KitchenSavvy

Making Applesauce Without Browning

I am making applesauce and then freezing it.  The recipes call for white sugar. I was told I need to add this so the apples do not turn brown.  Is there something else I can use?  I prefer not to use any sweetener.  Thank you very much.

--Mary

Apples brown because they contain an enzyme that causes the flesh to turn brown when it is exposed to air.  If you want to prevent cut apples from turning brown, there are a number of things you can do.  These include using firm apples, not over-ripe or wind fallen ones, submerging them in a solution of cold water and citric or ascorbic acid, or cooking them. Cold temperatures slow down the browning reaction while acidity interferes with the browning reaction. Heat destroys or "denatures' the enzyme responsible for browning.

We make and freeze applesauce all of the time around here from the Westland^* apples that grow in our back yard.  The applesauce maintains a nice light cream color.  Here's how to do it.  First pick the apples at their ripest.  Then get ready a large bowl with about 2 or 3 quarts of icy cold water with the juice of one lemon mixed in.  You could dissolve a teaspoon or so of powdered citric or ascorbic acid into the water instead.  Also get ready a microwavable bowl large enough to hold about a quart of peeled and cored apples.

Now you want to peel and core the apples as quickly as possible and drop them into the water as you go along, making sure they are completely dunked.  Instead of fussing with the apples too much trying to peel them, I remove the stem and quarter then from end to end.  Then I remove the core simply by putting each quarter on the cutting board and making a slice with my chef's knife the full length from end to end, taking enough flesh to remove all or most of the core.  This is a bit wasteful, but much faster than fussing with a paring knife or a melon baller.  The waste is only slightly more than if you use one of those tubular corers that you shove through the apple.  Then I grab my sharp paring knife and make a few lengthwise passes to remove the peel.  The poetic image of going around and around the apple removing a continuous strip of skin sells good in movies, but it is way too slow!  As each quarter is peeled drop it into the lemon water.

When you have enough peeled apple to make a quart or so, drain them by hand, put them into your second bowl, cover with plastic wrap and pop them into your microwave on high for around 5 minutes.  The exact time will depend on the freshness of the apples, the amount you are heating and the power of your microwave.  The beauty of using the microwave is the speed with which it heats the apples and destroys the browning enzyme.  You can tell they are done when a knife passes easily into a slice with almost no resistance.

Now you can either mash the apples with a potato masher or blend them with a hand blender.  We use a hand blender, but that does tend to make a smoother applesauce than if you mash them.  Be careful not to burn yourself, though.  If you want, you can add sugar or sucralose at this point to taste, or just leave the applesauce unsweetened.

Finally, pack the apples into freezer safe containers and let them cool somewhat before freezing.  We use freezer plastic bags since you can squeeze out any air.  The enzyme should be inactive anyhow, so it may be like "belt and suspenders" thinking to worry about air in the package at this point.

^* Westland apples are a variety bred for growing in the short Saskatchewan summer. They are a good apple, but the timing to pick them is very short. They go from ready to rotten in about a week!

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Onion and Carrot Salad 'a la Grecque'

In cooking, a la Grecque means "in the Greek style" and usually refers to food that is served in a sauce made of olive oil, lemon juice, and seasonings such as fennel, coriander, sage, or thyme.  The following recipe is derived from one originally published by Jacques Pepin.  I like this as a summer or fall salad, since it is best when made with freshly harvested vegetables.  Vidalia onions can be substituted if you prefer a milder flavor.  Also, you can omit the lemon juice and just use ¹/₄ cup of white wine vinegar.

A good olive oil that you would use for cooking can be used for the first ¹/₃ cup, but you might use a finer, fruitier olive oil for the finish.

