What I learned today (Take Two)

[Jenise]

Karen, can't help much, I have the same problems. HOWEVER, last week at one of the farmstands I frequent I was looking for lemon cucumbers. At this stand they keep them in a large plastic bin, lid on.

So when I got home I put the ones I bought in a plastic bin, lid on. They held up quite well over a week, didn't even turn that darker yellow they tend to as they ripen after picking.

Further to that, instead of peeling them as I always have, since these were no-spray I sliced them very thinly and skin-on with a mandoline. I added slivered onions, salt and white vinegar. That was the salad I dined on Monday night and this morning the leftovers were just as crisp as the day I made them. I will never peel lemon cukes again!

I don't have trouble keeping onions at room temperature. Ditto garlic and shallots; I have a little "keeper" for them but it's just a jar with holes in the top and sides.

But cukes are just perishable. I've never found a way to keep them for long, other than to pickle them.

Jeff, I used to keep my potatoes and onions in separate containers in the same cupboard, one on the bottom and the other on the top shelf. The potatoes suffered, so I moved them to another part of the cabinet. Now I keep them in my second fridge on the top shelf. They are lasting much longer, and I am amazed at how well they keep. None are sending out roots, and they look great. I keep Yukon Gold and Red Bliss because I am a huge potato lover. I also love the multi colored, two-bite types that come in a net bag. They seem to do fine in the cabinet in a paper towel-lined bowl.

Jenise, I never did peel lemon cukes, I do not use them often. The ones I got at the Farmers Market seemed to have a lot of seeds. I like homegrown the best, but they grow huge very fast, and one must check everyday, got to be a pain. I also like the English cukes that come in plastic covering; they seem to last the longest at my house.

Jeff, I used to keep my potatoes and onions in separate containers in the same cupboard, one on the bottom and the other on the top shelf. The potatoes suffered, so I moved them to another part of the cabinet. Now I keep them in my second fridge on the top shelf. They are lasting much longer, and I am amazed at how well they keep. None are sending out roots, and they look great. I keep Yukon Gold and Red Bliss because I am a huge potato lover. I also love the multi colored, two-bite types that come in a net bag. They seem to do fine in the cabinet in a paper towel-lined bowl.

I would never think to put potatoes in the fridge, but I also don't buy them ahead in quantity. They're OK on the kitchen counter for a day or two until I get to them.

I learned my lesson with garlic! I used to put the heads in the fridge, figuring to preserve them longer that way. Well, it turns out that if you put a head of garlic in a cold, dark place... it thinks it's underground and starts shooting immediately. Sigh. Hence, the keeper.

Room-temperature onions is how I came to this forum, lo these many years ago. I used to keep them in a wire basket until one day I made a pork dish that um, er, did not taste right. Jenise diagnosed it as a dodgy onion and now, as I do not live in a food desert, I don't provision onions ahead, either.

Jenise, I never did peel lemon cukes, I do not use them often. The ones I got at the Farmers Market seemed to have a lot of seeds. I like homegrown the best, but they grow huge very fast, and one must check everyday, got to be a pain. I also like the English cukes that come in plastic covering; they seem to last the longest at my house.

I love the little Persian cukes but they are really perishable. Around here they come in a package of 5 and they still start to mold if I take more than a couple days to use them. The big English cukes have less water so they keep better.

I just keep garlic out on the kitchen counter. I haven't had any sprouting problems. I do have problems with onions sprouting in hot, muggy summer weather. I don't attempt to store potatoes for long periods of time.

-Paul W.

One of the lower cupboards in our kitchen has no base and there's a cutout in the floor underneath it that drops into the basement. There's a screen over that cutout, so that cupboard functions as something of a root cellar. It was built that way in the original cupboard and we made sure that it didn't change when we did the remodel. We now have several sliding wire baskets in there for onions, garlic, shallots, potatoes, and such. Seems to work well.

One of the lower cupboards in our kitchen has no base and there's a cutout in the floor underneath it that drops into the basement. There's a screen over that cutout, so that cupboard functions as something of a root cellar. It was built that way in the original cupboard and we made sure that it didn't change when we did the remodel. We now have several sliding wire baskets in there for onions, garlic, shallots, potatoes, and such. Seems to work well.

Very clever!

