# data[].attributes.body
The process of cutting food into small cubes of equal size so that the food is evenly cooked and/or pleasant in appearance for the recipe. Dicing, unlike chopping or mincing, is a precision cut that is consistent in size.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Here's how to keep your blades sharp.

Wash by Hand. Dishwashers are harsh on blades: Knives can hit other items or corrode from food or water. Wash them in warm soapy water, then dry and store.

No Scraping! After chopping, avoid scraping the blade across the cutting board to move ingredients. Use the blunt side of the knife instead.

Sharpen Regularly. Look for knife-sharpening services at specialty grocery or kitchenware stores. Dull knives do a sloppy job - and they're dangerous, too.

Tackle any kitchen task with these three basic blades.

Chef's: This all-purpose knife (8- to 10-inch blade) is your go-to for most prep work. It can handle small jobs, like mincing garlic, or big ones, like breaking down squash or carving meat.

Serrated: The saw-toothed edge of this long knife is essential for cutting bread but also does a great job slicing ripe tomatoes or trimming cake layers.

Paring: A small, sturdy paring knife (3- to 4-inch blade) is key for detail work, like deveining shrimp, hulling strawberries and other tasks that require precision.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here's how to keep your blades sharp. Wash by Hand. Dishwashers are harsh on blades: Knives can hit other items or corrode from food or water. Wash them in warm soapy water, then dry and store. No Scraping! After chopping, avoid scraping the blade across the cutting board to move ingredients.

# data[].attributes.body
made from milk and a white roux

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Béchamel is a basic white sauce and one of the five mother sauces of classical cuisine. That means it's the starting point for making other sauces, like the cheddar cheese sauce, the mornay sauce, and several other variations.

You can also season it and serve it as-is. Or try making it with bacon or sausage fat for an amazing white gravy.

The reason for using fresh bay leaf as opposed to dried is that it allows you to attach the bay leaf to the onion using the cloves like thumbtacks. A dried bay leaf will tend to crack and crumble if you try this. This is not the end of the world, since you'll be straining the sauce anyway.

What's nice about thumb-tacking the cloves into the onion, though, is it makes them easier to retrieve. Again, you're straining the sauce anyway. But since a clove can crack a tooth, it's nice to confirm that the same number come out as went in.

It's traditional to use white pepper to season béchamel because some chefs prefer not to see specks of black pepper in a white sauce. But if you 1) can't find white pepper and/or 2) don't mind specks of black pepper in your béchamel, you can use black.

Finally, while clarified butter is ideal for making béchamel, béchamel is not nearly as fussy as hollandaise, so you can make it with ordinary unsalted butter. Just make sure you use a little bit more, because whole butter contains water, while clarified butter doesn't.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Learn How to Make Béchamel Sauce, One of the 5 Mother Sauces

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Béchamel is a basic white sauce and one of the five mother sauces of classical cuisine. That means it's the starting point for making other sauces, like the cheddar cheese sauce, the mornay sauce, and several other variations. You can also season it and serve it as-is.

# data[].attributes.body
beat or stir (a substance, especially cream or eggs) with a light, rapid movement.

# data[].attributes.body
(with reference to a liquid) reach or cause to reach the temperature at which it bubbles and turns to vapor.

# data[].attributes.body
a mixture of fat (especially butter) and flour used in making sauces.

# data[].attributes.body
fry quickly in a little hot fat.

# data[].attributes.body
Parbaking is a cooking technique in which a bread or dough product is partially baked and then rapidly frozen for storage. The raw dough is baked normally, but halted at about 80% of the normal cooking time, when it is rapidly cooled and frozen.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bakery Performance | Par-baked bread by Casper Hoy Simonsen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Par-baked bread by Casper Hoy Simonsen for Bakery Performance

# data[].attributes.body
work (moistened flour or clay) into dough or paste with the hands.

# data[].attributes.body
the chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeasts, or other microorganisms, typically involving effervescence and the giving off of heat.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fermentation explained in 3 minutes - Ethanol and Lactic Acid Fermentation

# data[].attributes.body
To distribute a solid fat in flour using a cutting motion, with 2 knives used scissors-fashion or a pastry blender, until divided evenly into tiny pieces. Usually refers to making pastry.

