Cocoa powder is essentially ground up roasted cocoa bean particles. It is made from the left over cakes that result after most of the cocoa butter is extracted. It is the most concentrated version of chocolate. It has pronounced astringency and bitterness. Its pH is around 5.
"Dutched" or alkalized cocoa is cocoa powder that has been treated with potassium carbonate. This alkaline substrate brings its pH to 7 or 8 and encourages astringent phenolics to form flavorless dark pigments, thus reducing the astringency, bitterness, and flavor of the cocoa. Dutched processed cocoa has a milder chocolate flavor despite its darker color.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Wacky cake
This section is a bit of a refresher on some topics we have already explored. I debated whether or not to include it (hence the lateness of these posts), but since the wacky cake raised our eyebrows, here it is. The format of this section is short and sweet, like the cake. Enjoy!
Topics include:
Cocoa
Vinegar
Baking powder and baking soda
Butter
Lukewarm water
Salt
Powdered sugar
Topics include:
Cocoa
Vinegar
Baking powder and baking soda
Butter
Lukewarm water
Salt
Powdered sugar
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thoughts on cheese
I have too many rambling thoughts about cheese, so maybe it's best that I just list them:
- It is a terrible loss to the world that the world no longer enjoys cheese made in that artful tradition that evolved over thousands (thousands!) of years. Cheese, yet another casualty of war...
- That being said, I am not opposed to the use of synthetically made rennet as opposed to using the stomach of a young calf. My animal-lover self cannot justify the killing of calves that would be needed to traditionally satisfy the demand for cheese.
- On the opposite extreme, I am disgusted by the preference to process cheese. It seems like the hot-dog version of cheese. The thing that puts me out is not so much that it exists, but that due to its low cost, it is prevalent in our society. How many times have I consumed this product without even knowing it? Yet another reason to forgo things made with products of unknown origin.
- And since I am on an emotional rant...low fat cheese, really? When considering what manufacturers have to put into cheese to make it palatable once the fat is out, I no longer wonder why our bodies have traces of harmful pollutants. I do not want to place blame only on manufacturers though. A healthy approach to moderation would diminish the demand for these altered products that seem to scream, "eat all you want, it has only half the calories! The other half is just a bunch of anti-nutrients." How about eating half but really, really enjoying it?
Monday, May 28, 2012
Lemon cheese
As posted in Kitchen chemistry by Dr. Patti Christie, http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/special-programs/sp-287-kitchen-chemistry-spring-2009/readings/MITSP_287s09_read10_Cheese.pdf
From Cheese Making Made Easy by Ricki Carroll and Robert Carroll
This cheese has a delicate flavor of lemon. It is a moist cheese with a spreadable texture. It can be used as a spread or in cooking.
This soft cheese recipe consists of three steps: acidifying and coagulation, draining and mixing, salting and spicing.
Ingredients:
From Cheese Making Made Easy by Ricki Carroll and Robert Carroll
This cheese has a delicate flavor of lemon. It is a moist cheese with a spreadable texture. It can be used as a spread or in cooking.
This soft cheese recipe consists of three steps: acidifying and coagulation, draining and mixing, salting and spicing.
Ingredients:
- 1 quart (4 cups) milk
- juice of 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup) or another acidifying agent; orange juice,raspberry vinegar or cider vinegar.
- salt and herbs
- Using a double boiler ( or a metal bowl floating in a pan of water), indirectly heat 1 quart of milk to 170 F. This will take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Make sure all of the milk is at least 170 F.
- Remove the milk from the heat
- Add the lemon juice and let the milk set for 15 minutes. If the milk does not set (i.e. you see the milk proteins precipitated out of solution), add more lemon juice.
- Pour the curds into a cheesecloth-lined colander. Tie the four corners of the cheesecloth into a knot and hang bag to drain for 1 to 2 hours or until the curds have stopped draining. After the initial burst of dripping, this process can be aided by gently squeezing the curds to remove the water. Using this process, you can probably speed up the draining step to 30 minutes.
- You can save the whey. It can be used in cooking, such as baking bread. It is supposedly is a refreshing summer-time drink if it is chilled and served with mint leaves.
- Take the cheese out of the cheesecloth. You may have to scrape some off the clothe
- The cheese can be lightly salted and herbs may be added if desired.
- One way to season the cheese is to make it into a log and roll it in coarsely ground pepper.
- The yield should be about 6 – 8 ounces of lemon cheese for each quart of milk
Cheese and Health
Cheese is essentially a concentrated milk, so many of the health advantages and disadvantages of milk apply to cheese. It is a rich source of protein, calcium, and energy. The main health concern derives from its high saturated fat content. However, eating cheese as part of a balanced diet is compatible with good health.
