April 26, 2011
How Not To Cry
Of all the kitchen inconveniences the cook has to live with, the one that generates the highest number of defensive strategies is no doubt the chopping of onions, and the associated teargas effect.
The reason why it makes you cry is explained in detail here, and if you like to read about enzymes and syn-propanethial-S-oxide, as do I, it is worth a read.
But to put it more simply, chopping onions causes the release of an irritant gas in the ai...
April 19, 2011
50 Things To Do With Fresh Sorrel
Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is commonly cultivated in French vegetable patches, and the season is just beginning. It is a sturdy, easy-to-grow leafy plant that comes back year after year, and belongs to the same botanical family as rhubarb and buckwheat, which is always fun to know.
I think of it as being halfway between a green and an herb: its flavor is notably tangy and sour, and it can be eaten raw or gently cooked, but in both cases it ...
"50 Things To Do With Fresh Sorrel" continues »
June 25, 2010
How To Tell When Meat Is Done
A few weeks ago, I read Tara Austen Weaver's book The Butcher and the Vegetarian, a memoir in which she writes about being brought up as a vegetarian and the challenges she faced as an adult, when she had to start cooking meat for herself to try to recover from a serious health issue.
It's a very good read, witty and honest, and even for readers like me, who don't share her dietary background or meat-handling angst, there are a lot of elements ...
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May 20, 2010
45 Things To Do With Fresh Sage
I recently remarked to a sympathetic friend how difficult it is to buy fresh sage around here. Sage isn't used intensively in French cuisine, so it's not part of the classic range of fresh herbs sold at produce shops or at the green market. But I enjoy its flavor very much, so I decided I would try and find seeds to grow my own.
Only days later, I walked past the sidewalk display of Etablissements Lion on my way home, and noticed that they sol...
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March 9, 2010
Converting Yeast-Based Recipes To Use A Sourdough Starter
Once you have a natural starter alive and kicking on your counter, stealing the occasional banana from the fruit bowl, it's hard to go back to baking bread with commercial yeast.
Not only would that feel like a bit of a betrayal (though you can always blindfold the jar of starter or work under the cover of night) but every loaf is an opportunity to strengthen your starter as well as your skills. And frankly, you've gotten used to the vivid fla...
"Converting Yeast-Based Recipes To Use A Sourdough Starter" continues »