texts: What role does alcoholic liquid play in cheese fondue recipes?

texts:
Pretty much every recipe I've seen for cheese fondue includes either white wine (sometimes alongside kirsch/brandy) or some kind of beer in the delicious cheesy sauce.

Why is the added liquid (seemingly) always alcoholic - as opposed to adding, say, water? Is it because beer or wine complements the other flavors in the fondue, or because milk proteins are alcohol soluble so it achieves the desired consistency? Or is there some other reason that combines those two explanations (or presents a different one entirely)?


texts: licking spoon and putting back in the food

texts: Recently had some guest at my house - while I was in another room one of the guest was sampling the food repeatedly and put the spoon from mouth back in the food.  Is this a health concern?  Does the food spoil faster?


texts: Can I eat an eclair which has been at room temperature for almost 2 hours

texts: I have recently bought an eclair and I'm not sure if I should eat it as it has been sat on the side for a good hour and a half/two hours. Please HELP!!


texts:
Is it possible and necessary to temper store-bought quality chocolate like Lindt?

Say, for example, you want to use it to make chocolate moulds - would it be possible to melt and temper the chocolate and have the same result as that of couverture chocolate?


texts: Typically I chop up a head of romaine, swish it around in some cool water, then spin it dry.  The swishing water ends up very green, however.  I'm wondering if it's getting doused in some dye prior to purchase, or if I'm preparing it wrong and leeching out the nutrients?


texts: Is no-knead bread method compatible with stretch and fold during the bulk rise?

texts:
Using the no-knead method (as decribed by Jim Lahey), instead of leaving the dough undisturbed during the initial fermentation period, would it be harmful to add in some stretch and folds to build dough strength? Would this be counterproductive, helpful or have no effect on the outcome?

I'm thinking just randomly throughout the period, stretch and fold whenever fancy strikes. The idea is to make the dough stronger than it would otherwise be using the pure no-knead method.


texts: Is pressure canning, weeks after regular canning safe?

texts:
Recently I have learned, that I need to use a pressure canner when canning paprika. So far I have only used my oven.

I have ordered a pressure canner, but it may arrive end of october. At this time, the season for paprika may already be over.

So my plan is to do my regular canning procedure now, that I can get good paprika at a good price, boil the jars in water (or water bath in oven), then let them sit on the shelf until my pressure canner arrives and cook them in the pressure canner again.

Would this work and is it safe? Would I lose a lot of quality this way? The paprikas are cooked in the oven or grilled on very high heat, after which they are canned. So there is plenty of heat involved already. But would an additional canning procedure do much damage?


texts: I quite like lime-infused raisins (like these), but they're kind of pricey compared to regular raisins. Are they made by some process I can emulate at home? Is it just a matter of soaking and then drying? Or adding small amounts of liquid? Or is this an industrial process I can't easily replicate?


texts:
Many years ago, while instructing me in the use of our pressure cooker, my father told me to always let steam escape from the top stack for a couple of minutes before putting the weighted cap on it. This, he said, would purge air from the cooker and thereby prevent oxygen from attacking the food at the elevated pressure and temperature inside.

This makes a lot of sense to me, but I never see it mentioned in pressure cooking books or instructions. What's the deal?


texts: What would be a good substitute for rice wine?

texts:
I like to prepare various Asian dishes and one of the important ingredients I use is rice wine; unfortunately, it's become difficult to obtain lately, and sherry, which is sometimes used, never was a beverage available in my country.

So, what else could I substitute for rice wine?


texts:
I usually use one kind of unsalted butter from the grocery store but my wife bought another brand for no known reason. I heated a tablespoon in a pan today and noticed it spattered far more than my usual brand which, to me, indicates more water content in the butter. Agreed? (EDIT: Yes it's true.)

Which leads to my question, what does that say about the quality of the butter if anything?

Both companies are well known brands with good reputations.


texts: What is the sign of mozzarella being old?

texts:
Short of looking at the "best before" date on the package - how can I tell if my mozzarella is ok to eat?
Would it smell bad, or can it be "dangerous" anyway?


texts: I made a recipe that was more hands-on and the recipe had a decent amount of oil, so I was wondering what is the most efficient way to get the oil off? I tried wiping my hands before washing them, but there is still a feel of the oil.


texts: Should leftover meat be stored in cooking juices?

texts:
I put some pork shoulder in the slow cooker along with water, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, and spices. I then cooked it until it was falling apart. There's enough to last about a week.
Should the leftover meat be stored in the juices, or will the acids break it down too much? Would it be better to store the liquid in a separate container, and just spoon some over the meat before reheating?


texts: I have some mascarpone cheese left. May I use it to make a sauce?


texts: Why does food cooked in the microwave heat inside-out?

texts: The other day I was heating a left over casserole that was placed in the freezer for 24 hours before I decided to reheat it. I heated it in the microwave for 4 min. What I noticed was the outside portion of the casserole was still cold but there was steam coming from the middle. I tried heating other items as well and noticed that even soup heats faster in the middle. What i find is that food reheated or cooked in the microwave often splatters and in some cases explodes. Why does this happen or is my microwave the only one?


texts:
So I made kimchi for the first time a couple of days ago, and most of the recipes that I looked at were fairly similar. In this regard, all of them mentioned something that I'm not 100% sure on what it means.

So I followed the standard steps: I rubbed the cabbage leaves with salt until they started to wilt, soaked it in salted water for a few hours, drained and rinsed the cabbage, squeezed out most of the water from the leaves, and then combined them with the rest of the ingredients and chilli paste before putting it all into a fermentation jar.

However, every recipe that I saw said that once the mixture was in the jar, I needed to push it down until the brine was covering the vegetables. I pushed it down but, other than getting rid of the air-pockets, it didn't seem that there was any "brine" that was covering the vegetables.

Worrying that I had squeezed too much liquid out of the cabbage leaves and this was the "brine" that it was referring to, I added a little more water back in until it was just about covering everything.

The recipe also stated that I should check the kimchi daily to make sure that the vegetables were still beneath the brine. However when I went back to check, there was a large amount of liquid above the vegetables. Now I'm worried that adding more water to the mixture was a huge mistake.

Did I mess up? And if so, can I just drain off the excess liquid and fix the issue? Or is it fine that there is a lot of water covering the vegetables?


texts: How can I cook more efficiently in a campervan using a single pot over a gas-powered flame?

texts:
I am using a campervan 3 nights per week, 40 weeks per year.  I have a single gas powered hob (like most camping stoves), a sink with running water and am seeking advice to cook efficiently with as minimal cleaning as possible.

Caveat: I don't have a fridge/freezer but median temperature in the UK is extremely low (my olive oil froze today! haha)

Ingredients
Techniques for protecting the pan from cooked food residue
Efficient cooking and storage techniques without a fridge / freezer


texts: What can I substitute for lager beer in a chili recipe?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What are some good substitions for alcohol in cooking?

My Husband is a recovering alcoholic.  One of our favorite slow cooker chili recipes calls for using Lager beer.  Is there a good beer substitute?


texts: Should I freeze gyoza before or after cooking?

texts:
I'm about to make a big batch of gyoza and I don't want to eat them all now. I was thinking about freezing them and I want to know which is best from a food-safety and a quality perspective.

If I freeze them after cooking, is the crispy side going to become soggy after cooking? If I freeze them before cooking, are they going to get soggy whilst the meat inside defrosts? Is it safe to defrost them with raw meat inside?


texts: How to know how many tablespoons of seeds correspond to 1 table spoon of its ground form?

texts:
Please point out a conversion method or the Google keywords which would result in a trusted measuring chart for converting seeds to powder or paste form or vice versa.

Example:
1 tablespoon of powdered Coriander seeds correspond to how many tablespoons of raw Coriander seeds.


texts: What animal parts can be included in head cheese?

texts:
I know that head cheese is traditionally made with flesh from the head of a large animal but I have read that sometimes other scrap meats are included.

Are there any portions of an animal that are more or less suitable for making head cheese?

Can I make head cheese with chicken feet?


texts: Safe heating food in a chafing silver plated dish that is showing copper underneath?

texts: If our silver plated chafing dish has some copper showing ( the silver plate has worn off) is it safe to heat a cheese dip in and serve it from?


texts: Why some vegetables are good to fry, and not others?

texts:
Is there a biological reason why some vegetables are "good" to fry on a pan while some others are not?

I would readily fry onions (from "a little bit" up to "brown" or "caramelized"), leek (but just "a little bit" - the "brown" version is bitter), tomatoes, ...
I would not fry salad lettuce for instance.

I understand that there may be cultural differences, I am looking for a quantifiable reason (if there is one), such as "the more XXX in the vegetable, the more suitable it is for frying")


texts: How can I tell when my fat is sufficiently creamed?

texts:
When creaming butter or shortening with sugar, how can I tell when it's creamed enough?

With the mixer as low as 3 or 4, even a few minutes of mixing seems excessive.

Also, what are symptoms could I see in cookies which have had the butter under-creamed?

Update:

I think that I'm familiar with the standard guides of light and fluffy, but I seem to have a hard time evaluating that when I'm watching the mixer.  My cookies always seem to come out too flat, and since I'm measuring flour by weight, creaming is my next suspect.

What should I look for?  Are there any tests that I can do; perhaps similar to the window pane test for bread development?


texts:
I'm actually in china and here olive oil is expensive and difficult to be found.
I need it to fry slightly onion/garlic for ex. to prepare tomato sauce.

What can I use as alternative?


texts:
I recently ordered a grocery delivery from Whole Foods, and as I was ordering I noticed they had rutabagas, which I've never had before, so I decided to try them. What I got was this:

They don't look anything like any picture I can find online of rutabagas, which are supposed to look like a large turnip. Instead, these appear to be some sort of yam. (That is, an actual yam, not a sweet potato, which for some reason is commonly called a yam in the US!)

Adding to the confusion, they appear to be coated with a thick layer of wax. I googled vegetables covered with wax, and all that shows up is lots of pages about rutabagas! Rutabagas, it turns out, are commonly waxed to keep them from drying out. I can't find any information about waxed yams, though. So, what are these things?


texts: What is the procedure for Pillsbury cookies?

texts:
I read the answer about spritzing the dough with a little water but my question is....do you
take the dough (I buy Pillsbury in a roll) out of the refrigerator and immediately start your cookies?  Or do you let the dough get room temperature?  When working with the dough should you
continually use flour to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin?


texts: How to maintain the calories in rice (which were present in it in its raw form) after cooking it?

texts:
I searched Google with the following keywords:

  calories in 1 tbsp brown rice

The result was:

As you can see the calories, after cooking have severely reduced.

What can I do to maintain the default level of calories in cooked rice?

I am not talking about increasing calories by adding extra materials like oil. I wish to know some cooking method which does not destroy the calories so much.

Note: I do NOT throw any water during the process of cooking rice.


texts: Should shortbread cookies be lightly browned?

texts: I'm trying to make shortbread cookies the proper way. Should they be cooked through, but without any browning? Or, should they be lightly browned?


texts: Onion soup: How to chop the onion and what kind of cheese to put in it?

texts:
What is your preferred type of cut for the onion in onion soup?

And how do you put the cheese? A deep chunk submerged in each plate, on top? What kind of cheese do you like?


texts: I want to make chili using a ham bone (with a little meat on it). How should I cook it to make good use of both the meat and the bone?


texts: I’d like to know if I can safely lay down pork belly slices on top of pork ribs while smoking? I’m using a pellet grill/smoker at 200-225 degrees for 6 hours.


texts: How can I get brine flavour into turkey?

texts:
Since I started doing holiday dinners, I've always brined my birds. I love the result, but I find that while the turkey comes out nice and moist, it doesn't pick up much flavour from the brine. For Thanksgiving, I had a delicious smelling brine with some star anise, cinnamon, and a few other things. The turkey didn't seem to pick up any of this flavour.

Any tips on solving this problem? Would injecting the meat help?


texts:
Here in Chile nearly all milk you can buy in supermarkets is UHT milk in tetra bricks. Some brands state on the carton that the milk is "reconstituted", while others state that it is "not reconstituted".

What is the difference between the two? Are they processed differently? What part of the milk does the "reconstituted" refer to? And would it make any difference using one or the other in the kitchen?

If I remember correctly the "not reconstituted" milk is usually a little bit more expensive. The taste to me seems to be the same (I didn't do any side-by-side comparison though).


texts: Is Bami Goreng the same as the dish labelled as 'Singapore Noodles' in the United Kingdom

texts:
In the UK, Bami Goreng or Nasi Goreng appears extremely rarely on far-eastern take away menus however almost all menus offer Singapore Noodles described as a

  Dry, spicy noodles with ham, shrimp and/or chicken

Are these two dishes exclusive or is Singapore Noodles for all intents and purposes the dish of Bami Goreng?

My a palette is not refined enough to pick out any subtle differences such as lack of soy sauce etc which may yield a clue.


texts: Where can I find or make Irish cream soda?

texts: I had this when I was going to college and now I miss it a lot. It is a non alcoholic drink.


texts: Nutritional information on fruits and veggies

texts:
I've been looking online for an extensive database of nutritional information on various fruits and vegetables. I've been advised by my doctor to start eating healthier and I'd just like to know the calories, vitamins and minerals that each type of fruit and vegetable have.

I'd like to use the chart in making more salads, vegetable and fruit side dishes and the like ... I just need to know what's good to use and what type of vegetable and fruit provides what type of nutrition.

I've tried searching on google but my google-fu appears to be missing the mark this time, most of the stuff I've found only lists a few fruits and veggies or has little information for each item. I'd like a comprehensive list so I can change things up as I cook and not get stuck in the same ol rut (an apple a day is good and all but gets boring after a while).


texts: What holds low temperature the best for bread baking?

texts: I would like to follow this recipe. However, I am a little wary about setting my crock pot for 7-12 hours like it says. I am unsure it can keep the 110 F temperature. Does anyone have any suggestions?


texts:
I melted bitter chocolate (40%) via bain-marie to make chocolate-covered strawberries. As the melted chocolate dried out before I finished dipping all the strawberries, I tried to melt the rest again with the same method but it became sort of muddy and dry.  (I didn’t have any problem with milk chocolate.)

What could be done (other than repeating the process with small amounts) to "re-melt" it without losing the bitter taste?


texts: Is it okay to throw the food, collected in the mesh in the sink, down the drain, if it doesn't contain plastic?

texts:
We know all food is organic (made of carbon).  So if we throw organic stuff down the drain, it should get decomposed by bacteria and shrink. So why should we be worried about blockages if all the food will get decomposed and the drain will open up?  I understand oil and grease is bad because it deposits and narrows the lumen of the drains. Plastics, are non-biodegradable hence will not decompose and should not be put down the drain.

So isn't it okay to throw food down the drain, because it'll never cause a blockage?


texts: Green and white mold on dry part of onion only. What to do?

texts:
I purchased a bunch of red onions and then went a week or two without using them.  When I went to use them last night, I discovered that most of them had grown lots of green and white mold.

This is strange to me - I'm used to onions lasting really long.  In fact, the white onions in the same container were a few weeks older and had no mold or rot.  The white onions aren't even moldy in the presence of the super moldy red onions, and neither are the potatoes or garlic in the same container!

The most interesting part, though, is that only the dry outer skin of the red onions are affected.  The fleshier, shiny layers of skin have no mold.

What kind of mold grows so fast on dry onion skins?
Can we save anything in the bin?


texts: How to avoid soft bottom of home-made bread?

texts:
The bottom of my bread is not hard. When I knock the top of the loaf, it gives a beautiful hollow knock sound but when knocking the bottom part -- it's not. I wonder what is the reason? How could I improve my baking procedure?

Bread baked in a baking tray with baking paper. Maybe it is the baking tray that blocks the heat supply?
~450F for 15 minutes, with top and bottom heaters turned on and a fan turned off,  then ~420F for 30 minutes;  all the time with baking tray sitting in the middle of the oven; the original recipe requires some 15F more but that's beyond my oven capabilities. I did not want to extend the time too much, because the top of the bread is already well-baked.
At the bottom of the oven I keep an ovenproof dish with water to increase evaporation. Maybe it limits the heat flow from the heater to the bottom of the bread?

In the first photo you can see a corner of bread. The left side is better baked, has larger "holes" in the crumb than the right side, because the left side was closer to the crust, and the right side was cut in the middle of the bread.


texts: Is it safe to heat active dry yeast to make a substitute for nutritional yeast?

texts:
Nutritional Yeast isn't available at my location so i'm looking for alternatives.

While searching Seasoned Advice i've found this question How can I make nutritional yeast?. But i don't want exactly to grow nutritional yeast. It's too difficult to it and i need something more practical and less risky in terms of sterelization.

So i've came across this page. Basically it says i can use active dry yeast and toast it to make something that tastes like nutritional yeast. In this The Fresh Loaf post this heating the yeast technique is also mentioned.

Well, i did tried it at home and the result was very very tasty! First time i made it i've dropped a little yeast in a cup with water and sugar and it didn't started fermenting, but the second time i've tried it was still alive.

There is any way to make sure that all the yeast is uniformly dead?
Even if manage to kill all the yeast, let's say, by heating in the oven, is it still safe to eat it? I've read a lot of disquieting stuff on the web about yeast and botulism. (but there might be other factors to consider)
(I must use Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the main ingredient because i want something similar in terms of protein content (about 45g on 100g of yeast)


texts:
I'm curious about an effective method of preserving a cheese sandwich. I'm looking to prepare them as far ahead of use as possible. I've considered various alternatives but it's not really clear what's best.

Room temperature- cheese should be refridgerated?
Fridge- bread and fridges doesn't mix.
Freezer- pretty long-term, but foods are just not the same after being frozen, and it's not clear if half a working day is enough to guarantee defrosting

So the bottom line is, how can I preserve my cheese sandwich  for the longest time with the least degredation? I like soft bread.

For bonus points, add pickle.


texts: Why do sprouted lentils take longer to cook than soaked lentils?

texts:
I like sprouts, and I thought it would be a nice experiment to sprout my lentils before turning them into a tender soup, as I often do. I usually soak lentils for half a day, and then boil them with various spices for 30 minutes to an hour, until tender and soupy. So I expected that, since germination kind of pre-digests the organic compounds in the seed, the cooking times would be even shorter.

I had to cook them for 90 minutes to get them to be al dente, and I guess it would have taken them at least two hours to get soft. Has anyone had a similar experience with sprout, or does anyone know why this happens? My sprouting time was two days and a half, after the initial soak.


texts: Applying a binder to chicken after wet marinating

texts: I usually marinate my chicken breasts/wings in a wet marinade overnight and apply a dry rub shortly before I throw them on the smoker. The main problem I'm facing is that I'm not able to get nice and consistent bark. I was wondering if applying a mustard binder as I would with something like ribs or brisket would help remedy this issue?


texts: Can a broiler function as a grill substitute when making kebabs?

texts:
When grilling is not option, but broiling is:

Can a broiler + broiler plate function as a substitute for a grill when making kebabs? If so, what must I do to prevent overcooking beef, lamb and/or veggies?


texts: What is the difference between rock sugar and raw sugar?

texts: What's the difference between rock sugar & raw sugar? I'm looking for the general difference as well as calories, usage, and taste.


texts:
Lately, I've been struggling to cook rice at the kitchen I work at. We cook the rice by putting it in a hotel pan, put water on top, plastic and foil wrap it and throw it into the oven. One cook says I should just use 2:1 water:rice ratio, but another chef showed me how washing rice makes it much better.

The chef uses an artsy method to measure the water: put your hands on the rice in the water and if its past a certain knuckle, it's good. I've tried that and failed so many times. I then tried measuring the water and it's always too much because the washed rice is wet and already contains water. We have no china hat to strain it properly so I have to use my hands to stop the rice.

Now my question: does anyone know how much less water I should put on the rice after I washed it?

Thank you!


texts: How can I make matzo meal and matzo farfel?

texts:
I have a surplus of matzo this year thanks to Costco, and I assume I can crank out my own matzo meal and matzo farfel at home from whole matzo.

Has anyone done this?  Should I just put the matzo in a food processor to make the matzo meal until it looks right?

What about the matzo farfel?  Should I just smash up whole matzo with a meat tenderizing mallet in a bag or something?


texts:
There's a place that does 'wet fries.' They look more like English chips though, and they're basically floppy and wet from the sauce it's placed into.

