A Smorgasbord Of Food Links

Brian — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:42:34 +0000

I have to admit that I do not follow Harold McGee’s posts in the New York Times Food section, even though he is probably the most important food writer going. For those of you who aren’t clued in, McGee wrote the ne plus ultra book on food science, On Food And Cooking, dispelling generations-worth of handed-down cooking lore and legend in favor of actual scientific explanation of how cooking works in terms of chemistry and physics. You can think of him as sort of the Ultimate Mythbuster of Food. So, I completely missed this post from all the way back in February ’09, wherein McGee explains that the traditional method of cooking pasta in vast amounts of water is completely unnecessary. McGee determined that you could cook an entire pound of spaghetti in as little as 1 1/2 quarts of water (as opposed to the traditional 4-6 quarts). And he didn’t wait for the water to come to a rolling boil either; he put the pasta directly in the cold water. The total cooking time was about 18-20 minutes, but that is directly comparable to the amount of time it takes to bring water to a boil AND cook the pasta in boiling water. Because the pasta needs more stirring in this method to prevent sticking, it may not be as useful to the multitasking chef, but for someone cooking a pot of spaghetti at home it is a perfectly reasonable way to work, and he says the resulting cooking water is even better for using in pasta dishes than the more diluted traditional version. Thanks a ton to Lifehacker for bringing this to everyone’s attention.

Raye’s Mustard is a product made in Eastport, Maine that probably most people outside of Maine have never heard of. In fact, I’d wager most people inside of Maine haven’t heard of it either, even though it has been around for a long time. Apparently Martha Stewart “discovered” it not too long ago (Martha owns an island off the coast of Maine and spends a lot of time there…it probably reminds her of her days in the pokey), and she still has enough juice with the foodie crowd to bump a product. This morning there’s a post on The Atlantic’s food blog by Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig, also singing its praises, so I guess it’s as good a time as any to get in on the bandwagon. Weinzweig writes about how the Rayes produce the mustard using an actual stone mill, the last of its kind in the U.S. You might remember this post I wrote back at the end of 2008 reporting the end of traditional mustard making in Dijon, which helps underscore what marvelous things traditional handmade food products like Raye’s Mustard really are. (Unsurprisingly, Zingerman’s does indeed sell Raye’s, in case you were wondering)

Among the glut of “Best Of The Decade” articles that have inundated us all these last several weeks, Fast Company (of all places) had a post summing up what it called the “Eight Biggest Kitchen Innovations of the 2000s”. Now, usually Fast Company is more interested in social networking, green technology, and other buzzword-of-the-minute flimflammery, but that drew my attention. Sadly, the piece is one of those annoying “slideshows” that makes you reload the page every time you advance forward (all the better to collect ad revenue, my dear), and the resulting text is a little slim but here is my neat little summary list for you and some personal opinionating to go with:

The turbo-oven — Yes, that thing Starbucks uses to overcook your breakfast sandwich. I’m not sure you’ll find too many $8000 turbo-ovens in home kitchens yet, but the professional models are showing up in all sorts of smaller restaurant situations that would never have sprung for the big convection ovens heavy-duty kitchens have.
Vacuum sealers — Those crappy things you see on infomercials have been upgraded quite a bit in recent times. The one in the FC post is a deluxe model (natch), but a basic one can be had for about $100 according to this site. I have to say I might actually buy one of these.
FreshDirect.com — A-ha! FC shows its true colors by naming a website as a “kitchen innovation”. This is a New York City-only service that lets insufferable New York foodies feel superior and sanctimonious about buying “fresh and local” produce. What bullshit!
Home Molecular Gastronomy — Oh, please.
Vorwerk Thermomix — a German-made überappliance that blends, steams, boils, grates, whisks, kneads, chops and has a built-in food scale all for only $1400! And you have to buy it from a Canadian website! Could it get any more trendy?!?!?! Foodies will LOVE it! WARNING: If you actually buy one of these, Alton Brown will personally come to your house and bitch-slap you.
Microplane Grater — At last, an actual kitchen tool worth talking about! The fine-rasp grater was a HUGE sensation when it came out, and rightly so. This guy is the ultimate grater for Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, lemon zest, or anything else you want finely grated. I have a couple of larger-grate Microplanes as well, but this one is truly indispensible. Good call!
Epicurious iPhone App — More electronica, but this one is actually pretty handy because it builds shopping lists and has a metric buttload of recipes to choose from. I don’t know if the recent demise of Gourmet magazine will doom this or not. Also, not really an “innovation”, as recipe software has let you make shopping lists for eons, but a very good portable app for the gadget-loving cook (ahem!).
Tabletop Sous Vide — Professional kitchens ADORE sous-vide (but only in places where local food ordinances haven’t banned it), and if this came down a few notches in price it might catch on with home cooks, too.

But Does He Have A Closet Full Of Junk?

Brian — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:42:51 +0000

Given the 20th Century’s propensity to turn everything into a science, it is nothing short of a wonder that Harold McGee’s definitive book on food science, “On Food And Cooking”, came along so late. The first edition of his book, which is now THE go-to reference book for anything involving food was first published in 1984. The most recent edition was the 20th anniversary edition in 2004, but, in fact, McGee never stops doing his research. The New York Times Dining section today has a nice profile of Harold McGee, who, despite his universally-recognized authority, is not himself a well-known figure (in fact, I think this article has the ONLY photograph I have ever seen of McGee).

Because he made a conscious decision not to simply accept the accumulated wisdom of thousands of years of cookery and to analyze every step of the cooking process, not only did he clear up many misconceptions about how cooking works (most notably the cherished rubric that searing meat “seals in the juices”), but he also develops improved methods: the article takes advantage of Thanksgiving season to quote him as saying that brining a turkey (a fad of the last 10 years or so) does not produce anything except wet turkey, and that air-drying the bird (in the fridge, of course) then using a high roasting temperature (as recommended by Barbara Kafka) produces juicier meat flavored by the turkey’s own natural juices. The article then goes on to explain his improved method for making pastry crust, which involves rolling the flour and butter together, not cutting in the butter, and then spraying in the water with a misting squirt bottle.

I’m not roasting a whole turkey this week, but I probably will try out his pie crust. I tried reading his book when I was at cooking school and found it too dry to just read straight through, but it’s an indispensable resource that every serious cook should have and use.

BrianKaneOnline » Harold McGee

A Smorgasbord Of Food Links

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But Does He Have A Closet Full Of Junk?

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