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Blue food

post #1 of 37
8/18/09 at 1:48am
Thread Starter 
Our chef gave us these rules the other day:
"Never a straight line, never an even number, and no blue food."

I don't know where he got this (maybe one of you dinosaurs has heard it before ;)) Anyways I'm attempting to make a legitimate dish that violates all of his rules. The first too are easy. I was thinking a cobb salad with an even number of rows, but blue food is not easy to make.

I've had moderate success steaming red cabbage and then refrigerating it. This turns the cabbage a nice blueish color. Does anybody else have any ideas on making blue food? Keep in mind food coloring is cheating (even if its already in the liquor) and blueberries aren't blue enough. Thanks!
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post #2 of 37
8/18/09 at 3:52am
One problem is that blue food usually doesn't stay that way. For instance, blue (actually purple) snap beans turn green when you cook them. And blue potatoes go more of a gray.

Question: Why are you looking to pick a fight with chef?
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post #3 of 37
8/18/09 at 5:05am
I remember being served a sorbet which used Blue Curacao liquer - but I also recall that the drink uses colourings in the production - but I may be wrong. I looked on wiki and here's the link - but I didn't bother to read the article!
Curaçao liqueur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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post #4 of 37
8/18/09 at 5:52am
For blue potatoes (such as caribe, sic?) boil or steam them in their skins the day before you intend to use them. Let them rest in the fridge overnight. Gently peel off the skins and you will be astonished how blue they are.

--Al
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post #5 of 37
8/18/09 at 5:56am
When I served my apprenticship, which was a long time ago, the chefs always told us "never attempt to make anything Blue in our cooking' as there was no blue food. Also the color blue was not eye appealing on a plate, because patrons new it was fake.??????
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post #6 of 37
8/18/09 at 7:28am
cooking certain vegetables sous vide will help them retain their colour, especially coloured potatoes.
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post #7 of 37
8/18/09 at 7:32am
I have heard the saying before on more than one occasion. As to the "blue foods" You may want to use Blueberries, Peruvian Potato, Blackberries(they turn a blue color) and cabbage. But why on earth would you want to pick a fight as asked earlier.
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post #8 of 37
8/18/09 at 9:57am
I teach (not cooking) and when a student manages to prove me wrong, I consider that I have a very smart student (and that I've been a very good teacher).

I think any teacher should be hoping to find the student that can go beyond him and show him to be wrong - that's what teaching is about. It's not about making clones.
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post #9 of 37
8/18/09 at 10:58am
the food detective guy did a test and there are really no blue foods.

Blue Curacao....should....never......be used....in a cocktail.....
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post #10 of 37
8/18/09 at 11:02am
The way I read the OP, the Chef didn't say it can't be done.
The Chef said don't do it.

I wouldn't.
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post #11 of 37
8/18/09 at 11:05am
man, if all teachers felt like you I'd have been in trouble MUCH LESS in highschool/middle school.

reminds me of this.

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post #12 of 37
8/18/09 at 11:08am
Putting blue aside, what really bugs me is that "no even numbers" thing.

I understand it from a graphic arts point of view. Even numbers can be static and dull, whereas odd numbers are active and energetic. So we use, for instance, 5 shrimp in a shrimp cocktail presentation.

However, when we're out with another couple and order a mixed appetizer platter for four and there are three of an item, or five, or even seven, it just doesn't make sense. Four of us cannot divide three items equally.

Rules should be tools, not shackles. That's a lesson the chef needs to learn. What the OP needs to learn is that ultimately there are only two rules in the kitchen:

Rule #1: The chef is always right.
Rule #2: For those times the chef is wrong, see Rule #1.
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post #13 of 37
8/18/09 at 11:52am
I think besides the aesthetics, that is done for just that reason, so that it creates a sense of loss ("I wanted one!").
Hopefully this promotes another sale.
Usually not, in my experience, but that's one reason I've always heard touted.
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post #14 of 37
8/18/09 at 11:58am
The first rule that any young cook or apprentice should learn, practice and remember. A kitchen isnt a democracy, its a dictatorship and the chef is the dictator. See rules 1 and 2 above when in doubt.
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post #15 of 37
8/18/09 at 12:15pm
Jim, that would certainly be true if there were four diners and three of an item. But when it five---a fairly common occurance in my experience?

