Marlene Parrish - What Einstein Told His Cook 2

Braising, then, captures the best of two worlds, turning out luscious Maillard-browned and -flavored, gelatin-tenderized dishes that can’t be obtained in any other way.

The triple-helix structure of a collagen molecule. In the presence of heat and moisture, the strands unwind and break apart into coiled fragments, which are molecules of gelatin.

Sidebar Science: Robert’s rules of browning

MUCH CONFUSIONexists between Maillard browning and sugar browning or caramelization. Both a sugar molecule’s carbonyl group and a protein molecule’s amino group must be present if Maillard browning, also known as sugar-amine browning, is to take place. Heat accelerates the Maillard browning reactions, but they can take place at temperatures as low as 122ºF (50ºC). The reactions can even proceed slowly at room temperature, such as when foods turn brown from age.

In contradistinction, the browning of pure sugar or other carbohydrates at temperatures higher than about 250°F (120°C)—in the absence of an amino acid or other nitrogen-containing compound—takes place by a completely different set of complex chemical reactions, called caramelization . Many chefs seem to love the world caramelize , and use it indiscriminately to describe any food that turns brown upon being cooked. But meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, and other protein-containing foods do not caramelize. They simply brown . Not as fancy a word, perhaps, but accurate.

A third kind of food browning, enzymatic browning , is caused by enzymes in the food. The surface of a cut apple or pear turns brown because of the release of enzymes from the fruit’s ruptured cells.

THE FOODIE’S FICTIONARY:Collagen—a brand of canned chicken broth

Osso Buco

This is one of the best (and most delicious) illustrations of how collagen in the tough connective tissues in meat surrounding a bone turns into soft, smooth gelatin under the influence of moist heat.

Use your heaviest Dutch oven, preferably of enameled cast iron, to make this dish. When shopping, make sure that the bone of each piece of veal has a soft center full of marrow. Some bones do not. Give each diner a small, narrow knife (a lobster pick works in a pinch) to use for removing the creamy marrow. When spread on toast and sprinkled with salt and pepper, marrow is a treat. Serve the shanks with Baked Polenta (chapter 5) and pass crusty peasant bread.

4 to 6 meaty, bone-in veal shanks, each 8 to 12 ounces and about 2 inches thick

About ½ cup all-purpose flour

About 4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 anchovy fillet

4 cloves garlic, sliced

2 small carrots, peeled and sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 celery stalk, diced

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup tomato purée

GREMOLATA:

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1.Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2.Coat the veal shanks with flour on both sides, shaking off any excess. Place a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium heat for 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 2 veal shanks and brown for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, seasoning them with salt and pepper as they brown. Do not crowd the pan. Remove them to a plate, add the remaining 2 veal shanks to the pot, and repeat. The browning for all 4 shanks will take a total of 15 to 20 minutes.

3.Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the anchovy filet to the pot, mashing the anchovy into the oil. Add the garlic, carrots, onion, and celery, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until soft.

4.Add the veal shanks in a single layer, nestling them into the vegetables. Combine the wine and tomato purée in a small bowl, then pour the mixture over the meat and vegetables.

5.Cover the Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven. Cook for 11/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone and the juices are reduced. If the mixture starts to dry out during cooking, add a small amount of wine or water.

6.Make the gremolata : Just before serving, combine the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest in a small bowl.

7.When ready to serve, remove the meat to a warmed deep platter and cover to keep warm. Some cooks like to strain the sauce, but others prefer to keep the vegetables as they are, so strain it if you like. Stir the gremolata into the sauce and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Place the pot over medium heat and simmer for 2 minutes.

8.Pour the sauce over the meat. Serve right away.

MAKES 4 GENEROUS SERVINGS

Sidebar Science: Why browning?

WHEN WEbrown our steaks in a skillet or on the grill, why aren’t we “greening” or “redding” them?

First, let’s remember that the color brown is simply an intense yellow. Thus, we’re actually “intensely yellowing” our foods—that is, using heat to create high concentrations of yellow chemical compounds.

Okay, now why yellow? A substance appears yellow because it absorbs primarily blue light out of the all-color spectrum of sunlight—what we call “white light.” Having had some of its blue removed, the light reflected back to our eyes is richer in its complementary color, yellow.

But why do our “browned” foods absorb mainly blue light? (Stick with me; we’re getting closer.)

When a molecule absorbs a “piece” of visible light energy (a photon ), it is the molecule’s electrons that do the absorbing, in the process being promoted to a higher state of energy—being kicked upstairs, so to speak. The electrons in different molecules have different finicky preferences for the specific amounts of energy they will absorb—the specific numbers of stair steps that they are willing to be kicked up—and therefore the specific energies of light that they are willing and able to absorb. That’s quantum theory.

The polymeric chemical compounds produced in the Maillard and caramelizing reactions are made up of very large molecules that hold on to their electrons rather tightly and that, as a consequence, can absorb primarily the higher-energy photons of light. The highest-energy light of all the colors that human eyes can see is blue, and when it is absorbed, the remaining light looks yellow—or, if it is more intense, brown.

STOCK OPTIONS

Cookbooks tell me that when making a stock I should always start with the bones and vegetables in cold water, because cold water brings out more flavor. That doesn’t sound right to me. Don’t most substances dissolve better in hot water than in cold?

Yes, they do. Just see how flavorful a stock you’d get by soaking the ingredients for hours in cold water, without ever simmering them. Or try making a cup of tea with cold water—in a respectable amount of time, that is.

On second thought, don’t. You’ve heard of “natural,” “environmentally friendly” sun tea? It’s made by placing tea bags in cold water in a glass jar and placing the jar in direct sunlight to brew for several hours. Well, warm water—up to 175°F (79°C)—containing organic matter is a good breeding ground for bacteria. And of course, the “warm, gentle rays of the sun” add nothing to the brew except poetry. To be perfectly safe, always make your tea with water that’s hotter than 195°F (91°C).