Cooking For Geeks Part 16

Cream Whippers (a.k.a. "iSi Whippers") We're all familiar with whipped cream in a can. A cream whipper cream whipper is a reusable version of the can, without the cream, that you fill with cream or whatever else you like. They're a simple yet clever design: pour your contents into the container, screw on the lid, and pressurize using a small, bullet-like cartridge that provides either nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide to the can through a one-way valve. is a reusable version of the can, without the cream, that you fill with cream or whatever else you like. They're a simple yet clever design: pour your contents into the container, screw on the lid, and pressurize using a small, bullet-like cartridge that provides either nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide to the can through a one-way valve.

Cream whippers take their name from their primary purpose: making whipped cream. With a whipper, you can control the quality of the ingredients and the amount of sugar used. Fill it up, store in the fridge, and there's no functional difference between a whipper and the more familiar whipped cream in a can.

The obvious extension is to create flavored whipped cream. Toss some orange zest and maybe a bit of vanilla sugar into a pint of organic cream, and spray away. Try tea-infused cream: steep some Earl Gray in cream and transfer it to the whipper, or go smoky and use Lapsang Souchong. Just remember to strain the tea leaves out before filling the canister of the whipper! You can also spike the cream-make amaretto cream to go on your coffee with 4 parts heavy cream, 2 parts amaretto liqueur, and 1 part powdered sugar.

But the real fun with cream whippers (besides whipped cream fights) is pa.s.sing other liquids through them. You can whip any liquid or mixture that has the ability to hold air-that is, anything that can be turned into a foam (sometimes called an espuma espuma in menu speak), including foamed "waters" flavored like carrots or desserts like chocolate mousse. You can even put pancake batter in a cream whipper (hence the whole "pancakes in a can" thing). Because the contents are ejected under pressure, small, pressurized bubbles come along for the ride and expand, leading to mechanical injection of air into the liquid. This is why cream turns into whipped cream, although the foam that's generated isn't as stable as manually whisked whipped cream. in menu speak), including foamed "waters" flavored like carrots or desserts like chocolate mousse. You can even put pancake batter in a cream whipper (hence the whole "pancakes in a can" thing). Because the contents are ejected under pressure, small, pressurized bubbles come along for the ride and expand, leading to mechanical injection of air into the liquid. This is why cream turns into whipped cream, although the foam that's generated isn't as stable as manually whisked whipped cream.

The most common brand of cream whipper used in the food industry is made by iSi (it's not uncommon to hear a cream whipper simply called an "iSi"). Regardless of manufacturer, basic models run $40 to $60 dollars; cartridges are about $0.50 each in bulk.

NoteDon't use chargers made for BB guns. They aren't food grade.

This might be more than you want to spend upfront for just whipped cream, but if you're a regular user of the canned stuff, the long-term savings alone will make it worthwhile. If you want to play around with textures and flavors in the kitchen, it's downright cheap.

Cream whippers also come in a "thermal" style (i.e., built like a Thermos) that's useful for keeping contents cold if you're working onsite. The thermal versions can't be used in water baths, though, making it harder to do hot foams or to partially poach the contents a la sous vide for egg-based custards.

A few things to keep in mind when working with a whipper: - Make sure the gasket is properly seated and the threads on the lid are clean when s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g on the lid, unless you want chocolate cake batter, cream, or pancake mix sprayed 10 feet in a random direction.

- Always run your liquid through a strainer (~500 micron is fine) to remove any particulates that might clog the nozzle. You can skip straining things like plain cream, of course.

- When working with heavier batters, you can double-pressurize the canister. After pressurizing with one cartridge, remove it and pressurize with a second one. You'll find that the pressure decreases as you run through the contents, because the airs.p.a.ce in the whipper increases as the contents are ejected.

- If your liquids fail to foam correctly, try adding some gelatin, which provides structure. If you don't mind taking a shortcut, try using flavored Jell-O.

You can also use a whipper as a source of pressure. One technique uses an adaptor from McMaster-Carr to connect the spray nozzle of the whipper to a length of plastic tubing. Fill the tubing with a hot liquid with agar or other gelling agent, let it set, and use the whipper to force-eject the "noodle."

Another thing to try is using a CO2 cartridge to create "whipper fizzy fruit"-fruit that has been carbonated, giving it a fizzy texture. Try popping grapes, strawberries, or sliced fruit such as apples and pears into the canister and pressurizing it. Let rest for an hour, depressurize, and remove fruit. Not exactly haute cuisine, but fun to do as a party trick. Fizzy raspberries make a great basis for a mixed drink. cartridge to create "whipper fizzy fruit"-fruit that has been carbonated, giving it a fizzy texture. Try popping grapes, strawberries, or sliced fruit such as apples and pears into the canister and pressurizing it. Let rest for an hour, depressurize, and remove fruit. Not exactly haute cuisine, but fun to do as a party trick. Fizzy raspberries make a great basis for a mixed drink.

Chocolate MousseThis creates a very light chocolate mousse, almost the complete opposite of the dense chocolate mousse based on agar from Chapter6 Chapter6 (see (see Chocolate Panna Cotta Chocolate Panna Cotta).Heat to a temperature hot enough to melt chocolate (130F / 55C): - 1 cup (250g) heavy cream Remove from heat and whisk in to melt: - 6 tablespoons (60g) bittersweet chocolate - teaspoon (0.6g) cinnamon Transfer to whipper canister and chill. Make sure the liquid is completely cold-fridge temp-before using. Otherwise, the cream won't whip.Pressurize and dispense into serving gla.s.ses or on a plate, as desired.Notes - You can dump the canister in a plastic container filled with half ice, half water to chill it quickly.

- The cream really does need to be completely chilled. If it's not, instead of getting a light, airy chocolate mousse foam, you'll get a jet of chocolate-flavored heavy cream.

Foamed Scrambled EggsThis egg foam is something like a whipped mayonnaise, but incredibly light. Try it with steak and fries. This recipe is based on a recipe by Alex and Aki of http://www.ideasonfood.com fame. fame.Measure out into a bowl: - 4 large (240g) eggs - 5 tablespoons (75g) heavy cream - teaspoon (2g) salt - teaspoon (2g) sriracha sauce Using an immersion blender, thoroughly puree the ingredients. Strain into a nonthermal whipper and screw lid on, but do not pressurize. Place whipper in a water bath at 158F / 70C and cook until the mixture is partially curdled, around 60 to 90 minutes. Remove from bath, check that eggs are just partially set, and pressurize. Dispense into small bowls and garnish, or use as a component in a dish.NotesTry using the small strainer from a loose-leaf teapot when filtering liquids-it's easier to hold above the container while pouring in the mixture.[image]30-Second Chocolate CakeIn a microwave-safe bowl, melt: - 4 oz (113g) chocolate (bittersweet preferably) Add and thoroughly whisk together: - 4 large (240g) eggs - 6 tablespoons (80g) sugar - 3 tablespoons (25g) flour Pa.s.s the mixture through a strainer to remove any lumps and to filter out the chalazaes (the little white strands that attach the yolk to the egg white). Transfer to whipper and pressurize.Spray mixture into a greased gla.s.s, ramekin, or whatever microwave-safe container you will cook it in, leaving at least the top third of the container empty. The first time you do this, I recommend using a clear gla.s.s so that you can see the cake rise and fall as it cooks.Microwave for 30 seconds or until the foam has set. Flip onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar.[image]Powdered sugar is the bacon of the pastry world. It goes well with almost everything and is great for covering up things like tears or holes-in this case, covering up the Nutella filling.For better-tasting results, try adding Nutella or Fluff: spray a thin layer of cake batter, drop a spoonful of filling into the center, and then spray more cake batter on top of and around the filling.NoteAfter cooking, cover in chocolate and do a small loopy white icing thing on the top, and you've got something close to commercial cream-filled cupcakes.Notes - Try spraying a thin layer of the batter onto a plate and cooking that. Peel it off the plate, coat the top with a layer of jam or whipped cream, and roll it up to create a log-shaped chocolate treat.

