texts:
I need to make chicken stock so I bought a 3 lb fryer chicken today. Obviously my plan was to roast the chicken tonight, take meat off the bones and then use the carcass to make the stock tomorrow.

My roommate, however, is begging me to make my chicken and sausage gumbo. To do this, I usually boil the chicken whole in a large pot of boiling water for an hour, take out the chicken, use the water as the base for the gumbo, add the chicken to the gumbo, and discard the bones.

I really need chicken stock though. Can I make the gumbo tonight and then boil the carcass again tomorrow to make stock? I'm worried the stock will be weaker in flavor since the bones already went through a similar process, but maybe its no different than roasting it.

Anyone have experience with this?


texts: What's the difference between a Stromboli and a Calzone?

texts:
On the east coast Italian restaurants (or pizza shops) sometimes offer both Strombolis and Calzones. Sometimes it seems that Calzones are a 'type' of Stromboli, because the menu has a single Calzone but a list of different Strombolis. But I doubt that's an accurate assessment.

So, what's the difference between the two? I'd be interested in the technical reasons as well as whey they're listed separately on menus (if the reasoning is different).

Also, I give the east coast location because I've heard out west a Stromboli may be thought of as a kind of hot sandwich (basically an Italian roll hollowed out a bit and filled). That's not the Stromboli or Calzone I'm familiar with - but if the definitions change drastically based on geographic area I'm interested in that as well.


texts: How to prevent chicken from having a chalky texture?

texts:
Even after brining, filleting and cooking to perfect temperature (68 to 71 c) my chicken texture (whole and breast) sometimes comes chalky. Mind you, the chicken can still be juicy while being chalky. Here is a picture:

I have tried different combinations of brining solutions and cooking oils - nothing seems to give a consistent result of juicy, smooth textured chicken:

Mind you, this is not a duplicate of "why my chicken is dry" because many times I can get a moist but chalky chicken.


texts: For products such as bread, state they are either natural or organic, what is the difference?


texts: How do bakeries get smooth jam to top their cheesecakes with?

texts:
Every brand of jam or preserves I’ve bought has a coagulated consistency. While it’s shiny, the surface isn’t smooth when either spread or spooned or piped.

Every cheesecake I’ve purchased from a bakery has been topped with, say, this smooth strawberry jam. The consistency is really smooth and gel like. Even on my tongue it feels so smooth. How do bakeries get their jam like that?


texts:
I recently baked the golden vanilla cake from King Arthur FLour's website. It baked nicely, and looked really nice. However, when I was at my cake decorating class, I had to level and torte that cake, and for the life of me, I could not get my cake leveler to go through the cake! It just bounced off and would not go through the cake, no matter how hard I pressed, or sawed. I eventually resorted to using a serrated knife, but even that was incredibly difficult to cut through.

Is there something I did when making the cake? I know I used a 9 inch pan instead of the 8 inch it asked for, but that was the only change I made. Or is this just an impenetrable cake?


texts:
Is it possible to boil an egg in the microwave?

Ideally without having to pierce the shell first


texts: I want to deep fry some pickles, but I want to have them ready ahead of time.  The coating I like is a sort of cornmeal buttermilk batter. How can I freeze these without it all coming off?


texts: What characteristics should a bread peel have?

texts:
A peel is the utensil used to transfer loaves into the oven:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_(tool)">Image source: Wikipedia

I've done a couple of them using some wood boards I had on hand. I made them for a home electric oven. But now I'm planning to make one from scratch for a wood fired oven.

What characteristics should one look for a peel?

Specifically:

What characteristics will have different materials: plywood, block of wood, metal, ...

If they are made of plywood, what kind of glue should be used to join the boards?
What kind of wood? Which metal?

Should they be flat? Wedge shaped (like the one in the picture)?
If they have a detachable handle, what system would be faster to change? Less prone to loosen?
How to choose the length of the handle? The material?
Any differences between a home oven one and one for a professional/large oven?

Note: I originally wrote the question thinking in making a peel, but actually it should be interpreted as how should a peel be, independently of how you manage to get it (make it, buy one, ...).


texts: Frying chicken wings all the way through

texts:
I have tried deep frying chicken wings few times.
The first time I tried it, the oil was heated a lot and I continued Frying it until it was crisp outside,but when ate it, it was not cooked all the way through, it was pink and the joints of the wings still had blood.
Second time, because I thought it was because I cooked the wings on high heat, it was burned on the outside but still not cooked inside, I tried Frying the wings in low heat, but the result was the same, undercooked bloody joints in the wings and burned skin.
So how do I deep fry the chicken wings so that it is cooked all the way through?
Do I boil it in water before i deep fry?


texts:
I was in a restaurant recently and the menu included "double-cut pork chop".  The person I was with ordered this, but it looked like an ordinary pork chop to me.  (I don't eat pork so I don't have a lot of experience with this -- just what I've seen others eat.)  Google led me to speculation, but nothing authoritative, that they're thicker; one site said up to 20oz, but the menu in this restaurant said 10oz.  (I also searched Seasoned Advice but didn't find anything.)

Are double-cut chops cut from a different part of the animal (more toward the center, maybe?), or is it just a wider cut from wherever the butcher was cutting anyway, or is the Google speculation wrong and it means something different?  And is this term specific to pork, or are there other kinds of double-cut chops (e.g. lamb)?


texts: How to keep a chocolate cream from getting hard?

texts:
I've been making a chocolate cream/spread lately. Some butter, chocolate, salt, allspice, cocoa and water. I'm not really using any recipe, but it's about twice the chocolate over butter.

These ingredients are mixed at a low temp, the water gets added after the rest is melted and stirred together. After cooling, this mixture stays usable at room temperature for some days. That is, it can be spread on bread. But after some days, the mixture becomes brittle and hard.

I suppose this is because water evaporates out. Does anybody know how this can be prevented or reverted? Should I melt it and mix more water in? Is that possible?


texts: What caused my grass-fed beef to taste & smell ‘off’ this time? Not sure if gamey or barnyard-y is the right description

texts:
So this relates to an expensive order I made from a local farm, that’s highly reviewed online by the few who know about it, and they check all the boxes for my standards in terms of their beef being a) 100% grass-fed & finished and b) certified organic. The owners seem like fantastic people from my interactions with them, and I can tell they’re quite knowledgable about the industry, and share many of the same views on nutrition and the benefits of grass-fed beef as I do.

Today I defrosted some striploin steaks I bought as part of my large order. Prior to putting them on the BBQ, I could tell they had quite a noticeable scent to them. I don’t know if “gamey” accurately describes what it was, or “barnyard-y” — but something just seemed off about the smell overall. I cooked them anyway, but that ‘off’ smell came out in the taste. Unfortunately I couldn’t finish it. I was frustrated and confused.

I’ve ordered & eaten organic, 100% grass-fed/finished steaks before while in another city (aka from other farms), yet there was no taste or smell issue for me.

These striploin steaks + the rest of my order were also very, very fresh and delivered to the farm by the butcher just a day before I went. I remember when I bought meat from this farm last year as well, that the butcher or slaughter date noted on the sticker was just 2 weeks prior. So really fresh stuff. If anything, I thought that the closer you are to the slaughter date of the animal, the more mild/lack of taste the beef will have? So what’s with this noticeable smell & taste I’m picking up this time around? Also, last year I made tartare from this same farm’s cut of tenderloin, and I know for sure I wouldn’t have eaten it if the smell was what I’m noticing now.

It’s also not exclusive to the striploin steaks I tried today, because I began defrosting some of the rib steaks and it seems like they have the same smell & could turn out the same. :(

What would you speculate the potential issue is? Could it be the breed of cow? The 'freshness' of the steak? Whether it was dry-aged or not? (I'm going to ask them, but if I had to guess I don't think it is).


texts:
(I'm neither English nor American so I might mix some things up.)

At home we usually have cereal or bread for breakfast. I really like English/American breakfast with eggs, beans and bacon, though. Do you have any suggestions about how to make a lighter version of that kind of breakfast for people who think that such a heavy/greasy meal is too much in the morning?


texts: I just made caramel sauce using 1 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter, and 1/2 cup milk. I was supposed to use 1/4 cup milk but i poured in extra by accident so I doubled the other ingredients. But my caramel sauce came out grainy and buttery, it also crystallizes as soon as it cools. What can I do to fix it?


texts: Where can I find the apron/towel worn by the America's Test Kitchen staff?

texts:
On America's Test Kitchen, I've seen them wearing a towel around their waist that is somehow attached to an apron.  Is there a name for this?  Or are they just somehow tucking the towel into a standard apron pocket?

This would be a great kitchen convenience--where can I buy an apron like this?  (Preferably only covering below the waist as shown on Becky below.)


texts: Worried about my Buddha hand rind ferment

texts:
I am testing out the Buddha hand fruit ferment.
I washed everything well, cut the rind and poured honey water in the jar and sealed it tight. I opened it one day and it bubbled for a few minutes very strongly. I put the top back on and now there is a white film on top of the liquid and I am not sure what or if something went wrong.


texts: How can I avoid my patties bulging in the middle?

texts:
When cooking beef or turkey patties on the skillet, I often end up with them bulging in the middle. See photo below. One patty is bulging like crazy, the other is more normal.

This bulging results in the middle not making contact with the pan, and thus cooking less. Then when I go to flip the patties, the bulge makes the patties tip to one side, making the cooking even more uneven.

Sometimes I cook patties straight out of the freezer, sometimes the fridge. I think the frozen ones bulge more, but not exclusively.

What's the best way to handle this? Should I try cooking with a lower/higher temperature? Or do I need to buy a weight for the patties?


texts: How long can you keep whiskey in the freezer?

texts: Jack Daniels Tennessee honey,  in the freezer for over a year. Is it okay to drink?


texts: How much lemon extract to substitute anise extract?

texts:
I have a anise cookie recipe that I want to convert to a lemon biscotti recipe.

How much lemon extract should I use when I use 3 teaspoons of the anise extract?


texts: What effect does removing previously-dried peppers from a sauce have?

texts:
I have a recipe for a basic enchilada sauce, in which I bring tomato sauce and chicken stock to a boil with some spices. It is then simmered for 15 minutes. It calls for using diced dried Chipotle peppers, which worked great - until we bit into one of the pieces of pepper. The heat was a bit too intense for my wife.

