texts:
I'm a quick bread kind of guy (pumpkin bread is my fave). I love my teflon-coated steel pans, until they start to flake and rust and I have to buy new ones so I don't get schmutz on my crusts. Two just bit the big one on me, so it's time for new ones, and I'd like to buy ones that won't need replacing in two or three years.

(An aside: I'm not worried about health effects here. Aluminum does not cause cancer or Alzheimer's; teflon coatings don't emit dangerous gasses at standard oven temperatures. In general, I trust the FDA and the legions of tort lawyers to protect me.)

Here are the alternatives I'm considering:

More teflon-coated steel pans. They're relatively cheap, they release easily without needing to be greased-and-floured, and give me good results. If there were a type that didn't decay over time I'd be very interested.
Pyrex pans. They're extremely durable, but they're heavy, and I wonder how they'll do with quick breads. Would need to be greased-and-floured.
Silicone pans. They look interesting, although I've never owned one. I'm worried about the floppiness, how they'll bake, and whether the bread will show lines from heat conducted from the supporting oven rack.
Anodized aluminum pans. My thirty-year-old Calphalon saucepans have served me well, so I'd hope similar (probably much thinner) loaf pans would also last. I assume that (if greased-and-floured) they'd bake similarly to the teflon-coated steel pans.
Uncoated aluminum pans. They would need to be greased-and-floured, and I'd wonder about corrosion in the long term.
Ceramic loaf pans. They're heavy, would need to be greased-and-floured, and I'd wonder about their heat-capacity slowing down the baking.

So, which of these would give me good quick-bread loaves, and last a long time?


texts: Help with finding pod-based Coffee and Espresso maker

texts:
I'll preface my question by explaining that I'm not a coffee drinker myself so that whole world is a bit of a mystery. But I've been asked to buy a gift with the following specifications:

Must be a combination coffee and espresso maker
Must use pods rather than be ground coffee only
Needs to be compatible with various coffee manufacturers with Peet's Coffee as a specific example. (as far as I understand any of this I gather that Peet's only does K-cup of Nespresso OriginalLine)

I thought this would be simple, but it's surprisingly complicated! It seems that the various pod types can't interact with other makers, and some machines make "espresso-style drinks" but not espressos whatever that means.

Does anyone know of a good machine that would hit all of the points? I'm looking at around the $300 or less mark


texts: Is it okay to leave the skin on the apples when making an apple pie? I'd like to leave them on, but I wonder if there will be chewy strings of peel or if they will cook tender.


texts: Is risotto or paella rice a better substitute for my Japanese dish?

texts:
My supermarket has stopped stocking Japanese ingredients, just as I decided to make a Katsu Curry for my dinner party tonight!

I have Paella rice and Risotto rice (Arborio) - both by Sainsbury's and I know that they should both be ok substitutes as they are traditionally short grain white rice (although the box of arborio lists it as medium), but I want to know which is better.

I am planning to cook according to this BBC recipe.

Which rice is my better bet and are there any considerations/changes to the recipe?


texts: Can I safely serve raw beef roasts that were left out to thaw for several hours?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is it safe to cook a steak that was left out (raw) for 7 hours?

I left out 2 separate packages of unopened raw beef roasts overnight. They were frozen solid when left on the counter but unfortunately I only found them there 16 hours later. Can I now safely cook them for dinner?


texts: What could this utensil pair be used for?

texts:
The photo is of a utensil found in a European (French) kitchen. What is its use?

The knife is 7 inches (18 centimeter) long.


texts: Deconstructed food; simple, complex or both?

texts:
This question was asked on English Language & Usage and deconstructed food is a term I'd never heard before.

One answer is that it is simply the constituent parts of a dish laid out separately on a plate allowing the consumer to reconstruct the dish manually as they eat it.

A second answer was put forward suggesting that deconstruction is taking an existing dish (or sauce), examining it's constituent parts and recombining them (or some of them) in a different way to get a similar (or better) complete dish.

Searching on the internet shows a lot of the former (simple deconstruct), even for complex dishes that are normally prepared as a unit, like beef Wellington and lasagne.

It's harder to find references for the latter (deconstruct, examine, improve, reconstruct) but this is one for deconstructed onion soup, which is most definitely a single bowl of soup.

Edit : After reading TFDs comment I think I might have misunderstood the 'deconstruction' of the onion soup above, I think it means step-by-step instructions rather than deconstructed soup so after another search I did find this wonton soup that uses the term deconstructed in the sense I meant.

So my question is...

  Does the term deconstructed food really mean separated constituents or does it mean improved or simplified by inspecting the constituents and recombining them differently?

...or does it mean both ?


texts:
How long can I leave the fridge open without it affecting the food inside? How often?

Is it just the temperature or are there other factors (moisture?) as well?

Also my fridge has a light that gets warm after a while ... I guess newer models use LEDs?


texts:
I want to make risotto without using any alcohol. I am a vegetarian and I want to use vegetarian or mushroom stock only (without any meat).

What is the role of wine in making risotto? Does it help in getting the consistency or does it add flavor?
What can I substitute instead to get a comparable flavor?


texts: Does dead yeast result in a stickier dough?

texts:
I'm trying to troubleshoot my pizza dough. I've made it twice and both times it was too sticky to knead.

The first time I figured that I killed the yeast (the package said don't go above 140°F and I took the water off the stove when the thermometer read 140°F), so the second time I used water that was 128°F, reading the thermometer right before adding the yeast and sugar. The yeast bubbled a bit but I'm not sure if it was as frothy as it's supposed to be.

The recipe I'm using is to mix 1 package of yeast with 1¾ cups of warm water and ½ tsp sugar, then add to 4 cups pastry flour and ½ tsp salt.

I've made bread before and this dough is nothing like what I'm used to. Flouring the counter top and wetting my hands does nothing to prevent the dough from sludging. I also tried mixing it with a wooden spoon for a few minutes, hoping it would thicken. Would dead yeast cause the stickiness, or am I just preparing it wrong?


texts: Why did a jar of vinegar destroy this metal lid and turn it black (see pic)?

texts:
About a month ago, I filled a thoroughly-cleaned-out glass salsa jar with vinegar and hand-tightened the lid. Specifically, I filled the jar with generic white distilled vinegar ("diluted with water to 5% acidity"). I did not open the jar between now and then.

Today, I opened the jar, and I couldn't believe what I saw. The inside of the metal lid has been destroyed, filled with clumps of abrasive, black particles that are firmly attached to the lid.

The inside of the lid also has some rust, which is even more odd, because I thought that vinegar removes rust.

The jar was not even all-the-way full. This is the vinegar jar in question:

This is what the lid looked like a month ago, when the jar was empty:

This is what it looks like today:

I have two questions.

How on Earth was this metal lid destroyed by the presence of vinegar?
What container material is best to store vinegar for long periods of time, without deterioration?

I purchase vinegar in a gigantic plastic carboy, because it is cheaper in bulk. I would like to have the vinegar available in a smaller container. I prefer to use a type of container that's recycled from a common item (like salsa).

Note: Not that it matters in the context of my questions, but I'm not actually using this vinegar for cooking. I use it as a safe disinfectant for items such as a retainer. Given that vinegar is typically viewed as a food, I thought that it would be appropriate to pose this question to Seasoned Advice.


texts: My mom has a cake recipe that calls for 70% chocolate. She called me and said she has 53% chocolate and unsweetened chocolate. Can she mix them to get 70% and in what ratio?


texts: I need to make a thick one layer cake (3-4") but I don't have a pan that deep.  Can I use parchment to add height?


texts: I am trying to make mung bean sprouts at home, as they are rare to find in a store where I live. After I soak them for 12 hours I place them in a spin dryer basket whose mesh is fine enough to hold them, so they have drainage, and place it in a quite larger bowl, in the kitchen, away from direct sunlight. The beans do sprout, but the process is so slow that by the time (10 days) I can see some leaves peeking out the seeds have developed brownish stains here and there. I rinse them two to four times a day. Where am I wrong?


texts: Can a "regular" eggplant be substituted for a chinese eggplant in a recipe?

texts:
I'm going to attempt this hot and sour chinese eggplant recipe which calls for chinese eggplant. However, I only have a "regular" eggplant that you find in the typical American grocery store.

Can this be used as a direct substitution?
Are there any caveats I should be aware of?
My eggplant is 9" long and 4" thick at it's widest. Is this equivalent to 2 long chinese eggplants?


texts: What are the best burger buns available in the UK?

texts: In recipes online I see recommendations for buns such as Martin's Potato Rolls. However it doesn't seem like it's possible to get this kind of bun in the UK, or indeed anything other than the basic no frills sesame seed burger bun. What is the best burger bun available? And where should one shop for it?


texts: How can I get the smokey flavour in Hor Fun?

texts:
I made Hor Fun (not the linked recipe in specific) the other day for my girlfriend who loves the dish. However, her critique was that it lacked the distinctive smokey flavour of the dish.

When it's made traditionally it's done over a massive fire and this gives it the smokey flavour.

In a standard kitchen the gas burners are far smaller than that, so how can I achieve the same smokey flavour for this dish?


texts: temperature settings on my Electric Stove. I do not own a gas stove

texts:
In cooking a Beef Bone Stock on my electric stove top, the recipe calls for long cook time of 24 hours at temperature set at simmer.

It's been claimed to simmer on a electric stove top is NOT ideal bc the temperature setting "simmer" on the electric stove top is to be used to keep food cooking "warm" and NOT ideal to use for simmering sock.

Is the above correct? Does this mean I cannot cook my Beef Bone Stock on
my electric stove top in my stock pot?


texts: Why does Weikfeild cocoa powder does not taste bitter?

texts:
Ingredients of Weikfeild cocoa powder. https://sites.google.com/site/cocoaexposed/cocoa-confectionery/product-survey/weikfield--cocoa

It says it has 0 sugar. So, why does it not taste horribly bitter when I taste it?

I add it to coffee without any sugar and I do not notice any extreme bitterness.

Why is that so?


texts:
I've blanched some cabbage and I wonder if I can ferment it in order to have sauerkraut.
Will it work? Will it be safe?
Edit I followed the recommendations and added some raw vegetables and a little bit more salt than usual. The fermentation process was fine and the end product was delicious. Note for future me, don't blanch cabbage for sauerkraut :) . It's less troubles.


texts: What is the purpose of seasoning a skillet?

texts:
I've seen a couple questions on how to season a skillet, and this may be a dumb question, but why do you season a skillet?

