[0:00] Chopping and cooking with vegetables is
[0:02] something we do almost every time we
[0:04] cook. But the way we're taught about
[0:06] them is completely backwards because no
[0:09] one ever tells you what vegetables are
[0:11] actually doing in a dish. Seriously,
[0:14] have you ever wondered why does an onion
[0:15] taste different from a carrot, a potato,
[0:17] a bell pepper, or leafy greens? And then
[0:20] beyond that, what's the point of all
[0:21] these different cuts? Why would you
[0:23] finally mince something versus dicing it
[0:25] versus just leaving it whole? And why
[0:27] can the same vegetable taste completely
[0:29] different all depending on how you cook
[0:32] it? Well, in this video, we're going to
[0:34] break down the five mistakes that most
[0:36] people make when it comes to vegetables,
[0:38] but we're going to do it from a food
[0:40] science perspective. And I specifically
[0:42] order the mistakes in this way because
[0:44] each one builds on the prior one. And by
[0:47] the end of this video, I promise you'll
[0:49] never look at vegetables the same way
[0:52] again.
[0:54] Now, before we get too deep into the
[0:55] food science and some of the other
[0:57] experiments we're going to do in this
[0:58] video, I need to tell you about my
[1:00] history with this carbon steel griddle
[1:02] that is about to turn four years old.
[1:04] And it comes from today's sponsor, Made
[1:06] In. This exact carbon steel griddle
[1:08] first appeared in a kebab video of mine
[1:10] on June 24th, 2022. And ever since then,
[1:14] it's become a recurring character on the
[1:16] channel. Whether that's breaking down
[1:18] burger science, learning about why you
[1:20] need to cook frozen meat, running spice
[1:22] experiments, or most recently cheese
[1:24] steaks along with about 20 to 30 other
[1:26] videos on my second channel in the past
[1:28] year. And the reason I keep using this
[1:30] is simple. It just makes cooking at home
[1:33] a lot easier. The griddle spans two
[1:35] burners, so you've got tons of space to
[1:37] cook multiple things at once without
[1:39] overcrowding. So if I'm testing
[1:40] different versions of something or just
[1:42] cooking a lot of food at once, it solves
[1:44] that problem immediately. And the best
[1:46] thing I can say about it is I just keep
[1:48] reaching for it day after day, week
[1:50] after week, and truly year over year.
[1:53] So, you can check out the Carbon Steel
[1:55] griddle and my other favorite cookware
[1:56] from Maiden by using the link in my
[1:58] description to save on your order. And
[2:01] thank you again to Maiden for sponsoring
[2:02] this video and being a longtime
[2:04] supporter of the channel. And I think
[2:06] what we both do well is just making
[2:07] cooking easier and more approachable.
[2:09] And this is exactly what we're going to
[2:11] get into with mistake number one when it
[2:13] comes to chopping vegetables. So, let's
[2:16] break it down. The first mistake we need
[2:18] to fix is thinking vegetable prep is
[2:20] about skill when it's really about
[2:22] setup. And when most people try to learn
[2:24] how to chop vegetables, they think being
[2:25] able to chop really fast, having perfect
[2:27] technique, or mastering a bunch of
[2:29] different cuts is what's important. But
[2:31] for a home cook, what actually matters
[2:33] is much simpler. It just shouldn't be
[2:36] miserable to chop your vegetables on a
[2:38] daily basis when you need to cook. And
[2:41] if you don't like chopping vegetables or
[2:43] think it takes way too much time, you
[2:45] probably just have a bad setup. At home,
[2:48] my vegetable prep usually takes three to
[2:50] six minutes depending on the dish. And I
[2:51] have a second channel with over 50
[2:53] real-time videos where you can see that
[2:55] I'm not rushing, just talking to the
[2:57] camera. And when I have a good setup,
[2:59] chopping vegetables is generally one of
[3:00] the parts of cooking that I enjoy.
[3:03] However, there is one situation where I
[3:06] am forced to cut vegetables very slow
[3:07] and it's an absolutely miserable
[3:09] experience and that is when I go to an
[3:12] Airbnb because every time it's the same
[3:15] story. There's typically two tiny
[3:16] cutting boards in a drawer, a knife that
[3:18] hasn't been sharpened in 8 years, and
[3:19] suddenly I'm chopping very slowly,
[3:21] frustrated, and wondering if I'm about
[3:23] to slice my finger open. And this is not
[3:26] a skill issue. This is a setup issue.
[3:29] So, the two questions you probably have
[3:31] are, what are the fundamentals of a good
[3:33] setup? And secondly, do I need to spend
[3:35] a lot of money? Well, the answer to the
[3:37] second question is no. Because if every
[3:40] Airbnb had this $40 cutting board, this
[3:42] $20 knife, and a way to keep it sharp
[3:44] like a wet stone, I would be perfectly
[3:46] happy. Because a good setup comes down
[3:48] to the three S's: sturdiness, space, and
[3:52] sharpness. If you have these three,
[3:54] chopping vegetables becomes faster,
[3:55] easier, and way more enjoyable.
