Velveting Technique Improves Meat Texture In Stir-Fries And More
Cornstarch and soy sauce are the keys to a Chinese cooking method called velveting. It is essentially a marinade, sauce, and pre-cooking technique that also tenderizes meat. For every pound of meat, a typical velveting mixture consists of 1 tablespoon each cornstarch, soy sauce, and sesame oil or vegetable oil. When meat is marinated in this mixture, the sodium in the soy sauce helps break down and tenderize the meat. When cooked, the cornstarch thickens into a glaze and the oil enriches the glaze to make a smooth, velvety coating. Usually meat is marinated in the velveting mixture for about an hour, then briefly cooked in hot oil or hot water to gelatinize the starch. According to chef Lucas Sin of Junzi Kitchen, this pre-cooking step helps to create the signature velvety texture. Then the meat can finish cooking in a stir-fry, soup, or stew. For a thicker velvety coating, you can add an egg white to the cornstarch slurry. For more flavor, you can also add 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or rice vinegar. Either way, velveting does more than tenderize protein. It also creates a smooth coating that browns meat more evenly, holds moisture, and enhances sauce adhesion.
A Peek Inside The Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championships
Every year in the village of Carrbridge, Scotland, amateur cooks around the world gather to compete for the title of hot cereal champion. In the annual Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship, each bowl is reviewed by judges recruited from the culinary industry. Entries are ranked in both “traditional” and “specialty” categories by color, texture, hygiene, and taste. “Golden spurtle” refers to the winner’s trophy, a golden replica of the Scottish utensil traditionally used to make porridge. In serious porridge circles, a rounded spurtle (similar to a bar muddler) is preferred over a spoon, as the spurtle produces fewer clumps in the finished product. “When I won, I was absolutely stunned,” said last year’s winner, Lisa Williams of Suffolk, England. “My face was bright red and I almost burst into tears.” Like many porridge pros, Williams is very particular about the type of oats she uses, the oat-to-water ratio, and the amount of salt. “One part oats to three parts water,” she insists. “Soak the oats overnight and use more salt than you think you would. I use Maldon sea salt — the same salt the queen uses,” says Williams. She also prefers a mix of half steel-cut oats and half stone-ground milled oats from Hamlyns of Scotland. Due to COVID-10, the 2020 competition has moved online. Competitors will submit short video recipes, and the winners will be announced on October 10th. This year’s championship will also be a little different in that it will focus entirely on the specialty category.
Enterprising Vendors Sell Fair Food Despite Cancelled State Fairs
While state fairs have been casualties of the pandemic, concessionaires are going the distance to keep selling sweet, meaty, and deep-fried fair food across the country. In 36 states and the District of Columbia, state fairs have been cancelled, many for the first time since WWII. Lori Lexvold has gone to the Minnesota State Fair every summer for 53 years, and she’s 58. When it was called off in late May, she decided to do something about it. “I got on Facebook one morning and I created a group,” said Lexvold. “I invited about 100 of my friends. I just said, ‘Hey, if you see any food stands around, post it to this page, so we can all go.’” Now the group, known as Fair Food Finder, has gathered nearly 179,000 members and has a Google map of 139 Minnesota vendors as well as an app made by a fan.
Brenda Smith Parish used to open her Crazy Taters trailer at 8 a.m. every Friday during fair season. When she learned that her local state fairs were cancelled for the summer, she opened anyway, sold corn dogs and lemonade, and promoted the food truck on social media. As more and more people arrived, Parish grew her menu to roughly 20 items and made a website called FairFoodFridays.com for preorders. She has now earned nearly as much money as she normally would at the Iowa State Fair, Tulsa State Fair and Des Moines Downtown Farmers’ Market.
Jelly Belly Founder Gives Away Candy Factory In Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt
David Klein, the candymaker who named Jelly Belly jelly beans, has announced a series of scavenger hunts with Golden Tickets, like Willy Wonka’s, and a chance to win the key to a candy factory. A spot in the hunt costs $49.98, which buys you a riddle to help locate the golden tickets that are strung onto necklaces hidden throughout each state in the country. Registration is at www.thegoldticket.com, and each state has been limited to 1,000 participants. California’s registration is already sold out. “You will be looking for a Gold Ticket in the form of a necklace with a tag that includes a code you need to use to verify your find,” said Klein. Winners receive $5,000 and the chance at the grand prize of owning a candy factory. “Our goal is to get people out and about with their families.” The candy factory in the hunt is not the Jelly Belly Candy Company (which is unaffiliated with the contest) but one of Klein’s Candyman Kitchens located in Florida. The grand prize also includes an all-expenses paid trip to a candy-making university.
