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.
Some recipes call for just egg whites or just egg yolks. How do you separate them? You could use an egg separator, but it's really not too tricky to just use the shells.
Set yourself up with two bowls -- one for the whites, and one for the yolks.
Carefully crack the egg on the edge of your bowl. Holding it over the bowl you intend to use for the whites, turn it vertically while you separate the halves, so that the yolk sits in one side of the shell. Some of the whites will spill over and into the bowl.
Gently pour the yolk back and forth between the halves, keeping the shells tilted so that the rest of the white can drip over and into the bowl. Once most of it is gone, dump the yolk into the other bowl, discard the shells and repeat. It takes a little getting used to, but a few eggs into your angel food cake, and you'll be a master.
Grand Marnier is a French orange-based liqueur that is one of the world's most famous after-dinner drinks and the signature ingredient in Escoffier's Grand Marnier soufflé and Grand Marnier-flamed crêpes suzette, landmark clichés of French cuisine.
Grand Marnier was born in 1827 when a cognac connoisseur named Lapostolle got the idea to mix it with orange, a rare and prized ingredient at the time. His friend the hotelier César Ritz named the liqueur and helped make it famous. Now, its signature bottle, tied with a red ribbon with its name spelled out in Gothic lettering, is a familiar site on bar shelves the world over (the company claims that a bottle of Grand Marnier is sold every two seconds somewhere on the planet).
The company is still run by the sixth generation of the Marnier-Lapostolle family.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons Share-Alike license.)
What is the difference between liquor and liqueur?
What is the difference between liquor and liqueur?
A liquor is an alcoholic drink that is distilled from grains or plants, such as rum, vodka, gin or whiskey.
A liqueur is a sweet or herbal alcoholic drink that is made from fruit, herbs, flowers, nuts or spices plus (usually) sugar and a spirit such as grain alcohol, vodka or rum. Liqueurs can be served as before or after-dinner drinks and used in desserts. Many liqueurs are made in France, such as Cassis (made with black currants), Chartreuse (made from plants and flowers) or Pastis (flavored with anise seeds).
Once a prize kept under lock and key in wealthy households, sugar is now ubiquitous and comes in many forms. Most commercial sugar is made from cane or beet root. Here's a look at the most common types of sugar used in the kitchen.
Granulated white sugar: White sugar is highly refined and made from sugarcane or beets. This all-purpose refined white sugar has small but fairly coarse crystals and is used to sprinkle on food, sweeten beverages, or add to dishes during cooking. Golden granulated sugar is a brown sugar made from sugar cane molasses that is similar but has a light brown color.
Castor (caster) or superfine sugar: This refined white sugar has fine crystals that dissolve more quickly than regular granulated sugar, making it a good choice for baking meringues. Golden castor sugar is made from unrefined cane sugar.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar is nothing more than white sugar that has been mixed with molasses to color it and give it a moist texture. Light brown sugar has less molasses than dark brown sugar. Brown sugar should not be confused with raw sugar, which has a similar color and taste but is actually the residue from processed sugarcane.
Turbinado sugar: A sugar cane extract that is made by steaming unrefined raw sugar. It has large crystals and a slight molasses flavor. It's a shade paler than brown sugar and can be substituted for brown sugar in recipes. We like to use turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top of muffins, cookies and scones. It holds its texture well and, when cooked, has a nice sweet crunch.
Demerara Sugar: True Demerara sugar is raw or partly refined sugar with large crystals, but some impostors are nothing more than white sugar stained with molasses.
Muscovado Sugar: This raw cane sugar comes in light and dark varieties and is used to make cakes and desserts.
Powdered, icing or confectioner's sugar: This sugar is made by reducing granulated sugar to a powder and mixing it with starch to prevent it from lumping up. It's used to decorate cakes and can also be used in making sweet dishes and baked goods.
Marmalade is a fruit preserve that is most often spread on toast. It is made with citrus fruit, sugar, water and added pectin when needed. British marmalade, much of which is made in Dundee, Scotland, is bittersweet, whereas the American-made version is just plain sweet.
The Seville orange is widely used to make British marmalade, as it is higher in pectin than a regular orange and helps the marmalade to set naturally once pectin is released by boiling the fruit and sugar.
Marmalade comes in variations according to how thick you like the cut of the peel. Marmalade can also be made with grapefruit, limes, lemons or clementines.
You can also spread marmalade on sandwiches or scones; mix it with whipped cream and spread it between layers of cake; or mix it into a marinade for chicken or pork.
Lemon zest adds a bright spark to a dish. There are lots of tools for zesting a lemon -- zester, a knife -- but it's hard to go wrong with a fine grater (such as the popular Microplane version), which makes a beautiful light zest that melds into a dish and gives great flavor.
To zest with the Microplane, just rub the lemon in one direction against the little blades. Turn the lemon as you go so you remove only the yellow part -- the zest. You don't want the white pith just beneath -- it's bitter.
If you use a traditional zester, which makes long, thin strands of zest, or a knife, be sure to finely chop the strands with a knife. The finer shrivels of zest will permeate the dish better than the strands.
To get the most flavor out of lemon zest, add it toward the end of cooking.
Recipe: Agnolotti With Eggplant, Tomatoes And Garlic (Cookthink)
Recipe: Broccoli With Fettuccine, Lemon Zest And Parmesan (Cookthink)
Recipe: Cremini Mushroom Risotto With Lemon Zest (Cookthink)
Reference: What is a Meyer lemon? (Cookthink)
