About Kitchen Myths
What is a Kitchen Myth?
We've all heard of urban legends, those plausible sounding but false stories that circulate so widely on email and social media, such as the old lady who microwaved her cat or the Nieman-Marcus $250 cookie recipe. There are several web sites, such as Snopes, devoted to researching and exposing these fake stories (and verifying those that are true). The same sort of thing happens in the world of food and cooking–these are Kitchen Myths.
About the Author
So, who am I and why do I write this blog. I am a retired medical school professor with a life-long interest in food and cooking. I would hear well-known chefs say things that just did not make sense to me based on my background in science. The same was true for writers and "influencers" making claims about health, nutrition, ingredients, techniques—claims that I did not believe. Because my own opinions are not enough, I started to research things, seeking out evidence from reputable science and evidence-based sources. And it turns out that a lot of the accepted wisdom about food and cooking was just plain wrong.
Why Believe Me?
How do I know these are myths? Why should you believe me over someone who says that something I call a myth is in fact true — particularly if that person is your Mom or a famous TV chef? I can’t answer that question for you, but I can say that all of the information on this page has been carefully researched. I do not claim that something is true or false just because I heard it somewhere or because it seems to “make sense.” I require that something be backed by a credible source and that it be in accord with accepted scientific knowledge.
My professional training and experience give me perhaps unique qualifications to write this blog. I hold a doctoral degree in science and worked my whole career in biomedical research and drug development. This allows me to evaluate claims and evidence from an objective and science-based perspective. This list gives the major sources I have used in creating this blog.
To contact me leave a comment below. I cannot promise a response but I read all comments (honest!).
Looks like a very useful site! I’ll be back