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Turkey Day Chemistry in the Kitchen

Posted by samzenpus on from the obligatory-story dept.

instupor writes "Just in time for the holiday, PopSci runs through the food science behind moist turkey, perfect potatoes and flaky pie crust. Besides the actual "why," the article explains how to apply the scientific principals in your own kitchen."

8 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. Why turkey? by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have never understood why we have turkey at Christmas (I'm a UKian not an American so I don't do thanks giving but it applies), it's a very poor meat and far too large for the average family, so how come we do it?

    I'm also allergic to dairy productions you insensitive clod!

    --
    I like muppets.
    1. Re:Why turkey? by CmdrGravy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I think it's basically because before frozen turkeys were widespread they were probably quite expensive and hard to come by. Before that I think we ate geese, swans, pheasants, ducks and things like that.

      I expect its probably because they were at one point expensive and available relatively exclusively to the rich that everyone switched over when they could get them more easily to enjoy a bit of 'class'.

    2. Re:Why turkey? by PhysicsPhil · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I have never understood why we have turkey at Christmas (I'm a UKian not an American so I don't do thanks giving but it applies), it's a very poor meat and far too large for the average family, so how come we do it?

      This very topic merited an article over at http://www.slate.com/id/2178388/nav/fix/. Poultry was popular in general because the cows had economic value (milk and labour) beyond that of birds. Pork or ham was common, but not considered fit for special events. Chicken hens were valuable for their eggs and rooster was too tough. Turkey had the advantage that birds that hatched in the spring would have grown to about 10 pounds by Thanksgiving, which was important because it was large enough to feed a big family.

    3. Re:Why turkey? by onkelonkel · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Good point. This applies to almost all our food animals. The animal has the old anglo-saxon name but the cooked meet has the norman french name. Cow / Beef (boeuf) , chicken / Poultry (poulet), sheep / mutton (mouton), pig / pork (porc).

      --
      None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
  2. No Turkey For Brits by ilovegeorgebush · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Won't be much Turkey consumption in Britain on Christmas day. The H2N1 Bird-flu virus has caused mass culling of many types of birds. See here for more info.

    I hate Turkey anyway, always too dry.

    --
    ilovegeorgebush
    1. Re:No Turkey For Brits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
      Turkey too dry? Hmmm. Try it this way:

      Deep frying a turkey may sound like a strange concept, but trust me, it doesn't come out like you'd think. Deep fried turkey is moist and delicious and not at all greasy.

      Of course, an idea like fried turkey originated in the south, the frying capital of the United States, but it is gaining popularity nationwide. In fact, a recent block party I attended in South Central Los Angeles had three fried tukeys going . . . [continued]
  3. It's probably not "science"... by Fross · · Score: 5, Interesting

    but if you're after perfect potatoes, I've got a couple of hints that *always* work.

    Roast potatoes:
    Pre-heat the oven (200C?) and put oil in a big oven-proof pan in the oven to heat. Meat-based fat is better than vegetable, but a mixture is good too.
    Boil the potatoes until you can scrape them a bit with a fork (20-25 minutes). Drain the water (keep for gravy if you like), put a lid on the pan, and shake it *hard* several times. Some potatoes will disintegrate but mostly they will just get really rough surfaces - this makes them crunchy.
    Remove pan from oven, pour the fat into a receptacle, leaving a tiny bit behind. Put the potatoes into this pan. Pour a spoonful of the fat on top of each potato. Put back in the oven, cook for 45-50 minutes. They will be soft in the middle, crunchy on the outside.

    Mashed potatoes:
    Don't boil the potatoes, steam them. 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
    Remove water from steamer, put potatoes in (because it's warm). Add salt, creme fraiche (or butter if you have to), about 2 heaped heaspoons for 800g potatoes.
    Use an electric whisk, whisk the hell out of them. Keep speeding up as you go, and keep going for a minute after it looks fine.
    The steaming means they won't be watery, and the whisking means no lumpy bits. Fluffy, rich and smooth mashed potatoes!

    Happy thanksgiving to all our North American cousins :)

  4. You invented Turkey Twizzlers? You bastard! by giafly · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Turkey Twizzlers are spirals of mechanically reclaimed turkey meat, water, pork fat and rusk, together with many more minor ingredients, designed to be reheated before serving. The product became an emblem of the mass-produced processed food that [a UK tv chef] wanted to remove from schools. In the wake of the programme, several major catering organisations announced that they would no longer serve Turkey Twizzlers in schools. However, sales of Turkey Twizzlers rose 32%
    --
    Reduce, reuse, cycle