What You Need to Know
The technique involves slowly pouring pine nut oil into egg yolks while whisking, creating a stable emulsion through the formation of a complex network of lipids and proteins. The key variables are temperature, whisking speed, and oil addition rate. The optimal temperature for this process is between 15°C to 20°C.
This technique is unique in that it uses pine nut oil to create a rich and creamy pine nut sauce, commonly used in Italian cuisine.
Steps
- 1.
Pesto alla Trapanese (Sicily): base emulsion for tomato-almond pesto
- 2.
Pignoli Cookies (Italy): binding agent in traditional confections
- 3.
Toum (Lebanon): alternative nut base for garlic sauce
The Science
Primary Reaction
emulsification