Random Food Questions Thread

[Mblova]

Originally Posted by KJT

Are you looking primarily for recipes or for technique?

Both would be fine.

Originally Posted by foodguy

what kind of food do you want to cook? there are a few cookbooks available these days.

Anything really. I'm open to different types of suggestions. Everything but Indian food.

 

[Alter]

Originally Posted by Mblova

Both would be fine.



Anything really. I'm open to different types of suggestions. Everything but Indian food.

I bought Cooking by James Peterson based on recommendations on this forum and was not disappointed at all. An excellent book.

 

[foodguy]

almost every cuisine and part of the meal imaginable has a specialist or 12 these days. Without knowing what kind of food you like, good general recommendations would be Jim Petersons' Food (cited already), the chez panisse series, Deborah Madison (ostensibly vegetarian, but delicious), i still like joy of cooking (75th anniversary edition is good), the gourmet cookbook is good, if you're of a particular bent, cook's illustrated's books (they put the anal back in analytical), mark bittman's how to cook everything is surprisingly good, and, of course, somehow still in print, "how to read a french fry" (about how cooking works) and "how to pick a peach" about fruits and vegetables and where they come from.

 

[Johnny_5]

What is so special about heirloom tomatoes? Had some over the past couple of days and am not getting it.

 

[why]

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

What is so special about heirloom tomatoes? Had some over the past couple of days and am not getting it.
Crappy tomatoes are crappy regardless of the variety. 'Heirloom' is such an annoying marketing moniker and is mostly meaningless. It stems from referring to older tomato varieties before they were bred into what is now considered the standard tomato. Older tomato plants from continental Europe were vastly different from standard tomatoes, and as such these varieties should look different, taste different, be different sizes, different textures, differences in structure, etc. Most 'heirloom' tomatoes sold are the beefsteak variety, which due to their lower moisture and greater amount of flesh they're great for mixing with something like feta cheese which can't absorb the extra moisture from a better boy or other standard variety. I have a few different varieties in my garden right now, including some really prolific lower-acid yellow tomatoes, and some prehistoric-looking beefsteaks.

 

[Jekyll]

Picked up some veal shanks. Anyone know a good ossobuco recipe?

 

[hendrix]

this has probably been asked before, but why do frozen veggies have so little flavour?

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by hendrix

this has probably been asked before, but why do frozen veggies have so little flavour?

Frozen veggies are generally picked at the peak point of flavor and then flash frozen to preserve as much of that as possible. Are you cooking the **** out of them?

 

[hendrix]

no, i chuck them in 3 mins before my meal is finished cooking.

I know they have the same or more nutrients than fresh, but they definitely have less flavour.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Maybe it has something to do with destruction of cell walls due to freezing and a resulting bad texture. Texture is the main issue for me with these abominations.

 

[hendrix]

hmmm the texture is certainly not as nice as fresh but i'm pretty sure there's also a distinct absence of flavour.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by hendrix

hmmm the texture is certainly not as nice as fresh but i'm pretty sure there's also a distinct absence of flavour.

Putting any food item through extreme temperatures (cold or hot) will alter the flavor. Sometimes something good happens (maillard reaction), sometimes not so good things happen (most frozen veggies).

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by hendrix

hmmm the texture is certainly not as nice as fresh but i'm pretty sure there's also a distinct absence of flavour.
How do you know that you aren't just buying ****** vegetables that were then frozen. They might be just as bad fresh as they are now.

 

[hendrix]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

Putting any food item through extreme temperatures (cold or hot) will alter the flavor. Sometimes something good happens (maillard reaction), sometimes not so good things happen (most frozen veggies).
i don't think this is true for freezing. Proteins form to their lowest possible energy state, therefore freezing wouldn't denature them i'd imagine. the cell wall destruction is likely due to the frozen water structures breaking the cell walls. In other words, physical damage but i don't think there'd be any chemical change.

Originally Posted by iammatt

How do you know that you aren't just buying ****** vegetables that were then frozen. They might be just as bad fresh as they are now.
yeah i thought of this, it's possible. On the packet it says "made in New Zealand from local and imported ingredients'. Most local veggies are really good though. hmmm.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by hendrix

i don't think this is true for freezing. Proteins form to their lowest possible energy state, therefore freezing wouldn't denature them i'd imagine. the cell wall destruction is likely due to the frozen water structures breaking the cell walls. In other words, physical damage but i don't think there'd be any chemical change.
Yeah. I gotz nothing in the way of scientific data. But in my personal opinion and experience, freezing vegetables makes them taste different. I understand the scientific argument behind the texture, and it's absolutely true. But I find that flavor changes as well. As always, people are free and encouraged to tell me I'm full of ****.