Cooking For Geeks Part 3

Ubiquitous in commercial kitchens, CamSquare containers are affordable, practically indestructible, and add a certain geek flair. You can flip the lid over and use it as an impromptu cutting board as well.

Strainers Look for a strainer that has a metal mesh and a handle long enough to span your sink. Avoid strainers that have plastic parts; plastic isn't as strong or heat resistant and will eventually break. In addition to the normal application of straining cooked foods like pasta or was.h.i.+ng berries, a metal strainer can double as a splatter guard when inverted above a frying pan. Depending on the types of food you are cooking, you might find a spider-a specialized spoon with a wide shallow mesh bowl and a long handle-helpful for scooping out items from pots of boiling water.

NoteWhen straining out pasta from boiling water, pour away away from yourself to avoid steam burns. from yourself to avoid steam burns.

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You can use a strainer as a splatter guard while pan-frying items such as salmon. Make sure your strainer is wire mesh and has no plastic parts.

Mixers & co.

For baking, a handheld mixer or stand mixer is pretty much indispensable. Sure, you can use a whisk or a spoon, but when it comes to creaming together b.u.t.ter and sugar, you'll get better results with an electric mixer that can whip microscopic air bubbles into the mix. Besides a mixer, there are a few other electric devices that are worth their counter s.p.a.ce.

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Immersion blender. Skip the normal blender and go for an Skip the normal blender and go for an immersion blender immersion blender. Sometimes called a stick blender stick blender, the blade part of the blender is mounted on a handle and immersed into a container that holds whatever it is you want to blend. When making soup, for example, instead of transferring the soup from pot to blender for pureeing, you take the immersion blender and run it directly in the pot. Quicker to use, easier to wash.

Food processor. While not an essential, there are times when a food processor makes quick work of otherwise laborious tasks-for example, making pesto or slicing 10 pounds of onions or pulsing pie dough to incorporate flour and b.u.t.ter. They're expensive, though, and take up s.p.a.ce. You might opt for a mandolin, instead, which can also be used to quickly make large piles of julienned (matchstick-cut) veggies. While not an essential, there are times when a food processor makes quick work of otherwise laborious tasks-for example, making pesto or slicing 10 pounds of onions or pulsing pie dough to incorporate flour and b.u.t.ter. They're expensive, though, and take up s.p.a.ce. You might opt for a mandolin, instead, which can also be used to quickly make large piles of julienned (matchstick-cut) veggies.

NoteSad but true: the julienned strips you see in restaurants aren't lovingly cut by hand.

Rice cooker with slow-cook mode. I'm in love with my rice cooker. Actually, that's not true; I'm in love with the slow-cook mode of my rice cooker, and you should be, too. As we'll discuss in I'm in love with my rice cooker. Actually, that's not true; I'm in love with the slow-cook mode of my rice cooker, and you should be, too. As we'll discuss in Chapter4 Chapter4, some chemical processes in cooking require a long period of time at a relatively specific temperatures. This is why you should make room for a rice cooker with a slow-cook mode: you can safely leave it on overnight, or even for a few days, without worrying about either the utility bill or the house burning down (something that you shouldn't do with almost any other source of heat in the kitchen). This handy appliance makes an entire cla.s.s of dishes (braised short ribs, duck confit, beef stew) trivially easy. You could just get a slow cooker, but a rice cooker with slow-cook mode will also come in handy for those occasions when you actually want to make rice.

Unitaskers I know, I know...unitaskers. Some unitaskers are worth making s.p.a.ce for, though, because of how well they perform their particular tasks.

Box grater. A simple box grater for grating vegetables, cheese, and b.u.t.ter (for cutting into pastry dough) can save a lot of time. Sure, you can use a food processor with a grating disk (fast but lots of cleanup) or a paring knife to cube (tedious), but there are times when it's just easiest to plop a box grater on a plate or cutting board and grate away. A simple box grater for grating vegetables, cheese, and b.u.t.ter (for cutting into pastry dough) can save a lot of time. Sure, you can use a food processor with a grating disk (fast but lots of cleanup) or a paring knife to cube (tedious), but there are times when it's just easiest to plop a box grater on a plate or cutting board and grate away.

Simple Beef StewIn a pan, sear 12 lbs / 0.51 kg cubed stewing beef (it should be a cheap cut for stewing; more expensive cuts won't have as much collagen, which will affect the texture, as we'll discuss in Chapter4 Chapter4). After browning the outsides of the beef, transfer the meat to the bowl of the rice cooker. Using the same pan, saute one or two diced onions (red, yellow, white-doesn't matter). After the onions have started to caramelize, transfer them to the rice cooker. Toss in a can or two of diced tomatoes (enough to cover the beef). Add seasonings-such as oregano, thyme, or rosemary-and salt and pepper. You can add diced potatoes, canned beans, or other starches as well. I sometimes throw in a tablespoon of ketchup and port to add more flavors. Leave to slow cook for at least six hours. You can start the cooking in the morning before work and arrive home to a quick and easy dinner of beef stew.[image]

Pepper grinder. You want a 9 Unicorn Magnum Plus. Really, that's the best pepper mill out there; never mind what it sounds like. You want a 9 Unicorn Magnum Plus. Really, that's the best pepper mill out there; never mind what it sounds like.

Garlic press. If you like a good strong kick of garlic in your food and don't mind taking a shortcut, a garlic press makes it easy to get a quick fix. By all means, if you're the type who strongly believes in always doing things the right way-a sharp knife, dicing it with precision, and reveling in the texture and nuance-then skip the garlic press. But if you're a garlic lover who, after a long day at work, just wants to cook a quick five-minute meal, a garlic press will make it easier to use your favorite ingredient. The trick is to get a garlic press with a good handle and good "teeth," so that you can pop in a clove If you like a good strong kick of garlic in your food and don't mind taking a shortcut, a garlic press makes it easy to get a quick fix. By all means, if you're the type who strongly believes in always doing things the right way-a sharp knife, dicing it with precision, and reveling in the texture and nuance-then skip the garlic press. But if you're a garlic lover who, after a long day at work, just wants to cook a quick five-minute meal, a garlic press will make it easier to use your favorite ingredient. The trick is to get a garlic press with a good handle and good "teeth," so that you can pop in a clove unpeeled unpeeled and squirt out fresh garlicky goodness. Then, make sure you pull out the just-pressed skin and wash the garlic press and squirt out fresh garlicky goodness. Then, make sure you pull out the just-pressed skin and wash the garlic press right away right away. With these two tricks, you can add garlic to a dish with about five seconds of work. Be advised that garlic squirted out of a garlic press will quickly oxidize, so save pressing the garlic until the moment you're ready to cook it.

