texts: Can a pizza stone be fixed after soap has been used to clean it?

texts:
We bought a pizza stone from a thrift store (so at least it was cheap). Unfortunately we cleaned it with soap before reading up on how to clean them. I know, rookie mistake.

Is there any way to fix it or should I just toss it out and consider it a lesson is researching new tools before messing with them? Obviously, I have no idea if the prior owner misused it so this might be a lesson in not buying used stoneware.

I haven't tried baking on it since using soap on it and the soap was only lightly used. I guess I should perform an experiment and find out if it makes things taste soapy.


texts: Why does my "dulce de leche" look like this?

texts:
So I tried making dulce de leche, I've poured
1.5 litres of milk, 500g sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

I've waited for it to create foam that'll touch the rims and made sure the sugar is dissolved.

I lowered the heat and kept on stirring.

it's important to mention that I did not see at any given time that it went to the brownish color with the actual dulce de leche texture.

It felt like it went from beige to burnt brown without anything in between.

does anyone know why it happend?


texts: I'm planning a party and want to make multiple mug cakes, but since I need to make about 100 and don't have a microwave that big I was wondering if I could make them in the oven and if there were oven safe mugs. I've been looking but they all seem to say dishwasher and microwave safe but nothing about the oven. Would it be easier to make them in the microwave one at a time? Just seems like a hassle.


texts: What are some good gluten-free food alternatives?

texts:
A friend of mine has recently discovered that she has a gluten intolerance, and thus she now has to avoid foods. It is somewhat challenging to find good tasting recipes or alternative products in grocery stores, especially because the labels are not always clear about gluten contents of products.

What are some good places for gluten-free resources, and recommendations on particular products or brands which are the best alternative to typical products?


texts: What side dish goes well with Peanut Chicken?

texts: I am making dinner for my in-laws this weekend. I plan on making a Peanut chicken and pasta meal. The meal includes fettuccine, chicken strips, and pea pods in a peanut sauce. Do I need a side dish? If so, what would go along well with this meal?


texts: When I make a soup (planning on making a chicken soup tonight) I use chicken broth, creamer, and various seasonings. I love when I eat soup that has a filling broth because I always serve more broth than meat & veggies that are also in the soup. The broth doesn't need to be thicker but are there spices or veggies I could add that will make the broth itself more filling?


texts: How to make silky smooth chocolate like galaxy bar or dairy milk bar?

texts: How to make silky smooth chocolate like galaxy bar or dairy milk bar from chocolate compound?


texts: Thawing meat: Do the bacteria that make meat bad need temperature or thermal energy to thrive?

texts:
Real world example: when I thaw frozen meat in 5L of warm water vs 20L of cold water, it thaws roughly in the same time for me (note, the warm water is not kept warm) - Which I guess means that the same amount of thermal energy is transferred to the meat over an equal time period.
Does it make a difference for the freshness of the meat if I thaw it in warm water vs cold water, if it takes in the same thermal energy over the same time period? And do the bacteria that make it go bad care more about absolute temperature, or thermal energy?


texts: What's the most effective way to mix a jar of natural peanut butter?

texts:
When you buy a jar of natural peanut butter, it typically has a layer of oil on top, which has separated:

Mixing it can be messy and time consuming.

Aside from slowly and patiently mixing it with a knife, are there any tips and tricks to make this job faster, and  without spilling?


texts:
An answer to a question of mine suggests that a  non-stick (bundt) pan plus the cake release will be enough. The suggested formula is

  1 part vegetable oil, 1 part shortening and 1 part flour

I want a substitution for shortening for this application. I also read in another answer that canned cooking sprays could be used as well, but I couldn't get it as well.


texts: How critical is it to store spices in constant temperature?

texts:
A typical bit of advice on the subject says:

Store your herbs and spices in a cool, dry place. The ideal temperature is one that remains fairly constant, averaging right around 70° F."

