Secrets 2

The Secrets to Quality Revealed . . .


How did you enjoy experiencing & expanding your knowledge of Ingredients?  I hope you had a great time!   Besides building up your own “Ingredients Database”, the next important secret to good cooking is . . .

B. QUALITY – When you begin with great quality ingredients, you are certain to produce top quality meals; if you start with poor quality ingredients, it won’t come as a surprise that the results will naturally be disappointing. 

When Quality is mentioned, the first thought in most people’s minds is freshness of the ingredients.  Depending on the item, you may need to determine if it is  ripe; if it is fresh or stale; if it is within or past its expiry date.  Another aspect of Quality is that there may be several grades of the same product available; an example is eggs, there are several grades of fresh eggs you can choose from at the market.  They may come in different sizes or color, and are priced differently.  In such cases, you will need to learn about the different quality grades, their applications & limitations, their price range or value, etc. to be able to make the best choice for your intended use.  Quality can easily be determined when you use all your senses . . .

Let’s start from the top with your  eyes.  Use your sense of Sight to look carefully at the ingredients.  Check the color to see if it is bright or dull, consistent or has blemishes.  Is the shape evenly symmetrical or distorted.  Look also at the texture of the items.  Your sense of Sight is the first sense that you will usually use when checking anything; and it is a powerful tool in determining the Quality of any ingredient.  Practice and see if you can tell what the Quality of an item is, just by looking at it.  You will quickly be able to use your Sight to initially screen ingredients to determine if they are worth a closer inspection or to move on.  When you are an expert, you will be able to just look at many items and instantly tell which the good ones to purchase are.

Next are your Ears.  Use your sense of Hearing to listen to the tone when gently tapping or shaking an item.  Does it sound hollow or solid, is there a rattling sound?  Hearing is not frequently used, but can be helpful in a closer inspection of certain fruits, nuts and vegetables. An example is watermelon; to choose a good juicy one, pick it up and tap lightly.  Listen to the tone it makes; it should resonate like a container full of water, sounding like a “thunk” or similar to the sound when you tap on your neck.

Use your sense of Smell to sniff out fragrant fruits and the aroma of fresh herbs.  You can also detect items to avoid when they emit off smelling odors.  You can discover the world of spices and challenge your nose with the many varieties of fragrances; just be careful not to inhale strongly on the pungent ones.  Train up your nose and your sense of Smell will come in handy when you search for Quality foods.

Now we go to your sense of Taste.  If you have the opportunity, sample the items before making your decision.  Besides checking that the Taste is what it should be, also observe the texture or feel it has in your mouth, when you chew on it, and when it slides down your throat.  This is also your chance to confirm that you really like the Taste of the ingredient before buying.  Your sense of Taste will be your most important tool when it comes to blending ingredients.  With a well developed sense of Taste, you will be able to determine what ingredients, and in what quantities, will go well together.  With a little help from your sense of Smell, your creation will be fine tuned just the way you like it.

Last but not least is your sense of Touch.  Go ahead, pick up and handle the ingredients you are inspecting.  How does it feel in your hands?  Is it heavy or light, hard or soft, firm or supple, smooth or rough, dry or moist?  You can tell a good deal about the Quality of an ingredient by how it feels; you just need a little practice to fine tune and “get the feel” of things.

Practice using all your senses to fully examine ingredients and learn how to pick Top Quality items for your specific needs.  To get you started in honing your senses, let’s guide you through an example . . .

Beef – You can pick fresh Beef easily at a glance, the meat will be reddish or pinkish in color and have a moist look; avoid Beef that is slimy or dry and off-color, especially if it does not smell good.  Fresh chilled Beef is always of a higher quality than frozen.  Quality is also determined by the cut, or the part of the animal; for example, cuts for steaks are more tender and cooking times are less, while cuts for stew are not as tender and longer cooking time is needed.  Even among the steak cuts, there are different quality grades; Tenderloin is the best quality steak you can get, Rib-Eye and Sirloin are next, lower down are cuts like Round and Flank steaks.  Where the Beef comes from, and how the animal is fed also factors into the quality. 

Japanese Kobe Beef is of very high quality; not only are these animal's  diets special and includes beer and grains, they are even given massages!  The meat is light-red to pink as the fat is well marbled, or mixed with the muscle, and is so tender and juicy it almost melts in your mouth.  You can therefore expect to pay handsomely for your Kobe steak.   The best of US Beef has to be USDA Prime.  Canada Prime is of similar high grade.  Australian grain-fed beef is as good as their US and Canadian cousins.  They are all a nice red with moderate marbling, tender and juicy.  New Zealand Beef tends to be more deep-red as there is less fat and the meat is not as well marbled, so it will be a slight bit more chewy but good for a lower fat diet.  So you will need to decide how you wish to cook your Beef, then decide on the right cut; if you then have a choice of meats from several grades or several countries, decide on what is the best value for your money.  Now, all this sounds like a bit much for you to digest all at once?  Not to worry, just make friends with your neighborhood butcher and he/she will gladly assist you to choose the right cut of Beef for your application; then you just learn from your new found guru as you go along.  In no time at all, you will have mastered the art of selecting beef.  What's more, this skill can be adapted to selecting other meats of your choice.

It is now time for you to exercise your senses whenever you go shopping for food.  Have a good time tuning up your skills in search of Quality products at the markets and stores.  While you’re at it, make sure to remember good brands, great stores and helpful grocers; they will come in handy whenever you wish to get good ingredients for your feasts.

Once you have mastered these two things, Ingredients and Quality, you have got the starting right.  For simplicity just remember you have to start with Ingredients of High Quality – “High I.Q.” if you will.

This should be enough to keep you busy for the rest of the week.

When you are ready, join us on Secrets 3 where you will be guided through the next secret.