FOOD AND DRINK
How to cook a steak — don’t use salt, microwave it
Salt could result in the meat being ‘tough and inedible’, physicist says
George Vekinis suggests microwaving steak for a minute or two
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Chefs often liberally season steak with salt before searing it but a physicist has concluded that they are wrong and should use a microwave instead.
George Vekinis, who usually focuses on advanced ceramics and composites, including thermomechanical systems for spacecraft, has written a book about the science involved in cooking. He said that adding salt could ruin steak and that instead cooks should microwave it before frying.
Speaking to the Instant Genius podcast, he said that the steaks should never be cooked after being taken straight out of the fridge.
“Salt must never be put on a steak before frying. Salt has this osmotic ability to drag out as much water as possible from the meat and you’re going to get [something] tough and inedible,”