You're also supposed to keep them dark and dry.
I do this by keeping my spices in a drawer, but I'd really like that space for something else, and to put my spices in opaque magnetic jars on the fridge. The opaque jars would keep out the light, and the cap would keep out the moisture, but my fridge is only two feet away from the stove, and there's probably more light, moisture, and temperature variation there than there is in the drawer.
Is this difference worth worrying about?


texts:
I intend on making caffeinated water for personal consumption, in batches large enough that it will take several months to consume them, using containers which are not hermetically sealed, and for which it is not practicable to refrigerate. What would my options be as far as preservatives?

Commercial caffeinated water products i've bought use sodium benzoate, but I can't seem to find information on how much to use. I am also interested in the possibility of using citric acid, but again i'm not sure what pH level I would be looking for. If it matters I do have a lab grade balance (Sartorius Entris 64-1S) which would be capable of measuring sub-milligram amounts and a dispenser to match.


texts:
I need to make a large batch (to serve 30) of mac 'n' cheese, and rather than bothering with my standard roux - cheese sauce, I thought maybe I could cheat with a short cut.

I dug up an old recipe for crock pot mac 'n' cheese. I have used it with great success many times over, and never had it fail. I  thought I'd do a small "trial run" of it since it's been a while since I used it. Failure. I have a few theories on what may have gone wrong, but I'd love input from impartial cooks.

For what it's worth, the recipe calls for 4 cups cheddar, 1 cup jack, 2 cups milk, 2 cups cream, salt, pepper, dry mustard, few dashes hot sauce (optional), a pound of macaroni and a half cup of sour cream. Throw everything except macaroni and sour cream in crock, cover and cook on low for 1 hour. Stir in mac and sour cream, cover and cook for another hour to an hour and fifteen.

When I stirred in the macaroni, the sauce did look a bit "gloopy" but it wasn't really very warm yet, and If I recall correctly, that is how it always looks at this point.

I did use all milk instead of part milk/part cream, as I didn't have any cream on hand.


texts: Need help identifying a kitchen tool, with a wooden handle, and a cylindrical cutter

texts:
I have no idea what this thing is, and it appears to be a kitchen tool, but for what?

I put up a YouTube video of it, and would love to see if anybody knows exactly what it would be used for, because we have no idea:

http://youtu.be/do5_D8Sjhk8

It would appear to be some kind of corer, or to cut shapes out of some fruit, but I can't find anything similar to it online.

The video linked to above does a better job of showing it from multiple angles.


texts: What is the difference between Capocollo and Coppa di parma?

texts:
Capocollo is 70 Calories per 55 grams.
Coppa Di Parma is 110 Calories per 33 grams
What cut of pork is each from?


texts: Will unopened jars spoil if you change the temperature?

texts: If you store unopened jars of  food in the fridge and then move it to dry storage will the food inside become spoiled?


texts: How do you dry homemade lollipops so that they are no longer sticky?

texts: I made homemade lollipops and they are set, but still sticky.  How can I dry them, or what I can do so that when I wrap them they won't stick to the wrappers?


texts:
I am able to receive cheap, great orchard apples in the fall. However, I do not have a cellar to store them in. I find they go bad before I can use them all.

Does anyone know of a reliable storage method to store the fresh apples? I will eventually can or freeze them; however, I'm looking for a way to keep some fresh for eating for a month or so.


texts: Is there a name for the mushy sludge that forms around/beneath meat as it cooks?

texts:
I've found the terms "aspic" and of course "drippings" and "gravy", but I don't think any of those quite describe what I'm asking about — for example, we just baked some meatballs and between each one there was a mix of both liquid fat and a grey-ish/pink-ish sludge. With chicken meat it tends to be whiter. It has a texture somewhere between cooked liver and jello.

Is there a proper name for this "sludge"? Are there any particularly traditional uses for it?

UPDATE: another question calls this same thing "scum", and the answers deal with what it is: What's that scum at the sides of my home-made burger when I cook it?

