Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2

by Julia Child

  Rice and chopped peppers, tomato topping—for stuffed vegetables—in the stuffed zucchini recipe.

  Rice, garlic, and herbs—for stuffed meats and vegetables—in the paupiette of beef recipe.

  Chopped olives, pimentos, and herbs—for paupiettes of meat—in the beef paupiettes.

  Garlic and herbs—for paupiettes of meat, and as a flavoring for boned red meats—in the lamb section, Volume I, page 336.

  Chopped peppers, onions, and mustard bread crumbs—for paupiettes of meat—in the beef paupiettes.

  Almonds, cheese, and bread crumbs—for stuffed onions, or zucchini—in the stuffed zucchini recipe.

  Eggplant, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and herbs—for stuffing cold vegetables—in the vegetable chapter.

  The next pages contain an illustrated roundup of some kitchen equipment we find useful, so that you will see it all in one place rather than scattered throughout the two volumes.

  Some of these implements are standard American, others are professional American, still others can be found in import shops or mail-order catalogues, and some are things to look out for if you go abroad and are browsing around in restaurants or butcher supply houses near the central markets. As always, we advise you to look for solid, practical, professional equipment designed by people in the chef business who sell to chefs. If you have trouble locating good equipment in your area, ask your butcher or the owner and chef of the best restaurant in town.

  FRYING PANS

  For browning meats and vegetables and for general sautéing, the heavyduty professional frying pan with its long handle and sloping 2-inch sides is the best shape. American cast-aluminum models (A and D) come either with plain or no-stick interiors. The French poêle (B) is of tôle épaisse (very thick sheet metal); one with a bottom diameter of 7 to 7½ inches is ideal for omelettes. The oval cast-iron pan (E), poêle à poissons, is as useful for browning roasts as it is for sautéing fish. The short-handled cast-iron American skillet (C) is also good in the oven, and is the pan to use for pommes Anna; the same shape can be found with an enameled surface, making it ideal for cooking in white wine, or for storing and serving stews or sautés.

  You should have at least three sizes of frying pans—a large one 11 inches across its top diameter, a medium, or 10-inch, pan, and a smaller, 7- to 8-inch, pan for single servings and crêpes. You will probably end up with many more, some of one material, some of another, and each your pet for certain techniques.

  CHICKEN FRYERS

  The straight-sided frying pan known as a sautoir in French and as a chicken fryer here, is useful, of course, for fried chicken, but it is also good for chicken sautés and fricassees, beef stews, fish stews, and numerous vegetable dishes. Because the cooking usually takes place on top of the stove, it must be of heavy material. The traditional shape (A and B) is typical of the French copper sautoir and of the American professional cast aluminum; the sides are 2¼ to 2½ inches high. The deep chicken fryer (C) is of cast iron; this is a fine cooking utensil, but remove foods from it as soon as they are done to prevent discoloration.

  SAUCEPANS, KETTLES, COVERS, AND COLANDERS

  You will need saucepans (casseroles) for sauces and saucepans for general boiling and simmering. When you are cooking with white wine or egg yolks, use a non-staining material like lined copper, stainless steel, flameproof ceramic or glass, or the familiar French enameled cast iron with wooden handle (A).

  For boiling potatoes, pasta, and their like, cast aluminum is fine although you will have to scour it from time to time. The professional shape (B-1) is well designed; 1½, 2½, 4½, and 7 quarts (B-2) will give you a reasonable range of pan sizes.

  Rather than having a special cover for each pot, a series of long-handled covers allows one to fit several sizes of saucepans (C).

  Soup kettles (marmites) are essential for pot-au-feu, soups, bouillabaisse, lobsters, green beans à la française, and spinach. An 8-quart kettle and another of 18- to 24-quart capacity would meet most of your needs.

  One of them might be the two-handled type (E or F), and another the preserving-kettle type with bucket handle (H). A French earthenware marmite (G) is attractive for soups and stews that are cooked and served in the same pot.

  A large sturdy colander is a must; buy one 10 to 11 inches across the top diameter and 5 to 6 inches high, with feet (D).