- To be fair, you can do a close approximation without using a whipper. Search online for "microwave chocolate cake." I find that the iSi Whipper version produces a more uniform, spongier cake, though.

[image]Unbaked: nonwhipped (left) and whipped (right).[image]Baked: nonwhipped (left) and whipped (right).

"Cooking" with Cold: Liquid Nitrogen and Dry Ice [image]

Common and uncommon cold temperatures.

Okay, strictly speaking, cooking involves the application of heat, but "cooking" with cold can allow for some novel dishes to be made. And liquid nitrogen and dry ice can be a lot of fun, too!

If there's one food-related science demo to rule them all, ice cream made with liquid nitrogen has got to be the hands-down winner. Large billowy clouds, the t.i.tillating excitement of danger, evil mad scientist cackles, and it all ends with sugar-infused dairy fat for everyone? Sign me up.

While the gimmick of liquid nitrogen ice cream never seems to grow old (heck, they were making it over a hundred years ago at the Royal Inst.i.tution in London), a number of more recent culinary applications are moving liquid nitrogen (LN2, for those in the know) from the "gimmick" category into the "occasionally useful" column.

Dangers of liquid nitrogen But first, a big, long rant about the dangers of liquid nitrogen. Nitrogen, one of the n.o.ble gases, is inert and in and of itself harmless. The major risks are burning yourself (frostbite burn-it's cold!), suffocating yourself (it's not oxygen), or blowing yourself up (it's boiling, which can result in pressure buildup). Let's take each of those in turn: - It's cold. Liquid nitrogen boils at 320F / 196C. To put that in perspective, it's further away from room temperature than oil in a deep-fat fryer: seriously cold. Thermal shock and breaking things are very real concerns with liquid nitrogen. Think about what can happen when you're working with hot oil, and show more respect when working with liquid nitrogen. Pouring 400F / 200C oil into a room-temperature gla.s.s pan is Liquid nitrogen boils at 320F / 196C. To put that in perspective, it's further away from room temperature than oil in a deep-fat fryer: seriously cold. Thermal shock and breaking things are very real concerns with liquid nitrogen. Think about what can happen when you're working with hot oil, and show more respect when working with liquid nitrogen. Pouring 400F / 200C oil into a room-temperature gla.s.s pan is not not a good idea (thermal shock), so avoid pouring liquid nitrogen into a gla.s.s pan. Splashes are also a potential problem. A drop of hot oil hitting your eye would definitely not be fun, and the same is true with a drop of liquid nitrogen. Wear closed-toed shoes and eye protection. Gloves, too. While the probability of a splash is low, the error condition isn't pleasant. a good idea (thermal shock), so avoid pouring liquid nitrogen into a gla.s.s pan. Splashes are also a potential problem. A drop of hot oil hitting your eye would definitely not be fun, and the same is true with a drop of liquid nitrogen. Wear closed-toed shoes and eye protection. Gloves, too. While the probability of a splash is low, the error condition isn't pleasant.

- It's not oxygen. This means that you can asphyxiate as a result of the oxygen being displaced in a small room. When using it, make sure you're in a relatively well-ventilated s.p.a.ce. Dorm rooms with the door closed = bad; big kitchen s.p.a.ce with open windows and good air circulation = okay. This means that you can asphyxiate as a result of the oxygen being displaced in a small room. When using it, make sure you're in a relatively well-ventilated s.p.a.ce. Dorm rooms with the door closed = bad; big kitchen s.p.a.ce with open windows and good air circulation = okay.

- It's boiling. When things boil, they like to expand, and when they can't, the pressure goes up. When the pressure gets high enough, the container fails and turns into a bomb. Don't When things boil, they like to expand, and when they can't, the pressure goes up. When the pressure gets high enough, the container fails and turns into a bomb. Don't ever ever store liquid nitrogen in a completely sealed container. The container store liquid nitrogen in a completely sealed container. The container will will rupture at some point. Ice plugs can form in narrow-mouthed openings, too, so avoid stuffing things like cotton into the opening. rupture at some point. Ice plugs can form in narrow-mouthed openings, too, so avoid stuffing things like cotton into the opening.

"Yeah, yeah," you might be thinking, "thanks, but I'll be fine."

Probably. But that's what most people think until they're posthumously (post-humorously?) given a Darwin Award. What could possibly go wrong once you get it home? One German chef blew both hands off while attempting to recreate some of Chef Heston Blumenthal's recipes. And then there's what happened when someone at Texas A&M removed the pressure-release valve on a large dewar and welded the opening shut. From the accident report: The cylinder had been standing at one end of a ~20' 40' laboratory on the second floor of the chemistry building. It was on a tile-covered, 46 thick concrete floor, directly over a reinforced concrete beam. The explosion blew all of the tile off of the floor for a 5' radius around the tank, turning the tile into quarter-sized pieces of shrapnel that embedded themselves in the walls and doors of the lab... The cylinder came to rest on the third floor leaving a neat 20 diameter hole in its wake. The entrance door and wall of the lab were blown out into the hallway. All of the remaining walls of the lab were blown 4 to 8 off of their foundations. All of the windows, save one that was open, were blown out into the courtyard.

Do I have your attention? Good. End rant.

Okay, I promise to be safe. Where do I get some?

Look for a scientific gas distributor in your area. Some welding supply stores also carry liquid nitrogen.

You'll need a dewar dewar-an insulated container designed to handle the extremely cold temperatures. Depending upon the supplier, you may be able to rent one. Dewars come in two types: nonpressurized and pressurized. Nonpressurized dewars are essentially large Thermoses. The pressurized variety has a pressure-release valve, allowing the liquid nitrogen to remain liquid at higher temperatures, increasing the hold time.

