5 Second Rule
Tonight we get a sneak peek at Ted Allen’s new show “Food Detectives” on the Food Network. It’s a little Alton Brown Good Eats, mixed in with George Duran’s Ham on the Street.
In tonight’s episode we look into:
The 5 Second Rule
How to extinguish a hot mouth
Does Celery actually have Negative Calories?
Does Baking Soda really clear the air?
First up: How to Extinguish a Hot Mouth
Ted has the “Food Techs” eat a hefty Habanero Salsa. Then he has them rate the pain from 1 to 5. 4 out of 5 choose 5 on pain index and one at 4. First try is the good ole standby, water. Water actually has no effect on capsasin (the part that causes the heat). Capsasin is not water soluble. Water only spreads it around. So next we try milk, beer, bread and cola. Bread did nothing. Soda actually makes it worse. Beer also makes the pain worse. The alcohol does nothing. Last up, milk. Milk contains something that washes away the capsasin. Pain level is reduced. Ever notice why hot wings come with ranch dressing, or sour cream with spicy Mexican food?
Second: 5 Second Rule
Is it ok to eat it if it falls on the ground if you pick it up within 5 seconds? They tested three kinds of food: candy, french fry and shrimp. Why shrimp you ask? The more expensive the food, the more likely they’ll eat it off the floor. Haha. They test three surfaces, an office desk, the “clean” floors at the food network and a high traffic sidewalk. Technically, bacteria does NOT wait to contaminate anything that falls on anything other than your plate. Beware! 
Third: Does Celery Have Negative Calories
The idea is that you have to chew so much to eat celery that you lose the calories more than you can consume it. Celery has 8 calories per stalk. THe act of chewing it only burns 5 calories, an hour. However if you add in the digestion factor of the fibers, you end up with a deficit. Now don’t go out and consume mass amounts of celery now, you hear?
Fourth: Does Baking Soda Really Clear the Air in my Fridge?
We all buy a box of Baking Soda for our fridge. Does it really work? It fact it does – technically, but even better when it can be spread out to expose more of it. But what works even better than Baking soda?? Activated Charcoal. In fact, activated charcoal does much better than Baking Soda ever could.
