Pamela Vachon

What Can You Do With A Culinary Degree?

ajohnson — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:10:04 +0000

What Can You Do With A Culinary Degree? ajohnson Wed, 11/27/2024 - 13:10 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Student%20at%20Career%20Fair%20Header.jpg.webp?itok=vYzaHvdw A student and employers at the ICE Los Angeles career fair. November 27, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

It’s often assumed that the only reason to attend culinary school is to become a restaurant chef. That, however, couldn’t be further from the truth. While many culinary school graduates do develop successful restaurant careers, a culinary arts degree has a number of potential applications.

That’s because the best culinary schools have curriculums that include lessons designed both for the real world and for a range of career paths. Organization, project management, creative problem-solving and business marketing are all skills you can expect to be taught at culinary school. As a result, many cooking school alumni pursue food careers that are either food-adjacent or completely outside the traditional restaurant model.

I can attest to this based on my own experience as a culinary school alum. After graduation from culinary school, I held a number of non-cooking food-related jobs. Among these were food stylist, bartender, dining room captain, restaurant manager, food writer and educator. All of these career paths directly relate to what is possible with a culinary arts degree.

Embracing opportunity is the key to putting your culinary school degree to its best use. Here's a look at what you could do with a culinary degree within the food and hospitality industry but outside the restaurant cook and chef roles.

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Catering

Those who work in catering are typically cooking on a daily basis, whether in small- or large-scale operations. But unlike restaurant cooks and chefs, who cook dishes to order from a prepared menu, catering teams create plated meals and buffets served to a large number of guests all at once. The cooking techniques acquired in culinary school are, of course, critical for these roles. So, too, are organizational skills. Beyond the kitchen, a culinary arts degree upscales its graduates in menu design, food safety and kitchen and time management. Other cooking careers similar to catering include corporate and banquet hall cooks.

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Event Planning

Event planning in the culinary context involves coordinating the food at events like weddings, corporate functions and private parties. In this role, you work closely with chefs, caterers and vendors to create memorable experiences where food is central to the occasion. A culinary degree gives you insight to the nuances of food service and creating customized menus that align with clients’ preferences and dietary needs. Often, culinary careers that start in catering veer toward event planning over time.

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Personal Cheffing

Personal chefs cook privately for individual clients (versus cooking in a public setting). Depending on their client’s needs, their job description sometimes resembles that of caterers and restaurant cooks. Consider, for example, the skills required to prepare meals à la minute for a single person or a large dinner party, or preparing and packaging meals for a family to consume throughout the week.

Since cooking is at the forefront for these roles, a culinary arts degree is paramount. Beyond cooking techniques, personal chefs must also possess menu design and customer relations savvy.

Get a Glimpse into Personal Cheffing with ICE Graduate Maddy Devita

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Recipe Development or Testing

Recipe developers and recipe testers could be cooking every day, but they’re rarely cooking food for consumption. Rather, recipe developers craft appealing recipes that can be replicated by consumers; and recipe testers make the recipes written by chefs, cookbook authors and recipe developers as a way to confirm that the recipe’s instructions yield consistent results over several trials.

Both of these roles require an exacting set of skills: you must be detail-oriented, highly organized and enthusiastic about experimentation. Food media like magazines and television cooking shows typically employ a number of culinary school graduates as recipe developers and testers.

Behind the Scenes of Editorial Recipe Testing

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Food Styling

Food styling is a skills-based job that involves arranging food for maximum visual appeal in print, TV and digital media. A culinary arts degree provides a strong foundation in understanding ingredients, as well as cooking and plating techniques, both of which are essential to food styling.

This field also requires visual discernment, an eye for aesthetics, the ability to work under tight deadlines and a knack for coordinating across functions and creative departments (think photographers and marketing teams) to present various foods—both individual ingredients and completed recipes—in the most enticing manner.

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Food Media

Just as most people assume that culinary school is a path to restaurant work, “food writer” is often equated with “restaurant critic.” Food media, however, is much broader than that. It comprises cookbooks, articles on food trends and culture, video production and marketing.

Food writers often collaborate with cooks, editors, magazines and food brands to produce content that is engaging and informative. A culinary arts degree provides the expertise required to develop recipes, share industry insights and speak authoritatively on food topics,

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Cooking Instruction

Teaching is another answer to “what can you do with a culinary arts degree?” It’s an especially apt role for those who love talking about cooking, demonstrating cooking and encouraging others to cook. Cooking instructors can work in a variety of settings, among them cooking schools, vocational programs, recreational settings, retail markets, community centers and their own home.

They can also set their area of focus, teaching, for example, an array of techniques or an individual technique; global flavors or a single cuisine; or a broad spectrum of industry-specific soft skills versus a deep dive on one skill. Cooking instructors typically develop their own curricula and prepare materials as needed. A strong understanding of culinary theory and practical experience is essential for the role, whether preparing students for a career in the kitchen, or providing a recreational experience for cooking enthusiasts.

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Food and Beverage Management

Food and beverage managers work on the operations side of the culinary industry, supporting both the kitchen and the customer-facing aspects of a food business. Food and beverage manager tasks include budgeting, managing inventory, scheduling, supervising staff and overseeing customer service.

Many culinary school graduates who start out working as restaurant cooks — and thus, gain insights to the functional operations of the business — go on to become food and beverage managers. A culinary degree can be essential for these career changers, enabling them to maintain operational efficiency and food and beverage quality.

Potential Culinary Career Paths: Food Safety

Food safety specialists ensure that food production and preparation processes comply with health and safety regulations. This role involves developing and implementing food safety protocols, conducting inspections and training staff on best practices. Food safety specialists may work for specific brands, across a hospitality group or even for local government. A background in culinary arts is beneficial for understanding food handling procedures and responsible cooking practices, as well as ensuring adherence to standards.

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How to Use Cheese in Your Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

ajohnson — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 23:55:44 +0000

How to Use Cheese in Your Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes ajohnson Tue, 11/26/2024 - 18:55 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Sandwiches%20held%20by%20hands%20header.jpg.webp?itok=xAUvL9xt November 26, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

Give new life to your Thanksgiving leftover recipes with one simple addition: cheese.

While many of us live for Thanksgiving leftover recipes, some of us—after a few days of turkey and stuffing on repeat — need something new on the menu. That’s where culinary creativity comes in. The answer to “‘What do I do with my Thanksgiving leftovers?” is simple: Repurpose them!

Though this idea isn’t new, most Thanksgiving leftover ideas focus on the meal’s original components — things like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.

But what about the cheese? Specifically, how can you repurpose the cheeses left over from your holiday cheese plate, and how can you use cheeses that you have on hand to make leftovers recipes from the aforementioned turkey and stuffing and mashed?

Here are a few ideas for creating something new and interesting when Thanksgiving dinner fatigue sets in.

How to Use Gouda in Thanksgiving Leftovers

Gouda is a naturally sweet cheese. In an extra cheesemaking step that most cheeses don’t undergo, gouda’s curds are rinsed, washing away some of the lactose that would typically become lactic acid as cheeses age. As a result, both young and aged goudas have buttery or butterscotch notes. This distinguishes gouda from other styles of cheese, and makes it a versatile pairing for an array of diverse flavors.

Turkey, Gouda, and Butternut Squash Salad

For those craving salad (understandably, after the excesses of Thanksgiving dinner), cubed or shredded gouda makes an excellent addition to a green salad with turkey and butternut squash. Cranberry sauce can even be coaxed into a light and lively salad dressing.

Gouda and Cranberry Cheese Ball

Remix your Thanksgiving leftovers into a perfect appetizer-ish snack. You can swap sweet, shredded gouda into any cheese ball recipe you like, adding cranberry sauce or fresh cranberries to the creamy mixture before rolling the ball in chopped nuts to finish.

How to Use Brie in Thanksgiving Leftovers

Brie comes from an umbrella family of what is known as bloomy rind cheese. Brie’s delicate white rind lends a slightly earthy or mushroomy taste to a profile that is otherwise mild and buttery. Brie also has a delightful ooze when warmed.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Baked Brie

Following Chef Herve Guillard’s tips for making baked Brie cheese, why not give it a post-Thanksgiving spin? Whatever size wedge or round of Brie you have on hand, split the cheese lengthwise, fill with a layer of extra stuffing and cranberry sauce, then wrap in a puff pastry and bake.

