Posts Tagged ‘molecular’

You did what?!

// May 25th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

Tin Chef Chuck

As many of you may know, I am very interested in disaster preparedness and survival skills.  In fact, my love of cooking dates back to my Boy Scout days.  As I have honed my culinary skills, fine tuned my taste buds, and graduated above and beyond the fast food binges of my youth, I started to ask things like where does my food come from?  I started to question things like quality and nutrition.  I have been blessed for most of my life to have not been overly concerned with how much my food cost.  Sure there were those college days of ramen noodles and bologna, but for most of my adult life, I went to the grocery store or the restaurant and ordered or bought what I wanted.  That really hasn’t changed, but it may.  And that bothers me.

If you have read some of my other blogs or looked at my other site, Toledo Tactical, you know that I feel the economy is going to implode.  I just don’t understand how we can keep going the way we are.  I don’t understand how we can divert so much of our food producing resources to make biodiesel fuel.  Never mind how much energy needs inputted into the system or how much carbon dioxide is generated to get one gallon of biodiesel.  Oil prices are going to continue to rise- period.  Yes I know they are dropping a little, that’s because of a transient drop in demand from the record high prices, so enjoy it while you can.  If oil goes up, so will food.  I am learning that it is much more complex than that.  I encourage you to read the article The New Geopolitics of Food by Lester R. Brown.

So where is this going?  First, I think prices are going to go up.  A lot.  Second, I think at some point, the fundamental way that we live is going to change drastically.  Finally, if there is any disruption in our food supply, the proverbial poop is going to hit the fan.  This disruption can be natural or manmade.  We just put a bullet in Bin Laden’s head, I am sure somebody is looking for revenge.  Half of our country is flooded and the other half is being devastated by tornadoes.  And the other half is either in a drought or out of water.  OK, I know, that’s 3 halves, but you get my point!  I may not like what’s coming, but I am not going to bury my head in the sand.  I am going to plan and prepare.

Part of my preparation is that I recently purchased and hand powered grain mill and I high end vacuum sealer.  And I ordered a fair amount of 5 gallon buckets of beans, rice, and various grains. (I can’t wait to see the look on my wife’s and office manager’s face when this gets delivered.  I feel sorry for the poor FedEx guy!)  I never knew that most of the vitamins are lost within 24 hours from flour once it’s ground.  Sure, I know that whole grain is better for you and all that, but even the “healthy” stuff I buy isn’t really that healthy.  I am really looking forward to grinding my own flour from different grains and making really fresh pasta and bread.  I know this is one hundred and eighty degrees from my “molecular gastronomy”, but I am really looking forward to my new experiments.  If anybody has any advice or recipes, PLEASE share them with us.  On a different note, I found it somewhat interesting that almost everything I ordered is sold out and on back order for weeks to months.  Maybe I am not the only one with this idea!  If you are interested in getting your own food stash, check out Pleasant Hill Grains, after a lot of research, I think they have the best stuff and reasonable prices.

TC Chuck

Tin Chef Chuck & Sous Vide

// February 8th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

Tin Chef Chuck

Sous vide is French for “under vacuum”.  It was first used by the French in the 1970’s and is beginning to become more popular in the states.  Sous vide uses a low temperature water bath with a very precise temperature range. It hasn’t really been adopted into the home kitchen for a couple of reasons, mainly the expense.  Sous vide machines were initially adapted from science supply house lab equipment, which tended to be pricey.  Also, the home vacuum machines didn’t work as well, requiring commercial sealing equipment.  So a basic setup would cost several thousand dollars.  Fortunately, there are now a few home units available for a much more reasonable price.   I recently picked up the Sous Vide Supreme on Amazon for under four hundred dollars and I am using my cheapo vacuum sealer for now, although I must admit I have my eye on the VacMaster VP210C Dry Piston Pump Chamber Machine.