Unless you're renting dewars and having them delivered to your location, stick with a non-pressurized one. Small quant.i.ties of liquid nitrogen in nonpressurized dewars don't require hazmat licenses or vehicle placarding when properly secured and transported in a private car. It's still considered hazardous material though, because handled improperly, it can cause death. Transportation falls under "material of trades" and it is your responsibility to understand the regulations. For example, New York State defines anything under 30 liters / 8 gallons as a small quant.i.ty. (For details, see https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/operating/osss/truck/carrier/materials-of-trade.) NoteStandard lab safety protocols for driving small quant.i.ties of liquid nitrogen around usually state that two people should be in the car and that you should drive with the windows down or at least cracked.

When it comes to working with liquid nitrogen, I find it easiest to work with a small quant.i.ty in a metal bowl placed on top of wooden cutting board. Keep your eyes on the container, and avoid placing yourself in a situation where, if the container were to fail, you would find yourself getting splashed.

Don't sit at a table while working with it. Standing is probably a good general rule to reduce chances of injury. And remember: it's cold! Placing a noninsulated container such as a metal bowl directly on top of countertops, especially gla.s.s ones, is not a good idea.

NoteI once cracked a very nice countertop with an empty but still cold bowl during a demo at a large software company whose name begins with the letter M. I'm still still sheepishly apologizing for it. sheepishly apologizing for it.

One final tip: when serving guests something straightaway after contact with liquid nitrogen, check the temperature (using an IR thermometer) to make sure the food is warm enough. (As a guideline, standard consumer freezers run around 10F / 23C.) Making dusts One of the cla.s.sic "silly things you can do with liquid nitrogen" tricks is to freeze a leaf or a rose and then whack it against something to shatter it. Unlike traditional methods of freezing, liquid nitrogen freezes the water in the plant so quickly that the ice crystals do not have time to aggregate into crystals large enough to pierce the cell walls and destroy the tissue, meaning the leaf or flower won't wilt when thawed.

In culinary applications, you can use this same property to create "dust" from plant material. Lavender flowers, for example, can be rapidly frozen, crushed with a mortar and pestle (which needs to be chilled in a freezer to keep the frozen plant material from thawing), and then allowed to thaw back out. Some chefs have frozen larger items-beets, for example-causing them to shatter in an organic pattern that couldn't be obtained with a knife.

Making ice cream [image]

The standard formula for LN2 ice cream goes something like this: cream + flavoring + liquid nitrogen + whisking / mixing = 30-second ice cream. ice cream goes something like this: cream + flavoring + liquid nitrogen + whisking / mixing = 30-second ice cream.

While you can make ice cream with a small quant.i.ty of alcohol using traditional methods, those versions have only a mild flavor brought by the alcohols, which are used more as extracts or flavorings than as actual components of the body. With liquid nitrogen, however, you can make a scoop of ice cream with an entire shot of alcohol. Calories are no longer the biggest problem with this type of ice cream; hangovers are.

[image]

As with anything you make with liquid nitrogen that's served cold, check to make sure that it's not too too cold before serving it. An IR thermometer is a handy tool for this. Spot-check your ice cream, and if it's too cold, let it warm up to normal freezer temperature. cold before serving it. An IR thermometer is a handy tool for this. Spot-check your ice cream, and if it's too cold, let it warm up to normal freezer temperature.

Cocoa-Goldschlager Ice CreamIn the metal bowl of a stand mixer, mix: - 1 cup (256g) milk - 1 cup (240g) heavy cream - cup (180g) Goldschlager (cinnamon liqueur) - cup (80g) chocolate syrup - cup (80g) bittersweet chocolate, melted - 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar - teaspoon (1g) salt - teaspoon (1g) cinnamon Taste the mixture to check the balance (try not to drink it all at this point), and adjust accordingly. Once frozen, the mixture will not taste as strong, so an overly strong mixture is desirable.Turn your stand mixer on and (carefully! with goggles and gloves!) slowly pour in liquid nitrogen. I find it takes about a 1:1 ratio of mixture to liquid nitrogen to set the ice cream. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can also do this in a metal bowl and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon.[image]Note - To melt the chocolate, microwave the milk and then add the chocolate to the hot milk. Let it rest for a minute, so the chocolate warms up, and then mix to combine. You can nuke the chocolate directly as well, but I find it easier and less likely to burn doing it this way.

Playing with Dry IceDry ice-solid carbon dioxide-is easier to work with than liquid nitrogen. For one thing, it's solid, so you don't need specialized equipment to handle it. A Styrofoam cooler or even a cardboard box is sufficient. And secondly, it's much more readily available. Just make sure to ask for food-grade food-grade dry ice! dry ice!A few words of warning: like liquid nitrogen, dry ice expands into a much larger volume as it sublimates. Do not store dry ice in a sealed container. Also, dry ice and ethanol form a wet slurry that is very very dangerous. It's not cold enough to generate the Leidenfrost effect, the phenomenon where a liquid generates a vapor barrier around a much-hotter item. Dry ice and ethanol can wick through clothing and stick to skin. dangerous. It's not cold enough to generate the Leidenfrost effect, the phenomenon where a liquid generates a vapor barrier around a much-hotter item. Dry ice and ethanol can wick through clothing and stick to skin.Besides sticking a chunk of dry ice in a cup of coffee and pretending not to notice while drinking from it (the chunk will sink to the bottom), what else can you do?Quick-freeze berries. Industry lingo for this is Industry lingo for this is IQF IQF (individually quick frozen), in which large blast freezers rapidly freeze individual peas, raspberries, and chicken b.r.e.a.s.t.s. You can toss some dry ice in a Styrofoam cooler and mix in a roughly equal amount of berries or veggies, wait until the dry ice has sublimated away, and then bag 'em and stick them in the freezer. (individually quick frozen), in which large blast freezers rapidly freeze individual peas, raspberries, and chicken b.r.e.a.s.t.s. You can toss some dry ice in a Styrofoam cooler and mix in a roughly equal amount of berries or veggies, wait until the dry ice has sublimated away, and then bag 'em and stick them in the freezer.Make ice cream. Works just like liquid nitrogen, only alcoholic flavors probably won't set quite as nicely. Take your food-grade dry ice, place it between two towels, and give it a few whacks with something like a rubber mallet or the back of a frying pan to create a powder. Whisk the powder into the ice cream base until set. Works just like liquid nitrogen, only alcoholic flavors probably won't set quite as nicely. Take your food-grade dry ice, place it between two towels, and give it a few whacks with something like a rubber mallet or the back of a frying pan to create a powder. Whisk the powder into the ice cream base until set.NoteAs with LN2 ice cream, it'll take a little less dry ice if you start with a base already at freezing temperatures. ice cream, it'll take a little less dry ice if you start with a base already at freezing temperatures.Create "fizzy fruit." Drop some grapes, bananas, strawberries-really, any moist fruit-into a pressure cooker, toss in some dry ice, and slap on the lid. As the dry ice sublimates, the chamber of the pressure cooker will hold the carbon dioxide (and bleed off any over-pressure amount), and the fruit will absorb some CO Drop some grapes, bananas, strawberries-really, any moist fruit-into a pressure cooker, toss in some dry ice, and slap on the lid. As the dry ice sublimates, the chamber of the pressure cooker will hold the carbon dioxide (and bleed off any over-pressure amount), and the fruit will absorb some CO2. Wait 20 to 30 minutes, release the pressure, pop off the lid, and munch away.DIY "Anti-Griddle" Using Dry IceIf a griddle cooks foods by adding heat, it should follow that an anti-griddle "cooks" foods by removing heat. PolyScience, known by many chefs for its sous vide recirculating units, makes a product that does exactly that: its anti-griddle cools down whatever you put on the griddle surface.You can make a do-it-yourself version by using dry ice, ethanol, and a sheet of stainless steel. You'll need a solid chunk of stainless steel (plan on ordering a piece from a distributor such as McMaster-Carr). I have a 6 6 / 15 cm 15 cm slab that normally lives in my freezer; it's handy for those times when you want to cool down a small item quickly. Here's how it works: 1. Rig up a bed of crushed dry ice. Try using a cookie sheet placed on top of a wooden cutting board. The cookie sheet will hold the dry ice/ethanol slurry, and the cutting board will provide insulation between the extremely cold cookie sheet and your countertop. Alternatively, if you have the lid to a Styrofoam container, using the inside, indented part can serve both purposes.[image]

