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Cooking with soda (pop, coke, etc.)


Alex

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Despite its silly title, I enjoyed this article in today's NYT Magazine by Sam Sifton. I'm now curious to read about eG'ers' use of a carbonated soft drink as an ingredient.

 

Quote

I love a clandestine soda in the preparation of food, a flash of carbonation where the French might use wine or brandy. It may be transgressive to say so, but I’m hardly alone, for all those who cringe at the thought or snort in disgust.

 

(Here's a fun map of the regional variations in the US of what soft drinks are called.)

Edited by Alex (log)

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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(No access to the NYT )  Will add that Ed was taking a French course many years ago ...good heavens, about 57 years...in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and his prof gave the class a recipe for Tortière which we have used ever since.   And the pastry calls for 7-Up.

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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My late mother-in-law used 7 Up in her fruit sherbet, which was marvelous. And I've had 7 Up pound cake, which isn't bad at all. I sometimes use Coke when cooking brisket, in baked beads, and in sauce for meat loaf. Have also used it in ham glaze.

Don't ask. Eat it.

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Oh 7-up is a thing in Korean marinade for those cross cut beef ribs. I am a  shameless romcom fan ( in good company with Michelle Obama ;))and one of them uses cherry-coke in a petit four to present to the incoming prince of Belgium ;)  Like other flavorings the sodas can bring an unexpected but vibrating note. Yes and coke in long cooked pork/beef is classic.  Flavor is its own presenter -  if it works it works. So sugar + fake flavor. No judgment. Heck most vanilla used is "fake". 

Edited by heidih (log)
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1 hour ago, Darienne said:

(No access to the NYT )  Will add that Ed was taking a French course many years ago ...good heavens, about 57 years...in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and his prof gave the class a recipe for Tortière which we have used ever since.   And the pastry calls for 7-Up.

 

1 hour ago, kayb said:

My late mother-in-law used 7 Up in her fruit sherbet, which was marvelous. And I've had 7 Up pound cake, which isn't bad at all. I sometimes use Coke when cooking brisket, in baked beads, and in sauce for meat loaf. Have also used it in ham glaze.

 

Yes, that's the premise for the article: pound cake with 7 Up.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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I like using root beer or Dr. Pepper as an ingredient in bbq sauce. I also use root beer as part of the base liquid in a slow cooker with pork or beef roast... I like that one with a healthy dose of habaneros in the mix. I've also used the Root Beer/habanero combination in a marinade for beef jerky. I've played around with colas, ginger ale and clear citrus stuff like 7-Up but didn't find they added much flavor-wise in the things I used them in. A good ginger beer with a serious ginger punch might be interesting, haven't tried it for cooking.

*for the bbq sauce and jerky marinade, I'm able to get root beer and Dr. Pepper fountain syrups through work that make the job easier. No need to reduce, it's already a 5:1 water to syrup concentration. Just have to adjust for the sugar concentration which is easy enough. But I have used the out-of-the-bottle pop in both situations before, just have to do some reduction.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

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I have used club soda to make tempura batter. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

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6 hours ago, Anna N said:

I have used club soda to make tempura batter. 

 

Yup I've used for the zucchini flower coating. Often see it in matzah ball recipes.

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