[Jenise]

I have two open bins with holes in them in my cool dark pantry, one each for onions and potatoes. As close to a root cellar as I can get. But speaking of potatoes, I bought an extra large Yukon gold at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago that I planned to bake for lunch or dinner soon--a main course potato. It was the perfect Yukon color but sitting in the bowl on my kitchen counter where I usually park such things it has turned Martian green. I would presume the usual warnings about green potatoes wouldn't apply here, but I don't know!

It's safe to store potatoes in the fridge, but cool temperatures will convert their starch into sugars that affect cooking and taste.

We keep onions, shallots and garlic in wire baskets on the wall.
If we have more potatoes than needed, in a basket in basement.
Cukes, especially Persian, can go fast. If we have too many try to either pickle or make a mainly cucumber salad (tonight Chinese style smashed cucumber)

Not really something I learned today, but something I was just talking about. Was zesting a couple of limes for a chicken marinade for tonight. Do you remember those zesters that looked like little forks? How did I get by without a microplane? We must zest citrus at least 3-4 times a week, can't imagine going back to one of those.

Do you remember those zesters that looked like little forks? How did I get by without a microplane? We must zest citrus at least 3-4 times a week, can't imagine going back to one of those.

I like those! They make little 'strings' of zest, which pack more punch when you encounter them. For grated zest I have some small-ish grater but it's not a micro-plane. Can a micro-plane be used for anything else or is it a uni-tasker?

Microplanes work well for garlic and ginger. Hard spices. Probably mostly use for parmigiano reggiano and other hard cheeses. But due to fluffy consistency (which I like) you need to use more by volume, but easy to adjust.

At a recent party someone was using a microplane to grate dark chocolate over the dessert

Regarding the Yukon Green potato, I'd think it would be OK as long as you peel it.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, "Yukon Green" made me laugh out loud!

[Jenise]

Today I learned what I already knew: don't trust Canola oil. Yesterday I got some English Breakfast sausages out of the freezer to thaw; I've been working down the freezer. Then I went off to the dentist. After my appointment I ate only part of a pork verde burrito because I didn't enjoy the heavily metallic flavor of garlic powder involved), but it was just enough to fill me up and I wasn't interested in dinner when I got home. But the sausages were thawed so I roasted them in the way I favor these days: oven roasted until both browned and crusty, about 40 minutes, figuring I'd turn the cooked meat into a stuffing for zucchini by the end of the week.

When they were done, I sliced off one bite. Fishy! Part of the prep for the sausage, to guarantee that crust, is a light shot of cooking spray (Spectrum brand). So I sprayed a little on my finger: yup, the bad flavor was the spray, not the sausage. I guess it's just been around too long--I don't cook daily the way I used to.

Dang!

Today I learned what I already knew: don't trust Canola oil.

[regarding sausages]
When they were done, I sliced off one bite. Fishy! Part of the prep for the sausage, to guarantee that crust, is a light shot of cooking spray (Spectrum brand). So I sprayed a little on my finger: yup, the bad flavor was the spray, not the sausage. I guess it's just been around too long--I don't cook daily the way I used to.

Cooking oil goes rancid due to chemical reactions between the oil and oxygen and water vapor in the atmosphere. Pump-style cooking spray containers use pumped-in air to drive the spray and hence they're prone to going rancid. Spectrum cooking spray comes in a sealed container and the spray is driven by a pressurized propellant in the container. There is no contact with the air. Therefore it shouldn't go rancid unless the oil was exposed to air during the manufacturing process. Or pressurized air is used as the propellant. Or something like that.

Regarding canola oil, I detest its aroma and flavor. I never use it in my own cooking and I avoid products (such as potato chips) that list canola as an ingredient. As frequent readers of this form know I love Sichuan food. Ironically, I was shocked to find out that the oil of choice in Sichuan is rapeseed oil.

Many Brassica-based oils contain erucic acid, which in animal studies has been linked to fat buildup in heart muscle. There are no studies or reports indicating it may be toxic to humans. Mustard oil is especially high in erucic acid and hence it is banned as a foodstuff by the FDA in the US. Mustard oil sold in the US must be labeled "for external use only". Mustard oil is very popular in Indian cooking and is widely sold in Indian groceries in the US, albeit in containers labeled "for external use only" (nudge, nudge, wink wink, say no more). The heat from cooking, especially the long, slow cooking common in Indian dishes, breaks down the erucic acid. Many Indian recipes call for mustard oil to be brought to the smoke point before adding it to the dish. This reduces the pungency of the oil and also destroys the erucic acid.