2. Pour a small amount of ethanol onto the bed of crushed dry ice-enough to create a level top. (You can use rubbing alcohol or cheap vodka.) The ethanol will remove any air gap between the pieces of dry ice and the stainless steel griddle, and it won't cause the dry ice to froth in billowy clouds like water would.

3. Plop the square of stainless steel on top of the ethanol-topped dry ice. It should be a complete contact fit, just like a heat sink on top of a CPU.

4. Spray or coat the top surface of the stainless steel with a nonstick cooking spray, b.u.t.ter, or oil.

5. Drop your food to "cook" on the surface, smoothing it out into a pancake shape if desired. After 10 seconds or so, use a spatula to flip it and set the other side. As a starter, try whipping some cream up in a bowl with a bit of sugar and chocolate syrup. Try using a cream whipper with flavored foams or the chocolate mousse recipe from earlier in this chapter.[image]

Windell Oskay and Lenore Edman: Electrocuted Hot Dogs and Apple Pie[image]PHOTO OF WINDELL AND LENORE USED BY PERMISSION OF SCOTT BEALE, LAUGHING SQUID (HTTP://LAUGHINGSQUID.COM)Windell Oskay and Lenore Edman blog about DIY and open source hardware projects on their website ( (http://www.evilmadscientist.com) and occasionally dive into the food arena with their "Play with your food" posts. and occasionally dive into the food arena with their "Play with your food" posts.You are unique in the sense that you do some really extreme stuff both in hardware and in food. How much of what you do is happenstance versus planned?Lenore: Most of the time we are brainstorming. Any topic is fair game for a project. We may have talked about doing an "Apple" apple pie long, long ago, and then we're at the cooking store and looking at all of the different round-cornered square pans thinking, "This might work," or "Oh, wow! This is perfect!" Most of the time we are brainstorming. Any topic is fair game for a project. We may have talked about doing an "Apple" apple pie long, long ago, and then we're at the cooking store and looking at all of the different round-cornered square pans thinking, "This might work," or "Oh, wow! This is perfect!"Windell: That also brings up one of the most important methods we have for solving problems, which is to put it on a list and wait for a really long time until we think of a solution. That also brings up one of the most important methods we have for solving problems, which is to put it on a list and wait for a really long time until we think of a solution.How do you know if a project is going to work?Lenore: You try it. The apple pie went through several iterations before we figured out a way to make it aesthetically pleasing. You try it. The apple pie went through several iterations before we figured out a way to make it aesthetically pleasing.Windell: There were a couple of different pie sh.e.l.ls. We're not running a commercial kitchen. It actually takes us time to make a pie sh.e.l.l and let it chill. We don't have an extra one just sitting ready. There were a couple of different pie sh.e.l.ls. We're not running a commercial kitchen. It actually takes us time to make a pie sh.e.l.l and let it chill. We don't have an extra one just sitting ready.Why do you do these projects?Lenore: That's a good question. Why do you breathe? That's a good question. Why do you breathe?Windell: What else are we supposed to be doing? We like to do cool stuff. We have a chance to, so why not? What else are we supposed to be doing? We like to do cool stuff. We have a chance to, so why not?Lenore: It's rewarding to see other people enjoying our projects, so publishing them is rewarding. And you've got to eat, right? So you might as well eat something interesting. You have to wear clothes. It's rewarding to see other people enjoying our projects, so publishing them is rewarding. And you've got to eat, right? So you might as well eat something interesting. You have to wear clothes.Windell: So wear something interesting. So wear something interesting.If you knew the world were going to end tomorrow, what would you want your last meal to be?Lenore: I don't know... We eat a lot of good food, so it's not like there's one thing in particular that I would regret not having eaten. I don't know... We eat a lot of good food, so it's not like there's one thing in particular that I would regret not having eaten.Windell: If the world were going to end tomorrow, the last thing I think I would do is sit down and have a nice big comfy meal. It doesn't really seem like that's going to happen. If the world were going to end tomorrow, the last thing I think I would do is sit down and have a nice big comfy meal. It doesn't really seem like that's going to happen.Lenore: I guess if you knew you couldn't do anything about it, that might be a fine way to end. Sit down and have a big comfy meal. It seems unlikely, but... I guess if you knew you couldn't do anything about it, that might be a fine way to end. Sit down and have a big comfy meal. It seems unlikely, but...Windell: Water and hard tack in the bunker. Water and hard tack in the bunker.Electrocuted Hot DogSince heat is a form of energy (heat = kinetic energy of molecules in a system), adding energy to a system can cause it to heat up, which is why a hot dog gets hot when electricity runs through it. (Hot dogs happen to be made of materials-proteins, fats, a little bit of salt-that are conductive enough for this to work.)But the potential for killing yourself on a live wire is high enough that it's not even funny to joke about doing it. If you really want to electrocute your dogs, search http://eBay.com for "Presto Hotdogger." for "Presto Hotdogger."Visit http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php?story=hotdogs for more information. for more information.P.S. LEDs light up when "plugged in" to a hot dog![image][image]PHOTOS OF ELECTROCUTED HOT DOG USED BY PERMISSION OF WINDELL OSKAY"Apple" Apple PieYou too can make an Apple Apple apple pie. Lenore and Windell used their laser cutter and a square springform pan, but with care, you can use a knife to cut the logo and a square gla.s.s pan to bake the pie. (If you're not a purist shooting for an edible replica of a Mac Mini or Apple TV, a standard round pie will taste just as good.) For details, see apple pie. Lenore and Windell used their laser cutter and a square springform pan, but with care, you can use a knife to cut the logo and a square gla.s.s pan to bake the pie. (If you're not a purist shooting for an edible replica of a Mac Mini or Apple TV, a standard round pie will taste just as good.) For details, see http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php?story=ApplePie.[image]PHOTOS OF APPLE PIE USED BY PERMISSION OF LENORE EDMAN Cooking with (a Lot of) Heat [image]

Common and uncommon hot temperatures.

