These three factors have major capacities to affect food. The French speak of saisissement and echange, sealing and exchange. I call it shock and seduction. When we employ the method of shock alone, we insure that the individual character of a specific item will be sealed and locked within it, waiting until we taste it to reveal its singular flavor and identity. When we cook by seduction, we create an environment whereby we seek to elicit a communion of flavors and textures.
You can purposely utilize both techniques in one dish. For instance, you may sear lamb shanks on high heat to seal in their meaty juices only to go on to an exchange method of braising the lamb in wine and broth with vegetables for several hours to attain the rich, resonating flavors that slow cooking can foster.
The important point is to know that differentiating between the two should be a conscious act. The cook who takes something as delicate as asparagus, lets it sit out in the heat for two hours, cooks it in tepid water and allows it to cool in that same water will end up with a dull-colored, limp victim of poor methodology. By the same token, the cook who boils beef stew at full tilt for forty-five minutes and then pronounces it cooked has robbed it of the time it needs for any exchange of flavors. In each case, the principles of sealing and exchange were confused.
In cooking, some things are done quickly; some take time. Knowmg. something about shock and seduction can be critical in the kitchen, too.
Ripeness is everything. Foods are not always ready to be eaten when brand new- consider a banana, or a wheel of Camembert. It is obvious that we must give nature time to allow certain foods to come to fullness; yet the flavors of other foods are momentary things and can fade from their newborn perfection at lightning speed. The cook must bring food to the table within its time.
So don't be too rigid with any recipe. I encourage you to read through the book, then put it down and go to the market. It seems to me that we put the cart before the horse when we go down the aisles with a recipe fixed in our minds, trying to match what is on the shelves to words on a printed page. A recipe is a guide, at best, and alterations are certainly acceptable. The raw product should be the first inspiration for excellent cuisine.
If there is to be a lasting renaissance of cooking in this country, it will have to be nurtured in many ways. One way that we can contribute is through the demands we place on the market-when you go to the store and you don't see what you want, tell the manager. The law of supply is contingent upon your demand.
There are small purveyors sprouting up all over the country. Many of these people are working on a level that needs the economic support of the public, but they don't have the huge advertising budget of a conglomerate to create this public awareness. As you hear about small, quality-driven suppliers, tell your store manager about them. The more quality choices we have, the better. Some of you may be daunted by the prospect of attempting many of my dishes yourselves, since you don't have the advantage of a professional staff at your disposal! Rather than tell you in recipe after recipe how you can take various shortcuts at home, I hope you will try to follow the recipes as written. If you choose to substitute water for stock, dried herbs for fresh, that's up to you. But remember that a recipe is like a road map; I've done my best to give accurate instructions on how you can get from point A to point B, but you must realize that there are limitations to recipes. In following a recipe, you are not only given physical directions, you are given time and temperature instructions as well. However, your saute pan might heat more slowly than mine, your grill may be hotter, your idea of doneness may differ, your sense of spice may be more delicate. Therefore you, as the cook, will have to sense what is right and make judgments on the recipe as you work it. Just a little common sense and the realization that everything is not the same for everyone will make it all work out fine in the end.