In my previous blog post we took sugar and cooked it until it caramelized, creating a delicious sauce.
Now let’s try this again with a potato, which is really just a little ball of sugar. If we put a potato into a pot of boiling (212F) water we get a simple boiled potato that tastes just like a boiled potato. If instead we get a pan nice and hot, then add a little oil, we can cook the potato at a temperature higher than 300F. Now those sugars, along with some proteins, start to caramelize and become delicious.
People often think that the fat in fried foods makes it taste good, but in reality it’s the caramelized sugars. Adding the same fat to the boiled potato would still taste like a boiled potato.
Let’s make this slightly more complex and try this with a piece of steak. If water is present, and the pan isn’t hot enough, the steak will boil. This will lead to bland, mushy steak.
If on the other hand, we dry the steak off on paper towel, season with a bit of salt, pepper, and just a touch of oil, then get the pan nice and hot, we’ll see caramelization. This is known as the Maillard reaction (non-enzymatic browning) that takes place when sugar and protein combine at high heat. The result is a beautiful crust that tastes so much better than just plain boiled steak.
In the pictures below, I started with a really nice piece of tri-tip. I then cooked it sous vide at 130F for 90min. At this point the steak is cooked but lacking. After drying the steak off I seared both sides in a nice hot cast iron pan.
This technique can also be applied to vegetables. Toss some fresh broccoli rabe with a little salt, pepper, and oil, then bake it in a really hot oven, say 450F. The high heat will help caramelize some of the sugars giving it a wonderful flavour.
Voila! An incredible meal, that made use of a simple yet powerful technique. Check back soon for more of my random thoughts. Or leave a comment below to let me know what you think.
And if you’re in the San Francisco area contact me to schedule catering for your next event.