Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Why of Cooking (2017)

theatlantic.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 104 posts

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#51

Post by tomcooks »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #41
tomcooks wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A better way is to cook pasta in a pan, adding water bit by bit as you would in a risotto (look up "pasta risottata"). In Italy no professional chef I know would allow oil in the boiling pan ("that's what Frenchies do, because they don't know how to cook pasta without making it stick" being the common answer)

...if you want to fuss over the pan for 20 minutes. OR, add oil, add pasta, bring it to a boil and set a timer. If the result is the same, I'm all for that method.

Your use of the word "fuss", together with that of a timer instead of being an active participant in the cooking experience, clearly explains what's the difference between the method i proposed and your way of dealing with what you ingest.

Feel free to continue your way, if it' the same to you.

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#53

Post by dageshi »

sureaboutthis wrote: post #49
silveroriole wrote: post #37

“While cooking is for many a hobby, it is also a thing that nearly everyone has to do, usually when time is short.“ If only this wasn’t the case. This is always unpopular whenever I say it, but we no longer expect everyone to sew their own clothes or bake their own bread - why do we still demand that everyone cook for themselves (and, often, that they enjoy it too)? As this article demonstrates, the barrier for even…

You can cook a meal of almost any kind in 30 minutes or less. Your comparison to sewing clothes is wrong cause it usually takes days, or many hours, to do such a thing. Baking bread? I do it almost every day...from scratch...no bread maker. >this is mainly motivated by the fact that I hate cooking And there you go. I would add that you lack cooking knowledge and ability. If you knew how, you wouldn't say such things.…

> I would add that you lack cooking knowledge and ability. If you knew how, you wouldn't say such things.

There are a lot of things in life that people know how to do but still hate...

I might know how to drive to work for 45 minutes everyday, I can do it, I can do it well, I can still hate it because it's a waste of time that I'd rather be using for something else.

Hell, people do jobs to earn a living that they're entirely competent at but still hate.

So no, knowing how to do something doesn't automatically mean you don't hate it, does it?

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#54

Post by JoeAltmaier »

tomcooks wrote: post #51
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...if you want to fuss over the pan for 20 minutes. OR, add oil, add pasta, bring it to a boil and set a timer. If the result is the same, I'm all for that method.

Your use of the word "fuss", together with that of a timer instead of being an active participant in the cooking experience, clearly explains what's the difference between the method i proposed and your way of dealing with what you ingest. Feel free to continue your way, if it' the same to you.

Don't understand at all. Why is it a problem that I'm preparing the sauce (which actually requires my attention) while the pasta is cooking? Anything other than arrogance?

Don't even try to make me believe that you get 'better pasta' by fussing over it. Its not the star of the dish - its just a vehicle, and 'cooking' is just making it softer. Not adding anything magical.

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#55

Post by jlg23 »

silveroriole wrote: post #37

“While cooking is for many a hobby, it is also a thing that nearly everyone has to do, usually when time is short.“ If only this wasn’t the case. This is always unpopular whenever I say it, but we no longer expect everyone to sew their own clothes or bake their own bread - why do we still demand that everyone cook for themselves (and, often, that they enjoy it too)? As this article demonstrates, the barrier for even…

> we no longer expect everyone to sew their own clothes or bake their own bread - why do we still demand that everyone cook for themselves

And yet a lot of cultures do expect you to know basic sewing (eg reattaching a button is expected from every recruit in the military) and I assume everyone who was a scout has made his own bread.

> I wish we could move away from every individual cooking for themselves and towards socially acceptable communal kitchens or something.

You have that everywhere where life and work is mixed: Small, cheap breakfast joints and inexpensive roadside kitchens that have a very limited menu and serve traditional, local food.

As someone who loves cooking, the idea of real communal kitchens does not sound good - been there, done that and the countless hours spent cleaning before I dared to handle food did not fill my pension fund... (You don't need "cyber"-laws to shut down a hackerspace, just send hygiene inspectors.)