I'm wondering here what it's called, i.e. if there's a more generous term for it than "sludge" or "scum".


texts: Fudge shops don't seem to refrigerate their fudge they leave it out - is that what gives it is firm texture and how long should it be left out?


texts:
I recently visited Ukraine with a friend. One night we stayed at a hotel that served meals. In the morning, we came down to breakfast and were surprised to be served a carbonara-type pasta dish–not what we would normally have considered breakfast food. We asked our guide, and he said that Ukrainians don't separate foods into different meals and just eat whatever, whenever.

How common is it for people to not have the concept of certain ‘breakfast food’?

This article goes through common breakfasts from different countries, but most seem to be uniquely breakfast-y (except for Korea).

This one claims that the US is in the minority in having unique breakfast foods and suggests that ‘poorer people everywhere, especially in places like India and China, eat the same kind of food for meal after meal’.

Ukraine doesn't get a mention on the Wikipedia article on ‘Breakfast’, so I can't even verify what the guide said about it–maybe it was just the hotel we were in's approach–to be fair, the hotel was in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone so I can imagine food options might be limited.


texts: What's the best approach to get runny-yolk sunny side up fried eggs?

texts:
I like my eggs Sunny-side up, and ideally, with runny yolk but fully firmed up whites (including a millimeter-thin film of cooked yolk/whites on top of the yolk - not sure if there's a technical term for that).

This seems like an incredibly difficult balance - either the whole yolk starts to harden (very quickly - enough to get distracted for 15 seconds), or the whites are still runny and the yolk top is not cooked.

What's the best approach?

I tried covering my frying pan with a cover (helped a bit) and cooking over lower gas for a bit longer (didn't help much).


texts:
I am preparing some fried shrimp now. The recipe requires me to boil the shrimp in a pot until most of the water evaporates. I did that and the shrimp is cooked, but some of the ingredients seem to have got stuck to the bottom of the pot and got burnt a little, so there is a slight burnt smell.

My first instinct is to take the shrimp out little by little and wash it in salt water to get rid of the tiny burnt particles and then proceed with the second step of the recipe, which is to roast the shrimp.

So is washing with salt water the right way to go or is there something better?

http://malayali.me/non-veg/chemmeen-ularthiyathu-kerala-style-sauteed-prawns


texts: Why is my starter bubbling out of the container within minutes of mixing.  I used  2 c. bread flour, 2 c. water and 2.25 tsp active dry yeast.


texts: Can I put any kind of bowl into a steam/rice cooker?

texts:
due to some paranoia issues with the microwave, I would like to heat up my food using a steam/rice cooker instead. Can I just put all my refrigerated food in a bowl and just put it in the cooker, add a little water at the base, and turn it on?

Are there any health concerns to take note here? e.g. the bowl might melt, BPA issues, etc


texts: What is the easiest way to remove the papery covers from the peanuts?

texts: Intention is to make peanut butter. What is the easiest way to achieve the said aim?


texts: Can I make baccala (Italian salted cod) at home relatively easily?

texts: I would like to make some Italian baccalà dishes. However, I am unable to get my hands on baccalà. Also I have a box of frozen cod fillets sitting in the freezer that I don't want to waste. Can I make baccalà at home? Any easy way to do so? All I can find on Google with "baccala" are recipes that call for baccala, not how to make this important ingredient.


texts: Does heat transference go both ways? Can I use the defrosting plate to cool something more rapidly, say a hot pot or pan?


texts:
I generally use jaggery instead of sugar in all my baking recipies from cakes to bread.

I have not experimented enough to quantitate any difference in taste (basically experience with using sugar in recipies is almost nil). I would like to know if there is any difference in the texture and taste if sugar is substituted with jaggery.

Please add how to rectify the same, without using white sugar.


texts: Do fresh ramen noodles come in a curly form, or only instant?

texts:
Put another way, if I am served curly ramen noodles in a restaurant or for take-out, does that mean they are necessarily instant noodles? If there are fresh noodles that are curly, can someone provide a reference?

