Cooking Hints and Tips
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Sweeteners | |
 Sugar
Mix several cups of granulated sugar (especially good with the superfine) with your choice of 3-4 split vanilla beans, the zest of 4 lemons or a good handful of mint leaves. Let them sit at least a month in a tightly covered glass jar, stirring about once a week. Voila! Flavored sugar! If you just take a few spoonful out, add that much plain sugar in and keep the "pot" going until the essential oils are exhausted. Flavored mints, like chocolate mint will work, as will flavored geranium leaves, etc. "Showy Sugar" By Kristin Browning-Blas, Denver Post Food Editor Wednesday, December 12, 2001 Sharp sugar shards thrust upward from a piece of cake. Meringues balance on a caramel teeter-totter. Golden curlicues encircle a creme brulee. Colorful ribbons, corkscrews and shards are just a few of the decorative effects possible with spun sugar. These glasslike creations may look like a pastry chef spent hours shaping them. They could easily be the latest desserts at the trendiest restuarant, but real-life home cooks can make them in an hour or so. Most of the time is spent watching the sugar boil - you don't even have to stir. To make these showy dessert accessories, you need a few special but easy-to-find tools: candy thermometer, heavy saucepan, pastry brush and parchment paper. As far as ingredients, you'll need sugar, clear corn syrup (not "lite"), cream of tartar and water. You can use any type of white sugar, but the new Baker's Sugar from C&H is ideal because it is fine and very clean, says San Francisco pastry chef Elizabeth Falkner. According to C&H, Baker's Sugar crystals are smaller than regular sugar and result in a better-quality baked good. If you've ever ground up sugar in the blender to achieve the same effect, this is an alternative. Before you begin cooking, prepare the work surface. You'll need a non-stick, flat surface. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray. Do not use waxed paper - the sugar will stick. Silicone mats such as Sil-Pat also work. If you plan to make spun sugar, leave room around your work area for spatters. Mix the sugar, water, corn syrup and cream of tartar in a deep 2-quart pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and do not stir. Stirring encourages the sugar to re-crystallize, which results in a gritty, dull spun sugar instead of smooth and glossy. The acidic cream of tartar also helps the sugar syrup stay smooth. Once it has come to a boil, wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. This returns any stray crystals to the syrup and gives you something to do while you watch it boil. The syrup needs to boil for about 40 to 50 minutes to reach the caramel stage, between 330 and 335 degrees. Altitude will affect how the sugar cooks, says Carol Schultz, an agent with Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. The rule of thumb is to reduce the final temperature by 2 degrees for every 1,000 feet above sea level, she says. So, if the original recipe says to boil until the mixture reaches 330 degrees, a Mile High cook would boil it to 320 degrees. Once the syrup has reached the caramel stage, remove it from the heat to a folded towel or hot pad next to the work area. Now the fun begins. With a simple caramelized syrup, you can make abstract drizzles that look like messy morning hair, golden Shirley Temple ringlets and amber "stained glass." Once you become more adept at wielding the spatula, you might try making Harry Potter lightning bolts, stars or other designs. To make spun sugar - the easiest version - let the syrup thicken slightly. Dip a narrow metal spatula into the syrup, letting the excess drip back into the pan. Then lift the spatula over the work surface and flick it quickly back and forth. You'll get a thin scribble of crunchy threads. Sugar cages or bowls are easy, too. Lightly spray the bottom of a bowl or cup with cooking spray. Go easy; too much will cause the syrup to slip right off. Drizzle the caramel in a tic-tac-toe pattern to create a basket. You can add swirls and loop-de-loops around the edges. Wait for the caramel to harden, from 10 seconds to one minute, then cup your hand around the basket and lift it off. Set it on the work surface to finish hardening. For glassy shards, pour syrup onto a prepared sheet. (Make sure it is completely flat so the syrup doesn't pool unevenly.) Sprinkle with coffee beans or toasted nuts and allow to cool completely. Break the hardened sheet into shards to use as elegant decorations. Caramel corkscrews take a little more practice. The key here is to let the syrup cool until it is thick enough to hold its shape, but not so cool that it hardens right away. "You have to be patient and on top of it," says Falkner. "Timing is everything." Have the work surface close by to hold the fragile finished spirals. Dip a spoon into the caramel and swirl it until a small amount sticks to the spoon. Use the spoon to pull a thread of syrup out of the pan. Wrap the thread around another wooden spoon handle or knife-sharpening steel. When you get to the end