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Why Recipes Lie
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oliveoil




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 1:38 pm
amother [ Dodgerblue ] wrote:
"Ginger top is TOM SCOCCA?"

I don't understand the question?


Ginger Top posted an article by Tom Socca.

You replied as if she had written it herself.

Presumably Tom Socca is not on imamother.
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33055




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 1:57 pm
amother [ Chartreuse ] wrote:
I agree commercial burners are not like a regular stove. However if someone publishes a recipe intended for home cooking they should make sure to do it on a regular home stove. Anything else is simply unprofessional.


How do you know the recipes are intended for home cooking? This is a serious question. I don't see recipes divided between home and commercial kitchens.

Admittedly, I can't stand reading the fluff that goes with the recipes, so if that is where it is buried I miss it. I go right to the recipe and skip the part about aunt franny apple picking.
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 1:59 pm
Squishy wrote:
How do you know the recipes are intended for home cooking? This is a serious question. I don't see recipes divided between home and commercial kitchens.

Admittedly, I can't stand reading the fluff that goes with the recipes, so if that is where it is buried I miss it. I go right to the recipe and skip the part about aunt franny apple picking.


If it's 4-6 servings chances are it's targeted to a home cook.
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33055




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 2:05 pm
cbsp wrote:
If it's 4-6 servings chances are it's targeted to a home cook.


Makes sense to a certain extent.

I just checked with my recipe books from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) where I took classes. The recipes were in similar sizes.
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studying_torah




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 2:05 pm
And don't bother to try on a smooth electric cooktop; they will not caramelize properly. Oh give me gas cooktops please
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 2:07 pm
Squishy wrote:
Makes sense to a certain extent.

I just checked with my recipe books from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) where I took classes. The recipes were in similar sizes.


That's so interesting! Then how did you learn how to properly scale a recipe?
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Amalia




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 2:08 pm
Squishy wrote:
Makes sense to a certain extent.

I just checked with my recipe books from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) where I took classes. The recipes were in similar sizes.


Oooh, you took classes at the Culinary Institute!
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33055




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 2:18 pm
cbsp wrote:
That's so interesting! Then how did you learn how to properly scale a recipe?


I am good in math. I automatically adjust to how many servings I need. It is second nature.
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 2:20 pm
Squishy wrote:
I am good in math. I automatically adjust to how many servings I need. It is second nature.


I'm good at math too (if not, that's what excel is for!) but not every recipe scales by math alone! Seasoning, leavening, etc.

So many recipes say not to double, rather make each batch separately, etc.

There's got to be a science behind it...
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 2:44 pm
Squishy wrote:
How do you know the recipes are intended for home cooking? This is a serious question. I don't see recipes divided between home and commercial kitchens.

Admittedly, I can't stand reading the fluff that goes with the recipes, so if that is where it is buried I miss it. I go right to the recipe and skip the part about aunt franny apple picking.


Any time a recipe is posted in a cookbook, magazine, newspaper or other source intended to be read by non-professionals, the recipes are theoretically tested on equipment found in a home kitchen.

Of course, recipes have become increasingly dumbed down over the years to some extent because many people have lost basic cooking skills.

Even cooking shows have changed in the past decade. They used to be shows in which one could actually learn cooking techniques that could be used whatever recipes one cooked. Now they are stupid stuff like the Guy Fiero type of shows except for PBS which still has shows like America's Test Kitchen.

FWIW, for the most part the substance which causes you to cry when cutting up an onion is at the base of an onion. To dice an onion without crying (almost always) you slice not all the way down to the base - then turn it and slice again but not all the way to the base - then turn on its side and slice and you have nicely diced onions without tears. The thickness of the slices determines how large the onion pieces will be. It's such a quick and easy technique that unless I am chopping copious amounts of onions, I will generally not haul out the Cuisinart and deal with assembling and washing it. Of course, having a great knife that you keep well sharpened helps.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 6:56 pm
I almost always caramelize onions in a dry skillet, no oil, over a medium-high to high flame. It takes at least an hour cooking time, which is why I prep in bulk. 4 lbs raw onions cooks down to about 3 cups, which I freeze for future use.

Partway through, the expressed juices dry up and brown on the skillet surface. I add a bit of water to deglaze this precious material and stir it through. This provides a bit of nice browned color though the onions are still not caramelized. That takes long, slow cooking.

BTW, it isn’t only recipe writers who lie. Check out instructions for home repairs:

E.g.:
Regrouting your bathroom tile. The Lie: Estimated time, 60 minutes. Step one: (Ten minutes) Remove old grout
The truth: IF you manage to do this without amputating a finger (add 24 hours for trip to emergency room and pharmacy for meds) or shattering any tile, it will take you minimum two hours if you have the correct tool, otherwise two or three times as long. And that’s just step one.
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rainbow dash




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 7:04 pm
If you add some sugar, doesn't it go quicker?
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HeartyAppetite




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 10 2019, 12:24 am
amother [ Chartreuse ] wrote:
Seriously, do you believe what they post on instagram?

Seriously, I do it every time I brown onions. And it cuts the time in half. I never timed it, so I do t k ow if it takes less than ten minutes. But it definitely takes longer if you add the oil first.
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singleagain




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 10 2019, 7:32 am
amother [ Emerald ] wrote:
And no one's talking about the elephant in the room. The burning eye pain and tears that blur your vision and make it hard to see what color those onions you're stirring are.


My friend just told me that she tried the biting on a match trick that was in 12 years a slave. And it really worked better than any other trick she tried.

Basically, you put an unlit match between your front teeth and bite. My friend theorized that it has to do with the way your jaw is being held
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imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 10 2019, 9:25 am
rainbow dash wrote:
If you add some sugar, doesn't it go quicker?


I've never tried adding sugar to my bathroom grouting, interesting idea. Wink
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imasoftov




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 10 2019, 12:29 pm
imasinger wrote:
I've never tried adding sugar to my bathroom grouting, interesting idea. Wink

Sugar slows down the setting of cement, and cement is a component of grout, so this may not be the best idea.
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33055




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 10 2019, 12:34 pm
Onion glasses ladies is a must in every hard working kitchen.
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Laiya




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 10 2019, 12:41 pm
zaq wrote:
I almost always caramelize onions in a dry skillet, no oil, over a medium-high to high flame. It takes at least an hour cooking time, which is why I prep in bulk. 4 lbs raw onions cooks down to about 3 cups, which I freeze for future use.

Partway through, the expressed juices dry up and brown on the skillet surface. I add a bit of water to deglaze this precious material and stir it through. This provides a bit of nice browned color though the onions are still not caramelized. That takes long, slow cooking.

BTW, it isn’t only recipe writers who lie. Check out instructions for home repairs:

E.g.:
Regrouting your bathroom tile. The Lie: Estimated time, 60 minutes. Step one: (Ten minutes) Remove old grout
The truth: IF you manage to do this without amputating a finger (add 24 hours for trip to emergency room and pharmacy for meds) or shattering any tile, it will take you minimum two hours if you have the correct tool, otherwise two or three times as long. And that’s just step one.


Zaq I first learned from a post of yours once that caramelizing onions should take an hour. Thanks for describing the method.
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gamanit




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 10 2019, 12:47 pm
And here I was thinking I must be doing something wrong that it takes so long for my onions to caramelize...
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smile4ever




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 10 2019, 12:51 pm
I discovered that if I add the onions to hot oil it goes quicker. I dont know how long it takes but it's significantly less time
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