texts: How can I make my pizza dough easier to work?

texts:
I run a wood fired pizza van and I currently make about 40kg of dough a week in a spiral mixer.

The dough cooks brilliantly and tastes great, but it's very difficult to work with, particularly with the various temperature fluctuations you deal with working outside.

Before starting the business I'd only ever made dough and pizza at home on a small scale. So I basically just adapted and scaled up the home recipe I used to use. Unfortunately I assume this may be part of the problem with why the dough is tough to work.

The current recipe I use (adjusted based on how much I need to make, but usually a batch this size) is;

23.4kg Flour (Caputo Pizzeria Flour)
15.6 Litres Water
2 Tbsp Salt
3 Tbsp Sugar
5 Tbsp Dry Yeast
1.56 Litres Olive Oil

I mix the sugar with warm water and add the yeast and let it dissolve and activate. I add the rest of the (warm) water into the mixer, add the yeast when it's ready and some flour.
I add the flour slowly (3kgs at a time) until I've added 18kg and this has mixed. I let the dough rest like this for 15 minutes to autolyse (I added this step a while ago to try and make the dough easier to work with and it seemed to help, despite not being a proper autolyse).
I then add the salt and olive oil and mix until combined.
After that I add the rest of the flour and mix for about 20 minutes.

My first issue is with the use of the spiral mixer as I've found it fairly difficult to find information about how long to mix with it online. I'm not sure 20 minutes is enough but I'm worried about over mixing it if I give it too long.

The second problem is that due to a lack of space (specifically fridge space) I freeze the dough as soon as it's mixed. Once it's finished mixing I divide it into 3kg bags and put it in a chest freezer. Freezing generally takes between 12 - 24 hours and it's usually doubled in size before it's fully frozen.

When it comes time to use it I take it out the night before it's needed and then ball it up a few hours before we open.

The dough never has that smooth silky look (it has a rough wrinkly texture usually) and doesn't window pane properly (it tears), it can be very difficult to roll (and impossible to hand stretch or toss).

I'm looking to get that smooth feel and easy stretching as the effort of rolling lots of pizzas from this dough each night has become quite an issue.

I'm assuming the mixing or the freezing is likely to be the biggest problem as I've made smaller batches to the same recipe by hand or in a KitchenAid and got better results (and I always used to freeze dough when using it at home with no issues) but I'm not sure how best to adapt (and worry about experimenting in case I ruin a batch or make it even more difficult to work with)


texts: Making large quantities of tea with bags

texts:
Say I'm making a litre of tea, for ice tea, would it be better to steep one bag for longer or several bags (five, I guess, given a cup is around 200ml) for the time stated on the box (a few minutes)?

I've read that the longer you steep, the more tannins and caffeine is released into the tea, and so the more bitter it will become. As such, I guess more bags would be preferable, as ice tea is usually sweet; but if one is optimising for caffeine content, longer with additional sweeter might be better. I appreciate this is subjective, but am I on the right track?

(n.b., Lady Grey tea, if it makes a difference.)


texts:
I am making a slow cooker recipe that calls for beef brisket. Unfortunately, my grocery store only had obnoxiously large cuts of brisket so I just grabbed a reasonably sized beef round rump roast. In the back of my head I thought I remembered that the two could be substituted for the other, but in trying to confirm that I'm coming up short.

Can I substitute a beef round rump roast for brisket? Do I need to adjust cooking time for the differing cut?


texts: What is the most effective method to prevent a soggy shortcrust quiche base?

texts:
I have seen two methods to counter this. One is the traditional way of pricking the base with a fork, then blind baking at 200C with weights etc. for 10 minutes, then giving an additional 5 minutes without the weights, then add the filling.

The other is to prick the base as before, seal with beaten egg white, place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes, then add the filling.

The latter to me, seems to be a good way of using up the leftover egg white when making the classic custard filling in a quiche, but does it deliver better results than the traditional blind baking method?


texts: Use chia seeds to help thicken a pot pie

texts:
Can I put chia seeds in a pot pie filling to help thicken it? If so, how would I do it? (i.e., how much chia seeds, how much cornstarch, do I need to pre-soak, etc.)

Edit: It was this recipe, and it was IMO quite runny with 2tbsp of corn starch.


texts: I love the combination of pesto and chicken. Is there a reason traditional Italian cuisine seems to shy away from it?

texts: They just seem to go together perfectly without the need to add much more to make a tasty dish. However, for some reason, it doesn't seem to appear in traditional cuisine at all. Is pesto considered exclusively a pasta sauce? Is there a reason why?


texts: I recently bought a green, and a brown coconut (different stages of maturation). I drunk the liquid from the green, young one, which is apparently what you are supposed to do, and it tasted terrible. It was sourish not sweet at all, and had almost like a carbonated feel to it. However, water from the brown coconut (mature) tasted delicious and sweet, and left me much more satisfied. Is there a reason for this, because this is contrary to what I read online.


texts: Generally for breakfast I eat a smoothie containing 8oz soy milk, 1/2 cup berries, 1/2 banana, and 1 scoop protein powder. Unfortunately, however, my blender is very loud, and I will soon be moving into a smaller apartment with someone who is a light sleeper. If I make my breakfast the night before, and then put it in the fridge for the next morning, what will the effects be? I'd be concerned the protein powder would settle and get grainy, or that the ingredients would separate and lessen the overall flavor of the drink.


texts: Vacuum-packed unfrozen Polish sausage left out overnight. Safe to eat or not?

texts:
I left a new, vacuum-packed Polish sausage (kiełbasa) out accidently overnight.

Should I toss it or cook it and eat it?


texts: What mammals' milks are drunk by humans?

texts:
I'd like to make an exhaustive list of the various animals whose milk humans drink. Here's the ones I can think of:

human
cow
goat
sheep
camel
yak
buffalo
donkey/ass

Any others? If so, where?


texts: Does the point at which salt is added to a dish affect how the flavor is changed?

texts:
If I'm preparing a dish for myself and someone on a low-sodium diet, I will withhold adding salt while cooking.  Instead, I'll season my plate after serving.  However, I can't seem to get the same flavor from adding salt after-the-fact as I do when I'm salting while preparing the dish.

Is this all in my head or is there actually a difference in how the flavors are affected depending on when the salt is added?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What styles of barbeque exist in American cuisine?

There are many different techniques, practices and (of course) sauces that are given the label "Barbeque" (or BBQ, or Bar-B-Q, or....).

What are the various styles of BBQ, and what distinguishes them?

What (if anything) is/are the common threads that tie them all together?


texts:
I'd like to prepare cherry preserves (/marmalade), but I'd like to save on the time it takes to remove the pits. I'm considering cooking them whole, with gentle mashing, then removing the pits once at the end.
The only problem is the analogy with apple seeds. Apple seeds contain a small amount of "amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside composed of cyanide and sugar" (reference) that makes them dangerous for humans (and also for dogs) when eaten in large quantities.
Is it safe to cook cherries with the pits? Ideally I'd like a reference to be sure. Is there any harmful substance? Do factories remove pits beforehand?


texts: Measurement of ingredients for baking 400g of brown bread

texts:
I am not a professional baker, these days I have found love in baking brown breads at home.

I want to bake a loaf of 400g, for that I take below measurements

300g of wheat flour
100g of water
2 table spoon of Fresh Instant Yeast
2 table spoon of sugar
2 table spoon of Oil
1 tea spoon of Salt
0.5 tea spoon of bread improver

But some how when I finish making the dough the end weight is around 600g.

What should be a measurement of ingredients if I want to make 400g of bread loaf?

If out of 600g dough I pluk out only 400g and keep it to rise, it do not rise the way I want like the bread loaf of 400g which we get in stores.


texts: If I mix rum, gin, vodka and scotch whisky, put it in a water bottle, and leave it for a month will it be safe to drink?

texts: I mixed gin, vodka, rum and scotch whisky together, put it into a water bottle, and left it for about 1 month, would it make me sick If I drank it?


texts: How to make fluffy (not crunchy) quinoa?

texts:
Here is what I did:

Heated 1 cup quinoa in olive oil for 1 minute after rinsing it.
Added 2 cups water till it boiled.
I set the heat to the lowest setting and closed it with a lid.

After 15 minutes, the quinoa is still crunchy and the water has gone. If I let it stand for a few more minutes it gets burnt. I've tried this a few times and get same result - the quinoa is half cooked and inedible. What am I doing wrong?

Note: I'm very new to cooking. About 3 weeks since I entered the kitchen.


texts:
My wife brought a fresh, unfrozen whole 11.71 Lb goose for us to roast for thanksgiving.  How long should I roast it for?
I've found conflicting advice online:

BBC/Gordon Ramsay say 10 mins @ 240C/450F then 20 mins/Kg for medium rare and 32 mins/Kg @ 190C/375F for more well done
Food Network says put in 450F oven then turn down to 350F and 20-25 mins/Lb

The temperatures seem to agree more or less, but cooking times/weight are off.


texts: In Canada, must commercially sold mussels be purged and purified in UV filtered water for 42 hours?

texts:
I live in Toronto, Canada. I buy my mussels from Diana's Seafood or Loblaws.

I wonder if the quote beneath from Mussel Myths & FAQs - The Cornish Mussel Shack
holds true for Canada too?

  Do I need to soak my mussels in water and oatmeal?
  No. This used to be done to help purge the mussel of any grit. All commercially sold mussels legally have to be purged and purified in UV filtered water for 42 hours. During this time most of the grit and sediment is released from the mussel.

  Do I need to soak the mussels and throw away the ones that float?
  Salt water mussels should never be soaked in fresh water as this will kill them, and as explained in the above answer there is no longer any need to soak mussels. This was done in the past to identify dead mussels. People thought that a floating mussel was a dead mussel, which is also is not true. A live mussel can often trap an air bubble when it snaps shut, and this is why some mussels float. To identify dead mussels see our page on preparing mussels safely.

How to Clean and Debeard Mussels | Serious Eats says something similar, but nothing about the law.

  As an added bonus, most farm-raised mussels are grown on vertical rope farms, which means that they come to market quite clean—wild mussels can house a good amount of debris from the seabed or rock walls they grew on. On top of that, farm-raised mussels are held in tanks prior to packaging and shipping, which means that the purging step—soaking the mussels in clean water until they spit out impurities—has already been done for you.


texts: How often should I change oil if reusing daily?

texts:
At the moment I'm frying chips and protein 3 times a day daily using a fry machine. I'm using sunflower oil though could use others if needed but right now that's easiest to use.