No pastry? No problem. It’s just as good unwrapped and served with baguette slices or crackers.

Chef Herve's baked Brie cheese.

Turkey Cranberry Grilled Cheese

In this unique grilled cheese sandwich recipe, Brie is a surprisingly delicious companion to turkey. It’s gooey, complex, and not so overpowering that it outshines (versus enhances) the turkey’s flavor. Cranberry provides the brightness that all thanksgiving leftover recipes need.

Read more: Understanding Cheese Rinds

How to Use Comté or Gruyère in Thanksgiving Leftovers

These Alpine style cheeses — Comté from France and Gruyère from Switzerland — are excellent melting cheeses. During the cheesemaking process, their curds are gently heated to extract more liquid and, as a result, better knit the curds together. When melted, these well-knit curds made the cheese more elastic (aka stretchy). Comté and Gruyère both have a complex, savory flavor that can give a hint of onion on the palate.

Pumpkin Fondue

If you have leftover pumpkin, either as a raw ingredient or as pumpkin pie, melt it along with an Alpine-style cheese and a splash of white wine for an inspired, Thanksgiving-style fondue that’s perfect for dunking torn pieces of dinner rolls or apple slices.

Thanksgiving Tartiflette

Tartiflette is a French casserole involving a layer of cheese over a mixture of potatoes, onions and bacon. Though typically made with a soft cheese like Reblochon, Comté or Gruyère can stand in for an extra savory note. You can turn your entire spread of Thanksgiving leftovers into a casserole with this application, or simply melt an Alpine-style cheese over a plate of turkey or ham, mashed potatoes and pickles, raclette-style.

Read more: Get to Know Your Alpine Cheeses

Ingredient Exploration Cheese & Dairy

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Chef’s Tips for Baked Brie Cheese

ajohnson — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:44:20 +0000

Chef’s Tips for Baked Brie Cheese ajohnson Wed, 11/20/2024 - 12:44 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Baked%20Brie%202%20header.jpg.webp?itok=CAKIndQr Chef Herve Guillard's tips for a stunning baked Brie recipe November 20, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

This baked Brie cheese recipe is both simple to make and show-stopping to present, perfect for a Thanksgiving or holiday table spread. 51�Թ� Chef Herve Guillard shares his baked Brie recipe and professional tips on how to create your new favorite holiday centerpiece below.

Baked Brie cheese can be a one-man show when it comes to a holiday cheese offering. Decked with holiday trimmings and flavors, it's a perfect dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It can become a real showstopper, precluding the need for a multi-component cheese board, or it can even be an elegant, plated starter course unto itself.

Chef Herve Guillard, Director of Education and Dean of Students at the 51�Թ�'s Los Angeles Campus, loves baked Brie.

“A lot of people enjoy it,” Chef Herve says. “It's mild enough without being overpowering, and it can be accommodated in a lot of different ways.”

If you’re considering adding a baked Brie to your holiday spread this year, Chef Herve shares a recipe and his best tips for making it a dish that your friends and family will request year after year.

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What is The Best Cheese for Baked Brie?

As a cheese professional, I am always an advocate for a high quality, artisanal bloomy rind cheese over a commercial Brie on a cheese plate. Baked Brie doesn’t necessarily require this, however, which can also make it an affordable cheese option during the financial crunch of the holiday season.

“I wouldn't spend too much money on a Brie that you're going to bake, because most of the time you're going to add extra stuff to it,” Chef Herve says. “I would recommend getting something higher quality to eat on a cheese platter, but for baking, a more commercial quality Brie would be fine. My go-to is from Sam's Club or Costco. They have big wheels that look impressive and are very affordable.”

Read more: Understanding Cheese Rinds

Adorning Your Baked Brie

Baked Brie is also an extremely versatile option as a holiday dish. It can be baked with or without being encased in a dough of some kind, it can be prepared sweet or savory, and you can include any additions to the baked Brie on the side, under the crust of the wrapping, or even in the middle of the cheese. Since Brie has a mild flavor and can be a blank slate, and since it plays well with a number of other components, it’s also an opportunity to show off your culinary creativity.

“Baked Brie is everywhere, so you have to make it your own,” Chef Herve says.

Though the dish itself is very customizable, Chef Herve does have some go-to methods to dress up a baked Brie recipe for maximum impact.

“My favorite dough for wrapping baked Brie is definitely puff pastry. It marries well with it,” he says.

The pairing works so well because both the puff pastry and the cheese bring a buttery characteristic to the table. Phyllo dough is a flakier alternative to puff pastry, and for a more advanced culinary technique, you can try wrapping your Brie in brioche or another bread dough.

Chef Herve's baked Brie cheese.

The pastry wrapping is only one of the many fun flavor elements you can experiment with when making baked Brie, however.

“I would definitely include a flavoring,” Chef Herve says. “Any kind of herbs can be finely chopped and put on top before wrapping it. I also like to cut the Brie in half [crosswise] and put in some kind of pre-cooked filling — cranberry relish is perfect for the holidays.”

On the savory side, Chef Herve recommends caramelized onions or finely ground, sautéed mushrooms, as in a mushroom duxelles.

For a big move with massive crowd appeal, “you could even do a baked Brie bar,” Chef Herve says, “with several different toppings on the side for guests to choose their own flavors.”

Besides the options mentioned above, Brie also has many other favorable pairing components that can be incorporated into your final dish: nuts, honey, fresh and dried fruits of all kinds, and even chocolate for a dessert preparation.

Related Read: Understanding Cheese Pairings

Best Practices for Baked Brie

Baked Brie is not necessarily a complicated dish to prepare, but Chef Herve recommends some best practices to avoid a less-than-perfect outcome.

First, if you’re planning to wrap your Brie in dough, make sure to cut or roll it in a way that fits the wheel you’re working with.

“I like to actually cut a circle, and then wrap the Brie so that you can seal the edges underneath without having too much crust on the bottom,” he says.

Using two squares of conventional puff pastry without cutting them leaves three layers of crust on the bottom, due to the sheets overlapping. Chef Herve strongly recommends cutting them and minimizing overlap to make sure your final product isn't too crusty.

When preparing the Brie, you want the seam of the pastry to be on the bottom of the cheese wheel for the best look. Any leftover pastry scraps from cutting the pastry to fit the Brie can be used for garnish on top, cut into leaves or other festive shapes.

Finally, make sure your oven is hot.

“The crust should be nice and crusty and flaky,” Chef Herve says. “A hot oven is the best way to get that browning — you want it to be 400 degrees. If the oven is too low, especially if you use puff pastry, then it just melts away.”

Commercial Brie will become soft and gooey in the high heat, but it won’t slither out completely from within your crust.

“The Brie itself is going to melt and marry the flavors of whatever you choose to put in it,” Chef Herve says.

The final dish is a warm, comforting, delicious and decidedly memorable holiday treat. Here's how to make it.

Baked Brie Cheese Recipe

Yields one wheel of baked Brie, enough for 8 guests as an appetizer

1 wheel Brie cheese
Filling, if desired. (Ideas include: herbs of choice, caramelized onions, chopped bacon, sautéed mushrooms, cranberry sauce or fruit jam)
2 sheets store-bought or homemade puff pastry dough
2 eggs
Water or milk (for egg wash)

Open and prepare the cheese. If adding a filling inside the cheese, carefully cut the wheel in half crosswise, like a burger bun.
Add filling across the sliced cheese, if applicable.
Prepare the egg wash by beating two eggs with a water or milk, as needed, to thin.
Lay the puff pastry flat and roll out with a rolling pin, if needed. Brush edges of the puff pastry with egg wash. Each sheet should cover the flat side of the brie with some overlap hanging over the sides. Cut off excess puff pastry and save for decoration.
Place Brie on one sheet of puff pastry. Fold up puff pastry sides around bottom of the cheese. Repeat on the top of the cheese with the other sheet of pastry.
Smooth sides of the puff pastry and create decorations on top of cheese using the extra scraps. You can also score the top of the puff pastry-wrapped cheese with a sharp knife for decoration.
Place pastry-wrapped cheese in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before baking to firm up.
Preheat oven to 400 °F.
Once brie has firmed in the fridge, place on parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Brush all over with the egg wash. Place in oven.
Bake until the cheese is completely cooked through and the puff pastry is dark brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.
Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with bread, fruit and crackers for dipping.

