Persistent culinary myths

Mellor

the beer revolu wrote: »

OK, mostly just my pedantic opinions rather than myth busting but I like the thread idea.

Maybe mostly opinion rather myth, but this one deserves seconded from me

Pork must be cooked until it's dry and tasteless.

+1
The idea that pork must be fully cooked is a myth.
It was encouraged in the past as a means to kill parasitic worms (Trichinella spiralis) found in pigs (and other animals). Pork itself is fine to eat medium-rare, If the worms aren't present there's no need to overcook it. With modern farming, the Trichinella spiralis parasite is extremely rare. They've tracked the occurrence of the parasite in the US for 60+ years. Number have fallen form 400/year (1950) to 12/year (2001). That's about 1 case for every 10 million pigs.

Even here in Australia the myth of persists, dispite the fact Trichinellosis Spiralis has never been present here. But people simply brought the myth with them when they arrived - admittedly, me included.

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

Myth: Steaks shouldn't have much fat on them and should be almost completely lean.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone suggest that tbh.
I'd assume that the idea that marbling/fat = flavour is widely accepted.

rubadub wrote: »

That boiling stuff with alcohol for a few minutes magically boils or "burns" off ALL the alcohol.

I used to think the same about lighting shots. That it's wasting alcohol.
Until I seen the label for a liqueur called GletscherEis. It gave estimated alcohol content based on time alight. I've was shocked at how long it took to have a significant impact.

You determine the strength – the original is 50% vol.

After 3 minutes on fire – 45% vol.
After 5 minutes on fire – 42% vol.
After 10 minutes on fire – 33% vol.

stmol32

the beer revolu wrote: »

Cornflour is a suitable thickener for a stew. Nope.

Surely it does!?!
Can you explain a bit please (if only to get the thread off the pasta war:)).

the beer revolu

stmol32 wrote: »

Surely it does!?!
Can you explain a bit please (if only to get the thread off the pasta war:)).

It gives a gloopy texture like that of a bad Chinese take away. I really dislike it.
Stews should be thickened with flour at the beginning or a roux later on or just by reducing to the required consistency.
I think that thickening a stew with cornflour is a lazy shortcut that gives poor results.

I also think that a lot of people add too much liquid to their stews and then over thicken them.

Thud

Mellor wrote: »

I used to think the same about lighting shots. That it's wasting alcohol.
Until I seen the label for a liqueur called GletscherEis. It gave estimated alcohol content based on time alight. I've was shocked at how long it took to have a significant impact.

I remember seeing a test to see how good a poteen was, was to light a spoonful of it, if it left any residue or coloured residue it was bad, a clean spoon was good. That stuff burned off quickly but it would have had a much higher % alcohol than normal spirits

Mellor

Thud wrote: »

I remember seeing a test to see how good a poteen was, was to light a spoonful of it, if it left any residue or coloured residue it was bad, a clean spoon was good. That stuff burned off quickly but it would have had a much higher % alcohol than normal spirits

In that case I'd imagine it's burning with a larger, hotter flame. As its higher alcohol.
But alcohol in food is watered down a lot, it could need hours to simmer out.

the beer revolu

Food that has been defrosted cannot be refrozen.

garbeth

Have never need to thicken an irish stew. I do a one pot stew, cook meat onions and one potatoe cubed for 40 minutes add the potatoes and then after ten minutes add the veg 20 minutes later remove the potatoes reduce the heat and add oxtail soup

Have never added cornflour to stew. Have added it to sauces but would slake it first take a few tablespoons of water or juice and dissolve the cornflour in it.

Other receipes Ive used has the nested dusted in flour to thicken the sauce

duploelabs

Best before and Use by are the same thing

BaZmO*

duploelabs wrote: »

Best before and Use by are the same thing

Is that a myth though?

L1011

BaZmO* wrote: »

Is that a myth though?

Lots of people do seem to assume that Best Before, Use By and Sell By are identical. When they're vastly different.

kylith

BaZmO* wrote: »

Is that a myth though?

Best before means that it's at its best before that date; you can get up to a week after that date when it's fine.

Use by means that you must use it by that date.

StonyIron

Minder wrote: »

Adding oil to pasta water to prevent sticking. Debunked. A waste of good oil.

It does however act as defoamer that prevents the foamy water from boiling out of the pot.

Koptain Liverpool

The whole argument about oil in pasta water has not addressed the most important point!!!!!!!

Adding oil to the water can help avoid pasta sticking together but no more so than using a pan with enough water and stirring it properly.

The main drawback of adding oil to water is that it means the sauce will not bind properly to the pasta afterwards.

That´s why Italians don´t do it......

SpaceRocket

kenco wrote: »

Where to start! So much nonsense prescribed around meat and fish and the healthiest way to cook them....

My fav however is washing the bejaysus out of Mushrooms....

Is this not the done thing anymore? I always wash the mud off my mushrooms, I'm afraid of eating some sort of parasite or worm...

BaZmO*

kylith wrote: »

Best before means that it's at its best before that date; you can get up to a week after that date when it's fine.

Use by means that you must use it by that date.

I know the difference, I was just questioning the idea that it was a myth.

Spanish Eyes

Sweating the veg is mandatory for a bog standard vegetable soup.

kylith

BaZmO* wrote: »

I know the difference, I was just questioning the idea that it was a myth.

The myth is that they're the same thing, I know people who do believe that.

StonyIron

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

The whole argument about oil in pasta water has not addressed the most important point!!!!!!!

Adding oil to the water can help avoid pasta sticking together but no more so than using a pan with enough water and stirring it properly.

The main drawback of adding oil to water is that it means the sauce will not bind properly to the pasta afterwards.

That´s why Italians don´t do it......

You can add a few drops of oil to strained pasta to prevent it sticking though. Adding it to the water won't so much though other than kill the bubbles.

