kitchen setup:

essential ingredients

Chef Thomas Keller • Chapter Three

Chef Thomas Keller Chapter Three

kitchen setup: essential ingredients

“Let’s talk a little about some of the ingredients that we

use to finish our recipes or our dishes with—things that
enhance not only from a flavor point of view, but from
a textural point of view.”

subchapters learn more

Essential Finishing Ingredients
chapter review
Salt and acid are essential in elevating flavors in
food. Oil is used in different ways—as cooking
medium (sautéing, frying, etc.), a functional ingre-
dient (adding oil to mayonnaise for an emulsion),
and a flavoring (extra virgin olive oil or nut oil for
finishing). But each category is a world unto itself.
Different kinds of salts have different tastes and
textures. Oils vary in their flavor and their smoke
point. Not all acids deliver the same bite. In this
guide to proper seasoning, Chef Keller discusses
key distinctions between utility salts and finishing
salts, cooking oils and seasoning oils, distilled
white vinegar and white wine vinegar, citrus juice,
and more. He also offers guidelines for how and
when to use each of these ingredients, with tips
on timing and technique that will help you elevate
your finished dish.
• Chef Keller’s position on the usage of pepper has
evolved, and he now advocates adding pepper
only when the flavor of pepper is actually de-
sired. He also recommends adding it only at the
finishing stage, so as not to diminish the flavor of
pepper with high heat.
• Purchase squeeze bottles for your cooking oils
and vinegars. Make sure to label each.
• For high heat, Chef Keller uses a plant-based
oil with a high smoke point and a neutral flavor
(e.g., grapeseed). Your budget and preferences
will dictate your choice of oil. Use this chart
comparing the smoke point of oils as a reference.

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Chef Thomas Keller Chapter Three

kitchen setup: essential ingredients

oil smoke point chart

Type of Fat Smoke Point Neutral?

Safflower Oil 510°F 256°c Yes

Rice Bran Oil 490°f 260°c Yes

Light/Refined Olive Oil 465°f 240°c Yes

Olive Pomace Oil 460°f 238°c Yes

Soybean Oil 450°f 230°c Yes

Peanut Oil 450°f 230°c Yes

Clarified Butter 450°f 230°c No

Corn Oil 450°f 230°c Yes

Sunflower Oil 440°f 225°c Yes

Vegetable Oil 400-450°f 205-230°c Yes

Beef Tallow 400°f 205°c No

Canola Oil 400°f 205°c Yes

Grapeseed Oil 390°f 195°c Yes

Pork Lard 370°f 185°c No

Avocado Oil 375-400°f 190-205°c No

Chicken Fat (Schmaltz) 375°f 190°c No

Duck Fat 375°f 190°c No

Vegetable Shortening 360°f 180°c Yes

Sesame Oil 350-410°f 175-210°c No

Butter 350°f 175°c No

Coconut Oil 350°f 175°c No

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 325-375°f 165-190°c No

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Chef Thomas Keller
kitchen setup: essential ingredients
assignments
• Begin a tasting notebook that you will use
throughout the class. For your first entry, taste-
test different utility salts such as kosher salt,
iodized table salt, and various granulated salts,
as well as finishing salts such as Maldon, fleur
de sel (both white and gris), Himalayan pink
salt, and Hawaiian black salt. There are literally
dozens of salts from around the world to choose
from, depending on your budget and their avail-
ability. Take notes on the flavor and texture of
each.
• Taste-test various vinegars, including cham-
pagne, white wine, red wine, sherry, and distilled
vinegars.
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Chapter Three
• Chef Keller explains that the olives in different
finishing olive oils are pressed at different stages.
Some oils made from still-green olives can be
spicy and peppery whereas oils from more ma-
ture olives can be sweeter. Taste-test various olive
oils and take notes on their flavor profiles.
• Compare two high-heat vegetable oils by exe-
cuting the same recipe with two different oils.
Make Chef Keller’s recipe for Sofritto on page
263 of Ad Hoc at Home, using canola oil for
one batch and extra virgin olive oil for the other.
Record the differences in flavor in your tasting
notebook.