Thursday, February 4, 2010
WITH the advent of modern technology, we also find ourselves modernizing and updating in the latest trends and developments in the culinary world. In baking, we have definitely come a long way from the 60's up to the present, roughly 50 years now.
I started baking with my sister, the late Gloria Dychauco, in the 60's when I was still very young. And as far as I can remember, we used a manually hand-held mixer. And mind you, not the electric hand-held mixer but the one that we have to use our both hands to create foams for the cake batter and icing. What a very tedious process it is! And takes ages to bet I tell you! But again, we were able to come up with cakes & frostings that are unequalled in taste and maybe, in simple presentations then.
We also use a lot of "wooden" spoon in our mixing! And following recipes, we have to count the number of times in beating or folding to "achieve" the proper mixture! Whew! That was how the recipes' procedure says. And being new & inexperienced in this field, do we have a choice?
Then came the hand-held mixers (hurray!), which made our lives so much easier and effortless! We continue to use this wonderful technology today but it does not perform effectively as the heavy-duty mixers when it comes to mixing a large or complicated batch of dough. This I always tell my customers and students in my baking and cake decorating class: if you really love baking and intend go into this kind of business, invest in a good heavy-duty mixer and save time for other activities rather than spending in cheap hand-held mixers that would wear out sooner than expected, which in the long run would cost you more.
Believe me, I've been there myself. Aside from the fact that your hands would start to quiver even before you start baking or decorating! You wouldn't want to have "zigzag" designs in all of your cakes, would you?
We started baking in that little green stovetop oven with a "thermostat" control in the front glass window (which I still get to see being sold in some supermarkets!) with our tube pans using our gas stove. I also noticed small pizza entrepreneurs using this until now. Larger ovens were quite expensive during those times.
Then came the bigger, more spacious gas ovens which were built to bake a layer of 12" x 9" cakes, or a tray of cookies or muffins. We were having a great time baking almost weekly and trying new recipes when they come out in newspapers! It doesn't matter whether it came out right or not, as long as it goes straight into our tummy!
Recipe books were rare commodities and having one was really fun and exciting! That is why whenever a recipe comes out in the daily papers, we would cut, clip and save them in our folders. We keep them like precious items and in fact, I still have some in my possession. Most of the recipes have been transferred to my computer for safekeeping, though. And when time and money permits, we would try to bake them and enjoy the goodies with everyone in the family. It was surely a treat for all of us.
Culinary classes were unheard of before although I am sure they were available to the more "elite" ones. I remember some radio stations teaching cooking and baking on air. And we would listen on our "battery-operated transistor radio". That would probably be tough to do today. But during those times, we would pick up our pens and start to jot down everything we hear. And try to duplicate it later in the kitchen. We didn't get a television set till the late 60's. There were very few "segments" on baking and cooking then. So there was really nothing on TV to watch.
Ingredients before were also hard to find. There were no shops that sell bakery ingredients and accessories to "small" time home bakers. We can only buy them in grocery stores. And maybe in Divisoria (I practically grew up in Manila). And they don't even carry everything we need. That is why sometime, we have to forego a certain recipe we wanted to work on until we can buy them elsewhere. As neophytes, we don't know how to "substitute" ingredients.
Fast forward to this day.
Presently, a lot of homemakers still use the electric hand-held mixers and so with the stove-top ovens in their kitchen but more have invested in the more modern oven which they have used in making cakes and pastries for their families and friends. It does make our lives so much simpler and easier.
Recipe books are now plentiful. Culinary TV shows and classes are everywhere. There are TV culinary shows in many stations. In fact, one can even find recipes in newspapers, magazines, books, CD's and DVD's. And of course, who would forget the Internet? The search for the best ultimate recipe one wants is practically endless. Aren't we lucky?
Ingredients like flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, cocoa powder and many other basic and hard-to-find ingredients can now be bought in supermarkets, bakery specialty stores, and even in your friendly neighborhood stores! Either you want it in small quantities or in large scales, they can be purchased easily.
I know of many people who know how to bake. I have taught countless of eager students in baking and with utmost humility, they have been very successful in their endeavor. Many join my classes with no prior experience at all while the others, attends my classes for new updates and recipes. Here, they get to find new friends who are willing to share and exchange ideas.
I personally would suggest to aspiring bakers to start with simple recipes and techniques in baking before going into the more intricate art of fancy baking. Enjoy and put your heart in it! Start with something easy like cookies, brownies and bars and cupcakes. Then gradually get into the more complex cakes and elaborate pies and pastries.
And lastly, invest in good and high quality baking equipment and accessories that would give you years of enjoyment and pleasure. It also saves you a lot of money in the long run this way! Aside from a heavy duty mixer and a thermostat-controlled oven, invest in good wire whisk, spatula, scraper, calibrated and ups and spoons, baking tins, rolling pins, mixing bowls and cooling racks as a start. Use also the finest ingredients if you want your baked products to come out smelling and tasting good! This, I assure you would make your family and friends yearn for more of your baked goodies!
Happy Baking and Happy Eating! Enjoy! (Website: www.potsnpans1976.multiply.com email: potsnpans1976@yahoo.com)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/50-golden-years-baking
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