The oil stays in the fry machine, not sure if it's air tight but i dont think it is and it also sits near the window.

I notice food particles in the fryer and fry basket but i guess i could clean that\pull it out with a sieve every 2-3 days.

Considering my heavy usage, how often should i change the oil and how often should I be cleaning the food out, will simply removing with a sieve be enough i still imagine there would be small particles remaining.

Also,  think I read that if it smells of other food you should change it.  However if you cook chicken in it it ay quicly smell of chicken, does it have to be changed in this case or can one just livewith the smell?


texts: Should I add water to my homemade orange juice?

texts:
I am considering adding water to my fresh-squeezed orange juice. The purpose is mainly to obtain a juice that is less acidic and easier to digest. I suppose there are pros and cons for mixing water/orange juice and I am wondering if mixing them is a good idea.

Does water affect the juice's nutritive or conservative value?
If adding water is a good idea, what kind of water should I add (mineral? boiled?) and in what proportion (50/50?)?


texts: How do you make a chocolate chip cookie where the chips remain gooey after baked and cooled?

texts: Just had a chocolate chip cookie at local bakery.  Cookie was crunchy with gooey chocolate chips inside, like right out of oven gooey, but cookie was cooled.  Any ideas?


texts: How to clean utensils used to cook raw ground beef that have been left in the sink overnight?

texts:
I cooked some ground beef yesterday and by the time evening came was too zonked to do the dishes. Now it's the following evening and they are still in the sink. How do I clean the stainless steel pan, plastic spatula and dishes they are touching to prevent bacteria (and the sink!). The pan is handwash only. Is very hot water and a good scrub with soap...perhaps even twice sufficient?
As an aside, I noticed that some advice to use a 10% bleach solution to clean utensils after they touch raw meat...is it safe to spray bleach on cooking utensils?
Thank you!


texts: If uncooked rice is soaked for 2 days, is it still safe to eat (after it's cooked)?

texts: I completely forgot I soaked the rice on Monday night. It was completely submerged in water. Left at room temperature. If I cook it now, would it be safe to eat?


texts: Prevent onions and potatoes from sticking to bottom of steel pot for stew

texts:
I make bulk lentil stew every week as a form of meal-prep. The first step in my ad-hoc recipe is to fry some onions in oil.

If I add spices to these onions after they have cooked a bit, the spices stick to the bottom of the pot, which in turn causes the lentils to stick to the bottom later. It's worse if I try to add potatoes at the same time, which is related to this question.

If I'm making a stew, does it matter at what point I add the spices? Are lentils sticking to the bottom unrelated to the spice stickiness?


texts: How to stop waffles from sticking to pan?

texts: How can I keep waffles from sticking to pan? As I grease the pan with oil before putting mixture, but the waffles stick to pan and it becomes difficult to get waffles out of pan.


texts: Nuts and raisins don't stick to cookies after baking

texts: I decorated my cookies with raisins and nuts, but no matter how deep I pressed them into the dough, they fell off after baking. How can I avoid that?


texts: How to preserve vitamin of fruit juice when making fruit jelly?

texts:
To create a jelly, I always use hot water to dissolve synthesized-flavored gelatin.

Today, I want to create a more exciting jelly.  It uses real orange juice.
I put a no-flavor gelatin sheet into a cup of orange juice in room temperature.
It doesn't dissolve.

Therefore, I put the cup into a microwave, pick it out, stir, ... until it all dissolved.

The final jelly solution is very hot.
Although the final result is far more delicious than the synthesized-flavour one,
I believe most vitamin in the orange juice was destroyed.

Is it possible to preserve most vitamin (and other nutrient substance) of fruit juice while making real-fruit-juice jelly?  How?


texts:
I make my pizza dough with the following ingredients:

2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of water

I mix all the dry ingredients in the bowl of my food processor, turn on the machine, and add the water and olive oil. I watch it come together and add enough more water so that it all sticks together.

I knead it a few times by hand, put it on a bowl on the counter covered with kitchen towel, and let it sit for a day out on the counter.

This is basically the Mark Bittman recipe, except I leave it to sit for way longer than he recommends.

The pizza dough is always pretty easy to shape and tastes good. But, it is better tasting and easier to roll thin in the winter. I live in Maryland, so I assume our heat and humidity are the difference. Even with the AC running , the house tends to be 5-10 degrees warmer in the summer and there is a lot more moisture in the air.

The dough looks and feels identical as I take it out the machine, but while it rests, something is obviously different.

How do I adjust the recipe for the summer to make the dough have the same texture and qualities as it does in the winter?


texts:
We cooked some pizza last night and had a good time. However, it cooked so fast that the pizza was really dark (burnt in places) and had cheese that didn't melt. On some pizza's, it was still doughy.
We have an Alphaforni 5 Minuti Wood fire oven running at 375°C (700°F). The temperature was measured using the built in thermometer. I had preheated the oven for two hours.
The dough was store bought and frozen. I thawed it out in the fridge overnight. Then it was sitting out of the fridge for about 1.5 hrs before we got it into the oven.
What would cause it to both burn and still have shredded mozzarella cheese not melt? The cheese was under the pepperoni.


texts: Can I substitute gluten for eggs in coconut flour pancake recipes?

texts:
I'm looking to reduce carbs, yet still have things like pancakes, waffles, and maybe even tortillas.

I've tried several coconut flour pancake recipes, but they all come out tasting like fried eggs to me.

I was thinking I could probably add vital wheat gluten in place of the eggs, but I'm not certain this would work. What amount of it to use per egg in the recipe?


texts: Do you only rinse it with water and accept stains? Boil it? Soak it in bleach? Put it in the washing machine? Put it in the dishwasher? Are they disposable?


texts:
I am learning to make cheese. I am reading up. I have questions.

What is the use of Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) in cheese making?

Amazon sells CaCl2(H2O)n hydrolysed Calcium Chloride at ~$8 for a 4 oz bottle.

Can I use the $2 pack of CaCl2 icemelter crystals (also sold by Amazon) instead? Or the huge $4.99 icemelter pack I got from the gas station?

Note: Hoping to prevent anecdotal answers. Before anyone says "purity" and "edibility" or "food grade",

I would expect someone who actually knows how icemelter packs are made to be able to say icemelter packs are not suitable.
Is there any edibility difference between the exposed open air conditions table sea salt is extracted, from how icemelter CaCl2


texts:
I have seen countless recipes for cakes that involve a fudge frosting, a soft, gooey layer of fudge that goes between layers of sponge.

I have yet to find any cake/sweet recipes where traditional fudge, the type you make or buy in blocks, is used as a layer in a cake.

Why is this not done? Does anyone know any recipes?


texts: What is this device called? The length is exactly 12 inches.


texts: How do you reheat rice in a takeout box after you've already made the mistake of refrigerating it straight up?

texts: I have refrigerated rice that I want to serve alongside chicken tikka masala (Not for guests, that's unthinkable! For family.). It's in one of those styrofoam containers with a plastic lid, although it's hard and, in present state, unappetizing all the same, so let's benefit Googlers by assuming a takeout box. There's plenty of stuff on the net on how to store it properly in the first place. How do you revive hard refrigerated rice after the fact?


texts:
I've made paprika jelly before (combined with raspberry flavour), and I quite like the novel flavour. It kind of reminds me of chili chocolate, but more water based - in a sorbet over ice cream kind of way. I don't think I would eat it by itself though, as it didn't feel like it could hold up on its own. My question is if anyone has any ideas for how to combine it, or use it in a dish/complete meal?

Some ideas I have are:

An inbetween dish to clear the palate - I found that the spiciness of the paprika and the watery-ness of the jelly was good in clearing the palate of meaty tastes
Some savoury jelly, like on the top of pate


texts:
We like to make stir-fry occasionally, and we do so currently in a medium-sized stainless steel wok over a gas burner (but, a regular one, nothing that is super-stir-fry powered).  It's a pretty good quality wok (Cuisinart), but not too huge.  Cooking for a family of four.

We also use frozen veggies, so it's quite hard to avoid mushy vegetables.  We're guessing one of our options is to change our pan to get faster heat, but disagree over how to do so...

My wife thinks we should try cast iron.  Thick, holds heat very well, doesn't transfer it as well though.  Heat it up in the oven and/or just leave it over the burner for a long time, then keep heat on high and cook the stir-fry.

I think we need a bigger wok.  Stainless steel (with perhaps an aluminum and/or copper inner layer and base) transfers heat much faster, so hotter stir-frying, but contact with the pan is key - so a bigger wok will transfer more heat to the food.

We may need to start using our grill instead... but if we stay indoors, which of us is right?

Other stir-fry tips are always welcome, but please focus the answer on the pan choice specifically (and cast-iron versus steel).


texts: If a cheese sold as pasta-cheese does not melt, is it "cheese"?

texts:
This might sound like a dumb question:

Back in the day I cooked some pasta for some friends and they bought this cheap grated cheese in the supermarket. I remember my shock because the cheese did not melt no matter how much time we heated it (not with the hot pasta, neither in the microwave nor oven).

Months later I learned that not all cheeses melt: halloumi, kasseri, manouri, queso blanco, and paneer become a tad creamier, but don't melt the way cheddar, Swiss, and Gruyere do.

Those made with rennet and not acid, those with higher moister and higher fat are the ones to melt (or melt better).

But as far as I know, pasta cheese (the cheese used in pasta, it can be parmesan, emmental or even mozarella), are cheeses that might have the melting qualities, to give texture or good looks to the dish (as well as flavour).

So, is it "right" to sell a "pasta-cheese" which does not melt nor change any physical property (at least visually) when heat is applied?

The cheese's ingredients, translated to english, just in case, are:

  CHEESE, concentrated DAIRY serum, MILK proteins, dietary fiber (corn dextrine) (4.5%), BUTTER, salt, melting salts(polyphosphates, sodium citrates), modified starch, acidic corrector (citric acid), conservator(potassic sorbate)


texts: can you prepare vicyssoise a day ahead, then add cream and serve?

texts: Can vichyssoise (cold potato soup) be prepared ahead, refrigerated and the cream added the next day?


texts: How do professional chefs keep food thermometers clean between uses?

texts: Assuming there will always be some occasion where the food tested will not be cooked properly, what method is used to prevent cross contamination?


texts: My normal breadmaker recipe uses milk as the main liquid ingredient.  Normally I use fresh semi-skimmed milk for this and get great results.  However, at the moment I only have "long-life" (UHT treated) milk.  Is this an acceptable substitute on its own, and if not, is there a way I can tweak the recipe to work better with this milk?


texts: Can I bake a cake in a toaster oven without temperature control?

texts: I live in a place with no easy access to an oven. If I wanted to bake a cake, could I do this with an appliance like this?


texts: Left crockpot unplugged for about an hour

texts: I'm making chicken chili. Or trying to... This morning I turned on my crockpot to high for about 40 minutes. I then drove to work and replugged it, about an hour after unplugging it. After cooking it for 5 more hours, should it be safe?


texts: Reducing fat content in thick chicken stock

texts: My chicken stock is very gelatinous (good) but it didn't have a layer of fat to skim off.  How can I reduce the fat content?


texts:
It seems a lot of people say to smash or crush a clove of garlic before they cut it up. Why is this?

