On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 762

directlytothedish.Thefinerthecrumbleor
grind,thegreaterthesurfaceareafromwhich
flavormoleculescanescape,andsothemore
rapidlytheflavormovesfromflavoringinto
dish.
Rapidextractionmayormaynotbe
desirable.Inabrieflycookeddish,it’s
essential.Inalong-cookedstew,however,a
slowerreleasefromcoarserparticlesorwhole
leavesandseedsmaybepreferable.Inpickles
andpreserves,wholespicesprovideflavor
withoutcloudingtheliquid.Onceflavor
moleculeshavebeenextractedintoa
preparation,theybegintoreactwithoxygen
andwithotherfoodmolecules,andtheir
originalflavoristransformed,however
subtly.Largerparticlesreleasetheoriginal
flavorsoveralongertime.Anotherwayto
assuresomefreshflavorsinalong-cooked
dishistoaddtheherborspice—either
altogetherorasupplementaldose—toward
theendofcooking,orevenafterthecooking


isdone.
Preparedflavorextractssuchasvanilla
extractarehandybecausetheflavor
moleculeshavealreadybeendissolvedina
liquidandimmediatelypermeatethedish.
Becausecookingwillonlycausetheirflavor
toevolveortoevaporate,extractsarebest

addedtowardtheendofapreparation.
Grinding, Crushing, Chopping There are
severalwaysofcrushingherbsandspices,and
theyhavedifferenteffectsonflavor.Grinders,
choppers, and mortars all generate heat. The
hotter the aroma molecules get, the more
volatile they become and the more readily
they escape, and the more reactive and
changeabletheybecome.Theoriginalflavors
are best preserved by prechilling both spice
and grinder to keep the aromatics as cool as
possible.Foodprocessorssliceintoherbsand
introduce a lot of air and therefore aromaaltering oxygen, while a pestle pounding in a