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Stupid Chef Tricks


Kim Shook

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ahah yes! I also love how Rachael Ray says EVOO then immediately follows by saying extra virgin olive oil to explain to her viewers the abbreviation.  WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THE POINT OF SAYING EVOO IN THE FIRST PLACE!

:unsure: Not being a native-english speaker myself, I'm sort of wondering HOW exactly does one pronounce EVOO? As a single word, or as four separate letters?

(and I agree, why would you WANT to pronounce it in the first place...)

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:unsure:  Not being a native-english speaker myself, I'm sort of wondering HOW exactly does one pronounce EVOO? As a single word, or as four separate letters?

(and I agree, why would you WANT to pronounce it in the first place...)

It's pronounced as one word--like ee-voh (in IPA, it's something like [i:vo:])

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ahah yes! I also love how Rachael Ray says EVOO then immediately follows by saying extra virgin olive oil to explain to her viewers the abbreviation.  WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THE POINT OF SAYING EVOO IN THE FIRST PLACE!

:unsure: Not being a native-english speaker myself, I'm sort of wondering HOW exactly does one pronounce EVOO? As a single word, or as four separate letters?

(and I agree, why would you WANT to pronounce it in the first place...)

Rachel Ray pronounces it E-V-O-O, which save about one sylable :rolleyes: .

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ahah yes! I also love how Rachael Ray says EVOO then immediately follows by saying extra virgin olive oil to explain to her viewers the abbreviation.  WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THE POINT OF SAYING EVOO IN THE FIRST PLACE!

:unsure: Not being a native-english speaker myself, I'm sort of wondering HOW exactly does one pronounce EVOO? As a single word, or as four separate letters?

(and I agree, why would you WANT to pronounce it in the first place...)

Rachel Ray pronounces it E-V-O-O, which save about one sylable :rolleyes: .

I've always wondered what would happen if she had to use olive oil that wasn't extra virgin. VOO? OO?

Anyways, sorry for taking this topic so off topic. Back to stupid chef tricks!

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Hmmm. I thought it was ee-vee-oh-oh...

That's how I think she says it too! Of course I'm in agreement that she's going to say that and then the entire name there's no sense in doing both.

It's not really a chef trick by the fact that several of the chefs on FN are European and use metric measures is kind of frustrating.

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

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I've always wondered what would happen if she had to use olive oil that wasn't extra virgin.  VOO?  OO?

Slutty olive oil.

(Sorry, I had to keep the thread derailed for a minute. :raz: )

"I know it's the bugs, that's what cheese is. Gone off milk with bugs and mould - that's why it tastes so good. Cows and bugs together have a good deal going down."

- Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry), Chef!

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As I lay on the couch yesterday, swaddled in an afghan, Puffs and a cup o hot tea with honey and lemon nursing the head cold from hell, I kept the remote close at hand. So, on food TV, some chef was using lime juice for something. She juiced the lime, pitched the juiced lime, and proceeded to grab a fresh lime for zest, then pitched that. Huh? If I want zest and juice, I just zest the lime, halve it and then juice it. Am I missing something here? Is there some reason not to juice a zested lime?

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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She juiced the lime, pitched the juiced lime, and proceeded to grab a fresh lime for zest, then pitched that.  Huh?  If I want zest and juice, I just zest the lime, halve it and then juice it.  Am I missing something here?  Is there some reason not to juice a zested lime?

That's a food crime.

Limes travel pretty far to get to me and it would be irresponsible to be so wasteful. The only thing I can think of to explain such reckless behavior is . . . I can't think of one.

I would juice an old harder lime but for zest go to a newer fruit that's deep green and just washed. Maybe surface wax was an issue?

PS Get well soon.

Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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[quote name= Another so-called tip is when many' date=' but thankfully not all, tv chefs who are using say a combination of basil and oregano in a dish will say: "but, hey, if you don't have any basil and oregano, just use whatever you like, it really doesn't matter." Well, yes it does. A dish that calls for rosemary could/probably would be ruined by substituting tarragon or sage. Sometimes it really does matter and sometimes it may not; the really good tv chefs take a few extra seconds to teach the audience. The bad ones just wing it.

In some instances I agree with this, but I also think that using fresh herbs you have on hand produces a better flavor than using a dried version. Then again, I am a trained and experienced cook, I know what works and what doesn't. Those shows aren't really intended for people like me as the majority audience. So for the novices watching, the chef is certainly doing them a diservice by confusing them.

