Crying in the Kitchen

No matter who you are--novice or CIA grad--if you chop onions, your eyes will get irritated and you'll end up crying.  It's a real pain, isn't it? 

Why does this happen?  Basically, onions absorb sulfur from the ground and keep it in their cells.  When we break the cells with our knife, the gasses are released and they mix with the moisture in our eyes.  And that irritates the eyes, making us cry to get rid of the irritant.

Effective?  Maybe.  Disturbing?  Oh yeah.

But we're just not going to stop using onions, right?  They're the basis for so many dishes--one of the major ingredients used all over the world in all types of cuisines.

There are lots of "remedies" for preventing onion tears.  I just found an article from the food section of the Huffington Post that gives 8 of them.

Some of the suggestions make you look goofy--wearing onion goggles or chewing bread while chopping.  Some of them are just wasteful--cutting out the "gassy" parts of the onion (about 1/3 of the bulb).  And there's the old wives' tale of burning candles while chopping. 

I was glad, though, to see that the list includes what I have always believed was the only way to truly stop the tears--use a very sharp knife.  With a sharp knife, you don't smash the onion's cells (and push out the tear-causing gasses).  The less trauma you cause to the cells, the less gas escapes and the less tears will run down your face. 

Check out the list--have you tried any of them?  Do you have any to add?  Let me know!

Pump Up the Flavor!

What's the most important thing about a meal?  Some might say the ingredients need to be fresh and local.  Others may say you first see a meal with your eyes, so the appearance of the plating is key.  Others still might say that nutrition is first and foremost.

In my mind--even though all these things are very important--the bottom line is flavor.  A beautiful plate of fresh, nutritious, local ingredients doesn't mean anything unless it tastes good, right?

So I thought I'd write a few posts with some tips about how to help the flavor of your foods be the best that they can be.  As usual, thanks go to my old standby, Cook's Illustrated magazine for some of these tips. 

I hope it helps!

Today, I'll be writing about things that you can do to improve the flavor of your food before you start cooking. 

• Try not to chop or mince onions and garlic until closer to the time that you're going to use them.  The odor and flavor of both these aromatics intensify as time goes on.  If you're going to use raw onions (in a salad, for example), soaking them in cold water helps to tame the strong flavor.  Cook's suggests soaking in a solution of 1 tablespoon baking soda for every cup of water.  Be sure to rise before using.
• Speaking of garlic, always remove any green sprouts from a garlic clove before chopping or mincing.  It doesn't mean you can't use the rest of the clove, but the bitterness of the green part can really ruin a dish.
• Many recipes call for the removal of the seeds and that jelly-like stuff in the middle of a tomato.  Sometimes it's for good reason--usually to cut down on moisture in the dish.  But most of the flavor can be found in the guts of the tomato, so if can, use the whole thing.
• When marinating meat, poke the meat all over with a fork.  This allows the marinade to penetrate deeper into the meat--and gives flavor to the whole thing. 
• Marinating in a zip-top bag is a great way to marinate.  Squeezing out the air not only allows you to get the marinade more in contact with the food, but also gets the food flavored up in less time.  If a bag doesn't quite work for the food you're making, marinate in a baking dish covered with plastic wrap.  Either way, flipping the bag or turning the food halfway through the marinating time will help make sure the everything has been in contact with the flavor.
• You've probably heard that fat equals flavor.  That's especially true with meats.  When making stew, it's OK to trim hard fat and other tissue from stew beef.  There's plenty of fat in the meat to keep it flavorful and moist.  Pork is a different story.  Since pork doesn't have the marbling that beef does, keep a thin layer of fat on the pork.  It will melt during cooking, adding flavor and moisture.
• Other fats--such as butter, oils and nuts--add flavor as well.  But these also go bad fairly quickly.  Be sure to store them so that they stay as fresh as possible.  Store sticks of butter in a zip-top bag in the BACK of the fridge (the coldest part).  They'll stay fresh for about 2 1/2 weeks that way.  Any longer than that, keep in the freezer.  Vegetable oils should be stored a dark part of your pantry.  Nut and seed oils (like sesame, walnut, etc) should be refrigerated.  You can store nuts in the pantry if they'll be used in a month or so.  I store all my nuts in the freezer in zip-top bags.  They stay fresh longer and can be used pretty much right out of the freezer. 

Next, we'll talk about how to add flavor during the cooking process.