[3:59] Sturdiness means your cutting board
[4:00] shouldn't move. Use a drawer liner or a
[4:02] damp towel. Just lock it in place so
[4:04] you're not fighting it. Space is
[4:06] twofold. First, you should have a
[4:08] dedicated spot for your cutting board so
[4:10] you're not constantly needing to set it
[4:12] up and put it away. It's more important
[4:14] than any other appliance on your
[4:16] counter. And secondly, you need enough
[4:18] room on your cutting board to be able to
[4:20] work with multiple ingredients. And I
[4:22] believe that a 24-in or 60cm wide board
[4:25] is the optimal size for most home cooks
[4:27] because most counters in the US and
[4:29] Europe at least are 25 in or 63 cm deep.
[4:33] So even if you're in a small kitchen,
[4:35] you can rotate it vertically and still
[4:36] have plenty of space to work. And
[4:38] lastly, we have sharpness. Your knife
[4:41] should be sharp and you need a way to
[4:43] keep it that way with something like a
[4:45] wet stone. This is what's going to make
[4:46] chopping actually feel good instead of
[4:49] frustrating. And that's it. If you get
[4:51] the three S's right, chopping your
[4:53] vegetables each night won't feel like a
[4:54] miserable chore. Instead, it's something
[4:57] you can experiment with. And this
[4:59] mistake is a really important one to fix
[5:01] in your kitchen because if you hate
[5:03] chopping vegetables, you're never going
[5:05] to want to learn what they actually
[5:06] taste like in mistake number two. And
[5:09] this is a shame because personally, I
[5:10] think this is where things get a lot
[5:12] more interesting and a lot more fun.
[5:17] This might seem like a dumb question,
[5:19] but if somebody asked you, "What flavors
[5:21] do vegetables actually provide?" Could
[5:24] you explain it? And this is where things
[5:26] are going to start to break down because
[5:27] what seems like a simple question is
[5:29] fairly complex. For example, a carrot we
[5:32] would typically say is orange, it's
[5:34] crunchy, has kind of a fresh smell, and
[5:36] maybe it's a bit sweet, but if you then
[5:37] roast that same carrot, it's going to
[5:40] have a completely different flavor. The
[5:42] first thing you'll notice is it's now
[5:44] soft instead of crunchy. But it's also
[5:46] much sweeter on your tongue and has
[5:48] deeply brown caramelized aromomas that
[5:50] we can smell. And the problem is if you
[5:52] don't know what flavor vegetables
[5:54] actually have, you also can't control
[5:56] them. So instead of being able to feel
[5:58] confident experimenting with new
[6:00] vegetables at the farmers market or
[6:02] using what you already have in the
[6:03] fridge to substitute them, this kind of
[6:04] leaves you stuck following recipes for
[6:07] the rest of your life. So to fix that,
[6:09] we're going to break down the flavor of
[6:10] vegetables into six properties. Taste,
[6:13] aroma, texture, sight, physical, and the
[6:16] human element. So let's start with
[6:18] taste. Our tongue registers five core
[6:21] tastes. Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and
[6:23] umami. Now overall, vegetables are
[6:26] fairly mild in terms of pure taste,
[6:28] which is why we often add things like
[6:30] salt, citrus juice, MSG, and sugar sweet
[6:33] sauces while we're cooking. However,
[6:35] depending on the vegetable you are
[6:37] using, one of the five tastes could play
[6:39] a big role in the dish you are making.
[6:42] And the question that I always had is
[6:44] where do these tastes come from? Like
[6:45] what signals in our brain that makes a
[6:47] sweet potato sweet or arugula taste
[6:49] bitter? And as it turns out, the taste
[6:51] we experience are tied to specific types
[6:54] of molecules. And vegetables, like all
[6:56] food, are just made up of molecules. At
[6:59] a basic level, most raw vegetables are
[7:01] 80 to 95% water, 3 to 15% carbohydrates,
[7:05] which includes things like sugars,
[7:07] starches, and fibers, 1 to 5% proteins,
[7:09] 0 to 1% fats, and about 1 to 3% other
[7:13] vitamins and minerals. So, let's take a
[7:15] look at what vegetables actually taste
[7:18] like. Starting with sweetness. Sweetness
[7:21] usually comes from sugars like fructose,
[7:23] sucrose, glucose, and maltose. And both
[7:25] the amount of and type of sugar matter.
[7:28] And you might be surprised to learn that
[7:30] in the United States around 55% of sugar
[7:33] production actually comes from a
[7:35] vegetable, sugar beets, because they are
[7:37] high in sucrose. However, in order to
[7:40] extract that sucrose, they are first
[7:41] cooked with hot water before being
[7:43] evaporated and concentrated down into
[7:45] table sugar. And that's because when
[7:47] raw, most vegetables don't taste
[7:49] especially sweet. However, when we cook
[7:51] with them, that sweetness can become
[7:54] much more noticeable. And if you've ever
[7:55] wondered why, there are usually four
[7:57] mechanisms at play. First is
[8:00] evaporation. As the water cooks off,
[8:02] everything else will become more
[8:03] concentrated, including the sugars. So
[8:05] even though the total sugar doesn't
[8:07] change, it tastes sweeter because
[8:08] there's less water diluting it. Second
[8:10] is structure breakdown. When vegetables
[8:12] cook, their cell walls start to soften
[8:14] and break apart. And this is going to
[8:16] release sugars that were trapped inside
[8:18] and make them easier for your tongue to
[8:20] detect. Third is chemical conversion.
