KitchenSavvy

What're Water Chestnuts

Are water chestnuts really nuts?
-- Al

No they aren't.

Water chestnuts are actually the corm of an aquatic plant, most commonly Eleocharis dulcis, or Chinese Water Chestnut.  They have a taste and texture reminiscent of jicama.

A corm is a tuber-like growth at the bottom of the stem which a plant uses to store nutrients.  Corms are different from bulbs, such as garlic, which are used by plants for reproduction.

Water chestnuts are harvested either by hand or machine in the fall once the leaves of the plant start to brown off.  They are most commonly available canned whole or sliced, although they may be found fresh in some asian markets.  If you are able to find fresh water chestnuts, they will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator if they are tightly wrapped, and should be peeled and cleaned just prior to use.  Choose ones that are firm with no wrinkles or spots. Fresh water chestnuts can be eaten raw or cooked.

Canned water chestnuts should be rinsed before use.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered, nor can we guarantee we will answer questions immediately
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Tales from an Old Salt

I recently learned that all white salt is processed and devoid of some 80 minerals. Is that why iodine is added?
--Name Withheld

Salt, whether of the table salt variety or harvested by vestal virgins under a full moon in October contains almost no iodine, unless it is added.  According to M. G. Venkatesh Mannar, Executive Director The Micronutrient Initiative Ottawa, Canada, and John T. Dunn, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A.¹:

"Since iodine is a constituent of sea water, it is often incorrectly assumed that sea salt contains sufficient iodine for nutritional purposes. The total dissolved salts in seawater contain less than 2 micrograms of iodine per gram of salts, equivalent theoretically to about 3 micrograms of iodine for every gram of recovered sodium chloride (3 parts per million). Even this small quantity of iodine is mostly lost in the residual mother liquor that is drained out during the production process and should be disregarded in calculations to establish the level of iodine supplement."

Mother liquor is the liquid part of a solution that is left over after crystallization.  In other words, when salt is made by evaporation of sea water, the small quantity of iodine that was in the water stays there and does not precipitate out in significant amounts when salt crystals drop out of solution.

The main dietary sources of iodine are seafood, sea vegetation, such as kelp, and until recently dairy products.  With recent changes to sanitary practices at dairy operations, the amount of iodine found in dairy products is decreasing in some parts of the world².  It is also found in foods supplemented with iodine and in vegetables grown in iodine rich locations, typically close to the ocean.

Iodine is added to table salt not to make up for it not being found in salt deposits, but because in some places there is not enough iodine from local dietary sources to prevent the occurrence of goiters, an enlargement of the thyroid gland visible as a swelling of the front of the neck, and cretinism in infants from a deficiency of iodine in the mother's diet during pregnancy.  The Great Lakes, Midwest, and inner mountain areas of the United States were once called the "goiter belt" because a high number of goiter cases occurred there³.  Usually this is caused by iodine-poor soil.

The dietary requirement for iodine is about 150 micrograms (μg) daily for adults, less for children and more for expecting mothers⁴.  Iodine is added to table salt, in the form of potassium iodide (KI) or potassium iodate (KIO3), in most, if not all, developed countries.  In some coutries it may be added to flour also.

As for the rest of the 79 or so minerals, supposedly found in sea salt, the question isn't really what is there, but rather a) can you really taste a difference, and b) are any of those minerals essential for human health and otherwise absent from normal diets.  If you are a frequent reader of KitchenSavvy, you have likely heard me riff on before about claims that you can taste the difference.  If you have a really good sense of taste and a really mild food, then maybe.  For most cooks in most recipes, I would hazard a guess that in a controlled, blind tasting of something like stew, you probably would never know what kind of salt was used.

So, this is the problem I have.  Star chefs spout off recipes calling for sea salt, or flaky kosher salt, or salt harvested from the dark side of the moon.  Readers and viewers happily follow the advice, paying exorbitant prices to buy specialty salts and the salt companies laugh all the way to the bank.  Meanwhile, there is a very real risk to health, due to iodine deficiency, that is completely neglected.  Combine that with a food fad like the 100 Mile Diet and you have a recipe for disaster!

For most foods, plain old boring table salt is all you need.  As a garnish, or maybe in a few special cases, fancy salt may add something, but most of the time, it is just money down the drain.

