Is there a name for the technique of turning an ingredient into a homogeneous mass, and then molding it back into its original shape, or the shape of a less-processed form of that ingredient? Examples:
- Pringles are made by turning potatoes (and some wheat) into powder, and then molding them back into a shape of a potato that was sliced up and fried.
- The McRib consists of homogeneous meat that's been shaped to resemble a more natural configuration of meat.
- Harvest Snaps are peas that have been turned to powder and then pressed back into the shape of a fresh pea pod.
Bonus Question: All the examples I can think of are industrially processed food. Are there any traditional or home recipes that use a similar technique?
Best Answer
Reformed
This is most often used to describe meat products such as "reformed ham" or "reformed scampi". You can occasionally see onion rings made with chopped onion described as reformed, e.g. here.
Pringles could be described as "reformed potato snacks" for example. Pringles are less than half potato though, so that may not be entirely accurate.
As for doing this at home, it's common to bake a potato, scoop the potato from the skin, mash it up with some seasonings and then put it back in the skin, thereby reforming the potato.