Our Authors
Jennifer Latham
- Location: Oakland, Ca
- Favorite foods: Anything out of the garden or fresh out of the dirt. Bread right out of the oven. Potlikker. Sauerkraut. Chocolate.
- Last bite on earth: pie.
Recent Posts
Comments
How to Make Queso Fresco, the World's Easiest Cheese
Quick cheese like this is sometimes called mistakenly ricotta- true ricotta (meaning re-cooked, in Italian) is actually made from the whey from the first round of cheese-making, re-heated and with more acid added, to precipitate any remaining curds from the whey. It's not a big deal to call this quick cheese ricotta- lots of people do- I just like using the term queso fresco for clarity.
Light and Tender Honey-Almond Cake (Or, How to Beat Perfect Egg Whites)
A bit about the egg whites being free of yolks- back in my early pastry assistant days I tried to whip some whites that had a dribble of yolk in them. I whisked them forever without getting a good foam, and then they went straight to grainy. My chef immediately asked if they were perfectly clean (how did she know?!) and I had to own up. It's absolutely conceivable that I had done something else wrong, but ever since that incident I've adhered to the rule of only using clean whites.
Jam-Making 101: How to Select the Best Fruit
Thanks, lemonfair!
The same concept holds true for all fruit; the most important thing is to choose fruit that is *just ripe*, and if one or two of those peaches are a little extra firm it will only help the flavor and texture of the jam.
Best of luck!
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As for salt- salt should be added once the curds have drained. It's true that adding the salt earlier will change the moisture content and texture of the cheese. It will also drain out with the whey if added earlier, changing the saltiness and flavor of both the curds (less salty) and they whey (more salty.) Adding salt after draining make easier to control saltiness.