foodskills

Skill Builder: Knife Skills 101

Skill Builder: Knife Skills 101

I treat knives as the second most dangerous implements in the average kitchen. (Microplanes and mandolins hold the top spot.) When using a knife, I’m always thinking about the “failure mode.” If it slips, or something goes wrong, how is it going to go wrong? Where is the knife going to go if it does slip? How can I use the knife and position myself such that if an exception does occur, it isn’t fatal? Of course, getting a good, clean cut and keeping the knife in good working order are also important.

Continue Reading Gareth Branwyn16
Skill Builder: Jeff Potter’s Yogurt Lab

Skill Builder: Jeff Potter’s Yogurt Lab

One of the great things about learning food science is the need to test everything. I say “need” because, in truth, it’s a lot of fun to geek out over the details and try various experiments that I wouldn’t normally try. Take yogurt. Everyone is familiar with it, but how is it made? Where does it come from? (Besides the store…) Making yogurt is incredibly easy, especially once you know some of the food science background. A bunch of different types of “friendly” bacteria chow down on the lactose sugars in milk, creating lactic acid in the process. This process, called fermentation, also changes the structure of the milk, turning it into a gel.

Continue Reading Gareth Branwyn32
“Sous Vide” Cooking: The Basics

“Sous Vide” Cooking: The Basics

“Sous-vide” is fashionable French for a method of cooking that involves longer cooking times at lower temperatures and reduced atmospheric pressures. It means, literally, “under vacuum.” Commonly, food is sealed in plastic vacuum bags and cooked at temperatures well below the boiling point of water for dozens of hours, although the particular parameters vary widely with the food to be cooked. The point, really, is that the equipment involved is capable of finer automated control of those parameters than your conventional range, oven, and/or microwave, and the quality and flavor of the natural ingredients can be vastly improved—without sacrificing safety—by using it.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan10