# Foody Do's and Dont's that in your opinion don't make a difference **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2013, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385 "2013-05-15T08:54:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/81 "2013-05-16T14:49:50Z")
What about thyme? In my experience chicken is often served woefully under-thymed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/82 "2013-05-16T15:38:12Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Or something like say cocktails; unless your spirits are really that different from each other, something in the same category can be substituted without wrecking the drink. I always roll my eyes when someone orders some kind of heavily flavored vodka drink (bloody mary, etc…) and specifies some super-premium vodka. Why? Nobody can tell Stolichnaya from Skyy from Grey Goose from Ketel One under all that tomato juice, hot sauce, celery salt and other stuff. I can see it maybe in a vodka martini though; there’s really nothing to hide the differences between the vodkas (minuscule as they may be). > > (I also tend to think vodka’s kind of stupid in general, but that’s a rant for a different post) Good point, but actually, once you get out of the cheap stuff in plastic bottles to a decent vodka like Smirnoff, even straight up there’s little difference between vodkas. And, once you do get a true premium booze, like a good single malt, then adding a mixer is heresy. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/83 "2013-05-16T15:47:51Z")
I’ve never understood why I’m supposed to saute veggies before I throw them into a stew to boil for an hour or more. _Charring_ I get, but just sweating the veggies? Why? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/84 "2013-05-16T15:52:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Good point, but actually, once you get out of the cheap stuff in plastic bottles to a decent vodka like Smirnoff, even straight up there’s little difference between vodkas. I’m not a big vodka drinker. I like my alcohol to have flavor. But there is a difference at least between low- and medium-grade vodka that I can tell even in a mixed drink. My palate isn’t refined enough to separate medium- and high-grade, but a bloody mary made with, say, Luksusowa vodka vs. Seagrams vodka? Not even a question. I made a mistake of buying the Seagrams “extra smooth” vodka a number of weeks ago for some bloody marys. I could not cover up that weird buttery taste (or whatever it is, it’s just weird) no matter how much I tried. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/85 "2013-05-16T16:54:30Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I’ve never understood why I’m supposed to saute veggies before I throw them into a stew to boil for an hour or more. > _Charring_ I get, but just sweating the veggies? Why? For some veggies, e.g., onions, you’ll get some caramelization of the sugars, which is mighty tasty. If all you’re doing is sweating them, I’m not sure it’d make a difference; but if you saute until they start to brown (not char, just a bit brown), it makes a big difference. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/86 "2013-05-16T16:56:14Z")
Plus, “sauteing” and “sweating” are completely different things. (I also didn’t know that an unlidded pot doesn’t boil over.) ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/87 "2013-05-16T17:20:29Z")
My number one food rule: good is more important than authentic, assuming you’re making food intended to be eaten. Related, since many – and certainly stereotypical – home cooks are women, shaming people for using shortcuts _per se_ is sexist, as well as in violation of the number one rule. > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Cooking wine has salt added to keep Mom (or The Help) from imbibing Demon Alcohol whilst performing their kitchen duties… And so you can buy it without ID. New York doesn’t allow anything above 6%ABV to be sold in regular grocery stores, but cooking wine is perfectly legal. By attempting to make it unpalatable, they make it no longer an alcoholic beverage. > [@moriah](#): > > This whole salting-while-cooking thing is madness. > > I agree you have to add _a lot_ of salt while cooking to taste it in the food. But if you do that, then what does that do to your sodium intake? Spike! You’re not salting the food in order to taste the salt, you’re doing it in order to enhance everything else. (Confession: I don’t know if it makes a difference, and I’m not sure how I’d tell) Also, one in nine people are at risk of hypertension from too little salt in the diet. > [@moriah](#): > > Salt that ‘permeates’ as you say is much, much lest detectable than salt applied topically. That’s a fact. Depends on what you’re trying to detect. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/88 "2013-05-16T17:54:32Z")
