compression is such an invaluable technique. especially for pastry and fruits in particular. i cannot imagine not having a cryovac machine in the kitchen. don't even know if i would take a job without one. not only does it visually look appealing, but technically there are so many advantages. one that came to mind today that made me want to document was that of peeling peaches. gone are the days of blanching to remove the skin. a bag, halved fruit, a little syrup and the full power of pressure. let the fruit rest in the bag for about an hour. the skin just peels right off in one piece. the fruit still has a toothsome texture and i didn't expose the fruit to unnecessary heat or water. they then get pickled.
5 comments:
Wow, I had no idea that would work!
Another use is simply to increase the density of fruit. A friend was talking about making a sangria in the style of those old Orbitz drinks, where there were little pearls suspended in the drink--like bubble tea, but the bubbles neither sink nor float. Normally with sangria, the fruit floats. I was recommending that he compress the fruit (as well as adjusting the density and viscosity of the surrounding liquid) to make it closer to the density of the liquid.
sorry, didnt work, the skin stayed on, no matter what :-(
i think you must have the right peach variety...
cheers
I think the culprit might be underripen peaches. They are a pain.
Don't you feel guilty wasting all those plastic bags for the vacuum? I do...sometimes.
yes, the key is very ripe peaches. i am lucky to have great produce from farmers 2-3 days a week. though traditional blanching doesn't get the skin off of unripe peaches either, not till you've cooked it to death.
yes i do feel bad about going through those bags. i use about 5-6 a day. i researched recycling them but that doesn't seem to work. i do try to wash and reuse as a smaller bag.
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