Similarly, microwaving is a fast cooking process in which heat is generated throughout the sweet potato at approximately the same rate.A. Water is a really good thermal conductor, so boiling facilitates rapid heat transfer, which quickly raises the internal temperature of the sweet potato-high enough to deactivate amylase as well as other crucial enzymes. The result is blander-tasting sweet potato. The authors explain that boiling and microwaving appear to deactivate those critical amylase enzymes in sweet potatoes long before they have a chance to convert starches to maltose (which is a precursor to the volatile compounds we’re after). This study compared baking, boiling, and microwaving sweet potatoes, and showed quantitatively that baking produced significantly higher numbers and concentrations of desirable volatile compounds and Maillard products than any other method. As Sin explains, in certain parts of China, it’s cold enough to freeze the sweet potatoes just by leaving them outside, which results in a fluffy texture the hot coals produce a smoky, mildly charred exterior and caramelize the sugars inside without burning them.Īs it turns out, baking or roasting really might be the best method overall. This method is based on his memories of passing street vendors as they repeatedly shoveled hot coals over smoky, fragrant sweet potatoes. Lucas Sin’s Freeze-Roast Method: Sin calls for freezing whole, scrubbed sweet potatoes solid, then roasting them uncovered at 450☏ until they bubble at the surface with burnt sugar and they're fork-tender at the core.Sous Vide: I vacuum-sealed whole sweet potatoes and cooked them in a 150☏ water bath for three hours.Microwave: I microwaved whole sweet potatoes in a covered bowl until they were fork-tender at the core.Steaming: I steamed whole sweet potatoes in a bamboo steamer until they were fork-tender at the core.Baking/Roasting: Following Kenji’s method for baking sweet potatoes before mashing them, I wrapped sweet potatoes in aluminum foil and roasted them at 300☏ on the middle rack until they were fork-tender at the core.Boiling: I kept the sweet potatoes submerged in water at a low simmer until they were fork-tender at the core.At the very least, it might be better to hedge toward a softer texture, regardless of variety. It might be more useful to identify what we don't want in a cooked sweet potato: Gumminess dry, leathery spots crunchiness or uncooked sections. Because of that variability, it’s difficult to make blanket statements about desired textures. Texture: Depending on the variety, cooked sweet potato can have textures ranging from fluffy and crumbly to wet and mushy. And as we will see, the right cooking method can have a profound impact on that aroma. We probably just care that our cooked sweet potatoes are intensely aromatic-anything but plain or bland. Do we necessarily care about all those compounds? Not exactly.For instance, this study shows that there are around 60 volatile compounds present in cooked Jewel sweet potatoes, of which three are the most apparent: phenylacetaldehyde (perfume), maltol (caramel), and methyl geranate (sweet candy). Aroma: There are a number of volatile compounds that contribute to the nutty, earthy, caramel aroma we associate with cooked sweet potatoes.He showed that the more starch you convert to maltose, the sweeter the sweet potato tastes. Kenji went to great lengths to explain sweetness in sweet potatoes: they contain an enzyme (amylase) that converts the tuber’s complex starches into maltose, a basic sugar molecule, and prolonged cooking encourages this enzymatic action.
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