> [@Barking\_Dog](#): > > It is absurd. Oil and water don’t mix, right? Basic fact. Even if you covered the pasta in oil, as soon as it hits the water it will come right off and float to the surface. The only thing that will keep pasta from sticking together is motion. > > However, I find that putting a few drops of oil into the pasta pot isn’t complete bollocks. It just doesn’t do as advertised. What it does do is break up the surface tension on the water, helping to prevent all that foam that forms from boiling over onto you cooktop. > If you use a smaller pot than you ought to cook in because you’re impatient, like I am a lot, the oil thing really does help. The biggest factor of pasta not sticking is having enough water for the pasta to mover around in while cooking. Oil is pointless. Adding salt however will pre-salt the pasta and can also address surface tension issues if you are worried about that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/89 "2013-05-16T18:04:57Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > There is no such thing as “properly salted”. The amount of salt desired is an individual preference. What is unbearably salty for one person may be unbearably bland for another. Same with black pepper. In my case, the “proper” amount of black pepper is absolutely none. I don’t know where this popular notion that adding salt to your food is somehow an “insult” to the chef came from, but it really should have been nipped in the bud. > [@kayaker](#): > > Amen. i do not use salt as a seasoning when I cook. People who eat my cooking know that, and I always have salt on the table for those who desire it. Oh come on. Of course there is a “properly salted” level for food; if there wasn’t, then how do restaurants and prepared food places create food that the majority of people find palatable? Salt is in everything, as you point out; if there was no agreed-upon level that most people find tasteful, otherwise (like **Doug K** said) restaurants would be full of people complaining that the same dish was too salty or oversalted, depending on individual tastes. That’s not how it works; generally, a chef is able to gauge a level of salt that the majority of people find enhances the flavors of the food without it tasting salty. If I’m remembering right, that level is something around .75-1% of the food, by weight (there’s been studies done). I’m not saying there’s not variations within the level, and some people prefer a bit more or less salt. I do believe that there should be a salt shaker on the table. But salt (and sugar, to some extent) is more than just a flavor on its own; it’s a flavor enhancer, and will affect the taste of all the different flavors in the food. That’s why no- or low-salt diets generally haven’t taken off. Salt makes things taste better, and not just because of the salt flavor itself. And Black Pepper (and just about all other herbs/seasonings) is a whole thing altogether. It doesn’t react with the other flavors the way salt does, nor is any one herb or seasoning nearly as ubiquitous as salt. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/90 "2013-05-16T18:07:09Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > There is no such thing as “properly salted”. The amount of salt desired is an individual preference. What is unbearably salty for one person may be unbearably bland for another. Same with black pepper. In my case, the “proper” amount of black pepper is absolutely none. I don’t know where this popular notion that adding salt to your food is somehow an “insult” to the chef came from, but it really should have been nipped in the bud. Ok, between this post and your hot dogs and ketchup post, it seems like definitive proof that you’re not very sophisticated in a culinary sense. Salt’s a flavor enhancer as well as a basic taste. In other words, salt does something to our tongues that brings out the flavors of other foods. Don’t believe me? Try this- fry up a patty of ground beef with no seasonings or salt. Eat a piece- pretty bland, right? Now salt it a little bit- it tastes beefier and more interesting, and a little bit salty. Definitely not just like the same meat as before, but saltier. This is why they add salt to things like desserts and candies- it enhances the flavors. A certain salt profile is necessary to a lot of dishes even if it’s not perceived as being salty. If you’ve ever been to Tuscany, you’ll remember the utterly saltless bread and how ODD it tastes to those of used to a little bit of salt in the bread. American bread isn’t overtly salty tasting to most anyone, but Tuscan bread is very different for the lack of salt. The only place I can think of where you don’t really want to try and salt it while you’re cooking are dishes where you cook them down like sauces and gravies. If you salt those too early, you can concentrate the salt flavor too much. It’s better to salt those to taste after they’re cooked down. Oh, and the oil in the pasta water is primarily to stifle boilovers. It may keep them from sticking a bit as well, once it’s been strained, but that’s not the main reason you do it. As for the vodkas; I know that the grade of vodka (or any booze) matters for cocktails- I wasn’t trying to imply that all booze of a style is interchangeable, but that sometimes people do things that don’t make sense. Specifying something like Grey Goose in a bloody mary doesn’t make much sense to me- Smirnoff or some other middle-of-the-road vodka (say… Tito’s) would do just fine. Same thing goes for things like Mojitos- you don’t have to get 10 Cane- Bacardi or Cruzan will do the job admirably. I wouldn’t get “Landfill Cay Carribbean White Rum” though. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/91 "2013-05-16T18:07:56Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If you like really thick burgers, does that change things? You might consider trying America’s Test Kitchen method. For both thick burgers and thick steaks. _Before grilling_ cook them on low (250) in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes and then finish on the grill. The oven will warm the beef completely through, and then the grill finishes off the exterior with a nice grilled finish. This method works really well for thick steaks as it prevents the outer layer from becoming tough from overcooking ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/92 "2013-05-16T18:10:22Z")