[8:22] And this is a big one for certain
[8:23] vegetables. For example, in sweet
[8:25] potatoes, heat activates enzymes that
[8:27] break the starches down into simpler
[8:29] sugars like malttose. So, we are
[8:31] literally creating more sugars during
[8:33] cooking. And then fourth is reducing
[8:35] masking flavors. A lot of vegetables
[8:37] will have sugars but also have bitter
[8:39] sulfurous and other harsh compounds that
[8:41] can mask their sweetness. However, when
[8:44] we cook with them, a lot of those
[8:45] harsher compounds will mellow out,
[8:47] making the sweetness easier to detect.
[8:49] And one of the things that surprised me
[8:51] in the onion deep dive I did a few
[8:53] months ago is that sweated onions are
[8:55] actually perceived to be sweeter than
[8:56] caramelized ones because there are no
[8:59] masking flavors. So sweetness can
[9:02] definitely play a role depending on the
[9:04] vegetable and how we cook them. But what
[9:06] about the other for taste? And in
[9:08] general these tend to play a smaller
[9:10] more supporting role in the grand scheme
[9:12] of things. Sour taste comes from organic
[9:15] acid things like citric malic and oxylic
[9:18] acid. And when we think of sour
[9:19] vegetables, usually tomatoes or
[9:21] toatillos may come to mind, but those
[9:23] are technically fruits, which raises the
[9:25] question, are there any true vegetables
[9:28] that taste sour? Well, there are a few.
[9:30] And one of the best examples is rhubarb.
[9:32] It kind of looks like red celery, but if
[9:35] you take a bite, it has a distinctly
[9:37] tart flavor due to a mix of oxylic and
[9:39] malic acids. And that combination gives
[9:41] it that slightly rich sourness, which is
[9:44] why it's commonly used in things like
[9:46] pies. That said, sourness just isn't
[9:48] very common across vegetables, which is
[9:50] why when we're cooking, we often need to
[9:52] add it ourselves in the form of vinegar
[9:54] or citrus juices. Bitterness, on the
[9:57] other hand, is a completely different
[9:59] story and one that you need to be
[10:01] careful with while you're cooking. A
[10:03] bitter taste in vegetables often comes
[10:05] from a wide range of defensive
[10:06] compounds, and these are chemicals that
[10:08] plants produce to protect themselves
[10:10] from being eaten. And these are very
[10:12] common in vegetables, especially leafy
[10:14] greens and things in the brasica family.
[10:17] You'll find bitterness in kale, arugula,
[10:19] broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage,
[10:21] mustard greens, and ridiculio. But the
[10:24] intensity can vary quite a bit. And this
[10:26] is something you need to be aware of
[10:27] because most humans generally do not
[10:30] prefer dishes that are overly bitter.
[10:33] Cooking can help mellow out the
[10:34] bitterness, but many times we'll also
[10:36] balance it by pairing bitter vegetables
[10:38] with things that are salty or sour to
[10:40] help mask that taste and make it more
[10:42] enjoyable. And this brings us to our
[10:45] next taste, salty. Saltiness primarily
[10:48] comes from sodium, which is why we use
[10:50] salt all the time when we're cooking.
[10:52] However, vegetables themselves naturally
[10:55] are very low in sodium. While they can
[10:57] technically absorb some trace minerals
[10:59] from the soil, the amounts are usually
[11:01] pretty minimal. So, they're not going to
[11:03] get much saltiness from them naturally.
[11:05] And this brings us to our final taste,
[11:07] umami. Umami comes from compounds like
[11:09] glutamates and nucleotides, which can
[11:11] create that deep savory flavor. And some
[11:14] vegetables that are naturally higher in
[11:15] these molecules include things like
[11:17] seaweed tomatoes mushrooms corn and
[11:19] spinach. However, similar to sweetness,
[11:21] you usually won't notice much umami in
[11:23] vegetables until they're cooked down or
[11:26] combined with other ingredients, which
[11:27] is why MSG is a popular seasoning added
[11:30] to so many different dishes. So, really
[11:33] what we're doing when cooking with
[11:34] vegetables is trying to balance these
[11:36] five tastes in different ways, but taste
[11:38] is just one piece of the puzzle here.
[11:41] What actually makes vegetables quite
[11:43] distinct from one another is their
[11:44] aroma. And as Harold McGee points out in
[11:46] on food and cooking, most of what we
[11:49] experience as flavor is actually the
[11:51] odor or aroma. So let's talk about the
[11:55] second flavor property of vegetables. At
[11:58] a high level, aroma comes from volatile
[12:00] compounds. And these are small
[12:01] lightweight molecules that can easily
[12:03] evaporate and become airborne, which is
[12:04] how they travel from the food up into
[12:06] our noses. And unlike taste, which is
[12:08] limited to just a few core categories,
[12:10] aroma is incredibly complex. There are
[12:13] hundreds and even thousands of different
[12:15] aroma compounds, and this is where most
[12:17] of the unique flavors in our food
[12:19] actually come from. Now, we could spend
[12:21] 10 hours going through what every single
[12:22] vegetable smells like and how it changes
[12:24] when we cut and cook with them. But for
[12:26] purposes of this video, it's helpful to
[12:28] think about the aroma of vegetables into
[12:29] broad categories. Because once you start
[12:32] seeing these categories, you're going to
[12:33] notice two things. First, many of the
[12:35] dishes we cook are often a combinations
[12:37] of two or three broad aroma types that
[12:39] complement or contrast each other. And
[12:41] second, it makes substitutions a lot
[12:44] easier. For example, instead of needing
[12:46] to run to the store for an onion, you
[12:47] can ask yourself, do I have something
[12:49] that plays the same role as an onion in
[12:51] this dish? And maybe reach for some
[12:53] shallots or leaks instead. So, let's
[12:56] quickly walk through these categories.
[12:58] First are sulfurous and alien based
[12:59] vegetables, which includes things like
[13:01] onions garlic leaks scallions and
[13:03] shallots. Second are green grassy and
[13:05] fresh aromomas which includes things
[13:07] like celery, spinach, green beans,
[13:09] zucchini, snap peas, and green bell
[13:11] peppers. Third are kind of earthy
[13:13] vegetables. Think of potatoes, mushroom,
[13:15] beets, parsnips, or sweet potato. Fourth
[13:17] are sweet and nutty aromomas, which
[13:18] includes peas, corn, squash, and
[13:20] carrots. Fifth is fruity and floral,
[13:22] which includes tomatoes and certain red
[13:24] and orange chili peppers. And then the
[13:26] last group is what I'd call the
[13:27] herbaceious category, which includes
[13:29] things like parsley, cilantro, basil,
[13:31] dill, and fennel. And herbs aren't
[13:33] technically vegetables, but they are
[13:34] plant leaves that we use in very similar
[13:36] ways to provide aroma to many dishes.
[13:39] And if you want to see a practical
[13:40] example of me swapping in a ton of
[13:43] different aromomas into a dish, the low
[13:45] main video I just made is a great
[13:47] example. I made three different versions
[13:49] where I swapped out the aromatics using
[13:51] only garlic in one, garlic and ginger in
[13:54] another, then adding Thai chilies to a
[13:56] third, while also changing up the bulk
[13:58] of the vegetables. And each version
[14:00] tastes and smells quite different
[14:03] because of the vegetables I use. But all
[14:05] of them work because I'm maintaining a
[14:08] similar balance of the aroma. Now, there
[14:10] is another reason why that dish works so
[14:13] well. And that is also because I'm
[14:15] balancing the textures. And this is our
[14:18] next flavor property and one that's very
[14:20] often overlooked. And a great example of
[14:22] this when it comes to vegetables is
[14:24] iceberg lettuce. Because iceberg lettuce
[14:27] barely has any taste or aroma. But we
[14:29] still use it all the time in salads,
[14:31] sandwiches, tacos, and more because of
[14:33] that crispy, refreshing crunch that it
[14:35] brings to a dish. So, let's talk about
[14:39] texture. At a basic level, texture is
[14:41] how food feels when it touches your
[14:42] lips, tongue, and teeth. And one of the
[14:45] great things about vegetables is that
[14:46] they have a really wide range of
[14:48] textures. You can think about categories
[14:50] like crunchy, crispy, snappy, tender,
[14:54] soft, creamy, fibrous, juicy, and chewy.
[14:56] Though there are definitely more. And
[14:58] when it comes to texture, there are two
[15:00] big things to keep in mind. First, many
[15:02] vegetables actually have multiple
[15:04] textures at once. For example, a
[15:05] cucumber is both crunchy and juicy, and
[15:08] a roasted vegetable might be crispy on
[15:09] the outside, but soft in the middle. And
[15:12] secondly, these textures will change a
[15:14] lot depending on the ripeness and how
[15:15] you cook them. And a big part of what
[15:17] makes food enjoyable is the contrast
[15:20] between the textures, which is why lain
[15:22] works so well. The protein is tender,
[15:24] the noodles are chewy, so you balance it
[15:26] out with vegetables that bring crunch
[15:28] and crispness.