The ingredients, as told by the manager, are:

Sweet chilli sauce
Hot chilli sauce
Tomato sauce
Garlic
Sesame Oil

As far as ratios go, do you believe there should be more of one particular sauce than the other? I wouldn't want to put in way more of one thing than I need.


texts: How to get heat high enough for stir fry?

texts:
Considering that mounting a fighter jet afterburner in my kitchen (or anything, for that matter) isn't very convenient or realistic, what would be a realistic way to get the extreme heat output that stir frying requires?

I have heard of people using small gas burners, while these are a step in the right direction, they don't seem to have quite the required output.

I've also heard of people using a charcoal barbecue and putting the wok directly on top of the coals. This seems better, but at the cost of convenience.

Is there a way to replicate professional kitchen's high heat output at home?


texts: How to store a Christmas pudding to make it drier?

texts: I have prepared a Christmas pudding but it came out too wet to our taste. What is the best way to store it to make it drier but without spoiling it?


texts: What can you do with an infrared thermometer?

texts:
Infrared thermometers have plummeted in price in recent years, and are now inexpensive gadgets for the home cook, not to mention the pros.

What are the primary uses of an infrared thermometer in the kitchen?


texts: What are ways to extract the juice from a pomegranate?

texts: Is there an efficient way to extract the juice from a fresh pomegranate?


texts: Does beating hot oil into eggs before cooking an omelette make a difference?

texts:
Usually, when I prepare an omelette, I pour oil in a cast iron pan and heat it.
In the meantime, I prepare the eggs and I beat them fluffy. When the oil is pretty hot, I pour it in the eggs while beating them and finally I cook it in the pan.

As long as I can remember, I've done that following my mom's example. I assumed that it makes a difference but today my wife asked me why I was doing that.
I couldn't find an answer other than "I always do like that".

I'd like to know if this process have any value on the end result. If so, I could give her a better answer. If not, I will change my habits.


texts: What is the purpose of sugar in baking plain bread?

texts:
My recipe says 1 tablespoon of sugar per loaf.

This seems like too small an amount for flavor.

The recipe is as follows:

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup water
knead, wait 1 hr, knead again, wait 1.25 hr, bake for 30min @ 350

Is this for flavor, or is there another purpose?


texts:
I've seen the ingredient list of a brand of paneer with an ingredient list of: Milk, Citric Acid. Ok, so what is the process from there? I have a few specific questions:

What kind of milk do you need?
Can you use pasteurized & homogenized vitamin D milk (whole milk)?
Where do you get citric acid? I've seen some suggestions to use crushed children's aspirin. Is there a better, easily accessible source?
Are there regional variances in paneer? The paneer I am used to, and love, states that it's from the Rajasthan region of India.
How do you actually make it?


texts: Using white vinegar in all types of cooking

texts: I'm curious if I use white vinegar in almost all types of cooking is there any problem? Deodorising fish and meat can I use vinegar while they are on heat? Can I use white vinegar while cooking vegetables? I heard use of vinegar while cooking will diminish the nutritional value of food. Is it true?


texts: Is eating cookie dough without egg safe?

texts: I enjoy eating raw cookie dough. As long as the dough doesn't have egg in it, is it safe to eat?


texts: Following Steven Raichlen's recipe, we used skirt steak to make fajitas on Sunday. I found the meat particularly chewy/tough and rather unpleasant overall. What can we do to improve the experience?


texts: For crackling, should I give pork a blast of super heat at the start or end of roasting?

texts: I will be slow roasting a whole pork shoulder tomorrow -- it's huge!  For most of the time the oven will be set to a fairly low temperature and the joint will be covered with foil.  However for a time I will remove the foil and turn the oven up to full temperature to get some good crunchy crackling developing.  My question is: should I do this crackling at the beginning or the end of the roasting?


texts: I often nibble on a cinnamon stick because first of all I like the taste and the smell and secondly it seems to help in weight loss. How comes that cinnamon sticks seem to taste sweet, even though there is no added sugar involved?


texts: Where to source Tapioca balls for Homemade Milk Tea?

texts:
Looking to make some bubble tea at home, not sure where to source the tapioca balls from.

Local grocery stores don't seem to have them.

Are these generally "balled" at home, or bought already in ball form?

I'm in the Toronto, Canada area.


texts: I have a pork fillet which I've cut in half and marinated in some honey and soy.  I heated a pan, and seared it on all sides, then put the pan in the oven at 180 deg C.  The question is, how long to leave it in the oven until it's cooked through?  I suspect it's about 20 minutes for the average fillet (3-4cm in diameter).  Any suggestions?


texts: Chocolate fondant vs. liquid chocolate cake

texts: What is the difference between chocolate fondant and liquid chocolate cake? They are quite similar and visually indistinguishable.


texts:
At home, my Santoku is used most, but there's no way I'm bringing that with me on my travels. In the event I don't find cooking utensils at respective hostels sanitary, I will opt to use a knife and a cork cutting board. But what type of knife should I bring? A serrated knife? my paring knife? Or should I get a utility knife? I plan on cooking entire meals for myself instead of going out to eat (to save money), and I definitely won't be cooking anything fancy.

I do have a multi tool, but I'd rather not let that touch food as it's been used on all sorts of things and there's always the chance i rust my multi tool.


texts:
It's become something of a quest for me to find a curry recipe that tastes like the curry you get from an Indian Takeaway.  I'm getting close with the consistency, but can't get the taste right.

I won't list the various and numerous things that I've tried, but most of the variations that I've tried include:

tomatoes (I've tried fresh, tinned and purée), onion, yoghurt (although this doesn't seem to affect the flavour, so I stopped using it), cumin (tried seeds and ground), mustard seeds, coriander (fresh and ground), ginger (fresh and ground), fenugreek (fresh and ground), garam masala.

I'm pretty sure that I'm missing one or two ingredients that restaurants and takeaways use as a matter of course, but I haven't been able to find it.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?

EDIT:

I didn't realise that they differ, but I'm in the UK - so that's the takeaway I'm referring to.

I appreciate curry's vary in taste, but there seems to be an underlying taste to all the tomato based ones.  For the purpose of clarity, I'm trying to make a Rogan Josh.

Here's a sample of the sort of thing that I've been trying:

4 - 5 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 Onion chopped
1 lb Diced Lamb
2 - 3 Garlic cloves crushed and chopped
2 tablespoons of Garam Masalla
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 inch root ginger grated
Oil

Slowly heat the mustard and cumin seeds until the pop, then add the onions and garlic and fry gently until soft.
Add the meat and up the heat to cook.  After about 10 mins add the other ingredients and leave for an hour or until the tomatoes have turned into sauce.

Another thing that I've tried is puréeing the garlic, spices, tomatoes and ginger and adding that after the onions are cooked.  This helps with the consistency, but doesn't really affect the taste.

EDIT:

The best single answer that I had to this was cream.  However, cloves did also make a difference.  I still haven't managed to get the takeaway flavour, but thanks for all the suggestions.


texts: I’ve made recipes that included turmeric, and I’ve read articles about its health benefits, but I’ve made the same recipes without turmeric without any noticeable taste difference - the lovely color was missing, but that’s about it. Is this because I’m using powdered turmeric from the grocery spice rack? Or does turmeric lack a definitive taste?


texts: Any benefit to buy high-quality meat for a mediocre cook?

texts:
Quite honestly, I consider myself a mediocre cook as I am consistently able to make decent dishes. Nothing I ever make is fantastic and almost never terrible.

The question is this: will my cooking benefit from buying higher-quality meat even though my cooking skills are not fantastic? What improvements could I expect to see?


texts: What is the most effective way to extract mint flavor for a Mojito?

texts: How can one prepare mint for a Mojito a way that will optimally extract its flavor? Are there any other factors that are important while making the drink?


texts: Preheat the Dutch oven (and the oven itself) for No-Knead Bread?

texts: I'm trying the America's Test Kitchen tweak of No-Knead Bread. The video segment on the website conflicts with the attached written recipe (sorry, paywalled). The video clearly says to preheat the oven and the Dutch oven before slipping the dough into the hot Dutch oven and baking it. The written recipe says to allow the second rise to happen in the Dutch oven and to place both in a cold oven, then turn the oven on to 425F (218C). Other places on the website say that the written information is kept up-to-date and supersedes any video segment, but oddly, it doesn't address the conflict in this recipe. I'll call ATK in the morning for clarification, but does anyone here have any experience that could shed some light on the subject? As a rule, should the Dutch oven for No-Knead Bread be preheated? Does it make sense to start baking the bread in a cold oven?


texts:
Say I get me some vanilla beans and, say, I am dabbling with pudding at the time. All recipes I've encountered require vanilla extract to be added to the pudding, my question is - if I want to use real vanilla beans: would that be better and how do I decide how much beans to use?

Also, how do I use them? Do I use just the beans or the entire pods?


texts: A salad chopper I can put in the dishwasher?

texts:
You probably know these kind of gadgets that help you cut vegetables quickly:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C7069MI/ref=s9_topr_hd_bw_bjuyUN_g79_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=CQ3ZZHAVEXQ376TYPCZK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2223171242&pf_rd_i=678514011

https://www.amazon.com/Onion-Chopper-Vegetable-Fruit-Salsa/dp/B01CSZQFW6/ref=sr_1_13?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1473544287&sr=1-13

I've had a couple of them over the years so I could make simple salads quickly, but I always ended up throwing them away after a few uses, for a simple reason: They're difficult to clean. You may be saving 3 minutes by using a fancy chopper rather than a knife and a cutting board, but then you're losing these 3 minutes right back because you can't put the chopper in the dishwasher, so you have to carefully clean all of its twists and turns. Some of them have parts that you can put in the dishwasher, but so far I haven't seen one where the main part, the one that has the fancy mechanism, can be put in the dishwasher.

Do you happen to know a salad chopper that could be put in the dishwasher entirely for easy cleaning?


texts: I put 4 raw chicken breasts is a crock pot in the fridge last night around 9pm. This morning at 6:50, not thinking, I removed the crock pot from the fridge and put it into the cooker. I left it off until 9:00 am and started it for an 8 hour low heat cook. Did that 2 hours ruin the chicken? The heavy ceramic pot was really cold and it was covered. I figured it stayed refrigerator-like cold for most of the morning.


texts: How are chemical leaveners affected by moisture and cool temperature?

texts: This is maybe a more precise way of asking, "what happens to left over batter in the fridge?" This question might have to approached per leavening agent.


texts: I don't have much regular butter on hand to make a roux. Is it a good idea to use clarified butter instead? What could go wrong?


texts: What is the best way to freeze apples? I am planning on cooking with them when they defrost.


texts:
I like to preserve as much as possible from my cooking and trash as little as possible.