Chef's note: If one sheet of your puff pastry is large enough to cover the entire wheel of cheese, you can do so instead of using two sheets. Just make sure the seam side is on the bottom of the cheese.

Cheese & Dairy Holidays

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Recipes Step 1 - Open and prepare the cheese. If adding a filling inside the cheese, carefully cut the wheel in half crosswise, like a burger bun; Step 2 - Add filling across the sliced cheese, if applicable; Step 3 - Prepare the egg wash by beating two eggs with a water or milk, as needed, to thin; Step 4 - Lay the puff pastry flat and roll out with a rolling pin, if needed. Brush edges of the puff pastry with egg wash. Each sheet should cover the flat side of the brie with some overlap hanging over the sides. Cut off excess puff pastry and save for decoration; Step 5 - Place Brie on one sheet of puff pastry. Fold up puff pastry sides around bottom of the cheese. Repeat on the top of the cheese with the other sheet of pastry; Step 6 - Smooth sides of the puff pastry and create decorations on top of cheese using the extra scraps. You can also score the top of the puff pastry-wrapped cheese with a sharp knife for decoration; Step 7 - Place pastry-wrapped cheese in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before baking to firm up; Step 8 - Preheat oven to 400 °F; Step 9 - Once brie has firmed in the fridge, place on parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Brush all over with the egg wash. Place in oven; Step 10 - Bake until the cheese is completely cooked through and the puff pastry is dark brown, about 35 to 40 minutes; Step 11 - Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with bread, fruit and crackers for dipping; Swirl Orange Off

Orange, Black, and Brainy: 3 Best Cheeses for a Haunting Halloween Charcuterie

ajohnson — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:05:34 +0000

Orange, Black, and Brainy: 3 Best Cheeses for a Haunting Halloween Charcuterie ajohnson Tue, 10/29/2024 - 20:05 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/cheese-2785_1280.jpg.webp?itok=i94ZXjiH These spooky-looking cheeses are perfect for a Halloween-themed spread. October 29, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

When you think about it, cheese has a lot of spooky sensibilities going for it.

“Cheese is milk’s leap toward immortality” — a quote from American poet John Updike — more eloquently expresses an idea that, at its essence, cheese is just milk in a suspended state of slow decay. Microorganisms are harnessed by cheesemakers, and mold is effectively farmed in caves to turn milk from something with only brief staying power into something preserved for a longer lifespan. Vampires, zombies, mummies, cheese: all things that represent the possibility of life after death.

Just ahead of the official holiday entertaining season, the end of October is teeming with hosting potential, and cheese is a perfect, naturally thematic element for any spooky celebrations. While a case can be made for just about any cheese to attend your costume party, certain cheeses are just more ripe for the occasion.

The orange, the black, and the brainy: here are the best cheeses to consider for your Halloween cheese board.

Annatto-Tinted Cheeses: Orange

While many of us are introduced to cheese in the form of bright orange cheddars or American singles, orange-hued cheeses do not represent the vast majority of artisanal cheeses. There is precedent for cheeses that are this color, however, that goes beyond American industrial production. Using annatto seed, a carotenoid that comes from the Central American achiote tree, cheesemakers in certain regions have been dying their cheeses orange for centuries.

Red Rock Cheese, a traditionally-orange colored cheddar.

There are numerous reasons why cheesemakers began using annatto to alter cheese's natural color. One theory is that cheesemakers began adding annatto to batches of milk that were collected in the winter, to approximate the beta carotene that would be naturally present in cheese made during the summer months when herds graze on fresh grasses. Another theory is that unscrupulous cheesemakers may have been skimming some of the butterfat from their batches of milk to use in other products. In order to make the resulting skimmed-milk cheeses look richer, annatto was added. It’s also possible that in places where numerous makers were creating the same style of cheese — the village of Cheddar in England, for example — wheels were dyed just as a point of differentiation.

Related: Culinary Uses of Firm Cheeses

Annatto seed is natural, but relatively flavorless, and is considered a valid ingredient in cheese. Similar to turmeric or saffron in character, a little bit imparts a tremendous amount of color. You don’t need to turn to industrially-produced blocks for your Halloween-themed cheese board, as many artisanal or traditional cheese makers still use annatto in the making of cheeses in a variety of styles.

Cheeses to try:

Mimolette
Shropshire Blue
Roelli Cheese Haus Red Rock
Sparkenhoe Mature Red Leicester
Cosanella
Brebirousse d’Argental

Ash-Ripened Cheeses: Black

Long before activated charcoal cocktails and squid ink linguini became popular, cheesemakers were employing ash in the making of various cheeses, resulting in wheels with a distinctly goth, haunted appearance. While black mold is a sign of something gone wrong in cheese, a halo of black vegetable ash indicates other characteristics.

Most commonly found in French or French-inspired goat’s milk cheeses, the primary function of vegetable ash in cheesemaking is to raise the pH on the surface of the cheese to allow beneficial microbes to grow. Ash can also lower the moisture content on the surface of the cheese, to inhibit the growth of undesirable organisms.

Selles-Sur-Cher, a French goat's milk cheese.

Cheeses such as Morbier or Humboldt Fog that have a black ash stripe in the center of the cheese represent historical styles. Many cheeses are made with numerous batches of milk, collected both in the morning and in the evening. Curds that were made in the morning were sprinkled with ash as a preservative and insect repellent to await the addition of the evening milking, hence the center stripe.

Cheeses to try:

Sottocenere
Firefly Farms Mountain Top
Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog
Selles-Sur-Cher
Valencay
Sainte-Maure
Morbier

Geo-Rind Cheese: Brainy

The world of bloomy rind or soft-ripened cheeses is varied, with a number of different microbial cultures applied that can create delicate, toothsome rinds that contribute both flavor and texture to cheeses. While traditional bloomy wheels such as brie and camembert can effectively be carved into Halloween-friendly shapes, other soft cheeses can take on brain-like appearances.

Vermont Creamery's coupoule cheese, an aged soft goat's milk cheese.

Cheeses with soft, mottled exteriors that resemble brain matter have a strain in common: geotrichum candidum. Geo-rind for short, this culture is actually a yeast-like fungus that develops on the surfaces of cheeses, reducing bitterness, promoting earthy aromas, and developing into brainy folds that make it another ideal candidate for a Halloween cheese platter.

Pro tip: brush any of the following geo-rind cheeses with a red fruit preserve for a distinctly bloody effect.

Cheeses to try:

Perrystead Dairy Intergalactic
Chabichou
Blakesville Creamery Shabby Shoe
Vermont Creamery Coupole
La Tur
Langres

Expand Your Cheesy Horizons: Understanding Fresh Cheeses and Their Culinary Uses

Ingredient Exploration Cheese & Dairy Halloween

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Culinary Arts

Why Do Flavors Pair Well?

ajohnson — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 07:41:06 +0000

Why Do Flavors Pair Well? ajohnson Sat, 08/31/2024 - 03:41 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Plated%20dish%20lobster%20green%20header.jpg.webp?itok=ZjPQT7N6 September 9, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

When different flavors come together harmoniously in a dish as a perfect pairing, it can be a thrilling culinary sensation, but one that may be difficult to describe.

Peanut butter and grape jelly, for example, is a very familiar and comforting flavor combination to Americans, but how does the magic actually happen between a roasted, savory legume and a sweet, fruity compote? Kidney beans, another legume, and watermelon, for example, hardly come together in quite the same way.

As a more complex case, I recall my first experience with a Thai food recipe. Before takeout pad thai noodles became ubiquitous in America, I couldn’t fathom how ingredients such as peanut butter, mint, lime, and bell peppers could possibly get on the same page — but they absolutely did.

