KitchenSavvy

Adding Eggs and Dry Ingredients in Baking

Why do you have to add eggs one at a time, or add liquid and dry ingredients alternately in baking?

--Mark & Nancy

Many cake and cookie recipes start by creaming together a solid fat, usually butter, and sugar.  After this they say to add the required number of eggs one at a time, incorporating each one before the next is added.  Then, the dry ingredients and other liquid ingredients are blended in, alternating dry and wet ingredients.   This is probably the most common procedure in home baking.

If you add the eggs one at a time and blend each of them in well, the fat will emulsify with the eggs, similar to making mayonnaise, only in this case you are adding the eggs to the fat rather than the other way around. 

And just like making mayonnaise, if you were to dump all of the eggs into the bowl at once and try to beat them together, it is much harder, if not impossible to get a smooth result.  Try that some time, and you may have the butter turn into grains that don't blend in.  This isn't fatal to making a cake, but could result in some larger pockets of fat that melt during cooking creating an uneven texture in the finished product.  Also, according to Shirley Corriher in BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes if you over-beat the batter once the eggs are added, you may get a hard, shiny crust on top of your baking that separates from the rest of the food.  This is because the eggs have been beaten to a partial meringue.  If you add all of the eggs at once, you may blend the batter too long trying to get it smooth, resulting in this crust effect.

Once the eggs are incorporated, the instructions say to add some of the dry ingredients, which have already been blended together in a separate bowl, and then some of the other liquid ingredients.  Usually they say to alternate one third of the dry ingredients, one third of the liquid, and so on.  Sometimes it is by halves.

In baking, you want to avoid as much as possible the formation of gluten, which result from the combination of certain wheat flour proteins with water.  Because gluten is elastic, and because chemical leaveners are not very strong, any gluten that is formed will inhibit the rise of the baked product.  Gluten in cookies will make them tough and leathery.  Gluten is desirable in bread making, but not baking.

If you follow the typical instructions to alternate dry and wet, the first batch of dry ingredients you add gets coated with the fat, both from the butter or other fat, and the fat in the egg yolks.  The fat interferes with the formation of gluten.  From there you want to add liquids and dry ingredients mixing as little as possible while still getting everything evenly blended.  Too much mixing will cause more gluten to form, resulting in a denser, more bread-like loaf. 

If you dumped all of the dry ingredients in at once, the batter at that point would be very stiff and may be lumpy.  In an effort to get a smooth batter, you will likely mix enough to form lots of gluten.  On the other hand, if you added all of the liquid ingredients first, you wouldn't get the benefit of the fat interfering with gluten formation.  The balance is found in between, neither adding all of the dry ingredients first nor adding all of the wet ingredients first, but rather in alternating them according to the recipe.

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

Canning Stocks and Soups

We’re recently had a few issues raised in our children in that one is very sensitive to highly processed foods and plastic containers.  So I’m trying very hard to stay away from all that stuff.  I’m trying my hand at jarring/canning, well I have yet to do it.  Can I can chicken/beef stock/soups and sauces in the glass jars and then process them as per usual?

--Lydia

You can definitely can beef and chicken stocks.  Most current reference materials have recipes for canning stock.  Essentially the method is to make the stock by placing the meat bones or chicken carcases in a large enough stockpot, covering them with water and bringing to a boil. Always use fresh ingredients.  Place a cover on the pot and simmer meat bones for 3 to four hours, or chicken carcases for 30-45 minutes.  Strain and cool the broth until the fat can be easily removed (see Removing Fat from Stocks and Soups).  My favorite method is to cool the stock until the fat solidifies and can be easily lifted off with a slotted spoon.  Reheat the broth to boiling, fill sterile canning jars, leaving a 1 inch (2.5 cm) headspace, and process using a pressure canner, remembering to adjust processing times for altitude.

Meat removed from the bones or carcasses can be added back to the broth before boiling, but be sure to remove as much fat as possible before doing so.  Also, if you are using the meat, keep it refrigerated until you are ready to add it back.

Canning soup is a little more difficult.  Noodles or other pasta may overcook and turn to mush or dissolve completely during processing and so many sources recommend not using them.  Fresh or leftover pasta can always be added during reheating.   The same applies to rice.  Flour, cream, milk or other thickening agents should not be added to home canned soups.  

To make and can soups, make broth as for canning above, and wash, peel and cook the vegetables as you would if you were canning them.   Consult the canning recipes for the individual vegetables for instructions and cooking times. 

