Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

A Summer Sungold Tomato Dish

aday — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:00:00 +0000

A Summer Sungold Tomato Dish aday Wed, 08/30/2023 - 09:00 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/sungold%20tomato%20header_0.jpg.webp?itok=jS-dDAM4 Chef Barry celebrates the season with market produce at peak flavor. May 29, 2024

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

It's nearly summer, which, for many seasonally-inspired cooks, means one thing: tomato season.

In recent years we have returned to the notion of responsible, ethical and informed sourcing of our ingredients. After years of elaborate processing of our ingredients to wow guests and fill our creative desires, it has become ever more apparent that sometimes nature provides a humbling level of excellence, and we as chefs can step back and let nature do the talking.

Tomatoes can and should be one of the most amazing ingredients we have to work with. The plant's complex flavor and impressive variety are often overlooked when generic, uniformly tasteless varieties fill supermarket shelves.

The beautiful heritage, or heirloom, tomatoes we find at farmers' markets are just the type that nature intended to showcase. A deep, sweet flavor is brought to market perfectly in season at its peak. Market tomatoes are, for me, always the best choice. You can ask the grower or vendor where they came from and how far they have traveled to understand their flavors and make informed decisions about how best to prepare them.

At a New York market in the summer, sungold are among the local varieties. As a champion of the tomato world, a sungold tomato is deliciously sweet with an incredible depth of flavor.

Here, I use it to prepare a very simple chilled tomato broth infused with fresh lemon balm. The addition of fresh farmers' market cottage cheese and some German rye croutons add fresh, light and clean flavors.

Heritage Tomato, Sungold Tomato Broth, Lemon Balm and Cottage Cheese

Yields 4 servings

Heritage Tomatoes

20 heritage tomatoes
Sea salt, to taste

Directions

Blanch heritage tomatoes in salted water.
Refresh in iced water, peel and set aside.

Sungold Tomato Broth

Ingredients

450 grams sungold tomatoes
5 grams sea salt
20 grams shallot, sliced
5 grams basil leaves
7 grams chardonnay vinegar
7 grams lemon balm leaves
2 stems lemon thyme

Directions

Cut tomatoes evenly.
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Strain into double-lined cheesecloth and leave to hang in the refrigerator overnight.
Strain juice again through cheesecloth.
Add to a saucepan and reduce liquid by half.
Place into a container and add lemon thyme and lemon balm leaves. Leave to cool.
Check seasoning and strain once more.

Rye Croutons

Ingredients

100 grams sliced rye bread
Olive oil, to taste
1 confit garlic clove
Maldon sea salt, to taste

Directions

Dice bread and leave to dry.
Mix well with olive oil, and confit garlic along with a pinch of sea salt.
Place in a preheated oven at 190 C/375 F for around 12 minutes until evenly colored.

Lemon Balm Oil

Ingredients

100 grams lemon balm leaves
200 grams grapeseed oil

Blanch leaves in boiling water very briefly.
Refresh in iced water, strain and pat dry.
Blend leaves and grapeseed oil on high until almost smooth.
Bring to a rapid fry on induction to remove excess moisture.
Immediately strain into a container over iced water.
Strain though cheesecloth

Assembly

Sungold tomato broth
Heritage tomatoes
Fresh cottage cheese
Lemon balm oil
Marigold petals
Lemon balm leaves
8 rye croutons
Maldon sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil

Dress the heritage tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
Place the tomatoes in a circular formation in a bowl.
Top with cottage cheese and rye croutons.
Mix tomato broth and lemon balm oil and drizzle in the center of the tomatoes.
Finish with marigold petals and lemon balm leaves.

See more tomato recipes, and learn to prepare and plate pro plant-forward dishes in ICE's Plant-Based Culinary Arts program.

Fruit Plant-Based Recipe Health-Supportive Culinary Arts Plant-Based Culinary Arts

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In Search of the Perfect Fish and Chips Batter

aday — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 16:49:23 +0000

In Search of the Perfect Fish and Chips Batter aday Mon, 02/22/2021 - 11:49 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/fish%20batter%20header.jpg.webp?itok=Qdg8IScV Results from a Culinary Technology Lab Test February 22, 2021

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

Director of Culinary Research and Development Barry Tonkinson tests fish batters for adherence, color, texture and flavor to re-create the British food tradition.

Growing up in England, it was common for me to eat fish and chips regularly. A Friday night at the “chippie,” as we would call it, meant standing in line at the local fish bar, experiencing a sensory explosion while shuffling to the counter to place our order. The endless sounds of sizzling, batter-drenched cod, the sight of steam clouds rising from the deep vats of fat jostling a fresh batch of chips, and the scent of malt vinegar sprayed onto paper-lined parcels at the checkout cling tightly in my memory.

In England, fish and chips are a humble, affordable and tasty staple, mostly served with mushy peas that are made of mashed peas, seasoned with salt and pepper and a splash of vinegar and neatly packed away in a Styrofoam container. The fish of choice is cod, though haddock is being used much more frequently as the overfishing of cod diminished the natural supply. The chips are peeled and “chipped,” cut by machine into finger-length pieces, blanched at a low temperature before being fried until golden and crisp, liberally dusted with salt and doused in malt vinegar.

In my culinary career, I really haven’t had too much experience cooking fish and chips in the dining room. When creating such an iconic dish, I want to make sure that it’s nostalgic, delicious and ultimately as crunchy as possible. The chips are no problem nowadays. Heston Blumenthal has paved the way for the triple-cooked chip and its formula has become a standard operating procedure among kitchens worldwide, as demonstrated by Chef Palak Patel in the video below. Recipes for the batter are more varied and in my recipe bank alone, I have several variants of fish batter, all for the same application, and I had to test which one is best.

In recent years, fried foods have been scoffed at due to the demand for healthy food items. However, it must be noted that if a piece of fish is battered and fried correctly, the fish and the batter should be very limited in fat. When the batter does its job correctly, it forms a firm and full layer around the fish, in fact steaming the fish delicately inside this protective coating, repelling the oil. Once placed onto absorbent paper or other material, residual grease on the batter is at an extreme minimum.

I set about testing to determine my perfect batter for fish and chips, which must touch several points for success. First, it must relate to traditional fish and chips in England. It is common nowadays to morph culinary applications so far through research and development that often the memories that we are attempting to capture are lost through the transformation. Second, it hits all the key characteristics of a well-made piece of battered fish: The fish must be beautifully cooked inside, the batter adhered correctly to serve as a barrier to the oil and perfectly steam the fish protected inside. The color must be an even golden brown, and above all, it must be crisp and flavorful.

