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Ask HN: Hackers who cook

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Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#181

Post by darkarmani »

peterevans wrote: post #159
darkarmani wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Eventually it may get dull to the point where you might want a whetstone to sharpen it again, but you'd probably need to use your knife a decent amount before it gets to that point. I completely disagree. It gets dull slow enough that you don't notice it, but there is a difference after 1 month and big difference after 4 months. Although it probably takes a year to get as dull as most people's knives. Although you…

Apologies if the experience with some other knives differs greatly. I'd gone from not really having a chef knife to having a Shun, and the difference in sharpness was just nuts. I haven't felt the need to sharpen it yet -- not that I can claim to be a superb judge of that, but to me, the sharpness is still very much there.

> but to me, the sharpness is still very much there.

Cutting tomatoes is usually a really good indication. When my knives are sharp, the weight of the knife is enough to cut right through them. The real test is dicing tomatoes because there is less tomato holding the pieces together and you if you push the softer parts of the tomato squish out.

The Shun knives are made with a very, very hard steel. The German steels like Wusthof and Henckels are much softer and have a steeper bevel. With harder steel you can have a thinner angle because it doesn't need as much strength (although i hear that they are more brittle).

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#182

Post by theklr »

1. Both. I come from a family of cooks so it comes natural. Plus, if your watching the weight, best way to combat hidden fats/sugars/carbs found in prepared meals.

2.Eh, kinda. More like I buy ingredients for the week and cook based of those ingredients.

3.From kimchi fried rice to tuna salad. Try to keep some variation. Currently mastering cooking proteins.

4. Not by the books. I do have a macros (macro-nutrient) plan I follow and cook accordingly. I have done paleo and vegetarian for brief moments as well.

5.Prep, prep, prep, prep,prep. This can be as simple as dicing onions for the week on weekends to checking an ingredient list. Prep time is the biggest deterrent from cooking. Reduce this and it's wonderful.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#183

Post by rza »

1. It's cheaper and my cooking tastes better and is more sustainable healthwise compared to buying a dinner for equivalent cost. I didn't actually start enjoying cooking however until I started living in the city and I had a cool Japanese supermarket within walking distance. I actually enjoy grocery shopping, something I hated before, and since it's close, I don't have to think too much or plan ahead when shopping.

2. Do you plan ahead? Like a weekly meal plan? No, for above reasons.

3. What kind of things do you cook usually? East Asian cuisine, usually rice + some marinated meat + some vegatables.

4. Do you follow any diet? Atkins, Slow Carb etc. no

5. Do you have any life hacks, tips to be more productive as a cook? Live near a grocery store, buy a cookbook of some particular cuisine, this way you only have to buy a few core ingredients and you'll be able to make a whole new host of dishes.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#184

Post by joshcrowder »

> 1. Why do you cook? Is it to save cash or is it recreation? Or something else?

Its an offline activity for me. Whatever time I get in from work say 7-9pm I generally cook if theres food in the fridge. Most meals tend to take an hour which is a good time for me to think about something else other than work.

> 2. Do you plan ahead? Like a weekly meal plan?

Sort of I have goto meals mainly asian which is always in the fridge / freezer

> 3. What kind of things do you cook usually?

Other peoples recipes!

> 4. Do you follow any diet? Atkins, Slow Carb etc.

Slow / No carbs, high protein

> 5. Do you have any life hacks, tips to be more productive as a cook?

I have a few although its less about being productive.

- Have a handful of goto meals that you know inside out and have them in the fridge.

- Get meat out the night before and put it in the freezer

- Always have vegetables you'll eat out if there isn't anything

- Ramen noodles should be bought in 25/50 boxes!

I dont think the focus of cooking should be about being productive, sometimes its nice to switch off and get away from the computer and talk to the wife / partner / people that aren't on the internet

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#185

Post by dalore »

1) Because I like to eat. Take out is boring (even in London so many options, but you get stuck). Don't know what goes in the food. Plus the fun of making something yourself that tastes way better. I guess primary reason is for quality/taste.

2) Kind of, a weekly meal plan where we roughly think ahead of what food we are going to eat each day. Like chicken one day, cod the next etc.

