Things Go Wrong A Guide To Fixing Kitchen Disasters
Written By Chef
Peter Martin
Let's face facts; we have all had our fair share of kitchen disasters,
even us "professionals", though we might not admit it. From food being
too salty,
to scorched soups, to broken hollandaise, disasters do, and will, happen.
The good news is that many of these so-called "disasters" can be fixed
relatively
easily, with only a few that are beyond salvaging. Below is a list of
some of the most common kitchen disasters and how to fix them.
Too Salty
From thinking the recipe said tablespoons instead of teaspoons, to being
distracted and salting something twice, this is one of the most common
food disasters.
Luckily there are numerous ways to solve this issue. You can try
neutralizing the salt by adding sugar and cider vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon,
each, at a
time until you have reduced the level of saltiness. Another method that
has been around for a long time is the potato method. If making a soup
and it
is too salty, add 1 peeled potato, cut into large chunks. Allow the
soup to simmer for 15 minutes then remove the potato. It will absorb some
of the
excess salt. I find this method only to work if the soup in question is
just slightly over salted. The final, and most effective, way to reduce
saltiness
is to add more of all the other ingredients to dilute it. At least you
are guaranteed leftovers!
How to fix kitchen mistakes
Too Spicy
You're making your favorite chili when you taste it and realize that the
jalapenos you used this time were way hotter than you expected. Not to
worry,
there are a number of fixes to foods being too hot. The first thing to
always do is taste your chile peppers. Peppers will fluxuate in the
amount of
heat they have and the only way too really know for sure how hot they are
is to taste them. If they seem a little hotter than normal you can cut
down
on the amount you use and you can also make sure that you remove all of
the inner membranes and seeds. This is where the majority of the heat
lies in
a pepper. Failing that, don't fear, all is not lost. Of course you could
just add more of everything else if you want, but what if you don't want 3
gallons
of chili or 1 gallon of salsa? There are still a number of options open
to you. There are really three things that will help counteract the heat
of chilies.
They are sugar, acids, and dairy products. That said, you have a whole
arsenal in your kitchen to combat spicy foods. Try adding a can of
crushed pineapple
to your chili. It will virtually disappear, leaving very little traces of
itself while helping to counteract the heat. Give that super spicy salsa
a
few squirts of lime juice to help tame it, or, if appropriate add some
dairy, in the form of sour cream or yogurt into a spicy sauce. At the
table, offer
sour cream and cheese to help counteract the heat or offer chopped
cilantro which also seems to have a cooling effect on the mouth. Also
remember that
milk or dairy based drinks are the best way to cool a burning mouth.
Highly sweetened, non carbonated drinks are second best. Stay away from
water as
all it does is spread the heat around in your mouth while doing very
little to counteract it.
Burnt Soups and Sauces
This is one of the few times that, if you do not act quickly, your food is
bound for the garbage can. There is absolutely no way, at least that I
have
ever heard of, to salvage a soup or sauce that tastes scorched. I have
been told by numerous sources that laying a piece of bread on top of the
soup will
draw out the scorched flavor, but I have yet to actually see this work.
Your best bet against this is vigilance. If you notice that your soup is
starting
to stick and burn to the bottom of your pan quick action can save it.
Quickly remove the pan from the heat and plunge the bottom of the pan into
cold
water. This is to stop the cooking process and prevent any more from
burning. Then, carefully, pour the soup or sauce into another pan leaving
behind
the last little bit on the bottom. Whatever you do, do not scrape
anything from the old pan into the new pan. You want all the burnt stuff
left behind.
Taste the soup, if you don't taste any burnt flavors then you reacted
quickly enough, if not then there is only one thing to do, start over.
Curdled or Broken Sauce
You slaved away all day working on that special meal and just before
serving it you notice that your hollandaise sauce has broken or that your
cream sauce
has curdled. Not to worry, all is not lost; in fact both of these
problems can be taken care of pretty simply. For a broken hollandaise you
are going
to take 1 egg yolk and whisk it over a water bath until it is thick and
pale, just like when you started your hollandaise. Next you are going to
use the
broken hollandaise just like you just the butter the first time. Slowly
add the broken hollandaise to the yolk, whisking vigorously as you go.
This will
bring your sauce back together. It might be a little more dense than it
normally would be, but it will still taste great, and chances are your
guest will
never even know.
To fix a broken cream sauce, take ½ cup of heavy cream and reduce it down
to 1/3 of its original volume. Slowly drizzle in the curdled sauce while
whisking
vigorously. This should bring the sauce right back to its creamy, silky
consistency. You can avoid a cream sauce curdling by adding just a little
starch
to it in the form of a roux or cornstarch slurry.
Miscellaneous Kitchen Fixes
-Melted Chocolate becomes hard and grainy (seized) Try adding a teaspoon
of shortening or oil per ounce of chocolate. Doesn't always work but
worth a
try before throwing it away.
-Runny (or Soggy) Mashed Potatoes Try adding a few dehydrated potato
flakes to the your runny mashed potatoes (yes even potato flakes have a
use or 2)
or try adding some powered dry milk
-Gummy Mashed Potatoes Unfortunately there is no fix for overworked,
gummy mashed potatoes, but don't throw them away!!! Cool them down, add
some minced
onion, a couple of egg yolks and some seasoning, form into patties, pan
fry and you have some wonderful Potato cakes.
-Hard to peel Hard boiled eggs Crack the eggs and place in a bowl of cool
water for 5 minutes. The water will seep into the cracks and help loosen
the
shell from the egg.
-Slightly stale Bread You can breathe new life into day old bread by
lightly sprinkling it with water, wrapping it in foil and baking it in a
300 degree
oven until warm.
Kitchen disasters will happen. It is inevitable, but with these
guidelines you should be able to recover from many of them. There will be
times when
things can't be repaired though. It is then that your creativity can
shine through. Cake fallen in the center? Turn it into a trifle.
Cookies spread
out too much and are now hard and brittle? Chop them up and add to ice
cream. Most of the time things can be rescued and dinner will be saved.
Best
of luck!!!!!
> Later.
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