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Making risotto is a unique and somewhat tedious process of the chefs cooking instinct and fundamental understanding of the process it takes for a perfect result every time.
Toasting the rice, sweating the aromatics, adding just enough wine and stock so that it absorbs just the right amount so the final texture is not too soft, and not too firm. Then add cheeses, seasoning, and other items to make it signature. I like making butternut squash risotto, asparagus, or other unique flavors. All of this requires the knowledge of how the rice will take these flavors and present them in the final phase.
I have been using Firex equipment for the last 3 and a half years. Cucimix has the ability to “learn” how to mimic all of what I just described. How you might ask? Well, it does come with some programming which I personally oversee and assist every end-user with.
All of us are going to cook our risotto, or any recipe differently than the next person which is one of the great things about food. We can experience so many different approaches to the same dish, concept, or recipe. My goal is not to change what an end-users recipe is, it is to program Firex to make it exactly the same as that person’s signature recipes, but without the labor.
In this picture, you will see I used the 8-gallon Cucimix to make Butternut Squash Risotto. And actually, I did not make it. I did the prep and put it on a cart, I built the program. Instead, I asked one of my guests that week to make my recipe using Firex Cucimix. Their only responsibility was to press the start button for “Butternut Squash Risotto”. When the unit asked for toasted Arborio rice the guest dumped it in. Then we went back to talking, 16 min later – which was the perfect absorption time for the hot stock which was already in the unit vs. the volume of rice I measured – it asked for the butternut puree, and my guest dumped that in. This continued as we spoke and had discussions and 30 min later we were all enjoying perfectly cooked Butternut Squash Risotto.
This process required no prior knowledge by the user, no experienced chef, no practice using my recipe, and no physical labor other than adding food when the unit asked for it. Cucimix is the most unique cooking vessel on the planet and the possibilities are endless. In the coming blogs, we will talk about pastry applications in this unit.
Until then keep cooking!
– Chef Jason D. Hall, CMC
