KitchenSavvy

Blowing Smoke Rings

When I barbecue meat, there is a layer just under the surface that doesn't look like it got cooked, even though the middle looks done.  What causes that?

-- Dean

What you are seeing is called the smoke ring.  It is an area of meat that, although it is cooked, hasn't turned the greyish brown we associate with cooked meat.  There are actually two different causes for meat to still be red, despite being cooked, both of which relate to the oxygen carrying protein myoglobin found in meat.

When you barbecue, the burning wood, charcoal or gas produces trace quantities of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) as one of the combustion byproducts.  The nitrogen dioxide combines with water molecules to a form mild acid called nitrous acid (HNO₂).  The water molecules may be on the surface of the meat, in the air surrounding the meat, or as another byproduct from the burning of the fuel,  In any case, the nitrous acid that comes into contact with the meat slowly penetrates the surface to a depth of up to ½ inch (12 mm) or so, where it comes into contact with the myoglobin, replacing the oxygen atom that is attached to it with nitric oxide (NO).  The effect is the same as using nitrates to make sausage or other preserved meats.  The red color of the myoglobin is locked in, causing the pink color to remain.

The formation of a smoke ring can be enhanced in several ways:

1. Keep the temperature as low as is safely possible, around 200°F(93°C).  This will keep the surface of the meat from drying out, thus providing more moisture for the above reactions and keeping the outside tender so that the nitrous acid can penetrate.  It also slows down the rate at which myoglobin denatures from heat and can no longer react with the nitric oxide.
2. Add moisture to the cooking environment by placing a pan of water in the barbecue.  This has two advantages, one being more moisture for the reaction and the other that the water acts as a bit of a heat regulator, keeping the temperature close to the boiling point of water.
3. Don't dry out the surface of the meat before cooking.  Most recipes are looking to have the surface dry so as to encourage the Maillard reaction (see Browning Meat for Slow Cooker).  In this case you want to leave the moisture on.
4. Where you would usually allow meat to warm to room temperature before cooking, going straight from fridge to fire will lengthen the amount of time it takes for the myoglobin to become denatured.
5. Finally, the nitrogen dioxide is a result of poor combustion.  I don't recommend fiddling with your gas barbecue, but if you are using wood, you want lots of smoke.  Not only does this help flavor, it also increased the amount of NO₂ produced.

A similar effect to smoke ring is caused by slow cooking where the temperature is low enough that the other proteins in the meat, except for the myoglobin, denature first.  Once the myoglobin starts to denature, there is nothing left for it to react with and the color stays.  This is why confit of duck legs remain pink inside after long slow cooking, or why the meat in stews can sometimes remain red.

Finally, there is a way to fake a smoke ring, by sprinkling the surface of the meat with a small amount of a tenderizer or meat preservative that contains nitrates and leaving it for an hour or so before rinsing and cooking.  Morton's Tender Quick is frequently mentioned for this less authentic method.  Barbecue aficionados are divided on whether this constitutes cheating.

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

Fixing Over-Salted Food

How can I remove the "over-salted" problem in a cooked pork roast.  I adjusted the sauce with red wine vinegar and brown sugar,which helped, and cut off the outside edges of roast.

I have heard that adding a peeled potato to soup that is overly salty will reduce the salt.  Is this true?

--Susan

There are only a few ways to deal with over-salted food.  One is to throw all or part of it out, as you did with the outer part of the roast.  Another is to mask it, as you did with the wine and sugar you added to the sauce.  And the last way is to dilute it, as you did by adding more liquid (the wine) to your sauce.

Robert Wolke, in his book What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained, describes an experiment he did where he prepared differing concentrations of salt water, boiled them with potato slices, and then measured for changes in the ability of the water to conduct electricity.  Pure water is a poor conductor of electricity.  If you add salt its conductivity increases, and if you remove salt its conductivity decreases so measuring conductivity is a good way to measure saltiness.  Since he was using only water, salt and potatoes, there were no other ingredients that could affect the conductivity.  The containers were also covered to minimize any evaporation.

What Wolke actually found was a slight increase in conductivity which he attributed to potassium that leeched from the potato slices.  After correcting for that, there was no significant change in conductivity, meaning that adding potatoes to salted water did nothing to decrease the saltiness.

Wolke's conclusion is that, "The potato trick just doesn't work."  The same is likely true for floating a slice of bread on over-salted soup, or using any other ingredient that is supposed to leech salt out of a liquid.