Does it impart flavor onto the food?
For how long? (which I guess is one way of asking, "How often do I need to do it?"
Do I still "need" to apply butter etc.. to the pan even though I "seasoned" it? (in this case, maybe it's a question of taste, not need)


texts: My homemade sourdough bread tastes bitter after letting it stay for one day

texts:
I do sourdough bread at home, and through the process, I've tasted lots of not-yet-baked breads. Also, tasted someone else's sourdough bread, which was quite good.

Now, I'm in the stage where I can properly prepare the dough, knead it, and baked it enough so that at the end, I get a good baked bread with a lovely crust, see my latest bread in here, and its inside

However, after cutting the bread, and waiting it for a day or so, the inner side of it tastes like as if it unbaked; it has a bitter taste like half baked dough. What is the reason for that ? After cutting it, I wrap a towel  around it so that is doesn't lose it moisture, which in general does not help much for some reason.

I'm using mostly - around %90 - strong white flour, and corn flour with whole wheat sourdough starter.


texts: I regularly make spicy Indian meals, but have been unable to find a cheese that pairs well.  Does anyone know of one?


texts: What is the most efficient way to prepare (very small) fresh oregano leaves?

texts:
While making my manicotti tonight, I received a painful reminder that the stuffing isn't actually the most tedious part of the process - it's pulling all the tiny leaves off the oregano stems.  It seems as though the oregano I'm able to buy here is not fully grown; it's been like this for as long as I can remember.

Obviously the stems are stiff, and bitter, and generally no good to throw in the mix, at least not with any of the recipes I use.  So I really need to get the leaves off the stems, and with this oregano, it's a painful process.

I've tried obvious routes, like "stripping" the leaves off the stems with my hands or a knife, but it doesn't really work.  The stems are too hardy, and if I strip them hard enough to get the leaves off then I usually end up stripping the stem with it.  And laying the stems flat on a cutting board and trying to chop the leaves off directly is almost impossible; the leaves are so tiny and irregularly distributed that it ends up taking longer than just pulling the things apart with my hands.

Am I missing something obvious?  Is there a way to prepare these oregano leaves that's more fun than watching paint dry?


texts:
Is it possible to prepare store bought corn tortillas so they don't fall apart? I know they are healthier than flour and they taste fine, but mine frequently fall apart to the point that it isn't a tortilla anymore.

If it is not possible, then can I make them at home myself so that they don't fall apart?


texts:
How much baking powder & baking soda do I need to use for my cocoa cookies?
Based on the following recipe that does not contain egg, and makes use of both types of cocoa powder. I am trying to get the crunchy and airy texture.
200    grams  all purpose flour
 10.5  grams  natural cocoa powder
 10.5  grams  Dutch process cocoa powder
  0.5  gram   ammonium bicarbonate
  1.3  grams  salt
  0.2  gram   vanillin
113    grams  sugar
 61    grams  butter


texts: What's the best order to add ingredients to a Stir Fry?

texts:
I make nice stir-fry with bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, sugar-snaps, jalapenos and bean sprouts (and anything else that might be handy and in danger of being unused before it expires)

I tend to chuck everything in together on a really hot wok, but is there a better way?

Will adding the ingredients at different times make a difference?
If so, what's the best way to do this?

Thanks


texts:
I am planning to go on an outdoors day trip with no way to heat up food.

Is it safe to heat up a packaged, fully cooked sausage in the early morning (4:00 AM) and wrap it with bread and store it in a plastic ziploc bag for consumption in the afternoon (2:00 pm)? (around 10 hours)

I am ok with eating cold food.


texts: It seems like cocoa powder is very tricky to dissolve in liquid without using a slurry. So how do store-bought cocoa mixes dissolve so easily?


texts:
The 'suckers' on squid tentacles seem to each have small shell-like (chitinous?) 'rings' inside them that can be removed by pulling or rubbing the tentacles. This takes a lot of time and I am wondering if it is necessary?

Also, how much of the mouth/head is generally good to eat? It seems that the ring where the tentacles connect is quite edible but there are also some much harder/tougher parts of flesh nearby.


texts:
A while ago I went to a Korean restaurant and ordered a noodle dish without really looking at the menu (as I sometimes tend to do). I was surprised when I was served something that had cheese in it, and even though I know that Korean dishes can contain a variety of common but not commonly used ingredients (e.g. Korean Army Stew with Spam and other bits and pieces) this was still unusual for me.

However, I have asked a few people about hot noodle dishes with cheese and no one seems to know much about this. I am wondering if this is a Korean cooking technique/style or if it is also used in other cuisines and dishes around the world.

Is there a well-known Korean hot noodle dish that includes cheese? If so what is it called?


texts: How many wash cycles should I aim for when washing brown rice?

texts: I was told that I'm supposed to keep washing the brown rice with water, empty the pot out, and repeat until the water doesn't become foggy anymore to get rid of the arsenic.  For each cycle, I pat, squeeze, and swirl the rice around for roughly 1 minute. I've done this 12 cycles now and the water still remains foggy. Should I keep going or is that enough?


texts:
I strongly dislike cumin. Now that I accidentally bought bread that contains it, I wondered if there are any ways to mask the taste.

This question is meant to find out general ways to mask cumin, in dishes hot and cold. I'm aware that the options might be heavily limited in cold dishes, so the main focus presumably lies on hot meals.

Please note that while the cumin-contaminated bread was my incentive to write this question, answers should not focus on it too much. A general approach for hot (and cold) dishes is sought for.

The only existing question concerning cumin was "How do I save curry with too much cumin?", which has two answers related to indian cuisine. Since these are only concerned with curry, this question looking for a general approach is not a duplicate.


texts:
I bought a carbon steel frying pan. Now I need to season it.
I think i messed up the first time. So I scrubbed it clean again.
Now how do I now if my oil is polymerized or actually burned?

I heated a thin layer of flaxseed oil until it reached its smoking point and then let it cool and repeat. The coating was really black in the center of the pan and not so smooth. The edges around the center were smooth and golden brown and had a glossy finish.

Did I burn oil in the center and polymerized the edges?


texts: Chicken curry in a slow cooker turns out watery

texts:
My first question on here, so please go easy on me.

I have recently got a slow cooker and have been very pleased with the results, but that was using ready-made sachets of cooking mixes.

I am now trying to cook things properly from scratch but I think I'm missing something important.

This is the recipe I have used for chicken curry:-

4 chicken thighs
3 garlic cloves
2 large onions
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
handful chopped spinach
100g mushrooms
400g tin chopped tomatoes
250ml chicken stock
3 heaped tsp of curry spice

I put everything in the slow cooker, give it a good stir, and then leave it to cook. It tastes nice, but the sauce is very watery.

I have used the same recipe in a pan and the sauce thickens after I simmer it for about 20 mins.

Do I need to change the recipe to use the slow cooker? Or am I doing something fundamentally wrong?


texts: I was following the advice of preheating @ 400 and had every intention of lowering he temp to 300 but instead I forgot to lower it and ended up cooking it for the first 30mins at 400. I just lowered the temp to 300 and flipped it. How should I proceed?


texts: I'm pretty sure these aren't scones, but what are they?

texts:
We've made a type of deep fried bread in my family for years, which we've called "scones". I'm fairly certain these aren't actually scones, and have no idea what their name would properly be.

The recipe is very free-form, and uses whatever bread dough happens to be on hand. The last time I made it I used bread-machine pizza dough, previous times I've used dough from sourdough bread, no-kneed artisan  bread, and baguettes.

The dough is pulled into thin disks, whose shape and thickness are generally close to, but not quite, uniform.

The dough is then deep fried, cooled on a rack over paper towels for the oil, and is ready to be eaten.

The end result looks like this:

The valleys are generally filled with jam, butter, honey, or honey butter.

So my question is: does this have a name?


texts: Can I make sourdough starter with raw potatoes?

texts:
Looking at different websites I found sourdough starters using potatoes instead of wheat or rye. They all used cooked mashed potatoes.

I wonder if it is possible to just grate raw potatoes or other starchy vegetables and use them. I still have some self-made wheat sourdough starter at home. So I could mix a bit of that with my grated potatoes.

Has anybody here tried before?


texts: This anko recipe calls for boiling the adzuki beans twice, draining and re-filling the water in between. Why is this done? Is this necessary?


texts: Are there other names which mean essentially the same thing. If there is a univeral process that goes into the making of a chowder that distinguishes a chowder, what is it? Are there some sorts of food produce conducive to "chowdering" and others that are not? Is there a list of chowder types somewhere? I ask because I sense that all of those elements would go into a good definition--not just a dictionary definition--of what makes for good chowders.


texts: What should I look for in a cooking pan for Risotto?

texts:
I just moved across country and basically sold everything I own including my cooking pans. I used to use a medium-high sided two handled pan that I cannot find an image for to show you. It worked for my purposes but I am generally cooking risotto for six and it never held enough and I would end up with some of my grains still on the crunchy side. I tried a larger around pan and it would not heat evenly enough on a conventional range. In a moment of desperation I tried using a wok, that was not a good idea. In any case I find myself on the hunt for a good pan to use that will handle six servings and heat evenly, I know I could cook in batches but I am generally just trying to get dinner on the table.

I am also aware that pans are subjective but with such a price range difference out there I don't have the money to experiment.


texts: Why does blending blueberries, milk, banana and vanilla extract cause the mixture to have a yogurty consistency?

texts:
A cup of milk
A cup of blueberries
A banana
Three shakes of vanilla extract liquid

The original plan was to have a milkshake, but the result is quite a nice desert! Like a no cook yogurt.

Looking more closely, the milk has curdled, but not like when mixing it with orange juice. Sort of reminds me of the cheese making process too


texts:
Are there any techniques which I can use to get the colour of strawberries condensed in a way that doesn't contain the flavour?

I am looking to colour cakes in particular with a more natural alternative to bottled colouring agents without affecting the flavour and thought strawberries might be a good place to start!


texts: Discolouration when boiling green vegetables with lid on

texts: Why do green vegetables discolour when they are boiled with the lid on?


texts:
I'm an amateur cook with almost no experience (never taught by my parents, first time cooking on my own was first few days living on my own), so I'm studying very hard because I want to be a great cook for the people living with me.

I'm trying to nail down the teppanyaki fried rice made at some very popular restaurants that I've visited several years back.

It seems that I'm definitely missing something with the technique. The meat and veggies I have no problem with. I cut up the chicken or beef into strips and cook it in the pan with a moderate amount of teppanyaki sauce, and it turns out great.