# data[].attributes.body
The biscuit method is a method for making quick breads such as scones and, well, biscuits. ... The biscuit method is one of the only mixing methods that does not require you to have all of your ingredients at room temperature. Your fats and liquids should be cold for the biscuit method.

# data[].attributes.body
A pastry blender is a kitchen tool used to mix a hard fat into flour in order to make pastries. The tool is usually made of narrow metal strips or wires attached to a handle, and is used by pressing down on the items to be mixed.

# data[].attributes.body
A pastry brush, also known as a basting brush, is a cooking utensil used to spread butter, oil or glaze on food.

# data[].attributes.headline
Explain the function of sour cream in a baked good

# data[].attributes.subject
Explain the function of sour cream in a baked good

# data[].attributes.body
sour cream offers a beautiful balance of acidity and fat that translates into a flavorful cake with a fine moist crumb.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The liquid portion of a cake recipe can be easily overlooked as an insignificant ingredient but, it plays an important role in the character of the cake. In this segment I will take a look the differences in three different types of dairy products and how varying these will change the resulting cake. The three dairy products are whole milk, buttermilk and sour cream. Let's delve in and see what changes happen and the properties that of the dairy items that lead to these changes.

The main properties of the liquids that affect cake are acidity and fat.

Acids in a batter have an effect on protein interaction and starch gelation.

Fat in batter provides moisture, and by coating gluten forming proteins, reduces gluten formation and thus tenderizes the cake.

When you alter the type of liquid that goes into a cake batter you redefine the balance and interplay of the fats and acidity. Whole milk is a relatively neutral liquid and provides around 9 grams of fat per cup. It provides little acidity but is moderate in the fat department. Buttermilk, which is generally derived from low-fat or non-fat milk contains little fat at approximately 2.5 grams per cup but offers greater acidity at around 1% acid content. Sour cream has acidity akin to buttermilk at about 0.8% but unlike buttermilk, sour cream also imbues a batter with 40 grams of fat per cup.

How does changing these ingredients actually play out in a cake recipe? It seems that acidity truly is an important factor of cake liquid. The cake baked with whole milk was slightly darker in color that the acid containing cakes and the milk cake had a coarse crumb. The coarseness of the crumb is likely caused by the lack of acidity, which allows gluten proteins to readily form, and the neutral liquid which can bolster gluten formation. The milk cake was also slightly bland in flavor compared to the others because of its mild flavor.

The buttermilk cake was lighter in texture and had a tenderer crumb. Interestingly, the cake did not seem to suffer significantly from the reduction of fat. It was as moist as the whole milk cake. The buttermilk cake did have the advantage for flavor though. It provided a mild complexity that was not too tangy.

The sour cream cake had a very fine, tender crumb. The sour cream contains acidity as well as sizable amounts of fat. This combination generated a cake with a very appealing texture. The sour cream cake was also light in texture and at the same time moist. This cake, like the buttermilk had a lovely flavor that was brought about by the subtle sour acid notes in the sour cream.

Acidity and fat derived from liquids can have a great impact on the outcome of a cake. My preference is for a cake containing sour cream which offers a beautiful balance of acidity and fat that translates into a flavorful cake with a fine moist crumb.

Happy baking!

Now read my article, Mixing Up The Perfect Cake.
See exactly how long to mix butter and sugar together!

Next see If Sifting Makes a Better Cake.
I think you'll be surprised by my results!

And don't miss my article, The Meringue Buttercream Myth!
It's a unique new way to make Swiss Meringue Butterceam.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The liquid portion of a cake recipe can be easily overlooked as an insignificant ingredient but, it plays an important role in the character of the cake. In this segment I will take a look the differences in three different types of dairy products and how varying these will change the resulting cake.

# data[].attributes.body
A crumbly topping or filling made from fat, flour, sugar, and often cinnamon

# data[].attributes.body
Folding is usually done with a rubber spatula (for liquid & dry ingredients) or with a wire whisk (often beneficial for whipped cream and egg whites so that the mixture gently incorporates as it falls through the wires).