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NoteTry this: cook a serving of pasta. Then, in a small saute pan over medium heat, add a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, use a garlic press to add two or three cloves of garlic and cook until the garlic gives off a pleasant aroma. (You can "squirt" the garlic from the garlic press straight into the pan.) Toss in the cooked pasta to coat and serve. Top with Parmesan cheese and a few red pepper flakes if desired.The Best Tool in the Kitchen?[image]Don't be shy about using your hands! After a good scrubbing with soap, they're just as clean as a pair of tongs and infinitely more dexterous. Tossing a salad? Putting veggies on a plate? Dropping cookie dough onto a baking sheet? Use your hands. It's faster, easier, and means one less utensil to wash.I was making crepes at a friend's dinner party several years ago and one of the other guests was an executive chef for a prominent Boston restaurant. We were in the kitchen together chatting about our respective fields of software and cooking. He stopped me as I went to flip the crepe with a spatula, showing me how to pull it back and flip it using my hands instead. Flipping this way allows you to feel how much the crepe is sticking to the pan and avoids the awkward angling-in of a spatula against the sidewall of the frying pan. While I still usually use a spatula (my fingers aren't made of asbestos like a full-time cook's!), the idea of getting in there with my fingers has definitely made me more comfortable grabbing foods and moving them where they need to be. Just don't burn yourself, and remember to wash your hands, especially when working with raw meats.1-2-3 CrepesWhisk or puree until entirely mixed, about 30 seconds:1 cup (250g) milk (preferably whole milk)2 large (120g) eggs cup (40g) flour (all-purpose)Pinch of saltLet rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, so that the gluten in the flour has a chance to thicken the batter. (Stash the batter in the fridge if you're going to leave it for more than half an hour.)Making crepes is like riding a bicycle: it takes practice before it's easy. Expect to completely screw up the first few you make (training wheels!), and keep in mind that while the batter is easy and the technique simple, the error tolerances are actually pretty tight, so don't get discouraged! Like riding a bicycle, it's far easier to go fast; going slow is hard.Start with a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, heating up the pan for about 30 seconds, or until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into it. Once your pan is at temperature, plan to work quickly: b.u.t.ter, wipe down, pour batter in while swirling, flip, flip again again, add fillings, plate, and repeat. Because they're fast and cheap, crepes are great for dinner parties or brunches, but you should definitely definitely practice beforehand. practice beforehand.b.u.t.ter: Grab a cold stick of b.u.t.ter with the wrapper partially pulled back, and using the wrapped part as a handle, spread a small amount of b.u.t.ter around the pan. Grab a cold stick of b.u.t.ter with the wrapper partially pulled back, and using the wrapped part as a handle, spread a small amount of b.u.t.ter around the pan.Wipe down: Use a paper towel to thin out the b.u.t.ter over the surface of the pan, wiping up almost all of it (and on repeats, any crumbs left behind from the previous crepe). The pan should look almost dry; you want a super-thin coating of b.u.t.ter, not noticeable streaks. Use a paper towel to thin out the b.u.t.ter over the surface of the pan, wiping up almost all of it (and on repeats, any crumbs left behind from the previous crepe). The pan should look almost dry; you want a super-thin coating of b.u.t.ter, not noticeable streaks.Pour: Pour in the batter while swirling the pan: pour about cup / 60 ml of batter into a 10 / 25 cm pan, adjusting as necessary (you want enough batter just to coat the bottom evenly). While pouring in the batter with one hand, use your other hand to hold the pan in the air and swirl it so that the batter runs and spreads over the surface of the pan. If you can pour batter out of the pan after swirling, you're using too much. Pour in the batter while swirling the pan: pour about cup / 60 ml of batter into a 10 / 25 cm pan, adjusting as necessary (you want enough batter just to coat the bottom evenly). While pouring in the batter with one hand, use your other hand to hold the pan in the air and swirl it so that the batter runs and spreads over the surface of the pan. If you can pour batter out of the pan after swirling, you're using too much.[image]If you're short on batter, you can "spot pour" a bit in to fill in the gap. This is also the point at which you should check the heat of the pan: it should be hot enough that the batter develops a lace-like quality: little holes all over the crepe as the steam tunnels up through the batter. If your crepes come out whitish, turn up the heat.Flip: Wait until the crepe begins to brown. Don't poke, don't prod; just let it cook. Once the crepe has begun to brown around the edges, use a silicone spatula (one of those folding spatulas works well) to push down the edge all around the circ.u.mference. This will release the edge of the crepe so that it lifts off the pan. Carefully grab that little edge to flip the crepe with both hands. Wait until the crepe begins to brown. Don't poke, don't prod; just let it cook. Once the crepe has begun to brown around the edges, use a silicone spatula (one of those folding spatulas works well) to push down the edge all around the circ.u.mference. This will release the edge of the crepe so that it lifts off the pan. Carefully grab that little edge to flip the crepe with both hands.Flip again: Let the crepe cook on the second side for half a minute or so, until it's cooked. The first side should come out a uniformly brown tone, so flip the crepe again before adding the fillings. This will leave the better-looking side on the outside of the finished crepe. Let the crepe cook on the second side for half a minute or so, until it's cooked. The first side should come out a uniformly brown tone, so flip the crepe again before adding the fillings. This will leave the better-looking side on the outside of the finished crepe.Add fillings: Add whatever fillings you like. You can heat and even cook the fillings by leaving the pan on the heat during this step. Or, you can move the crepe to a plate and fill it off the heat if you're using something cold (e.g., lox, cream cheese, dill). Crepes are a great vehicle for almost any filling, either savory or sweet. If a combination of ingredients works on pizza or in a pie, it'll probably work in a crepe. Try some of the following combinations: Add whatever fillings you like. You can heat and even cook the fillings by leaving the pan on the heat during this step. Or, you can move the crepe to a plate and fill it off the heat if you're using something cold (e.g., lox, cream cheese, dill). Crepes are a great vehicle for almost any filling, either savory or sweet. If a combination of ingredients works on pizza or in a pie, it'll probably work in a crepe. Try some of the following combinations: [image]

Powdered sugarLemon juiceJamGranulated sugarGrand Marnier (orange liqueur)Cheese

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EggsHamDillSausage CheeseLoxOnionsBananas

Cream cheeseChocolate ganache or Nutella

Notes.

