texts: How to ensure rice from rice cooker becomes dry?

texts:
I'm adding 1.5 cups of water for 1 cup of basmati rice to my rice cooker. I don't think the amount is the problem.

It's not very watery but it can feel a little watery(which probably isnt an issue for most) but I would like it very dry.

Sometimes I eat straight after its heated, could that be the issue? After it's cooked do I need to leave it open so all the water evaporates?  What can I do to ensure I get very dry rice?

Thanks


texts: I know there are questions here already about Quick bread vs cake, or muffins vs cupcakes. But I'm not asking about the sugar, fat ratio thing. I'm more interested in the "bread" part of it. To me whether it is American white bread, or Italian or French bread, it is a sugarless loaf used to make a sandwich. Even biscuits and rolls that can be made with baking powder instead of yeast can be used for breakfast or lunch sandwiches with sausage and eggs.  But you can't make a sandwich with banana or pumpkin bread, you treat them as a cake. so why "bread"?


texts: Is there a way to forestall vanilla bean marrow falling to bottom of crème?

texts:
Every time I make use of vanilla beans, specifically the seeds contained in the pods, the seeds fall to the bottom of whatever it may be that I am making.

I was wondering if there is a technique to somehow, for lack of a better term, render the seeds suspended inside of say a crème?

I often find myself (and it is not seldom the case with others) scraping the bottom of a crème brûlée trying to get at the bed of vanilla marrow that lies at the very bottom of a ramekin.

This can however sometimes create an appealing visual effect and will not take away from the taste/eating experience, as is the case with a panna cotta if served turned out onto a serving plate.

I realise this may be somewhat of a silly question, but it is something that has popped into my head time and time again in the kitchen.


texts: What's the difference between a deep fryer and a chip pan?

texts:
As described in the Wikipedia article, a chip pan is a pan that contains oil for frying. The oil is heated to a high temperature, and then usually a metal basket is lowered into the pan for frying of things, such as chips.

The article contains this sentence:

  Chip pans are commonly used in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, although are slowly being outmoded by deep fryers.
  Chip pan

When I look up the article for deep fryer on Wikipedia, it described what seems to me to be the same thing:

  Deep fryers generally have a basket to lower the food into the oil tank and raise it when the food has finished cooking.
  Deep fryer

These descriptions appear to be the same to me, are there any differences between the two that I don't understand?


texts: Does the quality of garlic degrades if I chopped, fried then use it after a week?

texts:
Here in the Philippines, most of the viands uses garlic, specially whenever we sauteing. Due to this I've found a shortcut in order to reduce the time I need whenever I cook. Instead of peeling the garlic, chopping it in bits then frying it, I've managed to do those things then preserve it.

It will look like this, then I will use it for 1 whole week, sometimes even for a month.

Question: Does the quality of a fried garlic degrades if I preserved it then use it some other day?


texts: Is it possible to bake bread or the like using a stovetop tagine?

texts:
I have a Moroccan style tagine, and I usually use it on the stovetop.  The recipes or guidelines I have found for baking bread in a tagine usually depend on using it in an oven - something that is problematic for me in my particular oven (because of its height).  I'm interested in knowing if there's some way to adapt techniques to make bread (flatbread, biscuits, I'm not too picky) using the tagine on a stovetop.

An answer to this question here suggested looking at dutch oven recipes.  Some of them require the use of an oven, like the tagine recipes.  Others, the camping versions, seem to require techniques I am not sure would translate to a stovetop tagine - that kind of quick preheating, while fine for thick cast iron, would likely cause temperature shock in the tagine (since it is designed for consistent slow temperatures).

So, on to details.  Preheating the tagine should put the camping dutch oven recipes back into play.  I'm pretty unsure about leaving it on the stove to preheat while empty, especially since it will take a while (half hour or more) to get hot - having been warned against heating up pots without at least a little liquid in them.  Having water or oil in there while it preheats, though, is likely to affect the finished bread since the extra water/oil will coat the bottom.  On the other hand, the reasons it is unwise to heat pots empty might not even apply to a tagine, since it is a thck clay dish, kept on very low heat, is supposed to absorb a lot of heat slowly, and is a largely sealed environment anyway - if anyone knows, that would be helpful.

The alternative to preheating the tagine, would be to put the dough in it while still cold, and let the dough be heated up at the same, slow rate. I'm not sure what all of the effects would be - it might create a final rising before it reaches baking temperatures, so I would maybe avoid those recipes where the timing has to be precise... actually, figuring out timing is likely to be difficult for tagine baking anyway, most of the recipes for stews and such are really flexible.  I think it's unlikely to burn or something equally dramatic, but it will probably affect the texture, and I'm not sure which kinds of dough might be able to tolerate the technique.

So, in case that was too long and chatty, what I am looking for is any techniques that might be helpful in either baking in a stovetop tagine, like how to preheat the dish, or in adapting the recipes to work with the limitations of the tagine, ie, perhaps a drier dough because less moisture escapes, or because there's a little left from preheating with water in the container.

This isn't urgent, since I do have an oven capable of baking - but I've wanted to bake bread in it since I got the tagine, if I can figure out how.  It might have the beneficial side effect of letting me make bread with thinner, softer crust, since mine tends to come out rather crusty.

As per request, here's an example tagine picture, so it's clear what kind of pot I'm talking about.  A short article on how to cook in a tagine can be found here, so there's an idea of what kind of adaptations might be useful.


texts: Are there any natural preservatives that can be used in Soups or Stews?

texts: I make a lot soups and various stews and they don't seem to last more than a few days - are there any natural preservatives that can be added to them that will increase their refrigerator life?


texts: How to remove commercial seasoning from skillet?

texts:
We bought a new skillet that was "pre-seasoned" a few years ago...but haven't really used it once yet because that seasoning is basically some black gunk that comes off into the food that's cooked in it. I don't know what this seasoning is - hopefully a food-grade oil that's been cooked into it like the usual seasoning process would involve, but I don't know - but regardless, I don't want flakes of charred...whatever...coming off in food I cook in it.

I know thoroughly washing it is a no-no (even though I desperately want to wash whatever that is off). Any advice on how I can get it clean and usable?


texts: Freezing Buttercream Flowers for later use?

texts: I would like to make some buttercream cake decorations in advance and freeze them for later use (I am very slow at creating these designs) I know I can freeze them but I don't know what people put them in to not be damaged or freezer burnt in the freezer without taking up a ton of space?


texts:
I have a carton of fresh eggs here. They don't expire until this time next month. They don't float in a large bowl of water. But many of these ones after being hard boiled have a very strong sulfur smell.

So i looked it up but now i am confused. Some say that smell is a normal reaction that occurs when sulfur reacts to the heat when being boiled. And others say that hard boiled eggs that are rotten have a very distinct and disgusting smell; a smell of sulfur.

So which is it? Are my (very strong) sulfur-smelling eggs rotten or is the smell only caused by the sulfur reacting to the heat?

Right now Id be more inclined to say that the eggs are rotten or that there's something wrong with them, simply because this smell is rare when i make eggs - and i always make my eggs the same way and heat them for the same amount of time.


texts: Do foil packets on a charcoal grill get any flavor from the smoke?

texts: I am planning on cooking steaks and vegetables in sealed foil packets on my charcoal grill and I just realized that foil can make a pretty good seal around the food. Will I be unable to get any of the smoky flavor from the charcoal if I cook using this method? Is there a way to get the flavor by poking small holes on the top of the foil, or will this defeat the purpose of the sealed packet by letting too much moisture out?


texts: Re-use rice for multiple batches of horchata?

texts: After a making a batch of horchata, I always feel wasteful throwing away all of the uncooked rice.  Can it be re-used for another batch, or has it given up its good flavors?  If not, are there any other uses for it?


texts: If I am blending parsley for soup, can I use the parsley whole or should I still remove the stems?

texts: I am making my Grandma's parsley soup - it's chicken stock, onions, potatoes, garlic and parsley. Since the whole combination is blended, can I use the parsley stems or might not removing them have an adverse affect on taste?


texts: Mexican Achiote (annatto) Chicken - alternative to achiote

texts:
This is not a spice that I would normally use.

ACHIOTE

However I was given some and then looked for how to use it. Food52 has this to say about it:

  Achiote paste is a beautiful blend of spices which give the chicken a
  wonderful complex flavor.

(Great recipe here)  I became a bit suspicious of the spice's freshness, so threw it out - however would like to make the Mexican chicken - but need an alternative to achiote.  The question being: What spice can I use instead of achiote to achieve a similar flavor?

It may be more commonly known as 'Annatto' - see answer below.


texts: How can I get gross, bloody stumps in my Halloween punch?

texts:
I like this for a Halloween offering.

The effect is achieved by filling a powder-free latex glove with water and freezing it.

I'd like to step it up a notch by making the hands look like bloody stumps. My punch is a great slimy green made with lime sherbet, and the hands themselves will be a touch brown. How can I make the wrists of the hands look like they've been chopped off with an axe?


texts: Is it advisable to use the Extra Virgin Olive oil for Indian cooking, and baking?

texts:
I use this oil for baking cup cakes, and I add this oil to the whole wheat dough meant for preparing parathas on the gas stove?

My mother uses it for frying vegetables on the gas stove.

Hence the question in the title. Should I be vary of anything here?


texts: Do milk and butter not work in place of cream for whipping, and why?

texts:
I’ve seen claims that, while you can replace heavy cream with the proper proportions of milk and butter in recipes that don’t require whipping, the mixture will not form stiff peaks when whipped, even if it contains the same milkfat percentage as heavy whipping cream (>35%). However, offhand I don’t know why this would be so, and I can’t find an explanation of the claim.

