Radio Kitchen

One of the most commonly encountered terms in cooking is the phrase "caramelizing," which is a sort of alchemy that converts savory ingredients into something with a touch of sweetness.   You'll hear caramelizing often when you're talking about onions,  but we feel that not all that many people actually know how to go about the process.

First of all, this is a useful technique that can be used year round, and is a welcome addition to our grilling repertoire.   Who could resist a grilled steak smothered in caramelized onions?   Carameliztion is the heating of sugar in a food until its constituent molecules break down and form an entire new set of molecules which have an entirely different set of properties.   Basically, the longer sugar is heated, the less sweetness it has and the more bitter it becomes and the darker it will become.   Any food that contains sugar is susceptible to caramelization.   Ideally, the object is to retain sweetness while achieving the richness and  tenderness that comes from cooking.   So this is not merely an exercise in sautéing onions.   It's a more involved and much slower process.

What kind of onions are best?   Well, the sweeter the better.   Tiny cippolino onions are great, as are the vidalia.   Pungent onions like the purple can be caramelized, but take a longer time.   Whichever you use, you are going to want to work with quite a few onions, as many as a half dozen.   The more, the better, because they will keep themselves moist longer.

A good way to work with the onions is to lop off the top and bottom, peel them, and then cut into very small wedges, top to bottom.   You will want a large, deep skillet to work with, and you will be using good quality olive oil for this.   Work over a medium low to medium heat.   Pour in olive oil first, and as it becomes wavy with heat, add the onions and spread them out evenly.

So how long this take?   Any recipe that says you can caramelize onions in about 10 minutes just isn't being straight with you.   The whole process should take about an hour.   And how about adding sugar?   Well, yes, adding a little sugar, say a teaspoon does help.  Also try molasses or honey.   There are also additional seasonings you can use.   Salt is very useful since it draws out water, and pepper adds to the flavor.   And at the end of the process you can deglaze the pan with a little balsamic vinegar, which will add to the flavor.

While preparing caramelized onions, you are playing a game between cooking the onions thoroughly, and not allowing them to scorch on the bottom of the skillet.   You will want to stir every five minutes or so, and do so faithfully, so it's a matter or cooking and scraping.   Add a little water if they start to scorch and stick to the bottom.

Once cooled, the caramelized onions will store in an air-tight container for several days.

Grilling season is fully underway, and each year we try to shed a little more light on the subject talking about recipes, techniques or hardware.   This year, with the 4th of July looming, we thought we'd trot out some of the newest gadgets to help you through your barbecue sessions.   Oddly enough, one place you can find the latest in grilling equipment is Best Buy, which has teamed up with cooking.com to get into the gadget  business.   Check out their website at kitchen.bestbuy.com.

Here are four gadgets we like a lot:

1.  Meat Thermometer with iPhone app.   This probe is attached to a device that can link wirelessly to your iPhone.   You tell the machine what kind of meat you're cooking, what its weight is, and how done you want it.   Insert the probe, and when it hits the mark, it calls your iPhone to let you know to come and get it.   About $80.

2.  Guy Fieri Smoker Box.   A very simple, yet useful gadget to contain your favorite wood chips, especially in a gas grill.  (Check out the link at kitchen.bestbuy.com/smokerbox)   About $15.

3. Weber night time grilling light.  This extremely useful gadget clamps on to your grill, and with a flip of the switch, illuminates the theater of operations.  (Check out the link at kitchen.bestbuy.com/weberlight)  Around $30.

4.  Weber Baby Q100 Portable Gas Grill for tailgating.  This compact grill works off of small propane canisters, and with its 189 square inch cooking surface, can handle a lot  of burgers.   (Check out the link at kitchen.bestbuy.com/webergasgrill)   About $150.

Several weeks ago we were talking about High Tea as served at Downton Abbey, the popular BBC show, and the subject of scones and crumpets came up.   We thought this might warrant a show of its own since English muffins, scones and crumpets are delicious to eat and also, quite easy to make

English muffins are made from a yeasty dough, scones and crumpets from a batter.   In fact, the scone resembles quick bread in many respects, while the crumpet is very similar to a pancake. 

The English Muffin

The English muffin is very bread-like in its makeup.   The form we now know goes back to the late 1700's, when the "Muffin Man" was a familiar figure.   The standard muffin dough requires not only yeast, but shortening which will weaken the gluten formation in the dough, making it more tender.   The dough is allowed to rise twice, and then rolled out to about 1/2 inch thickness.   Circular cookie cutters, or other device, are used to cut out rounds.   Place these on a sheet of wax paper dusted with cornmeal.   Sprinkle cornmeal on the tops as well.   When ready to cook, heat up a greased griddle or large skillet over medium heat.   Cook each muffin for about ten minutes each side, then set aside to cool.

The Scone

Properly pronounced to rhyme with "gone," Americans make it rhyme with "cone."   Either way, it is a small, quick bread cake, levened with baking powder, and mixed most frequently with dried fruits.   It is not far from our American short cake.   The standard scone shape is sort of like a diamond, and it is about 1 1/2" thick.

Originally the scone was flat, round and about the size of a bread and butter plate.   It was referred to as a "bannock," which was then cut into four quartered wedges, which were called the "scones."  The bannock used to be cooked, unlevened on a griddle, but with the advent of baking powder, they were baked in an oven.   Today the quadrant wedge shape is still to be found, but the smaller biscuit shape is more popular.

