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/ck/ - Food & Cooking


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File: 185 KB, 1600x900, 1600x900_penne-alla-vodka.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
17065922 No.17065922 [Reply] [Original]

I've never had penne alla vodka. Can you explain to me what exactly the vodka adds to the flavour? When I think of vodka I don't associate it with tasty.

>> No.17065933

>>17065922
There are alcohol-soluble flavors in tomatoes, so you can only taste them if alcohol is added to the dish. Vodka is essentially a flavorless alcohol, so it is perfect for bringing out those flavors while keeping the flavor profile simple.

>> No.17065937

>>17065933
Don't you evaporate the alcohol?

>> No.17065963

>>17065933
Here's a simple recipe:
-Starting with a cold pan, fry some fatty, cured pork (guanciale, pancetta, bacon, etc.) to render the fat
-Once the fat is rendered, add some tomato puree.
-Once the tomatoes start bubbling (to ensure that the pan is hot), add a shot of vodka.
-Let that simmer and reduce for a few minutes.
-Add some heavy cream, and let that simmer and reduce until it is the desired thickness
-Add mostly-cooked pasta and let it finish in the sauce.
-Add parmesan or pecorino, and some herbs if desired, and serve.

>> No.17065970

>>17065937
Yes. You shouldn't taste it in the final dish.

>> No.17065986

>>17065937
That's the idea. The vodka bonds to the flavorful compounds, extracting them from the tomatoes. Then the vodka evaporates, leaving the flavor in the liquid component of the sauce where it's more accessible to your tongue when you eat it.

>> No.17065992

>>17065937
I have a small bit of chemistry knowledge but not much food science knowledge. I think the idea is that since the alcohol is a solvent, you use that to extract the flavors from whatever, but because vodka is mostly water anyway, you can boil off the alcohol before the water and end up with sort of concentrated flavor. And that seems to check out since ethanol has a lower boiling point than water. But this might just be broscience.

>> No.17065997

>>17065992
Well shit, in getting that out, >>17065986 basically said it quicker.

>> No.17066007

>>17065922
https://www.reddit.com/r/foodscience/comments/l5gfez/is_there_any_academic_research_supporting_the/

i don't really understand the flavor extraction argument. vodka might be able to dissolve slightly non-polar flavor molecules, but it gets stripped off during simmering.

>> No.17066037

>>17066007
Interesting stuff. I'm only familiar with food science through the backend, when guys like Feuerbach were trying to say "man is what he eats." With all the shitposting on /ck/, sometimes it seems like we've got everything with food figured out but this is complex stuff, it shouldn't be expected to be so simple.

>> No.17066047

The vodka is not a main flavor of the sauce.
It just sounds like a more classy name than what it really is.
>half tomato half alfredo

>> No.17066146

>>17065992
having alcohol in a large amount of water makes it hard to entirely boil off, so you still have some left over as well, which I would think would be important as well, though its not enough to taste the alcohol itself.

my understanding is that another part of it is that it being a solvent also adds to the olfactory sensation of all the parts

>> No.17066160

>>17065963
>Add mostly-cooked pasta and let it finish in the sauce
is that common in pasta recipes? ive never done that

>> No.17066169

>>17066007
this was just the first link on google, but my understanding is it doesnt get stripped off nearly as much as you would think. and olfaction is a major factor

https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/cooking-wine-does-alcohol-burn-off

>> No.17066170

>>17066160
Yeah it's an Italian thing.

>> No.17066252

>>17066160
You’ve never heard of “al dente”?

>> No.17066260

>>17066252
I have, and always considered it undercooked. is that the point where you;re supposed to finish it in the sauce? because that would make so much more sense than eating undercooked pasta

>> No.17066720

>>17066160
Jesus christ, anon. Basically all pasta recipes are done like this. You're simply doing it wrong otherwise.

>> No.17066889
File: 48 KB, 500x500, voka.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
17066889

>>17065922
It's a italian recipe from the '80 served in disco, it was just a gimmick that everybody forgotten pretty soon since it's just retarded.

The one in your pic shouldn't be right tho. The only (supposedly) role of vodka is to act as emulsifier of cream and tomato sauce. The recipe should be more similar to pic

>> No.17066989

>>17065922
>Can you explain to me what exactly the vodka adds to the flavour?
yes.
it adds disgusting.

>> No.17067536
File: 3.15 MB, 3968x2976, IMG_20211201_121250.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
17067536

>>17065963
I'm doing it. But I have no vodka so I'll use Cognac. Also I'll replace cream with water+cheese+egg

>> No.17067550

>>17067536
I wait expectantly.

>> No.17067666
File: 2.04 MB, 3968x2976, IMG_20211201_133421.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
17067666

>>17067536
The taste is ok but a bit weird

>> No.17069259

>>17067536
> But I have no vodka so I'll use Cognac
They sure taste the same

>> No.17069277

>>17065922
That's for little kids who think they'll get from "ala vodka" part. It's retarded.

>> No.17069887

>>17067536
>>17067666
I don't know man. Maybe it tastes weird because you changed all of the ingredients.

>> No.17070553
File: 990 KB, 640x800, 95CA30FF-C466-4D92-B384-6B1730AA3BD8.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
17070553

I lose all self control and turn into an absolute animal when I have pasta with vodka sauce, can easily eat a whole box. Everyone do themselves a favor and next time your order a chicken parm sandwich do it with vodka sauce instead on red sauce. Thank me later

>> No.17070615

>>17067536
>>17067666

Jesus Christ anon this is as bad as those dipshits on recipe sites who bitch about how a recipe wasn't very good and have the nerve to lay out to explain they replaced half the ingredients with terrible substitutes.

>I wasn't a fan of this pasta dish. It said tomato paste and red wine but I didn't have any, so I used ketchup and whiskey. It wasn't very good, sorry. 2/5 stars

>> No.17070841

>>17066252
No, is he a famous chef?

>> No.17070952

>>17067666
anon you retard you can't change all the ingredients and comment on it fuckin hell

>> No.17071659

>>17065922
same thing that adding a shot of brandy to your coq au vin does

>> No.17073627

>>17067666
thats because you changed all the ingredients you fat retard