Topic: THE GLASGOW CURRIES

[ELW]

an onion puree or garlic/ginger paste in hot oil

Thats exactly what you'll be doing if you decide to make this curry base 

[spiceyokooko]

Thats exactly what you'll be doing if you decide to make this curry base 

Well, given the huge onion ratio of this base sauce I would agree. It can only be this that's making it work!

It's intriguing because I've been contemplating making quite a large onion ratio base sauce for a while now.

[Secret Santa]

If the oil isn't separating, then there's still water in the sauce as oil will only separate once the water moisture has been cooked off and evaporated. That's precisely why the oil separates from the oil/water emulsion created in the pan.

Nonsense. The bulk of a curry is made up of tomato and onions which are about 90% water. If you drove off all the water you'd be left with a tiny dry dollop sitting in the pan.

If there's still water in the sauce the spice essential oils, garlic/ginger etc will not be fried by the oil and the oil will not carry all their flavours. Oil is the primary flavour carrier here.

But it's not the only one because, contrary to your assertion, there is a lot of water in the finished curry no matter which method you use.

So this seems a flawed methodology to me and precisely why g/g, tomato paste and spices are fried till the oil separates in conventional BIR curries.

Again, for the third time, make it and then comment.

[spiceyokooko]

Nonsense. The bulk of a curry is made up of tomato and onions which are about 90% water. If you drove off all the water you'd be left with a tiny dry dollop sitting in the pan.

Not nonsense at all, it's scientific fact.

However you seem to know it all. How about you give me your non nonsense explanation for why oil separates from the mixture if it isn't due to water evaporation and removal.

Off you go smarty pants.

[Micky Tikka]

Are you sure your allowed to say smarty pants
because I'm not anymore

[Secret Santa]

Not nonsense at all, it's scientific fact.

Show me the science.

How about you give me your non nonsense explanation for why oil separates from the mixture if it isn't due to water evaporation and removal.

How about I don't until you explain why, when we know the vast bulk (80-90%) of the contents of the pan are water, we don't end up with a 20% solid blob after (as you claim) all the water has been forced out?

[spiceyokooko]

Show me the science.

I've already explained to you why!

When you heat up (or cook) a vegetable that contains water or in this instance a puree of onion, garlic, ginger, tomato puree, spices, oil, water etc., it releases all that water that you refer to and initially creates an emulsion (a mixture of all those elements, water and oil) in the pan so you don't see them as separate elements. The water evaporates as vapour and steam as you heat and cook it.

When you do a base sauce (or any sauce) reduction, what do you think comes out of the sauce and where do you think it goes? Or are you going to contend that too? This is empirical, we know it reduces significantly from the volume we start with and we know that it's water that's evaporating from it.

When enough, (usually most) of the water has evaporated from the mixture the initial oil/water emulsion created breaks (because there's now not enough water to hold it together) and the oil separates from the now virtually waterless mixture.

If you're going to contend this, I'm looking forward to your explanation of exactly what disappears from a sauce when we reduce it and where this thing actually goes to!

How about I don't until you explain why, when we know the vast bulk (80-90%) of the contents of the pan are water

Because it's not 80-90% and water only evaporates when it's heated. Your maths are FUBAR'd.

Over to you, for your explanation.

[Secret Santa]

It's impossible to argue a point with someone who lacks common sense, never mind a realistic grasp of the science spicey, so I won't try to.

What I will say though is this; when we make a base it is mostly water and, after blending (forming a colloidal suspension), the base is usually cooked on until the oil separates and appears on the surface. Perhaps you'd like to give that some thought as you ponder your 'the oil only separates when the water is removed' theory!

[spiceyokooko]

It's impossible to argue a point with someone who lacks common sense, never mind a realistic grasp of the science spicey, so I won't try to.

I see. So now I'm stupid and don't understand science, despite a perfectly rational and logical explanation of the scientific (water evaporation and emulsion breaking) reasons for why oil separates.

And the best you can come up with is...

...the base is usually cooked on until the oil separates and appears on the surface.

 :

Perhaps you'd like to give that some thought as you ponder your 'the oil only separates when the water is removed' theory!

Perhaps, I'll just go away and have a good chuckle and leave you in your ignorance at how you've not given any explanation for how and why sauces with water in them reduce and leave you to ponder the reason for why if you continue to cook after oil separation has occurred and without stirring, the sauce will stick and burn to the bottom of the pan!  :

Perhaps it's because there's no water left to stop it from happening? Nah far too rational and logical!

[Cory Ander]

a perfectly rational and logical explanation of the scientific (water evaporation and emulsion breaking) reasons for why oil separates.

I agree, it seems perfectly rationale and reasonable to me...and I think SS well knows it.