Ask Alton Brown How Food+Heat=Cooking 844
This week's Slashdot interview guest is Alton Brown, host of the popular cable TV show Good Eats. This is a "reader request" interview in the wake of the surprisingly popular Slashdot review of Alton's book, I'm Just Here for the Food. Please post your questions below. we'll send 10 of the highest-moderated to Alton, and post his answers when we get them back.
Iron Chef Showdown (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Iron Chef Showdown (Score:5, Funny)
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Alton. (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm rather tired of bowls of corn flakes.
Winmac.
Where do you get all the cool gadgets... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Where do you get all the cool gadgets... (Score:3, Informative)
From there there are different pages for various types of items, including cook/bake ware, everyday equip., etc.
Since www.goodeatsfanpage.com is going slow right now, you might try using this google search url (http://www.google.com/search?query=equipment%20s
Suggest a good recipe using an all beef hot dog. (Score:2, Interesting)
The Source... (Score:5, Interesting)
Other than your own cooking, what do you like? (Score:5, Interesting)
Mod this up! (Score:2)
Although if he's anything like most geeks,
He'll do a bunch of research before hand. If there was not time for that, I bet he'd simply ask around (thats how I found some great barbeque in Kansas city (not that thats hard, but the first two places I was "directed" to sucked.))
What are your favorite resteraunts? (Score:4, Interesting)
Reverse Cooking? (Score:2)
Re:Reverse Cooking? (Score:2)
Then you have another problem.. re-synthesizing complex sugars and proteins. Once heat destroys these, they are very difficult to re-assemble from component parts.. it's like tying to get a diamond changed back into a lump of coal.
Vortran out
Re:Reverse Cooking? (Score:3, Funny)
To be more precise - some chemical reactions just happen to require a lot of energy and atom-by-atom processing in order to be reversed.
You can, for instance, quite easily "uncook" a scrambled egg - by using a chicken as a bioreactor.
Simply cram lots of milk and scrambled eggs into the beak end of a chicken, wait a few weeks, and voila! Reconstructed egg proteins are extruded from the, uh... other end of the chicken.
(And what's even cooler, the reconstituted egg proteins are produced in ovoid-shaped calcium-based single-serving units. Much easier to handle than everything else that comes out of the business end of a chicken, lemme tell ya.)
Why are some people better Cooks? (Score:5, Interesting)
I've know several people that follow a recipe very exactly. The food they create just doesn't turn out very good.
Personally, I'll use a recipe as a guideline and use rough estimates. Most of the time, my meals turn out pretty well.
It's as if a intuitive sense is needed.
How does someone learn/teach this skill?
Re:Why are some people better Cooks? (Score:3, Informative)
Basically what you're attempting to do is called cognative skills transfer. It's no good transfering the rules of what to cook, you want to transfer the understanding of how you can combine various things, and how to anticipate what effect applying previously unknown combinations of ingredents and techniques work. Again, problem solving.
There's lots of literature on this subject about teaching people this - it's called "Cogantive Transfer". I recommend looking at some of the stuff by Richard E. Mayer - very interesting.
Re:Why are some people better Cooks? (Score:3, Interesting)
That's why B.B. King is a genius. Can you imagine anyone going up to him and saying, "Wow, that concert tonight was technically perfect!". Or, for that matter, "Man, you played fast tonight!" Not to detract from his technical abilities, but what matters is feeling. Call it soul, if you like -- it's the difference between B.B. King and legions of metal guitarists who can squeeze out 15 notes per second, but will never be musicians.
It's probably the same reason why my spaghetti bolognaise is, well, usually not much more than your average spaghetti bolognaise. Sure, I can cook; but I haven't rehearsed my cooking, and I don't have a cook's feel for the proportions and the mixing and whatever else an expert does. And an expert in any field, be it cooking or painting or music, is a joy to behold.
Along a similar line... (Score:4, Interesting)
If you could take one food to... (Score:2)
2) a Desert Island
3) Sally Struthers
Which would it be?
Salt.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Salt.... (Score:2)
Vegetarians (Score:5, Interesting)
I sort of compare it to Microsoft talking to a lot of my friends: there is a lot of misinformation out there, and you simply don't need to support a "big evil company" just like you don't need to eat the flesh of animals.
