On Food and Cooking

Using and Storing Emulsified Sauces Once emulsified sauces have been successfully made, there are two ...

temperatures, surface tension increases, making it more likely that neighboring droplets will coalesce. Butte ...

emulsifier and stabilizer molecules in the sauce, but not for cooked egg sauces that have been overheated an ...

rich but delicate flavor. A ramekin of melted butter in which to dip a morsel of lobster or an artichoke le ...

separating, or the proteins coagulating and curdling. Whole milk is only about 4% fat, so its fat g ...

products, including light cream and sour cream, can’t actually be cooked to make a sauce; they mu ...

the consistency is very thick, almost semisolid. Stirred into a thinner liquid, these reduced creams have e ...

water. Some strains of bacteria also secrete long carbohydrate molecules that further thicken the wa ...

consistency of the butterfat itself, which thanks to its long fat molecules is naturally more sl ...

foam. Pieces or dollops of these flavored butters can then be melted into a rich, flavorful coating ...

you’re starting with water as the continuous phase. As the fat molecules are released into the water, the ...

containing much gelatin or any starch. Incorporating one volume of butter into three volumes of deglazing liquid ...

piece of butter, or 100. The proportions are entirely up to the cook’s taste and needs. The consist ...

forms crystals around 85ºF/30ºC, and the crystals poke through the thin membrane of emulsifiers and fuse w ...

same temperature. Eggs as Emulsifiers As we’ve already seen, cooks can use egg yolks to thicken all kinds of ...

because they carry potentially artery-blocking cholesterol). LDLs are particles made up of emulsifying pro ...

Fresh out of the refrigerator, the various yolk particles move only sluggishly and don’t coat the fat dropl ...

Oil droplets in mayonnaise. A view through an electron microscope. Protein and emulsifier molecules a ...

is oil — and is usually dense and too stiff to pour. It can be thinned and flavored with various water-based liqu ...

is best treated as a highly perishable food that should be served immediately or kept refrigerated. Making Mayo ...