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Food Q&A

Shock your vegetables for great taste, texture

By wire services
Published April 27, 2005

I have watched chefs on TV plunge vegetables into ice water immediately after cooking them. What is the reason for this? Or is it just showmanship?

This is called "shocking" the vegetables. There is a purpose behind it, though it doesn't hurt the image of those TV chefs to do things with a flourish. Home cooks, especially those of the pre-Food Network era, tended to cook vegetables too long, which not only degraded their taste and texture but also boiled away some of their nutrients.

The ice water bath stops the cooking process at the precise point of tenderness the cook desires. Test a couple of pieces, and as soon as that point is reached, you stop any further cooking.

Shocked vegetables are crisper and look fresher and more vibrant. Fully cooked yet still crisp, not mushy: That is the goal.

Should portobellos be skinned?

Portobello mushrooms are common crimini mushrooms allowed to grow to their full size. No mushroom, portobello or any other, should be skinned. Part of their flavor and nutrients may be lost with the skin. If the portobellos you bought have stems, remove them and use for flavoring broths.

Is gelatin really made from horse's hoofs?

We'd love to tell you "neigh," but hoofs are one source of gelatin. The wiggly stuff is made from collagen, distilled from the hides, hoofs, tendons and cartilage of cows, pigs and other vertebrates. Collagen is a protein rich in amino acids. It is boiled, filtered, dried and ground to a powder, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia.

How can you tell when to sift flour, before or after you measure? If a recipe says "2 cups sifted flour," does that mean you sift the flour and then measure out 2 cups? If the recipe says "2 cups flour, sifted," does that mean you measure out 2 cups of flour and then sift that amount?

You hit the nail right on the head. It's important to pay close attention to the exact way the recipe is worded. It can make a difference. "2 cups sifted flour" means, as you said, sift first and then measure. Flour is sifted to remove any clumps and to incorporate air so the wet ingredients will mix thoroughly. When measuring sifted flour, be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level it off with a knife. Be careful not to pack it down, as this will defeat the purpose of sifting. And "2 cups flour, sifted" means measure and then sift. Baking is the more exact of the cooking techniques. It's always best to read and follow a recipe carefully.

[Last modified April 26, 2005, 17:12:00]