IT'S HARD NOT TO LOVE A GOOD TART

A tender, buttery crust combined with just the right amount of fruit, custard or chocolate is beautiful to look at. But most tarts sold in bakeries and delis let you down when it comes to taste.

The pastry can be hard or stale, the cream stiff and overly sweet, the fruit doused in a syrupy glaze. So I recently began learning how to make tarts at home in the hopes of having a dessert just the way I like it.It's not as hard as one may think, but it does require a little understanding of the process, specifically how to make the shell.

Here's what I learned both at a cooking class and through trial and (tasty) error.

Keep it cold.

When mixing the dough, the most important thing is to keep everything cold. This prevents the fat (usually butter) from melting into the flour. In the oven, the bits of fat trapped between layers of flour and water will melt, and the moisture will expand into steam, evaporate, and leave behind tiny air pockets, making a tender flaky crust.

After mixing the flour with the other dry ingredients, blend the cold (but not frozen) pieces of butter into the flour. This can be done by hand with the tips of your fingers or a pastry cutter, or with a machine such as a food processor or stand mixer. The food processor is the quickest and easiest way, but I've had luck with the other methods as well.

Many people even place all of their equipment in the freezer for 15 minutes before starting to help keep things cold while working.

What you're striving for at this stage is a texture that resembles coarse sand. The French call this process "sablage," or sanding.

Keep it quick

Work the dough as little as possible.

When flour and water are mixed to make a dough, the proteins in the flour begin to form strands of gluten that strengthen the dough. The more you mix it, the stronger it gets. This is great for bread, but not for pastry, which should be more fragile and crumbly after it's baked.

So when adding water, make sure it is ice cold and do so 1/2 to 1 tablespoon at a time, just until the dough holds together.

I prefer to do this step by hand rather than in the food processor, because it gives more control and prevents the dough from getting overworked.

Take a break

After you've formed your dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This accomplishes two important things: First, it allows the gluten in the dough to relax, so it won't spring back when you try to roll it; and second, chilling the dough keeps the butter from melting and makes it easier to roll without sticking to the counter and the rolling pin.

You'll also want to take a second break after the dough is rolled out and in the tart pan.

Cover it with plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least another 30 minutes. This is a critical step and must not be skipped.

If you are blind baking your tart shell -- that is, baking it empty before filling--skipping this step will result in a tough crust that will shrink, possibly so much that your filling won't even fit in it.

Other tips

When rolling out the dough, use a forward-backward motion with the rolling pin to create an oval. Sprinkle the counter and the top of the dough with a bit of flour, turn the dough 90 degrees and continue that process until you have a circle. But always turn the dough, not the rolling pin. The repeated lifting and turning, with sprinkles of flour when needed, will ensure that it doesn't stick to the counter.

Use a tart pan with a removable bottom. Some recipes call for oiling or buttering the tart pan. I find this unnecessary because there is enough butter in the dough to keep it from sticking to the pan. For this reason, I also don't buy the expensive nonstick tart pans.

Practice makes perfect

Aaron Jackson, Associated PressWednesday, February 6, 2008

THE FOOD MOOD TANGLE

Sourced from The Navhind Times/Panorama 4/Sunday, December 24, 2006

Satisfying an occasional craving for comfort food is a great stress-buster because it leads to physical and mental satiety, which in turn triggers off the feel good factor. Occasional bingeing helps us detangle our emotions and focus more productively on the task at hand……..writes Neeta Lal.

Been resisting that gooey chocolate cake in the fridge for a while? Well, go on and indulge now. For research is increasingly supporting the view that occasional indulgence in ‘comfort foods’ directly and strongly impact our minds and body. Ergo, some foods send strong messages through neurotransmitters or ‘chemical messengers’ to our brain, influencing our emotions and moods.

“Calorie-dense foods – like chocolates, sweetmeats, deep-friend items, junk food and ice-cream – have pleasurable associations, which lead us to crave for them,” explains physician Dr. Ravinder K Tuli, Head of the Department of Holistic Healing, Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, Delhi. “Similarly, certain nutrients like fats and complex carbohydrates have physiological properties which act as mood elevators. These nutrients release endorphins, the feel-good hormones, in the body, thus heightening our sense of wellbeing”.