of the handle, push the corkscrew off the end onto the work surface. Don't give up after the first failed attempts. Once you get the wrist motion and direction of wrapping down, you'll be having so much fun, you'll make a box spring's worth of boingy sugar. If the sugar gets too cool, reheat it gently over a double boiler. If you pour it from the pan into a microwave-safe bowl while it's still hot, Falkner says you can zap it about 30 seconds in the microwave. Make extras to allow for breakage and use them to decorate just about any holiday dessert. Falkner says she uses sugar art with plated desserts in her restaurant, Citizen Cake Patisserie Cafe. Falkner likes the contrast of the crunchy caramelized sugar with cold, creamy sorbet or creme brulee. Dress up cupcakes with a spiral or a lightning bolt. A coffee-bean-studded shard turns a simple piece of cake into a showoff. Basic Showy Sugar: "Use this recipe for spun sugar, shards, corkscrews, baskets and teeter-totters. Makes about 2 3/4 cups syrup." Ingredients: 1 cup cold water 4 1/2 cups Baker's Sugar 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsps light corn syrup (clear, not "lite") 1/8 tsp cream of tartar Directions: Fill a bowl large enough to fit the base of the pan with enough cold water to reach halfway up the side of the pan. This will be used for cooling the mixture later. Place the ice water, sugar, corn syrup and cream of tartar in a deep saucepan. Over low heat, stir the mixture gently until all sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium and bring the syrup to a boil. This takes about 20 minutes. Skim off any impurities that form on top of the syrup. This will keep the sugar from re-crystallizing later. Wash down any sugar crystals or impurities that form on the sides of the pan with a clean brush dipped in water. Continue cooking the sugar, without stirring. When the sugar begins to change from clear to light amber, insert the candy thermometer in the pan. For colored sugar, add water-soluble food coloring when the heated syrup reaches 265 degrees. Continue cooking, without stirring. When the temperature reaches 330 degrees (after about 50 minutes more) and is medium-brown in color, remove pan from heat and set in ice water. (Do not let any of the water splash into the caramel.) Keep immersed in water until bubbles have subsided. Remove pan from water and set on dry towel. Use this mixture to form sugar art. Sugar SubstitutesSugar alcohols, also known as polyols, are used in a variety of sugar-free foods and are found naturally in some fruits and vegetables. They are often called sugar replacers because they replace sugar in a recipe. People mistakenly think they can consume all they want of food labeled as "sugar-free" or "no sugar added" and not have the effects of bloating or an expanding waistline. Sugar alcohols provide fewer calories than sugar, but a greater amount is needed to produce the same sweetness. Therefore, the sugar-free product will contain close to the same number of calories as its sugar-containing counterpart. Consumers should look at the Nutrition Facts label to assess the calorie content. It may have more calories than you think. The most common sugar alcohols include sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and isomalt. Sorbitol is naturally found in fruits and berries. It not only provides sweetness to products, it also acts as a moisture-stabilizer to protect products from becoming dry. Manufacturers use it in candies, frozen desserts, cookies, cakes and fillings. Mannitol, found naturally in pineapples, olives, asparagus, carrots and sweet potatoes, is often used as a dusting powder for chewing gum and in chocolate-flavored coatings for ice cream and candies. Xylitol occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables and mushrooms. We typically see it in chewing gums. Isomalt is used in hard candies, lollipops, fudge and cough drops. It is frequently used in products that also contain intense sweeteners, such as aspartame or saccharin. The advantage of this combination is that isomalt masks the bitter aftertaste of some of these sweeteners. Sugar alcohols are absorbed into the bloodstream at a slower rate than sugar, so they do not cause a spike in blood sugar levels. This is beneficial to those with diabetes because less insulin is needed to break down the sugar alcohols. However, if consumed in excess, sugar alcohols can cause blood sugar to rise significantly. These alcohols (especially xylitol) inhibit bacterial growth in the mouth, which decreases the risk of developing cavities. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the health claim "does not promote tooth decay" in labeling for sugar-free foods that contain sugar alcohols. Although there are benefits to sugar alcohols, there are also drawbacks. Because they are absorbed slowly, over-consumption of sorbitol or mannitol can cause stomach and intestinal discomfort. Diarrhea and gas are common problems. Products that contain sorbitol or mannitol are labeled with a warning about the laxative effect. Some people can't tolerate even small amounts of these products.
