Removing the seeds from a cucumber reduces the amount of watery liquid you get in the finished soup or salad in favor of the pure flesh of the cucumber. It's not always necessary (and the seeds are good for you), but it's easy to do when you want a more refined dish.
Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise. Then scoop the seeds out with the tip of a spoon. If you press down hard enough, one or two passes with the spoon should get most of the seeds.
What's the difference between a chile and a chili?
What's the difference between a chile and a chili?
Nothing. The small hot pepper known as the chili, chilli or chile pepper is essentially the same thing, spelled differently depending on where you live. Chile sauce, chili powder, chilli oil or paste are used to give food throughout the world a fiery kick as they have for thousands of years.
Tequila is a native Mexican spirit made from the fermented and then distilled nectar of the sweet heart of the agave plant.
The spirit's name comes from the city of Tequila, located in the Mexican state of Jalisco, where most tequila is produced. Of the different varieties of agave plant, the most frequently used to make tequila is the blue agave.
Other products like agave nectar and mezcal are also made from the agave plant.
Related article: How to choose tequila (Cookthink)
If you're looking for a tequila to make mixed drinks like a margarita or a Long Island Iced Tea, where the delicate flavors of fine tequilas wouldn't be appreciated, opt for less expensive silver (blanco, or white) and gold (oro) varieties. They are bottled immediately after distillation, or aged for less than two months before bottling. Gold tequilas are simply silver tequilas that have been mixed with aged tequilas or caramel coloring and sugar so that they take on a light brownish tint.
Aged tequilas are kept in oak barrels before bottling and pick up both color and flavor while they rest. Reposado (rested) tequilas are aged for more than two months, but less than 1 year before being bottled. Añejo tequilas are aged more than one year, but less than three. These tequilas are most often chosen as sipping tequilas and possess nuances than the unaged tequilas don't.
Another factor in choosing a tequila is agave content; according to Mexican law, all tequilas must be made from 51% blue agave sugars, but the other 49% can be corn or cane sugars. Due to this technicality, many tequilas touted as being made from 100% blue agave are significantly more expensive, without a huge difference in taste.
In choosing a tequila for cooking purposes, these are the questions to answer: Are you steaming with tequila? Using it in a marinade? Will the tequila affect the color of the finished dish? Will the smoky flavors of a reposado or añejo even be detectable?
In general, if the tequila is going to be cooked or used with lots of herbs, spices and chiles, then choose good quality silver or gold tequila, as the complex flavors of aged tequilas would be wasted. In highly spiced dishes, the acidity and bite of the tequila should be a bit rough in order to be tasted over the other flavors -- gold and silver tequila, or even mezcal perfectly fit the bill.
In dishes where the tequila will not be heated at all, like an ice cream, ceviche or salad dressing, then an aged tequila could be used. The flavor of a $10 shot of premium tequila will most likely disappear if used in a chili or stew, but may elevate the delicate flavor of lime ice cream to the ethereal.
What's the difference between tequila and mezcal?
What's the difference between tequila and mezcal?
Both tequila and mezcal are made from the distilled juice of the agave plant.
Tequila, however, is made from the blue agave plant, and mezcal may be made from any variety of the agave family. While tequila may only be produced in the state of Jalisco, mezcal can be produced anywhere in Mexico.
The flavor of tequila is often described as more refined and less smoky than the flavor of mezcal. Both spirits come in the aged varieties añejo and reposado, but only mezcal includes a maguey larva -- the infamous tequila worm -- in the bottle. Contrary to urban legend, the "worm" does not cause hallucinations when eaten, and is even a popular ingredient in tacos.
Related article: What is tequila? (Cookthink)
Chopping is probably the most common way to prep an onion. Chopped onions show up in anything that needs the basic, earthy pungent flavor that onions give. Chop them larger for longer-cooking dishes like stews and rustic soups, and smaller (call it a dice if you like) for anything from salsas to sauces to ragouts.
To start, cut the onion in half through the root. The root itself will help keep the onion together for chopping
Rotate the onion 90 degrees and cut off the papery end (not the root end). This will make the skin easy to peel away and discard.
Peel back the onion's papery skin. It's often easiest to peel away the first layer of the onion along with the skin.
Make a series of diagonal cuts (roughly 45 degrees) into the side of the onion. Keep more space between the slices for a large chop. Make the cuts closer together for a small chop or a dice.
Now make a series of horizontal cuts to finish shaping the chop or dice.
Finally, rotate the onion again and slice crosswise against the checkerboard pattern you made in the onion. The chopped pieces will fall away from the onion.
Why is it called Worcestershire sauce?
Why is it called Worcestershire sauce?
This popular fermented sauce was developed by English colonists in India in the 19th century, and named after its original Lea & Perrins bottling location in Worcester, England. Lea & Perrins still bottles it there in Worcester, but the company also ships a concentrated form of the sauce to be bottled in other locations around the world.
Authentic Lea & Perrins Worcestershire contains vinegar, molasses, anchovies, tamarind extract, onions and spices. Generic Worcestershire sauce is referred to as "Worcester sauce," and may also contain soy sauce, corn syrup and other ingredients.
Worcestershire was preceded in history by a popular Greco-Roman fermented fish sauce by the name of garum. Tonkatsu sauce, also called sōsu, is a popular Japanese version take on Worcestershire. (Tonkatsu is a dish of bread pork cutlets.)
