Kitchen MYTHS - debunked

[ChesterV]

Getting ALL the lumps out of pancake batter.

It turns out there are a lot of common mistakes people make when cooking pancakes. Stirring out every lump in the batter often leads to over-mixing, which makes your pancakes turn out chewier instead of fluffy, so it's best to leave a few lumps in.

 

[ChesterV]

Baking Soda

Everybody is aware of the cleaning properties of baking soda. This is the home cleaner that needs no introduction as it has already saved plenty of money to plenty of people willing to risk using it. House cleaning was never easier once this was introduced... or re-introduced, as your grandparents were long since aware of this, like they keep telling you every time you start talking about expensive cleaners. But do you know everything about baking soda? It has all sorts of properties and uses, and some of them can actually surprise you. There are even myths about baking soda which are still tested in many households as you read these lines. Here is the take on some of those myths and whether you should test them out or consider them swiftly busted:


• Baking soda kills odors.

TRUE.
This is not even a myth. When you find the source of an unpleasant smell, simply rub some baking soda, or a mixture of water and baking soda and your nose will immediately detect the change.


• A box of baking soda in the freezer or the refrigerator absorbs all odors from the inside.

FALSE.
This is a kitchen myth tested by many and none have found any success. It does kill odors if applied, but passively standing about baking soda does absolutely nothing for smells.


• Baking soda whitens the teeth.

TRUE.
Why yes, baking soda is abrasive and its crystals can reach deep into your teeth and do wonders for your dental hygiene. It not only whitens the teeth by killing the shadier stains, but also protects your teeth from cavities since it has some anti-bacterial effects. Just don’t use it more than once every two weeks as the abrasiveness of the soda can also damage your enamel. And don’t swallow, as too much ingested soda can be dangerous.


• Baking soda alleviates stomach pain.

TRUE. Well sort of.
It helps with stomach burns and does deplete gasses. Baking soda is alkaline so its antacid properties do work on sensations of bloating, burns and flatulence. Just a teaspoon of baking soda can help quite a lot in these cases. But of course, it should not be consumed too much as it can be addictive and dangerous to the stomach. It is still recommended you use medicine for physical pains.


• Baking soda is a relaxing agent.

FALSE.
People say that if you add baking soda to your hot bath you will feel much more relaxed. Those people are wrong. The only thing it does is lowering your water’s acidity level, so it is something.


• Baking soda treats fungal infections, mold and mildew.

FALSE.
Baking soda will scratch away at your skin if you apply it and might only worsen the infection. As far as mold and mildew go, it does nothing. The soda’s abrasiveness might scrape them off, but they will still be there and will pop up again the second your attention is away.


• Baking soda keeps green vegetables green.

TRUE.
But only for the color. Blanching your vegetables will keep their color, but it will destroy their structure, their nutrients, and whatever else helpful vitamins they hold. This is not a recommended practice unless you are only cooking for show.

 

[ChesterV]

Preheating the oven

Although many recipes state to preheat the oven before cooking, it turns out it's not necessary when baking – in fact it’s just wasting energy! Fan forced ovens don’t require pre-heating as they generally heat up pretty quickly. So this task isn’t essential when baking for short periods of time i.e cookies, cupcakes.

 

[ChesterV]

Measuring cups and spoons are always precise

Proper measuring is an important part of successful baking. However measuring with the use of cups and spoons is not always accurate, especially when measuring large quantities of ingredients. It’s safe to say that investing in a set of kitchen scales will save you from baking disaster! Kitchen scales are more reliable than measuring cups and spoons and allow you to get the exact measurements every time.

Not all companies that manufacture measuring devices do so with accuracy. They are more for generic purposes than actual exact measurement.

 

[ChesterV]

Baking powder lasts forever

Baking powder is an essential ingredient when it comes to baked goods, with a shelf life of around a year. Over time it will lose its potency and not be useful. A simple test to find this out is to put a spoonful in a glass of water - if it bubbles it is still effective to use, if not it’s time to replace it.

 

[ChesterV]

Dusting berries in flour helps keep them in place

True.
Berries have a lot of moisture. The dusting or rolling them in flour helps soak up some of that moisture so they keep their place in the batter and not sink to the bottom of the pan while baking.

 

[ChesterV]

Always sift your flour

As this does help in some instances, it is not a necessity anymore. Sifting flour goes back to the medieval times when flour was not so finely processed and they had to sift the weevils out of it before using it. With modern flours being pretty much always in powdered form, it is not really necessary to always sift your flour.

 

[ChesterV]

Opening the door during the baking process will destroy your goods

Yes and no.
Depending on WHAT is being baked, there are certain times you can and cannot open the oven door. Usually the first 10-15 minutes are the most important for breads and cakes, as the time is needed for the dough/batter to solidify enough so it doesn't "fall" from a shock of temperature change. For something like cookies, it does not matter, as cookies will most all the time keep their shapes no matter what temperature they are hit with.

Usually though, just cracking open the oven door to peek in on it will do no harm, as long as it is only for a few seconds.

 

[ChesterV]

Humidity makes tough pie crusts

False.
Although moisture does affect the gluten in the flour, it is from the water you add to the dough, not the moisture that is in the air. There is no way your dough can soak up enough moisture from the air to have any effect on it at all, even if it's raining.

More than likely, your tough pie crust is from over working it, allowing it to sit too long and dry out, or using too much flour.

 

[ChesterV]

Fats are the enemy of egg whites

True.
Egg whites are basically protein and water, and we all know fats/oils and water don't mix. Even if you didn't clean your mixing bowl completely from the previous use that involved some sort of fat, your egg whites won't whip or fluff.

(I have personally tested this theory and found it to be somewhat true. I dabbed a finger of oil inside my mixing bowl and then added egg whites. Although it took longer to whip them into peaks, they finally did whip into peaks, but not stiff peaks - the whites we a bit flat)

 

[ChesterV]

NOT alternating adding dry and wet ingredients makes for a tough batter

Not true. It might cut down on the mess factor by alternating wet and dry ingredients, but it does not affect the batter or dough. Some recipes state that ingredients should be added this way, but that is usually for the forming of the outcome of the product in question, such as rise or color. Alternating ingredients really doesn't do anything to the batter/dough. If you have tough batter or dough, then it is more likely from overworking, too much of one ingredient, or stale ingredients.

 

[ChesterV]

Eggs and butter/lards must always be at room temperature for batters

False.
Temperature does not effect the batter by adding cold eggs or butter/lard.

If you are creaming butter/lard, then having it at room temperature is beneficial, as it takes less time to cream, but it is not an absolute necessity. Cold butter/lard will just take more time to cream properly.

Whipping eggs alone is best when having them at room temperature (whites or yolks), but by the time the eggs have sat on the counter before use and then cracked open and placed into a bowl, they have warmed up some, even if they still feel chilled. And the bowl disperses some of that chill as well.

(Personally, I've always used eggs from the fridge...even for making meringue....and I've never had any issues with it)

 

[Winterybella]

"Wow" is all I can say. I really have to sit down and go through all of these with a fine teeth comb. I for one was confident that storing the bread in the fridge extended the life of the bread. I was also sure that lard was not too healthy. So much to digest here...

 

[Becky]

Some excellent information here