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Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies.
When a piece of meat is roasted, pan-fried, or prepared in a pan with another form of dry heat, a deposit of browned sugars, carbohydrates, and/or proteins forms on the bottom of the pan, along with any rendered fat. The French culinary term for these deposits is sucs, pronounced [syk] ⓘ ), from the Latin word succus (sap). [1]
The meat is removed and the majority of the fat is poured off, leaving a small amount with the dried and browned meat juices. The pan is returned to the heat, and a liquid such as vegetable or meat stock, a spirit, wine, or verjuice is added to act as a solvent. Dairy, however, is not recommended for deglazing, as it may curdle when added to high heat. [2] The solvent allows the cook to scrape the dark spots from the bottom of the pan and dissolve them, incorporating the remaining browned material at the bottom of the pan into a basic sauce. [2] The culinary term fond, French for "base" or "foundation", refers to this sauce. [3] (In the United States, fond may also be used interchangeably with sucs. [4] )
The flavour is determined chiefly by the meat, the liquid used for deglazing, and any flavouring or finishing ingredients added, such as aromatics, herbs, or butter.
This method is the cornerstone of many well-known sauces and gravies. The resulting liquid can be seasoned and served on its own (sometimes called a jus), or with the addition of aromatic vegetables, such as onions or shallots, carrots, and celery, or used as the base for a soup. The sauce can also be thickened by whisking in butter, through the addition of a starch, such as flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot, or simply simmered down with a steady heat to form a rich, concentrated reduction.
Deglazing can also be used while cooking vegetables, especially ones that have left sugars at the bottom of a pan. It is commonly used in caramelizing onions. [5] Because vegetables do not produce as much fat, they do not need to be removed from the pan to pour off excess grease. Instead, the liquid can be added directly to the pan and stirred, allowing the fond to meld with the vegetables, rather than creating a separate sauce.
Cajun cuisine is a style of cooking developed by the Cajun–Acadians who were deported from Acadia to Louisiana during the 18th century and who incorporated West African, French and Spanish cooking techniques into their original cuisine.
Sautéing or sauteing is a method of cooking that uses a relatively small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Various sauté methods exist.
Poaching is a cooking technique that involves heating food submerged in a liquid, such as water, milk, stock or wine. Poaching is differentiated from the other "moist heat" cooking methods, such as simmering and boiling, in that it uses a relatively lower temperature. This temperature range makes it particularly suitable for delicate food, such as eggs, poultry, fish and fruit, which might easily fall apart or dry out using other cooking methods. Poaching is often considered a healthy cooking method because it does not use fat for cooking or flavoring the food.
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least 150 °C (300 °F) from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization and Maillard browning on the surface of the food. Roasting uses indirect, diffused heat, and is suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. Any piece of meat, especially red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a roast. Meats and vegetables prepared in this way are described as "roasted", e.g., roasted chicken or roasted squash.
Gravy is a topping or sauce often made from the juices of meats that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with corn starch for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt or gravy browning or ready-made cubes and powders can be used as a substitute for natural meat or vegetable extracts. Canned and instant gravies are also available. Gravy is commonly served with roasts, meatloaf, rice, noodles, chips (fries), mashed potatoes, or biscuits.
Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana, United States, which blends West African, French, Spanish, and Native American influences, as well as influences from the general cuisine of the Southern United States.
A mirepoix is a mixture of diced vegetables cooked with fat for a long time on low heat without coloring or browning. The ingredients are not sautéed or otherwise hard-cooked, because the intention is to sweeten rather than caramelize them. Mirepoix is a long-standing part of French cuisine and is the flavor base for a wide variety of dishes, including stocks, soups, stews, and sauces.
Roux is a mixture of flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and cooked to the desired level of brownness. A roux can be white, blond (darker) or brown. Butter, bacon drippings or lard are commonly used fats. Roux is used as a thickening agent for gravy, sauces, soups and stews. It provides the base for a dish, and other ingredients are added after the roux is complete.
Chateaubriand is a dish that traditionally consists of a large front cut fillet of tenderloin grilled between two lesser pieces of meat that are discarded after cooking. While the term originally referred to the preparation of the dish, Auguste Escoffier named the specific front cut of the tenderloin the Chateaubriand.
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social circles.
Stock, sometimes called bone broth, is a savory cooking liquid that forms the basis of many dishes – particularly soups, stews, and sauces. Making stock involves simmering animal bones, meat, seafood, or vegetables in water or wine, often for an extended period. Mirepoix or other aromatics may be added for more flavor.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to food preparation:
Sweating in cooking is the gentle heating of vegetables in a little oil or butter, with frequent stirring and turning to ensure that any emitted liquid will evaporate. Sweating usually results in tender, sometimes translucent, pieces. Sweating is often a preliminary step to further cooking in liquid; onions, in particular, are often sweated before including in a stew. This differs from sautéing in that sweating is done over a much lower heat, sometimes with salt added to help draw moisture away, and making sure that little or no browning takes place.
Fricassee or fricassée is a stew made with pieces of meat that have been browned in butter then served in a sauce flavored with the cooking stock. Fricassee is usually made with chicken, veal or rabbit, with variations limited only by what ingredients the cook has at hand.
Smothering meat, seafood or vegetables is a cooking technique used in both Cajun and Creole cuisines of Louisiana. The technique involves cooking in a covered pan over low heat with a moderate amount of liquid, and can be regarded as a form of stove-top braising. The meat dishes cooked in this fashion are typically served over boiled or steamed white rice as a rice and gravy, while the vegetables are typically served as side dishes.
Onion gravy is a type of gravy prepared with onion. Various types of onions are used in its preparation. Some preparations caramelize the onions. Onion gravy may be served to accompany many foods, such as pork, beef steak, meatloaf, hamburger, bangers and mash, hot dogs, and French fries, among others. Vegan onion gravy also exists, which may use seitan cooking broth in its preparation. Premade mixes and formulations also exist, such as solid sauce bars.
Onion sauce is a culinary sauce that uses onion as its primary ingredient. Some onion sauces may use several types of onions in their preparation. Some onion sauces are brown in color, while others are white.
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