For the rice, what I do is cook jasmine rice (in a stock made with chicken bouillon) a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge. I cook on a large round stainless steel pan (I'm not experienced enough in cooking to be properly taking care of cast iron cookware) at medium-to-high heat (7-8 on my stove), and begin by adding the rice, vegetable oil, and some peas and onion. I mix these up and then add a decent amount of soy sauce until it's a decent color. I scramble the egg separately then add it in when it is mostly done, mixing it in with the rice and veggies. I then add the cooked meat and veggies last.

Two main problems:

The rice seems to stick together too much. It appears to be rather sticky in the fridge, but separates rather easily. After frying though, I have this big hunk of rice that sticks together with some other ingredients dotted within.
The egg flavor seems to get all over the rice. Even when I scramble the egg, the "chunk" tend to become smaller than I anticipate once I add this to the rice, and the flavor is much too strong compared to the rice or veggies.

What do I need to change to get this closer to restaraunt quality? I'm quite new to cooking, so I really don't know what to look out for or what to change.

Please note that I'm trying to cut down on sugar and sodium, so I don't want to add excess salt or soy sauce.


texts: First time cooking/eating asparagus, what's the best way to cook it?

texts:
So I'm going to bake some salmon fillets today  along with potatoes and hollandaise sauce.
I always see asparagus being eaten with salmon so I went and bought some. Ive never made it before so I was wondering what the quickest and easiest way is to cook it?
Would it be alright to cook it in a pan with olive oil and some garlic?

P.s. I also have some button mushrooms. I'm thinking is just sautéing them on olive oil.if anyone has any ideas please do tell me.

Thanks in advance.


texts: What are good resources to learn food chemistry?

texts:
Does anyone know of some good resources to start learning about food chemistry?
I am thinking specifically about a description of the chemical processes involved e.g. in cooking/preparing the different foods and their relation with changes in flavor etc.

Also: do you know a reliable source to understand what is the purpose of all food additives used by the industry? Here I am not thinking about colorant/preservatives and the like, but more about the "strange supernumerary" ingredients we can see on industrial food's labels.


texts: What's a good bible on vegetarian cooking?

texts:
Some years ago I decided to eat less meat and to successively becoming a vegetarian. I haven't learnt any particular dishes though, mostly just improvising with veggies/beans/nuts/cheese as staples – and that's fine, but I would now like to have some new inspiration from a good vegetarian cookbook (meaning less animal products is preferred, but dairy products and eggs is ok).

To make this question possible to answer, this is what I'm looking for:

A sort of a vegetarian's bible. Doesn't have to be very new, I'm thinking bible like Julia Childs' Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Should be very comprehensive.
Should have some dishes that are quick to make and some that are slow cooking.
The dishes should be something you can eat on a regular weekday. Some special ingredients can be hard to find or be a bit expensive, but the staples should be quite cheap and easy to get (I live in Sweden, but have Asian and Middle Eastern food stores nearby).
The recipes should try to follow the (Swedish/European) season if possible.
The cookbook can very well be of Indian cuisine (I hear they like their vegetarian dishes), so some ingredients have to be imported in that case of course.
Language: English or Swedish.


texts: Is there an aging process by which to "oak" meat?

texts:
I was hoping there might be more ideas under this question, but I have been reading up on aging and curing meat and would like to know if there is some kind of process that, while aging the meat, can impart an oak flavor.

Sorry, any answer cannot include any form of cooking the meat (i.e. smoking it with oak chips). This is strictly confined to prep

Although I haven't found anything to this effect, particular ideas might be a barrel-aging method for meat; i.e. white oak aging for Tabasco, oaked wines or liquors.


texts: When making cheese (e.g. Halloumi) from non-homogenized milk, are the dangers in non-homogenized milk neutralised?

texts:
I was looking at ways to make Halloumi at home and found this video. The recipe calls for non-homogenized milk (another name for raw milk, I think!) which as far as I know can be very dangerous.

But I am not drinking the milk, I making cheese from it. Will the cheese-making process neutralize all the harmful stuff in raw non-homogenized milk?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Cheaper alternative to parmesan cheese?

What cheese tastes most similar to Parmesan Cheese?
Note: I am not looking for a fake-cheese substitute, just a real cheese that tastes similar to Parmesan.


texts: can't find croissant dough; what can I substitute

texts: have recipe calling for croissant dough. can't find it at our groceries.  what can I substitute?


texts: During summer months, I love buying fresh raspberries and blueberries. I often don't manage to work through the whole punnet, so I freeze the last few berries before they go off. Now the berries have piled up and I'm not so sure if it would work to make Jam with them?


texts: What temperature does the Maillard reaction occur?

texts:
There seems to be a lot of disagreement about the temperatures and conditions under which the Maillard reaction can occur.  Cooking professionals reference all sorts of "minimum temperatures" -- I've seen sources say 350°F (175°C), 310°F (155°C), 300°F (150°C), 250°F (120°C), 230°F (110°C), and boiling (212°F/100°C) all given as a minimum.  Many sources say it cannot occur in the presence of water.

Previous questions on this forum that have discussed the Maillard reaction have also included statements about temperatures, often in disagreement with each other.  (See, for example, here, here, and here.)  Many answers and comments on answers also have conflicting information.

It's clear that the Maillard reaction requires proteins and a reducing sugar.  It is also clear that it will happen at neutral pH or higher, but acidic conditions will significantly inhibit it.

But what temperatures can it actually occur at?  Are there examples of the Maillard reaction occurring at lower temperatures?

(I will offer my own answer, but I would certainly be interested in hearing of other examples and information.)


texts:
I'm making Kolaches (a Czech semi-sweetened dough with a sweet filling), but I'm challenging myself to cook vegan, and therefore can't use an egg.  I've got a bunch of recipes, but all of them are semi-enriched, i.e. have egg, milk, and added fat.  I've got replacements for everything else, except the egg.
What are things people have used for eggs in yeast breads.  It shouldn't need to be a binder or leaven, just enrich.  I've seen suggestions for sweet potato, just add oil, tofu.  Anyone have any experience with enriching yeast doughs without eggs?


texts:
When baking loaves in a commercial deck oven, are there any rules of thumb for how much space is needed around each loaf to bake well? I have noticed that when a few loaves are thrown in by themselves at the end of a bake they seem to cook much quicker and to develop excellent crust color and shine compared to the other loaves. Could it be that the bread doesn't get enough steam on its surface when many loaves are in the oven? I have also noticed that baguettes come out soft on the sides if they are not given sufficient room.

For context, these are mostly lean doughs, some naturally leavened and some yeasted, shaped as rounds and batards and baked at 400-500 F in a deck oven with steam. Some crowding is necessary because of time constraints.


texts: Why does day old rice make for a better tasting fried rice?

texts:
I'm trying to understand what is it about day old rice that makes it better for fried rice, and how exactly to store day old rice for fried rice.

Specifically, what exactly am I aiming for when storing cooked rice for a day to make it optimal for fried rice? Is it simply exposure to oxygen so that the rice crusts up?  Should the rice be refrigerated overnight, but left exposed? Should it be wrapped, and kept outside in room temperature, or in the refrigerator?


texts: Will roasted corn work as soup croutons?

texts: How can I can use roasted corn to make a soup more interesting? I was thinking about boiling and then some kind of a heat-blast, but I am not sure how to achieve this kind of effect.


texts: Why is syrup added to a cake before frosting?

texts: Why is syrup added to the inside of a cake before frosting? Maybe the cream sticks better with each layer of cake?


texts: How to reduce sourness of store-bought curd for marination

texts:
I saw this, but I'm asking about curd purchased from a store. After receiving your replies last time, I wrote to the company and the curd was ok for the next few months. Then the sour tasting curd continued (it's not supposed to be "sour curd"). I reason they dont really care. This blog mentions removing water, but the curd I purchase does not have any water that is clearly separate from the rest of the curd.
So is there anything that can be added to it to eliminate the sourness before I use it to marinate chicken? If sourness is caused by the acid component, would adding something alkaline help?


texts: How do I make candy shells like M&Ms or Reese's Pieces have?


texts: Is there an application for soft cheese rinds?

texts:
When I melt soft cheese into something, I don't use the eatable rinds, because they ruin the whole texture. But sometimes the cheese is expensive (like DOC rawmilk camembert, or handmade gorgonzola), and there is still lots of cheese sticking to the rinds, so I don't want to throw them away. On the other hand, they are too dry and unpleasant to eat them on bread or similar. I don't think they'll do well in a soup like parmesan rinds.

Does anybody know a good use for the rinds? Or should I just continue throwing 40% of the cheese weight away?


texts: Balsamic vinegar became too thick. How to liquefy it?

texts:
I store an Italian balsamic vinegar (BVM) in a fridge and use it from time to time for a couple of years. It used to be thick and viscous. (In contrast to some other reports, I did not need to reduce it, as the original consistence was totally satisfying.) But now it has almost solidified:

How to make it liquid again?


texts:
I am starting to collect various piece of Silicone cookware. I would like to find out how others keep their silicone cookware clean or if they try.

I put my Silicone cupcake tray into the dishwasher last night and sure enough its does not clean well and feels greasy still. In the past I just wipe it out and learn to ignore the greasy part. But it still makes me wonder.

Thanks!


texts: How do I know the lentils have gone bad?

texts: I brought brown lentil two months ago. Now when I cooked them under pressure they remained in the same form as before and did not even slightly swell the way normally brown lentils swell up slightly. The gravy was watery and the lentils weren’t looking as they normally look when cooked nor smelled the same as they normally do. First I cooked under pressure for 18 minutes, then it kept cooking on normal flame with the cap on top for almost an hour and it still didn’t change texture, what should I do ?


texts: My overnight sour dough went slack, could my 'starter' have eaten too much gluten?

texts:
Was reading this question and reply, and wondering if it may pertain to my last night's effort for a good 'artisan' style sourdough loaf today: How does a sourdough sponge work?

At the end of the question, and answer, it was said that too much gluten could have been used- dough too weak, to round into a good loaf. I am completely new to sourdough, but have a good, strong starter going, and now, have been trying to learn how to use it.

I mixed it last night per a recipe that called for: 300 g. starter, 570-600g cold water, mixed into starter, then, 1 kilogram bread flour and 18g. salt., and I converted all measurements, if I did it correctly, to: -1c. starter, 2 1/3 c. ice water, 4 1/4 c. bread flour, and I used less salt, because we do not like salt much. there were explicit directions, plus pictures, at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial...(if I'm allowed to let you see the recipe I used), but mine appeared wrong from the start.