I’ve used milk and butter to stand in perfectly well for cream in things like sauces or drinks, but I’ve never tried whipping it. If it’s not possible, why? Does it have something to do with the proportion of protein, fat, and water? Does the process of churning butter break down protein/fat structures that are required for holding peaks? Or is it not impossible, but simply difficult or time-consuming to get the butter to emulsify properly back into the milk and cool to the point that it can hold aeration?


texts: Crockpot recipe when converting temperature from low to high?

texts: I have a crockpot recipe for burritos, located here, that I really want to make. It says to cook the mixture on low heat for 6-10 hours but that is too long/short. I really want to convert the recipe to a high heat so I can cook it quicker. Do you think it is possible to cook this on high? If so would the recipe itself change and how (more/less water required)? How long should I cook it on high?


texts: How is plant based chicken and bacon made using soya and pea protein?

texts:
I have recently applied for a role at a company which makes vegan meat substitutes (specifically chicken and bacon) and I was wondering how products such as these would be made from soy and pea protein.
Would anyone be able to explain the key steps in the manufacturing process of these?


texts: What does "contains 2% or less of" mean?

texts:
In the US, food labels are required to provide an ingredients list.  One common phrase on labels is "contains 2% or less of."  For example: "Pork, water, contains 2% or less of: salt, spices, sodium phosphates, dextrose, autolyzed yeast extract, caramel color."  (Bonus points for identifying what that ingredient list is for.)  Does the 2% apply to each item in the list individually, or do all the items sum up to being less than 2%?

This is sort of academic, I suppose, but I like to know what goes into the ingredients I use.

(ǝƃɐsnɐs :ɹǝʍsuɐ)


texts: Is there a name for this French Toast variation?

texts:
Recently we made french toast for lunch at home.  However there was come miscommunication, and my better half made pikelet mixture instead of prepping the milk/eggs mix one would normally expect.

Pikelet mix would be similar to pancake or flapjack or perhaps even waffle mix, a somewhat thick-but-runny liquid, that can still be poured slowly.

So I dunked toast-bread slices in pikelet mix and pan-fried it like french toast.  We ate it with various toppings, like butter, syrup, or cinnamon-sugar.  Would have gone very well with Bacon too.

We jokingly called it "german toast" for no other reason than its next to french toast.

Is this pikelet/pancake-dunked fried bread known by an existing name ?


texts: What are the pros and cons of Convection Microwave Ovens?

texts:
Are convection microwave ovens a useful item to have?  Or are they not good as a microwave and not good as a convection oven either?

I understand that a regular convection oven helps to cook things faster.  But a microwave cooks things pretty darn fast already so why would you want a convection feature?


texts: How can I cause (yes, cause, not prevent) bloom in chocolate?

texts: I've had a few Hershey chocolate bars in the past that had a white surface coating. After a bit of searching, I found this is called bloom. I'm not sure if this is sugar bloom or fat bloom, but it was from a newly bought chocolate bar. I actually, and apparently unpopularly, enjoy this effect. Is there a way to induce it in store bought chocolate?


texts: What is a pressurized filter, and should I use it for my espresso?

texts:
I've just started out really using my Gaggia Classic espresso machine, and so far I've been pretty satisfied with my results – but I'm no expert. Yesterday, I lost the black plastic thing that goes between the portafilter and the basket (is that the right terminology?), as shown below:

Now, when I tried to make espresso without it, I noticed that the liquid would spray from the portafilter and, well, ruin my kitchen. When I researched further, it seemed that I didn't even use a normal filter, but something called a "pressurized filter", where there's only one hole in the bottom for the coffee to come out.

Here's what I found out about it on coffeegeek.com:

  […] a crema enhancing device is built into the actual filter basket, usually through the function of channeling all the brewed coffee through a solitary pin hole. This action creates a jet-like effect that boosts crema production, even in stale coffee or coarse ground coffee.

People on the internet seem to hate this thing though, and I start wondering whether I should get a replacement for this bolt, or just buy a "normal" filter. Here are my questions:

What exactly is the purpose of this "enhancement"? How does it work?
Why should I use it, or why shouldn't I? Does it matter for me as a non-professional?


texts: My espresso shot is extracting too quick, what am I doing wrong?

texts: If my espresso shot appears to be extracting too quickly, what factors could be causing this?  What should I change to try to get a better result?


texts:
I just made a lattice pie crust for the first time. The best I can say about it is that it wasn't a total disaster. So I would like to know what is the proper way to make it.

How much dough do I actually need for one lattice (let's say for a 26 cm pan)?
What crust thickness is optimal for the strips? (I had 3 mm, and it seemed a bit thin, they tore sometimes).
How many strips do I need?
What length should my strips be? Obviously, they should be longer than the finished lattice's size, because they weave over and under. But how much extra length do I need for that?
Is there a good technique for weaving which helps me make an evenly weaved crust? I had lots of trouble managing the strips in the middle (widest) part.
Once weaved, how do I keep the strips from moving around while I transfer the lattice to the fridge and to the pie?
How do I attach the upper crust to the lower crust? My pinching didn't produce too good a result.
(maybe part of the above) How do I make the edge of the pie aesthetically acceptable? Mine is one long lump.
How do I prevent the liquid in the filling from squeezing through the crust holes and flooding the crust?
(should probably have come first) Are denser or looser lattices easier to make?

I made a rather loose lattice, like this one:

But I have seen much denser pie crusts too, like this one.

I know this is a rather long question, if you people think it is better, I will split it into many small ones. Feedback welcome in the comments here or in chat.


texts: Why does whole leaf tea leave a residue in the cup?

texts:
I purchased this nice whole-leaf oolong tea this afternoon.

I steeped it in 200 F water for 3 minutes (as directed) in my tea steeping basket:

And when I pulled out the basket, there were some uninvited guests remaining:

Did I do something wrong? I thought this was the kind of results to expect from tea "dust" that might be expected in a bag, but this is whole-leaf tea. Do I need to pre-sift my tea, or something? I'm afraid that as these remnant sit in the tea, they will make it bitter.


texts: are there any appliances that can automate feeding of sourdough starter?

texts:
I am a pretty busy person, and the last two times I've started a sourdough starter, I've ended up forgetting to feed it, and it went bad. I never got anything good out of it, but there were times where it seemed pretty alive (bubbling, etc.). Are there any appliances which automate the feeding of a starter? (Including those not intended for it?)

Thanks in advance!


texts: How to make authentic black Russian bread?

texts:
I'm trying to re-create the authentic black Russian bread that was first mass produced during soviet times. Nowadays you can find it in any Russian market and many international supermarkets in the US.
The problem is most recipes I can find online either:

Use a lot of additives such as cacao powder and coffee to color the bread, which don't seem historically plausible

or

Don't achieve nearly the same dark shade as the pre-packaged store variants

Anecdotally, my dad claims that this bread was sold in the Soviet Union in his youth as the cheapest bread available, for those who couldn't afford bread made from finely milled wheat. At its initial inception it was mass produced by the state and supposedly didn't taste great (although it did have that dark black color). Considering it was the cheapest bread around, it seems highly unlikely it was created with cacao or espresso powder in soviet times.
Eventually, people started prizing this bread more and recipes evolved until we got the modern variant which most people (at least in Russia) find appetizing. It's possible the modern variant uses the more expensive color impacting ingredients, but it seems more likely that some trick that was used to make the original "dirt cheap" black bread is still employed or borrowed from today.
I’ve made a number of different variants following the recipes online and overall I’m happy with the results in terms of taste, but it’s driving me crazy that I can’t figure out how to make the loaf authentically black.


texts: I would like to make a homemade ferrero balls, but I am struggling with figuring out how to bake the wafer balls. I was looking on some wafer makers or even if I could directly buy the wafer balls without any success. Any ideas ?


texts: What does it mean to broil 4 inches from the heat for x minutes?

texts:
I was looking at some recipes online and it said 'Broil 4 in. from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned.'

Does broiling mean a specific temperature? I have never broiled anything before and I was wondering if there is a standard temperature range for broiling?

Incidentally, this is about making garlic toast, but I would like to know about broiling in general.


texts: Subsituting mango puree for bananas in banana bread

texts:
I have some mangoes lying around the house that I am curious to use in a banana bread.

Suppose I puree the mangoes and I have one banana. How much mango puree should I use to make a mango-banana bread?


texts: Can I safely clean/eat harvested foods that have aphids on them?

texts: So a friend of mine went to harvest some spinach and lettuce she planted, only to find lots of aphids. Assuming she can clear off the aphids is there anything preventing her from eating the produce? What's the proper method for cleaning that's sure to make it edible?


texts:
I was looking at some cans of black beans and chickpeas I had.

They both had higher sodium than I would have expected. Much higher than non-canned varieties.

I am wondering where does that sodium lie? Is the sodium in the liquid that the beans are packaged into? Does the nutritional info take into account the liquid proportionately? Can I rinse them thoroughly to reduce the sodium?


texts: Why have all of my quality pans started smoking at once?

texts:
Okay, I have a situation here that is blowing my mind and hopefully someone here can help me. The other night, I attempted to cook a burger on the stove. Smoke was coming up (eventually pouring up) from the sides of the pan, but I initially ignored it because I just figured that was, um, normal. Within minutes, my smoke alarm went off. Once that situation was taken care of, I gave up on the burger, and attempted to bake some homemade granola in my oven. Soon enough, smoke was coming out of my oven. Nothing was ever on fire during either of these situations, just a lot of smoke.

During both occurrences, I was cooking/baking with coconut oil. I usually use coconut oil, but this time I had purchased a new brand I had never tried before. I originally blamed these two mishaps on the "cheap" oil I purchased. Also, another note: I am using Calphalon Contemporary pots and pans from Crate & Barrell and have been for the past year. I am using an electric stove.

Anyway, I have set the coconut oil aside with an intention to exchange it for my regular brand. So the next day, I go to boil some water for my tea. Smoke is pouring up the sides of my small sauce pan! This NEVER happens! I turn on my vent and halfway panic while I quickly call it quits and pour the simmered water over my loose tea. Steam is coming from my teapot which really isn't normal.

Later on, I try to scramble some eggs in a different pan. Same thing happens. Smoke pours up the sides.

At this point, I figure there must be some coconut oil residue covering my stove as it must be impossible for every Calphalon pot/pan to go bad at once. So, I clean and scrub my stove. I clean each pot/pan just to be sure. Now, with a pristine stove, I grabbed my one pot that I have literally used only ONCE in my life...there's no way there can be a problem now, right? I put some brown rice in this hardly used pot, and as the water starts to heat up, sure enough, lots of smoke starts coming up the sides!! HOW can this be?! My mother thinks my pots and pans are garbage and I should return them, but to me, it just seems impossible how every pot is all of a sudden "ruined". Is my stove ruined? What did I DO?!

I have never had a problem with my stove or my pans until I attempted to cook that burger. I am going crazy trying to figure out what all of a sudden happened. Tomorrow I am going to buy a new pan from Target just to test it out. Any insight is greatly appreciated as this is really bothering me! Thanks in advance!