Here's a picture of what I mean. I don't eat instant ramen often, but they look as curly as instant noodles that I have eaten. Has this place served up instant ramen?

Picture from Wikipedia of which I am referring to as 'fresh ramen', distinct from the fried dried stuff coming in packages, which I don't think would cook up the same way:


texts:
I’m trying to make sugar cubes with dextrose sugar. I need the cubes strong enough to handle, but  want them to easily break down or really melt when placed in mouth.
What is the best ratio dextrose:water for the highest dextrose content per cube? And should I use a melted dextrose/water solution as wetting agent rather than just water?


texts: What are the black spots on the lid of my expensive oil bottle?

texts: I ordered a couple of oils from Amazon and those were shipped to me from India last week. I was using one today and found some black spots on the inner side of the cap. I tried wiping it away but doesn't seem to budge. I tried scraping with a toothpick but still no luck. I have seen the same kind of spots on another oil bottle cap, but discarded it thinking it might be mold. Has anyone had anything similar?


texts: I have made cheese sauce before and it has never been sweet. No problem with butter and flour and then I added milk like before. White sauce was fine. So I added cheese. Yes it was a package of shredded sharp cheddar cheese from Harris Teeters. I know fresh is better but it was what I had. The sauce itself was fine, smooth and creamy, but it was sweet. I used skim milk and I have used packed cheese before but it has been a while. Is it the cheese? Have they added something or is it the skim milk?


texts: Can you add water to shortening to use in place of butter?

texts: When I was younger I was in an honor camp for felons taking a culinary program and was taught that you can add water to shortening to make a butter substitute.


texts: how to store rice for 12 hours so it doesn't dry out

texts:
I have bad experiences with packing rice for lunch, and having it dry out and get gross overnight (like, I'll steam twice as much rice as I want to eat for dinner and pack half of it away).

But it always ends up crusty and hard. When I pack it with a lid on, there's just a bunch of condensed water on the lid, and my rice are still hard and crusty.

What's the best way to keep it from losing its moisture?

I've tried to search for this, but all the results are just tips on food safety, nothing about quality.


texts: How to get frozen soup to not be chunky?

texts:
I usually do this simple soup. Not sure if the ingredients are relevant here, so I might as well enumerate them: potato, onion, courgette, leek, squash and carrot.

Once those have cooked, I then blend the soup (I may add some green beans afterwards, for instance, so it has something to chew, but I don't think that's really relevant). I usually put most of it in the refrigerator, since I'm gonna be consuming it throughout the next week. However, I sometimes wanna get some of it frozen too. When I do, upon unfreezing it, it is invariably chunky — looks like that smoothness I wanted to achieve is gone, and instead I have a clearer soup, with little bits of the vegetables that have kinda formed chunks. I've tried freezing the soup when it's still hot, or waiting for it to cool to room temperature, always with the same results. Trying to blend it again after unfreezing also does not seem to return it to the state it was in before freezing.

Am I freezing it wrong? Unfreezing it wrong? Both?


texts: I've put too much onion on my macaroni salad and it overwhelms other ingredients. Is there a way to tame down the onion taste?

texts: I made the mistake of putting all of the chopped onion in my macaroni salad before testing it. Now the onion taste overwhelms all the other ingredients. Any easy way to tame down the onion taste?


texts: Baking soda accident in pretzel dough - Can it be salvaged?

texts:
I made a mistake and put the baking soda in the pretzel dough! Instead of using it for its intended purpose ( Boiling the pretzel dough in it before baking.) It was a box mix: Pretzel Creations Homemade baking mix.

Should I just toss it or is it going to be okay? Is there any way to counter act the baking soda. It is still in a dough ball. The packets were not marked and I thought the baking soda was the yeast package.


texts:
I have a Char-broil gas cast iron grill.  This is one of the style where the flame is under cast iron pans filled with lava rocks rather than cooking the food directly.  Works great for when you don't want to bother with charcoal.  But I digress.