- It might not look pretty, but a rolled-up crepe with a light sweet filling is fantastic.

- If you have a substantial amount of filling, it's easier to fold the crepe into quarters or into a square. I put a small amount of the filling on top as well, as a reminder of what's lurking inside.

- When making a crepe with an egg, you can crack the raw egg directly onto the crepe after it's done cooking but while it's still in the pan. Use the back of a fork to break the yolk and scramble the egg, smoothing it over the entire surface of the crepe. Drop some cheese on top wherever the egg is setting too fast.

Kitchen Organization A kitchen that has been thoughtfully organized greatly helps in the process of preparing a meal. You will have a more relaxed time cooking if you are able to quickly find what you are looking for and have confidence that you have the right tool for the task at hand.

0(1) Retrieval Julia Child's kitchen took the adage "a place for everything and everything in its place" to its logical conclusion: pots and pans were hung on pegboards that had outlines drawn around each item to ensure that they were always returned to the same location, knives were stored above countertops on magnetic bars where she could easily reach out to take one, and common cooking ingredients-oil, vermouth-were placed next to her stovetop. Her kitchen was organized around the French method near near to to hand hand, in which tools and common ingredients are kept out in the open and located near the cooking station where they would normally be used.

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Julia Child's kitchen is part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection, including her pots and pans, which she hung on pegboards for easy access.

PHOTO BY NICOLE LINDROOS (FLICKR.COM USER NIKCHICK, CC-BY-SA 2.0).

Ideally, every item in your kitchen should have a "home" location, to the point where you could hypothetically grab a particular spice jar or pan while blindfolded and without second thought. (This isn't hypothetical for everyone-how else would the blind cook?) This avoids the frustration of digging through a dozen jars to find the one you're looking for. In practice, this isn't always worth the work, but try to keep your kitchen organized enough to be able to select what you're looking for with a minimum of shuffling.

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Store spices in a drawer to speed up the search for any given jar. For extra geek cred, sort them alphabetically (e.g., allspice on the left, wasabi on the right), so that you can use a tree-traversal search algorithm (see http://www.cookingforgeeks.com/book/spicelabels/ for labels). If you don't have a drawer available, at least make sure to store them in a dark cupboard and not above the stove, where they would get hot. for labels). If you don't have a drawer available, at least make sure to store them in a dark cupboard and not above the stove, where they would get hot.

Instead of keeping spice containers in a cupboard, where they get stacked N N deep (invariably resulting in endless digging for a container that turns out to be right in front), see if you have a drawer where you can see them from the top down. If they're too tall for you to close the drawer, check to see if there is a way to modify the drawer to give you more clearance. In my kitchen, the cabinet had a nonstructural 1.5 wooden slat at the front that, once removed, allowed for storing the bottles upright. I slapped labels on the tops of all my jars to make it easier to find things. (Why is it that a solid third of all spices seem to start with the letter C? Cinnamon, Cardamom, c.u.min, Caraway, Cloves...) deep (invariably resulting in endless digging for a container that turns out to be right in front), see if you have a drawer where you can see them from the top down. If they're too tall for you to close the drawer, check to see if there is a way to modify the drawer to give you more clearance. In my kitchen, the cabinet had a nonstructural 1.5 wooden slat at the front that, once removed, allowed for storing the bottles upright. I slapped labels on the tops of all my jars to make it easier to find things. (Why is it that a solid third of all spices seem to start with the letter C? Cinnamon, Cardamom, c.u.min, Caraway, Cloves...) [image]

For pull-out drawers or fridge doors with a top-down view, labeling the top gives a quick way to find an item.

Hanging up pots, pans, and strainers not only ensures you have a convenient "home" location for each item, but also frees up the cabinet s.p.a.ce that they would otherwise occupy. In my kitchen, I created a hanging system using supplies from the hardware store: S S hooks and a steel hooks and a steel L L beam with holes every few inches (an outside corner support for drywall, made in steel, not aluminum!). beam with holes every few inches (an outside corner support for drywall, made in steel, not aluminum!).

Functional Grouping Consider storing your everyday kitchen tools near the food items with which they are most commonly used. This approach cuts down on the number of trips between cupboards and counters. That is, instead of having a drawer for storing measuring spoons, measuring cups, small mixing bowls, garlic presses, etc., store those items next to the foods with which they are commonly used: - Measuring spoons and mortar and pestle with spices - Garlic press with garlic - Measuring cups with bulk foods - Small mixing bowls (8 oz) with oils, vinegars, small bulk goods - Teapots with tea; coffee beans with the French press / coffee pot Uniform Storage Containers There are several benefits to using food-grade storage containers for bulk items such as flours, sugars, salts, beans, rices, cereals, grains, pastas, lentils, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, etc. Using standard-sized containers makes optimal use of s.p.a.ce, and using plastic containers for storage keeps pantry moths in check. Pantry moths (weevils) can enter your kitchen as free riders in packaged dry goods such as grains or flours. If you're concerned, freeze newly purchased bags of rice, beans, flour, etc. for a week before transferring their contents to storage containers.

NoteYes, there are bugs in dry goods like flour and cereal. Bugs happen. Take their presence as a sign that the food you are buying is nutritious.

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Storing dry bulk goods in standardized containers is a more efficient use of s.p.a.ce and prevents spills from torn paper bags. If you have the cupboard s.p.a.ce, consider getting wide-mouthed containers for flour and sugar that are big enough for you to scoop directly from.

