texts:
A recipe I am planning to make calls for chili paste, which I have never used before. I found some in the grocery store (it is Sambal Oelek ground fresh chili paste), which seems to be more liquidy than, say, tomato paste. I only need 1/2 a teaspoon, however, so I will have plenty left over.

Does chili paste require refrigeration after it is opened? It does not say anything about it that I can see on the jar. Also, how long will it last after being opened (regardless of whether or not it needs to be in the fridge)?


texts: Why is putting hot milk in a thermos not recommended?

texts:
A colleague of mine just got a new thermos (inox), this model, and actually read all instruction, and we were surprised to read that it is not recommended to pour hot milk in the thermos.

My opinion was that:

Unlike tea of coffee, a lot of micro-organisms live in milk, will end up being a favorable place for those micro-organisms to generate a culture (which will be more and more difficult to get rid off, and will contaminate any other fluid poured in the thermos)
If you don't wash it straight away, it will really stink.
The milk being full of water-insoluble proteins/fat, it will "coat" the internal thermos walls (gross!) - I've already seeing that "coat" forming in plastic containers, and I guess it won't be any different in inox containers.

I've actually not found an answer online, so I thought that here I could find some experts. I realize this could be a cross-question for Biology SE, but I felt it more food-related.


texts: What is the minimum temperature yeast will be active?

texts:
We all know that warmer temperatures mean more yeast activity (provided a food source), and that yeast survives freezing, but what is the minimum  temperature yeast can perform fermentation?

As I gently warm a dough from freezing, what temperature will it start to rise? 10°? 15°?

Another way of asking this is, how cold does my dough have to be to stop rising?


texts: Given the time of year and my home's shoddy heating, I opted to put my starter on top of the clothes dryer to keep it warm. With five people in my family it gets regular use, especially towards the end of the week, so the actual level of warmth isn't an issue. But I am a little leery of the agitation- will the dryer's vibration affect the starter in any way?


texts: How can I reduce nitrate concentration in vegetables before or during cooking?

texts:
Can someone tell me how to minimize nitrate concentration in raw vegetables before cooking them? I need this advice very much because I'm cooking vegetables for my infant son, and I've heard that high nitrate concentrations are especially toxic for infants.

Some say that soaking vegetables in salty water with ascorbic acid can help, is that true?

Also, is there some technique that allows to neutralize nitrates during cooking? Like, maybe, changing the water.


texts: Will pomegranate arils self suspend at different levels in Jello?

texts: Rather than having grapes suspended in Jello I'm trying to suspend pomegranate arils, but the Jello hasn't begun to firm up after about 1.5 hours. I've noticed some floated to the top, and some sank to the bottom. Will the pomegranate arils self suspend at different levels in the Jello?


texts: How to make cappuccino coffee at home without a machine

texts:
I do not have any form of a coffee machine. The closest is a kettle… I have tried to use strong/good quality instant coffee, filling half a cup then hot boiled milk in the other half. It just tasted like coffee.

So how do I make a cappuccino at home without all the fancy tools?


texts: What are the different parts of a zester called?

texts:
Earlier I was trying to describe which part of a zester to use and realized I have no idea what the different parts are called. I fell back on google, and was surprised to find nothing, there are plenty of zesters for sale, and plenty of people incorrectly calling microplane graters zesters but no terminology.

What are these parts of a zester called?


texts:
Is there any way I can identify whether or not a cockle is likely to contain grit before I bite down on it? I don't mean by cutting it open before hand, but a visual identification. General shade/darker areas don't seem to correlate with the amount of grit.

They're so tasty but I really don't like it when that happens...

For information, I buy them ready cooked but from the fish counter in the supermarket (not the ones in jars which are usually farmed and grit free).


texts:
I love the flavor of crystal light, but it is expensive, and I don't like the artificial sweeteners. I don't think I would mind the drink without the sweeteners, and would like to try to make my own.

I've googled and googled, but I cannot find any talk about what is actually in crystal light or any of the other drink mixes, or how to make your own.

Does anyone have any suggestions?


texts: Can you deep fry chicken in a 6.75qt dutch oven?

texts:
I wanna fry up some chicken and I'm wondering if my 6.75 Le Creuset will be large enough. Assuming it's half to two-thirds of the way full (3-4 QTs of oil). Does anyone have experience with this?

Edit: Clarifying my question a little, I'm asking about frying chicken pieces, not an entire chicken. Also, I understand that I can simply find a small pot with several cups of oil and fry up an entire chicken 1 piece at a time. I was hoping that my dutch oven would be large enough to at least get through a whole chicken in 2-3 batches (3-4 pieces at a time).


texts: How to prevent cucumbers from tasting bitter?

texts: I am a cooking dummy and I hate bitter cucumbers. :) Help!


texts: What type of rum to use when making vanilla extract?

texts: My mom just bought me some vanilla beans from Tahiti and said that the person she bought them from suggested using rum to make an extract. What type of rum should be used, white or dark rum, and is there a certain alcohol content that is needed to keep the extract stable and safe at room temperature?


texts: Hot rock cooking - type of rock required

texts:
For many years now it has been fashionable to cook your food on a 'hot rock' in restaurants. What is the rock that is used?

I live in an area where volcanic rock is available (on the side of the road).  So can I simply take a bit, smooth it down, heat it up and create the same effect as my local eatery?  Or would I be infusing my food with all sorts of nasties?


texts: How to salt whole potatoes before roasting or cooking in the microwave?

texts: Is there a way to salt a whole potato before microwaving or baking it, I was thinking of soaking it in salty water but I doubt that would work, I need it to be seasoned on the inside not just the skin.


texts:
I have been drinking shakes made from frozen raw milk; just wondering that could it lead to any illness.
Does freezing raw milk kills harmful bacteria present in the milk?


texts: I am about to make some fruit shrub for use in drinks. I have clear instructions and I understand that it will keep safely for 6 months in the fridge (barring signs of spoilage). However, I have so much fruit right now that I'm wondering if I can make a larger quantity and freeze it in smaller batches once it's fermented, defrosting as I go for use throughout the year. Any reason not to? Thank you!


texts: black residue left at the bottom of bowl after eating honey bunches of oats

texts: When I was eating honey bunches of oats with milk the other day, I noticed a black powder-like substance at the bottom of my bowl. Does anyone know what this is?


texts: Why do store-bought dips have such a limited shelf life?

texts:
Why do store-bought dips (guacamole, sour cream and chive, salsa...) typically say "Keep refrigerated and consume within 24 [or 48] hours of opening"?

Before opening they typically have a "use by" date of a few days to a week away from when I buy them.

Is it related to the stuff that ends up being transferred into the dip by the nachos / crudites / whatever is being dipped? In other words, if I transferred part of the dip out into a separate container using a clean spoon, would I get a longer life (more than 24 / 48 hours) out of the remaining pot of dip?

Examples:
24 hours: Guacamole
48 hours: Salsa, Sour cream dip, Cheese and chive dip


texts: How do I determine if my mussels are fresh?

texts:
What texture should fresh mussel have?

Does mushy mussels mean they are bad? What causes this mushy texture: cooking or quality of the mussels?


texts: Will marinating chicken for 18 hours make the meat fall apart?

texts:
I decided to marinade some chicken for tomorrow night's meal but the only time I have to do it is tonight. Obviously it's going in the fridge for that time period.

I've never marinated meat for that long before and I'm concerned the acids in the orange juice marinate I'm using will break down the meat too much and it'll be all mushy and gross.

Any experience or thoughts on this?


texts: Is cast iron skillet suitable for vegans?

texts: I have a cast iron skillet and one of the guests coming for dinner is vegan. Since cast iron is seasoned by all kinds of grease over time I wonder if this is suitable for vegans. I don't want to offend anyone or witness some drama.


texts: Putting "precooked corn on the cob" on the barbeque?

texts:
I bought 4 corn on the cob today, plasticwrapped, no husk left, cleaned and everything.

These have a sticker saying "precooked".

Should I assume that I can just place them directly on the barbeque, or should I still put them in water a while before?


texts: Why aren't glass spoons used for eating? It seems it would solve the problem of metallic taste with some foods.


texts: Sourcing El Rey chocolate (or substitute) in the UK

texts:
I used to buy El Rey Gran Saman (70%) and Mijao (61%) Venezuelan chocolate in the UK in 5kg boxes of discs. My previous supplier is delisting El Rey and selling off -- albeit not at a reduced price -- their remaining stock. They have no Mijao left and the best they can do is 20kg of Gran Saman with a use by date of the end of September (i.e., three weeks)! El Rey have a US site -- and I've found other US stockists -- but they don't deliver to the UK (besides, the shipping would likely make it unviable).

This is perhaps not suitable for Seasoned Advice, but does anyone know where I can get some Mijao and/or Gran Saman? (I don't really need that much: 500g would be plenty.) Alternatively, can anyone recommend a substitute Venezuelan couverture in the 64% cocoa range that is readily available in the UK and is of a similar quality? (e.g., I'm not a fan of Belcolade or Callebaut. I guess, as I need a relatively small amount, I could pay over the odds for retail bars and use them as a last resort.)


texts: What is a substitute for red or white wine in a recipe?

texts:
If someone cannot or will not use wine for cooking, what would be a good substitute?

Question applies to both red and white wine.


texts: Which herbs are cooked and which go raw, when making fish pate

texts: I'm cooking a salmon pate. I intend to use parsley, rosemary, garlic, pepper and lemon as seasoning. I'm not sure which of these I should cook with the salmon, and which should go in the blender? Thanks


texts: Is there a product available that is pre-gelatinized starch and what product name is it sold with?

texts:
I am trying to make packets of instant pudding that do not need heating, in order to thicken the mix to form a cold dessert. Some sanity has to be found in my kitchen, as most foods are home cooked because of my allergies.

I have attempted to test rice paper and tapioca flour (Australian brand and Chinese or East Asian product), potato starch, and puffed amaranth breakfast cereal, thinking that some value or gel might result from my efforts.  (It has not.)

Inquiries regarding pre-gelatinised products result in blunt dismissal, as those products here in Australia are reserved exclusively for medical reasons to celiacs or patients with problems swallowing, and supply is restricted to local chemists.

Is the supply of these products restricted by requirements for a doctor's prescription? If not, how or where can I obtain them?


texts:
The most popular is the Brand's Essence of Chicken, but there are also other products that are "essence", like "essence of fish" and even "essence of beef". There are also other terms that seem to mean the same thing like, "extract of something" and "essential oils".

