Hannibal Lecter (
sharp_man) wrote in
fandomhigh2018-01-23 09:23 am
Entry tags:
Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques | Tuesday, per. 2
When the students arrived today, Hannibal nodded and waved them over to his counter at the front.
"We'll be discussing a number of sauces and techniques later in the semester, and you will need to know some techniques before we begin on them. The first is called a roux. A roux is flour and salt cooked together; it can be used as a base for some recipes, and some of the techniques it uses will help with others, such as gravy or," he smirked at Summer, "gelatin."
"Our roux starts with clarified butter." He put a square block of butter into a small pot and began heating it. "Standard butter consists of butterfat, milk solids, and water. Clarifying it removes the water and milk solids. Clarified butter can get much hotter without burning, which makes it very good for frying." He demonstrated how to skim the butter as it cooked, leaving only the part they wanted.
"Once we have our clarified butter, we can start on the rest of the roux. A good roux is essential to many sauces. It helps to thicken them and adds some flavor. It's important not to burn it, and to make sure that the fat and the flour mix evenly." He showed how to finish making it.
"After that, the next challenge you face with any sauce, particularly as a beginner, is avoiding lumps. You must add the liquids slowly, and it helps if they're cold. If you add them too quickly, or too much at once, it won't be pretty."
After he'd demonstrated the proper technique, he nodded to them. "Today we'll be making a béchamel sauce, and you'll be clarifying your own butter and making the roux. Please let me know if you have any questions."
"We'll be discussing a number of sauces and techniques later in the semester, and you will need to know some techniques before we begin on them. The first is called a roux. A roux is flour and salt cooked together; it can be used as a base for some recipes, and some of the techniques it uses will help with others, such as gravy or," he smirked at Summer, "gelatin."
"Our roux starts with clarified butter." He put a square block of butter into a small pot and began heating it. "Standard butter consists of butterfat, milk solids, and water. Clarifying it removes the water and milk solids. Clarified butter can get much hotter without burning, which makes it very good for frying." He demonstrated how to skim the butter as it cooked, leaving only the part they wanted.
"Once we have our clarified butter, we can start on the rest of the roux. A good roux is essential to many sauces. It helps to thicken them and adds some flavor. It's important not to burn it, and to make sure that the fat and the flour mix evenly." He showed how to finish making it.
"After that, the next challenge you face with any sauce, particularly as a beginner, is avoiding lumps. You must add the liquids slowly, and it helps if they're cold. If you add them too quickly, or too much at once, it won't be pretty."
After he'd demonstrated the proper technique, he nodded to them. "Today we'll be making a béchamel sauce, and you'll be clarifying your own butter and making the roux. Please let me know if you have any questions."

Sign in!
Re: Sign in!
Listen to the lecture!
Re: Listen to the lecture!
On her phone. Because did she look like the type of person to bring a notebook to a class like this? And in hologram mode to make sure Dr. Lecter could see she was typing in note and not just texting, ohmygod.
Re: Listen to the lecture!
Cook your food!
Re: Cook your food!
Just don't tell anyone.
She applied herself, and came up with a pretty decent béchamel sauce, and she felt pretty good about it, too.
Re: Cook your food!
Eat Hannibal's food!
There is also, as usual, coffee.
Talk to Hannibal
Talk to the TA
Re: Talk to the TA
OOC!