Mod this as you feel appropriate
Re:Vegetarians (Score:2, Funny)
(grinning, ducking, running)
Carrot Juice Is Murder! (Score:5, Funny)
Listen up brothers and sisters, come here my desperate tale.
I speak of our friends of nature, trapped in the dirt like a jail
Vegtables live in oppression, served on out tables each night
This killing of veggies is madness, I say we take up the fight
Salads are only for murderers, cole slaw's a fascist regime!
Don't think that they don't have feelings, just cause a radish can't scream.
I've heard the screams of the vegetables, watching their skins being peeled.
Grated and steamed with no mercy.. how do you think that feels?
Carrot juice constitutes murder.. greenhouses prisons for slaves!
It's time to stop all this gardening.. let's call a spade a spade.
...
I'm a political prisoner, trapped in a windowless cage
'Cause I stopped the slaughter of turnips, by killing five men in a rage
The Arrogant Worms [arrogant-worms.com]
Re:Vegetarians (Score:2)
think about it - the massive enslavement of several other species who don't even get to turn around in their stall, nor see the light of day their entire life... how is that any different from plugging someone into the matrix? (I guess there aren't expensive computer programs entertaining their brains).
Eat veggies - they don't have brains. If you're really concerned about killing living things, then only eat fruit after it's fallen from the tree. But this is really taking things a little too far though, after all many fruits have formed a sybiotic relationship with animals. Why do you think most fruit seeds are coated with sweet nutritious coatings? So that animals will pick them up and spread the seeds around. That's why cherries make you shit - it's their way of getting birds to make new cherry trees that don't have to compete for the same piece of land as the parent.
Re:Vegetarians (Score:2)
Yes you're right.. one does not need to eat the flesh of animals. It's kinda yucky and none too healthy.. but they're so TASTY!!
Vortan out
Re:Vegetarians (Score:5, Insightful)
As far as doing it for your own political desires, have at it. I find it curious that much of the vegetarian food industry is devoted to foodstuff that looks and tastes like meat. There's a biological desire there to use meat as a source of protein. And really on a buch of levels, nothing beats a good Ribeye. (blah blah blah, 6 lbs of grain and 88 million gallons of water to make that ribeye, blah blah blah)
That's not to say I don't also love a good vegetable curry now and then.
Re:Vegetarians (Score:4, Funny)
Economy Geek Food (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's what I want in a meal. If I'm like other geeks, and I think I am, they'll be interested too:
- Easy to prepare in bulk, hard to screw up
- Made from cheap ingredients I can purchase in bulk and that keep more-or-less indefinitely
- Leftovers are robust and reheatable in the microwave
- Healthy and tasty
My best recipe so far is two gallons of chili made in a big slow-cooker. Do you have any other suggestions?
Questions... (Score:3, Interesting)
Do you keep a database of your recipes or do you use the old fashion method of dead trees?
Junk Food (Score:3, Interesting)
Heat? (Score:2)
posting anonymously for obvious reasons (Score:5, Interesting)
I myself am a decent enough cook, however, I don't know how to teach her to cook, as I am a horrible teacher.
So, my question to you is this...
How can a pretty bad cook learn the essentials of good cooking?
Re:posting anonymously for obvious reasons (Score:3, Funny)
Differences in yeasts? (Score:4, Interesting)
How does he develop these methods? (Score:5, Interesting)
Back to the grill, he's removed one of the plates on the side of his grill and fitted it with a piece of tailpipe. Then, when he's grilling, he sticks a hair dryer in the tailpipe and uses it to whip the coals into an inferno. Which might explain why he gets his oven mitts from the hardware store in the form of welding gloves. When talking about ovens, he describes how he builds an oven out of firebricks, and how he uses a large terra cotta pot to cook a chicken in his oven. It's all in the name of even heat distribution. He's also not above rewiring his electric skillet to provide a greater range of temperatures. You know you've read something good when the author includes a mini-disclaimer to the effect of "if you try this at home kids, I and the publisher are not responsible."
Okay, well, he's apparently fairly cool.
