Why Does Popcorn Pop

Written by Seth B.


Popcorn can be traced back early asrepparttar 1500. In 1519, Cortes got his first sight of popcorn when he invaded Mexico and came into contact withrepparttar 150213 Aztecs. Popcorn was an important food forrepparttar 150214 Aztec Indians, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc,repparttar 150215 god of rain and fertility.

The reason popcorn pops was explained by native Aztecs. There are spirits who live insiderepparttar 150216 kernels of popcorn. As you heat these spirits homes, they get angry. Eventually,repparttar 150217 spirits get so angry they pop out of there homes as unhappy little puffs of steam.

Obviously, this was folk lore and we have since discovered scientifically how popcorn pops. It’s relatively simple. Popcorn kernels contain water. Insiderepparttar 150218 kernel is a soft patch of starch with around 14% moisture. The moisture is contained by kernels hard outer shell.

Roast Meat - Times and Temperatures

Written by Michael Sheridan


Despite plenty of evidence torepparttar contrary, I still see recipes that insist you should cook meat at high temperature forrepparttar 150143 first twenty minutes or so to seal it and then lowerrepparttar 150144 level forrepparttar 150145 rest ofrepparttar 150146 cooking time.

This has becomerepparttar 150147 fashionable way and I’m not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with a lack of time in an age when both partners tend to work for a living.

What I am certain about is that this is notrepparttar 150148 best way to treat a prime roast. Nor does it ‘seal’ it. Let’s put this myth to bed once and for all.

Cooking meat at high temperature, whether inrepparttar 150149 oven, onrepparttar 150150 barbecue or in a pan does not seal it!

It burns it. That’s why it goes brown. And it introduces extra flavor, becauserepparttar 150151 outside ofrepparttar 150152 meat generally has a covering of fat. Fat is what gives meat it’s unique flavor.

However adding this crust torepparttar 150153 outside ofrepparttar 150154 meat will also speed uprepparttar 150155 cooking ofrepparttar 150156 rest ofrepparttar 150157 joint, and reducerepparttar 150158 amount that remains rare.

It will not producerepparttar 150159 even finish you see in hotel and restaurant carveries.

To achieve that you need slow, low temperature cooking plus regular basting.

Basting is simply takingrepparttar 150160 juices fromrepparttar 150161 bottom ofrepparttar 150162 pan and pouring them back overrepparttar 150163 cooking meat from time to time. By doing this, and cooking atrepparttar 150164 right temperature, you will produce far more succulent results. Browning will still take place, but gently, as part of a process.

Let’s look atrepparttar 150165 basic method.

Do you use a roasting tin? Well don't.

It’s not a good idea to cook meat inside a roasting tin, becauserepparttar 150166 bottom of it tends to be sitting in liquid, much of which is water.

A much better way is to placerepparttar 150167 joint directly onrepparttar 150168 rungs ofrepparttar 150169 oven withrepparttar 150170 roasting tin underneath it. In this way, you can pack vegetables inrepparttar 150171 roasting tin and they will cook nicely inrepparttar 150172 juices fromrepparttar 150173 meat.

If you don’t like that idea, because it means you have to cleanrepparttar 150174 rungs after use, putrepparttar 150175 meat on top of a rack in or onrepparttar 150176 roasting tin instead. You don’t need to buy a special tin for this, simply use a cake rack or something similar. I have even used two or three kebab skewers and restedrepparttar 150177 joint on those.

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