Something You Should Know - SYSK Choice: Getting Your Dream Project Done & Food Science for Better Cooking

Episode Date: September 21, 2019

Did you know bacon is really a low-fat food? That is just one of the many fascinating food science facts you’ll discover when you listen to food writer David Joachim author of The Science of Good Food. You’ll also discover why hot liquids freeze faster than cold ones, why you should never cook veggies with lemon and the science of cooking the perfect steak – and a lot more great cooking advice. Also, do you have a project or goal in your head that you swear you want to get done – but never seem to get to? It’s a pretty common problem and one I discuss with Phyllis Korkki author of The Big Thing: How to Complete Your Creative Project Even if You’re a Lazy, Self-Doubting Procrastinator Like Me. Phyllis is an assignment editor and reporter for the New York Times Sunday Business section and she has really done her research on this topic – and has some great advice for those of us who finally want to get it done! Plus, which is your good side? You know, in a photo, which side of your face do you think is better? You’ll get the answer in this episode. And if you drive, you probably spend a fair amount of time in the fast lane. But did you know you should never just cruise in the fast lane? It’s not for driving – it is for passing. Chances are you are staying in it too long – and that causes a real serious hazard. Many states are starting to crack down and enforce this law. Discover how to stay out of trouble in this episode of the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a listener to Something You Should Know, I can only assume that you are someone who likes to learn about new and interesting things and bring more knowledge to work for you in your everyday life. I mean, that's kind of what Something You Should Know was all about. And so I want to invite you to listen to another podcast called TED Talks Daily. Now, you know about TED Talks, right? Many of the guests on Something You Should Know have done TED Talks. Well, you see, TED Talks Daily is a podcast that brings you a new TED Talk every weekday in less than 15 minutes. Join host Elise Hu.

She goes beyond the headlines so you can hear about the big ideas shaping our future. Learn about things like sustainable fashion, embracing your entrepreneurial spirit, the future of robotics, and so much more. Like I said, if you like this podcast, Something You Should Know, I'm pretty sure you're going to like TED Talks Daily. And you get TED Talks Daily wherever you get your podcasts. Today on Something You Should Know, life in the fast lane. Did you know the left lane of any highway is not for driving? And if you're driving in it, you can get a ticket. Also, are you putting off big projects because you're just too busy?

Well, starting today, no more excuses. I found it, it sounds kind of corny, but I find it, I found it helpful just to get up in the morning and say, the hardest part is to start. It has a nice ring to it, and I would just force myself to get up and sit in the chair and not care about quality. You can't care about quality at first. And which is your good side? Without even seeing you, I know the answer, and I'll tell you what side of your face is best for photos.

And the science of food. This is fascinating. Did you know that bacon isn't fattening at all? Raw bacon has about 126 calories, but when it's cooked, it only has 35 calories. All this today on Something You Should Know. People who listen to Something You Should Know are curious about the world, looking to hear new ideas and perspectives.

So, I want to tell you about a podcast that is full of new ideas and perspectives, and one I've started listening to, called Intelligence Squared. It's the podcast where great minds meet. Listen in for some great talks on science, tech, politics, creativity, wellness, and a lot more.

A couple of recent examples, Mustafa Suleiman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, discussing the future of technology. That's pretty cool. And writer, podcaster, and filmmaker John Ronson discussing the rise of conspiracies and culture wars. Intelligence Squared is the kind of podcast that gets you thinking a little more openly about the important conversations going on today. Being curious, you're probably just the type of person Intelligence Squared is meant for. Check out Intelligence Squared wherever you get your podcasts. Something you should know. Fascinating intel. The world's top experts. And practical advice you can use in your life. Today, Something You Should Know with Mike Carruthers.