As for the question: how does he come up with these rather novel cooking methods? Is it trial and error (and, if so, what errors)? Does he have any sort of physics background? Or does he just wake up at 2am and think what a wizard idea it would be to use a hair dryer as a catalyst for his cooking?
Recipes on foodtv.com (Score:4, Interesting)
First of all, thanks for a great cooking show. I've used ideas from many of them (such as quarry tile for a pizza oven), and when I'm not making up my own dishes, the recipes I use are almost always yours.
I've noticed what appear to be some discrepencies between the recipes listed on foodtv.com and the recipes which appear on the actual show. For the "Deep Purple" episode, you carefully noted that the parsely in the baba ghannouj recipe should be added at the very end, because chopping it too long would turn it bitter, but the online version just tosses it in with the rest. Similarly, the eggplant pasta recipe from that show seems to try to double the recipe, but the amount of some ingredients has not increased consistently. I know that doubling a recipe is non-linear, but I would have thought less basil would be used, not more. Finally, the "Herb Spread" recipe from "Good Milk Gone Bad" seems to have been completely altered, with the original spices listed as "an alternative" (though it would still include Worcestire sauce, which wasn't in the original). I've used the original version of that spread for 3 parties, and everyone has really liked it, so I don't see why that was done.
I saw your comments and addendum on the online recipe for pizza dough, so I was just wondering why the recipes are sometimes different from the shows.
Anyway, thanks again for a great show. I really hope to see more released on DVD (the current ones out aren't the ones I really want), or at least some older shows repeated on Food Network.
Re:Recipes on foodtv.com (Score:4, Informative)
I was just wondering why the recipes are sometimes different from the shows.
Probably for about the same reason my luggage ended up in Dallas the last time I went to Chicago. :)
In any case, you can get the show transcripts [goodeatsfanpage.com] from the Good Eats Fan Page, which include all of the text from the shows, including the correct version of stuff foodtv screwed up on the web site. I usually double-check the foodtv recipes against the transcript if there's any question in my mind that there might be something left out in the recipe.
Re:Recipes on foodtv.com (Score:3, Interesting)
The proper quote is "a pint is a pound the world around".
And, of course, it isn't. Don't be an idiot. But it works well for most fluids used in cooking, such as water and milk. Spot on? Of course not. But close enough.
More importantly, it's close enough so you can guesstimate just how heavy that 10 gallon jug of water is.
Of course, if you're cooking with mercury, we won't have to worry about answering your questions for long.
Re:Recipes on foodtv.com (Score:3, Insightful)
A pint's a pound the world around. A cup's a half pound. It's an approximation; a pint of pure water at standard temperature and pressure isn't exactly a pound, but it's close enough for many real-world purposes. When cooking, you can usually assume equivalence of weight of water/milk/cream/etc without having an error big enough to present a problem. It's often even close enough for oils. Next time you cook with mercury, count me out.
Sumner
Gizmos (Score:2, Interesting)
Small kitchen - what tools? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Small kitchen - what tools? (Score:5, Informative)
dirty pleasures .. ? (Score:5, Interesting)
Question (Score:2, Interesting)
Web site.. (Score:2)
Art vs. Science (Score:5, Interesting)
Knives (Score:2, Interesting)
One discussion I haven't seen: I consider the most important multitasker in my kitchen to be a knife, mainly my 8" chef's knife. What advice do you have for choosing a set of knives? Which knives do you consider the most important in food prep? Do you sharpen them yourself or have them sharpened at a shop?
Thank You
Chris
Re:Knives (Score:3)
Good question, but we only have 10, so let's ask something he hasen't covered.
Re:Knives (Score:2)
He did address this in a past show, but I forget which one. I didn't see it, but I did read the transcript at www.goodeatsfanclub.com.
For the record, here's what I remember from the episode: Choose a quality knife that feels comfortable to you. Hone them at home after each use (it actually straightens the blade, not sharpens it). Professionals send their knives out to be sharpened, and so should you.
Cancerous Carbs? (Score:4, Interesting)
Do you think this will affect your cooking recommendations in anyway?
What are your thoughts on MSG? (Score:5, Interesting)
Where is it approprate, and how might I use it best? Or why shouldn't I use it at all?