I thought about using big pieces of the  dried Chipotle peppers next time, and then picking them out after the simmer. I assume it will take away some of the heat (which is the goal), but will I still get the flavors this way? What other changes could I expect?


texts: What is the name of this Italian pastry?

texts:
Italian pastry made at Christmas.

Ingredients:

Eggs
Flour
Whiskey
Sugar
Vanilla
Shortening

Then deep fried, and covered with powdered sugar are called "CRUSTELLIS" OR "CRUSTOLI".

Instead of powdered sugar they were also given a honey bath.  What is the name of the ones dipped in honey, is it "SCALEDEE"?


texts: Can fish stock be left simmering for a long time without damaging the flavor?

texts:
After reading this question regarding how to make a Cantonese fish soup I was considering adding an answer expounding on the fact that fish stock shouldn't be left simmering for too long, or you'll get a "glue flavor" in your soup because of bad tasting compounds being released from the fish trimmings.

However, upon googling for some sources to validate my claim I came upon this article, which among other things claims that

  If no flat-fish bones are used, the stock can cook for four to six hours; this slow cooking extracts all the gelatin from the bones and makes a wonderful, rich broth.

Is it correct that it is only certain kinds of fish / fish trimmings which will create a bad tasting stock if left to simmer for too long? If so, are there any other kinds of fish than flat-fish which can create this bad taste?


texts: What considerations are there when using powdered or pasteurized eggs in baking cake?

texts: If I am baking cake (from box mix or from scratch) and I don't have any fresh eggs, what must I take into account if I want to use powdered eggs or pasteurized liquid eggs instead? Will this work, and under what conditions?


texts: Why does food get cold faster in some locales than others?

texts:
I live in a dry climate at 7,000 feet where we experience a true four seasons. The temperature range can be vast from below 0 degrees farenheit to the high 90s and sometimes over 100.

I've noticed that regardless of the time of year, that food gets cold faster in my locale than in humid, lower elevation locales. This is true whether eating indoors with the furnace on or the air conditioner off, or when grilling outdoors.

Is this true only in my imagination, or is there a scientific explanation for it?


texts: Is Turkish coffee grinding finer than Espresso grinding?

texts:
I am shopping for an electric grinder that can grind to the extremely fine grind of Turkish coffee.

But the only commercially available electric grinders I have found so far refer to Espresso coffee (as if manufacturers never heard of Turkish coffee...)

So it is very tempting for me to settle for an Espresso type of grinder but really what I need is any grinder that could grind at least 8 Oz. of Turkish coffee at a time.

So... my question is simple: Does Turkish coffee grind:

Finer than Espresso grind?
Coarser than Espresso grind?
Same as Espresso grind?


texts: Light green squash-like ingredient in Indonesian cuisine

texts:
We've traveled to Indonesia years ago and there was this ingredient I had never tasted before which has had me looking for years. I had it in gado-gado many times there, including in an Indonesian restaurant in North America which had me very nostalgic!

I don't know what the original vegetable looks like but cooked, it was a pale green. I saw it served in many different shapes crescent-like, julienne, or diced, so I figure it may be some kind of squash but it didn't really taste like any squash that I know of.


texts:
How to dry wet sugar?
How to dry sugar when it gets wet?


texts: Can I assemble lasagna the day before I cook it. This is with fresh pasta. I’m worried the pasta will be soggy


texts: How to prepare eggs in shape suited for bagel?

texts:
I often buy an egg bagel from the local coffee shop. The egg is cooked to a shape that is perfect for the bagel. From my observation it is a scrambled mixture that goes into a small glass bowl, and then into the microwave.

Any more specific advice would be awesome on how to do this.


texts:
I live in the tropics where the temperature mostly ranges from 28 to 33 degrees Celsius (82 to 91 Fahrenheit) or higher.

I want to try my hand at fermented pickles but most sources seem to claim that 77 deg Fahrenheit is the maximum.  Does that mean that there is no point in trying?


texts: tomato-substitute for sausage and spaghetti squash?

texts:
I just got diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and have to avoid both grains and tomatoes. I was wondering if there is a way to substitute tomatoes to create a nice sauce that would go well with sausages and spaghetti squash?
If a non-tomato sauce isn't feasible, how does one make the dish not dry without a sauce? I can have (cooked) alcohol-based sauces. Is there a particular alcoholic drink that could be a good base for a sauce for sweet pork sausage and spaghetti squash?


texts:
For people cooking now and then it is common knowledge that you have to add an extra of salt if you're including potatoes in your meal.

But what is the (biological? chemical?) reason that potatoes - at least for our taste buds - cushion salty tastes?


texts: Cast Iron Skillet Loses Seasoning After Cooking Chicken?

texts:
I season my cast Iron thoroughly until it is so slick it could sell a used car.  However, whenever I cook chicken breast, I notice the seasoning comes off?  No other foods do this.  I can cook eggs and vegetables in it with no problem, but for some reason chicken breast is the problem food.

I suspected I wasn't oiling the pan enough for cooking, but even when I added more, the seasoning came off.  Is this a thing with chicken?  Does the fat coat to the seasoning and cause it to come off?

Also, if relevant, I season using grapeseed oil on my range until the oil coats and seasons the pan as it should.


texts: I've learned today that pemmican is pulverized dried meat mixed with fat. But why doesn't the fat develop mold? I have read fats develop mold easily.


texts:
If I placed bread crumbs in a pot of oil to deep fry and then take it out, it comes out crispy and not 'wet', although they are drenched in oil initially?

But if I place bread crumbs in boiling water, they just stay soaked?


texts: How to prepare summer squash without the peel becoming rubbery

texts:
I occasionally prepare summer squash as a side item, and typically fry it as it is both easy and flavorful. Recently I tried various ways of baking squash by hollowing out the soft center, adding a stuffing to the peel, and placing the hollowed portion back on top.

The dish is usually good, but the peel tends to always have a rubbery texture that produces an odd glancing bite. Is there a way to prepare the peel in order to keep the savory crunch which adds to the texture, yet softens the outer layer of the peel so it's not ruined by the rubbery feel?


texts: Eggless choux pastry recipe yields paper-thin top, gooey bottom

texts:
I'm trying to make eggless choux pastries for an egg-allergic friend (my eventual targets are croques-en-bouche and saint-honorés).

I have experience with choux pastry, but I've never made an eggless version. I'm following the recipe at https://www.gretchensveganbakery.com/vegan-eclairs/.

Here's my sorry result:

Well, that didn't work great.  The gooey bottom eventually does dry up after a few hours, so it's not too bad, but that paper-thin top is miserable.

The problem doesn't seem to be specific to the particular recipe I picked: I get the same results, more or less, if I use my regular 2-1-1-2 choux pastry recipe, and use egg replacer.

I tried a many variations on both my usual recipe and the vegan recipe I linked to:

Strengthening the flour by using bread flour and even adding a bit of vital wheat gluten
Adding a bit of xanthan gum and guar gum
Making smaller dough balls
Wetting the tops with sugary milk before cooking
Omitting baking powder
Letting the dough rest before baking it
Using a different brand of egg-replacer (ENER-G)
Using a friend's oven (!)

All of my attempts ended up very similarly: a gooey bottom which eventually dries up (it gets fairly compact and doughy, but the taste is OK), and a paper-thin dome.

What causes this paper-thin dome to form, and how can I fix this recipe?  I'd like to achieve something like the following picture (not taken by me), which is close to what I get with my usual (eggy) recipe:


texts: By how much should I shorten the cooking time of a slow cooker recipe if I'm only using half the meat?

texts:
I'm thinking of making either this recipe or this recipe for pork tenderloin in a slow cooker.
As easy as a slow cooker is, I'm no slow cooker expert, and have run into problems where the meat ends up seeming "dry" (even though it's literally soaking in a sea of liquid) when I mess up the amount-of-meat-to-cooking-time ratio, either by using a smaller cut of meat than the recipe calls for, or cooking for longer than the recipe calls for.
Both of the recipes linked here call for 2 lbs. pork tenderloin, and I have a 1 lb. cut.
The first recipe calls for 7 hours on low, and the second one calls for 6-8 hours on low.  So if I only have half the meat, by how much should I reduce the cooking time?  I'm guessing halving the cooking time is not really the right move.


texts:
I am having trouble getting whitebait to the correct internal temperature.  After I simmer it for a few miniutes I put the thermometer in and it goes up to 42c and not 63c(145f) which is the safe temp for fish.  Im not sure whether because the fish is small its not possible for the reader to get a correct reading.  the points on my thermometer are quite big and probably for larger cuts of food though it seems to go in the flesh.

the problem is if i cook it to a higher temp it just overcooks.  so am i cooking it safely and correctly or not? is my thermometer reliable, what am i doing wrong since safe seems to be overcooked and cooked seems to be unsafe, it could also have to do with my thermometer but not sure.

thanks


texts: What is the benefit to using a paper filter in a moka pot?

texts:
I saw a picture of this method being used in a magazine from Hong Kong.  A cafe gave a short description of brewing with a moka pot.  They placed a small, circular, paper filter on top of the ground coffee before screwing on the top of the pot.

Why they would they have added this unconventional step to moka pot brewing?  Does the finer filter aid in pseudo-crema production?  Does it produce a cleaner brew?


texts:
If anyone has noticed - recently I have been fascinated with pudding. And I mean the creamy dessert (sample picture). Since I encountered a myriad of recipes - some calling for egg, others for no egg, some for butter, other for cream, etc. I decided to make my own experimentation (I am a scientist - sue me) and derive the best recipe for me (and hopefully for lots of other people, as well).

In order not to be left with huge batches of failed pudding, I decided to have a "control" recipe of tiny proportions. What I did was scour the Google for the first five or six chocolate pudding recipes, derive predominant ratios and comprise them into my very own franken-puddy recipe. From here I will make that control, taste it and then proceed to make a new one, each time removing or adding an extra ingredient. For example in the second round I will remove the egg, in the third round keep the egg but remove butter, etc.

The aim is to see how each ingredient affects the end result.

Cooks of the world, I would like to hear your thoughts on my recipe proportions! But beware - it is in metric (lousy imperial translation has been attempted but can be inaccurate).

Egg yolks  -  1        1
Cocoa      - 30ml     2tbsp.
Sugar      - 60ml     4tbsp.
Butter     - 10ml     2tsp.
Milk       - 164ml    5.55oz
Cornstarch - 14ml     2.8tsp.

