I would like some cheese with my Whopper...

[Coytee]

True, not cheap.

Ever try cooked cheese? Try it in a pan that does not stick, cook it until the oil is gone and it's crispy.

Ok it was an accident when making the grandkids grilled cheese sandwiches, it was good so I threw in more cheese to do it again.

I'll always get extra (they double it) cheese on my favorite pizza place. If I'm unable to eat it and some is left over.... the next day I might reheat it and finish it or, I might pull the (fairly thick) layer of cheese off the top, scrape the toppings (usually just pepperoni for me) and ditch the crust. Put it onto cookie sheet & bake like you say....until crispy. It is tasty.

Here's something that might be interesting to read. Over the years, I've realized that I do NOT care for "grilled hatch pattern" on my grilled steak. Means nothing to me. I rather turn it more often to brown/crust up the entire steak. I like my cheese very brown on top. Not burned mind you, just COOKED and browned.

I accidently stumbled onto what it is that I was/am after, the Maillard Reaction. I had never heard of it. I think I'm a Maillard fan.

http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/03/the-maillard-reaction/

This might even be worthy of sticking into the grilling thread.

The Maillard Reaction

One of the most important flavor-producing reactions in cooking is the Maillard reaction. It is sometimes called the “browning reaction” in discussions of cooking, but that description is incomplete at best. Cooked meats, seafood, and other protein-laden foods that undergo the Maillard reaction do turn brown, but there are other reactions that also cause browning. The Maillard reaction creates brown pigments in cooked meat in a very specific way: by rearranging amino acids and certain simple sugars, which then arrange themselves in rings and collections of rings that reflect light in such a way as to give the meat a brown color.

The important thing about the Maillard reaction isn’t the colorit’s the flavors and aromas. Indeed, it should be called “the flavor reaction,” not the “browning reaction.” The molecules it produces provide the potent aromas responsible for the characteristic smells of roasting, baking, and frying. What begins as a simple reaction between amino acids and sugars quickly becomes very complicated: the molecules produced keep reacting in ever more complex ways that generate literally hundreds of various molecules. Most of these new molecules are produced in incredibly minute quantities, but that doesn’t mean they’re unimportant.

The Maillard reaction occurs in cooking of almost all kinds of foods, although the simple sugars and amino acids present produce distinctly different aromas. This is why baking bread doesn’t smell like roasting meat or frying fish, even though all these foods depend on Maillard reactions for flavor. The Maillard reaction, or its absence, distinguishes the flavors of boiled, poached, or steamed foods from the flavors of the same foods that have been grilled, roasted, or otherwise cooked at temperatures high enough to dehydrate the surface rapidlyin other words, at temperatures above the boiling point of water. These two factors, dryness and temperature, are the key controls for the rate of the Maillard reaction.

High-temperature cooking speeds up the Maillard reaction because heat both increases the rate of chemical reactions and accelerates the evaporation of water. As the food dries, the concentration of reactant compounds increases and the temperature climbs more rapidly.

Temperatures need to be high to bring about the Maillard reaction, but as long as the food is very wet, its temperature won’t climb above the boiling point of water. At atmospheric pressure, only high-heat cooking techniques can dry out the food enough to raise the temperature sufficiently. It’s not the water that stops the reaction, but rather the low boiling point at normal, sea-level pressure. In the sealed environment of a pressure cooker, the Maillard reaction canand doesoccur. This is something we exploit when making soups, like in our Caramelized Carrot Soup, or purees, like the broccoli puree in our Brassicas recipe. Adding baking soda to the pressure cooker raises the food’s pH (making it more alkaline), which also helps. Chinese cooks often marinate meat or seafood in mixtures containing egg white or baking soda just before stir-frying.

So, in boiled, poached, and steamed muscle foods, an entirely different set of aromas dominates the flavor. Drying and browning the surface first will, however, allow the reaction to proceed slowly at temperatures below the boiling point of water. This is why we sear frozen steak before cooking it in a low-temperature oven. Searing food before vacuum sealing and cooking sous vide can add depth to the flavor of sous vide dishes. This step should be avoided for lamb, other meats from grass-fed animals, and a few other foods in which presearing can trigger unwanted reactions that cause off-flavors and warmed-over flavors to form when the food is later cooked sous vide. We recommend searing those foods after cooking them sous vide.

One of the challenges to getting the Maillard reaction going is getting the surface hot and dry enough without overcooking the underlying fleshor at least overcooking it as little as possible. Cooks have developed several strategies to this end, some simple and some fairly baroque.

One strategy that works well is to remove as much water from the surface of the meat as possible before cooking it (via blotting or drying at low temperature). Fast heating using deep fryers, superhot griddles and grills, and even blowtorches are also helpful tactics, such as when we deep-fry chicken wings.

You might think that raising the temperature even higher would enhance the Maillard reaction. It does up to a point, but above 180 °C / 355 °F a different set of reactions occur: pyrolysis, also known as burning. People typically like foods a little charred, but with too much pyrolysis comes bitterness. The black compounds that pyrolysis creates also may be carcinogenic, so go easy on charring your foods for visual appeal.

Adapted from Modernist Cuisine

[Ceptorman]

My arteries were hardening just looking at the photo, I do love cheese though.

[JL Sargent]

That is interesting about the Maillard reaction. I must be into that also.

Edited July 11, 2014 by JL Sargent

[Boxx]

I do love cheese though.

