Curious Cook tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-86844447591929612 2012-09-13T08:58:11-07:00 TypePad CuriousCookhttp://feedburner.google.com Caramelization: new science, new possibilities tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b016305be1506970d 2012-09-13T08:58:11-07:00 2012-09-12T23:00:58-07:00 For me, the epitome of stovetop alchemy is making caramel from table sugar. You start with refined sucrose, pure crystalline sweetness, put it in a pan by itself, and turn on the heat. When the sugar rises above 320°F/160°C, the solid crystals begin to melt together into a colorless syrup.... Harold McGee Peeling fresh fava beans with ease (and soda) tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b0167683f36c1970b 2012-07-19T12:12:32-07:00 2012-07-19T12:10:31-07:00 A few weeks ago Evan Kleiman of KCRW's Good Food tweeted me a question from one of her listeners: why did the cooking water for a batch of garden green beans turn pink? Not knowing for sure, I guessed that the color came from early stages of the browning discoloration... Harold McGee Sugar from the garden tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b016766b1bf1f970b 2012-06-21T11:14:04-07:00 2012-06-21T11:08:07-07:00 While browsing among the vegetable starts at a nursery in Santa Cruz last year, I came across a flat of sugar beets. I'd never tasted sugar beets before. They're a special variety of Beta vulgaris bred for sugar production, with none of the colorful pigments of vegetable beets that would... Harold McGee Back into the garden tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b016300fbefd9970d 2012-05-01T20:30:00-07:00 2012-05-01T19:48:57-07:00 Digging up a long-neglected corner of my San Francisco garden a few weeks ago, I came across what look like the skeleton bulbs of garlic or some other lily relative, the skins and flesh gone, only the reinforcing cellulose fibers left behind. They reminded me of a garden find I... Harold McGee Bending the rules on bacteria (New York Times) tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b015434c6502f970c 2011-08-27T05:48:00-07:00 2011-08-26T02:00:36-07:00 PEPPERED 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 McGee Curious Cook in the New York Times: Survivalist bacteria and dealing safely with leftovers tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b015434c652a4970c 2011-08-26T01:53:26-07:00 2011-08-26T01:53:26-07:00 In 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 McGee Iced coffee and tea: [not] taking the heat (NY Times) tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b015390064591970b 2011-07-26T17:46:32-07:00 2011-07-26T17:46:32-07:00 ICED 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 McGee Curious Cook in the New York Times: Cold-brewed tea and coffee tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b0153900641ab970b 2011-07-20T17:36:14-07:00 2011-07-20T17:36:14-07:00 In 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 McGee A hot-water bath for thawing meats (New York Times) tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b014e8913bd76970d 2011-06-11T17:07:35-07:00 2011-06-11T17:07:35-07:00 EVEN 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 McGee Curious Cook in the New York Times: Thawing meats in minutes tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0133f5708090970b014e88fa143d970d 2011-06-07T16:56:52-07:00 2011-06-07T16:56:52-07:00 In 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 McGee