One other possible remedy that Wolke checked out was the idea that one flavor may be able to suppress our perception of another.  He points to a paper that says that salts and acids may suppress each other at high enough concentrations.  The evidence appears to be mixed, however, and the concentrations needed may affect the taste in other ways.

Assuming that you  only seasoned the meat, and didn't brine it, there is evidence that seasoning only penetrates the first 1/16 inch (1.5mm) or so.  You probably did the best you could to resurrect the dish by removing the outer portion and diluting the sauce.  Because brining penetrates deeper, simply cutting off the outer portion may not be adequate.

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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

Baking Soda and Baking Powder - The Saga Continues

What on earth!   Here is my internet journey, seeking the answer to "Baking soda vs. baking powder."

1. Baking powder can replace baking soda
2. Baking powder cant replace baking soda
3. Baking powder can't replace baking soda and vice versa.

Here are some excerpts:

• "You can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (you'll need more baking powder and it may affect the taste), but you can't use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder." http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm /li>
• "In recipes calling for baking powder, baking soda can be used, along with some cornstarch and cream of tartar. Baking powder cannot, however, be used to replace baking soda." http://kitchensavvy.typepad.com/journal/2005/01/baking_soda_vs_.html
• "While you can't swap baking soda for baking powder, or vice versa ..." http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/food_articles/baking-soda-baking-powder.php

So which one is it?

If baking is all about accuracy, then why is it that I constantly find conflicting information, all from experts?  How does anything ever get baked and turn out edible, if everyone has so many different opinions?

I am starting to believe that bakers are actually other-worldly beings that are unknowingly just manipulating ingredients with their minds.

--Curtis

OK, before you go reporting a Close Encounter, let's see if we can set this straight.

First, just a touch of chemistry.  Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO₃) is a mild base that has a number of applications in baking.  Among those are to cause chemical leavening by releasing bubbles of carbon dioxide gas when combined with an acid, and changing level of acidity or basicity of a recipe.

The acidity/basicity can be important in a number of ways.  For example, cookies that are slightly basic will spread more and brown more than ones that are slightly acidic.  If you are making a chocolate cake that is too acidic, it will turn the chocolate color from dark brown to light brown to red.  That's part of the secret to a Red velvet cake.

Baking powder is baking soda with an acid added to cause the chemical leavening.  The type of acid varies with different formulations and applications, as can be found in the KitchenSavvy article mentioned above.

As discussed in Let Them Eat Cake, as well as the above KitchenSavvy article, when recipes use both baking soda and baking powder, there is usually another acidic ingredient such as molasses, brown sugar, buttermilk or sour cream that combines with the baking soda to create bubbles.

So, which of the above is it? 

Since baking powder contains baking soda, you can indeed use it to replace baking soda.  The problems is that the leftover acid that is not neutralized in your recipe will affect the flavor and may also affect the result.  A cookie that is supposed to spread during cooking likely won't, and it may not brown properly, or may end up over cooked if you try to brown it enough.  Also, the final color of the product may not be what you expect since the product is acidic.  So, point 1 above is technically correct, as far as it goes, but you may not like the result. 

If you insist on trying, though, you will need up to four times as much baking powder as the amount of baking soda that was called for in the recipe.   Just don't say I told you it was a good idea!

Point 2 is correct, since what you are actually doing when you combine baking soda with cream of tartar is making your own homemade baking powder.  What you are really doing is substituting baking powder that someone mixed up for you with baking powder you made yourself.  The cornstarch is just filler to make up 1/4 more so the total volume works out the same but isn't really necessary.

And point 3 is correct, since you can't just swap them one for one.  As the referenced site goes on to explain, if you don't have baking powder you can make your own homemade stuff by using 1/4 the volume of baking powder specified of baking soda plus 1/2 the volume of cream of tartar.  Since you need to include the cream of tartar, you are really not just substituting one for the other.

The postings referenced in points 2 and 3 pretty much agree in what they say.  The problem with the first reference is it ignores the other aspects of food chemistry that come into play when you start altering the acid/base ratios in recipes.

Hopefully, all of this helps.

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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

Making Cinnamon Rolls with Self-Rising Flour

I have a question about self-rising flour. I have a recipe that calls for yeast and warm water. I was wondering if I can substitute self-rising flour and avoid all the yeast and it's complications (like water at 110 degrees etc.)? The recipe is for cinnamon rolls.

Thank you so much for your help.

--Shannon

Self-rising flour is a lower protein all purpose flour with baking powder and salt added in.  The amount of salt varies by maker.

