September 25, 2006

Reduction

Definition:
Re-duc-tion (cooking):
n.
Technique to decrease volume of a sauce through evaporation. Stirring liquids in a pot over the stove till the cows-come-home.
*sigh* Reducing sauces and jams are my biggest kitchen fears! Being the impatient person that I am; standing and stirring the same pot for more than 2 hours could mean death! *laughs*
I had to find another way to keep my hands busy in the kitchen while my pot of onion jam bubbled over gentle flames. I gave an old fail-ed recipe another go, just to see if it was the proportions which were inaccurate or was it from my meager bread baking talent. 3 hours after....I concluded it was the recipe; not me! *grin* The olive loaf had suspicious proportions of flour+water and after extensive research online from various recipes; I decided it was best to try a different composition the next time. It was still edible; just didn't turn out the way I wanted it to.
I sliced the loaf and topped it with roast chicken, mayo, chopped lemon thyme and the yummy jam for dinner. The girls didn't like the jam too much; they thought it was too 'strong'-i have no idea what they meant by strong. It could be that they were unacquainted to the robust flavors of red wine + onions. I personally loved it! It was really sweet...I had to use it scarcely on the open sandwiches. I'm glad it stores well. I'll probably pop it in a jar till the next time I make lamb steaks...MMMmmmmMmm..it should go perrrfectly!

3 large onions sliced thinly(preferably white; I used brown one's and they turned out fine)
Dry red wine enough to cover all the sliced onions in the pot
2/3 cup white sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise cloves
Cook everything in medium thick base saucepan on low heat till the liquid is reduced to a clump of sticky yummy jam! It took me 3 hours....I wish you luck :)

12 comments:

Lex said...

I nvr liked onions. period

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

lex: haha had bad experiences with the "wind"? LOL or just hate the taste of onions?
I only hate how they make me cry :(

Anonymous said...

Oh that looks like chutney! I love tomato chutney with my sandwich! Love the one from Dome, yummy. Yr onion jam looks really good, and very creative too!

Jen said...

the Suyin definition of reduction sounds a lot more accurate. Great stuff!

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

michie: haha thanks :)...ive never made chutney b4...would love to give it a go.

jen; ty! :) haha Ive seen u make lovely jam before..i bet u know what I mean ahah

wesley: -_-' lammeee! hahahaha

Anonymous said...

hey... remember me?

That onion jam looks really interesting... but the definition of reduction was really funny...

Anonymous said...

Okie, that Onion Jam looks interesting, now, I shld guess the taste would be slighly sweet and tart from the red wine...hmm..me think it would be wonderful with most red meat and I am now wondering how it would taste if it is an accompaniment to beef curry..ever tried serving it with that?

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

wai king: hi "Y" king!! hahaha. yes i remember u :)

qua: not really, havnt tried that yet...will probably have it with lamb tommorow

Anonymous said...

I'm just curious...do you normally cover your cakes with marzipan before you cover them with fondant? Or just fondant straight away?

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

just fondant straight away....im not a fan of mrzipan; I understand how it makes the surface of icing smoother but i rarely ever need a completely neat and flat surface due to the nature and design of the 3d cakes i cver in fondant. So, i skip the marzipan.The layer of fondant is too sweet and thick as it is.

Brilynn said...

I've just started making jams and I always find that I have to do another project on the side because I'm too impatient while waiting for it to bubble away on its own.

Anonymous said...

HEEEEYYYY girly :) :)


totally unrelated to your cooking....... ii thought that pic was awesome :P i srsly laughed out loud when i saw it :P HEHEHEHE
hope to see you soon.
***HUGZ***