Topic: 50 ltr of base sauce

[naga dave]

    Here's an idea that may be worth kicking around - when a large pot of sauce is heated, it takes longer to reach boiling point than a smaller one, and also longer to cool down, so the cooking time is effectively increased. Some ingredients will lose flavour, some may actually end up over cooked. The level of salting will remain the same, but overall the sauce could end up tasting saltier because of the loss of flavour of some of the other ingredients. These effects could be the source of some of the rather unscientific theories that occasionally turn up. Just a thought.

[Yellow Fingers]

Ian and merrybaker's arguments and references are so full of holes I barely know where to begin so I won't bother. Suffice to say that my argument that you scale proportionally is correct. If you want ten times the amount of curry that you usually cook, just multiply everything by ten.

What I should have stated, although I thought it was blindingly obvious and so didn't, is that if you scale up and use the same cooking methods that you would use for the smaller portion, then yes it will probably turn out different.

For example, say your recipe calls for lightly browning one onion. Great, you think, you get your big pot out and throw ten onions in because you've decided to scale up by ten. At the end of the cooking time you find that the onions don't quite have the same caramelisation that you find with the small batch. And of course they won't, because you're not cooking like for like. What you've done is sweat the onions because you've got too many in a bigger pan and not enough heat. You've changed your technique!

So you see it's not that the scaling up by ten that hasn't worked, it's that you've cooked it differently. Therefore let me restate my initial claim:

To the question "when scaling up a recipe, do I scale up the ingredients proportionally", the answer is a very incontrovertible YES, providing you have the wit and common sense to realise that you will need to modify your cooking method to suit.

Also cooking is definitely a science, it's just that those who have mastered it make it look like an art.

[George]

Suffice to say that my argument that you scale proportionally is correct. If you want ten times the amount of curry that you usually cook, just multiply everything by ten.

Err, excuse me but, in the context of this thread, it was my argument. You then lent support, thank you. I'm pleased we appear to be in agreement on the basic science and common sense argument though.

e.g. If you put 5ml of salt in 100ml water and taste it, or mesaure the salinity, it will be exactly the same strength as 50ml salt in 1 litre of water or 2500ml salt in 50 litres of water. If you redduce the figure of 2500ml salt by anything significant, it will taste and measure differently.

Regards
George

 

[Yellow Fingers]

Err, excuse me but, in the context of this thread, it was my argument.

Hi George. I don't mind who's argument it was as long as common sense prevails.  :

[Fat Les (Banned for removing own posts!)]

If you pardon me for expressing my opinion (and perhaps you won't!), I think what should prevail is open debate and respect for other people's opinions! 

Whether science, art, common sense, or whatever prevails, I would like to know if anyone can reproduce that BIR taste and, if so, how?

I would also like to know if anybody can please provide me with an authentic BIR Mushroon Bhaji recipe! (request found here.....http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,1023.0.html)

I look forward to your replies!

[Fat Les (Banned for removing own posts!)]

Thanks Les, but let?s keep the cat well away from the pigeon coup and tucked up nice and comfy out of harm?s way.

Yeah, right Ian!  You wish!   

[George]

This debate is making my head hurt! Everyone has made good points which probably work out in practice.  I'm so unlikely to need to prepare 50 litres of base sauce in one go, that there must be better subjects for an interesting debate.

Regards
George

[snowdog]

e.g. If you put 5ml of salt in 100ml water and taste it, or mesaure the salinity, it will be exactly the same strength as 50ml salt in 1 litre of water or 2500ml salt in 50 litres of water. If you redduce the figure of 2500ml salt by anything significant, it will taste and measure differently.

Ah! Now technically that is true, but practically you would likely find that the larger the batch the more salty it is.

The reason for that is that the density of the salt matters when you are measuring it in terms of volume rather than mass. And a larger volume will likely have a greater density due to compaction, thus occupying a smaller volume, meaning that a fixed volume will have the greater mass pro rata.

Since we're being scientific, and all

[Dirtynunfishing]

Its good to know I can have an effect on peoples opinions.I am certain though if you gave two people the same ingredient's and told them to cook a chicken madras the resulting tastes would be different.Because its all down to the individual and their own skills.I'm all for Art over Science.

[Yellow Fingers]

Blimey snowdog! And I thought I was pedantic!

But just to be absolutely correct, the hygroscopic nature of salt is more likey to have a greater effect than the variation in density due to compaction, because the salt would effectively be uncompacted as it is measured out.

Honestly George, look what you've started. If only you'd said mass.   :-[