Kitchen Myths

I love these things. I hear them all the time, so I'm here to debunkify them! Here we go...

1. A box of baking soda in the fridge or freezer absorbs odors

False. This is just a marketing ploy by the baking soda people, because baking soda is very poor at absorbing odors. Activated charcoal would work much better, but unfortunately costs a lot more. Just try wrapping your food tightly... that should do the trick!

2. Lobsters scream in pain when boiled

False. The noise isn't a scream, but actually caused from air being trapped in their shell. Lobsters have no vocal cords, throat, lungs... therefore there is no way they are actually screaming.

3. When you add alcohol to a recipe it all evaporates during cooking so there is none in the final dish

Again, false. No one will get tipsy from alcohol in a dish prepared with it, but it will definitely still be there.

Preparation Method	Percent of Alcohol Retained
Alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat	85%
Alcohol flamed	75%
No heat, stored overnight	70%
Baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture	45%
Baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:
15 minutes	40%
30 minutes	35%
1 hour	25%
1.5 hours	20%
2 hours	10%
2.5 hours	5%

4. You cannot deep-fry in olive oil

False. You can, but it can be expensive, and you do not obtain all of the nutrients from it, as they are cooked out in the heat.

5. If you put the pit in the bowl, guacamole won't turn brown

False. The browning, or oxidation, happens when air hits the avocado surface. You can help prevent browning by adding a little citric acid to it, or pressing plastic wrap on it.