My question is: I think this type of grill would make an excellent smoker, and has anyone tried doing so before?

were you able to keep it at the right temperature?  How?
how much wood chips did you use?  Did you soak them?
did you try to seal it to keep the smoke in?  again, how?


texts: Difference between Rajasthani "sev tamatar nu shak" and Gujrati "sev tamatar nu shak"

texts: What is the difference between Rajasthani "sev tamatar nu shak" and Gujrati "sev tamatar nu shak". Do they use different spices or ingredients or method of cooking?


texts: Is there an alternative to cornstarch when used to thicken a pie filling

texts:
I made a some pies a couple of days ago. The recipe called for cornstarch and it thicken the filling after it came out of the oven. The only thing is I could taste a bit of the cornstarch when I was eating the pies. I would just use less of it but I am afraid of making my pies to runny without the cornstarch.

Is there an alternative to cornstarch to thicken the pie filling or should I just use less and hope I still use enough?


texts: How can I modify corn bread recipes to accomodate a wet filling?

texts:
I am hoping to make dough cups using a corn bread style dough. My approximate recipe would be, presumably, to par-bake initially, then fill with a pot pie style liquid/solid mixture, top with a corn bread puck, and bake until it is molten and exterior browns.

Standard style corn breads I have eaten are too spongy for this kind of application, and would not be able to be pressed against the walls of the muffin pan to form the walls; to give an idea, my initial idea was to try something more like beer dough for the par-baked crust.

Is there something in between? Even if corn-bread is throwing off my search results, I am guessing perhaps there is a molten cup cake batter/dough recipe or something that can be modified to have a savory corn-bread flavor and still really stand up to baking with a liquid inside.

How can I modify standard corn bread recipes to accomodate a wet filling?
Am I underestimating the resilience of corn bread to not succumbing to exploding from its filling?
Would it be possible to use a standard corn bread recipe, but then, in effect, laminate the inside with something toothsome but not too distracting in texture (for instance, egg wash might prove a good laminate, but I am looking for vegan solutions)?

I have done similar things with egg wash before, would a wash of flax/Chia egg produce the same result?
melting something like cheese on the inside might work, any vegan options spring to mind (other than daiya)?

(Vegan options preferred, but I can make substitutions as necessary)


texts: How to convert a chocolate fudge frosting recipe to white chocolate?

texts: I love the Betty Crocker recipe for fudge frosting! My problem? I really need a white chocolate instead of a cocoa frosting and have no idea how to substitute white chocolate for the 2tbsp cocoa the recipe calls for.


texts:
There are various frozen veggie mixes available in my local grocery shops, that are meant to be used in stir fries (according to their description at least), but I can't seem to get satisfactory result out of them. Whenever I try to stir fry them, two things happen:

Wok's temperature drops due to the ice-cold veggies being put inside.
As veggies defrost while I cook them, they release a lot of extra water.

And I get mushy veggies as a result. As if I were making a stew or something.

So is there a trick to it? Should I defrost everything and drain the liquid before frying? Instruction on the bag says, that I should put veggies on the pan in frozen state. Any idea why?

Or maybe it is the quality of product that matters?

Any advice is welcome.

P.S. I have a regular stove at my place and a small sized wok. Nothing fancy or military-grade.


texts: Technique to bake donair meat in an oven

texts:
Every time I cook Donair at home, it seems to dry up a lot faster than when I do it in the restaurant. Granted I use the same spice mix and meat mixing method.

The difference is that at the restaurant, I bake the donair in a 600 degree oven where at home I do it in a 375 oven

I suspect the reasons for drying are:

Overcooking
Low fat content at the meat, perhaps I should use a higher fatted meat.

