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But if the levelheaded Yankees at the Boston-based test kitchen seek to educate, "Modernist Cuisine at Home" author Nathan Myhrvold wants to titillate. He would have you turn your blowtorch on a steak or cook scrambled eggs sous vide, then deliver them as fanciful dollops through a whipping canister. "We're living in a very exciting time for cooking because all these things are possible," Myhrvold says. And not just in a professional kitchen, which admittedly is where so-called modernist cuisine earned its credibility (as well as a fair amount of derision). Much of the equipment called for
-- pressure cookers, meat tenderizers, whipping canisters -- is available in shopping malls or on the Internet. And many of the techniques are simple, Myhrvold says. And they produce better food. Who knew you could caramelize vegetables in a pressure cooker with just a touch of baking soda? (Apparently, browning occurs at a lower temperature in an alkaline environment.) And grilled cheese is creamier, smoother and less greasy, he says, with a bit of citric acid, which acts as an emulsifier. "Just because you think of it as a simple dish or a home dish or a low-brow dish doesn't mean you can't refine it if you know what you're doing," Myhrvold says. And if all of it strikes you as just a bit too much fuss for meatloaf and chicken wings? "If someone wants to have old-style recipes with old-style techniques, don't buy my book," he says. "This is about telling people how to do new stuff that they'll find really interesting, really novel. And not that difficult."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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