If dried beans or peas are used, they need to be fully rehydrated first.  This can be done using the quick soak method (see Soaking Beans).  After quick soaking, they should be returned to the boil, drained, added to the liquid ingredients and boiled for a further 5 minutes. 

To process, fill sterilized canning jars no more than half full of solids, and then cover with with the liquids, leaving a 1 inch (2.5 cm) headspace.  Process using a pressure canner, again remembering to adjust for altitude.

More tender vegetables like some varieties of peas that may not can well can be added from frozen when the soup is heated for serving.

Some recipes can be found for spaghetti and other sauces.  Since these contain both high and low acid foods, they must be treated as if they were low acid using pressure canning techniques.

A good resource for information on canning is theUSDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.  You can find an electronic copy here or order it from Amazon.com here .  Canning times for stocks and soups with altitude instructions can be found there.  Note that some older references on canning may not reflect newer methods and may not be safe to follow.  Always take care in canning to have clean, sterile surfaces and utensils and follow instructions carefully.

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

Salting Meat Before Cooking

I love grilled steak but am never sure if I should salt it before putting it on the grill.  I have heard that salting the meat before cooking it will cause the juices to leak out of it.  Is that true?  When is the correct time to salt a steak you are going to grill?

Some people prefer to salt their meat after it has been seared, exactly because of your concerns.

There is some truth to the comment that if you salt meat before cooking it that it will lose some of its juices, but is that necessarily bad?  The deep rich flavor of a grilled streak comes largely from a chemical change called the Maillard Reaction (see Browning Meat for Slow Cooker) that occurs when the natural sugars and proteins in meat are heated  together.  If you salt meat shortly before cooking, the salt will draw out some of the juices, which are rich in those sugars and proteins, onto the surface.  Then, when you grill the meat, you will get even better browning and more flavor.

If, however, you leave the salted meat sit, you will see a puddle of juices collect.  This is because of a process called osmosis that moves water from inside the cells to outside.  But an interesting thing will happen if you wait a bit longer.  The osmotic effect will reverse as the salt becomes diluted, and the liquid starts to be absorbed again.  This reversal will start in about 20 or 30 minutes.  While not all of the juices will be reabsorbed, in effect what you get is a quick brining that penetrates the outer surface of the meat.

Now, if you grill the meat, it won't be so dried out from losing liquid, but the salt will be in the meat rather than on the surface.

The worst case scenario is salting the meat and then leaving it sit for 5 or 10 minutes.   Then both juices from the meat and most of the salt will be left behind on the plate.

I suggest you try experimenting with salting the meat shortly before cooking and waiting just until it gets a slight sheen of liquid on the surface, compared to leaving the meat sit for 30 minutes or so until some of the juices are reabsorbed.  See which method you prefer.

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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

Brewing Tea

When my Mom used to make tea, she would always rinse the pot out with boiling water before putting the tea leaves in, and she always measured out a rounded teaspoon of tea for each person plus "one for the pot."  Is there any reason for either of these rules?

--Janice

First off, I'll bet your Mom was drinking black tea, which includes the most popular Orange Pekoe kind.  Black tea needs to be brewed at close to the boiling point for water.  Most sources recommend using water somewhere around 203°F (95°C) or warmer.  A porcelain or ceramic pot absorbs enough heat from the water to cool it down substantially. Black tea is usually allowed to steep between 3 and 6 minutes.

In a quick test in my own kitchen, I boiled water at 208°F (98°C).  I live nearly 2000 feet (610 meters) above sea level, so the boiling point of water is lower (see High Altitude Cooking).  When I poured boiling water into my ceramic tea pot without preheating it, the water temperature fell immediately to 195°F (91°C), well below the recommended brewing temperature for black tea.  When I repeated the same experiment but first rinsed the pot with boiling water and then filled it, it was a perfect 203°F.

Different types of tea need to be brewed at different temperatures and for lengths of time. Green and white teas are brewed at around 170°F - 185°F (77°C - 85°C) and steeped for about half the time as black tea.  Oolong tea is brewed closer to boiling temperature, but not quite as hot as black tea and steeped up to about 5 minutes.

All of that said, the rules for temperature, as well as amount of tea leaves, and pretty much every other tenet of what makes good tea varies from region to region and author to author.  McGee goes as low as 110°F (43°C) for brewing green tea.

