Though I may not be a professional in the culinary arts, I`d like to think that as a former fat guy, I may know a thing or three about food. Between having a deep love for flavor and a home-experimental attitude, I have come to understand just a bit about food as more than just fuel. With that in mind, let us open this section up for your questions. Whether it be on cooking, tools of the trade, or just a recommendation of what goes good with what, fire away! All I ask is that we keep this section banter-free. It is for reference afterall!! Happy Eating!!!
Heres ya a question. Whenever I make protein bars I cant seem to make them very solid. They usually break apart pretty easily. I want the consistency of a protein bar you buy, but with the macros of one you make.
That's a very good question, and it's one that I've been struggling to figure out for a while now. Usually, in most "bars", there is some sort of a binding agent that holds it all together. Corn syrup is often something that is used because it will semi-solidify once the cooking process is over. Add too much and it becomes brittle; too little and it is goo. It's a great binding agent, but not great on the macros front. Peanut butter, on the other hand, may work a bit better to bind. But unless you mix in a good dry ingredient like whole oats or rice crisps, there's not a lot for it to attach to. Depending on the PB itself, it can get either runny, or not come together at all after cooling. Another version that I tried to make was more of a cookie consistency than a granola bar consistency. The problem here is that when protein is put into the batter, it has the tendency to get "gummy". My first crack at protein brownies turned out to be rubbery on day 1, and hockey pucks thereafter. Unfortunately, it's a biggy that I'm still working on and have yet to come up with a good solution to. You had to go and ask the one impossible question right off the bat, didn't ya?!? Perhaps with a bit more time, tinkering, and our collective knowledge, we can come up with a solution to this. Share with me via e-mail sometime what ingredients you are working with and we can see if we can't come up with a decent solution. Thanks, Nate! :thumbsup:
