texts: What is the best way to cook chicken for enchiladas?

texts: I'm new to cooking and I'm cooking chicken enchiladas and obviously I want to shred the chicken. Most recipes say to use a slow cooker, but some say boil. Why would one be better than the other? I realize boiling is faster, but given that more recipes say to slow cook, I'm guessing slow cooking is better for some reason. I plan on using boneless skinless chicken breast. How long would it take to boil before ready to shred? How long would it take in a crock pot on low before ready to shred? I recognize there is no exact time for it to be done, so what are the signs of being done and ready to shred? Last question, how much water would I use in a slow cooker with the chicken? Thank you.


texts:
I'm having trouble thinly slicing chicken thighs for a recipe, I don't know if I have a tooling issue (dull chef's knife?) or it's an issue with the direction I'm cutting the chicken thighs (against the grain), or if attempting to cut chicken thighs is simply supposed to be a difficult endeavor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSmH01K76lY
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/08/oyakodon-japanese-chicken-and-egg-rice-bowl-recipe.html
https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/09/how-to-sharpen-a-knife-on-a-mug.html


texts: I've been wanting to make a tres leche cake and I have a few cake box mixes at home (yellow cake, spice cake and a chocolate cake).  Could I use the yellow cake and then just fork it and pour over the tres leche sauce or is there something about typical tres leche cake recipes that makes them better suited to the sauce and the overall dish?


texts: How best to store steaks in the fridge (for taste)

texts:
This question is not about preventing meat from going bad or about aesthetics due to oxidation etc. and is specifically about how best to store meat in the fridge for taste.

Depending on who I get my meat from (i.e. which butcher) sometimes it comes wrapped in paper (either individually or all together), sometimes in individual bags or sometimes all bundled together in a single bag like today.

How is it best to store them, for up to 3 days? Leave them all together in contact? Separate and individually cling wrap them? Put them together in Tupperware?

I guess what I'm really asking is does it make any difference to taste or texture depending on how it is stored in the fridge as long as the meat remains fresh and continuously refrigerated? *

*Not including uncovered storage in the fridge which would dry out the meat.


texts: How do I work out the use-by dates for my own cooking?

texts:
If I sort my fridge by 'eat by' date, what is the best way of dealing with food's I've cooked, or partially cooked, myself?

In my fridge there are such delights as:

thrawed from frozen strawberries for the baby
Seiten loaf, made in the last day
several different types of leftovers.

...and it occurs to me I don't know how to work out the 'eat by' dates on any of the dishes we've made ourselves.

I'd like to know some good rules: excellent answers might include: "I run a bakery and this is the situation that the FDA told us we had to go by" but I'll take any information there is...


texts: What technique should I use to make latkes for a party so that I don't have to stay in the kitchen?

texts:
What usually happens is that I fry up fresh latkes during a party and I end up in the kitchen for the majority of the party.

Is there a way for me to precook the latkes and then still have them taste fresh and crispy when the guests arrive?

Here are some options that I'm thinking of but don't know if it will work well:

Fry them up as usual and keep them on a rack in a warm oven before the guests arrive
Do a quick fry and keep them in the oven...when the guests arrive refry them (hopefully this will take less time).
Get other to take turn to fry up the latkes.  :)


texts:
I ran across this historic reference to making chocolate out of Chinquapin (which I assume to be a type of Chesnut) nuts.

I have turned the internet upside down looking for information on this.

I found one tiny reference to Chinquapin as a substitute for coco.

How are Chinqupin nuts made into chocolate? Is it identical to how regular chocolate is made from cocao?


texts:
I am in the process of losing weight and I am using a meal prep service to help me with portion control. I choose the ingredients, order online and they deliver via fedex. One of the options is to order grass-fed beef and, naturally, there is a premium on this meat (and the meal prep service is not cheap to begin with!).

So, when the meal is in a cooked state, how can I verify that they are sending me grass-fed beef? Are there any markers/taste I should be looking for? The service has a good reputation, but I just want to be able to verify that I'm getting what I paid for.


texts:
I made potato chips by following this recipe, but they didn't come out crispy.
What is the accurate temperature for frying chips?

Note (from Jefromi): my best guess based on the comments is that the OP didn't use this recipe, but rather fried thin potato slices in a deep-fryer at 180C, in an unknown oil, for an  unknown amount of time. If this is enough to let you answer, just go for it.


texts: I've been looking at recipes for orange marmalade and some say "don't use the pith because it's too bitter" but the photos often show the peel and pith (the part just under the peel) in the final product. And some say just to use the pith and pips in a muslin bag (ie thrown out at the end). Any guidance on this?


texts: What are the types and pros/cons of electric and manual spice and nut grinders available? What qualities should be looked for while purchasing them?

texts:
Example spices/nuts that I'll be grinding:
* Cumin seeds
* Mustard seeds
* Peanuts
* Black pepper corns
* Garlic buds and ginger
* Cloves

Questions:

Which kind of grinders allow water in them for making a paste of the spices?
Is there some maximum and minimum capacity for each of the type of grinders?
What are the types of manual grinders which do not require too much amount of manual power/effort? Example: I think using mortar and pestle consumes huge effort.
Which kind of grinders allow us to have a fine powder of spices rather than bits?
This is meant for home use so what qualities should be looked for while purchasing them?


texts: How to make saffron really color my risotto?

texts:
So I've recently bought some saffron (stems, not ground), then tried to make some Risotto with it. I got my water boiling and added about 5 stems to it. I didn't really measure the water because I can just eyeball it, I was making about a cup and a half of rice.

The saffron made the water just barely yellow. As I kept adding the water to the rice, I didn't really notice a change in color. So I added 5 more stems directly to the rice, and kept stirring. The thing never got as yellow as I wished or had seen in pictures. It actually almost didn't change in color by the time the risotto was done. So I gave up on making the classic milanaese risotto and added sun dried tomatoes and some mushrooms to it. It turned out really good, but by far not the color I wanted.

What did I do wrong?


texts:
I want to bake a cake that mimics the Sahne Nuss chocolate bar from Nestle. So my plan is a chocolate cake filled with a chocolate ganache with pieces of almond in it.

My question is: should I roast the almonds before adding into the ganache? I'm looking for a crunchy texture for the almonds.


texts: Which end of the cucumber should I save for later?

texts: When using only half of a cucumber, which end of the cucumber should I save for later use - the stem end or the blossom end?


texts: Crispy fried chicken goes limp: picnic disaster

texts:
I use a simple fried chicken recipe: wash chicken (I use thighs), dredge in seasoned flour, dip in egg with a bit of milk, re-dredge in flour, shake and fry. The dish comes out great on the day I cook it, but loses its crunch the next day when I want to take it as part of a picnic lunch.
Is there a way to avoid the limp-crusted fried chicken on day 2?

P.S. I remove skin and all visible fat, and I drain on paper towels both top and bottom sides.


texts: Cooking time and temperature for one oven and two different dishes

texts: I want to warm a 9.6lb spiral ham (275- 15 minutes per lb) and cook a macaroni and cheese casserole (375 for about 30-45 min) in the same oven and have them ready at the same time.  How do I do this?


texts: Is there a downside to tenderizing meat?

texts:
I'm specifically asking about manual or mechanical tenderization prior to cooking, as with a meat tenderizer (also called a mallet). Wikipedia says

  Tenderizing meat with the mallet softens the fibers, making the meat easier to chew, and easier to digest. It is useful when preparing particularly tough cuts of steak, and works well when broiling or frying the meat.

This makes pounding or mashing meat sound like a magic bullet that can never go wrong. I've learned the hard way that there is no such thing in a kitchen: a sufficiently inventive cook (such as yours truly) can find a way to ruin any recipe.

I recently purchased a steak from a meat counter, and the butcher offered to run it through their tenderizer. I imagined a machine equivalent to a robotic hammer array and agreed. However, I was surprised to find when I opened the package at home that the machine had actually cut a large number of closely spaced striations part way through the steak.

How does this differ from a pounding tenderization process? Is there a guide to which types of meat work better with which types of tenderization? Are there some cuts or species of meat that don't respond well to tenderizing? What are the pitfalls when using either process? Can you over-pound or over-slice a cut of meat and damage it or cause it to toughen? Does manual tenderizing conflict with other types of tenderization (e.g. brasing, enzymatic, brining, marinating etc.)?

Right now, the only downside to manual tenderizing that I can think of is the time and effort required to pound it out. I've been meaning to pick up a meat mallet and wanting to go nuts experimenting, but I'm hoping to avoid any mistakes.


texts: How to tell if fish is subjected to Ciguatera?

texts:
Is there any way to tell if fish is infected/subjected to ciguatera.

I understand that if you ingest fish that is infected with ciguatera you run the risk of becoming violently ill, and that subsequent ingestions will make you even more ill.  Therefore is there any way to tell if a fish has ciguatera?

I ask as I know not to eat certain fishes that I have caught in the tropics, but still do not know enough about the subject.


texts: Substituting cream of tartar in turkish delights?

texts:
I decided that my Sunday project would be trying making some rosewater Turkish Delights... I have all of the ingredients but cream of tartar. What could I substitute it with? Or can I leave it out completely?

I was thinking of lemon juice, but I am not sure about the proportions.
Also, would lemon juice go well with rosewater? I would say so, but rosewater is not something I use very often.


texts: Is burnt milk that sticks to a pan something used in cooking ever? Does it have a name?

texts:
This might be a weird question but I have to ask it anyway. I make my dad boiled milk and I find the burnt milk that sticks to bottom of the pan has got a really great taste.

Does it have a name and what sort of recipes would it be used in?


texts:
I bought marinated chicken breasts from the butcher and didn't realize I bought twice as many as I really wanted! Is it ok to freeze half of them?

The marinade is a garlic butter, so not acidic like a teriyaki. If the type of marinade affects the answer please let me know.

The breasts are still wrapped in plastic and then butcher paper, unopened since getting them home from the butcher, and have been kept in the fridge the entire time.


texts: Can cooking oil selection effect Maillard reaction?

texts: Ignoring flavor impartation. When pan-frying: Does picking a higher smoke point oil like avocado oil affect the speed of the Maillard reaction? Will it occur quicker if a lower smoke point oil like olive is used?


texts:
Question: should chicken be pre-seasoned or post-seasoned when sous vide-ing?

