[Sca-cooks] A curious question about the rotted meat mythos

Nick Sasso grizly at mindspring.com
Thu Mar 13 13:19:14 PDT 2008



-----Original Message-----
> Actually this is rather uncalled for and rather mean.

I'm sorry it came across to you in that way, and it was not a
criticism of you.  > > > > >


Often the vagueies of email are confused. This fits his sense of humor well,
and I do believe that it was not directed at you or intended as mean
spirited.  That said . . .


> > > > If, on the other hand, you're using American norms
for what is and is not unusual, for many that would mean anything that
isn't boiled, roasted, grilled or fried meat with potatoes on the side
to be really weird, and probably foreign, food. And when someone,
anyone, describes a process as rotting when it's not being broken down
by bacterial action, it's just wrong. It's easier to say than "Broken
down by enzymatic degradation," or "denaturization of proteins", but
the fact is that there's definitely a negative connotation to
"rotten" (I can think of one exception and that is in translation). < < < <
< < <

I think it was Ras (a former strong-willed member of this community) who 1st
proclaimed to me that we need to experiement with our theories and see what
they actually come out like when the food is cooked/prepared to our theory.

So.  I have dozens of times offered to demonstrate the rotten meat/heavy
spice theory with a chicken breast, a hunk sirloin of beef, any spices the
contender desires . . . and the dashboard of my car.  Meat will stand for 6
hours on my car dashboard and all the spices they want.  I will then cook to
their specifications.  If they can keep it in their stomachs for 6 hours
without raging diarrhea and/or vomitting, then I will believe their story
about spices hding rotten meat.  Otherwise, we may have some
misunderstandings of enzymatic action and lactic fermentation that people
don't understand fully these days.  More "digestion" than 'rotting'.

Experimentation will straighten up a lot of people who are confused about
spices making rotten food even palattable, let alone digestible.

niccolo difrancesco
(no takers to date after 49 attempts)




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