"Fat = flavour" and other assorted culinary myths

[Xanadu]

My housemate seems to have the idea that ALL of the flavour from meat is in the fat. As in, if you take beef fat, mix in flour then add water, you'll get a tasty gravy. He went as far as trying to say that stock is just fat from the animal in water.

Anyone got any culinary myths that they or their friends/family believe?

 

[Kanda]

The fat *is* the tastiest part though!!

 

[zoltan]

the most intrinsically attractive food taste/feel to humans on a biologiocal level is salt + fat or better still salty fat - a throwback to caveman days I suppose...so there may be something in the fat thesis

 

[Xanadu]

What fat thesis?

He claims that all of the flavour from a gravy is in beef fat!

 

[toggle]

buy him a pack of lard and ask him where the flavour is

 

[Santino]

Myth: If you brown meat in a pan it creates a magical 'seal' that prevents flavour from escaping, because as can clearly be seen cooked meat forms an impenetrable membrane.

 

[Xanadu]

I challenged him to make gravy solely out of the fat he'd drained off his beef mince.

 

[nonamenopackdrill]

"onions make almost every dish better"

"lemon makes every dish better" (that's a greek myth)

 

[Xanadu]

Myth: If you brown meat in a pan it creates a magical 'seal' that prevents flavour from escaping, because as can clearly be seen cooked meat forms an impenetrable membrane.

That's an irritating one that "chefs" on TV seem intent on perpetrating

 

[Spion]

I wouldn't say all the flavour in meat is in the fat but a hell of a lot is. Fat (being viscous) also helps flavours to linger on the tongue. Meat without a lot of fat in is often pretty rubbish really.

 

[toggle]

Oh yeah, I remember being told when I was a kid that adding flavourings to food was wrong, even stuff like herbs and spices, because that was what foreigners did to cover up the fact they ate rotten food and if I grew up and had a dinner party and served herbed/spiced foods, my guests would think that I was serving them bad food.

 

[Orang Utan]

Fat is ace - crackling, the rind on a pork chop, chicken skin, bone marrow yum yum yum

 

[WouldBe]

Fat is ace - crackling, the rind on a pork chop, chicken skin, bone marrow yum yum yum

Crackling is the best tasting bit of pork.

 

[Kanda]

I was in Ethiopia at a traditional function, they had meat hung up ready to be eaten, traditionally the best and most sought after part was... the fat! Raw!!

They'd just slice the fat off and nosh away

 

[RaverDrew]

How do you make gravy without the fat then ? How else are you supposed to make a roux ?

First person to mention bisto gets a neckshot btw

 

[Kanda]

Oxo

 

[Xanadu]

How do you make gravy without the fat then ? How else are you supposed to make a roux ?

First person to mention bisto gets a neckshot btw

Not saying that you don't need the fat, just that there is more to a gravy than animal fat, flour and water

 

[story]

"onions make almost every dish better"

"lemon makes every dish better" (that's a greek myth)

I agree with the Greeks!


The fat thing - biologically, we seek and crave and value fat cos it represents calories that we can store up in case of famine. We find fats and the sensation of fats in the mouth very attractive (that's one of the reasons why chocolate is so moreish - cos of the way it melts in the mouth). Also, there's some secret special magic thing that happens where fat makes the flavours in food more available somehow.

Here's another Greek thing - When the Ancients made animal sacrifices to the gods, the gods got the fat and people got the meat...

ETA
But your housemate saying that all the flavour is in the fat is like saying all the fun is in the flirting.

 

[EastEnder]

"Tomato ketchup should not be added to every dish"

WTF?!?!?

There are some very sick people out there....

 

[Kanda]

"Tomato ketchup should not be added to every dish"

WTF?!?!?

There are some very sick people out there....

Tommy K is what my flatmates see as a vegetable.

Me: What you want with that? Peas or Carrots?
Them: Nah, Ketchup is fine

 

[story]

[pedantic but interesting] The colour in tomatoes etc. is in the anthraquinones. Anthraquinones are antioxidants i.e. they are very good for you. They are incredibly stable, and don't break down when heated or processed. In other words, they are present and available in tommy K and starwberry jam and so forth. So if someone won't eat anything but tommy K and raspberry jam, they're still getting some antioxidants in their diet [/pedantic but interesting]

 

[Herbsman.]

'Tommy K' I like that.

'Maccy D' sounds shit but 'Tommy K' is

 

[longdog]

How do you make gravy without the fat then ? How else are you supposed to make a roux ?

The roux method is for rank amatures and is just making the job harder.

 

[longdog]

Oh yeah, I remember being told when I was a kid that adding flavourings to food was wrong, even stuff like herbs and spices, because that was what foreigners did to cover up the fact they ate rotten food and if I grew up and had a dinner party and served herbed/spiced foods, my guests would think that I was serving them bad food.

Do we share the same mother?

 

[nonamenopackdrill]

Do we share the same mother?

<nasty image removed from head>

 

[Herbsman.]

The roux method is for rank amatures and is just making the job harder.

what's the pro method then?

 

[longdog]

Keep whisking.

Simple as.

I can make a white sauce, garenteed (sp?) no lumps in about 3 minutes with none of this roux mallarky. I saw some TV chef do it and I was initially sceptical but he was right.

Just bung flour and butter in a saucepan of milk and keep stirring until it thickens. Job's a goodun. For gravy just add flour to the juices in the tin and keep stirring, that's the way I've always done it and I've never had a complaint yet.

Mind you, I don't much care for gravy, I like my food dry.

 

[Herbsman.]

Keep whisking.

Simple as.

I can make a white sauce, garenteed (sp?) no lumps in about 3 minutes with none of this roux mallarky. I saw some TV chef do it and I was initially sceptical but he was right.

Just bung flour and butter in a saucepan of milk and keep stirring until it thickens. Job's a goodun. For gravy just add flour to the juices in the tin and keep stirring, that's the way I've always done it and I've never had a complaint yet.

Mind you, I don't much care for gravy, I like my food dry.

thanks for your answer. although it actually means nothing to me, because I don't know wtf a roux is

i follow recipes all the time, that tell me to 'make a roux'... so i just chuck the flour in, that's the roux for me.

 

[WouldBe]

thanks for your answer. although it actually means nothing to me, because I don't know wtf a roux is

i follow recipes all the time, that tell me to 'make a roux'... so i just chuck the flour in, that's the roux for me.

A roux is a blob of melted fat combined with flour to make a paste.

 

[RaverDrew]

Keep whisking.

Simple as.

I can make a white sauce, garenteed (sp?) no lumps in about 3 minutes with none of this roux mallarky. I saw some TV chef do it and I was initially sceptical but he was right.

Just bung flour and butter in a saucepan of milk and keep stirring until it thickens. Job's a goodun. For gravy just add flour to the juices in the tin and keep stirring, that's the way I've always done it and I've never had a complaint yet.

Mind you, I don't much care for gravy, I like my food dry.

That's pretty similar to making a roux though