Secrets of gastronomy

Ingredient substitutions

• Browned butter (beurre noisette). Use in savory dishes (pasta, spread on bread, tortillas) or in sweet dishes (cookies, cakes, and custards). Try it in pie crusts.
• Evaporated milk (from a can, or made at home). This is not sweetened condensed milk, which is also awesome. Evaporated milk can be substituted 1:1 with regular milk in many recipes for a slightly sweeter and richer taste.
• Heavy cream. Much like evaporated milk, substitute in place of standard milk for a richer experience.
• Buttermilk and yogurt can add a tang and substitute for part or all of the liquid in certain recipes.
• Consider substituting milk, cream, evaporated milk, buttermilk, sour cream, and so on where creamy or baked recipes call for water. It won’t work for everything. Experiment and have fun.
• Turbinado (“sugar in the raw”) or demerara sugar. Use in place of granulated sugar in many places for a slight molasses flavor, such as in cookies. Note that these sugars may not dissolve as readily in cold liquids.
• Consider bread flour and other types of flour as higher-protein substitutions for all-purpose flour. I find that bread flour tends to absorb butter in shortbread, leaving it less greasy and more fluffy.
• Muscovado sugar makes a stronger molasses flavor where additional moisture won’t cause problems.
• Brown or muscovado sugar makes for a stronger molasses flavor in place of sugar where additional moisture won’t cause problems.
• Ricotta cheese makes a good substitute for cottage cheese in many recipes.
• Consider sour cream or crème fraîche as an additional way to add tang to creamy dishes.
• Vegetable stock (storebought or homemade) can be a good substitute for water in many savory dishes.
• Flour makes for a stronger, more decadent pastry cream than cornstarch, and can boil without coming apart (unlike cornstarch).
• European butter tends to have more fat than American domestic butter.
• Cultured butter (also often European) has a more nuanced and interesting flavor than American domestic butter.
• Fresh garlic beats out minced garlic (in a jar) every time. Minced garlic (in a jar) beats out garlic powder every time. Consider sautéeing to make a sticky topping for pasta.
• White pepper instead of black pepper (at least a partial substitution) adds a deep nuanced flavor.
• Milk powder (supposedly) is a way to enrich baked goods.
• Coconut oil or milk can add a rich flavor to baked and savory dishes.
• Substitute extra virgin olive oil to add a savory earthiness to baked goods.
• Substitute Hollandaise sauce, hummus, tahini, yogurt, or sour cream in place of mayonnaise.

Ingredient additions

• Mascarpone cheese adds a fabulous dimension to cream cheese buttercream, cheesecake brownies, and chocolate chocolate. It can also add richness to savory dishes. Try serving with pasta.
• Liquid smoke (a little goes a long way) adds an entirely new dimension to creamy tomato soups and other recipes.
• Mirepoix (2 parts onion to 1 part carrot to 1 part celery) is a good base for many savory dishes that call for just one of the three constituent components. Sautée in butter for a mirepoix or olive oil for soffrito.
• Malted barley (e.g., malted milk powder, or just pure barley powder) can add a savory dimension to desserts such as custard, as it has done for decades in a malted milkshake.
• Vinegars (e.g., malt vinegar and rice vinegar) can add a kick to certain savory dishes.
• Cumin works well in more recipes than many people realize.
• Oregano works well in more recipes than many people realize.
• Add a little sugar to the sautée pan to support caramelization. Be careful of burning the pan contents.
• Oats can serve a role in savory dishes. Savory oatmeal with salt and butter works just as well as polenta, cream of wheat, barley, or other cereal grains.
• Salt pasta water heavily (“like the sea”) for dried pasta dishes.
• Reserve some starchy pasta water before draining for use in thickening the sauce where applicable.
• Vegetarian pasta sauces taste better with more fat. Add butter or olive oil to make them more decadent.
• Vanilla or sweet cream ice cream (or gelato, or similar products) can get an earthy kick from some extra virgin olive oil. Consider flavored oils for even more fun.
• Coffee adds a nice earthy tone that complements chocolate in rich, baked dishes. Arguably it also stands on its own relatively well.
• Don’t be afraid of monosodium glutamate (MSG).
• Consider adding vinegar (or another acid) to pie crusts if you’re looking to try something new. Opinion is divided as to whether this can minimize oxidation, improve coloration, reduce gluten formation, or does nothing at all.

Preparations

• Add pasta to the sauce without rinsing when possible, rather than rinsing the pasta and topping with sauce.
• Dried store-bought gnocchi does not need to be boiled before being pan-fried.
• When making cookie dough by creaming butter with sugar, consider chilling the dough in the refrigerator or freezer before baking. (You can also freeze extra to bring out in the event of unexpected guests.)
• Learn how to cream butter and sugar for use in recipes that require this.
• Learn how to bring egg yolks to the ribbon stage for recipes that benefit from this.
• Learn how to bring egg whites to the meringe stage for recipes that benefit from this.
• Learn how to bring whole eggs to the ribbon stage for recipes that benefit from this.
• For recipes that call for whole eggs, consider substituting either ribbon stage whole eggs or a recombined mixture of ribbon stage egg yolks and meringue stage egg whites.
• Learn to make sweetened whipped cream (crème Chantilly) as a topping and basis for other desserts (e.g., crème Légère).
• Learn a basic pastry cream (crème patissiere) and use as a basis for other desserts. (Hint: Beat egg yolks to the ribbon stage.)
• Learn a basic custard (crème anglaise) and use as a basis for other desserts, including eggnog and eggy ice cream (“frozen custard”). (Hint: Beat egg yolks to the ribbon stage.)
• Learn how to make a roux (flour and butter in 1:1 ratio), a Béchamel (roux plus milk or cream), and a Mornay (Béchamel with cheese). The latter makes a fabulous macaroni and cheese sauce.
• Sprinkle sugar on baked goods before or partway through the baking process to add a nice crunch and some caramelization.

Measurements

• Pack brown sugar tightly into measuring cups, or measure by weight.
• Use scant measurements when measuring table salt with sweet recipes.
• Level measurements in measuring cups with the back of a butter knife or other implement, or measure by weight.
• Don’t pack flour into measuring cups.