Bacon Large Batch Bacon – Effortlessly

Image by Jonathunder

What is this doing on Bakepedia? Apparently you haven’t seen our Bacon Raisin Oatmeal Cookies or our Bacon Bourbon Salted Caramel Popcorn. Yes, you read that right…Anyway that latter recipe calls for 1 whole pound of bacon and cooking that much on top of the stove means cooking in batches and waiting around or having multiple pans going and it most certainly means grease here, there and everywhere – even when we use a splatter shield. So what is a bacon loving dessert maven to do? This is our most favorite method for cooking bacon, especially when there is a lot needed.

In the oven!

That’s right. Why? Because the bacon stays relatively straight and flat, there is no top-of-stove splatter and you can cook a whole pound at once. The technique begins with a cold oven, which might seem odd, but here’s why. By heating the bacon up slowly the fat renders out slowly and thoroughly and also results in a very clean, creamy fat. This is particularly important for recipes like the Bacon Raisin Oatmeal Cookies, which use some of the fat.

Take a clean, rimmed baking sheet and lay out bacon so that pieces are not touching. Place in cold oven on middle rack. Turn oven on to 400°F. Check at about 12 minutes. Somewhere around 15 minutes the bacon will be crisp and done. If your oven is slow to preheat it might just get to 400°F by the time the bacon is done. That’s okay. Just pull the bacon out when it is cooked to the desired crispness level. You will see all the nice rendered fat. Carefully pour the fat into a heatproof container and reserve. Remove bacon (I use tongs) and drain on paper towels. There you go! You will use this technique again and again – promise!

Ripening Bananas in The Oven

Look at the picture above. You think that doesn’t look appetizing? Well let me tell you there is nothing better for baking with bananas than a dead ripe banana. Black all-over ripe. Problem is that bananas get shipped green because they ripen after harvesting and also because they will offer purveyors a longer sell time. It is not unusual to come home with bananas that won’t be ready for baking for 5 whole days! If I want banana bread now, that just won’t do.

Thankfully someone (I have no idea who) came up with this technique of baking bananas to “ripen” them. Indeed, after a brief stint in the oven the skin blackens and the flesh sweetens and softens. While this will not work for ripening bananas to slice over your morning cereal, it does work for when you want to bake with them.

When you eat a firm banana that still has green coloration you might have had that experience of an almost puckering sensation. Bananas at this stage are not only firmer but they are mostly starch. They taste less sweet than a riper banana because they are less sweet! During ripening the starches convert to sugar. Amylase is the enzyme responsible for this conversion (and ripening) where the starch is broken down into sugars. Another enzyme called pectinase breaks down the cell walls and makes the banana feel softer. This all translates into a sweeter, creamier experience for us when we eat – and bake – ripe bananas.

To create the “ripe” bananas you see above, place your bananas peel and all on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 300°F oven for about 30 minutes. Go by look and texture; it might take 5 to 10 minutes longer. They should be very dark brown, almost black all over and be soft to the touch. They should feel a bit full, like they are about to split the skins. Cool and use in any recipe that requires a ripe, mashed banana. I like to cut off them end and squeeze the soft flesh out like squeezing a toothpaste tube. Just squeeze right into your bowl or measuring cup. It is best to bake just the bananas you need and use them right away.

We consulted Harold McGee. If you don’t have his book On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, you should order it right away. The pros turn to Harold and his book when we have questions about food chemistry.  He said: “…from the descriptions I see on the web, I’d call this simple cooking and not ripening. The high heat damages the cells and so weakens and softens the structure; and the indiscriminate mixing of cell components probably does mean that enzymes convert some of the starch to sugars, as happens in baking sweet potatoes. The lower the baking temp and the slower the heating, the more starch conversion there will be, since the enzymes are knocked out as the temperature approaches the boiling point.”

He went on to suggest that we try 175°F for a longer period of time. We went back into the Test Kitchen and baked our bananas at 175°F for 3 hours. After a few trials we decided that this approach gave us slightly sweeter bananas, but there was not a huge difference in the finished results (in banana bread, for instance) from baking the bananas at 300°F for a shorter time. Our recommendation is to use the low and slow method if you have time but don’t overlook the 300°F technique. Nothing, however, beats Mother Nature. We still like naturally ripened bananas the best.

