The Futile Cycle

Via Terra Sigilata, the amount of diacetyl artificial butter flavoring in microwave popcorn is apparently high enough to destroy your lungs, in a syndrome called bronchiolitis obliterans. It’s been well known that the compound will destroy the lungs of workers in factories, but this is the first reported case of a consumer being affected. Now, this is one reported case in the past umpteen-year history of microwave popcorn, so the risks are probably very low, but still, beware savoring the smell of microwave popcorn.

This was an amusing press release, about using wine as a solvent for dissolving metals. I like this part of the press release:

The scientists tested red wine and a number of popular soft drinks. The effectiveness of the technique is unlikely to be affected by whether the wine is a shiraz or a malbec and diet soft drinks are just as effective as those containing sugar. Dr. Noble would also like to reassure taxpayers that the research was conducted in the scientists’ spare time. The research had the added benefit that none of the unused scientific solutions were wasted.

I enjoy cooking; I think in general, a lot of people who like chemistry and biology also really like cooking. Maybe it’s because they like working with their hands.

Anyway, I saw this post, where they suggest heavily salting a steak before grilling in order to make it taste better. Sounds like a good idea; maybe I’ll try it next time.

Then they have a really weird argument about why the salting works. They claim that salt first sucks some water out of the steak (ok, no argument there). Then, the salt supposedly dissolves a bit and moves back into the steak (which they mistakenly call “osmosis”; really, the first step is osmosis). Ok, not beyond the stretch of imagination; I’m not an expert in surface and fluid chemistry. This higher ionic concentration in the steak then denatures (they say “relaxes”) the proteins in the steak, and “relaxed” proteins are more tender and juicy. (Of course, denaturing proteins is not really the same as relaxing them, for the same reason that stretching a Slinky toy out straight doesn’t relax the toy.)

Sorry, not buying it. Denaturing proteins doesn’t make things tender and juicy; in fact, it tends to do the opposite. Consider egg white; it’s pretty much pure protein. It’s goopy. Cooking it makes the proteins denatured, which unravels them from their mostly globular state, making little networks out of them. Hence, uncooked egg white = liquid, cooked egg white = solid. Cooking proteins and denaturing them tends to make them form more fibers and solidify meat. Hence, a well-done steak is stiffer and harder than a rare steak, because more of the protein is denatured.

So what makes steak nice and juicy? Well, the concept might seem gross, but it’s your saliva. More saliva = more juicy. Salty things are juicier because they make you salivate more. Ever try eating an unsalted saltine cracker without water? Compare that to a salted saltine cracker. The latter is much easier to get down without getting thirsty. So your saliva is probably the biggest component of the “juicy” or “dry” taste.

The salting of the meat doesn’t make it juicy because it denatures the protein (or make it “relaxed”). It makes the meat taste better because the meat becomes saltier, and salty tastes good. It’s the same reason chargrilling steak tends to make it taste juicier, because for a lot of people, chargrilled things make them salivate more. And rare meat has more fat (and I presume more salty blood and fluids) left in the steak, which tends to make people salivate, too.

This knowledge becomes instantly useful in a school cafeteria. Every once in a while, my school would serve “pepper steak”, which was usually dry as a bone, and it felt like I was eating leather. I always salted both sides of the steak liberally, and though it’s no substitute for a properly seasoned and grilled steak, it did make the meat substantially more palatable.

For those of you in the Cambridge, MA area, seriously, one of the best Italian restaurants I know of is Basta Pasta Trattoria. My friend introduced me to the restaurant in the very last week of college, but fortunately my family lives around Boston, so I’ve been able to return. Very great (I’d give it a 24 on the Zagat scale) but also insanely cheap. I mean, a huge bowl of delicious, heavenly risotto (try the white risotto with thyme, lemon, prosciutto, and goat cheese) for less than $9? It’s like a liter and a half of the stuff, too. What’s better for a poor student/post-doc? Also, the mini arancinis (fried rice balls and fontina cheese, with tomato sauce) are awesome.The only problem is that they’re a bit of a walk away from any T station (basically at the intersection of Putnam Ave and Western), and it’s in a residential neighborhood (i.e. little to no parking) but they do catering. I’m not sure if they do delivery. I go there by walking from Harvard Square, which is like 15 mins. The walk there is easy, the walk bad is hard because I’m usually stuffed full.

