I wouldn’t say that the evidence for elderberry syrup to treat colds or the flu is “weak to nonexistent.” It’s preliminary, yes, but promising. Given that no side-effects have been shown from standard extracts (not homemade ones), it’s reasonable to take some when you think you’re getting sick.

Is it flaking from rust, or something else? If it’s rusted, you’ll want to treat it just like the top: remove the rust and re-season.  Various guides for how to do this, but the gist is to coat in a thin coat of oil and put into a hot oven for a long while.

I suspect that’s probably right. Thinking about it more, it is possible that the added turbulence of strong boiling might have some effect.  So maybe just stick with what you know works :)

Totally right about the heat conductor bit. From Kenji’s excellent article, “The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need To Go Away”:

There’s nothing special about water at 212 degrees versus 200 degrees. Polymerized oil (the seasoning) is not going to break down under either. Your method is 100% okay, but don’t be afraid to boil water either.  It won’t hurt the pan.

I don’t understand why misunderstandings of cast iron are so pervasive. It’s like enthusiasts want to believe in some voodoo magic to make them special.

Yes, though “stop having kids” is throwing the baby out with the bath water. One could advocate for mass suicide on the same terms. But let’s be honest, we want to save the earth so that humanity survives. If we take away fundamental parts of being human we’ve lost already.

While I take your point, there are some second-order impacts of recycling that mean we shouldn’t just give up now. For example, more recycling increases the chances that improvements to the process will be made, making future recycling more efficient. That’s less likely with landfilling. (Consider, for example,…

I love my electric kettle, but must admit that my induction stovetop boils water more quickly.  (Yes, I can tag-team with the kettle.  But I could also tag team with two pots on the stove.)

No.  You’re fine.

5 years old, $2.50 a week. It’s been working out so far. He can one small thing he wants every week, or save two weeks for something larger. It takes ~4-8 weeks to get a decent size Lego box, which seems like a good pace.

If you’re analytically minded and more focused on long-term wealth creation (as opposed to day-to-day budgeting), www.bogleheads.org is the place to be.

I don’t recall the specific episode. I think he’s mentioned it a few times, referencing another chef (per René Redzepi?) who promoted the practice. From what I recall, he was initially dubious, preferring a flash chill, but was coming around to the slow-chill method. Probably a good question for the show.…

+1 for the Dave Arnold reference.

Kind of funny that Gay appears to flub the opening sentence of her tweet. You “cannot stress the importance of the beginning of an essay,” Roxane? I believe you have. Perhaps you cannot stress it enough?

I’m totally down with the rapid flip for uncooked meat; Kenji did a nice job of showing how well that worked. But it makes no sense for sous vide meat, and Kenji doesn’t provide any rationale for it in his guide. Rather than keeping the non-seared side away from the heat (and thus avoiding overcooking), your…

Be cautious of shocking sous-vide meat too quickly, as there is some indication (per the Cooking Issues podcast) that this can inhibit moisture re-uptake into the cooked protein.  They recommend letting it sit at room temperate for 30 minutes or so before further cooling.

The advice that you don’t need to rest the meat applies after the sear, not beforehand. Perhaps people misunderstand the advice?

Goo gone also works great for this.

;)