ONIONS AND TOMATOES

The onion is part of the lily family.  Genus Allium.  There are over 300 varieties of onion with 70 being native to North America.  Other members of the lily family are: asparagus, garlic, tulip and yucca.  The bulb of the onion is made up of concentric layers of leaf bases.  The onion has been cultivated for over 5,000 years and is generally believed to have originated in Central Asia.  Sumerian tablets dating back to 2500 B.C. in cuneiform, the oldest text, mention someone plowing over the governor’s onion patch.  In ancient Mesopotamia the oldest body of law The Code of Hammurabi decreed that the needy shall receive a monthly ration of bread and onions.  The onion has been worshipped in Egypt, buried with the Pharos and the slaves who built the pyramids were fed onions.  Ramses IV who died in 1160 B.C. was buried with onions in his eye sockets.  In Pompeii the Guild of Fruit and Vegetable Mongers refused to admit the onion party.  They were then forced to form a guild of their own which was considered the lowliest of all.  The Roman gourmet Apicus who wrote one of the first cookbooks in the ninth century B.C made many references to onions.  Turkish legend states that when Satan was cast from heaven onions sprouted from where his left foot had been and garlic from his right.  Onions were one of the Pilgrims’ first crops planted in 1648 and in France today a sect of over 4,000 believe the onion to be immortal and divine.  Onions are rich in sulfur and vitamin C and contain a substance called Allyl Sulfide.  This is what makes the eyes water though it disappears after cooking.  Purchase only onions that are firm and heavy for their size.  They can be refrigerated for up to an hour, no more, to make them peel easier. 

Until the seventeenth century the tomato was believed to be poisonous and was used mainly as an ornamental plant.  This misunderstanding  may have come about because like the potato, the first part of these plants tasted was the leaves which is in fact mildly poisonous.  The tomato originated in Peru.  In the sixteenth century it traveled to Spain and then on to Naples (Napoli), at that time a Spanish kingdom.  It was nicknamed the Love Apple in Southern France for it’s qualities as an aphrodisiac. Introduced by a vendor at the Federation Festival, the first tomato arrived in Paris from Marseilles in 1760.  Thomas Jefferson was raising tomatoes in 1781.  The tomato plant is known to be extremely sensitive to cooking gas.  Virtually undetectable amounts (1 millionth part) can make the leaves curl up and die.  Ethylene gas is used to turn unripe tomatoes red but this is not thought to be dangerous since bananas and apples naturally release ethylene.  Pakistan is a large producer and exporter of tomatoes and is said to treat them with radiation as a preservative.   

AESTHETICS AND THE CHEF

Cooking food for other people is one of the most intimate forms of communication.  To appreciate cooking is to simply consume, one of our most basic carnal instincts.  Cooking was developed before the written word and we have been eating since the beginning of time.  It affects nearly all of our senses unlike any other medium and as with any art form the study of the rules, principles and techniques will help lead to clarity of expression.  Applying the study of people’s personal food preferences combined with the ability to flexibly sculpt dishes will lead to a heightened experience for the diner.  

COOKING AND THE DISCOVERY OF FIRE

For hundreds of thousands of years the human race ate all food raw.  Around 500,000 B.C., we began to tame fire.  Shortly after that the art of cooking was born.  Cooking presented many advantages; foods that were inedible raw and, consequently, many more nutrients, entered the diet.  Also foods that were cooked or smoked lasted longer.  And keep in mind that chewing and digesting cooked food simply took much less time.  We then had more time to think.  Of all the cooking methods to develop, roasting was most likely the first.  A piece of meat fell into the fire and was fished out for breakfast.  How many of the most powerful creative techniques have been discovered by accident?  A wise man once said that form follows chaos.  The early days of cooking were certainly chaotic.  The sophistication of eating has become so refined that man can now eat, talk on the phone, smoke, listen to an iPod and drive a car all at the same time.   

