Umami

Auguste Escoffier 1846-1935 (image from NPR)

I have been reading lots of Jonah Lehrer recently (well, that and some scintillating text books), specifically "How We Decide" and "Proust Was a Neuroscientist" . For what it is worth, I highly recommend both these books.

How I cook (notice the Library bar code, holla!)

In "Proust..." there is a part about Auguste Escoffier and umami. After reading this I became inspired to try it myself.

Step One
Rendering the Marrow Goodness

I purchased some beef shank bones and some cubed beef for making stew, baked them in a pan with copious amounts of vegetables at 350 for about 5 hours.

Step Two

Step Three

After the baking, it all goes into a pot with some red wine and some water, and gets reduced. I repeat this step, minus the wine, four more times.

The Result

I then strained out all the solid stuff, so just the liquid remained, and reduced this still until it reached a desired consistency.

It took some time to complete but the end results were decent enough. No one complained and the aromatics it gave off while it was baking, cooking and rendering was absolutley ambrosial. I am very sure that this concoction was very nutritious as well as yummy. I used it to accompany steaks and rice. Not just any rice, I might add. But lime nori green tea rice (organic white aromatic jasmine rice, Whole Foods, bulk # 6706). What? All that in rice? Absolutley, make it as good as possible. Antioxidants, polyphenols, Lime Juice, it is all good and essential for living well. (If you have not caught on by now, I regard eating well an essential staple in this communial experience we all call living.)

The Ingredients...

...in a pot...

...on a plate!

And of course, a little bit of celebration at the end of a meal never hurt.

Mmmmm, beer.