I've cut up garlic both ways, and I could see crushed being potentially a little easier to handle since it's flatter and doesn't roll as much.


texts: soy milk production with no beany flavor

texts:
does anyone know how big industries like Silk are producing soy drinks with no beany flavor? I read that a you should soak beans in boioling water (which temperature? for how many minutes?) in order to disable some enzymes. Then you should rinse the beans (is there anything to be careful to?)
Finally you have to remove the skins.

what else?

How to bring a better texture?


texts: How does one go about marking food in an oven?

texts: One member of our household has some specific food allergies. Her food is often prepared differently, but not usually in a way where it is visually different from the rest of the food. Let’s say we’re cooking chicken thighs on a baking sheet for the whole family. My suggestion was to insert a toothpick. What’s the best way to mark her food?


texts:
I often find myself remembering the ingredients that go in a recipe, but forgetting the exact amounts.  Are there some tricks/tips that professional cooks use to help them remember recipes so they don't have to keep their eyes glued to a recipe list?

Thanks!


texts: What is the difference between roasting, baking, and broasting?

texts:
For example, when making a turkey for Thanksgiving, I generally place it in the oven (covered in foil or a turkey bag), and cook it for many hours at the recommended heat setting.

I can crock-pot a "roast" cut of meat for many hours, or put it in the oven (again covered) for several hours at a low temperature.

How is that different from "baking", other than when baking the top is generally not covered?


texts: Is it safe to eat dog food in regular diet?

texts:
In our animal science class, we were fed dog food (dog cookies) by our professor who claimed that if we were ever at war and had a shortage of food, we should keep water and dry dog food on hand rather than other types of food. His reasoning was that dry dog food provides all the nutrients humans need in a minimal package.

Is it safe to consume dog food in volume or regularly? Does it really keep a human in good health? What ingredients in dog food should we look out for?


texts: How much fat should be added to venison when making sausage?

texts: I'm making a venison sausage using the front shoulder of the animal.  It appears to be a very lean meat; how much pork belly should I add to the grind?


texts: Grapefruit recipe substitute to avoid medicine interaction?

texts:
A good friend just underwent a kidney transplant and the anti-rejection drugs are known to interact with grapefruit, so while he is of course incredibly grateful for his new kidney, he is a little sad that he will literally never have grapefruit again.

I know this is a weird one but I'm curious if anyone knows of good flavor extracts that contain absolutely no grapefruit but provide a credible grapefruit flavor so I can make him something grapefruity, yet medication-safe.


texts: I made salsa and washed jars but did not put in boiling water ? They all sealed? Is this safe

texts: I made salsa and after all done realized I did not sterilize the jars? Is this safe or how can I fix?


texts: Is there a difference between preheating temperature and baking temperature?

texts:
Many cake recipes say something like:

  Heat oven to 350F, then bake the cake around 25 to 30 minutes.

What does this mean? After preheating the oven, what temperature do I bake the cake at for those 25-30 minutes? Is it same as the 350F preheating temperature?

I am new to baking. Please help!


texts: Will cooking a beef topside joint on a very low heat overnight make it dry?

texts:
I bought a 1.8 kilogram joint of beef topside (called round in the US, I believe) and I am kicking myself for not buying a rib joint because it had more fat on it.

Anyway, there is so little fat on the topside that I'm concerned it will dry out during cooking.  I've been reading up on various ways to cook it to ensure it'll be tender and not dry and I think I've established that the best way to do this is to cook it under a tent of foil for between 6 - 12 hours on a very low oven heat, ie; 100ºC/200ºF, without opening the oven door for at least six hours.

I do have some basting fat so I'm going to put that on the beef before it goes into the oven, but I wondered if anyone could give me some reassurance that what I'm planning on doing is likely to turn out ok!

I appreciate that nothing is guaranteed but I'd be really grateful for some advice.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is it safe to use a stainless steel pan after making salt and vinegar brine in it?

texts: I used my stainless steel pan to dissolve salt in a 30% vinegar/salt solution to kill weeds outside.  After the salt dissolved I let the solution cool.  This stripped the shiny surface of the pan.  The surface still feels smooth like the normal areas.  Is this pan still safe to use for foods?


texts: What kinds of frostings have a lighter texture?

texts:
It seems like the frosting is either an inch of sweetened shortening or just simple whipped cream. The recipes for frosting that I have tried have always been sickeningly fatty and sweet. I do find creme cheese frosting good but it is still a bit too rich.

Straight whipped cream has its place, such as on tres leches cake, but for a regular white cake it is too light.

I have heard of frostings that are beaten or cooked to make them creamy and thick without using too much fat but I don't know what they are called.

What name or types of frostings are still creamy and thick without being overpoweringly fatty?


texts: When I was preparing eggs at my uncle's house, since he was a techie, he insisted on blending the eggs in a miniature food processor as opposed to, say, beating them. Is there any advantage to this practice besides looking sophisticated?


texts: How to cook scallops that will prevent them from becoming too rubbery?

texts: What will prevent pan seared scallops from becoming too rubbery? I find that cooking them in the cast iron skillet has not created a tender texture.


texts: How to differentiate a ceramic pan from a teflon one?

texts:
I was in the store looking to buy a new pan, i found in the local store they sell them but i can't tell if this is a real ceramic or just white teflon (i don't know if that exist) both pans had similar surface/texture to the touch, so that made me doubt of that.

How i can tell the difference between ceramic and teflon?


texts: I know that vegetables can be frozen.  Which vegetables respond well to freezing?  Which don't?  Are there specific recommendations for what vegetables freeze well?


texts: What is the difference using plastic or bronze mould for pasta maker?

texts:
I want to understand the difference in using plastic or bronze mould for my Philips 200W pasta maker.
There is option to get a bronze or plastic mould for my machine. I have read the bronze will give more texture so that the pasta can absorb the sauce better.
I am wondering: is the difference so significant? When using a hand wound pasta machine I remember the pasta being good enough and taking on the sauce well enough. Further the bronze can only be cleaned by hand.


texts: Knife is rusting after using it only twice

texts: I recently got a knife as a gift and after only using it two times it has started to rust, despite making sure to properly clean it and dry it after using it. There is also one large spot of black/blue discolouration on the back of the knife. Also I'm not sure if this helps but the branding on the knife says 'Okeya'. How can I avoid this happening and what should I do to treat the rust?


texts: Microwave rice cooker vs low-end electric rice cookers

texts: So, at my parents home we had a two part microwave rice cooker which created relatively dry rice in my experience (though I only used it myself a couple of time), but I actually like it better than traditionally boiled rice on a stove (which in my experience turns out quite wet-ish no matter how you make it).  Now, I am not a huge fan of rice either way, so I am not planning on investing much into a rice cooker, but I was wondering what advantages a low end electric rice cooker would give as all comparisons I was able to find were comparing electric rice cookers to traditional boiling methods.


texts: Why can heating things in a microwave make them soggy?

texts: Why does heating something (like pizza) in an oven make it crisp but heating it in the microwave makes it all soggy?


texts: Hot-canning non-acidic, pressure cooked food

texts:
The reason given for pressure-canning non-acidic food is that botulism spores can survive boiling temperatures, which would spoil the food while in the jars.

If that's the case, would it be possible to hot pack pressure-cooked food into a sterilized jar?


texts: High altitude adjustment for a small rib roast needed

texts:
I am endeavoring to very slow roast a 3 lb. / 1.4 kg. Boneless Cross Rib Roast. This is a first for me. I want to cook it in a ceramic surfaced Dutch Oven in an electric oven. The articles that I have been reading do not mention any adjustment to time or temperature for high-altitude (7300 Feet /  2134 Meters). Can anyone suggest an adjustment for this altitude for my project?
Thanks for any thoughts.


texts:
I make a nice curry, and for presentation I would like to place the quiona on top of curry as shown in this picture:

But to be able to do that, my quiona needs to be sticky (I think it's the starch in the rice that allows it to hold its shape)

Any of you cooking geniuses can think of a way that I can have my quinoa hold its shape without affecting the flavor greatly?

Edit: My standard cooking technique, is to wash the quinoa thoroughly (I'm told this is a necessity), then simmer in two parts water to one part Quinoa.


texts: I'm looking to buy some really nice olive oil from an artisan shop near my home. Is there an appropriate olive oil tasting technique, similar to wine? If so, what is it, and what dimensions of flavor and texture should I be mindful of?


texts: Is it possible to be able to withstand intense flavors while preserving sensibility to subtle ones?

texts:
Is it possible to appreciate the taste of a dish subtly spiced with black pepper if you're capable of taking part in a chili eating contest? Or will it be impossible for you to feel the difference?

If you can drink a glass of unwatered down lemon juice, can you feel the slight change of taste that comes from a lemon slice in a cup of tea?

If you can withstand a shot of 96.6% rectified spirits, can you tell apart a glass of apple cider and a slightly fermented 1.2% hard cider?


texts: What ingredients (available in specific regions) can I substitute for parsley?

texts:
I have a recipe that calls for fresh parsley. I have substituted other fresh herbs for their dried equivalents but I don't have fresh or dried parsley. Is there something else (ex another dried herb) that I can use instead of parsley?

I know it is used mainly for looks rather than taste but I have a pasta recipe that calls for 2 tablespoons of parsley in the sauce and then another 2 tablespoons on top when it is done. I know the parsley on top is more for looks but there must be something about the taste otherwise it would call for parsley within the sauce as well.

I would especially like to hear about substitutes available in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world where the obvious answers (such as cilantro) are not widely available.


texts: Does it make a noticeable difference if I don't prepare the Turkish coffee in a Turkish coffee pot?

texts:
Here's a Turkish coffee pot.

I don't have any of those so I use stainless steel vessel to prepare the Turkish coffee.