To begin my test, I considered the components of a batter: milled wheat, added starch, a liquid, and often an agent for formulating air within the batter for light texture, along with binders and thickeners for stabilization. I would make five batters and conduct a sensory test to evaluate adherence, color, texture and flavor, with scores from 1 to 10.

For the tests, I cut even pieces of cod weighing at 100 grams. Each was seasoned with Kosher salt and white pepper and then dredged in all-purpose flour before being placed in the batter. I cooked each piece of fish at 185 C/365 F until golden brown and buoyant. Once the fish was cooked, I placed it on absorbent material and inspected for color and texture. Once marked, I split open the fish and inspected its timing (how correctly the fish is cooked) and its flavor.

Although the test is purely sensory without scientific metrics in terms of investigation, this method gives me a clear indication of results and allows me to revisit my findings with greater focus if needed.

The highest performer, as indicated in the table above, was Batter 1, made with Guinness, sparkling water, all-purpose flour, kosher salt and fresh yeast. The batter is whisked lightly until just combined and left for 45 minutes for the yeast to do its work and for the gluten to relax. This batter scored evenly across the board and produced the best flavor. Other batters, such as Batter 4, scored higher for texture but were lacking flavor and adherence. I have noted that the purpose for that batter may be more aligned with something a touch more delicate such as shrimp or langoustine.

After this initial testing, I was interested to see if I could expand the experiment by optimizing some of the exceeding characteristics of other batters for an even better formula.

For example, I noted that batters 4 and 5 were in fact crisp but not as delicately crunchy. Batter 4 was made from Trisol and all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour is a common ingredient in batters due to its moderate protein content of around 11%. For more delicate batters, the protein content is often lowered by exchanging a percentage of wheat flour with cornstarch or rice flour, which tend to fry crispier than wheat flour. In Batter 4, the crispiest in the sensory test table, Trisol, a wheat dextrin, was used. This created a beautiful coral-like batter made from many strands, which was indeed crispy but did not work well for the fish and chips application as it was too light. Instead, I would add a mixture of cornstarch and wheat dextrin in a product known as Evercrisp. Wheat dextrin is a byproduct of cooking wheat such as the crispy brown top of a loaf of bread. In the formula of Evercrisp, it is mixed with cornstarch and acts in conjunction with wheat flour at a ratio of 4:1 (flour to Evercrisp) to aid in texture and coloration.

Next, I needed my batter to remain buoyant and have many air bubbles to crisp. Carbonation in lager, beer and sparkling water do this job well, however there is a common problem with using the tasty Guinness as I did for this batter. Once the Guinness has settled, the texture relies on the active yeast and the sparkling water to maintain its light nature. Modern batter applications often use nitrous oxide (N2O) to maintain this. The solubility of carbon dioxide increases when the batter increases in temperature, so less soluble Nitrogen can be added to maintain or improve this.

The formula for this batter is:
100% Guinness
72% All-purpose flour
18% Evercrisp
14.6% Fresh yeast
34% Sparkling water
2 ea Charges N2O

This final batter (5) was where I was able to stop. I achieved a more delicate crisp, a well-timed piece of fish along with the coloration of the batter, and most importantly, the flavor was where it needed to be to send me down memory lane.

One of the most beautiful things about the culinary world is the capability of new ingredients, science and equipment to enhance already fulfilling dishes and recipes. Some are afraid to dabble with classic recipes for fear of losing the dish's identities or being scoffed at by traditionalists.

However, it is human nature is to adapt and improve. It’s what we do best. This test offers a path to explore other applications, such as the use of Trisol for more delicate fish or vegetables. For now, I’m content with this version that has become my perfect batter.

Connect with admissions to see more research and development in the Culinary Technology Lab on a campus tour. Study fish cookery with Chef Barry in Culinary Arts.

Fish & Seafood Research and Development Cooking Culinary Technology Lab ICE Chef

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Sous Vide Grilled Short Ribs

aday — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 19:12:55 +0000

Sous Vide Grilled Short Ribs aday Thu, 02/04/2021 - 14:12 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/short%20ribs%20header.jpg.webp?itok=gnTw-mr3 Chef Barry elevates slow-cooked short ribs with two advanced techniques. May 18, 2022

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

Start two days ahead with this recipe for tender, flavorful short ribs using sous vide and charcoal grilling. The snack is a crowd-pleaser for any party.

Eating and socializing go hand-in-hand. With each social setting, the food we eat must reflect the circumstance. When our attention is focused on a celebration, a business occasion or a big game, the food we prepare can complement the occasion. Snacks are best when they can be eaten easily and within a few small bites that pack a punch of flavor.

One of my go-to preparations to meet all the criteria above is barbecue short ribs. I like to focus on the event at hand and so, I ensure most of the preparation and cooking is put out of mind well in advance. For a snack, these short ribs are easily prepared ahead of time and are an absolute crowd-pleaser.

Check out our Culinary Arts Career Program curriculum

I make a marinade for the ribs, cook them low and slow for 48 hours and finish them over red-hot charcoal on a grill to give a crisp and smoky sear. I baste the ribs in an adaptation of the marinade, which is used to glaze the ribs, finished with a toasted crunch of sesame and some fragrant scallions.

It is the multi-layered techniques used for this recipe that accumulate to boast remarkable flavor. The ribs have depth of flavor from the umami-rich marinade. The coal grilling to finish adds a slight smokiness and charring, and the texture is melt-in-the-mouth tender from the formation of gelatin during the slow cooking process. If you want to really get ahead, the ribs can be chilled after you cook them in the water bath, and then reheated from cold over the grill. They'll still be perfectly cooked and warm throughout.

So why do I cook the short ribs for such a long time?

Insulating flavor: By sealing the short ribs in a food-safe polypropylene bag, along with the marinade, there is nowhere for the flavor to escape. When we walk into a kitchen that is full of delicious smells, we often remark gleefully with compliments. However, this is a problem. Great smells are great, but they soon disappear as most are lost in the mechanics of the hood. And when great smells disappear, so does flavor. By cooking sous vide, you can ensure that all of the flavor that goes into the bag is retained and eventually tasted.
Texture: A cut like short ribs is often cooked with traditional methods, such as braising. Long, moist heat breaks down the tough protein strands over time until the meat is tender. If we stop the cooking process at a temperature of medium-rare for example, the meat has an inedible texture and flavor has not developed. However, using low-temperature cooking — sous vide in this case — it is possible to unwind the tough collagen protein to moisture-retaining gelatin and hold it at that temperature. This results in a steak-like texture, full of moisture and abundant flavor.
Increase yield: Cooking at these temperatures also results in less shrinkage. Higher temperatures used in traditional cooking mean moisture loss, and with that, shrinkage. Using low temperatures, I am able to retain almost all of the size and weight of the product with almost no loss.

