Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Open Office Hours
Eric Wynkoop - Open Office Hours
This event was on
Tuesday, November 29, 2022 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern
Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to ask anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.
Question:
What can I do to better work with herbs and spices? Is there anything else I can do to create more concentrated flavors in my food?
— Melissa Lloyd
Answer:
I think you're on the right track right in terms of toasting especially spices, you know, be careful with herbs because in terms of toasting them or exposing them to excessive heat because what gives us the aroma from herbs or these more delicate these these volatile aromatic compounds and they tend to evaporate when exposed to air and that's hastened when that air is hot. So, you know, as I mentioned earlier, you know, I typically recommend using fresh herbs because you've got those volatile compounds concentrated and add them late in the cooking process or just prior to service, you know, in order to maximize that Aroma that you get to enjoy at the table because Aroma equals flavor, Now again, just to reiterate an earlier comment. If it's a more robust or like Rosemary, then perhaps you can add that earlier in the cooking process so that it's not too strong at service time. Excuse me. And yes, you know regarding spices they can certainly be handled in different ways. They can be kept whole or they can be ground. They can be. Added early in the process. They can be added late in the cooking process and often. Both are approaches are used and they can be toasted dry or toasted or I'll say toasted or fried in a little bit of oil to bring out those Aromas very often a dish will be finished with spices that are toasted because those are again very fresh Aromas and flavors that we can then enjoy at service time. Okay. I mean, you know, otherwise start to use a wider variety of herbs and spices in combination and start to increase the quantity a little bit to see how you like those combinations along with the main ingredients that you're preparing. Okay, and again just to reiterate my Global Focus Um reach out and experiment with spice Blends from different parts of the world and you know, you're gonna find that these combinations of herbs and spices are tested right. They're tried and true favorites of a lot of people from a given region and you might enjoy it too. And so I recommend, you know those approaches. Thank you.