As for the habit of adding "one for the pot," I almost suspect that to be a marketing ploy by the tea companies to make you use more tea leaves.  The only plausible reason I can come up with is that perhaps the "one for the pot" rule makes up for the fact that a smaller amount of water will cool faster because it will have a greater surface to volume ratio.  Using more tea would compensate somewhat for the lower extraction rate you would get at an on average lower temperature.  If that is the case, then reducing heat loss from the pot would make more sense than using more tea leaves.  The standard way to do that is with a Tea Cosy.

Other 'rules' for tea include always using fresh cold water, because it contains more oxygen which improves the flavor, and not using hard water, that is water with a high mineral content.  Minerals can cause the tannins in tea to precipitate out and form solids that float in the tea or form a scum on top.  Although I always use fresh cold water, I am not sure how much of a difference it actually makes.  It might be worth a blind taste test some day to see if I can really tell the difference.

Tastes in tea, however, are very subjective.  Some people prefer their tea to be darker and have a more bitter flavor than do others.  When I first met my wife, we would go to her parents on occasion.  Ruth and Norm drink their tea a lot stronger than what my Dad used to drink and therefore what I grew up with.  The standing joke at my future in-laws' house was, "Dave, we're about to pour the water into the tea pot, so you better get your cup ready."  A jab at the fact that I like my tea weaker and therefore didn't allow it to steep nearly as long as they did.

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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 bodong 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 goiing 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

Getting Color into Stock

I made chicken stock the other day that ended up almost colorless.  The taste was fine, though.  How can I add more color to my stocks?

--Traci

Some color in chicken stock may be a result of what the chicken was fed.  Most of the color, however, comes from how the stock is made.  If you are looking more color, you can try these tricks:

• If you are using yellow onions in your stock,  leave the skins on.  Clean off the root end to get rid of the root fibers which may get into the stock, trim the other end and then cut the onion in half lengthwise leaving the skins on.  You could even throw in the skins from one or two more onions if you want.  Beware, though, because the skin can add a bitter flavor if too much is used.
• After you cut the onions in half, brown the cut sides in hot oil in a fry pan over medium heat, taking care not to burn them.  The color from the browning will enhance the color of the stock.
• Brown the chicken in bones in the oven before making stock from them.  Spread them in a single layer in a roasting pan and cook them at around 350°F (180 °C) until they are nut brown, about an hour or so, depending on the quantity and the size of pieces.  Turn once or twice so they brown on all sides.  The exact temperature isn't important.  You can also toss the carrots and celery in a little oil and roast them at the same time.  Be careful that nothing burns as that will ruin the stock.
• A small amount of saffron added to the pot will give a yellow color, but too much will also add flavor.

Browning the bones will result in a more tan colored stock that the other suggestions.  You can also brown the bones, meat and vegetables when making beef stock to add color.

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

A "Grate" Secret for Tender Biscuits

For years, I have heard of the technique of using frozen butter to make better biscuits.  It's one of those ideas that you say to yourself, "I'll have to try that some day," but somehow you just never get around to it.

By grating the frozen butter and then gently mixing it into the dry ingredients, you avoid having the butter soften to the point that it actually blends into the flour.  For light biscuits, you want flour and butter to be distinct, so that the flakes of butter melt and release steam into the dough, making it light and fluffy.  If the butter is melted into the flour during blending, this won't happen.  In addition, the shards of frozen butter trap some air due to their shape, which adds to the lightness of the finished product.

Recently Chef Michael Smith wrote an article for the Globe and Mail describing this technique.  Well, it finally was time.  This past weekend I made a beef stew, and decided to serve biscuits with it, using Chef Smith's technique.  To start though, I had to modify his recipe a bit because I had planned to make buttermilk biscuits.  Chef Smith's recipe called for plain milk.  To change the recipe, I had to replace some of the baking powder with baking soda to offset the acidity of the buttermilk.   The general rule is that you need about ½ teaspoon of baking soda per cup of buttermilk (see Baking Soda and Buttermilk).   A half teaspoon of baking soda will give the same rise as two teaspoons of baking powder.

Armed with these substitutions, I used the following recipe for my Biscuits:

               

Buttermilk Biscuits
2		cups	All-purpose flour
1	½	tsp	Baking Powder
	½	tsp	Baking Soda
	½	tsp	Salt
	¾	cup	Butter, frozen
7		fl. oz.	Buttermilk

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C).
2. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Measure and set aside the cold buttermilk.
4. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the frozen butter into shards.  Add the butter to the dry ingredients and then toss with a spoon just to blend, breaking up any clumps of butter that may have formed during the grating.  Do not over mix.
5. Pour in the buttermilk and stir in with a spoon, just until the ingredients pull together.  Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently, just a few turns, to bring it together into a single mass.  If necessary add a bit more buttermilk or some water.
6. Shape the dough into a rough circle and cut into wedges, or roll out and cut to any desired shape.
7. Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet that has been lightly coated with cooking spray and cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 8 to 12 biscuits.