To finish the short ribs, I am using binchotan charcoal, which holds temperature to above 1,000˚C/1,832˚F and has a clear and clean flavor. I heat the coals until they are red hot and have a layer of ash surrounding them. This helps to insulate and moderate the heat from the individual coals.

As soon as I put the rib onto the grill, the magic happens. The glaze coating the ribs and the meat searing creates a slow drip of sugars, fats and proteins falling to meet the coals. These charred juices then combust, creating a beautiful range of flavor that is drawn upward with the rising air, coating the meat on the way and creating a vacuum, sucking in air to the coals and repeating. This process distributes a fascinating array of flavor compounds that finish the meat perfectly.

Barbecue Short Ribs

Yields 25 portions

Short Ribs

1.8 kg beef short ribs, boneless

Marinade

Ingredients

362 grams Korean rice syrup
226 grams soy
56 grams Mirin
9 grams Gochujang
6 shiitakes, dried

Glaze

Ingredients

Marinade from above
8 cloves garlic, minced
56 grams sesame oil
150 grams sesame seeds, toasted

Set a water bath to 60˚C/140˚F. Mix ingredients together for the marinade.
Clean up short ribs, removing any excess of fat and sinew.
Place all ingredients into a large vacuum pouch and seal on 100%.
Cook in the water bath at 60˚C/140˚F for 48 hours.
At this point, it is possible to chill the ribs in the bag to below 4c and continue with the next steps when needed. This means the 48-hour cooking can be done a few days in advance.
Set up a grill ready with red hot charcoal.
Drain the liquid and reserve in a small saucepot.
Cut short ribs into finger-length cubes.
Remove shiitake from the marinade and add garlic. Boil and remove from the heat, whisk in sesame oil. Leave for 30 minutes to infuse.
Brush ribs with glaze and grill over charcoal on a Konro grill until crisp and blistered, brushing with glaze after every turn.
Remove from the grill and brush once more, sprinkle over toasted sesame seeds and scallions and place onto a stick. Serve immediately.

Learn more about professional meat cookery in Culinary Arts.

Recipe ICE Chef Meat Grilling Sous Vide

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The Art of the Cooper

aday — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 20:37:11 +0000

The Art of the Cooper aday Wed, 01/27/2021 - 15:37 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/barrels%20header.jpg.webp?itok=_GBMVzPP Chef Barry visits a cooperage in New York's Hudson Valley to explore what the craft does for fermentation. January 27, 2021

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

My exploration into the art of fermentation has led me down a fascinating and winding path, intertwined with science, craft and cultural history, including most recently, a cooperage to learn more about barrel coopering's impact on the culinary world.

For hundreds of years, the human population has relied upon the talented hands of craftsmen to help shape the world in which we live today.

When humans began exploring the globe, trade, war and construction boomed. Global expansion and urban growth relied critically on the transport of supplies and commodities. Vessels for transportation became vital for the sprawling population of the developing Roman empire when huge quantities of goods were required to reach the military quickly. Although Romans are known for their roads, it was the shipping of goods across the water that provided the fastest and cheapest supply routes.

A ship with wooden barrels in 3 A.D.

As early as 3 A.D., ships would be laden with clay vessels, filled with wine, spices, olive oil, silk, wheat, fish sauce, tin, gold and glass. Some ships would carry as much as 300 tons of cargo in a single journey. Heavy and fragile clay vessels often succumbed to the turbulence of sea travel so wooden barrels became a replacement. Caesar introduced wine to the Bordeaux region of France just as the Roman empire crumbled, transporting vast quantities of massive economic importance. A thousand years later, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, trade flourished across the English Channel with 200 ships of wine cargo transported to England every year.

My initial questions for John Cox of Quercus Cooperage were, of course, what does a cooper do and what is their importance in the world of trading. “The wooden barrel was the cardboard box of its time,” explained Cox— from potable water, eggs, fish, and wine to glass, cotton, tobacco, cement and whaling oil — was being shipped and traded in barrels. The now precious vessels were instruments of economic growth, and the cooper became cherished for making, tending to and repairing them.

John Cox

I visited John in High Falls, New York, to better understand his craft and its culinary applications. A cooper is someone who works with coopered joinery by attaching wood at a certain angle. One of 30 barrel coopers in the United States, John is one of a handful still using traditional methods.

John hand crafts beautiful barrels, fermentation vessels, tubs and kiokes and has recently designed and produced a custom muro and kioke for use in the culinary technology lab.

“I’m a cooper. I’m 5’6” — I’m considered a mini cooper,” he says. (We chuckle, it seems as if he’s said this before!). John began working with wood in his teens and after 28 years in the custom cabinetry industry, looked elsewhere to apply his passion and trade. Traditional barrel cooperage “just sucked me in,” he says.

A muro and barrels at Quercus Cooperage

So, what was a cooper and how has the craft changed over the last millennium?

John took advantage of an opportunity to meet a rise in demand for oak barrels from the craft spirit industry. Beyond that economic lure, it is clear to me in our conversations that he is preserving a trade that has so many cultural, economic and historical ties. John spent the next two years learning his craft by reverse engineering barrels. He fashioned modern tools based on 19th-century coopering tools found at a museum auction.

In my search for the perfect fermented foods, I also wanted to make sure I was using traditional methods and vessels to capture the full extent of microbes at work. John’s knowledge and passion for his craft has sparked my interest as I begin to unravel a whole world, which I did not know existed.

Coopering requires brains and brawn. A cooper must be physically strong and use math to calculate exact dimensions and angles. Coopered joinery works with an equation to find the angles needed to form a perfect joint. A picture frame, for example, takes the degrees in a circle (360), divided by the number of pieces of wood (four). The outcome (90), is then divided by two to find the angle needed to join the pieces together (45 degrees). The same works for a wooden barrel. A barrel with 36 pieces of wood is divided into 360, and then the result is divided by two to find the angle needed to join each piece of wood (5 degrees).

There are three types of coopers:

A white cooper historically crafted utensils, bowls, pails, butter churns, spoons, ladles and other kitchen implements.
A slack cooper fashioned slack barrels for transporting nails, glass, cement, dry goods and pelts.
A tight cooper produces barrels for liquids, like water, wine, whiskey, milk, oil and paint.

American colonial industries relied heavily upon the barrel and the cooper for not only trade but also construction. In Jamestown, pipes were coopered to bring water inland from the James River. The Statue of Liberty’s construction relied on cement transported down the Hudson River from Rosendale, New York. The whaling oil industry relied so heavily on the craft that barrels were coopered on deck while whale oil was melted.