You could substitute self-rising for bread or regular all purpose flour but what you will end up with will be more like a cinnamon tea biscuit.  In bread making, proteins in the flour form glutens that trap carbon dioxide gas produced by the yeast, similar to a balloon filling with air, to make the product rise.  During baking, evaporation of alcohol also produced by fermentation of sugars by the yeast cause the bubbles to inflate further.  Because yeast produces lots of gas over a long period, the gluten structure is needed to trap the gas and make bread recipes work right.

Unlike bread, cakes, biscuits and cookies don't rely on gluten to trap gases.  Instead of releasing lots of gas over a long period, baking powder releases relatively less carbon dioxide fairly quickly, mostly as the product is baking.  Starch in the flour or proteins from other ingredients like eggs set as the gas is released.  A balance of ingredients, temperatures and timing need to work together to make the the product set.

Self-rising flour is used in cakes and biscuits, not breads, and shouldn't be kneaded like bread.  If you do knead it, any gluten that forms will work against the baking powder, resulting in less rise and a flat, tough result.  So if you replace the yeast and flour in your recipe, you shouldn't knead the dough, which in turn means that you will end up with a cake or biscuit like texture.

Beyond that, you will likely need to reduce the amount of liquid since lower protein flour absorbs less water.  The amount of water you want to use will be enough to make a dough the consistency of rolled biscuits.  You will also want to reduce the salt in the recipe if your self-rising flour contains salt.  The exact amount you need to reduce it by is not easy to predict but may be as much as 1/2 teaspoon per cup of flour.

You may find that you need to alter the amount of fat in the dough, too, to get a satisfactory texture.

Finally, you may need to increase or decrease the amount of sugar in the dough to get the right balance of flavors.

The exact amounts for all of these changes is hard to predict, since they depend on the initial recipe, as well as other factors and personal tastes.  A better starting point might be to begin with a recipe for rolled biscuits using self-risng flour and take it from there, rather than starting with a yeast recipe.

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

Beating Egg Whites - How Cream of Tartar Helps

While you mentioned that cream of tartar, in a properly sealed container, can be kept indefinitely, I used mine last evening and the beaten egg whites did not turn out to be stiff as described in the recipe.  I suspect the culprit is my cream of tartar being too old, even though it was kept in a tightly sealed container.

-- Lucy

Cream of tartar does not affect the stiffness to which egg whites can be beat nearly as much as it helps stop beaten egg whites from collapsing. 

When you beat egg whites, proteins in the whites unfold from their natural shape and become tangled with each other.  At the same time, you are beating air into the whites, forming small bubbles.  The protein molecules become attached to each other through chemical and electrical bonds that reinforce the skin of the air bubbles.  Over time, these bonds can pull the proteins closer together, forcing out the water trapped in the surface of the bubbles.  Eventually, the proteins pull themselves together so strongly that compact, grainy protein lumps form and the liquid pools in the bottom of the bowl.

This is where the cream of tartar comes in.  It helps prevent the formation of chemical bonds between protein molecules.

To understand this, first a little chemistry.  Protein molecules have, along their length, sulfur atoms that in turn may have a hydrogen atom attached.  If the sulfur atoms release their attached hydrogen into the surrounding liquid, then they can attach to something else.  Sometimes, that something else is a sulfur atom on another protein molecule.   If too many sulfur - sulfur bonds occur, the proteins pull together too strongly and the foam collapses, as above.

Because it is acidic, the cream of tartar increases the number of free hydrogen atoms in the liquid.  These extra hydrogen atoms either stop the sulfur atoms from releasing their attached hydrogen, or else provide another hydrogen atom to quickly take its place.  Because of this, the rate at which sulfur - sulfur bonds can be created is slowed down enough to help keep the egg whites stiff long enough to be used.

Any acid can be used for this purpose, although cream of tartar and lemon juice are the most common.  The amounts needed are 1/8 teaspoon per egg white for cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon per egg white for lemon juice.

If you are having trouble beating egg whites to stiff peaks, there may be one of three causes.  If you got any of the yolk from the eggs into the whites while separating them, this can lessen the ability of the eggs to form stiff peaks, as can contamination from oil, fat or detergent on the utensils.  You should never use a plastic bowl to beat egg whites, since fat molecules are attracted to some plastics and may leave a film on the inside of the bowl.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com

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

How Can You Prevent a Cheesecake from Cracking?

How can you prevent a cheesecake from cracking?

