Text 24980, 119 rader
Skriven 2015-03-16 20:18:00 av NANCY BACKUS (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: Re: flights of spiciness
================================
-=> Quoting Michael Loo to Nancy Backus on 03-13-15  09:29 <=-

 NB>> Interesting article... and I am curious as to the critical failure...
 NB>> I think I have a clue, but would like your take.  :)  It does seem that
 NB>> there is more emphasis on how many particular spices rather than how
 NB>> much actual spicing for their analysis... and I don't really buy their
 NB>> theory that it's (primarily?) for the antimicrobial properties...
 ML> The failure is in the notion that the current iteration of a
 ML> dish reflects the dish's history. It may be that the use of
 ML> spices may have originated in the need to preserve food or
 ML> to mask off-flavors - but that motivation was then, thousands
 ML> of years (in the case of non-Capsicum spices) ago, and this
 ML> is now.

That was indeed what I was thinking was a critical failure...

 ML> At some point people came to like spices because they tasted
 ML> good, and dishes were designed with that rather than masking
 ML> in mind so a correlation between the two phenomena is no
 ML> longer possible, if indeed it ever was. Not to mention that
 ML> if their underlying logic still obtained, the advent of
 ML> refrigeration would have resulted in the decline and fall
 ML> of hot food eating. And smoking and pickling for that matter.

Exactly.  Which it hasn't.  They seemed to think that the correlation
was that people got used to the "normal" taste of things with the spices
and continued on... 

 ML> There's more, but I'd have to return to the methodology of
 ML> the source to remember it, and unless I have more spare time
 ML> than I do, that's not worth it.

That's ok... What really stood out to me was that they were measuring
how many different spices were used in food preparation against the mean
temperatures of the area... but not the quantities of any particular
spice... if it were truly just for masking or anti-microbial reasons,
how much total spice (not number of spices) should have been a more
accurate measure... even if their basic premise hadn't been flawed to
begin with... :)

 ML>> It was pretty good. The colleagues did not report the fact that
 ML>> there was cheese in the stuff (luckily I had some pills with me).
 NB>> Butter is less dastardly than cheese for you...?  That's a lot of
 NB>> butter in it... :)
 ML> Butter is much less dastardly, as the fat is less relevant to
 ML> my condition, and butter is northward of 80% fat, even more if
 ML> properly churned to get rid of the whey and moisture. 

And thereby also a lot less lactose remaining, as well... which is about
what I thought, but wanted to confirm..  :)

 NB>> Glad you survived the concert...  (G)  So the grant proposals
 NB>> and scholarships are part of the business that keeps you in
 NB>> Boston for the nonce...?  But now that you don't have to
 NB>> concentrate on practicing, there's a bit more time, eh...?
 ML> Well, I've ended up doing other things as well, and I
 ML> still can't put pressure on that elbow (and to type more
 ML> than a couple sentences at once, I plant my elbows,
 ML> otherwise I type things such as rhyoe rhings).

Ouch.  Explains why you are keeping to your basic 5/day and no more...
 
 ML>> I'm thinking that the corn casserole discussed above had a
 ML>> Scoville rating of maybe 5 or 10, and those same colleagues
 ML>> reported that it carried "a bit of a kick."
 NB>> Hmm... would that have been a small bit of kick or a wallop.. ;)
 ML> Remember that the original calibration had a baseline of 1,
 ML> the lowest amount of capsaicin that the study subjects could
 ML> detect. Given that some people don't care for the sensation,
 ML> 5 or 10 times more than the minimum might be a wallop for
 ML> some; for me, I didn't really notice until they brought it
 ML> to my attention. 

About what I was guessing..  :)

 ML> I've done some more experiments, and it
 ML> appears that my mouth prefers a level of 100 to 200 in a
 ML> dish. I don't care for more than 500, which goes into the
 ML> painful level. Of course the thermal heat of the food is
 ML> very relevant, as the two kinds of heat reinforce each other.
 ML> I do not like food in general above about 100F, much less
 ML> hot-peppered food.

I haven't done the experiments... so I don't really have that much
definition of my limits/preferences... I don't particularly like things
that come close to burning my tongue or mouth with the thermal heat, but
I don't know exactly how hot I tolerate... As to spicings, you seem to
want things somewhat spicier than I'm content with (from actual
experiences), but I tolerate fairly spicy easily, given the experience. 

 NB>> Ah.  Thanks.  Does it make somewhat of a velvety surface to the
 NB>> chicken...?  

 ML> It actually makes somewhat of a velvety texture to the whole
 ML> piece. Some add a dab of baking soda to the mix, which softens
 ML> the meat even more (but adds a soapy off flavor).

I think I'd skip the baking soda...  :)   But the velveting does seem as
though it would make white chicken a bit more palatable...  :)

 ML> "together. Serve hot. Selden, here is my version of General Tso
 ML> Chicken, which is also known as Kung Pao Chicken. When charring the
 ML> chile peppers, be sure the ventilation is on and avoid breathing the
 ML> strong chile fumes. The charring creates a desirable smoky flavor.
 ML> Serves 4 to 6 with other dishes. GUEST CHEF (EXPT46B)"
 ML> M says that this may produce a decent food, but it's not what he
 ML> recognizes as kung pao or general tso.

Using peanuts made it Kung Pao...?  (G)  Certainly doesn't look at all
like General Tso...  and I never knew that the two were at all
equivalent dishes...  ;)

ttyl         neb

... There cannot be a crisis today; my schedule is already full.

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