ICE Los Angeles Senior Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez shares one of his favorite, unexpected flavor pairings: “One of my favorites has always been shellfish and vanilla,” he says. “It does seem kind of weird, but they really complement each other, and the vanilla almost makes the shellfish taste smoother and creamier.”

The art and science behind why flavors pair well is complex and fascinating, with roots in biology, culture, tradition, and chemistry.

Balance in Flavor Pairing

Taste and flavor aren’t necessarily the same thing, but are both important to consider when it comes to flavor pairing. The taste buds on your tongue can detect about six sensations: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami, and spicy. Everything else is a result of olfactory sensations that come from aromas. While those aromas are critical to understanding certain flavor pairings, you can begin with taste to understand why some things work well together.

“Things taste better when there’s balance,” Chef Stephen says, “and certain tastes tend to complement each other."

Some examples of those complimentary tastes are spicy and sweet, sweet and sour, and spicy and bitter.

Cocktails are an excellent example for understanding this type of balance in flavor combinations. While sweet and sour elements have been the hallmarks of well-crafted cocktails historically, “now every cocktail has bitters, and almost every cocktail has a few drops of saline in it,” Chef Stephen says, offering a broader sense of balance and a more intriguing taste sensation.

When it comes to developing a new dish, consulting a recipe, or even deciding what to order in a restaurant, chefs can use the balance principle to consider what functions each individual component might serve. This allows for a whole, finished dish that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Cultural Connotations of Pairing Flavors

Food combinations also taste good to us when we are exposed to them repeatedly, and our taste buds become accustomed to having them together, as with peanut butter and jelly, for example. There’s an adage about flavor pairing: “what grows together, goes together” which also brings in an element of terroir, or sense of place, to the pairing conversation.

Many classic dishes from around the world, which predate industrial food cultivation or even refrigeration, demonstrate how components that share an agricultural pedigree often come together harmoniously. A Thai curry demonstrates this, but so does a French cassoulet. People in those cultures have different experiences of certain flavor pairings, given repeated exposure and a sense of familiarity.

There are also certain cultural cuisines that especially highlight the idea of balance. In these cuisines, different elements interact to create well-paired flavors. In this way, certain flavors can become well-known allies because they are frequently used together.

Before I was a full time culinary student, one of the first classes I took at ICE was Fundamentals of Thai Cooking, which was my introduction to this idea.

“Southeast Asian food is a perfect balance of spicy, sweet, sour, and salty,” Chef Stephen says.

No matter whether you’re talking about a noodle dish, a curry, or a soup, you’ll notice a spectrum of ingredients in Thai cuisine that each brings a different element of balance to the table. Palm sugar or tamarind paste are typical components used for sweetness, kafir lime provides a sour element, various chilies are incorporated for spice, and fish sauce contains both umami and salty sensations. While one or two of these elements may come forward more prominently in a given dish, all these sensations are typically accounted for.

Scientific Properties of Flavor Pairing

While a lot of favorable flavor pairings can be attributed to trial and error, balance, or repeated exposure, as described above, certain ingredients actually pair well together because they are scientifically prone to do so. There are numerous, distinct categories when it comes to various aromas that are built upon chemistry. Chemical compounds that are released into the air that trigger the olfactory system include those such as esters, terpenes, pyrazines, aldehydes, etc. Components that share multiple similar aroma compounds can also make for favorable pairings.

For example, “there are actually a lot of things that are hidden within chocolate and coffee that we don't necessarily know are there,” Chef Stephen says, “but they are there.”

This explains why they work so well together, beyond the fact that they are both prone to bitterness, and may come from the same region. They also share pyrazines, a compound that gives them both similar, earthy tasting notes.

While chocolate and coffee are familiar pairing partners, consider that chocolate and blue cheese also share these same compounds, and also make for a favorable pairing.

Flavor Pairing Resources

You don’t need to have a degree in chemistry, however, to experiment with different pairings, nor do aspiring chefs and recipe developers have to rely entirely on trial and error. Compiled by both chefs and food scientists, there are a number of resources that cooks can use to stoke inspiration when creating a new dish, whether they are new to recipe development or have already had a career as a professional chef.

“I have a copy of Culinary Artistry that I've had for beyond 20 years,” Chef Stephen says. “It's wrapped in plastic wrap, and the pages are coming out, but it's my favorite resource."

Authored by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, the text examines the creative process of culinary composition through interviews with leading American chefs, and includes top 10 lists of ingredients chefs can’t live without.

Another resource by the same duo, “The Flavor Bible,” works as a simple reference manual. Looking up any ingredient, the book provides a list of the most common pairing elements for that ingredient, as named by chefs. “The Flavor Thesaurus” by Niki Segnit is built on a similar principle, breaking down ingredients into four aromatic themes: meaty, cheesy, woodland, and floral/fruity. These themes help delineate what kinds of foods might pair well together.

Ingredient Exploration

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Understanding Herbs: A Culinary Deep Dive

ajohnson — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 01:30:11 +0000

Understanding Herbs: A Culinary Deep Dive ajohnson Fri, 08/16/2024 - 21:30 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Dried%20herbs%20header.jpg.webp?itok=ikpCYfaK August 16, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

Herbs are one of the most versatile ingredients that chefs and culinary students can use, providing big doses of flavor in small packages.

Students at the Institute of Culinary Education have access to a hydroponic garden, where many varieties of herbs may be snipped directly for maximum freshness.

“Herbs belong everywhere,” Chef-Instructor Ann Ziata says. “Yogurt sauces, salad dressings, and pestos add a fantastic freshness to so many dishes thanks to their generous usage of herbs. Anything that gets roasted in the oven will gain a lovely, savory aroma with the addition of a few sage leaves and rosemary sprigs.” Even baked goods such as certain breads or scones can also benefit from the intense flavor of herbs.

Related: The Hydroponic Garden

Not all herbs are created equal, however, and have a variety of different uses depending on their biological structure and flavor profile.

Here, we dive deeper into what qualifies as an herb, how different herbs are used in culinary preparations, and take a closer look at some of the most popular herbs used in cooking.

What Are Herbs?

The difference between that which we call herbs and that which we call spices can be nuanced, especially because variations can come from different parts of the same plant. Cilantro, for example, is understood in this country to be the leaf part of a certain plant, whereas ground coriander comes from the seed part of the same plant. In different parts of the world, however, coriander may refer to both the leaves and seeds.

"An herb is any leaf of a plant that is used primarily for its pronounced flavor,” Chef Ann says.

Herbs get their flavors from a high concentration of volatile aromatic compounds in the form of essential oils, which differentiates them from other edible leaves such as lettuces.

Types of Herbs and Their Culinary Uses

While the herb category is mainly comprised of leaves whose aromas and flavors are especially powerful, herbs can further be broken down into two major categories, which also governs their culinary uses.

“We generally sort herbs into two categories: soft and woody,” says Chef Ann. “Soft herbs have delicate stems that can be eaten, and woody herbs have tougher stems that are typically not eaten. As with most culinary ingredients, it’s more of a spectrum than a black and white system.”

Consider the difference between soft herbs like dill and basil, where the entire plant can be chopped and easily consumed, and rosemary, whose leaves are separated from the stems, as the woody stems aren’t meant for consumption.

Traditional Flavor Profiles: French Herbs and Spices

Whether or not the stem can be consumed plays into how different herbs can function in recipes and culinary preparations.

How to Cook with Woody Herbs

“Woody herbs can be picked, stems discarded, and then chopped finely,” says Chef Ann, “or they can be used whole in the dish and removed later. Because they are fibrous and strong, they are added early on in the cooking process to give the herb time to soften and release its flavor.”

Herbs such as rosemary and thyme, for example, are often bound into a sachet, which may be used in braises or sautés to aromatize a dish while it cooks. The sachet is then removed prior to serving. Even if they are removed and chopped, the leaves of woody herbs also tend to be sturdier than their soft herb counterparts, and are appropriate to add early in the cooking process, or to use in high heat cooking.

How to Cook with Soft Herbs

As their name implies, soft herbs are more delicate in character, and aren’t necessarily suited for the same treatment as woody herbs.

