Food - Drink
Will Cooking With Wine Corks Actually Make Food More Tender?
By KAREN HART
Every so often, a food hack comes along that gives us pause. Adding wine corks to your food might sound strange, but according to believers, it makes meat more tender.
This practice began with Italian fishermen who cooked seafood in giant pots of water. They tied octopi to floating wine corks so they wouldn't sink to the bottom of the huge vats.
Since then, some chefs have added wine corks to recipes, believing that the tannins from the wine will tenderize meat. However, there is little scientific evidence to support this.
The only surefire ways to tenderize meat are to marinate it, cook it carefully, and/or pound it with a meat mallet. Corks belong in your wine bottles, not in your pots and pans.