Showing posts with label modernist cuisine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label modernist cuisine. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Pressure cookers explained

Modernist Cuisine has a neat article on how pressure cookers work.

I used to have up to four different sized pressure cookers but now am down to two - one small one for quick stuff and one larger one for stews and roasts.  I find they are great for making ribs - it takes only about 20 minutes in a pressure cooker to make succulent melt int he mouth ribs!  I broil the meat first in the oven to get some the brown Maillard reaction flavour and then add the sauce and ribs to the pressure cooker and have my ribs done in the time it takes to make the rice.
Here is one recipe example:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pressure-Cooker-Pork-Ribs

Another favourite is to use the pressure cooker to make Whole Oat Groat porridge.  I buy whole oat groats (dehulled) and rinse them quickly. I then dry roast them in the pressure cooker without the lid until I can smell the nuttiness and they look like they have mostly puffed up a bit.  Then I add about 3 times as much water as groats and some salt and pressure cook for one hour.  You can do this in the evening and leave it to cool in the pressure cooker overnight. In the morning, I open the pressure cooker and remove enough to eat and rewarm it in another pot.  It is extremely creamy and not as gluey as oatmeal from rolled oats. Shorter cooking times will keep the oat groats more firm if you prefer that.

Oat groats from http://www.wheatmontana.com/store/images/Oat-Groats.jpg


The bonus it is that you end up with enough for couple of days - it lasts really well in the fridge for up to 3 days (don't freeze it though)

And if you don't have a pressure cooker yet, here is an easy recipe for making the porridge without one (they don't roast the groats first but this does add a great flavour to the porridge):
http://wholefoodideas.blogspot.ca/2011/02/whole-oat-groat-porridge.html
And here is a blog post with tons of comments with lots of other suggestions:
http://www.culinate.com/mix/challenge/whole_grain_challenge/wherein_i_discover_oat_groats


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Playing with liquid nitrogen

Liquid nitrogen is cold - very very cold:  -196°C or -321°F



But that does not mean it isn't safe!

The Modernist Cuisine Blog has an interesting post on this:
Is Liquid Nitrogen Safe?

I've used it in demos to create instant ice cream or frozen caramel corn.  And I would concur with them that boiling oil is much more dangerous!!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Burgers!!!

Scientific American has just published an article highlighting a series of videos from NBC Learn's Chemistry Now series on the "Chemistry of Burgers" just in time for understanding all our summer BBQing...

Of course, the definitive how-to-make-the-best-burger-in-the-world is from Modernist Cuisine!!