Healthy Cooking Tips - Why Great Chefs Use Milk in Cooking
Milk is delicious and healthy for the body. It can also be a wonderful ingredient to recipes. Milk offer importance in some recipes, this is why great chefs include milk as one of the secret ingredients of good and tastier food.
Creamier and Tastier Meals
If a recipe calls for light cream, you can use half milk and half water. That is enough to make everything taste so good and rich. For a creamier broth, reduce the amount of broth by half and replace it with milk. Do this at the end of cooking and make sure you don't let the soup boil. Milk also provides extra flavor and nutrition in soups. To make a creamier squash, asparagus, or potato soup, add milk after pur©eing. Everyone always ask for my potato soup recipe and I'm convinced it is the evaporated milk they can't put their finger on.
Great for Marinating, Simmering and Browning
Using milk for meat, chicken and fish is a very old tradition in many kitchens. Since I enjoy simmering meat and fish, I too have learned using milk and buttermilk to deepen flavor in my simmered dishes. Soaking meat or chicken in buttermilk for a few hours will also soften the food. Powdered milk mixed into meat balls, burgers or casseroles also helps hold their shape better. Milk does make a difference in crumb and browning of things like bread and pie crusts. According to Cook's Illustrated, when adding milk to scramble eggs, the fat in milk or cream will separate the protein strands from the eggs, resulting in fluffier eggs; and fats give a smooth taste to food that you can feel on your tongue.
Adds Richness and Tenderness in Baked Goods
Milk in baked goods provides liquid element. Aside from richness and tenderness, it adds moisture to bread dough and other baked goods. Not just that, milk adds extra calcium and protein to quick breads, muffins, cookies and pancakes. Even for no cook and bake desserts, milk adds life and flavor. A recipe calling for baking soda (which is also a base) needs an acid such as buttermilk, vinegar, yogurt in order to activate it and make your cake rise. So in baking, regular milk acts as a base.
Perfect for Hot and Cold Drinks
Replacing water with milk makes hot chocolate richer and more nutritious. Whipping skimmed milk using an immersion blender can bring you mouth-watering foam effect that you can dollop on top of coffee or hot chocolate. For a frosty drink, simply bring out a chilled glass and pour in milk.
However, there is one thing important to remember. When using evaporated milk as substitute for fresh milk, reduce by . Evaporated milk has more concentrated natural lactose content so when using it in cooking, one cup fresh milk is equivalent tocup of evaporated milk pluscup of water.
Creamier and Tastier Meals
If a recipe calls for light cream, you can use half milk and half water. That is enough to make everything taste so good and rich. For a creamier broth, reduce the amount of broth by half and replace it with milk. Do this at the end of cooking and make sure you don't let the soup boil. Milk also provides extra flavor and nutrition in soups. To make a creamier squash, asparagus, or potato soup, add milk after pur©eing. Everyone always ask for my potato soup recipe and I'm convinced it is the evaporated milk they can't put their finger on.
Great for Marinating, Simmering and Browning
Using milk for meat, chicken and fish is a very old tradition in many kitchens. Since I enjoy simmering meat and fish, I too have learned using milk and buttermilk to deepen flavor in my simmered dishes. Soaking meat or chicken in buttermilk for a few hours will also soften the food. Powdered milk mixed into meat balls, burgers or casseroles also helps hold their shape better. Milk does make a difference in crumb and browning of things like bread and pie crusts. According to Cook's Illustrated, when adding milk to scramble eggs, the fat in milk or cream will separate the protein strands from the eggs, resulting in fluffier eggs; and fats give a smooth taste to food that you can feel on your tongue.
Adds Richness and Tenderness in Baked Goods
Milk in baked goods provides liquid element. Aside from richness and tenderness, it adds moisture to bread dough and other baked goods. Not just that, milk adds extra calcium and protein to quick breads, muffins, cookies and pancakes. Even for no cook and bake desserts, milk adds life and flavor. A recipe calling for baking soda (which is also a base) needs an acid such as buttermilk, vinegar, yogurt in order to activate it and make your cake rise. So in baking, regular milk acts as a base.
Perfect for Hot and Cold Drinks
Replacing water with milk makes hot chocolate richer and more nutritious. Whipping skimmed milk using an immersion blender can bring you mouth-watering foam effect that you can dollop on top of coffee or hot chocolate. For a frosty drink, simply bring out a chilled glass and pour in milk.
However, there is one thing important to remember. When using evaporated milk as substitute for fresh milk, reduce by . Evaporated milk has more concentrated natural lactose content so when using it in cooking, one cup fresh milk is equivalent tocup of evaporated milk pluscup of water.
Source...