If you want, you can brush the surface of the biscuits with milk to given a nicer finish when they are cooked.  Chef Smith suggests sprinkling them with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper before baking.

To make it easier to grate the butter without skinning your knuckles, start with a larger piece and mark the ¾ cup measure onto the block with a sharp knife.  Wrap the unused end in the paper the butter came in, and then grate down to the mark, holding the wrapped end.

This recipe uses regular, salted butter.  If you wish to use unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe by ¼ teaspoon.

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

Sautéing Onions

Help!  Lots of recipes say to sauté onions until they are translucent.  I can never tell for sure what that means.  They never turn translucent for me.  What am I doing wrong?

--Trish

Chances are you aren't doing anything wrong at all.

I too find the description of onions turning translucent to be difficult.  Translucent means that you should be able to see light through the pieces of onion.  Other than the fact that I am not inclined to pick a piece of onion out of the hot fat to check if it has turned translucent, the description is just plain bad.  While there is a change in color from white to milky, I just don't think that the word "translucent" is a good description.

To understand what you are aiming for, notice what happens.  Two main things occur as you sauté onions.  First, the harsh flavor caused by certain sulfur compounds in the onion cook off.  This is  a hint that the onions are close to being cooked enough.  The smell changes from that harsh, nose stinging smell to something less abrasive and a little sweet.

Second, the onion begins to soften.  If you bite a piece of raw onion, it crunches between your teeth, making an audible, crisp sound, like celery does.  When it has been sautéed enough, the texture goes from crisp to al dente.  It won't be as soft as cooked pasta, say, but it you try to cut a piece with the edge of your spatula or spoon, it will go through without the two pieces going flying in opposite directions.  It should still resist a bit, though.  This is your second indication that it is cooked enough.

Use these two tests to see if your onions are cooked enough.  The smell and the crispness have both changed.  With a little practice you will learn to easily recognize when they are cooked.

Generally, you don't want to have the onions start to brown, though, unless the recipe explicitly says so.  If they do start to brown, you likely have the heat too high.  Take the pan off heat for a while to let it cool down quicker, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and then return the pan to the heat and continue cooking.

By the way, some recipes call it sweating the onion.  If I have to choose between those two descriptions, I guess maybe I'll go with sautéing them until they turn translucent.  It at least sounds appealing, even if it isn't very descriptive.

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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

How Long will Leftover Turkey Keep in the Fridge?

We roasted a fresh turkey un-stuffed on Thanksgiving and the left-over pieces have been stored in the refrigerator in it's own container.  How long is too long to safely consume the left-over turkey?  Thank you.

--Betty

In our house, most of the leftover turkey is consumed for late night snacks or lunch the next day as Turkey Buns.  In fact, I have been known to say the only reason to roast a turkey for supper is to have leftovers for turkey buns.  Still, there is always some leftover for turkey with gravy, tetrazzini or some other dish.

The general rule for meat is that it will safely keep for about three days, provided that:

• the meat was thoroughly cooked;
• it was not left in the "danger zone" temperatures of between 140°F (60°C) and 40°F (4°C) for more than two hours; and
• the refrigerator is kept below 40°F (4°C).

If any of the above is not done, then the storage time will be reduced, and the risk of food-borne illness greatly increased.

For turkey and chicken, the meat must be cooked to at least 165°F (74°C) throughout, although you likely want to cook the dark meat to closer to 180°F (82°C) for the best results.  If the turkey had been stuffed, then the stuffing should be completely removed from the bird and refrigerated separately.  Because of the extra moisture in stuffing, it will only keep for one or at most two days.    See the posting "Dis-dressed Turkey" for more about stuffing safety.

As much as possible, the meat should be stored in large pieces.  Most food safety experts recommend taking all of the meat off of the bones before refrigerating.  The carcass can be discarded or used to make stock or soup.

Reheat the leftover turkey to at least 165°F (74°C), preferably in gravy, or some other sauce, before serving.

To learn more about how long food can be left out before refrigeration and the danger zone, read How Long Can Cooked Food Be Left Out.

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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