No More Failed Recipes -Secrets to Cooking Success
Have you ever tried a new recipe that didn’t work? How do you know in advance if it’s a good recipe? My guest on my WLRN National Public Radio program answered our queries. Shirley Corriher is a culinary sleuth who solves cooking problems for everyone from large corporations, food editors and test kitchen chefs to home cooks. She frequently helped Julia Child with her cooking challenges. Her latest book is Cook Wise.
Baking
Baking’s most common problem is over leavening. The rules are simple.
Use 1 teaspoon baking powder for 1 1/4 per cup of flour
Use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda for 1 cup of flour.
Too much leavening causes bubbles to get too big. They float to top and cause a dense result.
Use unbleached flour for best results.
Fruits and Vegetables
Keep vegetables green and bright. Acid causes vegetables to lose color. Don’t use a vinaigrette sauce or sprinkle with lemon juice until just before serving. Instead use grated lemon peel. It gives zip and won’t discolor the green vegetables.
Asparagus, needs only a short cooking time. Acid comes out of the cells and discolors them. Count 7 minutes or less cooking time.
When fruit cooks, the proteins they contain cook and shrink. The cells start to dissolve and in Shirley’s words cause, (mass death and destruction to the fruit.) To retain the shape and structure, add a little sugar or molasses. For example, cook apples slices until soft and then add sugar to retain the shape.
To ripen avocados quickly, place them in a paper bag with a couple of apples. The ethylene gas given off by the apples aids ripening.