texts: Why did my root beer hard candy turn to a dry crumble?

texts:
I just tried to make some root beer flavored hard candies. I was somewhat improvising the recipe, and I ran into a weird issue I haven't seen before. When I added the root beer flavoring to the heated sugar mixture, the entire concoction bubbled up, then dried up and hardened, producing a thick layer of crumbs. I was left with what I can only describe as a dry root beer crumble.

What could have caused this? Do I need something to prevent crystal growth when I stir the mixture at the end?

Here's the process I was following:

Mix 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar in a small pot.

Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a boil.

Heat mixture until it reaches the hard crack stage (about 295 degrees Fahrenheit at this altitude).

Remove mixture from heat and quickly mix in 2 teaspoons of root beer flavoring.

Pour into molds and let cool. (I didn't reach this step.)


texts:
I previously asked a question on whether chicken contains suet and the answers was no. however if you look at his picure the tissue highlighted in red looks like suet. If not suet, what is this and how is it different from suet?

Also what parts of a chicken contain these the most?


texts: UV lamp to disinfect raw sushi fish slices

texts:
I'm considering exposing raw fish slices to a UV lamp to kill bacteria before making it into sushi. Would this help? Is there a practice of doing this? And what could be the drawbacks, if any?
UPDATE
Thank you very much for your answers. A couple of points to clarify. I am talking about:

Using UV-C light wand
Using it on freshly defrosted fish, that is in addition to freezing, not instead of it
The goal is to further reduce risk of bacterial infection, not to completely sterilize the fish, as that wouldn't be possible

Furthermore, while digging on the Internet I found this:

For some types of food this [surface treatment] may well be sufficient, for example, muscle flesh from a healthy animal immediately after slaughter is, for all intents, sterile. Where contamination does occur, it will be as a result of contact with contaminated surfaces or fluids and this will initially manifest itself at the surface.
The efficacy of UV surface treatment will be strongly influenced by surface topography. Crevices, and similar features, of dimensions comparable to the size of microorganisms (i.e., a few microns) may shield microorganisms from potentially lethal UV rays and enable them to survive. This was cited in recent work as the reason why the UV treatment of fish fillets from a smooth-fleshed species was more effective than that of a rough-fleshed one.

This seems to imply  that what I proposed had been tried and even proven somewhat effective.
I have not however found any mentions that UV exposure can cause changes in raw fish that would make it harmful to eat. In other words to make fish less safe than before. If anyone saw such effects being mentioned, please let me know (preferably without a pay wall).
Thank you again.


texts:
I've just made some 50/50 loaves using a biga. The taste is quite good but I'd like the crumb to be more open.

The biggest issue is that while raising the dough tends to "spread" rather than rise. What did I do wrong?

Here is my recipe:

For the biga:
500g  manitoba flour (extra strong)
300ml water
8g    active dry yeast

After 24h I add:
500g  wholemeal flour
300ml water
1tbsp vanilla paste
1tsp  sugar

I've shaped the loaves straight away as I know wholemeal bread doesn't like long proofing. I've let the dough raise 1 hour at room temperature and 10 hours in the fridge.
This morning I found the dough slightly raised and evenly spread in the pan (more like a focaccia than 3 loaves :-) ). I've reshaped a bit, just separating the three loaves.

In the oven the size hasn't changed much (180 C, with a bit of water to keep humidity right).

I'm trying to get soft, open crumb loaves, like this one http://www.thefreshloaf.com/files/u5218/proth5_baguette_crumb.JPG

Edit: by mistake, as often happens in the kitchen, I've found the right recipe:

For the biga:
500g  manitoba flour (extra strong)
300ml water
8g    active dry yeast

After 24h I add:
500g  wholemeal flour
**600ml** water
1tbsp vanilla paste
1tsp  honey

And that is the result


texts:
I made pan de muerto roughly following this recipe. I put the breads in the oven (made 3), took them out and let them cool completely. Today (the morning after), I cut into the first one and see that the middle is completely undone. Raw dough, with raw eggs and orange juice still in the mix.

What can I do to save this? Can I put them back in the oven or something like that?


texts: What's the difference between Guatemalen, Honduran and Salvedorean Cream?

texts: All three are available at my local mexican market. How are they different?


texts: Can evaporated milk be converted to "regular" milk?

texts:
I've got a recipe that calls for 2 1/2 cups whole milk, but I don't drink whole milk all that often and if I buy any it'll just end up spoiling in the fridge before I can use it all.

Canned evaporated milk, on the other hand, lasts a lot longer and from what I understand its just regular milk with ~60% of the water taken out of it. With that in mind, would I be able to convert evaporated milk into "regular" milk for use in cooking just by adding an equal amount of water?


texts: When a recipe asks for 1 cup of sugar, should I assume powdered or tiny crystals form?

texts: When a recipe asks (without clearly specifying) for 1 cup of sugar, should I assume powdered or tiny crystals form?


texts: Should I finish teriyaki sauce with butter?

texts: I've been told to finish most any sauce with butter but teriyaki sauce seems like it would be an exception to that rule because of the flavored involved.


texts:
I am planning on doing a pork crown for Christmas and have zeroed in on this recipe, which calls for a marinade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhgZN1zoLTE

I also would like to have a smokey flavor, for which I plan to use wood chips on my gas grill.

Will the smokey flavor play well with a marinade? Should I marinade the meat first and put it in the smoking grill (not an actual smoker) or should I rather smoke it first a bit and baste it in the middle of cooking?

For me it makes sense to marinade at the beginning to preserve the juices, but I am wondering if the marinade will prevent the smoke from penetrating the meat or if the smoke marinade combination will be weird?

I am also considering putting a dish with water in the grill to create some steam for moisture and only apply the marinade at the end, but am wondering if a steam and smoke combination would work?


texts:
I'm trying to learn to cook, and follow the parts of recipes that used to intimidate me. I can't figure out what's meant by this part of a recipe for pan-seared pork chops, and google hasn't helped.

The ingredient list calls for:

  2 (12-to 14-ounce) bone-in pork rib or center-cut chops, 1½ inches thick, trimmed and brined if desired

It's the "trimmed" part that confuses me. I'd guess that trimming either means cutting off the bones or the fat. But if there weren't supposed to be bone when you cooked them, why would it specify bone-in? And then the first step of the recipe is:

  Cut 2 slits, about 2 inches apart, through outer layer of fat and silverskin on each chop.

which seems to imply that all fat should be left on as well.

So my question is: What does "trimmed" mean in this context?


texts: I just saw a recipe that said to "temper" an egg, which I had never heard of before.  I did a little reading on it, but what is the easiest/best way to do it?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to make a cake lift equally?

I'm working on a layer cake for a birthday and did a test run today since I really have no experience with baking cakes. I had some severe doming issues - I'm actually not sure if the cake rose at all on the sides from where the batter was when it was initially poured into the (9" round dark nonstick metal) pan.

As this is a layer cake I really need a flat cake - what can I do to eliminate or at least minimize doming?

I'm aware that I can cut the dome off but I'm trying to minimize the amount of shaping that needs to be done.


texts:
I usually put a heaped Tbsp of kefir grains in full fat milk. Whether I start from room temp or cold milk I end up with grainy bits after culturing the kefir.

How to get a smooth kefir?

Ps:
I can always blitz the kefir to make it smooth (and place it in the fridge to Thicken it a bit) but I have tried kefir that is thick and Creamy with no grains a few times before... Is there anything wrong in how I make mine?

Thanks

Additional information :
I just started making kefir a few weeks back
This is a problem form day 1 for me
Milk: Australian full fat cow's milk "Marigold Fresh"
Temp : I haven't checked but I live in Singapore so quite warm. I leave the milk overnight in the kitchen (8-9pm to morning 9am)
There is usually no separation of whey / curd when leaving overnight.

Link to the milk's description


texts: I was going to try a recipe for Ceviche - are there any fish varieties not recommended?

texts: Ceviche is basically using just lemon juice to "cook" the fish, so I was wondering if there are any fish varieties that wouldn't be recommended using this method?


texts: My yeast doesn't bubble but kinda works?

texts:
I only have regular access to 2 yeast products here - active dry yeast from company #1 and active dry yeast from company #2.

I'm proofing them by mixing 6g of yeast + 1tsp of sugar + 325ml of room temperature water but unlike I've seen in youtube videos, neither of them makes any bubbles after 10 mins of waiting.. the surface of the liquid is completely still.

They still seem to rise the dough though, my pizza dough balls grow around 4x their size after a few hours at room temperature or a day in the fridge.

So is my yeast dead or alive? Maybe its just shy?


texts: Are chilies a common ingredient in Italian cooking?

texts:
I just read this article in CNN "Eating chilies cuts risk of death from heart attack and stroke, study says" and when I read this line:

  Carried out in Italy, where chili is a common ingredient, the study
  compared the risk of death among 23,000 people, some of whom ate chili
  and some of whom didn't.

I've seen that some Italian dishes call for the addition of dried chili flakes, but a common ingredient? I'm married to a Malay - chili peppers are a common ingredient. It seems as common as salt.

Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong types of chili peppers. We always have a supply of Thai chilies around, but no pepperoncinis.
So what have I missed in Italian cooking where chilies are a common ingredient?

Or is what we have here in America as Italian cooking just isn't the real deal?


texts: How long will schmaltz last in the freezer?

texts: I have three frozen containers of schmaltz. The newest is three months old; the oldest is probably a couple of years old. Are any of them edible?


texts: Sauerkraut soaks up too much liquid while fermenting

texts: I've been fermenting sauerkraut in a quart jar and for some reason forgot to keep an outer piece of cabbage to help keep the kraut submerged. For day 1-2 it was fine, there was plenty of brine to keep it submerged. Now though on day 3 and 4 the brine has all been reabsorbed into the kraut and no matter how much I push it down, in a few hours it's exposed again. Do I still need to worry about mold at this stage or has 2 or 3 days fermentation been enough to preserve it? Or should I top off with a brine solution or would this just add unnecessary salt to what should be now a pickled flavour?


texts: Making a sorbet by cooking or by pureeing the ingredients?

texts:
For a sorbet that contains a fruit, sugar, water and lime juice, i would like to know which is the best way to make this sorbet; by putting all the ingredients on heat until the fruits are very soft (and then put this mixture in the blender) or just by puree the ingredients in the blender until smooth?

