What's the difference between a crepe and a galette?
What's the difference between a crepe and a galette?
Technically, a crêpe is a thin pancake that's made in a special crêpe pan or on a griddle. The batter is made ahead so that the flour swells and the air from beating dissipates. Crêpes are fried in butter and either sprinkled with sugar or filled with more elaborate toppings like ham, cheese and eggs.
A galette is a form of crêpe made with buckwheat flour. But the word is also used to describe many flat round cakes of various sizes, including potato pancakes and open-faced fruit tarts with gathered edges. The notion of the galette is said to have been invented in the Neolithic era, when mushy cereal paste was spread over hot stones.
Recipe: White Chocolate Crepes With Fresh Raspberry Sauce (Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology)
Recipe: Spice Crepes With Meyer Lemon Applesauce (Cook & Eat)
A pavlova is the national dessert of New Zealand and Australia. A light, elegant disk of meringue topped with whipped cream and fruit, it's a snap to assemble.
Cornstarch and vinegar are often added to the meringue mixture before baking to give it a crisp exterior and a pillowy interior. You can top your pavlova with whatever kind of fruit you like -- kiwi, passion fruit, raspberries, peaches, or pomegranate seeds for Christmas, when it is often served.
The pavlova was named for Anna Pavlova, a lightfooted Russian ballerina, during her visit to Australia in 1929, though the New Zealanders claim to have invented it first.
Recipe: Pomegranate Pavlova With Mixed Fruit (Cookthink)
What's the difference between jam and preserves?
What's the difference between jam and preserves?
Jam and preserves are basically the same thing and the terms are often used interchangeably.
Jam is a mixture made of crushed preserved fruit and sugar -- with or without pectin, depending on the pectin content of the fruit. High-pectin fruit will set well once the fruit and sugar have been boiled and pectin is activated. You may need to add pectin to lower-pectin fruit.
The word preserves means fruit that is cooked the same way; the only difference is that the fruit in preserves is often cut into chunks or in some cases whole, whereas jam may have a less chunky texture.
The common fruit/sugar ratio in jam and preserves is 50/50.
Freezer jam is cooked more quickly than conventional jam and stored in the freezer for a fresher fruit taste.