See my results below, but please post your own preferences and results as well.


texts: How can I tell if katsuobushi is made from bonito or the real deal?

texts:
I feel like this is another "real wasabi or not" conundrum.

Essential to Japanese cuisine, especially indispensable in dashi, katsuobushi is not cheap in Japan or in the U.S. But how can I tell if a pack of katsuobushi I see in a store or I have sitting in my pantry is made from real skipjack tuna or its cheap substitute bonito?

I know there isn't a whole lot to choose from when it comes to buying katsuobushi in the U.S. What makes this matter even more confusing is that a lot of the product-of-Japan katsuobushi sold in the U.S. -- at least every kind that I have seen -- lists "かつお" (skipjack tuna) as its ingredient in Japanese, but also has a separate English label that says "ingredients: bonito". Which is it then? Are there methods through which I can tell if a pack is the real deal?


texts: What is the proper salt to water ratio for turkey brine?

texts: I want to brine a turkey but have heard conflicting messages on how much salt to use. I have heard 5% salt mixture and from others I have heard 10 salt mixture. I would like a somewhat strong taste of salt. For the sake of this question we can assume I'm going to use 5 litres of water.


texts: What can I substitute for eggs in a pancake recipe?

texts:
I'd like to make pancakes. I have all the other ingredients that I'd normally use (flour, canola oil, sugar, salt, and corn starch) in a pancake mix, but I don't have any eggs.

Can I substitute milk, or more of one of the other ingredients, in lieu of the eggs?


texts: Can I add body to vegan stock with carrageenan?

texts:
Carrageenan, a seaweed extract, is used frequently in vegan cheese and other vegan and vegetarian preparations as a thickening agent.
However, I have never seen it recommended as a way to add "body" and texture to a vegan stock, as a replacement for the collagen in meat stocks.  Particularly, I'd like to experiment with it for vegetable stocks intended to be thickened into a sauce.
Is this because it works poorly for that purpose, or just because few cooks have tried it? Or some other reason?


texts: Why does the grate of my charcoal grill keep rusting?

texts: By the end of every summer it seems like the grate of my charcoal grill is rusty. Does anyone know how I can keep it from rusting and whether or not the rust is unhealthy?


texts:
I've been experimenting with brewing with kefir. Fruit and fruit juice produces a nice tasty result but I would like to use ginger, nutmeg and a lot of cinnamon.

The common answer for using cinnamon is to place a cinnamon stick into the mix. This allows the stick to be easily separated from the kefir grains after brewing (so they can be reused) and does not leave bits in the final product.

However, I do not have any. I do have medicinal quantities of my favourite spices. I looked into muslin bags which are often used to make herbs easy to remove after cooking. Given how fine the powdered spices are, I have no idea if this will work.

Is there any way to infuse the spices into the water without ending up with "gunk" (I am sure there is a better term)?


texts: added more yogurt to curry - can I fix it?

texts: I've accidentally added more yogurt than I should've (I tipped the box of yogurt rather than spoon it out) and now the flavour / smell of yogurt and its sourness are overpowering and coming through. I've cooked another onion down  separately and added a tbsp of demerara, a glug of milk (suggestion from my girlfriend) and added it to the sauce (which is in the slowcooker as I type this) but the flavours/smells coming out of it is just too overpowering. Anything I could do to mellow it out?


texts:
I made some fresh tofu fa following this recipe: http://ieatishootipost.sg/how-to-make-tau-huay-tofu-fa-almost-everything-you-need-to-know/

When I eat the tofu (about half an hour after pouring, so it just set), the tofu is sour, especially at the bottom.

I followed the recipe, but used gypsum instead (2 tsp).
The soybeans were soaked overnight, then shelled, and thinking it might have been my water, I used bottled spring water.

I've read that lactone can make the tofu sour, but I used food grade gypsum.


texts: Is 'Pizza yeast' any different than normal baking yeast?

texts:
A friend (Italian) mentioned that she uses 'Pizza Yeast' for making pizza, and one can't use normal yeast or it'll "grow too much".. I looked around the internet for "Pizza yeast" and all I found was people saying that it was a marketing gimmick and it was just normal instant yeast.

So here's my questions, is there anything special in "Pizza yeast" or can we just use normal yeast (in lesser amount of course) and achieve the same??


texts: How do you hold cooked roast beef to serve pink but still warm?

texts:
We're going to be serving roast beef dinners to a crowd throughout the day, there will be an option for the beef of 'pink' or 'not pink'.
We estimate needing around 5 large joints for the day.
What's the best way to hold the joints after slow-cooking, ready for slicing, so they stay warm when served 'pink' later - without cooking them any more!
('Not pink' can obvs be cooked again when sliced)
Oven space could be a problem as we will need the ovens for roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings however, if it can't be done without more oven space we may be able to get more.
How do restaurants do it? (quieter ones I guess - busy would be easy)

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is there a difference between a vegetable tray and a relish tray?

texts: Are pickles, beets and olives-green and black,radishes part of a relish tray? Where as carrots, cauliflower, celery, broccoli,small tomatoes are part of a vegetable tray. Right?


texts: Why is my vegetable stock bitter, but the chicken stock not?

texts:
I have exactly the same procedure and ingredients for cooking vegetable and chicken stock - of course, the latter contains chicken meat, which is the only difference.

The ingredients I put into my stock are:

onion,
a few garlic cloves,
two carrots,
celeriac,
parsley root,
leek,
spices: bay leaf, allspice and peppercorns.

Simmer time - about 2 hours.

It quite often happens that my vegetable stock is bitter, but it never happened with a chicken stock. I read here and there that vegetable stock shouldn't be cooked for long - even 45 minutes should be enough, and if simmered for too long it may become bitter. However, chicken or any other meat stock recipes call for a much longer time, and bitterness should not be a problem.

Thus, why is there a risk of vegetable stock becoming bitter, while it is not that much of a problem for a meat stock?


texts:
http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/vegetable-hot-and-sour-soup.aspx

Are we here talking about Bamboo trees?
Can we have a picture of Bamboo shoot? In what forms is it available?


texts:
It is well known that consuming spicy foods increases your metabolism and contributes to fat burning, mainly due to the presence of capsaicin.

Since this effect is very small, how many spicy foods would one have to eat (in terms of capsaicin) in order for the weight loss to be noticeable, strictly theoretically speaking?


texts: I have a bunch of frozen beans in the freeze and I found out that pouring hot water on them is easier to take them out of their container with a measuring cup. But them I re-freeze them. Is this a bad idea or unhealthy? I'm too lazy to freeze a bunch of separate small cups of beans.


texts: Identifying a white crispy garnish to a pork dish

texts:
We went to an excellent restaurant last night and one of us was served pork with an unfamiliar, edible garnish;

It was a crispy, long, white item which may have been a little salty and a little meaty, although I'm not sure.

Can anyone identify the White item on this plate?


texts: How does choosing good induction cookware differ from choosing cookware for other types of stove?

texts:
Let me just clarify I'm not asking for specific brands, but features.

We just got an induction stove and I want to pick up some new pots/pans etc. I know that I have to pick induction-safe materials. But beyond that, is there anything to consider different from the considerations when buying pans and pots for a gas or resistive stove?


texts: Is Ciao Bella's "Rosemary and Olive Oil Gelato" savory?

texts:
I am about to make ice cream (for dessert) from The Ciao Bella book for Gelato and Sorbetto and was thinking about trying the Rosemary and Olive Oil Gelato. It says something about being savory, but it has the same amount of sugar as most of the other gelatos there. I have tried (sweet) olive oil gelato elsewhere, and it was very good (though unusual).

Is this Gelato fit (as an ice cream) for a normal dessert? Is it eaten as if it is sweet?

Edit: Does "savory", in this case, mean it's not sweet?


texts: How long should I bake a hamburger meatloaf, and at what oven temperature?

texts:
I invented my own recipe for meatloaf: hamburger, bread, 1 egg, dried onion bits, Worcestershire sauce, a bit of ketchup. Put into the oven at 350 degrees F.

Please advise the ideal oven temperature, and length of cooking time. Also, should I cover it with foil for part of the time?


texts: What are my options for cooking an eye of round roast? What's the best way to cook this cut of meat to minimize the potential for it to dry out?


texts: How to defrost frozen pizza dough quickly?

texts:
Obviously, best practice for defrosting it to leave the pizza dough on the counter or in the fridge overnight, then let it rise before cooking it. However, I've got company coming tonight, and I forgot to defrost the dough last night. (It's supermarket frozen whole-wheat dough.)

How can I help the dough along? I've read that you can microwave the dough on a low setting to defrost it, but I'm a little uncertain about doing that.

Edit: I'm concerned that using heat to defrost the dough might cook it somewhat, which I don't want.

Related question: Defrosting pizza dough correctly?


texts: Do sweet dishes taste sweeter when hot or when it gets cold?

texts:
While cooking something sweet which would be served cold or at room-temperature, is it more sweet when it is hot i.e. during the cooking when you taste in order to check the sweetness, or when it is served cold or at room-temperature i.e. after the cooking?

I feel that it tastes slightly less sweet when served at a lower temperature. Is that right?


texts: Can you help me get my cream pie filling stiff enough?

texts:
Everytime I make a pie, I get a different result as far as the stiffness of the pie.  I am trying to perfect coconut cream pie (and other cream pies).

I have been researching Shirley O, Corriher and Harold McGee's work, and understand that the alpha-amylase in the egg yolk must be deactivated by boiling for a short time (although I also saw things like "approach a boil" to keep from breaking starch bonds).  Otherwise it digest the starch as in the cornstarch, flour or tapioca starch.  I understand that once the granules burst and release the starch chains and bond, that the process will start to reverse after the cream reaches its thickest point.  So, I am careful not to stir too much, etc.  I researched the different starches and found that cornstarch is not very heat resistant, so I looked into flour and tapioca (cassava) flour or starch.  I don't think I have looked at arrow root as much.

OK, what about the sugar?  Will too much sugar make it runny (I did try a recipe with less sugar).   What about the milk?  I use whole milk.  Is there something with the milk?  Do I need to use cream instead? I have read about using gelatin, but am not sure I want that consistency.  Surely there is a secret so that the pie will come out right every time.  HELP!


texts:
http://m.wikihow.com/Make-Honey-Roasted-Peanuts

Here it is mentioned that peanuts should not be raw. Why?

