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.
How to cut citrus fruit into sections
How to cut citrus fruit into sections
The fleshy sections of lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits and other citrus fruits add brightness, acidity, color and flavor to salads, pasta sauces and just about anything else you can think of. Here's a quick way to remove them and leave behind the bitter connective tissue.First, cut the fruit in half along its "equator," with the stem ends facing top and bottom.Working over a bowl, hold the fruit cut-side up with your free hand. With your other hand, run the knife between the flesh and the peel, rotating the fruit as you go. Work deeper and deeper, eventually freeing most of the flesh from the skin.Now slice between each of the sections to free them from the thin white membrane holding them in place.Now just use the tip of your knife to flip the freed sections into the bowl.
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).
Sorbet is a fruity frozen dessert that was invented before ice cream but tastes like it (minus the dairy). It has a soft texture and is made from fruit juice or purée that is mixed with a sugar syrup and sometimes alchohol. Italian meringue may be added to sorbet to enhance its volume.
American sherbet is a close cousin of sorbet, though it contains a small amount of milk. Sorbet is actually a Frenchified word for sorbetto, its Italian name. The Italians learned about sorbetto from the Arabs, who'd learned about it from the Persians, who'd learned about it from the Chinese. The first sorbets were made from honey, aromatics, fruit and snow.
Sorbet is as sweet as ice cream but lighter. It's eaten as a snack or dessert and is sometimes still served at elaborate French meals as a palate cleanser between courses (with a bit of alcohol, replacing the shot that was once served between plates).
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.
Broiling is a cooking method in which food is cooked directly under high heat. Scallops or steak can be cooked under the broiler, giving them a nice caramelized crust and a juicy interior. (A broiler is also called a salamander in a professional kitchen, and is often a small, separate heat source where dishes—especially those made with cream—are given a final blast of heat before serving.
Grilling is often used as a synonym for broiling, though when we use the verb "to grill" in America, we technically mean that the food is cooked over a direct heat source, rather than under. Barbecuing, on the other hand, generally refers to cooking food over indirect heat.
To confuse matters, our British and Australian friends refer to what we call broiling as grilling; hence the term "grilled cheese," which in the U.K., is generally made open-faced and heated under a broiler, not fried in a pan in the American fashion.
Recipe: Broiled Salmon With Miso (Cookthink)
Recipe: Broiled Chicken With An Indian Spice Rub (Cookthink)
