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Good Eats: Sprung A Leek
Alton contemplates the leek - a misunderstood member of the Allium family. Most folks know onion, garlic and even shallots. But fewer have heard of the leek. That's a shame because the light flavor of the leek is versatile and the leek itself is easy to work with. Alton intersperses recipes with leek history, tips on how to select the vegetable and how to clean it. First up is Grilled and Braised Leeks which take advantage of his gas grill. Then he explains why leeks are better for breaded rings than onions, and proves it with Leek Rings. Finally, he builds Potato Leek Soup (vichyssoise) and with the help of W, offers some tips on the selection of a stick blender.
| 8/10 (1 Vote cast) |
Episode Info
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Episode number: 8x18 Production Number: EA1H21 Airdate: Wednesday March 02nd, 2005 Writer: Alton Brown
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Recap
Alton opens flipping through his family album. There’s that time he put superglue in his sister’s lip gloss. Ah, memories! But people aren’t the only ones with families. Vegetables have families, too. The Allium family contains some of the most potent culinary contributors to world cuisine. The globe onion has become a part of many recipes the world over, despite the fact that he’s a little one-dimensional, and a pain in the eye to work with. His stinky cousin garlic manages to knock every other ingredient out cold. The shallot combines them both, a cross of red onion and garlic and very popular with chefs. She, Alton says, is another show. But there is a member of the Allium family waiting in the wings for his chance. The leek has a smooth and sophisticated flavor that presents itself well and at the same time plays nicely with other ingredients. Versatile and easy to work with, leeks are definitely... Good Eats!..Read the full recap
Episode Notes
Cards
- The "Pig Stand" of San Antonio, TX is credited with inventing the onion ring in 1929.
- Vichyssoise was introduced by French chef Louis Dia around 1910 at the New York Ritz-Carlton.
- In 1941, some French chefs tried to rename Vichyssoise creme gauloise because of their dislike of the Vichy government.
- In the Orient, leeks came to symbolize humility because they were a food eaten by the poor.
- Sussex folklore: “Eat leeks in March, garlic in May; all the rest of the year, the doctors may play.”
The episode title "Sprung a Leek" is a homonym play on the idiom "sprung a leak" used to describe a container that lost integrity.
Episode Quotes
Alton: You know, there’s nothing like flipping through the old family album. Oh, look! This was taken right after I put superglue in my sister’s lip gloss. Oh, wonderful memories!
Alton: We’re going to celebrate the unsung hero of the Allium family. The leek, which isn’t just in good taste, it’s in... (Good Eats theme plays)
Alton: This thing’s probably dirtier on the inside than it is on the outside. Now, an easy way to deal with that would be to simply cut this up and then throw it in some water to wash it. But the idea of one of my knives going through gritty, nasty sand, it’s like... it’s like...
(Thing drags his fingernails across the chalkboard.)
Alton: Yes... Thing... like that, thank you.
(Thing drags his fingernails across the chalkboard.)
Alton: Yes... Thing... like that, thank you.
Alton: The problem, of course: moisture. Onions are packed with it, so when they’re fried an they sit for a couple of moments, a lot of moisture comes out of the onion forming a slimy layer between the crisp breading and the onion itself, so, when you bite into it, the entire onion slides out like a dead salamander from a hollow stick. Mmmm, sounds good, doesn’t it?
Alton: When it comes to successful frying you want to see three things: proper prep of work flow, which we’ve got here. Two, you want to see good temperature control, which we’re going to have here. Next, good, proper procedures!
Alton: Leeks don't have to encroach on the onion’s territory to justify their existence. There are dishes that have been invented specifically for them. Take, for instance, the famous yet infamous dish the French call vichyssoise.
Alton: (While cutting leeks) Notice? I’m not crying! That’s because leeks contain plenty of the sweet flavor elements of both garlic and onion, but few of the sulfur compounds that make onion cutting such a chick flick! Not that there’s anything... wrong with chick flicks, it’s just that they’re... oh, never mind!
W: Why is it that men always think it comes down to wattage. Don’t you realize that when you evaluate the performance of an electrical appliance, that wattage is but one of the relevant factors. And it’s not even that important!
Alton: Wrong, again, W. Every teenage boy with a car stereo knows watts is where it’s at!
W: Wattage is about the about of electricity a system needs to run, not about the amount of work it can do. Nor does it indicate the quality of that work. Got it?
Alton: Wrong, again, W. Every teenage boy with a car stereo knows watts is where it’s at!
W: Wattage is about the about of electricity a system needs to run, not about the amount of work it can do. Nor does it indicate the quality of that work. Got it?
Alton: (About cold leek soup in summertime.) Ah. Leeky and delicious!
Alton: I am not suggesting you eradicate the other members of the Allium family: onions, garlic, shallots, or even scallions. I’m just asking you to make a little room in your crisper drawer, as well as your heart, for a kinder, gentler member of the Allium family: the leek. Your family with thank you.
Cultural References
Alton likens the Allium family to the Barrymores of the larger lily clan. He’s referring to the acting family that rose to prominence in the earliest days of film with John, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore. Several descendants continued the acting tradition, including John’s son John Drew Barrymore, several of Ethel’s children and John Drew’s daughter Drew Barrymore. The Barrymores are one of just a few families about whom one might say that acting is in their blood.
Alton notes that leeks lack the sulfur containing compounds found in onions, so cutting them isn’t a "chick flick" experience. He means that cutting leeks won't prompt a torrent of tears, as do some movies designed to appeal chiefly to women. The term "chick flick" is an occasionally derogatory term for a movie considered appealing to women because it contains a lot of emotional moments, and may end in a "heart wrenching" or "weepy" scene. The 1991 film Thelma and Louise is perhaps a canonical example. Like a number of terms coined as mockery, some have embraced the term and do not consider it derogatory at all.
Cranky cooking gadget expert W is Good Eats' nod to James Bond's armorer "Q". She appears here to lecture Alton about stick blenders. A variation of the James Bond theme can be heard during the scene as a musical bed.
Alton refers to the leek as a “kinder, gentler” member of the Allium family. During the 1988 Presidential campaign, George H. W. Bush called for a “kinder, gentler” America as part of the notion of compassionate conservatism. His opponents then and since mocked it mercilessly (most famously Neil Young’s song “Rocking in the Free World” which contains the lyric “We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand.”)
Analysis
Early in the episode, Alton introduces a technique for cutting leeks lengthwise so they can be washed easily, as he is loathe to subject his knives to contact with the grit trapped between the rings. Later in the episode he prepares leek rings, which are not split. Perhaps he used one of his cheap knives to cut them. He certainly must have cut them before pushing them apart; had he done so afterwards he would have crushed them unless he took a tediously long time cutting them.
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