When I will put them in the oven, they will get roasted. Why does that link want me to not use raw peanuts?


texts:
I've been considering trying to reduce my dairy consumption for environmental reasons (I've long since reduced my meat consumption), but I'm not sure what to use for various substitutions.

I generally go through one to four gallons of whole milk per two weeks. Uses include:

A little bit in scrambled eggs
Pancakes, muffins, popovers, and the occasional custard or quiche
Yogurt (easier than buying separately, probably cheaper, and I strain it to be much thicker than anything I can find in bulk in stores)
Oatmeal, both cooked with milk and then supplemented with yogurt
Soda-bread, made with yogurt rather than buttermilk
Hot cocoa
Mac-and-cheese (not box mix, so milk and cheese and butter are all involved)
Milk-enriched yeast bread

And then there's butter and cheese for various things, but I buy those separately rather than making them from milk, so replacing dairy milk wouldn't affect that.

I would expect that the hot cocoa, the yeast bread and quickbreads, the scrambled eggs, and the oatmeal, could work simply replacing the dairy milk with almond or oat or soy milk, because all of those would work with water or with no liquid at all (just less tasty/nutritious). I am less confident that that would work for making custard, quiche, or a properly thick sauce for mac-and-cheese (even allowing dairy cheese), since I'm pretty sure the milk is relevant there chemically/structurally, but I'm not sure. I have a bad feeling that I could not make an acceptable yogurt (both for flavor and for adding sufficient acid to soda-bread) from nondairy milk, or at least not without significantly more effort than the fairly trivial process of making yogurt overnight in a slow cooker.

Is there a single replacement I could buy for dairy milk for all of these products? Lacking that, what replacements should I use for any given portion?


texts: Correct knife to use for portioning raw salmon?

texts:
I recently bought a relatively large (~2lbs) filet of salmon. In order to portion it out I placed it skin side up on a cutting board and used a bread knife to essentially saw through the skin as it seemed pretty tough.

Is a bread knife the best option in this case? Is this something that should be done with a kitchen knife?


texts: How do I avoid botulism formation when vacuum sealing and freezing raw chopped vegetables?

texts:
I want to chop onions and green peppers then freeze in a vacuum sealed bag without blanching the vegetables first.

I read the article on blanching after vacuum sealing and then blanching but to your point the heat transfer is dramatically reduced by the insulating value of the plastic and the bulk thickness of the vegetables in the bag.  Any insight that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

A timely answer would be greatly appreciated as we need to start this process as soon as possible with the utmost safety in mind.


texts:
I'm not entirely sure what the word in is in the English language but where I'm from there is this one type of food 'skilpaadjies' which is lamb livers encased in the fat that surrounds the liver of the sheep.

I'm curious as to whether this type of fat can be used in general sausage making and also can you make a cured lamb liver sausage with 30 percent of this type of fat?

Also what should I know about cured lamb's sausages?


texts:
I'm hoping you can help me with an issue I have. I had a co-worker whose spouse made a very large pot of Beef Bourguingnon. It was delicious. I found out she had used Ina Garten's recipe. You can find it here Ina Garten: Beef Bourguignon.

I made it to the recipe, with the exception that I couldn't find pearl onions, so I used regular. My co-worker's batch was excellent and there was just a hint of wine. Mine tasted extremely boozy. I think I even let it cook a little longer than the recipe called for, hoping the alcohol would cook out, but it didn't. It was very strong.

I'm not a wine guy. I don't drink it and don't know anything about it. The co-worker didn't know which wine his wife bought. I probably grabbed something red colored, possibly a cabernet sauvignon, because I know a guy that drinks it and I probably recognized the label.

Can you guys tell me if a different red wine would taste less boozy or do I just need to reduce the amount of wine in the recipe and up the amount of stock? Thanks for the help.

Edit: By 'boozy' I meant it had a strong alcohol flavor to it. It could partially been stronger because of the tannins one of you guys said was heavy in the cabernet. Also, I attached this recipe, because the co-worker told me the one they handed me was Ina Garten's recipe. I just read through this one and the one I was handed uses much more wine. I know I've experienced in the past where a chef will have two version of a recipe posted around the internet, where they've improved it. The one they handed me and it said it was Ina Garten called for adding all the ingredients back to the pot and then adding a small bottle of wine. I think it was 750ml. You're supposed to then add beef stock to bring the level of liquid up to right below the top of the beef. I didn't have to add much beef stock. Looking at this recipe, it says 1.5 cups. So the version I had basically adds 2x the amount of wine. That could very well be the issue, though the co-worker made the same version with the same ratio of wine I did, so I guess it's also the type of wine used. I probably need to use one of the types you guys suggested.


texts: Can you use sundried anchovies for myeolchi yuksu (Korean anchovy broth)?

texts:
I am wanting to make myeolchi yuksu (Korean anchovy broth) which is based on dried anchovies. My local Korean supermarket only has these Chinese sourced dried anchovies, which were also labelled as sundried anchovies. They look quite different from the ones in the recipe I was following.
Would there be any issue using these?


texts: At what point is a beef stew being overcooked?

texts:
I made beef stew last night in my slow cooker. At seven hours I felt like it wasn't ready so I set an alarm to wake me up at ten hours and moved it into the fridge around 1 AM.

Let's say I left it in the pot the whole night, would 17-18 hours be too much? Is there such a thing as overcooking stew, and how long does it take until you reach it?


texts:
I have just purchased a GE Cafe gas range. The user guide indicates:

  Do not use a wok on the cooking surface if the wok has a round metal ring that is placed over the burner grate to support the wok. This ring acts as a heat trap, which may damage the burner grate and burner head.
  Also, it may cause the burner to work improperly. This may cause a carbon monoxide level above that allowed by current standards, resulting in a health hazard.

However, I have read several times on the web that using a round bottom wok with a wok ring yields optimal results when cooking on a gas range.

What do you think?

Source: Use and Care Manual.


texts: I always soak almonds at night and peel them the next morning. I'm just wondering if I can do anything with the leftover almond skin. Any suggestions?


texts:
Could anybody advise if I can leave an assembled breakfast casserole in the fridge overnight in a cast iron skillet and bake it the next morning?
Would the pan be damaged? Or the food be unsafe to eat?
Thanks for your help.


texts: How can I make yeast- and gluten-free pizza dough?

texts: I'm trying to make a yeast-free, no-gluten pizza dough for a friend who basically can eat neither, but loves pizza. The last try included water, rice flour, olive oil, salt, baking powder and guar gum, and although it was better than previous attempts (the dough held together after baking, and didn't turn into a giant crispy cracker) it was still not chewy and crisp as a traditional pizza would be. I'm not expecting a result that perfectly mimics traditional recipes (where gluten and yeast are involved), but would like to know if anyone has tried other flours and yeast replacements that can create a stretchier dough that will result in a crispy yet chewy dough?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How should I poach an egg?

What's the best method to poach an egg?


texts:
I need to frost a ton of cupcakes (hundreds) for an event in a few months and I'm looking for something to help me do this. Has anyone ever seen a manual multi-nozzle (like 3 or 4-nozzle) piping gun, or something like that? (Imagine 3 or 4 caulking guns side-by-side.)

This project is too big for a home kitchen and yet too small for large-scale commercial production. I only need this a couple times a year, so it's not worth buying a professional automatic frosting machine. Would it be possible to rent one or run some batches in a commercial production-line bakery? How could I find one? (I must not be searching for the right keywords b/c I couldn't find any online near LA/Orange County).

I'm even willing to make a DIY project out of this but don't know where to start - wood, PVC, duct tape + baling wire?

Any suggestions? Thanks!

UPDATE: The objective is to decorate 3-4 cupcakes at a time while keeping the piping tips handheld in order to allow for the finesse of hand piping. By multi-nozzle, I mean more like this or this rather than this. Only one frosting, no conveyor belt, and not this EZfrost gizmo. Almost thinking a 1:1 pantograph, but to output 3 or 4 finished products at a time. The nozzles could even be hoses coming from a single tube/tank to a bracket with 3-4 tips, remotely kinda sorta like this.

The mechanism could use piping bags or these fillable caulking tubes, just need to make sure they're food safe. And for the nozzle tips, it would need to accept either a standard large decorating tip coupler, or allow me to put the decorating tip on and secure it somehow.

OH, and I have access to a 3D printer! (I just don't know how to create the models.)

For a commercial kitchen, I'm willing to buy ingredients and do all the production there to preserve sanitation. For additional human labor, I had friends and family help me last year, and 26 hours later they all pretty much said they never want to see or hear about another cupcake again in their life... not sure I want to do that to them again.


texts: My frittatas always deflate. I've heard all kinds of differing advice: add flour, add tapioca flour/starch, add corn flour, add baking powder... I was once even told to add a little yoghurt! The base recipe I use calls for 6 eggs and 1/4 cup milk, and then some onions, garlic, and then a little of whatever vegetables are in the fridge chopped up fine... and then shredded cheese on top once it's already half done (but I don't think the cheese is so heavy that it's causing the whole thing to collapse and deflate - I really only use a sprinkling). What's the best way to keep a frittata from deflating?


texts:
Unfortunately, wine will eventually go bad. The time this takes can vary from a few years to many decades, but most wines eventually will get there; and things can always be sped up by improper storage. The result of this is mostly associated with loss of good taste and / or development of bad taste.

My question is if that's all, or if wine can also develop properties that can be bad for your health (apart from the health risks already associated with normal wine)? E.g. is it possible that wine gone bad can give you food poisoning or similar?


texts: What is this tool I found at the thrift store in the kitchen section?


texts:
I recently purchased some sun-dried tomatoes in oil. However a few days in the fridge and they look like this despite being unopened.

I regularly buy these tomatoes and store them in the same way. Can anyone suggest what might have happened?


texts: What other vegetables can I roast with asparagus?

texts:
I eat roasted vegetables at least once a week.

I usually combine two or three veggies (broccoli with cauliflower, potatoes with carrots and onions, Brussels sprouts with carrots and parsnips, etc.), toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, maybe some garlic and onion powder or herbs, and roast at 225°C / 450°F for about half an hour.

I would love to add asparagus into the rotation. The problem is that it cooks so much faster than the other veggies I'm used to working with (often just 10-12 minutes at the same temperature).

Is there another vegetable that I can roast with asparagus (aside from "white asparagus"!) that will cook as quickly, or am I stuck with two different roasting times?

