NailBat
Well-Known Member
So right off the bat, no, there's no such thing as a single universal "normal". But every person who ever lived has their own "normal" when it comes to what they cook and eat.
But when you think about it, this "normal" is almost never shared outside the household. When you have dinner with a friend or relative, you aren't getting their "normal" cooking, you're getting their "we have guests over" cooking. The food that's constantly shared on social media isn't "normal" cooking, it's "look how impressive this is! Please like and subscribe" cooking.
"Normal" is like water to a fish or air to a bird. It's all around you, so you hardly even think about it. It's only when you come across what somebody ELSE thinks is normal that you even take notice. It's like if a fish just lived assuming everything was water, and then had a conversation with a bird who then started talking about gravity. Also, fish and birds can talk and have social media accounts, this is my post and I'll do what I want.
With cooking, there is this extremely annoying trend of people loudly proclaiming what is the "right" way to do things and then looking down at anyone who does it differently. That's because they've mistaken THEIR normal for a universal normal that doesn't exist. They're like fish who assume birds are living in water.
Take washing, or not washing, rice for example. Depending on where you live, this is a no-brainer. Of COURSE you (wash|don't wash) your rice! EVERYBODY (washes|doesn't wash) their rice! Why would you ever even consider doing it the other way? That's just WRONG! Then you learn there are people who do the opposite, and think its just a normal. If you dig into this a little more deeply you'll find that both washing and not washing have specific purposes. Washing rice will remove starch, which changes the texture. It may be necessary in order to clean the rice - but on the other hand there's also rice that specifically should NOT be washed because doing so would wash away all the nutrients. There is no such thing as "normal" rice, just lots and lots of unique rices that all demand to be handled in their own way.
But when you think about it, this "normal" is almost never shared outside the household. When you have dinner with a friend or relative, you aren't getting their "normal" cooking, you're getting their "we have guests over" cooking. The food that's constantly shared on social media isn't "normal" cooking, it's "look how impressive this is! Please like and subscribe" cooking.
"Normal" is like water to a fish or air to a bird. It's all around you, so you hardly even think about it. It's only when you come across what somebody ELSE thinks is normal that you even take notice. It's like if a fish just lived assuming everything was water, and then had a conversation with a bird who then started talking about gravity. Also, fish and birds can talk and have social media accounts, this is my post and I'll do what I want.
With cooking, there is this extremely annoying trend of people loudly proclaiming what is the "right" way to do things and then looking down at anyone who does it differently. That's because they've mistaken THEIR normal for a universal normal that doesn't exist. They're like fish who assume birds are living in water.
Take washing, or not washing, rice for example. Depending on where you live, this is a no-brainer. Of COURSE you (wash|don't wash) your rice! EVERYBODY (washes|doesn't wash) their rice! Why would you ever even consider doing it the other way? That's just WRONG! Then you learn there are people who do the opposite, and think its just a normal. If you dig into this a little more deeply you'll find that both washing and not washing have specific purposes. Washing rice will remove starch, which changes the texture. It may be necessary in order to clean the rice - but on the other hand there's also rice that specifically should NOT be washed because doing so would wash away all the nutrients. There is no such thing as "normal" rice, just lots and lots of unique rices that all demand to be handled in their own way.
but I do understand that things like 'washing rice' can be normal to one person/culture and not another. I've washed and not washed rice. Does it make a difference? It probably depends on the type of rice and how you want the end result to be, but generally I don't bother these days.
