Episode Info
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Episode number: 2x5 Production Number: EA1B13 Airdate: Wednesday March 15th, 2000 |
Recap
The world, Alton reveals, holds no shortage of edible oddities. In Peru folks roast guinea pigs; in Zanzibar they make ant pies. Asians enjoy bird’s nest soup and Alton assures us that if we knew the original purpose of tacos we would never look at a bait shop the same way again. But one of the weirdest foods of all might be lurking in your refrigerator or your backyard: mushrooms. Yet with the right care and cooking they’re welcome citizens in that zone we call... Good Eats!..Read the full recap
Episode Notes
Cards
- If your mushrooms aren’t visibly dirty, there’s no need to wash them. If they do need a bath, use cold water.
- Because its milk solids have been removed, clarified or “drawn” butter (called Ghee in India) has a higher smoke point than regular butter.
- To extract the flavor from tough Shiitake stems, steep them in hot stock or broth, then discard.
- “Portobello” is just marketing-speak for “overgrown Crimini”
Episode Quotes
Alton: Mushrooms… like this agaricus bisporus are strange feed indeed. A fungus at once sinister and sublime, the kind of occupy that middle ground between meat and vegetable – between science and superstition – between the pit of man’s stomach and the summit of his culinary knowledge.
Alton: Don’t hate me because I’m lazy. Truth is, an egg slicer is the perfect tool for cutting up meaty mushrooms.
Alton: Quality and convenience are rarely seen holding hands.
Alton: I’m Alton Brown, this is Good Eats, and I think he’s (looks at Grim Reaper) taking a holiday.
Cultural References
The title of the episode spoofs The Frugal Gourmet, a character and television show created by celebrity chef Jeff Smith and the Public Broadcasting System.
The name Alton gives his stuffed mushroom cap recipe, That Ol’ Cap Magic, is doubtless a nod to the Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer popular tune That Old Black Magic, recorded by dozens of artists over the years.
Alton exhorts some scientists to "blind him with science." In 1982, Thomas Dolby released an album titled The Golden Age of Wireless. The eventual most popular song from that album (and ironically, one of Dolby’s least favorite compositions) was titled “She Blinded Me With Science.”
Alton refers to the Grim Reaper who appears behind as "Joe Black" him to emphasize the hazards of careless mushroom harvesting. In 1998 the film Meet Joe Black speculated about what might happen if Death took a holiday and came to Earth (as a mortal named Joe Black) to learn about humanity.
When Alton recommends buying mushrooms over picking them, the Grim Reaper sulks off and Alton suggests he may be taking a holiday, perhaps dispirited by the lack of opportunities among Alton's educated mushroom fans. His “holiday” refers to the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday, an earlier and truer interpretation of the Alberto Casella play that inspired Meet Joe Black.
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