Questions are: 1.  Did I convert the recipe correctly? 2. Was recipe too 'weak' to begin with? 3. Could I have over-proofed it, to where there was no structure left? (too long, too much eaten by starter action?) FYI: I mixed it at 9:30 PM, and attempted to make it into loaves at 10:30 AM. 4. Could I have just not known how to create a 'skin', a tight skin, for making this artisan type loaf? 5.I began emergency procedures to bake SOMETHING out of this...(I made 2 separate batches), and I did salvage it into bread and pizza dough, but after much folding and some flour being worked in. So, question 5: What would be a good 'emergency' procedure if dough is just too slack to hold any shape?

I have images, but will wait to post any, since I am new here, until I am or if I am asked. Totally appreciate any feedback, advice!!! Thank You.

Not sure if I worded this correctly, as I am new here, but if anyone can answer any part of the above questions, that would sure be helpful!! Maybe I should have put each question into a separate post? Thanks!


texts: How do you prepare fresh fennel for cooking? My isntructions just say to "roughly chop", but don't say what parts of the plant to use.


texts: want to know baking time for creme brulee at 225 degrees in the oven

texts: im making creme brulee. it says to keep it in oven at 325 degrees for 45minutes but my over is maximum till 225 degrees. kindly advice and for how much longer should i let it stay in oven at 225 degrees???


texts:
I'm planning to make croissants for thanksgiving this year, I've made them before but found it nearly impossible to roll out after keeping the laminated dough in the fridge over night.  The dough was impossibly hard and I probably spent around an hour literally banging on the dough with a rolling pin before it would be ready to fold again.

Is there an ideal temperature that the fridge should be at? Or maybe am I supposed to let the dough warm up before rolling it out again?  Or is there something else I'm missing?


texts: What is the best way to store uncooked homemade beef patties?

texts: I'm planning to grind my own beef patties, but I don't plan to use them until the next day, or perhaps the day after. What is the best way to store them until the day of? Would sticking them in the fridge do, or do I have to put them in the freezer?


texts: Where do I buy good quality (for truffles) chocolate in bulk quantities (> 3 lbs)? The prices I'm seeing for Valrhona, etc on Amazon reach nearly $15/lb and that is ridiculous. Any preferred vendors? Thanks!


texts:
There's a few places in the world that really don't waste any part of an animal when it comes to cooking, but I've yet to see any form of cooked bladders.

Is it an item that is cooked -or- eaten anywhere in the world?


texts: How do you get gelatin from rendering cow fat?

texts:
In this answer to another question, someone mentioned that they got gelatin out of rendering cow fat. I'm about to render a bunch of cow fat in a few days, and I was wondering how to get gelatin from it, in addition to the tallow? (i.e. I don't want to accidentally throw any good non-tallow parts away)

Do I have to use 'suet' or can I use any cow fat?
I'm just getting "the fat" from a cow, and it's probably going to be mixed together.


texts: Can I replace milk with eggs in recipes?

texts: I have had to go dairy and soy free because I'm breastfeeding and my little one gets really bad colic if I have products with milk or soy. I would like to know if I can use eggs (mixed with a little bit of water and oil) in place of milk. Please do not suggest almond milk or other plant based milk as those are primarily water (I'd say about 80% water) and they make my cakes gummy.


texts: Why are vegetables often left unrefrigerated at the grocery store?

texts:
At the large superstore, Real Canadian Superstore, closest to me, many of the perishables such as broccoli, carrots, etc. are stored just in bins without refrigeration. It is also the same for many stores of course, but I have chosen this store as one I know for sure follows these practices.

I imagine the temperature for storage of these vegetables is well within the "danger zone" of 4-60 degrees C.

Why is it that if I cook broccoli and leave it out for > 2 hours it is deemed unsafe to eat, but if I buy broccoli, carrots, etc. that have been sitting at the supermarket for > 2 hours it is OK to eat? Or is this not the stance of the FDA?

I often eat vegetables raw after buying them this way. Is this poor practice unless it has been stored safely the entire time until it makes its way to my refrigerator?


texts: brown sugar has gained some moisture, want to remove

texts:
I assume this question generalizes to items such as flour.

I kept brown sugar in the plastic bag it came in, in the refrigerator. Due to frequent use, it has built up clumps due to moisture. I've just recently gotten a glass container to store it in. Solutions I have considered to now remove the moisture are:

Use a little uncooked rice to pull the moisture out

but then I think I should use a mesh bag to keep the rice in, where would I find something like this?

coffee filter, too slow/cumbersome?

Give it a little heat to dry it out, such as:

place the glass on top of the oven with the oven on, as my oven top gets quite warm when the oven is on.

Any ideas?


texts:
I made ravioli for the first time the other day. I used a mix of eggs and water to brush the eggroll wrappers I was using. I was fairly paranoid about my ravioli opening up during boiling, and as a result, my fork-pressed edges seemed bigger than might have been necessary.

What is the usual filling to edge ratio for ravioli?


texts: Do I need to season a stainless steel saute pan?

texts:
Okay, I received a nice stainless steel saute pan for Christmas and in looking around online there are people that say I need to season it. Most of the techniques I've seen involve oil and salt and cooking that for a bit and then wiping it out. Is this necessary? Do I need to do it every time I use the pan? Are there other techniques that you folks use? I had never heard  of this for stainless steel, but I want to make sure I'm taking care of the pan correctly.

Thanks.


texts: When making chicken soup, should I reuse the vegetables I used to make the broth?

texts:
When making a chicken broth I'll chuck in some onion, carrots, celery, leeks, whatever I got lying around.

When I make the soup, I usually strain out all the bones and veggies in the broth and put in new vegetables along with the meat. Should I be transferring any of the veggies from the broth into the soup or putting in all fresh veggies?


texts: Not getting the creamy result beating butter and sugar

texts:
I have this "weekend meyer lemon cake" recipe:

The problem I am facing while making the cake is that I don't get the creamy mixture, mixing sugar and butter. it's like bread crumbs right now, or something like that and sugar crystals are still visible and distinguishable. Should I go on by adding the eggs as the recipe calls for or should I wait for the butter to melt and try to beat the sugar and butter until creamy?


texts: Why are my braised pork chops inconsistent?

texts: I have a recipe for long, slow, braised pork chops. I make them the same way every time. I buy 1 inch chops on the bone. Sometimes they come out incredibly tender and sometimes dry and stringy. I know it has to do with fat content as the dry ones have very little fat to skim from the sauce. But I can not discern from the raw meat, which is fattier. I buy center cut chops. The recipe calls for blade chops, but stores don't always have that. Help?


texts: Impact of using egg yolks vs whites in a spaghetti dish?

texts:
I'm making a dish that calls for several egg yolks and 1 full egg (all scrambled together) to be poured over hot spaghetti and cooked salt pork (to cook the egg), and I'm wondering how much of a difference using yolks vs using whites makes.

If I could use the entire egg, I would be able to use less total eggs; but if this will have a serious impact on the dish, then I don't want to mess it up.

Thoughts?


texts: Un-refigerated raw seasoned jerk chicken

texts: How long can you keep large batches of seasoned raw jerk chicken outside of the fridge? What is the safe temperature?


texts: Is it customary to use pigs pluck to make sausages?

texts:
Looking to start raising my own pigs and researching how I want to process a pig I am aware of the pig's pluck (larynx, trachea, lung, heart and liver) and I'm a huge fan of making sausage (I'll be grinding and stuffing).

I do realize I will need to add fat but is it common for the pig's pluck be used for making sausages? Upon my recipe research I didn't see anything mentioned and I was curious to know why people do not use those parts of the pig. I do believe the use that for hot dogs but I may be wrong.


texts: Why does the breading always come off of my oven fried chicken?

texts:
I love fried chicken, but have been trying to cook oven fried chicken instead due to the lower caloric content. I usually use chicken that has been soaked in buttermilk overnight, drain excess moisture, and then roll it in a flour/breadcrumb mix. After the initial coating I do a dip in egg wash, and back onto the breading mix. I then place it on a non-stick pan with some Pam sprayed on it and stick it in the oven. When I flip the chicken halfway through about 30 minutes in, I lose half of the coating almost every time. I have tried cooking at a higher temperature and coating longer before flipping, both to no avail. I have also tried those pre-made mixes like baking magic and it still comes off.

What do I need to do differently to ensure that the breading will stay on?


texts: Keeping cream pies set while browning meringue topping

texts: My cream pies set up great until I put them back in the oven to brown the meringue. When I take them out & let them cool, they are no longer set up. What am I doing wrong?


texts: Should Chorizo Be Peeled Before Cooking?

texts:
For years I've been chopping up Chorizo and cooking it, with no other preparation. I've recently been told that I've been doing it wrong and should peel the Chorizo first. It's pain to peel, and I've not noticed any difference.

What is the skin of a Chorizo sausage made of, and should it be removed before cooking or not?


texts:
Kangaroo is an unusual meat for most of the world. From reputation, it's quite hard to cook right as it tends to dry out:

  Kangaroo meat is very low in fat, usually less than 2%. This is lower than most other red meats. This makes Kangaroo very healthy but also means it must be cooked carefully. Kangaroo is also very high in protein and iron. Fat contains a lot of moisture, hence meats like beef which is very high in fat can be cooked to very well done. However because kangaroo has virtually no fat it can easily dry out during cooking. Because of this it's important to follow a few simple steps to retain the moisture in the meat.

In light of this, what smoking and BBQ techniques are appropriate for kangaroo?


texts: What is inside the Prawn Cocktail crisps flavour?

texts: I'm looking to make something close-enough at home for a friend. I'm suspecting it doesn't actually have Prawns in it.


texts: Which salsa ingredient makes it taste like dirt?

texts:
I suppose it could also be considered "earthy".

There is an ingredient that is often added to "authentic" salsas that often ends up making it taste too "earthy".

Which ingredient is it?
Is it cilantro?


texts: I was boiling soapy water (to help clean it) in my Martha Stewart stock pot, and I forgot about it. It seems pretty burnt. Can it be cleaned and salvaged, or is it headed for trash? Thanks for your input.


texts: How to get chocolate of chocolate covered strawberries shiny?

texts:
Yesterday, I made strawberries covered with chocolate.

Both my strawberries and milk chocolate were at room temperature. I heated the chocolate in the microwave together with a drop of peanut oil, stirred and dipped the berries in it. I let it all cool down in my cellar (+-15° C /+-60° F) on a piece of parchment paper.