If cooking at 400F / 200C produces something yummy, surely cooking at 800F / 425C must produce something twice as yummy.

Well, okay, not quite-and by now, hopefully your mental model of how heat is transferred to food and the importance of time and temperature for gradients of doneness should have you slamming this book shut while muttering something about software engineers not understanding hardware. (Guilty as charged.) But there are some edge cases-just as with "cooking" with cold-where extremely high heat can be used to achieve certain effects that are otherwise difficult. Let's take a look at a few dishes that can be made by transferring lots lots of heat using blowtorches and high-temperature ovens. of heat using blowtorches and high-temperature ovens.

Blowtorches for creme brulee Blowtorches can be used to provide very localized heat, enabling you to scorch and burn just those parts of the food at which you aim the flame. Torching tuna sushi, roasting peppers, and browning sous videcooked meats are all common uses, but creating the sugary crust on creme brulee is the canonical excuse for a blowtorch in the kitchen. You can also use a blowtorch to prerender the fatty side of meats-try scoring and then torching the fatty side until it begins to brown before roasting.

When it comes to buying a torch, skip the "gourmet" torches and head to a hardware store to pick up a propane blowtorch-not a MAPP gas one, though. The smaller torches sold by kitchen specialty shops burn butane and work okay, but they don't pack the same thermal punch as the hardware-store variety, which have larger nozzles and thus larger flames.

Quinn's Creme BruleePrepare six ramekins for baking by placing them in a large gla.s.s baking dish; set aside. Preheat oven to 325F / 160C.In a bowl, separate out five large egg yolks, saving the egg whites for some other dish (see the section on egg whites in Mechanical Leaveners Mechanical Leaveners in in Chapter5 Chapter5 for suggestions). Whisk the egg yolks until light and frothy; set bowl aside. for suggestions). Whisk the egg yolks until light and frothy; set bowl aside.In a saucepan, measure out: - 2 cups (475g) heavy cream - cup (100g) sugar Heavy cream and whipping cream are essentially the same thing in the United States. Heavy cream usually has a slightly higher percentage of fat while whipping cream typically has a stabilizer such as carrageenan added, but you can usually use either one regardless of what is called for.Cut a vanilla bean lengthwise and use the edge of a spoon to sc.r.a.pe out the seeds. Add both seeds and bean to saucepan. Set the burner to medium heat and cook the cream, sugar, and vanilla for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, bring to a boil enough water to partially fill the gla.s.s baking dish holding the ramekins.After the cream mixture has been cooked for 10 minutes, fetch out the vanilla bean and discard it. Strain the mixture through a ~400 micron filter (cheesecloth works fine) into a measuring cup or other container that's easy to pour from.Set the bowl with the egg yolks on the counter, where you can whisk the yolks with one hand and hold the saucepan with the other. Slowly drizzle the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking the entire time to prevent the hot cream from cooking the egg yolks. Too slow is okay; too fast, and you'll end up with scrambled eggs. (Sweet, tasty scrambled eggs, to be sure.)Ladle the mixture into the six ramekins, taking care to not transfer any foam that you may have whisked up. (The foam will float and set on top of the brulee.) Add the boiling water into the baking dish-enough to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins-and transfer to oven.Bake until the centers of the custards jiggle just a little when shaken, about 30 to 35 minutes. They should reach an internal temperature of 180F / 82C. Remove ramekins from baking dish and chill in fridge until cold, about three hours. (You can store them longer, of course.)[image]You can create a quick work surface for blowtorching by flipping a cookie sheet upside down and setting the ramekins on top.Once cold, sprinkle a thin coating of sugar over the top of the custard. Using a blowtorch, melt and caramelize the sugar, sweeping the flame slowly across the surface until you're happy with the color and appearance. Keep in mind that darker sugar will be more bitter; also make sure to at least melt all of the sugar, as otherwise the granulated, unmelted sugar will give an odd mouth-feel.Transfer ramekins to fridge and store for 10 minutes to allow the sugar to cool; then serve. You can hold the torched brulee for up to an hour before the sugary crust begins to get soggy.Note - Try infusing other flavors into the cream as you cook it, such as orange, coffee, cocoa powder, or tea.

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You can "upgrade" Bananas Foster-a simple and tasty dessert where the bananas are cooked in b.u.t.ter and sugar, spiked with rum, and then served over vanilla ice cream-by sprinkling sugar on the cooked bananas and then using a blowtorch to caramelize the sugar. To create a work surface, flip a cast iron pan upside-down, line it with foil, and set the bananas on that.

Practice using a blowtorch by melting sugar sprinkled on a sheet of aluminum foil on top of a metal cookie sheet or cast iron pan. Don't get the flame too close; this is the most common mistake when cooking with a blowtorch. The blue part of the flame is hottest, but the surrounding air beyond the tip will still be plenty hot. You'll know you're definitely too close when the aluminum foil begins to melt-around 1220F / 660C.

High-heat ovens and pizza A serious-some might even say OCD-discussion of pizza is clearly a must-have for a cookbook for geeks. I've tried to restrain myself from dwelling too much on pizza, having already given it plenty of airtime in Chapter5 Chapter5, but it covers so many variables in cooking: flavor combinations, Maillard reactions, gluten, fermentation, temperature. We've covered the first four elsewhere in the book, but we haven't yet talked about temperature and pizza.

If you want to make a crispy thin-crust pizza, a high-heat oven is critical. It takes a sufficiently hot environment to set the outer portions of the pizza dough quickly enough to create the characteristic crispiness and flavors. How hot is hot? The coldest oven I've found acceptable for flat-crust pizza was a gas-powered brick oven at 550F / 290C, where the pizza was dropped onto the brick floor of the oven.

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The better flat-crust pizza I've had is cooked either in wood-fired brick ovens or on a grill over wood, at 750F / 400C, with parts of the oven pushing 900F / 480C. For comparison, my local normal "thick-crust" pizza place runs its oven at 450F / 230C in the winter, 350F / 175C in the summer. (The oven can't be run any hotter in summer without the kitchen becoming unbearable.) By trying various temperatures, I've found 600F / 315C to be the lower limit for getting a crispy, flavorful crust. At 700F / 370C, the crust becomes noticeably better. And at 950F / 510C? It takes 45 seconds to cook a pizza. But how can you get these temperatures? Most of us don't have ovens that normally reach 950F / 510C, let alone 700F / 370C, and few of us have brick ovens, either. What's a thin-crust-pizza-loving geek to do? If only there were a flow chart for this...

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Decision tree for how to cook a pizza.