COOKING TECHNIQUES

Remouillage

A classic French cooking term meaning second stock.  A remoulage is generally used as the cooking liquid poured over bones in the preparation of stock.  For example, stock is prepared by roasting the bones and vegetables, covering them with cold, fresh water and simmering slowly for a few hours before cooling and straining.  The resulting liquid is the stock.  There is still quite a lot of flavor in and around the vegetables and bones even after they’ve been strained.  To extract this final level of flavor the chef covers these strained bones again with more cold fresh water, boils them and then allows them to cool.  Strained a second and final time this resulting liquid is the remoulage and is used to pour over the roasted bones of the next stock.  It can also be used as a flavorful cooking liquid in rice dishes or any savory recipe where water is called for.  This is one of the many concepts that will deepen the character of your cooking and help you develop a refined and unique style.

Pan searing

Searing browns and seals the outside of items giving them a crispy texture and a nutty, lightly charred flavor.  Searing also heightens the aroma of herbs and spices used to season the meat by toasting them.  Properly cooking meats and seafood to the desired doneness is the product of three factors: the temperature of your pan and or oven, the duration of cooking and the temperature and density of the meat going into the pan.  The key to achieving precise results is to understand the effects of these three factors.  Take these tools into your hands and you will sculpt dishes to your exact liking.  This is the essence of personal style.   For example, a tuna steak to be served absolutely rare (raw) in the center with a crispy outside surface would be prepared as follows.  Season the tuna and refrigerate for al least one hour.  Preheat a heavy gauge pan to high to medium high heat.  Remove the tuna from the fridge, add the oil to the pan an then carefully add the tuna (cold, straight from the fridge) shaking the pan vigorously to prevent sticking.  This way as the center is cold it’s less likely to overcook by the time the outside is nicely seared. On the other hand chicken, veal and many cuts of seafood which are for the most part cooked rare to medium should be taken from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before going into the pan.  This helps the heat to penetrate the meat more gently and evenly. 

Seared items are generally browned in the pan and finished in the oven or sauce. 

Simmer

Water will come to a boil when it reaches 212 degrees farenheit.  At that point the temperature will go no higher.  Whether it is at a fierce rolling boil or barely bubbling one bubble at a time, (tickee boo as the English chef says) the water will be 212 degrees farenhiet.  The difference is that rapidly boiling water will evaporate much more quickly than simmering water.  When cooking stocks and sauces, simmering keeps the water at high temperature to extract and concentrate flavors with minimal loss of volume.

SPICES

Coriander. 

The name is derived from the Greek koris or “bed bug” because the ancients believed the plant’s leaves smelled like bed bugs.  Of the carrot family, but unlike carrot seeds, coriander seeds will begin to germinate up to 5 years after harvesting.  Ancient Hebrews used it to flavor cakes and the Romans used it for preserving meat.  In the eighteenth century they were coated with sugar and chewed.  It is a main ingredient in nearly all curries.  Coriander is known for it’s dual identity: the plant is grown for both its seeds and leaves, each female plant has two types of flowers and is at the same time both sweet and bitter tasting.

Pepper.  

Not to be confused with Capsicum or peppers of the vegetable family, pepper the spice is the fruit of the pepper plant.  It is a climbing vine native to India.  Its unripe berries are sold as green peppercorns and are usually either dried or pickled in brine or vinegar.  Its character is piquant; both fruity and slightly spicy.  Black peppercorns are allowed to ripen on the vine before harvesting and drying.  They are very strong, fragrant and pungent.  White peppercorns are ripe berries with the outer husks removed.  These are spicy and quite fragrant.  Ground peppercorns loose their flavor and aroma quickly and should be ground shortly before use.  Peppercorns were used in cooking in ancient Greece as far back as the fourth century B.C.  In 1973 Prince Charles of England entered Cornwall (of which he was named Duke) and received his feudal rent.  This consisted of a load of firewood, a pair of gilt spurs, a hunting bow, two greyhounds and a pound of peppercorns.  “Peppercorn rent” is a legal term from the Middle Ages still in use today.  Peppercorns had been used as currency for a period of nearly 2,000 years in ancient Rome and Greece.  It was also used as a respectable bribe.

