Comment by radus | Hacker News Reader

Comment by radus | Hacker News Reader

Summary:

1. Fruits ripen faster if placed in a paper bag with apples or bananas.

> Agree x 6

2. Marinating for 30 minutes achieves the same goal as marinating for 24 hours.

> Disagree x 6. Tested on pork tenderloin.

3. Adding oil to pasta water prevents pasta from sticking.

> Disagree x 6

4. Adding citrus to guacamole will stop it from oxidizing.

> Agree x 6

5. You should wash your mushrooms before cooking.

> Disagree x 6

6. Silpat baking mats are better for even baking versus parchment versus foil.

> Agree x 5, Sideways x 1. Tested on chocolate chip cookies.

7. Beans need to be soaked overnight before cooking.

> Disagree x 5, Agree x 1

8. The best way to get crispy bacon is to start with a cold pan.

> Agree x 4, Disagree x 2. Tested on bacon.

9. The reverse-sear method is the best way to cook a perfect medium rare steak.

> Disagree x 6

10. You should rinse your meat before cooking.

> Disagree x 6

11. Hard boiled eggs should be started in cold water.

> Disagree x 5, Agree x 1

Regarding 11, Seriouseats/Kenji did the definitive scientific exploration of the hard boiled egg:

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-secrets-to-peeling-hard-boil...

I've inadvertently run this experiment many times. For years I followed Alton's original Good Eats instruction and started with cold water. Shells were always hard to peel. After Kenji's article I switched to adding eggs to boiling water, and it makes a huge difference in peelability. Also, cook time is more precise because the water temperature is constant; different ranges/burners/pots/waterlevels boil at different rates.

The only problem with starting in boiling water is that if your eggs come directly from the fridge (ie store bought eggs) some will often crack from the heat shock. This can be mitigated by putting eggs in lukewarm water for a few minutes first. Or just get chickens and keep your eggs at room temperature :-)

Kenji is the best. Food Lab is always on my kitchen counter. Highly recommend it for anyone trying to improve at cooking.

Don't you have a device for puncturing the eggs in your country so they don't crack?

Called Eierpiekser in German: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B000A8BKX8/

I have lived in 4 countries and I've never heard of this method or this type of gadget before!

Neither I nor my parents ever used this (Germans), yet cracking is extremely rare. It happened to me maybe 5 times in 10 years.

We have them in the UK! But now I use the point of a sharp knife to make a hole in my eggs before boiling.

One technique I find that works every time to make peeling easy is to instantly run the eggs under the tap once the timer has finished. My only explanation is it causes a temperature shock which helps the membrane peel away from the inner egg.

> For you Euro types who store your eggs at room temperature, everything discussed here still applies.

Hah, that was my question after I started reading, good thing I did ctrl+f fridge ;)

FWIW, Alton Brown has updated his recommendation to steaming: https://altonbrown.com/recipes/hard-not-boiled-eggs/

For me, they don’t crack right out of the fridge!

steaming eggs was a life changer. I discovered it with one of those unitasker (hangs head in shame) egg mcmuffin style devices. it cooked eggs via steaming (both scrambled and hard boiled) where you added a predetermined amount of water to a pan and it would shut off when boiled off). Created the best hard boiled eggs I've ever had.

I sort of wish rice cookers / pressure cookers (ala instant pot) came with this ability. as they can already tell when all the water has boiled off. just some experimentation with how much water to put in based on # of eggs and a holder. then no unitasker and nice and automated.

I have always wanted a Ronco egg scrambler...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdonmCgg3lE

Boil the eggs in salted water (no matter if start is hot or cold, for hard boiled cook for 15 minutes from cold start, 10 if start from boil point).

After they are cooked place them in cold water until they cool off a bit.

You'll have no trouble peeling either way.

What does the salt do? Seems like it would only change the boiling point of the water.

He's also at least addressed #5: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-clean-and-chop-mushrooms

I don't think he was the first of the Kenji/Alton Brown/Cooks Illustrated types to say this though. I'm pretty sure I switched to washing before he posted this.

Jacques Pepin washes his mushrooms right before cooking them. If Jacques does it, either it's the right/efficient way, or there is no right way.

I once needed to make 40 soft-boiled deviled eggs for a cooking contest. I got dozens of the cheapest eggs and tried all the techniques, both cooking and peeling. I found one cooking and peeling method that works for every single form of boiled egg.

The Ajitsuke Tamago method is the best cooking method. Stir egg(s) in a pot of boiling water for an exact amount of time and then dunk the egg in ice water. It's 100% accurate (no overcooked/uneven eggs) and fast. Change the time to switch between soft, medium, and hard boiled. Do not use too many eggs at once to prevent rapid temperature draw.

For peeling, the best method by far is the spoon method. You point the tip of a spoon into the eggshell at a ~15degree angle and move the spoon up between the shell and egg. Continue moving the tip up along the interior egg shell until the entire shell has been peeled away. You use a continuous motion so it's not finicky or time-consuming. None of the egg is damaged. Works on soft, medium, and hard-boiled eggs, and on old and fresh eggs alike. No water needed.

