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; } } }

consomme

trev_teich

What is the deference in taste from a raft to freeze thaw?

Find more posts tagged with

Recipes Q's

Comments

seijoed

This makes me want to do the whole corned beef presentation entirely clear.

june_todd_eng_45828

Hi chris, Wow, that 's great.thanks

Brendan_Lee_56950

That's pretty cool. Maybe someday we will be precise enough to use this phenomenon to our advantage for plating and presentation.

Chris_Young_80640

@june_todd_eng Yes, this is definitely the result of light being scattered by the solid particles of fat, gelatin network, ice crystals, and air bubbles in the ice. Melt the ice and warm the consomme and all of these effects go away and you get a clear liquid.

For the geek-set, this is Mie scattering in action:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mie_theory

june_todd_eng_45828

hi chris, mananged to snap a picture of frozen consomme

Chris_Young_80640

@june_todd_eng — Do you have a photo? But basically, what I think you're describing is the effect of oil solidifying into small fat droplets and gelatin setting into a solid. The solid fat reflects and scatters light more effectively than the liquid droplets, and the gelatin scatters some light too. The combination of these effects causes the consomme to become slightly less translucent and gives it that hue you describe.

When you warm it, the fat and gelatin both melt, and their ability to reflect and scatter light goes away.

june_todd_eng_45828

hi Chris, why does consomme colour turns green - olive green when chilled and returns back to clear when reheated.

trev_teich

Oui

Chris_Young_80640

@Trevor — Yes. Although you should keep in mind that a freeze-thawed stock will have no gelatin left in it, so it won't thicken as you reduce it. You can, of course, add some gelatin back to the consomme if that's important.

trev_teich

I see, so to intensify flavor I can reduce a freeze thawed stock without being worried about clouding it?

Chris_Young_80640

The freeze thaw method will be clearer, particularly when served cold. If you chill a traditional consomme down, it goes a bit cloudy because there is still a small amount of emulsified fat that turns solid and scatters light. Freeze-thaw removes pretty much all of the fat, hence it has greater clarity. Because you've removed all of the fat, a freeze-thawed stock tends to lack some of the animal-specific flavor of a stock. So it tastes meaty, but not really beefy, for example.