21 Years. 21 Cooking Lessons | Hacker News Reader

21 Years. 21 Cooking Lessons

misterbranzino.substack.com

23 pointshaddadda15 comments

> Do not keep a sourdough starter. It’s a waste of time for a busy person like you. Try a poolish instead.

Everything else on the list was good, in my opinion. This one I had to look into more...

"Poolish is a preferment where you mix one part flour and one part water with a small amount of commercial yeast, resulting in a fairly wet sponge that is left to ferment for 6 to 16 hours."

I don't think traditional sour dough actually takes much time at all. It's so hands off - I mean sure, I guess I can see the point. I'm making pizza tonight and the dough has been cold fermenting for many days. But it's so hands off and takes very little actual time or effort. Just requires some planning ahead.

A sourdough takes about two weeks (if you're lucky, maybe one) to become consistent in its strength (as the rising agent) and flavour. And requires 1-2x feedings a week, depending on, again, how you want it to taste and rise exactly when you need it.

The author makes a really good point. I'll continue to keep and feed my starter though, just in case I want sourdough crackers or to bake bread this week.

I'm a busy dad. I've tried and failed so many times. I'll stick to a poolish.

So throughout high school and undergrad, I worked as a server at all sorts of places, and one of the most important "lessons" I internalized during all that time is what I (lamely) refer to as the 'El Fuego Principle' (yes I know it's lame but bear with me lol). Essentially, it boils down to this:

Use Imperfect and "Unattractive" Produce

El Fuego was my favorite serving job. Food was always amazing and customers were in and out within ~30 minutes so you saw a lot of food going onto tables.

In the kitchen, they used produce that was less than perfect. Nothing that posed any real health risk, but items that the average consumer might overlook at the grocery store or farmers market due to their less-than-ideal appearance. At the end of the day, everything they dished out was amazing which really cemented the "lesson" that we shouldn't be afraid to use "gross" looking ingredients...unless it has actually spoiled, it's probably just fine to use and you'll surprise yourself with how much you can save by going for the cheaper options.

100% yes!

I can only second the blog comment about children.

Particularly, children do not know how to recognize and/or express things like "this is setting off my allergies" or "my genes make me able to taste this where you can't taste it at all", let alone actual age-based differences (fun fact: if you tell parents that their children just had a lot of sugar, they will judge them to be more hyperactive).

I've had good luck serving basically the same dish I'm making for the grown-ups, but keeping the elements separate for their portion. No living on pizza and chicken fingers for every meal, and they at least need to try a little bite of everything, but I'm sympathetic that their palate for spicy mushroom gravy is a couple decades behind mine.

For simple dishes do people still do Mis-en-place? You need to warm up the oil anyways, why not have it warm while you chop stuff?

Yep -- If you think of it as stages of a pipeline, by going from prep -> execute your mind is not paying attention to two things at once. Helps me enjoy cooking more and avoids "ah F, oil is too hot and onions are now burning"

if by simple you mean scrambled eggs or sauteed onions, then sure, I multitask.

for heavier instruments like cast-iron or dutch ovens, I'd actually recommend preheating while chopping. just be mindful of the burner and adjust as needed

I found that cooking sequentially by doing a strict mis-en-place first and only after checking ingredients one more time, I will turn on the stove. This makes for a much more pleasant cooking experience, you avoid mistakes, messy kitchens and a ton of stress.

This works best for me. But IF you are a pro, you do you.

It's a good idea -- but I don't do it.

I have a lot of confidence in my cooking. I know how long it takes to soften the onions, and I know how long it's going to take me to slice the chicken. (And wash my hands, because I don't want to cross-contaminate.) So I feel safe doing the preparation concurrently.

I know I've actually got cumin on hand, and so there's no chance that I'll get to the point where I need to add it and discover that I have to run out to the store.

And so on. I get away without doing the mise. Usually. Every once in a while, it screws me up, and that's my own damn fault for my arrogance.

If you haven't been feeding yourself for three-plus decades, it's really good to start by doing the mise. Plus, it's a good habit if you were to ever want to take up cooking in a more serious environment, where you're doing more dishes at once.

The issue is that it's easy to let the oil get to hot while you're chopping an onion. I also do the "prep while cooking" approach if I'm really pressed for time or it's really simple, but it always turns out far worse.

Some prep bowls and a bit of time to find things and chop before turning on the heat may make for more dishes to wash and take longer, but it certainly makes the food a lot more consistent and makes cooking less stressful. No more panicking that you've burned something while chopping up a garnish or letting a pot boil over because your back was turned getting something out of the pantry.

very basic advice imo xD

there's room for excellence in the basics.

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