The blog of cooking-ez.com
Markers in cooking
When it comes to cooking, there is only one real rule, and that is that there are no rules!
By that I mean that everything is possible, everything can be combined, everything or almost everything can go with everything, but you have to like it, you have to find it good.
I have friends who regularly make brown sugar pasta, just the idea makes me jump up and down, but they love it, I respect that, tastes are not debatable!
That's why the dogmas, or the canons of cooking can be shaken up when you cook and at any time, in other words you make a recipe of this and you want to put that in it? But why not, nothing should stop you, if you like it.
By that I mean that everything is possible, everything can be combined, everything or almost everything can go with everything, but you have to like it, you have to find it good.
I have friends who regularly make brown sugar pasta, just the idea makes me jump up and down, but they love it, I respect that, tastes are not debatable!
That's why the dogmas, or the canons of cooking can be shaken up when you cook and at any time, in other words you make a recipe of this and you want to put that in it? But why not, nothing should stop you, if you like it.
7,454 5/5 based on 16 reviews
Last modified on: July 3rd 2021
Keywords for this post:CookingTasteMarkersEssentialMarkers in cooking
Of course, if you deviate from the basics of a typical recipe, it would be better not to call it by its original name, and especially not to publish it anywhere, as you might get a lot of flak if some guardians of the recipe in question spot you.
Basically, it's potatoes slices cooked in water, put in a gratin dish with a mix of onion, lardons and dry white wine, from Savoie if possible, cooked separately, the whole thing is topped with fresh cream and covered with half-reblochons before being put to gratinate.
A pure winter delight.
All this to tell you that we can, with a certain look, define what the cooks/pastry cooks call the markers of a recipe, that is to say the 2, 3 or 4 or more, indispensable tastes to deserve the name of the original recipe, even if it is completely revisited.
Let's go back to our tartiflette, its markers are: Potato, onion, lardon, Reblochon (or even cream?)
A sweet example, the Black forest cake: chocolate, cream, cherry, kirsch
Tarte tatin: apples, caramel, acidulous
Carbonnade: Beef, beer
Bœuf bourguignon: Beef, red wine, carrots
etc. etc.
You can see that it's sometimes quite simple to determine, sometimes a bit more tricky ( cassoulet?), but it allows you to target a recipe you want to revisit while keeping its tastes and therefore its spirit, and at the same time to allow yourself one or two liberties by changing 1 or 2 markers. I say 1 or 2, because beyond that you risk doing something completely different, which is not dramatic either, but it will probably not deserve the original name.
To sum up: The markers of a recipe, i.e. its essential basic tastes that characterize it, allow you to know if, when revisiting or adapting it, you are still in the spirit of it, or if you are doing something very different, which may not fit with the original name. But who cares if you like it...
Basically, it's potatoes slices cooked in water, put in a gratin dish with a mix of onion, lardons and dry white wine, from Savoie if possible, cooked separately, the whole thing is topped with fresh cream and covered with half-reblochons before being put to gratinate.
A pure winter delight.
All this to tell you that we can, with a certain look, define what the cooks/pastry cooks call the markers of a recipe, that is to say the 2, 3 or 4 or more, indispensable tastes to deserve the name of the original recipe, even if it is completely revisited.
Let's go back to our tartiflette, its markers are: Potato, onion, lardon, Reblochon (or even cream?)
A sweet example, the Black forest cake: chocolate, cream, cherry, kirsch
Tarte tatin: apples, caramel, acidulous
Carbonnade: Beef, beer
Bœuf bourguignon: Beef, red wine, carrots
etc. etc.
You can see that it's sometimes quite simple to determine, sometimes a bit more tricky ( cassoulet?), but it allows you to target a recipe you want to revisit while keeping its tastes and therefore its spirit, and at the same time to allow yourself one or two liberties by changing 1 or 2 markers. I say 1 or 2, because beyond that you risk doing something completely different, which is not dramatic either, but it will probably not deserve the original name.
To sum up: The markers of a recipe, i.e. its essential basic tastes that characterize it, allow you to know if, when revisiting or adapting it, you are still in the spirit of it, or if you are doing something very different, which may not fit with the original name. But who cares if you like it...
Lasts posts
The different cooking modes
In cooking, cooking means bringing food into contact with a source of heat, to transform it: improving its taste, and sometimes its texture. This contact with the heat source can be achieved in a number of ways: these are the cooking methods, and let's take a look at the main ones.4965 July 24th 2024
Clean your mixer easily
If you use a "bowl" or "blender" mixer, as opposed to a plunger, you've probably noticed that it's a bit of a hassle to clean it after use. And yet, with a simple trick, it can be done very quickly. See how here.1,8435 June 26th 2024
Preserving egg yolks
If you're using only the egg whites in a recipe (such as meringues ), you'll need to store the yolks until you're ready to use them again. There's nothing very complicated about this in principle - all you have to do is chill them, but there are a few pitfalls to be avoided in practice.2,3185 June 18th 2024
Preservative oil, an asset for taste
When you prepare a dish using an ingredient that has been preserved in fat, for example a springtime mixed salad with tuna in oil or sun-dried tomatoes, you're probably going to make a french dressing (vinaigrette) next. In that case, why not use the preserved oil from the tuna or tomatoes?2,4615 June 5th 2024
Don't throw away disposable piping bags
Nowadays, it's fairly easy to find what professionals use as piping bags, i.e. disposable or "single-use" plastic ones. They're practical, functional and inexpensive, but disposable? That's debatable...3,8615 May 28th 2024
Other pages you may also like
What can I use for blind baking a pastry case?
When it comes to home-made desserts, tarts are always popular. They can be divided into two basic types: those cooked with their filling, such as an apricot and almond cream tart, and those where the filling is added after baking the pastry case, such as a strawberry tart or chocolate tart. For...105K4.5 May 2nd 2017
A few tips for effective kneading at home
When you have to knead dough for bread or some other recipe, you may well use a food processor or the type of machine known as a stand mixer. The best-known brands are Kenwood and KitchenAid. They are useful tools, but here are a few tips to help you get the best out of them.268K 23.7 June 23th 2021
The golden-brown finish on puff pastry
Let's take a look at the tricky matter of producing puff pastry with an attractive, golden-brown finish. French pastry chefs call this "dorure" (literally, "gilding"). Behind this quirky term there lurks a real problem (and the solution): when using puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) for a pie, or...40K 24.6 February 8th 2018
Is it really necessary to cream egg yolks?
Let’s try and answer a question that crops up in cookery and patisserie, even if it verges on the existential: do the egg yolks in a custard recipe really need to be beaten until pale, or not?37K4.3 February 28th 2018
The skin side of the fish first?
When it comes to cooking fresh fish, if it's filleted with its skin on and you're planning to pan-fry it in a little olive oil, for example, you might ask yourself the following question: Which side, skin or flesh, should come into contact with the pan first?19K4.4 February 13th 2021
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.