“Herbs, like basil, cilantro, and dill are lightly chopped and then added toward the end of cooking,” Chef Ann says. “Over-mincing and overcooking will cause them to bruise, turning them a drab green and causing them to taste more bitter. Fresh sprigs can also be kept whole for infusing into light broths and pickling brines."

Soft herbs are typically more suitable for raw preparations than woody herbs, such as in pestos, dressings, or even added as additional greens in salads. They are also often used as garnishes.

Fresh Herbs Versus Dried Herbs

The aromatic leaves of those plants which we refer to as herbs may also be dried, minced, and stored for later usage. (Good news for those of us who don’t have access to an herb garden, or notice a lack of fresh grocery store herbs during the winter months.)

Dried herbs are also used differently than their fresh counterparts, regardless of whether you’re using soft herbs or woody herbs.

“Dried herbs are more concentrated, so you can usually substitute one teaspoon of dried herbs for every tablespoon of fresh chopped herbs. The flavor of dried herbs is pretty dormant and needs time and heat to bloom again,” Chef Ann says.

According to Chef Ann, oil or cooking fat will also help intensify the flavor of dried herbs.

“You can add them early on in the cooking process, usually right after sweating the other, larger aromatic ingredients like onions and garlic,” she says.

Because of their naturally sturdy leaves, woody herbs will tend to have more pronounced flavor in their dried form than soft herbs.

You can usually substitute one teaspoon of dried herbs for every tablespoon of fresh chopped herbs.

Common Herbs for Cooking

There are dozens of different types of herbs, many of which have very specific uses or are most commonly found in certain cultural cuisines. Here are some of the most common types of herbs used in cooking.

Basil

Fresh basil

Basil is a soft herb that belongs to the mint family. Several varieties of basil are used in cooking such as sweet basil, Thai basil, and opal basil. Typically used in Italian and Southeast Asian cuisine, basil has a pungent, slightly spicy character that is reminiscent of fennel or licorice.

Bay Leaf

Bay leaves come from many varieties of laurel trees, and are unique herbs. Unlike most herbs, bay leaves themselves aren’t meant for consumption. Bay leaves are savory and floral, and are typically added whole, whether fresh or dried, to sauces or braises and removed before serving.

Chervil

Chervil is one of the most important herbs in French cuisine, as one part of an herb blend known as “fine herbs” which consists of parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon, used to season everything. These "fine herbs" are often found seasoning omelets, potatoes, vegetables, poultry and seafood. A relative of parsley, chervil has delicate, lacy leaves. Less pungent than other soft herbs, chervil’s flavor has been likened to licorice or anise.

Two springs of fresh rosemary

Rosemary

Rosemary is actually an evergreen shrub with woody stems. Rosemary's leaves are some of the most bold and aromatic in the field of herbs. Native to the Mediterranean, it has wide culinary uses, and its complex, woodsy and earthy flavor is often used for various meats, potatoes, and stuffings.

Cilantro

Strong in flavor, with an almost tangy or citrus aroma, cilantro is a soft herb that is used in many cuisines such as Mexican, Indian, and Southeast Asian. Cilantro, it must be said, is also one of the most polarizing herbs: people with a specific genetic code will often find its flavor to be soapy and off-putting.

Dill

Dill is a soft herb whose flavor is very dynamic when fresh, but much more subtle when dried, and has been described as grassy and lemony. Dill is most commonly used in Central and Northern Europe and the Baltics, where it is used to flavor seafood, potatoes, and vegetables, and is also common in various pickled preparations.

Mint

Mint is a soft herb with many variations, which has a warm, sweet flavor and a cool aftertaste. Mint is extremely versatile in culinary preparations. It is frequently served as a jelly with lamb, in sauces, as a tea, in dessert, and even in cocktails.

Oregano

Oregano is a woody plant with stems that may be soft enough (when young) for consumption. Unlike herbs such as dill, oregano’s leaves are more intense when dried than when fresh. Oregano is peppery, pungent, and slightly bitter, and is used widely in Italian, Greek, Turkish, Spanish, and Latin American cuisine.

Sage

Fresh sage

Savory and peppery in nature, sage is a strong-flavored, woody herb, whose culinary uses are similar to those of rosemary. Sage’s distinctive, almost fuzzy leaves are often used with meats, sausages, beans, vegetables, pastas, and in sauces.

Parsley

Parsley is a soft herb with lacy leaves that is frequently used for garnish, though it also has many culinary uses. Parsley is widely used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and French cuisine, and is often used in sauces, or to season potatoes, rice, vegetables, and a wide variety of proteins. Parsley’s flavor is fresh and lightly bitter, with notes of pepper and earthiness.

Fresh tarragon

Tarragon

Similar to basil and chervil, tarragon has a flavor profile similar to anise, with floral notes, and can be used in both sweet and savory preparations. Its elongated, tender leaves are used throughout various Northern hemisphere cuisines, such as Georgian, Syrian, and French, where it is one of the herbs used in the “fine herbs” blend. Tarragon is frequently paired with chicken, fish, eggs, and cheese.

Thyme

Thyme is a Mediterranean, woody herb with a spicy, citrusy and peppery flavor. Its leaves are among the smallest of any herb, and while they may be picked and chopped, thyme is frequently used in an herb sachet to aromatize sauces, braises, soups, and stews.

Ingredient Exploration Spices

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Understanding the Science of Cookies

ajohnson — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 16:17:31 +0000

Understanding the Science of Cookies ajohnson Tue, 07/30/2024 - 12:17 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Cookies%20on%20a%20sheet%20tray%20header.jpg.webp?itok=NlOlZwK2 July 31, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

Cookies are a classic baked treat.

Whether you’re whipping up a batch from scratch or utilizing refrigerated cookie dough, in theory, you can enjoy a fresh cookie, still warm from the oven, in about 20 to 30 minutes time from start to finish.

Few other baked goods can claim that kind of efficiency when it comes to satisfying a craving for something sweet. Plus, they're professionally significant: ICE Pastry & Baking Arts students learn about cookies early on in their classes, since the beloved dessert is so fundamentally important in the baking world.

Many baked goods have some proportion of sugar, flour, butter and eggs in their basic formula, along with a rising agent, so what makes a cookie uniquely a cookie, rather than a muffin or cake? Cookies can be dense or airy, chewy or crispy, flat or puffy — what variables in the basic formula create different outcomes in the shape and texture of cookies? In short, have you ever thought about the science of cookies?

Understanding the science of cookies can improve your baking skills, or even just simply add to your enjoyment of them. ICE Senior Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez talks us through the science of what happens when you put your cookies in the oven, and how variations in ingredients and techniques can produce different outcomes.

Chef Stephen setting up a cookie display in class.

Cookies: The Baking Process

For understanding cookie science, it’s actually helpful to begin near the end of the process. Knowing what happens when your cookie goes into the oven can help inform your understanding of the individual elements that go into the cookie dough, and how best to mix them.

When your cookies go into the oven, there are several things that are happening scientifically, according to Chef Stephen.

“Your proteins are coagulating," he says. "Your starches are gelatinizing. Your fats are melting. Your moisture is evaporating. Your sugars are caramelizing, which leads to browning. The gas is expanding, and things are rising.”

Once out of the oven, as your cookies cool, the previously liquified ingredients begin to harden or solidify, and the cookies deflate slightly due to the cooling of the air inside of them as well.

If you peek into the oven while cookies are baking, you won’t see these processes happen one after the other, however.

“It all works in tandem,” Chef Stephen says. “So when the fats melt, the fat turns into a liquid and the liquid evaporates, which becomes a steam. Steam rises, which makes your cookies pop up. It doesn't matter whether it’s a cookie or a piece of steak. It all happens exactly the same. Cooking is cooking, and physics is physics.”

Understanding this, next let’s examine some of the major players in the cookie dough mixture for their possible effect on the outcome, depending on the products you use, as well as the treatment of those components.

Butter: Creamed, Melted or Browned

Different recipes frequently call for different butter treatments, which have a major impact on texture, and in certain cases, on flavor. Melted butter will result in a fudgier texture, whereas creamed butter will allow a little more air into your cookie. (Brownies, for example, almost always call for melted butter.)