[15:30] Now, what if I told you there was a
[15:31] vegetable in one of those lain dishes
[15:34] that I didn't choose for its taste,
[15:36] aroma, or texture, but for how it
[15:38] physically feels when I eat it. And
[15:41] those were the Thai chilis. I chose Thai
[15:44] chilis because they are spicy and wanted
[15:46] to feel a little bit of pain while I was
[15:48] eating it. And this brings us to our
[15:51] next flavor property, the physical
[15:53] element. Now, the physical element is a
[15:55] little bit different because it's not
[15:57] technically a taste. Think about it. Why
[15:59] do raw onions or garlic make your nose
[16:01] sting? And why do chili peppers feel
[16:03] like they're burning your mouth? These
[16:05] aren't tastes like sweet or salty, and
[16:07] they're not aromomas either. They're
[16:09] sensations. Your body is literally
[16:11] reacting to the food. And when it comes
[16:13] to vegetables, there are kind of four
[16:15] main physical elements to think about.
[16:17] First is temperature, which is pretty
[16:19] straightforward. It's literally just the
[16:20] temperature of the ingredient. Pairing
[16:23] something like a chilled cucumber salad
[16:25] next to hot salmon creates contrast
[16:27] that's way more enjoyable than if those
[16:29] cucumbers were also warm. Next is
[16:32] pungency. This is that sharp stinging
[16:34] sensation you get from things like raw
[16:35] onions, garlic, radishes, or mustard
[16:38] greens. And these foods create reactive
[16:40] compounds that irritate our eyes and
[16:42] nose. Third is aringy, which is that
[16:44] dry, slightly rough, puckery feeling in
[16:46] your mouth. It's most commonly
[16:47] associated with wine, but you'll also
[16:49] find it in some vegetables, especially
[16:51] leafy greens. And finally, we have
[16:53] spiciness. My favorite. This sensation
[16:55] comes from capsation, which activates
[16:56] your pain receptors and creates that
[16:58] burning feeling. And it's exactly why I
[17:00] like that spicy beef lomain so much.
[17:04] Okay, so I'm going to pause here for
[17:06] just a second because we've covered a
[17:08] lot of information so far as it relates
[17:10] to the taste, aroma, texture, and
[17:12] physical element of vegetables. And let
[17:15] me know if some of this is starting to
[17:16] click down in the comments below. Maybe
[17:19] something is making a bit more sense
[17:21] now, like why certain vegetables get
[17:23] sweeter when you cook them, why carrots,
[17:25] onion, and celery are often used
[17:27] together, or why you prefer certain
[17:29] vegetables because of their texture or
[17:30] spicy elements. And while you're
[17:32] thinking about that, I'm going to
[17:33] quickly walk through our remaining two
[17:36] flavor properties, sight and the human
[17:38] element. And these are interesting
[17:40] because they shape how we experience
[17:43] food before we even take a bite. The
[17:46] fifth flavor property is sight. And
[17:48] vegetables play a large role here
[17:51] because they bring a wide range of
[17:53] colors, shapes, and visual contrast we
[17:56] can see with our eyes. Think of bright
[17:58] pink pickled onions, adding scallions to
[18:00] braze meat, or choosing a number of
[18:02] different colored vegetables, which all
[18:04] will shape our perception of a dish
[18:06] without needing to take a bite. And our
[18:08] final flavor property is the human
[18:11] element. We experience food through our
[18:13] emotions, memories, and cultural
[18:15] associations. And this is why the same
[18:17] vegetable can feel completely different
[18:19] from one person to another. For example,
[18:22] if you had a bad experience with a
[18:24] certain vegetable as a kid, you might
[18:26] still avoid it to this day, no matter
[18:28] how it's prepared. And on the flip side,
[18:30] certain flavors can feel incredibly
[18:32] comforting because they're tied to
[18:34] something familiar or nostalgic. So, now
[18:37] that we've gone through these six
[18:38] properties, you should start to see that
[18:40] flavor really has so many different
[18:42] layers to it, and every vegetable is
[18:44] going to contribute to those in slightly
[18:45] different ways based on the molecules
[18:48] they are made up of. However, as I've
[18:50] been hinting at, these molecules don't
[18:53] stay the same. They are going to change
[18:55] based on how we cut the vegetable and
[18:57] how we cook them. Which brings us to
[18:59] mistake three. Because if you've ever
[19:01] wondered why cutting changes the flavor
[19:04] of vegetables, it's quite simple. The
[19:06] more we change the structure of the
[19:07] vegetable through cutting, the more we
[19:09] change how these flavor properties are
[19:11] going to show up. And to test this,
[19:13] we're going to run a simple experiment.
[19:15] So, I took 3/4 of an onion. One I left
[19:18] whole. The second I cut into a large
[19:20] dice. And the last one I grated so it
[19:22] would completely disperse into a tomato
[19:24] sauce. And the question we are asking
[19:26] here is how much does the onion flavor
[19:29] actually change when we use the same
[19:31] cooking method but cut it in three
[19:34] different ways? So I'm going to let
[19:36] these sauces cool down just a bit and
[19:38] then get them set up for our taste test.
[19:40] So while I do that, let's break down
[19:41] exactly how cutting changes the flavor
[19:44] of vegetables.
