Learning to cook

[Xelene]

So i've always been able to bang up like a simple tomato sauce and bit of mince type food but recently got all nerdy about cooking food and started studying the science and techniques behind it.

I've recently discovered the Maillard reaction, particularly from making some slow cooked pulled pork but it led me onto pan sauces. Previously I learnt about the Mirepoix. I'm currently learning how to make the "Mother" sauces.

What old cooking / chef invention have you discovered and are currently mastering?

 

[Xelene]

One of the things I'm enjoying the most is learning the science behind it all. The reason onions get sweet is you accelerate the conversion of cellulose to sugars by adding heat. It reminds me a bit of an old experiment we did at school. Take a slice of white bread, spit on it and leave for 10 minutes. The enzymes in your saliva start to accelerate the process of converting the starches into sugar.

Basically just spit on everything half an hour before cooking!

 

[Xelene]

Actually, a tiny little bit of garlic is ok in Carbonara. Really should only be enough to provide an interesting little background not though, not a main flavour. Although authentically it should just be pancetta, eggs, parmesan, pasta and black pepper that give the sauce it's flavour.

The egg should be mostly cooked by the heat of the pasta. Carbonara tonight I think

Flash fried slivers of Garlic that are like mini chips will be added tho

 

[Xelene]

Heston springs to mind, should grab his books if you like all the science guff.

He's certainly interesting. Foods way too finicky for me tho I like hearty simple food, but enjoy understanding the processes behind it.

There's a great American website which is devoted to BBQ - and the science of making it taste superb which I really enjoyed reading through.

http://www.amazingribs.com/


Like I said in the first post, i'm really interested in stuff like the Maillard reaction - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction)