#021: Food will be extra delicious depending on how you cut it! (considering the fibre direction together with the Ying and Yang-ness)

 

Cutting the vegetables, meats and fish in a certain direction according to the direction of the grain or muscle will change the mouthfeel, as well as the taste such as level of bitterness and sweetness. It even changes the nutritional intake.

I find this a logical way to go about cooking; there is the how and the why with the enhanced results. It makes sense to adapt the style of cutting to suit the dish for culinary excellence.

In simple speak, cutting AGAINST the grain means that you are cutting the fibres short. This means that the ingredient would be less chewy as you won’t have to chomp down as much. But it also means it won’t hold shape so well (think pillars and columns missing on a building = it doesn’t have a strong structure and so would crumble down readily). By cutting against the grain, as the cutting knife glides through, you’re essentially slicing in to the cell structure and damaging and rupturing it, and from here, the aroma compound, the flavour compounds, the nutrients readily oozes out. Perhaps this sound horrendous, with all those lovely compounds escaping out, but, the art is in the knowledge that this can be advantageous at times: for example, you can enjoy the maximum fragrance of the herb if you clap your hand on it and rupture the cells which would release the aroma compound. Continue reading “#021: Food will be extra delicious depending on how you cut it! (considering the fibre direction together with the Ying and Yang-ness)”

#016: Kitchenware wish list – TOP 5 –

Kitchenware wish list - TOP 5 - Things I lust for right now

Do you ever wile away your time browsing for things that you have no intention of getting? C’mon, tell me I’m not alone in this. We’ve all been there right? For most of us, it’s the online clothes shopping. ‘Browser-window shopping’, hopping from browser-window to window entertaining the idea of getting it, but don’t.

Or is it the mock-plan of a holiday, looking up resorts in exotic locations, sending your thoughts to lounging blissfully on the beach under the palm tree with an ice-cold cocktail in your hand?

I don’t see anything wrong in this – I find the activity rather satisfyingly fun, it’s harmless and stress-releasing in fact. A glass of Rioja grasped in one hand and the other clicking the mouse, my evening is sorted.
Continue reading “#016: Kitchenware wish list – TOP 5 –”

#010: I am still in love with my plastic-free kettle~!!!!

Plastic-free stainless steel kettle - non-plastic - well being

 A year and a half ago I bought myself this Ottoni Fabbrica Italian Kettle “Fjord Satinato”!!!!!!!the best plastic-free kettle It’s an ALL-stainless steel kettle! :)​ I bought this after hours of searching high & low! Trying to find a kettle that is truly free from plastic touching the water is near impossible! (The internet can be a labyrinth of just too much information, don’t you think? I end up link-hopping forever and ever without much result nor satisfaction… Anyone with me on that trap???) Continue reading “#010: I am still in love with my plastic-free kettle~!!!!”

#008: 355 words to describe food (downloadable poster)

355 words to describe food - poster/ chart thumbnail

Hello! I hope this article finds you well! ^^ As seasoned blog readers will know, I write a lot about food – on this blog as well as on my Instagram feed. Despite quitting my food business almost two years ago (omg… time flew by…), I am still very much absorbed in thoughts for all-things food. If you see me quietly contemplating something, you betcha my brain is preoccupied with, yes you’ve guessed it, about food. Lol…

My love of food extends to reading about it as well. I love reading not just cookbooks but also food essays, journals and even scientific reports at times. When it’s written well, I marvel at how the words are deliciously composed. I’m not a fan of the word ‘foodporn’ but it does describe how I feel about reading about food. Continue reading “#008: 355 words to describe food (downloadable poster)”