[19:48] There are a lot of different ways that
[19:50] you can cut a vegetable. For example, in
[19:52] The Professional Chef on page 622, they
[19:55] list eight standard vegetable cuts and
[19:56] then there are five more on the next
[19:58] page. However, even if you memorized and
[20:00] knew how to perfectly execute all 13 of
[20:03] them, the real question still remains.
[20:06] How does the flavor actually change? And
[20:08] how do I decide which of these cuts to
[20:10] use at home? And as it turns out, all of
[20:13] these fancy knife cuts are really just
[20:14] changing three things that can influence
[20:16] the flavor. First is how many cells
[20:18] you're breaking open. When we cut or
[20:20] slice a vegetable, it ruptures the cell
[20:22] walls, which will then release the
[20:23] water, sugars, aroma compounds, and all
[20:26] the different molecules that we talked
[20:27] about where they can then change and
[20:29] react during cooking. Second is how much
[20:31] surface area is created. So, the more
[20:33] surface area will change how quickly
[20:35] something cooks, generally meaning more
[20:37] evaporation, faster browning, more
[20:39] caramelization, and also more places for
[20:41] sauces, fats, and seasonings to stick
[20:44] to. And then third is the overall shape
[20:46] and structure of the vegetable. This is
[20:48] going to change the texture, the visual
[20:50] appeal, and how it feels when you
[20:52] actually eat it. And really, all these
[20:54] cuts are just slight differences in the
[20:56] flavor outcome. And this is why when
[20:58] you're deciding how to cut your
[20:59] vegetable at home, the question you
[21:00] should not ask is what is the right cut
[21:03] to use, but instead a more useful one is
[21:06] what flavor outcome am I trying to
[21:08] create? Because sometimes it's not going
[21:11] to matter all that much. For example, if
[21:13] a recipe calls for a medium dice and you
[21:15] go for a larger dice, the difference is
[21:17] going to be fairly small. But what I do
[21:19] want to do is show you three different
[21:20] examples that make a difference in how I
[21:22] decide to cut my vegetables at home. not
[21:24] because it's the correct way to do it,
[21:26] but to explain my thought process behind
[21:28] them. And the first one is cutting
[21:30] vegetables to match the size of the
[21:32] other ingredients. And a good example of
[21:35] this concept was a cucumber salad I made
[21:37] on the Cookwell channel a few weeks ago.
[21:39] And when I cut up the cucumber, I chose
[21:41] these larger kind of cube-like pieces.
[21:43] So, why did I do this? Well, I wanted a
[21:45] shape that would let me scoop up the
[21:47] salmon and cucumber together with a
[21:49] spoon and get everything in one bite.
[21:52] And this is the same exact thought
[21:54] process that I use for these tomatoes in
[21:55] the pesto pasta, the vegetables I
[21:57] chopped for my fried rice, or finally
[21:59] mincing the red onion and tomato to
[22:01] match the size of the corn in this
[22:02] roasted salsa. This cucumber salad and
[22:05] salmon still would have tasted fine if I
[22:07] finally minced the cucumber or sliced
[22:09] them into thin coins, but I wanted to
[22:11] ultimately match the size of the salmon.
[22:13] And additionally, this shape holds its
[22:15] crunch for a few extra days in the
[22:17] fridge rather than getting soft and wet
[22:19] with really thin slices. Now, the second
[22:22] example is cutting vegetables for big
[22:24] texture contrast. And a great example of
[22:26] this is the tomato in this breakfast
[22:29] sandwich I made. So, I cut the tomato
[22:31] slice very thick and a lot of people
[22:33] were trying to flame me in the comments
[22:35] for this. But hey, it's my kitchen and
[22:37] there was a very intentional flavor
[22:38] outcome that I wanted to create because
[22:40] I'm trying to layer in the textures. So,
[22:43] on the bottom, I've got the chewy
[22:44] English muffin, then the creamy cream
[22:46] cheese, thin, salty, and crunchy bacon
[22:48] underneath. Then on top of that, I
[22:50] wanted that beautiful summer tomato to
[22:52] be a big, juicy, substantial bite,
[22:54] almost imagining that I'm biting into a
[22:57] big burger patty. And when I bite into
[22:59] this sandwich, my tongue hits those
[23:01] layers in order. The bread, the
[23:03] creaminess, the salty crunch of the
[23:04] bacon, and then that tomato really comes
[23:06] through with its juicy, sweet, and sour
[23:08] bite that balances everything together.
[23:11] Could I have sliced it thinner?
[23:13] Absolutely. But would it have been as
[23:14] memorable? Definitely not. Then the
[23:18] third example is cutting aromatics based
[23:19] on whether you want their flavor to stay
[23:21] concentrated or spread throughout the
[23:24] dish. And this is exactly what we're
[23:26] testing with our onion experiment. So on
[23:28] one end, I left the onion in one large
[23:30] piece. We broken the fewest amount of
[23:32] cells, released the least amount of
[23:34] aroma, and the onion flavor is going to
[23:36] stay concentrated in that individual
[23:38] piece. Then on the complete other end of
[23:40] the spectrum, I've grated the onion into
[23:42] a pulp. We've broken open the most
[23:44] cells, release way more aroma compounds,
[23:46] and that onion flavor is going to be
[23:48] spread evenly throughout the entire
[23:50] sauce. So, instead of having one big
[23:52] sweet onion, the whole dish will kind of
[23:54] start tasting like that more intense
[23:56] onion flavor. But let's see how big of a
[23:59] difference this really makes. Okay, so I
[24:02] have the three different sauces. Let's
[24:03] give them a taste and see how different
[24:06] the flavor really is.
