For my Food Network assignment this week I watched Chopped. A few tips were offered by the chefs: one chef rehydrated dried ingredients to give it a better texture; another chef cooked bread pudding in a water bath to prevent it from drying out.
I was unfamiliar with a technique used to cook Hawaiian snapper--the chef marinated the snapper in egg whites and corn starch and then boiled it to prevent it from losing moisture. Another chef dusted snapper with dried shrimp, which I thought was interesting.
The idea of Chopped is to used ingredients that are not commonly used together or that do not make sense. For the appetizer course the required ingredients were: corn nuts, fruit cocktail, uni, and black garlic. For the Entree course the required ingredients were: watermelon, dried shrimp, dried procini mushrooms, and Hawaiian snapper. The required ingredients for the dessert course were: challah, almond butter, tamarind pods, and squash.
The term "flavor profile" was not used; however, the flavors of each item were mentioned. The uni was mentioned repetitively--specifically the sweetness of it and how it can be counteracted with the other ingredients to make an appetizer.
During the show the chefs have to work very quickly. That would be a good thing to take away from the show and apply to the lab.
A lot of uncommon ingredients were used during the show. It would be interesting to have to cook with an ingredient that I have never heard of or cooked with before.
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