Read the selection and answer the questions that follow: Tip: Since the assessment is not timed, take as much time as you need to read each passage. Each passage may have one or more questions. A helpful strategy is to focus on the opening and ending sentences of each paragraph to identify the main idea. Another strategy is to look for key words or phrases within the passage that indicate the author's purpose or the meaning.  Reduction  Reducing liquids is a fundamental culinary skill that any aspiring chef or cook must include in his or her repertoire. A reduction, in short, is a process... Show more

Read the selection and answer the questions that follow:

Tip: Since the assessment is not timed, take as much time as you need to read each passage. Each passage may have one or more questions. A helpful strategy is to focus on the opening and ending sentences of each paragraph to identify the main idea. Another strategy is to look for key words or phrases within the passage that indicate the author's purpose or the meaning. 

Reduction 

Reducing liquids is a fundamental culinary skill that any aspiring chef or cook must include in his or her repertoire. A reduction, in short, is a process whereby a given liquid is slowly simmered until its volume diminishes. This diminution causes the flavors of the reduced liquid to intensify and sometimes sweeten. The ability to perform effective reductions is integral because recipes ranging from simple sauces to desserts may call for reductions. Learning how to perform a reduction is perhaps best demonstrated through the classic reduction called for in the recipe for chicken Marsala. Prior to making the Marsala reduction in a chicken Marsala dish, one should dredge thin chicken breasts in flour and fry the breasts over medium heat until browned. Once the chicken has been browned, remove the chicken and set it aside. Two tablespoons of butter should be melted over medium heat in the same pan in which the chicken was browned. When the butter is melted, one cup of Marsala wine should be added to pan and heated until simmering (lightly boiling). The wine and butter should be allowed to boil down from approximately one cup to approximately one-half cup. When the sauce has reduced, one-half cup of chicken stock and the browned chicken breasts should be added to the mixture. The sauce should be brought back to a simmer and reduced by half (this should take approximately ten to fifteen minutes). When the sauce has reduced by half, it should be thick enough to adhere to the chicken. At this point, it is ready to serve. The reduction that occurs in the above chicken Marsala recipe is fairly typical of reductions. Whether one is reducing the volume of chicken stock for a soup, or reducing balsamic vinegar or wine, the procedure is essentially the same: simmer the liquid until its volume reduces to the point where it changes the sauce's consistency. While reductions are fairly straightforward, there are some pitfalls in the process. One common mistake that people make is over boiling the sauce. If a sauce is boiled too vigorously it may scorch, which will impart a burnt, acrid taste to the sauce. Another common mistake is adding thickening agents to the sauce because the reduction is not occurring fast enough. Adding starches to the sauce to force it to thicken it will not bring out the same intensity of flavor that a reduction produces. It may also make the final sauce thick and lumpy.

The process for making a reduction is simple, but it must be followed closely if one wants his or her sauce to be palatable.

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