What's the point of putting oil in my pasta water?
What's the point of putting oil in my pasta water?
There is no point. Oil and water don't mix, remember?
Some people -- including certain Italian grandmothers -- add oil to their pasta water because of the received wisdom that it will prevent pasta from sticking. In fact, if you add oil to your pasta water, it will merely float to the top of the pot. Worse, it may give your pasta a slick surface, preventing sauce from being properly absorbed, which is the trick to a good marriage of pasta and sauce.
If you want to prevent pasta from sticking, stir it. The only thing you need to add to pasta water is a good dose of salt to season it. Properly seasoning your pasta -- while it cooks -- may result in less salt consumption overall, since you won't need to compensate by adding extra salt at the table.
What is extra-virgin olive oil?
What is extra-virgin olive oil?
Extra-virgin olive oil is the precious unrefined first result of cold-pressing olives to make a fruity liquid that contains less than one percent acid.
Extra-virgin olive oil is the most expensive olive oil variety, and it is best appreciated in salads or as a garnish to give preparations a final flourish. If you are using olive oil to cook, it's fine to use regular olive oil.
Greece is the #1 consumer of olive oil in the world and also the leading producer of extra virgin olive oils, which account for 82 percent of their olive oil production. The U.S. is not a member of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), which regulates olive oil standards worldwide, and the IOOC does not recognize the U.S. standards for extra-virgin oil.
There is much controversy in the olive oil world, with accusations of corruption and adulteration smearing consumer confidence and shedding doubt on the purity of so-called virgin olive oil.
Strip cabbage of its outer leaves; rinse the head well and pat dry.
Now slice the cabbage in half through its tough, fibrous core with a long, sturdy knife.
Cut each half in half again through the core. This will expose the core to make it easy to remove.
Holding each cabbage quarter upright, remove the tough core.
Now you can slice the cabbage into long, thin strips for slaws, salads, soups or stews or thicker strips for braises and sautés.
Once a prize kept under lock and key in wealthy households, sugar is now ubiquitous and comes in many forms. Most commercial sugar is made from cane or beet root. Here's a look at the most common types of sugar used in the kitchen.
Granulated white sugar: White sugar is highly refined and made from sugarcane or beets. This all-purpose refined white sugar has small but fairly coarse crystals and is used to sprinkle on food, sweeten beverages, or add to dishes during cooking. Golden granulated sugar is a brown sugar made from sugar cane molasses that is similar but has a light brown color.
Castor (caster) or superfine sugar: This refined white sugar has fine crystals that dissolve more quickly than regular granulated sugar, making it a good choice for baking meringues. Golden castor sugar is made from unrefined cane sugar.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar is nothing more than white sugar that has been mixed with molasses to color it and give it a moist texture. Light brown sugar has less molasses than dark brown sugar. Brown sugar should not be confused with raw sugar, which has a similar color and taste but is actually the residue from processed sugarcane.
Turbinado sugar: A sugar cane extract that is made by steaming unrefined raw sugar. It has large crystals and a slight molasses flavor. It's a shade paler than brown sugar and can be substituted for brown sugar in recipes. We like to use turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top of muffins, cookies and scones. It holds its texture well and, when cooked, has a nice sweet crunch.
Demerara Sugar: True Demerara sugar is raw or partly refined sugar with large crystals, but some impostors are nothing more than white sugar stained with molasses.
Muscovado Sugar: This raw cane sugar comes in light and dark varieties and is used to make cakes and desserts.
Powdered, icing or confectioner's sugar: This sugar is made by reducing granulated sugar to a powder and mixing it with starch to prevent it from lumping up. It's used to decorate cakes and can also be used in making sweet dishes and baked goods.
So-called Italian sausage is a style of plump, uncured pork sausage that comes in hot and sweet varieties -- essentially, with or without hot red peppers.
Sold in links and flavor-enhanced with garlic and fennel and/or anise seeds, it can be cooked like any old sausage and is especially popular in sausage-based pasta sauces or eaten in a sandwich with fried onions and bell peppers.
Go to Italy and ask for "Italian sausage," and you will receive either a blank stare or a multitude of options; what we think of as Italian sausage is a generic label specific to the U.S.
