Cookbook:Hops
| Hops | |
|---|---|
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| Category | Vegetables |
Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Ingredients
Hops or the hop plant is a plant used primarily as a flavorant but also occasionally as a vegetable.
Characteristics
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The plant takes the form of a climbing vine,[1] with shoots, green leaves, and sets of both male and female flowers.[1] The shoots are the young and tender vine growths off the side of the square stems.[2][3] The male flowers grow in loose yellow clusters.[2][4] The female flowers cluster into what are called "cones",[5][6][7] which have small glands within them.[8][9][10] These glands produce bitter resins containing "alpha acids", especially humulone and lupulone, as well as "beta acids" and essential oils from the plant.[5][6][9][10] The
There are a number of hop cultivars,[6][10] and while they all share a bitter flavor,[11] each variety has distinguishing characteristics.[12] Some, for example, have reliable and consistent bitterness; others have special aromatic qualities.[10][11] These varieties can be specially chosen for their desirable characteristics,[9] with some brewers making specialty blends.[11]
| Variety | Region of origin | Flavor notes |
|---|---|---|
| Amarillo | Floral, orange blossom | |
| Cascade | Grapefruit, floral | |
| Centennial | Grapefruit, citrus, floral | |
| Chinook | Pine, citrus | |
| Citra | Citrus, mango, peach, pineapple | |
| Columbus | Herbaceous, cannabis, pine | |
| Challenger | Tea, lemon | |
| Fuggle | Cedar, mint, floral | |
| Golding | Peppery, citrus | |
| Hallertauer mittelfrüh | Floral, peppery | |
| Mosaic | Blueberry, pine, tangerine, peach, citrus | |
| Motueka | Spicy, lime, tropical | |
| Nelson sauvin | Grape, lychee, melon | |
| Northern brewer | Woody, pine | |
| Saaz | Spicy | |
| Simcoe | Grapefruit, pine, tropical fruit, lemon | |
| Spalt | Woody, peppery | |
| Tettnanger | Grassy, spicy, citrus | |
| Willamette | Spicy, earthy, citrus |
Seasonality
[edit | edit source]The tender young shoots growing off the main stem can be harvested in the early spring.[2] The cones (flowers) are harvested in autumn,[8][12] with increasing yield as time goes on.[13]
Selection and storage
[edit | edit source]If harvesting your own hop cones, you'll want to make sure the cones are fully ripe before picking. They should be light, dry, and brown, springing back after a gentle squeeze; slightly papery and sticky; and making a slight squeaking sound when rolled.[13] You should see yellow lupulin resin on the outside, but if the resin is orange and rancid-smelling, the cone is likely overripe.[13]
If purchasing hops, you'll likely need to source from a specialty purveyor that caters to brewers.[11] The cones can be found as whole flowers or processed into compact pellets.[8][10][11] Either way, they should be labeled with their alpha acid content, which measures their capacity for bittering.[5]
The cones are degraded by light, heat, oxygen, and moisture, so they are best stored in vacuum-sealed bags and kept frozen. Under ideal conditions like this, hops can last for years, but they should be used within months after opening.[11] Fresh hop shoots can be stored wrapped in a damp towel in the fridge for a week or longer.[3]
Techniques
[edit | edit source]Cleaning
[edit | edit source]Before cooking hop shoots, they need to be prepared. To do so, simply trim them to make sure you're only using the most tender few inches of the shoot, then give them a quick wash.[3]
Drying
[edit | edit source]In most cases, hop cones are dried to bring them below 10% moisture.[8][13] Commercially, this is done in specialized hop kilns at low temperature and for no more than a couple days.[5][13] Overheating (>140°F / 60°C) and extended air exposure will lead to flavor loss and oxidation.[13] If drying at home, food dehydrators are a good choice.[13] An oven with sufficient airflow could also work, as long as the temperature does not get too hot, and even a screen and fan can work if done properly.[13] The hops are correctly dried once the central stem fully snaps, the lupulin resin can fall easily, and the leaves are papery thin.[13]
Use
[edit | edit source]Hop shoots and male flowers are cooked much like other tender stem vegetables, such as asparagus.[1][2][8] Cook them quickly in water, steam, or a sauté pan until tender, and season them lightly.[2][3][4][14] They go well with eggs and in salads.[2][4][8][14]
The hop cones are used almost exclusively in beer,[12] where they act as a flavoring and (historically) as a preservative.[4][5][8][10] They are typically used at 0.5–5 g/L when dry,[9][10] and 4–6 times that when undried.[13]
Substitution
[edit | edit source]Recipes
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ a b c Wolke, Robert L. (2011-01-12). What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-07982-1.
- ↑ a b c d e f Foodie, The Wild (2018-07-12). "Wild Hops: Hop, Shoots and Flowers Uses UK and Recipes". Wild foodie. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ↑ a b c d Bergo, Alan (2015-05-23). "Hop Shoots". Forager | Chef. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ↑ a b c d Cox, Jeff; Moine, Marie-Pierre (2010-03). The Cook's Herb Garden. Dorling Kindersley Limited. ISBN 978-1-4053-4993-2.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ a b c d e Research Chefs Association (2016-02-29). Culinology: The Intersection of Culinary Art and Food Science. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-48134-9.
- ↑ a b c Provost, Joseph J.; Colabroy, Keri L.; Kelly, Brenda S.; Wallert, Mark A. (2016-05-02). The Science of Cooking: Understanding the Biology and Chemistry Behind Food and Cooking. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-67420-8.
- ↑ deMan, John M.; Finley, John W.; Hurst, W. Jeffrey; Lee, Chang Yong (2018-02-09). Principles of Food Chemistry. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-63607-8.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Van Wyk, Ben-Erik (2014-09-26). Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-09183-9.
- ↑ a b c d Gibson, Mark (2018-01-04). Food Science and the Culinary Arts. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-811817-7.
- ↑ a b c d e f g McGee, Harold (2007-03-20). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-5637-4.
- ↑ a b c d e f g "Everything You Need To Know About Hops". Delish. 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ↑ a b c d "A Beer Beginner's Guide to Hops of the World". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Moorhead, John (2017-07-14). "How to Harvest, Prepare and Store Homegrown Hops". American Homebrewers Association. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ↑ a b Davidson, Alan (2014-01-01). Jaine, Tom (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199677337.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7.