I store my bulk items in food-grade PVC containers, roughly 3 3 12 / 7 cm 7 cm 30 cm, that I purchased online from U.S. Plastic Corp. (http://www.usplastic.com, search for "PVC clear canister with lid"). Look for a product that has a screw-on lid and meets FDA standards, that has clear sides so that you can clearly see the food inside, and that has a narrow enough opening that you can easily pour from the container into dry measuring cups without spillage. (For flour, you might want to use one of the larger Cambro storage containers.) NoteHaving a hard time getting stuff to pour out of the container? Try rocking the container back and forth or rolling it in your hands to tumble out things like flour in a controlled manner.

If you have a particular food product that you buy regularly that comes in a suitable container (mmm, licorice!), you might be able to reuse the empty containers and skip the expense of buying new ones. As with spices, I label the tops of the containers and store them so that I can view the labels at a glance. This way, they can be stored sideways in a cabinet for a front view or in a pull-out drawer for top-down access.

Counter Layout Should you have the luxury of designing your own kitchen, there is one rule that can make a profound difference: design your s.p.a.ce so that you have three distinct countertop or work surfaces, each of which has at least 4 feet / 1.2 meters of usable s.p.a.ce. Think of it like swap s.p.a.ce: without enough s.p.a.ce for raw ingredients about to be cooked (first counter), plates for cooked food (second counter), and dirty dishes (third counter), your cooking can crash mid-process as you try to figure out where to stack that dirty pan. This isn't to say the three counter sections will always be used for those three functions, but as a rule of thumb, having three work surfaces of sufficient length (and depth!) seems to make cooking easier.

NoteThe 3 4 counter rule is a slight variation on the "Cooking Layout" design pattern from Christopher Alexander et al.'s A Pattern Language: Towns, Building, Construction A Pattern Language: Towns, Building, Construction (Oxford; see p. 853). It's a great book that examines the common design patterns present in good architecture and urban development. (Oxford; see p. 853). It's a great book that examines the common design patterns present in good architecture and urban development.

If your current kitchen setup violates the three-counter, four-feet rule, see if you can come up with a clever way to extend a countertop or create a work surface. If you have the s.p.a.ce, the easiest option is to buy a "kitchen island" on wheels, which you can move around as needed and also use to store common tools. If you don't have the s.p.a.ce for a floating island, see if there's a spot where you can mount a cutting board onto a wall, hinged in such a way that you can latch it up out of the way while not cooking. Or, you might be able to extend a countertop over an unused s.p.a.ce. (Ikea sells excellent and cheap wooden kitchen countertops.) Kitchen Layout TipsMost commercial kitchens are optimized to turn out meals as efficiently as possible. What tips can you borrow from the commercial world and apply in your home kitchen?Cabinet doors. Restaurants don't use them because they slow down access. If you cook often enough that dust isn't an issue, see if removing a few strategic cupboard doors and going to open shelves might work. If you're tight on storage, consider getting a Metro Cart or similar freestanding wire shelving. Restaurants don't use them because they slow down access. If you cook often enough that dust isn't an issue, see if removing a few strategic cupboard doors and going to open shelves might work. If you're tight on storage, consider getting a Metro Cart or similar freestanding wire shelving.Hanging pots. Yeah, hanging pots, pans, and strainers can look a little showy. But it's also handy: they're faster to find and easier to get to. And again, if you're tight on s.p.a.ce, hanging up your pots and pans will free up the cupboard s.p.a.ce that they would have otherwise taken up. If you're on a budget, look for a steel bar and some Yeah, hanging pots, pans, and strainers can look a little showy. But it's also handy: they're faster to find and easier to get to. And again, if you're tight on s.p.a.ce, hanging up your pots and pans will free up the cupboard s.p.a.ce that they would have otherwise taken up. If you're on a budget, look for a steel bar and some S S hooks. For a couple of dollars you might be able to rig up a serviceable solution. hooks. For a couple of dollars you might be able to rig up a serviceable solution.Counter s.p.a.ce. Running out of s.p.a.ce can be more than just frustrating; it can lead to kitchen lockup. The kitchen I had in college was miniscule. I once resorted to putting a warm pot that I was finished with on a rug near the kitchen, having run out of counter s.p.a.ce for dirty dishes, only to discover that the carpet was synthetic nylon, followed shortly by the discovery that synthetic nylon melts at a rather low temperature. If you're short on counter s.p.a.ce, see if you can rig up a removeable cutting board between two counters. Running out of s.p.a.ce can be more than just frustrating; it can lead to kitchen lockup. The kitchen I had in college was miniscule. I once resorted to putting a warm pot that I was finished with on a rug near the kitchen, having run out of counter s.p.a.ce for dirty dishes, only to discover that the carpet was synthetic nylon, followed shortly by the discovery that synthetic nylon melts at a rather low temperature. If you're short on counter s.p.a.ce, see if you can rig up a removeable cutting board between two counters.Cleanability. Consider ease of cleaning in your setup. Commercial kitchens are usually designed to be scrubbed down: white tile, drains, stainless steel. While you're probably not going to go that far, keeping the countertop free of various containers, jars, coffee grinders, etc. makes wiping down the s.p.a.ce easier. Consider ease of cleaning in your setup. Commercial kitchens are usually designed to be scrubbed down: white tile, drains, stainless steel. While you're probably not going to go that far, keeping the countertop free of various containers, jars, coffee grinders, etc. makes wiping down the s.p.a.ce easier.

I once had a studio apartment with two feet of counter s.p.a.ce in a tiny galley-style kitchen. I was able to add another work surface by building a "temporary" counter that spanned the galley s.p.a.ce: I screwed a 2 4 board to the wall opposite the sink and found a cutting board large enough to span from wall to sink. Two dowel pins kept the board from moving. Whenever I needed the counter s.p.a.ce, I could just pick up the board and drop it into place. It was simple, cheap, and easy-and well worth the two hours of time it took to put it in place.

If hacking your kitchen s.p.a.ce isn't for you, you might still be able to reclaim some s.p.a.ce through judicious relocation of kitchen appliances from counter to cupboard (do you really use that bread maker every day?). Spending a few hours creatively reorganizing your counter setup will avoid a lot of potential headaches down the road.

Kitchen Pruning Keeping your countertops and cupboards junk-free is just as important as having enough storage s.p.a.ce for all of your kitchen accoutrements. By pruning out unused or uncommonly used items, you'll find it easier to locate the everyday items.

