I am overcoming my fear of poaching eggs. I like a nicely poached egg, with the yolk still runny. For years I struggled with making them, fearing that mine were a mess. My mother feared making them, I guess I learned from her. On the cruise last spring, in the buffet the cooks would poach eggs for eggs benedict to order, right in front of me and I watched a learned so much.
I had a fear of making pastry. This was a result of making a mess in the kitchen as a kid making my first apple pie, and my mother shouting at me for the mess. A few years ago, I vowed to overcome my fear, and I have, and I have also become less messy when I make it. And no one shouts at me.
I never saw my mother bake with yeast. Later in life, after I started baking bread she explained her irrational fear of working with yeast. When the yeast starts to work, it gives off a sour smell, then an alcohol smell. When that happened, she was sure it had gone bad and would make everyone sick, so she would throw it away. Fortunately I didn't learn that fear. I started baking bread and just went with the flow.
Have you overcome any irrational fears in the kitchen?
Poaching eggs is a black art. The freshness of the egg makes a difference when it comes to keeping the white neat and tidy but regardless of whether they look like a dog's breakfast, they are always delicious!
ReplyDeleteMy kitchen nemesis is scones. My OH makes them and they're light as a feather, crumbly, sweet and buttery. When I make them they turn out like bricks, even to the same recipe.
I have made scones once or twice. As I recall they take a really light touch.
DeleteMy only fear in the kitchen is of knives. And, in my case, it’s not irrational. I get careless with sharp things. Then again, maybe it’s not fear but respect.
ReplyDeleteThe knives were sharpened recently, only one nick so far.
DeleteIt may surprise you, but I can cook poached eggs perfectly well. Yes, a bit of white will fall off, but no matter. It's all about the yolks. Because of my hand tremors, I am so careful with knives, so I am very slow to cut up anything. Generally, nothing fazes me in a kitchen. Although I don't generally don't cook, my mind is storehouse of how to cook.
ReplyDeleteI hope that I continue to enjoy playing in the kitchen.
DeleteI don't bake. Baking is science and math and precise measurements and I am more freeform in the kitchen. Carlos is science and math and is the MasterBaker™ in our house.
ReplyDeleteCooking is experimenting and reinventing and trying something new. It's more an art and that suits my brain. I have never poached an egg but then I am not a fan so maybe that's my irrationals fear?
Baking is surprisingly forgiving, but I also have had some unsuccessful experiments.
DeleteI still have a problem with yeast. I never know if its actually working.
ReplyDeleteIt is strange stuff. I knew guy in Kentucky who had a Phd in biology who spent his entire career researching yeast.
DeleteI need to start baking cakes again... 🍰🍰🍰
ReplyDeleteThe first Friday cake of the month?
DeleteBefore putting the egg into the boiling water, I stir the water to create a vortex and then in goes the egg. It supposedly helps keep the white closer to the yolk, but who knows. It's fun to watch the egg swirl around. Making sourdough bread was a little intimidating but those fears were gone quickly.
ReplyDeleteI have never worked with sourdough starter.
DeleteWhen I was a kid, I didn't want to eat any fruit with seeds. I wouldn't eat tomatoes or strawberries or any melons or raspberries but now I will eat all of those but not melons. I still do not like any melons at all. Is that a kitchen fear?
ReplyDeleteWe all have fears or dislikes.
DeleteI love making eggs Benedict on the weekends. I now know what to have for brunch tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteInspiration
DeleteI like my wokes on eggs running, and mix them in my hashbrown.
ReplyDeleteSounds great
DeleteI'm gonna try poaching an egg the way you describe. I have overcome my fear of making mistakes in the kitchen. No one is perfect, certainly not me, and my mistakes can either go into me or the trash. So far I've eaten them.
ReplyDeleteAt times it would be helpful to have a dog, they will eat almost any kitchen adventure.
DeleteLike you I was not confident about poaching eggs but now I find it easy. I have a great non-stick frying pan for the job and another tip I have is to make sure that your eggs are as fresh as possible. When fresh, the white of the egg holds together nicely but as eggs age the white seems to liquefy more readily.
ReplyDeleteAnd as.I recall, older eggs peel easier then hard boiled.
DeleteI agree that starting out we absorb the fears of our teachers and later overcome them. Because my mother was never satisfied that her own efforts at pie crust could compare with her taste memory of her own mother's pie crust, she did not bake pies and I avoided piecrusts for years because I had no practical memory. I now have 1 or 2 methods that I can use for the rare occasion that I need a pastry crust. I think that my experience with yeast has been similar to yours; I avoided it for years, but eventually came to terms with it. However, I am my mother's child - I am still trying to replicate her shortbread. I have the recipe exactly as it is written, but have not been able to replicate the texture and taste.
ReplyDeleteWill Jay
My mother even tried lard, and still was unhappy with her pastry.
DeleteWill Jay, a good but protective cook will give you her recipe but always leave one ingredient out so you can never compete with her!
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