Why is good heat transfer required for making fond?
I was watching a Jacques Pepin video on steak and pan sauce. In it, he mentions that having a pan with good heat transfer is important to make sure your fond doesn't burn, but instead crystallises.
In line with this, conventional wisdom (reading forum posts) seems to say that not having high enough heat will mess up fond production.
I'm trying to wrap my head around why exactly this is. Does any one have some kind of mechanistic insight behind why bad heat transfer can cause your fond to burn, instead of glaze?
Best Answer
I think it's a simple as bad heat transfer often meaning uneven heat transfer, leading to burning. Burnt fond won't deglaze successfully. Compare deglazing with making a roux: in both cases you want the proteins and starches to be browned (by the Malliard reaction and caramelization) but not burnt.
When making fond you want relatively high heat to promote these reactions and avoid the food (particularly some watery vegetables) from just sitting there in a lightly steaming puddle.
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Why is heat important in cooking?
Heat transfer is a very important aspect of the cooking process. Heating food destroys potentially harmful bacteria and other microorganisms, which makes food safe to eat and easier to digest. When food or liquids become hot, their molecules absorb energy, begin vibrating rapidly, and start to bounce off of each other.How is heat transferred when the onion and garlic are sauteed?
Pan-frying or saut\xe9ing are common forms of conduction. The pan heats up and, through direct contact with the food, cooks the food. Fat or oil used in the frying provides uniform contact with heat, lubrication to prevent sticking, and some flavor of its own.What heat transfer is broiling?
The primary source of heat is radiation. Fans within the oven will increase cooking times via convection of the air. BROILING- is cooking by exposing food directly to radiant heat. Broiling differs from roasting and baking in that the food is turned during the process so as to cook one side at a time.What type of heat transfer is roasting chicken?
Simple. Conductive heat is a very efficient way of transferring heat, which makes sense if you consider it is much quicker to pan-sear a chicken breast than to roast it in the oven. Oven-roasting relies primarily on Radiant heat transfer.Heat Transfer: Crash Course Engineering #14
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