With that in mind:

can chicken skeleton be made edible?
or is there a way for the bone marrow to be extracted and cooked?

Or does it exist a reason for why it is a bad idea to consume chicken skeleton?


texts: When I boil rice, they lump together after a while. How to prevent this?

texts:
I boil rice often and then store them. Next day when I take them out of the fridge, they are lumped together in one structure. I can heat them and then press them to separate them.

The same even happens within the pan in which I have cooked the rice, if I leave it alone for some 10s of minutes once the rice is ready.

What do I do to keep the rice separate?


texts: New bread maker asks: how to make a bread loaf stay 'firm and solid' without a loaf pan?

texts:
I've been trying to bake whole-wheat bread from recipes that call for a loaf pan.  The first rise works fine, but after I put the dough on the baking sheet for the second rise, it simply spreads out into a big flat shape that could not be considered a loaf.

I've been using almost 100% whole wheat (no white), and have been greasing the inside of the bowl that holds the dough for the first rise (so some oil enters the dough when I remove it for the second rise).  Could either of those have anything to do with it?

What I'm trying to do is simply make one of those round-type loaves (boule?) that is self-contained and solid for baking after the second rise.  Is my main error following a recipe that requires a loaf pan?  All the whole-grain recipes I've found require one…


texts: how to disarm a potentially pressurized whipping siphon?

texts:
My situation is much like spongefile's:

I'm using my iSi cream whipper for the first time, charging it as instructed out of sweat-deserving fear of pressurized items
Nothing is released when I push the lever, regardless of orientation, not even dripping liquid

Some differences:

the contents of the whipper are blended pressure-cooked beans whipped with 35% whipping cream + 3 iSi cartridges
when I charged the cartridges, leakage happened around the charge holder and some of the bean preparation leaked from around the device head
I later discovered that, after cleaning, I didn't reinsert the head gasket (but I'm not certain whether the valve and the perimeter of the head device head are blocked or not due to the potentially-drying bean contents)

I tried shaking it some more as well as the "release pressure" instructions that came with the manual to no avail - nothing comes out regardless of orientation.

Questions

How can I tell whether there's too much pressure or too little pressure? (Now asked as a separate question here.)
How can I safely remove the device head in case there is too much pressure and the valve and device head are blocked? (and, as spongefile asked, hat's the worst thing that can happen?)

Any pointers are enormously appreciated!


texts: Can I grow Mung lentil sprouts to leaves?

texts: I am growing mung daal (lentil) sprouts and they are at day 3 right now. They have white shoots but I am thinking of growing them into leaves so that I can use them in my sandwich. Is it ok to let them sprout for few more days to develop leaves?


texts: Is a reddy/brown coloured cod fillet ok to use?

texts:
I did an online shop last week and when it arrived the cod fillet that I had asked for looked slightly red so I asked for another packet but that was slightly off colour too looking slightly reddy/brown colour..I put both packets in the fridge as I am unsure whether to use them especially as I will be serving them to my 2.5 year old too..

Does anyone know if they are safe to eat??

Many Thanks :-)


texts: How do you properly wash hands after dealing with raw chicken?

texts: Whenever I get done dealing with raw chicken, I feel like I need to wash my hands repeatedly with hot water and soap. Is this going to remove the potential bacteria away or is there a different way I should be cleaning my hands?


texts: How can I save apples pieces that became black?

texts: Apple pieces became black very quickly. How can I save them?


texts: This question mentions macaron "feet".  What are macaron feet?


texts: How to saute dried and fresh mushrooms together?

texts:
I'm preparing a creamy mushroom pasta. The first step is sauteing and browning the mushrooms. The recipe calls for a variety mushrooms including chanterelles. Unfortunately, I can't find any fresh chanterelles so I opted for dried ones.

Considering the rest of the mushrooms will be fresh, what should I do? Should I rehydrate the dried mushrooms with water beforehand? Or let the moisture from the fresh mushrooms rehydrate them in the pan?


texts:
Do we really have to peel aubergine before cooking?
Or can we cook it without peeling?


texts: How much "compounded" asafoetida to use?

texts:
I have a UK-Indian recipe that calls for asafoetida (1/4 teaspoons). I have bought this:

This says it is "compounded" asafoetida powder. Is this any different from what would be used for my recipe? Do I use the amount called for, or less/more? The listed ingredients are gum arabic, wheat starch, and asafoetida.


texts: When slow cooking a whole chicken for curry, should I put the vegetables in at the same time or wait?

texts: Hi guys I need some quick advice. I am about to slow cook a whole chicken and I and one question: Should I put the vegetables in while its slow cooking or will it be too mushy?


texts: How do I get rid of plastic smell in rice / pasta?

texts:
I bought a number of bags of rice and pasta and stored it in a plastic bin in the basement. I recently grabbed one of those bags of rice and it smells gross, like plastic. Everything in the bin smells like that. I haven't cooked it yet but in the past when I've cooked food that's had a bad/odd plastic smell, it still had it after cooking and due to the smell/taste I threw it away. Currently, I've had the rice sitting out in a bowl for the past few days and the smell hasn't gone away.

What do I do for the food I have to get rid of the smell?
And without getting overly pricey, how should I store things like this for the future?

I really don't want to waste all this food but I can't bring myself to make it as it is right now.


texts: Why did my idli looked cooked from outside but was still mushy inside?

texts:
I sometimes try using Homemade batter for making idlis and dosas as I live in the perfect temperate climate which is required for fermenting the batter properly and wish to cut down on the preservatives which are found in ready to use batter packets.

Usually it comes nice and fluffy, sometimes a little hard due to more urad in it. But this time when I thought the batter was all perfect, my idlis totally disappointed me. In the steamer it looked as if it had cooked perfectly although it did not rise much, but to my disbelief when I removed it from the steamer's plate, and opened it up it was uncooked inside.

Can anyone suggest what am I doing wrong here? I ferment the batter overnight. Is it less? Will it not become rotten if I keep it outside for 24 hours? I know its like a rocket science which either one gets it or not, but I am looking for a desi method here which will not disappoint me everytime!

P.S. I just realised that I also changed my steaming process. Do you think that could have changed something?

Earlier I was using a pot like this over the flame:

Now I use an electric steamer and keep the idli plate in the steamer section, something like this:


texts: Soaking pulses overnight: safety vs refrigeration

texts:
When soaking pulses for long periods, is refrigeration required?

Specifically: I have a large volume of dried red kidney beans I will be cooking with tomorrow. The refrigerator is already filled with other ingredients (mostly meat). Is it safe to leave the beans out on the side to soak (ambient temperature +19C) or should I be looking more refrigerator space?


texts: Need Help Identifying Characteristics of Vinegar in a Carolina BBQ Sauce

texts:
A year ago I made my first Carolina-style BBQ sauce (specifically a Piedmont-style sauce). It was perfect, exactly what I was looking for in every way. I've never been able to replicate it.

The first batch was made with whatever red-cider vinegar we had in the cupboard; I didn't take notice of the brand, but I believe it was a supermarket generic brand, possibly either Giant or Harris-Teeter. The second batch I made was very, very harsh, and through trial and error I determined that it was the brand of vinegar that I used (Heinz red cider vinegar). The next batch was made with red wine vinegar and it was much better, but still not as good as the first batch (I still have a tiny bit of the first batch left). My latest batch is even better still, using the Giant-brand red cider vinegar -- but it's still not as good as that first batch.

I don't have words for why the first batch is better, other than "less harsh". Logically I know that vinegars can vary tremendously, and if I use a store brand, that will likely vary even more from batch to batch than a name brand; how can I make something that consistently excels if I can't define what I'm looking for?

My husband jokingly told me to find someone with a mass spectrometer, but I'm seriously considering it. Is there a better way? How do I go about figuring out what is different about that first batch? My supply is rapidly dwindling, just a few tablespoons, now.


texts: How can I stop my eggs from cooking when I make lemon/lime curd?

texts:
I used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-lime-curd/.  I added a lot of the hot liquid to temper the eggs and they looked good and then I added the mixture to the pot and whisked but the egg whites still cooked and I had to strain the curd to get it all out.

Is there a better way to avoid this from happening?


texts: Chorizo sausage as a ground chorizo substitute?

texts:
I have a recipe that calls for ground chorizo, but I don't own a meat grinder and my local grocery store only sells chorizo sausages. Now, I guess I could mince the sausages and maybe achieve the same effect, but my question is, if I remove the casing from the sausage, will the insides essentially be ground chorizo?

edit: here's the recipe, http://www.johnsonville.com/recipe/chorizo-mac-skillet.html, it specifically calls for Johnsonville brand ground chorizo, so I'm unsure if it's Mexican or Spanish chorizo. That brand unfortunately isn't sold at my grocery store.


texts: How can I avoid an underbake in a bundt pan?

texts: I've made a Cardamom Cream bundt cake twice now and both times it's dense and under baked after an hour baking time.  I'm thinking of whipping the egg whites to lighten the batter/cake than folding into the dry ingredients and cream.  Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.


texts: Lasagna won't cook properly in oven with no lower exposed element :(

texts: My new wall oven with the hidden lower element will not bake lasagna properly, no matter what I do. The cheeses and sauce don't meld into the pasta well. It takes forever to get the center of the lasagna hot but the pasta noodles toward outer pan are cooked to mush. The middle remains cold for entirely too long. The edges of the lasagna turn very dark before middle gets warm. This is so upsetting because I make a wonderful lasagna but can't cook it correctly as I have many times before in double exposed element ovens. The instructions in the manual simply say you may need to turn up the temp alittle when using pyrex. Does anyone have any advise on rack placement and temperature adjustment with this type of oven? I cooked it according to recipe which calls for 30-40 mins, covered at 375. Then uncovered for 15-20 mins. I've been using the middle rack. I miss my old school oven! Thank you in advance.


texts:
I want to cook a soft polenta. I would like the consistency to be like pudding - just firm enough to hold a shape (it doesn't flow out of the spoon if you take a heaped spoonful), but not firm enough to be cut into pieces. My ingredients will be cornmeal (not cornflour; it seems to be ~600 µm grain size), milk and olive oil. I am looking for the correct ratio by weight to achieve this consistency.

