- Industri: Printing & publishing
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Founded in 1941, Barron's Educational Series is a leading publisher of test preparation manuals and school directories. Among the most widely recognized of Barron's many titles in these areas are its SAT and ACT test prep books, its Regents Exams books, and its Profiles of American Colleges. In ...
When Columbus sailed from Spain looking for the East Indies, nutmeg was one of the spices for which he was searching. Native to the Spice Islands, this seed from the nutmeg tree (a tropical evergreen) was extremely popular throughout much of the world from the 15th to the 19th century. When the fruit of the tree is picked, it is split to reveal the nutmeg seed surrounded by a lacy membrane that, when dried and ground, becomes the spice mace. The hard, egg-shaped nutmeg seed is grayish-brown and about 1 inch long. The flavor and aroma are delicately warm, spicy and sweet. Nutmeg is sold ground or whole. Whole nutmeg freshly ground with a nutmeg grater or grinder is superior to that which is commercially ground and packaged. Nutmeg is excellent when used in baked goods, milk- or cream-based preparations like custards, white sauces or eggnog and on fruits and vegetables — particularly potatoes, spinach and squash. See also spices; herb and spice chart.
Industry:Culinary arts
Commercial sour cream contains from 18 to 20 percent fat, and has been treated with a lactic acid culture to add its characteristic tang. Sour cream often contains additional ingredients such as gelatin, rennin and vegetable enzymes. Light sour cream contains about 40 percent less fat than regular sour cream because it's made from half-and-half. There's also a nonfat sour cream, which is thickened with stabilizers. Refrigerate sour cream in its carton for up to a week after the date stamped on the bottom of the container. If any mold forms on the cream's surface, discard it immediately.
Industry:Culinary arts
Japanese foods such as fish, meat and vegetables that are simmered in a seasoned broth. The broth may be flavored with various seasonings including dashi, miso, fresh ginger, red chiles or simply salt.
Industry:Culinary arts
A type of Japanese shallot, which is usually uncooked and pickled in light vinegar. Most often used as a garnish with grilled fish and meat. Rakkyo can be found in Asian markets.
Industry:Culinary arts
Though originally from Japan and Korea, the delicious shiitake mushroom is now being cultivated in the United States (where it's often called golden oak) in a number of states including California, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Virginia. The cap of the shiitake is dark brown, sometimes with tan striations, and can be as large as 8 to 10 inches across. The average size, however, is 3 to 6 inches in diameter. The meaty flesh has a full-bodied (some say steaklike), bosky flavor. Shiitake stems are extremely tough and are therefore usually removed. Don't throw them out, however — they add wonderful flavor to stocks and sauces. Discard the stems after they've been used for flavoring. Though both fresh and dried shiitakes are now available almost year-round in many supermarkets, they're very expensive. Spring and autumn are the seasons when fresh shiitakes are most plentiful. Choose plump mushrooms with edges that curl under. Avoid any with broken or shriveled caps. The versatile shiitake is suitable for almost any cooking method including sautéing, broiling and baking. Shiitake mushrooms are also called Chinese black mushrooms and forest mushrooms. See also mushroom.
Industry:Culinary arts
A small, typically ring-shaped pastry that is usually leavened with yeast or baking powder, and which can be baked but is generally fried. The traditional doughnut shape is formed by using a special doughnut cutter that cuts out the center hole in the dough. It can also be made with two biscuit cutters, large and small (for the hole). Fried doughnut holes are favorites with children. There are two main styles of doughnuts. Raised doughnuts are leavened with yeast and allowed to rise at least once before being fried. Besides the traditional ring-shape, raised doughnuts also come in squares and twists. Additionally, the dough is used to make oblong and round jelly-filled doughnuts — commonly called jelly doughnuts. Cake doughnuts receive their leavening power from baking powder and are chilled before frying to prevent the dough from absorbing too much oil in the process. The dough for cake doughnuts is often flavored with spices, orange or lemon zest or chocolate. Crullers are made from cake-doughnut dough. They're formed by twisting two (about 5-inch) strips of dough together before frying. Both types are usually either dusted with granulated sugar (cake doughnuts often with confectioners' sugar) or topped with a flavored glaze (such as chocolate or butterscotch). French doughnuts, though not as readily available as the other two types, are made with choux pastry (cream-puff pastry dough). They're very tender and light.
Industry:Culinary arts
A light, creamy frosting made with softened butter, confectioners' sugar, egg yolks and milk or light cream. This uncooked frosting is beaten until light and creamy. It can be flavored in many ways and is used both as a filling and frosting for a variety of cakes and pastries.
Industry:Culinary arts
A sweet or savory pudding that is cooked (usually in a special steamed-pudding mold) on a rack over boiling water in a covered pot. The pudding mold is usually decorative so that when the finished pudding (which is firm) is unmolded it retains its decorative shape. Steamed puddings can take up to 3 hours to cook on stovetop, half that time in a pressure cooker. They're customarily served with a sauce. The traditional Christmas plum pudding, for instance, is customarily accompanied with hard sauce.
Industry:Culinary arts
A popular ingredient in Caribbean cuisine, saltfish is simply that — salted, dried fish, usually cod, though other fish (such as mackerel) can be used. Saltfish is an integral ingredient in Jamaica's national dish, "saltfish and ackee. " It's available in pieces in Caribbean, Italian and Asian markets. Choose segments with white flesh, rather than yellow; the skin should be attached. Store, wrapped airtight, in a cool, dark place indefinitely. Before using, soak for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water every 4 to 5 hours. The soaking softens the flesh and each water change reduces the salt. Drain the last batch of soaking water and pour boiling water over the saltfish; cover and allow to soak for about 15 minutes, or until the flesh is soft. The word for saltfish in Spanish is bacalao, in French it's morue and in Italian it's baccalà.
Industry:Culinary arts
Also called plant protein or textured vegetable protein, this product is obtained from protein-rich soybeans. The beans are ground and processed through a spinning/extrusion technique until they become strands of almost pure protein. Vegetable protein is used in commercial meat and poultry products as a binder and extender. It can be found in foods such as meat substitutes, luncheon meats and sausages, as well as in packaged sauces, soups and other processed foods. Although nutritiously rich, vegetable protein can't match the flavor and aroma of the meat products. See also hydrolyzed plant protein.
Industry:Culinary arts
