prescriptive gastronomy

[nibot]

I've generally been a fan of Mark Bittman's book, How to Cook Everything. The recipes I've followed from it have turned out well, and he seems so sensible and down-to-earth. Until you come (on page 592) to this bizarre little gem about his old nemesis, the green bell pepper:

Here we're talking about sweet, or bell peppers (as opposed to hot, which it's best to call chiles to avoid confusion). When it comes to sweet peppers, color is far more important than shape. Actually, there's only one color that really matters: green. Green peppers may be "mature," but they are not ripe, at least not if ripeness implies the peak of flavor. Where a green pepper is sharp, almost acrid, and likely as not to cause indigestion, the same pepper picked a week or two later, when red, yellow, or orange, will have mellowed considerably. Of course red peppers are usually more expensive than green, and not always available, so there are times when we have to settle. But there is no question which pepper is preferable. Note: Purple peppers are green peppers in disguise; the purple color gades to muddy green as they cook, and the flavor is usually bitter.

The purple pepper paranoia clearly proves his psychosis! I'll take a zesty, fresh green bell pepper over a sickly sweet red one any day.

Then on page 111, he advocates that we "just say no" to pasta salad. wtf!

Comments

Bittman on pasta salad

[nibot.livejournal.com]

If you look up pasta salad in How to cook everything, you'll only find:

A note about pasta salads Cold pasta is a fact of life, and—if not overcooked to begin with and rinsed of excess starch and dressing—it can make a decent addition to any salad. To me, however, it makes no sense to intentionally cook pasta for salad. Grains such as rice, barley, and quinoa keep better, retain their structural integrity better (that is, they don't fall apart), taste better, and offer better texture—they are not at all gummy—than cold pasta. So if you have some leftover pasta you want to integrate into a salad, by all means, go ahead. But don't set out to make "pasta salad."

Re: Bittman on pasta salad

[kaolinfire.livejournal.com]

interesting. But ... rice salad? Doesn't quite seem to fit the bill for better texture.

Re: Bittman on pasta salad

[nibot.livejournal.com]

That's what I was thinking! Then I googled it, and it appears that it does exist.

Re: Bittman on pasta salad

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

In my opinion rice salad is gross.

Pasta salad:
Cook pasta til desired doneness.
Pour over it your favorite Italian salad dressing.
Add copious amounts of vegetables, such as
chopped bell papper
chopped celery
chopped tomatoes
chopped dill pickles
finely chopped parsley

Mix gently and refrigerate.

Re: Bittman on pasta salad

[janviere.livejournal.com]

I was totally going to mention his pasta salad rant until I got to the end of your post. Hilarious. But I'm glad he puts in little rants about the food he hates instead of leaving us puzzled over the lack of recipes. :)

[nibot.livejournal.com]

It was the pasta salad rant that sparked this post! I want to make a batch for lunches this week.

[easwaran.livejournal.com]

I always thought the different color peppers were different breeds or something - I had no idea they were the same plant. But then, I don't really like any of them.

[tjernobyl.livejournal.com]

Wikipedia says they're different, but that section is worded weird.

[cherryspecial.livejournal.com]

When I worked at a garden store, I used to snack on the bell peppers when they were still tiny... green peppers taste even better before they're full size!

[ailanthia.livejournal.com]

No, he's totally right. The green ones are gross.

[evan.livejournal.com]

I like that book, but it feels like half the recipes are of the form

X
Ingredients: X, onions, salt.
Directions: cook X with onions (and/or garlic). Salt to taste.

[nibot.livejournal.com]

Well... that's kind of the default cooking algorithm for savory dishes!