Cooking Issues

Latest Episodes:

Episode 103: Bread & Brine Nov 13, 2012

Show notes

On this week’s episode of Cooking Issues, Dave Arnold and Nastassia Lopez are joined in the studio by Piper Kristensen of Booker and Dax. Tune into this episode to Dave answer some questions about the oven spring when making bread at home, and different factors that determine quality of bread. Learn how spices and brine enter and flavor meat. Dave also talks about dairy coagulation, and how to prepare cod milt! Low temperature cooking, hydrogenating, and fermenting – Dave and the crew are tackling it all on this week’s Cooking Issues! This program has been brought to you by The International Culinary Center.

“There’s no real ‘rule-of-thumb’ on brining the same way there would be with curing where everything has been written down by the USDA and the various curing authorities.” [14:20]

“The protein structure in a good bread dough is going to hold the gas bubble integrity up to a point of about 60 degrees Celsius, where a crappy bread dough is going to hold the structure up to a point of about 50 degrees Celsius. The key difference there is that it’s about the same temperature that the starch gelatinization is taking place.” [30:20]

— Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 102: Hurricane Sandy, Refrigeration, & More Nov 06, 2012

Show notes

Welcome to yet another episode of Cooking Issues. Dave Arnold and Nastassia Lopez are in the studio post-Hurricane Sandy, and are talking about the storm’s impact on New York City. Dave is without power, and so are so many other people in Lower Manhattan, the Rockaways, Brooklyn, and Long Island. Later, Dave suggests a few Cambodian cookbooks and pressure cookers. What is the best way to apply sous vide techniques in a food truck? Dave talks about the differences between home and commercial refrigeration, and refrigeration systems that use endothermic reactions. Get some tips on making pasta and ice cream at home! This program has been brought to you by The International Culinary Center.

“I think it’s a freakin’ racket! Notice how your home fridge never breaks down? For a four year period, I had a commercial fridge in my house and it broke four times! Commercial refrigeration sucks! …They just don’t put the thing together as well, insulate it as well, and solder it as well.” [28:20]

— Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 101: Fly Control & Waffles Oct 16, 2012

Show notes

Dave Arnold and Nastassia Lopez are back after last week’s celebration for another installment of Cooking Issues! This week, Dave troubleshoots a rotovap that’s been working in dry ice and acetone, and talks about his experiences with cryo-shucking. Later, Dave talks about the best way to keep vinegar flies away from your homemade fermented foods. Hear how you can use hormone treatments to keep flies from breeding in your kitchen. What is the main difference between waffle and pancake batter? Dave shares his personal pancake recipe, and also gives some tips about how to add yeast to your pancake recipes. Finally, learn how to cook lamb at a low temperature, and hear about the FDA’s sous vide standards! This program has been sponsored by Whole Foods.

“The only difference between a waffle recipe and pancake recipe is that a waffle recipe is going to contain a significant amount of oil or oil-like thing like butter. The reason is because you need something to keep the waffle sticking to the iron.” [33:05]

— Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 100: The 100th Episode! Oct 09, 2012

Show notes

Welcome to the 100th episode of Cooking Issues! To congratulate Dave Arnold and Nastassia Lopez, HRN’s own Patrick Martins, Erin Fairbanks, and Michael Harlan Turkell stop by the studio and pop a bottle of Prosecco! To start off the episode, Dave addresses a recent tragedy involving cocktails prepared with liquid nitrogen. Tune in to hear Dave talk about the inherent responsibility involved with using liquid nitrogen, and why liquid nitrogen is just a tool like a knife or a deep fryer. Later, Dave takes on questions about chamber vacuum machines, and non-wood cutting boards. Later, Dave goes on a diatribe about American ham-eating tendencies. Tune in to hear Dave and Nastassia dish on sous vide lamb shanks, Pectin X Ultra SP-L, and cleaning lab equipment. This program has been brought to you by S. Wallace Edwards and Sons.

“At Booker & Dax, we never ever ever serve actual liquid cryogens to people or food and drinks that are so chilled that they can cause frostbite upon consumption… The trick is knowing what you’re doing and having some common sense and respect for the safety of your customers.” [3:00]

“I hate tropical paradise, except for the fruit.” [31:20]

— Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 99: Fracking & Ice Cream Oct 02, 2012

Show notes

CNN is in the studio filming Dave for “The Next List” on this week’s edition of Cooking Issues and Dave has a full mailbag of questions to answer. From making ice-cream at home with a Carpigiani to hydro-colloid experimentation, Dave’s got the solutions to all of your issues. Learn more about different types of fats, low temperature cooking techniques and more. What would it take for Dave to punch somebody in the face over food? How does fracking affect ice cream? How can you make sure not to ruin prime-rib when cooking? How can you manage allergies to cherries and apples? If any of this interests you at all – press play immediately! Today’s episode of Cooking Issues was brought to you by The International Culinary Center.

