Jen, you sly foxette.

Ross, you will soon see that, and much more. (Mind. Gutter. Out.)

Stay tuned, dollface, for we shall soon bring your culinary fantasies to life.

Yes, very satisfying.

Jen, your point about handling food in the prep stages is important. It's a very sensual as well as necessary step. To watch someone wield a knife and handle food competently is not only enthralling but sort of erotic. Since I've never seen a woman exhibit culinary skills to the same extent that a man does (although I'm sure they exist ) my fascination must, alas, remain platonic...

To be clear, when I spoke of "guy food," I was referring to eating with one's fingers, not to meat in particular. I'm willing to bet that most men would forego the dainty fork and knife if they could eat with their fingers.

Linz, there is a degree of firmness that will reveal at what stage the meat is in the cooking process. I wish I had video to show you a demonstration of the technique I learned, but I'll do my best to explain. I'll take some digital photos when I have a moment.

If you make a fist with your thumb tucked under your fingers and close it tightly, then feel the pad of skin between the base knuckles of the thumb and first finger, that is "well done." Loosen it completely, still making the fist, and that is rare. In between the two is medium. Or, to make it incredibly simple, the longer meat cooks, the firmer it gets. The next time you prepare a steak, pay attention to how the meat feels in its raw state -- the further you get from this softness, the more cooked it is.

This technique also works with chicken, pork, and fish. With fish, translucence is also an important indicator (if there is no skin and you can see the flesh); the less translucent, the more cooked it is.

I was just thinking about this matter last night, oddly enough. I was thinking about what I wrote about the Mozart effect being bunk, and how even normally rational people are not exempt from being manipulated like anyone else by being told that things they value have almost "supernatural" properties (most often dressed up in psuedo-science.) It made me think of some claims about eating meat, especially the ancient belief that eating the heart of one's enemies gave the eater the courage of the animal (or man) that provided the heart. (Of course, Petards believe a similar idea about meat eating, but dislike the outcome.) And then I remembered some old Solo conversations about meat, about how the guys were going to the steakhouse to tear apart a few steaks, emphasis on the testosterone.

Meat certainly is associated with masculinity, for sure...I just wonder how "objective" that association is...picture Jerry Seinfeld eating "just a salad"...

While we're at it, why can't I, as a gay male, eat a piece of fish without comment?

Hey Rick, the researcher you cite happens to be my fire-breathing brother's Masters supervisor...I'm sure you'd find it interesting.

Ahh, the Government Census human-incinerator! Hey, small world! Wonder what likeing your census 'well done' says about your masculinity?

Yes, I do find it interesting, very. I've been corresponding with 'Dr Meat' actually. I really do think his work can be used to threaten objective reason and reduce man to a mere 'aggregation of chemicals' if someone doesn't keep any eye in this sort of thing. He admits to being influenced in his work by Focault (Objectivism Philosophical Public Enemy Top 10 Member).

... telling the meat is cooked by touching it. What is one looking (feeling) for exactly?

Hey Rick, the researcher you cite happens to be my fire-breathing brother's Masters supervisor. They are studying Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism in relation to political attitudes, aggression and gender, with some surprising results. I'm sure you'd find it interesting.

Interesting you say "guy food." As there are so many dimentions to food meaning and experience why would we doubt this?

But a Senior Lecturer in NZ took a bit of a hammering on the Kiwi blogosphere earlier in the month for researching such a thing!

"An academic study on meat eating has found that a partial reason why men eat meat is to "express dominance or masculinity" it said in the newspaper.

Masculine vs feminine sensuality? Sure thing.