Recipe: Pappardelle With Sausage And Yellow Squash (Cookthink)
Recipe: White Bean Soup With Spicy Sausage (Cook & Eat)
Reference: What is chorizo? (Cookthink)
By far the most popular type of beer in the world, lager tends to be crisp, nonchalant and easily swillable. If you've had a pilsner, bock, marzen or Colt 45, then you've tasted lager.
What's the difference between a lager and an ale? German for "storehouse," lager refers to the cold rooms where lager is fermented (using bottom-fermenting yeast). Ales are made with top-fermenting yeasts that prefer warmer temperatures.
Lager predates Christopher Columbus, but by the 19th century, the U.S. had developed its own style of lager. Based on the Czech pilsner, the taste of American lagers are generously characterized as "flavor neutral."
Every year, Munich celebrates lager with Oktoberfest.
what you should know
If you were a beer, odds are you'd be a lager.
By far the most popular type of beer in the world, lager tends to be crisp, nonchalant and easily swillable. (Just like you?)
If you've had a pilsner, bock, marzen or Colt 45, then you've tasted lager.
lager vs. ale What's the difference between a lager and an ale? German for "storehouse," lager refers to the cold rooms where lager is fermented (using bottom-fermenting yeast). Ales are made with top-fermenting yeasts that prefer warmer temps.
ancient history Lager predates Christopher Columbus, but by the 19th century, the U.S. had developed its own style of lager. Based on the Czech pilsner, the taste of American lagers are generously characterized as "flavor neutral." (Monty Python fans will know why American beers are like making love in a canoe.)
golden days Every year, Munich celebrates lager with Oktoberfest. If you can't make it, Eric Asimov can recommend some fine steins to drink at home.
what you need
This simple beer kit is a good way to get started if you think you're interested in home brewing.
There is no better way to proclaim your love of lager than with a wall-mounted beer-opener.
Author Maureen Ogle counterintuitively sings the praises of big, consistent American beer in Ambitious Brew.
If you aren't drinking from the bottle, try these classy pilsner glases. For something slightly less classy, there is always the funnel.
what you do
Need a little hair of the dog? Mix a Michelada to ease the pain.
Bring a barbecue classic indoors and make this beer can chicken in your oven.
While an English ale seems more fitting for fish and chips, we prefer to wash them down with the light, crisp flavor of a lager.
All the talk of cold beer has us craving spicy shrimp (Brys), Asian mussels (Kristin), onion rings (Claire), black bean soup (Corinne) and chicken and sausage gumbo (Chip).
Turkey and red bean chili will keep you warm as the nights grow cold.
Featured: Munch on these pepper jack and lager grissini, this week's Root Source Challenge featured recipe. Congratulations to Cafe Lynnylu!
Find more lager recipes at Cookthink.com. And if you haven't yet signed up for a free account at Cookthink, do it now!
Sauerkraut is a classic fermented dish popular in Germany, France and all over northern and central Europe that was invented as a way to preserve cabbage over the winter.
Fresh sauerkraut is high in vitamin C and was frequently taken on long sea voyages by European explorers to help prevent scurvy.
The version that is most popular in the U.S. involves very thinly shredded cabbage. It is salted to draw out its juices and then sits in the resulting brine for 4 to 6 weeks as it cures and ferments. The bacteria that ferment the cabbage help to turn the sugars in the leaves to lactic acid, which imparts the distinctive taste.
There are many variations on the sauerkraut theme, including using red cabbage for a bright pink result and adding various spices to the brew. Caraway seeds and juniper berries are traditional additions; black peppercorns and slices of apple are also found in many recipes.
Reference: How to make sauerkraut
Fermentation is a process where certain so-called "good" or "preferable" microbes living on the surface of plants flourish and feed on those plants, supressing the growth of "bad" bacteria. These microbes also produce substances like lactic acid and alcohol, preserving food's texture and nutrients and enhancing its taste and flavor.
Commonly fermented foods and drinks include wine and bread, where yeast is encouraged to consume sugar. To make olives, preserved lemons, sauerkraut and pickles, vegetables are submerged in brine to create the proper oxygen-free atmosphere for good bacteria to flourish, extending their shelf-life.
