another science class flashback

Last week's class brought back more high school science class flashbacks.  Remember the days of forming hypotheses and then conducting experiments to prove or disprove your theory.  Well, that's exactly what we did during Starch Class.  And when I say starch, I'm referring to just about every carbohydrate you can think of.

During lecture we discussed and identified a vast variety of carbohydrates.  We also discussed why certain starches are better suited for certain cooking methods.  And every time we asked why a particular item was or wasn't a good match for a specific cooking method, well, that "experiment" got added to the list.

After lecture, Chef assigned each team their experiments.  The teams may have had the same product to prepare, but then we were assigned a different cooking method for that product (you get where we're going, right?...compare and contrast).  Or, we were assigned the same cooking method, but different varieties of the same starch (think mealy potatoes vs. waxy potatoes).

My team was assigned boiling an ear of corn, making white rice in a rice cooker, making potato chips with waxy potatoes, preparing mashed potatoes with steamed waxy potatoes, simmering lentils, making risotto with freekah, making polenta, and simmering farro.  In addition, all teams made homemade pasta and spaetzle.

At the end of the night we all sat down to a carbohydrate smorgasbord to compare the products (you really can't imagine how many different carbs we had to sample that night...if I was a runner, I could have done a marathon Tuesday morning).  Here are some of my take-aways from our big, fun science experiment.

• When making mashed potatoes, steam your potatoes...do NOT boil them.  The difference is amazing.  Both mealy potatoes (russets) and waxy potatoes (white, red, yukon gold, etc.) produce good results, but the key is the cooking method.  I repeat...do NOT boil your taters...steam those suckers.
• Speaking of steaming vs. boiling:  it applies to all veggies.  You see, much of the flavor gets released when you boil vegetables.  It'd much rather the flavor stay in the vegetable I'm going to eat rather than disperse itself into the boiling water.  Steaming is easy and quick. 
• Make homemade pasta.  It's easy and it's divine.  You can make the dough ahead of time and freeze it, or you can freeze the pasta ribbons.  Once you see how easy and delicious it is, you may never eat bagged pasta again.
• Freekah is the new, up and coming "it" grain and it is quite delicious and nutritious.  Watch out quinoa, here's comes freekah.   
• Do not attempt to make risotto healthy by using a whole grain product.  Risotto has to be made with arborio rice (sushi rice can work too).  It's the starch from this sticky rice that gives risotto its yummy creaminess.
• Rice in the rice cooker produces good, consistent results.  However, it can get crusty, brown bits on the bottom if you leave it in the rice cooker on the "hold" setting. It's better to power down completely once the rice is finished cooking.  I also learned that rice can be cooked in the oven.  Did you read that correctly?  Yes, in the oven.  I was shocked.  It was excellent.

I was so inspired by the pasta making that I bought a pasta machine on Tuesday and made a gigantic batch for dinner (with homemade pesto too).  I received probably the highest compliment I have ever received on that simple dish.  My daughter told me she loved the dinner I made.  That may not sound overly special, but you must understand that it is a rare occasion (closer to never) that my daughter loves what I make for dinner (she always eats what I make as I refuse to make more than one meal, but it does feel so much better knowing that she actually enjoyed this one).

P.S.  I didn't post to my blog last week because I was too busy making homemade pasta.  I made a batch with white flour and another batch with whole wheat flour and a bit of oregano.  Both were so tasty.  I hope to conquer a decent batch of gluten-free pasta in the near future.  Below are some pictures of my pasta creations.

The ingredients: Flour, Olive Oil, Salt and Eggs.  And yes, this equals a big ol' mess, but that leads to deliciousness...so it's worth it! 

The result.

Whole wheat pasta with homemade pesto and parmesan cheese.