Spring vegetables that are available fresh in southern Ontario, Canada would be ideal.


texts:
I was wondering what to look for in a cookie recipe if I want to cut it out into shapes using a cookie cutter.

Some cookies tend to spread out much more than others and so would not retain any semblance of the original shape. I did look at this question, but that only mentions that cookies with more fat in them will result in a more spread out cookie. What kinds of cookie dough does it makes sense to try and shape and can any cookie recipe be modified to make it more structured?


texts: I have lived in two kitchens where the countertop was a dark stone material. In one case, it was black granite with copper flecks and in my current kitchen, it is solid dark brown quartz composite. In both places, I have noticed that simply wiping the countertop with a damp sponge or dishcloth leaves it streaky and unsightly. Is there a solution for this?


texts: Do pan "pores" exist, what are they, and what are their effects?

texts:
There are a number of common cooking lore techniques which revolve around the idea of "pores" in the surface of a pan.  Two of the ones I've heard most often:

(1) When heating a pan where sticking is a concern, one should wait until the pan is hot before adding oil/fat.  Supposedly the "pores" will close as the pan heats, leaving a flatter surface for the oil and less places where the food can get caught.  This is often cited for cooking on stainless steel, but sometimes for other materials as well.  (Some of the answers to this question, for example, cite this as a rationale for preheating pans before adding oil.)

(2) When seasoning cast iron (and sometimes other metals), one should be sure to heat the pan before applying oil.  Supposedly, the "pores" open up as the pan heats, allowing the oil/fat to penetrate the surface better and create a better seasoning.  (This has been mentioned a number of times here too, and it also is referenced on the Wikipedia page on seasoning pans, where preheating will "open the 'pores' of the pan.")

One obvious problem here is the contradictory logic of these claims: in the first case, one heats the pan to "close" the "pores," but in the second case, one heats the pan to "open" the "pores."  Which one is it?

I've heard these claims about "pores" and their very existence disputed.  At best, many commentators who seem to know something about properties of metals will say this is a strange shorthand term for the uneven surface of pans at the microscopic level.  (The end of this post and the discussion in comments, for example, contains some speculation along those lines.)

For years, I dismissed a lot of this discussion of "pores" as some sort of weird cooking lore myth.  For example, it's good to heat cast iron before seasoning to ensure it's thoroughly dry, regardless of the status of the "pores" in the metal.  And some people have done experiments claiming it doesn't matter whether you preheat a pan before adding oil to avoid sticking.

But I recently came upon a reference to these "pores" in Shirley Corriher's Cookwise, where she refers to the first claim I listed above: heating a pan to "close the pores" before adding oil/fat.  Alton Brown cites Corriher's claim too in a couple places, including in his Gear for Your Kitchen, where he refers to it as something you had to worry about to stop food from sticking in those ancient times before Teflon existed.  Corriher and Brown have been known to be wrong occasionally, but they generally are careful before citing random cooking lore.

So, are these "pores" real?  Do they expand or contract when heated?  Are their supposed culinary effects real?  Or is there some other mechanism or surface feature of metals that is being referenced here?

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm hoping someone may be able to point to a more reliable discussion of what's going on from a reputable food science (or science in general) source. I have my own thoughts about what may be going on here based on my knowledge of thermodynamics, metallurgical crystalline structures, and general materials science. But in cursory searches, I haven't been able to find any solid discussions of these supposed "pores" based on actual scientific evidence.


texts: What Cheese Culture is best to use in making Camembert cheese?

texts: I'm planning to make camembert cheese but I'm confused on what cultures to add. Any tips?


texts: When is is necessary to par bake a pie crust?

texts: I am making small pies (in muffin tins!) for a party.  I plan on pre-cooking the filling (ground beef and veggies), then finishing the pies at the location.  Would it be helpful (either for transport or for shortening the on-location cooking time) to par-bake the pie crusts in the tins?


texts: What is the difference between roasting and toasting?

texts: Specifically, I have a recipe that calls for toasted peanuts. What is the difference between roasting a peanut and toasting a peanut? I can find roasted peanuts at the store, but not toasted ones, so I will probably try and toast my own at home, but don't know whether to start with raw peanuts or already roasted ones.


texts: What is the difference in flavour between the zest of an orange vs lemon vs lime

texts:
I am anosmic (do not have a sense of smell) and therefore am reduced in my perception of flavours to the flavours my tongue can detect, every time I zest a citrus fruit I always hear everyone talk of the smells released and how full of lovely flavours they are, however when I asked them what the distinct flavour each zest gives off I am generally given vague answers that don't help me much, such as

"Orange is generally a full flavour with sweetness, lemons is sharp and lime is sharp and sour"

The reason for asking this question is as a follow up from my previous question on homemade lemonade flavour enhancing, I would like to know what (if any) is the difference in flavour released by the essential oils within the zest of different citrus fruits (lemon, lime and orange). So maybe phrasing it in terms of what flavours they enhance within a lemonade may help hone your answer to my goal of balancing my lemonade even further; though I will probably find it super useful for the rest of my cooking.


texts: Can fermented hot peppers be used to make jam / jelly?

texts:
I've had a bountiful hot pepper harvest this year and am trying to find a variety of ways to preserve them.  Much of my harvest has been lacto-fermented by puree'ing and brining the peppers with 2% by weight salt, and a little extra brine to be sure they're submerged.  They're now effectively pickled, but a bit saltier and not quite as acidic as conventionally pickled veggies.

I've made several batches of hot pepper jelly from fresh peppers, but now am wondering if I could also use the fermented puree.  So far I've been unable find a recipe, and am unsure if the salt would make them incompatible with the pectin or process.  The intent would be to can and pasteurize the jelly for maximum shelf life.

Assuming the salt is ok (and ignoring the question of flavor), I assume I'd also need to use a lesser amount of puree than fresh peppers due to the density and lack of air.  The recipe I use calls for 4 cups of finely diced peppers, would ~3 cups or a bit less be approximately correct?

And finally, the recipe I use for fresh peppers adds 2 cups of 5% vinegar. The puree is acidic from the lacto fermentation, and I'm not sure if I'd need to scale back the vinegar.  My assumption is that too much acid is preferable to too little for the sake of preventing bacterial growth, but again am unsure if it might affect the pectin or other aspects.

So... Can brined peppers be used in a jelly recipe by substituting them for fresh peppers?


texts: Why am i unable to season my pure iron wok?

texts:
I purchased a pure iron wok on Amazon -
https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07YX683Y5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
When I try to season it (coat with oil and burn it), I cannot get that black shade to persist.
I observe that when I try to wipe a fresh thin coat of oil the second time, a dark residue comes out and fresh metal is exposed.
What am I doing wrong? Should I ditch the pure iron wok and get a cast iron / carbon steel wok instead?
Edit  1 : Details on seasoning process as follows :-

Wash fresh wok with hot soap water to remove factory oil
Let it dry completely
Coat the wok with thin layer of oil and heat it on medium flame till colour changes to bluish-brownish
Heat the entire wok
Dab a fresh thin layer of oil and repeat the above process

When i apply a fresh layer with a cloth/paper , i see the brownish coating get deposited on the cloth/paper and if i apply little more force , the fresh metal is exposed.
Edit 2: I cranked up the heat to high flame and now i can see the black coating. But i do observe that the coating flakes off in tiny bits in the process.


texts: I want to make southern style hash browns (cubed 1/3-1/2 inch potatoes) and I WANT them to be more on the greasy side. This accomplishes that they have crunchy spots but are creamy. I've tried pan frying them but that makes them too oily. What would happen if I deep fried them on a low temperature, let's say 275-300f? Would they brown? And would they be more creamy? Or is there a better way?


texts: How to add fresh fruit chunks to ice cream?

texts:
What are the key techniques when adding chunks of fresh fruit to homemade ice cream?  How do I prepare the fruit, and when is the best time to add it to the ice cream?  I don't want the fruit to be a hard icy chunk in the middle of the ice cream when it's served.

I've used strawberries in this example, but would like something that applies to other fruit like peaches, raspberries.

Last summer, we added fresh sliced strawberries to home made vanilla ice cream just after the ice cream came together in the ice cream maker.  But the strawberries were so wet that we lost the texture of the ice cream and ended up with flavored ice.


texts:
I would like to try to cook some dried, red kidney beans via sous vide but am having difficulty finding anything authoritative on how to do this safely.

If you google "cooking beans safely" most articles point to this PDF from the FDA where on page 255 they say beans must be boiled for a minimum of 10 minutes but that 30 minutes is the recommended amount of time, otherwise the beans are not safe to eat.

I cannot find any chart that measures the amount of Phytohaemagglutinin against time and temperature. With such a chart it would be convenient to determine how long and at what temperature one must sous vide beans.

Most sous vide recipes online for beans I have seen recommend 6 hours at 190F, but I have not seen any data backing this as safe.


texts: Where can I find left-handed serrated knives?

texts:
I recently discovered that the reason I hate cheese knives (but love cheese) is because they are made to work for right-handed people.

So where can I buy a (reasonably priced) cheese knife, or other serrated knives?


texts: Does aged onion/garlic turn green when frying?

texts: I was frying onions and garlic the other day and the paste turned green. I had bought the onions/garlics many days ago (20-30 days) I guess. Could that be the reason? There was no fungi or something suspicious when I cut them by the way.


texts: Can raw egg yolks gelatinized from being stored be saved by blending and for which uses?

texts:
I had a recipe that called for four egg yolks, and I was saving the yolks in a little dish over a couple days until I had all four.  By the time I got the last, the first couple had dried a little and gelatinized - since it took time to use up the whites seperately.  I'm not sure if the problem was just being a bit dry, or exposure to the air.

In any case, I added a bit of water to loosen them up, and mixed them together (the dish asked for the yolks to be whisked anyway).  When there were still lumps, I blended them - I have a little milk frother that makes a fair tiny-sized immersion blender when working with small quantities.  so I have something that looks like beaten egg yolk.

What I'm wondering is, is there any way of knowing if or how the properties of the egg yolks changed from being set and re-blended?  I'm not worried about safety, I am pretty sure they would have been fine if I'd had a better lid or more moisture.  But I was wondering if the sauce made with them will now fail - because something that helped the emulsion or thickening when heated won't, since the egg yolks had already set up once.

