#culinary-uses

#culinary-uses

Olive oil is a special ingredient. Lower-grade olive oil is often relegated to background roles in the kitchen, such as being used to make a vinaigrette or fry an egg, where its flavor largely goes unnoticed. But at its best, olive oil is worth celebrating. And Turkish olive oil can be especially wonderful, as Ayesha Nurdjaja, executive chef at Shuka knows well.

Fresh mozzarella is one of those ingredients that feels like a little bit of magic in the kitchen - soft, milky and impossibly tender. Unlike aged cheeses, fresh mozzarella is best enjoyed quickly while its delicate flavor and creamy texture are at their peak. You'll usually find it packed in liquid (water or brine), which helps keep it moist and soft.

Once considered a luxury spice, which Henry VI sprinkled through the streets before his coronation in a garish show of wealth, it was typically only used by royalty and upper-class households. Its distribution was controlled by a select group who knew where it was grown. By the 17th century, the Dutch were so vested in controlling its production that they literally started a war to obtain large amounts of nutmeg and store it for their own use.

Both crystallized and uncrystallized ginger pieces are first cooked in a sugar syrup, but crystallized ginger is also rolled in granulated sugar as a final step, resulting in bites that are sweeter on the palate. In addition to adding warming sweetness to candies and treats, these pieces can bulk up the texture of chocolates and ice creams and bring an earthy flavor to sauces.

Choosing from among our favorite fig recipes is like deciding between a cup or cone at your go-to ice cream shop: it's hard to make a wrong move. As botanists and pedants will tell you, figs are technically a flower, not a fruit. Regardless, their versatility defies categorization. Blessed with tender skins and jammy interiors, fresh figs can offset the tang of tomatoes and bitterness of salad greens.

Chunk (or chunk light) tuna will be cut into smaller pieces, appearing as flakes or shreds. When you crack open a can of solid tuna, you'll instead find larger and intact pieces of fish. Given the different sizes of these pieces, you can also expect different textures. For example, chunk tuna will provide a softer and flakier bite, whereas solid options will be firmer and meatier.

At first glance, green tomatoes can be a bit confusing - aren't they just red tomatoes that haven't yet ripened? Sometimes, but there are actually two distinct categories in which you can place green tomatoes. On one side, you've got red tomato varieties picked early while they're still unripe, pale, and mostly firm. These green tomatoes are destined to turn red if left to Mother Nature's timetable. On the other hand, heirloom or specialty varieties are bred

The process of making Sardinian pane carasau involves baking durum wheat dough on a hot surface until it puffs up, creating a pocket that resembles an inflated whoopee cushion.

Microgreens are cultivated in a proper growing medium and harvested by cutting at the base when they develop their first true leaves.

Marshmallows can amplify aesthetics as well as improve the textures and flavors of various treats, serving multiple purposes ranging from snacks to dessert enhancements.

Look for shades of yellow... The more yellow it is, the riper the fruit is. If the shell is totally green, it's not ripe at all.