Does it make a noticeable difference if I prepare the Turkish coffee in a stainless steel vessel rather than a Turkish coffee pot?


texts: Why can only white fish be already gutted on board the ship?

texts:
I stumbled upon the wikipedia article about white fish:

  Unlike oily fish, white fish contain oils only in their liver, rather than in their gut, and can therefore be gutted as soon as they are caught, on board the ship.

Why of all other properties is the presence of fat in the guts a criterion for gutting a fish aboard or not?

If I didn't read that wikipedia article I would have guessed that the size / amount of the catch and the level of invested and installed automation decides whether the fish is gutted on board or not. Some years ago a fisherman in the north sea told shrimps caught there are shipped frozen to Turkey to be peeled by manual laborers and then shipped back to be sold. I thought the same thing is done with "smaller" fish (maybe sized like a cod and smaller?).


texts: Which vegetables we should not store in the fridge and why?

texts:
I've read that some vegetables should be never stored in the fridge.

Is that apply to most of the vegetables, some specific group or specific ones (which one)? What's general rule?


texts: How to prevent a vinegar taste when poaching eggs (using vinegared water)

texts: How does one remove the vinegar taste from eggs that are poached in water with vinegar added? Would rinsing the eggs in a sugar solution help?


texts: How do I control the shape of my spheres?

texts:
I've been experimenting with reverse sphereification this week.  The results... well, the results remind me that even the professionals have to practice.

How do I control the tension of the alginate shell, so that it can maintain a round shape when bearing its own weight?  In other words, how do I get marbles instead of egg yolks?


texts: Device to install on a bottle to only spill drops

texts: When heating up cold food in microwave it oftens comes out pretty dry, and I like juicy food. So I add 1 or 2 teaspoons of olive oil on the food before heating it. I'd be easier though if I had some kind of small device


texts: How does a splash of vinegar help when poaching eggs?

texts:
What does splashing in a shot of white vinegar to the simmering water do when poaching an egg?

Is it for taste or is it supposed to react in some way with the albumen?


texts:
I have Lodge 12sk(13") skillet. I would like to find a lid, glass or stainless steel, the lodge cast iron lid is too heavy for my spouse. And recommendations would be appreciated.

I was thinking that an inverted Norpro 5672 pizza pan may work, but I don't have one to try. Does anyone have a 12sk and Norpro pan they could try?

Thanks


texts:
My wife has been working on making a chiffon cake.  The picture below is attempt number 10.  She has varied the temperature of the oven, used a metal tray or no metal tray in the oven, and other factors.   The cake rises and looks ok from the top, but it always has this weird form on the bottom.  To me, it seems that a steam / gas pocket is forming possibly because the heat is too hot on the bottom.  She says she has lowered the bottom temperature and the results are similar.

My question is what causes this to happen and what are some solutions?


texts: My pie crust does not look right . I put in one and one half cups of butter instead of one and one half sticks.  I’ve already added the liquid. Can it be saved?


texts:
I made a short research on steaming vegetables in microwave to compare it to steaming on stove top. An interesting discovery I made is that steaming in microwave is more energy efficient when cooking in small portions. Large portions, on the other hand, are best made in stove top.

Can anybody help me to know what would account as large portions?


texts: Will hard boiled eggs absorb salt through the shell?

texts:
In this America's Test Kitchen video they add salt to the cold water when hard boiling eggs.

Would the salt actually permeate the shell and flavor the egg? That seems unlikely to me and is just a waste of good salt.

(Apart from the salt, that method is not new to me. My old, Mom-gave-it-to-me-when-I-got-my-first-apartment Betty Crocker cookbook has the same instructions.)


texts: Can I substitute marmalade for peach preserves?

texts:
I've got a recipe here for fish done with a glaze made of peach preserves that looks pretty tasty. However, some members of my household dislike peach. Citrus is a classic pairing for fish; can I swap out the preserves for a marmalade? I'm not 100% sure on the differences between the two. Or is there another substitution that would work better?

Recipe: Ginger-peach glazed tilapia


texts:
I cooked a 4 lb. pork roast for about an hour and twenty-five minutes in an open top roasting pan at a steady 350F. It reached 154F in the center so I pulled it out of the oven. The top came out nice and crispy. I let it rest a bit. When I went to cut it it split open at the center-line. The inside looks like it has a somewhat pink center. The juices came out on the pink side too.
What I see in the web says that this normal. I am a  bit shaky though. I am wrapping both halves in foil and putting them in the fridge until tomorrow so I can figure this out.
Any thoughts?


texts: Besides soy, can other types of beans be fermented?

texts: Besides soy beans, can other types of beans be fermented?


texts: Adding cold water during cooking of beans and cooking time

texts:
After soaking dry beans, I place beans on heat, so they boil for couple of hours, and they cook pretty well. But if I add just one cup of cold water (at room temperature) during boiling, temperature of the mixture would drops for some minutes. But then the cooking time of the beans would increase significantly, and it seems they wouldn't cook well ever.

For most of the beans I experienced this process, but I can't figure out why?


texts: How do I make a pot of coffee on a bbq grill?

texts: I am going camping and love to drink coffee. How do I make a pot of coffee on a campstove bbq grill? I am a klutz. I think you can boil water in a pan once you light the fire but what do you use as a coffee pot? A thermos coffee pot?


texts: Solution for uneven heating on an electric coil stovetop

texts:
I'm struggling to find a solution for my apartments coil stovetop and its uneven heating. I've never run into the problem until I started working on my holiday hard candy recently. I can't keep the coils heating consistently at high temperatures. I need to measure the temperature but I can't do that when it varies drastically across the pot.

Is there anything I can do to buffer the heat from the coil before it gets to the pan?

I don't have any options for using a different stove so I need to make this work. I've considered some sort of heating stone that would help even the heat out but I figured that would take DAYS to heat up properly.


texts: How are Belgian fries different than the average French fries found in North America?

texts:
How do Belgian fries differ from the French fries we are accustomed to eat in the US and Canada in such places as McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and so on? Is it the variety of potato, the preparation involved or something totally different? What oil do they use in Belgium?

I remember having them while I was visiting family in Belgium. The fries were somewhat crispy and thicker than over here.


texts: Curing strength of celery powder vs pink salt

texts: I would like to ask the differences in curing strength of celery powder vs pink salt when used in a salt mixure. Should I use more or less celery powder when substituting it for pink salt?


texts: Coconut Water from White vs Brown Coconuts

texts:
The warning label on each coconut describes how to treat the water within each. The water on the brown coconut is to be discarded; the water on the white coconut is safe for consumption.

In what ways is the water from the brown coconut different than that of the white coconut?


texts: Once mixed, how long is cake batter good when refrigerated?

texts: After using a cake mix to bake in a lamb shaped form, I have batter left over. How long can I keep it refrigerated (not frozen) and still combine it with another cake mix batter -- and have the second cake bake properly?


texts: Baking Turnips But are coming out burnt or soggy

texts:
I have tried baking turnips but they turn out very soggy or burnt.  Any ideas?  Below is the recipe I was using.

Oven 350
Turnips
Olive oil
Rosemary

I baked the slices on a baking sheet with the olive oil and rosemary brushed on both sides for about 30-45 minutes.


texts: Siphon for testing new recipes: 250ml or 500ml?

texts:
I already own two 1 litre ISI siphons but they are too big when I'm developing a new mousse or recipe in general.
I don't have a restaurant, I just do this in my free time, and I was considering buying a small siphon for testing new recipes.
Would you recommend the 250ml or the 500ml? I tend to think that the smallest one would be the best suit, but I'm worried that it's very small.

Ideas?


texts:
Many porridge recipes require salt. Even if it will be a ''sweet'' porridge.

Is there any chemical reason for this ingredient?


texts: Which type of chicken to use in a recipe if called for a "hen"?

texts: I have an old recipe titled Minced Chicken. It's a casserole type dish. It says to use 1 hen, cooked and minced. What type of hen is this referring to? I found a cornish hen at the store but it was small, I didn't feel that this was the right type to use.


texts:
I want to make my own shake and bake at home. The shake and bake you buy at the store is full of unpronounceable, non-organic ingredients and seasoning.

I'm looking to make a good crust out of something that has whole grains any suggestions?

Oh p.s. this is for Chicken.


texts: How can I process Hot Pepper without killing the spice (capsaicin)?

texts:
I am planning to make sauces using a local, very strong, Pepper called "Rocoto" which has 200 000 Scoville heat units.

The problem is, unlike Habanero or Chili, the pepper itself is kind delicate, so if I try to cook it most of the heat is lost, with vinegar the heat is also lost after only few hours, I tried to roast them and it' produced an invisible  toxic smoke cloud (my neighbor felt it and call the firemen hahaha)

I am thinking about freezing since in other cases it changes the molecular structure of plants, also I'm think about using alcohol.

What do think?


texts: What is the difference between chocolate flavor cocoa powder and drinking chocolate?

texts:
Both contain low fat cocoa and chocolate flavor as ingredients.

What would be the real difference between them in terms of taste and usage?


texts: Why do we like some combinations of ingredients, and not others? Are there any general rules?

texts:
I would like to know how something will taste, before cooking and trying it.
Is it possible? Sometimes ingredients are too expensive for experimenting.


texts:
This image represent the Cake Plenitude by Pierre Herme. It is composed of chocolate pound cake, caramel sauce, chocolat au sel.
My main question is how to get this form of the cake. I make it with a normal cake mold,  but how to do it like this.


texts: Is there a way to tell the grit coarseness of an unmarked sharpening stone?

texts:
I've received a few sharpening stones with different coarseness and even one double-sided two-colored stone. Is there any way to tell how coarse each stone is and which stage of sharpening it would be appropriate for? I'm not experienced in sharpening and I'd like to learn.

I was suggested to mark the edge of something made of metal (not necessarily a knife I'd like to sharpen) with a black marker and slide it once across each of the stones, make a macro photo of the removed black paint and compare the scratched areas. Is this a viable method? I don't have a macro-capable camera so I can't try it myself.


texts: Hardcooked eggs by steaming (not boiling)

texts: Can anyone relate an exact, foolproof method of steaming eggs, to yield hardcooked eggs? I'd appreciate whatever clear, concise instructions are available on the process, including what not to do.


texts:
I read on Wikihow that when you double batch that you should multiply seasonings times 1.5, then adjust to taste. Similarly for alcohol, multiply by 1.25.

