Absurdly, stupidly basic cooking questions (Part 2)

[chromedome]

13 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Okay, so I'm getting to the stupid part. If you grow seedless melons where do you get the seeds to plant the next generation? And what kind of seed would genetically self destruct so it doesn't reproduce itself? The questions probably get stupider from there. And are we growing a whole generation of kids who don't know about seed spitting contests at picnics?

 

I'll go now. Quietly.

Seedless watermelons are always a hybrid, and (like a mule) sterile.

 

Growing for seed is a whole interesting thing in itself, one I've intended to research thoroughly for years but have not yet done so. If you think about it, how many plants are bred/selected for resistance to "bolting"?... which, of course, means seed production. Obviously people did it for centuries, it was what farming *was,* but it's a knowledge base that has eroded sharply over the last few generations.

[blue_dolphin]

36 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

If you grow seedless melons where do you get the seeds to plant the next generation?

 

From the same sort of place you bought the seeds or transplants for the first generation.  Seeds for growing seedless watermelon plants are triploid (meaning they have an extra set of chromosomes) and if you grow seedless watermelons, you also need to have to grow some normal diploid watermelons to produce the pollen necessary to fertilize the seedless watermelon flowers so they will set fruit.  

 

Thanks for asking that.  I knew that seedless watermelons were hybrids and that hybrids generally don't breed true, requiring purchase of new seeds each season but I didn't know that the seedless watermelon plants were incapable of setting fruit on their own.  The hybrid watermelon seeds are also apparently more difficult to germinate but their popularity must make them worth all the effort!

 

Edited to add:  I see your question was already answered while I was down the seedless watermelon hole!

 

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by blue_dolphin (log)

[liamsaunt]

I thought I would report back on the pork I asked about.  I ended up cutting the rack into chops.  I then followed a Cook's Country recipe that has you salt the pork and freeze for up to one hour.  Then you coat the chops in butter seasoned with brown sugar and pepper and quickly grill.  Once off the grill you top them with herb butter (I used ramp butter that I had in the freezer) and rest for five minutes before serving.  I don't eat pork chops, but everyone in my house who does really liked them.  They were reported to be very tender and medium rare.  One more of these to go.

 

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

Thanks @blue_dolphin and @chromedome for answers that make sense. It seems to me a very bad trade off: no seeds and diminished flavor for more work growing them.

[SLB]

Y'all.  What is this???

 

It came in my vegetable delivery today.  Farm fresh and everything.  But the tininess of the amount made me think . . . herb???  Surely I'm not supposed to cook these five little lone stalks??

[heidih]

Shiso or perilla . In mint family. Great as a wrap for grilled meats. As always I could be wrong but kinda sure.

Edited August 13, 2020 by heidih (log)

[lindag]

Okay here’s mine:

What’s the best way to cook bacon?

while I do like bacon I don’t cook it often mostly because of the lingering smell in the house and the mess it makes.

 

[SLB]

12 minutes ago, heidih said:

Shiso or perilla . In mint family. Great as a wrap for grilled meats. As always I could be wrong but kinda sure.

 

Thank you.  I eat a lot of meat, so I'm on it.  

 

On the bacon query, from the next-oldest-generation in my very-frequent- bacon-eating family:  Cook it in oil as if you were sauteeing.  Then -- and this is the money quote, with emphasis on daily-cooking-fatigue -- "you don't have to watch it!".  

 

In my kitchen, you still have to watch it.  But you get, like, an extra 10 second window to get it off the fire.  

[Okanagancook]

If you just have a few slices I like the microwave.  Bacon between two pieces of paper towel and cooked under close observation.

Otherwise stovetop is next easiest followed by using the oven for a sheet pan full..at 375f under close observation about 15 min.  Depends on how thick the bacon is as well as how fatty it is.

 

One Saturday at the pub there was a story told about a local, Larry, after consuming some beverages decided the BBQ would be a good place to Cook his bacon for the BLT’s on the menu.....result was a flaming BBQ in Larry’s backyard surrounded by Onlookers.  Apparently it didn’t take long for the bacon laid on the bare grates to drip sufficient fat to summon ignition of the whole thing.🤪

[heidih]

11 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

If you just have a few slices I like the microwave.  Bacon between two pieces of paper towel and cooked under close observation.🤪

 

That has been my go to for BLT which is only time I use bacon. Don't bother with PT on top. I like it crispy as the tomatoe if good have plenty of moisture. 

