Clarified Butter

Day 2, we started right off by preparing clarified butter. To do this, you melt the butter, skim the impurities that float to the surface, and then spoon off the fat, which has risen above the milk solids. The fat is what you want to use to cook with, because the milk solids have a tendency to burn. What's great is that you can use the milk solids pretty much in any recipe that calls for milk. It's not buttermilk, because that is cultured, but it tastes just like milk. It's great to use in mashed potato recipes, pancakes and waffles.

I thought that the butter would separate, but it turns out that in Land-O-Lakes butter, the milk solids come to the top, which is usually what happens when you boil butter, which is another techinique in making clarified butter.








































































It has been a busy couple of days, but I'm very excited about this class, because we're actually cooking.

The beginning of Skills 2

Hello everyone! I'm back. I hope everyone had a nice holiday time.

I'm back at school, and two days have already passed, and they have been crazy!







So, Skills 2 has begun. Two days have passed, and we have already done so much.

On day 1 we had to produce a Bouquet Garni, a Sachet, and small dice of turnip.

Bouquet Garni:
-A batonnet of celery (1/4" x 1/4" x2 1/2")
-Sprig of fresh thyme
-Fresh bay leaf
-8-10 parsley stems
All wrapped up in a leek.

Sachet:
-8-10 whole peppercorns
-sprig of fresh thyme
-fresh bay leaf
-5-6 parsley stems

On day 1 we also had to prepare our stocks. My group was assigned Fish Fumet

Fish Fumet
Yield: 1 gallon

Quantity Ingredients
1 oz Butter
Mirepoix:
4 oz Onion, chopped fine
2 oz Celery, chopped fine
2 oz Carrot, chopped fine (optional)
2 oz Mushroom trimmings (optional)
4-6 lb Bones from lean fish
8 fl oz White wine (dry)
Sachet:
1 Bay leaf
¼ tsp Peppercorns
6-8 Parsley stems
1 Whole Clove
1 gal Water, cold

Procedure:

1. Butter the bottom of a heavy stockpot or saucepot. Place the mirepoix in the bottom of the pot and the bones over the top of it. Cover the bones loosely with a round of brown paper or parchment.
2. Set the pot over low heat and cook slowly for about 5 minutes, until the bones are opaque and begin to exude juices.
3. Add the wine, bring to a simmer, and then add the sachet and water to cover.
4. Bring to a simmer again, skim, and let simmer for 30-45 minutes.
5. Strain through a china cap lines with several layers of cheesecloth.
6. Cool, vented, in a cold-water bath, and refrigerate.

So, we had to prepare the mirepoix, because day 2 we cooked it.

Here's a few pictures I took in the open lab after class.


Here's Chris and Doug in the walk-in.















Doug honing his knife.


















Josh practicing his egg-flipping.

The end of Nutrition

Nutrition went well, everything turned out great, and overall it was a very straightforward class. The focus was on macronutrients, micronutriens, and water. Macronutrients being carbohydrates, protein and fat, micronutrients being vitamins and minerals. One of the major points that we had to know for macronutrients the amount of calories per gram each one has. (Carbs = 4, Protein = 4, Fat = 9, Alcohol = 7) We also had to know basically how a person's diet should break down (50-60% calories/day from carbs, 10-15% from protein, and less than 30% from fat). It was interesting to calculate my own calorie needs as well. To do this, you take your weight and multiply by 10 if you're a man, and multiply by 9 if you're a woman. This number is your basal calorie needs, or the amount of calories you need for basic body function. You take this number, and you add it to your activity calorie needs (weight x activity level (between 3-10)).

This number isn't infallible. I found that my calorie needs are so much higher than anything I could ever consume. The thing is, my metabolism is a lot slower than the average, meaning my body is more efficient than the average, and I do not need as many calories to maintain my weight.