What Einstein Told His Cook Read Online Free Page A
Author: Robert L. Wolke
molasses. The less-refined, browner sugars from earlier stages in the process are more flavorful because of the traces of molasses that they contain. Whether you use light brown or the slightly stronger-flavored dark brown sugar in a recipe is purely a matter of taste.
Many brown sugars sold today in the supermarket are manufactured by spraying molasses onto refined white sugar, rather than by stopping the refining process in midstream. Domino and C&H brown sugars are still made in the traditional way, however.
My point is this: In raw cane juice you have a mixture of sucrose plus all the other components of cane that end up in the molasses. When the molasses components are removed, will someone please explain to me how the remaining pure sucrose suddenly becomes evil and unhealthful? When we eat the more “healthful,” browner sugars, we’re eating just as much sucrose along with the molasses residues. Why isn’t the sucrose evil in that form?
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Refined, Divine, and Superfine
Meringue Kisses
T hese crunchy confections are almost pure refined, white sugar; its superfine granulation makes it dissolve quickly in the egg white. Meringues are notorious for picking up moisture from the air, so make these on a dry day only.
Why are they called kisses? They are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses Chocolates, but Hershey admits that they aren’t sure where the name came from.
This recipe is for three egg whites. But whenever you have a number of extra egg whites on hand, use this formula: For each 1 egg white, add a pinch of cream of tartar, beat in 3 tablespoons superfine sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla. After beating, fold in 1 tablespoon superfine sugar. Then continue with step 3.
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
12 tablespoons superfine sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1. Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small, deep bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar using a hand-held or electric mixer until they hold a shape. Gradually beat in 9 tablespoons of sugar and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Beat in the vanilla. Using a spatula, fold in the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar.
3. Put ½ teaspoon of the meringue mixture under each of the four corners of the parchment paper to keep it from skidding. Drop teaspoonfuls of the meringue mixture onto the paper-covered cookie sheets. If you want to be fancy, put the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe out the kisses.
4. Bake for 60 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to remain in the cooling oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes, and store in airtight containers, where the meringues will stay crisp almost indefinitely.
MAKES ABOUT 40
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A SUPERFINE GLASS OF TEA
To sweeten my iced tea quickly, I added powdered sugar. But it turned into gummy lumps. What happened?
G ood try, but you used the wrong sugar.
Ordinary table sugar is “granulated,” meaning that it consists of individual granules or grains, each of which is a single crystal of pure sucrose. But when pulverized into a fine powder, sugar tends to pick up moisture from the air and cake. (Techspeak: sugar is hygroscopic.) To prevent this, the manufacturers of powdered sugar add about 3 percent of cornstarch. It’s the starch that gummed up your tea, because it won’t dissolve in cold water.
What you should have used is superfine or ultrafine sugar, which is not a powder in the strict sense. It consists of tinier crystals than those in ordinary granulated sugar, and it therefore dissolves more easily. It’s used by bartenders because it dissolves quickly in cold mixed drinks and by bakers (it’s sometimes called baker’s sugar) because it blends and melts faster than ordinary granulated sugar.
ROCK SALT SÍ, ROCK SUGAR NO!
My brown sugar has
Many brown sugars sold today in the supermarket are manufactured by spraying molasses onto refined white sugar, rather than by stopping the refining process in midstream. Domino and C&H brown sugars are still made in the traditional way, however.
My point is this: In raw cane juice you have a mixture of sucrose plus all the other components of cane that end up in the molasses. When the molasses components are removed, will someone please explain to me how the remaining pure sucrose suddenly becomes evil and unhealthful? When we eat the more “healthful,” browner sugars, we’re eating just as much sucrose along with the molasses residues. Why isn’t the sucrose evil in that form?
----
Refined, Divine, and Superfine
Meringue Kisses
T hese crunchy confections are almost pure refined, white sugar; its superfine granulation makes it dissolve quickly in the egg white. Meringues are notorious for picking up moisture from the air, so make these on a dry day only.
Why are they called kisses? They are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses Chocolates, but Hershey admits that they aren’t sure where the name came from.
This recipe is for three egg whites. But whenever you have a number of extra egg whites on hand, use this formula: For each 1 egg white, add a pinch of cream of tartar, beat in 3 tablespoons superfine sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla. After beating, fold in 1 tablespoon superfine sugar. Then continue with step 3.
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
12 tablespoons superfine sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1. Preheat the oven to 250ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small, deep bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar using a hand-held or electric mixer until they hold a shape. Gradually beat in 9 tablespoons of sugar and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Beat in the vanilla. Using a spatula, fold in the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar.
3. Put ½ teaspoon of the meringue mixture under each of the four corners of the parchment paper to keep it from skidding. Drop teaspoonfuls of the meringue mixture onto the paper-covered cookie sheets. If you want to be fancy, put the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe out the kisses.
4. Bake for 60 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to remain in the cooling oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes, and store in airtight containers, where the meringues will stay crisp almost indefinitely.
MAKES ABOUT 40
----
A SUPERFINE GLASS OF TEA
To sweeten my iced tea quickly, I added powdered sugar. But it turned into gummy lumps. What happened?
G ood try, but you used the wrong sugar.
Ordinary table sugar is “granulated,” meaning that it consists of individual granules or grains, each of which is a single crystal of pure sucrose. But when pulverized into a fine powder, sugar tends to pick up moisture from the air and cake. (Techspeak: sugar is hygroscopic.) To prevent this, the manufacturers of powdered sugar add about 3 percent of cornstarch. It’s the starch that gummed up your tea, because it won’t dissolve in cold water.
What you should have used is superfine or ultrafine sugar, which is not a powder in the strict sense. It consists of tinier crystals than those in ordinary granulated sugar, and it therefore dissolves more easily. It’s used by bartenders because it dissolves quickly in cold mixed drinks and by bakers (it’s sometimes called baker’s sugar) because it blends and melts faster than ordinary granulated sugar.
ROCK SALT SÍ, ROCK SUGAR NO!
My brown sugar has
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