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)
what you should know
The most widely grown crop in North America, corn is used in the manufacturing of everything from aspirin to batteries to latex paint.
Nevermind all that. When corn is straight off the stalk and at the peak of its perfect sweetness, some consider it to be even better than sex.
best by Corn doesn't stay fresh long and should be eaten within 2-3 days after being picked. Look for green husks and juicy kernels. Unlike tomatoes, corn's sugar-to-starch conversion is slowed by refrigeration, so you can keep it in the fridge.
call us corny When did corny become an insult? If you ask us for corny recipes, you aren't likely to get something "trite, dated, unimaginative."
siblings In pre-Columbian North America, corn was grown alongside squash and beans. The trio was known as the Three Sisters.
toppings Corn is one of the most popular pizza toppings in Japan. Spot the cob and other unique toppings dancing in this ad.
what you need
For a detailed history of corn on our continent, read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.
These corn holders will save you from scorched fingertips. These corn holders will spare your fingertips and make you laugh.
Want to save time in the kitchen? Get a corn stripper.
This informative book gives kids a peek at how corn is grown. (Despite its name, Children of the Corn is not kid-appropriate.)
what you do
Corn salsa is incredibly versatile. You can pile it on top of meat, mix it into green salad -- or just eat it by itself.
For a seafoody twist on the classic corn chowder, add crab.
Combine three seasonal vegetables to make this fresh summer salad.
Grilled steak with pepper and corn relish over crostini is a killer combination of crunchy, crisp, and tender.
Creamed corn is kid-friendly (even for kids who have braces).
Cilantro's soapy flavor makes the corn in this ragout taste even sweeter.
Why bother boiling? Grill your corn with thyme butter.
Featured: You can't go wrong with these colorful corn and broccoli calzones. Congratulations to reader Elizabeth Skipper who submitted the featured recipe for this week's Root Source Challenge!
