Great article, the discussion on marinade efficacy is one that's been going on for quite a while and this is a very approachable start. I do have one complaint, they wrote "Chefs hope by immersing the meat in liquid (braising) or wrapping in foil, some of this moisture will reenter the sponge", I think they might have confused braising for boiling which are two very different cooking methods. When braising your goal is to cook low and slow, melting fat and turning connective tissue into collagen. Sure there's a lot of liquid in there too, but the main purpose is to add more flavor and help regulate the temperature.
IAmBroom•6mo ago
I assumed they were referring to the rest period advised for many meats, which supposedly allows the meat to reabsorb the juices it expressed (spoiler: it does not).
There's a lot of BS lore in traditional cooking, such as "don't wash mushrooms, it makes them soggy (they don't absorb the water) and washes away the flavor (if you value dirt's and bugs' flavors).
"To keep it tender, float a cork in the water you're cooking octopus in" is one of my favorites. "Leave the seed in the avocado to keep it fresh" is one that still gets people angry when you attempt to disagree.
Bottom line: cooks aren't scientists; they're traditional crafts practitioners... at least until the advent of Alton Brown and company.
Sadly, this led to the fad of molecular gastronomy, but we may be coming out of that dark period of overindulgence.
some_random•6mo ago
IAmBroom•6mo ago
There's a lot of BS lore in traditional cooking, such as "don't wash mushrooms, it makes them soggy (they don't absorb the water) and washes away the flavor (if you value dirt's and bugs' flavors).
"To keep it tender, float a cork in the water you're cooking octopus in" is one of my favorites. "Leave the seed in the avocado to keep it fresh" is one that still gets people angry when you attempt to disagree.
Bottom line: cooks aren't scientists; they're traditional crafts practitioners... at least until the advent of Alton Brown and company.
Sadly, this led to the fad of molecular gastronomy, but we may be coming out of that dark period of overindulgence.