Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Flavor Genius

Frank Terranova

The Flavor Genius

Why Taste At All

Why is the tasting process so complicated? Just so we can enjoy our food? Well there’s more to it than that. In all animals, including humans, tasting does two things, it warns us about bad foods and it attracts us to good ones. When our ancient ancestors roamed the forests and fields, hunting and gathering their dinner, they needed a way to tell poisonous plants from healthy ones, or weather a piece of meat was spoiled. Generally poisonous plants have a strong bitter flavor that both animals and humans know to avoid. Because the taste buds on the back of the tongue are most sensitive to bitterness, even if you start to eat something bad, you have one last chance to gag and spit it out before you swallow. Similarly, spoiled food often tastes sour warning us not to eat it. Sourness can also mean a food is not ripe and therefore not good enough to eat.

On the other hand, foods that contain certain amino acids, which are the building blocks of the proteins that our bodies require, have a savory, sort of meaty taste that humans like. Likewise a pleasant, sweet taste is common in foods that are high in calories, which we need for energy. Early humans learned that sweet and savory foods meant healthy foods. As a result. We still favor these tastes today. Indeed, human babies are born with a taste for sweetness to make sure that they will eat their first food, milk which contains natural sugars.

The world is full of wonderful things to eat as we have our favorite foods and other we are not so fond of. Tongues and taste buds are all the same, right? Who does like the taste of cauliflower anyway?

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Really now is it worth a grain of salt

Frank A Terranova

Really Now Is It Worth a Grain of Salt

With all the hoopla on different gourmet salts is it possible to spend .90 cents for a pound or is it possible to spend as much as $35.00 a pound, do we need a boutique variety of salt to flavor our food. Good question. Well here is my take on the use of salt we use salt to flavor liquids, or use as a topical to add a nice sea like flavor to food. So here it is the Readers Digest version.

All salts that we consume are made from sea salt or mined from inland salt deposits. There are common four varieties: Iodized table salt, kosher salt, sea salt and fleur de sel [a special type of sea salt. Table salt is made by sending water into salt deposits and then evaporated the mixture until only salt crystals remain.  In 1924 the Morton Salt Company began adding iodine to the salt to help prevent goiters which at that time were typically caused by iodine deficiency. So 70% of all table salt has iodine still added although goiters really don’t exist in America any more.
Kosher salt gets its name because of its role in making meat kosher. Jewish law dictates that blood must be extracted from meat prior to consumption. Kosher salt is harvested like the table variety it’s raked during evaporation to give it its block like structure which is better to absorb blood from animal carcasses.

Sea salt is created by evaporating sea water until you are left with salt: it is less dense than table salt meaning its slightly less salty then table salt.

Fleur de sel is a type of sea salt obtained by hand harvesting the young crystals that form on the surface of salt evaporation ponds. The harvesting of fleur de sel is always takes place in the summer months when the sun is the strongest. Most fleur de sels have a higher mineral content and often smells like the ocean.
Here are a few tests which were conducted on different foods for flavor and taste. These are professional opinions so look at the findings. Then you decide.

Finger test: This was made by simply using the finger slightly wet and dipped into the salt
Maladon salt ranked highest It’s a hand harvested flaked salt from England
Fleur de sel ranked second highest
Kosher ranked third.
Pasta test: simply sprinkled over plain pasta
Kosher Salt ranked highest
La Baleine ranked second is a hand harvested salt from the mediterranean
Fleur de sel ranked third
Steak:  Simply grilled steak
Maladon salt ranked highest
Fleur de sel ranked second
Kosher ranked third.
The worst ranked salt was the Nu Salt which is a salt substitute which is designed for people on low sodium diets.
So over all for whatever you cook or flavor food with salt is salt. If used properly it is the most used spice we have on the planet.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

The SKinny on Processed Food

Chef Frank Terranova

The Skinny on Processed Foods

Why are processed foods so much sweeter than natural foods? Simple, humans are programmed to seek out sweetest foods. This fact is not lost on processed food industry. If the sweetest fruit is 100 on a scale of 1 to 100, food manufactures design their food to be 150 on the same scale.

Think about it. Give a young child the choice between a banana and a piece of candy after sampling both he or she will go for the candy every time because our brains are hardwired that’s how companies take advantage of our sweet tooth.

The desensitizing of our taste buds by abnormally tasty processed food isn’t restricted to sweetness; the same goes for salty as well. But natural foods saltiness is a more subtle taste than sweetness, so if you eat junk food, or worse if you add salt to your food you are never going to taste the natural saltiness in natural foods. And over time you’ll likely have to salt your meal to be able to taste them at all. But fear not you can re-sensitize your taste buds simply by avoiding unnaturally sweet and salty items.

So remember. When it comes to food, personal taste isn’t just affected by your use of condiments; it’s influenced by your lifestyle habits. Including diet, sleep, sunshine, stress, physical activity. Toxins and hydration. The healthier you live the healthier your taste buds will be And the healthier your taste buds are the more sensitive your sense of taste and so the tastier life can be.,

 

Monday, January 26, 2009

Gadget Freak

Frank Terranova

KITCHEN GADGETS AND TOYS

Being in the food business, we, as chefs, love kitchen toys. It makes our lives easier, and fun to use. There are so many types of gadgets that take up little space and are fun to use in some cases. Think of how difficult it would be to peel carrots, apples, pears, and potatoes without that little peeler; some cost as much as $1.00. How frivolous!

