Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?
Megan said:
dugdeep said:
I don't think so, but I'm really not sure. I think a lot of the idea to keep a stock at a very low simmer comes out of the culinary industry, where they are obsessed with appearance and taste more than nourishment. Keeping a stock on a very low simmer ensures that it will be crystal clear in appearance. If a stock boils too hard it becomes cloudy since some of the fats get emulsified (they also remove all of the fat that renders out as the stock cooks to ensure the stock's "purity"). When I was in the restaurant biz my chef told me a story of how, when he was an apprentice, his chef once made him throw out an entire stock, a good 20 gallons or so, because it was too cloudy. A rather expensive way to make a point.
But, since I can't see most people here caring about whether or not their stock is cloudy, I think pressure cooking it should be fine. I can't think of anything in the stock nutrient-wise that would be affected by the increased heat (although again, I'm not entirely sure about that).
Taste and nourishment become closely related when you eliminate toxins like refined sugar that throw your sense of taste off. Taste is a big part of how other animals determine what to eat. You have a sophisticated real-time nutritient profiler right there in your mouth, between your senses of taste and smell.
True, but in the restaurant industry taste and appearance are favoured to the detriment of nourishment more often than not. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that. My point was that, after working in the industry for several years, I am familiar with the fact that many things that are considered the "right way" of doing things have no logic from a nourishment perspective. On the other hand, some things are the opposite and make a whole lot of sense even though many of the cooks who perform the tasks don't actually know why they're doing it that way except that it's "how it's done". In this case I'm speculating that the "keep stocks on a gentle boil" may be simply about clarity, not nourishment.
[quote author=Megan]
I have seen several broth recipes that warn about keeping the temperature as low as possible. This is similar to the caution that goes with feeding pets raw food -- if you heat the raw food too much then important nutrients are destroyed. [/quote]
Yes, I would go so far as to say all bone broth recipes say that. It's how it's done. But again, I can't see why that's completely necessary. I can't think of anything in a stock that would withstand 100 degrees but fall apart at 120. Minerals are impervious to heat. The protein component, geleatin, obviously maintains its integrity if the stock still 'gels' when put in the fridge. When people talk about keeping foods raw, it's usually to maintain the integrity of proteins since heat will denature most proteins. This destroys things like enzymes. But since a simmering stock is at 100 degrees, almost all proteins are going to be denatured at that point and raising it to 120 degrees isn't going to do anything more, OSIT.
[quote author=Megan]
The broth is being heated to boiling so I imagine some nutrients are going to cook out, and part of the human adaptation to cooking is the ability to accommodate cooked food in spite of that. Still, the higher the temperature the more opportunities there will be for chemical changes, just as in other forms of cooking such as baking.
[/quote]
A lot of the issue with vitamins 'cooking out' of foods actually comes from them escaping, not necessarily being destroyed. That's why nutritionists will often tell you to save the boiling water from vegetables for stocks or sauces. My mother used to always take the boiling water from veggies and add it to the gravy.
[quote author=Megan]
Cloudiness itself wouldn't seem to matter, but what chemical change does it represent? Is it favorable or unfavorable? I don't have enough information to tell.[/quote]
As I said, the cloudiness is a result of the fats emulsifying into the broth. Emulsification in and of itself is harmless, as long as the fats aren't being oxidized (which is unlikely in a liquid medium). For the most part, it's a physical change, not a chemical one.
I personally don't think there's anything to worry about using a pressure cooker to make a stock. I could be proven wrong here, but I can't think of anything that would be destroyed.
this is absolutely delicious ! My butcher sells me 8 big grass-fed beef bone marrow for 3€, I used 4 of them with two carrots, an onion, some thyme, laurel, and of course some dill because my mom used to always add dill in her broths. 1.5 L of water, 1h30 with a pressure cooker and voilà ! A very, very fatty bone broth. I'll see tomorrow morning if the broth turns into jelly.