What exactly are these essences and extracts? Where do they come from? How are they processed?

Edit: Chicken essence recipe


texts:
There seems to be a recommended minimum temperature for making ice cream of about -30C.  But, the temperature of liquid nitrogen (-200C),
which is often used for the same purpose, is much lower.
So, what is the harm in making ice cream using an outer freeze wall below -30C?


texts:
I like to use the commercial frozen pizza doughs to make pizza, like for example Tizeo's.

The problem is that my doctor has told me to cut out sodium. I used to make my own, but then I would have to bake soon.

What I would like is a techinque where I could make a big batch of pizza dough, split it up into small pieces, freeze it, then pull out some and have to thaw and rise so I can make pizza that day.


texts: I am going to University in the fall. I love to cook and bake but since I will be myself, I cannot cook the regular portions I had before. Is there a way that I can figure out the correct cooking time and temp for a recipe that I have halved? I use many kinds of meat and veggies in most any kind of cooking style (crockpot, stove, oven, etc.).


texts: Crispy sweet potato (yam) fries in a deep fryer?

texts:
I bought a roto deep fryer recently. But everytime I make yam fries, they end up being soggy.

My process: I cut the sweet potato fries to about 1/4 inch. I follow deep fryer instructions of preheating to 370'F before dropping the basket. From there, I fry a full basket for about 12-14 minutes.

The yam fries always come out soggy.

Any suggestions to improve the process?


texts: Slow cooker - start from 'cold' or boiled?

texts:
I'm pretty handy with my slow cooker. I use it a lot - pot roasts, stews [curries, chilli, paysane etc]

However, I've always been a little paranoid about having everything completely up to temperature before I drop it into the slow cooker element itself.

I start by frying off, browning, sweating; add my liquids & then bring to a full boil before allowing it to simmer 10 minutes... the same as I would were it to just be in a saucepan for a couple of hours.
Only at that point will I transfer the pot into the slow cooker & let it take over for the next 4, 6, 10 hours.

Do I really need to do this?

Can I [or should I] just transfer it to the slow cooker as I drop my liquids - so at the point I have seared/fried/browned 'solids' but cold or only warmish stock &/or a couple of cans of tomatoes or beans etc I just dumped in & gave a quick stir.

Am I being over-safe by bringing it all to the boil first? Should I trust that the slow cooker, given sufficient time, will do the job eventually?

I am never in any rush doing this, so either way is fine. I just wondered if I'm being over-cautious.


texts: What is the purpose of turning a pot roast (and can I do without it)?

texts:
I recently bought a big outside round oven roast that was on sale for cheap.  I've made plenty of roasts before, but I don't remember having used this particular cut, and it seems to have a reputation for being generally tough and flavourless.

So I looked up a few recipes and most recommend cooking it as a pot roast, which I plan to do.  Most of these recipes also say to turn every 30 minutes or so.  This is something which I am not accustomed to doing and I'm not entirely sure I see the point.

Given that the cooking method is basically a braise - i.e. steam is doing most of the real work - is there a reason why these recipes suggest turning the meat so often (or at all)?  Or can I get just as good a result without this inconvenience?


texts: Why does a microwave rotate the food being cooked? And is there ever a time when it shouldn't rotate?

texts:
Most microwaves I've used have a plate at the bottom that rotates when the microwave is running. I presume that rotating helps more evenly heat the food.

Interestingly, my microwave rotates by default but has a button you can press to disable the rotation. Under what circumstances or scenarios would you want to stop the microwave from rotating the food?


texts: What is a good vegetarian source of umami flavour?

texts:
I'm looking for a source of the umami flavour to add to various dishes. However, since I became vegetarian I can't think of a good source for the flavour.

I used to use Worcestershire sauce, or Nam Pla (fish sauce). I can't think of a vegetarian source of the flavour in the same vein though.

I've tried soy sauce, and it does work, but it imparts too much saltiness to the dish.


texts: Can I eat raw salmon I froze for a week on my home freezer?

texts:
The FDA standards say that raw salmon should be frozen at -20C for seven days before it's safe to eat. My freezer goes down to -25C.
Salmon in my supermarket is considerably cheaper if it's not frozen. Can I buy that salmon, freeze it at -20/-25 at home and eat it raw without significant risk, or am I missing some other requirements?


texts: What cuts are "stir fry beef" and "stewing beef"?

texts: I've seen beef chunks in the store labeled as both stir fry beef and stewing beef, but neither indicate what actual cut they are. I imagine it might vary by brand but what are these usually? Are they the same/interchangable?


texts: Can I add fresh elderberries or rosehips to homemade kombucha?

texts: I have been making kombucha for several months now.  I use green or white tea, flavored with hisbiscus, peach tea or other fruity teas to the mix. Since the elderberries, and rosehips are coming in season, I wonder if adding  some to my tea brew prior to straining it into the kombucha making jar would be possible and beneficial.


texts: How to find out if the coconut oil that I will buy from a supermarket is food and/or allergy safe

texts: I want to buy some coconut oil, but I have not tried any coconut oil before, so I don't know which coconut oil can cause food poisoning if used for cooking. I am not a doctor, so I am wondering how it's possible for me to find out if the coconut oil (that I am going to buy) from a supermarket is harmful to me (I have some concerns about allergies control)?


texts: How long will fresh scallops keep in the refrigerator?

texts: Today I bought one pound of fresh scallops from the seafood counter at the local market, but my dinner plans have changed - I am no longer planning to cook the scallops this evening and I don't necessarily want to freeze them. How long will they remain fresh in my refrigerator?


texts: What ingredients do Bernaise sauce and fruit smoothies have in common?

texts:
I am trying to narrow down the source of a food allergy. I had a really bad reaction recently and that was my second bad reaction in 2 years. In the first instance, it was after drinking a fruit smoothie at Smoothie King with "all natural" ingredients, I may or may not have had one with the turbinado in it. The second time was this past week at a steakhouse where I tried the Bernaise sauce. I'm assuming that they made it in house but it may have very well been from a vendor.

So, can someone please help me figure out what ingredients those two foods would have in common? Someone suggested that maybe cornstarch was in both of those? Are there any other common ingredients?


texts: Cast iron, stainless steel, or anodized non-stick: which makes the resulting product taste best?

texts:
The thing with a cast iron pan and stainless steel pan is you've got to season them. Once they're seasoned, they have a non-stick (more or less) layer that's transformed olive oil, vegetable oil, or butter. I've been told that the jury's still out on which could be more harmful: that, or non-stick plastic. One advantage of a regular seasoned pan is you don't have to be afraid of overheating it past 350 or so degrees. Another one is you can use a metal spatula on it. With non-stick pans you have to use wood, or plastic (the latter option scares the hell out of me). As for the heat spreading evenly: it won't. Each individual pan and skillet has its own little faults and foibles.

I'm a great fan of Italian cuisine. I would love to cook French, but it's just too labor-intensive for me: I favor efficiency over meticulousness.

I use my pans to cook chicken, veal, lamb, turkey, fish, vegetables, and pasta, plus, occasionally, eggs and pancakes. All other things being equal, what's the best option for those who put taste first: cast iron, stainless steel, or anodized non-stick? Or should I try ceramic?


texts: What happens if I use vegetable oil in a cake?

texts:
I want to bake a cake out of baking mix bought at a shop. The mix already contains flour, baking soda, vanillin, other minor components. The manual says I need to add butter.

I'd like to use vegetable oil instead of butter - most likely sunflower seed oil. Is that a good idea? Should I expect any problems? Will the result likely be a decent cake or something to just throw away?


texts:
I have a big pot full of chicken necks and backs on the stove which I need to separate into (a) stock and (b) everything else.

I'm wondering the best way to go about doing this. I've previously laid cheesecloth into a fine-mesh strainer and poured it through that, but the cheesecloth always seems to kind of clog up, making straining 4 litres of stock a very lengthy process. I also tried a coffee filter laid inside a strainer and got more-or-less the same results.

Alternatively, I ditched the cheesecloth and just used the fine-mesh strainer by itself, but, unsurprisingly, this method leaves some bits I'd rather not have.

I'm wondering: is there a better way? Or should I stick with the cheesecloth and work on being more patient?


texts:
When you hear sherbet (powder) described by the "science is fun" camp, it's made of three components: a sugar, an acid, and a base (almost always bicarb). I also think this is the kind of sherbet that's in kids sweets.

I prefer the taste without bicarb, as I'm sensitive to the "soap" taste of bicarb, and it lingers in the mouth longer than the acid and sweet tastes.

I've tried decreasing the bicarb to the point where I find it undetectable (which is way below stoichiometry) and, to be honest, I may as well put none in at all.

Without a base, the taste is much closer to what sherbet tastes like to me in "grown up" food (for example, as a coating on a dessert).

Do professional chefs omit the base entirely? Do they use another base (but, to be honest all bases taste soapy, but maybe some are "faster" the taste can be masked in the other flavours)? Or do they process the base in some way to a similar effect (grinding, etc)? Or an addition to mask it?


texts: How can I adapt rice cooker steamed fish to cooking in a pot?

texts:
I have seen steamed fish dishes where the fish is cooked on top of the rice in a rice cooker.  I'd like to try this, but I don't have a rice cooker and always cook my rice in a pot.  Does anyone know how to adapt this style of cooking to work in a pot?

My usual method of cooking rice is as follows:

2 c basmati rice
2.5 c water

Bring to boil, then turn down to minimum and cover.  Cook for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand (leaving lid on) for 10 minutes.

So would this method be similar to how a rice cooker works?  When would I add the fish?

To clarify:  I'm looking to cook the fish directly on top of the rice while it's steaming, like you could do in a rice cooker. If possible I'd like to do this without any additional cooking equipment.


texts: Safety of (re)cooking potentially raw beef from delivery

texts:
We ordered-in Pho last night, and I got mine with "medium-rare beef".

When it arrived however, the meat looked raw (unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture of it). It was wrapped in plastic wrap, balled up into a clump (it actually looked like brain), and placed on top of the sprouts and noodles (the soup base was separate). When I unwrapped it, it turned out to be a couple extremely thinly-cut slices lumped together.

Now, I'm used to eating near-raw beef (I have my steaks cooked blue-rare when possible), but this still looked a tad slimy. I couldn't eat it as-is.

