tartare

The Magical Avocado Force Field

UPDATE (8-3-2007): As this is one of the most popular posts on tartare, I am going to do a post soon with a guacamole recipe that incorporates a few techniques to fight off the browning. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.

Some time ago, in a discussion about guacamole, the subject of discoloration of avocados came up. Avocados, as even the most casual of cooks would know, brown quickly. All fruits that have little or no acid content have this quality. The person I was talking to then told me about a secret they have for keeping their avocados from going brown on them: when making guacamole, place the avocado pits in the finished product and it will prevent them from turning brown. In the interest of being polite, I smiled and said that I had never heard about that practice before.

I keep a list of things like this that either don't sound correct or seem questionable and invariably, I come across something confirming or debunking. Cut to: I was perusing Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything, a most worthwhile cookbook for any cook. I think it is best for aspiring cooks. Its easy recipes and light food science compliment each other well. Anyway, I chanced upon Bittman's guacamole recipe which includes the following technique:

"Garnish and serve, or tuck the pit(s) back into the mixture, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 4 hours (this will keep the guacamole from turning brown). Remove the pit(s) before garnishing and serving."

When I think about it, it just doesn't seem to make sense. Avocado browns as a result of enzymatic browning. Violating the outside skin and cutting up the fruit releases enzymes which break down into dark brown compounds (actually related to melanin). But somehow, avocado pits must be able to generate a force-field over the guacamole and defeat the action of the enzymes. Wow. Avocados must have some magic pits.

Well, dinner last tonight involved a really pretty guacamole/crab/creme fraiche/baby greens stack for the salad, so I saw my opportunity to test this practice out. I separated some of the guacamole and put it aside with an avocado pit and saran wrap; the other half simply had saran wrap pressed down on it so that there were no air bubbles. And you know what? Don't bother with the pits. Given the underlying science, every single bit of the guacamole would have to be in contact or close proximity with the pit for this to work, if it did indeed work. For guacamole, the best practice note is this: make your guacamole as close to service as is practical, ensure that you have used a reasonable amount of acid in it, and for gosh-sakes -- cover that stuff up by pressing the saran into the surface so you minimize air bubbles.

Call this one debunked, but here is a fairness disclaimer: Mark Bittman's book is really good, a must own and I am sure that his guacamole is wonderful. All cooks have a few little odd beliefs like this. I remember reading a recipe by a well-known and skilled French chef who still believed that meat had pores or something that became seared closed by browning on the outside, which, of course, is not true at all. Browning develops flavors through Maillard reactions and retaining juices has to do with other best practices, but not browning. However, being wrong about the underlying science doesn't preclude superior results and pointing it out doesn't mean that my results would be superior.

UPDATED: My friend Roger C suggests that ascorbic acid's antioxidant properties would be a great way to hold the color. Makes sense to me.

Microwaved Sponges

I have, much to my horror, heard a few theories about how to extend the life of kitchen sponges.  My advice: use them once and then wash them in the washing machine with bleach.  Putting it in the microwave?  I am just not so sure about that.  Let's see where the NY Times takes it:

THE FACTS: For years, it has been said that people looking for an easy way to disinfect their soiled sponges, which can become remarkable germ magnets, can pop them in the microwave. The practice has become common. But is it effective?

Is There Really a Mystery of Turkish Croissants?

An interesting story by Richard Miniter on the Pajamas Media site talks about the author's travel in Turkey and observation that the Turkish croissants he is eating are not crescent-shaped. The significance of this observation is explained by Mr. Miniter to be the following: the French had invented the croissant to celebrate the 1688 Battle of Vienna victory of French and allied European forces over the invading Ottoman Turks (the crescent shape referring to the Ottoman banners and flags).

This piqued my interest. I love interesting stories about food origins and cooking history is full of dishes with unusual names (The French being the primary practitioners here. For example, as Miniter correctly notes in his piece, mayonnaise is commonly believed to be named to commemorate the taking of Port Mahon by the duc de Richelieu in 1756. Revel in that next time you have a roast beef sandwich). I am a bit of a sceptic by nature, so I enjoy investigating just as much as love the odd stories. First, I hadn't heard the story before and wanted to know more. Also, I thought that the date was incorrect as I recollect that the Battle of Vienna took place in 1683 (NOTE: verified this to be the case). And so, I did what I always do when posed with a kitchen tale: I went to the massive kitchen library here at Rancho Deluxe. I started with the Oxford Companion To Food and "Croissant" quickly guided me to "Culinary Mythology" where the topic is treated in some detail. In fact, no support for the light pastry's provenance can be found prior to the "latter half of the 19th century, at the very earliest". The source for this apparent myth is cited as the 1938 edition of the venerable Larousse Gastronomique. Now, I have the 1984 edition, but let's consult it anyway. And what do you know, the entry is still there, except Larousse has it occurring in 1686 in Budapest (Actually, I think it was Buda as Pest was in ruins at that time if I recall correctly):

"This delicious pastry originated in Budapest in 1686, when the Turks were besieging the city. To reach the centre of the town, they dug underground passages. Bakers, working during the night, heard the noise made by the Turks and gave the alarm. The assailants were repulsed and the bakers who had saved the city were granted the privilege of making a special pastry which had to take the form of a crescent in memory of the emblem on the Ottoman flag."

Sounds good, but I think that the claims for Viennese or Hunagarian origins for the croissant are under-proofed.