What I learned today (Take Two)

[Jenise]

Today I learned that mayonnaise is more likely of Spanish origins than French, and that Hellman's/Best Foods sell 13,000 ounces of mayo a minute. Euw.

I love Mayonnaise, especially Dukes, but we cannot get that in our area unless we order. I do not use it anymore except for a Sirracha Mayo when I make my good BLT sandwiches for my eldest son. I substitute low-calorie Greek yogurt, sour cream, or mashed avocado, depending on the application. I wonder how those statistics were gathered.

Did you know that too many cherries can cause discomfort in the digestive tract? I did not know that until my puppy began to think I had developed a built-in music maker. A little research told me I was eating too many cherries. I already had a bag of tasty dark reds and finally found the Rainer at our neighborhood store. Yum, Yum. Usually, this time of year, I snack on cherry tomatoes, but since I haven't been to the Farmer's Market this year, cherries have been my go-to snack. I'll be cutting back on them and roasting a batch of tomatoes for my go-to when the sweet craving kicks in! I also learned that cherries are considered a carbohydrate.

I also learned that cherries are considered a carbohydrate.

That's why they are sweet. It's a bribe by the cherry tree to tempt animals into eating the fruit, ideally carrying the seed elsewhere in the process.

Many plant seeds and fruits (most notoriously legumes such as beans and lentils) contain significant quantities of sugars that the human digestive tract can't process. Intestinal bacteria eat them instead and in the process generate carbon dioxide and methane gas. This is the source of what Julia Child called the root-ity-toots. Apparently cherries have enough of these sugars that if you eat too many of them it can trigger this process.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I also learned that cherries are considered a carbohydrate.

Yup! As are all conventional fruits (let's not get into the tomato/eggplant/bell pepper discussion).

I am able to eats tons of cherries with no ill effects, thank god. I've been going through about four pounds per week.

Did you know that too many cherries can cause discomfort in the digestive tract?

This happens with any fruit. And different people have different reactions to different fruits. (Pears are particularly difficult to digest for many folks in my orbit, but also peaches, apples, anything really) And of course nothing gets easier in the body as you age.

Thankfully, I have not (yet) been afflicted by these concerns. As I eat massive amounts of fruit. Like Jenise, I love cherries, will easily go through more than 1lb per day right now in the season, and that will just be a portion of my daily fruit intake...

And since this is the 'what I learned today' thread, it was only last year that I learned 'sour cherries' are actually quite sweet and perfect for eating. I always thought they were just for baking or preserves, but they are so delicious and delicate. When the specimens are good, I might prefer them to the various 'sweet' cherries.

And since this is the 'what I learned today' thread, it was only last year that I learned 'sour cherries' are actually quite sweet and perfect for eating. I always thought they were just for baking or preserves, but they are so delicious and delicate. When the specimens are good, I might prefer them to the various 'sweet' cherries.

Really? I'd never looked into it because I also figured they're only good for pie fillings.

Really? I'd never looked into it because I also figured they're only good for pie fillings.

Try them! Not sure if the season is over in Nyc. I was getting such good ones at the Union Square market throughout June. They definitely have more tartness than 'regular' cherries, so tastes may vary. But there is still plenty of sweetness and it's nothing like quince which is impossible to eat without cooking.

I prefer sour cherries (although of course I don't eat dessert, so tastes vary). Certainly last week both of my farmers Markets still had both styles. I think strawberries may be done though

In Chinese stir-fry cookery there is a common practice called "velveting" or (translation of the Chinese name) "pass-through-once". The marinated pieces of meat are briefly either deep-fried in oil (most common practice) or briefly poached in boiling water. The meat is drained, the wok cleaned out, and then the actual stir-fry takes place. Pass-thorugh-once cooking is supposed to yield more tender meat with a softer mouth feel (hence the name "velveting"). I never bother with this, myself--it's too wasteful of oil.

Many Chinese marinades, particular those for recipes involving pass-through-once, have a small amount of baking soda added. This allegedly acts as a tenderizing agent. None of the recipes I make regularly call for baking soda and I've always been skeptical about its efficacy as a tenderizer.

The marinade for last night's Vietnamese-style grilled flank steak called for baking soda and so I put it in. When I took my first bite of the finished product I had a Lily von Stoop moment--"It's twoo! It's twoo what they say!" Flank steak is very flavorful but in my experience it can be a bit on the chewy side, especially when grilled whole. This was the tenderest flank steak I've ever made.

So I've learned that baking soda does indeed act as a meat tenderizer in a marinade.

-Paul W.

America's Test Kitchen swears by using baking soda.