Hi, and welcome to another weekend choice Choice Edition of Something You Should Know. And we begin today by taking a look at the fast lane. Every state in the U.S. has some law regarding the use of the fast lane, the left lane of a highway. And while the laws differ somewhat from state to state, they all essentially say that the left lane is not for driving. It's for passing. And once you pass, you're supposed to get out of the left lane is not for driving. It's for passing. And once you pass, you're supposed to get out of the left lane. That's because even if you're driving fast, there's always that other guy who's going faster. And if you promptly get back over after passing, then that car will be able to pass you, allowing everyone on the road to get to their destination as quickly as possible. If you don't pass and then move over, it inevitably leads to buildup of traffic in the left lane,

and that raises the chance of car crashes. And while speeding is a problem on our highways, speed differential is a bigger problem. Slow drivers who stay in the left lane impede traffic and make everyone else less safe. Even if you're going the speed limit, you're not supposed to cruise in the left lane. Now, Georgia is supposedly the most aggressive about this. Slow drivers in the left lane in Georgia can now be charged with a misdemeanor crime, and more states are increasing the number of tickets they write for violators. And that is something you should know.

So somewhere banging around in your brain, I suspect, is some big thing, an idea, a project, a goal, something you want to accomplish. And maybe, if you're like the rest of us, you find it hard to actually get to it and get it done. Instead, other things get in the way, things come up that demand your attention, so you never quite get down to it. Sound familiar? I think everybody does this or has done this at some time in their life, and now maybe we can find a way to stop doing this. My guest is Phyllis Corky. She is the author of a book called The Big Thing, How to Complete Your Creative Project, Even if You're a Lazy, Self-Doubting

Procrastinator Like Me. Phyllis is also an assignment editor and reporter for the New York Times Business Section. And welcome to the podcast, Phyllis. Thank you. So define this problem for me. What types of things do you mean when you talk about the big thing? Sure. I define a big thing as a creative project that is personally meaningful to the person who's seeking to complete it. And there's often no firm deadline for completing it. The structure is large, complex, and oftentimes unclear. And they require a lot of focus and effort to complete.

They're not being assigned from someone on the outside. They're something that comes from inside you. And not everybody has one. This is like, you know, someday I'm going to write that big novel, or someday I'm going to, you know, do something big like that that often never happens. Yes, because no one is making it happen. You have to make it happen. So, you know, you started to say that not everybody has one, but do you think most people do have something that's kind of scratching at the door there that they'd like to accomplish?

Well, I don't know. When I was writing the book, I asked people, almost everybody I came across, and my experience was maybe half and half. I think about half of people have something like that. And others, their life itself is their big thing. And that's good, too, almost better, if you consider your life your big thing. So what is the big problem? What is the reason that the big thing never becomes a real thing? Well, one reason, and social scientists and philosophers also have studied this,

is that we tend to give all the work of this project to our future selves. We say, oh, future, for me, for example, future Phyllis will get that done. Future Phyllis is going to become very disciplined and productive, unlike present Phyllis. And she's going to do all that work. When you think about it, it's really unfair to our future selves to give them all that work. And then sometimes we never do it. And the other reason is I think we're very afraid of failure. We have this idea, it can sometimes be almost a grandiose idea of how it's going to play out and it's going to be this great thing. And we sit down and try to do it and it doesn't really turn out the way it kind of played out in our heads. And so we don't do it because it's so difficult and could lead to failure. I know of people, I know of several people who have this big thing and they never start it, or they start it, but they never get to any kind of critical point.

And my take on it seems to be that it's better left not a reality because then it has all the potential in the world. But if it fails, then, you know then what are you going to fantasize about? I think you're absolutely right. I think in some ways, and some people have told me this, and I wish I would have gotten into it more in the book, and maybe I will in the future, is that maybe it is better to leave it alone. And it just is something pleasant you can think about and not actually do.

