Cook like a top chef
By
Blake Eligh • Bankrate.com
Oils and extracts
When it comes to baking and candy-making, there is no substitute for pure extracts and oils. It's just not worth it to save a dollar or two by buying the fake stuff. Pure oils, such as those produced by LorAnn brand ($2.50 for 3 ml), offer a burst of honest-to-goodness flavour for chocolates and candies. Try substituting oils for extracts, using about one-quarter of the measurement called for in a recipe. The difference is amazing.
Although you can get away with synthetic vanilla in baked goods, pure vanilla is best for dishes where it is the central flavor, such as vanilla-scented whipped cream and homemade ice cream, not to mention baked goods.
Vanilla takes different flavours depending on where
it is grown. Vanilla from Madagascar's Bourbon Islands is great
for all-purpose applications, while flowery Tahitian vanilla blooms
in icing or whipped cream and Indonesian holds up in high heat,
and is especially nice with chocolate or coffee confections. Mexican
varieties pair well with warm spices like cinnamon, but avoid low-grade
brands that may contain the banned additive coumarin.
Nielsen-Massey sells a range of vanillas from around the world ($11.99 to $25.99 for 4 oz.). Massachusetts-based Baldwin Extracts ($13.65 for 4 oz.) and Penzeys Spices ($9.95 for 4 oz.) are also good bets.
Better butter
Butterfat is what makes French pastries so wonderfully light and
flaky. If baking is your thing, it's worth it to splash out for
a European-style butter. North American butters, made with "sweet
cream," contain about 80 percent butterfat. Tangy-tasting European-style
butters, made with a cultured cream, have between 82 percent and
83 percent butterfat and lower water content. Cultured butter can
also withstand higher temperatures than regular butter, making it
a great choice for baking.
European-style butter can be elusive in Canada. Homegrown brands include Loblaws President's Choice Normandy Style butter ($2.99 for 250 g) and Lactancia Plus ($4.99 for a pound), but intrepid bakers can find other brands online and at some specialty stores.
Pasta perfect
Such simple ingredients -- durum flour and water -- but what a variety of flavours and textures. Good pasta should be smooth, cook without clumping and be free of black flecks characteristic of poor quality wheat.
Di Cecco ($4 for 450 g) is the mainstream brand favoured by chefs, but search out gourmet stores for artisinal pastas like the small-batch organic noodles produced by Italy's Rustichella D'Abruzzo ($5 for 500 g). Rustichella is twice as expensive as grocery store brands, but the family-owned noodle house produces small-batch rustic pasta with great flavour.
Try integrale pasta, which is half whole wheat and half white flour. It's better for you than white pasta without the too-virtuous taste of whole wheat. Also keep an eye out for pasta extruded with a bronze dye, which creates a toothsome, rough noodle -- all the better to stick to your sauce.
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