The barrel requires a bilge (the thickest part) in order for one person to move, pivot and lift it. Six riveted rings hold its shape, pushing the angled wood together to form a tight seal. The barrel is steamed to soften and loosen lignin (an organic polymer found in the cell walls of plants). The barrel is then toasted. (American distillers are federally mandated to use new charred oak barrels for aging whiskey.) Toasting the barrel develops the aggregate sugars, such as cellulose and hemicellulose, and produces flavors such as coconut, honey and vanilla. The last phase is charring: 1,300 F for 45 seconds changes the wood from toasted to blackened and charred, developing the color and flavor you taste and see in barrel-aged products like whiskey.

Such was the value of those tending to barrels or butts that we see the imprint in our culture today. Both were kept in the “buttery” (cellar) storing ale, wine and other liquids, and the person in charge of them became known as the “butler,” a highly regarded member of the household staff. At its peak, coopering was big business: John Rockefeller had the largest cooperage in the world when he became the largest producer of oil. In 1901, there were thought to be 91 million barrels in the United States, among a population of 93 million people.

However, just like the clay vessel, the wooden barrel met its decline. After the industrial revolution and prohibition, the shipping container, tin drum and corrugated cardboard replaced the barrel with lighter, cheaper and rapidly manufactured products. To this day the number of coopers is dwindling with industrial manufacturing replacing traditional methods of cooperage, and trade knowledge (traditionally passed down from generation to generation) has been lost along the way.

As other uses declined, only the alcohol industry has sustained the need for the cooper. In recent years, a surge in interest in craft spirits led to an increase in demand for oak barrels, an opportunity John realized. The requirements needed to produce a single barrel are exhausting, however. Barrels must use two to three-year air-dried white oak, not dried in a kiln. The lignin must be present and uncrystallized, and the wood quarter sawed so the grain is perpendicular to the barrel face, allowing the tubular cell structure to expand and prevent water from seeping through.

A muro inoculates rice in the Culinary Technology Lab at ICE.

Now John’s expertise is in high demand from a growing community of fermenters. The level of skill and accuracy it takes to create a single barrel, tub or kioke leaves its imprints in everything we ferment, age and store. Fermentation vessels such as kioke, used for making shoyu and miso, are growing in popularity. I reached out to John in search of a white cedar muro (inoculation cabinet), and he designed a prototype that I use at ICE now. For 7,000 years, people have been making koji, but here in the U.S., it was nearly impossible to find trays, let alone the muro that is needed to house them, before this prototype.

In the lab, my ferments have the terroir of the fallen oak, still very much alive in the transformation of the final product. Microbes that proliferate on a substrate inside my cedar muro field their own microbiome. I ferment hot sauce in a charred oak tub, shoyu in a white cedar kioke and koji in white cedar trays.

In the food and beverage world, chefs and restauranteurs, brewers and distillers get most of the credit for the beautiful tastes that enhance our most precious life experiences and social interactions. Other trades, terroirs and cultures have a lasting impact on that taste. If you explore deep enough, you can unravel a truly fascinating story.

Explore fermentation in Culinary Arts, Pastry & Baking Arts, or Health-Supportive Culinary Arts at ICE.

Fermentation Culinary Technology Lab Food History

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Sous Vide Sole Veronique

aday — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 16:10:37 +0000

Sous Vide Sole Veronique aday Sun, 12/13/2020 - 11:10 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/sole%20veronique%20header.jpg.webp?itok=Ri6kN1Go Chef Barry modernizes the first classic dish he made in culinary school. January 3, 2021

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

Sole Véronique was the first classic dish I prepared in culinary school at Westminster Kingsway College. The original recipe was developed by the iconic French chef and culinary educator Auguste Escoffier.

The dish made famous at the London Carlton Hotel in 1898 paired poached Dover sole with tart muscat grapes and fresh tarragon. I've applied modern culinary techniques to the same ingredients, preparing sous vide sole and compressed grapes, plated with a grape fluid gel, grape juice butter sauce and tarragon oil.

Dover sole is a high-quality fish — the king of the small flatfish — and you can peel the skin off in one piece, which is a great method for keeping the beautiful fillet intact. The six-part recipe combines the traditional flavor profiles with modern techniques for enhanced flavor and cleaner texture than the original.

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Sole Veronique, Grape Fluid Gel, Compressed Grapes and Tarragon Oil

Poached Sole Sous Vide

Fish Mousse

150 grams fish
150 grams heavy cream
20 grams egg white
3 grams salt

Stuffed Sole

2 sole, fillet
Activa RM, as needed
Sole mousse

Prepare water bath at 124 F/51 C.
Prepare the Dover sole fillets. Keep the two larger fillets to one side, dice the smaller fillets.
Place fillets in a blender, blend. Add eggwhite and blend again until smooth, add salt. Add heavy cream and blend until smooth.
Roll fish mousse into a cylinder and freeze.
Lay fillets down onto plastic wrap and dust skin side with Activa RM. Place the frozen mousse on top of one fillet, top with the second. Laying the head side of the top fillet touching the tail side of the other.
Roll up tightly, removing any air. Set in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Grape Fluid Gel

Ingredients

360 grams muscat grapes, juiced
40 grams white verjus
3.2 grams low-acyl gellan gum
Xanthan Gum, as needed

Directions

Place muscat grape juice, Verjus and low-acyl gellan gum together and blend with a Bamix.
Heat mixture to 93 C/200 F and hold for 3 minutes to activate the gum.
Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl of ice to set.
Once set firm, place into a blender and blend until smooth. Add xanthan gum to achieve the correct consistency.

Muscato Verjus Beurre Blanc

Ingredients

1 shallot, finely minced
150 milliliters moscato
150 milliliters verjus
30 milliliters tarragon vinegar
30 milliliters heavy cream
4 grams chives
450 grams butter, diced

Directions

Place minced shallot, Muscato, Verjus, and tarragon vinegar to a pot and reduce to a syrup.
Add heavy cream and reduce by half.
Add ice-cold diced butter whisking one piece at a time.
Add finely minced chives.

Compressed Grapes

Ingredients

100 grams muscat grapes, sliced thin
100 grams grape juice
60 grams verjus
12 grams fructose
1.3 grams malic acid

Directions

Whisk together grape juice, verjus, fructose and malic acid. Place into a vacuum pouch.
Blanch grapes in boiling water, refresh into iced water. Peel the skin.
Place peeled grapes into the liquid and seal on 100% vacuum.
Remove grapes from the pouch and slice finely.