Oh, and by the way, much of the time the colors in specialty salts are either impurities such as clay that are found in the water where the salt is harvested and have no nutritional value, or coloring agents, such as finely ground charcoal, that are added at the processor to make the salt look exotic.

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1	Salt Iodization for the Elimination of Iodine Deficiency; V. Mannar and J. Dunn; International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, 1995; pp 10; an ICCIDD/MI/UNICEF/WHO publication; ISBN 90-70785-13-7; http://www.micronutrient.org/resources/Salt_CD/4.0_useful/4.1_fulltext/pdfs/4.1.1.pdf
2	Iodine Facts; Nutrition Australia website; http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/iodine-facts
3	Goiter - simple; MedLine PLus, National Institutes of Health website; http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001178.htm
4	Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): Recommended Dietary Allowances and Adequate Intakes, Vitamins; Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies, USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center website; http://iom.edu/Activities/Nutrition/SummaryDRIs/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/Nutrition/DRIs/RDA%20and%20AIs_Vitamin%20and%20Elements.pdf

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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, nor can we guarantee we will answer questions immediately
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Mexican Vanilla Extract - Is It Safe?

Happy New Year.  Some friends of ours just came back from a trip to Mexico and they brought us a bottle of vanilla concentrate. I’ve never used ‘concentrate’ before so decided to Google it.  Some people are saying to not use it for it could cause liver damage if there’s a certain ingredient in it. Can you help clarify some of this for me and if’s it’s okay to use does one use it as normal vanilla in recipes?
--Belinda

Vanilla extract is a liquid food flavoring made from the seed pods of the vanilla plant.  There are numerous varieties of the vanilla plant that are used for making vanilla flavoring and extract.  In fact, the first records of vanilla are from when the Spanish arrived in the Gulf of Mexico, around the area that is now known as Veracruz.

While there may be some perfectly good and safe vanilla made in Mexico, unfortunately there are others that are not safe and shouldn't be used.  According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration one ingredient that is used in making so-called vanilla flavoring is the bean of the Tonka plant (Dipteryx odorata, also known as Coumarouna odorata).  The tonka bean is sometimes described as double vanilla or vanilla on steroids, due to its strong flavor.  Unfortunately, tonka also contains a substance called Coumarin, which has blood thinning properties and has been shown to cause liver damage.  Because of this, foods and foodstuffs containing tonka bean or its extract are banned in the United States and several other countries.

The FDA says "Be wary about buying products labeled "Vainilla" or "Extracto de Vainilla" in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Look for "vanilla bean" in the ingredient list on the label. If it has "tonka bean" or if there is no ingredient list or a vague one, do not purchase this product."

My best advice is to thank your friends for thinking of you and go back to using your favorite store-bought vanilla.  It is not worth the risk to your health, or that of your loved onces, to use any ingredient that you are not confident is safe.

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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, nor can we guarantee we will answer questions immediately
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

How Does Gluten Free Baking Rise

I understand how the gluten in wheat flour works to capture the gas formed by either yeast or baking powder or soda, but what makes the non gluten containing flours rise?
--Lynn

In normal baking, the proteins glutenin and gliadin in flour bond with the water and with each other to form long strands and sheets of what we know as gluten.  Many baked goods rely on the formation of gluten to trap gases released by leavening agents in order to make the product rise.  The most common example is the gluten formed in making bread, although gluten is found in lesser amounts in biscuits, cakes and cookies, as well.

Gluten sensitivity is a reaction to the gluten found in most baked goods.  The proteins that make up gluten can be found not just in wheat, but also barley, rye,  triticale and some other grains.  Others, like oats, may be contaminated during handling and processing.  Gluten sensitivity affects the body's ability to absorb nutrients.

Many gluten-free baked goods can be bought, or made at home.  Flour made from rice, corn, beans or other starchy foods is used to provide the substance of the product, and yeast or baking soda or powder are still used to provide the lift, but because these flours don't form gluten, something else is needed to trap the gases produced by the leavener.  The two most commonly used ingredients are egg and xanthan gum, both of which allow the gases to be held until the starches can set enough to hold the volume.

Because bread made in this way lacks the long protein structures of gluten, its consistency is somewhat more cake-like than regular bread.  All gluten-free products will tend to be denser and more crumbly that their gluten containing counterparts.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered, nor can we guarantee we will answer questions immediately
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Cream of Tartar vs Tartar Sauce

Are Cream of Tartar and Tartar Sauce the same thing?
--Helen

Seeing this question made me think of a Before and After category puzzle on Wheel of Fortune where the answer is "Cream of Tartar Sauce."