If you don't have a ratio for this case, but know a ratio for a similar polenta (e.g. cornmeal + stock) which gives this consistency, I'd be glad to know this one too, I think I can get the tweaking right by myself.


texts: I usually buy chicken about 1.2 kilograms at a time. I eat half of that in a day. I store the rest in the refrigerator. The usual recipe is breaded chicken and as such, requires pounding the chicken. When done once, pounding chicken isn't that hard or that of a hassle. When done regularly though, I feel that things can be done more efficiently. Is there a problem with pounding chicken at least a day or so before breading and cooking them (such as the chicken easily drying)?


texts:
I’ve started boiling eggs again after a long time.  I’m simply adding the eggs, bringing to a hard boil then light boil for 10 minutes.
I notice the outside of the egg yolk turns grey.
The outside of the white part feels like there’s a film on it but and it’s not as soft as the inner white part.

Does this grey tint mean its overcooked and is it possible to boil eggs such that the egg yolk surface will always be yellow?
Is it possible to get the surface of the white part as soft as the inner white part?

Thanks


texts: Is canned “tomato sauce” already cooked?

texts:
The can says the ingredients are tomato puree, garlic, etc.  I suspect that cooking turns puree into sauce.  But then why does it change again when simmered for half an hour with ground meat and chili seasonings?

The meat's already browned prior to adding the tomato sauce, so I was thinking that we wait until the tomato is cooked. But my wife says the tomato is already cooked.  So what is happening, and what do we call this when cooking?

To reiterate, suppose the components are not “raw”.  But you still have to simmer it all together for 30 minutes.  What do you call that, since you’re not moving from a state of being uncooked to being cooked?


texts: How long do uncut, fresh strawberries last in the refrigerator?

texts: How long do uncut organic strawberries last in the refrigerator when stored in the original packaging?


texts: What would be the result of using chicken livers when making liverwurst?

texts: Is liver just liver or is there some basic difference in beef, swine, chicken. If I take a liverwurst recipe and use chicken liver instead of pork am I gong to get the same results within + or - 10%. Is liver from a shoat the same taste as a 60 kg sow?


texts:
I have 3.5 pounds of 93% lean ground beef. I want to easily cook it like this:

Put tinfoil on a pan.
Put all of the ground beef on it.
Put it in the oven preheated to 450F for 30 minutes.

Is this safe?

Any remaining questions:

Why should it be covered? When is it necessary to cover food with aluminum foil during baking/roasting?
Is there a problem with letting it cook in the fat?


texts: Can I turn coarse coarnmeal into fine with a blender?

texts:
I wonder if running your cornmeal (dry) through a blender for a couple of minutes might break it down a little? Like when you want finer sugar.

Note: taken from a deleted answer to How do I eliminate cornmeal grittiness?


texts: How to remove mutton smell while cooking?

texts: Some people do not like specific smell of mutton in curry. What I do to remove the smell of mutton while cooking?


texts: Why stirring an over-fermented sourdough starter caused it to rise a second time to about double the original size?

texts: After feeding my sourdough starter, I let it rise to about 2.5x the original height. It eventually collapsed. 24 hours later, after it was well over fermented, I stirred the starter with a spoon. It then suddenly grew back to 2x in about 1 to 2 hours, without adding any water or flour. Can anyone explain this phenomenon?


texts:
I’ve been trying a UK recipe that worked for me last year (I live in Canada). It’s a simple:

220g butter
220g caster sugar
4 eggs (220g weight in shells)
220g self raising flour
lemon zest
3-4 tbsp elderflower cordial

For 6” tins at 350F for 40-45 mins in middle of oven. I’ve also tried to scale it up to 9” tins. The issue I’m having is, 1) the creamed butter and sugar either curdles or is on the verge of curdling with the last egg addition, despite beating the batter really well between additions; 2) the cakes deflate in the middle to form craters during cooking (so before I even take them out of the oven); 3) after removing the outside rings to level the cakes, they are obviously dense, but the flavour is great. I’ve checked my oven temp with an oven thermometer, I’ve tried adding a little less egg, I’ve tried beating the butter and sugar for longer, only just incorporating the flour to avoid over mixing, adding a little extra baking powder and cooking for less time. STILL the cakes sink in the middle and come out dense (I get that this type of cake is more dense anyway, but I can’t stop the middle sinking)! Any ideas or advice would be amazing! I’m trying to make a friends wedding cake with their fave recipe that I made last year! But it’s stressing me out that I can’t seem to fix this :( Thanks so much.


texts: My 3-year-old and I were sharing our traditional mix of Christmas nuts. He's getting pretty good at cracking them open by himself, and wanted to know what the part he eats is called. Anyone have an authoritative answer?


texts: Is there a reason to NOT use no-stick spray (Pam) for handling dough?

texts: I've just started branching out into the more interesting and challenging breads. I'm not particularly skilled at handling dough and I don't have great coordination in my hands. To avoid using too much flour to keep dough from sticking, I've taken to using Pam. It doesn't take much at all and it works like a charm. It makes me wonder why it's never recommended in recipes or cooking shows. Is there some reason I'm not seeing? Maybe something about the lecithin? For what it's worth, I've made maybe 10 loaves since starting to use Pam instead of flour, and so far it seems to be working fine.


texts: Why should I put a whole onion in the turkey fryer?

texts:
Happy Thanksgiving! I am getting ready to fry a turkey and the instructions say that I should put a whole onion in with the turkey and oil.

What would be the purpose of this?

Thanks!


texts:
This may be an odd question, but someone told me it's better to store your eggs upside down (the pointy side down).
The explanation was that there's an air bubble on the bottom of the egg that wants to go up.
If you put it upside down, the pressure on the membrane is less and it stays longer.

Is there any truth about this?


texts:
I use my pressure cooker a lot and for one recipe I'm practically bathing a few pork loins in white wine. I know that pressure cooking only reduces liquid by less than five percent, and I know that cooking only reduces alcohol by evaporation not breaking down of molecules (or at least I think so). So does pressure cooking only reduce alcohol content by ~5% (since the stuff that evaporates will probably be mostly alcohol? Or will the alcohol content in the steam be much higher? Even in that case, if I let it sit before releasing pressure, most of the steam will turn back into liquid.

Basically, can I add "helps get you tipsy" to the list of my InstantPot's many features?


texts:
I have an old set of nonstick aluminum pans that have gained scratches and lost their non-stick coating over the past several years.
There's nothing physically wrong with them except for those few microns of Teflon that are flaking off.

I'm wondering if I can scrub off the non-stick coating and season the pan as I do my cast iron skillet (coat with oil, then apply high heat in the oven).

I'd need to remove the handle when seasoning it, but that shouldn't be a problem as they're attached with screws, not rivets.

I've found some opinions in a quick Google search (1, 2) but nothing very convincing or thorough.

So - can I get that beautiful dark glossy patina on my aluminum pan, or is it destined to be a food magnet?


texts: Is there any way to make an egg pancake without sugar or white flour?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to make a healthy breakfast pancake that I can put in a container and take to work with me.

Most pancakes need white flour and sugar; but is there something that can be made with oatmeal or something similar?  (Low-GI carbs basically)


texts: What can I change about this bread recipe to lower its glycemic index?

texts:
I'm starting with a recipe from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads that uses an overnight autolyse of a soaker (whole wheat flour, your choice of other grains, salt, and water) and a refrigerated  biga (whole wheat flour, a small bit of commercial yeast, and water). The recipe is for a hearth bread. I grind my own hard white wheat on the finest grind my KitchenAid mixer attachment can manage.

I'm looking to increase the fiber and protein content. The options I'm looking at in the "other grain" category include

psyllium husk: I am having a great deal of difficulty finding any instructions on baking with psyllium husk outside of gluten free baking, which I am obviously not doing. I am most concerned with how the psyllium might impact the water content of the recipe and how much is too much, given how small a standard serving is. I don't even know if using psyllium husk is a good idea given that no one seems to have tried it before.
chia seeds: like psyllium, there aren't a lot of resources on using chia in wheat breads. I found one website that said it worked in commercial applications as up to 5% of the bread without changing much. In my recipe that works out to about 1 oz. Does that make sense?
wheat bran: I have so far found one recipe that used a cup of wheat bran to 2 cups of white flour and 1/2 cup of whole grain mix. It seems like I can safely use a good portion of wheat bran, but I'm unsure of exactly how much
vital wheat gluten: I have always seen a suggestion to use about 1 1/2 tsp. of wheat gluten per 1 c. of wheat flour for increased wheat dough elasticity. How high can I push the wheat content before it gets to be too much? My recipe allows for the "other grains" to be up to 33% of the baker's percentage. Could I use the whole thing on bran or would that taste like sandpaper?
flax seed meal: I've seen people online adding 1/4 to 1/3 c. of flax to bread recipes. Does that sound about right?

Am I missing any high fiber or high protein seeds or grains that I should consider (like a bean, perhaps?).


texts: Should beef be cooked before adding to the pot for Stroganoff?

texts:
I'm following a recipe for Beef Stroganoff in a slow cooker.  The recipe does not say whether I should cook the stewing beef at all before adding it to the slow cooker.

I tend to thoroughly brown meat for things like chili or adding it to stir-fry, but should I be doing this for stroganoff*?  Or should I add it to the slow cooker raw?

*The question of 'how much browning' is mostly answered here, though if Stroganoff is different enough from stew to make a difference, please answer as such.


texts:
Could you make matzoon from lactose free milk?
Or, are sour bacteria eating it away to unproblematic amount in terms of lactose intolerance?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matzoon


texts: Used too much lemon juice in Mediterranean salad

texts: I accidentally used a tablespoon too much lemon juice in a Mediterranean salad. The other ingredients are cucumber, tomato, mint, onion, and olive oil, with salt and pepper to taste. Oh my GOSH is it tart. How can I balance the acidity without compromising the flavor profile? Thanks in advance.


texts: Will colored shredded coconut show up in brownies?

texts:
My coworkers would like me to make faux "special" brownies.  The requirements are that the brownies look the part and still taste good but don't have any actual "herbs" in them.  My first thought was crushed dried mint leaves.  We also came up with colored coconut.  I'm going to try the mint leaves, but will the food coloring hold up on the coconut in the brownies?  Or would I be better off mixing undyed coconut into the brownie with some dyed coconut lightly mixed on top?  Or are there any other suggestions I could use?  I also thought of cat nip but that doesn't seem like it would taste good.