The aim is for the end pudding to be no more than one serving, I only need it for a small taste test, after all. As for the cream, I would substitute the same amount as for butter.

EDIT:

Sampling I intend to do:

Control (the cited above recipe)
Control with no egg
Control with egg yolk and white
Control with egg white, no yolk
Control with no butter
Control with cream, instead of butter
Control with 5ml cream and 5ml butter
Control with a pinch of salt
Control with more salt
Control with 90ml Nesquik, instead of cocoa and sugar

The problem here is that taste is subjective and even if I know what effect a certain change will have, it has to be tasted to be deemed good or bad.
Once I establish a baseline of what swings the pudding in the tasty direction and what in the "EGADS!" direction I can begin substitution for similar but fancier products, like milk for almond milk or coconut milk, etc. as proposed by Rand(char) below. :)

Journeys into Pudding, Part I:

Just attempted to make my first control batch... it didn't thicken... am I using too little cornstarch?


texts: What are the guidelines for creating a canning recipe?

texts: I am looking for the criteria that make an acceptable recipe for canning. Most sites say to only use approved canning recipes and not make substitutions, which is totally understandable, but surely there must be some guidelines for what makes those recipes acceptable? What levels of salt, acidity, water activity, etc make a recipe suitable to be canned?


texts: sous-vide pork ribs heating break / danger zone question

texts:
I put some pork ribs in a home-made sous vide machine for 12 hours at 75C.  They were at that temp for at least five hours, probably longer. In the morning I noticed that the element had packed in and the temp had dropped to 32C (about 15 deg higher than the air temp over night).  Is it possible to heat it back up to kill anything that may have started breeding in the danger zone?  I saw a similar question but that was a lower temp so there was no way of knowing if the internal temp had been hit.
Or just chuck it :( ?


texts: Cakes made of whipped-cream by professionals last for a long time in a consistent, white state. However, from what I know, whipped cream tends to become yellow and return to a more liquid state in a few hours. I prepare whipped cream with just the cream and an electric mixer, so I assume there's some magic ingredient or process to keep the thing stable. Where's the trick ?


texts: Expiration dates vs. "Best before" dates?

texts:
This has been discussed briefly elsewhere (e.g. here), but it doesn't seem to have been asked generally.

In the USA, there are a variety of dates printed on foods. Unfortunately, there seems to be little convention. The list includes at least the following (feel free to add more!):

Best by [DATE]
Best if used by [DATE]
Best before [DATE]
Expiry date: [DATE]
Expiration date: [DATE]
Expires by [DATE]
Use by [DATE]
Use before [DATE]
Freeze by [DATE]
Eat fresh or freeze by [DATE]

What meaning is implied/conveyed by each of those?

For example:

What do each of those mean in terms of taste, quality, safety, etc?
Are any of them firmer deadlines than another, and are any intended to be mere guidelines?
Common sense tells us that "expires on [DATE]" means it's assumed to be unsafe after [DATE]), but does it say anything more -- or less -- than that, and what of the others?


texts: Turning on oven's fan for preheating - Oven turning off by itself - How to preheat properly

texts:
Should I turn on my oven's convection fan for preheating? Or should I only turn it on when I put the cake inside?

Because my oven OFTEN turns off by itself when preheating, I think it might be the fan.

I have researched a lot about this, oven turning off on it's own means the lack of airflow or overheating, I preheat the oven at 180 Celsuis for 20 minutes with the fan turned on.

I'm asking this question because it happens often times. So trial and error doesn't really work here, if it did turn off all the times, I could try a lot of things to narrow down the problem.  I have tried preheating without the fan and it still turned off again if memory serves me right.  No I was wrong we never tried this, because mom persists to use fan all the time.

This is a gas oven with physical rotating knobs, and about a handful of times when I was about to put the cake inside, I found the oven turned off, the lights are on and the fan is on but the flame is off, and the oven is somewhat cold and if I turn it on, it works fine, I never found it turned off with food inside.

After reading your comments I feel like I'm not doing the preheating correctly.

I searched more and found a suggestion on the internet to preheat the oven 25 Celsius degrees above the required temperature to cook [source].(https://avivservicetoday.com/ovens/how-to-preheat-your-oven/) But I don't like this since my oven doesn't have digital temperature display, I might overheat it or even underheat, it could ruin the cake.

There's also another suggestion saying preheating longer than x minutes could automatically turn the oven off, but as I had read the manual of my oven before asking this question, such thing was not mentioned.

About the fan, the manual suggests to use it to cook the core of food efficiently. In spite of other ovens which suggest to use the fan for browning the tops.


texts: I have an old Globe 725L meat slicer. The gearbox between the motor and the blade had hardened gross grease in it, and I cleaned it out. I'm putting food grade white grease back in it. Just wanted to confirm that kind of grease is correct, as the other gearbox (on the table motor) had oil in it...like 30W motor oil.


texts: How do i get rid of burnt smell from kheer?

texts: when we cook kheer it happens most of the time kheer burnt and stick with saucepan.The smell of burnt kheer transfer into whole kheer and it tasted not good.What can i do in this situation.


texts: Is it possible to bake a cake without an oven?

texts: I don't have an oven; is there any way to simulate what an oven does with any other tools available at my home? In particular I would like to be able to bake cakes.


texts: Is this dark muscovado sugar safe to use?

texts:
I've got a batch of dark muscovado sugar that I rarely use, sitting in an airtight ziploc bag. Upon opening it today, I noticed that is gone very hard and some of the lumps are white inside. There's also a few darker ones.

Is this natural for this kind of sugar or has something happened to it (could be a fungus for all I know)?


texts: Quantities of lactose, lactic acid, and other metabolites in yogurt

texts:
It's common to see vague statements about how people with limited lactose tolerance may be able to eat yogurt, because the bacterial fermentation eliminates some of the lactose. However, I haven't been able to find any quantitative information on how much lactose remains. I'm sure it varies widely with different cultures and methods, but I'd love to have even a few specific examples where someone fermented some yogurt and assayed it for lactose.

Similarly, I'd like to know how much of the lactose ends up in the form of lactic acid vs. glucose and galactose monosaccharides vs. other metabolites. This seems potentially important in terms of predicting the caloric content and metabolic effects of yogurt (e.g., blood glucose response).

I've done some searches on the web and in the scientific literature, but I haven't been able to find information on the carbohydrate composition of yogurt or other fermented foods. Can anyone point me to a source?


texts:
I made chicken and vegetable soup the other day using standard ingredients (small cubes of chicken breasts, onions, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, and stock). I sauteed the veggies in butter and olive oil for a few minutes, then added the chicken until it was no longer pink. I then added the chicken stock, brought it to a rolling boil, and turned it down to simmer for about an hour.

The result was really tasty soup with really dry chicken pieces. It was even drier when reheated the next day. Is there a way to avoid this? I'm making another pot tonight using boneless skinless chicken thighs and want to make sure I don't make the same mistake (whatever that may be)!


texts: How should I clean my metal mesh tea strainer?

texts:
I have one of these teeli tea strainers, and it's wonderful. It's a very fine metal mesh basket with plastic frame. I've had it for perhaps 10+ years and it's still working well after brewing thousands of cups of tea.

The Problem:
However, it seems that the metal mesh is slowly becoming "clogged" or something.  The tea still infuses fine, but it's more prone to spilling and dripping because water doesn't pass through as quickly.  How should I clean this thing?

What I've tried...
I generally don't bother to clean it (just empty and reuse...) because it doesn't get "dirty" as such.  Occasionally, I'll give it a rinse in the sink, or a scrub with regular dish detergent and sponge. Sometimes when bits seem to be stuck, I'll take a toothbrush or other dish brush to scour a little more thoroughly. I've also tried soaking in water.

What "They" Say:
The teeli web site doesn't seem to have any suggestions for cleaning; hardly surprising since it's not needed any significant maintenance in 10 years of service.

Searching for this yields a lot of links.  Many are about strainers with larger holes, or bigger mesh (closer to a regular kitchen strainer), or about removing stains. Others suggest what I've tried, and I'm not sure about the other suggestions I've seen:

a couple posts say to soak in vinegar.  I am afraid this might corrode the metal or make the plastic (and all further cups of tea!) taste like vinegar...?
eHow even suggests to soak in bleach?? Yikes.

Before I start soaking my beloved tea strainer in various household chemicals, I wanted to see if anyone here had this problem and has a good solution?  Long-term soaking?  Boiling?  Vinegar?  Baking soda?  Special brush?  Alcohol?  Compressed air?  BLEACH?!  Anything that you've tried that should I avoid?


texts: Do both large and small fish bones soften with pressure cooking?

texts: I have seen people say pressure cooking and tin canning only softens bones in small fish making them edible, however I also read it works for bigger fish.  Do you know which is correct and why?


texts: What causes pasta dough to be holey after running through a machine multiple times?

texts:
I've tried making pasta several times now, and every time it turns holey after I run the dough through a standard crank machine:

Ingredients I use:

200 grams all purpose flour
2 jumbo brown eggs
Bit of olive oil
Bit of salt


texts: What's the best way to reheat grilled shrimp

texts:
We are having a party in a few weeks and I would like to serve some grilled shrimp, but there will be fifty or so people, and I would prefer to cook all of the food in advanced so I'm not spending the entire party cooking.

Any ideas on how I can reheat grilled shrimp without making it tough? I want the shrimp to have a little bit of char on it (it has a sugar based marinade).  Could I grill it just enough to get some grill marks and then refrigerate it and then toss it in a skillet right before the party, or is there a better method?


texts: Can chicken be partially deep fried to fully fry later?

texts: I own a small food truck serving fried chicken wings, fries and fish and tenders. Serving food fast is the key.  I want to give customers a hot meal but, made to order is time consuming. Can I partially deep fry the meat and then finish as the orders come in?


texts: Help converting dry milk + milk in recipe

texts:
I'm converting a cake recipe for a breadmaker that calls for 180g (3/4c) milk and some instant pudding mix.  Wanting to convert it all to basic ingredients, I found an instant pudding mix recipe that consists of sugar, cornstarch, salt, and.... dry milk powder. So my resulting recipe contains 180g milk and 21g dry milk powder (and no water, of course), which seems silly.  How can I convert to all milk (as I don't keep dry milk powder on hand) ?  Converting to dry milk powder would total out to (45+21=66)g dry milk powder + 180g water, which is like 150%-concentrated milk, which I don't know how to achieve with regular milk.