But on the other hand, I think it's almost, it can be a symptom of narcissism not to do it. That's something I say, you can let your potential be on this grand potential that you have stay really big in your mind. And I think that there's a certain amount of grandiosity there and that it's almost better to do it, even though it doesn't reach that high level that you expected. Well, and it also seems that one of the reasons these things don't get done, that would otherwise get done if somebody else was expecting it. Yes, and I point out that the inspiration came for the book from a column I wrote. I work at the New York Times, and I wrote a column about deadlines, and I pointed out in the column,

I did the column because I had a deadline for it. And my colleagues were expecting it, and I would endanger my reputation if I didn't do it. And so I wanted to explore in this book, how do we give that same urgency to these personal creative projects? And that is the big challenge. I wonder if, in some cases, maybe things are better left undone, because maybe it's better off as an idea than a reality. Maybe it's just, for some people, that's just a better way to be. Yes, that could be, or it could be that it's not your time. I know, for me, I wanted to write a book when I was in my 20s, and I didn't end up starting on one until 30 years later.

So it could be that you have this idea, but you haven't yet aligned chronologically with it. So maybe you need to carry it around for a few decades before you actually work on it. I came across a few people like that. But to carry around something like that for a few decades seems like a pretty heavy weight to carry around where nothing really gets done. That's true, too. What I call it in the book is psychic overhang. And I had that. But in a way, I think I wouldn't be me if I didn't have it. On the other hand, I came across people who did it in increments. I talk about the power of increments.

And I talked to one woman, for example, who she had a very busy job as a director of nursing at a school. And she really wanted to start a nonprofit. Well, she did the groundwork for that on vacations. She would go down to Africa and she would help villages deal with their health issues over several decades. Just small efforts that added up over time. That's one thing that's an important message of my book, is small efforts can add up if you keep at them over time. I'm speaking with Phyllis Corky. She's author of the book, The Big Thing. Hi, I'm Jennifer, a founder of the Go Kid Go Network. At Go Kid Go,

putting kids first is at the heart of every show that we produce. That's why we're so excited to introduce a brand new show to our network called The Search for the Silver Lining, a fantasy adventure series about a spirited young girl named Isla who time travels to the mythical land of Camelot. Look for The Search for the Silver Lining on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Since I host a podcast, it's pretty common for me to be asked to recommend a podcast. And I tell people, if you like something you should know, you're going to like The Jordan Harbinger Show. Every episode is a conversation with a fascinating guest.

Of course, a lot of podcasts are conversations with guests, but Jordan does it better than most. Recently, he had a fascinating conversation with a British woman who was recruited and radicalized by ISIS and went to prison for three years. She now works to raise awareness on this issue. It's a great conversation. And he spoke with Dr. Sarah Hill about how taking birth control not only prevents pregnancy, it can influence a woman's partner preferences, career choices, and overall behavior due to the hormonal changes it causes. Apple named The Jordan Harbinger Show one of the best podcasts a few years back, and in a nutshell, the show is aimed at making you

a better, more informed critical thinker. Check out the Jordan Harbinger Show. There's so much for you in this podcast. The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. So Phyllis, let's talk about the strategy then. If you've got that, you know, novel that you want to start or the symphony you want to write or whatever it is, where do you even begin? Because I would imagine that beginning something like that is one of the hardest parts. It's kind of so big that you don't know where to start. It's so scary.

It's the terror of the blank page. It really is terrifying. And the only thing I found, it sounds kind of corny, but I find it, I found it helpful just to get up in the morning and say, the hardest part is to start. It has a nice ring to it. And I would just force myself to get up and sit in the chair and not care about quality. I think that is, you can't care about quality at first. You just have to strike out there and just do whatever. And you don't have to stick with what you started out with, but just do it. I mean, the Nike slogan is so true for this kind of thing. And that's my thing. Say it

out loud and just get up and don't care about quality at first. And then what? Well, then it starts to develop. It's interesting. It starts to develop a structure. I think it's important to develop some kind of fake accountability to either get a partner to encourage you that you're both working on something. Or in my case, I actually paid someone to call me up in the morning and encourage me to work on my book, that was very successful. You could even have, if you went into the more negative approach, you could pay a fine to someone if you don't work on your project. There are all kinds of strategies that you can do to impose some accountability on yourself,

the kind that you get in your job. Well, that does seem to be pretty key for a lot of people, is that if you add that accountability element to it, if someone else is expecting it or whatever, then it's much more likely to get done. We seem like we're better at doing things for other people than for ourselves. I think most of us are like that. A few people maybe aren't, but I think most of us really do respond to that kind of motivation.

