t forget though to bring out any eggs you will be using to warm up to room temperature before use.
So, there we have it, now let’s look at an egg itself. There are three main parts. The shell, the white and the yolk. You may have also seen a couple of while strands or blobs when cracking eggs. These are called `chalazae’ think of them as elastic bungees, there function is to support the yolk and keep it central in the egg where it is protected by the white.
Egg whites v Yolks
Yolks.
The yolk contains all the fat of the egg together with the cholesterol. It also has roughly half of the protein in the egg along with most of the vitamins and minerals in the egg. The yolk is a natural binding agent when added to soups, pastry, mousses, mayonnaise, etc. That’s partly due to it lecithin content which is the mystery ingredient when making chefs foams to top off a dish. It’s the binding and thickening ability of the yolk that makes them so valuable in the kitchen. If you have an excess of yolks keep then in the fridge in a small container with a small amount of water covering them to stop a crust forming on top. Check out our Food Files page on Understanding Pastry to see how egg yolks work in pastry.
Whites.
You may argue that compared with the yolk the egg white is uninteresting, not a bit of it. The white is around 90% water with the balance been proteins. The most important of these to us is albumen which is fundamental in allowing the white to hold an important ingredient – Air.
When egg white are beaten the protein begins to unravel known as denaturation. As we continue to beat the eggs these strands of protein begin to hold air. As the air and the water in the white become in contact the protein begins to bond together and hold a foam. This foam become a vehicle for us to introduce air into a mixture like a mousse or a souffle. A very small amount of acid (lemon juice) added to the white after denaturation assists the binding and make for a more elastic foam. If the beating is overdone and the binding is over stretched the foam will begin to collapse and fall in on itself. Adding sugar to the whites once a good foam is created stiffens up the whites and gives stability (meringue). You can still overdo it though and of course you may not want sugar in the dish you are creating. Any fat present in the whites or on the tools we are using will prevent the proteins from binding and its impossible to create a foam. If you have leftover egg whites keep them in the freezer. Not only is this a really handy standby the process of freezing and defrosting breaks down the protein and helps them wisk up to a foam easier than fresh ones.
Personally, I always prefer to whisk whites by hand as I can control the whisking and judge the density of the foam. When using a machine to do the job for you it all too easy to over whisk and collapse the foam. Years ago, the curved base bowl used for beating whites were made of copper combined with a bulbus whisk known as a balloon whisk. Today we still use the whisk but not the copper bowl, stainless steel is the material of choice. Not only is it easier to clean but the action of vigorously beating the white could remove tiny amounts of copper into the food which is poisonous to us.
So, in the kitchen the whole egg is useful to us as a component in cakes and pasties -understand pasty. But it’s the flexibility of the individual parts of the egg that excite us.
In practical terms use egg yolks to enrich, bind and thicken a preparation. We use egg white to lighten by adding air, like a souffle or strengthen a preparation by adding more protein, like a chicken mousseline. Think of a crème brulee, soft, rich, texture eaten out of a container- we use egg yolks. For a crème caramel, a bit firmer, not as rich and sitting up proudly we use whole egg. The addition of the white gives the dessert the ability to support itself.
The next time you are using egg in a dish or baking try to work out what the egg is providing and how best to maximise on the affect it brings. You may be able to improve the result and begin creating new ideas.
Enjoy life.
John
Demystifying Perfect Pastry.
Demystifying Perfect Pastry provides an insight into the ingredients and methods of making basic pastry.