Cooking myths

Bonus points if it's one that professional chefs still believe.

>searing seals in the juices
>you should only flip once
>the alcohol all cooks off
>stirring a pot makes it heat slower
>deseeding peppers takes the heat away
>you shouldn't salt eggs before cooking them
>a huge pot of water is better for pasta

Other urls found in this thread:

thekitchn.com/does-searing-meat-really-seal-in-the-juices-food-science-218211
amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_searing_seals_in_juices.html
youtube.com/watch?v=MXYDJ-F3938
youtube.com/watch?v=fxipEj0aOIM&t=0s
youtu.be/j9tIJqUI7Lk
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin#Natural_function
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

I've heard all of these from TV personalities and professionals, fairly recently. Are they really all false?

1st one makes sense, Maillard reaction doesn't really form a barrier, it just concentrates fluids

2 never made sense to me

3 I always heard that MOST of the alchohol cooks off, which is technically true

4 Never heard that one, makes no sense, in fact I feel like the opposite is true

5 Yeah probably false

6 entirely a matter of opinion for how you like eggs, IMO

7 could go either way on, I imagine its just that more water requires more energy to bring to a boil so by time you drop the pasta into a larger pot shit is roaring

>a huge pot of water is better for pasta
Well the system should react slower to temperature changes?

>>the alcohol all cooks off
The alcohol does mostly cook off

>removing the seeds from peppers takes away the heat
The seeds have the highest concentration of capsaicin, so yeah, a seedless pepper won't be AS hot.

So it's indeed a myth

more of semantic argument, the amount left is negligible

Eh the deseeding thing works for jalapeños. I made two batches of jalapeño lime cranberry sauce, one with seeds, one without. I forgot to deseed the first batch. Side by side the one with seeds was hotter. Weighed all ingredients (in anal about consistency when experimenting with recipes) so they were in perfect proportion.

There is no capsaicin in the seeds. It's in the pith that the seeds are attached to

>cold water boils faster

OK

has someone actually said that?

I've seen it posted many times

I've heard it before

I think Alton covered it too

but Mythbusters debunked it

>don't add salt to dry beans until they're finished cooking because it makes them tough.

This is one I hear from the celebrity chefs all the time and simply proves their ignorance. No scientific basis whatsoever.

literally all of those are true

>searing seals in the juices
true
>you should only flip once
completely irrelevant
>the alcohol all cooks off
amount of alcohol drops sharply in the beginning and approaches zero, but residue is left, always
>stirring a pot makes it heat slower
fucking nonsense. heat transfer should ideally be constant, but the contact surface needs to be kept unburnt so this advice is broscience tier bullshit
>deseeding peppers takes the heat away
it takes the seeds away. that's all.
>you shouldn't salt eggs before cooking them
bullshit
>a huge pot of water is better for pasta
depends. if you're boiling say.. fusilli or something like that it does help to keep a running boil, but if you're doing minimal water closed pan style it's absolutely irrelevant.

>>searing seals in the juices
>true

Nope. Searing creates the malliard reaction which tastes good. It does nothing whatsoever to "Seal in" juices. It does the opposite, in fact.

thekitchn.com/does-searing-meat-really-seal-in-the-juices-food-science-218211

amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_searing_seals_in_juices.html

well i guess i've been living a lie then lol

I think this one comes from how people were told to use cold water for cooking, even to boil things, because old water heater systems would have a bunch of unwanted dissolved solids (including lead) so the cold water was safer and tasted better. I don't think this is a problem with anything younger than like 50 years old though.

>You can't ever check on [delicate risen baked dish] while it's baking, or it won't rise properly

>I might add, any serious steak griller can tell you that as the meat approaches medium rare, juices start pooling on the surface, sear or no sear.
i'm by no means a serious steak griller, but seeing liquid seep out of meat during heating is the sign for me to stop immediately and plate

I have certainly heard that. But how do you get from "cold water tastes better" or "cold water is safer" to "cold water boils faster". There's a huge leap there.

