1

I am interested in making vegetable sauces that are concentrates of a particular vegetable. So a concentrated sauce that has just the flavour of a chosen vegetable.

Which vegetables would be suitable to make such concentrated sauces? What methods are possible to make a refined vegetable sauce?

EDIT: I want to attempt this with either: Carrot, Broccoli, Celery

I will steam the vegetable till softened but not mushy, then puree. I want the result to be a thick puree that I can place a 1/4 teaspoon (or the less the better) on a piece of Sashimi. Should I reduce the puree over low heat?

I am afraid that the result will be too flavourless, Is there a better method to reach the result? Can you detail any mistakes to avoid in the process? (i am not an experienced cook, it is a hobby i am getting into)

tomas
  • 11
  • 2

2 Answers2

2

Any vegetable can work. Cook vegetable (let's say carrot, for example), puree, pass through tami...you have a sauce. As @Stephie suggests above, better advice will depend on your plan. Vegetables can be juiced...that juice can be clarified (more like the result of the distillation process mentioned by @Fabby).

moscafj
  • 72,382
  • 3
  • 117
  • 207
1

The easy way:

Just:

  • cut the veggies up in small cubes
  • add twice as much water as veggies,
  • boil in a pot with the lid on top on low heat until half the water is gone
  • Throw away the veggies
  • filter the extract

The following might be illegal in your country:

(though most countries allow either small batches or batches for personal use. If you don't know, check)

If you want to make an edible, highly concentrated extract of any vegetable/fruit/flower/...:

  • cut the vegetables (fruit, flowers, ...) in very small cubes
  • add vodka

  • boil them on very low heat (78.37°C) in a distillation apparatus: enter image description here

  • the essence can now be kept for multiple years

  • if you want to get rid of most of the alcohol before using it:
    • add the essence into a cup
    • flame it
Fabby
  • 5,817
  • 1
  • 21
  • 39
  • The second option would be illegal in many countries, and also will have a strong alcohol taste, which is not really what the OP wanted. The not-faint-of-heart cooks use rotary evaporation instead (they also have deep pockets!) – rumtscho Jan 01 '18 at 13:37
  • @rumtscho There are many places where it is illegal to distill in order to produce consumable alcohol, however, it is not illegal to distill for the purposes of flavor extraction or concentration. Depending on the set up, the result is not always alcoholic. The problem is, it is an expensive set of equipment and it requires some specific know-how. – moscafj Jan 01 '18 at 14:22
  • 1
    Flaming will affect the vegetable flavor too though, won't it? Also, if I remember right, it only removes something like 1/4 of the alcohol. – Cascabel Jan 01 '18 at 14:49
  • @Jefromi: correct, that's why I mentioned *most* of the alcohol. **:-)** – Fabby Jan 02 '18 at 09:44
  • 1
    There are exceptions for very small stills (eg, sub-500ml IIRC IANAL in Germany) in some countries.... Also, any alcohol involved (unless you bought illegal vodka) would already have been taxed correctly? – rackandboneman Jan 02 '18 at 16:31
  • @rackandboneman: correct on both counts... **:-)** – Fabby Jan 02 '18 at 19:52