⚠️Building Flavour⚠️

Question 1

What 5 raw materials does the cook use to build flavor?

Answer 1

Spices, herbs, vegetables, meat and bones

Question 2

What does the cook add for body?

Answer 2

A liquid

Question 3

What does the cook add for texture?

Answer 3

Thickening agents

Question 4

What is flavor?

Answer 4

The way a food tastes

Question 5

What are the four basic tastes?

Answer 5

Sweet, sour, bitter and salty

Question 6

What are the kinds of flavors that cooks work with?

Answer 6

The predominant flavor (the main flavor of the dish) and the support flavor (meant to enhance the predominant flavor)

Question 7

What is the basic flavor builder in soups and sauces?

Answer 7

Stocks, or fonds de cuisine, (liquid with a predominant flavor from the bones and support flavor last from flavor builders)

Question 8

What are the flavor builders commonly used in making stocks?

Answer 8

Mirepoix, bouquet garni, onion pique, sachet and the herbs and spices used with a mirepoix in making stocks

Question 9

What is a mirepoix? What are the ratios for a standard, light and dark mirepoix?

Answer 9

A combo of cut vegetables (onion, carrot, celery and sometimes leek) that is used as a flavor builder on make soups, sauces and stocks

Standard ratio: 50% onion (or part leek), 25% carrot and 25% celery

Light mirepoix: 60% peeled onion/leek and 40% celery

Dark mirepoix: tomatoes are added for more color and flavor (2 ounces to 1 pound of mirepoix)

Question 10

What is a bouquet garni?

Answer 10

Sprigs of three herbs (parsley, thyme and bay leaf) tied together with a string which is tied to the handle of the pot

Question 11

What is a sachet?

Answer 11

Dried herbs and spices tied in cheesecloth (teabag for stock)

Question 12

What is an onion pique?

Answer 12

Another technique for adding certain flavors in a stock. Flavor builders are onion, bay leaf and clove.

Question 13

What do stocks function as?

Answer 13

They function as the body of the finished soup or sauce as well as a flavor builder

Question 14

What are the two things that body is?

Answer 14

Physical substance and strength of flavor

Question 15

What is a light stock?

Answer 15

Light in color and general made from bones of light or white meats (veal, chicken or fish)

Question 16

What is a dark stock?

Answer 16

Often called brown stocks

A rich dark brown color and made from the browned bones of beef and veal

Question 17

What ratio are both stocks made of?

Answer 17

5 pounds of bones

5 quarts of water

1 pound of mirepoix plus stock herbs and spices

Produces one gallon (4 liters) of stock

Question 18

Name some examples of light stocks.

Answer 18

Chicken stock (fond de volatile): chicken bones, water, mirepoix, stock herbs and spices

Fish stock (fond de poisson): fish bones, heads, tails, water, light mirepoix, lemon, stock herbs and spices

Ordinary stockpot (petite marmite or grande marmite): veal, chicken or beef bones (or a combo), water, mirepoix, stock herbs and spices

Question 19

Name some examples of dark stocks.

Answer 19

Brown stock (fond brun): beef bones or beef and veal bones, basic mirepoix, herbs and spices, and water or light stock

Ordinary brown stock (grand jus): bones (all kinds with beef and veal predominant), basic mirepoix, vegetable trimmings and water or light stock

Question 20

What are glazes?

Answer 20

Flavor builders that are stocks simply reduced to a thick, gelatinous consistency

Question 21

Name three glazes.

Answer 21

Glaze de viande: made from brown stock

Glaze de volatile: made from chicken stock

Glaze de poisson: made from fish stock

Question 22

What are some stock substitutes?

Answer 22

Many products have a high salt content and inferior flavor

Add a mirepoix with herbs and spices to mellow and enrich the flavor

Question 23

Name the 6 textures.

Answer 23

Fine, course, smooth, rough, thick and thin

Question 24

What does creating texture usually mean?

Answer 24

Making a thin food thicker

Question 25

What are thickening agents?

Answer 25

Group of products that increases the viscosity of a liquid (make it harder to pour)

Question 26

What are the two ways to thicken?

Answer 26

Naturally and by using a starch thickener

Question 27

What does it mean to naturally thicken?

Answer 27

Using a high starch food such as potato, rice, beans or dried peas as an integral part of the dish

Question 28

What is a roux?

Answer 28

A one to one ratio by weight of fat and flour, blended and cooked over low heat Any fat can be a roux

Question 29

How much do you cook a roux?

Answer 29

Cook to designed doneness ie. White roux, blond roux or brown roux

Question 30

How do you make a hot roux?

Answer 30

Remove hot roux from heat and add part of your cold liquid, stirring lumps out. Add remaining cold liquid.

Question 31

What is a brown roux and how is it made?

Answer 31

A brown roux is strong in flavor and will carry a definitive taste It has less thickening power than a light roux so more must be made Often baked for hours in the oven at low heat

Question 32

What is a beurre manie?

Answer 32

A thickening agent is a one to one ratio of butter and flour kneaded together to make a paste

Question 33

What is a starch-and-water thickener?

Answer 33

Mix equal parts starch and cold water until the starch is evenly distributed Blend it into a hot liquid and bring to a boil

Question 34

What is a slurry or whitewash?

Answer 34

Flour and water mixture which takes longer to cook to get rid of the raw starch flavor

Question 35

What is a liaison?

Answer 35

A thickener that is a combo of egg yolks and cream used to give a velvety texture 2 parts cream to 1 part egg yolk

Question 36

What is seasoning?

Answer 36

The addition of substances that heighten the taste of a food without altering the taste It’s brings out a flavor that is already there

Question 37

What is flavoring?

Answer 37

The addition of a product for the purpose of adding its own distinctive flavor to the final dish They add a complimentary flavor, creating a blend in which both original flavor and added flavor are identifiable

Question 38

What is flavor building?

Answer 38

An integral part of the cooking dish, as opposed to seasoning and flavoring which is an end process Flavor builders are cooked right into the dish so their separate flavors merge with the total flavor

Question 39

What are the standard seasonings?

Answer 39

Salt and pepper Fresh lemon juice may also be used depending on the dish MSG (monosodium glutamate)

Question 40

How do you season? What are the two basic rules?

Answer 40

Must be added in suitable proportions to bring out the flavors 1. Do not over season 2. Seasoning a liquid is an end cooking process

Question 41

What are some common flavorings?

Answer 41

Parsley, mint, chives, garlic and minced onion are some fresh herbs used for flavoring Dill weed compliments tomato and nutmeg compliments eggnog

Question 42

Why should dry herbs and spices never be used for flavoring?

Answer 42

They are not suitable flavorings, they should only be used for flavor building

Question 43

What are spices? Name 6.

Answer 43

The dried roots, bark and seeds of tropical plants used in flavor building Clove, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and tumeric

Question 44

What are herbs? Name 6.

Answer 44

The leafy parts of plants Basil, lavender, oregano, dill, chives and rosemary

Question 45

How can you substitute dried herbs for fresh herbs (and vice verse)?

Answer 45

One teaspoon of dried herbs to one tablespoon of fresh herbs (one to three)