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Blanc and Salsify

post #1 of 4
2/13/06 at 2:56pm
Thread Starter 
In a traditional blanc; water, lemon juice and flour are mixed together to prevent oxidation. (For ex: celeric) Does anyone know why the flour is added to the mixture and do you know how it aids in the prevention of oxidation?

Also, a came acrossed a French recipe for salsify. The recipe read:"Pare and wash the salsify, cook until done in a pot of water mixed with the flour." Is this also a blanc or is a heated water and flour mixture know by a differnt French term?

Cooking_Sherry
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post #2 of 4
2/13/06 at 5:57pm

Role of Flour

I'm assuming that the dispersed flour slurry forms a physical barrier to oxygen, reducing oxidation. The lemon juice, of course, contains ascorbic acid (a/k/a vitamin C) which is mild reducing agent or anti-oxidant, that is, it reacts sacrificially with oxidants to keep the food from oxidizing.

(I had to lookup this use of the term "blanc" and found it in Julia Child's "Way to Cook" in an artichoke prep, though she gives no further explanation.)
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post #3 of 4
2/13/06 at 10:05pm
Salsify isn't a preparation or a technique. It's a vegetable.

You can use the roots and the leaves. It goes by many names, including white salsify, goatsbeard, vegetable oyster, and the oyster plant.

Check out http://mtmt.essortment.com/whatissalsify_rgps.htm for more info.
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post #4 of 4
2/19/06 at 8:44am
Thread Starter 
Castironchef,
Thanks for your reply. Sorry if the wording in my question made you think I didn't know that salsify was a root vegetable... I do. But thanks again for clarifying that anyway. I was just curious about the role of flour in a blanc. I think JonK gave me some insite into what the flour might be doing.

And Jon, I made some artichoke hearts using Julia's blanc technique. I especially like this as I can chill and hold the artichokes in the blanc for a couple of days. I made eggs sardou for breakfast this morning with the artichokes that were made the day before. They were quite tasty!

Thanks all for your replys.

Cooking_Sherry
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