The flambé technique involves lighting liquor on a cooked dish to add flavor without harshness. It is an old French technique that requires heating both the food and liquor, and using a durable pan with high, sloping sides and a long handle. The technique is flashy but can be dangerous, so caution is advised.
A flambé pan is used to light liquors on a type of cooked dish. This process adds the flavor of the liquor to the dish without adding the harshness of the alcohol. The flambé technique is old and new. Grilling food and adding sauces is as old as cooking. However, 18th and 19th century French chefs began to perfect the art of cooking and developed the flambé technique as a way to add extra flavor to a dish while providing great visual impact.
When using the flambé technique, the cook should heat both the food and the liquor. The food should be removed from direct heat and the liqueur should be poured over the food. The liqueur is then lit with a match. Food is served when the flame goes out, which means the alcohol has burned off.
Flambé is a flashy technique, but it can be dangerous. A cook should ensure that he never uses alcohol near an open flame, nor should he pour alcohol onto food directly from the bottle. If the food is too hot, the flame can travel into the alcohol stream and into the bottle. Instead, the cook should use a long-handled ladle to pour the liqueur into the pan. He or she would also have to wait until the flames have died down to carry the food.
The flambé technique is often performed at the table, where it attracts a lot of attention. In fact, it’s fun to watch a skilled chef flambé a dish and then serve it to the plate. This technique sells many dishes, as other diners want the experience at their own tables.
A flambé pan should be made of durable stainless steel or copper. No non-stick finish here! The flambé pan should also have high, rounded, sloping sides. This will help contain the flame in the flambé pan. The flambé pan should also have a long handle, so the cook’s hands are well away from the open flame.
The flambé pan is available almost anywhere cookware is sold, though not necessarily under that name. The cook should look for a pan that meets the above criteria. A cook can expect to pay at least 100 US dollars (USD) for a good flambé pan. Some are over 400 USD, depending on their quality. Since the flambé pan will be continuously exposed to open flames and intense heat, quality is paramount.
Read up on the flambé technique before you try it, and start small. The technique can be an impressive surprise in any cook’s bag of tricks.
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