Hindustan Times (Gurugram) - Hindustan Times (Gurugram) - City
How can one whip up a French meal like a pro?
As astonishing as it may sound, the secret essentials for preparing French delicacies are passion and ingredients — add to this imagination and creativity, and you will have the perfect meal!
Trust your instincts and always use fresh produce available locally. Never rush while preparing French food; time is required for the individual elements to combine, the savours to mix and the shape to form. Remember that for French food, quality always trumps quantity. Microwave is logically a definite no-no.
A big mistake to avoid while preparing French food is over-cooking. Sauces are as important as the main dish. Never use pre-mixes with excessive soya, salt and spice content. For pastries, the freshness and quality of the cream and butter, chocolates and eggs as well as other ingredients, such as almonds and fruits — in different forms — is essential. Also, one should never use salted butter for cooking French specialities.
For breads, never take a shortcut with proofing (temperature 24 °C and 70% humidity for approximately three hours) and remember that the right baking temperature (170 °C for Viennese and 210 °C for breads) is essential for the final outcome. Also, the ovens need to be pre-heated for at least 10-15 minutes.
Kazem Samandari, Culinary expert
Robots to deliver food!
Food services just got an upgrade it seems. In one of its kind initiatives, robots will be delivering orders on their own via a food delivery service. The service will first be available in Los Angeles, USA. The initiative is intended to increase food delivery convenience and sustainability in the area. Customers will receive instructions in the delivery app for how to retrieve their food from inside the robot. The robotic service can call for human help in case of pickup and drop-off, when they encounter an intersection or when something unexpected happens. This, however, it is still in its trial phase.