Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [cooking]

Any method which prepares food to be eaten.

40 questions
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Is aluminum foil safe to use with food?

Prompted by comments in the family, help me clear this up. A Google search for is aluminum foil safe yields articles that claim it's dangerous, as well as articles that claim it's safe. So which one is it? The above search has among the top results…
Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
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Do fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets taste worse than those grown on local farms?

It is a common belief that the produce sold at American supermarkets is "bland" and "tasteless". For example, the article "EVER WONDER WHY MODERN PRODUCE IS SO TASTELESS?" mentions that: They look great, but the taste is lacking—why? After living…
JonathanReez
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Can the explosion of a pressure cooker kill you?

According to this XKCD what-if?, the explosion of a pressure cooker is not dangerous in itself, the heat is the sole danger. They can explode, in a sense, but not as violently as you might fear (or hope). The pressure inside a consumer cooker…
jinawee
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Does boiling vegetables wash away important vitamins?

I recently heard that you should steam vegetables instead of boiling them, because boiling washes away the vitamins. Is this really true? Is there any scientific backing to this claim? Can you really wash away vitamins or nutrients? Source of…
Ephraim
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Can a person submerge their hands in hot frying oil without adverse effects?

I've seen numerous videos claiming to show this without blistering effects, cringing pain, or skin burns as if it was a unique skill and not just trickery -- something anyone can do with practice, Hands In Boiling Oil: Indian Chef Fries Fish With…
Evan Carroll
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Can an astronaut on Venus cook a 16-inch pepperoni pizza by holding it in the air for 4 seconds?

According to Neil deGrasse Tyson, one can cook a 16-inch pepperoni pizza on Venus by holding it in the air for 4 seconds. However, no detailed calculations were given to demonstrate this.
Count Iblis
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Did the restaurant chain Olive Garden have warranty terms for their pots that prevent salting the cooking water?

In 2014, the hedge fund Starboard Value published a presentation criticising the business of the restaurant chain Olive Garden, a subsidiary of Darden Restaurants. The presentation claimed that: Darden stopped salting the water in which it cooks…
sleske
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Are new born mice an available dish in Chinese restaurants?

A video of someone supposedly eating new born mice is currently doing the rounds on Facebook etcetera. Here is the video on Youtube. The Daily Mail showing this video states The footage is believed to have been shot at a restaurant in Guangdong,…
user22865
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Was the microwave discovered by finding food cooked in a pocket?

Percy Spencer, just after the end of World War II, was working on a power tube for the Raytheon Corporation. Nothing might have come of it, if it weren’t for one heroic chocolate bar that gave its life for modern society. The magnetron was designed…
Evan Carroll
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Is it possible to bake a cake with a phone inside, leaving the phone intact?

Recently the following picture has been circulating on some websites on the internet: Imagine this scenario. You drop your phone in the cake batter. The cake bakes. The cake comes out looking great, and you frost it. It looks beautiful. A…
mike glenndale
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Is human hair used to make bread?

While browsing Facebook I came across a post on eDidYouKnow, Is this something that actually happens on a regular basis or is it just one of possible ways to create L-cysteine?
Trevi Awater
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Do juicers preserve the nutritional quality of fruit and vegetables?

I heard that fruits and vegetable have much more vitamins when we eat them in normal way (biting) then when we use juicer and drink only the juice. Is it true that juice from fresh fruit and vegetable is less quality and most of the healthy material…
xralf
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Is pouring liquor from a bottle onto a flambé an explosion risk?

Several TV chefs including, the late Julia Child, have advised against pouring liquor directly from the bottle to a pan to be ignited, as 'flames could travel up the stream and ignite the bottle' causing damage, injury or death. Are there…
Carl D
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Do vacuum blenders preserve nutrients and flavour, and produce less foam?

Aldi Australia, a supermarket, recently stocked a vacuum blender - an appliance which blends food under lower pressure. On the packaging, there are a number of claims about the benefits of vacuum blending: Why vacuum blending? Preserves…
user1605665
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Are angel food cakes cooked in tube pans because they need support?

According to Cooks Illustrated: There’s a good reason angel food and chiffon cakes are always baked in tube pans, and it’s not just aesthetics. These specialty vessels actually help delicate cakes rise. Because egg foam–based cakes like angel food…
user
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