**Edited to add: My oven is electric/glass top and the smoke is coming from the INSIDE of ALL my pans!


texts:
I was looking to buy myself a chef's knife, and was interested in either the Richardson Sheffield V Sabatier range, or their Sabatier Trompette range. Now, the latter is a bit cheaper, and the only difference I can see between the two is that one seems slightly thicker than the other. Neither is flimsy, but the V Sabatier's blade is about a millimeter thicker.

I am looking for a good quality knife that will last me, but I don't want to spend more money than is necessary. Is the extra thickness worth a ~£10 premium?


texts: Which method to use when making fruit powders?

texts:
Searching online I found a lot of videos/ articles about making fruit powders, some of them dried the fruit itself then ground it. While other juiced the fruit, then ground it.

I am wondering which method will give me a better result regarding:

1) The taste;

2) The color.

The fruits that I am looking forward to try out: Mango, Orange, Lime, apple, grape, tomato, pepper and other fruits and veggies.

I will be using a cheap dehydrator if that is going to make a difference.


texts: Would there be a difference between boiling whole black peppercorns or fine ground black pepper in a stew?

texts:
When putting whole black pepper in a stew e.g. curry, am I right in thinking that they completely dissolve because I don't remember seeing any in the finished pot or dish.

I was reading alternatives to using chilli and black pepper was listed so I thought if I want to try it, maybe I should make a fresh ground black pepper then add it in the same way one would add chilli powder.

However it has occured to me since whole black pepper dissolve in curries, what would be the point fine grounded black pepper to replace chilli, wouldnt the fine black pepper just dissolve too and hence you may as well use whole ones as you will end up with the same result/flavour?


texts: Can I make up for under-proving my bread dough during the first rise by doing an extra long second rise?

texts:
Long story short, I think I overestimated how much my dough expanded during the primary fermentation (it's supposed to double in size, I'd say mine was only 1.3–1.5× the size). Now the dough is already shaped and has been plopped into the loaf pan for the second rise, and it is still growing albeit slowly. Can I let this dough sit for a longer time than usual in order to compensate for the inadequate first rise?

This is an all-purpose flour dough made with a poolish pre-ferment, fairly lean but with a few tbsp of butter.


texts: My recipe calls for grilling a pork loin for 25-30 minutes over medium high heat with the lid closed. How do I convert this to oven cooking time?


texts: What should I do if I have added extra water in rice for braising and you can see the rice is turning into sticky rice?

texts: While cooking rice with meat, sometimes I faced that extra water has been added to the rice container when kept for braising. What should I do when I see the rice is turning into fluid? Need opinions to be proactive for the future same conditions?


texts: Distributing small amounts of oil around a non-stick pan

texts:
I have difficulty evenly distributing oils (butter, chicken or bacon fat, and other oils) around a non-stick pan.  Of course I can use cooking spray, but I need a solution for all fats.

If I don't evenly distribute the oils, when pan frying things in small amounts of oil, I get spots on the food (breaded fish, etc.) that turn out great and other spots that obviously made no contact with the fat.


texts:
Some recent questions about pork rinds inspired me to inquire about this.  My wife and I are quite fond of the English film Shaun of the Dead.  The characters in the film refer to a certain bar pub snacks as "hog lumps" at one point and "pig snacks" at another.  You don't actually get to see them, but I just assumed they were referring to what we in the United States call pork rinds.  However, in the comments on this question Sam Holden said they call them "pork scratchings" in the UK.  I did a little searching and many hits just say something to the effect of "what they call pork rinds in Shaun of the Dead".

So, are these specific to the film, or actually common slang?  Actual brand names?  Are they even actually referring to pork rinds?  Can someone from across the pond clarify these terms?


texts: Water bath issue when doubling a cheesecake recipe to make bars

texts: I have a recipe for a cheesecake that I'd like to double.  Of course I would have to use a 9 X 13 pan and make it into bars (which I don't mind).  It will eventually get covered with a chocolate mint ganache.  With that in mind, how important is the water bath?  Can I forgo it altogether (since it will be a 9 X 13 pan and hard to water bathe)?  Or should I put a pan of water below the pan to help keep moisture in the oven?


texts: I recently received a large bag of small Lobster Tails (4-6 oz each) that are frozen - It says Slipper Lobster Tails on the package.  Any Ideas as to the best way to prepare - defrost first, boil right away, how long to cook?


texts: Nitrous oxide gas leak when charging ISI whipping cream dispenser

texts: When I charge my relatively new ISI cream dispenser, the N2O gas leaks around the top and body seam, resulting in failed whipped cream.  I've tried everything to tighten the seam, including adjusting the gasket and tightening the top very hard.  The demonstration videos show the cook lightly tightening the top and they seem to have no trouble.  What am I doing wrong?


texts:
Bit of a problem with flatbreads: the flour on them is excessive. I tried cornstarch and oats instead. I have 3 different brushes for getting the flour off them. For those wondering: it's sourdough starter+flour baked at around 550 degrees Fahrenheit. How can I avoid that much flour on the outside of the flatbread?

I roll the flatbread to the ideal consistency and about 1/4 to 1/8th of an inch thick, then dust with as much flour as I need. Then I quickly transfer it to a hot pizza stone.


texts: How to reduce the taste of horseradish in hummus?

texts: I followed The Pec Shef's hummus recipe and I am getting a strong horseradish after-taste in my hummus. I only used 6 cans of chickpeas instead of 8, and a 9.25oz jar of horseradish. Is there anything I can add to the mix to reduce or neutralize the strong horseradish taste?


texts:
I made a jalfrezi today for tomorrow and I forgot to add spices, (cumin, tumeric, paprika).
Is there a way I can add them now getting the most from them?


texts:
While walking home yesterday, I found a discarded fire pit (I initially thought it was a portable grill, but then then realized that it had only a mesh cover).
Some details:

it's essentially an iron bowl with no bottom vents
the lip is ~23", including the outer rim. ~22" excluding it
the grate inside is ~11"

I would like to use this while spending as little money as possible. I assume the biggest downside versus an actual grill is that without a solid cover, I hit lower temperatures, and I'll lose some smoky flavor.
Some questions:

Should I get a wider grate that rests on the lip instead? Or can I get by with having a few coals that the small grate can rest on?
Should I try to find a solid grill cover instead of the mesh?
What would I miss out on if I don't have a cover?
Any other equipment I should have to avoid surprises?
Is it ok that I don't have any bottom vents? Unfortunately I sold my drill a while ago and don't have access to one right now.

Note that while I cook a lot, I grill very rarely and this will be the first time I grill without someone experienced with me - so I'm not looking to get into anything complicated right away; I'm hoping that this will help me practice some basics.


texts: Overheated stainless saucepan - food now sticks

texts: I overheated my Stellar stainless steel saucepan. It is discoloured and if I poach an egg in it, it sticks. Is there any way of restoring the surface?


texts:
I bought black rice for the first time, and I am unsure what to use it for. It would be helpful if I knew how it behaves when cooked. The info I'm looking for is: (assume fully cooked corns)

Stickiness. Do the corns stick to each other, or remain separate?
Corn structure. Does it feel mealy, or smooth to the tooth?
Hardness. How hard is the fully-cooked grain as compared to other rice types (including wild rice)?
General use. I assume it can be used as white rice, so I am not asking you to list how to use it. But are there uses for which it can't be used? Risoto is probably a no-brain example, are there other dishes where the use of black rice will be so bad as to cause the dish to fail?
Taste. Is there something very specific about its taste, or is it within the usual variety to be expected from rice?
Misc. If there is something important I forgot to include, feel free to include it in your answer.

I already went through Wikipedia and the highest Google results for black rice. I'd like some more information, preferably based on personal experience or not-so-obvious sources.


texts: "Lime water" technique -- why use an excess of cal?

texts:
At https://www.catsfork.com/CatsKitchen/lime-water I see a technique from a cookbook called Nourishing Traditions for soaking cornmeal in 'lime water', created from pickling lime (calcium hydroxide, aka "cal"). The technique starts by preparing a quart of lime water by adding a quart of filtered water to something like a half a cup of pickling lime powder, sharing, letting the powder settle out, and then using the water obtained by pouring the liquid portion off of the settled solids.
I am confused because according to the solubility table at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solubility_table, something like 2 grams of calcium hydroxide would be expected to dissolve in a quart of water. That's basically one mL of calcium hydroxide that is expected to dissolve; why would you use a half cup (which is approximately a hundred times that amount)?
Am I missing something about the technique? Is there a reason why using a dramatic surplus might be anything other than wasteful?


texts: Why is a pressure canner needed when canning?

texts:
I keep reading the same tip, when it comes to preserves, which essentially is:

Botulism spores can survive 100°C and require hotter than boiling water temperature.

Source: https://www.thespruceeats.com/boiling-water-bath-versus-pressure-canning-1327438

What I don't understand is, why a waterbath in my oven set to 150°C is insufficient to achieve this effect? Or simply a water bath on the stove?

What stops me from heating the content of the jar to above 100°C without a pressure cooker?


texts:
I couldn't find something that resembles this but one day I used my stainless steel pan and I think I didn't clean it properly so I woke up to discover these "stains" on it (BKF didn't help scrub them off):

Anyone know what these could be and how to treat it? Not sure if it's even safe to cook in it anymore.


texts: Can't make an omelette in my all-clad pan because of sticking

texts: I have an all-clad pan that I have used many times for scrambling eggs. Usually there is no issue with sticking. Recently, I've tried to make an omelette in the pan by sautée-ing the vegetables first. Afterwards, I pour on the eggs. I've found that if the eggs go under the vegetables, it will stick to the pan. Any way to get around this?


texts: How can I improve my chicken curry recipe?

texts:
So, I’ve been experimenting with making curry and drew upon various recipes I found online. The common threads that I found were the following:

Using onions, garlic, and ginger as a base
Using plenty of spices
Having a main component (Chicken, potatoes, canned tomatoes)
Pouring water and a thickening ingredient in the end (Greek yoghurt, tomato paste)

The following recipe that I eventually compiled produces an edible, but mediocre dish. Is there any way to improve it?

Chop ginger, onions, and garlic, then add them to a heated pan with sunflower oil. (Add in the following order: onions, garlic, ginger) Cook until the onions are dark.
Add chili powder, ground cumin, curry powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Then add the chicken breasts and cook until slightly browned on all sides.
Add a can of chopped tomatoes and a tbsp of tomato paste. Then, cover the mixture with water. Simmer until thickened.
Remove the pan from the heat and add a few spoons of Greek yoghurt.