“In general, most of the time we want to use the creaming method,” says Chef Stephen, “which is not only softening the butter but along with the sugar is putting little air pockets in it, which adds to the little bit of leavening that you need for your cookies to rise.”

As for browned butter, whether you add it melted or let it cool and solidify somewhat, it's all a matter of taste. As an ingredient, browned butter adds a nutty, enhanced caramel flavor to the cookie.

“Cook’s Illustrated’s chocolate chip cookies are famous for having brown butter — and it's a delicious cookie,” he says.

Related: Key Ingredient: Butter

White Sugar Versus Brown Sugar

Consider your basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, which tends to have both white sugar and brown sugar in the recipe. This isn’t necessarily a matter of flavor, but more so one of texture.

“The more white sugar you have, the more crispy your cookie will be. The more brown sugar you have, the softer your cookie,” Chef Stephen says.

This has to do with the moisture content of the different sugars. This is especially important to consider if you’re faced with making ingredient substitutions if you’re out of one kind or another. As brown sugar is made with molasses, which is a sugar syrup, it has more water content. Raw sugar, on the other hand, is a type of unrefined sugar but is not the same as brown sugar, as it doesn’t contain molasses and its related moisture content.

Related Recipe: Foolproof Sugar and Gingerbread Cookies

Differences in Flour

Most of us probably have all-purpose flour in our cupboards as a go-to option. AP flour is an ideal flour for cookies because it results in a pleasantly chewy texture, rather than dense or cakey cookies.

“AP flour will work perfectly pretty much every time,” Chef Stephen says. “Just don't get self-rising flour or anything like that,” he says. “I don't get anything that adds ingredients — just stick to straight flour.”

If you have other flours on hand, they’ll work, but you shouldn’t expect the same outcome.

“Bread flour has the most protein content, so your cookies will probably end up a little bit on the tougher side,” Chef Stephen says. “Cake flour has the lowest protein of any flour. So with cake flour, the cookies will be soft, and they may even be crumbly.”

Different types of flours have different textures and baking properties.

Baking Soda Versus Baking Powder

You’ll notice that most cookie recipes call for baking soda rather than baking powder, so it’s important to understand the reason why if you’re considering making a substitution.

“Baking soda is gonna give you a little pop, which is why you use it mostly for cookies,” Chef Stephen says. “Baking powder is when you want a bigger pop, like for cake or muffins.”

Baking powder is considered “double acting,” where it activates with both moisture and heat. It will begin developing in the bowl as the ingredients come together, and continue working in the oven to give your baked goods a big rise.

Unless you specifically want puffy cookies, baking soda is the way to go. “Baking soda simply requires an acid to activate,” Chef Stephen explains, which can be found in several ingredients in the cookie: salt, for example, and even chocolate.

Mixing the Dough

How you build the cookie dough also has a scientific impact on its outcome. Very few (if any) cookie recipes call for you to put everything in a mixer all at once. Typically, butter and sugar are creamed together, then additional liquids are added, then dry ingredients. How you handle each step can have an impact.

“One thing I teach my students every time is with the creaming method, combining the fat and the sugar, you can mix that as long as you want, you can make that light and fluffy and airy and creamy,” Chef Stephen says, “but after that, for the remaining ingredients it’s just about mixing enough until they come together.”

This is especially important with the eggs, which should be lightly beaten first before being added to cookie dough, so they can be easily incorporated into the mixture.

“If you whip up your eggs with a bunch of air, you're going to have big cakey cookies,” Chef Stephen says.

The goal with adding the dry goods is not to overly develop the gluten content in the flour.

“Flour plus moisture equals gluten,” Chef Stephen says. “We don't want our cookies to be tough. We want them to be tender. So I want that flour to mix until it's just combined. And then if I'm adding in chocolate chips or nuts or anything like that, then I'll put those in and just stir them through and that's it.”

A spread of various types of cookies from Chef Stephen's class.

Resting the Dough

While you definitely can have fresh cookies baked in under 20 minutes, there is a scientific rationale for making yourself wait, even just an extra half hour.

“One of the most important things when it comes to cookies is the controlling of the temperature of the fat,” Chef Stephen says. “When I want to make chocolate chip cookies, I want to have chocolate chip cookies now.” (Relatable.) “But the best thing that you can do once you’ve mixed them is to put them in the fridge for about half an hour.”

Resting the cookies is the key to activating the ideal cookie physics Chef Stephen mentioned before.

“I need the starches gelatinizing and the proteins coagulating before the fats melt away," he says. "If you've ever had cookies that you were trying to make right now, you put them in the oven, and they turn into basically just a puddle. It's because your fat was too warm, and it melted before everything else had a chance to do its thing.”

Cookies Baking Arts Pastry & Baking Arts Desserts

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Understanding Fresh Cheeses and Their Culinary Uses

abaker — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 18:50:47 +0000

Understanding Fresh Cheeses and Their Culinary Uses abaker Mon, 06/24/2024 - 14:50 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/fresh-cheeses-HERO.jpg.webp?itok=nPIvijB7 June 24, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

Fresh cheeses go through only minimal transformation from milk to cheese, and experience little to no aging, leaving them with a high moisture content compared to other kinds of cheese.

Mostly milky or a little salty in flavor, fresh cheese can be made in a matter of hours, rather than weeks or months. Despite their inherent simplicity, however, fresh cheeses may be produced by various methods and treatments, which can produce a multitude of textures, from crumbly to stretchy to spreadable. The type of animal milk used, as well as any marinades or brines applied, can also govern fresh cheeses’ diverse flavors and textures.

Related Reading: 5 Major Cheese Styles Every Chef Should Know

Here we uncover what makes different types of fresh cheese unique, as well as explore various culinary applications for each.

Mozzarella

Mozzarella is arguably the most famous of the fresh cheeses and is typically made from either cow’s milk or buffalo milk, as in mozzarella di bufala. Inarguably, it is the best-selling cheese in the United States, largely due to our love of pizza. But simple mozzarella is more than meets the eye. Mozzarella’s signature attribute — its stretchiness and meltability — comes from the unique way that it is made.

Mozzarella is also known as a pasta filata, or “stretched curd” cheese. This stretching of the curd during formation is the step that creates mozzarella’s ability to stretch later on when heat is applied. Burrata, mozzarella’s cousin, is simply mozzarella stuffed with mozzarella scraps that have been dressed with cream, a mixture that is considered a fresh cheese unto itself, called stracciatella.

Mozzarella isn’t only limited to melty, pizza and pasta dishes with an Italian pedigree, however. Mozzarella is an excellent salad cheese, especially when it has a starring role like in caprese salad. It can be deep-fried, used as a stuffing, incorporated in egg dishes such as quiche and frittata and employed anywhere an excellent melting cheese is called for, such as grilled cheese or quesadillas.

To create mozzarella, fresh curds are melted together in a briny, hot water bath while they are pulled and shaped into the fresh balls we can easily find in almost any grocery store. (How hot is hot, you ask? I still have PTSD from making it in culinary school.) Mozzarella is typically made in a bath of about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. By comparison, the hottest hot tub tops out at about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. While it is readily available commercially, mozzarella is also an easy cheese to make yourself, either starting with fresh curds or making the curds from scratch from easy-to-get ingredients.

Try it Yourself: Hand-Pulled Mozzarella

Ricotta

Historically, ricotta may actually be considered a by-product of cheese, as it would have been developed from the liquid whey drained from making other types of cheese. This whey still contains minuscule milk solids, and another heating and acidifying of the whey creates micro-curds that are strained out of the liquid to form fluffy ricotta. Its name reflects its formation since it effectively goes through the heating and coagulation stage twice: ricotta means “re-cooked” in Italian.

Ricotta is potentially the easiest cheese to make from scratch, and fresh, house-made ricotta will always be superior to industrial, packaged ricotta. You can probably make it right now from the ingredients you have on hand. Some form of acid is required, such as lemon juice or white vinegar, and either cheesecloth or a mesh strainer.

Known mostly for its use in stuffed pasta dishes, ricotta can also be used to create creamy sauces and dips or to enrich the bases for goods such as pancakes, muffins or gnocchi.