Onion and Carrot Salad a la Grecque

	1/2	c	Dry White Wine
2		tbsp	Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
2		tbsp	White Wine Vinegar, or to taste
	1/2	c	Water
	1/3	c	Olive Oil
	1/2	tsp	Whole Black Peppercorns
1		tsp	Coriander Seeds
	1/2	tsp	Dried Thyme
	1/2	tsp	Fennel Seeds
2		tsp	Salt
3			Whole Bay Leaves
	1/4	tsp	Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1	1/2	lb	White Onions (6 to 8 medium)
1		lb	Carrots (6 or 7 large)
	1/4	c	Olive Oil, to finish

1. Julienne the carrots into sticks about 2" X 3/8" square (5 cm X 1 cm square).
2. Peel the onions, and then cut each lengthwise into 8 segments (like an orange).
3. Bring the wine, lemon juice, vinegar, water, ⅓ cup of olive oil and all of the spices to a gentle boil in a large saucepan.
4. Add the carrots and cook, covered, for 6 minutes.
5. Add the onions and cook, covered, until the vegetables just start to soften, about 3 or 4 more minutes.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature and then transfer to a non-reactive container and refrigerate for at least one day or up to a week.
7. Just before serving, stir in the last ¼ cup of olive oil.

Accompany with fresh bread and a glass of the same wine that was used in making the salad.

Note that since most of the liquid remains in the serving dish, this recipe is less oily than it seems.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

What Makes Some Onions Sweet

Why are some onions such as Walla Wallas or Vadalias sweeter than others?

--Syl

Onions such as Walla Wallas, Vadalias, Mauis and others are sweet because they have lower quantities of the sulfur compounds that cause the "bite" associated with more pungent onions.  There is some discussion as to whether this is because the particular variety is less capable of making the sulfur compounds or if perhaps because they are grown in soil that has very low quantities of sulfur and therefore less is absorbed into the plant. In either case, these are the same compounds that cause your eyes to sting and water when you are cutting onions (see I Never Hurt an Onion, So Why Did It Make Me Cry?). Sweet onions are preferred by some cooks in recipes where they are served raw, such as in salads or sandwiches.  If you are cooking the onions though, it makes more sense to use less expensive varieties such as common yellow onions.  The reason for this is that the sulfur compounds cook out as the onions are sautéed.  If you are caramelizing onions for something like a pissaladiere (see Flavor Layering) or to make French onion soup, it is nearly impossible to tell whether the onions you started with were a sweet or regular variety.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Squash Casserole Turned Black

I have recently started cooking with whole wheat flour because of the nutrition and flavor.  I recently made a squash casserole using whole wheat flour.  I put it in the fridge until I had time to bake it the next day.  When I took it out of the fridge, it had turned dark on the top.  What happened and why did it turn dark?  Was it the flour or was it in the fridge too long?

--Donna

Actually, it is probably neither of those things.

Without actually seeing your recipe, it is hard to say what happened, but some recipes for squash casserole call for diced or grated raw squash and/or other vegetables, such as carrots. If that is the case for you, what may have happened is that the raw ingredients oxidized in much the same way as many raw fruits and vegetables will after they have been cut. You have likely, at one time or another, sliced apples ahead of time, only to find when you are ready to use them that they have turned brown on the outside. 

This is caused by the release of an enzyme naturally found within the cells of fruits and vegetables.  As long as the enzyme is safely tucked away inside undamaged cells, nothing happens, but once the cell wall is damaged through cutting, mashing or some other mechanical action, the enzyme is released and starts to cause browning.

Had you covered the unfinished casserole with plastic wrap, that still may not have been sufficient to keep oxygen out.  As described in How to Stop Guacamole from Turning Black, not all plastic wraps are effective at keeping oxygen out.

Chances are good that had you cooked the casserole immediately after it was assembled there would have been no browning.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Canning Barbecue Sauce

I have been making my own barbecue sauce.  As of yet I have not been able to make the sauce thick enough.  When I do achieve the right thickness and process bottles in a pressure cooker, the thickener I use breaks down and my sauce is the consistency of water.  Any suggestions on the best thickeners to use?

--Bob

Since you didn't say what you are using as a thickener, I can only speculate that it is a starch of some sort.

Starches are made up of two kinds of molecules; amylose which is a long chain of glucose molecules, and amylopectin which is also made of glucose molecules but with a ramified or branching structure.  In plants, starches are deposited into granules which contain many starch molecules.  While amylose is water soluble, amylopectin is not.

When a solution containing starch is heated, two things happen.  First, the amylose molecules dissolve into the water where, because of their length, they form a tangled mesh which traps the water and any other materials.  At the same time, water infiltrates the starch granules, causing them to swell.  All of this typically happens in the range of somewhere between 120°F (49°C) and  180°F (82°C).