Please bear in mind that my financial resources are limited, so new ingredients should be critical to the taste of the finished dish. Naturally, this is intended to be served with white rice.


texts: Why does this homemade herbal tea always boil over?

texts: I make my own herbal tea with: ginger, turmeric, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon sticks, goji berry, cilantro/parsley, and lemon. I boil the whole in water but for whatever reason I need to be around all the time to avoid a spill-over. It is like having an eye on milk on the fire. Is there any reason why it always spills over?


texts:
What do you do with juicer pulp?

Does it still contain any flavor to make something out of it?

How about vitamins?


texts: I bought some ham from the deli the other day and forgot it in the car for about 5 hours. It was a 77 degree day. When I ran out to go get it the meat still felt cool so I threw it in the refrigerator right away. Is it still safe to eat?


texts: How to make a Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread in time for breakfast

texts:
The problem with Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread is that it almost takes 3 hours to complete.

So unless I get up very early in the morning, I cant make it in time for breakfast.

Is it possible to freeze the bread half baked? or make the bread the evening before and just heat it the next morning?

Other suggestions are welcome.


texts: What temperatures should I keep my refrigerator and freezer set at?

texts:
For a refrigerator, if it's cooler, items like milk and meat last a bit longer. However if I set it close to freezing then some items start showing frost on them. What temperature should I set my refrigerator to for best overall results?

Since the person answering is likely to know, I'm also asking what temperature I should set my freezer to.


texts: I'm cooking two dishes that need to cook at different temperatures in the oven, what do I do?

texts: For dinner tonight, I am making roasted corn on the cob and some roasted broccoli as well. However, the two recipes I am using call for the corn to be cooked at 350 degrees while the broccoli is at 425. I've heard of people roasting corn at 450, but I've never tried it. Should I cook them both at 425? Any advice is appreciated!


texts:
I have cooked a kilo of black eye beans and made a meal with half of them. I intend to freeze the rest (the other half) to make another meal next week and freeze them for later meals. This last step means that the frozen beans are going to be cooked and refreeze them again.
Is this procedure a safe one to take? I regularly cook full meals and freeze them in portions for later meals but not from already frozen ones.


texts: When to bring eggs whites to room temperature?

texts:
I’m looking over a recipe for angel food cake that calls for twelve egg whites at room temperature and it got me wondering about what’s the best way to do it. Is it best to bring the dozen of eggs to room temperature on the counter, crack them, separate them, and then put the yolks back in the fridge for another recipe? Or is it best to crack and separate the eggs while cold, throw the yolks back in the fridge, and let the egg whites warm up in a sealed container on the counter?
Just curious and figured I’d ask in case there’s a good reason for either of these or something else.


texts: Is it a bad idea to pour water on a pan without letting it cool off?

texts:
Obviously I have enough common sense to not add pour water into boiling oil, but after the cooking is done I try to add water to the pan so it's easier to wash. Usually I let it sit there cooling off and more often than not I just forget about it and have the biohazard that is a greasy cast iron ribbed pan to deal with in the morning.
If the pan is still somewhat hot and you feel it's warm feel 3-4 inches above the surface of the cookware is it fine to add water? Can it damage the pan in the long run?


texts: Adding sugar and honey to sourdough culture

texts:
I am interested in this site's members' opinions on how adding two spoons of sugar and two spoons of honey would affect a sourdough culture.  I am wondering if adding sugar and honey to the starter culture will have any desirable effects on the resulting sourdough.

I'm experimenting and curious if this addition would lead to any new types of flavour?


texts: Is it normal for raw farm onions to smell like manure?

texts:
I bought onions from a truck passing the streets in Mexico and even after peeling the onions smell like manure all the way to the core.

Is this normal? If so, why don't grocery store onions have that smell?


texts: I want to get a mortar and pestle to make guacamole with, but no sure what the differences are between granite and porcelain. The porcelain ones are cheaper, but the granite variety have more weight (i think that might make it easier to grind/mash things). However, the granite sets are more porous, so i think they might be harder to clean. Does anyone have any advice they can lend?


texts:
Given that barleywine is a strong ale, is it suitable in recipes which call for ale, or does the extra alcohol and stronger flavor overwhelm the recipe?

I realize the answer will be "it depends" if varies by recipe; I am more interested in whether the answer is "Absolutely!" or "Absolutely not!"


texts: How can I recreate canned whipped cream from scratch?

texts:
I tried by using two quarts of heavy cream, two cups of sugar and a spoon of honey and mixed it all together but I feel like it's missing something to the flavor.

I'm trying to create something similar to what you get out of a can of whipped cream. Reddi-whip to be exact.

These are the ingredients: Nonfat milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, maltodextrin, inulin (chicory extract), cellulose, mono- and diglycerides polysorbate 80, artificial flavors, carrageenan.

Can someone explain what these are: (maltodextrin, inulin (chicory extract), cellulose, mono- and diglycerides polysorbate 80, artificial flavors, carrageenan)


texts: How should I sautee Portobello Mushrooms?

texts: I frequently use Protobello's in a stir fry or pasta dish as a meat substitute. I find that they absorb a significant amount of oil if I put it in the frying pan. However, if I don't use enough oil, then they start to burn. Once they've gotten to a certain point, they sweat out a lot of water. However, they often end up either burnt or greasy. How can I cook them properly so that neither of those things happens?


texts: What did I do to make the chocolate bloom like this?

texts:
I've been trying to create some moulded pralines and have been tempering chocolate using the microwave method. The microwave method was to heat the chocolate in the microwave in small bursts until there are about 30% callets left. Once there are 30% left, you stir until they are all completely melted.

I did this, and tested it on some baking paper and the test set before 3 mins. The test ended up perfectly tempered and didn't turn white over time.

However my moulded chocolates turned out like this:

This looks different to a lot of the images im finding about bloom. What's happening here?


texts: I am making bread and my yeast is not foaming. I am using water at 110 F and my yeast is good - I recently used it a couple of days ago, and it worked fine. This time, it looks like brown water; it has dissolved, but never foamed. I keep my yeast in the refrigerator.  Instead of using it right after I have removed it, should I pull it out and let it warm up first? I don't think I pulled it out and let it warm up the last time, but I am unsure.


texts: What does stp yeast stand for in an old recipe?

texts: I saw an old recipe that called for an stp of yeast and salt...all other measurements were standard. What does stp mean?


texts: Am I supposed to eat frozen cherries directly

texts:
I just got a bag of frozen cherries.

Are they supposed to eat directly, or after they are unfrozen, or after I cook them?

I have never eaten frozen berries before, but just fresh berries.


texts: A lot of foam while cooking a cod with steam

texts:
I was cooking a cod with steam, but unexpectedly a lot of foam came out. First, I thought that the pot has not been cleaned but after re-cleaning the pot and refilling the water the situation repeated. My fish is surrounded by foam (like from the dish soap) instead of the pure steam. Any idea what is going wrong?

The fish was bought in the supermarket as "fresh" (not frozen), looked and smelled normally.


texts:
I made a vanilla cake from scratch using this recipe and when I removed it from the pan, I noticed little brown lumps along the bottom and edges the size of BB pellets.

I tasted one of the spots, thinking it was burnt sugar, but it was very hard and very very bitter. I think it tasted like baking powder but also lemony. This is the second time this has happened to me using different recipes. It never happens when I make a chocolate cake.

All the ingredients today were fresh, everything was at room temperature, and the pan was clean. I greased it with Pam and then placed parchment paper circles. I did not have cake flour, so I used AP flour. The batter looked fine and had no lumps in it, I scraped down the sides of the mixing bowl, and nothing tasted off when I licked the spoon. I think it has something to do with adding the baking powder.

What would cause this?


texts:
A traditional Austrian pork dish, served with potato croquettes, vegetables, mushrooms and gravy

From: http://imgur.com/gallery/35BwvDi


texts: Where to find a large individual brownie pan?

texts:
I'm looking for a large baking pan for cooking individual square brownies, preferably at least 8cm x 8cm (3.14 inches) but I can't find anything anywhere!! Can anyone suggest where I can get something like this from? Or am I missing something?

I don't want to go for a large tray and then cut them because I want all the brownies to be identical.

Thanks!


texts: What is the texture/taste difference between cured and uncured bacon?

texts:
I understand that the main difference between cured and uncured bacon is that one is cured and one isn't.

But, is the curing process the same for all slab bacon? And does it make a difference, taste and texture wise, to substitute one for the other in a recipe that calls for uncured specifically?


texts: A couple of years ago I made farmer cheese from this recipe. It turned out great: creamy and delicious. Today I made the same recipe, and it turned out dry and crumbly instead. What would explain the inconsistency? The only thing I did differently is halve the recipe this time, but I can't see why that would alter the texture of the finished product.


texts: How does a coffee bean get its smokey flavor?

texts: I've tasted on a number of occasions coffee that has smokey flavor. Is this a natural flavor of the beans or was it acquired in other means (e.g. during the roasting process)?


texts: When I pull the trigger on my cream whipper, it won't stop, even when released

texts: I have an isi gourmet whip, 1/2 liter. I prepare a standard preparation of whipped cream, meaning cream, some sugar, and a bit of vanilla extract, pressurize the canister, shake, and then when I go to discharge it, it discharges, but won't stop discharging, even when the handle is released. I've cleaned the spout thoroughly, checked the o-ring, and everything seems to be in order


texts: What is the cocoa solids percentage of Hershey's semi-sweet chips?

texts: What is the percentage of cocoa solids in Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips?  Need to use it for a recipe that calls for 70-72% Cocoa solids.


texts: what is the correct consistency for cream cheese frosting

texts:
I'm having an issue making decent cream cheese frosting.

I have a recipe that says to use:

  1 pound (450g) cream cheese, at room temperature
  4 oz (110g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  2-3 cups (240-360g) powdered sugar, sifted
  a few drops of vanilla extract

and then to

  To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar (do this on low speed to avoid a dust cloud) and mix until light and silky. Add the vanilla.`

The problem I have is that it comes out way too runny to frost anything with.  I've tried adding a bit more powdered sugar and it still maintained it's runny state.  I'm using the K paddle for my Kenwood mixer to mix the frosting.