Rapeseed oil has an intense flavor and as in India a lot of Sichuan recipes call for oil to be brought to the smoke point before other ingredients are added to a stir-fry. Again this destroys the erucic acid.

In Canada they bred a variety of rape whose seed oil only has 2% erucic acid. This is called canola (CANadian Oil Low Acid). The US FDA has deemed the 2% erucic acid content acceptable and canola is widespread in commercially prepared foods and widely available to consumers. For me it has less of the objectionable aroma and flavor than the original rapeseed oil but I still find it extremely objectionable and IMO it ruins any dish it's used in.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, thanks for all that. I totally agree about canola, however I made an exception for the Spectrum aerosol can for years. I would guestimate that I used to go through the regular size can in about a year. This one was a larger can and I wouldn't be surprised to know I've had it more than two. Maybe three--recent times are a blur. But as I said, once Bob became very ill I haven't done much of the kind of cooking that requires a spray. Anyway, never again. Back to olive oil spray for me--small can!

I had half a bottle of peanut oil go rancid on me one summer and after that I started storing my peanut oil in the fridge. The problem is that peanut oil has a rather high freezing point and goes solid at refrigerator temperatures. You have to take the bottle out of the fridge and let it warm up before you can pour any out. These days I'm getting through enough peanut oil that rancidity isn't a problem. But refrigeration seems to halt the development of rancidity. BTW, rancidity is particularly a problem with butter, which has a high moisture content to start with. Ghee, which is pure butterfat, doesn't seem to go bad at room temperature. Good thing because it goes rock-solid when refrigerated.

I don't know what would happen if you refrigerated a container of propellant-driven spray oil. It might not work because the cold either freezes the oil so it won't spray, or reduces the pressure of the propellant to the point it's ineffective.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I had half a bottle of peanut oil go rancid on me one summer and after that I started storing my peanut oil in the fridge....

I don't know what would happen if you refrigerated a container of propellant-driven spray oil. It might not work because the cold either freezes the oil so it won't spray, or reduces the pressure of the propellant to the point it's ineffective.

-Paul W.

I have found that avocado oil goes rancid quickly, too. It's currently my go-to neutral oil, but I'm buying it in smaller bottles. I can't use a large one fast enough.

I avoid canola oil like the plague. Too many fishy tastes. You haven't lived until you make popcorn with canola oil. Mmm, mmm, fish-flavored popcorn. Maybe cats would like it.

When I was going to a Weight Watchers class, we were told not to use Canola oil. I cannot recall much of what was said, but I think they said the Can stood for Canada, and it was something about the way it was processed that was not healthy for our bodies. I have not used it since. I use Sunflower oil for dishes that are refrigerated, like three-bean salad, because the oil does not congeal. I have roasted garlic-infused EVOO, Lisbon Lemon infused evoo and California EVOO. Also, nut oils, which I keep in the fridge: avocado and peanut oils.

A few days ago I was having fun going through old cookbooks. I came across two by Ceil Dyer: Best recipes from the backs of boxes, bottles, cans, and jars. And a second one: Even More recipes from the backs of boxes, bottles, cans, and jars. So many recipes I made over the years when the kiddos were home, all of them very good, many with products not made anymore or that fell out of style, like Jell-O. Remember Mueller's Sea Shell Macaroni? The recipe was made with Cream of Mushroom Soup, and our kids loved it. It brought back memories of good times, and I went to the store and picked up two cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup!!

When I was going to a Weight Watchers class, we were told not to use Canola oil. I cannot recall much of what was said, but I think they said the Can stood for Canada, and it was something about the way it was processed that was not healthy for our bodies.

As I said in my previous posting, "canola" is an acronym for "CANadian Oil Low Acid". AFAIK it's not processed any differently than other seed oils. The difference is that it's made from a specially bred rape cultivar that yields seeds naturally low in erucic acid.

I think when your Weight Watchers class said "not healthy for our bodies" they were referring to the animal studies done in the 1970s showing a potential link between consumption of oils high in erucic acid and heart disease. There is at present no evidence that erucic acid is harmful to humans. Even the FDA considers the 2% erucic acid in canola not to be a health problem.

My quibble with canola is that it tastes and smells terrible.

-Paul W.

I must have a high tolerance for whatever causes the fishy odor in canola oil. I can detect it when the oil is fresh but not at all once it's been heated up. That said, I stopped buying it a couple of years ago, figuring that I don't want to serve inappropriately fishy meals to others even if I don't notice it.

Karen - those cookbooks sound fun!