The reason that the terms roux and béchamel can be confusing is that a bechamel is made from a roux. A roux is the technique of cooking flour in fat or oil. Most often, butter is used, but other fats or oils can also be used. A béchamel is made by whisking milk into this … Read more
When making dough or pastries, you often have to mix the flour and shortening or butter by “cutting in.” To cut in means to incorporate butter or shortening into flour by using a pastry blender, often called a pastry cutter or dough cutter. A pastry blender a rounded loop of metal that separates into blades or heavy … Read more
Most of us know what it means to boil a food. We do it with dried pasta when we bring water to a rolling boil and put in the pasta. Even if we reduce the heat of the burner to stop the pot from boiling over, we are still boiling the pasta. But, what does … Read more
There are some misconceptions about the stir-fry technique we associate with Chinese and other Asian cuisines. A recipe I came across underscored this confusion. This recipe was for an Italian Chicken Stir Fry. Is a stir-fry just a sauté by another name? Sure, you use traditional Italian ingredients and make a stir-fry dish. But it is … Read more
A spatchcock or spatchcocked chicken is a chicken with the backbone removed and cut so that it will lay flat. This allows the chicken to be spread out or opened up like a book, which makes it cook more quickly and evenly. Spatchcock chickens are perfect for grilling but they can also be broiled or baked quite … Read more
Before the 17th century, medieval kitchens relied on heavy spices to mask flavors, but a culinary revolution was simmering in France that would change our palates forever. At the heart of this shift was the bouquet garni, a fragrant bundle of herbs like parsley, thyme, and bay leaves designed to enhance, rather than hide, the … Read more