There were some questions about freezing eggs which mention gelatinized egg yolks, but simply describes them as unusable or undesirable (which is fair if someone wanted a whole egg).  It doesn't mention whether blending them smooth again will do any good if someone was thinking of a recipe calling for blended egg or yolk - especially since I'm pretty sure mine were kinda dried and exposed to air, not just cold-set (so just heat might not do).


texts: How much salt does fish in brine absorb?

texts:
Suppose you brine fish e.g. tuna and then eat the tuna raw i.e. uncooked.  Would salt have penetrated completely into the tissues or would only the surface be salty because it is coated with salt water?

If I am looking for complete penetration of a fish which can be eaten raw, which fish should i use and how should I process it?

Thanks


texts: Italian meringue deflated after adding sugar

texts:
I've only ever made French meringue prior to this, and I've only ever used whole, separated eggs.

In this case, I used egg whites out of a carton (probably should note they were only a few weeks shy of their expiration date).  I know fresher whites whip up better, but I definitely got these to soft/slightly stiff peaks when I whipped the whites on their own.  However, when I added the sugar syrup the meringue turned liquidy pretty quickly.  I kept it whipping for a bit but the texture remained pretty liquidy (I did use some cream of tartar to help stabilize, but to no avail, apparently).

I'm wondering which, if any, of the following is the likely culprit:

is there any general detriment to using the whites from the carton?
was it simply the lack of freshness? (I would be surprised if it was either just because the whites did whip up pretty nicely before I added the sugar)
could the syrup have been too hot or in some other way caused the whites to break down?
could I have overwhipped the whites before adding the sugar? the peaks didn't seem to be too stiff before that point, but I suppose it's possible
something else?


texts: What is the fastest way / highest temp you made duck confit?

texts:
I know I know this is supposed to be a slow thing, but how have you "cheated" and got away with it?

Most recipes calls for at least 4 hours of cooking and at less than 275F. Cooling then re-crisping the skin.

Simply recipe has a version that I feel works sometimes (~300F for 2 hours), but the skin is often as not great, because it gets uneven, and curls too fast.


texts: How much oil is absorbed by deep-fried donuts during frying?

texts: I am doing a comparison with baked to determine the amount of added fat.


texts: I really love the gooey consistency of frozen pies. i would like to replicate that texture in my home made recipes. Does anyone know a method of preparing the filling that would accomplish this? I have tested it with cornstarch but with no success.


texts:
I recently started buying locally-grown chickens. When it comes to buying chicken this way, it seems my only option is to buy a whole chicken.

Right now I only know one way to cook a whole chicken, and that's roasting the entire thing in the oven. This is perfectly fine but I'd like a little variety.

Can anyone offer any suggestions? I don't need every meal to include the entire chicken, of course, but if I cook something that only uses breasts, for example, I'm going to need some complementary recipes for the rest of the bird.


texts:
I recently obtained a dehydrator, and the instructions say for cleaning you have to:

  "Simply soak the trays in warm water with a mild detergent for several
  minutes"

Can someone please define the term "mild detergent"?


texts: Are there any recipe ingredients that scale in a non-uniform manner?

texts:
A question I asked on the stats Q/A has a comment that reads,

  [...] to make 8 times the amount of food a recipe describes you don't just
  octuple all the ingredients mentioned (eg. salt)".

Some recipes, of course, don't scale well if you try to cook them in larger batches, but that's not what I understand the comment as saying. I understand it to say that, when scaling recipes you may need to use different multipliers for different ingredients.

I feel fairly certain that this is not the case for most recipes. I wonder though, if there any recipes where the ingredients do not scale uniformly.


texts: How to save a dish with an onion paste base which tastes like raw onion paste?

texts:
I was making a dish that requires the use of onion paste. Usually I'd fry the paste, but I had a bunch of other stuff that needed to be fried too, so I put that in first, and I guess by the time I added the onion paste there wasn't much oil left and it didn't get fried. Now the dish tastes too oniony, and is almost unpalatable. I thought I could fix it by boiling the hell out of it, as onion turns sweet when you boil it - it was a long shot, but I was desperate. That didn't help.

This is what I did -

Fried some ginger garlic paste, and then put in one chopped tomato. After the tomatoes softened I added the onion paste, and then some cashew paste. Maybe I put in the cashew paste too early. Anyway, that is the base of the dish. After a while I added some water and seasoned it. When I tasted it, it tasted only of onions. Nothing really helped - added more water, cooked the hell outta it.

Is there any way I can save the dish? Maybe heat up some oil in another wok and upturn the dish into it?


texts: What's the recommended temperature for chocolate to set?

texts:
I have been making various kinds of chocolate bonbons for about 8 months with great success. (Once I had mastered tempering, that is.)

I had read somewhere (but I can't remember the source) that chocolate that's allowed to set in the fridge will not set with the desired crystal structure, even if it was properly tempered, so I normally leave it on a kitchen counter overnight to set. In winter it worked very well, but these past weeks we have had serious summer heat, and the kitchen has been above 25°C, and the past couple of times my chocolate has ended up rather grayish and out of temper.

The last time I tried to let it set in the fridge, and it looks better. It's got the right gloss, but I'm not 100% sure that it has the same snap as I'm used to.

What is the recommended temperature for properly tempered chocolate to set?


texts:
I bought 1/2 pound of mussels and cooked them in a cast iron skillet with a little white wine and some shrimp stock on boiling heat.

Almost all of them opened after about 15 minutes, some did not. The ones that opened were done perfectly, and those were the ones I served.

Still, in the future - should I just throw away the rest, or would a few more minutes in the skillet be in order?


texts: Will heat cause a silicone scraper to harden?

texts: I like to use a flexible silicone scraper to stir my eggs in the pan when scrambling them. I know silicone is heat resistant so it won't melt, but will prolonged exposure to heat gradually cause the silicone to harden and become less flexible?


texts:
Although warming wine in the microwave might seem like a "horrible" thing to do it clearly has some practical benefits.

So will the microwave change the aroma of the wine compared to the conventional way or is it  fine to do this**.

** Maybe before the guests arrive


texts:
I am missing my favourite salad. It’s 5 hours from my house so I am stuck trying to recreate it at home. It’s called an Asian Goi Mi Salad. As you can see by the photos it’s loaded up with yummy stuff. I will be able to figure out how to create most of it but the ‘fresh noodles’ has me hung up. What type of noodle are they? They were tasty and I would love to include them.
Here’s the ingredient list and hopefully you can zoom in and see the noodles (there’s bean sprouts in there too).

Sweet chilli pulled pork
Fresh noodles
Spicy sesame peanut dressing
Crisp veggies
Mint
Cilantro
Crispy shallots
Organic greens


texts:
Apologies in advance if this is a question that has been asked before but I can't see anything.

I have a past rolling machine and I am comfortable with the pasta dough making. My problem sits with the machine itself. The first couple of runs through it with the dough are fine. I start by running it through on the widest setting, folding in thirds and running it through again. Once I have repeated a couple of times I gradually start turning the notches on the machine. This is where the trouble usually starts.

When I get to some of the middle settings, I start running the sheet through. However it doesn't run through perfectly and is pulled over to one side of the rollers and ends up being folded back on itself. This has the effect of thinning the sheet that is being rolled in the machine.

My questions are thus:

1) Is it me or my machine that is making this happen

2) any machine rolling tips?

Thanks to all in advance


texts: I have a crumb topping (margarine + brown sugar + flour) that I usually make double or triple the recipe of and then freeze. Sometimes I don't divide it evenly and end up with extra dough when I defrost a section. Can I refreeze the dough or should I just toss it because it'll affect the taste? (What about cookie dough?)


texts: Does the towel touching the day 1 starter and absorbing the liquid matter?

texts: On day 1, I’ve noticed the towel is wet.  Does the towel absorbing anything from the starter ruin the starter and prevent it from reaching its desired outcome?


texts:
I made some pizza dough and let the individual dough balls rise in the fridge for a day. The following day I took them out of the fridge so they could come up to room temperature so the dough would be easier to handle when I make the pizzas.

Problem is when it was at room temperature some massive bubbles (could probably fit a tennis ball in them) emerged from the doughballs.

Is this normal or have I done something wrong?
How should I deal with these bubbles, do I pop them or just let them be?


texts: What can you make with Dried Lemon Grass?

texts:
A friend went to Cambodia for vacatation,  and brought back many packets of dried lemon grass.  Can someone tell me what its uses are,  and mention some easy to prepare dishes that make use of dried lemon grass?  I can prepare many types of Indian food,  never really come across this.

Thanks for the help!


texts: Non-sweet sugar replacement for French macaron

texts:
I've been working pretty hard on my macaron game lately and have wanted to make a savory biscuit/shell, however I can't think of what I may be able to replace powdered and granulated sugar with, or if something of the sort even exists.

I imagine that the sugar helps with the texture and structure of the shell as much as it is for the sweetness, but I'm not aware of anything that would fit that bill. Is there anything in existence that I could use a savory replacement for powdered- and granulated sugar in my macaron shells?


texts: Thick noodle soup minus cornstarch/cornflour?

texts:
How do we thicken noodles soup without using cornstarch? List of ingredients at hand:

Onions
Tomatoes
Worsterchire Sauce
Soy Sauce
Salt
Ginger& Garlic(fresh)
Star Anise
Cilantro
Noodles


texts: Oil Dates, If a cooking oil has never been open how long past the "Use by date" would be acceptable?

texts: How long past the "Use by date" is cooking oil good for if it has never been opened?


texts: Does bubbly froth mean my vinegar batch needs trashed?

texts:
I have been making apple cider vinegar at home for a while now. My current batch has white powdery, bubbly froth forming on the top of the bottle and some powder at the bottom. What should I do?

I have sifted all my bottles through thick cloth and re-bottled. I don't see any scummy mother forming. Should I wait longer or should I throw it away? I don't want to do that.

Please help me find a solution. It's been in the process for 8 weeks now.


texts: After all, chocolate has oil and sugar in it. Why don't bacteria love it? Thanks!


texts:
I live in Minnesota and have never seen tamarind being sold online or in any grocery stores here.

Where can I find it?


texts:
I made several loaves of bread 7 days prior to use due to time constraint, so I decided to freeze them after fully cooled, 8 hours after cooked.

Normally with frozen bread I would let out at room temperature while sealed for 4 to 5 hours.   Will bread be fresh if I assemble sandwiches with frozen bread, wrap air-tight, and wait 6 hours prior to eating? If not, what method would be best to retain freshness of bread, meats, and cheeses assembled in sandwiches?


texts: Can commercially sold, vacuum-packed beetroot (cooked) be stored under room temperature?

texts:
I don't have any experience at all with beetroots. But a couple days ago, I received some vacuum packed cooked beetroots by post (without special temperature control) as part of a vegetable basket.

