Flamb??: Why Do Chefs Set Fire to Stuff?

The inspiration for this article came when I almost flambéed my eyebrows off.

No, dear reader, I didn’t intend to flambé my eyebrows. To be honest, I didn’t intend to flambé’ at all. I was making a crumble for goodness sake. No one flambés crumble … right?

Well, I did (mistakenly) and (nearly) my eyebrows to boot.

Flambé is the process of igniting the alcohol which is added to a dish. Professional chefs flambé many things — meats, desserts, even bananas. Not only is it visually spectacular but it is thought to add to the flavour of the dish — driving off the sharpness of the alcohol whilst leaving a beautiful caramelised flavour in its place.

Read More

Tags: Fire stuff