Sometimes things food-related pop into my head unbidden. Today, the word pomato made an appearance. Pomato? Where had I heard that? I looked it up and then remembered that I had started some research into this subject a few years ago. Most likely, I was distracted by some shiny object or another before writing anything … Read more
Writing about the use of salted butter versus unsalted butter, and noticing certain notions people have about the two, made me realize that many cooks, and especially foodies, hold a central misconception about the use of salt in food. This is witnessed in the idea that if you buy the finest butter available, you won’t … Read more
There are certain things that are obvious to seasoned cooks when reading a recipe. If you are a beginner to cooking, however, things that seem so self-apparent to the experienced can be confusing. One of the most confusing things about cooking, especially if you prefer precise instructions, is when exact amounts of ingredients are not … Read more
Did you know you can make little bolts of lightning in your mouth? Just chew on some wintergreen Lifesavers candy. It’s been observed since the 1980s that this particular flavor of Lifesavers has the curious habit of emitting sparks inside your mouth when you chew them. The sparks are electricity. This is caused by a … Read more
While ice cream does not actually contain seaweed, many mass-produced food products, ice cream often contains a gum ingredient. One of these, carrageenan, comes from seaweed. Food gums are naturally occurring non-digestible carbohydrates that are used as stabilizers, thickeners, and binders. Guar gum is a common example of such an ingredient that is often found … Read more
It is a bad idea to use aluminum foil in the microwave. You can cause arcing and sparks inside the microwave that can damage your unit, shortening its useful life or even ruining it. It’s also possible to start a fire inside the microwave by using aluminum foil. However, it is technically possible to use … Read more