  Casseroles (cocottes) can double as saucepans or roasters, and are essential for stews and braises. Enameled ironware is always good because it will go on the stove or into the oven (A, B, C) and foods will not discolor in it; the oval shape is the best if you are limited in space or budget. The American heavy cast-aluminum (H) comes with a removable rack, and in several sizes up to the large turkey roaster. The French daubière (G) is in lined copper. Earthenware casseroles (D, E, F) are wonderful for cooking and serving because they spread and retain heat. The attractive copper cocotte (I) was designed for the famous potato dish pommes Anna, but may be used as a casserole or as two separate baking dishes.

  WARNING: All casseroles, baking dishes, plates, pitchers, cups, and other utensils of earthenware, terra cotta, and like materials must be of the high-fired so-called stoneware type, or must otherwise by clearly labeled and certified safe for the cooking and serving of foods and drinks.

  GRATIN DISHES AND ROASTING PANS

  Flameproof dishes about 2 inches deep are used for baking, gratinéeing, roasting, and serving, and you should have a reasonable number of sizes. Enameled iron gratin dishes (plats à gratin) (A and E) are either oval or round, and come from shirred-egg size up to 13 to 14 inches long and 9 inches wide. Earthenware gratin dishes (B) are always attractive for serving. A nest of aluminum dishes (F) is conveniently stored and long lasting. Rectangular enameled iron (C) can be plain or with no-stick interior, and will double for roasting or gratinéeing. Be sure to have a rack (G) that will fit into your large roasting pan so that legs of lamb can be raised out of their juices. If your oven does not come with a perforated rack for the broiling pan (D), buy one separately; otherwise spluttering fat can catch fire while you are doing a steak.

  IMPLEMENTS—KNIVES

  Very sharp knives are the mark of the serious cook, and continual use of the butcher’s steel will keep them razor sharp. Carbon steel knives are preferred by most chefs, but there are stainless knives that will sharpen easily too.

  The Central Hoard

  The straight-edged, wedge-shaped cook’s knife (C,D,E,F,G,H) is the all-purpose shape for chopping, slicing, paring, and general cutting; you will need at least three, from the 2- to 3-inch blade for paring and small minces to the 10- to 12-inch blade for chopping and rapid slicing. Curved blades (A and B) are good for paring. A professional butcher’s steel (J) with blade 10 to 12 inches long is the best sharpening equipment. A larding needle (I) is indispensable for larding meat.

  Slicers, Carvers, and Boners

  Slicing, carving, and boning knives have curved blades. Here is the slicing scimitar (K), and two other slicing shapes (L and M). The stubby knife (P) and its longer companion (O) are boning knives, as is the very thin knife known as a chicken sticker (Q) with its short blade; the longer-bladed version (N) is a Norwegian herring filleter, which is also useful for slicing off pork rinds and for cutting thin sheets out of pork fat.

  Serrated Sawers

  Serrated knives include the curved grapefruit knife (A), the bread knife (B), the all-purpose slicer (C), the frozen-food cutter (D), the ham slicer, which also does smoked salmon (E), and the vicious-looking French meat slicer (F), which is, in addition, very good with slab bacon.

  Choppers and Rockers

  The traditional chef’s knives (J and K) are for general chopping, as illustrated in Volume I, page 27. The Japanese version (I) works equally well. The two rockers (G and H) are marvelous for mushrooms and parsley, particularly the 3-bladed professional model.

  BASHERS, BLUDGEONS, AND BLUNT INSTRUMENTS

  For whacking up turkey carcasses, chopping bones, and flattening cutlets, h
ere is a choice of weapons. The meat tenderizer with its cast-aluminum head has waffled sides for tenderizing (A) and smooth sides for flattening cutlets; you can also use it as a hammer, although the rubber-headed hammer that you can buy at any good hardware store (F) is less noisy. The French cleaver, feuille à fendre (D), or an ordinary hatchet (E) are for whacking carcasses or bones, and a hammer helps. The French cleaver-tenderizer, batte à côtelettes (B), is a useful instrument, and the wooden British basher (C) is for flattening cutlets that are held between sheets of waxed paper.

