Brandy Freberg Spring 2017 Blog
by Brandy Freberg, June 23, 2017
It’s All in the Technique
As my last quarter before internship comes to a close, I realized I have made more purees in this quarter than any other. This technique is not as simple as originally assumed. For example, in my first quarter attending Stocks, Sauces, and Soups class, we made puree soups. It was easily explained enough: one makes the soup, then it is put it in a Vitamix and blended, then strain. Done. However, when making purees for the Fine Dining class, there was so much more involved in the making.
One must pay keen attention to the temperatures of the food. When making pommes puree (potato puree), you must add heated cream and butter and it must be hot. Without this being heated, the potatoes will seize up thus not resulting in a smooth texture. In addition, when working with foods that cannot hold water well, such as carrots, cooked rice is added to the puree process in order to keep water from being released and separating the puree. Some purees need to be strained because the food is very fibrous- such as corn, carrots and parsnips. While softer foods do not because they tend to “cream” with little help at all- such as peas. This technique is super fun to preform and there is no limit to what a person can puree. I intend to use this new technique many more times in the future and maybe, one day, on a menu I create as well.