If it helps, the rum cake recipe is here and the instant pudding recipe is here.


texts: After few day of plastick bag packing of Tomato sauce increase the size of it and produce gas in plastic bag

texts: I am one small manufacturer of tomato sauce and dates sauce . And my question is regarding preservative i.e we make tomato sauce and paking it in plastic bag after few day this paket size increasing and produce gas in plastic bag ,so I want to know about proper method of manufacturing . Our preservatives are sodium benzoate, acitic acid and suger.


texts: Is butternut squash with veins OK to eat?

texts: I had two butternut squash sitting on counter for 2 months. One is the usual bright orange inside but the other had white veins. I think it is the low humidity in Arizona allowing the starch to seep out of the flesh. This happens to a lot of my longer kept produce like cantaloupe. Any other ideas? Thanks!


texts: I found a recipe online for Ranch dressing that uses mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk. The ratio of these ingredients are to my like (tastes good enough). However, I'd like the dressing to be a bit thinner (more liquidy). How would I go about achieving this? Add milk, cream, water, or something else?


texts: How to conserve eatables in humid and moist environment?

texts: I am living in very moisture and humid environment. The eatbles I bought like rusk(made of wheat and vegetable oil), capture moisture within a day and then become unfit to eat. What should I do so that these eatables can stay longer without affecting by moisture and humidity?


texts:
The Harney and Sons Guide to Tea has the following to say about CTC tea:

  Today, both Flowery and Broken teas are also called “Orthodox” teas, to distinguish them from “CTC” teas. “CTC” teas (so called for the “Crush, Tear, and Curl” steps of the production process) were introduced into the market in 1931, when Sir William McKercher invented the a machine that would “crush, tear, and curl” the fresh tea leaves in one fell swoop. This technique, the apogee of British tea innovation, revolutionized the world of tea production. Essentially a massive sieve, the machine extruded fresh leaves as tiny bright green pellets, then sent them on a conveyor belt beneath powerful blowers. This machine so hastened oxidation that the pellets turned dark brown within one hundred yards, in just under an hour. The result of this near instantaneous oxidation was a tea with extraordinary briskness and consistency. CTC teas have much less of the sort of internal variation that pure whole-leaf teas can provide, the kind of magical alteration that happens when one sips a fine tea or wine. CTC teas are so much cheaper and easier to produce, however, that they have almost entirely supplanted Orthodox teas. Today, CTC teas make up at least 95 percent of the worldwide tea market and are the primary ingredient in teabags. But because they are so blunt, I include only one CTC in this book. All the other British Legacy Teas here are Orthodox, and of those, almost all are Flowery.

I've searched for images of CTC tea, as this one; but in real life, I've not encountered a tea that looks like in those images.

For example, the following is an image (on 0.5 cm paper grid) of an exceptionally cheap (3.50 € for 500 g) Ceylon tea I bought.

Obviously, even this tea doesn't look remotely like the linked image of CTC tea.

Question: How can one unambiguously differentiate CTC tea from orthodox tea by looking at the dry leaves?


texts: Is it feasible to cook a gourmet tasting menu in a home kitchen?

texts:
This is not a question about cooking per se, but about professional cooks outside their day jobs. I have seen a few movies where chefs have a restaurant-grade kitchen and kitchenware at home, all ready to use on a regular basis. For example, in Chef, the titular character quits his job at a fancy LA restaurant after an argument with the owner, then goes home and proceeds to cook the same gourmet tasting menu he was planning to cook at the restaurant.

Is this a realistic depiction? Could he likely cook that menu at home, or would he likely need things present only in a professional kitchen? I understand that chefs might want to invest on high-grade hardware for their own homes, but I wonder to what extent they actually need to have everything they would need in their work kitchen.


texts: How does baking temperature affect kale chips?

texts:
My ideal for kale chips would be to have the kale remain as green as possible, be crispy, but not have a burnt flavor.

In kale chip recipes around the internet, the cooking temperature varies wildly, from 220F to 420F.

How do these different baking temperature affect kale chips?


texts: Hiding the taste of cornstarch in gluten-free bechamel

texts: I tried a few times to make gluten-free béchamel, by using cornflour instead of wheat flour because I have some in my cupboard (for thickening sauces, even though it's somewhat considered cheating!). Now, when I did that, the resulting béchamel was decent, but always with a heavy floury taste, as if I had used wheat flour and put way too much of it. I've read this question and the answers recommending alternatives such as xanthan gum. However, I don't have many of those, so I'm wondering: how could I hide the taste of cornstarch my sauce (without reintroducing gluten, of course)? Right now, I'm thinking more nutmeg, but I doubt that'll be enough…


texts: How should we divide the recipe ingredient?

texts:
I followed this pasta recipe some days ago. I wasn't aware of the amount of people it was intended to serve, which is 6. I followed it completely but I am serving 3 people.

If I were to reduce the quantity of the ingredients by half, should I treat all the ingredients in the same respect? For example, I might of want to reduce the amount of cheese because the difference between 5 ounce of cheese and 2.5 ounce is quite large. I think it is a matter of personal taste, but should I reduce them equally in order to achieve the best result?

Serves 6

1 pound spiral-shaped pasta
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon plus more for garnish
1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (the pre-crumbled stuff will not melt as well)
Fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)


texts: How to get raspberry flavor into a smoothie without seeds?

texts:
I often enjoy (when it's not dead of winter) a fruit smoothie for breakfast; generally I use orange juice or some other juice flavor (V8 has a few with fruit flavors masking veggie tastes that I sometimes use), yogurt, and fruit I've frozen myself (removes the need for ice, leading to a thicker smoothie). Typically I use strawberries and bananas; however, when I purchase smoothies, my favorite flavors involve raspberry. I've tried purchasing frozen berries and tossing some in, but the seeds irritate me to no end.

How can I get the taste of raspberries, preferably from raspberries themselves rather than extract (seems healthier), but not the seeds?


texts: What would be an appropriate gluten-free substitute for breadcrumbs?

texts:
I would like to make a gluten-free eggplant parmigiana, and there are a couple of ingredients that I realize I will need to substitute.

The basic idea is eggplant sliced, dredged in flour, dipped in egg, coated with breadcrumbs, and fried, then layered with sauce and cheese and baked. It's the flour and breadcrumbs that I'm going to need to cope with here. I recognize that there's not necessarily one universal GF substitute for flour, but it doesn't strike me that this is so highly featured in this case that it will make a huge difference. I could probably omit it altogether, or use an on-hand substitute, like cornstarch.

The breadcrumbs, on the other hand, are quite a vital part of this dish. I use panko breadcrumbs to give my eggplant an extra-crispy crunch. I've seen "breadcrumbs" make from corn tortillas used as a GF substitute, but the corn strikes me as stylistically opposed to my intent here. I've also heard of "thinner" coatings, like cornstarch or rice flour, but this again fails to capture the nature of a breadcrumb.

Gluten does not strike me as a particularly vital element of a breadcrumb. It is quite unlike, say, a bagel, which is founded on the properties of gluten. But theoretically, I suppose you could make a breadcrumb out of gluten-free ingredients. So what are my options?


texts: Shelf life of a Chocolate Product (incl. butter) - "Chocolate Salami"

texts:
I have an old family recipe for something called a Chocolate Salami (don't worry, there isn't any meat) and I am wondering - if I vacuum seal it, will it be shelf stable?

I know the stability of butter and chocolate is exceptional but I'm wondering if anything changes when they are combined?

The recipe calls for the following: chocolate, butter, powdered sugar, crushed up crackers, and hazelnuts. The only cooking in the process is toasting the nuts and melting the chocolate/butter.

Thanks!


texts: Creating differing temperature fluid gels that stay separate

texts:
At the Fat Duck they serve a mug of hot and iced tea. The drink is served in a single cup yet the two different temperature drinks stay separate side by side with no barrier between them.

I believe this is done by using fluid gels rather than liquids but how do you actually make this. What gelling agent would you use and in what quantities? How would you actually get it into the cup maintaining separation?


texts: What temperature should a pork loin be when cooked in a slow cooker or how long should it cook?


texts:
I've noticed that when we roast potatoes in the oven, they will often have a very sharp tangy aftertaste to me, and often that taste will linger in the back of my mouth for a while after I've finished eating. The weird part is that my husband can't taste this at all, so it may just be something that my palate is particularly sensitive too.

Within one batch I'll get the flavor from some potatoes but not others, and I've noticed it even when just baking the potato with no oil or seasoning, so it seems to be coming from the potato itself. Most recently when eating a whole baked potato, it seemed like this flavor was coming most from the skin, and not from the starchy center.

What could be causing this sourness? Is it an indication of something harmful (going bad, chemicals)? Is there a good way to prevent or mask this flavor in the future?


texts: Why the Australian Tomahawk steak is larger then US?

texts:
If you do a search for Tomahawk steak on Google Image, you will see two very different Tomahawk steak, the US ones, some simply referred it to Rib Eye Bone-In French Cut, are much smaller, with smaller bones at the tail and much more elegant looking.
While the proper Australian Tomahawk is so much larger in pic, and weight in 1.8Kg+.

What are the different between these two parts? Are they even made with the same cuts?


texts: Is using chocolate instead of royal icing for a gingerbread house more difficult?

texts:
Heston Blumenthal's recipe states royal icing or melted chocolate to build his gingerbread house.

Until now I've used an eggless substitute for royal icing with adequate results, although it's trickier. Am I asking for even more trouble with the chocolate?

I have some experience dipping truffles in tempered chocolate. I won't burn or tighten the chocolate, but I don't know if it will hold up.