  SCISSOR ACTION

  Heavy shears for cutting fish fins, gristle, and rib cages are the serrated French pair (A) and the heavy utility model (F), also French. Poultry shears with their curved blades (B) are useful on occasion, as are the sharp-pointed lobster shears (C). General purpose stainless kitchen scissors with take-apart blades (E) can go into the dishwasher. The scissor-action cherry or olive pitter (D) is invaluable when you have those jobs to do.

  FOUR PAIRS OF SPOONS

  You can rarely have enough spoons, and all sizes are needed. Large models of tough nonmetallic composition (A and B) are essential for stirring in no-stick pans. Large stainless-steel spoons (E and F) have hundreds of uses, as do those of serving-spoon and soup-spoon size (C and D). The sturdy icecream spoon (H) does its job well, as does the no-stick scoop (G).

  NINE FORKS

  For testing meat and artichokes, for lifting, carving, and spearing, you need a number of sharp-pronged forks like the large chef’s model (I) for enormous roasts and giant birds, and general-purpose forks (E and G), as well as something like the slender Danish three-pronged pickle fork (D). The mixing fork (H) with its six flat-bladed prongs is a great American invention for blending and mashing. A wooden fork (F) is useful for stirring braised rice, and a salad fork (C), combined with spoon, does many a neat job of tossing. The table fork (B) is constantly on call for beating eggs, pricking pastry, general lifting, and stirring, while the small two-pronged fork (A) comes in for pokings and turnings.

  TURNOVER TOOLS—SPATULAS

  Flexible-blade spatulas scrape fragile cookies off of baking sheets, spread icings over cakes, and slide quiches onto plates; the 12-inch blade (C) and 8-inch (B) are useful sizes. The palette knife (A) is marvelous for delicate liftings and spreadings. Pancake turners of nonmetallic composition (D) are essential when you cook in no-stick pans, and stainless all-purpose models (E,F,H) are standard equipment. The very wide turner (G) does many a lifting job, such as getting asparagus out of hot water.

  WIRE WHIPS OR WHISKS

  Wire whips or whisks which come in a variety of sizes from minute to gigantic—are wonderful for beating and general mixing.

  RETRIEVERS

  Metal tongs (A and C) are for lifting and turning meats on a barbeque or in a pan, as well as for retrieving items from boiling oil. The Japanese wooden tongs (B) do many chores and are especially great for turning bacon in the pan. Life would be hard without the perforated spoon (E), and it is easy to become addicted to the great Italian scoop (D).

  WOODEN SPOONS, SPATULAS, AND CHOPSTICKS

  Why stir it with a wooden spoon? Because it blends the flour and butter roux without racket, and it scrapes the coagulated roasting juices into the deglazing sauce with more quiet efficiency than metal against metal. Actually, the French bowl-less wooden spatula (I,G,F), or the Japanese wooden spatula (H), or the no-stick spatula implements (C and D) are far more useful for every stirring, scraping, mixing, and beating job than the wooden spoon (A and B). Do not forget wooden chopsticks (E); they will beat the eggs for the omelette, lift the green bean out of the boiling pot for testing, and turn the bacon.

  GADGETS AND MISCELLANY

  Opening, prying, and poking operations will be easier on fingers and tempers when you have something like A or C for screw-topped jars, or the all-purpose-everything item, B. The French tool, G, is for cans and general prying, while the box-opener-hammer-hatchet-etc. instrument, D, is useful anywhere. Ice picks, both the single-pointed F, and the 5-pronged E, are multi-purpose musts. Citrus zesters H and J are good for bar as well as kitchen, and the potato ballers I and K are useful for fruits and vegetables alike.

  For grating, puréeing, and grinding, some hand-operated gadgets do a better job than the electric blender or mixer. Use 4-sided grater, L, when you want to grate orange rind or you need coarsely grated Swiss cheese, or a few slices of carrot; look for one in stainless steel. When grated cheese is to be spread over the sauce Mornay, hold the little French rotary grater, M, right over the gratin dish. The table model, N, is for great mounds of cheese if you do not have a grating attachment for your electric mixer.

  Again, in spite of the marvels of the electric blender, you do need an efficient food mill for applesauce, puréeing soups, turnips, artichoke hearts, and canned Italian plum tomatoes. The French model, O, with removable disks and folding rubber-padded feet is still the best, in our opinion. One with a top diameter of 9 inches is the standard size; if you are having more than one, the 7-inch size is handy for small jobs like sieving hard-boiled egg yolks.