Tarragon Oil

Ingredients

70 grams tarragon, leaves
100 grams grapeseed oil

Directions

Blanch chives. Refresh in iced water. Squeeze gently to remove excess water.
Blend with oil in Vita-Prep until nearly smooth, about 40 seconds. Be sure not to blend too much or the color will be lost.
Add mixture to a small saucepan and heat until entire mixture is frying, around 1 minute. Quickly drain through chinois and cheesecloth into a container sat on ice.

To Finish

Vacuum seal stuffed sole 100% vacuum and place in the water bath for 20 mins.
Remove from bath, season with Maldon salt. Cover with sliced grapes, overlapping to create a "fish scale" pattern.
Make a ring of fluid gel on the base of the plate. Place sauce in the center.
Cut a center piece of the cooked sole. Place in the center of the plate.
Cover the top of the fish tarragon oil.

Study seafood and sous vide in Culinary Arts at ICE.

Sous Vide Recipe Fish & Seafood Fruit ICE Chef

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Braised Beef Cheeks

aday — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 13:35:17 +0000

Braised Beef Cheeks aday Thu, 08/06/2020 - 09:35 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Braised%20beef%20cheek%20header.jpg.webp?itok=5deTR5aR Chef Barry slow cooks a tough cut to demonstrate the benefits of braising. August 6, 2020

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

Braising is a moist heat method in which an item is placed into a flavorful liquid, often containing alcohol and stock, and cooked slowly in an oven or on the stovetop until fork tender. It is best used to prepare tough proteins which contain a great deal of connective tissue or fat, breaking down the collagen over a long period of time and transforming it into gelatin which offers a great deal of flavor and texture.

There is an exchange of flavor between the item and its cooking vehicle (liquid), and often the liquid is strained and used to make an accompanying sauce or broth. Braised items tend to be rich in flavor and body, typically served with accompanying acidic items like wine to counter the heavy taste.

Beef cheek is a muscle that's extremely well worked as cows chew cud from the pasture. That makes this part of the animal very tough so it requires cooking for long periods of time at low temperatures. Beef cheeks are also extremely flavorful and when cooked taste characteristically beefy. They're rich and when cooked to fork tender have a soft and decadent texture.

Here, I'm serving it with a pear and saffron puree to balance richness with acidity and glazed parsnip in honey mustard and thyme for a sweet and earthy flavor, finished with crispy parsnip chips that provide contrasting texture and mouthfeel.

Braised Beef Cheek, Pear and Saffron Puree, Glazed Parsnips, Parsnip Chips

Yields 2 servings

Beef Cheek

2 beef cheeks
600 grams ale/bitter
600 grams veal stock, reduced by half to 300 grams
1 carrot, peel and diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1/2 head garlic
4 stems thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt, as needed
Pepper, as needed
Grapeseed oil, as needed
Unsalted butter
1/2 bunch chives, finely sliced

Directions

Season beef cheeks with salt and pepper.
Heat pan, add grapeseed oil and sear, browning evenly. Remove from pan.
Add mirepoix and brown lightly.
Deglaze pan with ale and scrape fond.
Add veal stock, aromatics and cover with a cartouche. Braise in the oven for 4 hours at 165 C/325 F.
When cooked, remove cheek from the pan and strain through a chinois.
Reduce liquid to a sauce consistency.
Monte with butter.
Place cheek on a tray and spoon sauce over the beef to glaze.
Sprinkle with chives.

Pear and Saffron Puree

Ingredients

3 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
1 pinch saffron
Salt, as needed
Sugar, as needed
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Directions

Place pear, saffron, salt and sugar into a sous vide bag.
When tender, place into a blender. Blend until smooth, add EVOO, to taste.

Glazed Parsnips

Ingredients

1 parsnip, peeled and cut in two
8 grams honey
8 grams whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 sprigs thyme, picked
Kosher salt, to taste
Unsalted butter, as needed
Canola oil, as needed

Directions

Heat pan with canola oil.
Add the parsnip and brown in the pan. Add butter and cook through. Season with kosher salt.
Drain excess oil, turn off the heat, and add mustard, honey and thyme. Toss together.
Serve immediately.

Parsnip Crisps

Ingredients

1 parsnip, peeled and sliced on a mandolin
Maldon sea salt, as needed
Vadouvan, as needed

Heat oil to 165 C/325 F.
Fry parsnip slices until crisp. Dust with salt and vadouvan if necessary.

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How to Make Vinegar

aday — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 19:57:09 +0000

How to Make Vinegar aday Fri, 07/17/2020 - 15:57 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/vinegars%20header.jpg.webp?itok=iPg6L69X Chef Barry experiments with vinegars at home and shares his fermentation findings. February 22, 2022

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

Fermentation is founded on the effects of microbes in nature. In ancient civilizations, from Iran and Yemen to Saudi Arabia and North Africa, vats of grapes were seen “boiling” as microscopic yeasts broke down natural sugars into molecules of alcohol, of course not boiling at all, but bubbling under the action of yeast consuming sugar and excreting alcohol. Wine was discovered and with this, another twist in the magical work of bacteria, vinegar became a byproduct.

The first recorded wine vessel was found in modern-day Iran around 5,000 B.C. Mass consumption of wine and beer is evident in ancient civilizations surrounding the Middle East and the Nile Valley. Vinegar, on the other hand, was very much a byproduct, prized for its anti-microbial properties and ability to prevent spoilage among vegetables. Pickling became a cherished process, and vinegar became more valued.

Beer and wine were produced and consumed and yet, at this time, there was no knowledge of how to properly store these liquids. Alcoholic beverages left open to the air would transform into a distasteful brew of acidic wine, or vin aigre in French. At first the scourge of winemakers, soon vinegar making became an art unto itself and now is prevalent in diets across the globe.

Making vinegar is a two-step fermentation process. First, alcohol is formed from yeast consuming sugars within fruits and grains. The yeast consumes the natural sugars in the produce and excretes alcohol. This is what we refer to as alcoholic fermentation.

To transform alcohol into vinegar, oxygen and a bacteria of the genus Acetobacter must be present for the second step to take place, acetic fermentation. These bacteria are found in all organic produce that contains sugar, such as fruits and plant roots. A combination of these bacteria and an aerobic environment causes acetification and thus, vinegar.

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The conditions for a stable vinegar, however, are truly dependent on the initial alcoholic fermentation process. The concentration of alcohol, or alcohol by volume (ABV), strongly affects the amount of acetic acid required for the liquid not to spoil. An ABV of 5% will roughly convert to 4% acidity. A minimum of 4% acidity (the legal requirement) is required to prevent spoilage, 5% is a more reliable number (the standard). Titration is needed to calculate the number of grams of acetic acid per 100 ml of vinegar. Vinegars, such as wine and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, tend to be around 6%, a high range for food vinegars. Any vinegars around 10% and higher will be used for cleaning and weed killing and are dangerous to consume or inhale, risking burning and respiratory problems.

