This post is part of a series called Cooking 101, which introduces the basics of cooking. The series follows the book Culinary Fundamentals. Check out the previous posts here.

Unit 3: Sanitation
Sanitation - everyone’s favorite topic, right? I know, it’s not exciting but I thought I’d run down some of the basics [...]

Posted in Cooking 101, Health 4 Comments »

Freezing food is a great way to save it for later - but how do you thaw it safely? Much to my surprise, the book Culinary Fundamentals advises not to thaw food at room temperature.
Many, but not all, pathogens grow best within a temperature range from 41 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit (5 to 57 [...]

Posted in Health, Techniques No Comments »

The safety of nonstick, Teflon coated pans is a topic that I’ve mentioned recently and I decided it was worth looking into. My cookbooks offered a little information, but nothing extensive. Mark Bittman voices his worries in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, explaining that he only uses nonstick for eggs or sauteing, and [...]

Posted in Equipment, Health 7 Comments »

<A href=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fthneco-20%2F8005%2F05489516-02ac-45fa-b23a-1b726219a487&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.com Widgets</A>
I was reading through Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking yesterday and found his discussion of milk, lactose, and osteoporosis interesting.
Milk is one of the few foods that is actually supposed to be a food, so it is unsurprising that milk contains many nutrients. All milk is primarily made of [...]

Posted in Food Science, Health 4 Comments »