(I'm using code just in case I can't put the real word. LOL)


texts:
When thawing meat in cold water, why must one change the water regularly? I've heard two contradictory explanations:

The water warms to match room temperature, which is unsafe.
The water cools to match the meat, and no longer thaws it efficiently.

Which is true? Or is it something else entirely?


texts:
Is there a rule of thumb for removing spiciness from a dish, caused by things like jalepenos, cayenne pepper, black pepper, red pepper, szechuan peppercorn, etc?

I have read that honey and sugar may combat the spiciness in asian sauces, but have not heard of other ways to remove the kick found in many other dishes.


texts: Why does canelé batter have to be made 24 hours in advance?

texts:
I am experimenting with making canelé. All recipes I've found call for the batter to be made and left in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before baking, but none say why.

One guess is that maybe the batter needs to reach a certain temperature get the right consistency while baking (caramelized exterior and moist interior). But I don't think that it would need anywhere close to 24 hours to reach the fridge temperature.

Does anyone know the reasoning or the origin of the 24 hour time, or if it really makes a difference between leaving them in for, say, 6 hours?


texts:
I made this biscotti recipe yesterday - Fruity Christmas Biscotti. It contains plain flour, baking powder, mixed spice, golden caster sugar and eggs. The recipe also calls for raisins, dried cherries and nuts which I substituted dried cranberries and white chocolate chips for.

I love the recipe but it was a bit hard - I know biscotti is supposed to be hard but is there any way I can make it chewier or softer? I'm really looking for an ingredient to add, or to change the quantity of something that is already in the recipe rather than storage suggestions like putting an apple in the box with the biscuits.


texts:
Over the years, I have developed a recipe that is effectively aloo gobi and saag aloo mixed together: Potato, cauliflower, broccoli and spinach curry. (I used to make it with sweet potato, but to "please" all my diners, I've switched to regular potatoes...which is also more authentic.)
Anyway, the curry gravy is fried black mustard seeds, browned-off onions, ground fenugreek, ground turmeric, hot chilli powder, ground coriander, diced ginger, red chillies, dried curry leaves and chopped tomatoes. The vegetables are roasted and added to the gravy after it's stewed for a while (20-40 minutes, say). Then I mix through the spinach at the end.
When I first started making this, I remember it tasting better than it does now. It always tastes bland, nowadays. If there's any spice, it's mostly from the ginger; even if I minimise its quantity (or remove it altogether) and focus instead on the fenugreek and chilli. I roast the vegetables specifically for the Malliard reaction and to sweeten them up, but it doesn't help much. Often, the overwhelming flavour is the tomato, but the gravy dries out and burns if you don't use enough.
It's quite frustrating and, because there are so many variables, I'm not sure where I'm going wrong. I have tried adding more spice; it doesn't really make a difference. I have tried leaving the gravy to "infuse" for longer; that helps to a point, but with diminishing returns. My spices are just supermarket spices -- nothing fancy -- but relatively new, so shouldn't have lost their potency. Should I toast them first? Salting the vegetables doesn't make any difference. Some recipes I've seen post-fry the vegetables to crisp them up, but I don't see how that can work with a gravy-based curry.
What's the secret to a good vegetable-based curry?


texts:
My pecan pie used to be firm years ago.  Now going by the same recipe it's always runny.  This time I added an extra egg, stirred it less and with a wood spoon so as not to get air and foam in the mix.

The full recipe: stir 4 beaten eggs into 1 cup karo, add 2T flour, 1/2c white sugar, 1/2c dark brown sugar, stir, add a pinch of salt, 1t vanilla, 1 1/2c pecans, 2T butter, mix gently. Pour in a 9" unbaked pie shell and baked at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

The only think I have changed from the way I used to make it getting a firm filling is using dark brown sugar instead of all white sugar. I have never cooked the filling before pouring into the pie shell.  I have tried adding more flour and it didn't help. How do I fix this?


texts: Replacement for the ring seal or gasket in a blender

texts:
I have a Moulinex blender and the seal ring or gasket is torn. I have searched everywhere to get a replacement. is there a replacement or is Oster the only seal rings I can get. Is there a DIY solution.
Thanks


texts: How can I use a "cook for 3-4 hours" slow cooker recipe when I'm away for 8+ hours?

texts: I've run across several slow cooker recipes that call for a slow-cooker time of 3 - 4 hours on low heat.  I'd love to use these, but on work days I'm out of the house for at least 8 hours.  What can I do to adjust for the extra 4 hours when I'm just not around to manage the slow-cooker?


texts: How to keep boudin (blood sausage) slices from disintegrating when pan-frying?

texts:
I want to pan-fry some boudin slices and then put them on slices of baguette with some apple compote.

I have cooked boudin before and often, the boudin was at least a bit disintegrated by the end. I really need those slices to stay together and I was wandering what can I do to prevent it.


texts: Does shaping dough require punching/folding it?

texts:
Newbie baker here with a pizza dough recipe that says this:

  Mix and ... allow to rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.
  Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and divide into four even balls. Place each in a covered quart-sized deli container or in a zipper-lock freezer bag. Place in refrigerator and allow to rise at least 2 more days, and up to 4. Remove from refrigerator, shape into balls, and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before baking.

I understand that you can either punch or fold dough before shaping it and both have different benefits. This recipe doesn’t mention this step, though. Is it just supposed to be understood that I’ll have to punch it before shaping or do they intend that I somehow divide and shape it without knocking the dough down. Also, would I punch the dough down twice? Once when dividing and again right before shaping?


texts: Is dry rub necessary in making bbq ribs?

texts:
Normally when I make bbq ribs in the oven at home, I have to prepare the ribs approximately a day ahead. I usually cover the ribs with a dry rub mixture (made of garlic powder, paprika, sugar, salt, pepper, etc.), wrap it up in foil and let it sit in the fridge for about a day, lather it in bbq sauce and stick it in the oven. While this method produces quite delicious ribs, it does require a lot of effort and planning. My questions are:
Is a dry rub really necessary in making bbq ribs?
Is there an alternative to this dry rub?
Will the ribs taste the same if I just lather them in bbq sauce and cook then straight away?


texts: Are there food safety issues at a teppan restaurant?

texts:
My family & I recently went out to a teppanyaki restaurant. The food was great and we had no issues with food poisoning, but it got me wondering about their food safety.

The chef cooked everything (seafood, vegetables, fried rice, and chicken) on a large griddle. During the cooking, the chef pull a knife out of a holder on his belt, and chopped the various ingredients in place, on the griddle. He did this numerous times, including with the chicken he was grilling. It seems like he chopped partially cooked chicken (still very pink - looked mostly raw to me) and then used the same knife to chop other ingredients. How is that not a food safety concern?

To be fair, we have eaten at the same restaurant many times, it has passed inspection by the county environmental health office (and the certificate was posted, as required).

How can a chef use a knife to cut (mostly) raw chicken on a hot griddle, then turn around and use the same knife to cut other ingredients, without contaminating them?


texts: Can you hone a knife properly by using another knife?

texts: I recall seeing this in movies. Can it be called the poor man's steel?


texts:
I understand that the ingredients are not even nearly the same
If making a bonito dashi, grams-for-grams, how much Hon Dashi granules to substitute for bonito flakes?
This could partly be worked out from dashi packet or powder package recipes, but the powders and packets are not just dried bonito flake extracts
I do understand all answers will be approximations, and approximations are appreciated
thanks!


texts: I was wondering how to neutralize melter honey into more of a straight sugar base and get the acid levels down.


texts: How to reduce the eggs from over burnt at the sides in a wok?

texts:
I usually throw 3 eggs in a bowl and stir (also known as scrambled eggs) until it become a mixture, then I throw into a wok and fry it. However, I always get the sides (the perimeter or the edges) burnt.

So, how do I prevent the sides from getting over cooked?

I want to cook like the picture below:

I don't want to over fried the edge (or the sides or the perimeter or the outer circle) as shown in the following picture:


texts: Difference between conventional oven with fan assisted and convection with fan assisted?

texts:
For all my recipes I have been baking using convention plus fan assisted option and my bakes turn out to be good. But now I have moved to new house where there is a convection oven. I tried my cookie recipe with convection plus fan option, my bake turn out over cooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside. What is the difference between convention oven with fan assisted and convection with fan assisted?

After googling for the difference, I am really confused whether convention oven can have fan? But I am sure the SMEG model I used before says "Conventional cooking with fan assisted".


texts: Should a [Ceramic] mug be left covered or uncovered during the tea bag steeping process?

texts:
I make tea by submerging a tea-bag in a ceramic mug, covering the mug for about 5 minutes, and then removing the tea bag.

My question is: Is it advantageous to cover the mug during the steeping process, or should I leave the mug uncovered while it is steeping?


texts: How to prevent sticking and get a nice searing on scallops

texts:
When I am searing scallops, they often stick in the pan and most of the time, they are very hard to turn.

I use only a little oil 1-2 tablespoons.

Am I not using enough?


texts:
I'm trying to cook beef short-ribs sous-vide at 140° for 72 hours.  Imagine my shock this morning when I went into the kitchen and found the machine had turned itself off!  It could not have been for long because the temp had only dropped to 80° so given the heat in my kitchen I'm guessing it was only off for an hour or two.

I've since set it back to 140° for at least another 36 hours of cooking...but any damage done from this drop?  I'm more worried about bacteria and the like than any effect it will have on the meat.


texts: How to get rid of extra flour on homemade pizza dough and tortillas

texts:
I make my own pizza dough and I just made my own tortillas for the first time.  Both are great, my family and friends like them.

However in both cases I roll them out on a floured cloth and they all wind up still having flour on them at the time of baking or cooking. I blow them off but there is still flour on them after cooking.

Am I using to much flour?

OR should I just spray them with a little water mist?


texts:
Are these mushrooms still edible? The colour of the gills changed.