What changes in each case?


texts: home made cough sweets didn't set properly

texts:
Please could you help me find out what went wrong? I have made these before and they were slightly soft, but edible. This batch half set, but still runny

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Method:

Simmer for 20 minutes on low heat
Take off heat and allow to cool slightly
Drop onto baking paper
Dust with icing sugar


texts: How can I cook dried noodles with just hot water?

texts:
I'm looking for any tips for making a meal with dried noodles without needing to actively cook them.

My problem is that the kitchen in my office has nothing, not even a microwave. It just has a hot water dispenser (not sure of the exact temperature, standard models generally dispense it at 94ºc so I would assume this one is the same).

I'm fine with salads and sandwiches, but sometimes I want something hot. A particular favorite is noodles, but whenever I have instant noodles I get terrible indigestion, probably because of all the terrible things that are in the flavor sachet (I actively avoid reading the ingredients for my own sanity).

I want to make my own similar thing adding my own spices/ ingredients, and also preferably vegetables, but it seems unreasonably expensive to buy lots of individual packets of instant noodles, and get rid of the flavor sachets to make my own.

I've tried searching on the internet, but all of the things I've found are cooking it inside a kettle (which isn't an option), or using a microwave (also not an option).

So are there any tips/ advice for cooking noodles (like dried egg noodles) simply with hot water?

More specifically, optimum noodle weight:water volume ratio, and amount of time they are left in the water before ready to eat.

If there are any other type of noodles that can be used for this specifically, egg noodles aren't required. I also don't mind if it ends up more like a soup, but I would rather there be as little liquid remaining as possible.


texts: Can semifreddo be used in fried ice cream recipe?

texts: As the title says, can I use semifreddo instead of ice cream in a fried ice cream recipe?


texts: Cooking messy foods in a bamboo steamer without a cleaning nightmare

texts:
For example, chicken.

I have tried:

chicken directly in steamer: chicken gunk goes everywhere, including between the woven bamboo slats.
chicken in a colander in the basket: gunk still goes everywhere.
chicken on a dinner plate in the basket: gunk controlled but chicken gets cooked in a bath of accumulated chicken juices and condensed steam.
chicken on an upside down plate: gunk gets everywhere.
wrapped in banana leaves: good but don't have easy access to banana leaves and is this really steaming if they're wrapped up? Even on plates I feel I'm missing the rising steam and relying on the overall humidity in the basket.
sitting on banana leaves: again banana leaves are hard to come by, gunk problem still a bit of an issue.
using a new steamer basket each time: they're cheap but it's a bit wasteful...

Is there a solution here?


texts: How quickly does soy lecithin lose its effect?

texts:
I bought a box of soy lecithin at a store yesterday, only to discover that it is past its "use by"-date. The date was a month ago. Now I am wondering whether to take the hassle of returning it to the store or just to go on using it. It is sealed, so I don't want to open it before I know something about the usability of the powder.

Thus, the question is how quickly lecithin degrades?


texts: Are there any features of cookers that make them rodent resistant?

texts:
Our gas cooker has started leaking gas. It is likely that it is because mice have been living in the cladding for a good few months and they have finally got around to chewing through a gas pipe.

I am now looking for a replacement but there seems to be no direct indication in any cooker specifications that suggest it would be rodent resistant. What features could I look for that would suggest the mice will not get in again.

There does seem to be some notes on the Amazon website that some cookers have some rodent-proofing feature (such as the Bush AG56D) but the wording is unclear.


texts: How to make sugar coated fennel seeds at home?

texts: Fennel seeds have a great flavor and are good for digestion. I tried sugar coating them at home. But drying them up once the seeds got added to hot sugar syrup became a problem. At the same time seeds became gooey and it got all the more tough to take them out on a plate. I want to know what is the proper technique to sugar coat fennel seeds. Plz someone help!


texts:
My wooden cutting board is turning black!

I tried reposition the cutting board and even tried hanging them but regardless of the different configuration, water still accumulate at a certain region during the drying process and blacken them. After the cutting board is dried, the black remains and is not fading away.

How to avoid it and how can I get rid of the black-ness?


texts: I like to make no bake cheese cake when I checked few blogs and I got to know that cream cheese is important for this but I don't have cream cheese in the nearby shops. When I further started searching I saw one more blog where they used yogurt and crumbled paneer which is easy for me to use. I just wanted to know is that both together is cream cheese or it's something different.


texts: What is the rate of loss of vitamin C in fresh vegetables?

texts: If I keep fresh vegetables in the fridge, how quickly is vitamin C lost? What is the rate of loss in percent per day, or any other relevant measure?


texts: I would like to bake mini cupcakes but need height on them before I use icing sugar. How do I get this right without the cupcake spilling over the paper and going flat and having no height to it?


texts: Dark grey residue from newly purchased stainless steel kitchen items?

texts:
I have had this happen a few times now. What happens is that I purchase a new kitchen item made of stainless steel. When cleaning it, I find out that there is some kind of dark grey residue that comes off of it. The items that have done this are supposed to be used to cook or they come into contact with food.

Is this metalic residue? If not, what is it?


texts:
I'm thinking of buying a modern, probably electronic kitchen scale, to replace my really ancient mechanical one. I'm located in Bombay, India.

I'm wondering what considerations should inform my decision. Possible points include:

Should the scale be waterproof? Is that a useful feature?
On a related note, what considerations should one give to being easy to clean?
Apparently if the tare button is on the weighing surface, it can distort/bias the weight measurement by a few grams. It's not necessarily clear for a given item whether that will be a problem or not. It's presumably only an issue if the weighing is very fast.
Should there be a platform for weighing, which is separate from the main machine? See the previous point. Also, if it's the same platform, then whatever you want to weight may block the display. Though some units, like the Soehnle Page Profi (see below) have a hold button to deal with that.

I'm currently considering Soehnle, specifically
Soehnle KSD Page Digital Kitchen Scale and
Soehnle KSD Fiesta Digital Kitchen Scale. Though the former appears to actually be the Page Profi. "KSD Page" has no hits elsewhere.


texts: When should or shouldn't you toss pasta with sauce?

texts:
Tossing pasta with the sauce saves the need to unstick it with starch water. But I have a theory that if the pasta sits in the moisture of the sauce for too long (fridge) it gets soggy and loses it's al dente kick.

How does tossing the pasta with the sauce affect the texture and taste? Should I do that to increase fridge life?


texts:
I'm having problems with boiling eggs. The egg whites are not hardening and stay soft, but the yolks did set. The eggs I'm using are freshly laid.
What can cause this? How can I make sure my egg whites set too?


texts: Attempting to make Coconut Pringles - dough too crumbly

texts:
not a cook here. Attempting to make coconut based "pringles".

here's my recipe:

3/4 cup coconut blended into essentially coconut butter
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup water with 1/4 tsp salt

the idea was to run these through a pasta maker and cut out thin as possible circles that would crisp into pringly type chips. the dough is too crumbly. i'm assuming lack of starch? trying to make a coconut bacon type thing but in the shape of actual chips. http://www.phoneybaloneys.com/bacon/

any ideas on what i can do to make the dough less crumbly?


texts: Why does rice get sticky as it cools off?

texts:
So I have noticed rice go from fluffy and easy to separate to sticky and coming off as several masses. I have a hypothesis as to why that happens. Also, I have noticed this most in long grain rice that it is sticky when it has been cooked and cooled off.

Here is my hypothesis as to why:

As you add the cold water or broth, the starch on the surface of the rice starts to dissolve. As the temperature rises, this solubility increases and the amount of liquid decreases because some is turned into steam and the rest is absorbed by the rice. While the rice is hot, it is fluffy and you can easily separate the grains. But as it cools, the starch starts coming out of solution and forming complexes between the rice grains causing them to stick together. Once it is completely cooled off, only a small amount of the rice stays as separate grains and the rest stays as masses of rice.

But is this why my long grain rice gets sticky as it cools whereas my medium grain rice stays as separate grains hot or cold?


texts: Smoked a chicken and the skin came out like boot leather

texts:
I recently decided to smoke and entire chicken so I dropped it in and kept the smoker around 225-250 for about 4 hours.  I went in and sprayed it down with a little apple juice and vegatable oil every hour or so.  The meat came out delicious and tender, but the skin was so tough it was not edible.

What can I do differently to keep the skin from getting so tough?


texts: Cookies are soft in the middle, even though the edges are browned

texts:
So I followed the recipe posted here to get some pretty standard chocolate chip cookies:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookies/77c14e03-d8b0-4844-846d-f19304f61c57

But when I pulled it out of the oven, the edges were browned but the centers doughy and soft, almost undercooked even.

My first thought that my oven was too hot, but I'm not entirely sure, and I'm not sure what I should be looking at. My choice in baking pan might be suspect, or maybe its because this is a convection oven (it's got a fan that keeps blowing the air around). Any thoughts?


texts:
I've never used Tilda rice before, but I'm considering trying it and I wonder if it's worth the cost. I usually use India Gate or whatever is on sale, which is almost half the price of Tilda for the same weight. I don't see the same level of hype for other basmati rice brands as for Tilda, but I also see a lot of criticism of the brand, people saying it gets mushy, it's flavourless, it's overpriced, etc.

Can someone shed light on why there are so many hardcore Tilda fans? Is it because a lot of people grew up with it and are used to the taste? Is it the price driving a "placebo" of sorts and raising expectations? Or is it genuinely more fragrant and better textured than other basmati rice brands?


texts:
I bought pineapple and mango with the intention of making some juice out of them. I tried puréeing the fruit in the food processor and then mixed it with some water and lemon juice in the blender. The result was a really pulpy mess, yielded maybe a liter, if that, and was mostly flavourless.

I have two mangoes and a cored pineapple (like they sell in the grocery store in a container). What can I do this time to make my juice work out better?


texts: What is the difference between butterscotch, caramel, and toffee?

texts: I've always thought they were the same. Tonight I noticed a slight taste difference as compared to caramel when I had some "butterscotch" for the first time in a while. Now my assumptions have been thrown to the wind. Is butterscotch essentially caramel plus some liquor?


texts: Why does the fat on my chicken broth sometimes solidify, sometimes not?

texts:
I've been making chicken broth pretty much the same way for decades. I cut up a whole chicken, cutting through the bones of all but the breast and thighs (to release marrow). I pretty deeply brown the pieces (with skin) in the bottom of a stock pot, then remove. I then saute roughly chopped onion, celery and carrot in the chicken fat until browned, then I deglaze with a little wine or sherry. The chicken pieces go back in the pot with a gallon of water, I bring just to a boil, cover and turn off the heat. Now it sits for a half an hour or so. I then fish out the breasts, refrigerate the breast meat, and return the bones and the skin to the pot.  I simmer the remaining pieces for about another 40 minutes, remove the thighs, reserve the thigh meat, break the bones, return the skin and bones to the pot and slow simmer everything for the better part of the rest of the day. I allow the broth to cool, strain through a colander then a fine sieve, then refrigerate overnight.

Here's what's weird. Half the time, I can simply remove hard solid fat from the top of the chilled broth. The other half of the time the fat separates and thickens, but never solidifies, I end up dirtying my fat separator. I can't figure what could possibly be different from one batch to the next. I generally even buy the same brand of chicken and I only add a tiny bit of oil (vegetable) for the initial browning.

Even weirder, sometimes the broth is so full of gelatin that it is actually harder than the fat, it makes for a good soup when that happens, but makes separating the fat a bit of a pain.


texts: Why didn't the toppings on my pizza stick to the dough?

texts: I made homemade pizza the other night and it was delicious except for the fact the toppings wouldn't stay on the cooked dough. It was a Chicken Alfredo pizza with green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and chicken. I used a metal round pizza pan to bake the pizza and the taste was amazing! However, like I stated earlier, the topping and the cheese would fall off. Why is this? How do I make it stick to the dough? Maybe I put too many toppings on the pizza, but I believe I put a perfect, good amount. Thanks for the feedback! (:


texts: Are carrots safe to eat after they have turned black?

texts: I recently got a bag of carrots out of the fridge, and find that most of them had turned black.  What causes this, and are they safe to eat (with or without peeling)?


texts: What device should I use for pressing/fermenting

texts:
I regularly make a Japanese side dish of fermented cabbage that's simply pressed down for a day and salted. I'd just jury rigged something up, but it finally broke so now I'm looking to see if there is an actual device I can buy. I'd like to steer clear of plastics too.

The device needs to apply a good amount of pressure and I'd like to make the pressed cabbage in large amounts, but it doesn't have to be huge (say enough for a single cabbage).


texts: How to remove individual steaks from a lump I mistakenly froze together?

texts:
I got a vacuum sealer and stored about 7 pieces of steak in 1 bag. I put it in the freezer and just now I decided to take out a couple of steaks to thaw out so I cut open the bag but all the steaks are frozen together. I know if I heat them all up I won't be able to refreeze the rest. What can I do? Should I re-vacuum seal the bag and wait until I can cook them all at once?

Also how do you use a vacuum sealer effectively with bulk meat? It doesn't work too well to store them all in one bag because if you are going to eat one at a time you need to re-bag everything each time.


texts: Are there any books which explain Indian cooking in terms of science?

texts:
My attempt to make a paneer curry taste similar to restaurant is turning into a mad goose chase. I've literally tried 100s of recipes shown on Google, YouTube, etc, but I'm not getting the taste similar to the ones sold in restaurant.

I'm thinking it's poor quality ingredients I buy, especially tomatoes. But I don't think that entirely explains it. Because, a restaurant I frequently visit has two chefs, one chef makes the paneer curry taste good, the other chef makes the curry taste so bad.

So how exactly do they get the taste, could it be because, as they prepare large quantities, the flavour gets intensified?

Or is it because of sophisticated cooking techniques with knowledge of chemistry of ingredients, like a science.

What science books are chefs made to study, where can I buy them? Does it explain how to prepare, how to cook, which to cook first, and at what stage ingredients have to be added?

The recipes posted on Internet for garam masala, etc seem to be by people who don't anything about cooking, they just seem to throw ingredients haphazardly and grind.

The restaurants seem to have mastered it to the level of science, so that they get the same taste every time. Where do these learn, what books do they study, where can I buy those books?


texts: I wanted to experiment with baking with Whey Protein and I found recipes for baking online.  I was wondering if any whey protein off the shelf can be used?  Or do I need to find a specific type of whey protein online?  Using Whey is something I'm not familiar with and didn't see any options online geared for cooking, so I wasn't sure if any product was acceptable...


texts: Are there significant differences between different zesters?

texts: I'm thinking of purchasing a zester and I need some indication of a good one. Can anyone help? What should I look for?


texts: Someone brought me some strawberries. After washing and wrapping in facial tissue, I found red color in the tissue. My question is will natural strawberry color do that? Or was the color painted on to make the strawberries good looking?


texts:
Does anybody know what the bright red bbq sauce served in Chinese restaurants is called? I'm trying to find a recipe for it but don't know what to look for.

It's usually served with ribs or pork, it's not the dipping sauce served on the tables, def taste of star anise in it and I think it's made from scratch as I've asked in many Chinese supermarkets if it comes in jars or powder form to be told no. The colouring is added to make it red.


texts: How should I handle chiles without gloves?

texts: I know that to be really safe, especially with really hot peppers or large quantities, gloves are the way to go. But often I don't really need gloves: I have a small quantity of something not too hot (jalapeños or serranos), and I have a reasonable tolerance. How should I chop or mince them, minimizing the amount of capsaicin I get on my hands?


texts: Where can I find strong sharp tasting olive oil in the US?

texts:
I was hoping you could all educate me. I remember living in Turkey and travelling around the Mediterranean in general and a lot of the Olive Oil was sharper or you might call it bitter, and I know it was fresh. I loved the taste. In the US where I'm from, all the store bought olive oil that I've purchased is smooth and doesn't have any special kick to it. Why is that?
I assume it's for one of three reasons

I am not always the cheapest but I won't go all out and spend the most on something usually, and I wouldn't know what bottles to choose anyway.

The manufacturers know or think they know their market, and they think, probably correctly, that American's wouldn't go for that.

The process of storing and transporting it either reduces the sharpness or requires they refine it in a way that reduces it.

I'm interested in EVOO of course. I assume the stuff in the Mediterranean I ate was Extra Virgin but if it wasn't, that's fine too. I know it was fresh.
Am I correct with my reasons above, and more importantly where can I find sharp strong olive oil like I remember (including on Amazon)?


texts: Dusty water, different taste if water has been sitting?

texts:
If I leave a glass of water out over night, I notice that it seems to taste different the next day.

Is this because dust is falling into the water?


texts: Can you keep chicken warm in a crockpot?

texts: I'm making a chicken dish that is baked but I want to do most of the cooking the day before the party. Can I pre-bake the chicken and then keep it warm in the crockpot? Should I add some chicken stock to keep it moist?


texts: Removing the skin from chicken before or after cooking?

texts: when cooking a whole chicken to make bone marrow soup with, should I remove the skin before or after cooking?


texts: Is it ok for a cast iron skillet to have small visible pores on their surface?

texts: I just got my first cast iron skillet, it's brand new pre-seasoned. While I know cast iron is generally porous, I was surprised to see actual visible pores in there. Is it normal for cast iron cookware to have these sort of pores?


texts: Can dried shrimp be used as a substitute for shrimp paste in a recipe for thai curry paste?

texts: I'd like to make my own thai red curry and green curry pastes but both of these call for shrimp paste which isn't widely available in my country.  I do have a packet of small dried shrimp (with heads/legs on). Can I use these to subsitute for the shrimp paste, or should I use fish sauce instead? or perhaps both?


texts: I've started to make dairy free cheese for cafes but have problem scaling up?

texts: I've started making dairy free cheese for cafes. Similar to whisking a sauce for 5 minutes. Ive tried scaling up using a bamix stick blender with large Raymond Blanc non stick pot on induction cooker this leads to problems with grey flex appearing in the cheese? Any advise much appreciated.


texts:
I got a recipe coming up for Thai Fish Cakes. The recipe calls for Miso Dressing to be put on top of the fish cakes. Problem is, I can't find Miso Dressing in the stores I shop at ( I live in Central AZ ), and getting it from Amazon is too expensive or too large for something I infrequently use.

Nothing really spicy, please. My roommate can't handle the spice.


texts: Making Fudge - temperature/humidity calculation?

texts:
About 15 years ago as a student I used to work at a fudge making store.
I remember it was not quite as straight forward as boil, cool, sell.

There was a certain calculation to determine the correct temperature to stop boiling the fudge mixture. I know the general idea is 234°F or 112°C, but I can remember we had a humidity sensor reading, and that had to be used in a calculation to get to the correct or precise temperature to pour out the fudge mixture onto the huge marble table to start cooling and shaping the logs of fudge.

Is there someone out there who knows how this calculation works?

Here is a link with some good advice


texts: Sauce in a sealed jar smells off, has it gone bad?

texts:
I just finished eating a lasagne that I cooked for my family with a glass jar of tomato with ricotta, I have to say my family was not impressed. I went back to check the jar and it did not smell good, at first I thought this was just a natural ricotta smell but now I think it was off!

The jar was sealed and with another year to go before expiry so I am wondering if I have cooked with off ricotta or not?


texts: What is the maximum internal temperature of baked goods?

texts:
Obviously this will vary depending on the size/shape and ingredients used. But how hot does it get inside, say, a loaf of bread? A cake? How wide is the variation? What ingredients (or factors other than shape/size and cooking temp/time) might affect this, and in what direction?

Edit: to clarify, I mean "maximum temperature during normal cooking."


texts: Do I need a specific pot to cook Japanese-style rice?

texts:
So, I've been rather curious lately as to what I'll be needing in order to prepare/cook some Japanese-style rice. I wanted to say sushi rice, but I believe it's prepared a bit differently—or rather, it contains a different set of ingredients (depending).

Anyway, I have a regular medium-sized pot that comes with a very flimsy metallic lid. There's almost no weight to it. Out of curiosity, I tried out a method/tutorial I found online. This person used a similar pot, but the lid was glass. I initially boiled the rice, later covering it up to let it steam, and had to stop after about 2-3 min due to the bubbles forming from the pot. I prepared everything to a T and didn't really get to eat it as I couldn't even cook it.

So, from my understanding, there's like a minimum wait time when boiling, and then you pretty much just leave the lid on for a certain amount of time for it to cook.

While I could just as easily purchase a rice-cooker, I'd like to master this method first.