High-Heat Methods for PizzaCharcoal or wood grill method. This is by far the easiest method. Grills fueled by charcoal or wood get hot, easily up into the 800F / 425C temperature range. (Propane grills tend to run cooler, even though propane itself technically burns hotter.) This is by far the easiest method. Grills fueled by charcoal or wood get hot, easily up into the 800F / 425C temperature range. (Propane grills tend to run cooler, even though propane itself technically burns hotter.)NoteSee the No-Knead Pizza Dough recipe and accompanying pizza-making instructions in Pizza Dough-No-Knead Method Pizza Dough-No-Knead Method in in Chapter5 Chapter5.Place a pizza stone on top of the grill and light the fire. Once the grill is good and hot, use a pizza peel (a piece of cardboard works just as well) to transfer the pizza with toppings onto the grill. Depending upon the size of your grill and the size of your pizza, you might be able to cook the pizza directly on top of the grill, sans stone-give both a try!Superhot cast iron pan method. What if getting a grill isn't an option for you, as is the case for many apartment dwellers? There are still a few ways left to get up to sufficiently hot temperatures. While most consumer ovens reach only 550F / 290C, both the oven's broiler and the stovetop can reach higher temperatures. Leave an empty cast iron pan on a burner at full throttle and it'll reach 650F / 340C in 5 or 10 minutes. And the infrared radiation from a broiler is even hotter. What if getting a grill isn't an option for you, as is the case for many apartment dwellers? There are still a few ways left to get up to sufficiently hot temperatures. While most consumer ovens reach only 550F / 290C, both the oven's broiler and the stovetop can reach higher temperatures. Leave an empty cast iron pan on a burner at full throttle and it'll reach 650F / 340C in 5 or 10 minutes. And the infrared radiation from a broiler is even hotter.Preheat oven to 550F / 290C, or as hot as it goes.[image]Superheated cast iron under broiler.Heat up cast iron pan on stovetop at maximum heat for at least five minutes.Place cast iron pan upside down in the oven under a broiler set to high and par-bake the pizza dough until it just begins to brown, about one to two minutes.Transfer dough to cutting board and add sauce and toppings. Transfer back to cast iron pan and bake until toppings are melted and browned as desired.If you don't have a broiler, you can try a doubled-up cast iron pan approach:[image]Doubled-up cast iron.Heat up two cast iron pans on maximum heat.Par-bake the dough, flip it onto a cutting board, add toppings, and return it to the hot cast iron pan.Cover the first cast iron pan with the second one, preferably using a larger pan so that it doesn't touch the pizza toppings.Cleaning cycle method (a.k.a. "oven overclocking"). As we've discussed, one of the key variables for good thin-crust pizza is an extremely hot oven. Consumer ovens just don't get hot enough; 550F / 290C is still a good 150200F / 80110C away from where the "real" thin-crust pizzas are cooked. If only there were a way to hack an oven to get it that hot! It turns out that there is, but it's dangerous, voids your warranty, and, given that the alternative ways of getting this kind of heat are far, far easier, is really not worth doing. Still, for the sake of my readers, I tried this method, conceived by Jeff Varasano. (See the interview with him in As we've discussed, one of the key variables for good thin-crust pizza is an extremely hot oven. Consumer ovens just don't get hot enough; 550F / 290C is still a good 150200F / 80110C away from where the "real" thin-crust pizzas are cooked. If only there were a way to hack an oven to get it that hot! It turns out that there is, but it's dangerous, voids your warranty, and, given that the alternative ways of getting this kind of heat are far, far easier, is really not worth doing. Still, for the sake of my readers, I tried this method, conceived by Jeff Varasano. (See the interview with him in Jeff Varasano on Pizza Jeff Varasano on Pizza for details.) for details.)Ovens get a lot hotter-a lot, lot hotter-when they run in the cleaning cycle. The problem is that consumer ovens mechanically lock the door, preventing you from slipping a pizza in and out at those temperatures, and leaving a pizza in for the entire cleaning cycle will result in a most unpleasant burnt taste, to say the least.Cut or remove the lock, however, and ta-da! You've got a superheated oven. After a bit more fiddling and testing, I had an oven that I measured at over 1,000F / 540C. The first pizza we tried took a blistering 45 seconds 45 seconds to cook, with the bottom of the crust perfectly crisped and the toppings bubbling and melted. to cook, with the bottom of the crust perfectly crisped and the toppings bubbling and melted.[image]However, the middle of the pizza-the top portion of the dough and the bottom portions of the sauce-never had a chance to cook, so the 1,000F / 540C pizza wasn't quite right (too hot). Another attempt at around 600F / 315C resulted in the opposite outcome: the pizza was good, but it didn't capture the magic of the crispy thin crust and toasty-brown toppings (too cold). Around 750800F / 400425C, however, we started getting pizzas that were darn good (just right).[image]Ovens aren't designed to have their doors opened when running in the cleaning cycle. Honestly, I don't recommend this approach. I broke the gla.s.s in my oven door and had to "upgrade" it, although it is cool to have bragging rights to an oven sporting a piece of PyroCeram, the same stuff the military used for missile nose cones in the 1950s.There's also the issue of how hot the surrounding countertop and cabinetry can get. Commercial stoves are designed for these sorts of temperatures and as a result require a large air gap between the appliance and any combustible materials. Given that an upside-down cast iron pan under a broiler or a wood-fired grill turn out delicious flat-crust pizzas, I'm afraid I have to recommend that you skip the oven overclocking, even if it is fun.Nathan Myhrvold on Modernist Cuisine[image]PHOTO USED BY PERMISSION OF NATHAN MYHRVOLDNathan Myhrvold, formerly CTO of Microsoft, is among many things an avid cook. He has been working on a book covering the techniques of modernist cuisine.Tell me about your background with food and how you came to be so interested in it.I've been interested in food as long as I've been alive. When I was nine years old, I announced to my mother I was going to cook Thanksgiving dinner. I went to the library, got a bunch of cookbooks, and I did. Amazingly, she let me do it, and even more amazing, it worked out!In 1995, while I was working at Microsoft as a Senior Vice President, I decided that I wanted to go to cooking school. I took a leave of absence and went to a school in France, L'ecole de la Varenne L'ecole de la Varenne. I went through an intensive professional program. After retiring from Microsoft, I started my own little company, but I'd been interested in food and so decided to write a book.There were lots of big, thick books on cooking, teaching you how to do cla.s.sical cooking, but there was no modern technique within those books; they were all about the techniques of the past. I got the notion that there really was an opportunity to write a book about modernist cuisine-something that would be encyclopedic for the techniques of modern cuisine.If I didn't do it, it's not clear that anyone else would, at least not for a very long time. I decided that this was my way to make a contribution to the food world. I could create a book many years sooner than anybody else because of the time, energy, and money involved. It could do something unique in terms of bridging the gap between the understanding of science and the practice of cooking in an accessible way.What's your definition of modern cooking? The term that would come to many people would be molecular gastronomy.I deliberately don't use that name. The term that I'm using is modernist cooking modernist cooking. I call it modernist because it's a.n.a.logous to what modernist architecture and modern art did in that it is a somewhat self-conscious attempt to break with the past. It has all of the intellectual hallmarks of modernism.That happened 100 or 50 years ago in art and architecture but not in cooking. There are chefs who take offense to it if you call it molecular gastronomy molecular gastronomy. It's not a terrible name per se, but it means so many different things to different people. Modernist is a more inclusive term.Can you give me an example of something that's surprised you in studying these techniques?There's a cooking technique called confit confit that means "preserved" in French. You cook the meat in oil or fat at a relatively low temperature for a long period of time, like 8 or 12 hours. Any chef would tell you that confit is a cooking technique that involves cooking in fat, which has a characteristic effect on the meat. that means "preserved" in French. You cook the meat in oil or fat at a relatively low temperature for a long period of time, like 8 or 12 hours. Any chef would tell you that confit is a cooking technique that involves cooking in fat, which has a characteristic effect on the meat.One day we were discussing this, and I said, "How can this possibly work? How can cooking meat in oil actually change the meat? That makes no sense to me at all. The molecules are actually too big to penetrate into the meat. It's got to be on the outside and so on and so forth."So we did a bunch of experiments, and it doesn't really have the effect that you would think. If you steam meat without any oil and you put oil in at the end, you can't actually tell the difference.Presumably you can't do it just in a water bath with no fat.We did that, too. You can't tell the difference! You can tell the difference if you cook it at a different temperature or for a different period of time. But if you're cooking at the same temperature and time, whether it's sous vide or steamed or cooked confit, you really can't tell the difference afterward. That was a big shock to us.There's a bunch of other things that have been quite surprising in determining how techniques work. People will frequently drop meat into ice water to stop the cooking. It's called shocking shocking.Suppose you're cooking a big roast or something that's got some thickness to it. A lot of books will say take it out and then plunge it in ice water to really stop the cooking. It doesn't work at all! The temperature at the core of the meat will not be affected by you dumping it in ice. You will cool the whole thing by dumping it in ice water, but it's not actually going to affect the maximum temperature the core reaches.Heat and cold "travel" at the same speed. It's not exactly correct, but if you think about a wave of heat going from the outside in, shocking it is going to put a wave of cold, a "negative" wave of heat. But it doesn't go faster, and the hot wave that started before will hit the center before the cold wave does.Wow, that makes a lot of sense. Are there other examples of processes that you've discovered that apply to the way that most people cook on a day-to-day basis?One of the things that we've spent a bunch of time on in the book is explaining the role of humidity in cooking. Most food is wet. When you heat wet things, they give off water and that takes a tremendous amount of energy to do. The rate at which the water evaporates depends on what the humidity is.If you cook something in Aspen in the winter when the humidity outside is really low, and you cook that same thing in Miami in the summer when the humidity is very high, you actually get radically different results. It can make a 10 degree difference in the temperature that the food is experiencing, particularly at the onset.We went through a whole bunch of examples like this. It turns out that humidity is a huge factor in how cooking actually happens. A convection steam oven controls the humidity, and that's its huge advantage. One of the advantages of sous vide is you seal the food up in a plastic bag where there is no variation in humidity. But if you're cooking out in the open air, humidity actually makes a big difference. That's one of the reasons that people don't have their recipes turn out quite like they thought.Is that something that's important to absolutely every cook in America? I can't tell you that it is. I think it's kind of cool; it certainly will matter to professional chefs. Every chef has had the situation where they try the recipe in the book and it doesn't work, or the chef travels and the food doesn't quite turn out right. This is one of the reasons. If you're not controlling humidity, it's a free variable, and it will make a big difference.People don't generally understand how much energy it takes to boil water. This dramatically affects cooking. If you just look at the latent heat of vaporization of water, it takes four joules of energy to move a gram of water one degree Celsius, 400 joules to take it from just above freezing up to the edge of boiling, and 2,257 joules to boil it. That's why steam engines work. All kinds of things are driven off this one fact.How do you think what you've learned will change the approaches of chefs and amateur cooking enthusiasts?What we're hoping to do is enable chefs to use a broad range of techniques to make the kinds of food they want to make. Right now there is a set of chefs who are using these very modern techniques. There are a lot of others who don't.It's very hard to learn all of this stuff. We're hoping that we can give chefs and amateurs an accessible way to understand how it works. If we can do that, I think that we can really make a difference in how folks cook. That's not world peace; it's not solving global warming or something like that, but it is something that, within the cooking world, I think people are going to find tremendously exciting and empowering.Any parting words of wisdom that you would give somebody learning to cook?Learning to cook is a wonderful thing to do and I highly recommend it to folks. The message in a lot of recipes is, "Don't worry about how it works, just do this, this, and this, and the right thing will happen."When it works, that's okay. When it doesn't work, you don't really know why. I always feel cheated when that's the case. I want to find out why. I'm still learning how to cook. I think even the best chefs in the world are still learning how to cook, and it's that learning and that exploration that makes it interesting.

