Cooking Myths

teamfat said:
I wonder if the phrase "searing seals in the juices" will ever disappear?

mjb.
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I had to read that about five times to figure it out - I kept thinking you were somehow searing seal meat in some juices, and saying to myself, "Wait, that should be braising seals (🦭) in juices, right?" :laugh:
 
Myth: Tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable!

So there's layers to this one. Yes, its correct that tomatoes are considered a fruit by the botanical definition of "fruit". However the botanical definition of fruit is very different from what we usually call a fruit. There's quite a few things we call vegetables are are actually botanical fruits, and some things we call fruits that aren't.

However, there is no such thing as a "botanical vegetable". The word "vegetable" only has meaning in the culinary sense. So that means, if you're asking if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, you must be talking about the culinary definition of fruit. So a tomato is still a vegetable, and does not belong in a fruit salad.
 
NailBat said:
Myth: Tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable!

So there's layers to this one. Yes, its correct that tomatoes are considered a fruit by the botanical definition of "fruit". However the botanical definition of fruit is very different from what we usually call a fruit. There's quite a few things we call vegetables are are actually botanical fruits, and some things we call fruits that aren't.

However, there is no such thing as a "botanical vegetable". The word "vegetable" only has meaning in the culinary sense. So that means, if you're asking if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, you must be talking about the culinary definition of fruit. So a tomato is still a vegetable, and does not belong in a fruit salad.
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The unusual fruits, in my mind, are tomatoes, olives and avocados.
 
I don't know if that's a myth, but some people told me there is no good sauce from cheap wine and that I should never ever start to use the cheapest wine for cooking. It's a fact that all the professional kitchens I've worked for used... well the cheapest wine you can get. From 5* hotels even to a michelin star (I don't know the actual term, they don't have one yet but maybe they will get one next year, excuse me) attender (?).
 
PabloLerntKochen said:
I don't know if that's a myth, but some people told me there is no good sauce from cheap wine and that I should never ever start to use the cheapest wine for cooking. It's a fact that all the professional kitchens I've worked for used... well the cheapest wine you can get. From 5* hotels even to a michelin star (I don't know the actual term, they don't have one yet but maybe they will get one next year, excuse me) attender (?).
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Not sure any more but back in the day cooking wine was popular especially in institutional kitchens, which is really inexpensive wine with salt added, basically rendering it undrinkable. Personally it depends on the food I'm making. If the wine profile is an important component of the dish, generally a sauce then I will get more specific. For an overall wine taste in desserts, sauces et al I generally recommend something you would enjoy drinking and there's nothing wrong with a decent boxed local wine either for this application. To clarify I also don't advise anyone use a Chambertin Grand Cru or a Chateau d Yquem for example, that would be a waste and expensive.
 
PabloLerntKochen said:
I don't know if that's a myth, but some people told me there is no good sauce from cheap wine and that I should never ever start to use the cheapest wine for cooking. It's a fact that all the professional kitchens I've worked for used... well the cheapest wine you can get.
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The sauce is as good as the wine. If you use Fred Flinstone´s Special, at $3 a litre, then your sauce will taste like that. Cheap and nasty.
If you use a wine that is at least drinkable ( and that means you have to try it first), then your sauce will be fine.
If you use Chateau Lafite Rothschild , then you either work for a millionaire or you´re wasting your time:D:D
 
I was working in expensive restaurants and for the standard demiglace sauce, everybody used the cheapest wine, the results were always fine for my taste buds. There were some exceptions, were they've used good, 5€ per bottle, wine and then they did wrote that into the menu. Maybe I should communicate it different, there are many chefs, who are trained, or raised to use the cheapest ingredients they can find on the market and cook the best dishes that are possible.
 
Well I don´t disagree with you, Pablo, and I think chefs are trained to make the most out of even the poorest ingredients. However, if you use industrial "plonk" to make a dish, it´s not going to taste as good as a reasonably priced wine.
 
I can't control if the dish will taste, I can only try, that's what I believe after about 5 years of experience and I can spend as much money as I want, there is no guarantee that it'll taste good. In mathematic terms it might be a considerable variable, but stress is also a considerable variable and some people might choose the cheap wine over the good wine, because they can get more of it. Somebody has teached me, food quality is always superior over a full belly these days, so your way should be right.
 
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