[24:10] Good. pallet cleanser,
[24:14] man. Started with the grated and then
[24:16] what I like to do is go to the opposite
[24:17] ends first. So, we'll do a normal just a
[24:21] spoonful of sauce first.
[24:24] That is so cool.
[24:26] I'll tell you why in a second.
[24:30] Man, this is truly a test I think you
[24:32] all should recreate at home because it
[24:34] totally drives home all of what we've
[24:37] talked about so far. So, right away, the
[24:40] sweetest sauce here is going to be the
[24:42] grated one. Why? Well, it makes a lot of
[24:44] sense. Onions, again, we talked about
[24:46] water and sugar. So, all of that
[24:48] sweetness is evenly dispersed in this
[24:51] first sauce. So, right away, you can
[24:53] tell when you get down to here, when
[24:54] it's in the big onion pieces, that the
[24:56] sauce on the end is much more sour. A
[25:00] lot of sugar is still in these big onion
[25:02] pieces, which helps perfume the sauce,
[25:04] but it doesn't actually disperse the
[25:05] sugars that are inside them. So you can
[25:07] take these out, blend them up, or just
[25:09] eat them as a snack.
[25:11] So obviously there's a clear difference
[25:13] in terms of the pure taste, but
[25:15] additionally there's big differences in
[25:17] terms of aroma and the texture. So in
[25:20] the grated onions, remember we crushed
[25:22] up all of those cells. None of that ever
[25:25] happened in the big onion pieces. So we
[25:27] get those really nice kind of mellow
[25:29] onion aromomas all throughout every bite
[25:31] of this first sauce. compared to the
[25:34] whole onion. It kind of tastes lightly
[25:36] perfumed of onion, but it's definitely
[25:39] not as kind of onion forward, if you
[25:41] will. And then from a texture
[25:43] perspective, too, obviously, you know,
[25:45] the the grated onion is kind of
[25:47] integrated within the sauce. The middle,
[25:49] there are these big chunks that you can
[25:50] kind of still feel, and then you have
[25:51] the bigger onions on the end. And all of
[25:53] this ultimately is just down to
[25:55] preference. But it just goes to show
[25:56] that how you cut your vegetables really
[25:58] does matter. And ultimately what you're
[26:00] trying to do is control the flavor
[26:02] outcome. Okay, so we've seen a clear
[26:04] example here of what happens when you
[26:06] keep the vegetable and the cooking
[26:07] method the same, but change how it's
[26:09] cut. So the next natural question is how
[26:12] much does the flavor change when we keep
[26:14] the vegetable the same, change how it's
[26:16] cut, and also change the cooking method?
[26:19] And that's exactly what we're going to
[26:21] test with nine different cubes of
[26:23] potatoes. And this brings us to mistake
[26:25] four. So let's break it down.
[26:30] There are so many different ways you can
[26:32] cook a vegetable. And here are 15 quick
[26:34] examples. Bake, blanch, boil, char, deep
[26:37] fry pickle poach sauté sear shallow
[26:39] fry, smoke, steam, stir fry, and roast.
[26:42] And looking at this list, it seems like
[26:44] all of them are completely different.
[26:47] However, what if I told you they have
[26:48] way more in common than you think?
[26:51] Because every cooking technique is just
[26:53] triggering different physical and
[26:55] chemical reactions. things like cell
[26:57] wall breakdown, evaporation,
[26:59] dehydration, gilation, the mayor
[27:02] reaction, caramelization, and pyrolysis.
[27:05] And most people completely ignore these
[27:06] or don't even realize they're happening.
[27:08] But it's these reactions that are
[27:10] actually driving the changes in the
[27:12] flavor of the vegetables when we cook
[27:14] them. And when we switch cooking
[27:16] techniques, we're really just
[27:17] controlling four things. First is what
[27:19] types of reactions can happen. For
[27:21] example, if you boil a vegetable, it's
[27:23] never going to get hotter than the
[27:24] boiling point of water at 212°. So, no
[27:28] mayar reaction or browning is able to
[27:30] occur. Second is how much those
[27:32] reactions happen. So, if you only sear
[27:34] or char a vegetable on one side, this
[27:37] means you're only getting the mayar
[27:38] reaction and pyrolysis on that single
[27:40] side. Third is where they happen. So, if
[27:43] you roast a vegetable, the outside can
[27:45] brown and develop flavor, but the inside
[27:47] is going to stay soft and relatively
[27:49] unchanged. And then fourth is how fast
[27:51] the reactions happen. If you sauté a
[27:54] potato on low heat, it's going to
[27:55] evaporate slower compared to dropping it
[27:57] into hot oil. And if you want a more
[28:00] detailed and specific example of this, I
[28:02] actually broke this down in an onion
[28:04] video of mine a few months ago where I
[28:06] took onions through six different levels
[28:08] of cooking. So in that I compared things
[28:10] like evaporation, cell wall breakdown,
[28:13] aroma development, the mayor reaction,
[28:15] caramelization, and even pyrolysis,
[28:17] showing how each one of these changes as
[28:19] you cook them in different ways.