Start by inventorying the gadgets you have in your drawers. Anything that you haven't used for more than a year should be foisted off on others. If you're not sure you can part with something or have emotional attachments (but that's the mango slicer from our honeymoon!), find another home for it, outside the kitchen. Duplicate items (three bread knives?!) and rarely used gadgets should be moved out of the kitchen and, if never recalled, recycled. When you're unsure, err on the side of relocating stuff away from the kitchen. Remember, you can always pull it back into your kitchen if you need it!

Some of your kitchen tools will be seasonal. If you're tight on s.p.a.ce, large roasting pans for Thanksgiving turkeys and egg decoration supplies for Easter might be better off stored in a garage or closet.

Broken cheese graters, chipped gla.s.ses, cracked dishes-anything that can cause injury should it break while in use-should be fixed or replaced. (Dull knives count. Keep those knives sharp!) Should something break while you're cooking and leave bits of gla.s.s or ceramic in your food, toss the whole dish out and order pizza. (Mmm, pizza: cheaper than a visit to the emergency room.) NoteParkinson's Law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.Potter's Corollary to Parkinson's Law: Kitchen stuff expands so as to fill every last shelf and drawer. Kitchen stuff expands so as to fill every last shelf and drawer.

Kitchen stuff expands to fill all available s.p.a.ce, and then some. Any time you introduce a new chop-o-whiza-matic to your kitchen, try to remove something that takes up a similar amount of s.p.a.ce. If your kitchen is already crammed full of stuff and you find the idea of a marathon pruning session overwhelming, try doing your clean-out one cupboard at a time. Still too overwhelming? Remove just one thing a day, no matter how small or big, until you reach a Zen state of tranquility. Kitchen pruning is much easier as an ongoing habit than as an annual ritual.