No, they are not the same thing.  Cream of tartar is a dry white powder that is actually finely ground tartaric acid.  The chemical name is potassium bitartrate and the formula, for those who care, is KC₄H₅O₆.  It is found as a sediment in the making of wine (see Crystals in Wine).  Cream of tartar has three main uses in the home kitchen -- to stabilize egg whites when they are whipped (see Beating Egg Whites - How Cream of Tartar Helps), in candy making to help reduce the formation of crystals in boiling sugar, and as a leavening agent when combined with baking soda (see Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder).

Tartar sauce is a mayonnaise-based condiment most frequently served with seafood.  Typical ingredients, other than the mayonnaise are chopped dill pickles, capers, lemon juice, vinegar, onions or shallots, and various herbs and seasonings.  Here is my recipe for homemade tartar sauce which I like to serve with crab cakes:

Homemade Tartar Sauce

	1/3	c	Mayonnaise
1		tsp	Lemon Zest
1		tbsp	Fresh Lemon Juice
	1/2	clove	Garlic, minced
1	1/2	tbsp	Chopped Caper Berries, rinsed and drained
1	1/2	tsp	Chopped Fresh Chives
2		tsp	Chopped Fresh Cilantro or Tarragon
			Salt and Pepper, to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate, covered, for at least one hour for the flavors to meld.  Quantities can be adjusted to suit your taste.

I like to zest the lemon and mince the garlic using a micro-plane since that way they mix right in without any chunks or stringy bits, but both can be done with a knife if you prefer.  Also, I prefer the larger caper berries to the non-pareil size, although any size would work.

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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, nor can we guarantee we will answer questions immediately
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Overcrowded Pan

Lots of recipes for stews and braises say to brown the meat "being careful to not overcrowd the pan."  What does this mean and why does it matter?

--Lisbeth

 

The basic idea of searing meat is to create a nice brown crust on the meat that adds flavor to the dish through a process called the Maillard Reaction.  Note that searing meat does not seal in juices, as many cooks believe (see KitchenSavvy Kitchen Science).  To brown meat correctly, you want to have the pan at medium hot and brown a few pieces of meat at a time.  Dry the meat with a cloth or paper towel just before browning to remove any surface liquid.  A good rule of thumb is to have at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) between pieces of meat, and to not cover more than about half of the surface area.  If necessary, brown the meat in batches.  If possible, do not use meat that was previously frozen, and have it at room temperature when you start cooking.

So, what happens if you put in too much meat at one time?  The meat makes the pan cool down, due both to the lower temperature of the meat and the evaporation of liquid on the surface, and instead of browning, the meat oozes out juices and steams rather than browns.  Even at the best of times, this still happens occasionally, depending on whether the meat was previously frozen or other factors.

Does this ruin a recipe?  No!  In fact, quite some time ago, when I was in my teens, I made beef stroganoff for a friend whose family was the majority shareholder in a national restaurant chain.  To my horror at the time, the beef started to swim in its own juices and I had visions of a ruined dish -- flavorless with tough, chewy meat.  Not having any other choice, I simply soldiered on and browned the meat as it dried out.  The stroganoff turned out perfect.  In fact it was so good my friend offered to see if there was any way I could get into training to be a cook at the restaurant, if I wanted.  That was the path untraveled, but the moral of the story is that it isn't necessarily fatal to overcrowd the pan.

What should you do if this happens? 

1. Make sure there is room in the pan for the leaking juices to evaporate.  If necessary, take a few pieces of meat out of the pan and cook them in another batch.
2. Keep up the heat.  Don't be tempted to turn down the heat while the juices evaporate.
3. Turn the pieces often.  As the liquid dries, the protein and sugars in the juices will adhere to the meat and brown.  After all, the Maillard reaction comes from the heating of amino acids, found in protein, and sugar.
4. Look out for the juices burning to the bottom of the pan.  One trick I have learned is to hold a piece of meat in my tongs and use it like a wipe to clean out the fond browning  in the bottom of the pan.  If the juices start to burn, take the pan off heat, remove the meat, and then use one piece to wipe out the bottom of the pan.  Unless the stuff in the bottom of the pan has started to turn black, you can just put that piece of meat into the final dish as it is cooking and it will add even more flavor.  You can do the same trick if you need to clean the pan between batches of meat that you are browning.
5. Don't be tempted to drain off the juices and put them back into the final dish.  Because they contain proteins, the juices may make the end product cloudy.  If you must drain off the liquid, throw it out, or save it for a soup.