Twice boiled water is bad:
youtube.com/watch?v=MXYDJ-F3938

perhaps if you consistently use hot water with sediments inside they will collect to the bottom and cause slower heating. idk. just an idea

This is true though

it heats up faster when its colder
but as it warms up that rate slows down

THUS if your water is cold, then the difference in temp is greater and it will take longer to boil.
/autism

>I always heard that MOST of the alchohol cooks off, which is technically true
All depends on surface area. A 10% smaller pot will retain 80% more alcohol, or something like that, really big difference.
youtube.com/watch?v=fxipEj0aOIM&t=0s

The amount negligible is more than enough to fuck you the hell up if you happen to be on anerobic antibiotics

I speak from experience

>it heats up faster when its colder
>but as it warms up that rate slows down
so what you are saying is that the thermodynamic laws are not correct

no. completely fuckin wrong. use google fuckin autist.

not an argument

water molecules change their physical properties depending on the temperature of the system? ok. shiggydiggy mcfuckyourself idiot

nice statement
still waiting for an argument though

Use fuckin google. I don't have to argue facts.

t. retard

What the hell is wrong with you people / this person

Yes, heat transfer to a cold pot is going to be faster, but guess what - eventually the cold pot will have heated up to match the other one, and then they both gain energy at the same rate because they are identical!
This process takes time, however, so obviously the cold pot will be slower.

I know I'm talking to a toddler but stop fouling up the thread.

Cooking Myth: All acidic marinades tenderize meat.

that's what a phase change is buddy

we're talking about heating liquid water, not phase changes.

buddy

The hot water would heat up by 1 degree slower than colder water would heat up by 1 degree because it will be

>Evaporating more water at a higher temp, which means more heat loss
>Radiating more heat, proportional to temperature to the 4th power
>Conducting more heat away with the surrounding air as well as through the walls of the pot

Colder water has less heat loss so it will warm up faster, especially if it's temperature is below room temp, but even if it's above room temp.

...

heat transfer from heating pad to water is constant for every incremental degree change in water temperature at constant pressure and constant volume. the changes in aforementioned is negligible in 99.99% cases so no user, you're completely full of shit and need to go back to school and learn physics.

i think you're actually retarded and not baiting

They do though

Until it gets to the same temperature as the other water, then the rate of heating is the same.

The argument was whether or not colder water heats up at a faster rate than hotter water. They weren't discussing which comes to a boil quicker. You clearly didn't read my post because I said for a change of 1 degree (pick your unit), colder water will do it in less time.

Water undergoes a phase change when heated though

so if you start to heat a pot of water thats at 0C at the same time as a pot of water that is at 10C, the pot that started at 0 C will reach a boil first?

Anyone arguing for cold water boiling faster, why don't you just go read a couple of the hundred or so articles about it instead of digging yourself into a hole of stupid?

no. the one at 10C will reach a boil first.

also. water at 0C is not water, but ice. that will require additional energy for a phase change, but this is completely irrelevant to the topic right now

>no. the one at 10C will reach a boil first.

that was my point all along you daft cunt. I never denied that cold water heated faster.

not an argument

>The hot water would heat up by 1 degree slower than colder water would heat up by 1 degree because it will be
this is you? if so, you're officially retarded

The answer to your argument is in every article and experiment done on this dumb myth

nope lol

I'm the guy that talked about the 1 degree incremental change stuff (not the one you've mostly been arguing with). Can you debunk my claim? I've provided ample evidence based on 3 different physical phenomena, and you've just called me a retard.

but you should flip a steak only once
not to preserve juices or whatever, but because more than one flip means you either aren't getting a nice crust on it or you're over cooking it

>this much autism
Everyone knows this, but please tell us your method for cleaning the pith off chili seeds.

What are you on about? I was responding to the completely false statement that seeds contain the highest concentration of capsaicin. If you want to get rid of the heat, you get rid of the pith (not just the seeds) and that will probably include you scraping out the seeds as well.

>Everyone knows this
Apparently not.

Ok I ask again, what is your method for cleaning the pith off the seeds? Because twice now you've suggested removing the seeds is dumb since, "it's not the seeds guys, it's just the pith :^)"

Steak crusts are overrated. And that myth refers to tons of types of foods. I've seen people say it for steak, eggs, chicken, hamburgers, etc. The list is endless and is honestly the worst fucking advice you could give a new cook. Terrible blanket statement.

I believe you're the one with autism

>twice now you've suggested removing the seeds is dumb

But they didn't, they've just stated facts. If being presented with reality feels like an insult, I think that's on you.

>I have no answer
I'm sorry that you thought you were clever bringing up a well known semantic and now feel silly being called out on it, it's not the end of the world.

let's put his feelings aside and discuss pith removal

She looked cute until I recognized her shitty nosering.
Also it's no big suprise alcohol vaporates faster in a larger pen considering that it's hotplate is also larger so you apply more energy to it.

