Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Potato skins
A newcomer to American hors d’oeuvres. Potatoes are baked until tender and cut lengthwise into halves. The potato flesh is scooped out, leaving about a ¼-m. shell or potato skin. The skin is then coated inside and out with margarine, lightly salted and covered with paprika, and re- baked until brown. The potato skin is…
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Potato chips
Thin slices of potatoes, fried in oil and lightly salted. Potato chips got their start as “Saratoga Chips,” named for their birthplace, the resort at Saratoga Springs, NY. In order to satisfy a difficult customer, George Crum, the Native American chef of Moon’s Lake House, prepared French fried potatoes so thinly that they became mere…
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Potable
Pure enough to drink. Although the word edible, meaning fit for eating, is a familiar term, its counterpart—potable, meaning fit for drinking—is not. Many words that derive from the same source as potable, however, are very familiar, including pot, potion, and poison. The ultimate source of these words is the Latin potare, meaning to drink,…
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Pompano
A delicate-flavored whitefish found in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This term is used to describe a type of fish that is native to the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and is known for its delicious, oily meat. With its distinctive flavor and rich texture, this fish is a popular choice…
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Pomace
The residue left after pressing the juice from fruit products consisting of cores, seeds, and skins.
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Polymerization
An undesirable change in the composition of a fat or oil involving intermolecular agglomeration or clumping of the normal units of the fat or oil. A chemical union of two or more molecules of the same kind for forming a new compound having the same elements in the same proportion but of a higher molecular…
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Policy
How a firm operates. A course of action adopted and pursued by a government body or other organization. A course of action adopted and pursued by a government, party, statesman, or other individual or organization; any course of action adopted as proper, advantageous or expedient. The Congress makes policy principally by writing legislation and conducting…
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Polenta
A dish known to Northern Italians and more commonly called “cornmeal mush” in the American South. Polenta can be as soft as mashed potatoes or as firm as bread pudding, depending on the amount of added water. Polenta is often served with syrup, milk or honey, or fried and served with a savory sauce. This…
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Poblano chiles
Mild to moderately hot chiles with a rich, earthy flavor and slightly bitter aftertaste.
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Poach
To cook in water just below the boiling point of the water. Although poached eggs and chickenpox are not connected causally, they are related etymologically: they both derive part of their name from a Germanic word, pronounced something like puk, that meant to swell. This Germanic source developed quite straightforwardly into pox, an old name…
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