As is usually the case with me, it was an impulse purchase.  My wife, Tin Chef Steve’s wife and several of the girls in my office have recently been doing the HCG diet thing.  And I must say they all look great- but do you have any idea how hard it is to cook 100 grams of chicken, fish or lean red meat with no fat of any kind?  A little lemon juice and seasoning- that’s it.  I was inspired when I watched her cut up and weigh the meats in 100 gram portion and then place in regular zip lock bag.  Over cooking a few of the little portions helped trigger my impulse- voila, two days later I was unpacking my machine.

The idea of sous vide cooking is that you cook the food at a relatively low temperature for a longer period of time.  If you want your steak medium rare, the goal is to get the center pink at 131°F.  Normally you need to cook the steak at higher temperatures which creates a “bull’s eye” effect, hotter at the surface with gradually decreasing temperatures towards the center.  That said, the outer portion is also closer to well done.  Sous vide gets everything perfectly cooked.  Once done, you can quickly sear the outside to brown the meat, also known as the Maillard reaction.  The Maillard reaction occurs when the denatured proteins on the surface combine with the sugars present, creating that wonderful “meaty” flavor and changes the color. High temperature, low moisture levels, and alkaline conditions all promote the Maillard reaction.  In cooking, low moisture levels are necessary mainly because water boils into steam at 212° F (100° C), whereas the Maillard reaction happens noticeably around 310° F (154° C).  Browning of food does not occur until all surface water is vaporized. When meat is cooked, the outside reaches a higher temperature than the inside, triggering the Maillard reaction and creating the strongest flavors on the surface.  With sous vide, the Maillard reaction will never occur, thus the extra step is needed.

Cooking tenderizes food by breaking down its internal structure. This process happens faster at higher temperatures. Because sous vide is done at such low temperatures the cooking time needs to be increased to achieve the same tenderization as traditional techniques.  Although it takes time, tougher cuts of meat (and cheaper) can really come out amazing.  I have cooked lamb and beef so far, but I have some short ribs ready to go.  The sous vide technique allows you to cook tough cuts of meat at an incredibly low temperature, allowing you to tenderize them while remaining perfectly medium-rare.  This is very effective for roasts and other pieces of meat that I usually braise or roast, but often dry out or get overcooked in the process.  So for my short ribs, I have read that it may take up to 36 hours.  I will let you know how that works.  Although possible, it is much harder to overcook things as well.  Another advantage of sous vide.

Obviously, this isn’t quite a “Rachel Ray” thirty minute meal.  It will take a little pre-planning;  kind of tough for my personality, but I’m working on it.

My first Sous Vide Experience

I picked up a few really nice filet mignon cuts, a lamb steak, and some short ribs.  For the HCG diet, I cut the filets into about ¾ inch slices, which came amazing close to 100 grams.  I adjusted the weights and sealed each in a vacuum bag with various spices.  I really mixed it up- Cajun, garlic, thyme and a few other combinations.  For the lamb, I tossed in some Herbes de Provence.  I tossed the bags into my Sous Vide Supreme set at 132° F for about 2 ½ hours.  I then dropped one filet into a hot nonstick pan to quickly brown them.  Pretty darn good…  And my wife has 5 other meals in a bag ready to go.  I am looking forward to the short ribs and I can’t wait to start playing with eggs.  Now that I think about it-  I bet I can come up with a pretty amazing Jigs Dinner…

