This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
Cream and sauces
First of all, we need to be aware that some flavours only dissolve in water, while others only dissolve in fats.
This phenomenon leads to this kind of accident: If you put a chocolate mousse uncovered in the fridge where you are also keeping fish, the chocolate, being mostly made up of cocoa butter (a fat), will absorb the fish smell. Imagine the taste…
So we have water on the one side and fats on the other. Cream seen under the microscope is made up of water with minute fat globules (which come from milk) suspended in it.
This gives us the explanation: the make up of cream allows it to absorb both types of flavours, so it can absorb virtually all flavours. This means that cream produces sauces which are always full of flavour drawn from everything around it (whatever is stuck on the bottom of the pan, the ingredients in the recipe, etc.).
Add to this that during cooking a proportion of the cream will evaporate, and this means that it will thicken and give a rich smooth texture in the mouth – perfect!
And then there's the question of all those calories, but that's quite another matter…
This phenomenon leads to this kind of accident: If you put a chocolate mousse uncovered in the fridge where you are also keeping fish, the chocolate, being mostly made up of cocoa butter (a fat), will absorb the fish smell. Imagine the taste…
So we have water on the one side and fats on the other. Cream seen under the microscope is made up of water with minute fat globules (which come from milk) suspended in it.
This gives us the explanation: the make up of cream allows it to absorb both types of flavours, so it can absorb virtually all flavours. This means that cream produces sauces which are always full of flavour drawn from everything around it (whatever is stuck on the bottom of the pan, the ingredients in the recipe, etc.).
Add to this that during cooking a proportion of the cream will evaporate, and this means that it will thicken and give a rich smooth texture in the mouth – perfect!
And then there's the question of all those calories, but that's quite another matter…
Lasts posts
XO Cognac Explained: Meaning, Aging, and Flavor Profile
XO Cognac always goes beyond the labels on the bottle: it is often associated with tradition and quality. You get to appreciate the artistry, character and ageing process when you understand what defines this smooth Cognac. The section below tackles everything about XO Cognac, from complex flavour...January 28th 20261,144 Sponsored article
Butter vs. grease
We often read in a recipe where a pastry is put into a mould that, just before pouring, the mould should be buttered or greased. But what's the difference between these 2 terms?December 1st 20252,7085
Getting out of the fridge early
Very often when you're cooking, you need to take food or preparations out of the fridge, to use them in the recipe in progress. There's nothing tricky about this: you just take them out of the fridge and use them, usually immediately, in the recipe. But is this really a good method?November 24th 20251,7265
Who's making the croissants?
When you look at a bakery from the outside, you naturally think that in the bakery, the bakers make the bread, and in the laboratory, the pastry chefs make the cakes. It's very often like that, with each of these professions having quite different ways of working, but sometimes there's also one...November 23th 20251,574
Oven height
When we put a dish or cake in the oven, we naturally tend to put it on the middle shelf, and that's what we usually do. But in some cases, this position and height can be a little tricky, so let's find out why.October 8th 20255,3965
Other pages you may also like
The march forward
When professionals get to work in their kitchen, lab or bakery, they are (if they are conscientious) very sensitive to hygiene and cleanliness. It is impossible for a good baker for example to do a day's work without regularly cleaning the table where he or she works, and it is even more...June 30th 202120 K5
The 3 kinds of meringue
Meringue – what could be simpler? Just beaten egg whites with sugar added. This makes a fairly stiff mixture which can then be cooked in a cool oven to create those lovely, light confections. But in the world of professional patisserie, meringue comes in three different kinds. Even if the...June 14th 201365 K4.5
How to zest a fruit?
You will have no doubt noticed that many recipes call for the zest of citrus fruit. The zest is that outer layer of the skin which adds so much flavour to a dish. There are many different ways to peel off the zest and various tools are available. Here is a summary of the “dos and don'ts” of...November 5th 201348 K3.8
Tranché, dissociated, failed, in short... missed!
When preparing a sauce or a cream, there's always a (small) risk that the creamy preparation you're working on will suddenly separate into two parts of different textures: a liquid part, for example, and a more or less solid part, or even become lumpy. It's terribly frustrating, but we'll see...June 19th 202314 K5
Steam for baking bread
What does steam have to do with bread-making? This is not only a bakers' secret, it is something you might not think of at all: if you make bread and bake it like a cake, you will end up with bread, but pale and with a thick, hard crust – a long way from the golden-brown crusty loaf you had in...June 16th 2021149 K4.5
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.