[TdeV]

I once had a New Year's day party where everyone got enough bacon (2 racks in each of 2 ovens). I baked it for an hour. (IIRC 350F). Not messy.

[heidih]

37 minutes ago, TdeV said:

I once had a New Year's day party where everyone got enough bacon (2 racks in each of 2 ovens). I baked it for an hour. (IIRC 350F). Not messy.

 

But ya had to clean the racks!

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

Shiso or perilla . In mint family. Great as a wrap for grilled meats. As always I could be wrong but kinda sure.

 

 

Indeed - I've been getting the red shiso as well.  Can also be subbed for basil.  Also called beefsteak plant.

 

[MokaPot]

Only ever had shiso at Japanese restaurants. Sounds interesting as a sub for basil. Never thought of using it in anything but Japanese food.

[heidih]

58 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

Only ever had shiso at Japanese restaurants. Sounds interesting as a sub for basil. Never thought of using it in anything but Japanese food.

 

Heavy duty in Korean food and sometime SE Asian. I love it. I like the big green sorta heart shaped leaves.  https://mykoreankitchen.com/korean-perilla-leaves/

[Kim Shook]

I cook bacon in the oven on baking sheets covered with the large heavy duty foil.  No mess, no trouble.  I never cook less that the entire package.  It will get eaten in a week.  

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, MokaPot said:

Only ever had shiso at Japanese restaurants. Sounds interesting as a sub for basil. Never thought of using it in anything but Japanese food.

 

In China, it is used more as a vegetable than a herb. Of course, you'd need more than 5 stalks. I buy it bunches like this.

 

 

It is generally simply stir-fried as a leaf vegetable with garlic and/or ginger and served as a dish to accompany others.

More here.

Edited August 14, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[AlexandraLynch]

Re Bacon: 

I lay it on a rack in a rimmed baking sheet (I keep a sheet just for this and other messy jobs) and bake it at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes or so.  I bake it very crispy because I want to chop it for casseroles.  This also gives me the bacon fat, which marries very nicely with various vegetables, and lives in a jar in my refrigerator. 

 

I don't mind the smell, any more than I mind the smell of chicken stock cooking. But that's me. 

 

As to cleaning the racks: I flip the rack over and soak it in hot water with soap until everything loosens, spray off everything loose, and hit the resistant spots with an electric toothbrush kept in the kitchen for such jobs. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by AlexandraLynch (log)

[Okanagancook]

I have always, always had a bacon fat jar in the fridge.

Now I have duck fat and ghee too.

My go to fats.

Beef fat is in the freezer.👍

[robirdstx]

We like thick sliced bacon. We line a quarter sheet pan with foil, lay out 5 or 6 slices, and put the pan in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400F and set the timer for 20 minutes, check the bacon and usually flip and cook an additional 5 minutes. Drain finished bacon on a paper towel lined plate.

[liuzhou]

Bacon is about the only thing I cook in the microwave, but then, living alone, I seldom cook more than two or three rashers at a time. Simple to do, clean and works well.

[heidih]

22 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Bacon is about the only thing I cook in the microwave, but then, living alone, I seldom cook more than two or three rashers at a time. Simple to do, clean and works well.

 

My meat counter guys would laugh at first when I asked for 2 slices. Then they just started to smile and ask  ":good tomatoes today?"  Microwave for the singleton. 

[TicTac]

18 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Indeed - I've been getting the red shiso as well.  Can also be subbed for basil.  Also called beefsteak plant.

 

I suppose it could be subbed for basil as perhaps lettuce might be - but they bear no resemblance to one another from a flavour profile perspective...

 

Shiso pesto...going to give Nonna a heart attack!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[weinoo]

Perilla frutescens var. crispa, also known by its Japanese name shiso, is a cultigen of Perilla frutescens, a herb in the mint family Lamiaceae.

 

Basil (/ˈbæzəl/,[1] also US: /ˈbeɪzəl/;[2] Ocimum basilicum), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints).

 

[KennethT]

Perilla is commonly used in southern Vietnam, as one of the herbs that can accompany pho, grilled meats, etc... usually eaten raw.