Tips?


texts: In bakeries, what are the factors that make breads become hard?

texts: If breads are reheated in a bakery, will this cause the bread to become hard?


texts: Freezing sandwiches for toasting at work

texts:
There's a sandwich press at my work and I'm trying to think of a way I can meal prep sandwiches for the whole week in one go. I'm thinking freezing them is the best bet, but I want them to be healthy as well and I'm not sure how vegetables will go in the freezer (probably badly).
Ideally I'll make all the sandwiches on Sunday, then put them in the freezer (wrapped in baking paper). Then, I'll take them to work in the morning (straight from the freezer), put them in the fridge when I get to work, and then put them straight in the sandwich press (inside the baking paper). That way I don't have to clean the press.
What would be the best way to incorporate vegetables into the sandwiches (maybe after toasting them)?


texts: How long do I pre-heat a whole chicken for on the stove before placing it in the oven to roast?

texts:
I am attempting to recreate the roast chicken by Chef Giuliano Sperandino:
Roasted Chicken in a 2 Michelin star french restaurant with Giuliano Sperandio - "Le Clarence" (turn on cc)
I can follow most of the recipe just fine; however, at 2:05 the chef places the chicken on the stove, laying on its leg so that "the temperature can penetrate". Any idea how long the chicken should be on the stove top for? I can put a probe in the middle/thigh to measure temp, but I'm not sure what he's going for here.


texts: Which machine/ product would be best for melting then maintaining sugar mixture at constant temperature?

texts:
I use a sugar and glucose syrup mixture and use it to form candies in demonstrations in front of people. When I use it it is between 80 and 90°C. This mixture is prepared ahead and then transferred to a rice cooker until hardened.
Whenever I need it, it takes about 1.5 hours to melt it back completely (rice cooker has to reach 100°C several times) and then I have to wait until it cools down around 80 - 90°C. Around one or two hours later I have to launch it again as it cools down to 70°C (the normal maintaining temperature of a rice cooker). Then I launch it again to heat it up, it gets up quickly to 100°C, and then I have to wait again until it cools down to 80 - 90°C to use it. And the cycle goes again and again.
The fluctuation of 30°C is too big so I am trying to find a different type of container that would allow me to melt down the hardened sugar mixture, then maintain it between 80 and 90°C.
As it is used for demonstrations, I need something that won't take too much space (I had a sort of electric/induction burner with temperature control, with a pot on top, but it takes some space and is too loud)
What I was thinking: Electric soup kettle, I believe the product is similar to a rice cooker, but for some there is a temperature controller (I was thinking of this one https://www.bartscher.com/en/Products/Snack/Soup-pots/Soup-kettle-54L/p/100062, you can find technical details on "downloads"). The only thing is that it is clearly said to be used for soup to be heated up, so would it change so much?
If you have any suggestions, you are very welcome to say so ! :)


texts: Closest thing to a donut I can drink coffee out of

texts: One joking characterization of a topologist is someone who can't tell their donut from their coffee mug. As a novelty, I would very much like a food I can drink coffee out of. Does this exist? If not, what could I do to make it? It doesn't have to be anything like a donut, but if it is, that would be excellent.


texts: Can I use liquid-form sugar to replace powdered-form sugar in meringue or sponge cake?

texts:
Borderline diabetes runs in my mom's side of the family so I'm taking some proactive steps to reduce empty carbs as much as I can. Sponge cake is something I make often and I always put less sugar than the recipe calls for.
But I'm thinking of replacing it entirely with something healthier. We already use honey or palm sugar syrup in drinks and other desserts, but I have not tried it on a meringue, which is a prerequisite for sponge cakes. Anyone here tried it? If yes, what was the result?
I also read in another post that you can replace sugar with corn starch for meringue if one does not mind having no sweetness. Anyone tried it before, and did it work?


texts: My friend planted three rows of basil in his garden to make pesto, and now we need to source roughly 25-50lbs of parmesan. With that kind of quantity, cheaper is better.


texts:
When I make Hamburger Helper I always follow the directions exactly and the consistency of the sauce is usually good--not too thick and not too watery--but whenever I reheat the leftovers the sauce practically turns into water and it becomes like a noodle and beef soup. This happens with every flavor. What's weird is I always remember leftover Hamburger Helper being too thick and dry and I needed to add water, but now the complete opposite is happening.

Am I draining the ground beef too much when I cook it? Is there something I should be doing differently? Have the ingredients or recipes changed somehow?


texts: At what temperature to bake waffles in a Lékuké silicon mold?

texts:
We bought a Lékué silicon mold for waffles to be used in the oven, but the box in which we bought it does not mention the temperature at which to use it.

Can anyone having experience with baking waffles in an oven give us advice?


texts: Why is my whipped cream dispenser stuck?

texts:
I recently purchased a whipped cream dispenser (specifically, this one), but it's been giving me some trouble and I don't know if it's just this one or they're all like this.

What I do:

put in the prerequisite amount of whipping cream (1 cup), powdered sugar, and vanilla
mix them up
screw lid on
put the dispenser tip on
screw the N2O cartridge into place
shake the dispenser vigorously a few times, then squeeze the trigger

Every time, right after I do all this, it comes out really nice, and usually will stay this way for a good 24 hours.

The problem: The next day, when I try to use it again, I'd shake the dispenser again before using but nothing would come out, despite me hearing the hissing sound. There's no way I could have used all that whipped cream the day before, so my guess is that the mechanism is clogged somehow. But if that's the case, what's causing it to clog? My guess is that it could be because I shake it too much (but I think I'm just following the instructions), or maybe it's too cold and it's just hardened up, but all I do is put it in the fridge so the temperature can't be that extreme.

Can anyone else enlighten me on what's happening? Thank you.


texts:
I have a Keurig machine at my home and in my office at work.  I use them roughly 1-2 times a day, but today I started to think about the Keurig and those K-cup packages they dispense water through. I have done some research about if it is safe to consume what comes out of their product and the only answer I seem to find is that some parts of the machine can contain BPA/has been in contact with BPA and other parts do not.  (Hot, pressured water meeting the plastic k-cups)

Granted it has been approved by the FDA, I would assume it is safe to use it...

Seeing as the answers I have found are rather vague, can someone provide more insight on if the Keurig & K-cups are safe to use?


texts: How can I know when a thick simple syrup is done cooking?

texts: When making a thick simple syrup (1 part water, 1 part white sugar), how can I know when I've cooked the sugar for long enough?  Is it possible to overcook this?


texts:
I've made sourdough before and I'm just making my sponge and I wondered if it was possible to make sourdough hot cross buns/tea cakes? Would it be to heavy too rise or would it not taste right?

Thanks in advance!

NB: don't know whether you have tea cakes in the US but in the UK they are small buns containing currants and/or sultanas and peel eaten at tea or breakfast (toasted with butter).


texts: Too much pepper in soup: any way to fix?

texts: I added too much ground black pepper to my soup (was actually following a recipe for once, while I usually season to taste) - is there any way to rectify this other than diluting it? I think I vaguely remember hearing once that adding lemon juice "removes" some of the pepper...?


texts:
We had a power outage last night in winter that lasted six hours. I understand that for an outage over four hours things should be thrown away if they get above 40 degrees for two more hours according to this article. But I am confused, do they mean four hours or six in total? http://www.thekitchn.com/heres-what-to-keep-and-throw-out-after-a-power-outage-223425

The fridge was very cold to start and rose to 5 degrees celsius (41F) after two and three hours. So that means it could have been a bit above 5 degrees for three hours but not by much at all. (This also happens in the summer and so far things have been fine).

The main thing I am concerned about is raw pork (which I put in the freezer after about 5 hours) and milk. I noticed this advisory from the UK which uses 5 degrees vs. the Canadian 4 degrees. I wonder if we are too careful in North America? And does 2-3 degrees over make a big difference? And is cooking the pork to say 180 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature rather than 145 degrees get rid of any extra bad bugs? Thanks! http://www.northdevon.gov.uk/business/food-hygiene-and-safety/food-safety-tips/temperature-control/Thanks!


texts: Why is a glaze applied to the top of a hot cross bun?

texts:
I am making hot cross buns and wondering why the buns have to have a glaze...
Any scientific answer or is it just because it's nicer?


texts: Recently I've started to roast vegetables without adding oil in a bid to eat healthier. However, they end up coming out of the oven looking more dry instead of crisp and browned, with not as much of that roasted flavour. Casual googling has lead me to the Maillard reaction, but is this reaction affected by the amount oil covering the food?


texts: How to get a juicy and colored, crispy roast chicken at the same time?

texts:
When I am roasting chicken I either do it with a high temperature (its got good color but the meat is tough and dry) or low temperature (succulent and juicy meat but skin is white and colorless).

What temperature, technique and prep stand behind the holy grail of roast chicken that is both juicy and colored?


texts: Frozen beef barley soup , adding more ingredients and re-freezing

texts: Frozen beef barley soup. Can I add more ingredients to thawed soup and safely re-freeze


texts:
I have a cheap plastic board with an in-built pull-through sharpener, metal and ceramic. I have have trouble believing that this can be any decent, but I have tried it on a bad knife. The knife is now noticably sharper. Does that mean this is actually good? Or will a good sharpener make it even sharper? Or is this a bad sharpener and will long-term damage my blade?

Which of those is true, and how can I tell if that sharpener is good or if I need a real one?


texts:
Forgive me, but this is a very particular question:
I love having pickled red cabbage at Turkish restaurants; it's delicious and the color is always a beautiful deep magenta (see picture below). Yet every time I try to make it at home, it comes out a sad, pale white-pinkish hue (see 2nd picture). I massage the cabbage with salt, let it sit for at least half an hour, and then add a brine of salt, sugar, and about a 3:1 ratio of red wine vinegar to water. Does anyone know where I'm going wrong?
Thank you very much
çok teşekkür ederim


texts: Suggestions for easy peanut butter clean-up

texts:
I have a family member who sometimes likes to eat peanut butter by itself -- no bread, crackers, etc.  For sanitary reasons, we do discourage eating directly from the jar, but that poses a quandary in terms of clean-up.  (He also has a habit of not quite finishing, leaving a spoonful or two of peanut butter on the plate/bowl/whatever.)  Not only do I generally end up with a couple dirty spoons, but also some small container or plate with leftover peanut butter.

Of all the things I have to clean in the kitchen, I have to say peanut butter is perhaps the most annoying.  If you put it in the dishwasher directly, I still sometimes find residue left (and if there's too much peanut butter left on, the oil can even leave residue on other dishes).  It doesn't dissolve easily even in hot water (at least not in any reasonable amount of time), it "gunks up" just about any cleaning device you might use (sponge, rag, brush, even gloves worn while dishwashing, etc.), and the oily element ends up contaminating any dishwater or other dishes around.

My only solution so far is to always leave any peanut-butter contaminated stuff to the very end of any handwashing of dishes I'm doing, then use the remaining dishwater to rub off most of it with my bare hands (to avoid contaminating other scrubbing devices), then put the stuff in the dishwasher for a final cleaning.  That still often coats the sink or any dishwashing bin with a bit of peanut-smelling oil, which then has to be rinsed again (with more soap).  And my hands end up smelling of peanuts.

