[geeks] Poaching an Egg

[Joshua Boyd]

On Tue, Sep 02, 2008 at 02:40:17PM -0700, Rick Hamell wrote:
> >>Now, you will be a real food geek when you start cooking by weights
> >>instead of volumetric measurements.
> >
> >I do that *all* *the* *time*!
> >
> >>I still have to really get started on the later, but first I need a
> >>decent pair of scales.  One regular digital kitchen scale, and one that
> >>is acurate to 0.01g.
> >
> >I use an analytical balance.  I'd use something less accurate, like a 
> >three-beamer, but I already have the analytical balance for use in 
> >chemistry, so why not?
> 
> I disagree with this. In my opinion cooking is an art. Using precise 
> measurements and temperatures takes the fun out of combining random 
> ingredients and seeing what happens.
> 
> Does doing this add anything to the taste of the food? Asking seriously 
> as I will go out of my way to make food taste good.

You still can do stuff randomly if you want.  Just measure and record as
you go.

Precise measurement is all about repeatability.  How are you supposed to
refine your art if you can't even reliably repeat what you did?  

It is especially important for pastries, and even more important for
more exotic bits, such as proper use of sodium alginate, agar,
methylcellulose.