Category: how to

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Panera Fired an Employee for Exposing How Their Mac and Cheese Is Made

Do you like Panera’s mac and cheese? I sure am. It’s the highlight of my meal when I go.

But recently you may have seen a viral TikTok showing just how it’s cooked – or, rather, reheated. Many viewers have expressed their dismay, but the shocks don’t end there: the employee was fired for her video!

Ok, let’s put aside the employee being fired for a second (just a second, I promise). Reheating (and cooking) food in food-safe plastic bags is actually a pretty standard method. If you aren’t familiar, sous-vide (the fancy name for cooking food sealed in plastic in a water bath) is a five-star chef way of cooking. In fact, there is a whole system behind it.

“Sous-vide is a cooking technique that utilizes precise temperature control to deliver consistent, restaurant-quality results. High-end restaurants have been using sous vide cooking for years to cook food to the exact level of doneness desired, every time.”

You can buy a fancy sous-vide setup for your home, or you can give it a low tech go by following these three simple steps – once you gather the right pot and thermometer you are ready.

1. Attach your precision cooker to a pot of water and set the time and temperature according to your desired level of doneness.

2. Put your food in a sealable bag and clip it to the side of the pot.

3. Finish by searing, grilling, or broiling the food to add a crispy, golden exterior layer.

This technique distributes heat at an even temperature around the food, giving it exact “done-ness.” Forget the scorching, or overcooked noodles – it’s consistent results, every time.

The only thing that could be wrong about Panera’s technique? How about a flash broil on the top to make the cheese bubbly? Cause, come on.

Ok, back to the employee being fired.

While Panera won’t comment on “personnel matters,” the employee posted this followup video:

And frankly, I think it was a missed opportunity – instead of firing their employee, they should have played it up to the media like, “Hey, we serve sous-vide mac and cheese just like Michelin chefs!”

Because corporate America doesn’t need to keep doing shady stuff to cover up shady stuff.

Just sayin’.

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A New Heinz Bottle Shows You the Best Way to Pour Ketchup

A heap of ketchup in a puddle next to a hot serving of fries is about as close to heaven as you can get. But why is it so hard to get the stuff to come out of the bottle?

Photo Credit: Flickr

This is the question ketchup lovers have been asking for about 150 years.

Folks, we may finally have the answer—and from Canada, no less.

Thank you, neighbor. We owe you one.

This issue is the angle of the bottle. To illustrate the solution to consumers, Heinz Canada and creative group Rethink Canada distributed Heinz Ketchup bottles with oddly placed labels. When consumers turned the bottle so the label was right side up, the bottle aligned with the perfect angle at which to pour the tangy condiment.

Watch the video below for a demonstration:

Brian Neumann, senior brand manager at Kraft Heinz Canada, told AdAge Magazine:

This year, we have focused our marketing on reinforcing the emotional connection fans have with the brand in clever and ownable ways. We’re always thinking of fun, cheeky ways we can highlight the iconic and timeless nature of the product to give our consumers a smile.

Fun and cheeky is the perfect description of their effort to show us the best way to get to Heinz’s tomatoey goodness – and it’s also what we in the south think of our northerly neighbors.

Now, for the bad news. The helpful bottles are in limited production…i.e. only for Toronto.

Photo Credit: Pexels

But one of the foodie nerds at Food & Wine hacked that. Go run and get your protractor (I think I mentioned “nerd.”) and tip your bottle somewhere between a 35 and 45 degree angle. Make sure to verify the measurement because that is the sweet-ketchup-spot for optimum pouring performance.

Here is my hack on their hack: Paint the protractor red, write your name on it and decorate with stickers. Fasten the loop piece of Velcro on one side of the protractor and the hook piece inside your cabinet door. Hang your customized protractor inside the cabinet. Your very own scientific ketchup pouring angle indicator will be ready whenever you need it.

As they say in some parts of Canada, “Voila!”

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