On the Path of Study: Semester 2: Stocks, Soups & the Simmer
From the Lexicon, The Allium Spectrum
One family, an entire flavor keyboard, played by cut and heat. RAW & FINE (grated garlic, minced shallot, sliced scallion tops): maximal enzyme-born pungency, the sharp top notes of dressings, salsas, and steak tartare; brutality that mellows in minutes of acid contact (the onion-in-lime trick). SWEATED (gentle, no color): sulfur softened to sweetness, the invisible base of most of this guide. CARAMELIZED (long, patient): sugars developed to mahogany depth, onion soup's entire thesis. FRIED CRISP: pyrazine crunch, fried shallots on everything Southeast Asian. CHARRED & BLACKENED: bitter-sweet smoke: Mexican salsa's dry-charred onion, calçots. FERMENTED & AGED: black garlic's balsamic-molasses transformation, the funk register. ROASTED WHOLE: garlic turned to sweet paste. The compositional insight: great dishes often run the SAME allium at two spectrum points: soup of caramelized onions crowned with raw chive; the beginning and the end of the keyboard in one bowl.
Read it in the Lexicon →