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OK, 2 that I saw within 5 minutes of each other:

1. Stacking raw vegetables on top of raw meat packages when trying to carry a load from the fridge to the counter. In my humble opinion, way too likely to cross-contaminate.

2. Buying pre-ground black pepper to save yourself from having to season everything using a (gasp!) pepper grinder. It's one thing to pre-grind pepper, but to buy it pre-ground from the store? I guess I've never been that pressed for time.

At that point, I switched the channel.....

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As I lay on the couch yesterday, swaddled in an afghan, Puffs and a cup o hot tea with honey and lemon nursing the head cold from hell, I kept the remote close at hand.  So, on food TV, some chef was using lime juice for something.  She juiced the lime, pitched the juiced lime, and proceeded to grab a fresh lime for zest, then pitched that.  Huh?  If I want zest and juice, I just zest the lime, halve it and then juice it.  Am I missing something here?  Is there some reason not to juice a zested lime?

It's really difficult to zest a juiced lime, but all she had to do was zest the lime before juicing it! That's like the anti-trick -- it's teaching people a bad habit!

There's a lot of waste on cooking shows, and that drives me nuts.

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OK, 2 that I saw within 5 minutes of each other:

1. Stacking raw vegetables on top of raw meat packages when trying to carry a load from the fridge to the counter. In my humble opinion, way too likely to cross-contaminate.

2. Buying pre-ground black pepper to save yourself from having to season everything using a (gasp!) pepper grinder. It's one thing to pre-grind pepper, but to buy it pre-ground from the store?  I guess I've never been that pressed for time.

At that point, I switched the channel.....

And if grinding your own is really such a big hassle, couldn't they just get an electric grinder? You just press a button, doesn't get much easier.

Edited by BrandonPHX (log)
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Another so-called tip is when many, but thankfully not all, tv chefs who are using say a combination of basil and oregano in a dish will say: "but, hey, if you don't have any basil and oregano, just use whatever you like, it really doesn't matter." Well, yes it does. A dish that calls for rosemary could/probably would be ruined by substituting tarragon or sage.  Sometimes it really does matter and sometimes it may not; the really good tv chefs take a few extra seconds to teach the audience. The bad ones just wing it.

In some instances I agree with this, but I also think that using fresh herbs you have on hand produces a better flavor than using a dried version. Then again, I am a trained and experienced cook, I know what works and what doesn't. Those shows aren't really intended for people like me as the majority audience. So for the novices watching, the chef is certainly doing them a diservice by confusing them.

I don't toally disagree about fresh vs. dried herbs rasputin, though I think dried herbs definitely have their place (hey, just ask the Greeks when it comes to oregano), but there really will be a completely different end result if you don't have that tbs. of rosemary on hand and substitute a tbs. of tarragon instead or the totally lazy and irresponsible advice I hear many of them use by saying "hey, just use what you like" where for instance if you like nutmeg more than you like cinnamon, why not substitute 1 tsp. of nutmeg for 1 tsp. of cinnamon, right? That's what is so frustrating is that these shows are intended for novices or even decent home cooks who may have no clue as to what works and what doesn't, but many of the chefs constantly take the short cut of saying "it really doesn't matter" not only with herbs but a variety of foods. If a recipe calls for half and half or whole milk but you only have skim OR if you don't have pinot noir but you have some ruby port or dry sherry or whatever you have, hey why not since it really doesn't matter.

I am much more impressed by those chefs like Sara Moulton or Jacques Pepin who take just those few extra moments to explain what can be substituted and what cannot and why, and most importantly, how the substitution may change the character of the final dish, because I guess they actually care about people at home learning something useful and sharing their expertise unlike most of the other tv chefs we have today.

Edited by divalasvegas (log)

Inside me there is a thin woman screaming to get out, but I can usually keep the Bitch quiet: with CHOCOLATE!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

This goes back to the "shiny pots and pans" comments upthread - but it drives me up the wall when I see TV cooks using metal utensils on their le creuset. In a momentary lapse of judgement, I used a metal whisk on mine thinking - hey, they do it on TV (forgetting that they get theirs replaced at the end of the show). AGH! Why, why did I do that?

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  • 1 month later...

I came home early from work and turned on the tube during lunch.....there's Robin Miller cutting the fat from her vinaigrette by making it with canned chicken broth.

There's something about unheated canned broth on a salad that gives me the willies.....maybe I shouldn't knock it till I've tried it? :unsure:

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