can seem strong and odd. The inclusion of
other aromatics can help mask this effect.
Cooks can exploit the drying quality of
microwave radiation to crisp thin slices of
fruits and vegetables. This is best done at a
low power setting so that the heating is gentle
and even, and doesn’t rapidly progress to
browning or burning. When there’s little
water left in a patch of tissue, it takes more
energy to break it free, so the local boiling
point rises to a temperature high enough to
break apart carbohydrates and proteins, and
this causes browning and then blackening.
Pulverizing and Extracting
In addition to preparing fruits and vegetables
more or less as is, with their tissue structure
intact, cooks often deconstruct them
completely. In some preparations, we blend
the contents of the plant cells with the walls
that normally separate and contain them. In