While the taste was great, I didn't like that they looked a bit 'dull'. I would prefer it if they shone.

I added the oil, because I read it somewhere as a tip to get shiny strawberry-chocolates. I don't think it was as much as they adviced me to do though.

Can I do anything to make the chocolate shiny?


texts: I am making tomato sauce.  I plan to brown several kinds of meats and poultry today and finish cooking them in my tomato sauce tomorrow.  Is there some health issue I should be concerned with partially cooked meats that will spend over night in the refrig before putting them in my tomato sauce that will be cooking for several hours?


texts: The chicken in my chicken soup turns into little stringy pieces--i.e. it doesn't stay in nice bite-sized pieces.  It happens in chicken/rice and chicken/noodle recipes.  Is there a way of avoiding this?


texts:
I love onions; however, someone that I cook for does not.  Absolutely hates them and can tell whenever they are in the dish.

That said, so many recipes call for onion to be added. What can I use instead that would have a similar but less intense/noticeable effect?


texts: What kind of cooling garnish is like ice cream but doesn't melt?

texts:
In a related question, I asked about plating with bread for sampling chili. Here I need to find a cooling, as in take the heat off the capsaicin with fats, garnish.

For this question I would like to know how to garnish. I am making a bacon and pulled pork chili, and need a smooth, subtle garnish to take the edge off the peppers. First off, I will be dusting the top with a mixture of nutritional yeast and a smidge of dround coffee and ground, dried orange rind.

Initially I was inspired by the idea of a bacon flavored ice cream, served to the side of the bread with a hal strip of maple-smoked bacon candied in the oven with light brown sugar. The idea of being able to have a whole spoon of chili and then a nibble of the garnish is very appealing.

I pitched the idea at a friend and added, "but I don't want it to be frozen, or to melt." The cold would be impossible with the heavy texture of the chili, and melting would disturb the dusted topping.

We came up with a mixture of sour cream and cream cheese, with a bit of arrow root as a coagulant (since it will be semi-cold, I want it to retain some stiffness on the surface of the chili). Basically, blend it all up with some of the bits of candied bacon and some spices, then chill it over night in the fridge to marry the flavors until competition time.

What ratio would the above mixture need to be relative to arrow root (I haven't used it before)? By the teaspoon, tablespoon, fraction of a cup per cup of dairy?

Is there a better coagulant for the purpose
Are there any flavor/textural issues with arrow root that I should be aware of to begin with, and specifically in the context of sour cream / cream cheese?

Is there a better solution to fit the problem; that is, what other kind of ice cream like garnish could I use that would resist melting for a bit of time and would have a smooth texture and be able to nibble on with little scoops from the spoon?


texts: Old, unpasteurized orange juice has extra tang

texts: I've been buying unpasteurized orange juice recently for its richer flavor, as compared to pasteurized OJ.  I've had some sitting in the fridge for about a week, and upon tasting it just now I noticed an extra tang that I'm pretty sure was not there when I first bought it.  I presume this is due to some new acid in the juice that has formed from the breakdown of other components of the juice as it aged.  I quite like this additional complexity of the flavor, but I am curious: What is it?  In particular, what acid might I be tasting?


texts:
I am following the recipe of the rice I am making which is:

Add 2 cups of water and heat
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of butter
Add 1 cup of rice then wait for 18 to 20 minutes and it should be ready to serve.

But the problems with this are:

The rice is always watery
It is flavorless
Some rice gets burnt and makes it really hard to clean the pan


texts: How would I jar a sauce for keeping at room temperature without adding loads of vinegar or sugar?

texts:
I'd like to make and sell jars of my mum's satay sauce at our local food markets.

I'm trying to figure out the jarring process so it can be stored at room temperature and not make anyone sick or worse.

My experience in jarring/canning is minimal but I've done some research and would love to get some of your thoughts on my process.

I'm aware of botulism, so the ingredients of concern are fresh chillies, garlic, onions and belacan (salted shrimp paste).

These are fried with peanut oil.

There is sugar and vinegar in the mix.

There is a good amount of sugar however it's definitely not 50% like jam or anything.

The amount of vinegar is not a huge amount (should I ph test this? how and what ph would I look for?)

The rest is peanuts and dried spices.

These are the steps I'm taking at the moment:

Sterilize jars and lids in preheated oven @ 140c for 20 mins.
Fry fresh ingredients at high temp.
Slow cook remaining in large pot at low temp.
Fill jars while sauce is hot.
Put filled jars in preheated oven @ 140 for 30 mins with lid loosely on.
Remove and tighten lid.

When cooled, the lids pops down and is sealed.

The jars are from a local supplier and have confirmed with them that they can be cooked.
(I've tested this process about 3 times with higher heat and the jars withstand it).

How safe is my process?

What have I done wrong, or what can I change/improve?

Should I add some kind of preservative?

I'm open to all suggestions. My goal is to have it kept safe at room temp for at least a month (more is better :) )

Currently, when I hand out test samples I ask people to keep it in the fridge and eat within a week.

Sorry about the long question but I just want to share her amazing sauce and not make people ill.


texts: Do plastic cutting boards dull knives faster than wood boards?

texts:
I've heard on numerous occasions that plastic cutting boards dull knives faster than wood boards. I use a large wooden cutting board often, but recently I've been finding it heavy and it sometimes leaves behind a flavour on food despite good cleaning.
Is there any objective evidence that plastic cutting boards dull knives faster than good wood cutting boards? I'm hoping there have been experiments with sharpness measuring instruments such as the Edge-On-Up Industrial Edge Tester.
I've heard anecdotes and I've seen people provide plausible explanations why wood would be better for keeping knives sharp, but I haven't seen any hard data.


texts:
I have a 1.2kg whole chicken that I wish to roast, on the packet it says it'll take 1h 28m at 200°C.

The New Best Recipe book recommends cooking a 1.8kg chicken for just 60m, with temperature of 190°C for 30m and 230°C for about 30 more. Nigel Slator's Real Cooking recommends a similar 60m time for a 2kg bird, with a variation on the cooking temperatures. And Delia says to cook a 1.6kg chicken for around 60m too.

Why are the times so radically different? Accounting for the weight, it would seem that the packaging recommends almost twice the cooking time that the reliable professionals recommend. Is the shop just being overly safe?


texts: How can I avoid getting swindled? How can I detect polyphosphates in fish fillets?

texts:
Fish fillets are treated with polyphosphates for several reasons, but mainly to increase their weight (and hence the profit).

According to this FAO paper:

The first and universal effect of all polyphosphate treatment is to
increase the weight of the fish by retaining water
Application of polyphosphate to ...(high quality fish) ... is generally
only of slight value
The dull surface of poor quality fillets from stale fish can also be
given a gloss by treatment with polyphosphate.
Excessive treatment of small products such as shellfish or thin
fillets can even result in undesirable flavour changes and sloppy
texture.

So ... is there a way to know if a fillet has been treated with polyphosphate without buying it first and lending it to your chemist cousin?


texts: What are some clear honey and chili sauces in Chinese cuisine?

texts:
I used to go to a Chinese restaurant near my house for years and I usually ordered what they called "Hunan Chicken". It was breaded chicken pieces, similar to what you'd get with Sweet & Sour Chicken, but with a very sweet, very hot sauce, and diced onion and bell pepper. It was nothing like any other Hunan Chicken I've had before or since.
I'm looking to make this myself, as I haven't been able to find it again anywhere else, and I think I can use chicken bits like from Sweet & Sour Chicken, but I just can't figure out the sauce.
Is there a golden, clear, honey and chili oil-based sauce in Chinese cuisine that I can use as a starting point to try to recreate this dish?


texts:
I'm looking for methods to improve timing or workflow during cooking. How to multi-task effectively, getting the maximal amount of differing dishes on the table, for each course, etc. A multitasking / scheduling problem.

Of course, practise makes perfect (and I've been practising: certainly not perfect yet though). Say you reach the level where you can dissect a recipe (which, if written correctly, should be a straight arrow in time, tell you when to multitask, and not surprise you with 'combine the current result with that other recipe from the next page you should have started on an hour ago') and plan out your strategy. How do you improve at this point? What tools can help you?

I imagine professional chefs, with the additional complication of also having to instruct multiple souschefs, will have insight or even formal training on this - but what about us amateurs?

EDIT:

After a bunch of good answers, I feel I need to add that I've been cooking with pleasure almost 17 years now. People enjoy coming to our house for dinner (or at least they say so). Many answers tell me stuff I already know (which doesn't make them bad answers!).

Say you were in my shoes, and looking to stretch yourself - what would you reach for?


texts:
I tried to make hard cheese from raw milk by a common recipe: heating milk to about 190 F, then adding vinegar to curdle. However, I faced three issues:

Different recipes suggest 1/4 - 1/8 cup of vinegar for one gallon of milk, but in my case, the milk does not curdle with less than 1/2 cup for a gallon of milk.
The cheese produced is very soft. When I try to squeeze the cheesecloth (even think and double layer), the cheese is coming out of the cheesecloth pores. Then, I cannot remove more water from the cheese to make hard cheese.
When I separate the whey, it still contains cheese, and after heating the whey, it produces a lots of cheese (even more than the first step).

Is there anything wrong with my method?

The cheese produced is quite good, and I just cannot go further to make hard cheese. A possible source of problem can be the size of my curds in the milk suspension, which is smaller than those shown in the vidoes posted on the internet (not forming big lumps; but I have no idea what can be the reason.


texts: Using/selecting a centrifuge in the kitchen?

texts: I've seen several articles about using a centrifuge for clarifying solutions, making colorless sauces and other things.  Where does this practice come from?  What is your experience with it?  Are there cheap options outside of lab-grade devices?


texts: I quite often will brine poultry and sometimes pork but I have never (or ever heard of anyone) brining beef?  Does anyone know why it doesn't seem to be as popular with beef or has anyone tried it?  If so, how are the results?


texts: using vital wheat gluten instead of flour?

texts: I want to make Naan, but I am on the Keto diet and traditional wheat flour has too many carbohydrates. Can I make it with vital wheat gluten instead of flour? Do I have to add anything else?


texts: When frying bacon in the pan, it tends to curl. What causes this? Is there a way to slow down that process itself?


texts: How does tangzhong (water roux) make bread softer?

texts:
As I understand it, tangzhong in relation to bread making is an Asian technique in which a portion of the flour in the recipe is pre-cooked with water to make a roux, before being cooled and added to the rest of the ingredients. It is supposed to make the resulting bread very soft, often for days longer than non-tangzhong breads. I thought maybe it works by binding the proteins so gluten development is restricted, but I'd have thought that would inhibit rise, which seems not to be an issue.

