Book of Days Tales

The last weekday (school day) in September has been promoted by teachers in the U.S. as “Ask a stupid question day” as a way to encourage students to ask questions because they typically avoid asking questions in public for fear of being ridiculed by their peers. Teachers will often say things, such as, “There are no stupid questions” as a way to get the ball rolling. I believe that there are plenty of stupid questions, but they tend not to show up in classrooms. Also, when it comes to cooking, the more questions the better.  Here’s some:

• Why do we brown meat before putting it in a stew?
• Why do we wait to the last minute before adding wet ingredients to dry ingredients when making a cake?
• Why do soups and stews taste better if refrigerated overnight?
• Why do Asians eat mountains of rice with every meal – including breakfast – yet don’t gain weight?
• Why can two cooks follow exactly the same recipe to the letter and yet the results are different?

Your turn. All of my questions have answers, and none of them is stupid.  When you ask questions you always learn something.