The Perfect Bacon Sandwich

Today, my ever-vigilant girlfriend pointed out an article describing the secrets to a perfect bacon sandwich. Apparently, a few British scientists are leaving other important academic research on topics such as quantum chromodynamics, cancer research, and the Riemann hypothesis to other luminaries while they focus on unsolved problems more important to the common man.

The Leeds University researchers were kind enough to share their secret formula on the Grand Unified Theory of Bacon (GUToB) with the rest of the world:

N = C + {f_b(c_m) · f_b(t_c)} + f_b(T_s) + f_c · t_a,
where N is force in newtons, f_b is a function of the bacon type, f_c is a function of the condiments, T_s is the serving temperature, t_c is the cooking time, t_a is the time to insert the condiments, c_m is the cooking method, and C is the breaking strain of the uncooked bacon (in newtons).

I do, however, have a few questions about the function f_b: What is its domain? Is it time, as the expression f_b(t_c) would suggest, or is it temperature, which one would infer from the expression f_b(T_s)? Could it be a multivariable function of time and temperature? Is it continuous or even perhaps differentiable? The world wonders.

While we are on the subject of bacon sandwiches, allow me to take the opportunity to right a wrong. In a previous post discussing the perfect BLT, I neglected to give proper kudos to the BLT sandwiches that were the centerpiece of Sunday brunch at lovely home of Jeremiah and Tesha during their stay in Germany. The combination of Alsatian bacon, garlic mayo, and fresh basil on crusty German bread was amazing. Now that they have made their return back to the Bay Area, I hope to partake in one of their bacon-filled brunches again soon.

Math + Baking = Pie-cosahedron

If you are one of those can't-get-enough-of-geometry baking types out there, you should check out a potential weekend project.

I like math and all, and cooking as well, but I can't see myself actually taking the time to make something like that...

Incidentally, I'm editing this post as I cruise over the North Atlantic, thanks to Wi-Fi broadband service provided by Connexion by Boeing on my Lufthansa flight. Unfortunately, due to their inability to recoup the operating costs, Boeing has decided to discontinue this service by the end of the year, so I may not have many more opportunities (for a while, at any rate) to post from 35000 feet in the air.

Saddle up to The Counter

Earlier this week, my lovely and ever-alert girlfriend pointed me to an article about The Counter, which just opened a new location in Palo Alto (369 California Avenue; 650-321-3900) last week, right down the road from my workplace. The Counter, which is known for gourmet burgers at less-than-gourmet burger prices, was recently mentioned on the Oprah Winfrey Show, resulting in a nearly six-fold increase in sales. Of course, where Oprah goes to eat, we must go too... ;)

One note: Several articles that I read about The Counter mention that there are over 300,000 different burger combinations. I guess this is true, but I can't figure out how they settled on that number. As far as I can tell, there are a lot more possibilities. You can pick four toppings from a list of 27, one sauce from a list of seventeen choices, and one of three types of buns. Applying mathematical skills acquired through years of post-graduate education, I figure that you have 895,050 different possibilities before you even contemplate your cheese selection. Even if you restrict yourself to the list of eighteen non-premium toppings, you already have 156,060 different combinations before deciding on your cheese of choice, much less your burger type (beef, turkey, or veggie). So, as far as I can tell, 300,000 is a lower bound though certainly not a very good one. I guess that it's better than saying that there are more than, say for example, 23 different combinations.

Doctor No's favorite snacks

It has come to my attention that my very good friend Doctor No, also known as PhDoug, wrote a food related post in his blog today.

Nice post, doc. Pass me some of that bolognese sauce spagehetti and give me some turkey and gravy soda to wash it down. Mmm-mmm.