Disclaimer: I have not yet made a tangzhong bread, but I believe I have eaten a few... My first attempt is currently doing a bulk rise.

How does tangzhong work exactly? How does it actually change the dough to achieve the distinct softness for which it is so famous?


texts: Can I marinate chicken that has already been cooked?

texts: I have some chicken that was grilled. I want to put it back on the grill and cook it some more. I marinated it in a bag. Is it OK to marinate cooked chicken?


texts:
TVP - textured vegetable protein
Can anyone tell me how TVP is produced?


texts:
Here's what I'm using:

16oz crushed tomatoes
1 head of garlic
1/2 cup red wine
Parmesan cheese
Basil
Oregano
Salt
1/4 cup olive oil

I start by lightly cooking the garlic cloves in olive oil until they brown. Then I add the tomatoes, followed by the wine, oregano, salt, basil, and cheese. I then slow cook everything for about an hour.

The sauce is turning out kind of watery though. How I can thicken it into a proper hearty Italian pasta sauce?


texts: Help! I sliced my flank steak along the grain, is there a way to still have tender meat?

texts:
I don't know how to cook beef, I'm really not a meat eater; however, I prepared a recipe from memory and I was in a rush and I thought I remembered reading to slice the meat along the grain...I was wrong. I see articles all over the internet about how to slice it correctly, but I don't see any articles about what to do to salvage your meat when its sliced incorrectly.

Right now my meat has been marinating for about 16 hours and I have 8 more hours to go. Is there anything I can do to this meat to guarantee that it'll still be tender, even though I sliced it wrong? I am making Hunan beef by the way. Thank you in advance for your responses.


texts: What methods are appropriate for preparing a 'chow chow' (chayote)?

texts:
I saw this in a grocers in an area which is predominantly populated by Korean people. It reminded me of Audrey 2 from 'The Little Shop of Horrors'.

Any ideas on how to use it?


texts: Eggwash/Milkwash on Partially Baked Quickbread?

texts:
Some quickbread recipes I make do not result in a great looking top surface, even though they taste fine. They would benefit from either an eggwash or a milkwash. Obviously I can't brush a wash on a quickbread batter the way I would on a pie crust or cookie dough, i.e., before baking.

Does anyone have experience pulling a partially baked quickbread out of the oven to brush on a wash to get a nice-looking top? At what point in the bake should I do this? If so, which is preferable, egg or milk? I'm looking for shine and depth of color.


texts:
I experimented for with xanthan gum for the first time tonight. I made a sauce which was about half roasted peppers, half savory stuff (lamb stock, beef broth, balsamic vinegar and a bit of chili powder). I added about 0.9% of xanthan gum, strained through a fine sieve and poured in an iSi whipper with 2 shots of nitrous oxide.

I served it at 50°C, the sauce was nice and so was the foam, but it took only a couple of seconds until the foam melted and it became a sauce with big gas bubbles in it. I somehow expected the foam to hold.

Anything I missed?


texts: The balsamic vinegar reduction that I made a few months ago has solidified. It has been refrigerated. Can I heat it to liquefy it and still use it?


texts: Is there some sort of gun (or a way) to decorate cookies with chocolate chips or nuts?

texts:
I've started producing 1000 cookies a day, and I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to decorate cookies faster with chocolate chips or nuts than doing it by hand.

Some sort of gun or something that would push/throw nuts and chocolate chips?

Note: the photo shows peanut butter cookies topped with peanuts

thanks


texts: Want to make a 3-layer curd tart or pie using layers of blood orange, lime and lemon curd but don't know how to do it. Do I need to heat all three curds, let all three cool, then pour into pie shell one at a time? Will they bleed together or stay in separate layers?


texts: Can I just rinse the knife & cutting board, instead of washing it, after cutting washed vegetables?

texts:
I was wondering something I can't seem to Google anywhere, concerning food safety/hygiene.
And that is whether I can just rinse the cutting board/knife, after cutting up some washed vegetables (e.g. cucumber & tomatoes) or whether doing so could be quite unhygienic and I ought to just wash it every time
• By rinse I mean to just let water run on the knife and cutting board vertically
• And by wash, I mean use a detergent with a sponge or a brush


texts: What features should I look for in a hand grinder (for peanut butter)?

texts:
I want to make my own peanut butter.  I've read of various grinders--both hand-operated and electric.  I'm most interested in finding a durable hand-operated peanut butter grinder.  I know there are many spice grinders that can be used for peanut butter, but I don't want to skimp and get something that will break if I use it primarily for making peanut butter.

What should I look for?  How do I know if a grinder will survive a large number of peanut-butter batches?


texts:
I was wondering if I can put meat directly from the freezer into a slow-cooker. I want to be able to put chicken in the slow-cooker without having to let it defrost for a whole day in the fridge.

It is possible?


texts: Does it make sense to vacuume brined meat? Why not sous vide in water directly?

texts:
If you wet brine a piece of meat and don't apply anything else to it, why exactly do you need a bag?

Why not cook the meat directly in the brine? While it cooks, it can brine some more. Handy, if you are short a couple hours on the brine.

I always thought, that the point of the bag is to keep the meat dry. But when you take it out its swimming in a lot of liquid.

So why not simply cook it in water, still controlling the temperature precisely?


texts: Is it possible to purchase Disodium Ribonucleotides (E635) in consumer/small quantities?

texts: My research has indicated that it is only possible to order in bulk through contacting large suppliers. Has anyone had any luck purchasing E635 or disodium inosinate and guanylate separately?


texts:
I have a ceramic grill that I have only ever cooked organic chicken breast and organic steak on.  I have occasionally added spice but not for months as it makes too much mess.  After cooking, I drizzle warm water mixed with washing up liquid on it from a soft cloth, whilst the grill is still hot (generating a lot of steam), then wipe it in order to clean it efficiently.

After I have cleaned the grill and it starts to cool, I have noticed white powder on it, as shown below.

I can scratch this off gently with my thumbnail and it comes off cleanly, as shown by the highlighted area below:

This leaves a black substance under my nail that has a slight meaty smell:

Can anyone suggest what this is?  My first thought was salt, but I don't add any to the meat (or is there enough in it to cause this?).  Or could it be something to do with the washing up liquid I use to clean it?

(This is my first question here, be nice.  And yes, I know I could write to the manufacturer, but trust impartial individuals on here just as much :))


texts: How can I prevent my texas toast from sticking together?

texts: It's a real problem. Can't cook em stuck together.


texts: Non-melting processed cheese: what's it made of?

texts:
I got a Hickory Farms box over the holidays (as a gift), and it included a brick of "smoked cheddar/swiss", a processed cheese that was "naturally" smoked.  Yesterday we decided to use it on baked potatoes, and were startled to find out that it doesn't melt, at all.  Even after 10 minutes in a 325F oven*, it looked pretty much the same as when I first grated it.

Now, I'm used to thinking of processed cheese being super-melty.  Velveeta is the queen of melty cheeses, down to the point of folks  making their own fake Velveeta to have something for cheeseburgers.  And I'm used to high-salt and/or "cooked" cheeses (like paneer) being non-melty, but this was neither of those.

What do manufacturers like Hickory Farms do, or add to, processed cheese that causes it to not melt?  And why?

(* for comparison, real American cheddar melts after 5 minutes in a 325F oven)


texts: What is the difference between tomato puree, paste and sauce?

texts:
I was looking for a recipe for an Italian tomato sauce when I came across an old cookbook from an American Creole Chef I like, but I'm really confused about the terminology he uses for some of the ingredients and wondered if someone could clarify exactly what he's referring to.

In the recipe he asks for -

2 cans (6 ounces) of tomato paste
2 cans (10 3/4 ounces) of tomato sauce
2 cans (10 3/4 ounces) of tomato puree

I've always assumed that tomato paste and tomato puree were the same thing, but clearly not. Can anyone clarify the difference between these two?

Tomato sauce in the UK comes out of a ketchup bottle, is he referring to passata, sieved tomatoes? If not, what is he referring to?


texts:
Introduction

While making vegetable recipe we generally initiate with same procedure for every vegetable i.e. in 2 spoon of hot oil we put mustard, cumin, and asafoetida before adding pieces of any vegetable.

Question

Why does asafoetida clump after putting into hot oil? How to avoid this?

Reference -

Video -- Please refer initial process only in this video. Although she has not added asafoetida. I am just telling to refer initial common procedure for understanding.

Following is another image for reference


texts:
https://www.nestlebaby.com.au/products/dry-infant-cereal/cerelac-rice/
The contents says: "Rice":
I can understand that they have ground the raw rice.
Then is it supposed to be roasted?

https://www.nestlebaby.com.au/products/dry-infant-cereal/cerelac-wheat/
The contents says: "Wheat" and "Semolina":
Am I supposed to roast the wheat flour which we use in breads etc., and semolina too?

How to make a Cerelac replica at home?


texts: Are refrigerated hard boild eggs really unsafe after a week?

texts:
Most sites that I've googled (such as http://www.ochef.com/1009.htm, and http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/eggs2.htm) say that refrigerated hard-boiled eggs need to be eaten within one week.

I'm a little skeptical, and I know that many are very conservative where eggs are involved.

Can anyone point to an authoritative source that explains why, say 10-day old, refrigerated hard-boiled eggs would be unsafe?


texts: What is the name of this Turkish chocolate?

texts:
They are from Turkey but have no idea what they are traditionally called. Although the box is generic, the contents are from a Turkish confectionery.

The brown and white ones are almonds covered in chocolate and the green and white ones are pistachios covered in white chocolate. While the dark, milk and white chocolate balls have bits of coffee bean in them.


texts: Strawberries that keep in the refrigerator for more than two days

texts:
I buy fresh strawberries frequently. Unlike this question, I try to buy them to last, preferably a few days. I naturally avoid strawberries that look overripe (or worse mouldy), preferring punnets with some strawberries with a little white close to the top. I keep my strawberries in the fridge. Often I keep the punnet in a (loose) paper bag (the shop places them in this). The morning after I buy them they are generally fine, the next morning OK, and more often than not after that they seem to want to turn into compost.
Am I doing something wrong here (selection, way of keeping in fridge) or is this "just life"? I have tried changing supermarket, buying from the market, different varieties but there doesn't appear to be a lot of correlation.
This is in Switzerland if it matters, so no GM. Good quality supermarket. The refrigerator is if anything over-efficient. I'm keeping them in the main body of the refrigerator. I'm normally buying them at lunchtime and eating them in the morning for breakfast.
Prior research here: I've searched and looked (enviously) at this question (which suggests either I am doing something wrong or strawberries in the US are different), and this question (which suggests a couple of days is the minimum).


texts: Can I bake 2 cakes at a time on 2 different shelves in my oven toaster grill?

texts: I have a 45 liter capacity oven toaster grill, with 3 rack levels. Can I use the 2 shelves at a time, to bake 2 cakes simultaneously?


texts: Will an airtight container negatively affect yeast growth / dough expansion?

texts:
I've had a lot of success making bread and pizza dough using the Jim Lahey "No knead" method, leaving the covered dough to ferment up to 18 hours.

