Masterful Glazing

In the culinary world, glazing means giving food a smooth and shiny finish. Many cooked dishes benefit from glazing, and the technique is easy and widely applicable. The same icing or fruit glaze can be used on a myriad of cakes, cookies or pies. The most delicious frosting of all, a ganache, is nothing more than a chocolate glaze. A simple egg glaze can make any baked crust shiny. Glazing vegetables adds both eye appeal and taste to the final dish.

There are three basic kinds of dessert glazes: icing, fruit, and ganache. Icing glaze is simply confectioners sugar combined with some liquid. Many pastries are made with an opaque icing glaze made from whisking together ½ cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, and often ¼ teaspoon of flavoring like rum, vanilla extract, or maple syrup.

Alternatively, you can make a transparent icing glaze by whisking together ½ cup of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of water, and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice (or other juices). The amount of liquid can be adjusted for taste; i.e. lemon juice can be substituted for some of the water. But in order for the glaze to spread or drizzle well, the final consistency should be similar to an egg white.

Fruit glazes can be made in either of two ways. Easiest is to melt ½ cup jelly, jam or preserves in a saucepan, stir in 1 tablespoon of flavoring, and then strain the liquid to remove seeds. Great combinations can be made from combining a particular jam with the same fruit liqueur. Combine raspberry jelly with Chambord, apricot jelly with apricot bandy, currant jelly with cassis, or apple jelly with either Calvados or pear liqueur. Fruit glazes can be made well in advance and stored in the refrigerator, but they need to be warm when used. I store them in a glass jar and just microwave them for 10 15 seconds.

A second fruit glaze can be made if your'e poaching fruit, such as pears or apricots. Since fruit is poached in a sugar syrup, once the fruit is tender and has been removed, boil the syrup until it reaches the softball stage, i.e. when the whole surface is covered with large bubbles which pop in a lazy fashion. If you want the glaze to be a little thicker, use a little arrowroot. In a little bowl or cup mix two tablespoons of the syrup with one teaspoon of arrowroot. Then mix the syrup/arrowroot mixture into the rest of the syrup.

Ganache is the French term for a chocolate and cream glaze. It is easy to make and gives anything over which it is poured a shiny, glossy surface. Chop 9 ounces of good quality semi or bittersweet chocolate into very small pieces - this can be done in the food processor. Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, heat 1 cup of heavy cream just up to the point when tiny bubbles form around the edge.

Pour most of the hot cream over the chocolate, holding back a few tablespoons. Cover the bowl and let the chocolate/cream mixture sit for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and gently stir the chocolate and cream together. Allow the mixture to cool until it is tepid and then test for consistency. Drop a small amount from a spoon; the mixture should mound a little bit and then spread out. If it is too thick, add the rest of the cream. To glaze a cake with ganache, the ganache must be warm. It is poured over the cake all at once and then, if necessary, spread lightly with a spatula.

Baking also uses non-sweet glazes. Milk, egg whites, egg yolks, or beaten eggs are brushed over piecrusts, bread or rolls to give the crusts a shine. For a transparent shine, use beaten egg whites thinned with a teaspoon of water. To give the top of the baked item a medium brown finish, use milk or beaten whole egg thinned with water. If you want a rich brown surface, use beaten egg yolks thinned with water. If you're topping your bread or rolls with seeds, or cookies with sparkles, use straight egg white, which acts as a glue.

Vegetables, especially root vegetables like carrots, onions, or turnips, also benefit from glazing. They gain a shiny, appetizing appearance, and the sweetness in the glaze brings out their own natural sugars.

To glaze vegetables, cut them into similar shapes so that they will cook at the same time. Optimally, cut them into bite sized pieces. Put the vegetables, in one layer, in a large fry pan or skillet that has a lid. Pour in enough water to come half way up the sides of the vegetables. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil, cover and cook over medium high heat until the vegetables are tender, probably around 10 minutes.

When the vegetables are tender, uncover the pan and turn up the heat and cook until the water is evaporated, leaving only the butter and sugar. Lower the heat and roll the vegetables around until they are nicely glazed.