I didn't want to waste it though, so I heated up a pan with some canola oil and fried the beef and veggies until I was satisfied that it was cooked.

Are there any safety concerns in doing this? I realized after that if it was indeed raw, the transport time might have been long enough for toxins to be produced that wouldn't have been destroyed when I cooked it.

Is that really a concern? Is there anything else I should have been aware of? If this was unsafe, is there anything I could have done to make it safe to eat?


texts: Expiration date for block cheese (mozzarella, Monterey Jack)

texts:
How long after the expiration date is block cheese (mozzarella, Monterey Jack) safe to eat IF it has been kept refrigerated AND has never been opened? They LOOK as fresh as the day I bought them, about 6 months ago.
Thank you.


texts:
First and foremost, I am a member of a few other Stack Exchange sites, and I haven't been this excited about one for a while. I'm basically a nerd that's trying to get into cooking, and I couldn't be more happy they made this :)

Onto the question,

Growing up, I've always grilled on gas grills. Recently, I've moved into an apartment with my girlfriend and we are only allowed to have a charcoal grill. It's a tiny one (I think), probably about 1.5 - 2 feet in diameter. I use the charcoal that are already covered in flammable material (the black ones), and they work pretty well. I basically follow the directions every single time I go to light the grill. I put about 30-40 bricks in the middle of the grill in a pyramid shape, light them in several places, and then watch it burn. I do this until the flame pretty much dies down and the bricks are about 80-85% covered in grey ash. After that, I put the cage back on the grill, let it heat up so I can clean it off with the brush, and then shake the bricks until they are even across the bottom.

Right after this I put the steak on (right in the middle where there's the most heat from all the bricks burning in the pyramid towards the top before I spread them out). Now at this point, I NEVER have any idea how long it should stay there, when I should flip it, if I should flip it more than once, what I should look for before I flip it, how fast it's cooking - I basically don't know anything. I'm a guy, I hate how I can't grill great! :(

I usually end up either over cooking it so it's tough, or under cooking it and it's still bleeding in the middle. I like my steaks right around medium, and I can never seem to get them perfect. I had a perfect one once, and it was 100% luck. I don't have a thermometer or anything to test the meat with (maybe I need to invest in one?), nor do I have anything that I can test how hot the grill is inside. The grill has a basic black cover with a little vent so I can control the air getting inside, but no thermometer or anything.

Can I get some tips? I'm cooking a steak on the grill for my girlfriend tonight that has been marinating for over 24 hours, and I don't want to mess it up!

P.S. And I almost forgot! The steak I am cooking tonight is a London Broil.

Thanks!


texts: I was wondering what taste good as a filling for chicken breast. I want to make kind of chicken breast pockets by almost cutting through the chicken breast but keeping both sides still together to fill. Then I will fill it and close it with some string or tooth picks. That's very much for any suggestions!


texts: What makes molten chocolate so much more filling?

texts:
I love chocolate. (I'm sure I'm not the only one). Today I made some cookies, which I dipped in molten chocolate (basically dark chocolate + a bit of butter, molten au-bain-marie) and I had a bit left over. Since it'd be a waste of chocolate to throw it out, I decided to eat it with a bit of banana for desert.

Basically I had three slices of banana with warm, molten chocolate, and then I felt pretty stuffed. Which is weird; as I would normally have little problem eating a whole bar of chocolate for dessert (which should be about 10x as much chocolate, if not more). And this isn't the first time I had some left-over molten chocolate and immediately felt stuffed from it.

Is there something about the melting of chocolate that makes it come down so much harder than ordinary chocolate? Or is this just in my head?


texts: Will cooking tagliatelle in squid ink turn it black?

texts: I am planning to make squid ink pasta, but I do not have pasta machine. Since I am lazy, I want to boil dried pasta in squid ink water. Will it turn black...or not black enough?


texts: We've had Sake chilling in our fridge for about a year now. It has been opened. Is this still safe to drink or is it time to throw it out?


texts: I need a grille for doing mainly chicken, there is an inkling to buy a gas grille but I heard charcoal grilles are better for flavour, I like the convenience of gas, but flavour is compelling, is this true?


texts: I'm about to make some sausages and need a casing.  What are the benefits of using natural casing when making sausages?


texts: Purple skin with white flesh yams/sweet potatoes have black/green spots after I boil them. Can I still eat them?

texts: Our local food distribution site gives what they call sweet potatoes. They are purple looking on the outside with white inside. When I boiled them they got kind of black or green streaks in them. Am I cooking them wrong and are they safe to eat this way?  I peel and cut into cubes and boil till fork tender.


texts: Which types of tomatoes are good for which dishes?

texts:
I am just beginning to realize the difference between the tastes and quality of different tomatoes for different dishes. I need help from a tomato expert. Which tomatoes are best for the following dishes :
1. Lasagna
2. Penne
3. Sauce for  polenta
4. Pizza or focaccia
Thank you for your help!


texts: How to not dry out precooked meat in a recipe

texts:
Certain types of meat like chicken breast seem to have such a short window of being done. Cooking too little can be unhealthy and cooking too much can dry it out. So it seems most cooks are very careful with not overcooking these types of meats.

Yet, I see all kinds of recipes about how to reuse leftover roast chicken, or chicken pot pie recipes where you're supposed to cook the chicken first (or use leftover cooked chicken) and then put it in the oven for another 15 - 45 minutes (depending on the recipe).

I just can't understand how we're expected not to severely dry out and overcook the meat in these types of recipes. Is there some kind of a trick I'm missing? If there is enough liquid, are we able to drastically slow the cooking process? But even braised chicken breast can be overcooked without too much extra time. Can we optimize for this second cooking by using large pieces or trying to not completely cook the meat in the first cooking?


texts: What does it mean that a pan is "anti jamming"?

texts:
Lots of shops call their food pans "anti-jamming", but I have not been able to find out what that means.

I don't think it's related to radio communication or making fruit jam :)

Here is an example:


texts: Reconciling Food Safety Tips: Food vs Water

texts: I've never understood why water found in the wild should reach a temperature of about 200 to be safe, but food leftovers only need to reach 165 to be considered safe. Does someone know the reason for this difference?


texts: What can I add to soften too hard peanut butter ice cream?

texts:
My staff is having a hard time scooping our Peanut Butter Ice cream. It's too rock hard. We make the Ice cream in-house using a 15% Super Premium base.
I want to know what can I add to soften the ice Cream.
Here is the Recipe:

52 oz of liquid Peanut Butter
1 oz Vanilla Extract
2.5 Gallons of Ice Cream Base
We run the ice cream at max level 12 in our Caprigani Ice Cream Machine

The Stabilizers in the Base: Mono & Diglycerides, Cellulose Gum, Gaur Gum, Carrageenan, Dextrose, Silicone Dioxide to prevent caking.


texts: When and how much flour do I add when mixing dough?

texts:
I am a rookie bread baker and I have been following some recipes that range in amounts of water and flour. I have a Kitchenaid artisan mixer that has been doing the hard work of kneading for me. My problem is knowing when to stop adding flour during mixing/kneading.

Some recipes say add flour until the dough is workable and then knead. My questions is, when they say use 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups of flour but no more. How do I know when to stop, I have ruined a few loaves as they came out heavy and dense.

How do I know when to stop adding flour and let the gluten take care of the stickiness? I often find myself adding flour until the dough balls up and pulls from the sides but by then it's too late.

On the other side, I have kneaded for 15 - 20 minutes waiting for the dough to pull sides of the bowl and it never happened.

When do I add flour and when do I just wait?

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated!


texts: How can I know if I'm purchasing "mild" chorizo or spicy chorizo?

texts:
I have a recipe that calls for "mild ground chorizo". At my regular grocery today I saw three brands of ground chorizo, but all were simply labeled "chorizo". The listed ingredients included "spices" but no hints about the level of heat.

I've had chorizo dishes in restaurants that varied from mild to super spicy. The last time I purchased chorizo I believe it was very spicy out of the package.

How can I know if I'm purchasing mild chorizo or spicy chorizo? I plan to visit other grocery stores to see what they have. The recipe includes additional spices that will add some heat, so I would prefer not to start with chorizo that may already be too hot. Alternatively, would another variety of mild sausage be an acceptable substitute?


texts: Which method of cooking does the age of the egg matter least?

texts:
I have a tray of older eggs (almost 2 weeks old).

Previously I never paid attention to thier age and cooked whatever I wanted, but after poaching some super fresh eggs obtained from the farmers market, I've seen how much better they are to eat and easier to cook (they stay together better).

Which method would give me similar results with any age of egg (within reason)?  Obviously any flavour changes cannot be accounted for but with poached (and from sites such as Delia shallow frying suffers similar problems) eggs it is more difficult to cook and the egg itself falls apart as they age.

I am trying hard boiled eggs tonight as I suspect there are fewer factors to interfere with the outcome, but would another method for cooking perhaps be better?


texts: I have a full grown Basil plant at my home. So I am planning to make a Basil recipe, though I have never made one. So I decided to make pesto pasta. However due to the pandemic, the nearby shops have very limited products hence I wont be able to  add Parmesan cheese. So can I use processed cheese in its place?


texts: Homemade pop tarts coming out too dry / crumbly

texts:
So I just recently attempted to make my own pop tarts using the recipe found here: http://rampantcuisine.com/cuisine/homemade-pop-tarts/

But the tarts came out rather dry and crumbly like shortbread, as opposed to the "flaky" that you see in the pictures. I'm not quite sure what went wrong here, but I'm guessing that it had something to do with the amount of liquid I used. Any ideas on what might have caused it or how to fix it?


texts: What does the number mean in the specification for a mincer?

texts:
I'm looking at buying a mincer and am seeing them listed with descriptions like:

Cast Iron Meat Mincer # 12
Kitchen Craft Cast Iron Mincer 5

I haven't yet seen any mention of what the number means though! Can someone please enlighten me?


texts: Baking with unhulled sesame seeds versus hulled

texts:
I'm baking a sesame seed bread recipe from the Tartine Bread book and it calls for toasting the hulled seeds. Penzey only had hulled so, not having written it down, I figured that was what I was supposed to get.

Rather than worrying too much about it, should I just put the seeds into the dough raw, rather than toasting, or should I still toast them? What is any significant taste difference will there be? Why did he use unhulled instead?


texts: How long do unrefrigerated opened canned peppers last?

texts:
I received a couple homemade cans of banana peppers that were canned with a jalapeno in each for some extra heat. I absolutely love the taste of them, but I am curious how long they can last once opened when there isn't access to refrigeration.

