J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer • Hacker News Board

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#101

Post by ahepp » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 1:33 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #91

ahepp wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's kind of my point though. I haven't seen sufficient evidence to confidently believe the vodka played a role in the crust. To be fair, I haven't seen sufficient evidence that no difference exists either. It just bugs me a bit that this is called "food science", when experimental design and significance testing are the core of what science is. At the same time, I don't want to be the science police and go around…

It's science in a different sense than you're using the word; it's cooking informed by science rather than by craft tradition. A good illustration of the distinction is in the debate between Marcella Hazan and Harold McGee, about the value of cooking with good virgin olive oil --- Hazan, from the Italian craft tradition, took umbrage at McGee's observation that heat denudes good oil of most of what makes it good. (I…

If you disagree that science should, in modern parlance, be interpreted as a reference to the scientific method, I guess I have no basis for argument. It's not my intent to be the grammar (semantic, I guess?) police.

I appreciate the sort of knowledge creation Kenji's engaging in. And I agree that it's the most rigorous I've seen presented in a remotely accessible way.

In some ways that just makes me wish he'd take it a step further. I don't think it takes any special equipment or money or MIT degree to follow the scientific method. It seems likely that Kenji already does record data of some kind somewhere. I'm not saying he needs to look at pie crust with an electron microscope, you could simply list a more detailed procedure and qualitative scoring data in a footnote.

I do think equivocating different forms of knowledge with science wastes a great way to introduce people to important scientific concepts. And I think one could argue it risks contributing to confusion about what science is, what it's capable of, and what it's limitations are.

Of course, "be the change you want to see in the world" is great advice. And at the risk of seeming to make an insincere "compliment sandwich", I really do like Kenji and his recipes.

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#102

Post by flobosg » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 1:45 AM UTC

zeroimpl wrote: post #66

notagoodidea wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure to understand the point made between European Spanish cuisine and the Colombian one ?

Presumably there’s some similar food culture between Spain and Spanish-speaking countries?

While there is obviously Spanish influence in Latin American cuisine, I wouldn’t say the food cultures are similar. Furthermore, the culture can vary a lot between different (or even neighboring) Latin American countries.

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#103

Post by tschwimmer » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 1:47 AM UTC

If you live in the Bay Area, Kenji has a great restaurant called Wursthall that does German food. I hope he’s still involved since he’s not in the area anymore.

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#104

Post by flobosg » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 1:49 AM UTC

If my memory serves me right, I started following Kenji in the early 2010s, when he explained why McDonald’s burgers don’t rot[1]. I was a bit into molecular gastronomy at the time, and his science-based approach seemed exactly what I wanted to read.

[1]: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-why-mcdonalds-burge...

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#105

Post by systemvoltage » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 1:55 AM UTC

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #38

afcapel wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a Spanish person, living abroad and with a penchant for cooking, and I was too very gratefully surprised by Kenji's Spanish tortilla video. Also by his other Spanish recipes such as Gazpacho[1] or Paella[2]. It's not that they are very orthodox recipes, cut and paste from a traditional recipe cookbook, but instead very good adaptations of them, taking into account ingredients availability and different contexts.…

His wife is Columbian, IIRC.

Why does it matter if someone is Spanish to be able to cook Spanish food (or Columbian)? It is neither a sufficient, nor a necessary requirement.

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#106

Post by wpm » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 2:12 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #62

ahepp wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to see an as-blind-as-possible test of water vs vodka in the pie crust. Kenji has other pie crust recipes where he talks about encouraging gluten formation. Of course it's possible that there are some recipes where you want to encourage gluten formation and some where you want to discourage it. But I'm starting to get skeptical about this stuff, considering I've never once seen actual data tables about glute…

I don't ever use the vodka recipe any more; Kenji linked once to Stella Parks' pie crust recipe, which is a very simple water-based crust, and it's worked every single time for me. The vodka was just a neat trick, is all.

Stella is to baking as Kenji is to everything else: someone whose recipes and writing I place a great deal of trust in. Bravetart is every bit as good as The Food Lab.

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#107

Post by vitaliyf » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 2:20 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #52

afcapel wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a Spanish person, living abroad and with a penchant for cooking, and I was too very gratefully surprised by Kenji's Spanish tortilla video. Also by his other Spanish recipes such as Gazpacho[1] or Paella[2]. It's not that they are very orthodox recipes, cut and paste from a traditional recipe cookbook, but instead very good adaptations of them, taking into account ingredients availability and different contexts.…

I can't believe I didn't know about Spanish tortilla before. Easily the best egg dish and also maybe the best way I currently know to prepare potatoes at home now. And they get better when they're cold! I've wasted my life! I've made dozens since last summer, and Kenji's technique in the video has been pretty much bulletproof for me. His extra-creamy scrambled egg is also a mainstay now: https://www.youtube.com/watch…

I am very surprised it's not a more popular dish in the US - it seems like it would fit well the Denny's, IHOPs or even some fast-breakfast drive-throughs, and work as breakfast or appetizer or dinner.

It's on every menu in Barcelona - yes, served cold.

A Spaniard taught me that mixing in some potato chips gives it some variety. He said he even sometimes makes it completely out of packaged chips.

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#108

Post by professoretc » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 2:28 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #52

afcapel wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a Spanish person, living abroad and with a penchant for cooking, and I was too very gratefully surprised by Kenji's Spanish tortilla video. Also by his other Spanish recipes such as Gazpacho[1] or Paella[2]. It's not that they are very orthodox recipes, cut and paste from a traditional recipe cookbook, but instead very good adaptations of them, taking into account ingredients availability and different contexts.…

I can't believe I didn't know about Spanish tortilla before. Easily the best egg dish and also maybe the best way I currently know to prepare potatoes at home now. And they get better when they're cold! I've wasted my life! I've made dozens since last summer, and Kenji's technique in the video has been pretty much bulletproof for me. His extra-creamy scrambled egg is also a mainstay now: https://www.youtube.com/watch…

I've made his Spanish tortilla once a month or so since that video came out... However, I once dropped the whole thing in the sink while doing the "flip". (Maneuvering a hot cast iron pan isn't easy.) I've never felt more disappointed in myself than I did at that moment; I was making it for breakfast and I basically just turned the stove off and went back to bed. So now I'm always a bit wary when I start on it, knowing that it has the power to destroy me psychologically.

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#109

Post by russellbeattie » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 2:28 AM UTC

Interesting. I watch his videos on YouTube whenever they're recommended to me - I had no idea he was a "big deal"! He's super chill and his late-night videos are always fantastic. His voice and attitude is really mellow. I'm glad he's appreciated by others as well!

Re: J. Kenji López-Alt is Seattle’s reluctant powerful food influencer

#110

Post by tptacek » Sat, Jun 12, 2021, 2:51 AM UTC

wpm wrote: post #106

tptacek wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't ever use the vodka recipe any more; Kenji linked once to Stella Parks' pie crust recipe, which is a very simple water-based crust, and it's worked every single time for me. The vodka was just a neat trick, is all.

Stella is to baking as Kenji is to everything else: someone whose recipes and writing I place a great deal of trust in. Bravetart is every bit as good as The Food Lab.

Important true fact: Daniel Gritzer, the current editor at Serious Eats and a Kenji's former colleague there, is also a practically bulletproof recipe writer and is very underrated. It's Gritzer's Roman pasta technique I use, not Kenji's.