Am I doing something wrong or is there typically a specific pot you'd need to use in order to do this?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT:
Link to resource. It's not the exact one I viewed before, but the setup is the same and the process as well as the tools used is very similar. Coincidentally, I also used Nishiki short-grained rice when I did mine.


texts: Making madeleines without the special pan?

texts:
I don't have the special pan or any cupcake or muffin tins.

Can I just plop spoonfuls on a cookie sheet? Does anyone know whether I have to alter the recipe? If so, how?


texts: Can I make white chocolate brownies based on a normal brownie recipe?

texts: I've been trying to make white chocolate brownies by taking a normal brownie recipe and replacing dark chocolate with white chocolate. It doesn't work, though - the butter seems to split, and the consistency gets totally wrong. I'm just trying to make a white chocolate cake that's fudgy and dense like a brownie. What am I doing wrong?


texts: Egg yolk substitute for whole eggs in strata

texts: Can I use egg yolks for all or part of whole eggs in strata?


texts:
I have always frozen my bread with no noticeable difference. Some fridge freezers seem to impart a stale freezer burn flavor to lots of things, but I've never had that issue. I'm guessing it has to do with the freshness/cleanliness of the freezer, how things are packaged, how long they are frozen, etc.

I'm having suddenly having issues with the crust, sometimes just part of the crust, becoming extremely hard and tough on store-bought sliced bread that is usually frozen no more than 3 weeks.

The only variable that has changed is the style of deep freeze--we just received an upright, self-defrosting freezer, replacing our very old deep chest freezer that was not self-defrosting.  Perhaps the newer one is removing more moisture from the air in the freezer, hence drying the bread.  That makes sense, however, I used to freeze bread in my refrigerator freezer, which is also self-defrosting, with no issues.

I've tested lowering the temp of the freezer, and storing the bread on the shelf instead of in the door. Neither have made a difference.  I'm planning to get a plastic tote with lid thinking that might help reduce drying air exposure.

Perhaps my question is more related to the functionality of this freezer, manufacturer's performance issue, or simply a variability in freezer styles. I just find it odd that after freezing food for 40 years with no issues, this has suddenly become a problem.


texts: How many times can you reuse bones to make broth?

texts:
I recently cooked a chicken and made chicken broth from the bones. I also kept a few pieces of meat to add to the broth to give it more flavor.

I know you can freeze the broth and use it for later but specifically how many times can I reuse the bones to make broth? Is there a time when it loses flavor or is not good for you? Does it differ depending on the animal/meat?


texts: Using Frozen Fries as a Component: How to Dress Them Up?

texts:
I often have to use frozen (potato) fries as a component in dishes. Usually, I douse them in garlic sauce and ketchup, but that doesn't really add much to them.

What can I do to dress them up and make them a stronger component in dishes?

They're also usually soggy and soft, and don't crisp well at all (they usually end up burned if I try to crisp them).


texts:
I recently visited a restaurant called Zuma, and they had this unbelievable chocolate molten cake.

As you can see they have a cover on top, like a sheet of chocolate. How would one make this? I am not particularly interested on they write the name(however that would be a bonus) but just the sheet to cover the top.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is there a book on Uzbek cooking in English? I found one in Russian, but English would be preferable.


texts: How to have a weekly baking sourdough starter plan

texts:
I want to start baking 2 loaves of sourdough bread every Sunday evening.

I have to start from scratch. So I do not have any starter yet.

Can someone please help me with a plan to do it?

How and when should I start with the starter so that it results in enough starter to bake 2 loaves of bread on a Sunday?

How do I maintain the sourdough starter to make it a weekly routine?


texts:
I am entering a baking contest (well, two actually that are two days apart).  The first contest I am only baking three items, but the second I am baking (potentially) 15 items.  Normally I have a much better head start, but this year seems to have gotten the best of me!

Most of the items will be baked Thursday afternoon or sometime Friday to be as fresh as possible.  Two items for Thursday's baking contest are also in Saturday's.  One item is in the freezer (pound cake).  My question is the second item.  It is a chocolate cherry coke cake with two frostings (a marshmallow fluff frosting and a chocolate cherry coke frosting).

The marshmallow fluff needs to be put on the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven to help melt the fluff and make it spreadable.  Then the second frosting gets poured over the top of the marshmallow fluff almost immediately.  Instead of making a 9X13 cake, I made two smaller cakes.  Both have been frosted and are currently in the fridge.

The one for tomorrow should fine (I'll pull it from the fridge tonight and leave it at room temperature over night).  My concern is the one for Saturday.  I don't think freezing is the answer, but I'm worried that too much time in the fridge will make the cake too hard.  But if I leave it at room temperature for the next three days, will it be OK?  Is that too long to stay at room temperature?  (I live in FL so I'm used to keeping everything in the fridge to avoid humidity's effects.)  The first frosting is just the marshmallow fluff.  The second is cocoa power, butter, cherry coke, and powered sugar.

This question (How long can a stacked carrot cake be stored) is close as it asks about storing a stacked cake, but I'm looking for the best way to store a double frosted cake to stay as fresh as possible for three and a half more days.


texts: Do tomatoes or tomato pastes damage stainless steel cookware?

texts:
I enjoy making a good ragu, and I often want to let it sit in the stainless steel cookware so I can have leftovers the next day (not a commercial setting).  But I'm concerned about the acid from the tomatoes eating into the pot or pan.

Do tomatoes or tomato pastes harm the finish on stainless steel cookware if it sits overnight?


texts: How can I substitute Egg Noodles for Rice Noodles in a Pad Thai?

texts: I'm unable to get rice noodles right now but I've never used egg noodles before. What is the difference in how I should cook it?


texts: Can salad dressing be made with coconut oil? Does one need to blend it to homogenize it? Will coagulation of occur afterwards?At room temperature, coconut oil is not liquid like vegetable oils.


texts: How can I make my almond buns rise evenly?

texts:
I make small almond flour buns using silicone molds shaped like half a ball, my problem is that I need them to rise evenly so that I can get a perfect mini-bun shape.
What should I do?


texts:
A recipe for a spinach casserole / gratin calls for topping it off with Appenzeller before putting it in the oven. I cannot find Appenzeller in the store.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appenzeller_cheese distinguishes between classic, surchoix, and extra Appenzeller, but the recipe doesn't give that much detail; it just says Appenzeller.

What cheese would you recommend instead?


texts: What can I add to make my gluten free buns a decent size.  I have tried for years. There has to be something to lift them and make them to the same size as our regular hot cross buns


texts: "Post Brine" for Lacto-Fermented Cucumbers (Dill Pickles)

texts: Once I have "pickles" pickled (pun intended)... how do I store them? Typically I make a very large batch and would like to transfer them to smaller vessels for friends/family... do I just pour in the brine I used to ferment them?


texts:
I have run into this a few times.   I soak dry posole overnight, and then add it to my sweated/sauteed vegetables, add water, and stir it regularly, and it still takes over 4 hours for the kernels to pop.   Is there a part of the process I am missing or doing wrong, or could I just be dealing with old posole?

Posole is essentially Nixtamalized Corn, or hominy.


texts: What is the best way to make Kopi Luwak coffee?

texts: I received a bag as a gift and want to take the proper measures to brewing the best cup of coffee possible.


texts: Do I need to worry about differences in produce in foreign recipes?

texts: I am from Egypt and so I think some produce is different from the ones in Europe or the US where most of the recipes found online are written. Should I stick to a regional cook book or is the variation in things like garlic, onions and tomatoes unnoticeable?


texts: What do to with cans that you just dented?

texts:
I just dented ten cans, moderately. Would it be safe to put them straight into the refrigerator or do I have to remove the food from the can and store it some other way?

Background:

I had around 35 cans in one of my side bags on my bicycle. However, I leaned my bicycle against the wall and it fell. The end result was dented cans. What should I do? They still seem good.


texts: The way to cook vegetables that keeps most of the nutrients

texts: What is the way to cook vegetables that keeps most of the nutrients?


texts: Cooking French fries with strainer from IKEA's Idealisk

texts:
I want to make French fries, but I don't have a proper deep fryer, but just a dutch oven and a strainer from IKEA, Idealisk.
Is it OK to leave the potatoes in the strainer and submerge them in the hot oil? Like leaving the strainer in the hot oil.  Will the strainer be damaged from the heat?


texts:
I brew coffee using a french press. After I've pressed it, how can I make it chill fast?

I've tried pouring it into a wider container (larger surface area) and putting it in the freezer. This is not optimal since I don't want to thaw the contents in the freezer. Also, this takes some time and risks spilling the coffee.

When it is cold enough I put some ice cubes in a drinking thermos, pour in the coffee, close the lid and shake it. This part of the process works well because the ice "only" transfers the cold to the coffee and not the surroundings. I guess I could use crushed ice instead for greater effect?

Is there a better/quicker way of making iced coffee?


texts: Are there food products that are meant to have an aftertaste?

texts: Is "aftertaste" always a bad thing, and are there food products that are supposed to have some (specific) aftertaste?


texts: Can I substitute Glucose Syrup for Sugar in cake recipes?

texts: I need to bake a cake without fructose, so all forms of granulated sugar and most syrups (including honey, agave & maple syrup) are out. I've heard of granulated dextrose but can't find it. I'd like to use Glucose Syrup instead of sugar but need to know how to alter the recipe to compensate for using a syrup instead of granulated sugar.


texts: Corned Beef, Cabbage vs. Reuben - Multipurpose?

texts:
Good evening, all.  Quick, specific question here (something too esoteric for most cooking sites I checked):

I have ~2.25lb of Corned Beef Brisket (Point Cut)", fresh &  vacuum-sealed with spices and all that.  I bought it with the intention of making Reuben sandwiches (R's) for my waifu and I...  But then simultaneously bought a head of cabbage, thinking "Ah, Easter; corned beef & cabbage (CB&C)!"  Aaaaand they have sat in the fridge, since I cannot figure out if I can do both.

My lack of culinary initiative aside, I am trying to determine:

Is the "Corned Beef" used in CB&C the same as used in R's?
Is the above a matter of preparation (i.e. my plans to slow-cooker it would be perfect for CB&C but bad for R's?)
If no to the above, can it be made so?

To further complicate things, I purchased a can of the very same substance ("Corned Beef"); is that useful for either CB&C, R's, or both (or neither; I'm not sure it's not just glorified SPAM)?