Use these for our Banana Bread and Banana Bread Mug Cake or anytime you need ripe bananas. Watch Dédé at Better.tv make the mug cake and talk about this technique.

Learn How to Chop Nuts – and Keep Them From Rolling on the Floor!

Learning how to chop nuts is a basic need for any cook or baker. The standard technique for chopping nuts, praline and brittle is to place them on a cutting board and use a heavy large knife to chop them into pieces.

A simpler and easier method is to place the nuts in a resealable plastic bag, press out any excess air, seal tightly and then tap with a rolling pin until the nuts are broken into medium or small-sized pieces.

The advantages?

• Nuts stay inside the bag rather than flying off the cutting board.

• The clear bag allows you to see the nuts and monitor their size while tapping with the rolling pin.

• There is absolutely no clean up, other than tossing the bag in the trash after using the nuts.

Use chopped nuts:

• As a topping on ice cream sundaes

• In a filling for nut pies, tarts and baklava

• In crusts for cheesecakes, ice cream pies and fruit crostatas

• Mixed into cookie dough

• Mixed into brownie batter

• Mixed into streusel toppings for coffee cakes and fruit crisps

 Use chopped praline and brittle:

• As a topping for ice cream

• Sprinkled over chocolate mousse or pudding

• Pressed onto the sides of your favorite frosted cake to add crunch

Image: Sarah Tenaglia

Easy Fruit Fools

Fools are an English dessert that very simply combine fruit and cream. Older English texts describe a more involved dessert with the addition of eggs and flavorings, such as lemon peel, wine or spices. Gooseberry fool was quite popular, but that is a hard-to-come-by fruit for most and luckily, the technique of folding together sweetened fruit puree and lightly whipped cream lends itself to all kinds of other fruit, particularly berries.

This are an easy recipe, exemplified by this simple description found in an old text for a strawberry fool:

Hull 1 to 1 ½ pints ripe strawberries and sieve them (there is no need to cook them). Stir about ½ cup sugar (or to taste) into the purée, and add a drop or two of lemon juice to accent the flavor. Combine with whipped cream.

Note that the amount of whipped cream is not given. Basically you want a nice balance of cream and fruit, with the pretty color from the fruit swirled – ribboned, if you will – throughout the cream.

You could use a blend of fruit but I think these simple desserts are best showcasing one special fruit when it is at its most ripe. Also, why complicate a dessert that is so easy to put together, even at the last moment after a trip to the farmer’s market? Check out our Strawberry Fool for a more complete recipe.

 Image: Peter Muka

Learn All About Gelatin: Powdered, Sheet and Leaf

The first thing to know is that there is powdered unflavored gelatin and then there is sheet gelatin, sometimes referred to as leaf gelatin. You may have never seen sheet gelatin, and this is because it is mostly used in commercial kitchens. Pros like it because it yields a clearer end product with a very pure (nonexistent) flavor and also because you will never end up with any un-dissolved granules. I don’t use it because there are many different kinds and strengths so when you see a recipe that says “1 gelatin sheet” or “1 sheet of gelatin” it isn’t giving you enough information for success. One the other hand, if “1 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin” or “one, .25 ounce package of unflavored powdered gelatin” is called for, you know what to use. I will discuss both types, but we use Knox Unflavored Powdered Gelatine in the Test Kitchen. (Knox uses the “e” on the end, by the way).

General Gelatin Tips

• What is gelatin made from? It is indeed made from animal bones, skin, hides and connective tissues, although hooves are said not to be used, usually pig or cow, and sometimes fish. These sources are used for their collagen. (A favored vegetarian alternative is agar agar).

• If a recipe uses the term “bloom”, as in “first bloom the gelatin in ¼ cup of water”, it simply means soften. That is how you, the home cook, will most often see the term used. If it says, “use gelatin with 190 Bloom strength”, it is talking about how firm the setting power is, and this is usually mentioned in professional recipes.

• Powdered gelatin and sheet gelatin are not easily substituted for one another, since there are many different kinds of sheet gelatin.

• The longer a dish set with gelatin is refrigerated, the stiffer it becomes. This is why a jelled dessert might be smooth and slick and have a pleasant mouthfeel on days one and two but by days three and four it is rubbery.