On 5, Alton Brown and Harold McGee showed that mushrooms did not absorb water when washing. https://www.mashed.com/311042/this-is-who-alton-brown-thinks...

I don't think it's about absorbing, but more about how you pat dry your meat before searing. But then who wants to sit and pat dry two dozen tiny mushrooms one by one after wetting them.

Sautéing mushrooms drains the liquid from them, so I do wonder how much difference a damp mushroom exterior is going to make, beyond extending the cooking time slightly.

Yeah, mushrooms don't sear like meat. They only brown after enough water has been cooked out. The only real reason to dry off your mushrooms before cooking them is if you're frying them in a lot of fat, to prevent spatter.

I never pay dry my mushrooms. I always wash them. They come covered in stuff. The water left on the outside seems pretty negligible compared to what gets cooked out of the mushrooms.

Mushrooms are full of water naturally; the first thing that happens when you put them in a saute pan is that it fills up with liquid. Having your steak bone dry helps get a fast sear on it, but I don't know that that holds for mushrooms.

I just put them in a colander and set them in front of a 6" fan, giggle about after a few minutes, they dry fine.

The 6" desk fan is an essential kitchen appliance.

I’d trust Harold McGee on just about anything.

For me the issue is not whether they will absorb the water or not, but aren’t they dirty. We wash everything before cooking, except meat.

in some kitchens I've seen, they use a brush to brush away the dirt/soil from the mushrooms.

Me? I wash them!

Regarding #2, it is a shame they only had half hour and 24 hour options. Most marinade taste tests I've seen top out at around 3 hours, IIRC.

The logic they're all using on #2 is verkakte; the aromatics they're talking about penetrating the meat don't penetrate at all (the molecules are too large). Salt penetrates, which is why brining works, but flavors generally don't.

Acidic components can also make a difference with time, especially with certain enzymes like in pineapple and I think maybe soy sauce.

Personal taste test, chicken breast marinated in Italian salad dressing (or vinegar, oil, aromatics and a dash of mustard) definitely is best with at least an hour.

> 8. The best way to get crispy bacon is to start with a cold pan.

Start in a cold pan, but put a little bit of water in it (just enough to cover the bacon). Per America's Test Kitchen:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2guC4Badq2s

First, the water will act as lubricant to prevent burning. Second, the water will take the initial heat instead of the bacon. But as the water gets hotter the heat will also transfer to the bacon's fat, which will start to render (go from solid to liquid). By the time the water boils away the fat will now be present in the pan as lubricant.

For larger batches bake it in the oven:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J84JQU71WBc

For #9 I wish they offered a clear better alternative, I wonder if they would agree on any one technique, probably not. For me I haven’t found a better, easier way than reverse sear, I know sous vide is good but I refuse to go there for now.

Re: sous vide, why not? We've been using this for quite a while, it was one of those "experiments" during the shutdowns.

Yeah, it takes some equipment, and like everything else there's a bit of a learning curve. For a lot of foods we like it works exceedingly well.

One thing though is that an item (poultry, fish, steak, etc.) cooked sous vide is essentially poached, probably not how you'd like to serve it. One way to deal with this is searing cooked meats rapidly in a cast-iron skillet. An alternative (that I prefer) is using my trustworthy Bernzomatic propane torch for the job. A quick "painting" with the flame gives a nice appearance and taste. Fun to do especially when we have dinner guests, a little dramatic flair never hurts.

And of course when not "incinerating" the evening meal, the torch is great for welding aluminum parts, a true multi-use tool.

I know it’s good, my objection is I am trying to avoid yet another kitchen specialty device that I use less and less as time goes on. I have a pressure cooker and a waffle iron that need some love. :)

Pressure cookers are great for stocks, cooking beans, rice. Waffle iron, well, not so much. Our kitchen is small, no room for mere gadgets. Sous vide items compact pretty well so not a storage hog. Time not space is the issue. Like >=1 hour for slabs of fish, not practical for many people.

I've read that for reverse sear the steak needs to be an inch and a half thick or more. That's rare to find here - have you made it work with thinner steaks?

Try cheating lower temp and slower in the oven, and make sure you’re well setup for very quick sear so you don’t cook through too much. Maybe you could take another kenji trick from his wings and leave your steaks uncovered in the fridge to remove surface moisture before the sear.

Myself, I use a stainless steel frying pan on medium high, steaks stay on each side for about 4-5 minutes and that’s it. Perfect medium rare all the time with a great sear on the outside. That’s for 1” steaks by the way.

Wonder if most of the washing advice applies to buying from wet markets, there's some pretty sus sanitary environments out there.

> 2. Marinating for 30 minutes achieves the same goal as marinating for 24 hours.

I wonder if they confused the marinating with salt/vinegar softening? Marinating for taste should make no or barely any difference, salt/vinegar will need more time to work.

Thank you for this great summary!

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