But what exactly are these “feel-good” foods? Comfort foods are those foods which address a person’s emotional needs more than a physical one,” explains psychologist Dr. Jitendra Nagpal, Senior Consultant, Vidyasagar Institute of Mental and Health and Neurological Studies (VIMHANS), New Delhi. “Physical satiation is usually not the agenda here. Since reaching out for comfort food signals an emotion-linked hunger, the reasons could vary from depression, stress at work and broken relationships to diet plans gone awry, anything”.

Hence dieticians advice that comfort food seekers should learn to distinguish between physical hunger – which builds up gradually and tells the brain clearly when to stop – and emotional eating, which is sporadic, sudden and often prolonged.’

Also, emotional eating is irrational, says Ishi Khosla, a Delhi-based clinical nutritionist. “You just don’t want it to end, you want to keep gorging on whatever is available, regardless of the food’s nutritive value. On the contrary, real and physical hunger sends an unambiguous signal to the brain to stop when our tummies are full”. Also, adds Khosla, emotional hunger riddles us with guilt while normal hunger seems “well-earned and, therefore, leads to no negative feelings”.

Another way to distinguish real hunger from emotional hunger, according to some dieticians, is that the latter invariably strikes when we’re depressed, bored or lonely”. And this is a really vicious circle because depression propels us to eat more, which in turn makes us put on weight,” says Khosla. “And added weight makes no one happy. So make sure that you’re not establishing a hard-to-break pattern for yourself”. Good advice, given that women, especially, are socialized to co-relating their self-image with current beauty norms.

According to Nagpal, pre-menopausal women need to be especially careful while reaching out for comfort foods because, at this age, their hormones are wreaking havoc, with their systems in any case. This makes many women overly emotional which, when combined with other factors like depression and lifestyle stress, could lead to frequent binge eating for comfort.

But is the craving for comfort foods gender or age specific? Are women truly more susceptible? While the jury is still out on this one, what’s definitely established is that gender and age do affect one’s taste in comfort foods. According to a survey done by the University of Illinois, Food and Brand Lab, in the us in 2000, men and older people “….prefer comfort foods that are warm, hearty and meal-related, such as steaks, soups and casseroles, while women and kids reach out for snacks or finger foods, such as chips, savouries, ice-cream and chocolate.”

So is consuming comfort food all bad then? “Not at all,” says Dr. Swati Chaddha, consultant dietician, Max Healthcare, New Delhi. “In fact, satisfying an occasional craving for comfort food is a great stress buster because it leads to physical and mental satiety, which in turn triggers off the feel good factor. Occasional bingeing helps us detangle our emotions and focums more productively on the task at hand. But the trick is to not give in to such binges too frequently.”

Also, while we are at it, Chaddha thinks it is a good idea to shun calorie-dense comfort foods, such as greasy burgers, deep-fried items and ice-creams, and opt for healthier alternatives like fresh fruits, herbal teas, salads, and antioxidant –rich product s like tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and the beta carotene- rich carrots. Products rich in Omega-3 fatty acids – like fish, especially salmon, soya and pulses – also help satiate emotional eating binges. Ditto for items rich in Vitamin-C like lemons, citrus fruits and green chillies. “Vitamin C is a great antidote for stress,” advocates Chadda. “So, stock up on fresh juices. Vitamin C pills also work well, though it’s always more prudent to consume food produce directly.”

Apart from analyzing one’s food intake, one also needs to probe one’s emotional needs. Why is it that we are seeking comfort in food ? This brainstorming, say psychologists, really works because, over a period of time, the mind learns to divert itself effectively. In fact, as soon as emotional hunger strikes, specialists advise that we should try and funnel our energy into diversionary activities like gardening, going out for a walk, meeting up with friends, writing that long overdue letter, reading a good book or playing with pets.
“Also,” advises Nagpal, “keep your communication lines open. Half the problems in our society exist because we have stopped communicating with each other. Don’t bottle up emotions. Meaningful communication with our near and dear ones is the best antidote to stress.”

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