On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1211

inproteinsandphospholipids,eggyolksdon’t
foam well on their own because they don’t
containenoughwater.Addwaterandbeatand
they foam prodigiously but temporarily; heat
whilebeatingandtheyolkproteinsunfoldand
bond to each other into a thickening,
stabilizingnetwork.Thisishowsabayonsare
made, with the water replaced by a flavorful
liquid of some some sort, a broth or juice or
puree for example. The hot egg-emulsified
butter sauces can be made in the style of a
sabayon,withthebutterfoldedingentlyatthe
end so as not to pop too many of the foam
bubbles.(Thebutterdoesn’tneedtobebeaten
in because the foam has created a large
surfaceareaoverwhichthebuttercanspread
and stay suspended, much as a vinaigrette is
spread over lettuce leaves.) The proteins in
aeratedyolksthickenaround120ºF/50ºC,and
may coagulate and separate if heated much
above that, so many cooks prepare sabayons
overapotofhotwaterratherthanoverdirect


stovetopheat.
Salt

ThewordsaucecomesviaLatinfrom
anancientrootwordmeaning“salt,”the
primordialcondimentthatwaspreparedby
theearthbillionsofyearsbeforeearlyhumans

learnedtoenliventheirfoodswithit.Saltis
animportantflavoring,butalsomuchmore
thanthat,andisaningredientinnearlyevery
preparationdescribedinthisbook.The
relevantchaptersexplainitsroleinthe
makingofsuchfoodsascheese,curedmeats
andfish,pickledvegetables,boiled
vegetables,soysauce,andbread.Herearea
fewpagesaboutsaltitself.
The Virtues of Salt Salt is like no other
substanceweeat.Sodiumchlorideisasimple,
inorganicmineral:itcomesnotfromplantsor
animalsormicrobes,butfromtheoceans,and