How is vinegar made at home today? One can start with an alcoholic beverage, such as wine, and create an aerobic environment. Adding a mother or an unpasteurized vinegar starts the acetification process. A breathable material, such as cheesecloth or a towel, is often secured over the container of wine to allow for oxygen while preventing bugs and other bacteria from interfering with the process. The liquid is kept in a dark, fairly warm environment (77 F), untouched. For months, the Acetobacteraceae metabolizes alcohol into acetic acid and over time, the harshness reduces, producing an all-round mellow-flavored vinegar.

In my research and experimentation in making vinegar, I wanted to understand the whole process deeply. I have produced vinegar from leftover wine and beer but was compelled to start from scratch.

I started off with a number of fruit wines, from apple-scrap cider to pineapple and blackberry wine. I began with a very traditional, wild approach, simply adding sugar and water and allowing the mash to ferment anaerobically until I had visually noted the fermentation ceasing. I, of course, produced alcohol. The problem was, it wasn’t very good. The flavors were off, and the wild yeasts weren’t strong enough to take hold. I did experiment, even knowing the taste, to see how this would translate through the second fermentation. To no surprise, I had vinegar, but again, it wasn’t very good. I wanted good vinegar. So back to it.

I found a good basic formula for fruit wines, adding water, sugar and turbo yeast to really kickstart the first fermentation process. It is crucial to bolster many of these fruits with sugar as they have low attainable ABV. Apples can produce up to 5-6% ABV whereas blueberries and blackberries only 2%, too low to attain a minimum of 4% acidity during the second phase. To attain a 7% ABV, 139 grams of sugar per liter is required. Therefore, when using a fruit like blueberries with a 2% attainable ABV, I would need to add an additional 100 grams per liter, to reach the correct amount of sugar for conversion.

The method is as follows:

Alcoholic Fermentation

Wash and clean fruit, mash to a pulp.
Add 1/3 volume of water.
Add turbo yeast to specification per liter.
Add pectinase to break down the fruit structure.
Add sugar in two installments: 1/3 on day one and 2/3 on day seven.
Calculate ABV to a desired 7%.
If a higher ABV has been attained, dilute to 7%.

Acetification

Strain mash.
Heat liquid to kill yeasts.
Cool and back slop with 20% unpasteurized vinegar or a mother of vinegar.
Cover jar with cheesecloth.
Leave for 2-3 months until flavor has mellowed.
Test titration to ensure minimum 4% acidity.
Strain again, bottle and store.

Using this process, I found the alcoholic fermentation to pick up very quickly indeed. I was keen to shake the mash regularly to avoid any unwanted bacteria from growing and taking hold, as well as using a fermentation lock to release gas. I measured the brix (percentage of sugar) every day, noting the level of sugar decreasing as the yeasts consumed them, converting to alcohol. Once a minimum of 7% ABV was achieved, the mash was then strained and heated to 70 C. This would kill any yeast left in the mash and any bacteria present. Unpasteurized vinegar is then added at 20% volume to enable the acetification. (Once I had secured a mother of vinegar through each trial, I was able to use that instead.)

Between two and three months later, a well-rounded vinegar with a mellow, aromatic fruit flavor and a bright and tolerable acidity level was made. Each vinegar was poured off leaving any residual sediment at the bottom of the vessel, strained through cheesecloth and stored.

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Who knew making vinegar was so interesting? 🤷🏼‍♂️ Another dive down the rabbit hole of fermentation and another wonderful look at microbes. I took a good look at wild fermentation, conventional and high grade mashes and compared results. I much prefer high grade mash (adding sugar and turbo yeast) to bolster the fermentation and increase the ABV. One thing is for sure, shitty booze makes shitty vinegar! After a couple of stumbles on making decent fruit wines, I finally achieved the correct formula for alcoholic fermentation. If you’ve had fun making sourdough and pickling during these months. Try your hand at vinegars! Blog post to follow soon on @iceculinary • Black Mulberry Vinegar • Raspberry Vinegar • Lemongrass infused Blackberry Vinegar •Wild Apple Scrap • Pineapple Vinegar
A post shared by Barry Tonkinson (@chefbarrytonkinson) on Jul 14, 2020 at 7:17am PDT

I am keen to dive back into wild ferments, in hopes to attain a good source of wild yeast to bolster the fermentation process, however the formula above proves a great method for solid results in color, flavor and character.

The world of vinegar offers insights into historic cultural developments and the world of preservation, so vital to the success of our species. Vinegars are a highlight of the fascinating microbial world in which we once so preciously relied upon and now offers a prized part of our culinary history.

Try more fermentation at home and explore food science in Culinary Arts.

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Vinegar article

Submitted by Mark Hayes on July 31, 2020 12:36pm

Good article. Just enough information to give an aspiring home vinegar maker ammo for what to look for. I've made vinegar from leftover wine but really wanted to expand to other vinegars. I'd love to see a follow-up on this to discuss the equipment needed and maybe some generic fruit alcohol/vinegar recipes

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Recipe steps

Step 1 - Wash and clean fruit mash to a pulp;

Step 2 - Add 1/3 volume of water;

Step 3 - Add turbo yeast to specification per liter;

Step 4 - Add pectinase to break down the fruit structure;

Step 5 - Add sugar in two installments 1/3 on day one and 2/3 on day seven;

Step 6 - Calculate ABV to a desired 7%;

Step 7 - If a higher ABV has been attained dilute to 7%;

Step 8 - Strain mash;

Step 9 - Heat liquid to kill yeasts;

Step 10 - Cool and back slop with 20% unpasteurized vinegar or a mother of vinegar;

Step 11 - Cover jar with cheesecloth;

Step 12 - Leave for 2-3 months until flavor has mellowed;

Step 13 - Test titration to ensure minimum 4% acidity;

Step 14 - Strain again bottle and store;

Father's Day Gift Guide for Cooks

aday — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 15:20:18 +0000

Father's Day Gift Guide for Cooks aday Tue, 06/16/2020 - 11:20 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/oxo%20header.jpg.webp?itok=awlBfkcE Chef and father Barry Tonkinson recommends treating dads to these culinary tools. June 16, 2020

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

Here are some of the best cooking gifts to upgrade your dad's kitchen, from well-made prep accessories to high-tech equipment you may want to split with your siblings. Whether your dad's been making sauces, steaks or pasta while staying at home, these will make the hobby his specialty.

