Microwave cooking (not reheating)

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by FAX

I'm not buying this idea. At all. Nope. Not buying it.

How many Michelin Star meals have been cooked in a microwave, I ask you? None, I'd wager.

Food needs fire. Real fire. Not some sort of bizarre, magical device that blasts invisible rays inside a box in order to agitate the cellular structure of a foodstuff.

As Mr. Iowanian would say, "If you want to excite a molecule, play with your pecker."

FAX

I'd wager you might be surprised. Certainly not 100 percent of the meal, but components - wouldn't surprise me at all, depending on the chef.

Wylie Dufresne is a pretty well-known chef.

"Wylie Dufresne has four commercial microwaves at his restaurant, WD-50, that he has used for various applications, including cooking foie gras (“beautiful results in terms of texture”) and vegetables. He likes the machine’s “hands-free element” and its consistency."

[FAX]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

I'd wager you might be surprised. Certainly not 100 percent of the meal, but components - wouldn't surprise me at all, depending on the chef.

Wylie Dufresne is a pretty well-known chef.

"Wylie Dufresne has four commercial microwaves at his restaurant, WD-50, that he has used for various applications, including cooking foie gras (“beautiful results in terms of texture”) and vegetables. He likes the machine’s “hands-free element” and its consistency."

Okay ... Wylie has won one Michelin star for his NYC restaurant named after an oil. I'm not certain if he still has it, though. It's been awhile, apparently.

Still, was the star awarded for his nuclearized foie gras? I do not know.

But it gets worse. Foie gras is typically made from duck liver ... the fatter, the better. So, the growers stuff pipes down the throats of ducks in order to force feed the little ducks fat which, in turn, makes their liver fatter which, in turn, makes their poor, little fatty livers more desirable. It's an horrific practice. And your microwave hero condones the practice. Not only that, but he takes those poor, little ducks' livers and microwaves them!!! Good God, man!!!

FAX

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by FAX

Okay ... Wylie has won one Michelin star for his NYC restaurant named after an oil. I'm not certain if he still has it, though. It's been awhile, apparently.

Still, was the star awarded for his nuclearized foie gras? I do not know.

But it gets worse. Foie gras is typically made from duck liver ... the fatter, the better. So, the growers stuff pipes down the throats of ducks in order to force feed the little ducks fat which, in turn, makes their liver fatter which, in turn, makes their poor, little fatty livers more desirable. It's an horrific practice. And your microwave hero condones the practice. Not only that, but he takes those poor, little ducks' livers and microwaves them!!! Good God, man!!!

FAX

**** ducks. They deserve to die.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by ptlyon

**** ducks. They deserve to die.

You may **** a duck if you wish, Mr. ptlyon. That is between you and your God.

However, the fact remains that, simply because you can jiggle an atomic particle to the point that it heats itself up, does not mean you are creating superior cuisine. I don't care what the $100 dollar book says. Good food requires fire.

Besides, what if there is a holocaust or Armageddon type of deal? What then? There will be no electricity and, therefore, no microwaves. Are we to starve or be reduced to eating raw food to survive? You have to think long-term about stuff like this.

FAX

[tooge]

Originally Posted by FAX

You may **** a duck if you wish, Mr. ptlyon. That is between you and your God.

However, the fact remains that, simply because you can jiggle an atomic particle to the point that it heats itself up, does not mean you are creating superior cuisine. I don't care what the $100 dollar book says. Good food requires fire.

Besides, what if there is a holocaust or Armageddon type of deal? What then? There will be no electricity and, therefore, no microwaves. Are we to starve or be reduced to eating raw food to survive? You have to think long-term about stuff like this.

FAX

I'm thinking of Jeff Goldbloom explaining the teleporter in The Fly. How he makes Geena Davis eat a steak that has been teleported. I"m guessing that's about the same as microwaving one.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by tooge

I'm thinking of Jeff Goldbloom explaining the teleporter in The Fly. How he makes Geena Davis eat a steak that has been teleported. I"m guessing that's about the same as microwaving one.

Oftentimes science will run amok, Mr. tooge. That's when the trouble usually starts.

Have there been sufficient studies done on the long-term effects of microwaved foie gras on humans? I sincerely doubt it. Yet here we are (without sufficient research being conducted), creating a new, popular movement to microwave our pate and eat it too.