Adam Ried on Equipment and Recipes[image]PHOTO BY ANDREW BARANOWSKIAdam Ried writes the Boston Globe Magazine' Boston Globe Magazine's cooking column and appears as the kitchen equipment specialist on the PBS series America's Test Kitchen. America's Test Kitchen. His personal website is at His personal website is at http://www.adamried.com.How did you end up writing for the Globe Globe and working at and working at America's Test Kitchen America's Test Kitchen?I didn't intend to be involved in food for a living. I went to school for architecture. I was quick to realize that a) I never should have been admitted to architecture school, and b) even though I was admitted, it would be a grave mistake for me to pursue it, because to quote Barbie, "Math is hard."So I was doing marketing for architecture firms. I spent a whole lot of time cruising cookbooks, making dinners, and having friends over, but the light bulb hadn't quite gone off. I would come in every Monday morning after a weekend of cooking, and regale my officemates with the various things that I had tried, and how they worked, and what I wanted to change. One day, someone just looked at me and said, "What are you doing here? Why don't you just go to cooking school?" I mean talk about feeling like a doofus. It had never gelled for me, even though my sister had been to cooking school, and my whole family cooks. I promptly quit my job and went to the Boston University Culinary Certificate Program.At one point, I was in the office of the director, and there was another woman waiting in the office to speak with her. The woman and I struck up a conversation. She had done the program a year or two before me. She was an editor at Cook's Ill.u.s.trated, Cook's Ill.u.s.trated, which I read, but again, doofus moment, it had never registered that it was just down the street in Brookline. I started talking to her about what her job was and how she liked it. Then and there, I decided that I wanted to write about food instead of actually cooking it. which I read, but again, doofus moment, it had never registered that it was just down the street in Brookline. I started talking to her about what her job was and how she liked it. Then and there, I decided that I wanted to write about food instead of actually cooking it.I was on the poor woman like white on rice and just kept after her for a freelance a.s.signment here and there. That finally s...o...b..lled into a real job at Cook's Ill.u.s.trated. Cook's Ill.u.s.trated. This was in the early 1990s. I remember being in school thinking, "Oh, G.o.d, I don't want to work on the line in a restaurant. That's too hard. I'm too old. I don't like the heat. What am I going to do?" It's one of those incredibly irritating right place, right time stories that you never want to hear when you're on the other end of it. This was in the early 1990s. I remember being in school thinking, "Oh, G.o.d, I don't want to work on the line in a restaurant. That's too hard. I'm too old. I don't like the heat. What am I going to do?" It's one of those incredibly irritating right place, right time stories that you never want to hear when you're on the other end of it.From the perspective of cooking in the kitchen, what has turned out to matter more than you expected?This sounds a little geeky, but the thing that I didn't realize going into it, especially because I don't have a scientific mind, was that understanding some of the science behind cooking is important. Leavening is still an uphill battle for me to understand. All these recipes rely primarily on baking powder, but sometimes include a little baking soda. Really understanding the acid neutralization in baking soda as an ingredient and what ingredients are acidic is not something that they really teach you in cooking school.What turned out to be less important?Not to shoot myself in the foot here, but kitchen tools. You really don't need every conceivable tool to cook well.What would you consider to be the few basic tools a kitchen needs?Certainly a chef's knife. A serrated knife is also really useful. A good, heavy aluminum core saute pan is important. You can do a million different things in it: saute obviously, braise, shallow fry, roast, bake... A good strainer, measuring cups, and spoons are useful. I love bowls that have the measurements on them so you can get the volume as you are mixing. I have an immersion blender that I use a ton. I would not want to go anywhere without my immersion blender. I use the food processor quite a bit. I have a standing mixer, but I could probably get away with a hand mixer for most of what I do. Those are some of the basics.What's your overall approach when you look at a piece of kitchen gear?I do my best to dump all preconceptions. Because I have had years of experience in the area and exposure to the various tools and talked to various experts, I automatically know what I'm looking for. But I have to try and let go of that stuff and do the test as objectively as possible, because I may be surprised.I remember testing grill pans that had ridges in the bottom, which are supposed to create the visual effect of real grill marks. I'm a big cast iron pan man. I like cast iron, and one of the pans in the line-up was a cast iron grill pan. Even doing my best to drop the preconceptions, I still thought, "It's going to be fabulous." In fact, it did heat up reasonably evenly, and it retained its heat. It made good grill marks. But I was surprised by the fact that it was a pain to clean because of the shape and placement of the ridges. Gunk would collect between them. I try not to use detergent and abrasives on cast iron, because I want to care for the seasoning. If I have really stuck-on gunk, I get in there with coa.r.s.e salt and stiff brush, and there just wasn't enough room for the salt to really do its thing. After cleaning it twice, I swore I would never use it again.[image]What's your process for going from a first version, or concept, to a final recipe for a Boston Globe Boston Globe article? article?I've never really shaken the cook's process, so I probably research and test more than I have to. For instance, I'm currently working on fruitcake for a Christmas holiday column. I start by looking online. I have a whole bunch of cookbooks at home, and I also make liberal use of all the libraries in our area. So I'll look at as many fruitcake recipes as I can, say 40 or 50, or whatever is practical given my deadline. I will make a little chart for myself, just a quick handwritten thing, of the types and variables in a fruitcake recipe. Then I overlay my own food sensibilities.For example, what color scheme I want, what ratio of batter to fruit and nuts I want, what shapes and so forth. I will do what I call "cobbling together" a recipe. I'll give it a try. I convene my tasters and we taste it and a.n.a.lyze it. There's no such thing as a casual, thoughtless meal in this house. I want feedback on pretty much every bite that everyone puts in his or her mouth. Then I'll go back and make it a second time. If I'm really, really, lucky, I can nail it on the second try. More often than not, I will make it a third time. It's a constant process of critique and a.n.a.lysis.Are there cases where you just get stuck and can't figure out why it's not working?I'm really lucky to have worked in the food world for long enough that I know a lot of people, much smarter than I am, who I can always call with questions. Actually, for one of my first columns for the Globe Globe, I was doing a thing on mangos and I wanted to do mango bread. I was trying to get the leavening right. There was some mola.s.ses in there, and some pureed mangos, and this question of baking powder and baking soda came up. I ended up calling a million different bakers to help me understand the role of the baking powder and how it affected the browning.I've been known to sc.r.a.p recipes if they don't work the way I want them to after the third or fourth try, or if it doesn't taste as good as I want it to. But I don't remember being so stuck in a problem that I wasn't able to work it out without the help of many smart people.Has there ever been a case where you've published a recipe, and in hindsight, said "oops," or where the reaction was unexpected?Oh, G.o.d, yes. It's really difficult to please all of the people all of the time. I remember publis.h.i.+ng one recipe early on and when I went back and looked at it a couple of years later, I thought, "What the h.e.l.l was I thinking? That is just as convoluted as can be."Have any of your recipes caught you off guard by how well liked they were?There was a lemony quinoa pilaf and asparagus with shrimp scampi recipe that I did. I had discussed quinoa off and on with my editor for a while, because I really like it. Now it's in pretty much any supermarket, but at the point I was writing this recipe it was new to me. People loved it. I got so much positive response from readers on that one.Lemony Quinoa and Asparagus with Shrimp Scampi - cup (50g) olive oil - 3 tablespoons (40g) b.u.t.ter - 1 medium (100g) onion, finely chopped - 1 cups (280g) quinoa, rinsed - Salt and black pepper - pound (225g) asparagus, ends snapped off and cut into 1.5 / 4 cm lengths - 1 teaspoons (2g) lemon zest (about 1 lemon's worth) - cup (60g) lemon juice (about 1 lemon's worth) - 2 pounds (900g) large shrimp, peeled, deveined (if desired), rinsed, and dried - 4 cloves (12g) garlic, minced - cup (125g) dry white wine Cayenne pepper - cup (15g) minced fresh parsley Adjust the oven rack to the center position, place an ovenproof serving dish on the rack, and heat the oven to 200F / 95C. In a large nonstick saute pan set over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of b.u.t.ter. Add the onion and cook until soft, about five minutes. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring constantly, until it smells toasty, about four minutes. Add 2 cups / 650g of water and 1 teaspoon of salt, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is just tender, about 12 minutes. Off heat, sprinkle the asparagus over the quinoa, replace the cover, and set the pan aside until the quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid and the asparagus is tender, about 12 minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice, season with black pepper and additional salt, if desired, and stir. Transfer the quinoa to the warmed serving dish, spread it out to make a bed, and place it in the oven to keep warm.Wipe out the saute pan with a paper towel, add 1 tablespoon of oil, and set it over high heat. When the oil just begins to smoke, add half of the shrimp and cook them, without moving, until they begin to turn opaque, about a minute. Quickly turn the shrimp and cook them until fully opaque, about 45 seconds longer, and transfer them to a bowl. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan, and repeat the process to cook the remaining shrimp. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of b.u.t.ter to the pan, place over medium-low heat, and when the b.u.t.ter has melted, add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add the wine and a pinch of cayenne and stir to blend. Return the shrimp and any acc.u.mulated juices to the pan, add the parsley, season with salt to taste, and stir to combine. Remove the serving dish from the oven, pour the shrimp and its juices over the bed of quinoa, and serve at once.[image]RECIPE USED BY PERMISSION OF ADAM RIED; ORIGINALLY RAN IN THE MAY 18, 2008 BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE Giving Kitchen Tools As Gifts Don't.

Or, at least not without talking to the lucky recipient. It's virtually impossible to predict someone else's needs and tastes in kitchen tools, and for all the reasons just discussed, saddling them with the wrong tool might be worse than giving them nothing at all. The one exception is if your recipient is just embarking on her culinary adventures, in which case the bare minimum essentials are probably probably okay: chef's knife, scalloped paring knife, wooden cutting board, frying pan, a stack of bar towels, and a gift certificate to the local grocery store. If the recipient has a sense of humor, get 'em a fire extinguisher, too. okay: chef's knife, scalloped paring knife, wooden cutting board, frying pan, a stack of bar towels, and a gift certificate to the local grocery store. If the recipient has a sense of humor, get 'em a fire extinguisher, too.

Chapter3.Choosing Your Inputs: Flavors and Ingredients.

YOU OPEN YOUR FRIDGE AND SEE PICKLES, STRAWBERRIES, AND TORTILLAS. What do you do? What do you do?

You might answer: create a pickle/strawberry wrap. Or if you're less adventurous, you might say: order a pizza. But somewhere between just throwing it together and ordering takeout is another option. If you're reading this book, you're hopefully opening another door and taking the path toward answering one of life's deeper questions: how do I know what goes together? how do I know what goes together?