Your problem is that, as the starch-thickened mixture is subjected to prolonged cooking at higher temperatures, the starch granules rupture releasing their trapped water back into the sauce.  Also, some of the starch molecules begin to break down into smaller fragments which are less able to form the mesh which thickens the sauce.  The breakdown of starch molecules is encouraged by the acidity of the sauce.

Unfortunately, there is no good way around this problem, especially for the home cook, other than carefully cooking your barbecue sauce down until it is thick enough without the addition of a thickener.  It should be boiled gently until the volume is reduced by half or until the mixture rounds up on spoon without separating.

A recipe for barbecue sauce suitable for canning developed by the USDA can be found at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/bbqsauce.html.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

How to Stop Guacamole from Turning Black

I have heard that to stop guacamole from turning black that you should save the avocado pit and put it on top of the guacamole once it is made.  How does this work?

--Marc

This tip works only if the avocado pit is big enough to completely cover the bowl from edge to edge.  What it does is exclude oxygen.  Once the avocado fruit has been cut and the contents mashed, an enzyme released from inside the cells of the avocado flesh starts causing the pulp to turn brown in the presence of oxygen.  Placing the pit on top of the guacamole keeps oxygen away from the area directly in contact with the pit.  The surrounding area not covered by the pit still turns brown.

Any oxygen impermeable barrier will stop browning from happening; an avocado pit, plastic wrap, as Harold McGee found in The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore, even a 40 watt light bulb (not recommended).  While McGee found that all plastic wraps worked to some degree, Saran Wrap, which allows less oxygen to pass through it than some other brands, was most effective.  Whatever material is used, it should be pressed gently down onto the surface of the guacamole to remove as much oxygen as possible.

The citric acid in the lime juice used to make guacamole also helps a bit, but to be completely effective it would need to be used in much larger amounts than most recipes call for.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Open Freezing

This summer we had a large crop of raspberries which I froze to use later.  They are now one solid block of ice.  Is there any way I can freeze them so that I can measure out the amount I need rather than having to chip chunks out of a block?

--Joan

You can freeze berries, beans, and other fruits or vegetables using a technique called open freezing to keep them from forming a solid block.  To do this, rinse the fruit or vegetable to remove any dirt or foreign particles.  With some foods like beans, carrots and the like, larger pieces can cut up into mouth-sized bites.  If necessary, blanch the food, and then dry it completely.

Place the food in a single layer one or more cookie sheets which have been lined with parchment paper so that the pieces are not touching. Put the cookie sheets into your freezer and leave them until the food freezes solid.  Depending on the size of the pieces, this can take a couple of hours or more.   Do not, however, leave the food like this for too long as prolonged open exposure to the air in the freezer will cause loss of quality.

Make sure to lay the sheets flat, so that the food doesn't all slide to one end and the pieces touch one another.  Do not stack the cookie sheets one on top of the next as this will delay freezing, and may damage the food.  There should be plenty of air flow over the top of each sheet.

Once the food is frozen, it can be removed from the parchment paper and put into labeled, resealable freezer bags or containers for longer storage.

It is necessary to make sure that the food is completely dry before open freezing or it may stick permanently to the parchment paper.  I prefer parchment paper, however, as its silicon coating reduces the chance of this happening and if something does freeze to it, I don't care if it gets torn.

The University of Missouri Extension branch has a list of vegetables and the blanching method and times to use at this link.  Blanching slows down enzymes that can cause food to lose its color or quality.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Freezing Green Tomatoes

Can green tomatoes be frozen? We love fried green tomatoes and we have a lot of green tomatoes that we hate to throw away. I was wondering if they can be saved by freezing.

--Don

Fresh tomatoes, red or green, can be frozen by simply removing the hard portion at the stem end using a sharp paring knife.  Place the whole tomatoes in a single layer, either on a cookie sheet or in bags, in your freezer.  Freezing them in a single layer will make it easier to remove only as many as you need at a time later.  If you freeze them on a cookie sheet, transfer them to plastic bags for long term storage.

