Cream is made by skimming the layer of butterfat from the top of milk before the milk is homogenized. Varieties of cream are defined by how much milk fat they contain. Creams with less fat are fine for coffee, but they can’t be heated or whipped. Cultured creams (sour cream, crème fraîche) break down when heated, and are best drizzled or dolloped after you've finished cooking a dish.
The spectrum of cream from lowest to highest butterfat content:
Half & Half: A mix of half whole milk and half cream. No whipping. No heating.
Light Cream: AKA Table Cream - Usually contains 20% milk fat. No whipping. No heating.
Crème Fraîche, Mexican Crema and Sour Cream: The cultured creams. No whipping. No heating. Cultured creams have sour undertones that differ from the silky sweetness of creams that are not cultured.
Light Whipping Cream: Has more milk fat (30-36%) than light cream. Whips into soft peaks. Heats nicely, too.
Heavy Cream (aka, Heavy Whipping Cream): 36-40% milk fat. Can be whipped into stiff peaks. Heats to a silky, rich thickness.
Recipe: Pappardelle With Creminis, Cream And Sage (Cookthink)
Recipe: Cream Of Broccoli Soup (Cookthink)
Reference: What do I do with leftover heavy cream? (Cookthink)
A purée is a thick, soft dish that's made by pressing cooked foods through a sieve, or mixing them in a blender or food processor.
Vegetable purées are either used as a base for soup -- thinned with water or stock -- or eaten as a side dish. Tomato purée, used for sauces and soups, is made by removing seeds from lightly cooked tomatoes and straining the pulp. Fruit purées are used to make sauces, mousses, soufflés and other preparations. Purées can also be made from anchovies, chicken livers, shrimp or salmon, and used as a filling for canapés.
Recipe: Butternut Squash And Banana Puree With Whiskey And Pecans (Cookthink)
Recipe: Parsnip And Orange Puree (Cookthink)
Reference: Tomato paste vs. tomato puree vs. tomato sauce (Cookthink)
When we're sautéing potatoes alone or with other vegetables, making soup with them, or stirring them into stews, we usually cut them into cubes. It's not always necessary to peel the potato (especially smaller, waxier varieties), but sometimes you'll want to.To start the dice, cut the potato into planks lengthwise, You can vary the width of the slices depending on the size cubes you want.After you've cut the potato into planks, roll it a quarter turn and cut the planks into rectangular strips lengthwise.Holding the strips together, turn them and cut across the them crosswise to make cubes. This is a good time to use a knife with recesses along the blade, like a Santoku. The small indentions keep the potato from sticking to the knife during slicing.
Vanilla extract is a vanilla-flavored liquid made from vanillin, one of the organic components that creates the aroma in vanilla beans. A century ago, vanilla extract was produced in apothecary shops and taken to soothe upset stomachs. Today, it's used to flavor desserts (and has become a popular flavoring for savory dishes as well).
Pure vanilla extract is made by extracting the vanilla flavor by macerating the bean in alcohol and water. The FDA requires at least 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon of at least 35 percent alcohol (and 65 percent water). But the quality of the beans is not regulated and can vary accordingly. And even though vanilla is naturally sweet, the extract may contain added sugar, corn syrup, caramel, colorings or stabilizers.
Vanilla extract deepens with age and will hang out until you need it in a cool, dry place.
You really get what you pay for when it comes to vanilla. Beware of imitation vanilla flavoring, which is harsh-tasting and no match for the real thing.
You can make your own vanilla extract by soaking split vanilla beans in vodka or rum in a sterilized bottle and allowing it to steep in a cool, dark place for about 8 weeks, shaking it every few days.
Pure vanilla is the fruit of an edible orchid, which opens once a year for a few hours in order to be pollinated.
The long, thin vanilla bean is harvested while green, cured and dried in the sun for several months until it becomes dark brown and sprouts edible vanillin crystals. Vanilla beans are primarily harvested in Madagascar, Mexico and Tahiti.
The vanilla bean is used to make vanilla extract, vanilla powder from the dried pod and vanilla sugar. Beware of imitation vanilla flavoring.
When cooking with vanilla beans, split the bean lengthwise using a sharp knife and scrape the pod to extract the seeds. If you are using the vanilla bean to flavor milk or cream for a pudding or sauce made on the stovetop, you can also add the split bean to the mixture; the seeds will be released as the mixture heats (remove the bean before serving).
