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Good Eats: My Pod
Alton’s very busy when Sid calls. Sid reminds Alton how they made sweet potato famous together. Now Sid has as new client – vanilla – and he wants Alton to help him shed his “goody two shoes” image. Alton shows the versatility of Sid’s new client in Fruit Salad with Vanilla Dressing where vanilla extract helps tie together some flavors that might otherwise clash. Along the way, he explains what to look for in a good vanilla extract. Sid wants a dessert, so Alton uses vanilla sugar and split vanilla bean pods to make delicious Crème Brulee. Finally, vanilla adds to a poaching syrup, as Alton proves with his Vanilla Poached Pears.
| 7/10 (1 Vote cast) |
Episode Info
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Episode number: 9x14 Production Number: EA0914 Airdate: Wednesday January 11th, 2006 |
Uncredited
Recap
Alton lies on his couch trying to solve a Rubik’s cube while blindfolded when Sid the agent calls. Sometime ago Alton helped Sid make “sweet potato” famous. But Sid and sweet potato have fallen out and now Sid’s onto a new star. And he wants Alton’s help because his client has an image problem. He’s not a bad boy – far from it. In fact, he’s bland, plain, wholesome…vanilla. Alton protests that vanilla doesn’t need him; it’s already one of the most exotic and spectacular flavors on the planet. Somehow, before he knows it, Alton is roped into demonstrating that vanilla is… Good Eats...Read the full recap
Episode Notes
Cards
- Vanilla orchids grow wild in the swamps of south Florida.
- Many medical facilities use the vanilla aroma to calm patients undergoing MRI and CAT scans.
- More than 130 distinct chemical compounds have been identified in true vanilla extract.
- In the 1700’s vanilla was recommended by physicians to ensure male potency.
Alton uses green beans as stand-ins because actual green vanilla pods are expensive and difficult to find.
Episode Quotes
Sid (the agent): Downtown Alton Brown! It’s been forever! How’s the eats?
Alton: Well, who is this?
Sid (the agent): Oh, AB, it’s Sid!! Don’t tell me you forgot what we did for Sweet Potato? He’s huge, thanks to us!
Alton: Yeah, I remember Sweet Potato. How’s that working out?
Sid (the agent): He’s a bum!! Six months, tops, and he’ll be back to dinner theater!
Alton: He dumped you, didn’t he?
Alton: Well, who is this?
Sid (the agent): Oh, AB, it’s Sid!! Don’t tell me you forgot what we did for Sweet Potato? He’s huge, thanks to us!
Alton: Yeah, I remember Sweet Potato. How’s that working out?
Sid (the agent): He’s a bum!! Six months, tops, and he’ll be back to dinner theater!
Alton: He dumped you, didn’t he?
Sid (the agent): (on the phone with Vanilla) It’s Sid. You’ll never guess who’s show I got you a shot on! You, my shriveled brown friend, are going to be on... (Good Eats theme plays.)
Alton: Of the 20,000 or so orchid varieties that are growing their curious little lives tangled up out here in the tropics, only one produces food for us – the vanilla orchid.
Alton: You never ever want to use vanilla extracts from Mexico because they are often processed with parts of the tonka bean, a filler which tastes like vanilla but actually contains some rather dangerous carcinogens.
Alton: No matter where your beans come from, quality is going to be an issue and it’s your responsibility. One thing you can do is always buy them from reliable vendors. I usually buy mine from the Internet. Don’t buy them from the mega-mart because you just don’t know how long they’ve been sitting around on those shelves.
Alton: The vanillin in this bottle of imitation vanilla extract may have come from wood pulp, or maybe even as a byproduct of the coal mining industry, but the one place it definitely did not come from is a vanilla bean.
Alton: Although pure vanilla extract can by law contain things like corn sweeteners and caramel colorings, the best ones contain nothing by alcohol, water, and beans.
Sid (the agent): We’re like two minds, beating as one!
Alton: Being a male, I love crème brulee, not because it tastes good, but because I get to burn up something when I make it!
(Discussing special torches made for scorching crème brulee.)