Microplane Classic Short Zester

The perfect tool for any serious cook, this microplane can be used to grate hard cheeses and even nutmeg or zest citrus fruits. It's easy to use for small-scale cooking, durable and easy to clean — a weapon to add to any great cook's arsenal.

Kuhn Rikon 3-Set Original Swiss Peeler

These Swiss peelers are the best for tackling vegetable skins. They have super sharp carbon steel blades and are more productive than the more expensive products on the market. Trust in the original Y shape, lightweight peeler as a perfect Father's Day gift.

ChefSofi Granite Mortar and Pestle Set

This granite mortar and pestle is perfect for crushing spices or making a delicious pesto or chimichurri. The tapered pestle is 7 inches long and comfortable to handle any job. Weighing 7 pounds, the kit is sturdy enough for any grinding and the unpolished granite makes for an elegant culinary tool displayed in any kitchen.

Breville Smoking Gun

The Smoking Gun can infuse food or drinks with a natural smoky flavor. The kitchen tool comes with applewood and hickory woodchips and is easy to use for enhancing any ingredient with an easily generated cold smoke, whether adding a touch of smoke to steak or infusing a favorite whiskey.

See a smoking gun in action.

OXO 10-Piece POP Container Set

A great cook is the product of great organization, and OXO POP is the champion of kitchen storage. With varied sizes, these elegant, easy-to-use containers have a push and seal button on the lid of each container. With just two fingers, cooks can access ingredients that are sealed tightly with rubber. I use the smallest size for my herbs and spices and larger for anything from dried pasta to grains and nuts.

LaGondola Professional Pasta Cutter Wheel

These pasta cutter wheels are a great choice for any serious Italian cook. The fluted wheel has large teeth that create a dramatic finish to pasta shapes. With a natural wood handle and brass head, these are the go-to cutters for any pasta pro.

Watch a pasta wheel shape agnolotti.

Breville Joule Sous Vide

This is the most powerful sous vide tool on the market. It holds the temperature with precision for a perfect result every time. The Joule app will control the unit from anywhere, meaning you can change and maintain temperatures remotely. This unit will heat 10 gallons of water and is faster to reach temperature than any other unit.

Bamix EO150 “Classic” Immersion Hand Blender

The Bamix immersion blender is a powerhouse in the pro kitchen and a dream for any food enthusiast. It is powerful and reliable as well as quiet, like a ninja. Truly versatile, it has the ability to blend, aerate, froth and whip. Unlike other brands, the Bamix is made for work and is durable, blending at 9,000 rpm and 12,000 rpm on separate speeds.

John Boos R03 Maple Wood Edge Grain Reversible Cutting Board

It's crucial for both safety and for perfecting knife skills to invest in a well-made, sturdy and heavy cutting board. As well as being safe and strong, this cutting board is elegant and a perfect gift for any home cook.

BlueDOT® Alarm Thermometer with Bluetooth® Wireless Technology

The perfect grilling accessory, the BlueDOT has Bluetooth connectivity and a 4.5-inch temperature penetration probe. This splash-proof thermometer will alarm at set temperature alongside minimum and maximum temperatures to ensure a faultless grilling experience every time.

Man Apron with Adjustable Length

This is the perfect apron for any dad cook. Stay sharp in the kitchen with this well-designed and durable apron with fully adjustable length to shield dad's original outfit. For dads who take themselves more seriously in the kitchen, I recommend Bragard aprons from the industry's premier uniform brand.

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Farm-to-Table Cooking with Bison

aday — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 20:08:43 +0000

Farm-to-Table Cooking with Bison aday Wed, 06/10/2020 - 16:08 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/bison%20header%202.jpg.webp?itok=7iHVI1ql ICE's Director of Research and Development visits a Connecticut bison farm and cooks some of the meat from the herd with this chili recipe. June 10, 2020

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

Chef Barry shares his experience visiting a bison farm and some of the benefits of cooking with bison beyond sourcing from local farms and knowing your purveyor.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit a farm called Creamery Brook Bison in Brooklyn, a quiet agricultural town in Northeastern Connecticut. Austin and Deborah Tanner have owned and operated the bison farm since the 1980s, when it was a dairy farm. Austin’s love for the bison led him to purchase a herd over time and relinquish his dairy practices. Today, there are more than 40 bison freely roaming the land, grazing in the fields with no dietary supplements or additives.

Creamery Brook Bison

The bison are inquisitive of my visit and come close but Austin warns, “we wont get too close, these are wild animals.” At 1,600-2,000 pounds, bison can be unpredictably aggressive when in confrontation. It’s wise to maintain a safe distance from the largest mammals native to North America. Another point to note is that they can charge at speeds of 40 mph, and although I am a highly competitive person, I will save trying that for the “Dads vs. Dads 100 m” on sports day at my children’s school.

Known as True American Buffalo, bison are only a distant relative of buffalo. (Water buffalo are native to South Asia and cape buffalo are native to Africa.) Distinguishable features of the bison are their shorter, sharp upward-pointing horns, large hump at the neck and long beard. The hump of the Bison is composed of muscle and a key biological tool for the animal to plow away snow with its head.

Bison were once a huge part of life for Native Americans. The animal would provide meat, leather, sinew for weapons, grease and even glue. Every part of the animal was used when hunted. In the 1500s, the estimated bison population in North America was 60 million. Overhunting and long droughts in the plains in the mid-1800s led to a collapse of the herds, which were unable to naturally sustain their numbers. At one point in the 1880s, less than 1,000 were left. A few bison were bred in domesticated herds to return the population to around half a million. The majority of wild roaming bison are in Yellowstone National Park, a population of the handful that escaped slaughter.

Austin and Deborah raise their bison for meat, yielding approximately 400 pounds per animal at around two-and-a-half years old. Austin has several herds separated in age, with one herd kept solely for breeding. The animals graze on lush grass, moving onto richer pastures once they have exhausted the feed. When mature, they are taken to a local abattoir only a few miles from the farm for slaughter and the meat is returned to the farm where the Tanners sell anything from burger meat to hump roast (the muscle or hump upon the back of the neck). The meat is sold from the onsite shop or at local events from the family's mobile van, on which they prepare favorite recipes such as sausages, burgers and chili.

Bison meat is much leaner than its bovine counterpart (beef) and the demand for it is growing. Its favorable nutritional profile and much more natural lifestyle means more and more people are willing to use bison as a substitute for a variety of other red meats. Bison is low in fat and calories with just six grams of fat in a four-ounce portion of meat. It is also an excellent source of protein, vitamin B and zinc. Due to the low fat content, cooking bison meat must be done with care to avoid overcooking.

