It’s hard to let a mention of whipped cream go by without remarking on what an amazing thing it is: a liquid that can be beaten into a kind-of solid using nothing but a little elbow grease. Pretty cool. There are food writers out there who credit its “invention” to a pastry chef by the […]
READ ONOne of the advantages of the blogging software I use is its ability to display the way in which some people arrive at my site. Hit a button that says “Referring Searches” and I can see some of the word combinations that bring joepastry.com up on the big google lists. Some are relevant like “Dobos […]
READ ONSo, we know that the early history of chemical leavening was defined by a search for non-poisonous gas-producing alkalines to combine with non-poisonous acids to produce bubbles. It wasn’t easy. There are hardly any edible alkalines in our collective pantry to begin with. In fact these days there are only two: egg whites and baking […]
READ ONPies, especially portable little hand pies, go back so far in human history, it’s nearly impossible to say when or where they first showed up. As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, they’re just one of those foods that seems to have sprung up independently, all over the world…some ideas are just that […]
READ ONOne of my many imaginary friends just asked me why buttercreams made with vegetable shortening leave that greasy sensation in your mouth when you swallow them. “Manny,” I said, “It’s all about melting points.” The reason real buttercreams are so silky smooth is because they’re made with real butter, and butter has a melting point […]
READ ONOne of my pet peeves is TV chefs throwing the word “carmelization” around everywhere. Sour grapes? Well, yes actually. But just because I’m ticked that Tyler Florence gets to jet around the country making pot-au-feu with pretty single women while I’m sitting at home blogging in my underwear doesn’t mean I’m not entitled to carp […]
READ ONConsistent measurement is the key to consistently great baking. Sadly, the great error that nearly all baking recipes make is in listing ingredients, especially DRY ingredients, by volume instead of by weight. Baking is a precision sport. It therefore demands precision measurement. A scooped cup of all-purpose flour can vary anywhere from 3 to 6 […]
READ ONBelow is a list of Joe Pastry-recommended books. I own almost all of them, and those I don’t I covet. They’re listed in the order I suggest you acquire them. I receive all recommendations with great enthusiasm. Core Books for the Home Pastry Enthusiast: The Cake Bible, Rose Levy Berenbaum The Pie and Pastry Bible, […]
READ ON…is a guy who believes that if a man feels like whipping up a nice almond cocoa genoise or a few madeleines, well…he should be able to. And if he feels like talking a little science or history along the way…well, what harm does that do anyone? Joe was born and raised in Chicago. He […]
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