And that's what we need to create for these kinds of projects. And there are ways to do it. And how do you know if you're on the right track? How do you know if this is really going to be something or do you know if you're on the right track? How do you know if this is, you know, really going to be something or do you? You just have to just have faith and barrel through. I think sometimes you do. It was interesting. I talk about experiences as being big things and big things being experiences. And I talked to this woman who went on a polar expedition and she talked about how she reached this point up on the North Pole where there's white

everywhere and you have no idea where you are until you put the GPS under your armpit and wait for it to warm up and tells you where you are. And I think there's that sort of whiteness of not knowing, being so disoriented and not knowing what step to take. But paradoxically, I think that shows that it's worthwhile, because if you knew where you were going, it just wouldn't be as exciting or challenging. I wonder how often the big thing, when it really starts to go and it starts to develop, turns into something other than what was intended or thought would happen. I'd be willing to bet that happens most of the time. Certainly happened with my book. I had a gen, you know, and with a book, you do a proposal and you think it's going to turn out one way. Well, then you talk to people and you find out, well, this isn't what I planned. They aren't telling me what I expected. And so I think that's almost par for the course with any big project.

And you should be flexible. Definitely flexibility is important when you're doing this. But what about, maybe not writing a book or something, but I wonder if some projects might be better with a partner? Yes, I have a whole chapter on collaboration. Sometimes you have to have a partner, especially if you're doing something technical like an app. I think it would be rare if you're doing an app to have all the skills involved in that.

Certainly you have to with a play. I talked to some people who worked on a play. You have to collaborate on a play. The great thing about collaboration is it does build in that accountability that is so important. So, if there's any way you can collaborate on a big project, then please, you should do it. But sometimes it's not possible or even wanted. I imagine a lot of people, if they want to write a novel or want to write some music or some people, if they want to write a novel or want to write some music or some big project, they want to do it. They want all the glory or all the... Well, yeah, glory. I talk about glory. I mean, everybody fantasizes about glory,

but the main reason for doing these kind of projects as I define them is they should be intrinsically meaningful. You shouldn't want them to do them for fame or fortune or likes on Twitter or on Facebook and Instagram. I'm surprised that you think only half of everybody has this burning desire. I would have thought it was more than that. Well, you may be right. It's hard to do a survey on that.

I mean, I don't think Gallup has done a survey. Maybe they will after this book comes out. But when I ask people, some people just say, oh, I don't really have anything like that. And they actually seem like happier people. I talk to all the ones who want to write books or do art, or, oh, I always wanted to do that, and they feel so guilty and weighed down by it.

But it is possible because people accomplish these things all the time. I mean, I'm amazed how many, you know, books get written and how many songs get written and how many, you know, big projects get done, how many houses get built. I mean, it's a lot. So somehow people are getting it done. Even people have full-time jobs. I bust that myth that you can't do it if you have a full-time job. I found it was actually better when I was working. I took a small leave to work on the book. I didn't get much more done on leave. I found it was better to have the time constraint of my full-time job

and that I knew when to work around it. Yeah, well, there is something, it seems, to that, you know, if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person kind of thing. I think there is something to that, too. It's easy to fritter your whole day away if you have too much time. Yeah. But I imagine, too, that people with these big goals that they have but never get to spend a lot of time, you know, daydreaming about it and wasting time thinking about what if rather than getting it done. Yes.