I am writing a story in which one character is making a triple batch of baked macaroni and cheese. What would the multipliers for seasonings? What if my character makes a recipe involving alcohol?


texts: Can I make any modern improvements to this Russian cake recipe from 1971?

texts:
I found a recipe in a 1971 Russian booklet on holiday recipes, (see it below).  I translated it to English.  My questions about the recipe will be these:

are there any advancements known to culinary science that will bring this recipe to 21st century?
(I am thinking of things like mixing egg yolks and egg whites separately, mixing liquid and dry ingredients separately, use of baking soda vs baking powder, when to put ingredients together in what order, baking it at what temperature and so on, or is it fine as-is?)
there is no temperature listed at which it is to be baked, but I am guessing 180C
it mentions crushing star anise and cloves.  Do I use the old methods and crush them in a mortar and pestle?  Or do I use ... a blender?  I do have the spices in whole uncrushed form.
in a word, can I make improvements to this cake, to make it better, without changing its authenticity?

The Recipe

3 eggs
200 grams of butter or margarine (1 cup or vegetable oil, better
corn)
2 cups sugar
1 cup of thick (candied) jam
2 cups of buttermilk or yogurt
1 teaspoon each of cinnamon, cloves, star anise (crushed)
1 teaspoon baking soda
about 4 cups flour

Mix eggs with sugar, add the butter, jam, crushed spices, sour milk.

Pour baking soda and flour (flour pour as much as necessary to achieve consistency similar to a thick porridge).

Prepare the form (line bottom with oiled parchment, well-lubricate the entire form and sprinkle it with flour), put it in the mix, filling in the form only as much as 3/4 since the cake will rises.

Bake the cake on low heat in the oven.

Note. You can add chopped and sugared lemon and orange peel, raisins, nuts. If you do not have all of these spices, you can restrict it to 1 1/2 teaspoon of crushed cloves. Instead of jam you can try putting in the same amount honey or preserves. This cake should be kept in cool place, wrapped in a wet cloth and a plastic bag. Thus it can be stored even 2 weeks, but when it is necessary to change the cloth.

UPDATE

I tried baking it today with brown sugar, butter, plum jam and I put just a tad much flour (just under 4 cups which I put in right away), which I compensates with half a cup more buttermilk since the dough was too dense. Then I had it in the oven for about an hour at 180F, but it turned out heavy soggy and a little bit tasteless, despite me pulling it out after a toothpic stuck in the center of cake came out dry.

Next time I will try less flour and white sugar, or maybe even splenda, and olive oil instead of butter.  And I will bake it for longer and I might just bake it at something closer to 350F.


texts:
I am going camping shortly.  I have done some dutch oven cooking before, and there is one recipe that I want to make that uses one.  However, I do not have a dutch oven...

I am thinking of using two aluminum pans (the cheap foil ones) and aluminum on the top (several layers) to make a sort of dutch oven alternative.

Has anyone tried that?  Does it work?

I am also thinking of putting some sand or water between the two pans to make it hold and transfer the heat a little more evenly.  Anyone know if this will work?


texts: How do I know when quiche is finished cooking?

texts:
Whenever I've cooked quiche, it's been in a round tin of around 10-12 cm diameter. I've used 5-6 eggs along with other ingredients like chicken and vegetables.

After it comes out of the oven, I find that the height is low (around 2cm) when I thought/expected it to be higher.

I find it hard to know when it's actually 'cooked' as the egg parts are runny when it's in the oven, only solidifying when I take it out.

How can I tell that the quiche is done?


texts: Add Cocoa Butter to Chocolate Chips to Temper?

texts:
Thanks to a well meaning neighbor, I am now the less than proud owner of 8lbs of Nestle Chocolate Chips.  Not only do I not really love making cookies, Nestle Chocolate Chips came in dead last in a recent Cook's Illustrated taste test of chocolate chips.

I've never tempered chocolate, but that's something I'd like to get into.

I could swear that I read somewhere that real but "bad" chocolate can be improved and tempered after adding 10% cocoa butter. Is that true? For the life of me I can't find the source for that info.

If it is true, would more cocoa butter be better? I know that couverture chocolate can contain up to 40% cocoa butter.

I understand that no amount of cocoa butter will turn Nestle chips into Callebaut, but I would like to practice the process of tempering with the cheap chocolate that I already own before I spend real money on fine chocolate. I can get a good price on organic, food grade cocoa butter.

Ingredient list of Nestle Semi-Sweet Morsels: Semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, natural flavors)

The nutritional information says that the total fat is 4 grams in a 14 gram serving. That makes the chips 29% fat. If I'm not missing anything, that means that they are at least 15% cocoa butter, probably more. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


texts: What is the effect that cooked sieved egg yolks added to pastry dough will have on the final product?

texts: I have heard that this will create a more tender end product.


texts:
When I buy fresh herbs from the grocery store they go bad too quickly what can I do to keep them fresher longer?

I just bought a vacuum sealer because I thought it would help preserve my food longer.

Should I seal and freeze or can they be kept in the frig?


texts:
I know the basic usage of slow cooker is for stews, soups, pot roasts and various other foods that have high water content - essentially, simmered in some kind of sauce, which then is part of the food. In essence, something that needs to be packed in a leak-proof box if I want to take it as my lunch to work and not have it leak all over my bag.

I'm curious if slow cooker can be employed for more "dry" food, something without sauces - possibly something like caressoles, meat pies` or such? If so, what kind of recipes could I look for, for that kind of foods?


texts: Last week I made a meringue icing for my cupcakes and had problems making my meringue form peaks. This makes me ask what are some of your tips/tricks? What do you do or add to your egg white mixture in order to help it form peaks when you are having troubles.


texts: I am trying to cook Buta no Kakuni or Japanese pork belly but it's tough

texts:
I have tried cooking "Butta no kakuni" or slow braised pork belly. I watched a video on making kakuni from a check in Nagasaki. In it he used a Le Creuset dutch oven to cook the pork belly.

Cut the pork belly into 4 inch strips, cut those in to 4"x4"
lightly brown the cubes
add a large scallion, star anise, and a stick of cinnamon
cover with water add salt
after cooking - remove the water
add mirin, sake, soy, sugar and cook on low until well reduced.

It was cooked in a dutch oven - brought to a boil in the first phase, then simmered for 1 hour. The second phase was simmered for 3 hours. It's soft, but not super soft like I had in Japan, where it is like eating butter with a very luxurious and buttery caramelized consistency. I have to admit, I did not use a thermometer to check the meat's temperature through various stages

My question is: how does one keep the pork from becoming tough and how does one cook meat in general in a way that it stays soft, allows flavor to thoroughly permeate but stays whole without flaking and breaking too easily when plating.

I am not a pro, but I am passionate about this!


texts: Is it useful to retain the myoglobin of meat which has collected as a fluid at the bottom of the container?

texts:
This is in India. I purchase fresh meat (chicken/beef) from the shop and sometimes keep it in the freezer until I'm ready to pressure-cook it on some other day.

I noticed that after thawing it in the fridge for a day, there was a red liquid that collects at the bottom of the container. I assumed the freezing process squeezes the meat and that causes the blood in it to flow out (silly me). This answer says it's myoglobin. Wikipedia says...

  The released myoglobin is filtered by the kidneys but is toxic to the
  renal tubular epithelium and so may cause acute kidney injury

...but I'm hoping that's myoglobin in the bloodstream, and not a part of digestion.

I searched for research papers to check for safety of consuming myoglobin, and came across this paper that says...

  As internal cooking temperature increased soluble myoglobin content
  decreased with a corresponding increase in percent myoglobin
  denatured. Percent myoglobin denaturation values ranged from 0 (raw
  chops) to 77.30% in mutton chops cooked to 79 °C internal temperature.

Couldn't find much else on the safety aspect, but since it gets denatured, I'm assuming it'd be safe.

However, all this literature appears to refer to the myoglobin within the meat that gives it a flavour and juiciness. What about the liquid at the bottom of the container that contains myoglobin? Is it useful to retain it or is it better to just drain it away since it is separated from the meat already?


texts: Preparing minced garlic the night before using them

texts: Is it okay to prepare minced garlic the night before I use them? I'll be cooking really early in the morning and i want to prepare the minced garlic ahead. Is it safe and will it affect the look of my garlic? I'm trying to make butter garlic shrimp.


texts: Should enriched doughs pass the windowpane test?

texts:
I'm trying to make the nan-e qandi recipe from Hot Bread Kitchen; recipe re-printed here. It contains sugar (honey) and a fair amount of fat, with full-fat milk for hydration and over a stick of butter in ~850g dough. It is rather low hydration, and also contains sugar and baking powder.

The recipe says to knead for 5min, and that it should pass the windowpane test. I make a lot of bread, but mostly from lean doughs. I don't think I have ever attempted the windowpane test in an enriched loaf, and I would not expect it to "work" due to all the fat. Generalizing, Should heavily enriched doughs like this be expected pass the windowpane test? E.g., brioche, challah, ...?

As I expected, my first attempt at this dough did not pass the windowpane test after reasonable effort. I also attempted to let it rest for a time e.g., as suggested here, then knead again, but it still pulled apart readily. If this dough should pass the windowpane test, I'll attempt more precision next batch...


texts: How did inventor Robert C. Baker bind breading to chicken?

texts:
I read on Wikipedia that Robert C. Baker invented a revolutionary new way to bind breading to chicken, which also sticks on the chicken after it was frozen and heated again.

I can't find what this way is called and how it is done, does someone of you knows that?


texts: Measuring glucose syrup without wasting it

texts: Glucose syrup is a liquid sweetener used in a lot of candy making. Unfortunately, it is incredibly thick which makes it difficult to measure. Imagine corn syrup except about three times thicker. When I measure it, a lot tends to get stuck on the spoon (or more often spoons) and then even more gets lost in the bowl I use to measure it. Are there any tricks to measuring thick syrups and other difficult ingredients?


texts:
Is there any way to know the temperature of food cooking in the microwave?

I am making candy in the microwave and need to be able to cook it to the soft crack stage [290-300 degrees].  How do I know when it reaches this temperature?


texts: I make egg muffins in a muffin tin, using cubed ham, green pepper, onion etc. plus of course beaten eggs.   How long can I keep these in the fridge after they have been baked in the oven.  I've tried after 3 days and they still taste fine, I just want to know the safety factor


texts: How to make hot dog buns or sandwich rolls with a soft crust?

texts: Whenever I make sandwich rolls, the crust ends up too thick and too crispy. I've tried a few things, such as a moister dough, but I can't seem to get a combination of a hearty bread and a soft crust. Questions: I'm baking at 425, is this too hot/cold? Will it help to add more/less fat to the dough? Will it help to add more/less water to the dough? Do I need to do a slower rise? How do you control the crustiness of a bread, anyway?


texts: I recently left a new unopened bottle of Irish cream in my vehicle for 24 hours. It probably reached temps of over 100F. How do I know if it's bad?


texts: How can you pipe hot melted candy into free-form shapes?

texts:
I recently made free-form candy swirls out of chocolate-like coloured candy. When I got to the point of putting it into my disposable plastic piping bag, I had to wrap it in a tea-towel in order to work with it because it was so hot.