After opening, keeping the lid on, at room temperature (around 75F), how long should they be good for? Is there a way to specifically tell when they have become unsafe to continue eating?


texts:
I followed this recipe for a quick "Danish" dough, at http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/11051; scroll down to food processor dough.

The ingredients were:

  1/4 CUP WARM WATER

  1/2 CUP MILK, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

  1 LARGE EGG, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

  2 1/4 CUPS WHITE BREAD FLOUR

  1 PACKAGE (1/4 OUNCE) RAPID-RISE YEAST OR 1 TABLESPOON FRESH YEAST

  1 TEASPOON SALT

  1 TABLESPOON SUGAR

  1 CUP (2 STICKS) UNSALTED BUTTER, COLD, CUT INTO THIN SLICES

After following the recipe, when I went to roll out my dough it was quite wet and sticky. Even with moderate flouring on my counter and rolling pin, the dough was very spongy. It was not even close to something I could fold, as the recipe called for. I added at least an extra cup of flour in the end.

I am a beginner baker, so please bear that in mind.

What might I have done wrong? One thing about the recipe that troubled me is that the recipe said to let the dough get to room temperature after refrigerating overnight, before rolling out -- this made the butter softer so that when rolled it melted into the dough, but the even before the melting the dough looked way too wet.

(For what it's worth, I measured my flour packed so if anything I would have expected the dough to be a little too dry.)


texts:
Since we've moved to the UK our pizza dough hasn't been tasting the same as it was in the states.  We'd normally use King Arthur flour (Sir Lancelot or bread flour) with Saf yeast.

Now in the UK we're using either Sainsbury or Coop flour along with Dove's Farms quick yeast.

We're having a real issue with the flavor of the crust.  We have a few different recipes.  1 day which starts with a poolish or a couple day ferment in the fridge.  The finished pizza crust has really been lacking flavor compared to our pizza's in the states.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to try.  I just bought some fresh yeast (Saf Levure).

Is it the water with the higher hardness?
Type of yeast?
Type of flour?

Wondering if anyone else has had an issue like this.

Also going to try building a sourdough starter and using that.

2018-11-09 update:  I got the new yeast and the malted barley. We used both for the next batch of bread and the results were very good.  Actually a lot better flavor than the previous batch.  I added 2tsp of malted barley to about 3.5c of flour.  We'll need to do some more experiments and see what the sweet spot is.  :-)

One thing I noted below was how much more intense the smell was from the poolish the next day which would mean my previous yeast was probably too old or just not good for my needs.

The next test will be making pizza again.


texts: Why do my macarons have a proper shape and feet, but are hollow inside?

texts: So i baked my macaron, it has a perfect outer shape from the top, perfect feet but absolutely no base. When you pick up the shell flip it pipe the filling there is no shiny base but just a hollow of the shape of the top sphere. Any idea why?


texts:
I would like to know how much rice I should cook per person.
Preferably in some "fast" measurements - like cups, spoons, etc.

It would also be nice to know how much water should I add to the rice-cooker.

Edit: I want to have the rice as a side dish, usually with some kind of stew.

Edit: The cup I've been using is 300ml filled about 3mm below top edge (which is what i consider "full").


texts:
Yesterday I made a batch of dough for a bread-like treat. It was a mix of cooled-off mashed potatoes, flour, instant yeast, room-temperature milk and room-temperature water.

According to the recipe it should rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. So I placed it near a window with a hot towel on top for about an hour in the end, but nothing at all happened. I tried baking some of the resulting dough anyway, but it was not working at all.

So after that I gave up, turned down the central heating and went to bed a bit disheartened. I left the dough on the counter, in an open bowl. When I came back this morning, the dough had risen to at least twice it's original size, maybe more.

How come the dough rose to such a size overnight and what should I change to make it happen in minutes instead of hours? Am I underestimating what a "warm" environment is? (The house is usually at around 20C and the radiators are usually off, is that too low?)

And if the dough rises slowly and openly like this, is it still okay? I'm planning to try and bake it again when I get home from work, but it'll have been in the open for close to 24 hours then.


texts:
I want to convert my grandmothers pie crust recipe.
The whole recipe is:

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/2 cups Crisco (butter flavor)
1 egg
1 tsp vinegar
5 Tbsp cold water
Mix flour, salt and Crisco till pea size pieces. Beat the egg, add the vinegar and the cold water to it. Add liquids to the flour mix & blend, handling it as little as possible. Refrigerate for several hours.

I want to use coconut flour instead of regular flour.
Can I add extra eggs instead of xanthan gum?


texts: What cut of beef to use for Indian curries?

texts:
I am wondering what part/cut of the animal is best to make Indian/Pakistani dishes like curries, Biryani, fry etc.
This post says Chuck steak. But wanted to get more opinions.
Which cut of beef should I use in a curry?
Edit: I come from India and I know for a fact that any meat dish (even fish sometimes) is cooked atleast for 30 mins unless pressure cooked. There are very few exceptions. The problem arises because the wide variety of cuts available in the westerm parlance is simply not used in those countries, you just go to the butcher and ask for meat. So the question is more about buying beef in the western context, where you can only buy a specific cut and what you choose might affect how the curry turns out. Also its a misconception that beef is not preferred in these countries, especially Pakistan, Bangladesh, and many parts/cultures of India(ex:southern, eastern states) etc. I updated my wording in the above question to make it more clear. Thanks!


texts: I make a lot of sushi.  But, as I buy the paper/wrapper in 100's, sometimes I do not use it in what might be considered good time.  I have searched and searched the packet for a sell or eat by date but there is none.  Is this OK to use even though I bought it about 8 months ago, and opened it about 6 months ago.  I have made sushi today from it, it seems OK, rolled great and cut brilliantly, but should I be concerned?  The paper is not too dry on the edges and is still a great greeny/blackish color.


texts: Can I substitute Ener-G Egg Replacer with Orgran No Egg?

texts:
I'm interested in hearing any success (or woeful failure) stories on the behavioural differences between these two products. I've only found Orgran No Egg available for sale in my city, so my fingers are crossed.

In particular, I am curious to pursue this macaron recipe.

Unfortunately I don't quite have the budget to justify learning this by trial and error! Any input is greatly appreciated.


texts: I've heard from many sources to check beans for stones before soaking/cooking them.  I've been cooking with beans for years (mostly black beans, chickpeas and lentils), and I've never encountered a stone before or after cooking.  Is the stone thing a myth, or no longer the case with modern agricultural technology?


texts: Difference between cooking vegetable curries in a pressure cooker and a wok?

texts:
Is the difference only w.r.t time consumed?
Is it better (in terms of taste) to cook vegetable curries in a Kadhai rather than a pressure cooker?

EDIT 1:
Q: Do the spices change their taste when cooked in Kadhai versus pressure cooker?


texts: Availability of pure alcohol in the UK (or alternatives as fuel for alcohol-burning cookers)

texts:
My friends from Portugal have a chorizo cooker (something, I believe, a bit like this), and they would like to use it in the UK. In Portugal they burn pure alcohol in it, which they purchase from pharmacies.

As far as I am aware, in the UK we are not able to buy alcohol so freely. Does anyone know of where alcohol can be bought, or of a suitable alternative fuel?


texts: Can I substitute vegetable oil for olive oil?

texts: I have vegetable oil but my recipe calls for olive oil. Will it make a difference to use the vegetable oil? Also, what would the conversion be? I'm trying to make a homemade pizza crust without yeast and this oil situation has me stumped.


texts: Should any liquid, or liquid-like ingredient, be included in the water proportion calculations for bread?

texts:
So I am just beginning on my bread making adventures and have been studying the concept of water to flour proportions for baking bread.

My question is about experimenting with other types of ingredients (e.g. replacing water with milk, etc.) and how to determine if what I'm doing is scientifically correct.

Should any ingredient that I add that is liquidy (I think I made up a word there) be calculated into the water % target?

So, if I start with a basic bread recipe that calls for 65% hydration and I decide I want to use water, eggs and sour cream do I weigh the eggs and sour cream and deduct their weight from  what would have been the water weight at 65% hydration?

Starting recipe:

1kg of Flour
650ml water

New recipe with experimental ingredients substituting in as part of the hydration calculations:

1kg of flour
200g of egg
150g of sour cream
300ml water

Is this the correct approach when experimenting? Or, am I missing something key (e.g. sour cream's hydration is likely not equal to water's on a gram for gram basis, etc.). I'm looking for some guidance on how to best approach experimenting with recipes so that the experiments are at least based on sound bread making principles (rather than complete WAGs).

Thanks for any help or guidance!


texts: is cheese safe to eat when the refrigerator was 57 degrees

texts: soft and hard cheeses were left overnight in the refrigerator with the door was a bit open and the temperature was at 57degrees in the morning . Is the cheese safe to eat?


texts:
I have my own variant of japanese rice balls that I was hoping for some advice on.

One thing to keep in mind is that I'm a college graduate student and put a high priority on minimizing costs and preparation time (and prefer to make things in bulk).

I buy all my ingredients in bulk and try to make a weeks worth of meals in advance.

First I cook a variant of Chicken Adobo. In addition to the normal ingredients, I add about a quarter of a cup of capers and a half a cup of green olives. Additionally, I cut-up the chicken thighs in advance (because I'm guessing this will help get more flavor into the center of the meat, and also cut down on cooking time).

I then wrap saran-wrap around a small plastic cup, cover the walls with about a quarter of an inch of rice, and insert about 2 tablespoons of chicken/capers/olives. Then I cover the top with rice and tie up the saran-wrap for a completed rice ball.

So I have two questions:

What do you think is the best way to make and store these riceballs in bulk? Am I forced to make them daily, or can I make them in bulk on a weekly basis without affecting the quality too much?

I've considered making the chicken-adobo in bulk and then freezing or refrigerating it, but the chicken-adobo's sauce gelatinizes and reheating it is fairly awkward and affects the quality of the meat.
I've considered storing the riceballs saran-wrapped individually in my fridge/freezer, but they begin to dry out in the fridge and have weird consistency when coming out of the freezer.