3) Meat pretty much, and some veggies

4) Keto usually

5) I love the good eats series, some nice hacks in there. Get a cast iron pan and never wash it. Best thing to cook meat with.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#186

Post by pjmorris »

Cherian wrote: post #126
pjmorris wrote: post #88

1. Practicality: cheaper, better control of what the family eats. Hospitality: There's little better for building bonds than sharing a home-cooked meal. Recreation: Fun to try new things, to copy things we like, to do something special for special occasions. Also: Cooking changes how I'm using my hands and brain in a different way than sitting at a keyboard/screen all day. 2. We do a rough sketch of the week on Sunda…

> 2. We do a rough sketch of the week on Sunday mornings - we spend half an hour talking over budget, schedule, meals and their intersection. Do you have any notes on this I could use? Will help me a lot.

Not really notes, but off the top of my head: 1) We pull up Mint, categorize anything that isn't and look at how last week's spending compares with the budget. 2) We talk day by day over the week - special events, working late, etc. We dedicate Thursday to having people over for dinner, so we talk about who and what to make for them. 3) We've got a not-nearly-enough-organized list of 'the usual' meals, and we do a sketchy job of lining that up against what's in the fridge/pantry, and against what we haven't had in awhile. If it's Fall/Winter, we usually make a stew or soup or casserole or two for lunch/dinner Sunday and leftovers/lunches the rest of the week. We'll decide Sunday morning, and make it that afternoon, or the following week if we're missing some key ingredient. We buy bulk stuff on our Saturday runs to Costco, produce and such on Sunday afternoons, and there's sometimes a Wednesday or Thursday trip to fill in bits for Thursday dinner.

Hope that helps... I'm sure someone's put more thought into it than we have.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#187

Post by ktaylor »

1. Why do you cook? Is it to save cash or is it recreation? Or something else?

For the enjoyment and challenge of making something tangible, that I can watch others enjoy. Something that is not made of bytes and pixels.

2. Do you plan ahead? Like a weekly meal plan?

Yes, I plan my baking at the beginning of each week and and back on Monday and Wednesday.

3. What kind of things do you cook usually?

I bake. Breads, pies, bagels, croissants, cakes, etc. Occasionally I experiment with gluten-free recipes.

4. Do you follow any diet? Atkins, Slow Carb etc.

No but I also don't eat everything I bake. I bake so much that we give a lot of the product to friends and neighbors. My wife is "gluten lite" so she tends to only taste samples and I would gain 25 pounds if I ate everything. If I keep baking this much, I may set up a relationship with one of the local soup kitchens to drop off food there.

5. Do you have any life hacks, tips to be more productive as a cook?

In baking, mise en place, for sure. But also many breads do better with steam in the oven in the first 3 minutes. Do this by pouring a cup of hot water into a heavy pan heated at the bottom of the oven (be careful!).

Also, when making croissants, use European butter (higher fat content) and make sure the butter and dough are the same temperature when doing your initial laminating.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#188

Post by boyd91 »

> 1. Why do you cook? Is it to save cash or is it recreation? Or something else? Cooking gets me very concentrated in a way other than programming. It feels like a harmony of concenstration and relaxation.

2. Do you plan ahead? Like a weekly meal plan? Yes, mainly so won't I have to go to the grocery store more than once a week. I also make sure I don't buy too much so I won't have to waste food.

> 3. What kind of things do you cook usually? Ecnhiladas with guacamole , Salmon,

4. Do you follow any diet? Atkins, Slow Carb etc. I am trying to eat exactly what my body needs. The exact amount of carbs, fats, ...

5. Do you have any life hacks, tips to be more productive as a cook? Look up some of the 'pro' ways to use a knife. It makes cooking more fun.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#189

Post by ChefPerry »

Cherian wrote: post #80
jackson1372 wrote: post #38

1. To save money and to eat more healthily. Also, my girlfriend realy appreciates home/cooked meals. 2. We plan out 4 dinners per week. I'm responsible for two of them. I get her two preferences, make a shopping list, and go grocery shopping every Sunday or Monday. We now have a fairly well established list of recipes, and I use Anylist to construct my shopping list easily. 3. I prefer to cook meals where I can easil…

Do you use something to do meal planning? An app/tool?

I recommend www.simplysmartdinnerplans.com for quick and easy (and FREE) weekly meal plans, itemized shopping lists, and one-on-on help from a team of professional chefs.

SimplySmartDinnerPlans also gives back to the community by teaching hands-on free cooking, shopping, and nutrition classes for at-risk youth, and by supporting organizations like No Kid Hungry.

Check it out!

-Chef Perry

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