Food poisoning
People are often concerned about consuming cheeses made from raw and unpasteurized milk. Cheeses made from unpasteurized milk are required to be aged at least 60 days by law in the US. This requirement extends to imports as well. Cheese in general present a relatively low risk of food poisoning. Soft cheese has the greatest potential for growing pathogens, so even pasteurized versions should be avoided by people vulnerable to infection such as pregnant women, the elderly, and the chronically ill. Hard cheeses are inhospitable to disease microbes and seldom cause food poisoning.
Foreign molds such as Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium viridicatum, and P. cyclopium occasionally develop on the rinds and contaminate the cheese. Though this problem is rare, it is best to discard the cheese in its entirety.
Some people are sensitive to amines present in strongly ripened cheese. Histamine and tyramine are found in large quantities in Cheddar, blue, Swiss, and Dutch-style cheeses. Sensitive people may suffer a rise in blood pressure, headaches, and rashes.
Tooth decay
Eating cheese slows tooth decay. It appears that when cheese is eaten at the end of a meal, the calcium and phosphate from the cheese blunt the acid rise of bacteria that adhere to teeth, thus preventing tooth decay.
Food poisoning
People are often concerned about consuming cheeses made from raw and unpasteurized milk. Cheeses made from unpasteurized milk are required to be aged at least 60 days by law in the US. This requirement extends to imports as well. Cheese in general present a relatively low risk of food poisoning. Soft cheese has the greatest potential for growing pathogens, so even pasteurized versions should be avoided by people vulnerable to infection such as pregnant women, the elderly, and the chronically ill. Hard cheeses are inhospitable to disease microbes and seldom cause food poisoning.
Foreign molds such as Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium viridicatum, and P. cyclopium occasionally develop on the rinds and contaminate the cheese. Though this problem is rare, it is best to discard the cheese in its entirety.
Some people are sensitive to amines present in strongly ripened cheese. Histamine and tyramine are found in large quantities in Cheddar, blue, Swiss, and Dutch-style cheeses. Sensitive people may suffer a rise in blood pressure, headaches, and rashes.
Tooth decay
Eating cheese slows tooth decay. It appears that when cheese is eaten at the end of a meal, the calcium and phosphate from the cheese blunt the acid rise of bacteria that adhere to teeth, thus preventing tooth decay.
Process cheese and Low-fat cheese
Process cheese is an industrial version of cheese that makes use of surplus, scrap, and unripened materials. It requires the use of "melting salts" to make it fondue-like. In 1917, Kraft patented a combination of citric acid and phosphates, and a decade later presented the cheddar look-alike Velveeta to the market.
Melting salts are mixtures of sodium citrate, sodium phosphates, and sodium polyphosphates. These salts are mixed with a blend of new, partly ripened, and fully ripened cheeses. The salts loosen the protein matrix and melt the component cheeses into a homogenous mass. The characteristics and low-cost of process cheese have made it a popular ingredient in fast-food sandwiches.
Low- and no-fat "cheese" products replace fat with various carbohydrates and proteins. These products do not melt. They soften and dry out.
Melting salts are mixtures of sodium citrate, sodium phosphates, and sodium polyphosphates. These salts are mixed with a blend of new, partly ripened, and fully ripened cheeses. The salts loosen the protein matrix and melt the component cheeses into a homogenous mass. The characteristics and low-cost of process cheese have made it a popular ingredient in fast-food sandwiches.
Low- and no-fat "cheese" products replace fat with various carbohydrates and proteins. These products do not melt. They soften and dry out.
Cooking with cheese
Melting cheese
At around 90°F, the milk fat melts, cheese becomes more supple, and fat beads on the surface. At higher temperatures, around 130°F/55°F for soft cheeses, 150°F/65°C for Cheddar and Swiss types, 180°F/82°C for Parmesan and pecorino, bonds holding the casein proteins together begin to break and the protein matrix collapses. Melted cheese flows as thick liquid. The moisture content dictates the melting behavior of cheese. Low moisture cheeses are more concentrated and intimately bonded, therefore, they require more enegry to melt. After continued heat, moisture evaporates and melted cheese resolidifies.
There are several cheeses that do not melt. They just get stiffer and drier. Examples include Indian paneer, Latin queso blanco, Italian ricotta, and most fresh goat cheeses. All of them are curdled primarily by acid, not rennet. Acid dissolves the calcium glue that hold casein proteins together in micelles along with the negative electrical charge. The proteins bond extensively, so when heated, water is lost first before the protein bonds break. As water boils away, the proteins become even more concentrated. Firm paneer and queso blanco can be simmered or fried like meat.
