6 ms·

I think the characterization comes from a legion of homecooks online going through a cooking journey and treating Kenji's whimsical opinion as a law, especially

I think the characterization comes from a legion of homecooks online going through a cooking journey and treating Kenji's whimsical opinion as a law, especially when written down for one recipe. Kenji's videos show how creative and open minded he is with cooking, but I've also had plenty of online encounters with folks preaching the food lab gospel.

ska 5y ago
> treating Kenji's whimsical opinion as a law, Whatever his stuff is, 'whimsical opinion' is pretty rare.
- dbt00 5y ago
  Eh if you've been following him for long enough you've seen him get onto kicks and off again. He did a vegan month for a while, but that's gone. Once upon a time he was convinced that using baking soda (something you'll see him use a lot more than most) was the way to perfect, fast caramelized onions. It took a while but Daniel Gritzker and others eventually convinced him he was wrong. None of this is bad -- the food lab is the cook book most often open in my kitchen and I love his videos -- but develop your own taste and understand the palates of those you're cooking for, don't just assume that whatever Kenji does is right.
  - kenjilopezalt 5y ago
    I don’t even assume that what I do is right.
  - ska 5y ago
    I wasn’t suggesting assuming anyone is right, that would be silly, But I think “whimsy” is just really off target. Most or his stuff (notwithstanding some retractions, we all learn as we go) is either pretty well researched and backed up or he’ll be very clear it’s just the way he is doing something, not canon. He has strong opinions about some things - especially cookery myths - but they tend to be backed up with a bunch of data, otherwise not so much,
    - criley2 5y ago
      I said whimsical because a lot of times Kenji's opinion will be like "I usually just whip this up looseygoosey but if we're trying to be as silly about it as possible, I suppose we could do this fourteen step process..." and then the mantra online becomes "Kenji's Iron Clad 14 Step Process for This Meal -- The Only Way Its Done". That's why watching his videos is really important. If there's any recipes he ignores completely the most, it's his own.
deleted 5y ago
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ska 5y ago

> treating Kenji's whimsical opinion as a law, Whatever his stuff is, 'whimsical opinion' is pretty rare.

dbt00 5y ago
Eh if you've been following him for long enough you've seen him get onto kicks and off again. He did a vegan month for a while, but that's gone. Once upon a time he was convinced that using baking soda (something you'll see him use a lot more than most) was the way to perfect, fast caramelized onions. It took a while but Daniel Gritzker and others eventually convinced him he was wrong. None of this is bad -- the food lab is the cook book most often open in my kitchen and I love his videos -- but develop your own taste and understand the palates of those you're cooking for, don't just assume that whatever Kenji does is right.
- kenjilopezalt 5y ago
  I don’t even assume that what I do is right.
- ska 5y ago
  I wasn’t suggesting assuming anyone is right, that would be silly, But I think “whimsy” is just really off target. Most or his stuff (notwithstanding some retractions, we all learn as we go) is either pretty well researched and backed up or he’ll be very clear it’s just the way he is doing something, not canon. He has strong opinions about some things - especially cookery myths - but they tend to be backed up with a bunch of data, otherwise not so much,
  - criley2 5y ago
    I said whimsical because a lot of times Kenji's opinion will be like "I usually just whip this up looseygoosey but if we're trying to be as silly about it as possible, I suppose we could do this fourteen step process..." and then the mantra online becomes "Kenji's Iron Clad 14 Step Process for This Meal -- The Only Way Its Done". That's why watching his videos is really important. If there's any recipes he ignores completely the most, it's his own.

deleted 5y ago

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