Tips from a Scientist in the Kitchen

I’m not sure what the term “close-minded” means but it sounds like what happens to me when someone mentions “science.” Raise the drawbridge, draw the curtains, turn out the lights, we done. 

   And, anyway, what business does science have in the kitchen? Well, according to Robert L. Wolke, “Cooking is chemistry.”

Mining Sea Salt

 
 I ventured above and beyond the call of duty to read Wolke’s book, What Einstein Told His Cook. It’s about kitchen science. Wolke is a retired chemistry professor and award-winning food columnist. The book came out in 2002.

   The author gives the no doubt valid impression of being a tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy. Take the matter of sea salt.    Wolke’s science aroused the ire of many a chef when he announced that expensive sea salt is wasted in cooking and has no more effect than regular salt.

   All salt comes from the sea, one way or another. Wolke explains that regular salt is mined from deposits left by ancient seas and so, it is sea salt.

   The specialty “sea salts” sold at fancy prices may add distinctive taste to fresh foods because of unique clay or algae content.

   I’ve read of chefs who use only kosher salt. Those who tout use of kosher salt have a point, says Wolke, because of its larger crystals. Kosher salt clings to meat while table salt falls off.

   Wolke has written several other books about kitchen science; I am tempted to have a look. Here are some interesting points gleaned from among the many in the volume under review:

   Potato Poison: The green in a potato is solanine, a toxin that should be excised. In checking this out I find it may also be found in tomatoes and eggplants, but it is potatoes that get the bad rap. Solanine is apparently dissipated through peeling and boiling. It survives baking. Though the matter is controversial, Wolke says it requires quite a heavy dose of solanine to induce illness.

   Prime Rib Special: Prime rib, often listed as an enticing menu item, is not a quality but a cut. Prime rib recipes offer a style of preparation for a roast. The grade “Prime” is a different matter, indicating beef containing no less than eight per cent intramuscular fat.

   Cleaning Mushrooms: The warnings against washing mushrooms are ill informed, at least in the case of the common supermarket button variety. They do not absorb any appreciable amount of water if washed. And, by the way, the brown stuff clinging to mushrooms is typically mulch, not manure.

   Better Burgers: Burgers cooked on a thin layer of salt hold their juices. This allegedly works in a pan or on foil on the grill.

   About Vinegar: White vinegar is made from flavorless industrial alcohol and belongs in the laundry room not the kitchen. Wolke warns that balsamic vinegar labels are untrustworthy – but he wrote that prior to the European Union requirement that the real thing must bear this message --"Denominazione di Origine Protetta."

   Red Meat: In all these years of life as a carnivore I never knew that red meat wasn’t a result of blood. “There is virtually no blood in red meat.” Blood drains out at the time of butchering. The red is due to a “red, iron-containing, oxygen-carrying protein called myoglobin.” I could try to explain it further but you’ll be better off reading the book.

   

This has been but a taste of the many subjects covered in this interesting book. Most often the information is provided in a nontechnical way that even I understood. Sometimes it gets technical but rarely without warning.