I typically do not salt food when I am cooking but there is one very important exception, mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes simply require salt, quite a bit too. It makes the difference between bland paste and something people go back for seconds for. The first time my sister-in-law had the family over for Thanksgiving dinner I saw her salting the potatoes as she mashed them and knew she was a good cook and the meal would be great. Other things I leave salting up to the individual and do not add any during cooking if I am cooking for others. Mashed potatoes are the exception. If you insist upon un-salted mashed potatoes at my house I will offer you a baked potato and a mallet, and you make your own. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/93 "2013-05-16T18:10:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ll cop to that. I really don’t know what the “bay leaf” flavor is. I’ve tried frying it in oil and I’m still not sure I could identify it. I can tell rosemary, sage, thyme, marjoram, oregano, etc., in an instant, but I really can’t figure out bay leafs. Have you ever put a bay leaf in your mouth? They are potent suckers. It gave me a new appreciation for why a lot of chefs use those things sparingly. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/94 "2013-05-16T19:29:54Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > I typically do not salt food when I am cooking but there is one very important exception, mashed potatoes. > > Mashed potatoes simply require salt, quite a bit too. It makes the difference between bland paste and something people go back for seconds for. > > . If you use Yukon Gold you can use a lot less salt & butter. And, you don’t have to peel them. Not to mention the extra nutrients. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/95 "2013-05-16T19:48:43Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I don’t think bay leaves do anything at all to the flavors of anything you put them in. I can’t tell any difference whether I use two, four, six or none at all. I wonder if I could chop them up and make tea. I’m not a serious foodie, I’m really not- but the following statement will surely make me sound like one. Dried bay leaves ARE pretty worthless- but if you can get some fresh ones, they’re wonderful. I know because my in-laws’ neighbor has a laurel tree in his yard, and when he was trimming it, he gave away some fresh laurel (bay) leaves. When I used them, the aroma was amazing and they gave a flavor that McCormick dry bay leaves just don’t. If you can get some fresh laurel leaves and freeze them in a plastic bag, they’re WAY better than dried. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/96 "2013-05-16T20:56:12Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > The biggest factor of pasta not sticking is having enough water for the pasta to mover around in while cooking. Oil is pointless. Adding salt however will pre-salt the pasta and can also address surface tension issues if you are worried about that sort of thing. That’s exactly what I said. Well, not ‘exactly’, as such. I did use different words. [QUOTE=Shakes] I’ve never understood why I’m supposed to saute veggies before I throw them into a stew to boil for an hour or more. Charring I get, but just sweating the veggies? Why? [/QUOTE] To make the house smell really nice? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/97 "2013-05-16T21:18:42Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Plus, “sauteing” and “sweating” are completely different things. > > (I also didn’t know that an unlidded pot doesn’t boil over.) Boil-over has far more to do with whether a pot is too full than whether it’s lidded. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/98 "2013-05-16T21:29:21Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Have you ever put a bay leaf in your mouth? They are potent suckers. It gave me a new appreciation for why a lot of chefs use those things sparingly. Indeed I have, at various times in my life. Maybe I just always have really old bay leaves lying around, but they don’t really register to me. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/99 "2013-05-16T21:33:06Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > Boil-over has far more to do with whether a pot is too full than whether it’s lidded. That’s what I thought, which was why I was questioning the poster I was responding to, who said that (s)he simply left the lid off to prevent boilovers. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385/100 "2013-05-16T21:46:36Z")
> [@](#): > > You’re not salting the food in order to taste the salt, you’re doing it in order to enhance everything else. (Confession: I don’t know if it makes a difference, and I’m not sure how I’d tell) There is a very easy way to tell Find something like bread where no individual ingredient has any salt then bake two identical loaves one as a control with recipe required salt, and one with no salt. The take the loaf with salt and eat it with dinner and be happy. Then take the one without salt, and a styrofoam block and see if you can tell the difference blindfolded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foody-dos-and-donts-that-in-your-opinion-dont-make-a-difference/658385.md?page=6)