The dough is made with flower, eggs, baking powder, sugar, milk, a touch of salt, and most importantly:  cold butter as the fat.   This will give you a flakier cake.

Scones are an excellent way of acquainting yourself with dried currents, a staple fruit in older days.   They are a perfect addition to the dough, as are raisins, dried berries of all kinds, and if you must, chocolate chips.   We think the currents are perfect.

The Crumpet

It does sound like a food out of a nursery rhyme, or alternatively, Jane Austin.   The crumpet is a round, chewy, spongy cake cooked on a griddle in a ring mold.   As it cooks, the top side of the crumpet develops hundreds of bubble holes, much like a half cooked pancake.   It is turned on the griddle to firm up the top, and then served hot.  

The crumpet is made from a batter, a more liquid form of dough that is leavened with yeast, but not blended with fat.   It is not a spur-of-the-moment dish, since the batter needs to rise for about an hour and a half.   Overnight would be better.   To cook it, you will need a ring mold at least 1 inch deep, and a hot, greased griddle.   Place the ring mold on the griddle and fill about half way.   Cook it until the topside shows a lot of bubbles and starts to cook through.   Remove the crumpet from its mold, and flip the crumpet and cook the top briefly until it turns golden brown.   Serve with butter and jam.

It's High Spring and the national Fancy Food shows are in full swing, which means it's time to get an update from Adam Borden, our food scout.   This time Adam is regaling us with tales of Adult Desserts, which are very very intriguing.

Adam reports:

Since the late 1990’s, adventurous chefs have been experimenting with a variety of seemingly disparate flavor combinations in an attempt to appeal to a more sophisticated adult palate.   These unique creations are prevalent in dessert offerings, mixing sweet and savory with surprising results.   Until recently, these products have been available only in high-end restaurants, but there are now a growing number of companies that are bringing these products directly to consumers.

Premium Ice Creams

Ice cream is typically made with milk, cream, eggs, sugar and flavorings.   Over the years, manufacturers found ways to make it cheaper by using artificial ingredients such as guar gum and carrageenan which caused the flavor and 'mouth feel' of ice cream to slowly degrade.   The late 1970’s saw a return to quality via the emergence of “super-premium” boutique brands like Ben and Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs, with high butterfat content and low overrun (air).

When ice cream is churned, air is incorporated.   If no air were added, the ice cream would be hard and stiff, like an ice cube. Manufacturers can control the amount of air added to the ice cream mixture before it freezes.   This air, called overrun, can increase the volume of the ice cream by as little as 20% (typical of premium brands), or as much as 100% (typical of mass-market brands). More overrun produces a fluffy, light ice cream while less overrun produces a creamy, dense ice cream with little air and a lot of fat.  Super-Premium Ice Cream has very low overrun and high fat content (up to 15% versus 10% for regular ice cream).   In the latest figures available from Mintel and cited by the International Dairy Foods Association, production of ice creams classified as premium or super premium climbed by 17% between 2009 & 2010, although US ice cream production declined 1.2% overall.

One of the emerging companies catering to this growing trend of more sophisticated adult desserts is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (http://jenisicecreams.com/) based in Columbus, OH.   Jeni’s introduces new flavors seasonally, most with unusual spicing or a touch of spirits.   To celebrate the release of Sophia Coppola’s movie “Marie Antoinette,” Bauer created a collection of six flavors based on the French revolution including Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet.   The ingredients are Bartlett pears, Riesling wine, sugar and tapioca Syrup.

Gelato

Gelato is the Italian word for frozen.   In common usage, Italians use the word gelato to mean a sweet treat that is served frozen.  Like traditional ice cream, it is made with milk, cream, various sugars, and flavorings such as fresh fruit and nut purees.   Gelato differs from traditional ice cream in that it is lighter, owing to lower butterfat content (gelato typically contains 4-8% butterfat).  Depending on the recipe and the artisan making it, dairy based gelato contains 16-24% sugar vs. 12-16% in most US ice cream. Gelato’s sugar acts as an anti-freezing agent to prevent it from hardening solid. 

Gelateria Naia (http://gelaterianaia.com/) is a small San Francisco producer that uses local, premium ingredients to make unusual artisan flavors which rotate with the growing seasons.   They partner with St. George Spirits, a California distillery, to create their hauntingly smoky single malt whisky gelato (http://bargelato.com/flavors/single-malt-whiskey/).

Caramel Sauces

Caramel dates from early 18th century France and is a beige to dark-brown confectionery product made by heating any of a variety of sugars.   The process of caramelization consists of heating sugar slowly with water to around 170 °C (340 °F).   As the sugar heats, the molecules break down and re-form into compounds with a characteristic color and flavor.

Cassandra Chen quit her job as a currency trader to pursue a job in the kitchen.   She uses locally sourced ingredients in her CC Made (http://www.ccmade.com/sauces) caramel sauces.   Her Sel Gris (Grey Sea Salt) infuses the salt straight into the cream which dissolves the salt.   As a result, one tastes the saltiness without the crunch of the crystals.   Although she strives for as few processed ingredients as possible, Cassandra has added some corn syrup (not HFCS) to maintain the pliability of her product, something other sweeteners could not provide.