Madrid was an amazing experience, and there are some things I’d like to note. Firstly, try to visit a little earlier than July; it’s damn hot (it hovered between 90 and 110 during the day). Secondly, wear good shoes, as always on a tourist-y trip in Europe. Third, travel guides are good for metropolitan areas, but get out of date rather quickly for side trips (e.g. Toledo, El Escorial). Check ahead for closings, restorations, and rennovations of key things (e.g. the alcazar in Toledo). Lastly, plan to stop often for food and a drink break. It helps a lot.The GreatThe Crystal Palace is a definite thing to see, in the Parque del Buen Retiro. The lake near there is also very nice to sit by and laze an afternoon away on.Aloque (Torrecilla del Leal 20, M. Antón Martin) is an excellent, excellent wine and port bar, with very good raciones to accompany the wine; I recommend the carpaccio. Ask the bartend for suggestions if need be. His taste is very good.In fact, Lavapies is just a great area for dining and drinking. Good, friendly, cheap. Not as touristy as the areas near Sol and Gran Via, so spanish-speaking is a must, but they’re very patient and kind, with good suggestions. La Buga del Lobo was good.The Post Office on the Plaza de la Cibeles is amazing, like a giant castle.The Thyssen is very well organized and curated. They have a wonderful collection of art spanning many centuries of European work. Completely awesome.The Prado is awesome, with a huge collection of wonderful Ribera paintings, as well as a lot of Velasquez, Goya, and El Greco (of course). Very good museum, though organized a little difficultly.Las Tablas (Plaza de España 9, M. Plaza de España) is a great bar to watch flamenco dancing, a show that goes an hour and a half or so. We had a table right up at the stage, and the whole room was having a great time. The owners got up and danced afterwards, which was absolutely amazing. Food was a bit pricey. Get there early. The Plaza is also pleasent to walk through.Restaurante Sobrino de Botin was pricey, but worth it. A tourist trap, to be sure, but the food is still very good, and how can you resist the so-called “oldest restaurant in the world”? The roast suckling pig is like eating a slab of crisp bacon. I’m quite serious. The squid cooked in its own ink is also very good.The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando is surprisingly good (we got in free, too). Among its twisting walls are some very nice Spanish works, and we discovered a few new artists that we hadn’t known about before.El Escorial was mindblowing. What a monastary. What a palace. What a library. It was kind of awe-inspiring to stand in the mauseleum with the coffins of Philip II and Charles V. Everything was wrought gold, jasper, and beautiful marble. Seriously, a burial befitting of one named Imperator et Rex – Emperor and King. Didn’t know we had to make a reservation beforehand to see the Bourbon apartments inside.The Palacio Real was also quite an experience. So this is how the king lives, huh? Much more extravagent than Buckingham, apparently (I’ve not been to England, but JZG has). Some rooms have embroidery instead of wallpaper. Just…wow. The view from the adjacent cathedral’s top is quite beautiful, too, thought the cathedral itself was underwhelming. The crypt below is kinda pretty.Toledo was very, very hot (43 C, 110 F), so that was a bummer, but the city was beautiful, like stepping back into the olden days, except without all the crap on the streets. Beautiful, monumental cathedral. The Casa Museo de El Greco was under rennovation, but the painting of the Burial of Count Orgaz was very beautiful, though crowded. The actual church (Iglesia de Santo Tomé) is quite a nice experience as well. Watch out for shoddily-made damascene; “hand-made” is often an outright lie.La Trucha (Calle de Núñez de Arce 6) was pricey, but so good. Definitely order the fish tasting tapas platter.Palazzo (Gran Via 32) has great ice cream.Basque food is heavenly, but I can only handle it in small quantities. Oxtail pan-fried and stuffed with foie gras was cold, hot, salty, oily, fatty, crisp, creamy, and every so delicious, but afterwards I distinctly felt a few of my arteries gasp.The OkThe Reina Sofia was ok. “Guernica” was obviously the highlight, but modern art doesn’t really do it for me. They don’t have many of the artists that I like, though they did have some excellent pieces from the Italian Futurists and Suprematists (who are not to be confused with “supremacists”). I find Joan Miró to be absolutely boring, hence eliminating maybe 1/3 of the collection from my consideration.Cerveceria 100 Montaditos was underwhelming, but the food was ok.The Convento de Las Descalzas was pretty interesting, but tiring (no places to sit for the entire tour). Rest before going. There’s also a long wait to get in.Casa Labra was too crowded, food wasn’t worth it.Shopping in Madrid is quite expensive, even places like Zara. Go to the outlets if you can.Plaza de la Villa was underwhelming at best.The view along the edge of Calle de Bailén was pretty nice, but not the fantastical view I was led to believe it was. Too much development had crowded it a bit.Chocolateria de San Gines is good, but the chocolate is so thick that it is pretty undrinkable, except to have with churros.Frommers has one or two good suggestions, but Lonely Planet is overall a more useful travel guide, I think. To Frommers, “Inexpensive” is still quite above my range of expense (i.e. a meal is around $25-30 per person), while for Lonely Planet, it’s a much more reasonable range of < $15 or so, it seems like. Still, it is useful to have at least two to cross-reference and check against each other.