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Vegetables
Also searched as: roast vegetables, broccoli, beans, onions, carrots
In short: Vegetables are plant cells full of water, held together by a glue. Cooking decides three things: bite, colour and flavour.
Picture it
Like a wall of water balloons: the mortar decides the bite, and the colour of the balloons changes with heat and acid.
What happens
Heat dissolves the glue between the cells, and the . Green vegetables turn olive green with long cooking; red ones react to acid and alkali. Dry, strong heat browns the surface and brings sweet roasted aromas.
Why it matters
If you know what acid, time and heat do to vegetables, you get beans, bright broccoli and deeply browned onions.
Rules of thumb
- Cook green vegetables briefly in plenty of water, then refresh in cold water. Plenty of water barely cools when they go in, so cooking stays short.
- For roasting: dry, spaced out, hot.
- Acid only at the end if vegetables are meant to soften.
Related entries
Sources · 2
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Gemüse, Eier
- Education Bureau Hong Kong: STEM – Fruits and Vegetables