Tin Chef Chuck

Molecular Gastronomy: Part II with Tapioca Maltodextrin

// June 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Blog, Recipes

Tin Chef Chuck

Tapioca maltodextrin-  My tapioca maltodextrin finally came this week.  I used a few of the basic recipes which you can find on the Khymos site.  I made 3 different powders using Nutello, olive oil and bacon fat.  They all came out well and were really easy to do.  This is one “molecular” cooking technique in which you really don’t need to be all that precise.  I used the food processor for the nutello and a whisk for the liquids.  Add the maltodextrin until you achieve a texture you like.  For those of you who have never heard of this, tapioca maltodextrin is a very fine powder (can be a bit messy) that binds with oils.  The cool thing is when it’s exposed to liquid, it completely dissolves, leaving the original substance.  It has no taste what-so-ever.  You can use it to add a unique flavorful garnish to a lot of dishes.  So when you put it in your mouth, it melts away leaving the olive oil or bacon taste and texture.  It’s not meant to be eaten alone, but Lydia would have eaten all of my bacon fat powder if I would have let her.  As a cardiologist, I really can’t condone that.  So any way, give it a try and let us know what you think.  If you are just starting out, I would suggest buying a starter kit first.  Amazon has on for $32.00 and it has small amount of several things to play with.

I am now waiting for my electronic scale (with 0.1 gram accuracy) and my magnetic stirrer hotplate and glass beakers.  My kitchen is starting to look like me 7th grade science glass.  If Mrs. Miller could see me now…  Enjoy, CJG

A Little More About Our Story

// May 17th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Blog

OK, now for a little background. Toledo Tin Chef’s has evolved from several ideas and interest that the three of us share. My name is Chuck Gbur, I am an interventional cardiologist from Toledo, Ohio. Josh Wagy was my neighbor a few years back. Steve Hockenberger’s wife Lydia was a pharmaceutical rep who called on my wife and I (My wife, Carolyn, is a cardiologist too). Lydia and Carolyn became friends, and it turned out they lived just down the street from Josh and I, eventually Steve and I became friends as well. As it turned out, all three of us enjoyed cooking. Josh’s girlfriend is Emily. Her parents own Caper’s and she runs the show there. More about Caper’s later. One summer night we decided to grill out as a group and voila, the next thing you know I am typing this blog. Of course, something good always happens when you mix 1 part charcoal, a splash of charcoal lighting fluid, 1 part meat and 2-3 parts beer.

I recently have gotten into the weird science stuff… Now I am no Ferran Adria, but I am finally putting all of those years of chemistry class to use. By the way, if you are interested in trying this stuff, the best reference by far is “Texture“. It is a free recipe collection and can be found by click on the link above. It is really pretty cool and there seems to be no limit on what you can do. It does take a little practice though, I have some really good looking caviar that didn’t taste so well, and some globs of goo that tasted wonderful, but was too ugly to take a picture of.   By the way, Josh and I both are also into photography.  Josh also does the majority of graphic design stuff. He is definitely much better at food presentation and all that artsy stuff.

This weekend I made it downtown to The Farmer’s Market. If you haven’t been there, you really need to go. I spoke with Mike Billau from Billau Farms in Ottawa Lake. Mike and his son Shawn are 4th and 5th generation farmers. There family has been selling locally grown produce for 5 generations.

Toledo's Farmers' Market

The market is just getting ramped up for the season, but it really is worth visiting. We will be holding a cooking demonstration sometime later this summer, so look out for us.

We did get together to cook this weekend.

Deconstructed blueberry vodka martini

I am showing my deconstructed martini, but I have a lot more that I will post later. I also plan to publish a review of a few cookbooks that I recently finished reading and I feel are well worth reading. Of course, the free one (Texture) listed above is a great reference source, so make sure you download the file. The molecular stuff is a lot harder than it looks, so don’t get discouraged. I made several batches of vodka flubber way before I came up with anything that was worth a picture. Of course, not wanting to waste good vodka, I ate my mistakes, so that may explain why it took so long to come close to an acceptable result.

Anyway, much more to come, so please pop in often. Make sure you twit us on tweeter or tweet us on twitter, what ever. I still need to tell you how I came up with Toledo Tin Chef’s and what we are trying to do. To be honest, I am not sure any of us know where this is going to take us. For now, we are just 3 regular guys who cook, like to take pictures, and know enough about computers to get this thing up and running. Anyway, more pictures and recipes to come, but for now I need to get back to my day job… CJG