Tempered

Tempered: a. having the elements mixed in satisfying proportions; b. qualified, lessened, or diluted by the mixture or influence of an additional ingredient – Merriam-Webster dictionary

In cooking tempering can ensure an airy, creamy dessert or a fabulously rich carbonara sauce, which without this technique would leave lumpy chewiness – not so fabulous. The technique is simple, really. You have two mixtures – an oil based sauce and egg yolks, for example – that you want to combine. If you poured the yolks into the hot oil, you’d get greasy scrambled eggs. But, if you work slowly, pouring a small amount of sauce into the yolks and mix them together, the eggs are prepared for the heat and won’t curdle when you add the mixture to the pan. Then gently heat to transform the mixture into a creamy pasta sauce. Chefs describe tempering as “sacrificing” a bit of one creation to guarantee that the end result is amazing. I call it a fantastic magic trick to deliciousness.

It takes a bit of patience, I suppose, and a little finesse, but it is definitely worth it. It might be easier to dump a raw ingredient into a hot pan, but that is a recipe for disaster, literally. But so often, we do that. Knowing full well that if we say those words at this moment, the only thing that will result is tears and screaming and hurt, we say them anyway. If we make this move right now, heartache will surely follow. Mix the elements in satisfying proportions.

On the other hand, sometimes it’s best to put raw ingredients into a smoking hot oiled pan – and mix quickly – stir-fry, for example. If you let the meat and vegetables steam slowly, you again get oily chewiness – not so satisfying. Sometimes it is best to just go for it, aim for the moon – what’s that they say about stars? Because if you let things linger, if you pause, if you temper your desires, you can miss out. Diluted, lessened, qualified.

There are a couple of differences here – 1) the stir-fry situation is smoking hot, the tempered situation is simply heated 2) the tempered situation is delicate, the stir-fry situation is hardy. It’s to do with passion, you see? Letting things get away from you can be ruinous, or flavorful. The secret is to know what you’re working with and to be aware of your heat source.

In the end, in either situation, just remember that chewy is not good. And if it gets to that point, let it go and start over.