There are thousands of compounds that make up the taste we know as bitter: coffee, dark chocolate, black licorice, walnuts, hoppy beer, leafy greens like arugula, brassica vegetables like Brussels sprouts and broccoli, grapefruit and other citrus.
You can also generate bitter flavour compounds while cooking by toasting, caramelizing and pushing the Maillard reaction to create a darker colour and more complex flavours.
We have far more bitter receptors than we do salty, sweet or umami — but we differ genetically in our bitter receptors.
So about a third of the population is genetically unable to detect certain bitter compounds because they lack the particular set of taste receptors. And because sweet, salty and sour counteract bitterness, in the absence of those bitters, your experience of salty, sour and sweet will be different.
We talked about it on the Calgary Eyeopener, and ate these salted grapefruit caramels — a great example of contrasting flavours in one bite.
They were made by infusing cream with grated grapefruit zest — the sweetness of the caramel and salt on top offset the bitterness of the grapefruit, allowing a different flavour to come through. They're sweet-salty-bitter-chewy-crunchy (from the flaky salt) and very delicious.
Salted Grapefruit Caramels
This recipe is easily halved if you don't want to make as many. You can chill them in a parchment-lined loaf pan instead.
- 2 cups whipping cream or coconut cream
- Grated zest of 1 large grapefruit (about 2 tbsp)
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup corn syrup or Rogers Golden Syrup
- Pinch of fine salt
- Flaky salt, to finish
In a small saucepan or in a bowl in the microwave, warm the cream with the grapefruit zest until steaming. Set aside while you make the caramel.
In a shallow pot or deep skillet, bring the butter, sugar, syrup and a pinch of fine salt to a boil and cook, swirling the pan often, until it turns a shade darker.
Strain the cream through a fine sieve and add it to the pot — the caramel may splatter and seize up as it quickly cools, but don't sweat it. Continue to cook, stirring to melt any hardened caramel, and cook until it reaches about 238 F on a candy thermometer or forms a soft, chewy ball when you drop a bit into a glass of cold water.
Pour into a parchment-lined 8x8-inch pan and run the tip of a spatula through the surface to break up any bubbles. Let sit until it's starting to set, then sprinkle with flaky salt. It will be too liquidy at first, and the salt could sink — but you want to add it before the caramel cools completely so that it will stick.
Cool completely at room temperature or in the fridge. Once set, cut into squares with an oiled knife and wrap each piece in parchment.
Makes: 64 x 1-inch pieces.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener
"bitter" - Google News
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Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: Offset the bitter taste of election loss - CBC.ca
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