I'm not sure what kind of mushrooms they are. They're not store-bought though, my mother picked them from the forest. She also washed them straight away. They've been stored in the refrigerator for 5 days. No off-odour. Gill's colour changed from light brown to dark brown-black.


texts:
I bought about 6 lbs of pork butt, cooked that up and made awesome chili. Now I have about 1 lb or so of pork trimmings, the fat, mostly white in color.

What can I do with this?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How does one find recipes given an ingredient rather than the recipe name?

I am a beginner cooker.

I have just cooked Carbonara Pasta, and I'm left with three or four egg whites.

Instead of throwing them out, what can be made with them?


texts:
In the following recipe, lemon thyme is used. Unfortunately, I can't find it in my local grocery store.

1) Can I substitute thyme + lemon zest? If so, how much?

2) The recipe notes rosemary and lavender both work and these are significantly easier to find. If I wanted to use these, how much would I use?

I'd be interested in knowing the answer for dried and fresh herb substitutes.

Despite the recipe using metric measurements and spelling, I am American, so if this stuff isn't common in the US, it would be good to know that.

"Lemon Thyme Shortbread (Makes about 20 fingers)

You can add all sorts of flavourings to shortbread, from vanilla and cocoa powder to hazelnuts and almonds. Herbs are good too: rosemary and lavender both work well, as does lemon thyme, which gives the biscuits a lovely delicate perfume.

340 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
225 g unslated butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
140 g caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
2 tbsp finely chopped lemon thyme

Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt and set aside. Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Turn the mixer to its lowest setting and, with the motor running, add the lemon thyme, then the flour, a little at a time. Stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together. Shape into a flattened ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 deg C/ Gas 4.
For shortbread fingers, gently pack the dough into a lightly buttered Swiss roll tin (roughly 30 x 20 cm). Score the surface to mark out the fingers and prick all over with a fork. If you want to make circular biscuits, roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to 5-7 mmm thick, then stam out the rounds using a 6 cm cutter. Transfer to 2 lightly buttered baking sheets, leaving a little space between each biscuit, then prick them with a fork.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale golden, checking often as ovens vary and the shortbread can easily burn. Cool in the tin or on the sheet until firm, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sprinkle with caster sugar, if you like, and store in an airtight container."

Source: Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course, pg. 279


texts: What distinguishes pork sausage from ground pork?

texts:
Let me preface this by saying that I am basically a complete novice when it comes to cooking. So I apologize if this is a silly question.

I sometimes like to cook things using ground pork sausage, but much of the time it's nearly impossible to find in the local grocery stores. However, they always seem to have ground pork, which I've considered using as a substitute. I know it wouldn't cause my kitchen to explode or anything like that ;-) but I'm curious, what's the difference? What exactly am I putting in my food by using the sausage that I'd miss out on if I used regular ground pork?


texts: Do I have to use butter in a "butter yellow cake?"

texts: My boyfriend wasn't looking at the store and picked up a "Butter yellow" cake mix instead of "Golden Yellow." Do we have to make it with butter or can we just leave it out and just use oil instead? Or do we have to go buy the right cake mix. We don't want to be left with a box of cake we won't use


texts:
I have made a mutton curry with onion, tomato, garam masala and chilli powder, after marinating the mutton in coriander, garlic and ginger.
However, the coriander in the marination has been excess and hence the curry is overpowered by coriander flavor. How can I get rid of this excess coriander flavor? Help!


texts: How to dry homemade pork sausages with proper humidity and temperature?

texts:
I am new to this and am attempting to dry some pork sausages. I was told to add a quarter pound of salt for every ten pounds of pork meat, which I did (I used ordinary table salt). I have the sausages hanging in my storage cellar which now stands at 9° C and 48% humidity.

What temperature and humidity do I actually need?  Is there a "magic number" to get the best results?  And how can I add more humidity if needed?


texts:
Is 'honey in crystallized form' the same as 'raw honey'?

Subquestion: can heated/pasteurized/decrystallized honey ever crystallize again?


texts: Why does honey stored with the comb last longer?

texts: I recently discovered that honey stored in containers with the comb does not seem to crystallize (or certainly not as fast as when stored without).  What is the mechanism that causes this? Is there a real downside to storing with the comb?


texts: I smoked a brisket last night and it got finished (up to 200F) faster than expected.  Took it out to rest wrapped in tinfoil in a cooler.  Fell asleep and it rested for 6 to 6.5 hrs.  Is this too long for food safety? We aren't planning on eating for another 6 hours. Should I refrigerate?  If so whats the best way to reheat and serve?


texts:
I saw some posts about lamb. but they were related to lamb leg steaks, etc.

Any way, how long should i grill these lamb steaks?

I want them to be a medium? Or should they be served rare (i'm not sure how they're typically served in restaurants) ?

They're about 1/2" thick and they're  (two) both about 0.7 lbs each.


texts:
In many recipes I've come across the term "raw smoked gammon" (sometimes also "raw smoked ham"). English is not my primary language, so such terms are sometimes difficult. This site has an answer on what "gammon" is (meat from pig's hind leg), but I'm baffled by the "raw smoked" part. How can something be raw and smoked at the same time?

The way I understand these terms:

If it's raw then, well, it's raw - it hasn't been processed in any way. The butcher cut a piece off a freshly slaughtered animal and delivered it to the store, probably cooled (but not frozen). You can't eat raw meat, you need to process it first.

Smoked on the other hand means that it's been processed with smoke, all the bad bacteria have been killed, and it's safe to eat. Also, it's the very opposite of "raw".

So... WAT?

Added: also, I realize that such things might be regional. Foodstuffs that are common in one country might be nonexistent in another. Perhaps this is one of such cases, so I'll really appreciate a detailed explanation. :)


texts: Baking a pie in air grill / electrical convection oven?

texts:
I got a following device, apparently not too common one. :) Marketed here as air grill, but also named electrical convection oven.

It took me a bit of trial and error to learn to cook meat in it (it dries out / overcooks at times meant for normal oven). Once I got that nailed I decided to try baking and results had been total meh. And instruction is of very meh quality and self-contradicting.

Recipe

Very simple apple pie, popular around here. 4 eggs, glass of sugar, glass of flour, sliced apple. Mix with mixer, pour on apple slices in metal form.

Attempt 1

30 min at 170C, following "pie with a crust" estimate from instruction.

Was firm on top, but completely liquid inside. Tried to keep more time at 170C, wasn't really doing it, cranked up to 210C and after like hour total of torturing got it more or less baked inside and burnt on top. Obviously with meh result.

Attempt 2

Cover with foil, 15 min at 210C, then 25 min at 180C, following "if you have trouble baking liquid dough through" in instructions.

Seemed a little more even inside, but still very raw, including on top. Kept for another 20 min at 180C for top to firm up and inside more or less baked. Also very meh.

Course of action for third attempt?

Any recommendations on time/temperature I should try?

Or should I just give up on baking in it? Marketing here tends to greatly overestimate what device is good for (on paper everything sold is miracle device, replacing rest of the kitchen).


texts: Soaking starches in water for better frying

texts: I'm going to make some sweet potato fries here shortly and I'm using a technique that I saw on television.  I cut up my sweet potatoes into fries and I have been letting them soak in water.   My intent is that some of the starch will dissolve into the water and help the fries crisp up better.  Has anyone else tried this?


texts: White grains (of fat or egg whites?) on chocolate mousse

texts:
Every time I make chocolate mousse it gets delicious and essentially fine in every aspect. But there is one thing that annoys me: it is always full of slightly perceptible white grains/flakes of what seems to be the cream or the whipped egg whites.
My suspects:

I'm mixing the ganache part of the mixture too early with the whipped whites (meringue), so that the whites may be getting slightly cooked in the process;
or, maybe, the fat content (35%) of the cream I'm using is too high (may be chance, since I don't remember details, but I once used a 20% fat cream and this problem didn't happen, even though the resulting mousse was not as delicious and firm).

To clarify, I make it by carefully mixing a 50/50 ganache (100g 30%-35% cream and 100g 40%-50% cocoa chocolate) with meringue (3 egg whites whipped until reaching the propper meringue aspect, then mixed with 6 tablespoons of white sugar).

the white grains slightly noticeable on the top of the mousse here are all around, in and on it, and they are not air bubbles. (Sorry, cellphone camera is kinda horrible)


texts: Why do brassicas like cauliflower or brussels sprouts sometimes taste bitter, and (how) can I avoid it?

texts: Cauliflower or Brussels Sprouts sometimes taste slightly bitter after cooking. Is this some mistake in the way they are cooked or is that just the vegetables themselves?


texts: Soaked chickpeas overnight 12 hours not plump

texts:
The dried chickpeas had two methods for soaking. Boiling and soaking, about 2hrs, and soaking overnight.

I placed chickpeas in bowl of water overnight in fridge for about 12 hrs. They still seam "hard". How soft are chickpeas to get when soaked overnight? Can chickpeas get "old"?


texts:
I clean my own squids and I want to preserve the ink for later use.
I was wondering what to do with the ink sac. Should I collect the ink in a little jar and freeze it?

Or how long will it last in the refrigerator?

Any ideas?


texts:
I bought some Black Diamond cheddar today and it came in a large wedge of black wax. By large I mean it was maybe 12" x 8" x 8" thick. A really big wedge. Also, it looked like it was not cut from a wheel, but was actually aged in a wedge-shaped form.

I went to the Black Diamond web site to find out what kind of cheddar it was, but I could not find it described on the web site (they only had the cheap supermarket-style cheeses on their web site, not the premium cheeses).

Does anybody know what kind of reserve this might have been? 5 year, 10 year, what?


texts:
I intend to try and make Crème brûlée.

However, instead of baking it in a bain-marie I intend to cook it in my Kenwood Cooking Chef, which uses induction heating to cook the ingredients right in the mixing bowl. I can set the temperature with 2 degree precision and do not intend to actually melt sugar on top of the creme or pour it into rameskins. That is why I would benefit from knowing the exact temperature that the creme actually "bakes" in, or in other words what temperature I should cook it at in order for it to be able to set after putting it in the refrigerator (if it would be needed?) and be edible.


texts: Can you make thin crispy dosa without urad dal?? Can I use any other lentils in their place?

texts:
I live in Finland and I can't find urad dal in the city where I live.

