Water Chemistry in Cooking

[5mooth0perator]

Is there a good way to adjust water chemistry when cooking say a soup or a stew.

I like spices very much. My root beer really needed water chemistry adjustment. I was wondering how one would go about adjusting water chemistry besides just adding salt.

I was looking at my Vitamin supplements for example, calcium carbonate. Could I just add one of those, and a maybe a bit of bisulfite tab. I think it would bring the spices out.

Maybe I could make sort of a mineral shaker.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Is there a good way to adjust water chemistry when cooking say a soup or a stew.

Yep, add lots of sodium chloride.

I was wondering how one would go about adjusting water chemistry besides just adding salt.

Add more salt. Lots and lots of salt.

I was looking at my Vitamin supplements for example, calcium carbonate.

Sure, if you want it to taste like chalk.

Could I just add one of those, and a maybe a bit of bisulfite tab.

Sulfite oxidizes to sulfate, which enhances dryness and bitter flavors, and can add harshness to some palates.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Is there a good way to adjust water chemistry when cooking say a soup or a stew.

I like spices very much. My root beer really needed water chemistry adjustment. I was wondering how one would go about adjusting water chemistry besides just adding salt.

I was looking at my Vitamin supplements for example, calcium carbonate. Could I just add one of those, and a maybe a bit of bisulfite tab. I think it would bring the spices out.

Maybe I could make sort of a mineral shaker.

Unless your water is more or less foul, e.g., extremely high in sulfates or something, I wouldn't worry about it. I've worked from L.A. to the east coast, Chicago to the Upper Peninsula, all kinds of different waters and, as is custom, just used tap. Some places use whole-house type of filters but that is extremely rare. Especially with a stew, you are boiling off so many volatiles and what's left combines with some pretty strong flavors, so in my experiences as a chef, anyway, the issue never came up.

What goes in to your soup, stew, braise will make more difference than any treatment you'd want to do.

Spices. Are you saying they're too muted in your finished dish? What spices are you using? When are you adding them? What's the dish, and how do you treat it...e.g., a braised shoulder of some beast. Do you sear the shoulder well before starting the braise?

Any aromatic vegetables, e.g., mirepoix (classically, onions, carrots, celery, though I tend to use the light green portion of leeks instead of the celery), a good bouquet garni (generous Italian parsley and thyme, bay leaf. Rarely, peppercorns).

It would help if you could fill out what you're doing a bit more. I'll try to help.

 

[5mooth0perator]

Unless your water is more or less foul, e.g., extremely high in sulfates or something, I wouldn't worry about it. I've worked from L.A. to the east coast, Chicago to the Upper Peninsula, all kinds of different waters and, as is custom, just used tap. Some places use whole-house type of filters but that is extremely rare. Especially with a stew, you are boiling off so many volatiles and what's left combines with some pretty strong flavors, so in my experiences as a chef, anyway, the issue never came up.

What goes in to your soup, stew, braise will make more difference than any treatment you'd want to do.

Spices. Are you saying they're too muted in your finished dish? What spices are you using? When are you adding them? What's the dish, and how do you treat it...e.g., a braised shoulder of some beast. Do you sear the shoulder well before starting the braise?

Any aromatic vegetables, e.g., mirepoix (classically, onions, carrots, celery, though I tend to use the light green portion of leeks instead of the celery), a good bouquet garni (generous Italian parsley and thyme, bay leaf. Rarely, peppercorns).

It would help if you could fill out what you're doing a bit more. I'll try to help.

It came up in sort of an unrelated quest, but I have been looking at Native American cooking. Interestingly enough they used lime or ash to Nixtamalize corn. I think I'm onto something here.

 

[Yooper]

It came up in sort of an unrelated quest, but I have been looking at Native American cooking. Interestingly enough they used lime or ash to Nixtamalize corn. I think I'm onto something here.

Sure, you'll want to have corn nixtamalated if you're going to exist solely on it, or as the largest percentage of your diet as it allows the body to absorb the nutrients in it.

Since I don't think you're on an 100% corn-based diet though, I'm not sure what you're "on to".

 

[5mooth0perator]

Sure, you'll want to have corn nixtamalated if you're going to exist solely on it, or as the largest percentage of your diet as it allows the body to absorb the nutrients in it.

Since I don't think you're on an 100% corn-based diet though, I'm not sure what you're "on to".

Well, people have been adjusting the water chemistry for eons. I sort of realized that the key to the masa flavor is that it is more basic, and has sort of a mineral flavor. The basic quality of the adjustments are probably what give grits that smooth quality because bases tend to feel slippery.