Traca, Charley, Steve, anyone? What does "compressed endive as referenced in cooking mean?
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steve2-in-la
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Not sure exactly but here's a picture . . . looks to me like the leaves are flattened somehow. Can't
figure out why, though. If you find out, let me know?
figure out why, though. If you find out, let me know?
From what I gather, the technique uses a vacuum sealed bag to compress and
collapse the cell walls. I believe it concentrates and intensifies the flavors by removing air and some liquid.
Here's something I found:
I can't vouch for Keller's system but several chefs in France do "compressed endive leaves" simply by sprinkling them over generously with coarse Brittany salt and then placing the individual leaves under a quite heavy weight for about 20 minutes. After compression the leaves are rinsed quickly with barely warm water to eliminate exess salt. I believe (but am not certain) that the salt interacting with the natural liquids of the leaves that are released under pressure to inhibit oxidation and browning.
>> Then this recipe says: Cut the peeled melon into quarters and cut out the seeds. Season the melon lightly with salt and then place into a vacuum bag. Vacuum compress the melon in the machine on the highest setting. The melon will transform from pale green to a translucent emerald green. When the melon is compressed, open the bag and pat the melon dry.
>>Another part of a multi-step recipe says to compress melon, then blend it. Next, put the soup in a vacuum chamber to remove the air bubbles. The color will shift from pale orange to intense orange.
http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/recipes/
collapse the cell walls. I believe it concentrates and intensifies the flavors by removing air and some liquid.
Here's something I found:
I can't vouch for Keller's system but several chefs in France do "compressed endive leaves" simply by sprinkling them over generously with coarse Brittany salt and then placing the individual leaves under a quite heavy weight for about 20 minutes. After compression the leaves are rinsed quickly with barely warm water to eliminate exess salt. I believe (but am not certain) that the salt interacting with the natural liquids of the leaves that are released under pressure to inhibit oxidation and browning.
>> Then this recipe says: Cut the peeled melon into quarters and cut out the seeds. Season the melon lightly with salt and then place into a vacuum bag. Vacuum compress the melon in the machine on the highest setting. The melon will transform from pale green to a translucent emerald green. When the melon is compressed, open the bag and pat the melon dry.
>>Another part of a multi-step recipe says to compress melon, then blend it. Next, put the soup in a vacuum chamber to remove the air bubbles. The color will shift from pale orange to intense orange.
http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/recipes/
I looked it up in Thomas Keller's book "Under Pressure." Here's what he says...
Compression is our newest sous vide technique, discovered (if you will) by Mark Hopper, chef de cuisine at Bouchon in Las Vegas. We use it lamos exclusively to change the texture of food, specifically porous fruits such as pineapple and melon. Compression, which requires a great deal of pressure, can transform a crisp, light bite of fruit into a dense, almost meaty one. We also compress cucumbers, celery, and tomatoes.
A secondary effect of compression is what might be called "setting" -- in other words, using the pressure to bring a food to a specific shape and maintain it so that when it's briefly cooked, the food sets in that shape but remains raw inside. It can then be finished using another cooking method without loosing its shape. We set the shapes of different fish and meat this way--a loing of rabbit wrapped in cacon, a piece of delicate St. Peter's fish (John Dory), a sfuffed squab breast."
Compression is our newest sous vide technique, discovered (if you will) by Mark Hopper, chef de cuisine at Bouchon in Las Vegas. We use it lamos exclusively to change the texture of food, specifically porous fruits such as pineapple and melon. Compression, which requires a great deal of pressure, can transform a crisp, light bite of fruit into a dense, almost meaty one. We also compress cucumbers, celery, and tomatoes.
A secondary effect of compression is what might be called "setting" -- in other words, using the pressure to bring a food to a specific shape and maintain it so that when it's briefly cooked, the food sets in that shape but remains raw inside. It can then be finished using another cooking method without loosing its shape. We set the shapes of different fish and meat this way--a loing of rabbit wrapped in cacon, a piece of delicate St. Peter's fish (John Dory), a sfuffed squab breast."