Stringiness
Melted cheese becomes stringy when mostly intact casein molecules are cross-linked together by calcium into long, fibers that can stretch. If, however, casein has been attacked extensively by enzymes, then the pieces are too small to form fibers, as is the case with well aged cheeses. These do not get stringy. The degree of cross linking is such that casein molecules are tightly bound. The molecules just break.
Stringiness, can be determined by how the cheese was made. Stringy cheeses are moderate in acidity, moisture, salt, and age. They are intentionally made fibrous, as is the case with mozzarella, Emmental, and Cheddar. Crumbly cheeses include Cheshire and Leicester. Caefphilly, Colby, and Jack are preferred for melted preparations. Gruyère is the choice for fondues. Italian grating cheeses, such as Parmesan, grana Padano, and pecorinos have a broken protein fabric which makes them ideal to be disperced in dishes.
When preparing cheese sauces and soups, the aim is to integrate the cheese evenly in the liquid to add richness and flavor to the dish. To avoid stringiness, lumps, and fat separation consider the following tips:
Cheese fondue
The ingredients for fondue include an alpine cheese such as Gruyère, a tart white wine, some kirsch, and sometimes starch (for added insurance). The wine contributes water, which keeps the casein proteins moist and dilute, and tartaric acid, which pulls off the calcium and leaves casein glueless and separate. Citric acid from a lemon juice does the same thing.
When using cheese as a topping or gratin, keep in mind that too much heat dehydrates the casein fabric, toughens it, and causes the fat to separate. To avoid this, watch the dish carefully when under the broiler or in the oven, and remove as soon as the cheese melts. If you want to brown a cheese topping, pick a robust cheese such as a grating cheese.
At around 90°F, the milk fat melts, cheese becomes more supple, and fat beads on the surface. At higher temperatures, around 130°F/55°F for soft cheeses, 150°F/65°C for Cheddar and Swiss types, 180°F/82°C for Parmesan and pecorino, bonds holding the casein proteins together begin to break and the protein matrix collapses. Melted cheese flows as thick liquid. The moisture content dictates the melting behavior of cheese. Low moisture cheeses are more concentrated and intimately bonded, therefore, they require more enegry to melt. After continued heat, moisture evaporates and melted cheese resolidifies.
There are several cheeses that do not melt. They just get stiffer and drier. Examples include Indian paneer, Latin queso blanco, Italian ricotta, and most fresh goat cheeses. All of them are curdled primarily by acid, not rennet. Acid dissolves the calcium glue that hold casein proteins together in micelles along with the negative electrical charge. The proteins bond extensively, so when heated, water is lost first before the protein bonds break. As water boils away, the proteins become even more concentrated. Firm paneer and queso blanco can be simmered or fried like meat.
Stringiness
Melted cheese becomes stringy when mostly intact casein molecules are cross-linked together by calcium into long, fibers that can stretch. If, however, casein has been attacked extensively by enzymes, then the pieces are too small to form fibers, as is the case with well aged cheeses. These do not get stringy. The degree of cross linking is such that casein molecules are tightly bound. The molecules just break.
Stringiness, can be determined by how the cheese was made. Stringy cheeses are moderate in acidity, moisture, salt, and age. They are intentionally made fibrous, as is the case with mozzarella, Emmental, and Cheddar. Crumbly cheeses include Cheshire and Leicester. Caefphilly, Colby, and Jack are preferred for melted preparations. Gruyère is the choice for fondues. Italian grating cheeses, such as Parmesan, grana Padano, and pecorinos have a broken protein fabric which makes them ideal to be disperced in dishes.
When preparing cheese sauces and soups, the aim is to integrate the cheese evenly in the liquid to add richness and flavor to the dish. To avoid stringiness, lumps, and fat separation consider the following tips:
- Avoid using cheese prone to stringiness in the first place. Moist or well-aged grating cheeses blend better.
- Grate cheese finely.
- Heat the dish as little as possible after the cheese has been added. Simmer the ingredients first, cool a bit, then add the cheese.
- Minimize stirring as it can push disperesed particles together.
- Include starchy ingredients that coat proteins and fat pockets, keeping them apart. Use stablizing ingredients such as flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot.
- If the flavor permits, use wine or lemon juice.
Cheese fondue
The ingredients for fondue include an alpine cheese such as Gruyère, a tart white wine, some kirsch, and sometimes starch (for added insurance). The wine contributes water, which keeps the casein proteins moist and dilute, and tartaric acid, which pulls off the calcium and leaves casein glueless and separate. Citric acid from a lemon juice does the same thing.
When using cheese as a topping or gratin, keep in mind that too much heat dehydrates the casein fabric, toughens it, and causes the fat to separate. To avoid this, watch the dish carefully when under the broiler or in the oven, and remove as soon as the cheese melts. If you want to brown a cheese topping, pick a robust cheese such as a grating cheese.
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