Sometimes overcrowding a pan may not be salvageable, so it is better to avoid having it happening in the first place, but if it does happen the dish will still taste the same and, if you are even a little bit lucky, the meat will still be tender.

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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, nor can we guarantee we will answer questions immediately
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

How are Egg Counted in Baker's Percentages

I read your previous posting on Baker's Percentage.  My question is, given that eggs contain a lot of water, should they be counted in the hydration percentage for bread?

--Eric

About 76% of the total weight of an egg is water.  Of the rest, about 9.5% is fat, 12.5% is protein and 0.4% is glucose.   Technically, that means that for a large egg, weighing approximately 50 grams (1.76 oz), 38 grams are water. Egg whites alone have about 87.6% water.

For a typical white bread recipe, the water in one large egg can represent about about 5% - 6% of the total hydration percentage.  For doughs like Brioche and Challah, the water in the eggs can represent up to 20% or more of the total hydration percentage. 

In the Challah recipe given by Reinhart in The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, he calls for 18 ounces of flour, 2 large eggs (3.3 ounces), 2 large egg whites (1.25 ounces), and 7 to 9 ounces of water.  The water in the eggs and whites totals just over 3.6 ounces or 20% of the total weight of flour.  The water represents between 40% and 50% of the total weight of flour, so the overall hydration is 60% to 70% (i.e. total weight of water from all sources/total weight of flour as %).

While I have heard some comments to the effect that we tend to spend too much time focusing on the minutiae of baker's percentages rather than learning how our bread actually behaves when we make it, since my return from the King Arther Flour Artisan Baking at Home class, I have been tracking my recipes and trying to learn how the science and the art come together in the kitchen.  In part, this is necessary simply because the Canadian flours available to home bakers tend to be higher in gluten forming proteins that their American counterparts.  What that means is that a recipe that works for US all-purpose flour will be under hydrated for Canadian all-purpose.  To get the results I want, I am finding I need to increase the hydration by a factor of about 1.03 -- that is, if a recipe calls for 70% hydration, I need to use about 70 X 1.03 = 72.1% hydration.  So far I would only call that a starting estimate, but without understanding where all of the sources of water are that come into a recipe, I can't make the appropriate corrections.  Either that or I try to figure out how to measure 0.03 of 2 whole eggs.

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

Just for Good Measure

Along with baking ammonia ... where does one find a dram of lemon oil, and for that matter, how much is a dram?   Thanks for your answer on baking ammonia.

--Karen

The dram measure is not used very commonly now, perhaps because it has numerous definitions.  Depending on who you consult, it is ¹/₈^th of an ounce by weight,  or ¹/₁₆^th of a fluid ounce, or about 3.7 milliliters (mL) in the United States, or 3.6 mL in the United Kingdom.  And as if that wasn't enough, a dram of whiskey or brandy is about two tablespoons.

In cooking the most common conversion of a dram is ³/₄^th of a teaspoon.

Now for lemon oil, there are essentially two types when it comes to cooking^*.  One is the essential oil extracted from the rinds of lemons.  This kind of lemon oil adds a distinct lemon flavor to pound cakes, cookies and other baked goods. Some essential lemon oils are cut with another flavorless oil to make them less intense.  For that reason, you want to read and the manufacturer's directions, if there are any.

The second type is a cooking oil, such as olive or canola, which has been infused with the taste of lemons.  This may be done by heating the oil and simmering lemon rinds in the warm oil, or by crushing lemons with the olives when making olive oil.  This kind is used for salads or drizzling on foods such as pastas or vegetables.

I'm guessing you want the former for baked goods, based on your mention of baking ammonia, but without the recipe, I could be wrong.  You can find lemon oil of both types at most reliable gourmet stores.