Otherwise, add your dry, de-seeded vanilla beans to a jar of sugar -- they will perfume it with a subtle vanilla essence.
How much is a thumb of ginger?
How much is a thumb of ginger?
A recipe will often call for a "thumb" of fresh ginger, because the root grows in thumb-like chunks that can be snapped off from the root.
So how much is a thumb of ginger? While it obviously depends on the size of your thumb, a typical piece of ginger -- one that measures 1 inch long, 1/4-inch wide and 1/4-inch deep -- will give you 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons of minced ginger.
Reference: How to peel ginger (Cookthink)
Reference: How to mince ginger (Cookthink)
Be courageous this holiday season and learn how to make homemade pastry dough for all of those pies you'll be baking. This video by Handmade TV includes a recipe and step-by-step instructions for a crust worthy of any filling.
what you should know
Up north, the brief maple syrup season is underway. The sap is flowing and the louvered sugar shacks are at full boil.
Real maple syrup is made from the sap of sugar maples. The sap flows up the tree during the cold night, then flows back down the tree as the temperature rises during the day.
sapped The sap is clear and light, like a mild sugar water. It's poured into an evaporator where it's boiled for hours to thicken. About 40 gallons of sap will get you only one gallon of syrup.
lingua dolce Until the cheap production of cane sugar and, later, high fructose corn syrup, maple sap was mostly used to make sugar. Today, even though almost maple sap is used for syrup, the old language of "sugaring" survives.
maple state In the U.S., most real maple syrup comes from Vermont, where sugaring (like cheesemaking) is practically a birthright. Syrups are graded based on when in the season they're made. (There's evidence that terroir comes into play as well.)
coatlicker Imitation syrups are made mostly with high fructose corn syrup and an aroma compound called sotolon. Chip's friend Mark, an amateur sugarer, says that going back to commercial stuff after years of making his own "is like taking a shower with a raincoat on. And then licking the raincoat."
what you need
Though it doesn't have the classic beehive shape of your local diner's tabletop syrup pourer, this WMF Satin Steel contraption is sleek and relatively drip-free.
For pancakes, it's hard to beat Calphalon's stove-top nonstick griddle. The square shape and low ridges make it easy to flip the flapjacks.
Maple sap's not just for syrup and sugar. Vermont Spirits makes a clean, rustic maple sap vodka.
what you do
We like to use the darker, richer Grade B syrup for this maple plum crumble.
Syrup, butter and pecans are just the right dressing for these maple-glazed pears.
Try this salty-sweet soy-maple vinaigrette on simple green or single-vegetable salads. Or use it as a glaze for grilled fish and meats.
We love the lush tang of this maple and apricot-glazed meatloaf, from new Cookthinktanker, Karina's Kitchen.
If you'd rather save the maple syrup for the pancakes, try hogwash's Whole-Grain Flapjacks and VeganYumYum's Easy Weekend Pancakes.
Featured recipe: Tahini and apple cider vinegar are two of the ingredients that makes these maple-walnut cookies so distinctive. The recipe comes from Diet, Dessert, and Dogs and is the featured recipe for this week's Root Source Challenge.
what you should know
What makes brown sugar brown? Molasses. That's what.
While raw sugar (like demarara or turbinado) comes by its golden color naturally, brown sugar is refined white sugar tarted up with a bit of molasses. (Dark brown sugar has more molasses than light).
pour some sugar The water in molasses adds moisture to brown sugar that makes it ideal for baked goods, giving them a crumbly texture and a deeper flavor than ordinary white sugar does.
keep it tight Be sure to store your brown sugar in a tightly sealed container to keep it soft and pliant.
dirty sugar Domino sugar launched a smear campaign against brown sugar at the end of the 1800s, replete with nasty photographs of benign microbes living in brown sugar.
sticky fingers Sugar formed one leg of history's most notorious triangle trade route, one of many taboo subjects that might have inspired Sir Lips when he sat down and wrote, "Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields..."
what you need
Try this classic for some good, old-school ideas about how to use brown sugar.
Use these stainless steel measuring cups to dole out the sweet stuff.
Along with a song, brown sugar has inspired a movie and an album.
Winter's coming and with it hard times: stock up on this steel-cut oatmeal. Top it with brown sugar and raisins to make a wholesome and warming breakfast.
what you do
For a sweet but stimulating breakfast, try these carrot and ginger muffins.
Scandinavian gravlax gets an American twist with a brown sugar cure.
Dark brown sugar and red wine vinegar give this brisket its rich, balanced flavor.