But, even when it's only 3, we don't place another order. We just get pissed off at the poor presentation.
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post #16 of 37
8/18/09 at 12:53pm
clearly chefs have naver made chicken wings. orders come in lots of 10, 20, 50, etc. All even numbers. Chefs. :rolleyes: :lol:
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post #17 of 37
8/18/09 at 1:29pm
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post #18 of 37
8/18/09 at 2:08pm
That's revolting :lol:
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post #19 of 37
8/18/09 at 2:19pm
I will lead that revolt
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post #20 of 37
8/19/09 at 11:48am
Thread Starter 
Some good thoughts people, thank you. I'll play around with blue potatoes, blue liquor though is really no better than blue food coloring imo. Someone else I asked suggested blue corn chips. I've got some experiments to run!

To answer the other question, I'd never undermine the chef in order to pick a fight and I'd never serve food he didn't approve of from his kitchen either. My chef does however have a good sense of humor and this is just a tongue-in-cheek experiment.
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post #21 of 37
8/19/09 at 4:47pm
Oh Yeti - YUK!!! Now we know why blue food isn't served....but at least there are no straight lines and there's 3 of each :)

Q: How do you make food blue?
A: Choke it so it can't breathe - cyanosis

Hey hang on...there's blue M&Ms, blue smarties...

Only thing I can really think of (apart from raw lobster blood!) is using edible flowers or rose hips, or as already mentioned, blue corn. Try this site for jellies/jams etc:

Unusual Jelly Recipes
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post #22 of 37
8/20/09 at 12:44am
All in all, you're just a brick in the wall....
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post #23 of 37
8/20/09 at 1:12am
Alex is just a **** pain-in-the-butt rebel even if he is right.

Um, notice, the teacher's name wasn't blacked out? lol
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post #24 of 37
8/20/09 at 3:04am
I remember this lesson. I also remember a yahoo at school trying to break the rules. I remember his dish vividly; blue risotto.

I tell you what, it looked disgusting.

IIRC, the chef told me blue is not a naturally cooked color, therefore it is not appealing to the eye. Since we eat with our eyes first, I can see where he was coming from.

As for the lines, and uneven numbers. IIRC, we are talking about buffet presentation, especially with mirrors, right?

The thing about that is, it is all about the flow of the buffet. The uneven numbers allows you to create better flowing lines. The one extra off of even allows you to offset the symmetry of an item, to create interest. It is almost a take off of the golden mean rule.

Hope that helps out.
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post #25 of 37
8/20/09 at 8:18am
this is a cool idea
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post #26 of 37
8/20/09 at 8:21am
the only peoples eyes blue is appealing to in a drink is blondes visiting the Jersey Shore!!
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post #27 of 37
8/20/09 at 9:59am
blue has to be used sparingly or correctly.

the blue cupcake looks veery good, imo the blue cupcakes with the shiny blue glaze don't look as good, it looks toxic!

the blueish egg yolks literally look like sh*t

blue drinks are cool

a blue is nice as a frosting on a cake or as a wispy pattern against white frosting

the tie died white of the hard boiled egg with a blue shell, very pretty.

gelee and sorbets are beautiful as blue and so are sauces if it is a dark blackish or purplish blue

blue ice cream looks good many times or white with dark blue swirls like vanilla fudge but with blue
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post #28 of 37
8/25/09 at 2:13pm



So.... you were supposed to sit down and shut up and let him tell you what is right even if it's utter crap? If my kids brought home a note like that I'd hit the roof and it wouldn't be them I'd be after answers from. Geeez...
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post #29 of 37
8/25/09 at 2:22pm
You and me both, Leeniek.

That note sums up all that's wrong with the education system. And why most of us can only list a small number of good teachers we've had between kindergarten and graduating college. I can think of five, three of which were at the college level.

Basically, a great endorsement for home schooling.
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post #30 of 37
8/25/09 at 2:29pm
I agree. In 5th grade I had the worst teacher. I asked questions that I don't think she could answer and she basically told me to shut up. It wasn't 'til college that I started liking school again.
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