And I do talk about maybe it's best to give up. I have a whole chapter on maybe you should give up for now or forever. Just burn some sage and live your life. Maybe you're just not meant to do it and you're putting all this energy into something that just isn't worthwhile for you. Which probably could be very freeing when you finally say, you know what, I've been carrying this around, I've never done a damn thing, maybe I should just quit and do something else.

Yes, just live my life. Maybe it's my dog, my job, my garden, going on a vacation. Maybe those things are more meaningful than writing that novel that I haven't done. Yeah. I wonder if that's hard to do, if you've been carrying around something for so long to actually let it go, or is it, do you think? I think it is very hard, and I think it takes some really pretty amazing amount of honesty to do it, you know, if you're used to that clunking around with you. But think about what a weight that would be off your shoulders if it's really not what you're meant to do.

Terrific, thanks. Phyllis Corky has been my guest. Phyllis is an assignment editor and reporter for the New York Times Sunday Business section and author of the book, The Big Thing, How to Complete Your Creative Project Even if You're a Lazy, Self-Doubting Procrastinator Like Me. Thanks for your time,

Phyllis. Okay, thanks. That was great. You did a great job. Okay, bye. Bye-bye. Hey, everyone. Join me, Megan Rinks. And me, Melissa Demonts, for Don't Blame Me, But Am I Wrong? Each week, we deliver four fun-filled shows. In Don't Blame Me, we tackle our listeners' dilemmas with hilariously honest advice. Then we have But Am I Wrong, which is for the listeners that didn't take our advice. Plus, we share our hot takes on current events. Then tune in to see you next Tuesday for our listener poll results from But Am I Wrong. And finally, wrap up your week with Fisting Friday, where we catch up and talk all things pop culture. Listen to Don't Blame Me, But Am I Wrong on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

New episodes every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Do you love Disney? Then you are going to love our hit podcast, Disney Countdown. I'm Megan, the Magical Millennial. And I'm the Dapper Danielle. On every episode of our fun and family-friendly show, we count down our top 10 lists of all things Disney. There is nothing we don't cover. We are famous for rabbit holes,

Disney-themed games, and fun facts you didn't know you needed, but you definitely need in your life. So if you're looking for a healthy dose of Disney magic, check out Disney Countdown wherever you get your podcasts. I have always been fascinated by food. I love to cook.

I like to try new things in the kitchen. And even if you're not a big, fancy cook, I think everybody has some interest in the food they eat. And a few years back, I was very happy to get a book by David Joachim called The Science of Good Food, which is a great reference book for anybody who wants to understand how food and cooking works and, well, and really how to be a better cook. David has written several books.

His most recent one is with Cooking Light magazine called Cooking Light Global Kitchen. He's also written an Italian cookbook, and he's written some great books, and he is my guest today. Welcome, David. And I think when people cook or prepare food, they don't always think so much about the science of what they're doing. But to me, cooking and food preparation is really nothing but science, really, really interesting science. So what's your take? The science of food is really helpful as a cook because you understand what's happening whenever you do a

basic cooking method, braising, for instance. And once you understand what's going on underneath the lid or behind that closed door, it really helps you to turn out better food. So, like, what is happening when braising is going on? What is braising? Braising is cooking food, typically meat, in a little bit of liquid over a long period of time What is braising? a little bit of moisture, the connective tissue dissolves into that mouth-filling gelatinous substance that makes it taste so good. It's actually gelatin that forms. And that doesn't happen if you grill the same piece of meat. So braising is a very unique and useful method for tough cuts because it makes them taste more tender. Let's talk about some of the things that you sent me that are pretty fascinating. First, let's start with the hot liquids freeze faster than cold ones, which seems completely wrong.