"Folding" is a more gentle mixing technique than "stirring" and "mixing". Stirring and mixing both denote a more vigorous action.

# data[].attributes.body
The muffin method) calls for measurement of dry and wet ingredients separately, then quickly mixing the two. Usually mixing is done using a tool with a wide head such as a spoon or spatula to prevent the dough from becoming over-beaten, which would break down the egg's lift.

# data[].attributes.body
A piece of cooking equipment used to scoop and dish dough onto a pan so everything is the same size

# data[].attributes.body
A cookie dropped with a disher on to the baking sheet

# data[].attributes.body
A cookie shaped with your fingers

# data[].attributes.body
A type of cookie baked in a sheet pan and cut into bars or squares

# data[].attributes.body
A dry and powdery acidic byproduct

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cream of tartar is one of those mystery ingredients you might have seen in your grandma's pantry without knowing what it's used for. After all, its name doesn't give you a clue-not like baking powder or baking soda. Yet just a touch of it makes a big difference in your baking and cooking. Here's what it is and how to use it in recipes, and even around the house. #multitasker

What is cream of tartar?

First of all, it's not creamy. It's a dry, powdery, acidic byproduct of fermenting grapes into wine. Its sciency name is potassium bitartrate, aka potassium hydrogen tartrate or tartaric acid (hence the name). But you can find it in the spice aisle labeled as plain ol' cream of tartar.

What is cream of tartar for?

Adding a small amount of cream of tartar when you're beating egg whites-usually 1/8 teaspoon per egg white-speeds up the creation of foam and helps stabilize the structure of those miniscule air bubbles you're whipping up. In baking, this means mile-high meringue pies, melt-in-your-mouth meringue cookies, and angel food cakes that practically float off the plate.

Why is cream of tartar in snickerdoodle cookies?

It's what separates a tangy, chewy snickerdoodle from an ordinary cinnamon-coated sugar cookie. The acid in cream of tartar gives snickerdoodles their distinctive tangy flavor, and the chew happens because cream of tartar prevents sugar in the cookie dough from crystalizing into crunchiness. Science!

How else is cream of tartar used in recipes?

When combined with baking soda, it becomes a leavening agent (the stuff that makes baked goods puff up in the oven) by producing carbon dioxide gas. If you ever run out of baking powder, you can substitute 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar for 1 teaspoon baking powder.

Add a pinch of cream of tartar to boiling vegetables to help them retain their bright, fresh color.

A pinch of cream of tartar also helps stabilize whipped cream to prevent it from deflating.

Make colorful, edible play dough!

What can I substitute for cream of tartar?

Use 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar to create the acidic effect of 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar in a recipe.

What is cream of tartar's shelf-life?

Cream of tartar keeps its freshness indefinitely, as long as you store it in a cool, dry spot. When in doubt, you can test it by looking at it and smelling it. It should look white and powdery, and it should smell mildly acidic.

How else is it used around the house?

Cream of tartar makes an effective non-toxic household cleaner all by itself or combined with other earth-friendly kitchen ingredients such as lemon juice or vinegar. Try these ideas:

Metal polish: Add water to make a paste to polish stainless steel and aluminum. This also removes scratches on white bowls and plates caused by knives and forks.

Copper polish: Add lemon juice in a 1:1 mixture. Rub on, rinse off.

Poreclain sink, tub, toilet scrub: Add distilled white vinegar in a 1:1 solution.

All-purpose scrub: Add distilled white vinegar in a 4:1 solution (i.e., 1 cup vinegar to 1/4 cup cream of tartar). This also cleans stainless steel sinks like nobody's business.

Related

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cream of Tartar: What It Is and How to Use It - Allrecipes Dish

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cream of tartar is one of those mystery ingredients you might have seen in your grandma's pantry without knowing what it's used for. After all, its name doesn't give you a clue-not like baking powder or baking soda. Yet just a touch of it makes a big difference in your baking and cooking.

# data[].attributes.body
chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned foods its distinctive color

# data[].attributes.body
A browning reaction used in cooking to result in a nutty flavor and brown in color

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Temperatures during cooking -- Caramelization

# data[].attributes.body
Creaming is combining sugar and butter