Alex's Tips - Choosing ingredients
Our cook Alex is here to answer any questions you may have, to ask your question click here.
Q. Why do you use salt in cooking when it is not good for you? I try not to use it for that reason but wondered what are the benefits?
A. I can answer this in two parts using my unscientific but hopefully common sense approach. It is too much salt rather than all salt that is bad for you; as is too much of anything. The Food Standards Agency recommends 6g per day as a maximum - this, if you weigh it out, is a fair amount. In my opinion it is not so much the salt that we add to food but the salt that is hidden away in processed food. For example, have a good look at the salt content in your breakfast cereal.
I use salt not to make food taste salty, but, along with other seasonings to enhance the flavours of freshly cooked food - in essence, to make ingredients taste more strongly of themselves. I also use a lot of other seasonings; sugar, lemon, pepper, cayenne pepper, vinegar, roquito peppers, all things to enhance as well as add to flavours that are already there. Simply put, in small doses, the benefit of salt is to make food taste better. If it is used correctly, you won’t know it is there.
Q. Certain recipes call for salt-free butter. Why is this? Also, if I used salted butter would it really, really matter?
A. The reason many recipes call for unsalted butter is so that you can have complete control over the seasoning. Confusingly, some recipes ask for it and then tell you to add a pinch of salt. There are also pastry, caramel and fudge recipes that suggest using salted butter.
So, unless the butter has granules of rock salt, or is extremely salty, it really doesn’t matter. Just go for it!
Q. I have a recipe for Texan corn bread. Can I use the quick-cook polenta in the same way as other polenta to make this?
A. Yes you can, I have even been told that it makes an improvement on the texture as the grain is finer.
Q. I live in Aix en Provence and cannot find a double cream (or similar) suitable for cakes, puddings torte's etc. What can you recommend I buy that will whip and hold without losing its consistency and full flavour?
A. I had the same problem with cream when I had my cookery school in the South of France. I found two solutions. I would buy “Isigny Sainte Mere” in cartons, which I found was best.
1) When you want lighter whipped cream, the sort to serve on the side, just make sure you have the cream and bowl very cold, and be very careful not to whip it too much as the cream very quickly turns to butter.
2) To solve your problem with regards to a firmer whipped cream, use half mascarpone, half cream. I do this anyway in England for cakes, roulades etc that are going to sit for a while, as it holds much better than whipped cream on it’s own. Try this with vanilla seeds added, or grated citrus zests for something different. You can adjust the quantities of cream and mascarpone to find what suits you best.
Q. I am making Delia's creole christmas cake and at the stage of soaking the fruit BUT the fruit has gone very sticky and I would say more like mincemeat - I did chose sticky currants and prunes so not so surprising - will this ruin the recipe and make it heavey so should I start again using cheaper currents/dried fruits? Thanks.
A. I hope you are well, I've just had a look at the recipe and I think you should be fine. A big part of the point of soaking dried fruit is that it becomes softer and imbibes the alcohol and spices, what you describe sounds wonderful and I am sure you will have a moist and delicious cake. These types of cake are never intended to be light, the moist, succulent texture is they key.
Q. What ingredients would you recommend for a Thai/Sri Lankan curry?
A. I’m not an expert, but I make a very passable and quick one pan Thai Curry, I use half coconut milk and chicken stock and I add (bought) green curry paste to taste. I simmer this gently then turn down the heat and poach either strips of chicken or fish, or prawns in it. The liquid should not boil. Once the chicken, fish or prawns are just cooked through, I turn off the heat and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then I add a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of fresh coriander or basil.
The basic ingredients for Thai green curry paste are ground coriander, cumin, shrimp paste, sugar, green chillies, garlic, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, fresh coriander, dark soy sauce coconut milk, fish sauce and Thai basil.
Q. What are the best tomatoes to use when making a sauce?
A. San Marzano are good because they have less seeds, less water and more pulp.
When I was working above the Almalfi coast I helped cook four tonnes of these tomatoes in giant saucepans in a sunny restaurant garden. This sauce, made only with tomatoes, olive oil and basil, was boiled and bottled to store for the winter and spring. The tomatoes were ripe and warm from the August sun. The staff all brought their families and cooking the sauce became a carnival. It was glorious.