Do you have any suggestions for a more refined chicken recipe? I'm pretty happy with the mixture of sweet&sour from the capers and soysauce - but I really just threw together chicken adobo and added capers to it. I tried cooking the capers and olives with the chicken and ended up with too much flavor from the olives (it just made the whole thing taste like olive water).
Additionally, I end up throwing away a lot of extra vinegar+soy sauce at the end of the day, and it might be better if I chose a chicken recipe that didn't end up with a hefty amount of sauce when finished.


texts: Difference between butter and olive oil?

texts:
Generally when I cook I use extra virgin olive oil for both meat and vegetables. While watching a cooking show they mentioned using butter instead of oil to grease the pan when they were cooking steak.

What is the end result different between using butter rather than olive oil and does it after vegetables and meat?


texts: I'm trying to make bultong (South African meat jerky) for a friend from there and he said I need bolo. What cut of meat would this be in America?


texts:
I got some barley malt powder at H Mart
https://hmart.co.uk/shop/en/pan-frying-powder/4496-tureban-dry-malt-barley-powder-400g-8804129001021.html
and tried using it in pancakes.  The pancakes stay gooey and do not rise at all, not one bit, even with extra baking soda and a tiny bit of malt powder.  I realized that the malt powder in the pancake recipes is malted milk so I have the wrong stuff.  But I am curious why malt powder kills the leavening action of baking soda.

My pancakes:
2 cups flour
2 - 3 Tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 - 1 Tbsp baking powder
1 egg
1 Tbsp sugar
~2/3 cup plain yogurt
add milk until right consistency to pour


texts: Are sausages made using the whole body of a chick?

texts:
I have seen videos that chicks are going into a grinder alive. (Please don't watch this video if you are a sensitive person.)

Is it true that sausages are made this way, with all the body parts of a chick, (like bowels, feathers, and things people don't eat)?


texts:
Turkish ice cream is called dondurma. Besides milk and sugar it also contains:
Salep- a flour made of ground orchids and
Mastic- a resin that produces a gum.

Because of these ingredients dondurma has a unique texture and flavor. The flavor is described as piney or floral while the texture is uniquely gummy. It melts very slowly because of the gum and sometimes it is thick enough to eat with a fork and knife.

Unfortunately, it seems like salep is rare and is no longer exported from Turkey.

My question is twofold:
Where can I find Salep and Mastic? My normal online sources have yielded nothing.
Are there more accessible ingredients that I can substitute to approximate dondurma?


texts: Buying first cast iron pan size/depth/shape

texts:
I am planing to buy my first cast Iron pan and I would like to get advice on which size/shape/depth should I should choose.
For example I am looking at this:

size: 25.4cm depth: 4.45cm

size: 25cm depth: 5.08cm

Also what shape/width/depth would be best in your opinion, not necessary from these two pans, but in general?
Mainly I want to get new pan for cooking steaks, hamburger meat. Or maybe I should consider gettig one like this:

Do those lines add addiotional taste or just marks?
edit:
Thank you all for answers, I decided to go with Lodge cast iron L10SK3 size: 30 cm looks like #2 but bigger :)  Next step cooking...


texts: Can I use brown sugar instead of white sugar in making fruitcake?

texts: Can I substitute light or dark brown sugar instead of white sugar in making fruitcake?


texts: What types of cooking are pressure cookers most useful for?

texts: We were just clearing out our kitchen and stared at this brand new, unused pressure cooker we got for our wedding over 10 years ago!  We've never felt the need to use it before.  I know it's supposed to be able to cook things really fast, but is this really an essential appliance?  We're debating if we should give it to someone else.  Before I do that though, I think I want to try it a few times. What kinds of things would best demonstrate its usefulness?


texts: slow roasting; internal temperature higher than oven temperature

texts: How can the internal temperature of a roast get higher than the oven temperature? I have seen recipes that cook pork at 120 degrees C and get the internal temp much higher than that.


texts:
I am trying to make potato chips using my dehydrator, but the keep coming out hard and plastic like. They are to hard to eat. I cut them at 1/16 of and inch and blanched them.

I used a low setting too.


texts: I love food and the public but my body can't handle it anymore

texts:
I live for food and educating folks who are asking for help with kitchen stuff; I may not have the answers but I will certainly point them to where they need to find the answers they seek.
Right now I work for a gourmet food market as a butcher,and I love it but physically I can't hack it for much longer. I am 35, but have rheumatoid arthritis, plantar fasciitis, and had a spinal fusion at the age of 31.

What are some ideas of jobs that I can do without being in pain day in and day out but not giving up in the food business?


texts: Method for including bacon in an otherwise vegan chili?

texts:
So I've got a vegan chili I make on a regular basis that I think is pretty darn good, but I'm always looking for ways to make it better. (I'm not actually vegan. Obviously.) Last time I included bacon and bourbon but the effect was... not what I had hoped. The bacon became very soggy and the bacon flavor was non-existent. (So was the bourbon flavor, but that's neither here nor there.)

Here's my current method for the chili in broad strokes (makes about 10 cups):

Saute onions, peppers (as well as the chili peppers), and cumin
seeds in some oil until onion is translucent
Dump in beans, tomatoes, liquids (usually beer + veggie broth), and spices
Pressure cook in the instant pot for ~6 mins
Add some tomato paste and then simmer to reduce for 30-60 mins until desired thickness

My first attempt at this was just throwing in 3-4 slices of already-cooked, chopped up bacon in during step 2, but clearly that didn't work so well.

How can I get this to go better so I have a present-but-not-overpowering bacon flavor without gross floppy bits of bacon everywhere?


texts: Can I use chopped white onion instead of pearl onion?

texts: I'm making mustard pickles and it calls for pearl onions. Can I use white onions chopped up?


texts:
After a recent trip to Peru, once back home, I have tried to make one of their typical dishes, Aji Gallina.
I have compared about a dozen recipes from various sources, and the one I used is quite typical. The result tasted great, and everything worked well, except - it was not as yellow as we got it everywhere in Peru. The color of the sauce was more grayish with a slight yellow touch, not very appetizing really - it looked more like melting snow/slush.
Edit: I did have original aji amarillo peppers in it, and they were quite yellow.
What am I doing wrong?
Do they use food coloring in the tourist restaurants in Peru (or maybe all the time, also for home cooking)?
After some googling I found that some people recommend to add turmeric. I'll try that (I like turmeric) but I doubt this that will make that yellow.

The picture shows the typical yellow/orange coloring as seen in Peru.


texts: When I make pasta I usually try to finish it by mixing the freshly drained pasta with sauce in my saucepan, adjusting the thickness a little bit with pasta water etc. The problem is with pasta sauces that have larger chunks of something - be it meatballs, shrimps or pieces of sausage. No matter how hard I mix the pasta with the sauce they usually don't distribute evenly and make it difficult to plate uniform portions. I suppose I could take the shrimps or whatever out and top the plates with it when finishing, but that seems like too much of a hassle. Is there a better way of doing it?


texts: How do I change cake recipes for cupcakes?

texts:
This is a three-part question:

Which classes of cake are unsuitable for cupcakes?  Can I do angel food cake or pound cake?
What changes do I need to make when converting a normal cake recipe for cupcakes?  Temperature or baking time changes?
Roughly how many cupcakes should I expect from a recipe scaled for a 9x9 pan, a 9" springform pan, or a 12 cup Bundt pan?  I'm not looking for precise counts, just a rough estimate to the nearest 5 cupcakes.


texts: How long after baking do American chewy cookies get their normal texture?

texts:
I just baked my first ever batch of American-style cookies (chewy chocolate chip cookies). I used the correct ingredients, including actual wet brown sugar, except for the chocolate - I had no chocolate chips, so I used chopped milk chocolate (I know, I know...).

I have experienced this type of cookies as a light, but not soft baked good. When I have had them, they have been slightly airy, but more tough than brittle. I suppose that this is the desired texture, as they are called "chewy".

I took my first batch out of the oven, and it seems that I reached too deep with the glove and touched a cookie. It was squished. All the cookies turned out to be puffy and prone to deflating. Also, they have a cracked surface, unlike the pictures in the recipe illustrations.

Is this normal? Will they get their expected texture later? How much will I have to wait for them to get the desired texture? Or did I make a mistake?

I didn't cool the dough, although I have read often that cookie dough should be kept cold. The reason is that this recipe directed me to melt the butter, and didn't include cooling steps, so I assumed that a warm dough is normal for the recipe.


texts: Which foods are high in umami ("savoriness") and how can I cook them to maximize the umami taste?


texts: What is this spoon-like kitchen utensil with a rubbery head and wooden handle called?

texts:
What is this utensil or kitchen tool called that has a rubber-like head and a wooden handle?
What is it used for?


texts:
A lot of recipes call for the "juice of a lemon". I keep a bottle of lemon juice in the fridge as this is easier, cheaper and more convenient than buying lemons all the time but my problem is I never know how much juice should come out of a lemon. Surely it depends how thoroughly you squeeze it?

Does anyone know approximately what volume of liquid is meant when a recipe says "juice of a lemon"?


texts:
I want to make 'cookie butter' (cookies, oil,  powdered sugar, Xmas spices).

My food processor doesn't grind the cookies fine enough. It still feels gritty on the tongue. So I am looking at buying a grinder, but I want to make sure it will do the job.

What is the mesh size or size in microns of the particles in smooth peanut butter?

Bonus question: does any one have a chart of size vs mouth feel of various foods?


texts: How come mere water buffalo milk and lemon juice mixture turn into yogurt?

texts:
Yogurt is produced by the fermentation of lactose in milk by the bacteria of yogurt-ferment. Without those bacteria it is not possible to make yogurt.

But surprisingly, water buffalo milk and lemon juice mixture turns into yogurt without any third ingredient. You may first boil the milk to sterilize it; the result doesn't change. The milk must be water buffalo milk, cow milk or another animal's milk doesn't make yogurt this way. One of my relatives made yogurt this way, so this is not a myth (if you didn't hear this before). Unfortunately I couldn't find an English recipe to share with you here.

Can you please explain to me this chemical phenomenon? Is fermentation involved in this process? Is this resulting "yogurt" actually a yogurt by definition in the perspective of cooking and chemistry?


texts: Is there any advantage to adding salt to onion while frying?

texts:
Is there any advantage to adding salt to onion while frying itself rather than adding it the last? My friends say it removes moisture from onion.