What suggestions would you give to cooking Donair at home?


texts: Does an activated carbon filter in a kitchen hood dry the air?

texts:
Clearly, an activated carbon filter can be expected to collect what comes from the cooking plate with the air. But what happens to the moisture, how much of it what gets sucked into the hood with the air will also leave the hood?

(if it heavily depends on the model, its Juno JDK4575E and let's take not fried egg but say cooking noodles).


texts: What gives arugula (wild rocket) its distinct taste?

texts:
I noticed that a lot of people hate arugula ("wild rocket" to non-American English speakers), but other people absolutely love it.

Is there some compound that makes it taste so controversial?


texts: Make a cheese sauce that doesn't go solid when cooled

texts:
The way I normally go about making a cheese sauce for something like macaroni cheese, I start with a roux, slowly add milk, heat to thicken then add the cheese. This works just fine and is great if the food is being eaten immediately.

Recently I've taken to batch cooking my meals for the week, so I'll cook up 7 portions of a meal and have them over the course of the week.

When I've tried to do things like macaroni cheese or a carbonara, once the meal has cooled in the fridge it becomes a solid block that's hard to serve and never really goes back to what it was when it was fresh if it's reheated.

Is there a method of creating a cheese sauce which, either doesn't solidify when it's cooled (more viscous is okay, i just don't want it to be a solid block) or at least will go back to being closer to what it was fresh, once it's been reheated?


texts: Are there any cooking techniques that employ "Dry Ice"?

texts: I was watching a cooking show and one of the chefs used dry ice to "flash freeze" some fruit for a dessert - are there any other uses for Dry Ice that can be employed in preparing different foods?  Obviously, you can't eat Dry Ice, so my question is based on using it as a Cooking Technique, not as a recipe. I never noticed before, but my neighborhood grocery store (Large Regional Branch) sells it....


texts: Do people ever use rolled marzipan as a layer between cake layers frosted in buttercream?


texts: Minimizing or Controlling the Flavor of Infused Butter

texts:
When making a butter which will be infused hot, are there any ways to minimize or control the flavor compounds which will be extracted? I would like to make a cannabis butter, but to maximize it's culinary versatility, I'd like to extract as little flavor as possible, or at least be able to control the levels of specific flavors that are extracted (herbal, fruity, citrusy, etc).

(In case this is a touchy subject for anyone, this is legal where I live.)


texts: Salad dressing- does it go bad fast if it is creamed in a blender?

texts:
I made a salad dressing with these ingredents:

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Tahini
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Juice of a lemon
4 garlic cloves
6 basil leaves
1 handful of parsley
2 green onion

Then blended it all to a creamy finish.

Does it go bad fast if it is creamed in a blender?

If so, can it be placed in the freezer?


texts: I make my own pasta and love the recipe I use, it tastes delicious and is very versatile. It makes awesome ravioli but whenever I do just plain noodles they all clump together when cooked. I had this issue when just using a large pot of boiling salted water so I bought some pasta baskets hoping that would help and it doesn't. My pasta usually rests anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes after cutting it before cooking. I keep the noodles dusted with flour and tap the excess flour off before cooking, I've even tried not knocking the flour off or not dusting with as much flour. I've even tried different amounts in the baskets and it still sticks. Am I missing a step?


texts:
What is the difference between cracked wheat and wheatgerm?

I have used both items in completely different contexts - cracked wheat in salad and wheatgerm in muesli - but would like to know what the difference is between them so that I can incorporate them into my cooking appropriately.


texts: Flaky pie crust for sweet fruit pie: butter, shortening, lard, or combination?

texts: I specify sweet fruit here because I think there would different good answers for a savory or a custard based pie.


texts:
I am looking for a extractor hood, and I see that there exist ones with air recirculation, so a pipe to lead the smoke/greasy air away is not needed.

So I wonder, how good are these?

