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/ck/ - Food & Cooking

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9844060 No.9844060 [Reply] [Original]

Alright, so I'm visiting my mom tomorrow and I'm gonna help her make some beef stew.

Now unfortunately, I gave her the idea that for a new, unfamiliar dish, to look online and take an "average" of the different ways people say to make the dish (I did this for Scotch Eggs, and it worked well).

So she's got three different stew recipes, each with some common ingredients plus a handful of herbs and spices (which are different for each version)
Her plan is to use ALL the herbs from these three recipes she's looking at. One uses Thyme and Rosemary, one uses Marjoram, and one uses freaking paprika.

Is this gonna turn into a shit show that I should try to talk her out of, or will it be fine?

TL;DR Can a simple beef stew be TOO seasoned?

>> No.9844063

yeah, any dish can absolutely be too seasoned. i would stick with thyme and rosemary if i were you.

>> No.9844066

>>9844060
who are you trying to impress? some pretentious nobody chef in a meme cooking tv show?

>> No.9844080

>>9844063
That's what I'm inclined to think, but I don't want to be an ass trying to tell her something if I'm wrong.

>>9844066
Did you reply to the wrong thread or something? My mom is worried about this shit turning out well, so I don't want it to be ruined.

>> No.9844091

>>9844060
Oh, btw, secondary question:
She's also planning on adding a few extra veggies in there, but I'm not inclined to think that would matter as much as the seasoning bit, would it?

>> No.9844133

WTF is wrong with you OP? You're not planning on using the full amount in every reciipe, are you? The most likely side effect is that it will have layers of seasoning like indian food.

Taste and adjust.

>> No.9844135

>>9844091
a stew should have onion, carrot, peas, celery. i cant imagine anything else, maybe some tomato influence in there.

also dude just talk to her about the seasoning issue.

>> No.9844136

>>9844133
>You're not planning on using the full amount in every reciipe, are you?
Yes. Her intention is to make one recipe of beef stew with three separate recipes worth of seasoning.

Would the result really be like Indian food tho? That'd maybe not be a disaster...

>> No.9844145

>>9844135
Yeah, I think she might be adding corn to what you listed.
And yeah, I'm planning to talk to her, but she's... touchy. And I don't want to get into it if I'm not averting a disaster.

>> No.9844179

>>9844135
POTATO.

>>9844060
keep the seasoning simple. just salt pepper thyme bay leaf. be sure to season in layers. season the mirex poix before sauteeing with bacon fat. season the beef before searing, dusting with flour to make a roux, and deglazing with red wine (before adding the beef stock). and season again to adjust after the stew has stewed for a couple hours.

>> No.9844182

>>9844179
Oh yeah, i fucking forgot potato. lol. oops.

>> No.9844190

>>9844179
I kinda agree with you, but in my situation, this is all more a social problem than a culinary one.

In all honesty, I think I might just drop the line the one guy said about how using ALL the spices would make it like Indian food (and not sound negative about it).
She wouldn't like that idea.

>> No.9844222

>>9844136
Simple math. She's got 300 percent of the normal seasoning for the dish.

convince her to cut the seasoning amounts by a third. She can adjust upwards if needed.

I have no fucking clue what it will taste like. Most likely one of the acid spices neutralizes the herbs or something and the balance is weird, but workable.

Still the idea of "mean median mode stew" is hilarious.

>> No.9844224

>>9844222
>convince her to cut the seasoning amounts by a third.
Yeah, tried that a bit. Her attitude was literally, "Aww its just spices! It won't hurt anything!"

>> No.9844234

>>9844179
I agree with this anon, but throw in a pod of star anise when you add the stock and thank me later. Remove it before serving of course.

>> No.9844245

>>9844234
those look beautiful. leave it in.

>> No.9845424

bump, and good morning

>> No.9845689

>>9844060
Marjoram and paprika is awesome combo, it is used in goulash which is basically a beef stew...

>> No.9845848

>>9844060
>TL;DR Can a simple beef stew be TOO seasoned?
>seasoned
Yeah, don't add too much salt, Not sure why you're talking about flavorings then asking about salt.

>> No.9845853

>>9845848
Nigger, what-the-fuck-ever. I'm gonna say that rather than "herbs and spices" over and over like I'm a fucking KFC commercial.

>> No.9845878

>>9844060
While the 'averaging' technique is a useful one, you are quite right that it has to be filtered through a good amount of common sense. I usually poll around a dozen recipes.

