COOKING TIP: Debunking Food Myths

POTATO added to a TOO SALTY SOUP or STEW will NOT make the soup or stew less salty. This is a popular, but incorrect, piece of kitchen lore.

SEARING MEAT, despite popular thought, DOES NOT seal in thejuices. It does, however, caramelize juices on the outside of the meat, which makes it taste better and gives a delicious crust. If searing sealed the surface of the meat, the inside juices would reach the boiling point, boil and would “burst” through the sealed crust. This does not happen because the surface of meat is porous, allowing moisture to escape, whether the meat surface is seared or not.

WASHING MUSHROOMS: Contrary to popular belief, mushrooms CAN be washed to remove sand and dirt before they are used. A quick wash just before use will provide clean mushrooms for your recipe. 

NEVER PUT BANANAS IN THE REFRIGERATOR? NOT TRUE! If you have extra bananas that you are afraid that you can’t use before they get all brown and overripe, wrap each one tightly, in plastic wrap and refrigerate. While the skin may get some brown spotting, the flesh will darken a little but the flesh will, essentially, remain in the state it was when the fruit was put into the refrigerator for, at least, eight days (I have done this) and, perhaps, even two weeks.

ADDING BUTTER TO OIL improves flavor but it DOES NOT, as is commonly believed, increase the smoking point of the butter.

Contrary to what is claimed by many food writers, BAMBOO SKEWERS soaked in water before use burn just as quickly as those used dry.

DON'T SALT BEANS BEFORE COOKING. WRONG! Beans soaked in room temperature, salted water (3 Tbsp salt/ 4 quarts water) for 8-24 hours, when drained, rinsed and cooked by slow simmering will be creamy and have tender skins.

STRONG, SHARP FLAVORED LEAFY GREENS - collard, mustard, turnip and dandelion - should only be boiled quickly in NON - SALTED water since steaming or cooking with salt will increase the bitter flavor of these greens. Salt, to taste, after cooking.

 FOOD TRIVIA: How Food Expressions became Part of out Language

Roman soldiers were paid, in part, by being given SALT, which in those days was a highly prized commodity used for trading. Thus, a soldier who was, "NOT WORTH HIS SALT     " was a worthless warrior.

PEACH  MELBA a dessert combining poached peaches in a raspberry sauce was invented by Chef Auguste Escoffier in 1892 at the Savoy Hotel, London  for Nellie Melba, the famous Australian  opera singer performing at the Covent Gardens Opera House. He also prepared MELBA TOAST, a thinly sliced, toasted piece of bread, for her to eat as a light meal, when she became ill at the hotel.

POUND CAKE. originally when it was baked, weighed four pounds. However, its individual ingredients were measured in pounds, as well; one pound each, flour, butter, sugar and eggs.  Using the traditional four pound ingredient  measurements, it  made a cake possible to serve many persons, hence the name, POUND CAKE.

GERMAN CHOCLATE CAKE is a layered chocolate cake, filled with and topped by a coconut-pecan frosting, that has nothing to do with the country of Germany. It was made in the United States and was named after the English-American chocolate maker, Samuel German,, working for The Baker Chocolate Company, who developed a formulation for a dark (not sweet) baking chocolate that became used in the recipe.

HOTDISH, a term originating in the Midwest United States, refers to a hot, comforting dish often served at social gatherings or community events. It differs from the French word CASSEROLE which  refers to a dish with layers, cooked in a large, deep pan and which has been a staple in French cuisine for centuries. HOTDISH has a significant Scandinavian influence, being brought to the United States by Swedish, Norwegian and Danish immigrant's and is similar to dishes from these countries called, "varmett" or "varmatt",dishes, which translates to "hot" or "warm" dishes.. They differ from French casseroles which involve multiple cooking methods, e.g.., browning meat and/or cooking vegetable, separately, before combining in the cooking vessel; whereas HOTDISH involves cooking ALL ingredients in a vessel at the same time, often with minimal preparation and served from the same cooking dish. YOU BETCHA!

FRENCH FRIES origin are disputed between France and Belgium but the evidence favors Belgium, where, in 1680. at  Namur, a town 39 miles from Brussels, the inhabitants used to fry river fish from the banks of the Meuse river. However, one winter froze the river making fish unavailable. Therefore, they cut potatoes, in wedges, and fried them in fat as a substitute for their fried fish. This tradition remained and when American soldiers, in World War II passed through Belgium, they got to know them.  Because the soldiers got to eat them in the French speaking part of Belgium, they assumes that they were of French origin. When the soldiers returned home, they still called deep fried potato wedges  or strips French Fries and in the United States, they are still referred to as French Fries.

"GONE TO POT" an expression meaning of no use as a thing or a person, comes from the 15th century, before refrigeration was available, to cuts of fresh meat that were nearing the end of being edible. They  would be cut into small  pieces and put into a stew pot. In those days, a stew pot was always kept    bubbling, by being  hung near the fireplace in which food was cooked. Things such as old cuts of meat, vegetables drying out, game birds or rabbits which were in danger of spoiling, were "GONE TO POT".to be cooked. If you were invited to dinner, you took " POT LUCK" and  hoped that you would be eating new food items that had" GONE TO POT", recently, rather than  having only food that had been in the pot cooking  for some time. Remember the old nursery rhyme,, "Pease Porridge hot, Pease Porridge cold, Pease Porridge in the pot nine days old". A reference to the above!