347 reduction cheats Recipes

any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that, answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture)., by reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. you can continue this process until what you have left is a syrup if it contains sugar, or a sauce if it does not., this is 1 of the most important tools in the kitchen , believe it or not, because a great sauce can rescue an indifferent meal., literally any liquid can be reduced ., a few uses, wine is frequently used in cooking , both as a marinade and as an addition to sauces for meat., there are some problems with it though, 1 of which is that you need a really good wine and quite a lot of it to produce a reasonable sauce for, say, six people., on the other hand , if you use pure grape juice and reduce it to a syrup, that syrup, added to any sauce (or gravy if you prefer) will lift it into the realms of gourmet ., more , you don tsp have to make your reduction on the night you prepare your meal. you can reduce a liter of grape juice at any time to the consistency and flavor you want; then just store it in the fridge., you can do the same thing with any fruit juice - prune is sensational - and store it until needed. just about all of them will do things for ice cream, pies or tarts that will have your guests demanding the recipe, pork with apple sauce use a carton of fresh apple juice from the supermarket and reduce it. and if you want a real sensation add in a glass of apple brandy during the reduction process., are you getting an idea of how simple this is, take any carton of fresh stock straight of the shelf and reduce it. you will transform it into something even the manufacturer won tsp recognize. but beware, you need to start out with good quality in the first place, because when you reduce a liquid you intensify all the flavors, and not just the good ones., if it s salty to start with, for example, it will be salty beyond belief by the time you ve reduced it even by half. so if you are going to use a supermarket stock, make sure it s an extremely good 1., believe me when i tell you that stock cubes should not be used for reduction sauces., thickeners, because you will be tasting as you go (won tsp you ), you may find that you get the flavor you want before the desired consistency is reached., a couple of hints right now for your sauces., sweet ones can be thickened successfully without loss of color by adding in liquid glucose early on in the reduction process. surprisingly, this will add little in the way of sweetness and produces a beautiful velvety sauce when whisked., if you get it wrong and add too much, no problem. stir in a little extra water to thin it., reduction pans, reductions need to happen rapidly in serving to preserve flavors. and the greater the surface area of the liquid the faster the water will evaporate., however you may want to whisk something into the sauce while its cooking - such as butter or olive oil for example - and for that i find a small wok is best; 1 with a handle., a wok is less likely to reduce so fast that the sauce is burnt while your back is turned. but try both methods and see which you prefer. you may even end up using something totally different., no magic to this. whatever works for you, that s what you should use, in this and everything else to do with cooking., just bear in mind that what you re after is speed and ease of use. as well as a great tasting result, of course. :>), keeping, if they should dry out , simply add a little water and heat through., sauces containing meat juices of any kind must be frozen if you re going to keep them, and should be brought to boiling point before being used again. there is no need to thaw them out to do this, in fact it s better not to. simply drop the frozen cubes into a saucepan, melt them over a gentle heat, and then bring swiftly to the boil., why do you do this to avoid food poisoning, that s why. you are making sure that any bugs introduced into the sauce during the preparation process are killed off., worry , this will not be because of anything you have done wrong (i hope!), but because bacteria are part of our everyday lives and they exist in every kitchen, however clean., in fact your food , and especially your meat, is crawling with wildlife that you will never see. don tsp worry about them. careful handling and simple precautions will ensure that these miniature monsters can never multiply enough to harm either you or your guests.

duck breasts, reduction, shallots minced, oil, honey, sake, ruby red grapefruit juice, port wine, lime juice, soya, celery salad, celery batons peeled, green onion match stick, grapeseed oil, soya, sea salt

cellophane noodle, boneless skinless chicken breasts, peanut oil, minced garlic, minced ginger, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, fish sauce, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, chopped fresh basil

lardons or 50 g bacon, chopped into small dice, olive oil, meaty sausages, lean pork chops, cut into large pieces, tinned beans, cannellini or navy beans or mixed beans or haricot beans or butter beans, onion, peeled & diced, carrots, peeled & diced into biggish chunks, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, red wine, sugar, garlic cloves (or more ), breadcrumbs, bouquet garni

cream of mushroom soup, milk, frozen meatballs, egg noodles, cooked

couscous, olive oil or 4 oz melted butter, ras el hanout spice mix or 1 tsp ground cumin, ground coriander , cilantro, ground paprika, ground turmeric, pine nuts , lightly toasted under a grill, soft dried apricots, chopped finely, golden sultana raisins, dried onion flakes, garlic granules , not salt, hot vegetable stock, made with salt free cube if possible such as marigold swiss vegetable, butter (to garnish ), chopped fresh coriander , cilantro

oil, chicken thigh fillet, trimmed of fat, cut in half, butter, garlic cloves, crushed, tandoori curry paste, condensed tomato soup, low-fat plain yogurt, light cream, coriander leaves (to garnish )

mascarpone, custard (ready made ), tia maria or 4 tsp coffee liqueur, instant coffee, water, sponge cake fingers, cut into chunks, cocoa powder , to sprinkle

double cream, vanilla, icing sugar , sifted, sponge finger biscuits , halved lengthways, dark chocolate, melted, vegetable oil

fresh porcini (also known as cepes) or 3 lb other exotic mushrooms and 2 oz large dried porcini slices, onions, cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges, garlic cloves, minced, chopped fresh thyme, dry marsala wine, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, assorted pearl onions, blanched and peeled, red-wine reduction

prime rib, butter, vegetable oil, salt and pepper, red wine reduction sauce , recipe follows, grilled vegetables , recipe follows, garlic mashed potatoes , recipe follows, beef stock, red wine, mushrooms, sliced thinly, salt and pepper, squash, thinly sliced, carrots, peeled and thinly sliced, olive oil, salt and pepper, baking potatoes, milk , use judgment to create desired creaminess, butter , use judgment to create desired creaminess, garlic salt

squabs, essence , recipe follows, olive oil, julienned shallots, dark chicken reduction, dried cherries, minced garlic, unsalted butter, salt and black pepper, creamy grits , recipe follows, chopped parsley, essence , recipe follows, milk, butter, minced garlic, salt and pepper, quick grits, grated white cheddar cheese, paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme

sugar, white wine, dried red currants, pears, diced small, skin on, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, duck breast, seasoned with essence, shallot reduction (any dark stock can be used preferably duck stock), chives, for garnish, essence, for garnish, duck stock, chopped shallots, salt, pepper, paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried leaf oregano, dried thyme

chicken livers, chopped onions, crushed garlic, butter, hard-boiled eggs, chopped, softened butter, good brandy, salt and pepper, ground mace, extra melted butter , to seal the pate

onion, chopped finely, garlic cloves, minced, arborio rice (don tsp rinse), dry white wine, lemon juice, chicken stock, shredded parmesan cheese, shallot (green part ), capers, dill, balsamic vinegar, fresh salmon, skin off and deboned, salt and pepper, dill, extra, to serve

sweetened flaked coconut, cool whip (or other whipped cream), prepared vanilla pudding, sara lee poundcake (or other brand )