Rosemary, thyme... and maybe a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

And don't forget to go heavy on the beef stock and MSG.

>> No.9845879

>>9845853
>Actually look this up
>Seasoning literally means, "Salt, herbs, and spices"

>>9845848
If you're gonna be an asshole, at least don't be wrong.

>> No.9845883

>>9845879
>at least don't be wrong.

you've never had a formal culinary education.

>> No.9845890

>>9845878
>it has to be filtered through a good amount of common sense
Yeah, I'm starting to learn about my mother that even if she has cooking experience and general knowledge, she doesn't have good sense.

>>9845883
Nope. And somehow I'm still less of an idiot.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/seasoning
Learn english.

>> No.9845902

>>9845890
Learn to cook, study Larousse Gastronomic.
You'll then learn english/french in the context of cookery rather than using a general English dictionary.

>> No.9845920

>>9845902
>Learn French, so you can cook
I'd rather starve.
>4chan /ck/ uses "proper culinary language"
I think we've discovered a new way that you're retarded.

Really tho, don't feel bad just because you tried to make a snobby, semantic point and got btfo.

>> No.9845935

>>9844060
i don't really see a problem with using 4 (or 6, whiever it is) herbs, i think the last stew i did had 4 (bay leaves,thyme,rosemary and something else).
paprika works quite well in stews too (see goulash) but i don't see the point of having marjoram.

>> No.9845936
File: 22 KB, 1203x80, seasoning.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9845936

>>9845920
>I'd rather starve.
I'd rather plebs like you starve too.
>4chan /ck/ uses "proper culinary language"
Better than using flair and not getting your point across correctly.
>got btfo.
wikipedia even says you're wrong.
Pic related. Your definition has [citation needed]. The proper meaning has a citation. Checkmate housewife.

>> No.9845952

>>9845936
>wikipedia even says you're wrong.
>Posts a picture that says EXACTLY what I just said
Nobody cares about Larousse Gastronomique or any of your other frenchy bullshit. Are you a fag or something?

>> No.9845960
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9845960

>>9845936
>Seasonings include herbs and spices

>> No.9845966

>>9845960
[citation needed]
"seasonings" in scare quotes.

I see why you don't study, you can't understand what you read.

>> No.9845975

>>9845966
>muh citation needed
Okay. Citation:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seasoning

And has more authority than your Lacross Gastronomicon bullshit.

>> No.9845987

>>9845975
Keep getting your cooking skills from grammar books. How are them Roget Thesaurus recipes working out for you? They seem to be making you brave enough to post about things you know nothing about.

>> No.9846033

>>9845966
It's still hilarious that you posted something that proves you wrong.

>> No.9846040

>>9846033
it's still hilarious you can't understand what you read. It's still hilarious you think you can damage control. it's hilarious to think how many holiday dinners you've fucked up misunderstanding "season to taste" in recipes.

>> No.9846140

>>9846040
I'm just an entertained bystander, dude. Save your rage for the other guy.

>> No.9846190

>>9844060
Whelp. My mom fucked it.

She calmly pretended to listen to everything I was saying while she was cutting the meat, then threw all the goddamn spices into the broth. It had Rosemary, ground thyme (uses instead of crushed, without reducing the quantity), Paprika, three cloves worth of dried garlic, and the broth itself was 1/4 wine.

It smelled like a clusterfuck, then she tastes it and thoughtfully remarks, "Huh, its bitter."

I'm kinda pissed.

>> No.9846216
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9846216

>>9844224
honestly if you've voiced your concerns and she doesn't care you'll make your life a lot easier by not caring either

if this was you making your recipe and she was pushing shit on you then you'd lay down the law, but this is just her trying some shit out. Fucking up is how you learn, and this doesn't sound like a serious fuck up at all.

>> No.9846261

>>9846140
>I'm just an entertained bystander
>I'm just another anon without reading comprehension

ftfy

>> No.9846280

>>9846261
I'll interpret it any way you want if I get to keep watching :)

>> No.9846291

>>9846280
Lurk, but don't post.
We don't need illiterates bringing down the collective IQ of /ck/.

>> No.9846297

>>9846261
>>9846291
[AUTISTIC SCREECHING INTENSIFIES]

>> No.9846312

>>9846297
At least he's providing a POV.
You've added nothing except providing the stance less entertained 3rd party shitposter.