I'm not Alton, but... (Score:3, Informative)
IIRC, neuroscientists haven't yet figured out all of the different receptors in our mouths. The basic idea is that each one provides a benefit to survival: sweet = high carb, sour = citrus (?), bitter = poisonous, salt = need salt, umami = good protein source (?), etc.
BlackGriffen
IP (Score:2)
Resteraunts (Score:5, Interesting)
Iron Chef (Score:5, Interesting)
must have video! (Score:5, Interesting)
My question (Score:5, Interesting)
Elements of cooking (Score:5, Interesting)
I think that the most interesting part of your show to this audience is your emphasis on the science of cooking, from discussion of protein (such as in your angel foodcake episode and your recent souffle episode).
But the other difference in Good Eats is the great emphasis you place on the parts of cooking, that is the elements at a more abstract level, such as use of heat, individual ingredients (which is the topic of many of the shows) and methods of cooking (such as the right way to mix and fold).
This all makes Good Eats interesting for us geeks out there who want to understand the science, but also helps us non-cooking geeks become literate in the supermarket and kitchen.
What gave you the idea to present cooking in this way and do you have any suggestions for other resources that present food and food preparation in the same way?
- Serge Wroclawski
Heart attack by age 45... (Score:2, Interesting)
Many of your recipes tend to be a high in fat (for example, deep fried mac and cheese [foodtv.com]). How often do you eat food like that? Do you worry you'll die of a heart attack by age 45?
Thanks for the shows, I really enjoy them.
Where do you get you Scientific Info? (Score:5, Interesting)
Foods you *don't* like? (Score:5, Interesting)
Are there any specific foods, however, which you expressly *DO NOT* like? Where the preparation is particularly odious, or where the cooking itself is tedious, or where you just plain don't like the taste?
Basic skills and knowledge (Score:4, Interesting)
High Altitude (Score:2, Interesting)
As a big fan of yours, your show is a refreshing change from the same old shows on FoodTV. I really enjoy trying out your recipes and have had some great success. However, the problems arise when baking. Because I live in high-altitude (Boulder, CO) I have to adjust the temperatures and ingredient mixtures. There is an easy formula to follow and it works for most things, but not all. Your awesome recipe for a water-bake cheesecake has been a bit hit with my family and friends. The problem is, that I have to really tweak the cooking time and temperature to get it firm all the way through. On to my question...
What do you suggest for high-altitude recipes that don't include yeast, flour, or other dry baked goods (i.e. the cheesecake)?
Is it hard to be objective? (Score:5, Interesting)
Tech geeks are infamous for dealing with non-tech people with disdain, because we know (or think we know) so much about technology.
I have often wondered if this happens to chefs. When you go out to eat, do you overthink the food or are you able to just enjoy it? If something isn't quite perfect, do you find yourself thinking "They should have done this, or that". As your experience and tastes grow, do you find food to be less enjoyable and more work, or is it something that brings you continuous enjoyment?
And thanks for doing such a fantastic show, I liken it to the science show "Beakman's World" of several years ago.
responsibilities for promoting healthier eating (Score:4, Interesting)
As a popular TV chef who also tends to educate more than just throw food together, do you feel responsible to promote healthier eating? And I don't mean that "low fat" nonsense which you yourself point out is bollocks in your book, but things like avoiding the foods that we tend to over-eat nowadays because they are so tasty and cheaply produced? (eg, sugar, HFCS, white flours, etc, all that stuff devoid of any nutrional value).
Cheers,
Coolfish (Sushi, if you will
10 Most Essential Cooking Tools (Score:2, Interesting)
Heck, what are the ten things that should be in my fridge and pantry at all times?
Already online! Re:10 Most Essential Cooking Tools (Score:4, Informative)
You should check out "Alton's Essential Elements" [altonbrown.com] from his web page, which is his top 25 kitchen tools. It includes a lot of the ever-famous tools from the show, including the Lodge cast iron skillet and the probe thermometer.
Other science / tech interests besides Food? (Score:2)
Effects of Diet on Flavor (Score:2)
Anthropologists working with communities that practice cannibalism have reported that individuals can more-or-less peg a persons origin based on how they taste - presumably through their diet.
How much variation in flavor can you get in chicken, beef, etc. just through the animals diet?
Additionally, what is it in the makeup of the meat that makes the smell so distinctive. What makes beef taste like beef and chicken like chicken? I would think that beef flavored chicken would be quite a hit for the environment.
Your website (Score:2)
Technical questions (Score:5, Interesting)
I had a technical question, we always see these shots coming out of refrigerators and ovens. Do you actually have little windows in the back of your appliances or are those props built up for the shows? I always assumed they were props but you never know. Also, is that really your house you shoot in? I love the Magritte hate with chicken painting.
Eating.. how much, how often? (Score:5, Interesting)
What's your take... how often do you eat a day, or do you not "plan" eating, and just eat whenever hungry or at non-structured intervals?
Campfire Cooking (Score:5, Interesting)
I just came back from a trip in the great hinterlands of Minnesota, so this question is spawned from recent culinary experience:
If you were sent out to the middle of nowhere and had some time to prepare for the trip, what sorts of equipment would you take along and what dishes would you prepare? For the sake of keeping it simple, let's say you had to cook a brekfast and dinner over a campfire. What would you make to really wow your fellow campers using as few ingredients and as little equpiment as possible?
Thank you,
-AP
Cooktops, ovens, etc. (Score:5, Interesting)
Lower Fat and Cholesterol? (Score:5, Interesting)
I applaud episodes like "Good Milk Gone Bad" and "The Other Red Meat" that focus on lower fat and cholesterol foods. But many of your recipes call for butter, oil, cream, and other less than healthful foods (even bacon grease!). What do you think about some of the substitutes out there, or using ingredients like applesauce to replace butter?
Thank You
Chris
Re:Lower Fat and Cholesterol? (Score:4, Insightful)
Read Alton's book, he talks about different fats and cholesterol, and notes just how silly and misguided current low-fat trends are.
Cooking In Lava (Score:5, Interesting)
Now... on to, perhaps, one of the more unusual questions you might receive. This question deals directly with how heat affects food.
Specifically... I live on the slopes of an active volcano. One of the things we like to do for fun is cook game hen and pork loins in the hot lava itself. First, let me describe our process, and then our question.
To cook a game hen we first season and then wrap the hen in about 10 Ti (or banana) leaves. These protect the hen from actually burning.
Next we find an active surface breakout of lava. We use a shovel (we also are wearing kevlar gloves that can withstand 2000 degrees of heat) and get a good shovel full of red lava. We place this on the ground a distance from the flow. We then position the Ti-wrapped hen in the middle of the blob of lava and cover it with another shovel full of lava. We try to leave a small opening to the Ti leaves, for steam to escape (or we can potentially have a steam explosion).
Now, the question. The lava is initially at 2000 degrees when we start cooking. After about 15 minutes it has cooled to around 850 degrees (outside of the rock - we read this using an infrared pyrometer). After about 45 minutes the outside is about 450 degrees. At that point we hit the rock with the shovel to open it. Only a few of the Ti leaves will remain uncharred. We remove those and the hen is then very moist and delicious.
How is it possible, using a heat source at 2000 degrees (that granted, gets cooler over time) that it still takes 45 minutes to cook the game hen? We would have thought that the cooking would have been near instantanous - but repeated experiments at various lengths of time reveal that it takes exactly as long in the lava, as in an oven.
If you would like to view pictures of this process... click here [dolphinbayhotel.com].
Aloha
Homebrew! (Score:5, Interesting)
Can you please say a few things about how you feel about beer: drinking it, cooking with it, brewing it yourself?
("Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.")
Many of the questions so far can be found at... (Score:5, Informative)
Many of the answers to some of the questions asked so far can be found at www.altonbrown.com [altonbrown.com] and also at (especially check the FAQS on this site). [goodeatsfanpage.com]
I mention this because I'd like to see slashdot add to the internet's collective pool of Alton Brown knowledge, not repeat stuff that we already known.
production of show (Score:5, Interesting)
Your show seems to have production values similar to other cooking shows, but I get the impression that the same, ah, practical approach you have to cooking was taken to production. ("Ok, this is just him and some camera guy in his home kitchen.")