To thaw, place as many as you need into a bowl and leave in the fridge, covered, overnight or defrost them gently in the microwave.  The skins will peel off easily and the tomatoes can be used for any recipe where canned or fresh tomatoes are cooked until soft, such as sauces or stews.

Frozen green tomatoes can likely not be used for making fried green tomatoes, however, as the cell damage from freezing will cause them to release a large amount of water.  In turn, this will cause the breading to come off during cooking.  Also, the tomatoes themselves likely be too mushy.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Tomato Concassé

I have a recipe that asks for "tomato concassé".  What is it and how is it used?

--Julie

Tomato concassé (pronounced "kon-kah-SAY") is a dice of tomatoes which have been peeled and the seeds removed.  Recipes that use concassé are striving for a finer result, showing that you cared enough about the quality of the final product to remove seeds, which can be tough and bitter; and the skin, which won't soften during cooking.

To make tomato concassé, start with fresh, ripe tomatoes.  Bring a pot of water, deep enough to cover the tomatoes, to a boil.  For each tomato, remove the tough part where the stem used to be by using the tip of a paring knife to carve a small cone-shaped piece out of the stem end.  Next turn the tomato over, and on the other end mark a small cross in the skin with the knife.  Each cut should be about an inch (2.5 cm) long.

When the tomatoes are ready, place a few at a time in the boiling water.  When the water returns to a boil, allow them to cook about a minute longer and then remove them using a slotted spoon.  Parboil all of the tomatoes in this fashion.  When the tomatoes have cooled enough to handle, slide the edge of a paring knife just under the corner of one of the intersections of the cross cut earlier.  Trap the skin against the blade of the knife by gently pressing with the thumb of the hand holding the knife and pull the skin away.  Continue to work around the tomato, removing all of the skin.

Two things will take some practice.  One is recognizing when the tomatoes have boiled long enough.  You don't want them to soften and get mushy, but you do want the skins to loosen.  The amount of time will vary, depending on how ripe the tomatoes are.  The other is learning how to peel the tomato.  It just takes practice and a bit of care.

Once all of the tomatoes are peeled, cut each in half around its middle, and gently squeeze out the seeds.  Sometimes you may find that you need to use your fingers ("impeccably clean" as Julia Child would always say), or a small spoon, to convince the seeds to let go.  Discard the skins and seeds.

After all of the tomatoes are seeded, chop them up.  Depending on the recipe and your inclination, this may be a rough chop or a fine dice.

Some cooks ignore the peeling and seeding and simply chop up their tomatoes for the recipe.  However, considering how little work it takes to make a concassé, it is sometimes worth the effort to produce a really top quality dish.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Chili Pepper Heat

I've heard that most of the heat in hot peppers is in the seeds and that if you remove them, the pepper will be mild.  Is that true?

--Robert

The active ingredient in peppers that makes them hot is a "capsaicin" (pronounced "cap-SAY-i-sin"), a  colorless, pungent, crystalline compound, C₁₈H₂₇NO₃.  The amount of capsaicin varies not only with the type of pepper, but with growing conditions and the degree of ripening.  The same pepper grown in hotter and drier conditions will contain more capsaicin and be hotter to eat. Heat from peppers is measured in Scoville units, starting at zero for sweet bell peppers and going to over 300,000 for Habañero peppers.

Capsaicin is concentrated not in the seeds, as is commonly believed, but in the fibrous, whitish pulp that holds the seeds, called the placenta.  As the pepper ages, capsaicin migrates from the placenta into other parts.  If you remove just the seeds and leave most of the placenta behind, you will actually do little to tame a hot pepper.  To get out most of the heat, you need to remove as much as of the placenta as possible, leaving only the fleshy outer fruit.

You can test this, preferably using a mildly hot pepper like a jalapeño, by dividing it into flesh, seed and placenta.  Going in that order, taste equal amounts of each part.  The amount of heat you experience should increase from fruit to seed and from seed to placenta.

Capsaicin does not dissolve in water, but does dissolve in alcohol and vegetable oils.  Drinking water has little long term ability to tame the heat of eating peppers.  Drinking whole milk or eating other fatty foods is likely to be more effective.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com
Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward