Charcuterie is the French term for prepared pork meat (and offal) products as well as the delis that sell them. The goal of charcuterie is to use up scraps that would otherwise go to waste and to extend the life of pork meat, and the artisanal and industrial methods for doing so have been developed since the 15th century. As the French are fond of saying, "Tout est bon dans le cochon."
Charcuterie includes cured meat, fresh or smoked sausage, pâté, andouille sausage, black pudding, rillettes, hams, headcheese and other ready-to-eat pork products that are made using a variety of methods, from poaching to smoking to salt-curing. In addition to France, countries such as Italy and Germany also have strong pork traditions.
Strip cabbage of its outer leaves; rinse the head well and pat dry.
Now slice the cabbage in half through its tough, fibrous core with a long, sturdy knife.
Cut each half in half again through the core. This will expose the core to make it easy to remove.
Holding each cabbage quarter upright, remove the tough core.
Now you can slice the cabbage into long, thin strips for slaws, salads, soups or stews or thicker strips for braises and sautés.
When you want a dish to have quintessential garlic flavor that permeates each bite, mince it. You can mince with a knife, or a garlic press.
Either way, you need to free the individual cloves. To do that, press down on the head with the heel of your palm. Apply firm, even pressure so the cloves don't fly all over the place.
To peel an individual clove, cut of the hard stem end where the clove attached to the bulb. Either stop the cut just short of the skin on the other side and peel the skin around to remove it, or make the cut all the way through and squeeze out the clove. The older the clove, the easier the skin releases.
You can also peel it by setting the side of your knife blade on the clove and pressing down until you feel the skin release, though not hard enough to pulverize it, or the skin will get mixed in with the garlic.
To mince with a knife, smash the peeled clove with the side of the knife. Then just run your knife back and forth across the smashed clove, chopping as you go until it's as fine as you like.
If you don't want individual little pieces of garlic and have a press, just put the whole peeled clove (or cloves, if you can fit them) in the press and squeeze. Use your knife to trim away any clinging garlic.
Onion slices are versatile. In quick-cooking dishes, they stay distinct enough from the other ingredients that they don't permeate every bite as diced onions would. In longer-cooking dishes, they have enough surface area to turn soft and brown, but their natural shape and length keeps them intact.
To make contoured half-round slices, first cut the onion in half through the root.
Next, slice away the both ends of each half and pull away the onion's skin. Since the ends hold the slices together, cutting them off frees the slices to fall into individual pieces.
Starting on one side of the onion with the knife at an angle, make slices as thick or thin as you like.
Rotate the knife around the contour of the onion, bring it closer to perpendicular to the cutting board as you go.
Bacon is the cured and/or smoked side, belly or back of a pig.
American bacon—called streaky bacon by our British friends—is cut from a side of fatty pig belly. It's normally sold in slices ("rashers" across the pond). Canadian bacon (English back bacon) is made from the leaner loin, located in the back.
While bacon usually implies "pork," the word can be used to describe cuts (and composite cuts) from other animals, such as turkey, as well as "veggie bacon" made with soy.
Sauerkraut is a classic fermented dish popular in Germany, France and all over northern and central Europe that was invented as a way to preserve cabbage over the winter.
Fresh sauerkraut is high in vitamin C and was frequently taken on long sea voyages by European explorers to help prevent scurvy.
The version that is most popular in the U.S. involves very thinly shredded cabbage. It is salted to draw out its juices and then sits in the resulting brine for 4 to 6 weeks as it cures and ferments. The bacteria that ferment the cabbage help to turn the sugars in the leaves to lactic acid, which imparts the distinctive taste.
There are many variations on the sauerkraut theme, including using red cabbage for a bright pink result and adding various spices to the brew. Caraway seeds and juniper berries are traditional additions; black peppercorns and slices of apple are also found in many recipes.
Reference: How to make sauerkraut
What kind of cabbage can I use to make sauerkraut?
What kind of cabbage can I use to make sauerkraut?
You can use any kind of cabbage to make sauerkraut: green, red, savoy, Napa or any other variety and in any combination.
Since different varieties of cabbage have different colors, flavors and textures, the resulting sauerkraut will reflect that. For example, Savoy cabbage is firm, so a sauerkraut made with it will hold together more than a sauerkraut made with Napa cabbage, which is softer. A combination of red and green cabbage will lend your sauerkraut a pink hue.
If you like, you can even toss in vegetables like carrots and Brussels sprouts, and aromatics like onions and garlic for different flavor combinations. The possiblities are endless.
Waxy white and red potatoes have less starch and more moisture than russets and other high-starch potatoes. This low moisture content makes them ideal for boiling, mashing, roasting or frying. New potatoes have a waxy texture and thin skins, meaning they keep their shape in potato salads and can be pan roasted.
Store potatoes in a cool, dark place. Putting them in the refrigerator will turn their starch to unwanted sugar, making them grow unpleasantly dark when cooked.
Recipe: Potato Salad With Capers And Parsley (Cookthink)
Recipe: Roasted Fennel And Potatoes With Fennel Seed (Cookthink)
