Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

How to keep food warm while making several dishes or as for example,when I made the Pho, the vegetables needed to be blanched--which meant plunging them in ice water, making them cold. ?

— Rosie AIELLO

Answer:

So, um, you know, in terms of the, uh, blanche shock hold sequence for vegetables, uh, first of all, we will do that when we are preparing those vegetables ahead of time to be held for service later on. Okay? And, uh, typically, you know, we wanna try to, to hold foods cold, uh, you know, just to, uh, in the name of food safety, it kind of slows down all of the microbial activity within the food. Um, but, um, if you are gonna prepare, uh, something like vegetables and serve the dish, assemble and serve the dish immediately, there's no need to blanch them. Go ahead and finish the assembly. Um, you know, um, either however you stage the bowl, whether it's with the, um, the, the fub Roth first or second, you know, go ahead and assemble that, and then, uh, serve that to your diner, your, your guests, your family members, okay? But, uh, otherwise, in terms of keeping foo warm while you have other things going on, um, uh, so some of the, uh, things to consider, um, would be to put a lid on the pot. Okay? I'm gonna start out with some easy ones here. And, um, you know, if that's suitable, uh, in, in keeping the, the temperature where you want it, you know, that's, that's one option. Uh, there, it's also possible to turn on your oven, set it to the lowest temperature, uh, which is in the neighborhood of a 170 degrees Fahrenheit for most ovens that I've seen, and then use that as a holding, uh, oven. And, uh, you know, a holding box. And you can place food in there. Now, uh, that could be hot. Uh, it may very often, in which case, we can heat the oven and then turn it off, and then let it gradually cool down as we put something in there to be held. Okay? Um, if it's too hot, we, you know, it'll end up overcooking even in that setting, so we can heat it, turn it off, and then enjoy the benefits of the falling oven. Uh, another idea is there are, um, what, what looks like a griddle, um, in, it's designed to hold a couple of pots, um, and, and keep them warm. And, uh, this will free up stove top space. Um, and, uh, so that's another option for you to consider. Okay? Uh, and I, I suppose you can even just use a griddle if you happen to have like an electric, um, you know, pancake griddle. Um, but there are also very similar looking appliances, um, that are marketed as, um, you know, holding and, and heating, um, surfaces for pans. Um, and, and these are appropriate for service time as, as you've described, uh, Rosie or, um, for a buffet where you want to keep a, a pot or two of food hot, uh, for your guests. Okay? And so, try, uh, or consider right, some of those approaches.
Eric Wynkoop

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

rouxbe.com