Right? You would think, well, if something is cold, let's say you have a cup of cold water, it's kind of on the way to being frozen, right? So you'd think it would freeze and harden faster than a cup of hot water. But many, many experiments have proven that wrong. So it's very counterintuitive, but it gets at the way heat works. Aristotle first described this phenomenon, and there was a student in Africa in a science class making ice cream with his fellow students, and then he put his ice cream in the freezer a little bit later than everyone else

because he was running behind, and his froze faster because his mixture, his ice cream mixture, had not cooled thoroughly. It was still warm, and it froze faster. There are lots of explanations for, or possible explanations for why this occurs, but the most compelling in my mind really gets at the nature of heat itself. Heat is energy that is moving from one molecule to another. And it's heat and freezing. They're the same side of, they're two sides of the same coin. It's either, it's basically energy in motion. And on the cold side of the spectrum,

freezing begins when tiny seed crystals form onto a substance. So let's say it's water. Seed crystals form around either impurities in the water, little particles of dirt, for instance, or if the water's agitated. So the theory with the hot liquid freezing faster is that the hot liquid is essentially agitated. The molecules are moving faster because it's hot. It's energy in motion. So it's more likely to freeze than a cold liquid is,

which does not change its state as readily as a hot liquid does. So in essence, it's kind of running faster in the race. You got it. Yeah. Basically, anything that is in motion can change its state, meaning solid, liquid, or gas. It can move between states more quickly than something that is not in motion. it takes a lot of heat to melt that. But if it's already liquid and it's hot and the molecules are moving, it will actually firm up quicker. It will turn into solid steel faster or whatever the metal happens to be. What's this, bacon isn't fattening? Yeah, people love this one.

I don't know if the dieters will like it, though. But bacon is about one-half to two-thirds fat content when it's raw. But the truth is most of that fat renders out. Bacon loses about 80% of that weight, of its total weight, and most of that is fat rendering out. So raw bacon has about 126 calories, but when it's cooked very crisply, it only has 35 calories. 35 calories in a slice of bacon. So explain how the earlier you add cream to coffee, the hotter it'll be

when you drink it. Here's another counterintuitive one, and this is really about heat again. And this is because when you add cold cream to hot coffee, it does two things. One, it changes the temperature of it, and it makes the temperature difference between the coffee itself and the environment it's in smaller. The difference is smaller because the coffee is not as hot as it was. So it takes less energy for it to change and become closer to the environment that it's in, in temperature. So it will actually hold on to that temperature a little bit longer. That's one phenomenon. The other is that you're actually increasing the volume of the liquid in the cup when you add cream. And that increased volume means that

the coffee is actually going to stay hotter longer. Because it's a bigger amount of material to change temperature? Exactly. Okay, so explain why it's best to remove the leaves from fresh vegetables. Yeah, so vegetables breathe. Not everyone understands this. They don't breathe like you and I do. They don't have lungs, obviously, but they do take in oxygen and moisture and that's how they survive. So in order to do that, they grab moisture and oxygen

from whatever is around them. And if your leaves are attached to a root, let's say you have carrots or beets that are whole with the leaves and roots intact together, the leaves will actually suck moisture from the roots and start to decay the roots so the leaves can survive. So if you want your carrots to stay nice and crisp, it's actually the moisture that's making them crisp and filling up all the cells in the carrot or the beet, take off the tops before you store that vegetable. And the root itself, the carrot or the beet, will stay crisper longer. So the leaves are kind of fighting for survival by leaching off the fruit or the vegetable. That's right.

All right. So talk about how acids change the colors of fruits and vegetables. Yeah, acids are very fascinating. They're everywhere in our world, in us. And what they do to our food is very diverse. They do lots of things to our food. They make it taste great. We have special taste buds to detect the sour flavor, which is what an acid is. So an acid is lemon juice or vinegar. It's acidic or sour. When you add an acid like lemon juice to a green vegetable, for instance,

it turns that vegetable drab olive brown. Have you ever added lemon juice to sautéed broccoli, for instance? Yeah, it just turns it that horrible grayish, brownish goo. Right. So the green chlorophyll molecules that are making it nice and bright, they contain some magnesium and the acid displaces that magnesium. And that's what turns it from that nice, bright green to brown. So to get the same flavor, let's say, of lemon without the acid, use lemon zest instead. Because the zest on the outside of the lemon, if you just grate some of it off onto your sauteed broccoli, that has lemon oil, but none of the lemon acid. So it won't discolor the vegetable. Acids do other things

to our vegetables. They can change the color completely. Acids will brighten a certain type of pigment called an anthocyanin. These are the red pigments in food, so they are what make cherries and red cabbage nice and red. If you add an acid to cherries or red cabbage, those reds brighten. But if you cook cherries or red cabbage under alkaline conditions, the opposite conditions, that red changes to blue. So an example of that would be if you boiled red cabbage in water.