Related Recipe: Pumpkin and Ricotta Gnocchi

Cream Cheese/Mascarpone/Quark

As cultured dairy products made by the separation of curds and whey, all of these fresh variations on “cream cheese” are in fact considered actual cheeses, and are governed by matters of process as well as fat and acid content. While ricotta is historically made from whey, cream cheeses are made with additional cream added to a milk base.

Their dense, homogeneous natures make cream cheeses ideal spreads, fillings and dips, but of course, they are also famous for being the stars of the show when it comes to cheesecakes or other custardy desserts. They can also create the frosting to top different types of cakes. For a savory application, I also find cream cheese and its ilk an excellent hack for creating quick and creamy stovetop macaroni and cheese.

Related Recipe: Tiramisu

Chèvre

While mozzarella may be the most famous of fresh cheeses, goats were domesticated before cows to produce food, meaning that fresh chèvre or something similar may be one of the oldest types of cheese. Fresh goat cheese also stands alone among fresh cheeses for having a very distinctive flavor, where farming practices really matter: keeping bucks separate from female goats while they are milking is necessary to avoid a funky, aggressively “goaty” taste. Otherwise, chèvre has a smooth consistency that can range from creamy to lightly chalky, and a flavor that is especially fresh and tangy.

Chèvre is extremely versatile and can be used for salads, deep-fried, baked into pastries and can also stand in for ricotta or cream cheese in a variety of spreads, dips and even cheesecakes. Fresh goat cheese is especially harmonious when paired with herbs.

Related Reading: Understanding Goat Cheese

Feta/Brined Cheese

Other forms of fresh cheeses, namely feta, may be kept in a water brine which both enhances their salty nature and increases the longevity of cheese, which is especially important for high-moisture fresh cheeses which otherwise have a typically short shelf life. Feta may be made from a number of different animal milks but is typically sheep and or goat, which both contribute to its strong, distinctive flavor.

Feta is known for being particularly crumbly and slightly drier in texture than other fresh cheeses, due to having a relatively large curd structure compared to other fresh cheeses. It can be pulverized into dips or spreads for a more homogenous consistency, but on its own, it also makes a beautiful addition to salads and Greek pastries. As it is not a superb melting cheese, feta can hold its form when grilled or baked. Also look for flavorful marinated feta options, where the cheese is stored in oil frequently flavored with garlic and herbs.

Related Recipe: Whipped Feta, Two Ways

Cheese & Dairy Ingredient Exploration

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8 Classic Cookbooks Chefs Still Rely On

abaker — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 19:25:08 +0000

8 Classic Cookbooks Chefs Still Rely On abaker Fri, 06/07/2024 - 15:25 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/cookbook-HERO.jpg.webp?itok=Ks4XfFOu June 11, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

In the age of the internet, one might think that cookbooks would have become a relic of the past, however, new cookbooks continue to enter the market on a regular basis.

Plenty of classic cookbooks contain wisdom that even tenured chefs still rely on.

“I think the thing that makes classic cookbooks classic is they are both trend-proof and bullet-proof,” says ICE Los Angeles Campus President Lachlan Sands. “The recipes in them remain popular because they are delicious, culturally relevant and if you follow the directions as written, they work. With the advent of the internet and the opportunity to source from millions of online recipes, professionally tested and functional recipes are hard to identify. Classic cookbooks make it easy.”

Why do professional chefs prefer certain classic cookbooks?

In the digital age, cooking remains stubbornly analog, which is a comfort for those of us who love to do it, and physical cookbooks are also a reminder of that, regardless of changing technology and tastes.

“Many of these books are by the giants upon whose shoulders we stand,” adds ICE Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez. “I do believe that ingredients, innovations and tastes change, but the technique is forever. There are only seven classic ways to cook: sauté, grill, fry, braise, poach, roast and the rarely used poeler,” he says. “If you can master those techniques, then you can cook anything.”

ICE Chef Ann Ziata adds “Chefs today didn't invent cooking; they learned from the cooks before them. And before the internet, if you wanted to expand your skills beyond family recipes, you had to open a book. When students start culinary school, we take them back to the basics: traditional cooking techniques and classic recipes. Once they have a solid foundation, they can add their own flair and create dishes with dimension and meaning.”

Cookbooks have and will continue to be our partners-in-crime for the cooking process. Their dog-eared corners and sauce-splattered pages are like a diary, reminding us of some of our favorite memories of feeding ourselves and our loved ones. Both recently and historically classic, here are eight cookbooks that chefs still frequently turn to.

“The Joy of Cooking” by Irma S. Rombauer

“The Joy of Cooking” reminds us that cooking can — and should — be a joyful pursuit.

“‘The Joy of Cooking’ is such a solid foundation for understanding everything from grains to soups to breads and desserts,” Chef Ann says. “A great dish is a classic for a reason, and good taste never goes out of style."

Originally published in 1931, The New York Public Library named it one of the 150 most influential books — not just cookbooks — of the 20th century, speaking to its long-lasting relevance. The 75th Anniversary edition, published in 2006, retains the original voice of the author, and there is a joy to be found even in the table of contents, with sections including “Griddle Cakes and Fritter Variations” and “Poultry and Wildfowl.”

“CookWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking” by Shirley O. Corriher

Published in 1997, this excellent, scientifically focused cookbook is a favorite of Chef Stephen.

“Along with James Beard, she is one of the major influences on Alton Brown and was seen occasionally on camera in his show ‘Good Eats,’” he says. “She approaches food from a scientific perspective and answers not only how to do something, but why that something happens, and what the science is behind it,” an especially helpful methodology for aspiring chefs.

Cookbooks not only outline the cooking process but can help reignite memories tied to specific dishes and cuisines. Chef Stephen knows this well.

“Years ago, when applying for my first job teaching [at] Le Cordon Bleu, I memorized [Shirley O. Corriher's] information about cooking crème anglaise, and recited it word for word when doing my cooking demo,” he says. “Thankfully, that extra bit of information that I gave to the panel was what put my demo over the top, and I got the job. Here I am still teaching in my twentieth year, and I still reference Shirley and her book today.”

“The Silver Spoon” published by Phaidon Press

Before Marcella Hazan did for Italian cuisine what Julia Childs did for French, this cookbook was on hand to help people learn Italian cuisine.

“‘The Silver Spoon’ cookbook was originally published in 1950 to establish a baseline for classic Italian cooking,” Chef Lachlan says. “Focused on fresh, quality ingredients and authentic regional flavor profiles, this is my favorite cookbook ever. If I could eat from this one every day, I would.”

“The New Best Recipe” by Cook's Illustrated

Chef Lachlan cites this extensive work as one of two cookbooks he finds himself returning to. Authored collectively by Cook's Illustrated, informally considered “America’s Test Kitchen,” the original was published in 1999, with the “New” version published in 2004.

“This encyclopedic work covers just about everything you would ever want to cook with clear directions and dozens and dozens of tests for each recipe,” Chef Lachlan says, “making them both bullet-proof and super tasty.”

“Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck

Chef Stephen notes that he, of course, has a copy of what became one of the most influential cookbooks of all time. Not only did it inspire home cooks in the 1960s to travel to France via their own kitchens, but it also inspired so much more: the genesis of cooking television, a tribute blog and a major motion picture. So let it continue to inspire you, as well.

Sure, you can look up hundreds, if not thousands, of Boeuf Bourguignon recipes online, but will your process have the well-tested pedigree of this manual, not to mention the appropriate feel without it propped open on the counter, and the quirky falsetto of Julia herself whispering in your ear?

“The Fannie Farmer Cookbook: A Tradition of Good Cooking for a New Generation of Cooks” by Marion Cunningham

ICE Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Kathryn Gordon recommends this cookbook with its reassuring title, for its “classic and usually straightforward recipes and a sense of nostalgia.”

Speaking of nostalgia, this is arguably the most classic of the classics, originally published in 1896 as "The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book." A perfect manual for beginners especially, the book includes nearly 2,000 recipes to bring aspiring cooks back to the basics.