The candy didn't melt through the plastic, and I could do some basic swirls with my jerry-rigged bag. However, it was too hot to handle (literally) and the slippery tea-towel-on-plastic made doing anything intricate prohibitively difficult.

I know most people use candy molds, however I don't care to spend the money on something I use once or twice a year.

Are there any tools I could get that could also be used in other applications? (for example, my piping bags and tips can be used to decorate cakes, cupcakes, etc. which I do frequently enough to justify buying a small assortment of metal tips)

Are there any techniques for working with melted candy, other than "try not to get burned"?


texts: Size of holes for salt/pepper/seasoning shakers?

texts:
Is there any reference for the sizes of holes for salt shakers?  For cooking I should think that the holes would be larger than for table shakers.

This question is not, "Would you recommend using a shaker?"


texts: What's the fastest way to seed grapes (e.g., Concordes)?

texts: I've got a bunch of grapes, with seeds. I need to seed them for a recipe. Cutting them in half and prying out the seeds with a paring knife makes me yearn for stringing beans. Any suggestions on how to get through this process faster?


texts: Garlic clove turned to Dark grey/green powder?

texts:
I was using a head of garlic (from China, if that helps), And the entire thing seemed healthy and fine, but I got to one of the inner cloves and it had turned ENTIRELY into a very soft powder, I was afraid of breathing it in because some puffed out when I got to it!! I am so confused, it’s such a fine, dry dust-like powder yet the rest is totally fine!
Does ANYONE know what this is?? And do I have anything to worry about health-wise now?


texts: What could be a brown line in the back of an already peeled shrimp?


texts: I opened up a package of ground beef today that I had bought the day before from a reputable grocery store.  I left it out about an hour to warm up a little.  It was grass-fed, which I don't normally buy but do sometimes.  This time I immediately noticed a slightly sweetish smell--possibly like Worcestershire sauce, but hard to place.  Not really bad, but slightly stronger than ground beef normally smells.  Could it be something in the cow's diet, or have I bought meat that's too old to eat?


texts: What can I substitute for Rice flour in a gluten-free pizza?

texts:
I am going to try to make gluten-free pizza for my wife, and I'm going to start with this Serious Eats recipe.

The recipe calls for white rice flour, but my wife has just about everything EXCEPT that.  She has:  corn, oat, potato, rye, sorghum, soy, and tapioca flours.

Which of these (if any) can I substitute for white rice flour?  Or should I just go out and buy some?

For posterity, the recipe is:

1 (7.5 ounce) package Chebe Original Bread Mix (not Pizza Mix)
1 cup white rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water plus an additional tablespoon or two, if needed
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil


texts: How can I rehydrate a dried navel orange?

texts: I have a lot of navel oranges which are slightly dry inside. Is there a way to rehydrate these? How?


texts: What's wrong with keeping frozen vegetables in refrigerator?

texts:
The bags of frozen mushrooms and okra that I just bought got mistakenly put into the refrigerator for a few days instead of frozen. I want to eat them now.

What's the problem with letting bagged veggies thaw and then eating them? Is there a danger of food poisoning?


texts: Do free range eggs have different cooking properties?

texts:
I've heard the slogan 'Happy chooks make for happy cooks', implying that free-range eggs make for more successful cooking.

Do eggs from free roaming chickens actually have a discernible difference in baking or cooking?

I am not asking for a moral opinion, purely a cooking/baking question.


texts: What is meant by "place 4 inches apart on cookie tray"?

texts: Does this mean place some cookie dough every 4 inches (i.e. 4 inches center-to-center), or have a 4 inch gap between each cookie?


texts: Can I add tomato paste afterwards, instead of during cooking, for a tomato sauce?

texts:
So I have a pizza tomato sauce recipe that called for adding 6 tablespoons of tomato paste during the cooking. Unfortunately, due to being very disorganized, I only realized half way through cooking that I didn't have any tomato paste in the house and the local 24h corner shop didn't stock any.

I carried on cooking the tomato sauce topping without adding the tomato paste and then put it in the fridge overnight. Should I pick up some tomato paste and add the "finished" product to the frying pan, heat up and put in the tomato paste or should I just leave it. Does the tomato paste add anything bar depth of flavour?


texts: Stewing meat with vinegar or adding it after

texts:
Wild turkey legs are rather tough, and some hunters even throw them away, but I decided to give it a shot in a slow cooker set at the lowest setting for 8 hours, with vegetables. I definitely like vinegar or citrus in my stews but as a condiment before eating. I was wondering whether adding it before or while stewing might be a good idea, such as helping tenderize a questionable piece of meat as is the case here.

At the same time, it's a rare cut of meat so I would rather not experiment too much: Is long stewing tough-ish meats with vinegar a good idea or should I add it after stewing or before eating?


texts:
I'm making flavoured tonic syrups, but I want to flavour them naturally with juices, concentrates and botanicals.

I'm working on a "green" flavour with herbs and spices, but trying to make it shelf stable. The idea I currently have is to press the juices from fresh herbs and mix it in with a heavy syrup -- would that create a product that is stable enough to not discolour or spoil for about 6 months?


texts:
I've been trying to reproduce my favorite kind of Mexican or Spanish style rice that I find in some restaurants.  It is dry and fluffy and seems to be cracked or split open.  I've gone through many different recipes and videos but the rice always seems to have more moisture than I'm looking for (intentional, for the recipes I'm following) and no split-ness.

I've tried both standard pan and a pressure cooker methods.

Anybody know what the style of rice is called, more specifically, by my description of "cracked/split" and perhaps the secret to making it?

Thanks!


texts: Recommendations for spice organization strategies

texts:
Spices have always been the hardest thing for me to keep track of in the kitchen. I'm interested in specific recommendations for

hardware (containers, labeling, shelving, etc.) and
organization schemes (alphabetical? categories?)

in order to make it easier to find the spices I'm looking for.


texts: How do I get a chewy crust from homemade pizza dough?

texts:
There's a local pizzeria that makes a crust I really like and I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong in reproducing it. The crust (under the toppings) is about a 1/4in thick. If you look at it as a cross-section, there's a thin layer of cooked crust topped by a more soft, doughy layer, almost like a "dumpling". Looking at the bottom, the crust is medium brown on average.

The dough is homemade, rises for about 2 hours, worked into a crust (about 1/4in thick), and only sets long enough for me to top it. I've tried cooking on a pizza pan, a stone, a cookie sheet, 350, 400, etc.

CLARIFICATION: The dough that I made is NOT from the pizzeria. It's from a recipe book on pizza doughs.

CLARIFICATION 2: The specific part that I'm trying to reproduce is the "doughy" part. If you look at the pizza from the side it has a layer of what appears to be "not completely cooked" dough. No air pockets/bubbles/etc, just dough. I know I'm not explaining this very well, I apologize.

Any suggestions?


texts: Jam with honey & without pectin has a saucy consistency always

texts:
My orange jams and strawberry jams with honey are not getting set.. for some reason I don't use pectin (mental block maybe - though I know it's a natural ingredient).. reading a lot of blogs I found this could be the case when lower amount of sweetner is used..
Is this correct? My friends love the saucy consistency so that's not a problem..  but I want to know if this is normal or should I let it boil more?

Strawberry jam:

1kg strawberry + 100 grams water to boil initally to remove seeds (this was for a kid who doesn't like the seeds)
600 grams honey
3 tbsp lemon juice

To start with low flame for 10 minutes and then at a medium flame for 80 minutes.. temperature was 104°C when I switched it off..

Orange :

500 grams orange juice
220 grams honey
1 tbsp lemon juice

Low flame 10 minutes + boil in medium flame for 30 mins - end temp 104.5°C


texts: How long can I keep a leg of ham in the fridge?

texts:
How long will a glazed ham last for?

I have a ham, which I glazed.

It was in a vac pack, and does not expire for 2 months.

Since I have removed it from the vac pack, glazed and cooked it. How long will it last in the fridge?

Also what is the best way to keep it?

And how should I store the remainder in the freezer? Cut it up into steaks? Cubes? etc?

Update:

My question from last year, still not really sure what to do. I have a 10kg ham in a vac pack (not frozen). It says use by 2nd of January. I'm going to glaze and cook it. So how long can I keep it in a fridge?

Also what is the best way to keep it?

Added some photos for clarity:

And after cooked (couldn't help but try a piece)


texts:
How long does an opened bottle of commercially made kvass last in the fridge?

I would have expected the answer to be "weeks", given that it's fermented and would likely just slowly get stronger, but a bottle of Belorussian kvass 1 I recently acquired says it has to be kept below 6°C and "не более суток" (not longer than a day).


texts: Can I prevent honey from congealing/hardening in the pantry?

texts:
This question is inspired by this answer suggesting that honey lasts a long time.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to last so long in my cupboard.  I make sure it's sealed tight, but usually after only a week or two it's looking pretty nasty.

Is there a way to prevent this from happening?  Or is there a standard (not to mention safe) way to "rescue" hardened honey without losing flavour or texture?


texts: How do I make tasty seitan in a pressure cooker?

texts:
Today I made my first seitan. I mixed gluten some spices and herbs with cold water and kneaded a bit, then boiled in broth for 40 minutes; I failed to leave it undisturbed. When done, the chunks were clearly a great part water, but I threw them on a hot pan indifferently and fried them with oil and some more spices.

When I ate them, I found them a bit spongier than I would like, but overall insipid. Would following this recipe improve my results? How should I go about replacing the pot with an electric pressure cooker?


texts: I know that it is unlikely but if I do at some point live in the country and have ducks, turkeys, and geese producing eggs as well as chickens and my chickens for some reason aren't laying eggs can I use duck eggs, turkey eggs, or goose eggs in a recipe that calls for eggs but doesn't specify the kind of egg(which usually means large chicken eggs are used)? If so are there any major adjustments I would have to make besides the number of eggs used?


texts: Should sharpening nicked knives with whetstones leave the nicks in the blade?

texts:
This question is somewhat similar to How to sharpen knife with chunk missing?, but the knives I have are not ruined like the one in that question, and I doubt the answer here would be to just throw away the knives as in that question.

