Ask Chef Nancy: The Wonders of Science

on January 27, 2009 at 11:34 PM, updated January 14, 2010 at 4:03 PM

Q. What is liquid smoke? I've seen it sold in bottles in our local market and also as an ingredient in recipes.

-- Beverly, West Caldwell

Do you remember a middle-school science class experiment involving the burning of wood and the condensation of the gas (smoke) it produced? This is it!


Liquid smoke is nothing more than the distilled particles that are emitted from a smoldering/burning piece of wood. The convenience of this ingredient is part of what makes it so attractive -- you don't have to fire up the barbecue smoker every time you would like a hint of smoke flavor. There are many different woods, from pecan to mesquite, that are used in liquid smoke, so the possibilities are endless in terms of flavoring.

The most important thing to remember is that a "little dab will do ya." Since this is a distilled form of smoke, it is quiet potent and can overwhelm even the thickest hunk of barbecued pork or beef. Try using literally one drop at a time until you've reached your best barbecue flavor.

Q. Every time I use frozen puff pastry it never puffs up and I'm left with a soggy mess. Help!
-- Lucy, Morristown
Ah, my days in cooking school Pastry 101 are all flooding back to me with three words: "Keep it cold."

Puff pastry is an unleavened dough layered with butter. Picture a book and thin layers of butter in between the sheets of paper (dough). Anytime the temperature gets above about 60 degrees -- a cold room, indeed -- the butter can begin to melt. When this happens, the butter doesn't allow for the pastry sheets to puff up with air in between the layers. Instead it just cooks as a collapsed, goopy dough that never puffs or crisps properly.

My guess is that somewhere between the production of the pastry in the factory and your oven, the butter has melted a bit. Here are a few things to remember the next time an apple turnover or strudel mood strikes:

1. Keep the puff pastry frozen until you are ready to use it.
2. Defrost according to the directions on the box.
3. After it is 99 percent defrosted, chill it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
4. Roll out to seal any of the folds that might have split.
5. Chill again for another 10 minutes.
6. Cut, shape and/or fill as desired with only chilled or cold ingredients.
7. Chill again for 10 minutes.
8. Brush with a beaten egg.
9. Chill again for 5 minutes.
10. Bake according to your recipe, but make sure you have thoroughly preheated your oven.
11. Enjoy the wonders of food science and behold the puff!

Q. In our family, we have a tradition of making ice cream. Most of my recipes are fine, but I can never seem to make a strong enough pistachio flavor ice cream. I've tried using more nuts, but then the ice cream is too nutty. Any suggestions?
-- Stan, Arlington

Pistachio lacking punch? No problem! The trick most chefs use is so simple, you are going to smack yourself with a sugar cone: almond extract.

One or two little drops here and there can make all the difference between a ho-hum pistachio ice cream and a stellar batch. Try it and see how the flavor almost explodes out of the scoop!

Q. What is the best way to store baking ingredients?
-- Julia, Lakewood

Believe it or not, I don't bake an awful lot at home. My solution to having my ingredients stay fresh and accessible is to store them in a freezer. This way they aren't subjected to the changes in temperature in my pantry in the winter and summer. I also don't have to worry about any little bugs snacking on them either.

I take all of my flours, sugars, baking soda and powders, chocolate chips, oatmeal, dried fruits and nuts and put them in air-tight containers. I put them on a dedicated shelf so that when I do need to whip up brownies or midnight cookies, I just clear out one shelf.

The one absolute rule of thumb should be to label everything. Flour and baking powder and soda might easily be mistaken for one other, and there is nothing more disgusting than using salt instead of sugar.