Food materials and their culinary properties and uses. Preparation techniques belong in Cooking; regional dishes belong in Global Cuisine.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Maple syrup gets most of its sweetness from which sugar?
Sucrose is also table sugar; small amounts of other compounds help give maple syrup its distinct flavor.
Cheddar cheese takes its name from a village in which country?
Caves near the village of Cheddar offered cool, humid conditions for aging cheese.
Maple syrup makers collect sap most readily during what kind of spring weather?
Freezing and thawing change pressure inside the tree, helping push sap out through a tap.
Which mixture is a common baking substitute for buttermilk?
Milk acidified with lemon juice is thinner than cultured buttermilk, so the swap can make biscuit dough too wet.
Traditional buttermilk is the leftover liquid from which process?
Churning gathers the cream's fat into butter, leaving a liquid with far less fat than the cream had.
Pure maple syrup starts as which part of a maple tree?
Fresh maple sap is thin and nearly clear, unlike the thick amber syrup poured over pancakes.
Most U.S. supermarket buttermilk is made by adding what to milk?
Culturing also thickens the milk, so supermarket buttermilk is usually thicker than the liquid left after churning butter.
Which flavor is characteristic of cultured buttermilk?
Bacteria turn milk sugar into lactic acid, giving cultured buttermilk its tart flavor.
Why do maple syrup makers boil maple sap?
Boiling also triggers browning reactions that help create maple syrup's color and flavor.
On cheddar cheese, what does the label "sharp" describe?
As cheddar ages, enzymes break down proteins and fats, creating its stronger flavor.