I have three different Classic Global knives – a G2, a G5, and a GSF22 – which are all somewhere between eight and ten years old. None of them have ever been sharpened before. Especially the G5 and the GSF22 have been frequently used, and the blades are showing the effects of that, so I’ve bought an MS5 ceramic whetstone to sharpen them.

I’m a complete novice when it comes to sharpening knives, especially with whetstones, so I did the usual thing first: watched some YouTube videos (Global have one themselves which was very instructional) and read up on it on the Internet.

The M5-OM whetstone I have is 1000 grit, which I realise is probably not really coarse enough to get efficiently rid of nicks very efficiently, but I didn’t feel like splurging on more than one whetstone to begin with, so I got the medium one to start with.

I’ve just sharpened all three knives now, and I admit the results are a bit underwhelming to me. The knives are decidedly sharper than they were before, but all the little nicks and chips in the blades that have developed over the years are still there – some of them actually look bigger now than they were before, which was rather the opposite of what I wanted to achieve.

For comparison, here are two superimposed images of the blade of the GSF22 before (top) and after (bottom) sharpening (click for full size to see the nicks better):

None of the nicks you see there are very big to begin with (the blade is 11 cm in total), but I would have thought sharpening the knife would at least have reduced them, taking material off the edge of the blade, but not where it’s nicked.

With this level of nicking, is it normal that sharpening the blade does not seem to affect the nick? Or does this level of nicking simply require a coarser grit than 1000 to even start getting rid of the nicks at all? Or is it evident from the photo that I did something very wrong when sharpening (over- or undersharpening, wrong angle, etc.), which may have exacerbated the nicks rather than getting rid of them?


texts: Would it be a good idea to mix brown sugar with white sugar in bread?

texts: I was curious, but would the brown sugar feed the yeast and if I mix both of them would it be a good idea? So I can get the benefits of both sugars. If I were to mix what effect would I get?


texts: How can one make dry fine hazelnut flour?

texts: How can one make a hazelnut flour that is as dry and fine as coconut flour? What is sold as "ground hazelnut" or "hazelnut meal" is coarse and moist.


texts: Differences between types of Italian coffee

texts:
What is the difference between the following types of Italian coffee?

Caffè lungo (long coffee)
Caffè corto (short coffee)
Caffè macchiato (coffee with milk)
Espresso
Cappuccino


texts:
I infuse the tea in about 4-6 cups of water just off the boil for about 5 minutes.  Then I dilute it down to 1 gallon (usually with some ice to speed chilling) and keep it in the fridge.

I was interested in just making the concentrate and diluting it as I drink just to save space in the fridge and consolidate the brewing time.  How concentrated an infusion can I make without adversely affecting the flavor?


texts: Why did my French bread neither rise nor bake properly?

texts:
Failed miserably at the first bread bake.

I have this oven: Bajaj 28 Litres 2800TMC Oven Toaster Grill
I tried this recipe: Baking the Perfect Loaf of French Bread

Instead of using 4 cups bread flour, I used 3 cups whole wheat flour. Replaced 2 teaspoon active quick rising dry yeast and 2 teaspoon salt with 1.5 teaspoon active dry yeast and 1.5 teaspoon salt.
Used 1 1/4 cups warm water

Do not have a machine so kneaded the dough by hand all the time, followed the resting times as mentioned in the recipe.

  Place this dough in a large lightly oiled bowl (I use Pam spray). Turn dough over so that all sides have a thin coating of oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm place for 1 1/2 hours to let rest and rise. Dough should almost double in size. While the dough is rising, about 1 hour into the rising stage, preheat your oven to 450F

My oven has only 250 Celsius maximum setting, so I preheated for 15 minutes on that temperature without a stone.
My dough did NOT rise during the resting period of 1.5 hours. At least I didn't notice any visible changes in the dough size. Room temperature was 32 Celsius.

  If you are using a long cast-iron pot or covered baker: -> Before closing the lid on your pot/baker, put 1/4 cup of water directly in the pot. Cover immediately.

I did that and didn't notice any visible steam. Then I put the dough inside on the baking sheet.

  Check temperature of the bread – internal should be 190-210F. Remove and let cool before cutting into it. Repeat with other loaf.

I had set the temperature to be 200 Celsius since it hadn't mentioned the temperature of the oven while baking. It is here talking about the temperature of the bread. Should I have read it as temperature of the oven? :redface:
Moreover, it didin't rise a bit in the oven even. Was it supposed to?

  (For convection ovens- bake 8 min covered, 10-12 min uncovered. Check temperature of bread) To re-crisp the crust, put in 375F oven for 5 minutes.

What should I have covered here with what? I baked for 20 minutes at first. The dough surface was hard and the internal of the bread was NOT cooked. I baked for another 10 minutes and the bread crust got hardest. Internals weren't baked yet.

I suspect that my fault was either improper measurement of yeast (don't have a teaspoon), or wrong temperature, or both.

Please guide in detail.


texts: Prevent brioche buns from spreading during rise

texts:
I am trying to work out how to make the perfect brioche bun for burgers.

I followed the Pink Whisk recipe, but that had a few problems.

The main one was that the buns spread wide during the rise, rather than up. This is a problem I have had before with bread bun recipes.

How can I ensure that my buns rise up, and not sideways?


texts: We're going to try canning some homemade chili with canned kidney beans. Question: Would it be best to add the beans right before canning so they don't get over cooked or do you think there would be little difference if they were cooked with the chili before canning. I'm trying to avoid mushy beans but would like to cook a big pot and can the left overs. I usually add the beans in the last half hour of cooking anyway.


texts: Safe to wash rice the night before and leave overnight before cooking?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out a convenient way to bring fresh rice for lunch. Cooking it the night before and leaving it in the fridge causes it to become dry and hard and unpleasant, and I've read that it's not safe to leave cooked rice out at room temperatures for long periods of time (such as overnight).

So I thought it would be nice if I could at least save myself the trouble of having to wash it in the morning. Would it be safe to wash it the night before, and cook it in the morning? If so, what storage methods should I use? Just leave it out on the countertop? Or should I leave it soaking in water? Or either dry or soaking in an air-tight container? Or should it be refrigerated? I'd also like to hear any methods anybody else has for having fresh rice at lunch!

I should mention I'm referring to short grain Japanese white rice. Thanks!


texts: How could I keep one-ingredient "ice cream" soft?

texts:
According to this question, guar gum and xanthan gum can be used to keep ice cream soft by preventing ice crystals and keeping the air that's been mixed in from leaving the ice cream.

We have tried making one-ingredient banana "ice cream" by freezing bananas for an hour and then mixing them in a blender. It creates a yummy banana ice-cream-like pudding. (I put ice cream in quotes, since there's no actual cream.)

However, if you try to freeze the results, you get a mess full of ice crystals and losing the appeal of the original dessert.

Could additions like guar and xanthan gums help to maintain that yummy texture over time? If so, since I've never used them, I'd like some help figuring out how to do so.


texts: How can I prepare left over Stir Fry for the fridge?

texts:
I like making Stir Fry and I've tried several times to make two meal's worth so I can refrigerate half and take it to work, but so far every attempt has been sub-bar. It's veggie stir fry and I use a variety of sauces (most of which involve soy sauce) and a little vegetable oil.

The problem is mostly the sauce; I can't seem to drain it out, so it builds up at the bottom and gets nasty, or at the least it smells very strongly by the next day. I can't strain out the liquid from the bottom of my Wok very well and even after separating out the portion to be refrigerated I can't quite strain it; the sauce is there but just thick enough to not drain off.

Is there anything I can do to properly drain out the excess sauce or is there some method I can use to make sure the extra portion is edible, at least for a day? I know it's not going to be half as good, but it's completely inedible after a night in the fridge.


texts: Can I use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper for resting candied fruit?

texts: I’m making candied fruit and I need somewhere nonstick to place them while they cool, but I don’t have parchment paper. I don’t know how much the sugar will stick to aluminum.


texts: Bananas are radioactive...so how many exactly would you have eat to die? Is it possible to calculate?

texts: Today a friend told me something disturbing... Bananas are radioactive. Found it hard to believe. But when googeling a bit it seems true. Only thing on the internet that is not consistent is how many would it take to kill a human? And is it possible to calculate how many exactly?


texts: I made a spicy margarita jelly that hasn't set up after almost two weeks - even in the refrigerator it's still "loose."  I don't have the exact measurements in front of me, but I soaked a scorpion pepper in tequila for about 2 hours.  Then I added sugar, Cointreau, key lime juice (I didn't have lemon or lime), salt, and two packages of pectin.  If I reprocess it and add more pectin, there's no guarantee it will thicken up properly.  It is possible that the alcohol didn't boil off enough.  I literally turned my back for 15 seconds on a non-boiling pot only to hear it boiling over - all over my glass top stove!  All the burners were coated except the one with the canner firmly on it so I couldn't continue the boiling process.  If I decide to reprocess it, should I try something other than pectin in it - like gelatin?


texts: Why are my tangzhong bread doughs so wet?

texts:
I've started experimenting with tangzhong bread recipes after reading about it in one of the questions here. I have been baking bread for many years.
I believe I'm doing it correctly, but I find that the doughs are very wet and sticky - like, almost like a wet muffin batter that you might pour into a muffin tin instead of the usual smooth, non-sticky mass of bread dough that I am used to.
The recipes I've tried so far are:

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/soft-cinnamon-rolls-recipe
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pillowy-white-bread-recipe

They have all turned out OK, but only after I added a fair amount of additional flour, above and beyond what the recipe calls for.
Taking the milk bread recipe as an example:
The recipe calls for a total of 2 1/2 cups (dough) + 2 tablespoons (tangzhong) bread flour and 1/2 cup (dough) + 6 tablespoons (tangzhong) milk and water. That's a total of 2 3/8 cups flour to 7/8 cup of liquid.
The recipe calls for mixing & kneading "until a smooth, elastic dough forms". I use a stand mixer, and the recipe advises that this could take up to 15 minutes. So I did that, and after that time I did not have a smooth, elastic dough - I had a sticky mess at the bottom of the bowl. So I proceed to add more flour, two tablespoons at a time, until it becomes the smooth mass that I'm used to - in this case, I had to add close to another cup of flour to get it to what I believe bread dough should be.
The end result was good, but given that I've had the same experience three times with three different recipes, I have to wonder if it's something I'm doing or if there's something wrong with the recipes I'm trying (they are all from the same source, after all, so maybe there's something wrong there).
Am I doing something wrong or are the proportions off in the recipes I've tried?


texts: Substitutions for "European style" butter in croissants

texts:
I've been trying to make croissants at home. Many recipes I've read specify "European style" butter, with a higher fat content. However, finding this kind of butter locally is very difficult. In the places I have found it, it's very expensive.