Is it true? Why is removing moisture from onion important?


texts: I can never remember which is hot. NOw i have a medium enchilada sauce in my recipe and need to cool the heat way down... help! How do I make my meal so that my child will be able to eat it. She does not like spicy.


texts:
What sort of Rice do Chinese Restaurants use?
I use good quality Thai Rice at home in my rice cooker, I have tried all sorts of brands of rice and I have tried mixing different rice together, but, I have never been able to achieve the same taste of rice that I have had in Chinese Restaurants. Any advice?


texts: My dum biryani burns at the bottom each time even after using tawa. How about pouring a little water first just enough to cover the base of the vessel and arranging raw chicken/mutton at the bottom and then the half cooked rice on top for dum biryani ?? will it prevent burning and sticking of the chicken/mutton to the bottom of the vessel???


texts: Is it possible to Pickle meat at room temperature?

texts:
My gf wanted to make a pickled pork for dinner. According to the recipe, she prepared the brine (consisting of 3l of waters, 3 tablespoons of salt, pepper, garlic, allspice, bay leaves). The recipe called for placing the raw pork in "cool place" after placing it in brine.

After concluding that the kitchen is "cool enough" the meat spent the whole night on the kitchen countertop. Upon checking the sources today I found that pickling is best done in the fridge. The kitchen temperature now is about 20 deg. C (68 deg. F).

Is the meat safe to eat or should I break the sad news to my gf?

EDIT: This question differs from a very general one posted here. I am not asking for a general case of meat left out of fridge but whether meat pickling is safe in room temperature.

Nevertheless, If anyone wonders, we've decided to throw the meat away. Yet, I am now curious whether pickling in room temperature can be safe.


texts: Is there no use for high temperatures in ovens?

texts:
I'm about to buy a new oven. I can buy one which is able to steam the food, or one without.

The one with steam (a nice, but not necessary feature) only goes to 230 °C / 446 °F, while a regular one to 275 °C / 527 °F.

The salesman claimed that no one needs anything higher than the 446 °F, but I've used higher temperatures many times; pizza, roasting meat, etc.

Have I used too high temperatures before? Or was he just uninformed?


texts: What's the closest replacement for clam juice?

texts:
I've been searching all over the stores in my area for clam juice so I can make some gumbo or clam chowder, and can't find a single can of it anywhere.

What's the closest replacement to clam juice that would keep roughly the same flavor?


texts: How do I prevent venison (for jerky) from spoiling?

texts: I laid out some vension for jerky. It has been in the fridgerator for 2 days. I put it in the marinate today. how long can I leave it so it does not spoil?


texts: Should you strip meat off bones before putting them in a stock?

texts:
I made my first chicken stock last week and bought some winglets from my local butcher. The winglets had a lot of meat on them and I wasn't sure whether to leave it on or not. The stock didn't come out so great so I'm wondering if it would help to strip the meat off the winglets.

This is the process I used to create the stock - I was following a recipe for a brown chicken stock:

In a chefs pan

Browned chicken (winglets were sliced down to the bone - meat still on though)
Added onions, garlic, mushrooms, bay leaves, thyme and peppercorns and softened
Drained chicken fat
Added everything into large saucepan with 2 litres cold water
Brought to boil
Skimmed scum off surface (never quite managed this, even after half an hour)
Reduced for 1:30 with several attempts to skim more scum off


texts:
I believe the harm in leaving raw meat uncovered in the fridge is that more bacteria will enter, more oxygen will enter (causing faster bacteria multiplication), and more water will escape (causing dryness which probably slows bacteria multiplication, but toughens the meat, so let's consider dryness to be bad; I'm not making beef jerky).  Please ignore the stinky odors that escape; just consider the quality of that one uncovered piece of meat after we eventually cook it.

How much faster will the food spoil (percentage, compared to the same meat wrapped in plastic wrap)?  I imagine that meat with skin, like a whole chicken, is not effected as much as meat without skin, like a bare chicken breast, and that ground meat would be effected the most.  I wish I had some data to convince my roommate to cover his meat; is there any research on this?  Feel free to answer this for milk instead if there is more research for it.


texts: Why or why not beat an egg before adding?

texts:
When adding an entire raw egg at the same point in a recipe (not separating the yolk and white), what determines whether it should first be beaten, or dropped in whole? I've seen some recipes call for a beaten egg; others, specifically a meatloaf and a couple of cookie doughs, emphasize to not beat the egg before adding it.

The closest I found in here after an extensive search was this, which addresses why to add a beaten egg after the rest of the ingredients are mixed together, but doesn't explain why or when to beat it.
Why would a recipe say mix all ingredients, then add egg and mix again?

Other than the obvious mixing of yolk and white, how does beating it affect the proteins and other elements, and how do those effects impact other ingredients and cooking processes?


texts: What weights to use for fermenting sauerkraut?

texts:
I am new to making sauerkraut. I do know the right ingredients for making sauerkraut, based on searching on Google.

My question is what equipment should I use to weight the sauerkraut below the brine?

I am using a Fidos jar as a container. If I were rich, I would buy a fermenting crock that comes with stone weights, see for example this crock. However, since I am not rich, are there stone weights that I can buy?

My current idea is to use ceramic pie weights, but I have never owned any of these before. Would they be sufficiently heavy to weight the sauerkraut down?


texts:
I'm looking at a recipe that lists the following as an ingredient:

  1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and
  leveled)

What exactly does this mean? Is this literal - i.e. spoon it into the measuring cup and level off? If so, why does it matter if it's "spooned" or not?


texts: Can I make pickled eggs that don't require refrigeration?

texts:
This time of year I have a ton of extra eggs. In the winter I have fewer. I have, therefore, been experimenting with egg preservation techniques.

I like pickled eggs a lot. They aren't very versatile so they can't be my only preservation solution but they are tasty and interesting.

Unfortunately, pickled egg recipes always say that the product must be refrigerated. This prevents me from storing the eggs until winter as I do not have that much fridge space.

The brine is fairly acidic and very salty. Why do they have to be refrigerated?

What do I have to do to make my pickled eggs shelf stable?


texts: Is cooked chicken brought to work but left unrefrigerated for 5 hours safe to eat?

texts:
I cooked chicken last night and stored it in the fridge right after.

Today I brought in chicken in a glass container within my backpack and opened it 5 hours later. I put it in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds and it still feels a bit cold.

Is it safe to consume?


texts: Are the rolls at 'Ryans' or 'Golden Corral' a style of bread?

texts:
I've been looking for a recipe online to replicate the rolls you'd find at a 'Ryans' or 'Golden Corral'. I've tried several that sound promising, only to have them turn out tasting like another type of bread. Everyone seems to have the general consensus that they're yeast rolls, but those come in many forms.

I recently tried a recipe that sounded promising, because it had sugar in it and I know that they are a little sweet. However, when I cooked them, they tasted like the 'Parkerhouse' rolls and the texture wasn't correct. It's like if you squeezed these, they'd almost crumble, where they ones I want will almost mold into your hand when you squeeze them. I'll try to include a picture in this post.

My question is what makes this bread the way it is? Is it a style of bread, is it the manner in which its cooked, like with a water bath or something, or would it be the ingredients that affected this aspect.

These are delicious rolls, several restaurants have them, so it's not a secret recipe, and I'd like to narrow down my search for the correct recipe.

Here is a pic of the ones I'm talking about:


texts: Delicate parts such as liver, kidney and heart can be quickly fried in a little oil. I wonder if there any way to cook them in the microwave while preserving the tender texture?


texts: Difference between Maida and All purpose flour

texts: I'm baking tonight and I'm out of All purpose flour. I'm lazy to run out to the grocery store. Can I replace All purpose flour with Maida (Maida is better known to Asian Indians - we use it for making Naans and such)


texts: Generally, pathogens does not enter into fruits even if plant is irrigated with contaminated water (Link). Hence , an unpeeled fruit should not have pathogen inside to rot it. Why does then an unpeeled fruit rots ? Does a rotting fruit is caused by pathogens ?


texts: Why do organic eggs seem to be spoiled right after purchasing?

texts: I find that the organic eggs are on the verge of inedible/B-grade. They are too runny the very day I purchase them often, let alone after a few days in my fridge. I buy organic whenever I can but I find that my experience here with the ones from Whole Foods/other grocery stores is always poor. I always buy the Grade-A eggs (I can never find AA organic). Can anyone else suggest good brands?


texts: My wife purchased 2 M&M Family Frozen Meat Lasagnes and left them in a thermal freezer bag in the rear of the Escape. I found them two days later as I was taking her vehicle in for service, and they were thawed. Are these lasagnes still safe to eat if cooked, and if so, can they be refrozen? According to the ingredients the noodles are cooked and I assume the beef has been.


texts: How to properly clean a bundt mold without ruining the surface

texts: I usually do the suggestions in my previous question for seasoning the Teflon coated (non stick) bundt pan (buttering and flouring) and I have no problem with that. The problem is with leftover residue,I cannot clean the pan properly. After a few times of cleaning, the surface is hurt and since it is a fairly expensive, I am a little worried. I gave it a long soak in hot water and it didn't work. I also found this question which seems to ask the same thing but the answers are not about cleaning but the other part of the question.


texts: Is it possible to create salty ice cream?

texts: I have heard that in Japan people eat some kind of salty ice cream. Is it true? If it is true, does anyone know the name of the dish or how to prepare it?


texts:
I'm getting into braising a lot of pork and beef roasts.  Standard routine: pick cuts with more connective tissue, sear on all sides, then into the oven with seasonings, herbs, veggies, and liquid (I use broth; can't use wine or beer, or add a bunch of fat or carbs, for dietary reasons), and cook for several hours at about 325F.

I'm getting good results texture-wise, but the inside of meat is always bland.  What techniques can I use to season the inside of the meat?  It seems like if I could just get some salt in there it would help.  With the pork, maybe brining is the way to go?  Not sure if you can even brine a beef roast, though.


texts: Vegan crepes that don't fall apart when turning

texts:
When I make crepes I use eggs, flour and milk for the dough and tiny amount of oil for the pan. I usually use whole wheat flower. Sometimes half-white half-whole wheat.  They always end up very thin and perfect.
Replacing milk with various liquids (soy milk, almond milk...) seems to work fine.
I would like to stop using eggs, so I made several attempts with various egg substitutes, and I can't make it work for crepes.  They always fall apart when I try to flip them.
Which ingredient would help with with that?
So far I have tried:

The Neat Egg
Ener G Egg Replacer
flax
extra oil
applesauce
bananas

Those all work for thick pancakes, but (at least not for me) for crepes.
There are questions related to replacing eggs, but are too generic:

How to make pancakes/crepes without eggs nor any liquids besides water? -- not limited to vegan
What can I substitute for eggs in a pancake recipe? -- pancakes, not crepes
With what can I replace eggs? -- a few answers mention pancakes, but not one mention of crepes


texts: Putting raisins (etc) in bread, but avoiding the outside?

texts:
I make a simple bread dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic, and let it rest overnight.