AppendixA.Cooking Around Allergies I LOVE THE CHALLENGE OF COOKING WITH CONSTRAINTS. With allergies, the challenge is to prepare a meal with a certain set of ingredients considered off-limits. With allergies, the challenge is to prepare a meal with a certain set of ingredients considered off-limits.

Food allergies are caused by an immune system response to certain types of proteins. In some individuals, the immune system misidentifies certain proteins as harmful and generates a histamine reaction in response to them. Immune reactions can occur within a few minutes to several hours of ingesting the offending food item. Minor reactions include a tingling sensation on the tongue or lips, itchy eyes, runny nose, or skin rashes lasting from a few hours to a day. More extreme reactions include throat constriction, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or coughing. Oh, and death.

If you ever encounter a reaction that involves tongue swelling, throat constriction, or restricted breathing-hallmarks of an anaphylactic reaction-call 911 and get to a hospital immediately immediately, because the swelling can increase to the point where it cuts off the airway. Those who know that they have particularly strong allergies will often carry an Epipen, a small pen-sized medical device that auto-injects epinephrine to control the allergic reaction. (The injection buys 15 to 20 minutes of time to get to a hospital for further care.) Since an allergy is a response to a particular protein in food, not the food itself, and because some types of proteins denature below the temperature at which the foods containing them are cooked, certain allergies apply only to uncooked foods. Your guests will be able to tell you their particular constraints.

When shopping for a meal to cook for someone with an allergy, be sure to read the labels on any packaged goods you consider. Also, be careful if you are reusing components or sauces from previous meals, because things like soy and nuts can show up in unexpected places. When in doubt, pick recipes with fewer ingredients to avoid unexpected surprises.

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Chef CardIf you have serious food allergies, consider creating a chef card chef card that you can hand to a waiter when dining out. A chef card is a small, index-sized card that communicates your allergies explicitly, quickly, and clearly. One chef I know commented that "they're very helpful. It's nice when a customer with allergies gives a server one, so they can bring it in the kitchen and I can read it out to the whole staff." that you can hand to a waiter when dining out. A chef card is a small, index-sized card that communicates your allergies explicitly, quickly, and clearly. One chef I know commented that "they're very helpful. It's nice when a customer with allergies gives a server one, so they can bring it in the kitchen and I can read it out to the whole staff."[image]Chef Card, courtesy of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network; for a customizable and printable version, see http://www.foodallergy.org/page/chef-card1.