Anyway, thanks for reading my overly-complicated question.  Any help would be appreciated!


texts: My cocoa powder won't mix with melted butter

texts:
I was trying to mix cocoa powder into melted butter but instead of mixing in it had a grainy texture and wouldn't dissolve. The butter was still hot and it was only melted not boiled.

I use Heintz cocoa powder which I have used before with no problems.

I am however using a new kind of butter. Can increased moisture content or fat content in the butter cause this?


texts: What factors affect collagen to gelatin conversion?

texts:
I have a bunch of oxtails I've been braising for hours in an adobo sauce and they remain awfully tough. What I'd love to see happen is for that abundant connective tissue to melt away and coat each fiber of meat with its succulent juices, but that collagen just does not want to budge.

This makes me wonder what is causing the conversion to fail (or just take so long). I'm sure the fact that we're dealing with oxtail is a factor--and older piece of meat simply is more tightly bound. But I suspect there may be more going on here as well. For example, the braising liquid is relatively acidic--would the pH of the medium affect the conversion rate? Or water hardness, perhaps? I've checked the collagen references in "On Food and Cooking" but didn't find anything that seemed relevant.

So, generally speaking what factors will affect the rate and effectiveness of collagen to gelatin conversion?


texts: Is there any method to take canned beans out of the jar without spoiling the beans, as they are kind of sticking on each other?


texts: Same spaghetti sauce recipe for over 30 years

texts: I’ve been making the same spaghetti sauce for over 30 years and everybody loves it! But,the last 6+ times that I have made it it tastes acidic. I can’t figure out why.  It’s a very Basic recipe using tomato sauce, a can of whole tomatoes, a can of tomato soup to cut the acidity ( I know that sounds weird but it works)  onion garlic, etc   I use  a little chicken broth and red wine if I have it handy. I always use my Dutch oven to cook it. I add meat balls the last hour or so.  Does anyone have any idea as to why the flavor is different now??


texts: Every time I make a pie , topped with meringue , little beads of sugary syrup form on the top of the meringue a few hours later. Why?


texts: Pretzel burger buns: how to make soft crust?

texts:
According to pretzel bread recipe, raw dough buns must be dipped for 30 seconds into a water with baking soda before going into the over in order for them to develop that pretzel brown crust, but it also seems to make the crust quite hard. Is there anything I should add or do to make the pretzel bun's crust soft like this:

All the recipes I tried to follow on the internet came out with a very hard pretzel crust.


texts:
This sounds so silly writing it out. I frequently buy Olivia's organic spring mix salad which says it's "triple washed." Out of habit, I guess, I wash / spin each serving before I eat it.

Should I wash my pre-washed greens, or is this step superfluous?


texts:
I have been dealing with my sourdough starter since about 1-2 months ago, when I started it from scratch with just water and flour .

In the last 2 refreshments I have added some honey, just 1 teaspoon each time to deliver some easy-to-digest sugar to my sourdough, I don't think it's too much based on the quantities of water and flour . The real difference is that in the past I have used a bowl covered with a wet piece of cloth, but since the last 2 refreshments I have been using a big cylindrical container made of glass with a plastic tap, and it's almost airtight, it's really different from just having a cloth on top of a container .

My sourdough starter was developing a really good smell, it was a "flat" odor of flour mixed to water in the first days, but it developed into something more fruity in the next days/weeks . Now in the new sealed container, stored at room temperature, away from direct sunlight, in the back of my cabinet, it started developing a punchy alcoholic smell .

I suppose that it was something I should expect from bacteria that goes into anaerobic mode, but my questions are about the cooking aspect of this :

what this means for my yeast/sourdough culture, it means it's good an healthy and I should keep storing it this way ?
how to prepare/handle my sourdough when I'll make pizza or bread out of it ? I should just take a piece of it and add it to my ingredients as always ?


texts: Is there any reason not to decrystallize honey?

texts:
The other night some friends of mine tried to convince me that decrystallizing honey is bad for the honey.  I don't buy it.

Is there any truth to their claims?  I couldn't find anything to support them--or even anything considering the question at all.


texts: Could B.Subtilis ssp. mesentericus develop in proofing stage?

texts:
My last breads suffer from B.Subtilis ssp. mesentericus infection - the bread became sticky in hours and apparently ill.

I exchanged the flour, performed cleaning and cleansing but still the disease came back.

My subjective feeling is that the dough became sticky already in the proofing stage.

My question is can Bacillus Mesentericus develop in the proofing stage and can I diagnose it by some means?


texts: How do I add a strong "onion flavor" to the biryani (in restaurant style)?

texts:
I've had chicken biryani in restaurants and their biryanis taste extremely different from what we prepare at home. I'm not sure how to describe it except that it's an "onion flavor".

We've got loads of biryani recipes and they're all more or less the same.

After a lot of pondering over the difference, I've begun to suspect that the restaurants are doing either of these things (or a combination of them):

They're somehow adding an onion flavor. Either that or they're adding something else that has a strong pungent, sour flavor.
They're adding an ingredient that gives a slight sweet taste. It's not tomato sauce, tomato puree, or sugar. There's something else. I've tried all of these methods.
Perhaps it's milk in some way.

How can I give a strong "onion flavor" or something similar to it to my biryani? How are the restaurants doing it?

Edit: I ordered chicken biryani from the restaurant again and have added some pics. Please take a look at these pics to get an idea about this recipe/onion flavor. So far, no answer talks about creating the lump of onion shown in the pics. Those lumps of onions are the key to creating this flavor:

Pic of an "onion glob". This is the strangest thing in the recipe. There are globs of onions between the rice. These are basically lumps of onions that stick together. They resemble a pigeon's egg (size and shape-wise). I've crushed open an onion glob to show what it looks like.
Note: There are NO onions in the rice. Only the onion globs + chicken pieces (which contain very small pieces of onions).

Inferences: They are clearly not deep frying the onions. I believe deep frying them leads to crispyness. These onions aren't crisp.

2) Pic of the chicken pieces: Another surprising thing about the taste is that the chicken pieces taste almost the same as the onion globs, except they're sweeter.

Inferences: I'm guessing that they've mixed tomato sauce with the chicken but can't say for sure.

3) Pic of the rice:
The rice seems to have very little oil. It sticks to my fingers. I can see that half of it looks like plain rice. All of it has a very very strong onion-like smell.

Inferences: I suspect that the rice was cooked separately entirely. Then it was mixed with the onion globs, and steamed a little bit to catch that aroma.


texts:
I understand that, in order to cook chicken safely, the chicken has to be 175f or 79c.

But is there a temperature for the different cuts of chicken that improves the flavour of the chicken?


texts: Why are oil bubbles when cooking bacon only around the bacon?

texts:
When bacon cooks it is in oil.
The oil does not bubble anywhere except the edges of the bacon.
Why?


texts: I used a new type of file powder in gumbo that I have made many times. It came out too thick and slimey. I can thin it down with some chicken stock. How can I fix the slimey texture. It is very unappealing.


texts: Do I use the Air Fry fan when baking with the Emeril 360 Air Fryer/Oven?

texts: The air fry fan comes on automatically but the instructions seem to indicate I should push it off.  Is it still convection cooking or is the Air Fry button for Air Frying only?


texts: Whenever I make chicken, I end up going through and trimming a ton of fat. I have heard that free-range chicken is leaner. Is this actually true? What, generally, is the best way to make sure you end up getting high-quality meat that doesn't require a huge amount of fat-trimming?


texts: What do I need to get started with American style Barbecue?

texts:
With summer on the way here in the UK, I'd like to start trying some American style BBQ - ribs, pulled pork, brisket etc. as well as perhaps the odd steak and even pizza - with a relatively limited budget. I had originally looked at a hot smoker like this, but I've also read that you can use a straightforward Weber kettle grill. I've also heard that a chimney starter is useful.

What's the best, most cost effective but still authentic approach? Also, are there any books or websites you can recommend for good recipes/techniques for a BBQ-noob?


texts: Dry edges on sponge cake, nest 2 sheet pans for insulation?

texts: I'm tweaking a thin sponge cake with nut flour that I want to roll with a filling. My third attempt at the cake was delicious, but it didn't bake evenly. The edges were dry and there was a slightly sunken, dry section in the middle. The sections that weren't dry were great! I'm using a half sheet pan that's quite thin and may be a bit warped. I have another one just like it. Could it possibly help to nest the two pans to create an insulated baking environment?


texts: How to avoid ridiculously salty results when brining?

texts: Last time I brined, the ribs came out ridiculously salty.  Can someone provide me with a good brining method?


texts: When I lived in Thailand many years ago, I used to love a fried noodle dish with fresh peanuts on top that was called something that sounded like “goytio hang”. I never saw it spelled in English (or Thai) so I have no idea how to search for a recipe. Can anyone help with the name?


texts: How can I bake Cannelés more evenely with a big silicon pan?

texts:
I purchased this cannelés pan which lets me cooks a whopping 77 mini cannelés at once.

I have tried it multiple times, with multiple recipes but no matter what I try, I have this result:

The outer ones are overcooked (often on one side only) an the inner ones are undercooked. This is clearly because the pan is too large and the heat isn't being distributed equally, but I'm not sure how I can solve this?

I do not have a convection oven, so this is not an option. I put the pan on a cookie sheet as the molds are too small and become unstable if put on my oven's grid.

Is there a better way to distribute the heat, place it in the oven, or change the baking time/temp to make it more even? I'm willing to buy additional tools to make it work.

Thanks!


texts: Can trehalose be organic? How is it listed as an ingredient?

texts:
I saw a worrying report of an article in Nature, no less, questioning whether the sugar substitute trehalose could be a cause of the recent rise in Clostridium difficile infections.

As a precaution, I'd like to know how to avoid trehalose. Our family here in the UK eats mostly organic food. Is it possible for trehalose to be present in an organic certified product? I note that some suppliers purport to sell "organic trehalose".

If a food contains trehalose, how does it appear in the ingredient list? (Especially in the UK.) Will it be called "trehalose", or some E-number, or something else?

Thanks!


texts: What causes sticking and what can I do to reduce food sticking to my cast-iron skillet?

texts:
I enjoy using my cast-iron skillet, but how can I minimize the amount of food that sticks to it while cooking? I apply oil after cleaning, and for the most part, I only clean it with hot water and a rag.

For the most part, breads (pancakes, sandwiches) and meats do fine, but I have particular trouble with potatoes and fried eggs.