I've put the icing in the fridge for the moment to see if it will harden up a little.  Is this standard or am I doing something wrong?

EDIT:

So after putting the cream cheese in the fridge for a few hours, it still didn't harden up, just turned a cold runny goo.

One thing I have noticed is that the supermarkets in the UK sell "Soft Cheese" as opposed to "Cream Cheese" which makes me think there is a difference between cream cheese and soft cheese.  Philadelphia in the UK is sold as Soft Cheese, and many UK based recipes that include a cream cheese frosting often include lemon juice.


texts:
How can I get Coco Lopez cream of coconut in Serbia? I've looked everywhere on the internet, and it is always around $90 shipping or so. I bought it in Italy before and it wasn’t that expensive.
I need it to make Piña Coladas. I know the drink can be made from similar things, but I am only interested in this here.


texts: sous vide producing inedible food because of fat not rendered

texts:
I did a 36 hour sous vide ribs at 145 degrees F followed by a 5 min sear under the broiler.

The meat was soft, tender, full of juice and the fat did not render from my spare ribs.

The meal left me...feeling gross because of the high fat content in ribs that I'm not used to.

The fat usually renders from the long cooking in the oven/grill doing it the traditional way.

I googled this problem, and someone ended up with inedible duck from sous vide because of the fat not rendered beneath the skin.

I can't find much info out there on this issue. Any insights on sous vide and the problem of extra fat in the dish and getting around it would help.

I read the intro parts of Thomas Keller's book, Under Pressure. Any recommended resources for sous technique and the problem of fat rendering would be much appreciated.


texts: Name for a master "cook plan" that describes how you prepare and serve all courses of a meal

texts:
I'm writing some software and could use some help (from some experts!) naming something. In cooking, culinary arts, etc. I have to imagine that there exists a concept where you, the chef, have a master "cook plan" for how you will execute a particular course, meal, set of servings, etc.

Meaning, you know what you want to cook for a particular meal: you know the ingredients, the recipes for each component of the meal, the timing of when you need to start prepping, cooking and plating each component, etc. A master plan. A "cook plan" for the entire theatre of operations so to speak.

This cannot simply just be a "recipe", as to me, a "recipe" is a sub-component of this plan as it takes ingredients in as input, processes those ingredients and produces (as output) just one component of a meal.

I'm talking one step above an individual recipe: a plan that covers everything you will do to produce all the courses of a large meal.

Is there a word for this in the culinary world?


texts:
As summer has finally arrived, I am planning for a picnic involving grilling.
We have some parks around here, with the tiny grills on the ground. Can someone give me a list of things to bring in order to really grill some food ?
Also, what are the usual meats/veggies for outdoor grilling ?


texts: Am I missing out on something by not using parchment paper?

texts: I enjoy occasionally baking over the weekends and on special occasions - biscuits, macaroons, cakes, pies, etc. I don't use parchment. My baked goods have always come out just fine - dare I say "tasty"? - and the only mild inconvenience I face by not using parchment paper is I have to scrape out bits of the baked good from the bottom of my baking tray. Other than avoiding this mess, is there any reason to use parchment paper? Does it affect the quality of the baked product?


texts: I make a relatively quick oatmeal bread (with bread, whole wheat flours and old-fashioned oatmeal); it calls for instant/fast rise yeast.  I am wondering how to make it rise a bit more than it does....


texts: Brown pods from tree like Carob okay to eat raw?

texts:
Trees near my house have these pods covering the ground, by the side of the street. They look like Carob to me. I took a few of them.

Searching Google, I don't see other trees that grow long brown pods matching these.

Are these Carob pods and can I eat them as is? Are there other factors to consider? Maybe they're contaminated from being next to the street or infected with pathogens from lying on the ground? Or perhaps they're too old to eat? I don't know if these are potential issues.

I already bit a small piece and it did taste like chocolate.


texts: Traditionally, copper pans are used for heating milk because of copper's conductive properties. Does this still apply for induction hobs (obviously would need some steel in with the copper pan). What sort of pan is best to use to heat milk on an induction hob?


texts: What can I use as a substitute for grated coconut in heavy syrup?

texts:
I have a Latin American recipe that calls for grated coconut in heavy syrup. Apparently, you can commonly buy it in cans in Latin America, but not here in the USA. Can I substitute some mixture of dry coconut and syrup? What kind of syrup, in what ratio?

I have some sweetened dry coconut and light corn syrup on hand; if there's a way to make it work with those, that would be great, but if not that's OK too :)


texts: Can you freeze fruit pies after baking - Will this ruin them?

texts: I was thinking about apple, but would apply to any fruit.


texts: How do I boil/cook frozen vegetables to maintain nutrients?

texts:
There are already a few questions on cooked vegetables on Seasoned Advice. I want to know the best way to cook them straight from the freezer to maintain nutrients. I normally put lots of water in a cooking bowl and boil them for a long time. My wife thinks this loses the nutrients.

Is defrosting them on a pan with a small amount of butter and letting them slowly cook actually helping? Are there any other methods to maintain the nutrients as best as possible for frozen vegetables?

For frozen asparagus I pan cook it very lightly once defrosted with salt and pepper.
For broccoli I place it in a pan with water and boil it.

Is steam cooking better, or microwaving? I don't have a microwave as I don't believe in radiating food.


texts:
Here is basic recipe for Halvah:
Ingredients
2 cups honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsalted pistachios or almonds
2 cups tahini

If I were to drop ratio of honey to tahini to 1:2, what would the outcome be.
One normally bring honey to soft-ball stage than fold in tahini.
I am attempting to make halvah with minimum about of sugar.
Or, maximize other ingredient. e.g.: Double up almonds.


texts: My son has scratched my wok. Now it's rusting. Can it be restored or should I throw it away?

texts: It says Made in Japan. It's heavy and matte black. Can't post the pic due to size limitations.


texts: How long should I let a tea with lemongrass steep?

texts: Every time I have a tea with lemongrass in it the tea ends up with a really strong and rather terrible aftertaste. I drink several different types of tea, and am pretty sure that I am letting the lemongrass steep for too long. What is the optimal time to let lemon grass steep? I typically start with my water at 100 degrees Celsius.


texts: Must I store uncooked pasta in an airtight container?

texts:
With things like uncooked chapatis, if you don't put them in airtight packaging, they become tough and dry. I imagine that this is because they've already been mixed with water and chemically changed.

Must you do the same with uncooked pasta?  In the packaging, the noodles are hard pieces which must be boiled. It seems to me that, if they are uncooked and in a non-airtight container, they don't change but still remain hard and when cooked become soft like normal.

Therefore, I'm wondering, is it really a problem if I leave pasta out with the packaging open for weeks?


texts: Should I crush the spice for Chai Tea Latte?

texts:
After having a cup of Chai Tea Latte from Starbuck,I decided to make a cup of Chai Tea Latte by myself.

I've bought the spice from India store, however, they are not in powder simply because they don't have label on the powder so I can't identify them. However, I recognized their original shape so I bought them in the raw shape.

I don't have a grinder or mortar/pestle. I really don't want to buy them for occasional drink.

Is it common way to put the spice directly into the boiling water without grinding them into powder?

Below is the recipe:

I got cinnamon stick, cardamom pods (green cardamom) and cloves in raw shape.

  1 1/2 cups of water

  1 1/2 inch stick of cinnamon

  8 cardamom pods

  8 whole cloves

  1/4 inch fresh ginger root (sliced thin)

  2/3 cup of milk

  6 teaspoons sugar

  3 teaspoons of Darjeeling Tea leaves


texts: Chocolate cake recipe requires both baking powder and baking soda?

texts:
Here is the recipe I am using.

For batter:

2 cups Sugar
Flour 1 3/4 cups
Cocoa 3/4 cup
Baking Soda 1 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder 1 1/2 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
2 eggs
Milk 1 cup
Oil 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract 2 tsp
Boiling Water 1 cup

For icing:

Butter 1 cup 227g
Cocoa 1 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar 2 cups
Milk 2/3 cup
Vanilla Extract 1 tsp

I can't find baking soda at the moment so can I just double the amount of baking powder? Could that make the cake taste too acidic?


texts: Why do i get flat and crack french macaron tops

texts:
I have tried to make chocolate macarons several times now. Each time I get a flat cookie (no feet) with a cracked top.
I've tried baking them at 325 as well as 300 F. Each time, around 4-6 minutes in the oven, they begin to crack. I tried doubling the cookie sheets and leaving one empty cookie sheet at the bottom shelf. I also have an oven thermometer, so I know my oven temperature is correct.

I used aged egg whites ( at least 24 hours old) and I let them dry for 30-40 minutes before putting them in the oven.

This is what they look like after baking:

I'm using the recipe from joy of baking (https://www.joyofbaking.com/frenchmacarons/ChocolateMacaronsRecipe.html)

Thank you very much


texts:
I've recently been to China, and I've tasted an extraordinary dish I wasn't used to. Later, I've found out that the name is Sashimi, which is made with raw fish (salmon) and wasabi. Now I want to make it my self.

Can this be made at home? Is it difficult?


texts: Does the speed of opening of a bottle of wine influence its flavour?

texts:
While having a (good) bootle of wine at a friends place I've been told the following:

  The bottle should be uncorked slowly and silently, not to spoil its bouquet.

This statement came as something completely new to me, and I do not understand what kind of physical/chemical reasons could justify it. Unfortunately, social reasons prevented me to ask directly to the upholder of this thesis.

Has anybody ever heard such a statement? Is it correct? A scientifically supported answer would be appreciated (therefore I add the tag chemistry to it).

Thank you for your support!


texts: Since I only cook for one or two, I will tend to buy an onion and only use part of it, and then keep the rest in the fridge. Sometimes it will be a while before I use the rest. Is there any guidance on when I should finally just throw it out? What are the signs to look for? What degradations should I expect to trade off against constantly throwing out half an onion (decreased flavor, increased bitterness)?


texts:
I think I may make some traditional food for Easter this year. What I love most is a type of rich sweet bread called kozunak. The perfect kozunak is defined by many qualities, but what I find hardest is the texture. First, it should be really tender. Second, it must be very airy. Third, it should be juicy, not as dry as normal bread, but not doughy. Fourth, it should have threads. This means that the bread is broken instead of cut, and the dough should easily separate along lines made by pulling while kneading it. The best way to imagine that is to think of collagen-rich meat taken out of the slow cooker and pulled apart into its muscle fibers. Here is a picture of what the threads should look like (I hope the colours of the original are off, else it isn't the perfect kozunak with that colour ;) and the crumb is denser than usual).