[28:21] However, for today, I thought it would
[28:23] be kind of fun to do a little test with
[28:25] nine cubes of potato. So I have nine
[28:28] equal-sized potato cubes, and I'm going
[28:30] to cut them in three different ways.
[28:32] First, I'm going to leave three as a
[28:34] cube. Second, I'm going to cut three of
[28:35] them into thicker, evensized planks. And
[28:38] the last one I'm going to cut very thin,
[28:40] almost like square potato chips. Then I
[28:42] took those three cuts through three
[28:45] different cooking methods. First, I
[28:47] boiled them. Then I sauteed them. And
[28:49] lastly, I fried them to create this
[28:51] matrix of different flavor outcomes. All
[28:54] by changing the cutting and cooking
[28:57] method. So, let's take a look at what
[28:59] these taste like. So, we can clearly see
[29:02] how changing the cut, but also the
[29:04] cooking method will dictate how these
[29:06] potatoes are going to be used in
[29:07] different dishes. For example, we've got
[29:09] kind of our potato chips down here.
[29:11] We've got French fries. The sauteed
[29:14] potatoes you can maybe use for kind of
[29:15] like a breakfast potato. And then the
[29:18] boiled ones you can kind of mash them up
[29:20] for mashed potatoes. And the big picture
[29:22] takeaway throughout this entire video is
[29:23] that there are so many different ways
[29:25] you can experiment with vegetables. And
[29:27] this brings us to mistake five.
[29:32] So, we covered a lot of information in
[29:35] this video. However, everything we
[29:37] learned can really be summarized into a
[29:40] single sentence. When you're cooking at
[29:42] home, there are three main decisions you
[29:43] need to make. First, what vegetable you
[29:46] choose, second, how you cut that
[29:48] vegetable, and third, how you cook it.
[29:51] And as we've seen, those three things
[29:52] are what can create thousands of
[29:54] different flavor outcomes. Think about
[29:56] it. If a typical grocery store carries
[29:58] at least 40 different vegetables year
[30:00] round and you have eight different ways
[30:02] to cut them and 15 different cooking
[30:04] techniques, that's 4,800 possible
[30:07] outcomes. And that's before you even
[30:08] start adding sauces, spices, fats, or
[30:11] different proteins, which can feel a bit
[30:14] overwhelming. However, I think the
[30:16] bigger issue for a lot of home cooks is
[30:18] being afraid to experiment. A lot of us
[30:20] may think that there are right or
[30:22] correct ways to cook something and just
[30:24] always want to follow what the recipe
[30:26] says. However, cooking isn't something
[30:28] you can truly master. It's something
[30:30] that needs to be explored. So, the next
[30:33] time you're at the grocery store or
[30:35] farmers market and see a vegetable
[30:36] you've never used, buy it. If you want
[30:38] to cut something in a way that feels a
[30:40] little unconventional, do it. If you
[30:43] want to try a cooking method that sounds
[30:44] weird for the vegetable you chose, go
[30:47] for it. Worst case, it's a little off.
[30:49] And best case, you might discover
[30:50] something you really like. And you can
[30:53] tell other people about it. And this is
[30:56] where I would love to hear from you down
[30:58] in the comments. Let me know some
[31:00] vegetables that I should try. Let me try
[31:02] some weird ways you've cut things or
[31:04] cooked things because that is what
[31:05] cooking is all about. So, that's going
[31:08] to wrap it up for me in this video.
[31:10] Thank you again to Made in for
[31:12] sponsoring this video. Seriously, if
[31:14] you're ever looking for any cookware out
[31:15] there, the griddle I use all the time,
[31:17] but I've got a bunch of their other
[31:18] stuff, stainless, it's all great. So,
[31:20] that'll be linked down below. And then
[31:21] the very last thing is our Cookwell app,
[31:24] which we launched a few months ago and
[31:26] recently did a new feature that we're
[31:28] calling guides. So, there's a meal plan
[31:30] on top. There's also some dedicated
[31:33] ingredient guides that you can kind of
[31:34] learn about the ingredient and then a
[31:36] few different recipes to try out if you
[31:38] want to go that route. So, that'll be
[31:40] linked down below as well. But
[31:41] seriously, thank you guys for watching
[31:42] these videos. They're really fun to
[31:43] make. I love going for these big
[31:45] overarching topics and just yeah, I
[31:48] mean, cooking is so cool. There's so
[31:49] much to be explored. So, that's going to
[31:51] wrap it up for me in this one. I'll
[31:53] catch you all in the next one. Peace
[31:55] y'all.