Turned Carrots?

[shel]

Saw a recipe this morning that called for 2 cups of turned carrots. Never heard of that. What are turned carrots?

Tks, scb

[phatch]

It's a french trimming technique. I think it's properly spelled tourne with an accent on the E that I'm not going to figure out at this moment. It's basically a football shape, about an inch long but size can vary, with 7 sides.

Phil

[boar_d_laze]

Tournée Cut: Cooking Terms: RecipeTips.com

Phil is right.

"Competition" tourne have 7 sides. Turn of the century Russo-French cuisine, the most OCD of all, allowed for 5, 6 or 7. I don't remember what Escoffier said and I'm too lazy to go look. Most people, including me, find 8 easier. As Phil said, there's no set size, but it's very important to be consistent in a given service. I use the reference points on my knife to get consistent sizes.

The right way to START learning to make this cut is to hard boil a bunch of eggs, let them dry and cool, stick masking tape to the shells, and practice carving it off. Once you get terminally frustrated trying to make ovoid cuts, cut sticks of 3/4" square-cross section, the length of the distance between rivets on your knife (about 1-3/4"). Hold the edge of a small knife against one of the four long edge, move the stick so the knife carves a 45 deg angle, taking about 1/3 of each adjacent face. Turn the stick as you approach the end, so the cut trails towards the center. Take your time -- you'll become so bored the cut becomes automatic, at which point your technique and speed can improve -- slightly. I'm told you can come to actually enjoy it. I wouldn't know.

If the whole thing seems tedious and anal beyond belief, I understand you can buy frozen, turned carrots. But I have no idea from where you'd buy them.

BDL

[tastygourmet]

Tournes are so flipping stupid and worthless. Only macho guys and two really anal women in my class were any good at it. I found it a waste of time and effort... just peel some nice small carrots and go from there....and don't buy those little ones in the bags....they are gross.

[shel]

Thanks, guys ...

scb

[OregonYeti]

Sounds like something as an exercise in knife skills that doesn't make a lot of difference to the end result. Unless you're counting the facets as you eat them.

[siduri]

it sounds like an exercise in obsessive-compulsive cooking techniques. i really wonder at the person who invented this sort of thing. Seven sides rather than 8 or 6, now, really!

[kuan]

If you have big ugly carrots and want to present them in a nice way sometimes tournee is the best.

You tournee the carrots, use some of the peelings for stock, the rest for terrine.

[RPMcMurphy]

I feel like we should grade the cuts like diamonds. clarity, etc....

almost looks too.....fake, or mass produced. say, if they showed up on a plate at the local decent restaurant I'd have thought the opposite of elegant.

[boar_d_laze]

The idea from a culinary standpoint is to have the veg cut to the same size so that every piece is cooked a point at the same moment. Veg saute extremely well cut this way. They really hop around the pan, provided it isn't warped -- in which case they all roll downhill.

Carrots are actually one of the better candidates because you can make use of the natural curves of the outside to define the shape. Cut barrels. Quarter the barrels along their long axes. Each quarter has a 3 sided cross section, with one of the sides curved. Cut along each interface, then along the apex of the ellipse. Et viola! 7 faces.

When you consider the amount of food that's wasted making these cuts; that the culinary value can be accomplished in other ways appropriate for each vegetable (coining carrots, dicing potatoes to name two examples); and the amount of a skilled worker's time required, tourne may cross the line from into decadence. For some people, that's the point.

BDL

[RAS1187]

If ever served these in a restaurant, I don't think I could ever eat them comfortably knowing all the frustration that goes into making just one.

Here at school the students' failed tournes go into the fryer along with other inferior cuts of potato and get turned into "signature fries" for the cafeteria.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by boar_d_laze

When you consider the amount of food that's wasted making these cuts, and that the culinary value can be accomplished in other ways appropriate for each vegetable -- coining carrots, dicing potatoes to name two examples, and the amount of a skilled worker's time required -- it goes beyond elitism and into decadence. For some people, that's the point. Others find it disquieting.

BDL

Tossing perfectly good carrots in the stock is a bigger waste. At least by turning carrots you can use the balance for stock. Use it also for terrines. It's a beautiful way to combine your brocolli stems. Red and green veggie terrine.

I agree that tourne potatoes is a waste, but a half chateau is, in terms of labor and money, the most economical way to elegantly present a potato.

[boar_d_laze]

kuan,

When it came to spuds (or les spuddes as they're called in France), I'd always thought of chateau as large tourne and cocotte as small. I'm mostly either auto-didact, or was taught by auto-didacts when it comes to this stuff so my terminology isn't that strong. Most of it probably comes from La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint Ainge, anyway.

But my questions were practical.

Do you blanch yours off before sauteing? Or, just start with raw potatoes.

BDL

[foodpump]

Meh, tournee'ing is just another technique to add to your arsenal....

True, with some stuff like carrots, it may be a waste of time. But glazed turned carrots, parsnips, and turnips--with glazed (real) pearl onions and chopped parsley accompanying a nice braised piece add a lot of class and the sales price can justify the labour involved. Besides, a good kitchen never throws away stuff, carrot trimmings can go into clarification, puree soups, vegetable terrrines, etc.

Potatoes are a different story. Two or three turned pots as an acompaniement to a nice plate is well worth the effort. Fondant potatoes (turned pots braised in boullion and butter, glazed with glace de viande) NEVER fail to please. If using pre-peeled pots the trimmings can go for "staff fries", mashed pots, duchesse, etc.

Like I said, it's skill to add to your arsenal.....

[kuan]

Originally Posted by foodpump

If using pre-peeled pots the trimmings can go for "staff fries", mashed pots, duchesse, etc.

Or the peels are good for 'skins, with bacon and cheddar. For the BOH that is.

BDL: I normally just start them in the pan, finish in the oven.