--Sr. Celine

Cheesecakes crack because the filling expands during cooking and then contracts while it cools.  If the filling is not able to relieve the stress caused by this contraction in some way, it cracks.  There are a few ways to help prevent cracking, according to Harold McGee.  They come down to ways to either reduce expansion or allow the filling to contract more uniformly.

To reduce expansion start by not over mixing ingredients.  The longer the ingredients are blended, the more air is incorporated, which expands during cooking, causing the filling to expand.  If you are using an electric mixer, use the lowest speed possible to do the job.  The downside, though, is that the resulting cheesecake may be more dense.

Also, cook the cheesecake at as low a temperature as possible.  A longer cooking time means more time for bubbles to escape.  If you can, use a water bath to moderate the cooking temperature.  If you are using a springform pan in a water bath, place the pan onto two or three layers of aluminum foil and then bring the foil up around the outside of the pan to keep water out.  The water bath may extend the cooking time, but it is the best way to cook egg custards, like cheesecake.

To get the filling to contract uniformly after cooking, do not overcook the cheesecake.  Shirley Corrihersuggests that there should be an area about three inches (7.5 cm) in diameter in the middle that is "still wobbly and shaky and ... looks undercooked."  For a more accurate estimate, use an instant read thermometer.  Insert the thermometer, starting at the corner edge so as not to poke a hole in the top of the cheesecake, angling down and in so that the tip is close to the center of the filling.  For food safety, eggs should be cooked to 160°F (71°C), however too much above that and the filling may start to separate and become grainy (see the KitchenSavvy posting Custards and Sauces).

If you are using a water bath, you can cook the filling to about 145-150°F (63-66°C), remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow the cheesecake to remain in the water bath, out of the oven, for another hour.  During that time residual heat will finish cooking the filling until it has reached the desired temperature.  If the temperature reaches 155°F (68°C) before you take the cheesecake out of the oven and you are using a water bath, remove the cheesecake from the bath and allow it to cool on the counter.  If you didn't use a water bath at all, cook the cheesecake to 155°F (68°C).  In either case, heat transferred from the edges to the center will finish the cooking to a safe temperature.

Cooking to a higher temperature, or until the center is no longer wobbly makes the filling less elastic, and more likely to crack.

Once the cheesecake is cooled to lukewarm, cover and refrigerate.

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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

Creaming Butter II

My wife says I have to cream butter and sugar with electric beaters in one direction only. She says this will help incorporate the air into the mix and make it creamy.  I seem to be getting results moving the beater through the mix ad hoc. Is there any science to beating in one direction for the purposes of creaming butter?

--Ling

Because of its complexity and the fact that cooking has evolved over thousands of years, it tends to be filled with both sound, provable science and popular folklore.  For example, one similar "rule" is that you need to stir in one only direction when making a custard and that changing direction or  whisking in a random pattern will cause the custard to curdle.  I can say with certainty that the custard thing is false, because I never bother to stir in just one direction and my custards don't curdle.

I know of no science that would either support or disprove your wife's theory but looking over my various references, I can't find any that say creaming needs to be done by beating the ingredients in only one direction.

On the face of it, I also can't think of any good reason why it would be so.  As I explained in the posting "Creaming Butter" the purpose of creaming is to incorporate air into the butter to help leaven the final product.  According to Corriher, creaming is perhaps the most important step in making good cakes.  Air bubbles are incorporated both from the air trapped between grains of sugar when mixing starts, and then by air blended in by the mechanical action.  Neither of these would appear to depend on what direction the beaters move during blending.  In fact, at the level of the beaters, regardless of how you move your hand, one blade is going clockwise while the other goes counterclockwise!

To test whether the direction of beating makes a difference, you would need to compare cakes made by creaming the butter by beating in only one direction versus cakes made when the beating is in random directions.  You would need to be careful to control every other aspect of the cakes -- the ingredients would need to be accurately measured, the butter would need to be at the same temperature starting and ending, and the beating time would need to be the same duration.  The cakes would then need to be cooled to the same temperature and under the same conditions.

After all of that, what I'm guessing you would learn is more likely that there are so many steps, involving so many factors, that ascribing differences in the result to the direction in which the butter is creamed is too simplistic.

The bottom line is that if your "ad hoc" beating technique produces good cakes, then you have shown that direction doesn't matter.  Now, go and enjoy your cake.

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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

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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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

Inconsistent Gelatin Results

I find that I get inconsistent results when I use gelatin.  Even for the same recipe, sometimes it will come out softer or firmer than other times.  What is happening?