In the morning, I want to put some chocolate morsels and raisins in the dough, and then bake it.

No problem but:

On this occasion I want none of the raisins (etc) to come through the surface, to the crust, of the bread.

(Think of it as a surprise raisin bread, if you will.)

Are there any tips or accepted techniques for this?

What I will probably do is: just pull the dough ball roughly apart - spread it apart, butterfly it - then spread the raisins over that flat surface; push it together again.  Of course this means there will only be rather a "layer in the middle" of raisins/chocolate.

I guess, one could roll out the dough ball quite flat, spread the raisins. Roll up.  That would distribute them pretty evenly (and leave a non-raisin-layer on the outside) - but - then you'd be messing with the dough, removing all the air from it I guess - right?

I suppose the ultimate solution would be: mix the raisins through completely (probably the night before, before mixing in water).  Separately, make some of the dough with no raisins.  In the morning, "coat" the raisin dough with a kind of thin skin of the non-raisin dough.  That seems wrong though, I don't know. And again you'd be rolling out the "no-raisin" part flat, I guess - no good right?

Again my question - is there any accepted technique for this, any way I don't know about, how it is done, how should I do it? How would you achieve it, if called to? Thanks!


texts: best dairy-free yogurt for meat marinade (Biriyani)

texts:
I am cooking biriani for a party and one of the guest is dairy-intolerant. In biriani, marinading the meat with yogurt+spices is an essential step, and I dont have experience with non-dairy yogurt.
What non-dairy yogurt will be best for this purpose?


texts:
I recently boiled a duck egg for 7 mins and then immediately placed into iced water, where I let it sit for 10 mins.

I then proceeded to place the cold egg into a water bath set at a temperature of 145°F (63°C) for 2 hours.

I then removed the egg from the bath and made a scotch egg

The egg was still runny after frying (which was fantastic). Will reheating the egg in the water bath be safe as it is above 140°F (60°C)?


texts: How do you make a cake with soft fillings baked inside?

texts: I've seen cakes baked with soft fillings inside like a cream cheese of chocolate buttercream type filling that were obviously baked in there, rather than baking and filling when cold. What are the general techniques for doing this, and do they work with all kinds of fillings?


texts: When can milk substitute for buttermilk in sourdough recipes?

texts:
I want to prepare buttermilk sourdough pancakes:

One part sourdough starter
Two parts flour
Two parts buttermilk
Sugar to taste (about a quarter part, depending on mood)

The idea is to leave it overnight and let the sourdough SCOBY incorporate the buttermilk culture. In the morning, the sponge can be used for pancakes, waffles, etc. At a chemical level, the yeast eat the flour and make sugars and carbon dioxide bubbles, the lactic acid bacteria eat lactose and other sugars and make lactic acid, the overall pH drops from a milky 8 to a sour 4, and the buttermilk effectively spoils but in a very controlled fashion.
I'm currently snowed in due to a blizzard. I don't have any buttermilk, but I do have some milk. From a chemist's perspective, surely the desired reaction will proceed eventually, and the only changes will be how long it takes for the culture to rise and sweeten, and the overall proportions of lactic acid bacteria. However, from a cooking perspective, those two things matter quite a bit. What are the consequences of substituting milk for buttermilk in sourdough recipes?
As a practical matter, I do have some lemon juice and can sour milk into buttermilk using that common combination. I'm mostly curious about whether there's a flavor or safety reason for preferring prepared buttermilk.


texts: Some tahini tastes very salty, other tahini does not. Why?

texts:
I have bought several jars of tahini from different companies lately. All labels say, that they contain 100% hulled sesame seeds with no preservatives or artifical flavours added.

Some of the jars contained very salty tahini. At first, I even thought, the salty ones were contaminated with some inedible chemical. But then a friend from the Middle East told me, that he sees them as the original flavour and he did not like the unsalty ones, that he called "Australian tahini".

An example of the unsalty tahini is Mayver's Tahini Hulled, for the salty ones I did not find a brand, as they are just bottled by Australian local wholesalers for Mediterannean food.

What makes the tahinis so different? Do they - as I think - use different chemicals for hulling? Is the salt washed out of the tahini in the unsalty brands, as my friend thinks?

EDIT: One thing, I noticed: The salty tahini is runnier.

2nd EDIT:
After reading @Jefromi's comment, I've looked at the ingredients. Salt is not listed and I doubt, that I would taste 1/1000th of salt in the tahini. Surprisingly the less salty tahini contains 11 times more sodium than the salty one, which makes me wonder, if the salty tastes comes from another salt than NaCl.

Here are the contents of the tahinis per 100g (unsalty first - Melissa Tahini, salty second):

Energy
2728 kJ, 2924 kJ
Protein
25.8g, 31.6g
Fat - Total
54g, 63.6g
Carbohydrate - Total
17.1g,1.3g
Carbohydrates - Sugars
1.3g, Nil
Sodium
46mg, 4mg

Salty tahini

Unsalty tahini

The numbers are so different, I wonder, if they are correct.


texts:
I have some frozen rib-eye steaks which I am confident about searing while frozen and then bringing up to temperature in the oven. They turn out great.

But I also have short ribs which I intend to sear and then braise them with veg and wine for a few hours.

I am not sure if I'll be able to sear them from frozen. Is the shape to awkward? Any safety conferences?

Any advice would be great


texts: What should I do if power goes out while I am baking cake/cookies?

texts:
If I am baking cake or cookies in the oven and I lose power, what should I do?

Does it make to sense to leave the cake/cookies in the oven until the power comes back on, or should I take them out?

When/why would I need to leave them in the oven vs. take them out?


texts: Should boiled legumes cool before processing?

texts: When processing dips, such as hummus or refried beans, is it better to let the boiled chickpeas/beans cool down before processing them in a food processor or is it okay to process them while still hot?


texts: How to cook Parmesan Cheese into a broth without making globs?

texts:
I've been trying to cook this recipe recently, but I keep running into a problem with the parmesan cheese. Basically the last step is to mix the cheese into the chicken broth.

When I do this, it just gets all gloppy and I have a hard time stiring it in. I can mitigate it a little by adding the cheese in parts, but eventually it builds up. Additionally, when I go to clean the pot, I find that a bunch of the cheese has ended up stuck to the side of the pot.

Is there a way to cook parmesan cheese so that it melts into the broth, rather than sticking to everything and just making globs?


texts: How to make flavoured salt for potato chips

texts:
A chips shop offers potato chips (french fries, in the US) in different flavour like chicken, chicken roast, bar b q, et cetera. I saw they make simple potato chips and then add a salt type stuff to it which gives flavour to the chips.

How can I to make flavoured salt like that?


texts:
I overshot the port and the taste is overpowering. There is also cream and heavy cream in there, as well as black truffles.

Is there any way to fix it?


texts: Since there's problems vacuum sealing after blanching due to excess water is there a problem sealing the fresh vegetables first and then boiling the package to get the same effect as blanching?


texts: What type of sausage for bangers and mash?

texts: On a recent trip, I ate at an authentic Irish pub that served the best bangers and mash I've ever had. As there's nowhere around town that regularly serves the dish, I've decided to try my hand at making it at home. While I think I can manage the potatoes just fine, I'm at a loss as to what type of sausage to use. So my question is: what brand of sausage would best approximate a traditional recipe? Ideally, it would be something I could pick up at the local supermarket.


texts: What are some suggestions for cooking tools/techniques for people that have arthritis?

texts:
I've recently been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and my grip is VERY poor. I can't even make a fist anymore. A few days ago I found that cutting up a left-over, cooked chicken breast was VERY difficult. Not only the knife grip, but using my left hand to hold the meat with a fork was probably worse than the knife int the right hand.

I've seen sites mention those rocking knives and tools with wide handle. I'm more interested in wide-handled tools as the rocking knives look like they would be unable to be honed.


texts: Does flax seed lose its nutritional properties after it's ground up?

texts:
I am from Santiago, Chile. Here, there's a rumour that smashed (ground) flax seed loses its properties in around 4 hours. Do you know anything about this?

Basically, the rumors say that the flax seed loses its nutritional properties, and that it can even be unhealthy once it is ground — but, if you grind it yourself and eat it right away, it's OK.


texts: Best method of cooking an Almond PearTart decoration/top layer

texts:
I followed this recipe yesterday because I made an pear tart for today. I still have some time to do the top layer but the recipe did not explain anything after that (or I missed it): Pears, milk, flour, almond, sugar, eggs and salt AND 2 PEARS FOR THE TOP LAYER (If you want the quantity in grams, I can also put it). The texture of it before baking was very similar to a cheese cake (and so does now after baking). It doesn't have any kind of crust underneath it.
This is how the top layer and cake should look like (The source is the recipe, a screenshot, I'm sorry I cannot do more).

Only two things come to mind, by seeing in the ingredients 2 pears for decorating:

Decorating regularly adding on top honey or sugar/cinnamon and burn it a little bit
Doing an pear compote (might be too sweet for the smooth sweet taste of this almond/peartart?)

The top layer of my cake looks brownish, so that might be the brownish color of the recipe picture... But I'm really not sure.
EDIT:
RECIPE::

500g peeled and cored pears
250g whole or semi milk
200g all purpose flour
100g ground almonds
180g sugar
3 large eggs
2 big pears for decorating
a pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients in a blender until the batter is homogenic and pour it in a 23cm springform mould. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius with top and bottom heat. If it is a bit raw (check with a toothpick as usual) you can leave it outside, so the residual heat will finish it


texts: Substituting ground red pepper for dried red peppers

texts: I have a recipe that calls for 4 dry red peppers to be bagged during cooking & taken out when finished. Instead of using those, how much ground red pepper should I use?


texts: What can cause honey to crystalize quickly?

texts:
Yesterday I opened a sealed jar of raw honey (blackberry).  Over the course of a not-very-long meal (at which the honey was being used as a condiment) I watched it go from liquid to crystalized.  I've had honey crystalize after having been opened for weeks or months, but I've never seen it happen in a matter of minutes before.  Googling led to lots of explanations and rebuttals about why raw honey crystalizes slowly, but I found nothing that addressed what I saw.