The answer is, as with so many things, "it depends." It depends on how the flavors combine, how those combinations line up with your past experiences, and how the tastes and smells stimulate the regions of your brain responsible for generating and satisfying cravings.

The secret to achieving that blissful sensation of yummy yummy in your cooking is to pick good inputs: ingredients that carry good flavor, generate pleasure, and make your mouth water. The single most important variable in predicting the outcome of your culinary attempts is choosing the right ingredients. I'll say it again, because this is probably the second most important sentence in the book: picking the right ingredients for your dish is the biggest predictor of its success. in your cooking is to pick good inputs: ingredients that carry good flavor, generate pleasure, and make your mouth water. The single most important variable in predicting the outcome of your culinary attempts is choosing the right ingredients. I'll say it again, because this is probably the second most important sentence in the book: picking the right ingredients for your dish is the biggest predictor of its success.

NoteAnd here is the most important sentence of this book: the secret to a good meal is having fun making it and enjoying the entire experience! the secret to a good meal is having fun making it and enjoying the entire experience!

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True, you need some skill to manipulate those inputs once they land in the frying pan-don't burn the dinner! But no amount of skill can correct for bad inputs. Cooking and engineering definitely share the maxim garbage in, garbage out garbage in, garbage out (GIGO). This chapter covers what you need to know in order to avoid the "garbage in" condition while cooking. (GIGO). This chapter covers what you need to know in order to avoid the "garbage in" condition while cooking.

The easiest way to turn a bunch of ingredients into something that tastes great is to buy good ingredients, pick a great recipe, and execute it faithfully. But as the type of geek who likes to be creative, I don't always want to follow a recipe slavishly. I want to understand how to improvise on one or create my own-how to write my own "code" in the kitchen to create something new.

Great chefs can imagine the taste of a combination of ingredients without picking up a spoon. Chef Grant Achatz, of Alinea fame, went through a bout with tongue cancer during which he wasn't able to taste anything, but he was still able to conceive flavor combinations, coming up with what some consider the best food in the nation. As you cook, take time to imagine how the dish you're working on will eventually taste, and check yourself by comparing that imagined taste against the real taste of the final product. Ultimately, knowing which inputs go together is based on having had a wide range of experience putting things together and having taken note of what works and what fails.

If you can't yet imagine what a pickle/strawberry wrap would taste like-or if you can but still want to explore some new ideas on flavor-use the methods for combining ingredients described in this chapter as ways of building up your experiential memory and stirring up new ideas: Adapt and Experiment Method - Learn how to recognize the basic tastes and how to adjust them by starting with something you already know how to make, even if it's spaghetti with store-bought pasta sauce.

Regional/Traditional Method - Use ingredients and recipes specific to a particular place to understand the traditional ways flavors and tastes are combined. A truly new dish in cooking is rare; almost everything "new" can be traced back to tradition.

Seasonal Method - Limit yourself to produce and meats that are in season. With this approach the number of potential combinations goes down, while the higher quality of the in-season foods results in better flavors.

a.n.a.lytical Method - Use a "geek" approach: look at chemicals in foods or at the co-occurrence of ingredients in recipes, and build heuristics that try to predict what flavors will work together.

Because combining ingredients is about how the flavors meld, we'll start with a primer on the physiology of smell and taste, including some experiments to help shed light on how the olfactory and gustatory senses work. Then we'll tackle each of these methods in turn.

Smell + Taste = Flavor Taste is the set of sensations picked up by taste buds on the tongue (gustatory sense), while smell is the set of sensations detected by the nose (olfactory sense). Even though much of what we commonly think of as taste is really smell, our perception of flavor is actually the result of the combination of these two senses.

When you take a sip of a chocolate milkshake, the flavor you experience is a combination of tastes picked up by your tongue (sweet, a tiny bit salty) combined with smells detected by your nose (chocolate, dairy, a little vanilla, and maybe a hint of egg). Our brains trick us into thinking that the sensation is a single input, located somewhere around the mouth, but in reality the "sense" of flavor is happening up in the grey matter. In addition to the taste and smell, our brains also factor in other data picked up by our mouths, such as chemical irritation (think hot peppers) and texture, but this data plays only a minor role in how we sense most flavors.

The most important variable for good flavor is the quality of the individual ingredients you use. If the strawberries smell so amazing that they make your mouth water, they're probably good. If the fish looks appealing, doesn't feel slimy, and smells "clean," you're good to go. But if an avocado has no real smell and feels like it would be better suited for a game of mini-football, there's little chance that guacamole made from it will be particularly appealing. And if the meat is a week past its use-by date and is home to bacteria that have evolved to be smart enough to say, "well, h.e.l.lo there" when you open the package? Definitely not good.

For a tomato-based dish to taste good, the tomatoes in it should taste and smell like tomatoes. Just because the grocery store has a sign that reads "tomato" next to a pile of red things that look like tomatoes but don't smell like much doesn't make them automatically worthy of a place on your dinner plate. Though they just might not be ripe yet, more likely than not they're a variety that will never be truly flavorful. While serviceable in a sandwich, many of the current ma.s.s-produced versions rarely bring the pow pow or or bam bam that is the hallmark of great food. that is the hallmark of great food.

NoteThis isn't to say that ma.s.s-produced tomatoes can't be flavorful. It's just that the most important variables for taste-primarily genetics, but also growing environment and handling-haven't been given very much attention in recent years.

It can be discouraging, especially for someone new to cooking, to spend the time, money, and energy trying something new only to have a disappointing outcome. Starting with good inputs gives you better odds of getting a good output. You're better off subst.i.tuting something else that does pack a wallop of flavor than using a low-quality version of a specified ingredient. If you're shopping for a green hardy leaf like kale but what you find looks like it has seen better days, keep looking. Maybe the store has a pile of beautiful collard greens. Would that work? Give it a try.

When it comes to detecting quality, your nose is a great tool. Fruits should smell fragrant, fish should have little or no smell, and meats should smell mild and perhaps a little gamey, but never bad. Smelling things isn't foolproof-some cheeses are supposed to smell like sweaty gym socks and there are some foodborne illness-causing bacteria that have no odor-so you should still use common sense. Still, your sense of smell remains the best way to find good flavor as well as root out whatever evil might be lurking inside.