I always feel that I end up wasting a lot of hot water just to deal with a few peanut butter utensils or containers.  Alternatively, I have sometimes resorted to paper towels, which also seems wasteful.

Is there a better/easier way to wash away peanut butter, or even a better way of handling/finding an eating surface for peanut butter?

EDIT: I perhaps went into too much detail about my own situation, but I'd also be interested in any general suggestions for cleaning up peanut butter more easily.  (I'm sure we've all wished for an easier way to clean dirty jars, etc.)


texts: I have a viking stove in a house I recently purchased.  It has a griddle, I cleaned it with a grill stone using oil while it was cold (the griddle).  It cleaned well.  Next, I used flax oil to season it. I have never done this before nor have I owned a griddle.  I watched several youtube videos.  I turned the griddle on to medium heat spread flax oil with paper towel on it.  I allowed it to burn for about 10 min, the smoking stopped, allowed it to cool, I then did it again, this time I got distracted and the heat was left on for about an hour, when I checked it the edges looked black (although scattered and uneven, nothing like what I see on the youtube videos).  The middle area (scattered) had an appearance that I burned the oil.  Some areas look like a thick and hard.  It looks nothing like what I saw on the videos.  How do I fix this


texts:
I would like to be able to take meat (e.g. a whole chicken) out of the fridge in the morning (6am) and put it in a oven that is set to turn on approximately 10 hours later, so its ready (or mostly ready) when I arrive home from work (4/5pm).

This is obviously not safe to do without some sort of chilling.  Is it possible to use something like ice in or around the meat to keep it cool during the day?

I was thinking of using stock ice cubes (frozen stock), inside the cavity of the bird.  Hoping it would melt during the day, keeping it safely cold but not impairing the flavour.  My alternative idea is a block of ice under the (metal) baking tray but this would be harder to arrange.

Is this (or similar) a safe idea?


texts: What side effects should I expect by replacing cake flour with chickpea flour in all cookie recipes?

texts:
Last time I replaced maida with chickpea flour (keeping all other ingredients and their quantities same) in carrot cupcakes.
The only difference I noted was in rising. The cupcakes didn't rise much.
There was absolutely no difference in texture/softness/taste. In fact these cupcakes tasted a lot better.

So, I was wondering if I replace maida/cake flour/all purpose flour with Chickpea flour in all cookie recipes (keeping all other ingredients and their quantities same), what side effects should I expect?


texts: what thickener has the most waxy consistency?

texts:
for nutcheese recipes.

Have tried
guar and xanthan  -slimy;
tapioca -gooey
Kappa -gelatin firm

really looking for an edam waxy consistency:
shall I try harder fats like cacao butter or is there a waxier thickener?

cheers,
Pat


texts: What can I do to " fresh cream" to substitute "double cream"?

texts: Here in NZ you can buy "cream". It does not even say "single" or "double" or "whipping". I do know however it can be whipped in to a nice thick cream. Lots of recipes/sauces call for "double cream" what is the difference and how can I make cream into "double" cream or is their anything else I can add that will result in the same taste ?


texts: Does the chinese method of throwing minced meat really make a difference?

texts:
I've seen a method that is supposedly used in China (and possibly elsewhere?) for giving minced meat a certain texture, often for dumpling filling.

The idea seems to be either or a combination of:

Mixing the lean part of the mince without any fat until it gets sticky
Bashing/throwing the meat

This video does it both:
https://youtu.be/NrGGVB2qVHQ?t=234 and
https://youtu.be/NrGGVB2qVHQ?t=300

Here the throwing part is described
http://food-locker.blogspot.com/2012/10/steamed-pork-patty.html

  The final step is to lift the vegetable-filled minced pork up high and thrust it back into the bowl. This procedure makes the texture denser (起膠) and therefore yields a chewier texture (彈牙) in the final dish. Repeat this thrusting motion for about 20 times.

Is there any truth to this?


texts: Can you assemble lasagna one day, and then bake it about 24 hrs later?

texts: I've always made it on the spot and cooked it then and there, but would like to make at home and take it to a large party the next day and cook it then - will it work?


texts: After I eat some foods beer tastes weird?

texts:
I'm an obsessive home brewer.  So I'm always trying to critically evaluate the flavour of beers I make with a view to constantly improving their quality. In particular I am searching for off-flavours, like by-products of fermentation, or is some-ingredient too prominent in the flavour profile.

However I find that if I eat certain foods (like flavoured chips/crisps), before drinking beer, some parts of the malt taste profile (or the yeast?) flavours go weird, the sweetness becoming kind of saccharine (maybe).

Some foods do not prompt this at all, e.g.: unflavoured corn chips/crisps, salted peanuts.

Is this a known phenomenon?
Is there a way to "reset" one's palette?

Maybe I should post this to the alcohol section.  But this is really a question about food & flavours.  I'd like to prepare meals (and snacks) that don't make beer taste weird.

EDIT: Cross-posted to Homebrewing

EDIT: I tested this out over the weekend.  I tasted beer - it's good, ate "Cheese & Onions Chips" (crisps), beer then tastes weird.

Rinsing my mouth with lots of water alleviated it quite a bit.
Drinking Milk didn't seem to do anything.
Eating plain bread (suggested elsewhere) didn't seem to do anything.

I will try the High Salt rinse next.


texts:
I followed the basic recipe from the Good Housekeeping
Cookbook for basic bread. After the first proofing, I baked it
in a loaf pan at 400F for 30 mins. The bread turned out flat and
burnt at the bottom. What am I doing?


texts:
I'm new to the whole baking thing, so I'm learning as I go along. In that regard, there may be a host of things wrong with my bread baking process, but I'm mostly curious at this point about my starter feedings. I don't really follow any rules aside from equal parts flour/water. How important is it to feed the starter in proportion to the starting amount? I've seen lots about a 2:1:1 starter:water:flour ratio or even 1:1:1, but I haven't really been doing anything like that. In most cases I just feed a static 40g flour/40g water each time; regardless of the starting volume, starter rises to double no problem and I make sure it passes the float test every time before I mix the dough.

I've baked 4 loaves unsuccessfully at this point, all have been flat with a large air pocket like this. My best guess is that this has to do with being under-kneaded but after doing some more reading I'm a little curious if there's any specific reason behind feeding a starter that much and if it could be contributing to my bread failures. Is my starter OK (i.e. I should look elsewhere to find the problem) or is this something worth changing about my process? Thanks!


texts: Can cheap vodka be used for cooking (with good results)?

texts:
A friend left about half of a bottle of some questionable, admittedly very cheap plastic-bottle of 80-proof grain vodka at my house. I should have remembered the name, but I'll edit it in when I get home if need be. Anyway, I don't drink very often, but have a few recipes in mind, so I just want to know if A) low-quality vodka will lead to the same culinary results as, say, a low-quality wine, and B) is there anything I can try to see whether or not this particular bottle is suitable? In case you're wondering, I'm looking to make my grandfather's borscht recipe and some hazelnut liqueur (for baking and occasionally adding to coffee).
Also, I did read this answer, and like the... ah... answerer, I suspect that any differences in this vodka have something to do with it being at the very bottom of the price range.
EDIT : Both the borscht and liqueur came out great. At first I thought the liqueur was far too harsh, but it seems that letting it sit for a few days after filtering let it smooth out.


texts: How to remove bitterness of bittergourd?

texts: How can we remove the bitterness out of bittergourd? If we cannot remove it, Are there any ways to reduce bitterness?


texts: I want to add milk powder in my bread recipe - what ingredients below do I reduce and by how much?

texts: I would like to add milk powder in my bread recipe to soften the loaf and enhance the flavors. In my ingredient list, I have water, milk, bread flour, salt, sugar, yeast, butter. By what proportions do I have to reduce the other ingredients to add milk powder (around 15grams) into this bread recipe?


texts: What kind of tea do you boil for 45minutes?

texts:
In her autobiographic graphic novel Embroideries Marjane Satrapi casually mentions how she used to prepare tea with a samowar during her childhood by properly boiling the tea leaves for 45minutes. Proper boiling is emphasized in the text. From context it is also clear that we are talking about black tea. Common wisdom is that black tea turns bitter if left too long, unless the temperature is low (maybe <70°C).

So either the tea must have been incredibly bitter (seems unlikely) or I'm missing something. Can someone who knows more about Iranian or similar tea-drinking customs than me enlighten me?


texts: Ate raw beef patty that I microwaved for 2 mins first, Is it safe?

texts:
I was given this Great Value brand beef patty from a person who didn't like them.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-100-Pure-Beef-Patties-8-lb-32-Count/10804578

I don't have a grill or stove so I decided to just microwave them. I did 1 min each side. It was brown and tasted fine.

Just want to be sure this is safe before doing it again. Also if anyone else does this, please explain your process.


texts: Do household ovens ventilate heat to the outdoors?

texts:
If I run my oven in the summer at 400F(~200°C) for an hour or two, this produces a great amount of heat.

Is this energy vented outdoors once the oven is turned off, or does it simply dissipate from inside the oven to the inside of my home? I suspect it is the latter since I've never seen ventilation going outdoors from an oven, but I'm wondering if this might be the case for other ovens/homes.

Running an oven in the summer while using air conditioning to counteract the heat seems like an extreme use of energy.


texts:
what does watt specify in induction stove?

Does a higher watt induction stove implies that the cooking will be faster?

Is electricity consumption of higher watt induction stove higher?


texts: What species is Chinese dried mushrooms (冬菇)?

texts:
I don't speak any Chinese, but I asked some Hong Kong vendors and they wrote down "冬菇" for me. Some websites call these Shiitake Mushrooms, but is this correct? I know they're dried, but they still don't look like Shiitake to me.

Are these really the same species as Shiitake Mushrooms in American supermarkets?


texts: Using manual egg beater to cream eggs and sugar

texts:
So I don’t have a whisk or an electric whisk and a lot of baking recipes say to cream eggs and sugar and I used to do it with those tools.
Can I cream eggs and sugar with a manual egg beater (in picture below) or using a stick/immersion blender?


texts: Can I flavor cooking oil with black pepper?  I had French fries from a restaurant that tasted like they black pepper.  Delicious.  I asked the person serving them if they used a flavored oil, but he had no clue.


texts:
Since it will be cold for some time, I was thinking of using my detached, unheated shed to pickle some veggies.  But another thought I was having was to actually cure/can some herrings or sardines (or another kind of blue fish) in a jar with water and salt.