Well, I have a few ideas on how much easier your cooking chores can be. Most of the ones you will recognize. There is one crazy one you will think: how unusual and what a nice little thing it is. So let’s begin. The famous micro plane for grating citrus peel, spices like nutmeg, and cheeses with their fine textures. But think about it: you only can grate in one direction with most of them. I was in the drug store and saw this display for the Ped Egg. Now this is for the feet and has a small reservoir. I picked it up, and felt its gentle but fine grating teeth. So I purchased one. Taking it to school I found it is the best micro plane around. It scrapes in two directions and it catches its filings, which are very tiny pieces. It’s now a staple in my school kitchen; we even took it to Germany and it became an instant hit with us during the Culinary Olympics . You never know what’s out there!

First of all, myself being a salad geek, I love hard, crisp greens. So I use a plastic container to keep the greens crisp. After purchasing the greens, I bought a container from one of those dollar stores with a snap on the cover; actually I purchased four of them.
Greens need moisture so I got them home, rinsed in cold water for a few seconds, and shook as much water out. Place a paper towel in the bottom of the container, put in the head lettuce, romaine or whatever I decide to use. One day covered and a greenhouse takes effect; then you have very hard, chilled crisp greens. 

How many times are there when you cannot open a jar or even a bottle with the plastic cover on it? Well it’s time to use a jar opener; saves those pain-in-the-hand messes. One of my favorite gadgets is a rotary hand grater. How many times do we buy a nice piece of Parmesan cheese or a pungent piece of Romano cheese?  It stays fresh if kept in an airtight container. Just break off a piece, place it in the rotary grated opening, and twist just like the restaurants do. Cheese stays fresher longer.

Here is a fun one. How many times do you try to squeeze the juice out of a lemon? Not bad. Then try to do the same to a lime? It’s almost like squeezing a rock! Try a lemon reamer. It’s a little wooden (and in some cases a stainless steel) cone shape with ribs. All you do is insert it in the center of a cut citrus and spin it. The juice flows easily. Let’s not forget the garlic press. At least it leaves less of a garlic smell on your hands, plus it distributes evenly in food.

Pastry brushes. Now, we have used for years in professional kitchens the type with either hair or nylon bristles.  I love the soft plastic. Rubber bristles are the best; they never get messy, they are simple to sanitize, they never lose their bristles, and they last for many years.
Last, but not totally complete: the meat thermometer. So useful for poultry and all types of meats.  It’s also useful for checking the doneness of cakes to see if they are still moist in the center; some have a probe with an attached magnet with timers. Very useful for that Thanksgiving turkey.

I can go on and on about the little toys chefs use. Some are inexpensive some very expensive. But it makes all of our lives easier and adds much more fun to cooking.
Any questions on gadgets, you can email me here on the recipe web site.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Food Trends in 09

Frank A Terranova

TREND WATCH 2009

So what’s up for the nation in 2009 in food trends? As usual the experts, chefs will take out their crystal ball when it comes to this year’s food trends and not to anyone’s surprise its budget [money] will drive the business “the biggest bang for the buck”

Comfort food will make resurgence with a dramatic twist. Expect things like Caesar Salad with the steak, Tomato salad caprese mashed potatoes, shrimp cocktail will appear but with the twist. Exotic salts, basil espuma grated fresh horseradish as a sprinkle to give that extra unexpected pop. With the budget menus so will be the labor force using lower paid staff to off set the high food costs.

Cheaper cuts of meats like tri tip, flat iron steak, and hanger beef will be used by restaurants little will be accessed to the consumer because of the higher labor in stop butcher shops. Usually this is taken from carcass animals at the processing plants. The flavor, tenderness will be great. The usual Filet Mignon, Strip Steak, Rib Eye will be available but its higher price will prevail.

Local is still the most used food catch to be used. Chefs have a place in their heart for the farmer weather its fishing, produce farming raising livestock we want to provide the customer with the freshest Seasonal product. Artisan, heritage and heirloom ingredients are going to see a big increase in restaurants and for the home cook.

Savory, Dishes will use less sweetened pastries and flavors, Puff pastries will accompany herbs, cheese and other flavors to complete a meal with less expensive products. Chilis, kaffiir lime leaves will make the simple flavors explode.

Tea will continue to lead the hot beverage market also a large tea infused foods will be the trend we now have green tea jasmine rice, green tea mints and green tea infused truffles sounds like its all coming up green.

Fresh juices will be used to make the favorite drinks the juices will add the attraction of “healthy” as in Bloody Mary, Screw Driver using Fresh orange juice, fresh tomato juice grapefruit juices.

My favorite is Cryovac-Sous Vide This is the new way of using and processing foods to create completely new dishes. Things like compressed melons using a cryovac machine to remove all air and drive any flavor added into the food. Seafood compressed, placed in a thermo circulator and cooked at low Celsius temps then finished in hot skillets. Braised meats which cook for 3 days on low temperatures in water baths. Foods can be shaped, flavored and totally burst into wonderful flavors. This process is only about 30 years old keep watching here for more details.

This is only the tip of the new trend list. Things will get wilder and more fun as the season comes. Keep tuned to our blog as we try to inform and help consumers look at the greatest thing we have FOOD. [My opinion]