What causes sticking and what can I do to minimize the it?


texts: How to cook fall-off-the-bone beef spare ribs in oven or on stove top?

texts:
All,

I would like to cook spare ribs to a fall-off-the-bone consistency.  I don't have access to a grill.

I know how to do that with pork shoulders (dry rubbed, then uncovered in the oven at low heat for 6-8hrs), but spare ribs are a different type of animal.  They are individually smaller pieces (my ribs are sawed in chunks), and they are fairly fatty, with a big bone.

What should I do?  Should I pan-sear them first, do I need some liquid in the dish?  Should I cover them?

Thanks,

JDelage


texts: How does Korean chili powder differ from "US" chili powder?

texts:
I've been looking at a number of kim chi recipes and they all call for 'Korean chili powder'.  My visit to the local Asian grocer only yielded 'Asian' chili powder and other nondescript chili powders.

Is there a particular chili powder that is Korean?  Can I simply use cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes?


texts:
I bought a case of canned fish on Amazon, and when it arrived nearly every can was dented in some way.  A total of two cans had no discernable denting, six had mild denting on the side, and four can had serious denting around the tops. It seems pretty obvious this is because a dozen 15 ounce cans were simply packed into a cardboard box barely large enough to hold them and without any extra padding they were then shipping across the county.

I have done a bit of reading and am seeing some conflicting advice.  The general consensus seems to be that it's not the actual dent in the can that is the problem, it's bacteria.  But this could be caused either by bacteria producing gases which cause the can to swell, in case the can should be thrown out immediately, or the denting could compromise the integrity of the can allowing bacteria into the can in which case it seems like more of a gray area.

All of the cans seem to still have their seal, which is bordering on amazing (to me anyway) for the cans which appear to have had a run-in with a shark.  See picture below:

If the cans are safe to eat I'm fine with keeping them, and I'm a bit hesitant to immediately return them because first of all I was planning on making my lunch from one of the cans today, and second, it appears this may be the norm for shipping - this is a "subscribe and save" item and the original label suggests this is actually how they are shipped from the manufacturer to the local distribution centers.

Is it safe to assume that if I open the can and there isn't a hiss from pressure being released and everything smells ok then it's probably safe?  And if so, is there some reduced shelf life, or should I refrigerate everything to be safe until it gets eaten?


texts: How long can anchovies under olive oil stay in fridge?

texts: I have some anchovies dipped in olive oil and parsley. How long can they stay in fridge before going bad?


texts: Macarons are wrinkled, cracked and have no feet

texts:
I've tried to make French macarons 4 times, but despite succeeding in the past, I just can't seem to get it right. I have no clue what I am doing wrong, despite watching many Youtube videos and "macaron faqs". Would anyone know what I'm doing wrong? As the title states, they are wrinkled and have no feet. I did leave them out to dry for some time- in tray one I used a hairdryer. I'm somewhat tempted now to give up on the recipe (I can't post a link, but Google "Good food chocolate macaroons" and it's the first one) and use an Italian macaron recipe. Here are some pictures. Thanks!

Tray one

Tray two


texts:
I regularly buy Ghirardelli double chocolate chips. Most of the time they have a complex and delicious flavor. But sometimes the texture is harder and they have lost the complex/delicious flavor.

I don't want to use them for baking.  Is there anything you can do to restore chocolate?   For instance, I'm wondering if I could warm them up to near the melting point to restore the flavor?

I suspect they are ruined when they are exposed to high temperatures - as when I've had a high quality chocolate bar (or chips) melt - a similar thing happens.  Cold temperatures (below freezing) also seem to be bad.


texts: I tried to make seitan last night using oil and gluten, and after it was done it had a grainy consistency and didn't hold together at all. Is there some sort of magic done by the water? How much water do I need?


texts: Cast iron, forged iron or carbon steel pan for induction?

texts:
I need a new pan for non-stick applications (eggs) and I want to try using a well-seasoned iron or carbon steel one. I use an induction stove.

Normally, the arguments I hear in favor of carbon steel are that it heats quicker, because it can be made thinner. But isn't this reversed on induction? Won't the bigger mass of metal heat quicker, or at least as quick as the thin one, if I don't have to wait for the heat to get conducted through the heavy material? And of course, I want to keep all the advantages created by the thicker pan's thermal mass.

I also have the option to get forged iron pans, which are thinner than cast iron ones, but still have the physical properties (thermal coefficients and whatnot) of iron, not carbon steel. Is there an advantage in doing so (maybe a smoother surface?)

I would be especially happy to hear from somebody who has compared both kinds of cookware on induction, to know how they compare under real conditions.

Here are the pans I am considering:

1 Carbon steel

2 forged iron. For some reason, one doesn't have the marks I have come to associate with forged iron pans. I already have one (a very big one, 30 cm) and I am not too happy with it. Are the marks important, do they say something about production quality?

 or

3 Cast iron


texts: Is it safe to eat smoked bacon without grilling?

texts: The reason I ask this is due to the fact nothing on the bacon packaging indicates it can or cannot be eaten 'raw' and in general eating raw meat is a bad idea.


texts:
What do you call eggs prepared with a broken yolk, in a skillet, with no char?
I crack 2 eggs into a saute skillet & break both yolks, cover with a lid & wait a couple minutes with medium heat, then flip them over & turn off heat for 1 more minute. I would like a quick easy description so I can order easily in restaurants


texts: Raw Eggs in Hot Black Tea: Common in Ukraine? Correct Preparation?

texts:
I just heard an account from someone who studied in the Soviet Union in the late 1950's, early 1960's.  She said when she was served given a glass with a raw egg in it, and then very hot black tea was added. Then, a pat of butter was put on top.

Is this true? Is this something common now? What is it called?

She said she was sick at the time. Is this something only for sick people?

It sounds tasty to me; I want to know how to prepare it properly, and the correct occasion for drinking it.

Edit: I just got a clarification, she was studying in the Ukraine SSR, not Russian SSR. I have edited the title to fix it.


texts: Is possible to create a transparent caramelization?

texts:
When you heat the sugar his color turns to yellow.

I'm doing something that heats the sugar(~110ºC), but I don't want it to become yellow.


texts: Ran out of salt can I use MSG (monosodium glutamate) instead?

texts:
I can't read in local language and was looking to buy some salt, so I went to local shop picked up what looked like it (white crystals in plain plastic bag without much colour and decoration). I tasted it and it did have 'salty' feel to it, so I bought it... I then went home and ran EAN barcode check and it turned out to be monosodium glutamate (MSG).

I am to lazy to go back to shop and willing to compromise on taste this time...

Can I use monosodium glutamate instead of salt?


texts:
Does anybody have a clue? This is an ingredient listed on a dinner package. Fortunately it is near the end of the listed ingrediets list.
All I can find using google is that the enzyme modified means the flavor is enhanced but does not say what it is that is being enhanced. Just curious if anyone had run into this before.


texts:
I bought the ICE-30BC ice cream machine from cuisinart after reading hundreds of reviews on amazon and youtube
They all said that it will make a smooth and creamy ice cream.

I tried the red fruits sorbet:
Raspberry
Strawberry
With sugar syrup

When I churned the mix and taste the mix it was smooth and delicious but when I kept it in the fridge for the next day it was hard and I felt the ice crystals when I ate a portion.

The reason is the machine ? The fridge or a missing ingredient ?


texts: What's the secret ingredient in beef jerky?

texts:
I've been making beef jerky using various marinade recipes I found on the WWW. The results have been mixed, but always lack that one distinct flavor that seems so prevalent in store-bought jerky. If I had to describe it, I'd say "protein-y". It's not a spice I recognize, and doesn't seem to be present in any combination of soy sauce, Worcestershire, etc.

Recently I found an old seasoning packet that came with my dehydrator, took a little taste, and recognized that same flavor immediately. Unfortunately there is no ingredient list printed on the packet. Where is that flavor is coming from?


texts: Non-beet alternatives to standard red food dye

texts:
I'd like to make a red colored cake for my red-head daughter's first birthday, and I would like a non-beet alternative way to dye it red. I've made red velvet cake before and the bug-based food coloring I used tasted and smelled awful. Plus I hear it can cause allergic reactions in young children.

I like beets, but I don't want a beet flavored cake so that alternative is out. Are there any other alternatives for a UK based amateur baker?


texts: Are there alternatives to okra as a thickening agent?

texts:
I had a go at making a gumbo last week, and it went really well. The only problem was that the okra proved to be fairly difficult to source (after several supermarkets and groceries, we managed to find a tin of the stuff in a specialist food shop).

Given that the okra is used as a thickening agent, via the mucilage that sweats out when cooking, is there any other vegetable based alternative that would help keep the flavour of the gumbo, and thicken up the soup?

I'm specifically trying to avoid cornstarch or cornflour, since that would likely affect the flavour considerably. I was thinking potato, which is also starch, but that would also probably affect the flavour a fair bit. I realise that any alternative would have some effect, but would like to minimise it.


texts: What is the difference between a wilted salad and a massaged salad?

texts: What is the general difference between preparations and use cases of a wilted salad compared to a massaged salad? As many wilted salad recipes call for warm dressing, does this mean the wilted salad will lend itself better toward cooked ingredients compared to massaged or raw greens? Does wilting the greens in the salad have any particular impact on the profile of the flavor and texture of the end result that gears it toward pairing with flavors that massaged greens, or raw, would not?


texts: How do I convey an order for over medium eggs without runny yolks?

texts:
I'm not a chef; I'm a (new) waitress and a few days ago a customer ordered her eggs over medium, but she didn't want the yolks runny. She was very insistent on this, and said she would send them back if they were runny so I put the order in as over hard eggs because I thought the very definition of over medium is that the yolks are just a bit runny.

She was pissed and sent the over hard eggs back and told me that she didn't want over hard. So next I tried putting them in as over medium but well done and put a note "yolks not runny". She sent these back too and was absolutely livid, and complained about my terrible service to the manager.

How should I have translated her request to the kitchen?


texts: Can water kefir grains be turned into milk kefir grains and if so how?

texts: I make water kefir but would like to try milk kefir, can I convert my water granules to milk kefir granules?


texts: How can I clean the brush that I am using for burnt pots? It is black and greasy..


texts: I've seen black garlic--fermented garlic with a complex flavor--used a number of times on TV cooking shows, but I've never tried it.  The description of the flavor is intriguing.  Is it possible to ferment garlic and make your own black garlic?  What is the process?


texts:
I've got some remaining puff pastry left over (1 sheet, store bought, frozen).