I ask you; do we know for certain that microwaved foie gras is not the predominant cause of dwarfism? Case closed.

FAX

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by tooge

I'm thinking of Jeff Goldbloom explaining the teleporter in The Fly. How he makes Geena Davis eat a steak that has been teleported. I"m guessing that's about the same as microwaving one.

Did you read the article? It doesn't suggest that the microwave is for everything, but rather certain foods and specific applications.

For instance, using the microwave to fry parsley leaves for garnish (doing so with just a little cooking spray) or for dehydrating - not good for jerky, quite good for apples. Or steamed fish with scallions and ginger.

During my first try, with a bass fillet, the bag exploded; when water boils and becomes steam, it expands in volume by a factor of 1,600 (Mr. Myhrvold explained that one liter of water becomes 1,600 liters of steam), so excess air will heighten the risk of popping. I was left with a wheezing bag and fish chunks. On the next try, with a whole bass, I removed as much air as possible from the bag before nuking. Success.

On went the soy sauce dressing. The dish looked and smelled professionally prepared. The flesh was perfectly cooked, the taste fabulous — an elegant weeknight dinner in no time. Cleanup was nil (I simply tossed the plastic bag), and my apartment didn’t smell fishy.

[tooge]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Did you read the article? It doesn't suggest that the microwave is for everything, but rather certain foods and specific applications.

For instance, using the microwave to fry parsley leaves for garnish (doing so with just a little cooking spray) or for dehydrating - not good for jerky, quite good for apples. Or steamed fish with scallions and ginger.

Yeah, I read it. I'm trying to think of the last time I needed crispy parsley on anything. I'm also trying to figure out the last time I enjoyed steamed fish more than grilled fish. I'm in the warm up a piece of pizza or leftover soup camp on this one.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by FAX

You may **** a duck if you wish, Mr. ptlyon. That is between you and your God.

However, the fact remains that, simply because you can jiggle an atomic particle to the point that it heats itself up, does not mean you are creating superior cuisine. I don't care what the $100 dollar book says. Good food requires fire.

Besides, what if there is a holocaust or Armageddon type of deal? What then? There will be no electricity and, therefore, no microwaves. Are we to starve or be reduced to eating raw food to survive? You have to think long-term about stuff like this.

FAX

I'm not arguing about the use of microwaves Mr. FAX, I'm just stating ducks should die.

[Graystoke]

Originally Posted by ptlyon

I'm not arguing about the use of microwaves Mr. FAX, I'm just stating ducks should die.

I take itthue wth thaaaaaaaaaattttt

[mikey23545]

Originally Posted by FAX

You may **** a duck if you wish, Mr. ptlyon. That is between you and your God.

However, the fact remains that, simply because you can jiggle an atomic particle to the point that it heats itself up, does not mean you are creating superior cuisine. I don't care what the $100 dollar book says. Good food requires fire.

Besides, what if there is a holocaust or Armageddon type of deal? What then? There will be no electricity and, therefore, no microwaves. Are we to starve or be reduced to eating raw food to survive? You have to think long-term about stuff like this.

FAX

I'm sure I don't even want to know the answer to this, but you do realize that heating food up by any method is "jiggling molecules" to heat it up, right?

[FAX]

Originally Posted by mikey23545

I'm sure I don't even want to know the answer to this, but you do realize that heating food up by any method is "jiggling molecules" to heat it up, right?

I see that you are a scientist like myself, Mr. mikey23545.

FAX

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by FAX

Okay ... Wylie has won one Michelin star for his NYC restaurant named after an oil. I'm not certain if he still has it, though. It's been awhile, apparently.

Still, was the star awarded for his nuclearized foie gras? I do not know.

But it gets worse. Foie gras is typically made from duck liver ... the fatter, the better. So, the growers stuff pipes down the throats of ducks in order to force feed the little ducks fat which, in turn, makes their liver fatter which, in turn, makes their poor, little fatty livers more desirable. It's an horrific practice. And your microwave hero condones the practice. Not only that, but he takes those poor, little ducks' livers and microwaves them!!! Good God, man!!!

FAX

I'm just taking issue with this. I'm not a fan of the microwave, but I'm willing to admit I may not have been using it in the proper applications and in the proper manner. At least the NYT reporter suggests it's one of the professional kitchen's secret tools.

In any case, I thought it was an interesting article, and I'm looking forward to reading more about it in the book.