Read Online Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor by Hervé This - Free Book Online
Authors: Hervé This
Tags: General, science, Cooking, Technology & Engineering, Methods, Physics, Food Science, Chemistry, Essays & Narratives, Special Appliances, Columbia University Press, ISBN-13: 9780231133128
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evaporate. Keep in mind that
1 gram of liquid produces 1 liter, or slightly more than a quart, of vapor. None-
theless, not all the water in a soufflé remains trapped inside; otherwise the in-
ternal pressure would exceed a hundred atmospheres. Recent measurements
have shown that the pressure increases during cooking by only a few dozen
millimeters of mercury, which proves that only part of the evaporated water is
retained; the rest escapes in the form of bubbles that eventually burst at the
surface of the soufflé.
This suggests that the way to obtain a perfectly leavened soufflé is to heat
the bottom of the ramekin, to use very firm whipped egg whites, and to seal
the surface in order to prevent the release of the bubbles formed inside. How
would one go about doing this? One possibility would be to place the soufflé
under a broiler before putting it in the oven. This method has the additional
advantage that the soufflé then rises in a regular fashion and, when it is done,
has a smooth golden glaze on top that promises a rich flavor.
40 | secrets of the kitchen
7Quenelles and Their Cousins
They’re best cooked slowly after the dough has been chilled and allowed
to rest.
a s w i t h é c h a u d é s, often called gnocchi today, there are many recipes for
fish quenelles, but whether they call for salmon or trout or pike they are all
variations on a theme: To the finely ground flesh of the fish one adds fat (beef
kidneys, butter, or cream) and perhaps egg and panada (either bread soaked in
milk or a dough made by combining flour with boiling water). The ingredients
are kneaded for a long time—so long, in fact, that Isabella Beeton (author of
the famous cookbook published in England in 1860 as Beeton’s Book of House-
hold Management ) wrote, “French quenelles are the best in the world, because
they swell up more.” And they swell up more, she explained, because they are
kneaded longer.
Why should kneading quenelles have anything to do with their succulence?
And why should quenelles hold their shape during cooking, even when they
do not contain any egg? Florence Lefèvre and Benoit Fauconneau at the Insti-
tut National de la Recherche Agronomique (inra) in Rennes have indirectly
answered the question by exploring the thermogelling properties of river (or
brown) trout.
The fleshy tissue of the trout is composed of cells, or muscle fibers, that
contain myofibrillary proteins. These proteins, which are responsible for
muscle contraction, form a gel when they are heated in a water solution. Like
the proteins in egg whites, the proteins in trout muscle tissue bind together,
| 41
creating a network that traps water. In a quenelle, this gel also traps fat and the
expanded starch granules contributed by the panada.
Understanding the chemistry of gelatinization allows us to make quenelles
and various other products from farm-raised salmon. These products, which
Norwegian companies hope to bring to market soon, would be culinary cous-
ins to Asian fish noodles and surimis (dumplings made from freshwater fish
such as carp, especially in China). In France, where farm-raised trout is more
common, the proteins of this fish are being studied with a view to creating new
products as well.
Which proteins form these gels? Like all cells, muscle fibers contain sarco-
plasmic proteins that regulate cellular function and maintenance. But they also
contain specific myofibrillary proteins, of which the main ones are actin and
myosin. In water solution, Lefèvre showed, only the myosin gels alone. The
actin by itself does not gel, although incorporating it in a myosin preparation
was found to increase the rigidity of the gel.
Under what conditions does gelatinization take place? In the case of quenel-
les, as in other dishes that depend for their effect on myofibrillary protein gels,
the practical problem is how to combine the greatest possible tenderness with
sufficient firmness. The
1 gram of liquid produces 1 liter, or slightly more than a quart, of vapor. None-
theless, not all the water in a soufflé remains trapped inside; otherwise the in-
ternal pressure would exceed a hundred atmospheres. Recent measurements
have shown that the pressure increases during cooking by only a few dozen
millimeters of mercury, which proves that only part of the evaporated water is
retained; the rest escapes in the form of bubbles that eventually burst at the
surface of the soufflé.
This suggests that the way to obtain a perfectly leavened soufflé is to heat
the bottom of the ramekin, to use very firm whipped egg whites, and to seal
the surface in order to prevent the release of the bubbles formed inside. How
would one go about doing this? One possibility would be to place the soufflé
under a broiler before putting it in the oven. This method has the additional
advantage that the soufflé then rises in a regular fashion and, when it is done,
has a smooth golden glaze on top that promises a rich flavor.
40 | secrets of the kitchen
7Quenelles and Their Cousins
They’re best cooked slowly after the dough has been chilled and allowed
to rest.
a s w i t h é c h a u d é s, often called gnocchi today, there are many recipes for
fish quenelles, but whether they call for salmon or trout or pike they are all
variations on a theme: To the finely ground flesh of the fish one adds fat (beef
kidneys, butter, or cream) and perhaps egg and panada (either bread soaked in
milk or a dough made by combining flour with boiling water). The ingredients
are kneaded for a long time—so long, in fact, that Isabella Beeton (author of
the famous cookbook published in England in 1860 as Beeton’s Book of House-
hold Management ) wrote, “French quenelles are the best in the world, because
they swell up more.” And they swell up more, she explained, because they are
kneaded longer.
Why should kneading quenelles have anything to do with their succulence?
And why should quenelles hold their shape during cooking, even when they
do not contain any egg? Florence Lefèvre and Benoit Fauconneau at the Insti-
tut National de la Recherche Agronomique (inra) in Rennes have indirectly
answered the question by exploring the thermogelling properties of river (or
brown) trout.
The fleshy tissue of the trout is composed of cells, or muscle fibers, that
contain myofibrillary proteins. These proteins, which are responsible for
muscle contraction, form a gel when they are heated in a water solution. Like
the proteins in egg whites, the proteins in trout muscle tissue bind together,
| 41
creating a network that traps water. In a quenelle, this gel also traps fat and the
expanded starch granules contributed by the panada.
Understanding the chemistry of gelatinization allows us to make quenelles
and various other products from farm-raised salmon. These products, which
Norwegian companies hope to bring to market soon, would be culinary cous-
ins to Asian fish noodles and surimis (dumplings made from freshwater fish
such as carp, especially in China). In France, where farm-raised trout is more
common, the proteins of this fish are being studied with a view to creating new
products as well.
Which proteins form these gels? Like all cells, muscle fibers contain sarco-
plasmic proteins that regulate cellular function and maintenance. But they also
contain specific myofibrillary proteins, of which the main ones are actin and
myosin. In water solution, Lefèvre showed, only the myosin gels alone. The
actin by itself does not gel, although incorporating it in a myosin preparation
was found to increase the rigidity of the gel.
Under what conditions does gelatinization take place? In the case of quenel-
les, as in other dishes that depend for their effect on myofibrillary protein gels,
the practical problem is how to combine the greatest possible tenderness with
sufficient firmness. The
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