Is it possible to do that similar to how veggies are pickled?  I was thinking that the brine I would put the fish in would act as a preservative and the fish would be edible after some time of curing?  Is this doable or is it just a bats**t crazy idea?


texts: What is the difference between these tableware flatware and cutlery?

texts:
1) May i know specifically in words what the difference(s) are, if any, between
a fish knife
a master butter knife (butter serving knife) and
a fruit knife?

I have googled sufficiently and found plenty of images of the first two but kind of found no clearly differentiating issues betwen the two

2) Also I'd like to know more about the clasical fruit knife

3) While we are at it what is a salad knife and  afruit fork that pair with salad fork and fruit knife respectively?

4) Finally, how does one use fish server knife and fork pair (which i assume looks like a jumbo version of the regular fish knife and fork) to serve fish especially if it is in a sauce?  Any advantage of this serviceware compared to athe conventional service spoona nd fork?


texts: Cooking at, or below, the boil. Is there any impact that the actual boil has?

texts: When cooking in water, is there any difference between 98°C or 100°C ? In the second case water is boiling, and in the first it isn't.


texts: Why is it recommended to blanch onions before pickling them?

texts:
I was recently looking for a recipe to pickle onions, and among several others I found this one. Skimming through the comments I came across the same question as I'm asking now, but without any other answer than the musings of the author of the recipe:

Pouring water over the onions is something I've always done without quite knowing why. A quick internet research shows that most picked onion recipes call for this, but without explanation.
Hot water is often pour over onions (that aren't going to be pickled or cooked) in order to tame their sharpness and soften them a little. But a pickling brine is so intense and sharp itself, perhaps it isn't necessary.

So I started wondering myself whether or not the latter part of the quote is true; is it necessary to blanch the onions before pickling them, as the pickling solution is so sharp in taste anyway?
The recipe in question mixes:

1 medium red onion, about 5 ounces
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar

And then let it all rest in a jar for 30 min-2hrs before it is ready. It is supposed to keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. The blanching of the onions happens before it is all put in the jar.


texts: I just made a fruit smoothie with Kale, banana, Apple, blueberries, vegan protein powder, chia and flax. It was like drinking a smoothie with horse radish. The blueberries were the only difference with my favorite smoothie. Did the blueberries cause this drink to be spicy hot?


texts: If you freeze and later melt egg whites would they still be suitable to whip

texts:
I read all the very useful answers to this question
Can raw eggs be frozen?

But my question is a bit different:

When making anything that needs whipped egg whites, the condition (cleanness/pusity) of utensile and the egg whites is essential. I wanted to know if I freeze egg whites would I be able to melt and whip them later?


texts: Is there a substitute for aluminum foil?

texts:
Is there a replacement that can be used for aluminum foil in the oven?

I don't want to foil in my kitchen. Is there an alternative which can be used in the same way as aluminum foil, but has no risk of transferring aluminum to the food?

For example, what can I use to cover a meatloaf when baking it in the oven? Or in a slow cooker?


texts:
I like celery, but it seems to go limp very quickly when I buy it.

What's the best way to store it to keep it crisper longer?


texts: Why the overlap in peanut and tree nut allergies?

texts: My wife is severely allergic to both tree nuts and peanuts (as in full on anaphylaxis, hello epipen and ER). We both find this curious, since peanuts are legumes and not nuts at all. Informally we've heard there is about a 10% overlap in these allergies. Does anyone know why that might be? I know this seems more like a medical than cooking question, but I think it has a relevance to cooking as it helps us understand both the composition of these foods and how we may best as cooks help to avoid poisoning people we cook for.


texts: How do I know if my salmon fish is cooked properly?

texts:
I intend to cook some salmon fish over this weekend so that I can treat my friends and relatives. However, I saw this article - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/22/the-hidden-dangers-of-unc_n_120584.html, it mention about the hidden danger of uncooked salmon.

So, my question is how should I cook my salmon such that it is cooked properly? (in other words, how can I identify that my salmon fish is not cooked well. Of course, I don't want my salmon fish to become so cooked that it turn into a black ash.)

Would appreciate if there are pictures showing a well-cooked salmon fish and pictures showing salmon fish that is not cooked properly and showing sign of rawness inside the cooked fish when cut into half.

Just some illustrations as follows:

I don't want my salmon fish to be somewhere like this cause it look un-cook inside:

Also, I don't want my salmon fish to be somewhere like this cause it look over-cooked outside:

Also, I ask a article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_rare (honestly, I do not know if it can apply to fishes)

==========================================================================================
Term (French)               | Description                        | Temperature range[1]
==========================================================================================
Extra-rare or Blue (bleu)   | very red and cold                  | 46–49 °C (115–120 °F)
==========================================================================================
Rare (saignant)             | cold red center; soft              | 52–55 °C (125–130 °F)
==========================================================================================
Medium rare (à point)       | warm red center; firmer            | 55–60 °C (130–140 °F)
==========================================================================================
Medium (demi-anglais)       | pink and firm                      | 60–65 °C (140–150 °F)
==========================================================================================
Medium well (cuit)          | small amount of pink in the center | 65–69 °C (150–155 °F)
==========================================================================================
Well done (bien cuit)       | gray-brown throughout; firm        | 71–100 °C (160–212 °F)
==========================================================================================

So, I was wondering if I really need to cut those salmon fish into tiny slices so that when I cooked them, the fish will be between "Medium well" to "Well done" throughout. (Notice that I did not want a "Well Done" because I don't want to have "black ash" on the outside of the salmon fish)


texts:
My wife has been wanting a dehydrator and our conventional microwave just went up.  I did some research and found a new breed of microwave that I was previously unaware of, namely, the convection microwave oven.  I'm wondering if I can kill two birds with one stone here and get both with my new purchase.

  Can a convection microwave be used to dry fruit?

Previously, to dry fruit, she has just been setting the oven to a really low temperature for a couple hours and cracking the door ever so slightly.  This has a mediocre level success and makes our house smell funny.


texts: How to cook ground turkey so it remains more clumpy and chunky?

texts: I am trying to make a pizza with broccoli rabe and ground turkey, and I want to cook the ground turkey so it remains slightly clumpy (such as when sausage is cooked). How do I do that?


texts:
I move quite a bit and suddenly I found myself with microwave popcorn but without any microwave. I'd like to pop them anyway.

I've seen in movies how people pop corn on stoves in various ways but I have never seen it IRL. A quick search on the Swedish web didn't yield any good results - people said it was impossible.

Can you pop microwave popcorn on a stove?


texts: Crock pot left on high for longer than recipe called for

texts: My recipe said to cook the chicken on high for 1 hour then low for 5-6 hours. I forgot to change to low and it was on high for almost 2 hours. How do I adjust the time on the low setting now?


texts:
I'm going on a long distance permanent relocation road trip and have some random stuff left at home that I can either throw out or bring along.

What foods are safe to leave in the car over a long period of time?


texts: Acceptance of sweet rice dishes in Japan

texts:
My father once told me a story about some Japanese guests coming over to Europe. On their stay here they were once served a sweet rice dish. The guests were so shocked that rice would be served this way that they outright refused to eat it. In an effort to save the meal they even poured some soy sauce over it which of course completely ruined it.

Now I'm asking myself, is this the common opinion in Japan? I remember a scene from the anime "One Piece" - which is one of the most popular ones - where some guy is giving a girl trouble for making a sweet rice dish, thus I think it must be a rather widespread habit.

Since rice is so very important in Japanese cuisine I would have guessed that they would use all kinds of flavouring available. Is there a special reason behind this? And does this only occur in Japan or other asian countries too?


texts: Are eggs left in car trunk for 3 days safe to eat?

texts: I had purchased eggs at the supermarket and i forgot them in the trunk of my car for for 3 days are they still okay to eat?


texts: Should you season the meat of a patty before or after it's formed? I've heard that it allows for more flavour if you were to add salt and pepper from the start, but I'm told doing that will cause the patty to fall apart more likely into just ground beef and that you should always season it AFTER the patty is formed.


texts: Molasses cookies - Do I need to start over?

texts:
I am making molasses cookies. I accidentally put a cup of sugar in the dry ingredients, when I was only supposed to have a cup of sugar creamed with shortening. Should I throw out my dry ingredients and start over or can I keep it and maybe my cookies will just be extra sweet?

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup shortening
1 egg
3/4 tsp vinegar
3 cups sifted flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup evaporated milk
3 tsp soda powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg and molasses, beat well. Stir in vinegar and milk. Mix and sift dry ingredients. Add to mixture. Drop from teaspoon on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes.


texts: What are the effects of abstaining from eating a certain flavor?

texts:
I've often heard that we become accustomed to oversalty food and that abstaining from eating such foods for a few weeks could allow us to taste salt in lesser quantities again. From experience I would say this is true, though it could be placebo, but does this also apply to other flavors? Are there any negative effects of doing this?

By flavor I mean Bitter, Sour & Umami, since most answers so far already deal with sweets and salt.


texts:
Trying to make spaghetti sauce and this is too sweet:

2 each 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (low salt)
8 oz can tomato paste
1 red onion diced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 garlic cloves
1 lb 97% fat free beef

Brown the beef and simmer everything for 3-4 hours.

It just comes out too sweet.

Salt and sausage (fat) would make it less sweet but also less healthy.

I am thinking about poblano peppers and / or cilantro.

How to make this spaghetti sauce less sweet, without adding fat or salt?


texts: What's the purpose of syrup in toffee apples?

texts:
The toffee apple recipes pretty much all have syrup in them.  The ratio of syrup ranges from low to almost as much as the sugar.

My question is: What is purpose of the syrup? If it's just for flavour, then how does it affect the flavour?

I realize it's easier to get the caramel going in the pan with syrup in the base, but if you add water (which most recipes say, and it boils off anyway) that makes it easy enough to get going without burning the sugar.


texts: Raw sugar vs. refined sugar in making kombucha

texts: Can one use raw sugar in making tea for kombucha? Most recipes recommend refined sugar, but I wonder if it is for any particular reason.


texts: Is it safe to eat raw green beans which have been in brine at room temperature?

texts: I've had some raw green beans in a brine solution for about one week at room temperature. Are they at risk for botulism? Can I put them into a vinegar solution and pickle them, or should I cook them first?


texts: Bacon/pork fat to replace shortening in rolls?

texts: I don't have shortening and was wondering what pork fat would do to the texture of my crusty rolls?  Can pork or bacon fat be used to replace shortening in rolls?


texts:
When I was a fry cook we made fresh fries and kept them in a bucket of water to keep them from turning brown (not sure if that's oxidation or what), will oil inhibit the same chemical reaction?