How many people does it actually take to produce Good Eats, how much money is that, and who exactly owns and runs which parts of that operation?
Boiling water (Score:5, Interesting)
I think this is the kind of question Alton loves to answer.
Recipes always call for you to boil cold water. I'm too impatient for that. I like to start with hot water. I can imagine that an old water heater would let the water sit there for a while, and might get extra "junk" in it. I bet newer ones circulate the water better. Plus, I'm boiling the friggin water anyway. There's not going to be any live bacteria in it.
Can I please continue to boil hot water?
PS. I still want to see you do a standing back flip like Jamie Oliver.
Equipment (Score:5, Interesting)
Good Eats Production & the Future of Good Eats (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm convinced your show, Good Eats, is one of the best things on television. I was hoping you could tell us more about how you got the idea to shoot a show in the first place, how you decided to put a scientific slant on things, and where you would like to take Good Eats in the future?
Thank you,
-AP
Cooking with Smoke (Score:5, Interesting)
For instance, why do smoked meats stay moist and tender instead of drying out? Why do smoked meats have a pink color near the surface - almost appearing uncooked? Is cooking with smoke really carcinogenous?
The State of Food (Score:3, Interesting)
I have three questions.
I learned a long time ago that I enjoyed cooking more than anything else. Part of that is that, being a geek, I live in a digital world, and the analog act of cooking is very soothing. While I will complain loudly at standing in a line longer than ten minutes, I've often spent HOURS on my feet in the kitchen cooking for holidays, and went to bed that night blissfully calm.
In the US today, with rampant McCuisine and dual income families, the concept of cooking has been shoved to the back burner, so to speak. Eating is something you do, not something you enjoy. Even worse, good food is, for many, something you go get, not something you do in your own kitchen.
So, riddle me these questions three...
1) What can be done about the dumbing down of american cuisine? Your show is a spectacular start, but there simply arent enough of them. You actually make other shows irrelevant. I'm no longer content to see the "How" without also getting the "why?" Short of "Good Eats 2", what can be done to teach americans what good food is?
2) You're living the life I'd kill for. You were a Video guy who left to go to culinary school. I'm a web guy who would give anything to do the same, if I could figure out how to pay the mortgage and feed the three kids in the interim. I have taken the path of self education. Your book is, quite honestly, a textbook that should be required reading for anyone who wants to cook. I'm waiting for my copy of McGee's On Food And Cooking [amazon.com], what other resources do you recommend for someone who is very serious about culinary education, but doesn't have the resources for an immersive culinary school?
3) Your equipment recommendations, so far, have been dead on. My Magnum pepper mill is a dream, My lodge cast iron has a seasoning my grandmother would have been jealous of, and Spring loaded tongs have been a fixture in my kitchen since before you did your PBS shows. But I have yet to find a source for your Jomac gloves, and I am still patiently waiting for the Plunger and Plunger Junior to go on sale at Your Site [altonbrown.com]. Hook a brother up, to steal a Nicholson line, "Where does he get these wonderful toys."?
Oh, and I'll slide in one more question. What subjects are on tap for next season?
American Cuisine (Score:4, Interesting)
1. The post-Prohibition recovery of American viticulture, and the general improvement of wine quality in general; (no more Ripple!)
2. I can buy morels, prosciutto, tomatillos, good bread, taro root, radicchio, and organ meats in my local grocery store;
3. 'Asian Cuisine' no longer implies Mai-Tai's with little umbrellas served in a coconut shell;
4. The Food Network;
5. Williams-Sonoma is in every metro area of 100,000 or more, it seems. Yes, it's pretentious and expensive - but it's there.
6. Microbreweries.
'Dumbed down'? No. American cuisine is now at its most brilliant - and it's getting better.
Herbs & Spices (Score:4, Interesting)
There has been an amazing improvement in everything I cook. Everything from McCormick really is bland dust next to its Penzeys equivalent. (No, I have no affiliation of any sort with Penzeys, just a recent convert).
So where do you go for your dried herbs and spices? Better yet, where do you recommend your viewers & readers buy reasonably priced quality herbs and spices?
