Lifestyles: Food for Thought
Trina Sprengelmeyer
Issue date: 12/1/03 Section: News
Spread 1 tsp. of unsweetened yogurt onto a tortilla.
Place taco filling in the tortilla and then sprinkle with chopped vegetables.
"Hi mom‚ I have a question . . ."
Students are in college now‚ and it's the first time that they are living on their own. They can sleep whenever they want‚ study whenever they want and eat whenever they want.
Yet‚ as they are staring at their groceries from Hy-Vee‚ they realize there is one minor problem ... They cannot remember a thing about food preparation.
Students probably are left thinking that they cannot make it on their own after all‚ so they call their mom‚ dad‚ grandma‚ etc. to ask them questions like "is curdled milk okay to drink if you mix it really well?"
Instead of admitting defeat‚ however‚ read the article below to find answers to common food preparation queries to save a call home.
Does putting salt in the water really make pasta cook faster?
Mom says: Yes.
The science behind it: Table salt is a substance called sodium chloride (NaCl). When dissolved in water‚ NaCl forms two ions - Na+ and Cl- - that raise the boiling point of water by lowering the vapor pressure. This means that when adding salt to water‚ it actually becomes hotter than 212 degrees Fahrenheit (the normal boiling point of water) before it boils‚ thereby cooking the pasta faster.
The catch-22: Although the pasta will cook faster by putting it in after the water starts to boil‚ the wait will be longer before the water with added salt will start to boil.
Should cooks put frozen meat in a bowl of hot water or put it out on the counter to let it defrost?
Mom says: Neither. Put it in the refrigerator.
The science behind it: Frozen meat should never be allowed to defrost at room temperature or in a warm-water bath. In both cases‚ meat thaws from the outside in. The outside meat layer can easily warm to a temperature that permits bacterial growth before the core defrosts.
Place taco filling in the tortilla and then sprinkle with chopped vegetables.
"Hi mom‚ I have a question . . ."
Students are in college now‚ and it's the first time that they are living on their own. They can sleep whenever they want‚ study whenever they want and eat whenever they want.
Yet‚ as they are staring at their groceries from Hy-Vee‚ they realize there is one minor problem ... They cannot remember a thing about food preparation.
Students probably are left thinking that they cannot make it on their own after all‚ so they call their mom‚ dad‚ grandma‚ etc. to ask them questions like "is curdled milk okay to drink if you mix it really well?"
Instead of admitting defeat‚ however‚ read the article below to find answers to common food preparation queries to save a call home.
Does putting salt in the water really make pasta cook faster?
Mom says: Yes.
The science behind it: Table salt is a substance called sodium chloride (NaCl). When dissolved in water‚ NaCl forms two ions - Na+ and Cl- - that raise the boiling point of water by lowering the vapor pressure. This means that when adding salt to water‚ it actually becomes hotter than 212 degrees Fahrenheit (the normal boiling point of water) before it boils‚ thereby cooking the pasta faster.
The catch-22: Although the pasta will cook faster by putting it in after the water starts to boil‚ the wait will be longer before the water with added salt will start to boil.
Should cooks put frozen meat in a bowl of hot water or put it out on the counter to let it defrost?
Mom says: Neither. Put it in the refrigerator.
The science behind it: Frozen meat should never be allowed to defrost at room temperature or in a warm-water bath. In both cases‚ meat thaws from the outside in. The outside meat layer can easily warm to a temperature that permits bacterial growth before the core defrosts.
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