Spicy squash would make a fine addition to the Thanksgiving (or any) table.
We always look forward to making these crispy spice cookies around the holidays.
Simultaneously rustic and elegant, black plum tarte tatin makes the most of brown sugar's caramel quality.
Featured: A deliciously autumnal recipe for Apple Almond Upside-Down Cake from Wine Imbiber won this week's Root Source Challenge. Congratulations, Rich and Leah!
Find more brown sugar recipes at Cookthink.com. And if you haven't yet signed up for a free account at Cookthink, do it now!
Whether carved into jack-o'-lanterns, baked into pies or covered in proverbial frost, pumpkins symbolize our annual descent into winter.
Giant pumpkins are best for carving; the flesh has little taste. For cooking, look for the smaller specimens known as sugar pumpkins (or "pie pumpkins").
Thin-skinned summer squash are harvested before maturity; thick-skinned pumpkins aren't picked until after the first frost. A grooved woody stem and deep orange color set the pumpkin apart from other winter squash.
Many American holiday recipes call for canned supermarket pumpkin -- but pumpkin purée is easily made from scratch.
what you should know
Whether carved into jack-o'-lanterns, baked into pies or covered in proverbial frost, pumpkins symbolize our annual descent into winter.
Giant pumpkins are best for carving; the flesh has little taste. For cooking, look for the smaller specimens known as sugar pumpkins (or "pie pumpkins").
family matters Thin-skinned summer squash are gathered before maturity; thick-skinned pumpkins aren't picked until after the first frost. A grooved woody stem and deep orange color set the pumpkin apart from other winter squash.
when in rome In Italy, pumpkin is a common pasta filling. Pumpkin is fried and served with yogurt sauce in Afghanistan. In Mexico, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are made into a tasty sauce.
in the can Many holiday recipes call for canned supermarket pumpkin -- but pumpkin purée is easily made from scratch.
world's greatest If the fact that 80 percent of the world's canned pumpkin is processed in Morton, Illinois doesn't make you want to visit, maybe its annual pumpkin-chucking contest will.
what you need
If you're cutting pumpkin, you're going to need a nice, sharp knife.
Ready yourself for holiday pie-baking with a pie plate and the pie bible.
If you're craving pumpkin in music form, how about Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness?
If you're more inclined to believe in the Great Pumpkin than in Santa Claus, get yourself a copy of the Charlie Brown classic.
what you do
Part of the beauty of pumpkin is that it can go sweet or savory. Satisfy your sugar cravings with a classic pumpkin pie or a bowl of pumpkin-cardamom rice pudding.
Nut brittle gets a sophisticated twist with spicy pumpkin seed brittle.
Sweet-hot pumpkin enchiladas make a quick and meatless weeknight meal.
Fish, squash and legume bisque is a hearty soup traditionally served during Holy Week and delicious anytime.
If your Thanksgiving plans don't include turkey, pumpkin gnocchi would be a great way to celebrate instead.
Featured: The winner of this week's Root Source Challenge is a recipe for a savory pumpkin custard from Noob Cook. Congratulations, Wiffy!
Find more pumpkin recipes at Cookthink.com. And if you haven't yet signed up for a free account at Cookthink, do it now!
How to make smooth custard fillings
How to make smooth custard fillings
If you want to make sure your cheesecake, ice cream, pudding, quiche filling or pumpkin pie has a smooth, uniform texture, use a fine-meshed sieve or a fine chinois to strain the custard before cooking.
Using a super-fine chinois will even remove the white, string-like chalaza from the mixture. Inside the egg, the chalaza acts as a seatbelt for the yolk, preventing it from bobbing all over the developing chick; cooked in a recipe, the chalaza becomes a rubbery piece of protein that often goes unnoticed but prevents the finished dish from achieving its nirvana of smoothness.
Ginger's brown outer peel looks tough, but it's not. It's so thin and light that you don't need a knife or vegetable peeler to peel it.
To start, break or cut off the the amount of ginger you need. Slice off any small protruding limbs to make the main piece easier to peel.
Hold the piece of ginger in one hand. With the tip of a spoon, scrape away the ginger's peel.
You'll be surprised by how little effort it takes to remove it. Because spoon tip is dull, it easily takes off the soft peel without wasting much of the aromatic flesh.
Once you've peeled the ginger, you're ready to prep it further.
Reference: How much is a thumb of ginger? (Cookthink)
Reference: How to mince ginger (Cookthink)
