Do you ever wonder how a baker gets the perfect loaf of bread every time? It is highly likely that they are using a proofing basket to keep the shape and structure of the loaf when it’s rising. Proofing baskets are not only used in the professional kitchen but they are also popular items for…
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Easter Desserts
Narrow your search and complete your Easter dinner on a sweet note with some of these delicious cakes. From Coconut, Carrot, Lemon, and Strawberry, to the Classic Easter Vanilla, there are many cakes to please your taste buds! Coconut Cake The Coconut cake is not only delicious but offers a balanced taste as well as…
The Science of Sushi Knives
Sushi is one of the most famous Japanese dishes outside of Japan and there is a lot of attention to detail required when preparing it. There are many steps to making a correct sushi roll, from cutting vegetables, filleting fish, and then finally cutting the sushi roll. A Sushi knife is designed to be versatile…
Understanding Wine Aromas
The ability to smell and untangle the complex aromas of wine can be extremely difficult. Understanding and recognizing various aromas take time and practice to acquire, even for a self acclaimed foodie or culinary professional. However, once you are able to understand a wine’s profile the description of a wine becomes a reality! Getting Started…
Baking and all the Tips!
There are a variety of pastry tips ranging in size, shape, and product material to pipe anything from leaves, to flowers, to names. The most commonly used piping tips are the plain tips and star tips. Tips can usually be purchased individually or in sets. Let’s look further into what each tip can produce! Round:…
PART TWO: Using a Whetstone
Last week, we discussed how to choose a Whetstone and the differences in Part One: Choosing a Whetstone. We can’t stress enough that the best thing you can do to maintain peak performance of your knives is to keep them constantly sharp. An alternative sharpening method to the sharpening steel is a whetstone (sometimes referred…
PART ONE: Choosing a Whetstone
Whetstones are often considered to be one of the best ways to sharpen a knife because the user has the most control over the angle and grit used. Once this method of sharpening is mastered, it can be both very effective and gentle. A whetstone is a sharpening method that uses natural stone or synthetic…
The Mezzaluna Knife
The Mezzaluna knife is an easy-to-use and straightforward kitchen tool which makes your mincing and chopping jobs much more efficient. The Mezzaluna knife has a crescent blade that has vertical handles on either end. The blade can come in both single and double blade designs, with the handles most commonly made of plastic or wood….
Cooking with Winter Vegetables
When we think of winter, we often think of cold, short days, and long for fresh fruits and vegetables from our home gardens. However, we can have some culinary fun with winter too as this season provides some great winter vegetables to satisfy our palettes. We can keep our gardens alive and our bellies full…
Understanding the Rockwell Hardness Scale
There are many ways that we can measure the quality of a knife. Some of the more popular and obvious ways to determine the quality of a knife are feeling the weight and balance of the knife and knowing what material the blade is made from. A less known method of determining the quality of…
The Importance of Knife Skills
Knife skills are one of the most important competencies you will learn as a Culinary Student. It is particularly important to have a good understanding of knife skills to help ensure safety in the kitchen and the best final result. In addition to strong knife skills, it is important to have a good quality knife….
The Science of Cooking
This post was written with ideas from “The Complete Book of Knife Skills” by Jeffrey Elliot and James P. DeWan. There are various publications that discuss many key points to help the aspiring cook or foodie master the skills a good chef possesses. Today, we are going to dive deeper into understanding The Science of…
Tools for The Discriminating Chef 