On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1091

delicatetexture.Couscousworksbestwith
thinsaucesthatspreadeasilyoverthelarge
surfaceareaofthesmallgranules.
“Israeli”or“large”couscousisactuallyan
extrudedpastainventedinIsraelinthe1950s.
It’smadefromadoughofhardwheatflour
formedintoballsafewmillimetersin
diameterandlightlytoastedinanoventoadd
depthtotheflavor.It’scookedandservedin
thesamewaysaspastaandrice.
Dumplings and Spätzle Western dumplings
and Spätzle (a word in a Bavarian dialect
meaning “clod, clump,” not “sparrow” as is
often said) are essentially coarse, informal
portions of dough or batter that are dropped
into a pot of boiling water and cooked
through,andservedasisinasteworbraiseor
sautéed to accompany a meat dish. Unlike
pastadoughs,dumplingdoughsareminimally
kneaded to maximize tenderness, and benefit
from the inclusion of tiny air pockets, which


provide lightness. The progress of cooking is
judgedbythepositionofthedumplinginthe
pot; when it rises to the top, it’s considered
almostdone,givenanotherminuteorso,and
then scooped out. This tendency to rise with
cookingisduetotheexpansionofthedough’s
airpockets,whichfillwithvaporizedwateras
the dumpling interior approaches the boiling

pointandmakethedoughlessdensethanthe
surroundingwater.
Gnocchi Gnocchi — the word is Italian and
means“lumps”—gottheirstartinthe1300s
as ordinary dumplings made from bread
crumbs or flour (Roman gnocchi are still
madebybakingsquaresofacookeddoughof
milkandsemolina).Butwiththearrivalofthe
New World’s potato, Italian cooks
transformedgnocchiintoaformofdumpling
with an unusually light texture. The starchy
potato flesh became the main, tender
ingredient, with just enough flour added to