--Sara

 

Gelatin is a protein-based thickening agent used primarily in making desserts, aspics and jellies.  It comes in a powdered form which is easy and convenient for home cooks, and in a sheet form which is more often used commercially.   It can be tricky to get good results though, for a number of reasons.

First, despite the assurances of the manufacturers of the envelopes of gelatin which state that they are supposed to contain just enough to thicken two cups, never trust the contents to be measured accurately.  In my own kitchen, I have found up to about a 25% variation in the amount of gelatin in a pouch.  That is enough to make a difference in the result.

Gelatin should be soaked for about five minutes in a cool liquid first, before being heated or combined with hot liquids.  This soaking allows moisture to penetrate into the granules so that they will dissolve more readily in heat.  If you pour powdered gelatin directly into a boiling liquid, it will form clumps that take longer to dissolve.  Gelatin that remains undissolved results in a grainy texture and does not help to thicken the dish.

According to Corriher, gelatin loses some of its thickening power when boiled.  It should be heated only until fully dissolved, or should have the hot liquids added to it off heat, depending on your recipe.

Also, other ingredients such as sugar and salt can affect the result.  Salt will interfere with the bonding of protein molecules, making a weaker product, while sugar will attract water away from the gelatin molecules, causing a firmer result.

If you are using fruit, be sure it is not one that can affect the setting of gelatin, such as raw pineapple or kiwi (see Jellied Fruit Salad Won't Set). 

Acids found in fruit juices, wines and other ingredients can also affect the result by making the gelatin proteins less likely to bind together, by creating an electrical charge on the molecules which force them to repel each other.

Finally, when cooling jellies or other foods containing gelatin, resist the temptation to put it in the freezer, as the gelatin molecules need to move freely in the cooling liquid so that they can become entangled.  Too fast of cooling can prevent this from happening.  According to Harold McGee, jellies that are snap-chilled will regain a more normal consistency after a few days.

While not as fussy as some ingredients, gelatin does require some care in measurement of the ingredients used in preparing any dish.

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For fans of KitchenSavvy, our local paper, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, recently ran an article titled "In the Kitchen with ... Dave and Patricia Katz".  This is the most recent installment of their In the Kitchen series.  In the article you can find five of our favorite recipes including Pissaladiere, which is already posted here, and Shrimpniks, a lemon-butter-garlic shrimp recipe created in tribute to Cousin Nik's restaurant, which we used to like going to before it went out of business.

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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

Crystals in Honey

A few days ago I was planning to make cookies using a recipe that had honey in it.  When I went to measure the honey, it had large grains of something in it.  What were these, how did they happen and what can I do?

--Jamie

The granules that form in liquid honey are precipitated crystals of glucose.  Honey is a supersaturated liquid, meaning that there is more sugar in it than can stay dissolved at room temperatures.  Slowly glucose molecules separate out from the water.  As they do so, more glucose and some other sugars attach to the forming crystals, making them grow larger.  This is similar to what happens when you make rock candy.

Many factors affect the formation of sugar crystal including moisture content, temperature and even the kind of flowers that the bees visited in gathering nectar to make honey.  A friend who used to process honey complained about the difficulty in making a smooth honey from hives that had been visiting Sainfoin flowers.  Sainfoin  honey is very sensitive to how it is processed and will deposit crystals quite easily.

The best way to avoid crystals is actually to store your honey at temperatures below 50°F (10°C), although this is not practical for home use as the fridge is considerably colder and makes honey too stiff to handle easily.  Temperatures above 50°F encourage crystallization.  At temperatures above 81°F (27°C), crystallization is avoided, but the heat causes the honey to degrade quickly.  Honey should kept in an airtight container at room temperatures, and used within a year or so.

To remove crystals that have formed, either place the container of honey in a bowl of hot water for 10 to 15 minutes or microwave it for about 30 seconds per cup.  Stir after heating to help dissolve crystals.  If necessary, repeat until the honey is smooth again.

Two things to keep in mind, though.  First, as noted above, when honey is heated over 81°F(27°C) it starts to degrade so repeatedly having to heat honey because new crystals have formed since the lat time you used it will decrease the quality and flavors of the honey.  If you find you are doing that, consider buying smaller quantities.

Second, your recipe likely calls for butter or perhaps shortening.  If you heat the honey to remove crystals and then go straight to making the cookies, the heat of the honey may melt the fat and dramatically affect the end result.  You should be sure to allow the honey to cool down completely before proceeding.

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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