I got the idea to soak trimmed artichokes in parsley water from Chef José Andrés. I recently bought his book "Made in Spain". Chef Andrés is from the Andalusia region of Spain and resides in Washington D.C. where he has several successful restaurants. He has trained under Ferran Adrià (whom I met last month—have I failed to mention this several times?) and is very active in television appearances. I bought his book because many of the recipes reflect a Mediterranean-based diet. I tend to teach this type of diet, and in my own home kitchen, I usually prepare foods associated with the traditional Mediterranean diet. For a basic look at this diet, check out the link: http://www.oldwayspt.org/med_pyramid.html
In Chef Andrés’s book, he suggests using parsley in water to keep artichokes from oxidizing. I immediately had to go test this concept because I’m such a geek.
Food Science Moment:
I trimmed one baby artichoke and put it immediately into prepared lemon water the way I’d always done. Then I quickly trimmed a second artichoke and immediately placed it in parsley water. I had gently broken some of the parley stems before placing them the water to help expose the parsley cellular tissues to the water.
I waited and checked the chokes every 10 minutes until 40 minutes passed. The pictures show the artichokes after 40 minutes. Towards the end of the time, the parsley treated choke did begin to oxidize a bit on some edges, but overall I was pleased to verify the recommendation by Chef Andrés. So if you’re in a pinch to save your artichokes with no lemons in sight, pinch some parsley.
So why does this work? I currently don’t have my food science books with me in Paris, so I relied on the internet, yet could find no references or research on this topic. Although some animal studies show parsley consumption
increases antioxidant capacity in the blood (now I’m wondering if my cat will eat parsley?) Anyway, I instead reviewed the antioxidant capacity of parsley and found that the percentage of vitamins that act as antioxidants and also certain flavonoids were high. Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds (think colorful fruits and vegetables, red wine and tea as common examples) that have high antioxidant activities.Antioxidant Density:
For two tablespoons (about 7.5 grams) of fresh parsley, vitamin K has 125mcg compared to the recommended daily value (RDV) of 80mcg. The RDV basically is the sufficient level of nutrient to meet the needs of a typical healthy person. Vitamin C has 10% of the RDV and vitamin A has 13%.
Parsley Recipe: I recommend using Italian parsley in general for cooking and eating. It is prettier (personal bias), less bitter and more fragrant and stronger scented so it holds up better in cooking.
One of my simple quick toppings for fish and certain meats is a Gremolata. I borrow from a traditional Italian approach of using Italian parsley, lemon zest and garlic. In my versions I’ve done the following:
- chopped parsley, lemon zest, chopped garlic, olive oil and sea salt
- All the above plus panko bread crumbs for a crunchy version
- Now consider any of the following substitutions: orange zest for lemon or both, adding toasted pine nuts or fried shallots adding green olives
I don’t know exact ratios since I make these based on taste, but to sprinkle on two fish filets, I’m guessing about 3 tablespoons chopped of parsley, 1 small garlic clove, 1 teaspoon of fine lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. The last time I used a gremolata, I grilled green asparagus with an olive oil, salt, balsamic vinegar marinade and served the spears topped with a sunny-side up egg with a crunchy gremolata sprinkled over it—very Italian and great summer food.
For a link to Chef Andrés book see: http://www.josemadeinspain.com/recipes.htm
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Hi Michele! Interesting experiment. I would think a more acidic the solution would be better at preventing oxidation. On the surface, lemon and water would be more acidic than the parsley and water but but that may simply be the result of better mixing (fluid and fluid vs solid and fluid). I wonder what would happen if you first ground up the parsley by rolling it between the palms of your hands and then mixed it with water. That should increase the acidity of the mixture and might work even better. In any event, I think the lemon would distort the flavor of the artichoke more than parsley.
ReplyDeleteI've tried both techniques and I like the lemon better and I've never noticed a lemon after-taste to the artichoke. I also don't parsley.
ReplyDeleteI use lemon too but add a little garlic to take the sweetness off
ReplyDeleteGreat topic Michele! Actually, anything with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) will prevent oxidation in chokes. This includes most citrus fruits including guava, strawberries and oranges and many vegetables such as bell pepper, broccoli and kohlrabi. The problem with most of these other sources is availability and ease of extraction (most of the vegetables have to be boiled to extract enough vitamin C).
ReplyDeleteI once cooked with a chef who used a bowl of ascorbic acid he made using packets of coffee-maker cleaner solution or dissolved vitamin C tablets (non-flavored). He swore that this was the only technique that was taste neutral to the artichoke. I never tried either of these techniques even though they should in theory work just as well as lemon. Call me old fashioned but I will take lemon (or even parsley) over coffee maker cleaner any day!
Krazysis, I've never noticed a lemon flavor either, but I also don't had tons of lemon juice to the water. There is no parsley taste left in the water either, but if you don't like parsley, you won't have any in your kitchen so lemon's your trick.
ReplyDeleteKingchef42, your chef sounds like he was hard-core! What surprised me about the parsley is that aside from my breaking a few stalks, the protective oxidative bio-ingredients seemed quite active--like you said, usually more physical actions are needed.
ReplyDelete