Dishintermediatedraft
Risotto
Also searched as: risotto alla milanese, saffron risotto
In short: Risotto turns creamy without cream: stirring releases starch from the rice grain, and at the end butter and cheese bind everything into an .
Picture it
Like pearls that release their own paste.
The decisive moments
- 1Sweat the rice in fat until translucent
The grains are sealed on the outside and cook more evenly.
Starch gelatinisation - 2Add hot stock bit by bit and stir
Friction releases starch from the surface, which thickens the liquid.
Starch gelatinisation - 3Take it off the heat while the core still has a little bite
The rice keeps cooking in the heat.
Time - 4Vigorously stir in cold butter and parmesan (mantecare)
Fat, starch and cheese combine into a creamy emulsion.
Emulsion
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004)