Also, check how sensitive your guests are to their allergies. If they are especially sensitive, you will need to be particularly diligent to avoid cross-contamination while working in the kitchen. It's probably best to avoid using any allergen-containing item in the entire meal, but if a guest has an allergy broad enough that you elect to cook that person a special side dish, you should treat the allergens as you would raw meats: separate them out from the safe foods, and wash all all items that will come in contact with that side dish (preferably in a dishwasher, as sponges can harbor enough traces to cause cross-contamination). items that will come in contact with that side dish (preferably in a dishwasher, as sponges can harbor enough traces to cause cross-contamination).

A friend of mine has learned that cross-contamination of gluten can occur even if she b.u.t.ters her bread and then uses the same knife to slice a pat of b.u.t.ter to drop into a pan; the few micrograms of bread carried back onto the b.u.t.ter knife are enough to trigger an allergic reaction in her child. This is a really extreme case, but do check with your guests about how sensitive their allergies are.

Avoiding cross-contamination can be difficult, because it might occur in many places you'd never think it would. For example, if you're cooking both rice noodles and regular pasta, the residual gluten left on your strainer after running the regular pasta through it might be enough to contaminate the batch of rice pasta. Selecting your recipes with care can help you avoid some of these problems. Again, everyone reacts differently, so your level of vigilance should be adjusted as necessary to match your guests' needs.

Subst.i.tutions for Common Allergies So, you've just found out that someone you're cooking for is allergic to an ingredient in your favorite family dish. What to do?

This section includes a number of suggestions for ingredient subst.i.tutions for the eight most common allergies, based on information from Kristi Winkels's website, Eating with Food Allergies (http://www.eatingwithfoodallergies.com). Visit her website for additional suggestions and recipes tailored to those with allergies.

This list contains many of the common ingredients and foods to avoid, but you should still check any questionable ingredients with your guests.

Dairy Allergies Ingredients to avoid Casein, whey, whey solids, b.u.t.termilk solids, curds, milk solids, lactalb.u.min, caseinate, sodium caseinate.

Foods commonly containing dairy Milk, b.u.t.termilk, chocolate (milk and dark), hot chocolate, "nondairy" creamers, baked goods, spreads including b.u.t.ter and many margarines (even some that say "nondairy" on the label), cheeses, yogurts, frozen yogurts, frozen desserts such as ice cream, sherbets, some sorbets, whipped toppings.

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Subst.i.tutions For milk Soy, rice, potato, almond, oat, hemp, and coconut milk are all possible subst.i.tutes for cow's milk. If you aren't dealing with a soy allergy as well, soy milk is a good option; it tastes pretty good and, when fortified, contains roughly the same amount of calcium and vitamin D (two important nutrients, especially for children). Rice milk is also often fortified and, like soy milk, can usually be found at the regular grocery store. Potato milk is available in specialty food stores in powder form.

For margarine When searching for a dairy-free margarine, be sure to examine the product labels carefully and make sure the ingredient list does not contain "milk derivatives." Also bear in mind that most "light" margarines are not suitable for baking. Look for Earth Balance Light and Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine brands.

For yogurt If you're a yogurt fan, check out soy yogurt or coconut milk yogurt. Try using it as a dip for fruit, or buy plain and use it to make a creamy salad dressing.

Egg Allergies Ingredients to avoid Alb.u.min, globulin, lysozyme, livetin, silici alb.u.minate, Simplesse, vitellin, meringue, ingredients containing the word "egg" such as egg white, ingredients that begin with "ovo" (Latin for "egg").

Foods commonly containing egg Baked goods (cookies, cakes, m.u.f.fins, breads, crackers), desserts (custards, puddings, ice creams), battered foods (fish and chicken nuggets), meatb.a.l.l.s, meatloaf, pastas, sauces, dressings, soups.

Subst.i.tutions While dishes like omelets and egg salads are out, you can still achieve reasonable results in baked goods. Eggs provide air and leavening in cakes, add structure to breads and cakes, and supply liquid in cookie doughs, cakes, and m.u.f.fin batters. Determine which functions the egg provides in the baked item and experiment with using one of the following alternatives.

To replace one egg in baking: Baking powder, water, and oil - Whisk together until foamy: 1 tablespoons (20g) oil, 1 tablespoons (22g) warm water, and 1 teaspoon baking powder.

EnerG Foods Egg Replacer - Whisk with water until fluffy; then add to your mixture. This is a great all-purpose egg subst.i.tute.

Unflavored gelatin - Mix 1 teaspoon (4g) unflavored gelatin with 1 tablespoon (15g) warm water. You should be able to find unflavored gelatins in your grocery store near the flavored gelatin (like Jell-O).

Flaxseed meal - Mix 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons warm water; let sit for 10 minutes. It does have a strong flavor, so does not work as an all-purpose egg replacement, but can be useful in cakes, pumpkin bars, oatmeal applesauce cookies, and m.u.f.fins.

Fruit puree - In some cases, you can use a quarter cup of pureed banana or apple. Experiment!

Fish/Sh.e.l.lfish Allergies An allergy to fish does not necessarily mean an allergy to sh.e.l.lfish, and vice versa. However, if you are cooking for someone who has an allergy in either category, the safest approach is to entirely avoid fish and seafood, unless your guest has specifically advised you of allowable food items.

Foods commonly containing fish or sh.e.l.lfish Anything with fish or seafood, including imitation crab meat, Caesar salad, Caesar dressing, Worcestershire sauce, some pizzas, gelatin (sometimes derived from fish or sh.e.l.lfish bones), some marshmallows, some sauces, antipasto dishes.

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Peanut Allergies Ingredients to avoid Peanuts, peanut b.u.t.ter, peanut starch, peanut flour, peanut oil, mixed nuts, crushed nuts, hydrolyzed plant protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, vegetable oil (if the source isn't specified), and depending upon the severity of the allergy, anything that states "may contain trace amounts of peanuts."

Foods commonly containing peanuts Baked goods, baking mixes, chocolate and chocolate chips (many contain trace amounts of peanuts), candy, snacks, nut b.u.t.ters, cereals, sauces (peanuts are sometimes used as a thickener), Asian food (stir fry, sauces, egg rolls), veggie burgers, marzipan (almond paste).

Subst.i.tutions If you have a dish that calls for peanuts directly, you might be able to subst.i.tute something else, such as cashews or sunflower seeds. For peanut b.u.t.ter, you can use soy nut b.u.t.ter, almond b.u.t.ter, cashew b.u.t.ter, or sunflower b.u.t.ter, if your guest is not allergic to them (true seeds and soy differ from peanuts).