Fun fact: a group of designers is called a “disagreement”

You’ve heard of the concept of a fun fact. Water swirls the other way in the southern hemisphere. A quarter pounder with cheese is called a “royale with cheese” in France. Ducks have corkscrew dicks.

Cooking is the process of memorizing a thousand fun facts.

You can roast cruciferous brassica at 450º in order to break down some of the bittering chemicals in it and create sweetness. Adding acidic balance in the form of vinegars or citrus creates a deeper richness of flavor. Most home cooks under-salt. You can buy the best cumin from here as of press time. Most Japanese food is based on sauces that contain, in varying proportions, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and dashi. Sichuan peppercorns, timur pepper, sanshō pepper, and ash trees(!) are all genetically related. Ditto broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, collards, and kale. The base of mapo tofu is doubanjiang and not Lao Gan Ma, as one of you bravely asserted once. When asparagus is in season, you should eat as much asparagus as possible; when asparagus is not in season, you should forget that asparagus exists. Yes, curry powders & pastes can be made from scratch, but nobody ever actually does that. The smallest bag of rice you should buy is 25 pounds. Pasta is easier to make when you work with what’s called “00” flour, so named after the fineness of the grind, because the increased surface area allows gluten to bind more quickly. All good milk & butter comes from the Amish, due to religious exemptions from the FDA. If you’ve wondered whether to get an Instant Pot, valid, and one word: beans. No matter how hard you work in the kitchen, what you make, or how good it tastes, 90% of the meal’s success hinges on the vibes you give off at the moment people come over.

Other than “food,” what do these all have in common? Nothing. That is the point.