Jim Hillibish| The Repository
Next time your meringue turns watery or your fudge refuses to budge in the double boiler, you should check the weather.
Weather and cooking are tightly linked. Sometimes it’s a death grip, killing off trusted recipes that suddenly fail. Or it’s simply a nuisance. Either way, cooks should realize what happens outside directly impacts what happens on the stove.
It’s a little weird, but weather rarely is blamed for failed recipes. There’s always something else, such as the eternal “I must have forgot something.” Maybe not. The reality is cooking is science, and so is weather. The two butt heads all the time.
Perhaps you heard your grandmother complain that “you can never make fudge when it’s raining.” No mythical urban legend here. High humidity alters the cooking properties of sugar. Fudge can take three times as long to set up, if at all.
Sugary meringue absorbs humidity. Left uncovered on a humid day, it can turn to mush.
It might be a good idea to wait for a sunny day before baking. If you cannot wait, remember that liquid and flour amounts can vary by 30 percent, depending on the humidity. That’s because flour is a sponge, soaking up ambient moisture. Likewise, flour dries rapidly. You’ll especially see this on winter days, when the furnace has wrung all the moisture from the house.
To get a handle on this, bread recipes specify a range of flour. Cutting back on the liquid is another work-around for humid days.
Thickening gravy by adding flour is affected the same way. Flour breading will stick better on wet days.
Note that running the air conditioner lowers the humidity, just as running the furnace does.
Getting the dough to rise can be impossible on cold, wet days. The yeast needs warmth to grow. That’s easy in summer, a challenge in winter.
Generally, high humidity lengthens cooking times. Jams and jellies take a lot longer to set on wet days, to the point where some recipes advise to wait for a dry, sunny day.
Humidity affects all grains, including rice.
Another old-timer is you cannot churn butter on stormy days. Well, you can, but it takes a lot more muscle power. The humidity makes it a lot harder for solids to form.
Quite often you’ll see “room temperature” advised for some ingredients, especially liquids. This is another concession to weather. Egg whites at room temperature are more fluffy. They absorb more air than when cold.
Weather forces us to store ingredients and cooked foods properly. Mold can form overnight in high temperature and high humidity. Adding oil or shortening to baked goods helps them last longer. The best storage is wrapped in a food plastic bag and kept in a container with a tight lid.
Flour and sugar should be kept in sealed containers. Their paper packages absorb humidity and cause them to clump.
Winter grilling
It seems ridiculous to spend hundreds for a grill and only use it four months of the year. Grilling needn’t have a season. You may be surprised that you can grill even in moderately cold weather.
You will need a covered grill, and gas is certainly a luxury. Turn the fire up high and let it heat up for 10 minutes.
Only the strong will attempt to grill foods that take a long time. You’ll be most comfortable with fast-cooking items such as burgers and steaks. Be sure to have a covered container or a foil cover to bring it indoors.
The colder the weather, the longer the cooking times, especially with charcoal.
Grilling in the garage is not recommended. You will have carbon monoxide, grease and smoke “issues.” There’s always the chance that an ember will fall and cost you plenty.
Winter vegetables such as potatoes, squash, carrots, turnips and parsnips roast well. Peel and wrap in a foil packet. Add butter, salt and pepper. Cook about 30 minutes in a covered grill.
WINTER GRILLED BEEF MARINADE
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry sherry
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Mix ingredients in a food plastic bag. Add 2 to 4 steaks depending on size. Marinade in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove, drain and bring to room temperature before grilling.
WINTER FOODS
Our bodies have different caloric requirements in different seasons. Summer needs are light. In cold weather, we need heavy, fortified food.
We often are more sedentary in winter. Our natural desire for heavier meals can result in weight gains.
The list includes: Beef stews and pot pies, turkey anything, pasta casseroles, baked potatoes, barley soup, sweet potatoes, winter leafy vegetables such as kale, brussel’s sprouts, beets, squash, rolls.
ROASTED ACORN SQUASH
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
Sprinkle of ground cloves and cinnamon
Maple syrup or brown sugar
2 pats butter
Sprinkle squash cavities with spices, syrup or 1/4 cup brown sugar. Add butter. Bake 20-30 minutes on a foil-lined sheet at 400 degrees.
CHILI WHEN CHILLY?
Chili always disappears from menus in warm weather and makes a raucous return for tailgate and game parties. We’ve got it mixed up.
Spicy chili can make you sweat. Sweat evaporates, and you feel colder on a winter day. The reverse happens in summer, and the evaporating cools you. That’s when we need chili the most.
Need proof? The most spicy foods come from countries in hot latitudes.
SIMPLE CHILI
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup water
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, undrained
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder (more or less)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 small, hot pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
Heat oil in a chili pot. Add onions and ground beef and brown. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, for one hour.
Serves 4-6
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