Cheese is good for the soul....

[Fjd]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

BURGER KING INTRODUCES LEFT-HANDED WHOPPERS

BKILHW020110331wh73v0oprs

News

Staff Reporter

448 Words

1 April 2015

PR Newswire

English

Copyright 2015. UMB plc Company

 

BURGER KING INTRODUCES LEFT-HANDED WHOPPERS

 

Burger King today announced the launch of its latest salvo in the battle of the Burger Wars - the new left-handed Whopper - which became available nation-wide today, April 1.

 

 

 

 

 

This most preferred hamburger will still consist of lettuce, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup and four-ounce flame-grilled hamburger patty, but the sandwich has been re-designed to fit more comfortably in the left hand. This will result in fewer condiment 'spills' for left-handed hamburger lovers.

 

The new Left-Handed Whopper will have all the condiments rotated 180 degrees, thereby redistributing the weight of the sandwich so that the bulk of them skew to the left.

 

"We have always been proud of the fact that we offered 1,024 ways to order our flagship Whopper sandwich, now we are offering 1,025 ways! It's the ultimate 'Have It Your Way' for our left-handed customers," says Lorraine Thomson, Marketing Director for Burger King.

 

The Left Handed Club estimates that nearly 11 million left-handed customers visit Burger King Restaurants each year. Lauren Milsom from the Club comments: "We are delighted that Burger King has recognized the difficulties of holding a hamburger in your left hand that has a natural right bias to it. We urge all left handed hamburger lovers to visit their nearest Burger King and taste the difference for themselves."

 

Initially, the Left-Handed Whopper will only be available in the US; however Burger King is considering plans to roll it out to other countries with large left handed populations.

 

 

 

 

 

Notes to Editors:

 

The BURGER KING® system operates approximately 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and in 73 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. Approximately 90 percent of BURGER KING® restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family owned operations that have been in business for decades. In 2008, Fortune magazine ranked Burger King Corporation among America’s 1,000 largest corporations and Ad Week named it one of the top three industry-changing advertisers within the last three decades and it was recently recognized by Interbrand on its top 100 Best Global Brands list.

 

 

 

 

Famous Lefties:

 

• Paul McCartney had a left-handed guitar made especially for him
• 'busty' model Melinda Messenger
• legendary guitarist Jimmy Hendrix
• Supermodel Sophie Dahl
• former England cricketer David Gower
• TV presenter Sarah Green
• former MP Roy Jenkins

 

Lefty Facts:

 

   1965   left-handed scissors introduced into the US

        1995   the first left handed check-book with the stubs on the right was

                 launched by Lloyds bank

        1998   launch of the Left handed ergonomic computer mouse for Lefties

 

Pictures accompanying this release is on the Two-Ten News Network area of the PA Bulletin Board. There is no charge for using the pictures or story.

 

 

 

SOURCE Burger King

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy April Fool's Day!!!  RIP Boxx

Edited April 1, 2015 by Fjd

[CECAA850]

Lefties have rights too.

[Karsoncookie]

Many (I understand not all) Arby's serve the following on request, even though  not shown on the exposed Menu, for around $10.

"Meat Mountain" sandwich.

I haven't had one yet, but it's on my Bucket List-------  Lars

 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2014/08/25/the-10-meat-mountain-from-arbys-its-exactly-what-it-sounds-like/

[oldtimer]

Don't ever eat at Arby's.  Unless you have already sold your soul to the devil, then why not?

[Karsoncookie]

I've often coveted the Jewish Deli insanely loaded  corned beef sandwiches availible in NYC and other major cities, but when I see the $20 + approaching $30 prices, (that only make sense), not so much.   Lars

 

[Karsoncookie]

Oldtimer - You don't like Arbys?  Obviouly not "Real" roast beef, but I find it DARN tasty w the Arby Sauce and Horsey sauce.

 

We can rarely get it cause we live very rurally, but I loveeee it.

 

The Wife gets Chik fil A when we're there in town.

 

Very good also.    Lars

[Karsoncookie]

Coytee -Very interesting post.    Lars

[oldtimer]

I've often coveted the Jewish Deli insanely loaded  corned beef sandwiches availible in NYC and other major cities, but when I see the $20 + approaching $30 prices, (that only make sense), not so much.   Lars

 

Much cheaper and way better in parts of Boston.

[Karsoncookie]

Coytee et al - You may be familiar with Cook's Illustrated magazine.

 

Very Alton Brownish.

 

Very scientific, like your post.      Lars

[BigStewMan]

The King think up that left handed burger campaign?

i thought the king was cool when he was intercepting passes on the football field; but, then he got kinda creepy.

[Gilbert]

Coytee et al - You may be familiar with Cook's Illustrated magazine.

 

Very Alton Brownish.

 

Very scientific, like your post.      Lars

 

 

Great publication, very informative and IMHO dedicated to professional type cooks, which my wife surely qualifies for, even if we don't own a restaurant. The girl can cook, I packed on 40lbs within our first year of marriage, never in my life did I think I would break the 200 lbs mark...... now, if I could only get back to my 185 that I thought I'd never exceed.

[Fjd]

The King think up that left handed burger campaign?

i thought the king was cool when he was intercepting passes on the football field; but, then he got kinda creepy.

 

 

He sure ended up in a lot of classic video clips......

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2015 by Fjd