The Atomic Kitchen: Love Me Tender: Natural Tenderizers

The Atomic Kitchen: Love Me Tender: Natural Tenderizers: Wrapping meat in a papaya leaf from the paw paw tree is one way to tenderize it naturally. Meat derives much of its flavor from fat. Th...

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Going Curdless: Tips to Avoid Curdling

A good rule of thumb for cooking with dairy products, including cream, milk, eggs, butter, cheese and mayonnaise, is: patience! Sauces made with milk, cream and cheese may curdle for several reasons: not enough fat content. Skim milk will curdle more than heavy cream, and low-fat creams and cheeses are more likely to curdle than their whole-fat compadres. too high heat. Cream sauces must be cooked at low temps. Use a thermometer to ensure temperatures stay lower than 175 degrees F. too much acid. Cream should be added last (with exceptions like lemon juice). Wine can be very acidic, and should be reduced. any ingredients should be of medium temperature before cream is introduced, as it will separate at boiling. How curdling occurs: Dairy fats combine to form a rubbery mesh, which squeezes out water. One possibility to prevent curdling is Carrageenan. There are three kinds, and Lambda Carrageenan is best for sauces because it is water solub...

What Happens In Your Freezer (Pt.1)

The freezer has changed food in America and around the world. I’m fascinated with the story of Clarence Birdseye, who discovered that flash-freezing fish was a practical way to ship seafood to distant inland locations. His name became a brand synonymous with many frozen vegetables and cooking staples. Alas, not everything freezes as well as freshly harvested seafood and vegetables. Here’s a description of foods that freeze badly and what happens. ( Source: National Center for Home Food Preservation ) Cabbage, cucumbers -- These become limp, waterlogged and quickly develop an oxidized color, flavor and aroma. These can be effectively frozen as marinated products. However, “freezer slaw” and “freezer pickles” won’t maintain the same flavor or texture as regular slaw or pickles that were not frozen. Celery, Cress, Lettuce, Parsley, Endive, Radishes – Limp, waterlogged and these also change color, flavor and aroma. Potatoes, baked or boiled – These become soft, crumb...

High-Altitude Cooking? No Pressure!

I was kindly invited to spend Christmas Day with friends up in Ft. Collins, Colo., last December, and I offered to bring a Cheesecake made with the world's bar-none best New York-style Cheesecake recipe. The day prior, I set aside for baking. This was one of my first attempts at baking since moving to Colorado, and while I'm keen on improvising in cooking, I'm less likely to stray from a baking recipe. I completely forgot that adjustments needed to be made to my favorite recipe for the change in altitude. What do you suppose my first clue might be? The mellow filling in the spring-form pan rose much more than usual. I thought nothing of it, because everybody likes a mile-high slice of Cheesecake, right? Well, clue number two was the baking time. The cheesecake requires a very high temperature of 500 degrees for (I believe) 90 minutes. At 30 minutes, the top crust was already golden brown. At 45 minutes, it was black and charred....

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