Most water is made alkaline to prevent pipe corrosion. So it's not acidic. It's the opposite. And when you cook the red cabbage under those alkaline conditions in the alkaline water, it changes from red to blue. So to prevent that from happening, add a little vinegar to your water. Why did I have this idea, this notion that if you cook with lemon, if you add lemon while you're cooking, say broccoli, that it actually brightens the color?

No, actually it doesn't. It doesn't do that. If you blanch vegetables, green vegetables, it does help to brighten the colors, but not with an acid. You don't want to blanch them with an acid. Why is ketchup so hard to get out of the bottle? This is a fun one, especially for physicists. Ketchup has a certain property called fixotropicity. Try to say that 10 times fast. And fixotropicity essentially means that a substance gets thicker and more viscous the longer it sits.

So ketchup, when it's sitting in a bottle and is not moving, gets thicker and thicker and thicker and more difficult to get out of that narrow opening that they tend to bottle ketchup in. So what you want to do is change the physical state of the ketchup. By the same token, the longer it sits, the more it thickens, the more it's agitated, the thinner it gets. So basically, just shake the ketchup bottle. And you also need to get some oxygen flowing around the ketchup. So instead of holding the bottle directly upside down, hold it sideways so some oxygen can flow in to the bottle,

and then the ketchup will start to flow over itself as it thins because it's more agitated, and it will easily glide out of the bottle. Or you can buy a plastic bottle instead. Yes, well, that was the godsend of ketchup lovers everywhere, was the plastic bottle. But you know what I don't like about the plastic bottle sometimes is if it's been sitting around for a long time, that when you first squirt the ketchup out, you get that clear liquid first before the ketchup actually comes out? Same with mustard. And both of those are vinegar. In ketchup and mustard, that thin liquid is

vinegar. So another reason to shake the condiments up before you use them. Talk about grilled steak, and it's all about surface temperature. Yeah, so what is so delicious about grilled steak or just about any grilled food is the browning on the surface. And it's why people love that method. Browned flavors are also called Maillard flavors. They're named after a French chemist who discovered them. And these flavors, these reactions that turn the surface of food brown don't happen until the food reaches above 250 degrees on the surface. So it's all about surface temperature.

And there are three things that you need to do to make sure that your steak, for instance, is going to reach that temperature quickly and easily. One, don't use cold meat. You want to warm the meat up a little bit before putting it on the grill. So when you warm up your grill bit before putting it on the grill. So when you warm up your grill, when you preheat your grill, take the steak out of the refrigerator, let it sit on your counter for at least 20 minutes. Just think of you're putting your finger over a candle. If your finger had been sitting in ice water for 20 or 30 minutes, it would be really, really cold. You could hold it over that candle for a long time and it wouldn't burn, or at least you wouldn't feel that sensation.

