Burnt, charred, caramelised, toasted ...
“'Tis burnt, and so is all the meat. What dogs are these! Where is the rascal cook? How durst you, villains, bring it from the dresser, And serve it thus to me that love it not?”
William Shakespeare
I have to say that I'm with Shakespeare mostly. On the whole I don't like burnt food. Particularly when it comes to the barbecue. I especially get peeved when I've spent ages carefully marinating meat to make it tasty and then seeing it burnt to a crisp on the barbecue. Sausages too are often completely overdone. It's a fine line though isn't it between burnt and charred? Charred is good, burnt is bad.
Or is it? Depends a bit on what you are charring. The corn in the picture is somewhat burnt on the outside - I mean completely burnt really, but doubtless it tastes just smoky and different on the inside. And I do like meat cooked in the Weber with just a bit of charring - a bit like the pork in the photo. A slight smoky taste is good I guess. Charred is, in fact, a very fashionable word these days. Particularly when it comes to vegetables I think. But then charring is a middle-eastern/asian thing and these cuisines are increasingly popular. And Australians love to barbecue. And yes, I do think if you are going to barbecue properly you should do it over wood. A gas barbecue is just frying in the open air really isn't it? Just don't put the meat (or vegetables, or fish) on it until the coals are grey in colour (they glow red at night). That's for you David!
"when you’re burning, you’re creating all of these different compounds that make food more complex in taste, and much more interesting to eat.” Jennifer McLagan
I did see one reference to beans having much more intensity of flavour if they were just a bit burnt - not sure about that. Intense or burnt?
"we use this method of cooking to add a depth to a dish, be it gentle caramelisation to release sweetness, or a more intense process to create a subtle smokiness." Ducksoup Restaurant England
I can only think of one dish that absolutely relies on that smokiness and that is baba ganoush. Unless you roast the aubergine until the skin is blackened it really won't have the right taste. And I do like that. That is subtle. Mostly burnt or even charred is not.
Then there are the dishes that rely on a different kind of burning - caramelisation mostly - and they are not just sweet dishes like the above crème caramel and crème brulée. What about caramelised onions - called onion marmalade by some - or that brown, almost burnt butter sauce that you sometimes have with fish or gnocchi or ravioli? Now caramelisation I will go for - but there again you have to be careful not to go too far - or it just ends up burnt and horribly bitter and awful.
Then finally there is toasting. Absolutely no burnt toast for me - I really don't like it, though, again it seems to have become fashionable to toast (or maybe grill) toast until it is slightly charred - particularly if it is sour dough bread. And the jury is still out on whether burnt toast is carcinogenic. The general opinion seems to be that it might be - particularly starchy foods like bread and potatoes which contain something called acrylamide, which when burnt can be carcinogenic. But there is not enough evidence as yet and I suspect you would have to eat a whole lot of burnt food. Which I am not planning to do.
Incidentally this was caused by burning the marmalade slightly - reduced though by removing virtually all except the burnt bit - scrubbing that out and then returning the marmalade to the pan. This is what is recommended on the net too. Don't try stirring it in and calling it caramelised - it won't be. It will just be burnt.
POSTSCRIPT
I find I did this before. Sorry! Hope I didn't repeat myself too much.