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#56

Post by sureaboutthis »

dageshi wrote: post #53
sureaboutthis wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can cook a meal of almost any kind in 30 minutes or less. Your comparison to sewing clothes is wrong cause it usually takes days, or many hours, to do such a thing. Baking bread? I do it almost every day...from scratch...no bread maker. >this is mainly motivated by the fact that I hate cooking And there you go. I would add that you lack cooking knowledge and ability. If you knew how, you wouldn't say such things.…

> I would add that you lack cooking knowledge and ability. If you knew how, you wouldn't say such things. There are a lot of things in life that people know how to do but still hate... I might know how to drive to work for 45 minutes everyday, I can do it, I can do it well, I can still hate it because it's a waste of time that I'd rather be using for something else. Hell, people do jobs to earn a living that they're…

You can place your bet that way but I'll place my bet my way. Lack of understanding how to do something is more likely the cause.

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#57

Post by molf »

dTal wrote: post #42
molf wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An even better technique (I tried lots) is to put the eggs in boiling water for 20-30s before breaking and poaching them. It will start the coagulation process of the egg whites, making it much more viscous when you actually do break them. This causes the egg whites to keep together and not spread in the water too quickly. Result is a nicer, rounder poached egg.

I tried that recently after reading it on here, and the result was a thin layer of cooked white stuck to the inside of the shell, while the remainder of the white was no firmer. This tallies with my expectations based on thermal gradients. Am I doing it wrong?

Are the eggs room temperature to begin with? That seems important to me... Otherwise perhaps vary the duration. I've had great success with this method but YMMV.

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#58

Post by molf »

papa-whisky wrote: post #43
molf wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An even better technique (I tried lots) is to put the eggs in boiling water for 20-30s before breaking and poaching them. It will start the coagulation process of the egg whites, making it much more viscous when you actually do break them. This causes the egg whites to keep together and not spread in the water too quickly. Result is a nicer, rounder poached egg.

Kenji Lopez-Alt's method is the best I've come across[1]. His book is mentioned in the linked article as well, I've not read it but it sounds good! [1]: https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/how-to-poach-eggs-easy-w...

Fresh eggs, yeah, that does help. But if your eggs are slightly older you can still try the trick of putting them a few seconds in hot water. And if your eggs are fresh the results in my experience are also improved with this method, without the need for a strainer.

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#59

Post by majewsky »

sureaboutthis wrote: post #49
silveroriole wrote: post #37

“While cooking is for many a hobby, it is also a thing that nearly everyone has to do, usually when time is short.“ If only this wasn’t the case. This is always unpopular whenever I say it, but we no longer expect everyone to sew their own clothes or bake their own bread - why do we still demand that everyone cook for themselves (and, often, that they enjoy it too)? As this article demonstrates, the barrier for even…

You can cook a meal of almost any kind in 30 minutes or less. Your comparison to sewing clothes is wrong cause it usually takes days, or many hours, to do such a thing. Baking bread? I do it almost every day...from scratch...no bread maker. >this is mainly motivated by the fact that I hate cooking And there you go. I would add that you lack cooking knowledge and ability. If you knew how, you wouldn't say such things.…

> You can cook a meal of almost any kind in 30 minutes or less.

So the recipe magically chooses itself?

So the food magically appears in your fridge?

So the dishes magically wash themselves afterwards?

So the left-over ingredients magically use themselves up?

I really hate when people downplay the time cost involved in food preparation by focussing on only one step of the procedure.

Re: The Why of Cooking (2017)

#60

Post by PunchTornado »

dageshi wrote: post #46
silveroriole wrote: post #37

“While cooking is for many a hobby, it is also a thing that nearly everyone has to do, usually when time is short.“ If only this wasn’t the case. This is always unpopular whenever I say it, but we no longer expect everyone to sew their own clothes or bake their own bread - why do we still demand that everyone cook for themselves (and, often, that they enjoy it too)? As this article demonstrates, the barrier for even…

100% agree. South East Asia was heaven for me, in Bangkok you never have to cook, you never have to think about cooking. Even in smaller villages in Thailand you could find tons of places serving cheap, good food any time of the day (and numerous at night as well). Now that I'm back in the UK I mostly just prepare a bunch of sandwhiches twice a week. I hate cooking.

hmm, food courts are ok for a couple of weeks, but I find them lacking in variety. I don't think they are a substitution for cooking by yourself.
Post reply on HN