The ratio of the recipe is probably important. It is a very wet dough for yeast, and has enough fat to make a quiche envious. (Also, this is the only bread I know of which is kneaded in oil instead of flour to prevent sticking). A typical recipe is:

1 kg flour [assume all purpose]
55 g live yeast
300 g white sugar
250 g milk [can be partially or wholly substituted for cream]
250 g butter
8 eggs
lemon rind, zests
vanilla extract
1 tbsp rum
yolk for glazing
raisins (optional)
almonds (optional)

I am not very good at getting it this way, because there is at least a year between each of my tries, meaning that I don't remember what I did when it went good and when it went wrong. My grandma and all of her friends love to give "surefire advice" on how to get it that way. And the advice of one friend contradicts that of another one (if it isn't internally inconsistent at to start with). I think that you SeasonedAdvicers are less likely to just perpetuate old myths without understanding them than these nice old ladies. So if you are experienced with yeast doughs, I will appreciate your opinion on following factors.

Fat type. This recipe says butter, but there is lots of advice to use lard instead, to make it "more tender". I am not sure that this has any consequence in yeast dough, probably some well-intentioned home cook decided that if it works for pie crust, it works for bread too. But I'd like to hear your opinion.
How many times should I let it rise? The usual procedure is something like Rise yeast in milk - mix everything, knead - rise (ca. 2x volume) - knead - rise (ca. 3x volume) - knead, pull, braid - rise (ca. 2x volume) - bake. But some leave the middle rising out, letting rise a bit more the other times. Is it a simplification, or is the procedure outlined overkill? Are there disadvantages to that much rising?
How much should I knead it each time? Some say lots of kneading in the beginning, the least amount at the end. Others say that the least amount of kneading every time is best. What do you advice?
Optimal oven temperature? It gets thick, because it increases in volume another 2x to 3x before setting, 10 cm isn't unusual. That would speak for a lower temp, around 160°C. But the years I followed this instinct, it got quite dry (maybe I didn't check properly for doneness). So maybe less time at a higher temp. But this is theory, what would an experienced baker suggest?

I think that's about it, but if you have other useful suggestions, please tell. This type of dough has a reputation for being tricky (or is it just the fact that it is rarely made so home bakers are inexperienced? Or that the expectations on the final product are high?) and I'll check the theory again, but help from more experienced bakers would be appreciated.

Edit: maybe I didn't make it entirely clear what puzzles me most. As I see it, I need exuberant gluten formation for the threads (and the long rising supports this theory). But to make it tender and airy I'd think that I want less gluten. So the theory just confuses me this time. I hope that at least the juicy part is taken care of by the abundant fat.


texts:
I made some pasta using wholemeal flour instead of white flour. My ratio was one egg to 100 grams of flour.

However, I noticed the following things when making it.

It took a good half hour (and lots of sweat) to knead it to develop the gluten and to get it somewhat silky and smooth.

It seemed to take longer to cook than package dried pasta, which is strange because I'd expect it to take less time given that it's fresh pasta.

Is all this normal for pasta made with wholemeal flour, or could it be that my egg to flour proportion is wrong? Also, I made this using ONLY egg and flour, with a teaspoon of water here and there to help soften it. Am I missing anything?


texts: If you were to open a packet of cooked ham slices and they were wet, is that a bad sign? Are they gone bad? Is it ok to eat them?


texts: I have some mesquite smoked brisket and would like to minimize the smoke flavor

texts: I have some mesquite smoked beef brisket that is pretty smokey. Is there anything I can do to neutralize that strong flavor?


texts: Can I fix butter (for a sauce) after putting too much mustard in?

texts: I'm making sauce for chicken cordon bleu. The butter has shallots, parsley, mustard, salt and pepper. I put too much mustard into the butter. Can I fix this?


texts:
Currently I use the "shake" method of carbonation to carbonate beverages. You pressurize the bottle with CO2 at about 35 PSI then shake it vigorously for about 30 seconds and it is fully carbonated.

Recently I have discovered that beer makers use a "diffuser" which is a cylinder with microscopic holes in it to inject CO2 into their liquid (beer) and carbonate it. Will a diffuser work as well as shaking and fully saturate the liquid?

One of my concerns is that some beer manuals describe carbonation as taking hours or days. I want to carbonate a bottle in like 5 seconds rather than the 30 seconds it is currently taking me.

Typically I am carbonating one to two liters of water/syrup at a time.

Concerning Soda Stream: the problem with something like Soda Stream is two fold. First of all, their CO2 canisters are small and expensive. The other is that the momentary injection type system they use (which I could duplicate if I wanted) can only get the pressure up to about 20 PSI which is way below saturation. With my system I can easily get fully saturated 35-40 PSI, which is what a soda can or fountain produces.


texts: Are the white crystals on my American Cheese safe to eat?

texts: I have some American Cheese with fine white crystals on the outside of each slice. They have a gritty texture. Is this a sign that the cheese is spoiled, or just lactic acid salts like aged cheese gets?


texts: Does chocolate ice cream tend to have more salt than strawberry or vanilla?

texts:
To the question Why does chocolate ice cream melt faster than others? I wrote an answer that suggests that it's not because of chocolate ice cream's dark color, but instead because of a lower melting point of chocolate ice cream due to more salt.

Salt depresses the melting point which is why it is put on roads and sidewalks in the winter in some cold parts of the world, and why salt is added to the ice water bath when making ice cream.

I'm wondering if there could be some truth to this theory, so I'd like to ask chocolate ice cream tend to have more salt than strawberry or vanilla?


texts: Can I use this reversable griddle on a glass top?

texts: A local bargain store has a few of these for sale, and I'd like to pick one up because 1.) It's thick so it's unlikely to warp (A problem I'm having with my current griddle) 2.) It's flat without a handle so it will store pretty easy. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I can use it on my stove because it only makes direct contact with the stove around the perimeter. Is it possible to use a skillet like this on a glasstop?


texts: What is the purpose of using potato peels for seasoning a cast iron pan?

texts:
My first ever cast iron pan just arrived. The package contains following seasoning directions.

  Wash with clothes detergent (not soap or dish detergent) to remove the
  rust protection coating.
  Wash thoroughly with warm water to remove detergent. Dry pan.
  Fill the pan with fresh potato peels. Pour sunflower oil or rape oil
  on them, until it is almost full with
  oil.
  Leave the pan with the potato peels and oil for an hour on the
  next-to-highest setting on the stove
  top.
  Throw away the potato peels and oil, dry the pan with kitchen paper
  Coat the pan with a thin layer of sunflower or rape oil.

Not only don't I want to spend the afternoon peeling potatoes and then throw away most of them (I cannot eat the amount of potatoes needed for these peels), but even the positive amazon reviews for the pan all warn before the stench the charring peels produce during the seasoning: It lingered for about three days although I changed the fume hood filters, but it is a small price to pay for such a great pan. For me, it is a big price, because I have no fume hood, and there is no door between the kitchenette and the living room/bedroom. I looked up advise on seasoning pans, hoping for some trick, and found this question where the accepted answer doesn't include potato peels (in fact, no answer mentions them).

Now I am unsure whether to use them. On the one hand, I don't want to deal with the side effects. On the other hand, a producer is supposed to know what is best for his products. I don't want to get poisoned by an anti-rust coating residue that would have been rendered harmless in a chemical reaction with potato peels. Besides, I can't use the seasoning process outlined in the question I linked, because my pan doesn't fit in my oven.

I guess it would be easier to decide if I knew of their purpose. Does any of you know of using potato peels for seasoning pans, and can you tell me why they are needed? Or is it just an urban legend the ignorant manufacturer printed in the manual (the pan is not a well-known brand, maybe some hardware manufacturer decided it will be easy to add pans to their product line and made them without gathering enough know-how).


texts: I have a charcoal grill (Big Green Egg) that has a ceramic insert that can be used as a heat shield or as a pizza stone.  My stone is black from drippings and smoke.  I'd like to cook some pizza on it, but I'm not sure what I should do to clean it.


texts:
Can you use Southern Blue Whiting (which is a small codfish) in place of Atlantic Cod in most recipes? Other than the size difference between the two, are there any important differences to bear in mind when substituting?

(Southern Blue Whiting from a few miles up the Queensland coast was the only cod-like fish the local fishmonger had in stock)


texts:
I keep reading online that garlic should be added at the end of dishes because they'll otherwise turn brown and bitter.

What confuses me is that a lot of recipes using various methods (sauteeing, frying, etc) begin with garlic.

What further confuses me is that I've had crispy browned garlic before, as an addition on top of casseroles and even some Asian dishes, such as rice porridge, and they're not bitter.

I'd like some clarity on this.  Is it that cooking garlic at the beginning of a dish ends up with softer flavor than one at the end? Or is one that everyone's doing wrong and garlic should be added at the end?  Or...???


texts: Mothballs in the pantry: is it safe to keep food there?

texts:
My roommate put some mothballs in the pantry and when I came home and saw them, I took them out.

They were probably only there for a few hours, but is it safe to store food in there?  Should I throw out the food that was in there together with the mothballs?  I'm leaning towards 'when in doubt throw it out' but I'm unsure whether that is overkill in this case.


texts: What are the safety considerations in making pine needle tea?

texts:
Living in a northerly climate, I have often speculated about how aboriginal people avoided diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies like scurvy (no imported citrus in those days.)

According to wikipedia,  the French explorer Jacques Cartier and his men were saved by the natives showing them how to

  boil the needles of the arbor vitae tree (Eastern White Cedar) to make
  a tea that was later shown to contain 50 mg of vitamin C per 100
  grams.

Has any one ever made this concoction? The instructions at eHow seem pretty straight forward, but I am still a bit nervous about the whole thing. After reading a passage like

  If you have access to fresh, bright-green pine needles, you too can
  enjoy this unusual tea

questions that occur to me like "will any kind of pine's needles do, or are some poisonous" have prevented me from experimenting.

Inquiring minds need to know!


texts:
When a recipe calls for a blade of mace, what is the expected quantity? The pieces of mace in the bag I have literally come in every size, from the entire husk, down to tiny fragments. The thickness is pretty uniform, so two-dimensions would be enough to define it. Alternatively, I could conceptualize volume-if-ground as well; although it needs to actually be kept whole.