StonyIron

There's a myth out there that you don't need to preheat fan ovens too!

You absolutely do, unless you want half cooked food. They can take 15 Mins to reach temperature on some models!

TheChizler

That leaving open food cans in the fridge will give you botulism.

And the MSG is bad one that someone else mentioned. It can actually help you reduce your salt intake if used as an alternative flavoring.

The best by/use by one is a favourite of mine.

Oh, and that if there's any she'll or dirt in egg whites that they won't foam when you whip them. Maybe before electric whisks it was harder but these days people rarely whisk egg whites by hand.

Mellor

the beer revolu wrote: »

Food that has been defrosted cannot be refrozen.

Can't believe I forgot that one.

garbeth wrote: »

Have never need to thicken an irish stew. I do a one pot stew, cook meat onions and one potatoe cubed for 40 minutes add the potatoes and then after ten minutes add the veg 20 minutes later remove the potatoes reduce the heat and add oxtail soup

You never thicken soup. Are you sure?
Check the ingredient on the oxtail. Most likely the main one is some sort of flour-starch blend.

kylith wrote: »

Best before means that it's at its best before that date; you can get up to a week after that date when it's fine.

Use by means that you must use it by that date.

I'm aware that the two aren't the identical. Best before is generally for pantry items, that will have a long shelf life and a few days/weeks past a 3 year shelf will make no odds.
Use by is generally for fresh items, where they they can be more accurate with when it will go off. meats, milk etc.

That said, I'm sure you can find manufacturers that use them interchangeable. If I see raw chicken from two brands, one using BB and the other using UB, I'm gonna they means the same thing. I wouldn't give BB more time than the other.

(That said, I'll go over the use by date often if the meats stored well and I think it still ok - lean meats keep better)

StonyIron wrote: »

There's a myth out there that you don't need to preheat fan ovens too!

You absolutely do, unless you want half cooked food. They can take 15 Mins to reach temperature on some models!

Not preheating an oven doesn't give you half cooked food. It just means it'll take a bit longer in there. Some foods it'll effect the cooking (roasts, bread etc,) some foods it won't.

Faith

Some posts on this thread are skating dangerously close to being food safety advice. Please don't do that .

Minder

The myth that everyone should drink 8 glasses of water a day to sustain hydration. The colour of what comes out is a far better indicator of hydration than the quantity of what goes in.

Another culinary myth is that adding salt to boiling water reduces the temperature at which the water boils and so speeds up the cooking. Technically, yes, this is true. But the amount of salt required to appreciably reduce the temperature is so large, any food added to the water would be inedible.

Markcheese

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Sweating the veg is mandatory for a bog standard vegetable soup.

Isn't it ?? I mean yeah you could just boil the veg but I always sweat them down first-

Mellor

Minder wrote: »

Another culinary myth is that adding salt to boiling water reduces the temperature at which the water boils and so speeds up the cooking. Technically, yes, this is true. But the amount of salt required to appreciably reduce the temperature is so large, any food added to the water would be inedible.

Salt increases the temp. (reducing would mean it takes longer to cook)
But you are right in the rest, you need something like 50g per litre to raise the boiling point by 1 degree Celsius

StonyIron

Red wine should never be chilled.
You can actually do whatever you like with it!

Jawgap

StonyIron wrote: »

Red wine should never be chilled.
You can actually do whatever you like with it!

Slightly below room temp was the advice I was always given.

Another tip was to put it outside on the kitchen step for an hour before serving......although I know someone who does the opposite and sits it on the radiator!

rubadub

kylith wrote: »

Best before means that it's at its best before that date; you can get up to a week after that date when it's fine.

Some products would be grand years after the BB date. People in the beer forum would be drinking 10 year old beers. In the 80's I never saw BB dates on tinned food, it's sterile, some guy ate 50 year old canned chicken a few years back and scientists were confirming its fine.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1509920/Chicken-tastes-supreme-after-50-years-in-a-tin.html

"If the canning is done properly, all the microbes that cause food to deteriorate are removed, so the food could last for ever," said Prof John Mitchell, of Nottingham university.

Canned Food UK, the representative body for manufacturers, also said canned food could be preserved "indefinitely", as long as there were no dents to the tin. "There is no risk that the food is unsuitable for consumption after the sell-by date as long as the container is intact," said Steve Thomas, the organisation's chairman.
"A can was recovered 10 years ago from Captain Scott's travels to Antarctica, and it was still deemed safe."

In cases like this BB dates are really a marketing tool which force retailers to have higher stock turnover, not have old faded labels with old logos etc.

I knew a woman who would throw out tinned food the moment it was past the BB date, as though overnight it magically turned totally toxic.

kylith

rubadub wrote: »

Some products would be grand years after the BB date. People in the beer forum would be drinking 10 year old beers. In the 80's I never saw BB dates on tinned food, it's sterile, some guy ate 50 year old canned chicken a few years back and scientists were confirming its fine.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1509920/Chicken-tastes-supreme-after-50-years-in-a-tin.html



In cases like this BB dates are really a marketing tool which force retailers to have higher stock turnover, not have old faded labels with old logos etc.

I knew a woman who would throw out tinned food the moment it was past the BB date, as though overnight it magically turned totally toxic.

I always go by the sight/smell test: is it mouldy? does it smell ok? If there's nothing growing on it and it smells fine then it's fine.

My ex was one of those people who'd chuck perfectly fine milk down the drain as soon as the BB date was up, used to drive me mad.

TheChizler

rubadub wrote: »

I knew a woman who would throw out tinned food the moment it was past the BB date, as though overnight it magically turned totally toxic.

GF's mother does this with food she buys fresh but freezes, still goes by the original BB date. Why she freezes it I don't know...