• Certain fruits contain enzymes that will prevent gelatin from setting firmly. Avoid pineapple, kiwi and papaya, however, heating these first (if they are in the form of juices) will destroy the enzymes making them safe for use with gelatin.

• Never freeze or boil gelatin; it destroys the setting power. Occasionally a dessert is set in the freezer briefly and that’s okay, or if the gelatin is very small part of the ingredients, such as a little added to a sorbet mixture, it is fine.

Powdered Gelatin Info

• Follow what a recipe calls for. If it says “1 envelope” or “1 package” or “1 packet” it is probably referring to the quarter-ounce envelopes of unflavored powdered gelatin, such as Knox brand.

• If the recipe says “2 teaspoons”, then measure it out. Although the average amount of gelatin in a quarter-ounce envelope is 2 ¼ teaspoons, it is not standardized by volume and can vary widely.

• However, if a recipe says “1 ½ envelopes” what do you do? I would assume 2 ¼ teaspoons per envelope and do the math from there. And use proper measuring spoons!

• Always soften, or bloom, gelatin first. Place a small quantity (¼ cup liquid per envelope, for example) of cold liquid in a small saucepan and slowly and evenly sprinkle powdered gelatin over the top. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes, and then melt slowly and thoroughly over low heat, whisking well. I like to dip my finger in the mixture to be able to “feel” that all the granules are melted.

• As soon as gelatin is bloomed and melted in liquid, incorporate the mixture into the rest of your ingredients. If it is not incorporated while warm, ropes and strands of set gelatin might develop in the finished dish.

• 1 envelope of powdered gelatin will set 2 cups of liquid – not a soft set or an ultra-firm set, but a medium set.

• Sometimes I use less gelatin for a soft set dessert served in glasses or goblets because I want a very smooth, soft mouthfeel.

• If I am going to unmold a dessert, it may very well call for a higher proportion of gelatin.

Sheet Gelatin Info

• Sheet or leaf gelatin comes in different strengths. Labels will have language such as “Silver Strength/160 Bloom” of “Gold Grade 190 Bloom”. One cannot be substituted 1 to 1 for one another.

• If a recipe very specifically calls for “1 sheet silver gelatin”, then use that. And if they specify a brand, use it! This will give you the best results.

• Sometimes sheet gelatin is called for my weights, such as “2 gms sheet gelatin”. In this case all bets are off because 2 gms of a silver strength sheet gelatin will gel differently from 2 gms of gold strength.

 Image: Dédé Wilson

How to Pit Cherries with Household Tools

Eating cherries and spitting out the pits is one way to remove the pits but when we are making pie or fruit salad we need to get those pits out of the way in a cleaner, more organized way.

There are machines, some semi-automated like the one below, which attaches with a clamp

and some are a small hand tool, like the one below in the following 2 images.

But what if you don’t have any kitchen gadgets? Never fear, you can still get those pits out! For all of these techniques, begin with fresh cherries, sour or sweet, with stems removed. For the techniques that involve inserting something (straw, chopstick, etc.) insert through the stem end.

• Straw – the key here is you need a sturdy plastic straw in the standard width. If you have a hard plastic commuter beverage cup that came with one of those extra-sturdy plastic straws, those are even better. Insert through the stem end of the cherry, press, and the straw will push the pit out the other side.

• Chopstick – this works the same as the straw above and the trick to this one is to use a chopstick with a broad base, not a pointy end. The typical wooden disposable ones work well. See the top image for this approach.

• Chef’s Knife – gently smash the side of the berry under the broad side of the knife until the fruit splits open. Pick out the pit with knife tip or fingertip and repeat.

• Pastry Tip – place a plain round pastry tip on your work surface, tip side up. We like to use a Wilton #12. Press the cherry stem end down on top of the tip and the cherry should slide down while the tip brings the pit up out of the top.

• Paper Clip or Hairpin – open one end of a paper clip so that you have a “U” bend accessible. The hairpin already has this shape. Insert this “loop” into the cherry, pressing in past the pit, then maneuver it over the pit and pull back through the insertion hole. The “U” should grab the pit.

In general, for any of the tips above except the chef’s knife, try performing the technique either over a bowl to catch the fruit or on a paper towel lined work surface to sop up any juice so as not to stain your cutting board.

Images: Dédé Wilson