...

the guy in the video doesn't do it quite right but when mastered this technique is quick and leaves the pith behind instead of on the pepper slices
youtu.be/j9tIJqUI7Lk

>the alcohol all cooks off
you can do that, most just don't cook it long enough
what annoys me more are people who bring this up because very few say it ALL cooks off, they simply say it cooks off because it's insignificant that it doesn't ALL cook off
Similar nitpicking bullshit with the seeding of peppers, but a slightly more valid.

these are also bell peppers, not hot peppers

also, seeds of hot peppers do contain heat, just not as much as the pith, so removing just the seeds and leaving all of the pith will still be removing some of the heat

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin#Natural_function
>The seeds themselves do not produce any capsaicin, although the highest concentration of capsaicin can be found in the white pith of the inner wall, where the seeds are attached.

Isn't flipping stuff too often akin to pressing burgers on the grill? Something to do with losing juices?

The really amazing thing is ignoring these "truisms" doesn't help you cook better, yet generates an incredible amount of meaningless yes/no positions in this thread.

Gotta love Veeky Forums.

This is more of a science-based thread than a cooking improvement thread. At least that's what people are attempting to do anyway.

Use refrigerated rice to make fried rice.

I thought this was true? Doesn't the starch convert to a different form as it cools after being cooked?

>haha ya these are totally dumb
>no one would actually think these are real haHAA

Biased liberal media

>Biased liberal media
Trump literally hired the person who started a media company that shilled him for the duration of his campaign.

Pussy. You work front of the house, don't you.

What does this have to do with trump

No, you can have water at 0° and ice at 0°. It's called the heat of melting (or vaporization)
At 0° the only thing you can be certain of is that ice will freeze at the same rate it's melting

And does no one put a lid on when boiling water? Keep the steam trapped in, and keep the heat trapped in.


Another myth: adding salt makes water boil longer, but it raises the boiling point so it will cook faster. But this effect is negligible unless you're working with brine percentages

>cools

Yes, and the key word there is cool, not cold.

You can just let it cool in a sauce pan or cooker (with a lid on) for a few hours after cooking it.

Refrigerating is overkill if you're just cooking for yourself.

If you run a Chinese restaurant and make a big ass batch at the end of the day, then that might be a different story.

He speaks the truth.
You're wrong.
You are, too - Nothing is overkill. I am my own worst critic.

Refrigeration of starches doesn't change any conformation, it simply leads to increased retrogradation, which shoves out water, which increases resistant starch content. More resistant starch means you're less of a fatty (resistant starch is basically like fiber - non-nutritive and will clean you out).

>Trump hired a media person to shill him
>literally the collective of all other media campaigned against him
So he has a keen eye for hiring? Cool

>stirring a pot makes it heat slower
Doesn't stirring incorporate air into whatever you're stirring? I'm sure the difference is negligible but wouldn't something that's standing still get hotter faster?

>_> No. Whipping incorporates air. Stirring takes it from natural to forced convection, heating it faster.

lol

Considering the only thing that really evaporates is water, then no. The juice might make a fond on the pan, but it doesn't disappear into the aether. I guess grilling is a different story though.

I work with a guy that still believes this.

>amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_searing_seals_in_juices.html

They tell you that flipping is bad because it makes a bit harder for you to develop crust, which was believed to help keep the juices in.

As long as you already have your crust developed, you can keep flipping all them things forever. Might make it the slightest bit longer to cook if you do it too much, though.

funnily enough that is false but the opposite can be true
under the right circumstances hot water can freeze faster than cold water

Well hot water freezes faster. So that's where that is from.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect

>haHAA

user...

1.idk
2.seems like it would be a myth
3. this is true and proven, nearly all alcohol evaporates, so it doesn't technically burn off
4. true but not major, larger surface area, brings in fresh hot water and cold air to react.
5.true, the seeds are higher concentration
6.salting eggs early on will draw moisture from them, which is generally not preferred
7. just to stop them from sticking not major

Holy shit? WHAT?

I've been boiling my water 7 or 8 times before using it.

>She looked cute

If you're into the whole what a Muppet would look like if it were actually human thing.

The part of the chili pod that has the most heat is the membrane inside that the seeds are attached to user.
Very sloppy.
Must try harder.

I'm just taking the pith.