nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Blanching with Maltodextrin?

trev_teich

One of my fist jobs was at a really neat restaurant in Chicago. The chef blanched herbs and veg in water and maltodextrin. As a cook with no time I of course did as I was told. The chef left and I never got to ask why, what, where, and how about this interesting technique.

E.G.

600 gr haricot vert

2000 gr water

200 gr salt

50 gr maltodextrin

Method:

Remove the stems from the haricot vert. Mix the water, salt, and maltodextrin. Bring the solution to a simmer and add the haricot vert. Boil until the beans bend in half without breaking. Immediately shock in iced water.

Steam the haricot vert to serve.

-Trevor

Find more posts tagged with

Recipes Q's

Comments

Chris_Young_80640

Hmmm. I've speculated about doing something like this, but I've never actually done it myself.

Maltodextrin is just a long chain of glucose sugars—basically it's halfway between starch and sugar since starch is just a very long, bushy chain of glucose molecules. By adding a bunch of maltodextrin to the water the chef may have been trying to create an osmotic balance between the natural sugars in the green beans and the water. And this might reduce the amount of sugar that is lost to the blanching water.

I can see why it ought to work, but green beans are an odd vegetable to go to this trouble; naturally sweet carrots would be more worthy IMO.

An alternative possibility is that the chef was under the impression that this would raise the boiling point of the water. It does, but by my back of napkin calculations it only will increase the boiling point of the water by about 1/10th of a degree Celsius—hardly worth the trouble.

Did you notice anything that was different about how the green beans came out of this blanching syrup compared to plain, salted water?

Chris

trev_teich

Not really. I thought he was trying to maintain a steady boil but avoiding adding more salt. I'll have to do a side by side test.

Chris_Young_80640

Try a side by side test and tell us how it turns out. Photos always appreciated on the forum.

Cheers,

Chris

trev_teich

will do. Here is another example of his cooking I'm still trying to understand.

Tarragon emulsion:

• 3 Tbsps. water

• 2 Tbsps. maltodextrin

• 1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves

• 2 tsps. fresh parsley leaves

• 1/4 cup ice cubes

• 1/8 tsp. xanthan gum

Bring water and maltodextrin to a boil in a saucepan; once maltodextrin has dissolved, add herbs; blanch; pour into a blender; add ice cubes; blend until cold and smooth; strain through fine chinois into a bowl; add gum; whip with a hand blender; remove air with vacuum machine.

Chris_Young_80640

The maltodextrin is definitely working as a thickener here. It provides a different mouthfeel than xanthan alone would provide.

Chris

trev_teich

thanks

lelferreira

What kind of mouthfeel are you talking about Chris?

Wouldn't the tarragon emulsion become a bit sweet because of the maltodextrin? Or the amount used is relatively small?

Thanks

Duda

dpietranczyk_49940

I live and work in Chicago. A few years ago, one of the chefs I worked with had us blanch with maltodextrin as well. He said it made the greens greener. I personally didn't notice a difference.

trev_teich

Hmmm maybe it was the same Chef? Was he a frenchman with a bicycle?

Chris_Young_80640

DudaFerreira:

Yes, depending on the grade of maltodextrin (the D.E. number) it may add a very slight sweetness, but in fact by mouthfeel I really mean how it feels as you eat it. Xanthan gum can add a slippery texture to a thickened liquid. Thickening with maltodextrin gives a very different texture that is more syrup-like. It's worth trying this side by side. Thicken a juice with something like 0.25% xanthan gum, and then thicken an equal amount of juice with maltodextrin to about the same thickness. They will have a very different mouthfeel and the way the flavors are perceived will be different too.

Chris

dpietranczyk_49940

BAAAAHAHAHAHA Great description! No. It wasn't him, but the guy I was working with was with LG at Tru. Probably picked it up from him there. Frenchman with a bicycle... priceless

trev_teich

Haha rain or shine.

trev_teich

Speaking of thickening, what makes Novation 3600 different?

Chris_Young_80640

Haven't used Novation 3600 from National Starch, but I've used related starches from them. A little investigation suggests that this is a tapioca-derived starch that is very stable when held hot and under shear (think stick blending this stuff while it's simmering). Like other tapioca-based starches it will thicken hot liquids and impart a nice smooth glossy sheen. When cool it will set the liquid into a tender but brittle gel (think flan texture).

Like all starches it will dull the flavor release compared to other thickeners like gellan gum or pectin, but it will also impart a rich mouthfeel.

trev_teich

Thank you.