I normally cover the mix tightly with plastic wrap, and it will bulge slightly, maybe up to 1cm at the centre with ~ 500g proved dough at the end of the time.

In the interests of saving waste, I have invested in a set of stainless steel bowls, which have relatively rigid lids with a double airtight seal. They are a push fit rather than clip over variety, so in theory if the CO2 production is excessive, they would pop off.

Will using these bowls have a detrimental effect on the quality of the dough if the lid stays on for the full duration? Or have I wasted my money here and could have just replaced the cling film with a large plate?


texts: Shelf-life of pressure-canned soups - is it still good?

texts: I am just trying to get a rough idea of how long a pressure canned soup can last. We made turkey soup with thanksgiving leftovers, which we canned. I have it dated from 10-28-2012, so it's a little less than 5 months old. I followed the pressure canner instructions for meat products (10psi for 25 minutes). I opened the jar and it smells good and tastes ok. I just can't find any reference for what shelf life to expect.


texts: Can I make chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes inside?

texts: I want to make a homemade chicken pot pie but I would like to top it with mashed potatoes and then put a regular crust on top of that can that be done what would be the cooking temperature or time difference if any


texts: Liquid soy lecithin vs sunflower lecithin

texts:
I'm currently reading Modernist Cuisine at Home and one ingredient that keeps coming up is "liquid soy lecithin". I'm pretty familiar with the powdered variant for making light, airy foams, but the book is adamant that the powder cannot substitute for the liquid.

So I go on Amazon to try to find some, and I simply cannot! All I see is liquid sunflower lecithin. Does the source of the lecithin matter? Can I safely use sunflower lecithin in the exact same way I would otherwise have used soy lecithin?


texts: What can I do with a large amount of dried cilantro?

texts: My husband came home from America and proudly Presented me with about 4 cups worth of dried cilantro he bought from pensey's spices. I do love pensey's, but I don't see how coming from pensey's can save this stuff from it's existential crisis.  What do I do with 4 cups of dried cilantro?


texts: Dry caramel 'curdles' when adding hot heavy cream

texts:
I was making some caramel sauce today.
A simple recipe: 200g sugar (I used demerara), 500g cream (35% fat).
I dry caramelized the sugar under medium-low heat, stirring until all lumps dissolved and the caramel was all fluid and a deep amber.
At the same time, I heat the cream under low heat until it boiled.
I then combined both, slowly pouring the cream over the caramel in the pan (with the heat on low still on) while mixing vigorously with a whisk.

The thing is, at this point, the caramel on the edges of the pan 'curdled' -- and that was before all the cream got added.
It didn't crystallize into hard matter, but rather into thick, chewy, paste-like clumps.

I kept it on the heat, stirring and pressing these clumps against the bottom of the pan until they melted back into the sauce, and then added the remaining cream.
All the while, the mixture bubbled violently.

This has happened to me before, and I figured it might have been the temperature of the cream.
This time I was paying attention, so the cream was definitely hot and I am hence not really sure what the cause could be.

  Is this behavior 'normal', and it just takes some stirring under heat until it all comes together?

I remember making caramel sauce in large quantities at a restaurant in a similar fashion: dry caramelizing (granulated) sugar in the pan while stirring, then adding cream.
The ratio of sugar to cream was even less (1:1 by weight), but I don't remember these lumps in the pan.

What we did in the occasion was pour part of the cream into the caramel while stirring; the caramel would bubble violently but eventually settle, at which point we'd stir in the rest of the cream.

  If this behavior is not normal (as I suspect), what could be causing it or how could I avoid it?


texts: When should I add melted chocolate to reduced sugar meringue?

texts: I'd like to know when melted chocolate should be added to reduced sugar meringue, and what will the end result be. Will the meringue stiffen up like cooled chocolate, or will it be light and fluffy?


texts: Is it ok to leave a slow cooker unattended?

texts: Is it safe to leave a slow cooker (Crock-Pot) on unattended (for example, while you're at work and no one is home)? Or is that a fire hazard?


texts: Replace the potatoes in a corned beef hash with something that isn't starchy?

texts: I am following a low-carb diet, and would like to make corned beef hash at home with left over corned beef brisket. Onions are no problem, but I would prefer to avoid root vegetables, and potatoes in particular. What would make a good substitute, in terms of texture and taste?


texts: How do I reheat a casserole in the oven?

texts: How long and at what temperature should I reheat a pre-baked casserole or pasta dish for 8 people (9x12) that I am taking to a luncheon?


texts: I chopped up some raw assorted hot peppers, covered them with olive oil and then refrigerated them immediately. How long will they keep in the fridge?


texts: Basil - to wash or not to wash? Best practices?

texts:
I know that washing basil weakens it's flavor significantly. I often buy it from local supermarkets where everyone can touch it, that's why I just have to wash it. But even when I buy organic basil, I still feel the urge to wash it.
How do you deal with that? Is there any way to 'wash' the basil without weaken it's flavour?


texts: Effect of wine used for deglazing on dish

texts:
What wine should be used for deglazing, e.g. a tomato sauce?
Will certain aspects of the flavor (e.g. fruity, dry) be noticeable in the finished dish or is it just for the 'general' wine taste?
Can I use a wine that has been opened a few days ago or is it better to use a new bottle?


texts: Can I substitute vodka for rum in tiramisu?

texts:
Specifically in this recipe: Tiramisu-II

The reason why I'm asking this is I only have vodka at home, and I rarely drink. So I don't want to buy any kind of liquor just for three tablespoons of it. Plus, alcohol is very expensive where I live.


texts: Can zucchini be increased in zucchini bread recipes?

texts: I would like to increase the amount of zucchini in my zucchini bread recipe. Can I? How much? Does increasing the amount of zucchini make other changes necessary?


texts:
A blogger I generally trust recently posted a recipe for a simple, brown soda bread.

The recipe calls for: bread flour, whole wheat flour, and wheat germ.

What is the purpose of adding wheat germ to a bread dough? What function does that serve?

I thought wheat germ was what you removed to turn whole wheat flour into white flour.  So is the wheat germ just there to make the bread darker?  Or is it something to do with it being a soda bread, instead of a more standard yeast bread?


texts: How can I make cakes in 20Ltr ONIDA Black Diamond conventional microwave oven?

texts: I am using 20Ltr ONIDA Black Diamond conventional microwave oven. I couldn't bake cakes in this oven at 180 degree temperature. Please send me feedback -how to use this oven for baking cakes?


texts: What are vegan ways to change or neutralize the taste of textured vegetable protein (TVP)?

texts:
I find the taste unappealing. For one cup of TVP I blend 3-4 onions, a head of garlic then add some spices, add carrots, then bake it as burgers and still I can taste it. I tried soaking it in vegetable broth and veggie cubes but I didn't like their taste.

Edit: I'm particularly interested in improving TVP taste or at least neutralizing it.


texts: What is the purpose of heating agar powder

texts: Is agar powder heated so that it will form a gel when it is cooled? if not then what is the purpose of boiling it?


texts: Do dried poblano/ancho chili have an expiration date?

texts:
I cleaned my kitchen cupboard and found a packet of ancho chili (dried poblano) that I bought a really long time ago (about 10 years?)
Can I still use them in recipes or do they have a "best before date" ?
They still look good, they do not look to be damaged in any way (I don't have bugs or other critters at home)
Thanks.


texts: How can I improve the baking of frozen cod and rice with carrots,?

texts:
This is a dish that I'm trying to figure out. Out of laziness I want to cook a whole meal that includes some veggies, protein and carbs in a single baking.
I don't thaw the cod before because it's usually a dish that I make with no preparation.

I mix diced carrots and rice with oil, salt, pepper, and some spices like rosemary, sage and thyme. Then put the mixture in an over tray add the frozen cod and enough stock for the rice to cook in.
Finally it goes in the oven at ~180*C (~370*F) until the rice is done.

The result is reasonably good, with flavors from the fish and the carrots blending into the rice, but overall a bit underwhelming.

Any suggestions on what could be improved? Is there some other all-in-one-tray baking recipe I could use?

I'd like to stay away from garlic or onions, but maybe there are other herbs or spices that would work better with the stock and rice rather than the ones I'm using?
I guess I'm wondering which spices are at their best when cooked in lots of water and go well with fish.

The carrots cook well, but they don't really brown, some on top just dry up and others are close to boiled, would lowering the cooking temperature help?

Other vegetables that would work better here instead?


texts:
I want to make batches of Salsa Verde* fast and fresh, 8 to 12 serves at a time

It normally requires a large amount of knife work to get everything finely chopped and crushed. How can I speed up this process?

The liquid part can be pre-measured and mixed, the egg yolk only takes a second to separate and mix in. But the fresh herbs take time to chop finely without destroying them, and the final mixing and crushing in the herbs and spices takes time

Food processors do not make a satisfactory result, it looks and tastes like baby food

* Salsa Verde - based on Italian style

Parsley, chopped
Coriander (cilantro), chopped
Oregano, chopped
Garlic, sliced and crushed
Smoked dried chillies, crushed
Salt (powdered)
Olive oil
Coriander oil (a few drops)
Egg yolk
Lemon juice
Vinegar


texts: Is it safe to put a plate directly on a recently-on gas burner?

texts:
As someone who lives in an apartment with a small kitchen, I often find myself repurposing the stovetop as a food prep space.  I've always tried to avoid putting plates down on a (gas) burner that was recently on, in case there's any residual heat in the guard (the iron part that actually holds up the pot...not sure of the correct word).  I have cracked warm glasses by pouring cold liquid into them, and I don't want that to happen with a plate.

However, I'm putting hot food straight from the pan onto that plate, and the pan was just recently on that burner.  If the heat from the food doesn't crack the plate, does that mean that it would be safe to put the plate on the burner?


texts: How do different types of thickener actually thicken?

texts:
What I'm asking is not chemically how they do it, but rather how do each practically thicken.