I plan on coating the potato wedges in (canola) oil and seasonings, then broiling them, that's why I was thinking pre-marinating might be advantageous.


texts: So many recipes list olive oil in the ingredients, as the oil to fry things in. What are the benefits or reasons that I should use olive oil over regular generic "cooking oil" and should I always use olive oil over other oils?


texts:
I have a honey dipper I thought would be worth making use of. It does great at not dripping honey as I take it out of the jar. However getting the honey out of the dipper is another matter. I've tried holding it at various angles and gently shaking it. How do I get the honey to drip where I want it to?

I imagine it would work well if stirring the honey into a drink. However I am trying to get it on my oatmeal, and it's a pain to clean after stirring it in the oats.


texts:
I've recently started preparing matcha latte at home, I bought matcha powder and I proceed as follows:

Put 2 tsp of matcha powder in a cup through a sieve
Add 2 tsp of brown sugar
Add 2 tbsp of hot (below boiling) water
Stir the whole thing with a fork for a couple of minutes
Add boiling water to almost fill the cup, then add milk to taste

the result is very good but I find myself constantly stirring it to prevent it from depositing on the bottom of the cup. If I don't stir it all the time I get a very light taste at the beginning and a very strong taste at the end.

The question is: how can I prepare matcha latte so that it doesn't deposit on the bottom of my cup?

(apparently I am not able to create new tags from the mobile app, I would have used "green-tea" and "matcha")


texts: Kneading dough - significance of warm hands

texts:
I made bread the other day and kneaded the dough by hand. The recipes everywhere ask for warm water, which is understandabe for the yeast to rise.

When my mother kneads dough using the same recipe, it turns out much softer and her bread in turn is softer. I wonder if it is because her hands are generally warm and mine cold? Or is it just a different kneading technique.


texts:
What is the difference between "rendered pork fat", lard, and bacon fat?

I've seen lots of references to rendered pork fat in the Momofuku cookbook, references to lard in one of my Schezuan cookbooks, and well everyone knows bacon fat...   so what is the difference ?  Can you substitute them ?


texts: Battle Of the Gums? (effects on Ice Cream)

texts:
I am on a quest to perfect an ice cream recipe and am curious as to the texture and flavor differences between guar gum, agar agar, and xanthan gum.

I know all of these are used in various recipes, but is there a difference in overall taste and texture between these?


texts: What's the difference between jam, jelly, and preserves?

texts: I assume the difference in name is due to their cooking processes, but am unsure what exactly makes them different.


texts: Increase lifetime of homemade chocolates

texts:
I recently stated making my own chocolates. (No bars, but filled chocolates and pralines)
I also make the filling myself. Now I have a question about the lifetime of this chocolates. On different sites I read that the lifetime is about 2-3 weeks when keeping them on room temperature. And maybe only 2-3 days for some kind of pralines.

Because I make the filling myself, I can not really make less then around 15/20 chocolates at the same time, with the same filling (or I would just waste a lot of chocolate and filling). I would really like to give some people a box of chocolates as a present, with different flavours, which means I make lots and lots of chocolates. Also when I make them for myself I do enjoy a couple of them, but I don't have to eat so many chocolates in such small amount of time.

So does someone ha some tips about:
-Increasing the life time of the chocolates
For example: different way to store them.

Also maybe someone has a good idea like: If I would made different kinds of filling, can I freeze this, and only use a little of each when I want to use them? Does this influence the flavor?

Thanks in advanced!


texts: Do I have to cure a fresh ham before smoking?

texts: I have a fresh ham. Do I need to cure it somehow before I put it in the stove-top smoker?


texts:
The best I have found is the following:

"The house-permeating “fishy” aroma of cooked fish appears to involve a group of volatile molecules formed by fatty-acid fragments reacting with TMAO (trimethylamine oxide).  "

However the answer is not clear to me, maybe because I forgot chemistry.  TMAO exist in fish regardless of overcooking as do fatty acids.

Is it simply that heat/prolonged heat causes the fatty acids and TMAO to react creating the new compounds, thus decreasing heat/cooking time will causes less formation of these molecules?

The excerpt talks as though this smell is unavoidable, is this the case?


texts: Strange orange gel on surface of zucchini?

texts:
There's a strange orange gel-like substance on the surface of a zucchini that's been sitting in my kitchen for a few days. It's a bit like tiny globs of orange marmalade. Any idea what it could be? Is the zucchini going bad?

EDIT I tried wiping the "gel" off with a paper towel; it's firm, like resin.


texts: bread maker vs conventional oven vs countertop oven vs fan force oven?

texts: I am planning to bake bread often. So I am wondering about the various types of ovens or whether I should get a bread machine instead. What are the characteristics of the various types so that I can decide what is best for me?


texts: How to recreate the sauce in McDonald's 1955 Burger?

texts:
For a few weeks, my local McDonalds was selling a burger called the "1955 Burger", which had a really delicious sauce with lots of other things mixed in. I tried buying various BBQ sauces in the stores, but none had a similar taste.

What kind of BBQ sauce can I buy that will be close to what McDonalds uses? What other ingredients did McDonalds mix into the BBQ sauce?


texts: When dissolving natural organic yeast in water, is it supposed to bubble?

texts: When I made a dough, I dissolved natural organic yeast in water, but it didn’t make bubbles. Is this a sign that something is wrong?


texts: What is the minimum time home baked bread should be left to cool before eating?

texts:
I realise that a freshly baked loaf will need some time to rest to allow the starch to "set", otherwise the bread may not be the right consistency.

(Why should I let bread cool before slicing and eating?)

What is the shortest resting period I can get away with to allow me to serve warm bread to my guests? Are there any shortcuts I can take (e.g. cut the loaf in half to allow the steam to escape)? And how do restaurants successfully serve warm bread to their customers?


texts: Substituting soy milk for regular (cow) milk in crepes/pancakes

texts:
I normally make my Swedish pancakes with soy milk because my SO has a dairy sensitivity. But today I used cow's milk, and I noticed that my pancakes seemed to brown a lot faster than they usually do, resulting in an unattractive dark brown shade.

Is there anything to this, or was I imagining things?

(I checked out this question, which pertains to baking, and this question, which focuses on pasta and mashed potatoes, but I figure that pancakes/crepes might have a slightly different answer.)


texts: What causes butter to make risotto shiny?

texts: Why does the addition of butter make risotto shiny?  Is there a chemical explanation?  I was taught to initially saute onions and garlic in olive oil, then risotto Arborio rice with warmed broth until the dish is almost complete, when the rice is still quite al dente.  At this point, I add butter, which invariably makes the risotto beautifully shiny.  Without the addition of the butter, the risotto does not develop this sheen.  I would like to know if anyone knows why?  I am also interested in knowing if there is a specific chemical reaction associated with this process?


texts: How to stop a sponge cake (chiffon cake) from deflating/sinking?

texts:
Beating of the whites is perfected.

When folding in the cake mixture and the egg whites is there a specific technique?

I place in about 1/3, fold, 1/3, fold, and the rest using a spatula, and turn the bowl to get it folded evenly.

Do I leave the cake to cool in the oven with the door open ajar? And for how long?

Or is there a specific way to cook it, e.g. high temp then low temp?


texts:
How do I make Vietnamese Yogurt more tart?

I've been using several online recipes to make Vietnamese Yogurt. The ones I buy from the store are much more tart then my own results.

My results:

Danactiv vanilla flavor - Way too sweet, but texture was alright
365 Organic Plain - Not too sweet, but not tart at all, texture was very thick

I have not been able to go to a store that sells Vietnamese yogurt due to the lockdown, so I didn't try that, yet. Hoping for an answer that allows me to make tart yogurt American grocery store ingredients.

Here's an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgNtOOa8dg8

For incubation we used a warm water bath and left at room temperature (74F)


texts:
A major part of our diet is wheat chapatis/Indian bread.

After we knead the dough for our chapatis, what apparatus or mechanism can we use to ensure that the pieces we use for making individual chapattis are of exactly same size/shape/weight?


texts:
I try to maintain a low fat low sodium diet.

I have a homemade salad dressing that I like and is light on oil:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water

The only problem is that it is thin and does not stick to the leaves very well.
How can I get better adhesion to the leaves?

It won't take much more mustard without overpowering the taste.

I don't want to use egg yolk or vegetable as that would limit shelf life.

I am considering tapioca starch and lecithin oil.


texts: What temperature should milk be when adding to roux?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Right way to defrost roux

I've always heard that it's best to add roux to liquids that are at or near a boil, however I ran across this video recently where the chef says specifically "add cold milk to the roux. Cold milk, hot roux, no lumps."

Is there a standard rule for adding roux to sauces? Do things change if you're using milk vs. stock or other liquids? And can anyone explain the chemistry as to why cold or hot liquid would be better?


texts:
I recently purchased a jar of Very Raw Honey from my local market. I purchased it because it was on sale, but eventually I looked up whether it was safe or not to eat and came across articles such as this and this one. The label on the jar says its 100% unfiltered. Also, I don't know if the articles means truly raw (as in straight from the honey comb) and whether or not the jar of honey I purchased is the same as raw honey that comes straight from the honey comb.

Is it safe to consume? Is the Madhava honey the same stuff that I would get straight from a honey comb?

Upate: So from the post, honey is safe to eat, which I was aware of, but what about raw honey (at least raw honey purchased in stores)? It's still unclear to me.


texts:
I made a really big one-pot meal in a cast iron (enameled) dutch oven and I'm fairly lazy. So I take all the leftovers once cooled, slap the lid on, and put it in the fridge.

The next day, it's time to reheat the food. Again, being lazy (and not owning a microwave), I want to just put the entire dutch oven right onto the stove and crank on the gas.

Is there any danger in damaging the dutch oven (cracking of the iron or enamel) by putting very cold iron onto the burner?


texts: Is there a way to tell if a pumpkin is going to be good for cooking?

texts: It's the season for pumpkins and I was wondering if there is a way to tell if a pumpkin was going to taste good enough to cook with. I guess this is a similar situation as with a watermelon - you can't really cut it open to check if it will taste good.