Table of contents:
- 1) Underestimate the choice of flour
- 2) Add yeast
- 3) Do not consider the alcoholic part
- 4) Make the oil wrong
- 5) Don't try the thousand variations
Video: Small talk: 5 mistakes we make often
2024 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 12:26
Carnival is the period of Chatter, but don't feel geo-excluded, frappe, galani, bugie and all the other names attributed to the famous pieces of fried dough covered with sugar, are fine anyway.
Simple to do at home? Yes, at least in theory, but we'll talk about it.
Many names but apart from small variations, the recipes are similar. As always in the magical world of traditional cuisine, each condominium holds the only original recipe, who am I to deny it?
However, it starts with a mixture of flour, butter, eggs, sugar and a drop of liqueur to form a dough which, after adequate rest, is spread thinly, cut into various shapes and fried, at most cooked in the oven.
Here are 5 mistakes to avoid in order not to give in to the dark side of Carnival.
1) Underestimate the choice of flour
As we know, flours are not all the same. We can divide them according to the grain: soft, hard, rye; in the case of soft wheat then in type "00", "0", "1" and so on, based on purity.
In this case, however, we are talking about strength, that is the ability of the flour to absorb liquids and retain carbon dioxide. The stronger a flour, the better it resists long processing; on the other hand, a weak flour is well suited to less complex baked goods.
Having said this and contrary to what we think, the most suitable flour for our chatter is a strong flour, precisely because its resistance allows the dough to swell during cooking without breaking, and without absorbing the oil, guaranteeing a fried light and crunchy.
2) Add yeast
I know that with yeast it is easy to inflate (almost) everything, and yet, why add ingredients to a recipe that is born simple and minimalist?
The yeast, moreover, requires prolonged resting and cooking times, with inevitable greater absorption of the oil; it would give us a honeycomb product, less crumbly and decidedly heavier. No need, forget it.
3) Do not consider the alcoholic part
This is the part where various regional recipes usually differ. In Venice they prefer white wine while in the rest of Veneto and Friuli grappa dominates. Anise prevails in Bologna, vin santo in Tuscany, limoncello in the south, marsala in Mantua and rum in the Vercelli area … There are as many variations as there are provinces.
However, almost all are united in the use of an alcoholic part, which in addition to giving a recognizable aroma makes the fried food more colorful and above all allows instant leavening thanks to the vapors released.
We remind you that evaporation occurs at 45 ° C in alcohol.
4) Make the oil wrong
The choice of cooking oil is fundamental for the success of the dish. In addition to quality, origin and pressing, one of the parameters to be evaluated when it comes to frying is the smoke point.
You have certainly heard of it, the smoke point is the temperature above which the oil releases toxic volatile substances such as acrolein, acrylamide and other potentially carcinogenic substances.
Unfortunately, accurately determining the smoke point based on the type of oil is complicated, since this depends on many factors and on values usually absent from the labels, such as acidity, level of refining and amount of free fatty acids.
Laboratory results in hand, remaining on quality oils, the most suitable for frying is that of peanut with a smoke point of around 210 ° C. about, and a neutral flavor and therefore not intrusive. As important as the quality of the oil is the frying temperature.
Equip yourself with a probe thermometer (yes, it is necessary) and bring the oil to a temperature of 170 ° C. This will allow the surface sugars to caramelize, thus forming a protective shield against the absorption of the oil that leaves the chatter crunchy on the outside and dry on the inside.
5) Don't try the thousand variations
Without falling into the blasphemy of spreadable cheeses used in place of butter, the tradition has many noteworthy variations.
From the choice of sugar - semolina or vanilla - with which to garnish the dessert, to the version filled with orange marmalade, apricot or chocolate cream, passing through grated citrus peel and creams to pour over. There are no limits to carnival delicacies.
If you are attentive to the line you can opt for baking and replace part of the sugar with a pinch of cinnamon.
As often happens, from a few simple ingredients recipes are born that survive centuries and, versatile as they are, manage to remain current. Now it's up to you to tell us which versions of Carnival chatter you prefer.
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