ShareThisBy LYNNE ROSSETTO KASPER
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 07, 2007
Dear Lynne: You talk all the time about hams and pork, which led to a discussion in our cooking club. Why is it safe to eat raw ham like prosciutto and not safe to eat raw pork? _ The Blake Avenue Gourmets
Dear The Blake Avenue Gourmets: "Talk about pork all the time," I hadn't realized.
On to your question. The basic reason why certain hams are safe to eat raw, but raw pork isn't, is salt. (I am sidestepping the issues of contamination of meats from outside sources and from how the animal is raised, as in salmonella and E. coli.) Salt, handled properly, purifies meat.
Prosciutto and lots of other traditional hams are cured with one version or another of the world's oldest preserving method. Salt is rubbed into the leg of pork, or the meat is soaked in a salt brine. As the salt penetrates the meat, it draws the existing moisture out of cells. The moisture that is drawn out is where potentially harmful microbes can thrive.
The next step is that salt replaces the moisture in those cells. With salt's action, any potentially harmful microbes are compromised.
As hams age over months, enzymes go to work on the meat's structure and proteins, tenderizing the meat. An 11-month-old Italian or American ham cured with only salt and air-drying can have a supple, melting quality on the tongue because its proteins are broken down. Not only will the ham be tender, it will be pink.
When ham is first salted, it turns gray. But when those enzymes are given months and months to work in the right temperatures and humidity, the meat goes back to its original rosy-pink color without the aid of other chemicals.
Raw meat has all its original moisture, which helps spoilage begin, along with encouraging the growth of potentially harmful microbes. Over time they break down the meat, producing noxious aromas. Raw meat can be harmful, and if it smells bad, it is bad.
Dear Lynne: My first cheese fondue turned to lumps. This never happens in restaurants. What do they know that I don't? _ Puzzled
Dear Puzzled: You have a lot of comrades with the same problem, because this comes under the category of "the recipe never tells us these things." It's all in the science behind the dish. Here is how I've answered them in the past.
The solution lies in two pieces of science involving starch and acid. Both keep the cheese's protein molecules from bunching together, which is what causes the lumps.
Cornstarch added to the wine called for in most fondue recipes encourages even melting. Lemon juice added to the cheese ensures lasting smoothness.
This recipe illustrates the duo in action. Start the fondue on the stove in a non-reactive metal pot; you can serve, if you'd like, in the classic ceramic pot. A bonus here is a Neufchatel custom of taking up the crust that forms on the pot's bottom _ a crust that gets a splash of wine.
SWISS FONDUE OF TWO CHEESES AND WHITE WINE
Serves 2, multiplies easily.
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/2 clove garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine (Swiss Neufchatel or Sauvignon Blanc)
6 ounces Swiss Gruyere cheese, shredded
2 ounces Swiss Appenzeller or Emmenthaler cheese, shredded
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Generous pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/2 baguette of bread, cut into bite-sized pieces
About 3 tablespoons Kirsch or dry white wine
In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water until smooth. Generously rub the inside of a 1-1/2-quart enameled or stainless-steel-lined saucepan with garlic. Discard the garlic.
Pour in wine. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring the wine to a bubble. Bubble 10 seconds, whisk in the cornstarch and then, off the heat, whisk in the cheeses in 3 additions. Blend in the lemon juice.
Set the pan back over medium to medium-high heat and stir about 3 minutes, or until the cheese is smooth. Season the fondue to taste with nutmeg and pepper. Turn it into a ceramic pot, set it over a low flame in the center of the table and start dunking the bread.
Once the cheese is gone, let a crust form on the pot's bottom. Stir in a splash of Kirsh or wine. Let it heat, and mop up the bits of crust with bread.
(Lynne Rossetto Kasper hosts "The Splendid Table," American Public Media's weekly national show for people who love to eat. For more information, visit www.splendidtable.org or call 1-800-537-5252.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.net)