In case the context matters, I'm cooking from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer.

Thanks!


texts: Last time I roasted green chilies, which consisted of charring the skin, I had a tough time peeling them.  Is there an easy way to peel roasted green chilies, or some secret I'm missing?


texts: Is it safe to cook a steak that was left out (raw) for 7 hours?

texts:
I left a round steak out for 7 hours in a container of cold water.  It was wrapped very well, hadn't been opened yet.

Is it ok to cook this? I planned on cooking it in the crockpot for 8 hours.


texts: does washing vegetables and fruit with baking soda make sense?

texts:
I have checked the other questions about washing vegetables and fruit, but they don't mention baking soda. Google brings up only unreliable (random blogs that give no reference) or biased (baking soda brands) sources. So, here it goes: my grandmother swore by washing vegetable and fruit in a weak baking soda solution (I am talking about sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3, not baking powder).

I tend to follow her advice and wash fruit and vegs in a baking soda solution, but I just gave the matter some rational thought: how concentrated should the solution be? And what the heck and I doing anyway? Does it make any difference? It is not that I am obsessed with cleanliness, I just want to know whether baking soda in the water makes any difference, or if I am just wasting time (and soda).

The FDA does not suggest baking soda, just plenty of water. I have found a paper, Antimicrobial Activity of Home Disinfectants and Natural Products Against Potential Human Pathogens that indicates that baking soda and vinegar have a disinfecting action against bacteria and the polio virus, but they are consistently less effective than commercial disinfectants like Clorox (nothing strange here, otherwise why would we need Clorox, right?).

Any suggestions? Sources?


texts: How to keep my pizza hot and crispy during transport

texts:
I am planning to make pizza for my work potluck this year. I will be the second time.

I cook it fresh in my over 10 minutes away from work, and then put it in pizza boxes to transport.

My initial concern last year, was that the pizza stays warm. The first pizza has to wait about 18 minutes for the other pizza to cook, then the 10 minute drive to work.

to solve this problem, I immediately took the pizza out of the oven and placed it directly into a aluminum foil lined box. The catastrophic and unxpected side effect, was that the heat and humidity ruined the crispyness of the bottom of the crust, and the pizza was a soft and saggy and sad mess.

This year I need to improve. I need to keep the pizza warm and crispy!

My first improvement is to put the pizza in the box, on top of an elevated cooky cooling grate. This will allow the bottom to breath.

Now I am looking for ideas to deal with the humidity in the box.

Could I put something in there to absorb the humidity? Would a bunch of sheets of paper towel be good. Maybe I could go further and put a tonne of flour in the bottom? Maybe silica packets?

I am just looking for ideas to keep the pizza warm and crispy over about a 26 minute period.


texts: What am I doing wrong that is making my dishes spicier when served as leftovers. Am I not simmering long enough?

texts:
For some reason the last three dishes I've cooked seem to get spicer leftover the next day. When they do obtain close to room temp they've all been stored in Pyrex and placed in the same fridge but cooked in different intervals (weeks apart). All three dishes have been cooked in the same 12 quart cast iron dutch oven.

The three dishes are from scratch and do contain fragrant spices:

Chili
Jambalaya
Chicken Tikka Masala

All three are tomato based but for some reason they all seem to get spicer as leftovers. After I bring them to a boil I do simmer them from anywhere to 10-30 mins depending on the recipe. Am I possibly not simmering them enough or am I missing something in the process?

When I search for an answer the closet read I could find was: "Why do spicy foods get hotter in the fridge?"


texts: What savory flavors would pair well with chocolate pasta?

texts:
I want to experiment with making savory homemade pasta with cocoa powder. I think the earthy flavor and dark color will be striking.

I have been thinking about what kinds of flavors could be used for the sauce.

I considered how to get chili powder in there as I love those flavors together.

What flavors (or sauces) would pair well with chocolate in a savory pasta dish?

I did see this question: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/4786/what-common-or-uncommon-flavors-pair-well-with-chocolate
It is more broad and does not answer my question.


texts: I want my potatoes to be baked within an hour, but I forgot to preheat the oven. Should I put them in while preheating or not?

texts:
I forgot to preheat the oven while prepping my potatoes to be baked.  Dinnertime is one hour away.  I put them in anyway and turned on the oven.  My spouse says I should not put them in yet because the oven will preheat more slowly with the potatoes inside.  I think my spouse is right, but I still think the potatoes will be ready just as early (if not a bit earlier) the way I did it since they will start heating up with the oven.
Can anyone tell me for sure one way or another?


texts:
I followed a new recipe for a sponge cake (Sour Cream Sponge Cake) by James Peterson.

The only tweak I made was to include some lemon zest in with the sour cream. When I combined the yolk mixture with the whites, I attempted to pipe the batter into ring as he suggested. However, the batter was too runny and I ended up baking it in a pie round, and the rise wasn't what I had hoped for (assuming because the batter was runny).

Has anyone made this type of cake which was runny, and found a solution? Would the minimal moisture from the zest make the cake runny?


texts: French culinary terminology for dicing vegetables

texts: The French language has many specific words for cooking.  What is the term used for food which is diced into tiny pieces?


texts: What can I use instead of paddle attachment for a stand mixer?

texts:
I only have this machine.

and it has only two type of attachment not the paddle. Can I use one of these two? or I need to buy a new one that has paddle?


texts: Is it safe to cook large cuts of meat sous vide?

texts:
I sous vide a lot and am familiar with the relationships between food safety, internal temperature, and time. I'll eat chicken breast cooked at a long time at 138F just to make a point.

Some large cuts of meat take a long time to cook sous vide. Imagine a prime rib for example or a whole chicken or turkey. These foods are typically stored just below the refrigeration safety zone (lets say 37F), but once they start to cook in the water bath, the temperature of the meat quickly passes 41F (entering danger zone).

In a huge cut of meat it would presumably take several hours for the center of the meat to go from 41F to 130F+. This is partly a physics question since I don't know how long it would truly take for the centre to go above 130F, but it certainly is a long while in a 140F bath.

Is it sometimes unsafe to cook large cuts of meat using sous vide techniques due to the time it would take for the meat to reach safe temperature levels?


texts: how to make shiny figures for cake decoration?

texts: I am wondering how are the little figures on this cute cake are made? Whats the material and where can you buy molds and casts to shape them? and how are they so shiny?


texts:
I am at day 10 of a new sourdough starter. I started using rye flour and all purpose flour but due to the COVID 19 pandemic I had to eventually only use rye flour because it is what was available. The starter isn't rising as much as I would expect.. usually it rises 1 or 2 centimeters, but it does bubble and seem active. When I start mixing it before feeding it seems like it smells like eggs. I feed it every 12 hours and keep it in a warm part of our home. I am not sure if I should start over (finally found unbleached all purpose flour!!) with an all purpose flour and rye flour mixture or if I should keep going.

Sourdough experts- please help!!!


texts: Are frozen onions any good? (And general advice with frozen veg)

texts:
Whilst I am not that good, I love to cook and I absolutely love onions!

When I cook, the longest part always seems to be peeling and cutting onions.. and hate the crying! (mainly because I buy the small ones and use about 7 or 8!)... Although, from reading the knife skills question, I think I just need a sharper knife and more practice!

Anyway, having previously only bought fresh vegetables, I have recently "discovered" frozen, and I have to say, I think the majority are nicer than fresh!

I am hesitant to try others without recommendations first, but, I have seen large packs of frozen, chopped onions and I was just wondering if these are as good as fresh?

So far I have had sweetcorn, brussel sprouts and peas which were all good, but I have also had mixed stir fry vegetables which were horrible! are there any general rule as to what vegetables are good frozen?


texts: Some recipes I have seen call for demerera sugar, rather than what I would normally use, which is brown sugar. Is there a noticeable difference in taste or outcome, or this likely to be somewhat of a marketing influence? Is it related to country of origin? How is demerera sugar different to other sugar forms?


texts:
My dad was recently in the hospital for intestinal surgery.  While he was recovering they served him some beef that he was very surprised to find incredibly tender.  He let me have a bite.  It was so tender you hardly needed to chew at all.

It was served as some kind of boneless fillet with a dark brown gravy on top.

I've cooked a lot of beef, but never was it this soft.

Can anyone help me find this recipe or teach me a technique with the same effect?


texts:
I have a Christmas pudding mix recipe intended for a 1.5 l pudding basin, but I need to slow cook it in a 1.2 l, so I'll have a little left over to make one or two miniature puddings. They won't fit in the slow cooker at the same time as the big pudding so I'll need to keep them uncooked. The recipe consists of a large amount of fruit bound together with flour, breadcrumbs, sugar, suet and 2 eggs. The eggs are why I can't just scale down a little - plus I want the mini pudding(s).

I assume the uncooked mix will keep in a fridge, but for how long? The main pudding will take all day to cook and ideally I'd cook the other pudding the next day.

I assume it will be safe given that I'm talking about 24 hours in the fridge - correct me if I'm wrong - but will it keep nicely? Should it be mixed again after keeping it in the fridge? Another assumption is that it will be more forgiving than a typical cake mix given that there's more fruit than anything else.


texts: What is a good way of learning how to season food correctly?  Are there some foods which are particularly bland until seasoned correctly that can be used to 'educate' your palate as to what is correctly seasoned?


texts: Can I un-seal canned tomato sauce, and re-seal after further cooking?

texts:
If I canned tomato sauce and all the jars sealed perfectly, can I open them, cook the sauce a little more, and do the process over again?

I had some of the sauce today and I think it needed a little more cooking.


texts: Smoking time for 6 racks (18 lbs) of baby back ribs?

texts: I have a vertical propane smoker that has slots for 7 racks.  I will be smoking 6 racks of baby back ribs.  I have smoked 3 racks (9 pounds) at 200-210 in six hours. I know I will need additional time for the extra 3 racks -- but it can't be 6 extra hours (12 total).  What is a good rule of thumb?


texts: Substitue for paneer? Have low fat milk, plain youghurt, cream cheese and butter

texts:
I have a recipie for Skewered Pumpkin (from India Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant).  Basically it's grated pumpkin, paneer, onion, breadcrumbs and spices moulded into a sausage shape around a skewer and cooked over a grill or in a tandoor.

