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Oils ain’t Oils

January 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Everyone claims their own cooking oil is the best. And so many of them boast of being low-fat, unsaturated fat, trans-fat that it can all get quite confusing.

Keep in mind that fats aren’t something you can arbitrarily omit from your diet

Cooking Oils

Fats and oils can be classified as:

  • saturated - raises total blood cholesterol as well as LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) solid at (eg. vegetable shortening, hard margarine, butter) or semi-solid (eg. palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil) at room temperature
  • trans – raises LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
  • monounsaturated – lowers total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and increase the HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
  • polyunsaturated – lowers total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Omega 3 fatty acids belong to this group

Bad cooking oils : vegetable shortening, hard margarine, butter, palm oil, lard, palm kernel oil, coconut oil

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Roux

November 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

roux2

A roux is a cooked mixture of butter and flour. It helps to thicken a sauce but is incorporated at the beginning of the recipe rather than just before serving.

Pre-cooking flour allows the starch granules to swell and absorb moisture, and lets you thicken a sauce base without the flour clumping or forming lumps. A roux will deepen the colour of a sauce as well as giving it a nutty, toasted flavour.

To make a basic roux, use equal weights of butter and flour. If you don’t own a kitchen scale, use tablespoons. One tablesspoon flour and one tablespoon butter.

Melt the butter over low to medium heat; slowly add the flour to the butter, whisking constantly.

Within 2 to 3 minutes the roux will have a consistency of a cake frosting. A white roux is done when the flour loses its “raw” smell and begins to develop a toasty aroma.

Darker roux are cooked, stirring constantly, until the desired colour.

Immediately remove the pan from the heat and transfer the roux to another container to cool.

Filed Under: Kitchen Basics, Sauces, Stock, Marinades Tagged With:

Resting the Meat

September 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Roast Beef - Medium Rare

Roast Beef - Medium Rare

As meat is cooked the proteins in the meat heat up and set. When the proteins set they push the meat’s juices towards the centre of the meat. This is why we can judge a piece of meats ‘doneness’ by prodding it with tongs – the firmer the meat, the more ‘done’ it is.

Allowing the meat to stand away from the heat before serving allows the juices, which have been driven to the centre of the meat, to redistribute and be reabsorbed. As a result the meat will lose less juice when you cut it and be far more tender and juicy.

Take it from the heat and place it on a warm plate or serving platter. Cover the meat loosely with foil (as opposed to covering it tightly which will make the hot meat sweat).

The time taken to rest will depend on its size, a roast is best rested for 10 to 20 minutes before carving. Steaks or chops should stand for at least 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Filed Under: Kitchen Basics, Meats

About Zests

March 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Citrons Verts

Citrons Verts Art Print

Buy at AllPosters.com

When choosing citrus to zest and juice, pick out fruit that is unblemished on the outside. It should be heavy for its size, and the skin should look taut and plump, not shriveled. Most citrus fruit at the grocery store has been waxed to make it look more appealing; if you’ll be using the zest, you can choose organic fruit.

Yields

As a general guideline,

* One medium orange = ½ cup juice (4 oz.)
* One lemon = 3 tablespoons juice (1.5 oz.)
* One lime = 2 tablespoons juice (1 oz.)

Zest

The outer layer of citrus holds a large amount of aromatic oils and taste, which can add a fruity kick to many foods. Zest is the outermost layer.

A citrus zester will yield the best possible result, a vegetable peeler or box grater will work in an emergency but the vegetable peeler is a coarse zesting tool and a great deal of bitter tasting pith may be scraped off along with the desired zest. When using a vegetable peeler, do not press hard into the citrus in an attempt to avoid removing any pith. Using a box grater is probably the quickest way to zest, but is also the most wasteful and sloppy. The grating motion will cause a large amount of juice to be forced out of the zest, lessening the zest’s aromatic taste.

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