# "Freshly ground black pepper" and other cooking show nitpicks
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 1, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793 "2016-04-01T00:35:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/61 "2016-04-02T06:21:58Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#):
>
> And yes, those darn tv chefs ARE arrogant. They squeal and fuss if forced to cook with canned fruit or veggies, for example, and God forbid they have to work with anything premade. Always makes me laugh.
One of the pieces of cooking heresy that I enjoyed from reading _Modernist Cuisine_ was the case they made for canned vegetables actually being fresher than the “fresh” ones from a grocery store. Fresh is a measure of time since food is harvested, and vegetables are canned within minutes of being picked, where the ones at the store were picked _days_ before.
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/62 "2016-04-02T06:27:08Z")
> [@Spud](#):
>
> I’ve never heard Carmelization used in reference to meat. It refers to the browning of the sugars in certain things… most commonly onions, but also fruits and the such.
Lydia Bastianich (“Lydia’s Italy”) refers to the browning of meat as “caramelization” all the time. So do Rachael Ray, Joanne Weir and those jokers on The Chew.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/63 "2016-04-02T10:30:59Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#):
>
> Not just kosher salt, but most of the fancy salts out there: sea salt, grey salt, freshly ground rock salt, pink salt. . . I dare anyone to tell the difference between them once they’ve been added to food.
My gf attended a salt tasting. Now, she _loves_ salt, but even she was embarrased by what she paid for a tiny jar of “truffled salt”.
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### Author:  [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/64 "2016-04-02T12:06:54Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#):
>
> Lydia Bastianich (“Lydia’s Italy”) refers to the browning of meat as “caramelization” all the time. So do Rachael Ray, Joanne Weir and those jokers on The Chew.
Thanks for the info… of that group I’ve only watched Rachael Ray, and I don’t care much for Miss EVOO. Now I know a few more idiots to not watch.
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### Author:  [@stosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/65 "2016-04-02T19:40:47Z")
I like when people pay more for “organic” food. When I ask them how do they know it’s organic, they say the government says so.
These are the same people who say the government can’t do anything right.
I’m sure that if somebody is charging more and saying it is " organic", they will tell you if it’s not organic. In other words, if it makes you feel good-do it.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/66 "2016-04-02T20:11:05Z")
> [@Spud](#):
>
> Thanks for the info… of that group I’ve only watched Rachael Ray, and I don’t care much for Miss EVOO. Now I know a few more idiots to not watch.
Speaking of which… there is a common perception that EVOO is “super” olive oil, and the non-extra virgin type is for boors (although 90% of olive oil at the supermarket is EVOO IME\*). But there is at least one important distinction - EVOO is less suitable for cooking at higher heat, and when doing stir fry or something with very high heat you shouldn’t be using olive oil at all but peanut or something else.
\*Also, possibly [a literal scam as labeling is spotty](http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/oliveoil.asp).
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### Author:  [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/67 "2016-04-02T20:51:03Z")
> [@stosh](#):
>
> I like when people pay more for “organic” food. When I ask them how do they know it’s organic, they say the government says so.
> These are the same people who say the government can’t do anything right.
> I’m sure that if somebody is charging more and saying it is " organic", they will tell you if it’s not organic. In other words, if it makes you feel good-do it.
Water and salt are inorganic. All foods with calories are organic. Petroleum is organic. Gasoline is organic.
It all depends on which definition one uses.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/68 "2016-04-02T22:05:18Z")
> [@Maastricht](#):
>
> Am I the only one whose pepper mill gets clogged with steam if I ground pepper above a pan on the stove?
I’ve never had that problem. I often grind pepper directly over the pan.
I’m not bothered by partially prepping stuff for a cooking show, so it moves quickly. I know how to grind pepper, and don’t need to see them do it.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/69 "2016-04-02T22:12:26Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#):
>
> I was given an electric pepper grinder in an office gift exchange. I remember thinking how useless this would be. Until I used it. Big burst of pepper flavor from the freshly-ground corns that you do NOT get from the pre-ground stuff. Much like the difference between fresh herbs and dried herbs. Same item, but not the same taste.
I love my electric pepper grinder. If you have to grind more than a quarter teaspoon, it will save your wrists. Mine even has an LED on the bottom to light the target.
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/70 "2016-04-02T22:24:20Z")
> [@stosh](#):
>
> I like when people pay more for “organic” food. When I ask them how do they know it’s organic, they say the government says so.
> These are the same people who say the government can’t do anything right.
California has a non-profit organization called [California Certified Organic Farmers](https://www.ccof.org/) that inspects and certifies farms. It’s not a government agency. I know from talking to a few farmers that CCOF is very picky - they don’t just slap a label on for a fee.
Now, I’m skeptical of some of the claimed benefits of organic farming, but not everyone who buys so-called organic food is a dupe.
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### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/71 "2016-04-03T02:03:52Z")
> [@Spud](#):
>
> I must be the bridge… I have two “real” grinders and a couple of the McCormick’s ones. Like I said though the McCormick’s are mainly for convenience and are much better than the pre-ground shakers.
And I’m the whatever-that-is-off-to-the-side. I dislike pepper, don’t use it if I can avoid it.
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### Author:  [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/72 "2016-04-03T02:24:19Z")
At work, we have a Flavia coffee machine that uses pack [like this](http://us.myflavia.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3434372). The little display says something like ‘brewing your fresh ground coffee’ when working. Fresh ground my ass, these packs are imported from France and were probably ground six months ago.
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### Author:  [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2016, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/73 "2016-04-03T03:26:45Z")
I grind spices in a coffee grinder after toasting the seeds first in a cast iron pan…if I care more than I do 90% of the time. I do believe black pepper is the world’s most undervalued spice, so I buy it whole or coarse ground. If you use it liberally, I find, the flavor is there.
I do hate it when TV cooks say one thing while doing another, for example telling you to sweat garlic and onion while throwing them into a pan so hot you see them shrivel and die before the cameraman can cut away. Or talk about measurements with kosher or sea salt: it’s too uneven to be measured any way except by weight
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