Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen

the editors at America’s Test Kitchen and Guy Crosby

illustrations by Michael Newhouse and John Burgoyne.

1. Cooking. 2. Food. I. Crosby, Guy. II. America’s Test Kitchen (Firm)
TX651.S375 2012

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Book Details

Price	8.00
Pages	1993 p
File Size	18,497 KB
File Type	PDF format
ISBN	978-1-936493-45-6
Copyright©	2012 by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen

PREFACE

Despite the saying about the cat, curiosity is what sets humans apart from other

mammals. A hundred years ago, most cooks were working with a limited

repertoire of recipes and ingredients, and they had plenty of first-hand

experience to make those recipes work. Now we stand at the beginning of a new

century, many of us keenly interested in the culinary arts, but without the years

of practical experience that it takes to become a great cook.

What’s the solution to this modern quandary? The answer reminds me a bit of

my favorite physicist, Lawrence Krauss, who spends his time pondering the

mysteries of the universe. In order to understand the cosmos and our place in it,

he says, one has to ask how and why. Once the questions have been asked, we

can conceive of experiments to prove or disprove our theorems.

All of that sounds rather familiar to everyone who works at America’s Test

Kitchen. We start every day by asking questions. Do bones add flavor to meat

during cooking? What causes ice cream to turn icy in the freezer? Then we

construct kitchen experiments to answer those questions in a manner that helps

us, as home cooks, to produce more foolproof recipes, and better food.

To test our theory about the benefits of adding small pieces of frozen butter to

eggs, we put 2-pound fishing weights on top of omelets. (The more tender

omelet could not hold the weight.) To gauge the benefits of letting cooked meat

rest, we sliced one roast as soon as it came out of the oven and measured 10

tablespoons of lost liquid; when we waited just 10 minutes to slice a second

roast, the liquid lost was reduced to just 4 tablespoons. And does mixing method

really matter when making brownies? We tested stirring gently (with some

streaks of flour remaining), then stirred a second batch until all streaks were

incorporated, and then finished with a third batch that was well mixed in a

standing mixer. The brownies made with the lightest touch were perfect; the

others were unpleasantly tough.

All of this is fun and interesting, but our real goal is to make you a better

home cook. Understanding the difference between amylose and amylopectin

(two types of starches) is of little use to cooks unless this information can be

used to produce better mashed potatoes. (It can and does.) And understanding

how heat is transferred from the outside of a roast to the inside is useful since it

explains why a low oven is best when cooking large pieces of meat. (The outside

won’t overcook by the time the inside is done.)

This reminds me, of course, of the story of the Vermont storekeeper who was

asked if he would have a particularly popular item back in stock before long.

“Nope,” the old-timer replied.

“Why not?” the customer wanted to know.

“Moves too darn fast!”

That inexplicable logic is often like the science of cooking. At first it doesn’t

seem to make much sense but then, after a bit of thought, things come into focus.

When you understand the language of science, cooking becomes clearer and you

naturally make better choices in the kitchen. The next time you make pie dough,

you might naturally replace half of the water with vodka. (It makes a more

pliable dough that bakes up flaky.) Or you will know to brine beans or macerate sliced fruit.

Please enjoy this book. You will find the answers to most of your cooking

questions, especially when it comes to “why”—the most important question of all.

Christopher Kimball

Founder and Publisher

America’s Test Kitchen

WELCOME TO AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN

This book has been tested, written, and edited by the folks at America’s Test

Kitchen, a very real 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It

is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is

the Monday-through-Friday destination for more than three dozen test cooks,

editors, food scientists, tasters, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test

recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and

until we arrive at the “best” version.

We start the process of testing a recipe with a complete lack of conviction,

which means that we accept no claim, no theory, no technique, and no recipe at

face value. We simply assemble as many variations as possible, test a half-dozen

of the most promising, and taste the results blind. We then construct our own

hybrid recipe and continue to test it, varying ingredients, techniques, and

cooking times until we reach a consensus. The result, we hope, is the best

version of a particular recipe, but we realize that only you can be the final judge

of our success (or failure). As we like to say in the test kitchen, “We make the

mistakes, so you don’t have to.”

All of this would not be possible without a belief that good cooking, much

like good music, is indeed based on a foundation of objective technique. Some

people like spicy foods and others don’t, but there is a right way to sauté, there is

a best way to cook a pot roast, and there are measurable scientific principles

involved in producing perfectly beaten, stable egg whites. This is our ultimate

goal: to investigate the fundamental principles of cooking so that you become a

better cook. It is as simple as that.

