By MIKI KOBAYASHI/ Staff Writer
August 25, 2021 at 07:00 JST
Editor’s note: The theme of Gohan Lab is to help people make simple, tasty “gohan” (meals).
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Sweets are in the spotlight for our four-part series starting this week, so why not make some cool ones while you stay indoors to avoid the intense heat?
Chef Kuniaki Arima will show you how to make semifreddo, a type of ice cream popular in Italy characterized by a light fluffy texture created with whipped fresh cream or egg white.
Though the Italians use espresso to make it, we decided to use readily available instant coffee.
If your mixture of coffee and fresh cream has a high water content, it will separate into two layers when frozen, but using instant coffee that contains no water can prevent that.
Adding a dash of salt as a finishing touch will also give its flavor a nice edge.
The arranged version is a refreshing dish using yogurt and egg whites. While peach was used in the recipe, other fruits will also work. The dish will be a perfect palate cleanser between courses during a meal.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FRESH CREAM
Fresh cream is milk fat that has been removed through centrifugation and concentrated. It is marketed after the fat globules in the cream are turned into a uniform size and the cream is sterilized.
According to a spokesperson for Meiji Co., a major food manufacturer, about 1,000 milliliters of raw milk is required to make 100 ml of cream with a fat content of around 40 percent. It keeps in the fridge for one to three weeks. As it may be affected by shaking and freezing, the cream should not be placed in the door shelves or near the air outlet of the fridge, the spokesperson said.
National standards in Japan require the milk fat content of cream to be 18 percent or above, but many products intended to be whipped are around 40 percent in fat content.
BASIC COOKING METHOD
(Supervised by Kuniaki Arima in the cooking aspect and Midori Kasai in the cookery science aspect)
* Ingredients and cooking utensils (Serve six to eight)
200 ml fresh cream, 80 grams sugar, 2 egg yolks, 1 tsp instant coffee, whisk
About 220 kcal and 0 gram salt per portion
1. Place egg yolks in bowl. Scoop in a large spoonful of sugar from the measured amount and mix with yolk. Mix in instant coffee. Bring water to a boil in small pot and turn off heat. Place bowl with egg yolk and mix further in water bath (PHOTO A).
2. Pour cold fresh cream in another bowl and whip (PHOTO B). When foam starts to form, add sugar in three to four parts. Add a tiny amount at the beginning and gradually increase amount. While whisking, keep bowl cold by placing it in larger bowl with ice water, for instance.
3. Scoop about a ladleful of whipped cream and blend with egg yolk mixture (PHOTO C) until smooth. Return this to bowl with cream and mix slowly by scooping up mixture from bottom.
4. Pour into necessary number of containers and place in freezer for half a day. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and bit of salt to taste.
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Kuniaki Arima is the owner-chef of Passo a Passo, an Italian restaurant in Tokyo’s Fukagawa district.
Midori Kasai is a professor at Ochanomizu University and former chairwoman of the Japan Society of Cookery Science.
ARRANGED VERSION
Yogurt semifreddo
Use 2 egg whites. Whisk by snapping the wrist and add 80 grams of sugar in small amounts to make a meringue mixture. Add mixture to 350 grams unsweetened yogurt in stages. Cut 1 peach into appropriate size and mix. Pour mixture into terrine mold or other containers. Cool in freezer for half a day. Serve with jam if available. (Photo shows ume Japanese apricot jam and cherry pickled in balsamic vinegar.)
COOKERY SCIENCE
Fresh cream is a concentrated form of milk’s fat globules. The fat stabilizes the whipped foam. When cream is beaten, the protein on the surface of the fat globules peels off and the globules enclose the air bubbles resulting in the cream being whipped. Since the liquid in between can no longer move as well, the whipped cream retains its shape even after being piped from a pastry bag.
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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Gohan Lab column
GOHAN LAB/ Eggplant gratin: How you add the oil key to ensure savory Italian dish done right
August 11, 2021
GOHAN LAB/ Grilled eggplant: Char the surface and enjoy the thick and smooth texture inside
August 4, 2021
GOHAN LAB/ Lightly pickled ‘mizu-nasu’ eggplant: A cool and succulent dish for the hot summer season
July 28, 2021
GOHAN LAB/ Stir-fry of eggplant and chicken: Coating veggies in oil prevents them from losing their vivid colors
July 21, 2021
GOHAN LAB/ Sardines in ‘kabayaki’ style: Aroma of sweet soy sauce in the air sure to make mouths water
July 14, 2021
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Coffee semifreddo (Photo by Masahiro Goda)
