Following along the culinary lines of yesterday’s show-and-tell where I revealed the amazing blowfish hand axe, here’s an interesting link about common kitchen myths.
Some of the myths themselves are amusing: Are there really so many people that believe cold water (or previously boiled water) boils faster than warm water?
On the other hand, nobody will ever convince me that electric ranges are better than gas, even with the 240 volt models overseas… I mean really, is “simmering” even a worthy point of contention? It’s not exactly something that people who like cooking even think about, in my mind. In fact, I would theoretically worry more about simmering on an electric range because of the heat retention of the heating elements/surface for the first few moments.
As far as an electric range being faster for boiling a large pot of water, wow. I concede the honor.
And as for escaping heat and energy efficiency, I consider this to be the tradeoff for being able to cook better-tasting food, which is the standard by which nearly all cooking comparisons should be based on anyway; I have never seen BTU ratings specified in a recipe.
One other nit I must pick for Queen (and not my) Country:
You can heat a cup of water in the microwave. You can put a teabag in it. However, the average Joe would be surprised to find out that the result is actually not a cup of tea. “Why,” you ask: It’s an Oreo “biscuit” thing, baby.
Raising a family in Thailand // Documenting Issan food, culture, music, and people
On more than occasion I’ve agreed to cook something for someone, and when I arrive at their place, they inevitably own an electric stove, which of course they wouldn’t have if they liked to cook, which would mean I wouldn’t have had to agree to cook to begin with!
About half the time it’s that covered type of electric stove as well. Is it hot? How hot is it? Who knows? Why’s the food burning? Who cares? At least your friggn’ stove looks pretty eh?
I myself, being in the Wisdom Years of Magical Cookery, am able to perform brilliantly on both electric and gas rangetops. I admit to being a tad more irritable when using the electric range, especially when trying to get just the right golden brown crusty crust on gyoza, or slowly simmering down a quart of freshly picked whole Sequoia strawberries for yummy ruby-red preserves…things tend to burn more readily on the electric range, right?
i’ve always had a problem with things being burned on my electric stovetop during those twenty minutes it’s still hot after i use it, does anyone else have this problem?