>> No.9846332

>>9846312
I'm the original guy again.

And bystander anon IS serving a purpose. He's providing a vital neutral voice that says, "your poseur bullshit is hilarious and nobody cares".
This could be invaluable for your introspection if you had the ears to hear the message.

>> No.9846349

>>9846216
>honestly if you've voiced your concerns and she doesn't care
That's just it tho, she DOES care and is really worried that the dish won't come out well.

On the other hand, while my mom is touchy about ever being wrong about anything, I'M touchy about when I say something and people smile and nod while ignoring me.
I'd rather be in a fight than be irrelevant.

>> No.9846357

>>9846291
Ha, thanks for letting me stay.

>> No.9846370

>>9846357
thanks for asking.
>>9846332
>vital neutral voice
You mean bullshit.

>> No.9846393

>>9846370
That's alright.

>> No.9846414

>>9846349
ah well, she'll make it next time.
right now, having fucked up the stew, the goal is to make sure she learns from that mistake.
getting into a fight with her over it or chastising her will just distract from the main takeaway here: you want her to improve and you can see she's already identified there's an issue, so reinforce that by acknowledging that it did turn out bitter, and maybe describe a sprecific flavour that you think coud be toned down (by reducing the spice associated with it)

in the context of you attempting this a second time, since it would make much sense to go back down and have this conversation now especially with her being sensitive over these things, next time you're making a stew talk about a flavour you found last time that you really like and how you want to focus on that this time.

e.g. "I really enjoyed the kind of heat of the paprika that was there last time, let's focus on it/bring it out by reducing the amounts of other spices but leaving that one in its full amount"

>> No.9846447

>>9845920
>I'd rather starve.
If you can't eat any entrée or cuisine...

>>9846190
>ground thyme
No shit it's bitter. What even is ground thyme, thyme that was too old and dry to be used for cooking, and was grounded for Amerifat to feel like they are fancy?

>> No.9846464

>>9846447
>thyme that was too old and dry to be used for cooking
And half her spice rack has been expired longer than it was in date.
Some of that shit literally predates expiration dates.

I once had to look up an obscure company to convince my mom that, "Yes, this 80s looking package is from a company that went out of business in the 80s."

>> No.9846601

>>9846464
Why do so many people thing spices and herbs have an infinite shelf life?
It's pretty much equivalent to saw dust and sand after a few months.

>> No.9846610

>>9846601
Probably because they're often dried and they usually don't have some kind of major tell like smelling awful or turning a nasty color.

>> No.9846618

>>9846601
If I had to guess, probably because a) there's a lot of different stuff in a spice rack, and its expensive to replace it all, and b) because people only think of expiration dates in terms of "Will this make me sick" as opposed to "Is it going to season my shit correctly".

>> No.9846621

>>9846610
>or turning a nasty color.
I found some nutmeg so old it had black bits and white crystals in it.

>> No.9846713

>>9846621
>buying ground nutmeg
Whole spices ever.

>> No.9846733

>>9844060
bring your moms a nice bottle of red wine and make beef bourguignon together

>> No.9846744

>>9844135
parsnips are a nice addition as well

>> No.9846776

>>9846713
My attitude is, if I start becoming a purist in terms of "best practices" and whatnot, every time I cook would turn into a huge pain in the ass.

I mean, if every teaspoon of nutmeg had to be painstakingly ground, if every teaspoon of thyme had to be hand-plucked, ect.
I'm only just now getting into the whole "Sweet are the fruits of your own labor" mode, but there's diminishing returns on that, I think.

>> No.9846786

>>9846776
>I mean, if every teaspoon of nutmeg had to be painstakingly ground
microplane a full nut in less than a minute
>if every teaspoon of thyme had to be hand-plucked
Strip the stem with three fingers

Damn, this thread is full of newbies.

>> No.9846813

>>9846786
Yeah, or don't be a fucking autist and buy the stuff in a jar.
Fuck you.

>> No.9846895

>>9846813
or you could take two fucking seconds to do shit right

>> No.9846907

>>9846895
Making the decision to not be an autistic spurg takes even less time than that.

>> No.9846911

>>9846907
it's not autism you retard. you're just a lazy fuck

>> No.9846922

>>9846911
I'm sure every person who keeps jars of their own piss and fingernails thinks the same thing about normal people.

>> No.9846927

>>9846922
>comparing using fresh herbs over jarred, to keeping your piss in a bottle
fucking clown