Separating Fact from Fiction in the Kitchen Part II: Myths Beware

Get ready to render more truth out of some of the most common culinary myths

Welcome back for another round of separating fact from fiction in the kitchen. Today we are once again looking into some very well-known culinary myths. I have heard some of these myths for years, and when I first started cooking I heard a whole host of them.

I am really not trying to “debunk” anything here but as a chef who is dedicated to bringing you the most useful information possible, I feel I must shed some light on a few cooking misconceptions.

Myth #1: Rinse Your Meat Before Cooking

I believe I first heard this myth from the Food Network. A celebrity chef who will remain unnamed was preparing to show the audience how to cook a whole chicken. The chef explicitly told the audience to rinse off the chicken under cold water to “wash off” all of the bacteria. Back then this was the standard for chicken and pork preparation.

Culinary professionals now realize that this practice can do more harm than good. Just think about it, if I am rinsing chicken off in the sink, I am now getting that bacteria all over the sink at least if not on the counter, cutting board, or whatever that bird comes in contact with. Don’t rinse your bird!

Myth #2: Squeezing or Poking Meat to Check Doneness

Never squeeze your meat, just give it a little poke. Ok, for me this is something that actually works. I was trained in a steakhouse to poke the steaks that were on the grill to see how done they were, we had thermometers, but they were frowned upon by the old-school cooks.

I do understand that you aren’t actually able to tell the temperature of meat by poking it, but what you can get, in my opinion, a very accurate impression of what the doneness of your meat is by poking it.

The most accurate way to check your steak for the temperature is to get a good quality thermometer and insert it into your meat. If you are lacking a thermometer, and you’re cooking a steak the poke method can help you out in a pinch.

Using this method accurately requires years of experience in meat cooking. I only use this method for steaks made of red meat such as beef, lamb, or bison. I don’t do this with roasts like prime rib or any other meats.

Myth #3: Add Oil to Pasta Water to Prevent Sticking

The idea of adding a small amount of oil to pasta water to prevent sticking is complete hogwash, but I still do it sometimes. Why! When I was learning to cook I was a young culinarily impressionable boy, and everything I had heard or read about cooking pasta said to put a little oil in there to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other.

In the early stages of my cooking game, we did not have the internet in my house, but we had a ton of cookbooks. These cookbooks were usually a compilation of recipes from home cooks that were full of culinary myths, but at the time those ideas were widely accepted in the culinary world. It still feels kinda weird to not put oil in the pasta water, it’s still a part of me.

Myth #4: Only Cook with Wine or Beer That you Would Drink

You do not need to go out and buy expensive wine or beer to cook with. Ordinary table wine or beer can be used for many recipes and can enhance the flavor of your dishes. Personally, I don’t cook with wine or beer much anymore at home as I no longer drink alcohol, I love the flavors that wine and beer bring to a dish I just don’t keep it in the house anymore.

When I do cook with wine I usually buy the cheapest stuff I can find. Ok, maybe not the cheapest stuff but you get my point. Beer on the other hand can vary, if you're making a beer batter for fish and chips or cooking some brats in beer, I tend to go fairly cheap. If I am making a hearty lamb stew with a stout or porter I usually get something a bit better, but as a rule, I go cheap.

Myth #5 Only use San Marzano’s for Tomato Sauce

This is an obnoxiously pretentious myth for many reasons. This sentiment is most often expressed on cooking shows or in fancy cooking magazines, and most of the time, they are referring to the canned variety San Marzano tomatoes. Rarely do I see a TV chef using fresh San Marzano’s.

There is nothing wrong with San Marzano tomatoes and if we are talking about the fresh kind from my friend Aymee’s garden, then yes, they are in my opinion, the best sauce tomato.

There also is nothing wrong with canned tomatoes, I use them all of the time for many different applications, but I have never had a canned tomato that blew my mind like a fresh one, even a San Marzano.

My problem with this is that a standard can of tomatoes is pretty cheap, but the canned San Marzano’s are outrageously priced, sometimes almost $10 per 28oz. can. If you have access to fresh tomatoes of any kind go ahead and make some sauce, but if you don’t, save your money and forget about the canned San Marzano.

These are just my thoughts and thank you for listening. We can’t forget that there really are no rules to cooking, do what you want and have fun with it, life’s too short to take it too seriously. Enjoy!