So same thing with meat. The warm meat is going to sear better than cold meat. So take it out of the fridge before you start grilling. Number two is to pat dry the surface to get any moisture off the surface of the steak because we're trying to get to a temperature of 250 degrees quickly so that browning will occur and we'll get that delicious crust. Well, moisture or water doesn't, it only gets to 212. It doesn't get to 250 degrees. It evaporates at 212 and turns to steam. So you're waiting for the water to get to that temperature when you put a wet steak on

the grill. So pat it dry first, and you'll give the steak a head start so we can get to 250 sooner. The third thing is to use very high heat. Most backyard gas grills only get to about 600 degrees Fahrenheit, and browning starts to occur around 250. And you have all of those other forces at play, the temperature of the meat, the moisture on the surface of the meat, usually preventing the steak from getting to those browning temperatures. Start with really high heat and you'll get deeper browning faster. And what we love mostly about steak, I think, is the contrast

between that beautifully browned crust and the relatively untouched interior. And you will get that contrast better if you warm up the meat a little bit, dry the surface, and use very high heat on your grill. But in the quest to get that brown, crispy thing, a lot of people maybe worry that now it's too dark, and we've heard that blackened meat is carcinogenic. Right. So you don't want to burn the outside. The reason I recommend high heat is it will quickly sear the surface of the meat, so you can get that crust going faster. One way to prevent the burning and to lower the

carcinogen factor is to use two levels of heat on your grill. Let's say you have a gas grill. Put one burner on high, put another on medium. Sear the meat over the high heat and then move it over medium heat. And you can do the same thing on a charcoal grill by establishing different levels of your coal bed. A high-level, very deep coal bed will be hotter, and then a shallow coal bed will burn at a lower temperature. So that can be your low heat, for instance, medium to low heat. So if you use a bi-level heat in your grill like that, then you can sear the outside,

but move it to the lower heat area of the grill so the steak will cook through to whatever doneness you prefer before it burns on the outside. Well, I always learn a lot from you, whether I'm reading your books or talking to you here. I appreciate it. David Jowakim has been my guest. His book is The Science of Good Food,

among many other books that he's written. And there is a link to the book on the show notes page for this episode of the podcast, located on our website, somethingyoushouldknow.net. And finally today, which side of your face is your good side? Well, I can tell you without even looking at your face that chances are it is the left side.

Even if you prefer the right side, others are naturally attracted to your left side, according to research from Wake Forest University. They had volunteers rate the faces of strangers, and the left side was overwhelmingly preferred, even when the

photos were reversed. Most of us exhibit a little more emotion on the left side of the face when posing for a photo, and that's because the right side of the brain, which controls emotion, has a bigger influence on the left side of the body. And this left best side theory is nothing new. Artists have been preferring the left side in poses for portraits for centuries. Look at paintings and almost always, well, I don't know, almost always, but the vast majority of paintings that you'll see in museums and in books favor the left side. So the next time someone wants to capture you on film or canvas, just turn right and smile. And that's the podcast today. I'm Mike Carruthers. Thanks for listening today to

Something You Should Know. Welcome to the small town of Chinook, where faith runs deep and secrets run deeper. In this new thriller, religion and crime collide when a gruesome murder rocks the isolated Montana community. Everyone is quick to point their fingers at a drug-addicted teenager, but local deputy Ruth Vogel isn't convinced. She suspects connections to a powerful religious group. Enter federal agent V.B. Loro, who has been investigating a local church for possible criminal activity. The pair form an unlikely partnership to catch the killer, unearthing secrets that leave Ruth torn between her duty to the law, her religious convictions, and her very own family.

But something more sinister than murder is afoot, and someone is watching Ruth. Chinook. Starring Kelly Marie Tran and Sanaa Lathan. Listen to Chinook wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, this is Rob Benedict. And I am Richard Spate. We were both on a little show you might know called Supernatural.

It had a pretty good run. 15 seasons, 327 episodes. And though we have seen, of course, every episode many times, we figured, hey, now that we're wrapped, let's watch it all again. And we can't do that alone. So we're inviting the cast and crew that made the show along for the ride. We've got writers, producers, composers, directors, and we'll of course have some actors on as well, including some certain guys that played some certain pretty iconic brothers.

It was kind of a little bit of a left field choice in the best way possible. The note from Kripke was, he's great, we love him, but we're looking for like a really intelligent Duchovny type. With 15 seasons to explore, it's going to be the road trip of several lifetimes. So please join us and subscribe to Supernatural then and now.