What is it with lay people & boiling?

[castironchef]

Originally Posted by Metrakay

If I ever live in another house, I'm putting in a prerinse. I'm not ever going to have one of those residential sprayers again.

Oh! And a walk-in too!

[Metrakay]

I'd like one of those NOW! Unfortunately, the kitchen remodel didn't extend that far since it wasn't a requirement for licensing and the budget hasn't allowed it yet. I keep hoping.

[Jolly Roger]

So many thoughts have been addressed here. If you're making a reduction of some sort...and there are others around that may not be in the know, pour yourself a glass of wine and stay next to your sauce! "Never trust someone to pack your parachute for you", is what one chef told me. I you have to leave it, than pull it of the fire yourself so nobody "worries". I've had servers walk through my kitchen in a drunken stupor and turn off the low flame I had under a 60 quart stock pot of working veal stock after the shift. One time I caught it...one time I didn't catch it and we trashed 100.oo bucks in veal bones. My take on this is, if you decide you actually give a sh*t about what's on the fire, find out who's in charge and ask questions, but don't touch it unless you know what it is and what to do with it.

[panini]

This is really a pet pieve with me. The percentage of the flattop use is small compared to the ovens since we're a bakery. Most of our things require to be babysat. The only time you will here a grumble out of me if there is not a side towel on a sauce pan or a mitt on the oven door telling everyone that there is something going on in the sauce pan and something in the oven. We're crossed trained enough not to have timers or have to ask for a watch.

[jenni belle]

I'll grumble too. Since I'm a one-woman show in my catering business, I don't usually have to worry about anyone 'messing with the goods'. But at home....well, that's a different story. My hubby drives me crazy in the kitchen. He's always turning down the heat on everything. 'Honey, this was boiling, I turned it off/down/whatever.' Erggg......'dear, it's called a 'rolling boil'....turn it back up!!'

I think I've grumbled at him enough that he's finally gotten it. I hope.......

[MarkV]

Jenni, I can soooooo relate.

Mark

[kuan]

Originally Posted by Nicholas

Cooking "professionally" at home requires a professional dishwasher too you know!

Hah! Yes So true!

[Anneke]

My problem has always been the opposite. It drives me nuts to see wine, stock or vinegar boiling. To make a proper reduction, a little finesse goes a long way, and a gentle simmer yields much better results. I'm usually the one in the kitchen screeming "Turn it down!!!"

[Ma Facon]

OK, So you take all the time in the world to make the perfect stock, ( not reducing it under a vigourous boil as mentioned in previous posts )

Then when it comes to using that same stock on the line in a fastidius sautee do you think that all the care that was put into the original stock is lost with the intense heat it undergoes when being introduced into the hot sautee pan ? So do you think that the protiens are exploded/lost in the final dish ? Any food chemist want to explain this ? I think the customer already has.

[Ma Facon]

Eat






Define each letter and reassemble them in your own way.

[cakerookie]

Anything will boil quicker if a lid is placed on it. And AprilB is right a watched pot never boils........

[Ma Facon]

Oh Boy !!! You do not comnprehend what is being conveyed.

[Ma Facon]

I still like you either way.

[MarkV]

Originally Posted by Ma Facon

So do you think that the protiens are exploded/lost in the final dish ?

Proteins don't "explode" when cooked, they denature. That means that at first they unwind and then recombine into new forms.

Proteins are also not "lost". Re-heating, or reducing a stock does nothing to the proteins that have been gelatinized. Basically you're evaporating more of the water and hence, intensifying the body and flavor of the stock.

Mark

[Chef_Bob]

Is it just me? In school I was told the only thing that should ever be cooked in a full rolling boil is pasta. They way I look at it boiling is very violent and I don't like seeing stuff getting all bashed about. As for reductions, when they are boiling it is very hard to get any idea of the current consistancy. All of that being said, if I am cooking it and it is boiling, HANDS OFF. I am always open to advice and learning more, but jumping right in and taking over some ones cooking is a pretty big move in my books.