Curious Cooktag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-868444475919296122011-08-27T05:48:00-07:00TypePadCuriousCookhttp://feedburner.google.comBending the rules on bacteria (New York Times)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b015434c6502f970c2011-08-27T05:48:00-07:002011-08-26T02:00:36-07:00PEPPERED as we are by government warnings about the potential health hazards of eating and drinking just about everything, it was refreshing (and perplexing) to see a widely respected food writer assert recently that “people are unnecessarily afraid of bacteria” in the kitchen. In April, Michael Ruhlman, author of “Ratio”...Harold McGeeCurious Cook in the New York Times: Survivalist bacteria and dealing safely with leftoverstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b015434c652a4970c2011-08-26T01:53:26-07:002011-08-26T01:53:26-07:00In this month's Curious Cook column in the New York Times, I write about dealing safely with leftovers. Last April, the noted food writer Michael Ruhlman suggested on Twitter and in his blog that many home cooks are unnecessarily afraid of bacteria, and that it’s okay to prepare a chicken...Harold McGeeIced coffee and tea: [not] taking the heat (NY Times)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b015390064591970b2011-07-26T17:46:32-07:002011-07-26T17:46:32-07:00ICED coffees and teas should be some of summer’s simplest pleasures, especially when we just steep them in cold tap water, with no kitchen heat and next to no effort. But if you make even a desultory search for advice on cold brewing, you may find yourself mopping your brow...Harold McGeeCurious Cook in the New York Times: Cold-brewed tea and coffeetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b0153900641ab970b2011-07-20T17:36:14-07:002011-07-20T17:36:14-07:00In this month's Curious Cook column, I write about making iced tea and coffee by preparing them with cold water instead of hot. Aficionados differ on the relative merits of cold- and hot-brewed drinks. Cold brewing does extract a different balance of flavors compared to a standard hot brew. If...Harold McGeeA hot-water bath for thawing meats (New York Times)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b014e8913bd76970d2011-06-11T17:07:35-07:002011-06-11T17:07:35-07:00EVEN in kitchens where fresh is king, the freezer remains a handy tool. There’s no easier way to deal with a bounty of meat from a big-box store or a butchering class or a C.S.A. share, or the haul from a fishing trip, or the unpredictable sighting of partridge and...Harold McGeeCurious Cook in the New York Times: Thawing meats in minutestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b014e88fa143d970d2011-06-07T16:56:52-07:002011-06-07T16:56:52-07:00In this Wednesday's Curious Cook column I write about using a pot of hot water to thaw steaks, chicken breasts, and fish in minutes, rather than the few hours required in cold water or the many hours in a refrigerator. According to recent research funded by the USDA, rapid thawing...Harold McGeeIn salts, a pinch of Bali or a dash of Spain (New York Times)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b01538e2a2c22970b2011-04-29T08:55:54-07:002011-04-29T08:57:27-07:00WHENEVER I’m flying home and the plane passes over the south end of San Francisco Bay, my eyes can’t linger long enough over its startling patches of orange and red. They’re sea salt ponds, cultivated to produce pure snow-white sodium chloride for industry and for the table. The colors in...Harold McGeeCurious Cook in the New York Times: The tastes of saltstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b015431f73216970c2011-04-27T16:35:20-07:002011-04-27T16:35:20-07:00In my first column of 2011 I write about the blizzard of specialty salts that now come our way from all over the world, and describe two recent academic studies that examine whether different salts actually do have distinctive tastes. A few additional points for which there wasn't room in...Harold McGeeA new start for Curious Cooktag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b01538e241f00970b2011-04-27T10:40:44-07:002011-04-28T10:52:25-07:00I've been mostly offline since the end of last year to take care of urgent family matters. It's been a long winter, and I'm very glad for the return of spring and all that it signifies. I've cleared out my backyard jungle and planted a garden. I'm writing again. I'm...Harold McGeetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b0147e24f3de2970b2011-02-04T17:57:10-08:002011-03-24T14:49:54-07:00Welcome! I write about the science of food and cooking: where our foods come from, what they are and what they're made of, and how cooking transforms them. On this site you can also find out about me, my books and my column in the New York Times, and the...Harold McGee