 HoneyHoney comes in different flavors and colors, depending on the location, climate and kinds of flowers from which bees forage. It is available in a variety of forms:
Honey should be stored in a dry place at room temperature. All honey tends to crystallize naturally over time. You can dissolve crystals by placing the jar in warm water; or by microwaving 1 cup of honey in a microwave-safe container with the lid removed on high for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Next time your chili or dish is too spicy, add honey to help tame the flavor. You won't notice the sweetness, but it will enhance the flavor. When using honey in cooking, you can generally substitute equal amounts of honey for sugar. However, since honey is a liquid, about seventeen percent water in fact, it's important to make a few adjustments with the recipe. For every cup of honey used, you'll want to reduce the total amount of liquid in the recipe by a quarter of a cup. And when it comes to baking, it's important to lower the temperature of the oven by twenty-five degrees to avoid over-browning. Maple Syrup You'll find many imitation or maple-flavored products on the market, but the real thing is worth the higher pricetag. By definition, maple syrup is syrup made by the evaporation of maple sap or by the solution of maple sugar, and contains not more than approximately 33 to 35 percent water. Imitation maple syrup, usually sold as pancake syrup, must be labeled and generally is made of mostly corn syrup with 2 or 3 percent of pure maple syrup. Some imitations may contain only artificial maple extract. Pure maple syrup is three times as sweet as regular table sugar, whereas maple sugar is twice as sweet. Pure maple syrup should be kept in a cool, dark place for up to two years until opened and then refrigerated after opening where it will last one year. Since pure maple syrup will not freeze if properly made, the freezer is a good place to store it almost indefinitely. Improperly stored maple syrup can grow harmful moldy toxins, in which case you must toss it out. Bring the syrup to room temperature or warm it before serving. The microwave works well for warming maple syrup. Use a microwave-safe container and heat on high from 30 to 60 seconds per 1/2 cup, depending on how cold it is and the power level of your microwave. If you're planning on using pure maple syrup in place of sugar in a baked recipe, use 3/4 cup pure maple syrup for 1 cup of granulated sugar and reduce the dominant liquid in the recipe by 3 Tablespoons for each cup of maple syrup used. Keep in mind that using maple syrup in place of sugar will give a brownish tinge and also cause the baked goods to brown more quickly due to the high sugar content. For substitution of maple syrup in general cooking, use three-fourths the amount of maple syrup as sugar. When substituting maple syrup for honey, use a one to one ratio. Miscellaneous
 MolassesThe thick, dark, sweet syrup whose name is synonymous with slow motion has a rich, colorful history. A byproduct of cane sugar refining, molasses was widely used during the colonial era as a thrifty alternative to costly sugar crystals. Its distinctive flavor and rich color are essential to such traditional New England specialties as Boston baked beans, steamed brown bread, gingerbread, anadama bread, Indian pudding and apple pandowdy. Several kinds of molasses are available. Light molasses, a product of the residue from the first boiling down of sugarcane juice, is mild enough for pouring over pancakes or hot cereal. The second boiling yields a darker molasses, suitable for flavoring baked beans, breads, cakes, cookies and barbecue sauces. The third boiling results in a strong-tasting brownish-black syrup known as blackstrap, more often used as a mineral supplement than sweetener for cooking or baking. Molasses is added to granulated sugar to make brown sugar. |
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