Persistent culinary myths

RDM_83 again wrote: »

Isn't Paella one of those peasant dishes though where different regions have different types, or is this really a hard and fast rule?

Yeah I thought Paella is like irish Stew, every Spannish mama has a slightly different method.

duploelabs wrote: »

Well, Yes there are variations in the extra bits, chicken, rabbit, peas, snails, seafood, all regional variations. Then there are staples that make it standard throughout like rice, peppers, saffron, stock. And one of those staples is that it doesn't have chorizo in it.

So we are back to the poitin then.

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

Now that's a myth all right; it certainly won't test if bleach or blue bag have been added, or if it's been made in a lead-containing bathtub (all common causes of blindness, madness and death for poitín drinkers in the good old days).

StonyIron wrote: »

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

My da used to shake the bejasus out of cheap red wine, then decant it from a height into a jug. Saw a winemaker in Portugal doing the same! It oxidises the wine quickly and makes it tastier.

katemarch wrote: »

The Bitter White Pith myth.

I also read somewhere ages ago that citrus pith is a good source of some obscure B vitamin, but maybe that's a myth too.

Vitamin K, I was told - the one they give you in an injection after giving birth, to clot the blood faster. Haven't googled it, though, that's ancestral memory :pac:

Neyite wrote: »

One thing that I think is a sad side effect of best-before dates is that people are losing their ability to judge when food is still good or not.

So true. Gels nowadays don't know to wiggle a duckling's beak to make sure it's young and tender, or to tear a rabbit's ear for the same reason.

Tarzana2 wrote: »

I have never met a fresh egg that floated and I have done this a lot. (I crack the floaters to check) And none of the sinkers have ever been rotten. Works for me!

When I kept hens, that test worked. Wouldn't do it, though - washing the shells allows bacteria through. I break each egg into a cup as I go, then dump it into the dish being cooked or baked.

endacl wrote: »

That Brussels sprouts are nice.

It's in your genes: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077713/Its-genes-Scientists-brussel-new-research-love-hate-sprouts.html

I love them. I'm currently growing a kale-brussels-sprout cross which is reputedly delicious (but maybe not to people with the gene http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/12/04/brusselssprouts/)

I looove sprouts, which taste quite sweet to me.

Diamond Doll wrote: »

Never heard of the bread soda in cabbage water thing, what's it supposed to do?

As others have said, it was used to keep the cabbage green. In those days cabbage was boiled for an hour. Nowadays, when we cook it for 10 minutes or so, it stays green anyway.

Myself, I use the delicious water left after bacon-and-cabbage as a stock for the next day's lentil soup. Yum!

As for mushrooms, I reflexively peel them, having been told by a grower years ago that mushrooms (cultivated rather than wild) were treated with more insecticide than any other vegetable, lettuce coming a close second. Nowadays, with insecticides being systemic - throughout the whole plant rather than sprayed on the surface - I'm probably wasting my time, but still do it… Wild mushrooms I'd drop quickly into salty cold water and swoosh them around for a while in case they're hosting any extra… protein.

Two book recommendations: Darina Allen's Forgotten Skills of Cooking http://www.ballymaloeshop.ie/index.php/forgotten-skills-of-cooking-hardcover.html and Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1570618402

Qualitymark wrote: »

When I kept hens, that test worked. Wouldn't do it, though - washing the shells allows bacteria through. I break each egg into a cup as I go, then dump it into the dish being cooked or baked.

I only do the test when I'm using the eggs straight away, why would I do it then put them back in the fridge?

Qualitymark wrote: »

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-and-most-of-the-world-doesnt

I know that.

This is how it goes. I want to, say, make an omelette. I have eggs, I'm not sure if they're off. So I do the test. They pass, they get used immediately. I don't put them back in the fridge. They don't, they're chucked out. Bacteria will only build up if you do the test then don't use them straight away. And cooking properly will see to any bacteria that is there, unless it's a raw egg dish.

I'm not seeing your point at all.

rubadub wrote: »

I thought it was a great comparison, as would the shepherds's pie lamb/beef issue.

Shepard's pie doesn't have a lamb/beef issue.

Shepard's Pie is made with minced or shredded Lamb or mutton.

Cottage Pie is made with beef.

Whispered wrote: »

We gets eggs from my parents hens. They're so much nicer.

I'd love to try a freshly-laid egg. I don't think I've ever had one.

Actually, at the wedding venue I stayed in for my sister's wedding, they had their own hens, so I likely had freshly-laid or at least quite fresh eggs for my brekkie the next morning. Problem was, I was horrifically hungover/still slightly drunk and don't really remember them. :-/