What is Gulab Jamun?
Gulab Jamun, a quintessential Indian dessert, is a delicacy that delights with its melt-in-your-mouth texture and indulgent sweetness. Made from kneaded milk solids (khoya or mawa) mixed with a touch of flour and baking powder, the dough is shaped into small balls and deep-fried until golden brown. These golden orbs are then soaked in a fragrant sugar syrup infused with cardamom, rose water, and sometimes saffron, imparting a heavenly aroma and a syrupy sweetness to each bite. Whether enjoyed warm or at room temperature, Gulab Jamun is a festive treat often served during celebrations, weddings, and special occasions, symbolizing joy, love, and togetherness in every delectable bite.
What does Gulab Jamun Taste Like?
Sweet is one of the five main tastes. It has smooth and round notes in its flavor profile. Sweet is a naturally occurring flavor in many foods, including fruits, berries, winter squashes, sugarcane, and honey. The sweet taste in these foods is due to a higher sugar content. Sweetness is characteristic of desserts and is used as an accent in savory foods.
Ingredients
Sugar comes from sugar cane and sugar beets. The sugar is extracted from the juice of both plants and refined into the granulated substance known as sugar. Sucrose, the sweet substance of sugar is a combination of glucose and fructose. White sugar is composed of tiny white, dry granules. The flavor is sweet and neutral. Brown sugar is brown and has more moisture, with a richer flavor that hints at molasses. Sugar is used in both sweet and savory foods.
Milk powder, also called dried milk, is made by evaporating the milk until it is dry, via various processes. Powdered milk has a long shelf life and does not need refrigeration. The powder is soft and cream colored and can be used in exactly the same way that regular milk is used for cooking and baking. It is not generally used as a drink.
Water is a substance and chemical compound made up of hydrogen and oxygen. It is clear, fluid, flavorless and odorless. Water is a necessity in nearly every aspect of life, including cooking, baking and hydrating the human body. Water can be served as a cold beverage, or at any temperature comfortable to the mouth and skin.
Vegetable oil is obtained by extracting oil from seeds. Types of vegetable oil include canola, sunflower, corn, and safflower. Light and with a neutral taste, vegetable oils are used to fry foods, or can be used to lightly coat meats and vegetables before roasting. Vegetable oils are also used as ingredients in salad dressings and sauces.
Milk is almost always sourced come from cows. Sometimes sheep, goat, yak and water buffalo milk are used. In general, store bough milk comes from a cow, unless specified otherwise. Whole milk is white, or cream colored and has a higher fat content than skim milk and therefore a creamier and richer texture and flavor. The flavor is mild and bland with a hint of savory sweetness and is satisfying, especially due to its creaminess. Milk is served as a beverage and used in a multitude of dishes both sweet and savory.
All purpose flour comes from wheat and though wheat is cultivated all around the world today, it was first cultivated in Turkey 10,000 years ago. All purpose flour is white in color and has a soft texture. This incredibly versatile flour is used in everything from breads, cakes, pastries, crackers, pasta, sauces and much more because of its pleasing and mild flavor that is slightly nutty and buttery. The gluten protein is what helps hold together breads and other products, part of what makes all purpose wheat flour so popular.
Lemon juice is made from the flesh of the pulpy yellow lemon fruit. The juice is squeezed from the flesh of the lemon and is a pale yellow color. The flavor is very sour and bright. Lemon juice is used in multiple cuisines around the world to brighten and enhance the flavors of the other ingredients. Lemon juice is used to make lemonade and goes well on fish. It has many uses.
The seeds of the cardamom plant are used in Indian cuisines for both savory and sweet dishes. The seeds grow in a small green pod, roughly the size of an oblong blueberry with pointed ends. The pod has a hard shell, with small pinhead-sized seeds inside that are dark or light brown. These seeds are ground into a fine powder and this is the part used in food. The flavor is almost minty, herbal, spicy and sweet. A little goes a long way in any dish.
Baking powder is a fine, white, powdery substance with a neutral smell and a very bland taste. It is an acid and used to instantly leaven baked goods. It reacts when it touches moisture and differs from yeast because of its instant leavening reaction. Baking powder is primarily used in flour-based baked goods to help cakes and cookies rise. Baking powder can be found in many non-yeast baked goods.