  The old-fashioned potato masher, P, is not to be ignored, nor is the rectangular-headed garlic press, Q. Beware of faulty designs, however, especially in garlic presses. These should take a quite large, whole, unpeeled clove of garlic; the point is that you do not have to peel the garlic. The rectangular head allows a reasonably large clove to be puréed, and the holes should be just the right diameter for the press to do its work easily; if the one you buy does not perform as you think it should, take it back and demand a refund. Get yourself a good peppermill for the kitchen; the French Peugeot models (R and R-1), are always reliable.

  Public performances are long when the flame lies low; chafing-dish heat elements are for cooking, and must provide proper heat. Unless you want the efficient gas-operated model, T, look for the kind that will hold a whole can of solidified alcohol, S, and that has an opening which will give you a large heat source.

  The French salad basket, U, also comes with a rotary ratchet-gadget that spins salad greens dry in a jiffy. The basket for the Swiss model, V-1, fits into a container, V-2, which catches all the splattering water as the lettuce leaves whirl inside it.

  If you do not have a meat-grinder attachment for your electric mixer, buy yourself a sturdy table model, W, always picking the large size for quick and easy operation. Many grinders come with the sausage-stuffing horn you will need for the charcuterie recipes (see illustrations).

  THE PASTRY BAG

  From squeezing out cream puffs to making meringue cakes and potato borders, nothing will do the work as easily nor with as professional a look as the pastry bag (A) with its collection of interchangeable metal tubes. Buy the big professional, washable, canvas bags, 12, 14, and 16 inches long; in comparison with your other kitchen equipment, these are inexpensive, and so are the metal tubes. For a start, get 2 or 3 tubes with plain round openings varying from ¼ to ¾ inch in diameter (B), and a cannelated group of the same dimensions (C). Among the latter, the widely spaced teeth (C-1) are for rough masses like potatoes duchesse, while the fine teeth (C-2) are for icings. Ribbon tubes, both plain and cannelated (D), are used particularly for such decorations as the meringues for the Saint-Cyr; one of each, ¾ inch wide, should be sufficient.

  BEATING EGG WHITES

  You are far more likely to welcome soufflés, meringues, cakes, and baked Alaskas—or even to encourage them—when you have the proper egg-white beating equipment. We urge you to consider the type of heavy-duty electric mixer illustrated here (A). Its large revolving whip (A-1) also rotates around the bowl, beating egg whites so easily it will never again occur to you to think of them as a problem. In fact, this is a replica of the large industrial machines designed by professionals for professionals; to have a home model available is a tremendous help to all of us.

  While you are at it, buy an extra bowl and an extra whip, to save you the chore of washing and drying in a single recipe like the Saint-Cyr, whic
h calls for a butter and chocolate mixture as well as for beaten egg whites. The straight-sided bowl, in addition, is just the right shape for raising yeast dough. The dough hook (A-2) works very well for kneading French bread or brioche dough, while the flat beater (A-3) will do the whole operation for a pastry dough from working the butter into the flour to blending in the cold water; when you are doubling or tripling pastry recipes, or blending large batches of sausage meat, the heavy-duty action and ample bowl do the work with ease and speed. The bowl or jack attachment that holds either hot water or ice around the main mixing bowl (A-4) quickly warms the eggs and sugar as you beat them into a foaming mass, or chills the fish quenelle mixture so that you can beat in the maximum amount of cream. The set of rotary graters, slicers, and shredders (A-5) makes fast work of lots of cheese to grate, potatoes or onions to slice, or even mushroom duxelles. The food processor has made many of these attachments obsolete, but they still have their uses, especially when you are doing large quantities.

  Whether you beat egg whites by machine or by hand, the theory and practice are the same. Have them at room temperature: they tend to coagulate and fleck when chilled. Start beating rather slowly until they begin to foam, add a pinch of salt and, if you are not using unlined copper, a scant ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar for each 4 egg whites. Gradually speed the beating action to fast as you circulate the beater all around the bowl, keeping the whole mass in motion, and beating in as much air as possible to increase the volume of the egg whites by sevenfold at least, and until they form the peak illustrated here (B).