“If you need to rely on [an ice cream maker] for your business – don’t buy it on used or on eBay.” [6:10]

“There is no one fat that is the best fat for frying.” [32:15]

“The last thing on earth you want to do is cook an entire prime rib low temp and then do a flash sear.” [27:00]

“Different apple varieties have widely different levels of allergens that cause your throat to itch.” [49:20]

–Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 98: Preserving, Smoking & Pig Heads Sep 25, 2012

Show notes

What do you do with a pig head? Why don’t more people like scrapple and haggis? Want more tips on food preservation? You’re in the right place! Tune into another hilarious and information-packed episode of Cooking Issues hosted by Dave Arnold. He takes listener questions on everything from coffee infused cocktails to the poisonous nature of Indonesian candle nuts. Find out why Dave thinks there will be an explosion of immersion circulators on the market soon and his advice for smoking a whole chicken. Do your best to keep up with Dave’s mile-a-minute stream of knowledge and learn more about a myriad of food and cooking related issues. Today’s program was brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

“Guanciale is one of the more delicious things in the world. It ranks in my top 1 of pizza toppings.”

“Salt is usually used in conjunction with dehydration for preservation in foods like ham. Salt also has other properties – it inhabits some bacteria but not lactic acid bacteria.”

“With the immersion circultator dropping below $500 there will be an EXPLOSION of circulators on the market.”

–Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 97: “Heir Apparent” Sep 18, 2012

Show notes

Though he’s late to the studio again, Dave Arnold is back for another hilarious and jam-packed episode of Cooking Issues. We’ve got calls from Memphis, stories of crazy fruit trees and advice for making herb mayonnaise. Find out why Nastassia’s preferred title is “heir apparent” and hear an awesome recipe for chlorophyll butter, used to coloring sauces green. Learn more about artisanal cheese in America, handling chili peppers and oxidation in vermouth and fortified wines. This program was sponsored by Fairway Market.

“One of the sad things about cookbooks it that are lots of books before the modern cooking era that have fallen by the wayside and haven’t been read enough. I don’t hear as many people talking about James Peterson’s sauce books as often as they should.”

“If you only handle the waxy outer cuticle section while you’re cutting hot peppers – you won’t come in contact with the seeds much.”

–Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 96: Circulation and Clarification Sep 11, 2012

Show notes

Dave Arnold and Nastassia Lopez are back from Harvard to help you in the kitchen on this week’s Cooking Issues! Dave is gearing up to visit some world-class orchards across the pond with Harold McGee, but not before answering some listener questions. Hear Dave talk about the differences between the Nomiku and the PolyScience immersion circulators. Learn why Dave is a “margarine hater”, and why butter has no set melting point. Later, tune in for some centrifugal talk, why clarification always leads to flavor loss. Finally, get schooled on hydrocolloids! Dave discusses t the different variations of Dow methylcellulose and their applications in creating gels. This episode has been brought to you by The International Culinary Center.

“The pump output is usually not the limit on your capacity. Usually the limit on your capacity is the wattage [of the immersion circulator]. That said, when judging capacity, it’s not about how many liters of liquid- it’s how many liters of liquid, plus product, at what temperature? In a vessel with what kind of insulation?”

— Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 95: Intelligent and Tasty Cephalopods Aug 28, 2012

Show notes

Dave Arnold is back from Colombia, and is joined again by Nastassia Lopez for another episode of Cooking Issues. Dave and Nastassia start off the the show by talking about different tropical fruits and thickeners. Dave revisits the homemade gummy candy topic with a listener response. Tune in to learn more about starch molding and gum arabic! Later, Dave offers some rethermalizing tips to ensure food safety and fresh flavor. Did you know that cephalopods are some of the smartest creatures in the ocean? Nonetheless, Dave talks about the variety of flavor and texture in octopus. For more information about pressure cooking in large quantities, induction heating, meat textures, and raw milk – check out this week’s Cooking Issues! This episode has been sponsored by Whole Foods.

“When people talk about shelf-life, they’re actually talking about two things. One – Is it going to be safe to consume? And, two – is it going to taste good?”

“The tentacles on the octopus taste different. They have dominant tentacles and non-dominant tentacles.”

— Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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Episode 94: Curing Meat and Making Sausage Aug 21, 2012

Show notes

Dave Arnold is heading to Colombia, but not before another episode of Cooking Issues. Dave and Nastassia Lopez start the show off talking about making and preserving cocktail cherries at cellar temperatures. Tune in to learn about the proper balance of sugar, alcohol, and calcium to maintain the structure of the cherry! Later, Dave answers a question about texture in homemade sausage, and how fat is instrumental in determining how a sausage holds up. How can a homebrewer infuse a coffee flavor into beer? Tune in to find out! Other topics include making gummy candies, knife sharpening, and how to make a proper curing room at home! This episode has been sponsored by The International Culinary Center.

“Fat is not just fat; fat is a mixture of fat and connective tissue. When it’s native, it will hold itself in place, but if it’s melted out it’s not gonna hold.”

“The smaller a curing chamber is, the less stable it’s going to be over time.”

— Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

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