You can watch us work (in our actual test kitchen) by tuning in to America’s

Test Kitchen (AmericasTestKitchen.com) or Cook’s Country from America’s

Test Kitchen (CooksCountryTV.com) on public television, or by subscribing to

Cook’s Illustrated magazine (CooksIllustrated.com) or Cook’s Country magazine

(CooksCountry.com), which are each published every other month. We welcome

you into our kitchen, where you can stand by our side as we test our way to the

best recipes in America.

Contents

Preface By Christopher Kimball

Welcome to America’s Test Kitchen

Navigating This E-book

Introduction

The Science of Measuring

The Science of Time and Temperature

The Science of Heat and Cold

The Science of the Senses

The Science of Tools and Ingredients

Recipe Table of Contents

CONCEPT 1: Gentle Heat Prevents Overcooking

CONCEPT 2: High Heat Develops Flavor

CONCEPT 3: Resting Meat Maximizes Juiciness

CONCEPT 4: Hot Food Keeps Cooking

CONCEPT 5: Some Proteins Are Best Cooked Twice

CONCEPT 6: Slow Heating Makes Meat Tender

CONCEPT 7: Cook Tough Cuts Beyond Well-Done

CONCEPT 8: Tough Cuts Like a Covered Pot

CONCEPT 9: A Covered Pot Doesn’t Need Liquid

CONCEPT 10: Bones Add Flavor, Fat, and Juiciness

CONCEPT 11: Brining Maximizes Juiciness in Lean

Meats

CONCEPT 12: Salt Makes Meat Juicy and Skin Crisp

CONCEPT 13: Salty Marinades Work Best

CONCEPT 14: Grind Meat at Home for Tender

Burgers

CONCEPT 15: A Panade Keeps Ground Meat Tender

CONCEPT 16: Create Layers for a Breading That

Sticks

CONCEPT 17: Good Frying Is All About Oil

Temperature

CONCEPT 18: Fat Makes Eggs Tender

CONCEPT 19: Gentle Heat Guarantees Smooth

Custards

CONCEPT 20: Starch Keeps Eggs from Curdling

CONCEPT 21: Whipped Egg Whites Need Stabilizers

CONCEPT 22: Starch Helps Cheese Melt Nicely

CONCEPT 23: Salting Vegetables Removes Liquid

CONCEPT 24: Green Vegetables Like It Hot—Then

Cold

CONCEPT 25: All Potatoes Are Not Created Equal

CONCEPT 26: Potato Starches Can Be Controlled

CONCEPT 27: Precooking Makes Vegetables Firmer

CONCEPT 28: Don’t Soak Beans—Brine ’Em

CONCEPT 29: Baking Soda Makes Beans and Grains

Soft

CONCEPT 30: Rinsing (Not Soaking) Makes Rice

Fluffy

CONCEPT 31: Slicing Changes Garlic and Onion

Flavor

CONCEPT 32: Chile Heat Resides in Pith and Seeds

CONCEPT 33: Bloom Spices to Boost Their Flavor

CONCEPT 34: Not All Herbs Are for Cooking

CONCEPT 35: Glutamates, Nucleotides Add Meaty

Flavor

CONCEPT 36: Emulsifiers Make Smooth Sauces

CONCEPT 37: Speed Evaporation When Cooking

Wine

CONCEPT 38: More Water Makes Chewier Bread

CONCEPT 39: Rest Dough to Trim Kneading Time

CONCEPT 40: Time Builds Flavor in Bread

CONCEPT 41: Gentle Folding Stops Tough Quick

Breads

CONCEPT 42: Two Leaveners Are Often Better than

One

CONCEPT 43: Layers of Butter Make Flaky Pastry

CONCEPT 44: Vodka Makes Pie Dough Easy

CONCEPT 45: Less Protein Makes Tender Cakes,

CONCEPT 46: Creaming Butter Helps Cakes Rise

CONCEPT 47: Reverse Cream for Delicate Cakes

CONCEPT 48: Sugar Changes Texture (and

Sweetness)

CONCEPT 49: Sugar and Time Make Fruit Juicier

CONCEPT 50: Cocoa Powder Delivers Big Flavor

Equipping Your Kitchen

Cookware Materials

What About Nonstick Pans?

Knife Basics

Emergency Ingredient Substitutions

Food Safety

Conversions and Equivalents

The Science of Good Cooking

Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen

the editors at America’s Test Kitchen and Guy Crosby

illustrations by Michael Newhouse and John Burgoyne.

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