Bison meat tastes similar to beef with a slightly sweeter flavor. The texture tends to be a little coarser due to its leanness. Raising bison without artificial additions to their feed has a huge impact on flavor. Cattle in comparison, unless very carefully sourced, are commonly given antibiotics, steroids and hormones with their cramped conditions and unfavorable lifestyle. You will taste a cleanness with bison meat when the animal roamed and fed at its will.

When cooking, preparation can be made in a similar respect to beef, noting however that Bison meat will dry out if overcooked, so keep a watchful eye on that rib roast. Prime cuts can be roasted and sautéed whereas leaner cuts such as the hump would be ideally braised and cooked slowly to break down the connective tissue.

Bison can be sourced in many high-quality markets around the United States. However, the beauty of visiting your farmer and buying directly from the people who have tended to these beautiful creatures is impactful.

Over the span of my career, I have been lucky enough to visit countless farms and agricultural sites across the world, and there was something very special about my trip to the Creamery Brook farm. Austin’s respect for these beautiful animals is unmistakable. He cares for them, and they are a profound part of his family’s life. The animals are stunning and customers know that the bison were raised with care. All of the business for Creamery Brook Bison comes from locals, and the Tanner family and their bison are a part of this sleepy agricultural corner of Connecticut.

Here is a recipe for cooking with bison.

Bison Chili

Yields 8 servings

1 pound ground bison meat 
Grapeseed oil 
350 grams white onion , diced
350 grams red bell pepper , diced
25 grams garlic, finely minced
 15 grams jalapeno, brunoise (1 pepper, seeds removed) 
10 grams pickled jalapeno, brunoise (2 peppers)
 12 grams chipotle peppers, brunoise (rehydrated)
 2.5 grams ground cumin 
2.5 grams smoked paprika
 1.25 grams ground cayenne pepper 
1 gram ground sarawak pepper
 4 grams kosher salt 
600 grams kidney beans , cooked
20 milliliters Worcestershire sauce
 575 grams tomatoes , pureed and strained
200 milliliters bison or beef stock
Scallions 
Grated cheddar 
Sour cream

Heat Dutch oven on the stove, add grapeseed oil. Add ground bison meat, brown well and cook through.
Drain meat into a colander and leave to one side.
Return the pan to the heat and wipe dry. Add a little more grapeseed oil and sweat onions until translucent. Add garlic and continue to cook for a few minutes.
Add jalapenos, bell pepper and chipotle peppers, cook for 8 minutes.
Add spices and salt.
Return the bison meat to the pot.
Add kidney beans, Worcestershire sauce, strained tomato puree and bison stock.
Cook for 30 minutes until flavors have combined well.
Taste and re-season if necessary.
Garnish with grated cheddar, scallions and sour cream to finish.

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The Potato's Profound Impact and Potential

aday — Wed, 27 May 2020 15:12:11 +0000

The Potato's Profound Impact and Potential aday Wed, 05/27/2020 - 11:12 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1400/public/content/blog-article/header-image/potato%20header.jpg.webp?itok=1u6FRln5 Photos by KMO Studio The versatile vegetable is a staple for sustenance, flavor and cultural significance. May 28, 2020

By Barry Tonkinson — VP of Culinary Operations

It is always a stirring question: “What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?” I have used so many wonderful ingredients and been introduced to such a wealth of flavors and textures over the years, that it is difficult to identify a single answer. There are, however, a few ingredients that constantly amaze me, not necessarily due to flavor, but more a case of impact on the world and variants of applications across global cultures. Potatoes are one such ingredient.

We tend to take potatoes for granted. The staple is a “simple," readily available, easily grown tuber that has been a part Western culture for at least 400 years.

The potato was cultivated by the Inca in Peru around 6,000 B.C. Grown underground, it is shielded from common growth issues that other staple plants face such as toppling or insect infestation, which allowed the potato to become a prime ingredient in the Incan diet. Andean archeology presents a plethora of evidence pointing to the importance of the potato across communities in the region. The wild potato was originally consumed with clay and water to allow the toxic solanine and tomatine to “cling” to particles in the clay and pass through the digestive system of the human body without causing sickness. With crossbreeding, a stable plant safe for consumption evolved.

For Europe, the Spanish conquistadors introduced not only a new taste with the potato but the birth of agricultural practices that we still see today. European voyagers found native potatoes in Peru and one of the keys to successful agriculture: fertilizer. Along the Peruvian coast, birds feeding on the frenzied nutrient-rich water would deposit their feces on the nearby Chinda Islands. The Inca used this guano, or accumulated excrement, with an abundance of nitrogen and phosphoric acid to fertilize potatoes.

Upon discovering this prized excrement, Europeans immediately went about creating trade routes for the potatoes and fertilizer. Agriculture boomed and fed a rapidly growing population with vital sustenance. A good source of fiber and potassium, the nutrient-rich potato’s influence on booming agriculture and role in a healthier human population and the growing labor force was a key factor in the West’s global dominion.

Boost immunity with sweet potatoes.

The modern potato now leads vegetable consumption across the globe. This truly versatile tuber can be baked, boiled, fried, mashed, pureed and crisped and has stood as part of a number of cultures’ culinary legacies.

Modern potatoes fall into two main cooking types: mealy (starchy) or waxy. Mealy types, such as russets, banana fingerling and Russian, are much denser than their waxy counterparts. The starch swells when cooked and separates, resulting in a dry, fluffy texture that is preferable for baked, mashed and fried potatoes. Alternatively, waxy potatoes’ cells condense when cooked, resulting in a dense and moist texture, perfect for boiling, potato cakes and gratins.

When you find several varieties at the store and are unsure which to use for your particular preparation, you can determine starchy from waxy by the skin. Starchy (mealy) potatoes, such as russets, have a thicker skin. Waxy potatoes, such as Red Bliss, have firmer, thinner skin.

There are thousands of varieties of potatoes. In South America’s Andes region, there are thought to be more than 4,000 native variations. In the U.S., you will tend to find a few hundred varieties that circulate for the general consumer.

With the potato’s versatility, there are almost endless options for preparation and cooking. I personally enjoy a roasted potato, crisped in duck fat or beef dripping, crunchy on the outside, and fluffy and light on the inside. Mashed potatoes can be made with varying texture and flavor. My personal favorite is to make a soft and creamy potato with slightly lactic flavors of crème fraiche and fresh cultured butter.

A world of culinary exploration is at your fingertips with the potato, a relatively inexpensive ingredient with a wealth of opportunity for flavor and texture. Not only has the potato become a staple of modern cooking, it has been a force in human evolution and has helped shape the world we see today. Dig deep and explore the potato.

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