I love watching Good Eats with Alton Brown because the man tells you WHY you cook things the way you do, not just how. This means you learn the broader theory and technique that you can apply to other dishes instead of just one recipe. The science & the art of cooking.
I recently caught one about the interaction between salt and sugar. Well, I don't use much salt- I'm a salt-dependent hypertensive- but I know that sometimes you need to use it in certain recipes for chemical reasons...the science of cooking as opposed to the art.
In this episode, he pointed out that one reason salt gets used in recipes is because salt blocks the taste receptors on your tongue from tasting bitterness. In many sugary dishes, sugar gets burned on purpose to a bitter state in candies and desserts (for chemical reasons) or your ingredients start off that way, and the salt lets you use those things while preventing us from tasting the bitter.
Well, I didn't think much about it because I don't do much of that kind of cooking...until last night.
Dinner last night was leftovers- crawfish boudin and some Stilton blue cheese- and a Blue Moon beer. About 4 bites in, I had a piece of the cheese right before swigging the beer...and my beer tasted sweet. Like a glass of hot tea or weak lemonade, not a kiddie drink.
To quote Thomas Dolby*..."SCIENCE!"
* you ever notice you never see Thomas Dolby and Alton Brown at the same time?
I recently caught one about the interaction between salt and sugar. Well, I don't use much salt- I'm a salt-dependent hypertensive- but I know that sometimes you need to use it in certain recipes for chemical reasons...the science of cooking as opposed to the art.
In this episode, he pointed out that one reason salt gets used in recipes is because salt blocks the taste receptors on your tongue from tasting bitterness. In many sugary dishes, sugar gets burned on purpose to a bitter state in candies and desserts (for chemical reasons) or your ingredients start off that way, and the salt lets you use those things while preventing us from tasting the bitter.
Well, I didn't think much about it because I don't do much of that kind of cooking...until last night.
Dinner last night was leftovers- crawfish boudin and some Stilton blue cheese- and a Blue Moon beer. About 4 bites in, I had a piece of the cheese right before swigging the beer...and my beer tasted sweet. Like a glass of hot tea or weak lemonade, not a kiddie drink.
To quote Thomas Dolby*..."SCIENCE!"
* you ever notice you never see Thomas Dolby and Alton Brown at the same time?
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