They had no instruction printed on the package so I didn't put them in the fridge. Today I went to the supermarket and saw they are actually sold in the chilled section (as with milks and salads).

In general, are they safe to be stored in cool room temperature (20-21 C) for a few days? Or is there a difference between packaging that makes some okay but not others?


texts: What herbs and spices are used in Kentucky Fried Chicken?

texts:
Has anyone here with an apt awareness of flavors been able to work out some of or all of the herbs and spices that are used in Kentucky Fried Chicken?

I feel I can taste paprika but I wonder what other herbs and spices are in the meal that I should include in my own dish.


texts: Why can't you susbtitute oat flour for wheat flour 1:1?

texts:
Wheat has gluten, and oats have avenin (which are similar proteins).
What is different about avenin that you can't substitute oat flour for wheat flour when baking cookies, breads, etc?


texts: Can I roast @ 200 degress both a rib roast and a leg of lamb in same oven together without flavors transfering


texts: How should we determine the proportion of yeast in thin pizza?

texts:
It's my first try at making pizza. I have a question that I'm curious about and I can't find an answer for.

I would like to make a pizza that is thin, crispy, and a little soft. In my research, most of the recipes used yeast. I know that yeast adds flavor to the dough and that's why I want to use it.

I do not know anything about the ratio of yeast to other ingredients.  I am using instant dry yeast. How can I calculate the correct ratio for AP flour? In my first try, I put one packet (30 gr) instant dry yeast for 5 cups of AP flour. I have no idea if it is correct or not. The result was not so good. I want to make a good thin and a little soft pizza for my daughter and wife and I am searching for a good recipe.

I also can't find answers to the following questions related to thin, soft pizza of this type:

I will stretch the dough thinly. The yeast I use will make this dough rise. But I want a thin pizza. Isn't that contradictory?
It is said that I need to use fat for the pizza to be slightly soft, but the use of fat also weakens the gluten network. Doesn't the weakening of the gluten network prevent me from making thin dough? Every recipe says that gluten network should be strong.
In some recipes, they use a fork before baking the dough. Is the purpose to reduce the effect of yeast?  Can't I make a thin pizza without a fork?

Thanks for your help.


texts: How long should I cook a carvery shoulder of lamb, and at what temperature?

texts: I have a carvery shoulder of lamb joint weighing 1.906 kg. How long and at what temperature should I cook it?


texts: How to adjust stewing time for different weights of meat?

texts:
Simple scenario: I've got a Madras recipe that tells me to stew 2.0 kg of Lamb shoulder meat in the oven, covered with foil for 2,5 hours at 180 deg Celsius, then another 30 mins at 200 deg without the foil.

Now I'm cooking for only a few people, so I have 0.6 kg of meat, i.e. only 30% of the recipe's weight.

So, my question: How should I adjust the cooking times? Any useful rule of thumb?

My initial thought was be to factor times down to 0.6 / 20, i.e. respectively 45 and 10 minutes. Then again, this seems on the low side for a tender stew (or is it?). This is probably because of those 2,5 hours, maybe 50% would be to ensure the meat's cooked, and the other 50% is to ensure it's tender; and those halves are to be adjusted differently?

Suggested questions "that may already have your answer" has one great title, but question nor answer helps me answer my question. Searching seems to yield zero results, though my queries may've been wrong.


texts: Which type of chocolate to use for covering a coconut ball

texts:
I wanted to try a chocolate ball which is made of:

condensed milk
a little almond powder
raisins

I mix these ingredients into a soft ball and then I want to cover the bar with chocolate that can survive a Southern Indian climate.

I do have moulds of different shapes so I wanted to try this one but the original recipe instruction was to get bitter chocolate and then roughly chopped chocolate has to be microwaved to bring it to a liquid consistency so that it can be filled in piping bags.

Could you please let me know what kind of chocolate to use?


texts: Can cinnamon rolls be frozen after they are shaped?

texts: Can you freeze cinnamon rolls after they are shaped? Also, about how long does it take for the dough to come to room temp?


texts: How does the viscosity of honey affect bread machine results?

texts:
The first time that I used this blueberry oatmeal bread machine recipe, I used honey that was liquid at room temperature. The second time, I used honey that was solid at room temperature. In order to measure the honey, I heated it in the microwave. It was still liquid when I put it into the bread machine, and I began the mix cycle shortly, after adding the solid ingredients.

How does the viscosity of honey affect bread? The bread tasted less moist and less cake-like the second time, so I wonder if the honey caused the difference. Should I be sure to use liquid honey in the future?


texts: I've prepared peppers stuffed with beef and rice a number of times, but they never turn out quite how I would like. How should I cook the peppers so that they end up soft and flavourful, but are not overcooked to the point they are falling apart?


texts: I have a new gas cooktop and the lowest setting on the smallest burner still produces afast rolling boil rather that a very low simmer. How can I reduce the heat?


texts: I'd like to add coffee to my hot cocoa recipe, but I'm not interested in using instant coffee.  What do you all think is the best method- maybe I should heat my grounds & milk together and let it steep?  Has anyone ever tried this?


texts:
That I know of, there have been 3 recalls of all-purpose flour in recent months: by King Arthur, Aldi's, and General Mills (Gold Medal). All 3 cite e-coli contamination. The KA & Aldi's notices both say the source is ADM Milling (Buffalo NY). (General Mills' notice doesn't say.)

Would I be reading too much into this coincidence to infer that everybody is selling the same exact stuff, and I might as well be buying Aldi's, instead of paying a premium for KA?


texts: How/when is salt added to commercial salted butter?

texts:
This is surprisingly hard to find with Google. The Wikipedia article does say:

  Either granular salt or a strong brine are added to salted butter during processing.

but there's no citation provided, and no further details.

So: are both granular salt and brine actually sometimes used? At what stage in processing is each added? And if it's not obvious from that much information, how does the granular salt end up evenly dispersed, with no noticeable grains?


texts: Condensation inside packed, refrigerated food

texts:
I've got a bit of a problem with my... refrigerator? I'm not sure.

Basically, after a single night in the fridge packed food develops severe condensation on the inside on the top-lid.

I wouldn't find this THAT strange if it happened only to packages that were opened... but this also happens to food I haven't open yet as well! Also I don't recall such a problem with my family home fridge.

I think it's a case of incorrectly set temperature, but I don't know if the current setting is too high or too low (and all I've got to work with is a single knob with relatively meaningless numbers 0-7). That said, the temperature inside the fridge seems fine (I haven't actually measured it, but it feels cool, and things like butter are as hard as I'd expect them to be). Or, perhaps, it's something else entirely, like some other fault with the fridge.

Any idea what could be wrong?


texts: Why do patterns appear on tempered chocolate?

texts:
Sometimes, during a single session, spots and lines may appear on tempered chocolate. This seems to happen with the first third of production.

Chocolates produced later in the batch do not exhibit any pattern:

Why is that? How can this be prevented? Is it caused by poor tempering?

Chocolate is Valrhona 66% Caraïbe (but it happened with other chocolate of the same brand), and tempering was done by controlling temperature with water baths following a 52-55C / 28-29C / 31-32C schema. Chocolate was maintained at working temperature by periodic water bathing each time its temperature dropped below 31-30.5C.


texts: I'm looking for the English name for a vegetable / fruit that looks like an Ivy Gourd. The taste is similar as well, but the texture is gritty. The Gujarati pronunciation is puhr-ver, but I have no idea what vegetable / fruit this is. Thank you.


texts: Cooking custard for crème brûlée macarons

texts: I'm planning to make crème brûlée-flavored French macaroons, which will consist of vanilla-flavored macaroons, topped with caramelized sugar for the shatter-y effect, and a vanilla bean custard filling. However, I'm unsure of the best way to cook the custard filling, since I'm not after the same consistency as the custard in real crème brûlée; I'd like something a bit softer and more spreadable. I doubt that cooking the custard the same way for a shorter period of time would work, but I also don't have much experience cooking crème brûlée, so any ideas would be appreciated!


texts:
This recipe for Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwich is written for 8 hours in a slow cooker. I'm considering doing it for an hour in a pressure cooker.

I'll paraphrase the cooker ingredients at the click through:

1 pork tenderloin
12 oz. can of Root Beer
Salt and smoke flavor

Would the the carbonated liquid under pressure be a concern? I think there should be no problems. But when tinkering with pressure, a second opinion is prudent.


texts: Ceramic Cooktop (non induction) getting damaged after use

texts:
We just moved into a brand new unit(just constructed) and it has a Ceramic cook top. We have only been there 2-3 weeks, and cooked maybe < 10 times.

After a few of our cooking sessions, I am seeing some white coloration around the edge of the cooking circle. It appears to be below the surface, I cant feel anything different around that area. It was below my cookware and I dont think anything splashed on it.

It might be due to the following cases

We used oversized cookware which was actually sitting on the raised edge of the stove and perhaps not actually touching the glass surface.
On a different occasion we used a different situation we used a vessal with a smaller base than the smaller circle, and thus possibly the edges of the circle got overheated or something..

We are very new to ceramic cook tops, mostly experienced with gas, minimal experience with induction. I notice some places suggesting that the cookware base is recommended to be >= size of the circle, is this the cause of our problem?

Is there a way to rectify or is this permanent??

Update: These stains are disappearing/Moving with regular use, I would guess just a new stove phenomenon.


texts: I am currently living in an Asian culture where taste buds are apparently more delicate. Many first-time tasters of fudge almost gag due to the overwhelming sweetness of fudge. I have searched in vain for recipes that reduce the richness of fudge in order to make it more palatable. Any suggestions as to how to reduce sweetness in fudge but still allow it to be fudge?


texts:
What is the benefit of grinding your own beef via a food processor or grinder compared to just buying ground beef in the super market?  Is there some magic freshness to the beef that can only be captured by grinding the beef immediately before use?

Obviously, the home grinding leads to more control, allowing for a finer grind or to mix several cuts of meat together.  But beyond that flexibility, does freshly ground beef impact the taste of the final product?

