Kitchen Myths or Reality?
For years, there have been several kitchen myths, which we still follow. There are several website dedicated to find and inform the facts, some i found interesting to share it with you. If you know similar kitchen myths, please share it with us.
Searing meat seals in the juices
This old saw has been around for ages, probably because searing meat that will be stewed, roasted, etc. does indeed give much better results. It has nothing to do with sealing in the juices, however. Careful experiments were performed in which identical pieces of meat were cooked with and without searing. If searing did seal in juices, then the seared meat would lose a smaller percentage of its weight during cooking than the unseared piece. In actuality, both the seared and unseared meat lost about the same amount of weight.
Searing, or more specifically browning, is important because of the Maillard reaction. When the proteins and sugars in meat are exposed to high heat (searing) a large number of chemical reactions take place, resulting in the creation of lots of new flavor elements. It is these flavors, both in the browned surface of the meat and in any pan juices that result, that make searing such an important step in some recipes.
Source: On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, Simon & Schuster, 1984.
A box of baking soda in the fridge or freezer absorbs odors
This is a very clever and successful marketing ploy by the baking soda people, but the fact is that baking soda is very poor at absorbing odors. It seems to make sense, however, so lots of people have spent untold billions of dollars to put boxes of baking soda in their fridge or freezer to no effect. Activated charcoal would work much better but is expensive. Better to wrap your food and clean the fridge once in a while.
Source: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00388.htm
Use water instead of milk when making scrambled eggs and omelets
Some people will tell you that using milk when making scrambled eggs and omelets results in tough eggs - that you should use water instead. It’s puzzling how this myth continues to propagate because it is so easy to disprove for yourself. But if you require the pronouncement of some authority, tests by Cook’s Illustrated (the "America’s Test Kitchen" people) revealed that scrambled eggs made with water are less flavorful, do not fluff as well, and are not as soft as those made with milk. Cream is better still, but that’s another story!
By the way, this advice is for eggs cooked to be moist and creamy, the way they should be. I know some people prefer the dry, fluffy style but that’s another matter.
Source: The Best Recipe, Boston Common Press, 1999.
Sushi means raw fish
Many people think that "sushi" is synonymous with raw fish. Not so - the term actually refers to the vinegared rice. This is made by dissolving sugar in vinegar (usually rice vinegar) and tossing with the hot, just-cooked rice. Sushi therefore refers to vinegared rice served with other ingredients which may or may not include fish. The rice itself is referred to as shari. Raw fish served by itself without the rice is called sashimi.
Hot pan, cold oil
This mantra is repeated by many people as the best way to prevent food from sticking to the pan when sautéing or stir frying. The idea is that you heat up the pan first then add the cold oil and almost immediately add the food. This works of course, so it is not a myth in that it is untrue. It is, however, false to think that this is the only or the best way to prevent sticking. What you really want is "hot pan, hot oil" and that’s what you are actually getting because the cold oil heats up almost instantly when added to the hot pan. You’ll get the same results if you heat the oil along with the pan rather than adding the oil at the last minute. In fact some cooks prefer this technique because the appearance of the oil in the pan can give you some indication of when the pan has reached the proper temperature.
Gas stoves are better than electric
It’s become almost an article of faith that gas stoves are better than electric, and that any "serious" cook should aspire to owning one. This belief does not stand up to intelligent scrutiny, however. Gas stoves are fine, of course, but when comparing them to electric you will see that there’s no overall objective superiority
You cannot deep-fry in olive oil
Olive oil has a lower smoke point that most other oils and as a result many people think you cannot use it for deep frying. Balderdash! This would be news to many Italians including the famous TV chef Mario Batali. Olive oil’s smoke point is about 375of and most frying is done below that. Also, just because an oil smokes a little does not mean it is ruined. Using olive oil for deep frying is undoubtedly expensive. The least expensive olive oil is, in my experience, about twice the cost of other oils that are used for frying such as peanut or canola. Plus you should discard the oil after a single use because the low smoke point means that the oil degrades more during that first use. So, you may never actually want to use olive oil for deep frying, but it is most certainly possible - and can give terrific results for some recipes!
You cannot do serious cooking in a microwave
This is one of the very silliest myths but it refuses to die out. There are a lot of people who use their microwave for nothing but boiling water and reheating leftovers and they are really missing out on a lot. I suspect that this myth got its start when microwaves were a new tool and a lot of awful microwave recipe books were published. Some people tried to use their microwave as a general purpose stove and oven replacement rather than as a more specialized tool that is well suited for some jobs but not at all useful for others. For example you would not want to use a microwave for a roast beef, fried potatoes, or baking bread, but it works just great for things like rice, poached fish, and steamed veggies. I find it particularly handy for making polenta and risotto, with results that are every bit as good as the stovetop with much less work and worry. If you want to expand your microwave repertoire I highly recommend The Microwave Gourmet by Barbara Kafka. Another excellent book is The Moghul Microwave by Julie Sahni (Indian dishes).
Stock is made from bones, broth is made from meat
This old saw has been around for ages, and self-appointed experts love to bring it up to show how smart they are. Unfortunately for them it is not correct. You will see this distinction made in a few cookbooks, so it’s not a total fiction, but it is certainly not universally correct or accepted. I’ve seen other definitions as well, such as that stock is homemade and broth comes in a can, or that stock will gel when cooled but broth will not. And what would you call something made from meat and bones - stroth or brock, I suppose! In reality the terms are used interchangeably.
Never put bananas in the refrigerator - they’ll become inedible
The skins will darken, but refrigeration slows ripening of bananas the same as it does other fruits. The insides will be fine.
Source: Chiquita Banana web site and personal experience
You can’t make a good cup of tea in the microwave
Some people claim that you cannot make really good tea by boiling your cup of water in the microwave and then putting in the tea bag. The problem is that only the top layer of water is boiling - water in the lower part of the cup is not hot enough yet and so the tea will not infuse properly. Perhaps - but the problem is easily solved by letting the water boil for 5-10 seconds before removing it from the microwave and adding the tea bag. This ensures complete mixing and heating of the water and your tea will be just fine.
However, be aware of a potential safety issue. Water can get superheated in the microwave. In other words, its temperature goes above the boiling point but it does not actually boil. This is usually the result of using a container with a very smooth surface that lacks the minute rough spots that trigger boiling. When you then pop your teabag into the water it boils all at once and can leap out and burn you. Of course if you wait for the water to boil in the MW, as I have advised, this will not be a problem but you should be aware of it.
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