Reader Émile writes: You mentioned that sulfur dioxide works as an antioxidant, an anti-microbial and an enzyme blocker. You also mentioned that sulfur dioxide is in smoke. Is sulfur dioxide the reason that smoking is so effective for preserving meat? Émile, you get an A for this class.
READ ONAre the tuile rabbit ears too much? Maybe. It was a boring photograph without them, it needed something. Anyway, as I way saying last week, this sorbet is not what people expect from sorbets. It’s creamy, almost silky smooth. Not quite as smooth as a chocolate ice cream, but darn close. And it’s dairy free! […]
READ ONForbes.com posted an article on the subject of PacoJet ice cream machines yesterday, one that includes a quote by your favorite baking and pastry blogger. No, not David Lebovitz — me! Have a look-see and enjoy the read. But do me a favor and don’t tell anybody my real name (I don’t want any internet […]
READ ONReader Clare asks: Are sorbates used in ice cream? If so, why? Yes, indeed you’ll find potassium sorbate or “sorbic acid” in more than a few fruit flavored ice creams. The reason is not to suppress molds and/or yeasts in the ice cream, because the cold would take care of that. The reason is because […]
READ ONThis is another very important group of food preservatives whose function, in a nutshell, is to keep fats from turning rancid. The purpose of antioxidant food additives, just like antioxidant nutritional supplements, is to take up bonding sites on molecules so random “free radical” atoms can’t attach and form other sorts of undesirable compounds. For […]
READ ONI find these to be some of the most interesting preservatives, since they accomplish what most antimicrobials don’t: they keep fruits and vegetables from browning and shriveling up due to the activity of enzymes. Exactly how they do that I explained a while back in a post about sulphured fruit. Have a look-see if you’re […]
READ ONThe majority of food preservatives fall into this category, for the simple reason that tiny creatures eating and spoiling our food is, and always has been, a very big problem. As I mentioned in the last post, all of the classic preservation techniques are bug-killers. The problem with them is that each radically alters the […]
READ ONOf the major classes of food additives, preservatives are the ones that really get people animated. It’s understandable, since preservatives tend to have very science-y sounding names. But not all of them are the products of labs, and even among those that are, most are synthesized versions of chemicals that occur naturally (usually in plants). […]
READ ONReader Mark asks: Can you give us some examples of emulsions, and emulsifiers? Mark, I thought you’d never ask. The most common kitchen emulsions are dairy products. Milk and cream are both emulsions of the fat-in-water type, as are egg yolks. Butter is an emulsion of the water-in-fat type. Other common emulsions are mayonnaise and […]
READ ONDue to popular demand, I’m adding a fruit sorbet to the menu, since it really would seem a shame not to make anything with fruit in it. This recipe comes from David Lebovitz’s seminal frozen dessert book, The Perfect Scoop. Of course I’ve added a little Cremodan to it because, well, it helps. The formula […]
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