LAB 012 - THE COOKOUT
CHEAT SHEET
The EPISODE
It’s the semester finale! Can you believe it!? We have had so much fun this first semester, and to celebrate we are inviting you to our virtual cookout. So grab a drink but on your cookout best and get comfortable. We are taking you through taste, flavor, and the science behind the perfect bbq method.
In this lab, we are the experts! There is nothing Zakiya loves more than having a cookout and Titi.....loves to eat. Especially Z’s spiral cut hotdogs
We start with the difference between grilling and barbecue. Grilling is high heat so what you would do to cook hot dogs and burgers. Barbecue is the low and slow method on the grill used to make brisket, chicken, and steak.
There is a longer history to the word “barbecue” that comes from the Caribbean.
Some of the cookout staples are
Mac and cheese
Chicken
Burgers
Hotdogs
Potato salad
Ribs
But we know that what food is at the cookout is definitely regional.
Titi is from Maryland so she expects crabs and LOTS of Old Bay. Zakiya is from North Carolina so she is looking for pulled pork and vinegar based bbq sauce. One of her favs is Carolina treet.
Neurogastronomy is the study of flavor perception. Taste and flavor are also 2 different things. Taste is a result of the sensory system inside of your mouth. Flavor is the results of taste, smell, how the food looks, and you emotional response to it.
Food has a strong effect on our emotions. 95% of serotonin is produced in your gastrointestinal tract. So a healthy functioning stomach is essential to happiness. Read more about how eating and food effect your emotions in this Harvard study.
Flavor and our response to it is not universal. A person may love raisins in their potato salad lol! Our flavor preferences start being developed even before we are born through our mother’s amniotic fluid. Once we are out in the world other factors mold our tastes like environmental influences, innate factors, learning, and all the different interactions between these 3 things.
The great BBQ debate is always about sauce and style of cooking. This is another regional phenomena. There are so many different types of bbq, but the best way to figure out your favorite is to try them all!
Titi’s Notes:
I will eventually learn how to BBQ as good as Z but until then I will keep going to her house for the best BBQ on the east coast! One of my favorite restaurants in DC is DCity Smokehouse ! I love their smoked wings and ribs. Tell them I sent you…..that won’t do anything because they have no clue who I am, I’ve just have always wanted to say that.
Z’s Notes:
I got called out on Instagram for not posting one of the Whatley Water recipe, but I’m finally ready to share the wealth. A crowd favorite is the Watermelon WW from 2012. I didn’t come up with the recipe, but I do love it like it’s my own! I like to make it more watermelon and less lemonade, so I dial back the lemon & increase the gin. Let me know what you think!
READ
You can read the transcript to the episode here!