Delicious, delicious Nyquil
June 24, 2017 7:43 PM Subscribe
Is it dangerous to cook or eat boiled Nyquil?
There's a Tumblr post going around where someone responds to a jokey Chopped parody post about cooking with a random assortment of ingredients that included Nyquil with a full-on cooking plan. Part of the plan the poster suggests includes making a vinagrette out of Nyquil syrup.
Suppose, hypothetically, that someone was to follow through on this plan. Would making the Nyquil vinagrette cause any harm to the chef, the diner, the cooking utensils? Would it cause some kind of unwanted chemical reaction? If so, is there a way to approximate the flavours of Nyquil with safer ingredients?
(bonus question: what's the Australian version of Pirate Berry cereal?)
There's a Tumblr post going around where someone responds to a jokey Chopped parody post about cooking with a random assortment of ingredients that included Nyquil with a full-on cooking plan. Part of the plan the poster suggests includes making a vinagrette out of Nyquil syrup.
Suppose, hypothetically, that someone was to follow through on this plan. Would making the Nyquil vinagrette cause any harm to the chef, the diner, the cooking utensils? Would it cause some kind of unwanted chemical reaction? If so, is there a way to approximate the flavours of Nyquil with safer ingredients?
(bonus question: what's the Australian version of Pirate Berry cereal?)
Best answer: OK, Ive read through the instructions a few times now and the whole proposition is terrifying. Obviously I love it. Here are my non-chemist-but-at-least-in-the-food-industry thoughts:
Dude suggests carefully plopping the nyquil into water and "steeping" the nyquil in the water, without stirring (or, presumably, letting it come to an actual boil), and then removing the actual nyquil blob...somehow? While I can't figure out if this would actually work, it does seem to suggest you're only heating the WaterQuil, not boiling it, and if a water-nyquil combo were so volatile that it might produce a dangerous chemical reaction below the boiling point I doubt we'd be putting into our fairly warm and water based bodies. So I would just go for it.
As for approximating the flavors, star anise syrup might work, as sanka suggests, but I'd actually go with something more herbal and also grosser. Jaegermeister maybe? Or a combo of Fernet and star anise syrup?
Please please PLEASE do make this in some form and post an update with tasting notes and photos! I will be eternally grateful.
posted by JuliaIglesias at 8:19 PM on June 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
Dude suggests carefully plopping the nyquil into water and "steeping" the nyquil in the water, without stirring (or, presumably, letting it come to an actual boil), and then removing the actual nyquil blob...somehow? While I can't figure out if this would actually work, it does seem to suggest you're only heating the WaterQuil, not boiling it, and if a water-nyquil combo were so volatile that it might produce a dangerous chemical reaction below the boiling point I doubt we'd be putting into our fairly warm and water based bodies. So I would just go for it.
As for approximating the flavors, star anise syrup might work, as sanka suggests, but I'd actually go with something more herbal and also grosser. Jaegermeister maybe? Or a combo of Fernet and star anise syrup?
Please please PLEASE do make this in some form and post an update with tasting notes and photos! I will be eternally grateful.
posted by JuliaIglesias at 8:19 PM on June 24, 2017 [5 favorites]
Hypothetically I don't think it would really hurt anyone? I'm trying to imagine what component of a vinaigrette the Nyquil would be--it's too thick to be the vinegar and too sticky to be the oil, but I've made vinaigrettes that have a little honey in them. Or maybe it would act as an emulsifier in place of mustard? I do not think it would be delicious though. Maybe the cherry version would be tastier?
On preview, I would think steeping the Nyquil in wine vinegar would make more sense than water, and might even be sort of delicious in a weird way--again, it should be the cherry flavor though.
I'm sort of into this?
posted by padraigin at 8:22 PM on June 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
On preview, I would think steeping the Nyquil in wine vinegar would make more sense than water, and might even be sort of delicious in a weird way--again, it should be the cherry flavor though.
I'm sort of into this?
posted by padraigin at 8:22 PM on June 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also: Pirate Berry cereal is basically the fruity version of Cap'n Crunch, which might be easier to find at wherever finer US expat foodstuffs are sold.
posted by padraigin at 8:32 PM on June 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by padraigin at 8:32 PM on June 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'd say this is the only reason I've ever heard for the existence of Chartreuse liqueur. I always thought it tasted like cough syrup.
posted by spitbull at 1:46 AM on June 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by spitbull at 1:46 AM on June 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Looking at the ingredients in plain NyQuil, everything except the alcohol looks like it would be stable in a bain-marie setup, although getting stuff to boil off in a rotary evaporator would allow you to boil off at a lower temp, and reduce the possibility of any off flavors like caramelization to happen. (Molecular gastronomists have started to play with this kind of chemical equipment.) But I wouldn't change the pH significantly while also heating it, as that might increase the chances of getting some odd byproducts.
Because the active ingredients look pretty stable, though, my main concern would be that any single serving of NyQuil salad should have less than a single dose of NyQuil adjusted for the volume change, and that those folks eating NyQuil salad have a designated driver at the end of the night.
*I* sure don't want to eat in this restaurant but it was a fun thought experiment!
posted by tchemgrrl at 3:37 AM on June 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
Because the active ingredients look pretty stable, though, my main concern would be that any single serving of NyQuil salad should have less than a single dose of NyQuil adjusted for the volume change, and that those folks eating NyQuil salad have a designated driver at the end of the night.
*I* sure don't want to eat in this restaurant but it was a fun thought experiment!
posted by tchemgrrl at 3:37 AM on June 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
My daughter once made her former gentleman friend a NyQuil cocktail. He hated the taste, so she mixed Fanta orange soda with the NyQuil, creating what we fondly refer to as a Fantaquil! I think if you warmed this, it could easily morph into a FantaQuil toddy.
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:46 AM on June 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:46 AM on June 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Divabat, if you're down in Melbourne and looking for some of that poisonous American breakfast styrofoam, you could do worse than swinging by USA Foods in Moorabbin. It's right next to the train station, if I remember correct (and it hasn't moved).
Also, I've never had NyQuil (more's the pity, I guess?) but if the posters above aren't fibbing, then yes, the godawful gothic drink Chartreuse is basically that flavour.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:27 PM on June 25, 2017
Also, I've never had NyQuil (more's the pity, I guess?) but if the posters above aren't fibbing, then yes, the godawful gothic drink Chartreuse is basically that flavour.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:27 PM on June 25, 2017
So while there you'd perhaps be after some FRUITY PEBBLES or OOPS! ALL BERRIES because the Cap'n done fucked up the recipe. OOPS! ALL HOT SAUCE is the dish I sometimes make when I'm making something really delicious and don't want my partner to have any.
I couldn't help but notice there is a Cinnabon cereal so if you're interested in putting together a care package for a fellow Brisbanite who wishes that he also was in Melbourne...well...
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:30 PM on June 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
I couldn't help but notice there is a Cinnabon cereal so if you're interested in putting together a care package for a fellow Brisbanite who wishes that he also was in Melbourne...well...
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:30 PM on June 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I did the thing...with Jagermeister instead of Nyquil.
posted by divabat at 2:11 AM on June 26, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by divabat at 2:11 AM on June 26, 2017 [5 favorites]
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posted by sanka at 7:57 PM on June 24, 2017 [4 favorites]