That chef who told me to throw out my immersion blender was onto something

Came up under Chef Darnell at The Union Kitchen in Denver, and he swore my hand blender was crushing the herbs instead of cutting them, making everything bitter. I fought it for 6 weeks till a guest sent back my basil oil, then I switched to a mortar and pestle for small batches and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else had a mentor drop advice that seemed old school but turned out to be spot on?

2 comments

2 Comments

mark_green6d ago

Thing is, nobody talks about the heat. Blenders spin so fast they warm the oil up. That heat is what turns the basil bitter, not just the crushing. Mortar and pestle keeps everything cold because you're working slow. I learned that the hard way doing pesto for a catering gig. Ruined a whole batch before I figured it out. Chef was right, but for the wrong reason in my book.

alicer533d ago

My uncle had this same problem with his chili recipe, used a metal spoon to stir the pot and swore the tomatoes got tinny. Turns out he was right, but he blamed the spoon when it was really the acid reacting with the metal. It makes me think we blame the wrong thing all the time, like when people say microwaves ruin leftovers but really it's the steam getting trapped. We grab the first answer that sounds smart and stick with it, even when the real reason is sitting right there. You found the heat thing through failure, and that's the only way most of us actually learn. How many other kitchen tricks are we all following for reasons that don't hold up?