Can I make thin crispy dosa with different beans?


texts: If you make cheese with starter culture and rennet is the whey that is a byproduct of this process safe to drink? I have heard from some that there does exist some who are fond of drinking this but I'm not sure if the whey from rennet is safe?


texts: Chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flour

texts:
I don't have all-purpose flour at hand right now, so I'm thinking of making chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flour.

What difference will this make in terms of texture/taste/cooking time? Also, if I sift the flour using a very fine sieve, will it make the cookies better?


texts: Induction cookware not working with some induction cookers

texts: We have a Kitchen Aid cooktop and bought a 7 piece Kitchen Aid cookware set.  Six pieces work fine, one does not.  The 1.5 Q pan will not work on the cooktop.  But it works on the Panasonic induction hot plate that we had purchased prior to getting the cooktop.  It is magnetic and the concavity of the bottom is slightly less than the 2Q pan.  I am guessing it is a manufacturing defect, but I cannot figure what it might be.  Any ideas?


texts: the whistle on the kettle keeps popping off

texts: Is it safe to use Teflon tape on a kettle whistle? I have a stovetop stainless steel kettle with a whistle so I don't walk away and forget it. The two parts of the whistle keep falling off (one outside and the other into the kettle). Is it ok to put the two pieces together with the Teflon tape between them?


texts: How does removing the germ of garlic help with breath/digestion?

texts:
I have recently heard from a friend who is a chef, that removing the germ in a garlic clove helps with reducing the garlic breath and also avoids digestive problems some people have when eating garlic. This was also mentioned here (e.g. https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/30853)

He could not remember where he read it, but he said it has something to do with an enzyme that is only contained in the germ, hence you should remove it.

Is this true and does anybody have some evidence or further reading on this matter?


texts: What is the difference between "water/drink enhancers" and cordial?

texts:
I was doing a bit of internet browsing today, and I came across this image (linked rather than embedded because of copyright), which shows a bottle of hand disinfectant along with three bottles labelled as "drink enhancer" or "liquid water enhancer".
This got me wondering: down here in Australia, we call a concentrated liquid that is added to water for flavoring "cordial", and it's quite popular with about 1 in 4 Australians drinking it at least once per month. Is there a significant difference between cordial and these drink enhancers, or is "drink enhancer" or "water enhancer" simply what Americans call cordial? Are there any differences in the food labeling regulations for them between America and Australia?


texts: What is the importance of letting pizza dough sit?

texts:
I am relatively new to pizza making... I've made 10 pizzas or so. I am having trouble understanding the process the yeast makes it my dough...

I see recipes ranging from 1/2 TS to 2 TS of yeast, the time the dough must sit before going in the oven varies, and all that seems to be insignificant to me compared to the heat and time it will spend in the oven...

Can anyone explain the science of it to me?


texts: How to replace water in meat (chicken, beef) with another liquid?

texts: Is there a non-destructive way to replace water in meat such as chicken or beef, with another liquid (e.g. lemon juice)?


texts: Should broth from a shrimp boil be refrigerated after canning?

texts:
I searched for an answer but was unable to find an answer on the site or google. Recently I did a shrimp boil with corn, sausage, red potatoes, onions, shrimp, lemons and spices. After pulling the strainer from the 50 quart pot I took several 32 ounce ball mason jars and bottled the fluid. With the heat the lids appear to be sealed and do not pop. Should I just leave to room temp and not refrigerate or is there a proper storage procedure?

The left over broth will be used for jambalaya and I doubt I’ll have any of it longer than 6 months. When jarred the broth was not strained.


texts: How to make flavoured rice like uncle ben's chinese rice?

texts:
What can I add to my rice cooker to create a similar flavour? Also I find, rice comes out quite dry even when I put more water? There's a slight oily sheen to it. Will this help?

Thanks heaps!


texts:
I have a problem with homemade sausage patties that I make. They come out too dry on the inside. Could it be the difference in kosher salt and iodized salt? The recipe is as follows:

Ground pork with high fat content
Chopped onions
Ground nutmeg, ground cayenne,powdered oregano,cracked anise seeds
iodized salt, pepper
Minced onions
Mix. Grill as is, with no oil whatsoever.

When I first tried this recipe, I was using kosher salt, and the result was good and juicy. However, I remember transitioning to iodized salt, and I still got good results, however I may be remembering things in a blur.

Update. I've drastically changed some parts of the recipe. (1) the meat is now fresh ground twice thru the KA meat grinder, so it's super moist and I suppose it's preserved inside the patty (wrapped in film, frozen), (2) using kosher salt, and a less amount of it. With the test fry, it's more moist now.


texts: Why does my butter icing melt so quickly?

texts:
I've been making cupcakes for a while now and I use butter icing. They come out pretty and taste nice, but they melt so quickly. Sometimes it's impossible to pipe, because the icing goes so sloppy. When I go to parties and see other cupcakes, they stay on the table all day and the icing doesn't melt.

Are they using something different? If so, does anyone know what?


texts:
I'm making Ciabatta for the first time Recipe (sorry, paywalled). My biga is fermenting as I type this, I'll mix the dough tomorrow. By then the biga will have had about a 16 hour ferment.

The dough will be difficult to handle. It's 80% hydration, and is described by America's Test Kitchen as being nearly pourable. The recipe calls for a mechanical mix and first knead, then two folding treatments* before baking. The folding is done with an oiled spatula, so I don't even need to touch the dough with my hands until it's time to shape the loaves. The shaping is shown in the video on the website (the paywalled link above) and it looks like it is going to be challenging.

My experience with wet, difficult doughs is that they are much easier to deal with if allowed to rest in the refrigerator overnight, before the dough gets any time to rise. Since ciabatta dough is so wet, it seems a natural to me that an overnight rest would be a good idea but neither the recipe that I'm using, nor the dozen or so others I looked at mention a rest.

Is there something about ciabatta that makes is not a candidate for resting overnight?

I'm hoping for a nice chewy texture and a lot of holes in the crumb, like this:

I'll check answers and comments here before I commit, but since the recipe I'm using makes two loaves, I'm considering an experiment of doing one loaf as instructed by the recipe and allowing the other to rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours just after the first knead.

*Transfer dough to large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Spray rubber spatula or bowl scraper with nonstick cooking spray; fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough six more times (total of eight turns). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding, replace plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes longer. - From the ATK recipe, a description of the folding treatment


texts: Adapting a large crock pot recipe to a smaller crock pot

texts:
I've found similar questions, but they have all be very generic. I'm curious about a specific recipe, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/smothered-meatloaf-recipe.html

It calls for a 5-qt slow cooker, but mine is 2.5 quarts. I want to know if
1.) can I just half the ingredients?
2.) do I also need to half the cooking time?


texts: Why does tilapia and swai fish taste like catfish?

texts: I have been cooking fish for over 40 years. Catfish is a fish I can not stand.  My family buys and loves tilapia and swai and no matter how I cook, grill, bake, fry, season, marinate, flour it, breadcrumb it, and use panko and even try to make fish fingers, it still tastes like catfish.  I bought farm raised and wild USA and outside.  Lemon, soy, different vinegars and spices from all over the world and marinated overnite and even fried like fish and chips with a beer batter. The only thing I did not do is put bar-b-que sauce on it and ketchup.  My family and friends love it whatever I do to it but it still tastes like catfish to me. I love fish but this is really terrible and no matter how it is brought to me, I recognize these two fishes by raw filet sight and it never has a fishy smell.  Are these two fishes in the catfish family?


texts: Cues to a reliable or unreliable recipe?

texts:
Over on this question about measurements we got into an interesting discussion about recognizing reliable recipes. What cues do you look for to recognize one you would trust? This is a community wiki question since it has no definitive answer. I'll throw out three to get us started:

Good signs:
+ If I can see a picture of the finished food and it looks delicious

Bad signs:
+ If the author doesn't know the diff between "1 cup of pecans, chopped" and "1 cup of chopped pecans"
+ If the ingredients aren't listed in the order you will need them in the recipe


texts: I canned green beans using the pressure canning method. My son said when he tried the beans they were still crisp. Could they be bad? He ate some of them with no bad results.


texts:
Mustard seeds have a rich and spicy flavour and can be used as an alternative to chilli.

In order to get this flavor during cooking. say in a curry, do you need to fine ground the seeds and add them as a powder or can you just add the seeds whole and the boiling will extract this powerful flavour?


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I'm planning a chili pepper degustation together with some friends who are likewise interested in cooking.

We're planning to taste a number of different peppers both to better understand when to prefer one over the other and simply because it's a fun idea.
We'll be working our way up in hotness and inevitably everyone will reach their limit of acceptable hotness.

Is there any food or beverage that can be consumed to lessen the effects of chili pepper once someone has reached their limits?
As a counter example I've heard drinking water is a bad idea, as it helps break down remaining pieces of pepper which will in turn make you feel the taste more.

Not to be confused with this question that asks how to reduce chili pepper hotness prior to eating, I'm looking for a remedy for after eating the pepper.


texts: What is the difference between more expensive cocoa powder and regular one?

texts: After a lifetime of buying regular dutch process cocoa powder, I have purchased a more expensive Valrhona cocoa powder. It may be just me, but it seems like the more expensive one makes much better cocoa drink. Is there a principal difference between those two products that could account for the perceived taste difference? I can see the Valrhona powder is darker.


texts: How should I modify my vanilla frosting to convert it into a chocolate frosting?

texts: I have a really good recipe for whipped vanilla frosting that I want to use, but I want to make a chocolate frosting.  What kind of chocolate should I add to the frosting to make it a chocolate frosting? How much should I add? Should I reduce the amount of vanilla in the recipe or keep it the same?


texts: Should I use my toaster oven for slow roasting?

texts:
I have a couple small tomatoes (about the size of a plum tomato) that I'm thinking of trying to oven-dry to see if we like them. Most recipes I've seen call for roasting them in the oven for 4-6 hours at a low temperature. We have few enough tomatoes that they would easily fit in our toaster oven, but I've only ever heard of using the toaster oven for shorter toasting or baking.

Is there any reason not to use the toaster oven for slow-roasting the tomatoes for multiple hours like this? The main things I'm considering are whether the larger oven is more efficient for long durations like this, and if the toaster oven will have any temperature issues operating for that long.