I've found that when using ordinary unsalted butter as sold in the US there seems to be no good temperature for laminating the dough. Cooled as recipes suggest, the butter is brittle and cracks. Allowed to warm slightly more, the butter is absorbed into the dough.

So I'm wondering, is there some substitute available (not for butter generally, but "European style" butter? If a higher fat content is what's needed, I wonder if some combination of clarified butter mixed with ordinary unsalted butter might work. Any suggestions?


texts: Is oven an important factor in getting great baking results?

texts: I bake almost everyday, sometimes I am very happy with my baking results and sometimes I am not and when I don't like it, I think it's me as a beginner, I might have done something wrong or not quite right. After 15/16 months of baking at home, I feel like something is wrong with the oven I use. I use the upper level to get better results and I even bought a new baking tray. It actually made the result better but the result did not meet my expectations. I would pay for a better oven if it makes a very big difference. How important is oven in getting great baking results?


texts:
Please refer to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKHgNXsTYU.

I'd like to mimic the process, but replace the pressure cooker step with a sous vide instead. What's the lowest possible temperature and shortest amount of time I can use the sous vide such that I can chill the wings after the sous vide process and then fry them at high temperature for just 2.5 minutes?

I've done some research on the net for various recipes. One said to set it at 82C for 1.5 hours. I tried that, but the wings' weight dropped by about 30% and separation of the meat from the bone was evident. I don't want the wings to shrink that much. Nor do I want the meat separating from the bone before it gets to the frying stage.

Chicken is supposedly safe to eat at around 74C. Should I set my sous vide to that temperature instead? That way I'll know they are fully cooked even before the wings go into the fryer. If so, what is the minimum amount of time I should put the wings in a 74C bath? I'd like to keep them in there for an absolute minimum to prevent loss of weight and meat separating from the bone?

Or is there a lower temperature I can sous vide the wings at? The rationale being that I will still be frying the wings and perhaps the oil can fully cook it 2.5 minutes. I'm concerned it might not cook fully, especially if the wings are first chilled in the fridge.


texts:
I have been using extra firm tofu to make meals, recently. When I go out to restaurants and get, for example, Thai food, I see a much more thinly sliced form of what I assume it is tofu that is like 0.5 inches x 0.5 inches x 1 inch, and has a red coloration along the side, almost like a skin.
Is this pressed tofu, or is it something different? If so, where can I get it?
This link says "Asian markets," but I have checked a few and I have not been able to find it. Maybe it is in a different section than the "regular" tofu.

EDIT
Here is a picture:

The piece on the left is a "regular" piece of extra firm tofu (even when I press that tofu myself, which I do when I make tofu).  The piece on the fork is what I am talking about.  It is much more firm than even extra firm tofu and has a different bite to it.


texts: How do I make this no bake tart filling less runny?

texts:
I made this tart for the first time: https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/mango-passionfruit-australia-day-tart-recipe/xr2rx1q4?r=recipes/australiaday&c=9336f356-56fb-44e5-8053-e711fe431650/Australia%20day

It was delicious, but I could not get the mango filling to solidify much. It was way too runny.

I’m guessing the problem lies with where I was cooking the mango purée mixture on the stove. The recipe says 6-8 minutes on medium-low heat until it thickens. Mine didn’t thicken even after 10 minutes. So I guess it’s no surprise it was runny even after cooling.

I have no idea how to make it harden, this recipe has no flour or cornstarch. Do I keep cooking until it thickens or will that be counterproductive? Do you cook on higher heat? Do I add something?

Kind regards,
Elle


texts: What kind of cheese did I buy in Bulgaria...and how am I supposed to eat it?

texts:
Today I was doing some shopping at the Tsentralni Hali in Sofia and bought some cheese, cause it looked so damn gooood.

Well, it is good indeed...but it has the consistency of a brick and you don't cut it, you chop it! And you don't eat it, you chew it!

So, maybe I'm missing something. I took a photo of the top of the jar:

What the heck did I buy? Can someone tell me how am I supposed to eat it?


texts:
I received a gift of pink rock sea salt and would like to know how best to process it into flakes.  Briefly tried a box grater but that resulted in fine granules. The container includes three walnut sized crystals.  Is there some kind of gadget that these are used with? Suggestions?

AO


texts: Is there something I can do to keep ice-cream soft?

texts:
I have bought a electric ice-cream churner, I have tried so many different flavours, different recipes, used alcohols.
Have read previous questions and a don't believe that leaving ice-cream out to thaw -scoop then refreeze is the only answer.How do the commercial companies keep them soft.
I generally find the next day it is fairly reasonable to scoop, but day after day -the longer it stays the harder it becomes.


texts: Different cooking times and different dishes

texts:
Merry Christmas! I would love it if all my dishes came out at the same time. Any ideas?

I am cooking a ham at 350, au gratin potatoes at 425 and a souffle at 350 what temperature should I cook at to have them all come out at the same time?


texts: So my dad bought a hot pot. I know what you cook in a hot pot. It says in the bottom "Hot Pot." But the bottom isn't what I expected. Normally, a hotpot is in a bowl shape. But this one has somewhat a stand. It's like a small inverted bowl attached to the bottom and it keeps the hotpot still. It's hollow. Is this normal? How do I use this hotpot? Do I just place the hotpot with it's stand on top of a stove?


texts: What kind of fuel do I use for a Hario TCA/50A coffee syphon?

texts:
I just received a Hario Coffee Syphon TCA/50A as a birthday gift which makes use of an alcohol-fuel powered wick/lamp to heat the water.

However, I'm a bit confused which fuel I should be using exactly? The manual states:

  Use only fuel-type alcohol. Never use gasoline, benzene or kerosene. Purchase fuel-type alcohol from a pharmacy, etc.

However, what exactly should I be asking for? I live in Germany and none of the Apothek/Pharmacies said they had what I was looking for. I feel like there should be a more common name for the exact fuel I need to use! (eg: Should I be looking for Butane or Ethanol?)


texts: Baked Red Potatoes cooked skin up or down (crisped results wanted)

texts:
Should red potatoes that are quartered be cooked skin up or down in the oven? (Oiled!)

Hoping to get delicious crisped results!


texts: What's the difference between a cupcake and a muffin?

texts:
I was debating with someone today whether what we were eating was a cupcake or a muffin, but realized we didn't really know the difference. So what's the difference between a cupcake and a muffin in American English?

In case you're wondering, what we were eating had a sweet batter, but not overly; had blueberries in the batter; had no icing or frosting; was perhaps about three fluid ounces (1 dL) big; and had been baked with a paper wrapper.


texts: Can I use a Convection Warming Drawer at a temperature of 140 degrees to cook a green bean casserole?


texts:
I am making curdled cheese for a cheesecake.
I am using reduced-fat milk (2%) and would like to know the content (e.g fat, sugar, protein) of the curdled cheese after it has been separated from the whey.

How can this be calculated?


texts:
I have been given some kefir grains but, no having tasted kefir before, I can't tell if there's something wrong with it.

Is there some way to tell?

For the record, the taste is like a mix between yoghourt, cheese and sour milk.


texts:
I have used the chilly bin (cooler) sous-vide hack at home for a while and get excellent results for up to eight servings

I use extra insulation on the lid and a digital submersible flexible probe thermometer. The whole setup only loses around one degree C per hour with four servings

I want to go to party scale, say 30 to 40 servings, what are my chances of success?

Should I just get three or four chilly bins or just one large bin?

Has anyone had success at large scale sous-vide at home?

I am using it for chicken breasts and sliced fatty beef cuts. These are home-kill cuts so I know of the quality and cleanliness

Edit

In my 25L chilly bin for four serves of Chicken breasts, I half fill the chilly bin with tap hot water and add one jug (2L) of boiling water = 63°C. When I add the four pouches of chicken it drops to 62°C. A hour later I take out the chicken at 61°C, and add a small jug of tap cold water and I have 56°C, four beef cuts go in for an hour too. Temperature at end is 55°C


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When I boil cereals (rice, quinoa, etc.) to freeze, shall I drain water first? (the water I want to drain is the water I used to boil which was not absorbed by the cereals during cooking)

I am wondering if water would favor or go against keeping the right moisture in the freezer

Order: Boil, drain, freeze


texts: my cookie dough was in the fridge overnight and now its rock hard can I microwave it?

texts: Can I microwave the hard rock hard cookie dough that was in the fridge overnight?


texts: My old recipe for buckeyes (cookies) calls for one package of crackers. That was when the box was a pound box. Does anyone know the conversion since the box is now less weight and less crackers?


texts: When left out in an open container, what % abv does vodka retain at room temperature?

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If I pour vodka (40% abv) into an open glass, and then leave it out overnight (or for some time), what percent ABV does it stabalize at? Or does all of its alcohol content evaporate (leaving just barley-water in its wake)?

Also, as a followup, does the same behavior apply to other alcohols, like whiskey? And finally, at what rate roughly does vodka lose ABV at room temperature?


texts: What is this Austrian dish? It resembles potato croquettes?

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I'm searching for a recipe or just anyone who knows this dish, I think it sounds like 'rostitachen' but I can't find any recipes online or anything about it!

They are like potato croquettes filled with cheese and veg or mushrooms.


texts: What are some things to look out for when looking to purchase silicone utensil sets?


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I've tried to research this but can't find much on it.  Most explanations don't really address what I am seeing in my soup pot each time I boil up a used bird.  These are already cooked birds and are the leftovers from roasted turkeys or chickens. I love a pure broth for lunch.  I am also a great believer in 'Jewish Penicillin**, thus lots of chicken broth.  I use the broth for soup stock also.

So.. the main question:
Why is turkey broth always cloudy whitish and chicken broth clearer or brownish? It doesn't seem to be the fat content of the bird or broth. This almost always happens when I use the carcasses from either fowl to make broth.  It doesn't seem to be dependent on how I cooked either bird. Turkeys=white broth...Chickens = clear or mildly brownish broth.  It's almost chemical??? Is there any cautions I should be observing?  **We do not observe any Jewish food requirements...it's only a familiar comment ('cause it's true!)


texts: How do I clean burnt milk from a glass-ceramic stove?

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I have a glass-ceramic stove (Ceran), and I did spill some milk on it,  which of course instantly burnt itself onto the surface. It seems resistant to any mild way of removing it, and I'm not sure how harsh I can try to remove it without damaging the glass-ceramic surface.

What is the easiest way to remove such burnt milk from a glass-ceramic stove without damaging it?