Salt.      

There are two main types of salt.  Sea salt and mineral or rock salt.  Sea salt is usually moist and contains impurities but also valuble minerals.  Mineral salt on the other hand is far superior as it carries a much higher saline content and lacks the impurities of sea salt.   Boiled down from the brine of salt springs, mineral salts are preferable for salting and preserving meat and fish.  This is because of the higher saline levels and the lack of calcium and magnesium.  All of which allows it to penetrate the flesh more quickly.  

Another fine white salt that was produced in the Low Countries was known as “Peat Salt”.  Peat or turf saturated with seawater was burned to ashes.  This ash, which retained the salt, was then evaporated with seawater over turf fires.  Peat salt was highly sought after for its slightly smoky aroma and fine color and texture.  Unfortunately it was very expensive; it was labor intensive and was produced only seasonally.  In the fourteenth century the great saltpans of Bourgneuf Bay on the coast of Brittany cornered the European salt market.  This salt was coarse, made with unfiltered sea water and contained generous quantities of grit, debris and seaweed.  It was sometimes black, grey or green and consequently nearly half the price of refined white salt.  Shortly after this period all unrefined lower quality salt came to be known as Bay Salt.  Time and again salt has played an important role in world history.  In 1936 Chinese communists were forced to evacuate areas of South Yangtze, which they had occupied for eight years.  The Nanking govern

ment blockade cut off salt supplies and effectively proved that salt deficiency was more powerful than eight years of military strategy.  

YACHTING AND THE CHEF

The chef has been evolving and adapting since the discovery of fire. Today, one of the most exciting and demanding ways a chef can perform is aboard a mega yacht. With the number of luxury yachts increasing every year, there is virtually not enough quality chefs and crew to go around.

 

Chefs working on yachts have the ultimate stage to display their repertoire. The job description is simple: Conceptualize, provision and prepare not only individual dishes but entire day and week long menus. The freedom is liberating and strenuous. The rewards are as good as they get. But this is no Iron Chef game show. You clean the galley, get some sleep and get up at six to make breakfast pastries. And guess what? Now the boss wants to go to Barcelona. Eight hours of nasty weather and you need butter.

 

Chefs on the larger yachts ranging from 120’ to 250’ and upwards work with provisioners as they travel from port to port.  Crispy arugula, fresh baguettes and local seafood can arrive dockside by a gorgeous French woman in a denim work coat. A few days later you’re stuck in a van driving into the countryside outside Porto Cervo to get vegetables. The driver speaks no English. Something about his ‘uncle’s farm”, “make wine”. The experienced chef always picks up an extra pound of sliced Pata Negra Iberico for the agent in San Remo. When the drive gear on the Kitchenaid mixer was broken she simply told you to fax her a parts diagram with the broken piece circled. It was waiting for you in Monaco.

 

On the smaller boats it’s usually provisioning on foot. The summer schedule starts in the south of Spain and heads up the Mediterranean coast: Cordoba, Marbella, Alicante, and onto the Costa Brava. Across the Golfe du Lion and park it in St Tropez for three weeks.  Each town with a new market and seaport. You’ve never been there and you have to go shopping. The wise old Greek captain advised the novice chef: “Look where the old women with shopping bags are coming from.” Gibraltar can be a perplexing city layout and many a chef have gotten lost there on foggy morning. 

 

The bottom line is this chef has to put out. Reputation is everything and you’re only as good as your last meal. For those willing to take the challenge the possibilities are limitless. Fort Lauderdale has been a hub for yachts and crew for decades. Here there’s a subculture of crew agents, housing and nightlife supporting the industry.