This calls for 300g of paneer.  I do not have paneer but I do have low fat milk, plain yoghurt, cream cheese and also butter.  Can I substitute the paneer with some combination of these?

Alternatively, will paneer work with if I try to make it from low-fat milk?  Or does it rely on the milk fats?  How much milk would I need to start with to finish with 300g of paneer?

I'm aware of How do you make paneer? so there is no need to repeat answers given there.


texts: Purpose of condensed milk in mango ice cream?

texts:
Purchased condensed milk (so expensive!) to make mango ice cream as per this recipe.
After mixing up everything, the mixture seemed a bit softer in texture as compared to my Mom's way of simply mixing mango puree, milk and sugar to make mango ice cream.

Mom saw me making it and said that it's un-necessary to use condensed milk. I couldn't explain to her why it's necessary either, because the recipe doesn't mention it. I thought it was required to prevent crystals from forming in the ice-cream, but Mom says that crystals will form anyway. Even if I take the mixture out of the fridge and whisk it.

So what exactly is the purpose of condensed milk, and how can I prevent those crystals from forming so that my ice-cream is smooth and soft?


texts: Substituted for Angustura bitters in a lentil recipe?

texts: I have a recipe for Lentil Soup that calls for 3 drops Angustura bitters.  What can I use as a substitute?


texts: I have been wondering what would happen if I tried to make Gnocchi with whipped egg whites instead of egg. I was imagining it might make them light and fluffier. Has anyone ever tried it?


texts: Keeping crushed ice from melting, without it joining back together

texts:
You've got a cocktail party and need a supply of crushed ice through the night without having to continually bring out the blender.

Leave it out and it melts quickly.

Put it in the freezer and it joins back together.

Is there some cheap way of keeping it crushed like those super-expensive, super-unreliable Iced-Coke/Slurpee machines do?


texts: When I was making a focaccia earlier today, I realised that I've never been told why we dimple them before baking. A quick Googling didn't reveal anything, so I'm asking here: why do we make dimples in a focaccia before baking? Is it strictly cosmetic, or is there another reason?


texts: Steaming and seasoning veggies in a pressure pot?

texts: I am an extreme novice when it comes to food prep. My daughter bought me a pressure pot. I have the Aozita brochure for steaming veggies. When do I season , before? during? or after steaming? What is meant  by drizzle?


texts: What is the difference between "vanilla" and "Mexican vanilla"

texts:
Some ice cream around here is marketed as the flavor "Mexican vanilla".

It seems sweeter and has obvious vanilla seeds (or something that looks similar). Is there a type of vanilla pod that is uniquely Mexican? Or does the flavor mean "vanilla in a Mexican style" and refer to some technique?


texts: What are the benefits of Ceylon cinnamon over Chinese cinnamon?

texts: I have read that Ceylon cinnamon is sweeter. It is also 3X the price. Is it really worth it?


texts: How does my pre-cooked Costco chicken breast not expire for another 5 weeks?

texts:
I bought some "fully cooked chicken breast strips" that are seasoned and has grill lines on them. They're quite tasty. Ingredients also include salt, potato starch, and vinegar.
The label says "best before" a date that is 5 weeks from now. I don't think there is enough salt or vinegar to preserve these since the chicken tastes like normal chicken and these aren't "cured" or pickled or the like. My understanding is cooked chicken usually goes bad after about 5-7 days.
How is this possible?


texts: How can I tell the difference between unmarked sugar and stevia?

texts:
My wife just started back on her doctor-recommended ketogenic diet (due to a medical history of high blood pressure and Crohn's disease in her family). She's to have reduced carbohydrates and sugars, and to use artificial sweeteners for anything she would normally add sugar to.

While making our morning coffee, I found a clear plastic container with what looks like stevia stored away - a taste confirms that it has a slightly different taste than the sugar I have on hand.

But I want to be absolutely sure before I recommend she use it in her baking - is there any surefire way to tell if this is stevia and not sugar?

Note: It may also possibly be Truvia.


texts: is there a downside to using a wood mortar and pestle?

texts:
I bought a wooden (uhh, stained bamboo?) mortar and pestle today at an asian supermarket. I liked it because it looked nice and it was pretty large, especially for the price. I was also thinking that the larger size would help with peppercorns not flying out of it -- and landing ... somewhere... wait where did that go anyway?

I have to wonder though: are there any downsides to an MP set made of wood?


texts: How to cook perfect meringue in a gas oven?

texts: The lowest temperature my gas oven goes to is 130C. I have yet to find a gas oven that goes lower than that, which is weird. Is that the case with everyone? I know meringue does better with lower temperatures like 90C, so I was wondering: can one make perfect meringues at 130C, if yes how? Would a fan be of any use?


texts: I saw someone washing raisins before serving them in a bowl. I had never seen that before. Just wondering if raisins need to be washed before eating.


texts: Is there a way to make ham in a casserole less salty?

texts:
When I was pregnant, my mother-in-law helped me make several casseroles to freeze.  We're still eating them, but the ones with ham have had some problems.  At first, it was just ham, vegetables, and noodles with no sauce to hold it all together.  So I started adding cream of mushroom soup.  But the ham is still really salty.  Is there something else I can add in addition to or in place of the cream of mushroom soup to help, or should we just toss the rest of the ham casseroles?
Thanks!


texts: cornmeal crust on chicken is too gritty, is there a way to fix after chx has been baked?

texts: I made oven baked chicken using coarse ground cornmeal (obviously a mistake). Dredged chx in flour, then egg, then cornmeal.  I'm worried I'll break a tooth on the gritty corn particles in the breading! I don't want to throw it out. Is there a way to soften the breading even though the chicken is cooked?  Next time I'll use crushed cornflakes or something else.


texts: What is the best way to rehydrate dried cherries for a sauce if it has absorbed surrounding flavors?

texts: I tried making a cherry sauce for meatballs with dried morello cherries, but the final sauce had a weird taste despite the dried cherries being nice and tarty, but the water/sugar mixture from the cherries after rehydrating it wasn't as tasty. I added a stick of cinnamon to the boiling mixture and boiled the cherries in them. How much flavor do the dried cherries add to the syrup? The packaging says its 100% organic Morello cherries so I don't think its been treated with anything. Any suggestions?


texts:
7 ounces fresh ginger
    2 cups water
    3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
    lime wedge (to garnish)
    ice (garnish)
    sparkling water (to taste)

peel the ginger and cut into thin slices.
        boil the ginger slices in a pot with water and sugar and let boil for 10 minutes. stir every now and then. set the pot aside and let the mixture cool completely.
        strain the drink and dilute with mineral water to desired sweetness.
        serve with lime and ice.

My question is how do I make this recipe very low sugar?


texts:
I've bought a frozen fresh octopus. As most recipes suggest I'm planning to boil it, and then char it on the grill.

The problem is that it's pretty huge and we are only 2 people.
Would it be ok if I was to freeze part of the boiled octopus to grill at a later time?


texts: What does natural vanilla extract smell like?

texts: I bought a natural vanilla extract, but it had a strong aroma somewhat like spirit or what you get in almond essence? Is that normal? I've only used artificial vanilla so far and they smell really pleasant and warm and wonderful.


texts: Does (how does) cake batter consistency affect outcomes?

texts:
I've made lots of cake... usually in the form of mini cupcakes.

Generally I find a full cake recipe for a layer cake or even a sheet cake or bundt cake and just put it in mini cupcake pans and bake for about 12-17 minutes, depending on the recipe.

One thing I'm starting to realize is that batter consistency is absurdly varied. Some batters are practically water, like this chocolate cake recipe I made last night. It has very little flour and (228 g) compared to 414 g sugar and 2.5 cups of liquid (water, milk, oil). Other cakes turn out batters that are practically cookie dough thick. Most are somewhere in between.

What are the benefits and hazards of these different consistencies of cake batters? Does it affect crumb, moisture, doming? In the case of cupcakes rather than layer cakes, will one consistency produce more stereotypical cupcakes than others (e.g, say that thin batters make for little doming in the cake, that would be bad for cupcakes, which you want a nice dome on).

For the sake of clarity, let's say that the "target" for cupcakes is one that is:

moist but holds together for hand-held consumption
well-domed rather than flat-topped
releases from wrapper easily

And, as a corollary, how can I determine (when picking recipes) which recipes will create different consistencies of batter - is there a liquid to flour ratio common to different consistencies?


texts: Why did my oatmeal and raisin cookies end up tasting soapy?

texts:
I've made oatmeal cookies twice, and both times they have ended up tasting "soapy" and a touch bitter - the first time really strongly, the second less so, but still badly enough that I have to throw them away.
The details of the first attempt are lost to time, but the second time I used this recipe. I think I followed it pretty accurately.
The only theories I have right now are:

The bicarbonate of soda has a naturally soapy flavour (does it?), and I didn't fully finish cooking the cookies (I like them quite chewy - they definitely had a tan on top but probably could have had at least another 2-3 minutes in the oven before burning I suspect). But I baked them for around 15 minutes, more than the recipe anyway.

The oats were a little old (the packet was probably about two months old), and maybe they'd gone bad? But they looked fine, and when I cooked some not that long ago for breakfast, they seemed fine.

Do either of these seem plausible, or is there another possible explanation?


texts: Why would a recipe say mix all ingredients, then add egg and mix again?

texts:
I have a recipe for meatloaf in which the method boils down to:

In a large bowl, add everything except the beaten egg, and mix well
Add the beaten egg, and mix well
Cook

Now, I understand why you might want to mix all dry ingredients before adding anything wet, for example when making a cake; but here the everything except the beaten egg is most definitely not dry once all mixed together.

What's the benefit of mixing the egg last, separately?


texts: Leaves that fall off Brussels Sprouts, any reason not to cook?

texts:
A lot of recipes recommend removing the outer leaves from Brussels Sprouts.

I understand why'd you remove brown or damaged leaves but I've always thought the leaves that just fall off are perfectly fine to eat.

Any advice appreciated.


texts:
I have some lasagna sheets that I would like to use, and our oven is rather unreliable.
Is it possible to prepare lasagna using only a sandwich maker? How could I go about doing this?


texts: Egg bread recipe calls for 2 eggs and 2 yolks, can I use 4 whole eggs?

texts: The recipe for egg bread calls for 2 eggs and 2 yolks. What would result from just using 4 whole eggs?