What if I'm making a stew or chili versus a burger?  Is freshly ground preferred in both cases?


texts: Can agave nectar be substituted for honey in baking?

texts: The only sweetener called for in the bread recipe I want to use is honey; can I substitute 1/3 a cup of agave nectar for 1/3 a cup of honey without throwing off the proportions of the recipe? When using agave nectar as a substitute for honey in salad dressing recipes, I tend to use less agave nectar than honey called for because I find agave nectar sweeter than honey, but I don't feel confident doing the same thing in baking.


texts: a good substitute for pineapple when cooking a ham

texts: I want to make a Dr. Pepper glazed ham, which calls for pineapple juice. Unfortunately, my child is allergic to pineapple. What can I use to replace the pineapple juice and pineapple bits on the ham?


texts: What can I cook for Indian guests without trying to mimic Indian cuisine?

texts:
I am raised in Belgium, with the Belgian cuisine related to the French and (to a much lesser extent) the German. I'm having Indian friends over for dinner and I don't know what to cook for them.

Last time I had an Indian friend, I tried to cook something authentic, the way my grandma would have prepared it: lots of veggies, with very little spices and not too salty. It was not a hit. Indian people are used to very spicy food (compared to Europeans).

I don't want to try to mimic the Indian cuisine in front of Indian people. That won't work. But I still want to prepare something that they will like, based on our local culture. Can you give me any suggestions?


texts:
Are there any bread machines that would allow making a sourdough rye bread?
If not, could a bread maker simplify the process of making a sourdough loaf?


texts: How can I make shami kabab without chana dal

texts:
Shami kabab are patties traditionally made with minced meat and chickpeas (chana daal).

What could be a substitute for the chana daal that still produces reasonably similar results.


texts: I have a recipe that is originally a white cake so uses only egg whites. There is a cake mix involved but other added ingredients such as sour cream and more flour but I’m making a chocolate version and want to add whole eggs. Will this alter the consistency of the cake or just make it richer


texts: how to store a chicken sandwich overnight for lunch the next day

texts:
I am currently preparing a chicken breast sandwich using this recipe. However, this is for consumption tomorrow on campus. What's the best way to store this and have it for lunch tomorrow? I only have a microwave so I am thinking if I put it in the fridge and reheat it, it will get extremely soggy.

How do I store it so that the chicken retains its juices and tenderness (and that the bun/sauces) don't make it super soggy.


texts: A question about browning meat for spaghetti bolognese

texts:
I've been told in one form or another: "no colour, no flavour", so when cooking Spaghetti Bolognese I always brown the meat (after chucking in the onions, carrots, celery etc.). The browning does impart flavour but it also alters the texture of the minced meat - it becomes grainier, drier, etc. It's not that i'm overcooking it, I believe this to be a natural byproduct of the browning – the browning can only occur once the moisture has been cooked off, after which point the meat forms a crust and becomes harder.

Is it possible to retain the flavour benefits of browning alongside the qualities of the mince being tender and moist?


texts: Can I defrost chicken to separate then refreeze?

texts: If I buy a large quantity of chicken frozen together, can it be thawed, separated, then refrozen safely?


texts: My Candy Apple is too brittle, how to prevent?

texts:
I am cooking the candy mixture to 302°F and dipping right away, but the candy seems to be brittle and not holding to the apple when you either cut into it or try and bite into it.

How can I prevent this?

I am using the following ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
White food coloring
2 additional colors of food coloring (I made marble apples)


texts: Which would save electricity:  higher or lower setting, in summer.  My husband set it low and I tend to set it higher.  I do not want my stuff to be ruined by a too low setting.


texts: What, if at all, is the difference of cooking an egg on high or low heat?

texts:
When I fry an egg I frequently cook them on medium-high and it takes 2-3 minutes with one flip.  Some of my family will cook eggs over a very low heat that takes as much as 10 minutes.

Do the eggs come out differently this way? I personally don't taste/see much of a difference between my high-heat approach and my families lower-heat approach.


texts: Should I be reducing salt amounts in recipes if cooking with tap water that has passed through a salt based water softener? Or is the amount of salt from the softener negligible? I'm probably over-thinking it.... :-)


texts: slow cooking chicken thigh in a spice mix

texts:
I have a 'Parampara' branded Butter Chicken spice mix packet that is meant to be cooked with diced chicken thigh.
The directions on the packet suggest frying the chicken (5 mins) and then simmering it in the sauce (10 mins).
My question is: would it be an improvement to cook the chicken and sauce in my electric slow cooker for a few hours?  Would this result in nicer, softer chicken pieces, or would it just taste overcooked?

Bonus points: what vegetables to add?  I was thinking chickpeas and/or cauliflower florets


texts: Will my baked potatoes be ok cooked longer at a low temp?

texts: I am slow cooking a roast at 275 for 3 1/2 hours and want baked potatoes also. Will my potatoes be ok if I cook them at 275 for 2 or 3 hours? Maybe if I start them in the microwave for a few minutes and then 275 for a couple of hours?


texts: My recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of flour, how much xanthan gum should I use?


texts:
Is it OK to defrost fish in a microwave?  Any particular precautions?

Generally, what is the best way to defrost fish in 15 or 30 minutes before cooking?

Sometimes it comes in plastic, sometimes not.

If problematic, why? Except some parts becoming very hot

Assume the time from defrost until eating is less than 1 hour.
I am mostly thinking about quality.


texts:
I tried making Sufganiot (a kind of jelly doughnut) this Hanukkah, and ran into a problem. I've let the dough rise, made balls, then let them rise again. However, all balls split along the seam lines (where I've rolled a piece of dough that wasn't originally ball-shaped into a ball), resulting in doughnuts that were very far from round.

What did I do wrong, and how can I prevent this from happening in the future?


texts:
I'm just wondering, what's the point of letting dough rise twice? I've seen a bunch of recipes in the form:

Mix dough together and knead
Let it rise
Knead again
Let it rise again

Why do they do this? Doesn't kneading just push the air bubbles out?


texts: Many baking recipes call for “softened” butter. What is meant by term "over softened", as in many places it is written that " over softening causes flat cookies or hard dough" etc. Isn't softening mean to put the cold butter in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. If so, then what do the recipe mean when it says that we have over softened butter? I am confused between these two terms as I was going through some baking recipes, and ways to trouble shoot baking issues. I now am confused. Am I mixing these two terms or "over softening" refers to melting butter.


texts: Greasing a pan with butter vs. with shortening

texts:
Is there any reason one should prefer one over the other?

I've always used shortening (probably because that's what my mom always did), but my fiancee has always used butter.

There's no significant difference I can think of (for this application), but I thought I'd ask.


texts: What is the proportion of edible meat in whole live mussels?

texts: The price of one kilo of mussels (blue mussels) here in my town is around 60–70 SEK (9–11 USD). I think that makes a large enough portion for two people, but when checking if all of them are alive and when cleaning them, the price runs higher. I'm interested in what the price per kilo of the edible part (the muscle) of the mussels are. In one mussel, how much by weight is shell and how much is muscle?


texts: Troubleshooting Soft and Mushy Oven Fries

texts:
I've been making oven fries for many years. My method: wash potatoes (Russet), dry, cut, toss with olive oil and sometimes seasoning like paprika, no salt, bake in hot oven on low rack, turn with spatula 2/3 way through. Result: nicely browned, crispy fries. Inside is fully cooked yet firm.

I recently saw a recipe for oven fries with a spice blend I decided to try: paprika, pressed garlic, salt, pepper, rice flour, olive oil, all mixed together and tossed on potatoes. Otherwise, exact same method of prep and cooking. (The recipe said either rice flour or semolina or bread crumbs.) The result is they look beautiful on the outside and the flavor is great but they are not crispy and inside the potato is mushy. There was nothing else cooking in the oven that could've caused excessive moisture.

Rather than experimenting to try to figure out why they are so different, I thought I'd ask:
What is it about this new blend of seasonings that is preventing the fries from getting crisp and making the inside mushy?


texts:
I recently tried a recipe for Mongolian BBQ that I found online.  The sauce consists of garlic, ginger, water, soy sauce, cornstarch, and the main ingredient is 2/3 cup of brown sugar.  While it tasted good, I was wondering what I could add to offset the sweetness, perhaps giving it a bit of heat?

The garlic and ginger are first sauteed in vegetable oil before the other ingredients are added.  Would using hot chili oil instead of vegetable oil give it any heat?

What other ideas would you recommend?


texts:
I love making (Filipino) leche flan for my wife and I. However, I use a 9" round cake pan that I wedge into a 9"x13" cake pan, which I fill with water until it just touches the bottom of the cake pan. I then sprinkle a bit of cinnamon into the water, pour my flan mix (10 egg yolks, 1 can condensed milk, 1 can evaporated milk, dash of vanilla) into the round cake pan, and cover with aluminum foil to create a sort of rudimentary bain marie. I then pop this into the oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

My question though is: is there a pan specifically for making flan? If so, what is it called? My way creates a very top heavy and unstable (water sloshing) platform - and I'm afraid I might one day spill hot water on myself - not to mention that getting the round cake pan out of the rectangular cake pan is a pain.


texts:
I searched for tortilla recipes and I found several, sometimes very different one from another - for instance, Mexican ones are mostly made with wheat flour while other ones are made with white corn one - or mixing the two, sometimes. Plus several other variations.

I am interested in making tortillas for backpacking, eventually for trips that could last up to a week and in warm weather.

what kind of flour, or flour mix, should I use to get the longest shelf life out of my tortillas? Are there any other recommendations about what is the best way to make them so that they last as long as possible?


texts: Why does the beef I cook never come out tender?

texts: I have tried cooking beef (mostly London broil type) so many times... And it never comes out tender! I've tried different methods... Temperatures... Everything! It always comes out tough and chewy. I thought maybe it was the type of meat I was using, but I had my mother cook the same exact type of beef at her house... & it came out perfectly. I asked her how & she said she just does it! And she sautéed it on the stove... I did the same thing a week later, & it turned out bad. What am I possibly doing wrong?


texts: Why do I sometimes “cream” and “beat until smooth”, and sometimes not?

texts: I have enjoyed baking for MANY years and the basic rule of thumb is to “cream” the butter and sugar thoroughly, add the eggs one at a time then beat all other liquids until smooth before adding the dry ingredients.  Over the years I have acquired a handful of favourites, (cakes and loaf cakes) that instruct to “add ALL ingredients, beat well, and add to pan. And, these recipes turn out perfect! I’m confused as to why “these” recipes don’t follow the tried and true method of basic baking rules, and still turn out perfect!


texts: When using puff pastry in the base of a savoury pie, do you need to blind bake it?

texts:
I am making a chicken pie. I've made it before with just a pastry shell on top but I'd like to line the dish with pastry this time.
Will I need to blind bake the base of my pastry first? Is it then also necessary to seal the pastry with egg?


texts:
I understand that vegetarians are against meat, and gelatin is derived from meat and bones. So the obvious answer is "no."