I have seen recipes online for puff pastry chocolate tarts, like here https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/76952/rich-chocolate-tart/

However, I don't have heavy cream now  so I plan on using the chocolate filling mixture from this recipe https://tasty.co/recipe/silkiest-chocolate-tart . But the recipe I just linked to above wants me to pour the mixture into the pre baked 'dough' and bake it further.

But, the recipe that I first linked to is for puff pastry and I don't think you can bake it twice?

Sorry if I sound confusing. I just want to know if it would be fine if, I would just bake the puff pastry for a little in the oven, then pour the mixture (from second recipe) into the thing then bake it further?  Or does anyone have any suggestions (or any other recipes for a puff pastry chocolate tart sort of thing, that doesn't need cream?)


texts: Culinary term for non-flavor defining ingredients

texts:
In a strongly flavoured soup/stew, curry, or sauce, or salad, you sometimes add other ingredients (eg mixed vegetables) that do not strongly influence the flavor of the end result, but are chosen for color/looks, nutrition, texture or bulk. The flavor/character of the dish itself gets defined/dominated by the spices, aromatics, broths used. They can be, within limits, replaced to make a variation of the same dish.

Is there a proper term to describe that class of ingredients in a recipe?

"Toppings" seems to be specific to salad and pizza, AND sometimes refers to something that defines the flavor/character a lot.

"bulk ingredients" is ambigous, could also refer to how they were procured.

"main ingredients" seems ambigous too.

"mixins" sounds too informal.

"garnish" appears specific to things added to the mostly-cooked dish.


texts: How to get rid of the taste of flour in homemade bakery?

texts: I usually get random cookie and cake recipes from the internet and try them. They are good but all of them have floury taste to me. Possible culprits are the flour I use and how I mix and bake dough. I use Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour and my hands to mix ingredients, having no mixer. What can I get wrong? Is there an easy fix?


texts:
I'm reading through a book of cocktails from 1865 and I often seen the measurement for a given ingredient listed as "do.". What does this mean?

Examples:

  40 1/2 ounces of roast and ground cocoa.
  6 2/3 do. ground cardamom seeds.
  6 2/3 do. ground Ceylon cinnamon.
  7 pints of alcohol, 95 per cent.
  20 do. water.

Or:

  2 gallons of ground malt.
  6 do. water, at 142° (degrees) heat.

Or, most bafflingly:

  1 pound = 16 ounces
  1/2 do. = 8 do.
  1/4 do. = 4 do.


texts:
I am new to this forum. I work in a commercial bakery where we use a guillotine cutter to cut different kinds of pastry dough on a conveyor line. We have a problem with the dough sticking to the blade. Our temporary solution right now is to flour the top of the products before entering the guillotine mechanism, but this is messy, costly and flour gets in the air so we'd rather avoid this band-aid solution.

Realistically, what could we do to prevent the dough from sticking? Would ideas such as spraying the blade with mist every cycle, or using compressed air to give a quick blow on the blade be feasible solutions? What has worked in your experience?

Thank you to anyone who replies.


texts: I eat Asian cuisine a lot but I've started to use shiitake mushrooms in the stead of just about anything else because I think they're delicious.  I've had them in vinaigrettes, caramelizing with onions and outside of the stem (which I only use to flavors stocks and such and then throw away) I don't think I've ever had an overcooked shiitake.  Is there such a thing?  How does the taste change?


texts: I have a garden every year and would prefer to use my own tomatoes for all my cooking.  I can them and make sauces, but haven't found a good recipe that describes the technique for tomato paste.  I need it to be thick like you buy at the store - I use this for sauce dishes, etc that I don't like to be too runny.  How would a home cook go about making tomato paste?


texts: Can you use brandy instead of rum in cake recipe

texts: Can you use brandy instead of rum in a cake recipe


texts: I was thinking a lot about comments on my posts that claimed that the oven would dry out foods meant to be cooked on a stove.  This got me thinking that I could make beef jerky in the oven.  Any tips, gotchas, or suggestions for oven jerky?


texts: What might be the English name for this chilli?

texts:
I got this picture from searching google hence some unrelated content.

Kasa/khasa Morris is the name of this chilli in the first pic and it is often used in Bangladeshi cuisine.  They usually use the green one I.e it’s a green chilli.  I’m trying to find the English name for it so I can get an idea of the Scoville heat rating for it.

I am currently using this.  Does anyone know what the English name is and what sort of heat profile it might have.


texts: Can I make drinking milk with evaporated milk?

texts: Can I mix evaporated milk with water to make milk to drink? I am finding it hard to get to the store to get milk.


texts: How can I cook chicken breast like Nando's?

texts:
I want to make chicken butterfly breast similar to Nando's but plain. I read this question which gave me a good insight. I have no grill so only a gas oven/halogen oven and a frying pan.

Am I able to cook it like Nando's Butterfly chicken using a frying pan and an oven?
Is this the best method to achieve this:

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
Put just enough oil in a heavy-bottomed pan to cover the bottom.
Put the pan over medium-high heat and get it good and hot - the oil may just start showing wisps of smoke.
Lay the chicken in the pan carefully, being sure to start at the edge closest to you and lay it down away from you. This will prevent you from getting splashed with hot oil.
Let it cook for 2-4 minutes until you get a nice sear on it.
Flip, (the chicken, not you) again being careful to flip away from you.
Now if the breast is thin enough (maybe you butterflied it beforehand), you can just let it finish in the pan. Often, though, after flipping I'll pop the whole pan into a 400F oven and finish it in there. Again, times will vary, but I would start checking it after 5 minutes.

As I don't like seasoning, what oil should I use?


texts: What special knowledge or skills about coffee do baristas have?

texts:
What special knowledge, training or qualifications do baristas receive that make them more expert on coffee than any other front line food service worker or interested home coffee consumer?  I don't mean simply operating the machine, but the why's and science that contribute to better coffee.  How do they get this knowledge?  Is there an industry standard certification or qualification that demonstrates them?

Bottom line:   I would like to know how the knowledge base of baristas is deeper than simply operating the machine, if in fact it is.


texts:
I'm making dal for the first time and have all of the ingredients below, but I can't decide whether to use white, yellow (vidalia), or red onions.  I have all three in stock.

Here are the other ingredients:

1/4 cup ghee
1 1/2 cups diced onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 cups orange lentils
2 tablespoons ginger powder
2 tablespoons Garam Masala powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
8 cups chicken stock


texts: Cooking at low temperature on induction cooktop

texts: I started cooking recently on induction cooktop ,minimum temperature on it is 120 C but i want to cook my dish at 50 C for 15 minutes but the temperature is increasing rapidly.How do i maintain its temperature?


texts: I am vegan. I want to make a vegan gravy sauce but I want to make my own vegetable broth without too much salt.  I don't want to use a ready to use vegetable stock and nutritional yeast. How can I add a rich flavor specifically suited to a gravy, with as much umami as possible?


texts: Why do my pre-cooked hams always take way longer than they should?

texts:
My ham is 8.5lbs half-ham and was refridgerated, but not frozen. Here are the instructions that were with it.

Here's what I did:

Preheated the oven to 275.
Removed all packaging and put the ham face down on the pan.
Wrapped the pan in foil. This covered the ham too.

It's been baking for 3 hours (so well past the recommended 2.25 hours) and is only at 71F degrees. I've been shooting for about 140F since that's what I've seen online sites recommend. I have this problem with every ham I try to make. They all end up taking like 6-7 hours. What am I doing wrong?

I've tested with two different meat thermometers so I doubt they're in error. Also, when I leave the meat thermometer in there but not in the ham (I don't have an oven thermometer) it reads as 250F so even if the oven isn't quite at the temp it thinks it is, it doesn't seem significantly off.


texts:
So I've boiled a couple lamb tongues -- as per this recipe -- and have them cool enough to handle, however I'm having difficulty peeling the skin/film off them with just my fingers alone.

Is there some trick to doing this?


texts:
I have obtained a large chunk of approximately week old moose meat that has been never stored in a freezer. I'm planning to eat it during the next week or two.

I cut it to 8 smaller steak-sized chunks, and cut 4 of those into small bits of which I'm going to make moose stew with carrots and onions. I'm just fried the small bits in my frying pan, and am currently making the stew in my pot.

The trouble is, I don't have a large frying pan or a large pot. I only have one small pot which I have free to use for the moose stew. The small bits of half of the moose meat fit in there with carrots and onions.

What should I do for the 4 other steak-sized chunks?

Should I just store them unfried in the refrigerator and cook when I need to, which will be approximately week from now? (Currently they are in the refrigerator, but I can always fry them in my frying pan that is free now.)
Should I fry them in my frying pan and store them in the refrigerator after frying them?

I want to maximize the amount of time the meat stays edible. If it stays edible for only one week from now, I have to eat moose meat every day. If it stays edible for two weeks, I can eat moose meat only every other day.

I of course theoretically have the option of just storing the rest in my freezer, but my freezer (or actually two freezers) are half full with frozen moose meat!


texts: Preserving colour of vegetables in Chinese hakka noodles

texts: I typically need to cook dinner a couple of hours before dinner time. When I make Chinese hakka noodles, the vegetables (beans, carrot, capsicum etc.) lose their bright colours by the time noodles go on the plates. All the vegetables look very dull. Is theer any way to stop this discolouration?


texts:
I'm a takeaway owner and for the past two weeks I have been trying to make my own frozen french fries. But the results are very bad, my fries either stick along like lumps or they get too soggy when i fry them in the shop.
is there any ingredient that i am missing to make them crispy and perfect shape?

cheers


texts: Does Lemon juice change acidic level when frozen?

texts: I used frozen lemon juice in a lemon icebox pie. It had egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk as additional ingredients. It failed to set up. Does freezing lemon juice change the acidic property?


texts: What reasons are there for a stove's burner plug to burn out?

texts:
My landlady says the burner plug on my stove burned because I had the stove on for too long at high temperatures.

What other reasons might there be for the burner plug on a stove to burn?


texts: What is the history of souvlaki and is there any benefit in cooking meat on a skewer?

texts:
I'm wondering about the origin of souvlaki. Was it only something of a convenience (easy to cook lots of pieces together)? Or does this way of grilling lead to better results, as opposed to just placing the pieces on the grill? If the latter (at least for some type of meat), how is it justified that it leads to better results (e.g., small pieces, rotating)?