[Jenise]

Have to admit I haven't been tempted on baking soda. I actually kind of like the chew!

Have to admit I haven't been tempted on baking soda. I actually kind of like the chew!

Then I suggest grilled eyes of round steak. Mmmm, mmmm.

[Jenise]

Have to admit I haven't been tempted on baking soda. I actually kind of like the chew!

Then I suggest grilled eyes of round steak. Mmmm, mmmm.

Nope, no round steak! But flank steak has never been too chewy for me. Nor has tri-tip.

The baking soda thing seems to be a trend now, but I've not seen any better results in terms of tenderness with the times I've used it. What I use to tenderize is vinegar. I've used pineapple vinegar and apple cider vinegar with good results, and I love the addition of that tangy taste for proteins, especially chicken. I always used it with tri-tip, as I find this cut to be chewy. We put it on the grill a few times, and I was not impressed. I now use Quebec Beef Seasoning or Montreal Steak seasoning, and season the day before cooking. I put meat into a roasting dish with a tight-fitting lid, lay the meat on a bed of onions, and add soy sauce; Ponzu works well too. This is cooked at 250° for 3 1/2 hours, remove lid and let the meat brown for another 30 minutes. Gene and I found it to be tender, tasty, and juicy with this method.
Here is another tasty version.
https://whatscookingamerica.net/karenca ... tritip.htm

[Jenise]

Karen, I wouldn't guess you'd get much tenderization on that thick tri-tip cut without immersing it for several days.

Your experience is different?

Speaking of learning things, I've discovered Haskap jelly. The Haskap berry is similar to blueberries but tangier and more intense, or at least the jar of jelly I bought in BC says that. Wow does it make a fine PB&J!!!

[Jenise]

Wednesday night I had guests coming to dinner. Spare ribs were requested for the celebration of a birthday neccessitating salads and barbecue sauce, and the Picky People were also on the guest list neccessitating strong editing on the salads which could not contain tomatoes, onions, radishes or anything unusual. I took a big risk in making a cabbage slaw using Napa cabbage, because I had a head on hand already, that I decided to make more appealing with the inclusion of a lot of pan-seared bacon. I also added slivered raw asparagus because I had five leftover spears from the day before, but didn't tell them it was in there. I doubt they noticed.

Anyway, this mission this took me to the bacon and BBQ departments of the local Kroger chain, Fred Meyer. It's a handy store for one-stop shopping and would have everything needed (in addition to the ribs at a good price) to finish the meal, more so than my usual organically-minded haunts of the local Co-op and Whole Foods.

It has been a loooooooooooooong time since I've been to the bacon and BBQ sauce departments of a regular grocer! Two notable things in the bacon department: Wendy's brand, yes the burger chain, and half inch thick bacon suitable for lardons from a producer in Oregon. The latter was actually tempting for my cabbage salad, but they were like three pound blocks and all very fatty, so I couldn't justify it vs. buying a six ounce pkg of leaner apple smoked slices from a good local pork producer, Hempler's, some of which family actually live in my neighborhood.

As for Barbecue sauce, wow has that product category exploded. It took up 60% of a very long aisle! There were the usual brands I recognize like Stubbs and Kraft, but there were miles of others including Japanese BBQ sauces and other restaurant-name and specialty brands in squirt bottles. I settled on the store brand of Carolina style to doctor up with celery seed, bourbon and black pepper, which turned out to be quite tasty and usable as-is if needed, but the selection was mind-blowing. I honestly had no idea.

I settled on the store brand of Carolina style to doctor up with celery seed

Which Carolina? North or South? The two states have radically different styles of barbecue sauce. NC is vinegar-and-chile-based. SC is mustard-based.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I settled on the store brand of Carolina style to doctor up with celery seed

Which Carolina? North or South? The two states have radically different styles of barbecue sauce. NC is vinegar-and-chile-based. SC is mustard-based.

-Paul W.

Commercially, brands here on the west coast, like Carolina Gold, don't differentiate by name. Perhaps what they do is more a blend of the two.

To be even more picky, SC is mustard, Eastern NC is vinegar/pepper, Western NC (Lexington style) is vinegar/pepper/tomato (actually often catsup).
And those in the know KNOW that Eastern NC is The One True Que.
It's a religious thing you know

[Jenise]

And the celery seed I added is more Kansas City, IIRC. Either way, I like the vinegary and peppery. The dollop of bourbon was a nod to the birthday boy, who loves a good bourbon.

Carolina Gold is mustard-based, thus South Carolina. I'm partial to the Eastern North Caroina sauce style, myself.

-Paul W.