So, where does all of that leave you? You likely want to use about ³/₄ teaspoon of the essential lemon oil in your recipe.  Depending on the strength of the lemon oil and the source and accuracy of your recipe, you may need to adjust the amount either way.  You might be able to find other similar recipes to yours that give some guidance, but it will likely be hit-and-miss the first couple of tries.

^* It may go without saying, but only use food grade products.  Lemon oil used for aromatherapy and household cleaning are not edible and should not be used in cooking.

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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

To Salt or Not To Salt, That is the Question

A friend recently told me that every ingredient should be salted as it is added to a dish when cooking.  Really!?

--Lynn

 

Cooking is full of a lot of myth and pretense, and perhaps even a little interference from special interests, and salt seems to be one of the big ones, nowadays (see Salt [of the Earth], and Fixing Over-Salted Food). 

I have two major problems with this particular fad.  First, and I think foremost, is that most of us are already getting way too much sodium in our diets.  It makes food taste better and we need salt as part of our diets, but the USDA Dietary Guidelines suggest that we should limit our consumption of salt to less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day, if we are under 51 years of age, and 1,500 mg if we are older.  2,300 mg is the amount of sodium in only one teaspoon of table salt.  The lesser amount, 1,500 mg, is just less than 2/3 of a teaspoon.  And that is sodium from all sources consumed throughout the day, including not just the salt you sprinkle on, or the salt in packaged foods, but also sodium in the baking soda or powder used to make cookies, biscuits, cakes, etc..  At present, the average American gets about 3,400 mg of sodium a day, or about half again the maximum recommended amount.  Adding salt at each step just increases the chances that you will have way too much salt in the final product, from both the  health and flavor points of view.

Second is simply, can you tell the difference?  Here is the experiment to construct.  Cook two identical versions of the same dish, one where the salt is added at each step, and one where the same amount of salt is added at one time, preferably toward the end of preparation.  Now have a bunch of friends taste the two dishes, without knowing which is which, and preferably mixing it up so some start with dish "A" and others with dish "B".  If you have enough tasters and they can consistently tell which is which, then go with that.  My bet is they won't know the difference, particularly on longer cooked dishes like stews.

There are reasons, however, why you might want to salt a particular ingredient.  If you are making caramelized onions, for instance, some salt at the start of cooking helps to draw out water and soften the onions faster.  Salt also draws water out of eggplant (aubergine) and cucumbers.  In the case of eggplant, it can significantly change the texture, too.  Salting meat may help encourage the Maillard reaction, creating a more flavorful dish. There is at least one dish I cook where I deliberately under-salt during cooking and then add salt at the table because it brightens the flavor.

Used strategically, salt enhances flavor and texture, helps in preserving, and speeds cooking.  Used recklessly, it can ruin the taste of food and be a contributing factor in  health problems.

If you feel you must salt at every step, then don't just throw salt in from your salt shaker (cellar, box, pig, ...).  Instead, read the recipe, measure out the total amount of salt beforehand, and then use small pinches from the pre-measured amount.  If there recipe doesn't provide a total amount, or says something like "Salt to taste", then you need to use your judgment, but you would still be wise to pre-measure the amount of salt you intend to use.  In either case, aim to use half to two-thirds the salt you have set aside so you have some left over at the end to adjust the seasoning once the dish is complete.

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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

Difference Between Salsa and Pico de Gallo

What is the difference between salsa and Pico de Gallo?  They seem to be used interchangeably on restaurant menus.

--Denise

Salsa is the Mexican word for "sauce".  It can include both cooked salsas, like those found on supermarket shelves across North America, or "Salsa Cruda", meaning uncooked sauce.  A salsa cruda is typically prepared from fresh ingredients shortly before serving, although it will last refrigerated for several days and the flavor can become more blended and complex if it is allowed to rest for several hours before being used.

Salsa is usually made from sweet and hot peppers, onions, tomatoes and/or tomatillos, garlic, and cilantro, seasoned with salt and possibly pepper.

Pico de Gallo [pronounced Pee' Koh de Gah" Yoh] means "rooster's beak".  According to The New Food Lover's Companion, the name may refer to eating Pico de Gallo by picking it out of the bowl with thumb and fingers.  While Pico de Gallo may be made using similar ingredients to salsa, it may also include cucumbers, tropical fruits including mango or pineapple, corn, or other ingredients not typically found in other salsas.  While it may be considered a form of salsa, Pico de Gallo may also be drier than cooked or fresh salsa.

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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