“The Voluptuous Vegan” by Myra Kornfeld

While Mollie Katzen’s "Moosewood Cookbook" is long considered the bible for vegetarian cuisine long before “local” and “seasonal” became principles that American cooks dared aspire to, Chef Ann suggests that Myra Kornfeld’s book does the same for vegan cookery.

Published in 2000, “it was ahead of the time for vegan recipes,” Chef Ann says. “If you've been plant-based for a while, you remember how rare it was to find good recipes that weren't just sautéed tofu with carrots. This book opened my world to vegetables I hadn't tried before and techniques that made every meal very gourmet.”

Want to eat more plants? Broaden your horizons in ICE's Plant-Based Culinary Arts program

“Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook” published by Better Homes & Gardens

It is the red gingham of this book that conjures my own earliest kitchen memories and comforts me with its ongoing commitment to practicality: the category tabs, the helpful introductory sections on measuring and ratios, the photo series that delineate everything from pasta shapes to cuts of beef. And perhaps most importantly, the 3-ring binding, which allowed it to easily lay flat on the counter. (It’s hard to believe that this hasn’t become the industry standard for cookbooks in the years since it was first published in 1965.)

Even though each edition has added new recipes to stay contemporary and relevant, it hasn’t lost sight of its roots, and it’s what I want to reach for when the urge for classic comfort foods like scalloped potatoes or pot roast strikes.

More like this: Essential Cookbooks Written by Black Authors

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Culinary Arts

Discover 3 Underrepresented Asian Cuisines You Need to Try

abaker — Thu, 30 May 2024 16:48:21 +0000

Discover 3 Underrepresented Asian Cuisines You Need to Try abaker Thu, 05/30/2024 - 12:48 /sites/default/files/styles/width_1440/public/content/blog-article/header-image/Underrepresented-Asian-Cuisine-hero.jpg.webp?itok=F2MWGdHX May 30, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

According to a Pew Research study, about one in nine restaurants in America is a restaurant with Asian heritage. While it may be no surprise for those who crave Asian foods, this is nonetheless a huge number, considering that most Asian cuisine only started gaining mainstream popularity across the U.S. in the 1990s or later.

Of those Asian restaurants, however, a vast majority in the U.S. are represented by the cuisines of only a few cultures. Chinese, Japanese and Thai restaurants account for nearly 70% of all Asian restaurants in this country, with another approximately 20% consisting of Indian, Vietnamese and Korean restaurants. The remaining 10% consists of a wide variety of Asian cuisines, often representing regional cultures or fusion expressions.

While there are numerous underrepresented Asian cuisines in the U.S. that you should get to know — Malaysian, Pakistani, Goan, Mongolian and more — here, several chefs talk us through three cuisines that are on the rise.

Cuisine of Taiwan

While Taiwanese cuisine might have recognizable elements for those who love Chinese food, the cuisine of Taiwan, an island nation near China’s southeastern coast, is distinct.

“It’s indigenous, pure and simple,” says Jin-Ya Huang, founder of Break Bread, Break Borders, a social enterprise empowering refugee women economically through the storytelling of food and culture. “To experience the unique flavors of real Taiwanese food is truly spectacular gourmet, with wild ingredients, original spices and native species, foraged and prepared by the aboriginal tribes who hunted and gathered from the mountains and the plains across the island.”

She cites a dish known as zhutong fan, or “bamboo tube rice” — rice literally steamed in a bamboo tube with wild boar meat — as an example of that which is inspired by nature, a tenet of Taiwanese cooking, which exhibits the influence of various Indigenous peoples such as Atayal, Truku and Tsou tribes.

Colonization often plays a role in the evolution of indigenous cuisines around the world, including all three cuisines highlighted here.

“Taiwanese food is the political fusion of the eight major cuisines of mainland China, with local modifications and Japanese influences due to colonization,” Huang says.

Related: Types of Chinese Dumplings

She highlights a few important dishes and elements such as yu lai gu or “star jelly,” a gelatinous substance that forms on trees after rain, alivongvong, a dumpling-like preparation that’s cooked in woven pouches to resemble lunch boxes and flying fish, often prepared as a jerky and served with taro.

Look for Taiwanese restaurants tucked in among Chinese restaurants in communities with sizable Chinatowns such as Flushing, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rockville, Maryland, and especially throughout the Los Angeles area.

Filipino Cuisine

Given the Filipino population in the U.S. relative to the number of available Filipino restaurants, this may be the most underrepresented AAPI cuisine in the country. But Filipino cuisine is definitely on the rise, and important to get to know for culinary enthusiasts.

"It's an untapped cuisine that is ever growing,” says Daniel Corpuz, a Filipino-American Pastry Chef and Owner of Daniel Corpuz Chocolatier. “I am fortunate to say that through my work, I am able to define and even redefine what Filipino cuisine is.”

Meet the ICE grad serving up deliciousness in LA's Historic Filipinotown

“Filipino Cuisine speaks to the colonial past of the Philippines,” Chef Daniel says. “In a way, Filipino food is everything and nothing at the same time. Everything, because it's a fusion of Spanish, Japanese and American cooking, and nothing, because of how that colonial past has been able to influence what Filipino food is. What makes it unique is the complete usage of ingredients while having sharp and impactful flavors.”

While dishes and ingredients such as lumpia and ube have become mainstream, not to mention the proliferation of Filipino fried chicken chain Jollibee, Chef Daniel says he tries his best to showcase Filipino flavors beyond the well-known ingredients.

“I am able to utilize ingredients and flavors that not many are familiar with,” he says.

Chef Daniel often cooks with ingredients such as pandan, an aromatic palm leaf, kalamansi, a lightly bitter citrus hybrid and pili nuts, a sought-after, savory nut redolent of almond, macadamia and sunflower seed.

Chef Daniel highlights a few important Filipino dishes:

Lumpia, a Filipino fried spring roll exhibiting Chinese influence, is “a great introduction to Filipino food for its approachability,” he says.
Filipino chicken adobo, a slow-cooked chicken, is distinctive because of the sharpness of both the vinegar element and the amount of garlic.
Sapin-Sapin is a Filipino dessert made “primarily using glutinous rice flour. It is a vessel for different flavors like coconut and other native flavors like jackfruit and ube,” Chef Daniel says.

Fast and fast-casual Filipino restaurants can be found throughout the country, but Chicago boasts the first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant, Kasama.

Hawaiian Cuisine

“I think it's important for culinary students to pay attention to this last state of the U.S.,” says Kiki Aranita, owner of Hawaiian-inspired sauce brand Poi Dog, and Senior Editor for New York Magazine. “Hawaii is the most diverse state in the country, not just in terms of population, but in terms of environment and ecology, and we have our own culinary traditions that are unlike anywhere else in the world.”

With its extraordinary produce such as taro and sugarcane, and equally diverse history, the foods and dishes of Hawaii are especially dynamic. Similar to the cuisines outlined above, Hawaiian cuisine should also be considered in two parts.

“There’s a distinction between Hawaiian cuisine and Hawaii’s local food,” Aranita says. “The term 'Hawaiian cuisine' indicates cuisine that was made by Native Hawaiians, especially prior to Western contact. That said, a lot of Hawaiian cuisine has been very much influenced by its immigrants, who came to Hawaii during the sugar cane plantation era, or even a little before. So there's a lot of what we would consider Hawaiian food that does have elements of Chinese cuisine in it."

Numerous other cultures, both Asian and European, also intersected with Hawaii throughout its complicated colonial history. Hawaiian sweet rolls, for example, are actually Portuguese in origin. Spam features heavily given the influence of American GIs, combined with the necessity of canned goods in an area prone to hurricanes.

These diverse influences in part explain why Hawaiian food is unrepresented on the mainland, according to Aranita.

“We have a lot of Japanese, Chinese and Korean immigrants, which means that if you're from Hawaii, and you move to the mainland, you can scratch your itch for those foods by going to other restaurants,” she says.

It may be challenging to find a true taste of indigenous Hawaiian cuisine outside of Hawaii, but for a deeper dive than poke, thoughtful Hawaiian restaurants can be found not only in major U.S. cities such as New York and Los Angeles, but also in communities such as Burnside, Oregon, and Midvale, Utah.

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