For example:

Thickening with wheat flour is thickened when at boiling point - cooking further does not destroy the sauce/liquid. The thickening effect is increased alot when cooling.
Thickening with potato flour yields a goopy, gummy liquid when boiled. Etc

What I'm mainly wondering about is:

Wheat flour
Potato flour
Potato starch
Corn flour
Corn starch
Gelatin
Tapioca

Of course, if any of these can be grouped together, that's great aswell!


texts: Why isn't there more dark milk chocolate or "light" dark chocolate?

texts:
My understanding is that the difference between dark chocolate and milk chocolate is that milk chocolate has milk solids and more sugar.

Why don't we often see chocolate with say 70% cocoa solids, 10% milk solids and 20% sugar?

Similarly why don't we see 30% cocoa solids, 70% sugar (no milk solids) for a light-dark chocolate?


texts:
Paper cupcake liners are made from circles of paper, then the outer parts are are crimped to create the (mostly) vertical sides. The shape of the liners should match the indentations in the muffin tin.

In my stash I found a few batches of liners that mysteriously got "flattened" a bit. Now when I place them on the tin, they don't sink to the bottom, but sit on top. If I simply push them down, on one or two places the pleats will fold towards the middle, getting enclosed by dough on both sides. Which isn't just aesthetically "meh", but also tears the cake when unwrapping.

Is there a reasonably easy way to get the liners back in shape?

I don't want to throw them away because they are really pretty.
But I don't want to spend hours to gently reshape them pleat by pleat either.
Sometimes filling the cups very slowly by piping the batter with a pastry bag while gently pushing the liners down and distributing the pleats helps a bit. But a fitting liner makes the work faster and easier.


texts:
Does soaking fries in vinegar before blanching work better than blanching in vinegar water?

Acidity de-activates pectinase, so it should toughen up the outside, while leaving the inside intact to gelitinise later. I have info and done some experiments with parboiling in vinegar water, and this works, but theoretically a cold vinegar soak should work better, because it leaves the inside alone. Does anyone have data or refs or thoughts?


texts: Can I freeze pasta sauce which is made with fresh cream?

texts: Im making pasta sauce with fresh cream. Is it safe to deep freeze the sauce in a tupperware container for later use.


texts:
I want to make Cantonese-style roasted duck but a whole-duck is too much for me and I have only a small oven so I want to try using the thigh or breast only.

My problem is I can't make the layer of fat underneath the skin melt down. With a
whole-duck recipe you roast the duck at medium-high temp for 2-4 hours,
but because I use only part of the duck, if I do that the meat-side will dry out.

Here is what I tried:

Using fingers, separate skin and meat (still intact end-part), stripes diamond pattern
Brine duck part for 1-2 hour (with salt, sugar, water, soy sauce, ginger, garlic)
Boil water with distilled vinegar, honey, red coloring then pour over skin-side, skin tighten up
Rub with baking powder, uncover in fridge to dry the skin
I tried this step two ways:

first time I roasted with convection oven 140 c, still fatty skin
second,used aluminum foil wrapped all over meat-part, uncover the skin-part in fridge 48 hours, roasted, not better than first one, skin still thick but cracking (skin too dry?)

How can I get the skin to be thin and the fat to melt?


texts:
I was just thinking and I love pepperoni. Could you make a whole burger out of pepperoni? I wonder what this would taste like? It wouldn't be cheap of course.
It might be near to incorporate shredded pepperoni in a beef burger using ground beef, but I wonder if you can make a full burger out of pepperoni?


texts: How many times can you reheat boiled eggs?

texts: Everything I've found indicates it's safe to reheat boiled eggs - but nothing I can find indicates how many times. (I assume one should chill them back down to fridge temperature quickly after the first reheating to even have the chance of using them again.)


texts: Why are some dried (dehydrated) lime fruits black and others tan brown?

texts:
Whole dried limes (Limoo, Omani) come in either black or a tan brown colour. Black has a stronger flavour but what the reason for the difference? Some say that black coloured dried limes are smoked and dried, others say that it is because black are dried for longer. I have also read that black-coloured limes have been soaked differently before drying.
Example image of the different types here: http://www.azeliaskitchen.net/lentil-dried-lime-soup-shorbat-adas/


texts: Can I dry-brine a turkey crown while it's defrosting?

texts:
At the suggestion of certain knowledgeable parties, I plan on dry-brining my turkey crown for Christmas dinner this year. However, I will most likely be buying a frozen crown, so I'm wondering what the timing should be like.

I've heard that you can dry-brine while defrosting, but I can't find any details. I'm thinking that I should let it partially defrost before salting, letting the outer part of the turkey soften a bit. The joint will be about 2.5kg (5.5lbs), so will take about 10 hours to defrost in a cold room (boy does my kitchen fit this description). I'm thinking perhaps salting 3 hours into defrosting, letting it fully defrost, then placing it in the fridge overnight - I know dry brining should usually be longer, but this is a relatively small joint and I'd rather not give my guests massive food poisoning as a Christmas gift.


texts: Baking in electric oven with only top heating element and no fan

texts:
I've just moved in a house with an older electric oven. It only has a top heating element and doesn't have a fan.
Every time I try to bake something it turns out burnt on the outside and under-cooked on the inside. I always put my cakes on the lowest rack and put a sheet of foil paper on a rack higher up to prevent the direct heat onto the cake, but I'm still having issues.
Should I bake cakes at a lower temperature for longer? Should I wrap the cake in foil? Should I put a pizza stone at the bottom of the oven to try to generate heat from there?
I'm not sure what to do, please help!


texts: Oil temp goes up when turkey breast is added - why?

texts:
Why does my oil temperature go up, from 350°F to 400° or 425°, when I add a bone-in turkey breast? It will remain there for about 20  minutes without the burner on.

I have done this twice now with same results. The turkey cooks fine but this puzzles me - any thoughts?


texts:
I have had some dry chickpeas for quite some time (~6-12 months) in my pantry and now I'm looking to cook them.

Most of them have some orange spots, which I'm not sure are normal (See picture below). Are they safe to eat?


texts: what table material is electric oven safe to place on to?

texts:
we have very limited space in the kitchen and the electric oven could not fit into it. Our only option is to put it on top of our glass dining table or buy a new table to the sides. I can't find any information on what are the best materials of the table top to put on the electric oven.

Thanks in advance. =)


texts:
I was planning to brine my turkey but I realise that I bought a self-basting turkey.
According to most websites, brining a self-basting turkey is a big "no".

But has anyone brine a self-basting turkey before?
What were your results?
Did you decrease the salt in the brine to accommodate the existing salt in the turkey?


texts: When I make crunchie bars my melted chocolate that covers them goes white if I put them in the fridge. Will cocoa butter chips help that issue. I'm not sure why the chocolate goes milky white on areas.  If I add cocoa butter chips make a difference


texts: How to carry a knife around a kitchen safely?

texts:
How do I carry a knife when moving between my cutting station and the sink for cleaning safely?  Any way I hold it feels like I'm either endangering my fellow cooks or myself.

Context:  I'm not a chef, I cook at home, but my kitchen is large and there are often multiple people cooking simultaneously (up to 4)


texts: Sweet rice recipe help? Panama cook book recipe

texts:
This is from my vague Panama cookbook for "Sweet Rice." It's a side dish, not dessert.
Ingredients:
- 4 or 5 coconuts (Google says 1 coconut is 1 or 2 cups of coconut milk)
- 1/2 pound of ginger (?)
- 1 box of raisins (my guess is 2 cups since I'll be making 4 cups of rice)
- 1 pound of rice (Google says 2 cups uncooked)
- Cinnamon to taste (?)
- Clove to taste (?)
- Salt to taste
- Light brown sugar (?)
- White sugar (?)

Please help me with "to taste" directions. I can't cook, I need specifics.
1/2 pound of ground ginger? How many thumbs would you use?
Cinnamon and clove to taste? How many ml?
And what's your guess on the amounts of sugar?
These directions sound so easy but I can't guess on these amounts myself. Appreciate any help, thanks.


texts: Where did the first kombucha SCOBY come from?

texts:
I haven't been able to find any information on this online. Kombucha recipes always suggest to either get a bit of the starter from someone else who makes kombucha or to grow the scoby from a storebought bottle, but both of these presuppose the existence of someone else's kombucha.
Some research:

The SCOBY Wikipedia page does not give any history
Neither does The Kombucha Wikipedia page
This answer is related but suggests you need a lab to do it which I find unsatisfying

How did someone make the first batch of kombucha? Is it possible to make from scratch?


texts: Replacement for pasta that is natural and fairly low carb

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I'm looking for something with the physical properties of pasta (spaghetti or similar, not lasagne). Something that I can toss with a sauce or oil and serve in a large bowl for a weekday supper. Something grain-free and natural.

I've tried a large onion cut into thin strips (probably the most successful) and leeks (tend to be too floppy / wet).

Any other suggestions?


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I found a good balance between leavening and maturation while using my favourite flour, my oven and my sourdough starter, the only problem is that the whole process, from mixing the ingredients and producing a baked dough/focaccia requires more than 24h, about 1 day and a half.

I know at least 2 ways of "cheating" on the leavening, with some fructose/easy to digest sugar or a warmer temperature, but maturation is harder, it looks like there is no real answer or shortcut to that.

My main problem here is to shorten the amount of time required while getting the same or a really similar result.


texts: Does the freshness of the ingredient impact the longevity of the cooked dish?

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Using ingredients that aren't fresh will generally negatively impact the flavor of the dish, but does it impact how long the cooked dish will last before it goes bad? For example, if I make two pots of tomato sauce, one with freshly-picked tomatoes and one with tomatoes on their last legs, will the two resulting pots go bad at the same time (assuming everything else about the preparation is the same)?

That is, does the act of cooking result in a chemically different result for each kind (ripeness) of ingredient?

If it does, how much does it depend on the type of ingredient (e.g. meat vs. vegetables) used? How much does it depend on the style of cooking (i.e. it seems that "light" preparations (those that tend towards "more raw") might be more effected than those the have longer preparations.)


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I love my slow cooker but cooling food seems to take forever. Usually, I just pop the crock into the oven (no heat) and store until the next morning. So we're talking from 9PM (I eat dinner late) until 8 or 9 AM next day; some goes into the fridge; some into the freezer.

Is this safe or is there a better way without putting it in the fridge right away and subjecting my already cold foods to heat/steam?