Whole Foods Opens First “Dark” Store For Online Orders And Delivery Only
Whole Foods Market, the Amazon-owned grocery chain, has opened its first online-only location in Brooklyn, New York. While the move comes as grocery delivery has soared in recent months, the store had been planned pre-pandemic, according to Whole Foods Northeast president Nicole Wescoe. “We started working on this over a year ago,” said Wescoe, “and it was really an opportunity for Amazon and Whole Foods Market to come together and create this vision for the future of grocery online.” Unlike traditional Whole Foods stores, this “dark” store will not include a prepared foods department and there will not be a pickup option. The store does include familiar aisles and refrigerated sections but it is not open to the public, function more like a warehouse for staff to fulfill orders. Online orders will be delivered with Amazon drivers as well as some bike delivery, according to Wescoe.
Amazon Opens First Physical “Fresh” Grocery Store
Last week, Amazon did a soft open of its new in-person grocery store called Fresh. The e-commerce company invited select California customers to test drive the store’s features, including Amazon Dash Cart, which allows customers to skip the checkout line, and Alexa AI to keep customer shopping lists in order and to help shoppers navigate through the aisles. The store will also be offering same day delivery and pickup. Amazon hasn’t released the exact date the store will open to the general public but has confirmed that there will be at least three more locations opening in California and Illinois. Amazon will be implementing strict COVID-19 related safety measures throughout the stores.
Netflix Queues Up The Competition With American Barbecue Showdown
Netflix is launching a new video series, American Barbecue Showdown. The food competition show will follow some of the country’s best backyard competition pitmasters as they vie for the title of American Barbecue Champion. The eight-part show begins airing on September 18th and will be hosted by popular NASCAR host Rutledge Wood. BBQ judges include Kevin Bludso, founder of L.A.’s always-busy Bludso’s BBQ, and Melissa Cookston, owner of Memphis BBQ Company and 7-time world barbecue champion. “Competition doesn’t get more delicious than in the world of barbecue,” said the show’s producer John Hesling, “especially when it comes to our eight hopeful pitmasters as they stoke their flames against each other, and the clock, to be crowned American Barbecue Champion.”
Bon Appetit Names Book Publishing Veteran Dawn Davis As Editor In Chief
The food media outlet Bon Appetit has named Dawn Davis as the new editor-in-chief after facing racial conflicts with former editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport, who resigned in June. Bon Appetit’s parent company, Conde Nast, announced that Davis is expected to begin her new role on November 2nd. The position gives Davis editorial control of Bon Appetit, Epicurious, Healthyish and Basically, the company’s food outlets, across all media, including print, digital, social media, and video. Ms. Davis is currently a vice president at Simon & Schuster, where she founded and publishes 37 Ink, an imprint emphasizing marginalized voices. Davis also wrote “If You Can Stand the Heat: Tales From Chefs and Restaurateurs,” a book including chef profiles such as Anthony Bourdain.
Without Stimulus Checks, Americans Are Spending Less At The Grocery Store
While grocery spending has generally soared during the pandemic, it shifted rapidly when $600 in additional weekly unemployment pay from the U.S. government expired in July. According to market research firm IRI, sales growth in August fell in several grocery categories compared to July and the months prior. Frozen dinners, for example, averaged only 9% growth in the first three weeks of August, compared to around 17% growth for the previous two weeks in July. In August, cereal sales averaged only 2% growth while they had seen 6% growth in the latter part of July. Gordon Reid, president of grocery chain Stop & Shop, said he anticipates that consumers will feel the pinch of high grocery prices during the last quarter of the year and continuing into next year. Walmart US Chief Executive John Furner said, “People perceive they’re spending more money on food, despite eating out less. So we’ll be thoughtful about the way we plan the rest of the year and react to changes in the trends we see from our shoppers.” The typical pandemic grocery bill has dropped enough that stores have begun offering additional discounts to attract shoppers. President Trump signed an executive order in early August authorizing an additional $400 in weekly stimulus pay, but payments have been delayed by state unemployment systems that required reconfiguring for the new payment. Only three states are currently distributing the new stimulus payments.
World’s Most Expensive Sheep Sells For $490,000 In Scotland
A ram sold for the equivalent of $490,000 US dollars in Scotland has broken the record for the world’s most expensive sheep. The Texel breed of sheep named Double Diamond was bred via artificial insemination with another champion ram and a ewe. The father ram was valued at $86,000, and the mother ewe was valued at more than $46,000. The Texel breed is known for its fast growth and ideal musculature that makes it easy on butchers preparing the animals for sale. The previous record of more than $300,000 was set in 2009, according to the BBC.