Thanks!
Next Book? (Score:4, Interesting)
Maybe after reading a book like that, and I'm Just Here for the Food, I'll have learned enough to know that I know nothing. Only then will I be able to snatch a pebble from Julia Child's hand.
BTW, great TV show, great book!
Questions on sauces... (Score:5, Interesting)
1. When trying to pan-fry things, the books recommend leaving the food in place without moving for a few minutes to develop the fond. Unfortunatly for me, I always end up with burnt bits and an hour of scrubbing my All-Clad pots. For poaching, it's recommended to cook in liquid at the target temperature, because then the food will never overcook. Can you do the same thing for pan frying, or will you never develop a fond? Or to put it another way (aka the geeky slashdot way,) what's the magic temperature for the Maillard reaction?
2. Because I'm a typical indentured serf with long work hours, I cook enough food on the weekends that I can bring my dinners to work and microwave them. But I'm having problems with Roux-based sauces, as after a night in the refrigerator, they turn to gelatenous blobs instead of creamy sauces (This may be a result of using home-made chicken stock.) What's the best way to reconstitute a sauce?
Anthony Bourdain (Score:4, Interesting)
Your expanding middle... (Score:5, Interesting)
Safe Cooking Temps (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/ham.htm
states that "cook-before-eating hams must reach 160 F to be safely cooked before serving." I know those bad boys have been salt cured but I would still be worried about trichinosis. Your "done" temperatures for meat are often lower than what the food safety people would have them be. This is a long winded way of asking "What is your approach to food safety?" You look pretty healthy to me so I'll assume you know something those government fussbudgets don't but I'd feel better about trying out some of your recipes if I knew what that was.
Your Previous Experiments (Score:5, Interesting)
In the interest of comedy and safety could you tell us of some of your experiments that didn't quite make it to the screen or page?
Food technology (Score:3, Informative)
seeing as this is a science and technology related site, I figured I'd try to relate my questions to this topic. Ok, so here goes.
I know that's technically two questions, but they're kinda related. Also, thanks for having such a great show, I have learned a lot from you, and look forward to reading your book!
Would you do the show in High-Definition? (Score:3, Interesting)
I have a High-Definition system and love it, but there's one thing missing - an HD cooking show. You really seem to be into having a show that looks different than all the other cooking shows. Any possibility of making at least one demo show in HD? Marc Cuban's HD-NET [hd.net] would show it.
Most Memorable Mistake? (Score:3, Interesting)
What are the most memorable accidents, or acts of blatant stupidity, that you've seen or taken part in during cooking?
Gravy? (Score:3, Interesting)
What, exactly, is the science and process behind making good and wholesome gravy?
Seriously, Alton - my wife yesterday, when I mentioned that this was going to be an "Ask /." interview, told me that she wanted to pay YOU $1000.00 (US) to come over to our house to teach her how to make gravy. I am almost ready to front that amount, too.
It seems like every time we have tried to make gravy, it either never thickens, or we get paste. It seems like a simple thing to do - leave some pan drippings (and the grungy gunk too - flavor bits!), add a tiny bit of flour, mix and brown to create a nice roue (or however that is spelled), then add some milk, and perhaps a little more flour to thicken (salt, pepper, and spicing to taste).
I think we managed ONCE to create a real gravy.
So Alton, my question is:
HOW DO YOU MAKE GRAVY???!!!
Kitchen disasters (Score:3, Interesting)
"Seasoned" pans (Score:3, Interesting)
My wife is a wonderful woman, but has a phobia about cast iron pans. I cannot seem to convince her to let a cast iron pan "season" like it is supposed to. I scrub it out with kosher salt as you are supposed to, but she insists on putting that sucker in the sink and scrubbing it with a Brillo pad to get it "clean"...totally ruining the seasoning.
What can you say to her to convince her that a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan is healthy?
Re:Utensiles (Score:3, Interesting)
I've just graduated from college and have moved out into an apartment. I really want to take the time to cook good food, but I don't have all the equipment. I'm also nearly broke paying back my college loans. I've put away $300 to start building my dream kitchen. What do you recommend I purchase so that I can make some good eats? I already have the stove and microwave. What else?