Comment on YSK: Gas stoves cause cancer
bss03@infosec.pub 1 year agoThe few times I have prepared meat while trying to minimize the maillard reaction, it was still quite tasty.
That said, I agree that cancer risk is relative, and you can’t avoid all risk, even if you are happy to try.
I hear sous vide steak can be quite tasty.
I hear sous vide steak can be quite tasty.
It is the best way to prepare steak, but you still need to sear it afterwards. The steak can be cooked to a perfect medium-rare all the way through… But you still need to throw it on an ultra hot skillet with some butter and rosemary afterwards, to add the crust to the outside.
The information I have says sous vide is not as good as a “standard” reverse sear in an oven. But, I haven’t tried either.
My experience is that the “crust” on meat is entirely optional, and while I don’t aggressively avoid it, I don’t seek it out when I am preparing my own meat.
I have tried both, and can confirm that sous vide is superior. With a traditional oven prep, you get a pink rare center and brown medium-well outer edge. With sous vide, you get a perfect light pink medium rare all the way through, with only a thin edge of brown from the sear. With sous vide, you just sort of roll it across the skillet on the way to the plate, to get that crust but avoid cooking the interior more.
But to be clear, if you skip the sear with sous vide, your steak will be pink. You’ll miss out on a lot of flavor and mouthfeel from the sear. Sous vide technically cooks the meat, but doesn’t cause any browning (at least, not when cooking it to medium rare) because there isn’t enough heat to cause the Maillard reaction.
Since the Maillard reaction and all its VOCs are the most likely source of meat-related cancer risk, I will gladly eat pink (but safely cooked) meat. In fact the center pink bits are my favorite parts a traditionally cooked steak / prime rib.
This is the way
astutemural@midwest.social 1 year ago
You can also minimize the maillard reaction by not eating meat. Just putting it out there.
bss03@infosec.pub 1 year ago
Oh, my primary diet is beans, quinoa, nooch, and almond milk. Snacking is popcorn with, evoo, and Kernel Seasonings ™.
I still eat meat not infrequently, but not everyday, and I rarely prepare it for myself. Still, I should avoid it more. It’s unnecessary, and even just a couple of years ago, I ate it less of it.
The food I cook for my family does involve the maillard reaction for some of it (salmon patties, roasted veg, french fries, lasagna, pasta w/ meat sauce). I pressure cook the chicken and rice, so I think that mostly avoids maillard. I only eat on the family food to clean it out of the fridge when I don’t think it’s worth serving to anyone else.
Thank you for your concern.