NoteOne caveat on fruit needing to smell fragrant when you purchase it: this doesn't necessarily pertain to types of fruit that will continue to ripen after picking (see the Storage Tips for Perishable Foods Storage Tips for Perishable Foods sidebar in sidebar in Chapter2 Chapter2 for details). But between giving a peach a squeeze or a sniff, what you smell is going to tell you a lot more about the ripeness of the peach. for details). But between giving a peach a squeeze or a sniff, what you smell is going to tell you a lot more about the ripeness of the peach.

Taste (Gustatory Sense) Our tongues act as chemical detectors: receptor cells of the taste buds directly interact with chemicals and ions broken down by our saliva from food. Once triggered, the receptor cells send corresponding messages to our brains, which a.s.semble the collective set of signals and compile the data into a taste and its relative strength.

The basic tastes in western cuisine that Leucippus (or more likely one of his grad students, Democritus) first described 2,400 years ago are salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. Taste researchers are beginning to discover that Leucippus and Democritus described only part of the picture, though. It turns out that our tongues are able to sense a few secondary tastes as well. About a hundred years ago, Dr. Kikunae Ikeda identified a fifth taste, which he named umami umami (sometimes called (sometimes called savory savory in English) and described as having a "meaty" flavor. Umami is triggered by receptors on the tongue sensing the amino acids glutamate and aspartate in foods such as broths, hard aged cheeses like Parmesan, mushrooms, meats, and MSG. Recent research suggests that we might also have additional receptors for chemicals such as fatty acids and some metals. in English) and described as having a "meaty" flavor. Umami is triggered by receptors on the tongue sensing the amino acids glutamate and aspartate in foods such as broths, hard aged cheeses like Parmesan, mushrooms, meats, and MSG. Recent research suggests that we might also have additional receptors for chemicals such as fatty acids and some metals.

Our taste buds also detect and report oral irritation caused by chemicals such as ethyl alcohol and capsaicin, the compound that makes hot peppers hot. Try tasting a small pinch of cinnamon and then some cayenne pepper while keeping your nose plugged. Notice the sandy, flavorless sensation caused by the cinnamon as compared to the sandy, flavorless, burning sensation caused by the cayenne pepper. Capsaicin literally irritates the cells, which is why it's used in pepper sprays like Mace and in some antifouling paints used by the boating industry. (Zebra mussels don't like the cellular irritation either.) Cellular irritation isn't limited to the "hot" reaction generated by compounds like capsaicin. Pungent reactions are triggered by other compounds, too. Szechuan (also known as Sichuan) peppers, used in Asian cooking, and Melegueta peppers, used in Africa, cause a mild pungent and numbing sensation. Another plant, Acmella oleracea Acmella oleracea, produces Szechuan b.u.t.tons Szechuan b.u.t.tons, edible flowers that are high in the compound spilanthol. Spilanthol causes a tingling reaction often compared to licking the terminals on a nine-volt battery.

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Spilanthol, the active ingredient in Szechuan b.u.t.tons (which are also known as sans...o...b..u.t.tons or electric b.u.t.tons), triggers receptors that cause a numbing, tingling sensation. The "b.u.t.tons" are actually the flowers of the Acmella oleracea plant.

Regardless of how many types of receptors there are on the tongue or the mechanisms by which taste sensations are triggered, the approach in cooking is the same: try to balance the various tastes (e.g., not too salty, not too sweet).

Whether you find a set of flavors to be enjoyable or how you prefer tastes to be balanced depends in large part on how your brain is wired and trained to respond to basic tastes. If you're like many geeks I know, you might have an affinity for coffee with lots of sugar and milk or find a certain candy bar loaded with caramel and nuts and covered in chocolate irresistible. But why why are these things delicious? Because our bodies find fats, sugars, and salts to be highly desirable, perhaps due to their scarcity in the wild and the relative ease with which we can process them for their nutrients. are these things delicious? Because our bodies find fats, sugars, and salts to be highly desirable, perhaps due to their scarcity in the wild and the relative ease with which we can process them for their nutrients.

Besides basic physiology, your cultural upbringing will affect where you find balance in tastes. That is, what one culture finds ideally balanced won't necessarily be the same for another culture. Americans generally prefer foods to taste sweeter than our European counterparts. Umami is a key taste in j.a.panese cuisine but has historically been given less formal consideration in the European tradition (although this is starting to change). Keep this in mind when you cook for others: what you find just right might be different than someone else's idea of perfection.

Taste (Flavor) TestIdentifying foods by flavor is harder than it sounds. Here are two experiments you might enjoy. The first experiment uses both taste and smell and requires a small amount of advance prep work. The second experiment uses just smell and is easier to set up (but not quite as rewarding).Experiment #1: Taste and smellThis exercise uses common foods from your grocery store, items that might not be part of your day-to-day diet but are still generally familiar to many. Dice or puree the items to remove any visual clues about their normal size and texture. You might be surprised at the degree of difficulty in identifying some of them! It's surprising to discover how much "knowing" what a food item is-seeing the cilantro leaf or being told it's a hazelnut chocolate cupcake-allows us to sense the flavors and tastes we expect from it.This exercise is best done in a group, because the experience can be surprising and the resulting conversation really educational. I find that a group size of around six to eight partic.i.p.ants works best. Have tasters write down their guesses individually, and then start a conversation about the experience when everyone's finished. The person preparing the exercise will, unfortunately, not be able to partic.i.p.ate.In a set of small bowls, divide the following food items, setting with spoons or toothpicks as appropriate: - White turnip, cooked and diced - Cooked polenta, diced (some stores carry packaged cooked polenta that can be easily sliced) - Hazelnuts ground to the size of coa.r.s.e sand - Cilantro paste (look in the frozen food section; or buy fresh cilantro and use a mortar and pestle to make a paste) - Tamarind paste or tamarind concentrate - Oreo cookies, ground (both cookie and filling; will result in a black powder) - Almond b.u.t.ter (or any nut b.u.t.ter other than peanut b.u.t.ter) - Caraway seeds - Jicama root, diced - Pureed blackberry

Notes.