But I'm not entirely sure. What constitutes an ingredient as "vegetarian" or "vegan?"


texts: Why does my soda fizz so much when making an ice cream float?

texts:
When pouring a standard glass of soda (usually Diet Pepsi), whether on ice or not, the soda fizzes a bit and quickly dies down. When pouring soda over ice cream (again, usually Diet Pepsi but also Root Beer) the soda is particularly fizzy and "foamy" and takes significantly longer to die down.

Why is this? Is there anything I can do to help the soda to not foam up so much or to die down more quickly? (Not interested in flat soda)


texts: Can I sterilize homemade mustard jars in the oven?

texts:
I make home made mustard and sell at market stalls.  It's been interesting - and growing.  I am trying to fine tune my process.  The mustard is a fermented product (can be sitting doing its thing for anything up to 6 weeks) so when I get to bottling, it's cold.  I oven sterilise my jars and boil my lids.  Then I spoon the mustard into the warmish jars and put on the lid.  I've then been water bathing the jars, but that's getting a bit cumbersome.  Small jars, lots of jiggling around in the water and too many breakages and bad seals.

I want to know: can I put the filled jars back into the oven and do the final sterilization that way?

Mustard is a very long lived product, but I need to be certain.  Oven sterilization would be so much better - sitting on trays, no movement, etc.  This looks like a neat go-to site and I'd appreciate your input.


texts: What flavor (if any) do ti leaves impart? How about substitutes?

texts:
I'm just back from a trip to Hawaii, and hot to make an oven version of kalua-style turkey. Of course, all the recipes call for Ti leaves for wrapping the whole thing up. I don't think I can easily get Ti leaves locally, though I know I can get Banana leaves. I know that you can't just substitute banana leaves because they do have a slight anise flavor--fine if you want it, but definitely not the same.

The problem is I don't know what flavor, if any, ti leaves impart to cooked items. In the case of kalua-style cooking, the leaves are used as a steam-retaining wrap in a low temperature, long cooking situation. Our hosts in Hawaii said they didn't think they have a flavor, but I'm not so sure. There was definitely a slight plant-y flavor to the turkey that I couldn't readily identify.

Does anyone know if Ti leaves have a flavor and what it might be like?

If folks think there's not any (or very little) flavor imparted, what might be a good substitute if I can't get them?


texts:
I recently bought a cast iron wok and attempted to season twice.

The first time i seasoned it i think i overheated the wok and it started to smoke when i added oil and some shiny black stains which looks like patina formed.

I tried seasoning a second time but after seasoning, it didn't seem that non stick to me.

Here are the steps i took to season the wok.

1) Scrub thoroughly with hot water and soap

2) on low to medium heat evaporate all the water

3) add in oil and stir fry some onions (some videos say it gets rid of the initial metallic taste)

4) after 5-10 mins i took it off the heat and let it cool

5) i rinsed it with water after and applied a thin layer of oil

This is the first time i'm seasoning a wok and i have no idea if is working out but i noticed that everytime i wipe it with some tissue paper, the tissue paper turns black! I'm considering throwing it away and any help would be appreciated.


texts: Irish Coffee harder to get right than Baileys Coffee?

texts:
On a cold winter's day I was in a Irish-themed pub/restaurant and ordered an Irish Coffee. Some time later (could have been half an hour or longer), the waitress comes with all the stuff other people at the table ordered but she was terribly sorry to tell me that me that the person possessing the abilities to create this particular mix drink was currently not here and she asked whether I wouldn't want a different hot drink instead. Now, from my recollection the only other hot (alcoholic) drink on the menu would have been Baileys Coffee and I thought that surely the same would apply here and I opted for something cold instead, she asked me then explicitly whether I wouldn't want another hot drink but I reiterated my new choice.

Now in hindsight I can't stop thinking about whether I was right in my assumption that if Irish Coffee was not possible Baileys Coffee wouldn't be either. That's assuming it's the same only with Baileys instead of good whiskey (which would explain why latter was also cheaper). The thoughts even made me read up a bit on creating either drink and indeed in Irish Coffee recipes in particular it was often mentioned that getting the cream to float can be a tad tricky but I didn't get any clear answer.

So therefore I'm asking here:
Is Irish Coffee significantly harder to get right compared to Baileys Coffee?


texts: White things growing on my carrot ferment?

texts:
I'm a newcomer to the world of lacto-fermentation.

I've previously made my own sauerkraut with great success, and thought to dip into the unknown and try lacto-fermenting onions, carrots, and beans.

I did so by cleaning the jar with boiling water, wash the vegetables, adding water, salt, and some brine left over from the sauerkraut ferment.

It's has been 2 to 3 weeks when I check my carrot ferment today. There are quite some white growth on top. It has a faint alcohol-like smell. Does this mean it has gone off and unsafe to continue?

EDIT: Browsing the internet, seems to be either mould or yeast. I don't want to chance it so I am disposing it.


texts: How to clean molten plastic from a pizza stone?

texts:
I have a pizza stone, which has molten plastic on it (it touched the edge of a plastic chopping board briefly, while hot). I cleaned as best as I could with water, but when I put it in the oven it fumes very strongly.

My idea was to try to burn the plastic off in the oven, but oven doesn't appear to have the pyrolyze function or programme.

Should I try and pyrolyze the stone in the oven anyway, even though my oven doesn't have a specific pyrolyze function? Is it safe?

What program should I set and for how long?

This is my stove: https://manualscollection.com/?fid=9dc6ab1d73e58b75a2c28e6625e3b9db&read=online&page=28


texts: Sugar/salt frosted around the top of a cup/mug

texts:
Recently I managed to accidentally get a bunch of raw sugar crystals stuck to the rim of a mug of tea.  Drinking the tea over the sugar, being able to balance out the tartness and the sweetness as I liked was pretty amazing.  Is there an easy way to repeatedly 'stick' a bunch of sugar to the rim of a mug or glass?  I know that people do this with margaritas and the like, so I assume there must be an easy technique for doing it quickly, but I don't know one.

What is the quickest/best way to do it a lot of times fast?


texts:
Many types of peppers, such as Anaheim peppers, poblano peppers, serrano peppers, and jalapeño peppers - are red when fully ripe and green while immature. However, most of the time I've seen these peppers for sale, they're sold when they're green (unripened).

Is there a particular reason why these peppers are sold before they're fully ripened?

Thanks!


texts:
I like to drink protein shakes, but I find that it's very hard to dissolve the protein powder into water or milk. You get clumps, and unless you want to get your blender dirty or spend ten minutes whisking you're out of luck. Recently I've started experimenting, and I've made some discoveries that could solve this problem.
First off, my protein powder dissolves in oil. I can dissolve it in oil then add water, and then instead of clumps I'll just have two separate layers, one with protein powder dissolved in oil and the other water. This is still better than clumps and tastes super creamy, but obviously this is much more calorie dense and kinda defeats the purpose of drinking protein shakes.
My next experiment was to try adding as little oil as possible. I added just enough oil to the protein powder to get the texture of wet sand, then added my water and stirred. This seemed to create an emulsification although there were some small clumps, but I think with some refinement I could get clump free emulsions using this technique. My theory is that when I added the water it mixed slowly with the oil and protein since the oil protein mixture was still in mostly solid form, and this allowed an emulsion to form while it could not in the previous case. But that's just a guess. Just like with the previous method, this was delicious but unhealthy.
So, is there something else I could try dissolving my protein powder in, or something I could dilute my oil with so it will still dissolve the powder but be less calorie dense? I'm using some sort of vegan protein powder with added emulsifiers. I can tell you what kind of protein it is later if it helps, but I suspect I'd get similar results with whey protein.


texts: What can I substitute for dairy products in kosher meat dishes?

texts: I have converted a number of traditional dishes to kosher (cannot mix meat and dairy ingredients) but have trouble finding substitutes for dairy ingredients that have the correct consistency or flavor.  I have tried a number of soy-based products, like sour supreme, work great if you are not cooking them but I find that many of them don't handle high temperatures well.  Does anyone have any other suggestions so I can make beef stroganoff or veal parmesan.


texts: What is the difference between sour cream & butter in baked goods?

texts:
I'm a little unsure what the difference is between the two. I found a banana bread recipe that specifically called for the use of sour cream for the batter as opposed to butter; the same applied when I looked for other recipes for banana bread.

Is there a difference between the two? How does sour cream affect the baked good as opposed to butter? Is there a difference or is it simply just to make the flavor richer, which is what I'm guessing the reason for adding it is in for.


texts:
I have a chicken burrito that has a high salt content and lots of hot sauce in it. Will it stay safe refrigerated any longer than regular cooked chicken (which has a 3-4 day cutoff)?

Response to possible duplicate:

I've searched the linked article and it doesn't answer my question. My question is specifically about how salt affects the timing.


texts: What is the name of this drink and is there a substitute for the pineapple?

texts:
In many cities in the Venezuelan Andes, there is a traditional beverage with the following preparation:

Put a slice/piece of pineapple about two inches per side in a bottle of milk.

Put the milk with the pineaple in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.

Take the milk, without the pineapple, and shake a little with a spoon to homohenize, then put about 2 oz in a milkshake machine, and shake for about 1 minute puting suggar in the process.

Optionaly put some artifitial flavor in the milkshake machine - I'd recomend coconut artifitial flavor. Also you can put in the milkshake machine with the milk, some small pices of ice cubes, this makes the drink a bit more creamy.

This is usually a companion for Empanadas or Pasteles

What is the name of this beverage? Is a powder or something else that substitutes the pineapple piece and/or the fermentation process?

I googled for something like this with no luck, the closest recipe is the pineapple-coconut milk, but that is not what I'm looking for.


texts:
I plan on making a raw kale salad for a large group and was wondering if there is another technique besides massaging it with my hands, which will likely get sore after breaking down a large quantity of kale.

Other than cooking or slicing the raw kale, is there a shortcut or tool I could use to make easier work of massaging the fresh kale?