I store my honey in an interior pantry cabinet, so it's at room temperature -- lately around 65-70F.  (I specify interior because I've found that storing it in cabinets on exterior walls leads to faster crystallization, presumably due to winter cold seeping through the wall.)  I have another unopened jar of this honey in that cabinet right now and would prefer to not have it immediately crystalize when I open it.  I understand that crystallization isn't bad, but liquid works better for many uses.  So I'd like to understand what happened and what I need to change to get a different outcome.


texts:
I made chicken soup tonight in my usual way - recipe is chicken flash fried, then onion, ginger, garlic added, then stock or water, then lid on and cook.  Coriander added later.

Usually, I end up with a mostly clear soup, lots of floating bits of herbs, spices, meat etc, which are fine.

Tonight, the soup was completely cloudy.  A dense yellow colour, which didn't settle after leaving it to cool for 40mins and then reheating it (which I thought may help it 'settle').

Why would this happen?  It didn't seem to affect the flavour too much, although I noticed that it was a heavier soup than normal.  Are there any immediate health or safety concerns associated with a cloudy soup?


texts: Substituting stevia for erythritol in recipes

texts:
I use stevia as a sweetener now. I have seen a couple of sweets recipes that use erythritol. I have stomach issues with any sweetener that ends in "tol."

I am wondering if I can substitute stevia as the sweetener in these recipes?


texts:
I've never made hollandaise sauce.

So when making hollandaise sauce i'm concerned that the hollandaise sauce is not cooked through; since it calls for egg yolks.

How can you tell that the hollandaise sauce is cooked completely? What can you do to test that it's cooked completely?


texts:
There are a few companies out there that offer sprouted bread (e.g. Food for Life).

I am interesting in making bread myself. I have purchased some sprouting containers. Once sprouted the grain obviously is soft and holds a lot of moisture.

Do I have to dry the sprouts and mill them after the drying process or are the grains usually mashed?


texts:
I've been working on this riff on an Asian noodle soup. As the final garnish, I want to drop an egg yolk in the middle of the individual serving bowls of soup, to warm for a couple of minutes in the boiling hot soup and to burst with the first stir. Sounds simple, right? It's giving me a problem though.

I use the whites in the soup. I need to separate the eggs at least about 10 minutes before I drop the yolks. Separated yolks are really touchy, they want to break before their time. That they are at room temperature (for reasons that should be fairly obvious) doesn't help. I've been holding the yolks in little custard cups. I've tried putting a little water (hot and cool) in the cups, I've also tried broth from the soup. Even doing those things, the yolks break as I try (ever so gently) to drop them onto the soup.

Any ideas?


texts: Do I use pure glucose or sugar syrup for making a caramel filling for a cookie?

texts: I am trying to perfect my Dutch syrup waffles (stroopwafels). The cookies (waffles  are perfect but the caramel filling is giving me problems. I tried making the caramel filling from sugar, sugar syrup, corn syrup, and pure glucose but all of these make the cookies sloppy after a day. What is the best sugar for making the caramel filling? What is it what I do wrong?


texts: Hi I have a similar pot (SS Stovetop Espresso Maker) and have been using it extensively.  Recently  I have noticed a few rust spots in the section where you need to add water.  I am a coffee lover, can't imagine living without it and neither can I find a replacement for it in the area i live. Can anyone let me know if its safe to use the Moka pot after i have cleaned up the rust stains or is it advisable to discard it completely.  Please help.


texts: What happens when cheese is melted in a frying pan?

texts:
A guilty pleasure of mine is to put a small block of cheddar into a dry frying pan and cook it. The cheese melts and an oil comes out of the cheese. In this state, the oil drains off very easily and is disposed of. The remaining cheese is very crispy when it cools down. Yum!

What's left behind when cheese is melted and the oil drained off?


texts: What is an alternative in Feijoada to smoked ham or beef?

texts: While smoked ham and beef are great, are there alternative ingredients that can still impart the 'smoked' flavoring?


texts:
We bought a chunk of raw beef in brine in the store. I was marked "fully cured,... boiling will develop pink color". After adding some water and slow cooking it overnight it turned into delicious corned beef with beautiful color and texture.
I tried the broth, it tastes very salty but also delicious. Wanted to keep it for a beef soup but not sure if the chemicals used to cure the beef may have deposited in the broth in unsafe concentration. Anyone has an experience and/or knowledge of that? Is the broth edible?


texts:
Just  bought a cheap wok that has 2 little handles and the inside looks like a bad paint job (black in Color)that looks like swirls.

on the bottom it has Chinese lettering which I don't understand. It is  very lightweight. Any clues?


texts:
There are a great many variations on the theme of 'Soy sauce'.
And whilst there are lots of descriptions of the difference, I can't find the answer to this question:

Which other soy sauce(s?) is Tamari closest too.

My specific scenario is this:

I use and intend to continue using Tamari as my go-to "soy sauce".
But I've been seeing a lot of recipes asking for Chinese light AND dark soy sauce. So I'm thinking of buying 1 other "actual" soy sauce to complement my tamari in these recipes.

Which other soy sauce should I buy, light or dark.
(Just in case ...) Is this actually a good idea or will it Not Work, for some reason?

Thanks!


texts: Why does my bread still smell like yeast?

texts: I wonder why my bread still have a yeasty smell? Did I put too much yeast? I use instant yeast, 11g for 500g wheat flour. Is that too much yeast for that amount of flour?


texts: Is there a technique for making larger batches of roux?

texts:
Following along the approach of freezing roux, I would like to make some in bulk. I am also trying to do more batch cooking for freezing and making 8 quarts of mac and cheese ends up taking a lot of roux for the starter.

As such, is there a technique for creating quite a few cups of roux (ie. 6 cups) at a time?

Currently the most I have created per batch is about 4 tablespoons butter to 4 tablespoons flour (~1/2 cup), mixing with a fork (pretty tiring as I have no whisk). Obviously a whisk could just be necessary, but is there a thresh-hold where moving to an electric or mechanical tool might be more efficient?


texts: i have a black stain on one of my stove tops there were some smaller ones on the other three but they came off fairly easy. this has taken up almost the entire top and looks almost as if the pattern was peeled off leaving a black bottom but you cannot see the burner when it is on. Is there a way I can remove this stain?


texts:
I am asking the converse of the question "Why use yeast instead of baking powder?"

For example, can banana bread be made with yeast instead of baking powder? It seems it would rise better, but perhaps people like baking powder because they like banana bread denser or wetter or something?


texts: what is the best method to coat biscuits in chocolate

texts:
I have made some Anzac biscuits and would like to coat half of the biscuit in chocolate.
Is it best to use a butter knife or dip them in a bowl of melted chocolate. Do you then place on baking paper or is there a way of standing them up?


texts:
I have not heard about this stuff before.. It is not used in Indian cooking..!
What exactly is shortening?
I read it in a recipe to bake a rose shaped cake and it uses shortening to grease the pan..


texts:
I've been experimenting with making a caramel hot fudge sauce (something like on a McDonalds caramel sundae but better) and want some ideas.

My latest was:

Microwave brown sugar and butter, stirring often, until it's sort of mixed together
Mix in a can of sweetened condensed mix
Microwave again, stirring every 30-60 seconds for 10 minutes or so until it goes a bit (golden) brown (use a very large glass bowl, or it'll boil over - be careful, the mixture gets super hot and will boil your face right off - you have been warned)
mix in a bit of cream or it'll be too chewy

... which produced a thick milk caramel with a rich toffee aftertaste, but it's pretty labour-intensive.

Any tips?


texts:
A while ago, I obtained, on a Friday afternoon, a bag of pareve rye bread from the supermarket. The ingredient listing was:

  high gluten flour, rye flour, water, yeast, salt

The bread was also covered in caraway seeds.

The best before date (or possibly expiry date -- it was not clear to me which) was a week after the date I bought the bread. I am unsure if the bread was released on the same day, since I generally do my grocery shopping on Fridays anyway, but I'm inclined to suspect that it was indeed put on the shelf on the same day I bought it, since I have only ever seen kosher bread sold around the weekends at my supermarket, presumably put there in time for Shabbat.

In any case, I was suspicious of the week-later best before date, since the ingredients listed no obvious preservatives (beyond salt) and the packaging claimed that the bread had no preservatives.

Is this normal "behaviour" for rye bread? Or is this reliant on cooler North American climates and possibly the inclusion of salt? (But I would assume that the salt was merely there to restrict the amount of rising in the dough.) Or perhaps I can assume the label on my bag of bread was wrong?


texts: Is there a ratio of how much water, fats, dry ingredients and flour to temperature and cooking time for cakes?


texts: how do you get sushi rice to not stick to your hands?

texts: I am laying out my sushi rice by forming it into a ball with my hands and spreading it on the nori. I watched some video tutorials on this, and it seems like the rice is not sticking to the chef's hands. How do you not get the rice to stick to your hands?


texts: What is the difference among these 3 food items: Flattened Rice, Chiwda and Poha?

texts:
In India, Poha is a famous dish especially served as breakfast.
I would like to know if Poha is the name of the dish or Flattened rice or Chiwda.


texts:
Yesterday I cooked two brown crabs for dinner. Both were alive and kicking immediately before I cooked them. They weighed 700g each and I boiled them for 19 minutes. The white meat in both was perfectly cooked. When we broke in to the main shell, the brown meat in one was perfect - the slightly rusty brown colour that you expect, and taste great. The meat in the other crab, however, was grey-brown, mushy and very unappetising. Though it didn't smell any different, we didn't try any as we were unsure whether we would get ill.

Is this crab meat normal and safe? If not, is there something in the cooking or storage process that could have prevented it?


texts: What is the use of oil in this recipe? Can I do without?

texts:
I have made this caramelized nuts recipe (here, it's in french), which contains olive oil.

The taste is good, but since it's something you eat with your fingers, they get all greasy quite fast.

Why is the recipe suggesting to use oil?
Could I do without using it or it would break some kind of chemistry or something?

Ingredients:

4 cups of cashew
1/2 cup of honey
2 table spoons sriracha sauce
2 table spoons of olive oil
1 table spoon of ginger

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven (350ºF)
Mix everything but the nuts together
Pour sauce over the nuts, and mix
Spread the nuts evenly on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper
Cook in oven for 10 to 15 minutes, mixing once or twice
Let cool down, and eat!