Also, you would expect that puncturing the meats makes it easier to lose its juices, but it doesn't seem to be the case.


texts: Can we make peanut butter with 500W mixer?

texts: I tried making peanut butter with 500w mixer but peanut is not secreating oil, is there any way to make peanut butter?


texts: Is Japanese kasutera the same foodstuff as Korean kastera?

texts:
The Japanese term カステラ (kasutera) and the Korean term 카스테라 (kastera) are etymologically derived from the Portuguese "Pão de Castela". But does "kasutera" and "kastera" refer to the same foodstuff, or a different foodstuff?

KOREAN CASTELLA CAKE says:

  I’ve come to the conclusion that Koreans use “kastera” to describe
  almost every type of baked product that’s Western in origin.

Castella = Kastera = Kasutera says:

  These baked products are a cheap, guilty indulgence -- they are good
  -- but I don't consider them "genuine" Japanese kasutera, which I have come to understand is not as spongy and comes in a rectangular shape.

Are they the same foodstuff, or are they different foodstuffs? Would it be more logical to say "I prefer kastera over kasutera", or would "I prefer the way Koreans do kastera over the way Japanese people do it"?


texts: When I make stock,  I use a potato masher to try and extract some of the juice from the remaining softened vegetables after siving. Can I use a food mill to do this more effectively?


texts:
I'm asking in reference to this answer which I’m workin on in Worldbuilding.

I can look up the nutritional information on coconut and that gives vales for 100 gram portions.  But how many grams of that stuff is in one (wild!) coconut, on average?

Suppose you needed 1000 g of fresh shreaded coconut for a recipe. How many drupes would you buy?


texts: Besides using it as a fertilizer, how else can I reuse my coffee grounds?


texts: What features should I look for in a vessel for making Indian curd (yogurt / Dahi)?

texts:
What is the most suitable vessel to make perfect curd without any liquid in it? If that true that a clay vessel will be good for it because clay will absorb liquid and the remaining thing you get will be curd?

PS:  this image is just for reference. As there were some misunderstanding regarding for what curd i was asking.

And the clay vessel i am talking about look like this(In india we call it "Kulhad") :


texts:
I live in Florida, it's extremely humid here. Store bought bread and home made (bread machine) bread is always too moist for our liking.

I've read on the internet to never keep bread in the refrigerator because it will make it get stale more quickly.

I'm wondering if this might actually help our situation. What do you think, will it dry out the bread somewhat?

Do you have any suggestions? I bought a linen bread bag, which was a mistake, as the bread got stale within one day (because it was sliced I guess).

Thanks in advance!


texts:
I have used the same rugelach recipe for years with out a problem.  This year however, the dough is pulling apart and shredding when being rolled out and up.  There are 2 different things this year, I used a different flour and we have been getting endless amounts of rain, so the humidity has been high.  The dough is also very soft.  Any ideas?

The recipe for the dough is as follows:

8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 lb butter
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour

-> mix all, refrigerate at least an hour ( I did over night). When I rolled it out onto a floured surface, it fell apart and became almost stringy.


texts: I want to make root beer, what are the ingredients required to produce that signature flavor?


texts: How can I control humidity levels when curing salami?

texts:
I have a problem with a fridge I am converting to a curer, namely high humidity. I have read a similar question on this forum, however my problem is slightly more complicated. I will start off by saying I live in the UK, where humidity is on the whole higher than in the States.

I am successfully controlling my temperature by turning the fridge on and off via a temperature controller, but the humidity is driving me mad.I cannot seem to get it lower than 85-80%, even with a humidity controller turning a light on to raise the temperature, so the compressor runs more frequently. This does lower the humidity, but as soon as the compressor turns off, the humidity is straight back up to 85%, and this is with no food in it.

I'm guessing that as a salami dries it will release moisture it loses into the atmosphere of the fridge, increasing the humidity.  If I open my door the humidity immediately rises to 100% every time without fail, so I figure putting any sort of vent in the side will be counter productive.  Ive got a 3kg tray of salt in the bottom which I swap daily and dry the removed tray in the oven.  I'd really appreciate any help on this.


texts: extracting banana flavour for an iced coffee

texts: Now that the sun has started to shine in the frozen north I can start thinking on using my espresso machine for some cold drinks.  I was thinking of a banana iced coffee. But I would like a more natural flavour than most of the syrups I can buy in my local coffee shop. Do I was wondering if it would be possible to extract the flavour from a banana, without getting the texture/consistency from the fruit?


texts: How "great" is the loss of quality and taste caused by freezing salmon (or other fish or meat), and how can we preserve quality whilst freezing?

texts:
The title says it all:
How "great" is the loss of quality and taste caused by freezing salmon (or other fish or meat), and how can we preserve quality when freezing proteins?


texts: Why does rye flour dough require more water?

texts:
Most discussions I have seen on the internet recommend increasing water content when substituting wheat flour with rye flour.
I find this a bit puzzling since I always thought that hydration of the dough should be based on the protein content - more gluten means stronger dough, which means it stretches without tearing even at higher hydration.
Rye flour (at least the one I have) is very high in carbohydrates but low in protein content, so why is more water required?


texts:
Does anyone have any tips for roasting sweet potatoes? Since - seems to me - they cook and break down much faster than normal potatoes I skipped the parboiling stage and just stuck them (peeled) in the oven to roast for 45-60 minutes.

However they still came out a somewhat soft and squidgy result. Roast for shorter time or some other methodology?

I suppose I am looking for a crisp texture something like a normal roast potato but keeping the orange colour and distinctive sweet taste of the sweet potato itself.


texts: Why is lye used in some recipes for cookies?

texts: I have seen some recipes for cookies which include lye (water boiled with ash) among the ingredients. Does anyone know what the purpose is? Is there any other ingredient that can replace lye?


texts: How to stop frozen bananas making everything else in the freezer taste like banana?

texts:
I freeze peeled bananas for making ice cream. I triple bag them in three Ziploc bags. This works fine.

However, apparently they are making other things in the freezer taste like bananas.

Apart from even more bags, does anyone have a solution to this?


texts: while canning jam or jelly can you put peanut butter inside the jar with it? can both together?

texts: I like to give jam as gifts and it would be neat if i could put peanut butter with it inside the jar. Is this safe or not? Thank you for your time. :)


texts: Salmon nigiri sushi feels like melting in the mouth. How to achieve that?

texts:
I am trying to make sushi at home and I'm buying fresh salmon from Whole Foods. The sushi tastes good, but it's missing something. The salmon feels too "fishy" and solid. If one eats at a good sushi restaurant, the salmon nigiri feels like it melts in one's mouth and I can't manage to do it like this.

So far, I have tried:
1. To cut the salmon in thin pieces - the same result.
2. To cut it parallel to the skin and perpendicular to it - same result
3. To change from farmed to wild salmon - same result

I don't understand how to prepare the salmon to make it feel like it's melting when you eat it. Anyone has any experience with this and would like to share with me? Ia there a special way to prepare it or it is the salmon type?

P.S. The next step is to let it warm to room temperature because so far it was taken out from the fridge.


texts: What is the correct onion to tomato ratio for North Indian masala sauce?

texts: What's the optimum — or, at least, the most widely used — tomato to onion ratio for making the tomato masala (sauce)? Masala is used as the base for a number of north Indian dishes. Onions are fried in oil and then tomatoes and spices are added and cooked down until the oil separates out.


texts:
I am trying to make caramel ice cream from the Silver Spoon. I'm not entirely sure what they mean by the word "skim" at the start of the recipe:

Put the sugar (100g) in a pan with 1 tbsp cold water and set over a low heat until it has melted. Increase the heart to medium, skim and, when it goes golden red in colour, pour in 5 tbsp hot water and remove from the heat.

There was a bit of a crust of bubbly sugar on the top surface of the pan, but how are you supposed to skim that? Perhaps it's something lost in translation from the original Italian recipe?


texts: Why is my toffee grainy in cracker-toffee "Crack"?

texts:
I have made this recipe to good results (creamy, chewy toffee), and more often, to disappointing results texturally (grainy toffee).

It is :
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar

Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. pour over saltine crackers on a greased foil lined cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. top with chocolate chips, spread when melted.

I have read many versions of this recipe with more cooking time and more baking time (and people with burnt results from the longer baking). I know traditional toffee made with white sugar is not to be stirred, the whole pastry brush thing, but this one is different. I wonder if I am not cooking the toffee on the stove long enough, eg to soft ball stage.

Also wonder if using ordinary brown sugar is ok.

It tastes good no matter the texture, but I would like to be able to nail it more consistently re the texture! Thanks.


texts: Can any KitchenAid stand mixer attachments be used to make peanut butter?

texts: Can I use any of the various attachments for my Kitchenaid stand mixer to make peanut butter? I was thinking one of the different grinding attachments might work, insofar as the machine at my local merchant looks like a hopper full of peanuts and a grinder.


texts:
I often order curry when eating out, and enjoy it enough to try my hand at making it at home. However, roughly half the curries I've eaten (usually the water based ones) have a strong, overpowering "musky" taste that kind of masks everything else. It's dark and very unpleasant - not unpalatable, but certainly unappetizing and very overpowering.

What is this flavor? I'm at a loss to explain it, but want to avoid the ingredient whenever I attempt curry at home


texts: Is a whole chicken still safe after 5 days marinating in the fridge?

texts: I marinated a whole chicken and put it in the fridge for 5 days--can I still cook and eat it?


texts: How long can I keep cannoli shells with no filling and how should I store them

texts: How long can I store cannoli shells with no filling?  What is the best way to do this?  I am traveling 5 days to my destination.


texts: Is a "cup" on a coffee maker always 6 oz? Is this a standard in the US?

texts:
Our coffee maker instructions often refer to a "cup" of coffee. These cups are whats marked on the side of the coffee maker showing how much water is in the reservoir. The instructions never define what a "cup" actually equates to. It appears to about 6 oz. An old coffee maker seems to also have had this definition of "cup". The coffee beans we got from the local coffee shop also have instructions indicating one scoop of beans per 6 oz cup.

To be clear -- Is a "cup" to a coffee maker always 6oz? and therefore it has nothing to do with the Imperial unit "cup" which is 8oz? Its more a notion of a typical serving size of coffee?