"Al dente" means "to the tooth" in Italian. (Like "terroir", it's one of those concepts that poorly translates into English.) The phrase refers to the desired texture of cooked pasta, which should be soft but still slightly firm at the core of the noodle (or shell or spiral or alphabet letter). Some cooks define "al dente" as "not hard and not soft."
Pasta cooked "al dente" should require some chewing but not crunch or stick to the teeth when chewed. The firm texture should allow you to taste some of the pasta's flavor. Overcooked pasta tends to be mushy and flavorless.
So how do you know when your pasta is "al dente"? In my house growing up, we threw a strand of spaghetti at the wall -- as soon as it sticks, it's done. The problem with that test is that overcooked pasta sticks to the wall, too. So now I just use my teeth: Before I think it's ready, I draw a piece of pasta from the pot, let it cool a few seconds and take a bite. If it's ready, my mouth knows.
Related: What's the point of putting oil in my pasta water?
Related: How to cook garlic for pasta
I love the smooth mildness of cooked garlic. This is a quick way to get that while boiling your pasta.
When the salted water comes to a boil and the pasta is tossed in, also toss in any number of unpeeled garlic cloves. If the pasta being used cooks more quickly (like fresh pasta), add the cloves to the boiling water about 2 minutes before adding the pasta. If the pasta -- such as ziti -- takes longer to cook, wait until about 7 minutes of cooking time are left and then add the garlic.
When the pasta is al dente -- after 6 to 9 minutes -- drain it. To peel the cooked garlic, hold the papery tip of the garlic peel in one hand and use a wooden spoon to press downward, towards the root end of the clove. The clove should just pop it out.
Reference: What does al dente mean? (Cookthink)
Reference: What's the point of putting oil in my pasta water? (Cookthink)
What does it mean to let the butter's foam subside?
What does it mean to let the butter's foam subside?
Certain phrases have become part of the recipe vernacular despite giving little in the way of good guidance. Most of us, for example, have seen something like this in recipes that call for cooking with butter:
“Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. When the foam subsides, add the vegetables and stir.”
Why does the butter's foam need to subside?
It’s an indicator of temperature. Adding vegetables or meat to cold fat is a fast way to mess up a good dish. The ingredients soak up the butter rather than cook in it, and the finished dish can turn out excessively buttery and too moist on the surface. Hot fat, on the other hand, prevents sticking and encourages browning.
Letting the butter's foam subside before adding ingredients ensures a hot cooking environment and adds a rich flavor to the dish. Of course, butter is hot well before its foam subsides. In some dishes like soups, where you're sweating vegetables, you may not want that extra richness. In these cases, you're looking for the point at which the butter begins to foam.
But if a recipe does call for you to let the butter's foam subside, here's a rough guide:
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Swirl the butter around in the pan. The milk solids will begin to separate out. The butter will sizzle and foam.
After another minute or so the foam subsides. The butter looks more like oil now, and it’s hot. At this point you might add eggs for an omelette.
For something like a sage butter sauce, let the butter go another 30 seconds or so to let it brown and take on a slightly nutty flavor. Like olive oil, butter has a low smoke point, so watch it closely. You don't want it to burn and smoke. If it does, rinse and dry the pan, then start over.
Recipe: Tortellini With Sage, Brown Butter, And Parmesan (Cookthink)
Related: Root Source: Unsalted Butter (Cookthink)
Unlike champagne and asiago cheese (and scores of other foods and drinks), which must be made in a certain area to be considered the real thing (and labeled as such), Dijon mustard does not have to be made in Dijon, France.
In fact, most of the world's Dijon mustard is not made in Dijon, France.
So what makes a Dijon a Dijon? Well, all mustard is made by mixing ground mustard seeds (white, yellow, brown, or black) with vinegar, water, grape must, and other liquids. What makes a mustard a "Dijon mustard" is the use of wine must and white wine which -- in combination with brown and/or black mustard seeds, cloves, cinnamon and other spices and herbs -- give Dijon mustard its distinctive tangy flavor.
Reference: What does "emulsify" mean?
Recipe: Fettucine With Salmon, Lentils, Mustard And Cream
Recipe: Grilled Herb-Mustard Chicken Breasts
Recipe: Superfantastic Brussels Sprouts (VeganYumYum)
what you should know
Are they right, those boosters, when they say that mustard is the world's oldest condiment? Maybe they are. Its storied history as a spice, a medicine and a metaphor has made mustard important to people from Nanur to Napa.
But by the mid-1980s, the word had come to mean pretty much one thing in the U.S.: the sour water-paste of French's yellow mustard. It took a French accent and a Rolls Royce for Grey Poupon to finally break up the great American mustard monopoly and help bring about a browner, spicier era in mustardry.
The king of the browns is Dijon mustard, some of which are French, some of which (like Grey Poupon) are not. What makes Dijon Dijon is the use of wine must and white wine in the mustard. (Other brown mustards can contain water, vinegar or grape must.)
hot flashes The trademark heat in mustard -- that dash that starts on the tongue but seethes into the nostrils and then fades -- settles down as the mustard ages. "America's Test Kitchen" surveyed Dijons and found that fresh mustard is hotter. ATK's advice: buy small amounts of mustard and look for a date stamp on the bottle.
let mustard be your muse In addition to hosting a National Mustard Day, the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum, in Wisconsin, sponsors an annual contest about the much loved condiment.
what you need
From Mount Horeb's online gift shop, you can order very own personalized mustard.
Subscribe to a mustard of the month club.
Order mustard seeds or a sampler from Raye's Mustard, in Maine, home of North America's last remaining stone-ground mustard mill.
I would like to get to a point in my life where I use a mustard pot often and earnestly.
Recipes for homemade mustard abound online. The basic formula: soak mustard seeds (usually a combo of brown and yellow) + water + wine and/or vinegar + spices and/or herbs + salt and pepper. Blend. Taste. Tinker.
what you do
Mustard adds tons of flavor without bringing with it many calories. On broiled chicken, a mustard and parsley crust also gives the dish more texture. Ditto for grilled chicken coated with mustard and herbs.
Alongside the egg, Dijon mustard is one of the best emulsifiers around. Simply braised cauliflower shows off this mustard-tarragon vinaigrette.
When I was little, there was a period when I ate mustard with everything. I still love bacon dipped in mustard. Call me immature.
A vegetarian's friend, lentils are petite legume seeds that come whole or split in a variety of colors. Popular throughout the world, brown European lentils are the most common, if not the most delicious, variety. Because they tend to grow mushy when cooked, they are often used as a base for lentil soup.
The dark green-blue lentilles vertes du Puy are considered by many the apex of lentildom. These French lentils hold their shape and have a richer texture than common European lentils. Smaller and rounder orange (or red or yellow) lentils are more widely used in Asian cuisines.
Lentils are used in soups, stews and the Indian dish known as dal. Lentils eaten with rice are a common meat substitute in India, as they contain high amounts of protein as well as iron, phosphorus, calcium and vitamins A and B. The French, on the other hand, like to pair lentils with smoked pork sausage or bacon lardons.
Recipe: Lentil Salad With Garlic Vinaigrette
Recipe: Quickish Country Lentil Soup (Hogwash)
Recipe: Lentils Crostini With Ricotta And Basil