Alton: The rest of these are little more than glorified butane lighters that are hard to fill and grotesquely underpowered, not to mention grotesquely over-priced. Besides, I can go down to the hardware store and get me one of these (he holds up a plumber’s soldering torch). This is serious firepower, a nice big tank that’ll last you forever, and look: a safety on and off! Heck, this thing’s goof for, I don’t know, home intruders or for crème brulee. Let’s get it on! Oh, but before that, make sure that if you have one of these tanks in your house, you have one of these tanks (holding up a fire extinguisher) in your house, capische?
Alton: The rest of these are little more than glorified butane lighters that are hard to fill and grotesquely underpowered, not to mention grotesquely over-priced. Besides, I can go down to the hardware store and get me one of these (he holds up a plumber’s soldering torch). This is serious firepower, a nice big tank that’ll last you forever, and look: a safety on and off! Heck, this thing’s goof for, I don’t know, home intruders or for crème brulee. Let’s get it on! Oh, but before that, make sure that if you have one of these tanks in your house, you have one of these tanks (holding up a fire extinguisher) in your house, capische?
Alton: When included in a poaching syrup, vanilla has an uncanny ability to heighten and frame subtle, sweet flavors.
(Alton is coring a pear with an electric drill.)
“Pear” (voiced by Alton): Do you expect me to talk, drill?
Alton: No, Mr. Pear, I expect you to die!!
“Pear” (voiced by Alton): Do you expect me to talk, drill?
Alton: No, Mr. Pear, I expect you to die!!
(Alton has given a poached pear to Sid the agent)
Sid (the agent): Oh, this is brilliant! It’s the taste good dish of the summer! Oh, the ultimate buddy picture! I can almost see the action figure! There’s just... one problem, though.
Alton: What?!?
Sid (the agent): I don’t handle pears. Maybe we could package another one of my clients... (Alton sighs and groans.) What do you say to vanilla and... cauliflower?
Alton: I say it’s time for me to get out. JULES, STOP THE CAR!
Sid (the agent): JULES, SPEED UP! (Alton struggles to escape the car, but Sid manages to wrestle him back inside.) Oh, the turnip! Now, there’s a veggie in need of a comeback special! Or kohlrabi! She just signed this week! Ha ha ha ha! (Alton screams as the car drives on...)
Sid (the agent): Oh, this is brilliant! It’s the taste good dish of the summer! Oh, the ultimate buddy picture! I can almost see the action figure! There’s just... one problem, though.
Alton: What?!?
Sid (the agent): I don’t handle pears. Maybe we could package another one of my clients... (Alton sighs and groans.) What do you say to vanilla and... cauliflower?
Alton: I say it’s time for me to get out. JULES, STOP THE CAR!
Sid (the agent): JULES, SPEED UP! (Alton struggles to escape the car, but Sid manages to wrestle him back inside.) Oh, the turnip! Now, there’s a veggie in need of a comeback special! Or kohlrabi! She just signed this week! Ha ha ha ha! (Alton screams as the car drives on...)
Cultural References
The name of the episode is a play on Apple Computer’s immensely popular portable music device, the iPod.
Sid calls Alton "Downtown Alton Brown," riffing on the name of early MTV vee-jay and sometime actress Downtown Julie Brown.
The "government agent" returns. This character, one of Alton's many alter egos, could be a take on either the Men In Black (from the movie franchise) or the sinister Agents of the Matrix films, based on the black suit and sunglasses. Both of those characters, of course, drew inspiration from the stereotypical agent of the United States Secret Service.
Pulling out a drill, Alton points it like a gun and says, “Go ahead... poach my pears!” The inspiration for this line is perhaps Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), who said to a criminal in 1983’s Sudden Impact, “Go ahead, make my day.” Callahan, a misanthropic curmudgeon, essentially dared a criminal to execute a hostage. His unconventional approach often worked because criminals did not know how to react to him, and their indecisive hesitation gave him the time he needed to resolve a standoff or robbery – usually with a bullet.
Alton exchanges a bit of dialog with a pear he's viciously coring with a spade drill, culminating with "No, Mr. Pear, I expect you to die!!" The original lines comes from 1964's Goldfinger: Goldfinger has strapped James Bond to a table and plans to bisect the agent to demonstrate the efficiency of his new marvel, a laser. Bond, desperate, asks the villain if he expects him to talk and Goldfinger jauntily replies, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!" Even the most casual Bond fan knows this quote.
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