Can they really clean the smoke/greasy air they pull in?


texts: I am on a mission to get CRISPY chicken skin on the BBQ. I don't mean to LOOK crispy. I mean to actually "crunch" when bitten into, if that's at all possible. I'm trying to do all the right steps.  I dry off the chicken thighs (bone in, skin on) with paper towels, liberally sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper, & spray with oil so it doesn't stick to the grill.  On medium high, I start with skin side down so the fat can render and turn after about 7 minutes. Repeat and leave on till done.  When done, the chicken is moist, delicious, and beautifully carmalized.......but NOT crispy!!!!  Any suggestions?


texts: Pre-made seasoning to add to rice in rice cooker to make rice more flavorful?

texts:
I've looked all over for this and not found much.

Chipotle resturant adds lime and cilantro to their rice, some folks put Saffron. I thought "gee there must be others".

Any other pre-made seasonings you could buy and add to rice while cooking it (ideally something you could put in a rice cooker or in rice that you'll cook in a pot).  I'm happy to order it by mail (especially if it's in the USA)

This is a more specific version of: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/10677/making-white-rice-more-tasteful.


texts: How to thicken a white wine sauce to drizzle over prawns?

texts:
I'm thinking of making a white wine sauce which will consist of

White wine
chopped garlic
squeeze of lemon
(maybe) mixed herbs.

What I have in mind is something that will pour with the consistency of a thick oil, but if I just add these components together it'll pour like water. What is the best way to thicken this so that it remains relatively clear and the taste of each component above isn't masked with the thickener?


texts:
Some recipes for toffee call for butter, some don't. I'd like to know please what adding butter does, and if I do add butter, will I still be able to make the stickjaw type toffee?
Thanks in advance.


texts:
I have finally invested in a nice Wusthoff Santoku and a Mac paring knife and I want to keep them up and running well! The knife shop I bought from taught me how to hone my santoku, so that's fine, but I was wondering if a)do you hone a paring knife? and if so, b)is there any differences in the technique for honing a paring vs a santoku?

Thanks!!


texts:
I've purchased a bunch of sweet potatoes but was unable to prepare them.

How long can I store sweet potatoes before they spoil?

Also, what are the best methods or means of storing sweet potatoes?  Are there any differences between storing regular potatoes and sweet potatoes?


texts: How can I achieve perfect consistency with honey-roasted almonds?

texts:
I would like to roast my own almonds (or other nuts) with honey.  Ideally, at the end of the roasting, the nuts should be slightly caramelized and have absorbed most of the flavour from the honey; they should also be just a little bit sticky (but not wet).

What combination of factors will successfully produce this end result?  Specifically I am hoping to answer the following questions:

What ratio of honey to nuts is appropriate, such that the nuts will get evenly-coated and have the sticky-dry consistency noted above?
Is there a relationship between how much honey is used and how early it needs to be applied?  In other words, if I apply the honey very early, will I need to use more of it?
Is it always better to apply as early as possible or is there a point at which I'll get diminishing returns or even negative effects (such as risk of burning)?
Is it necessary or even beneficial to apply the honey in stages in an attempt to get multiple "coats"?
What is the ideal roasting time and temperature for almonds specifically?  ("Ideal" in this case would mean just long and hot enough to bake all or most of the honey into the nuts while caramelizing but not burning them.)


texts:
I know from experience that arrowroot doesn't work very well, so I'm curious to know which ones actually do.

Thanks a lot for any help!


texts:
In the USA, sheets of nori cost about 7 cents per gram.  But it's 140 cents per gram online as a powder, "aonori," an essential topping for takoyaki and okonomikayi.  (My town of 100,000 has several Asian groceries, but none stock aonori.)

To avoid this 2000% markup, has anyone tried turning nori into aonori in their kitchen?  Will a blender work well enough?  Mortar+pestle?


texts:
I made a loaf of brioche today following a French recipe. Here's how it looks:

I don't like its texture. It's bland and a bit dry. Honestly, the taste of overnight-proof bread is not very atractive to me (perhaps because I used instant yeast instead of fresh yeast???).

Here's the recipe I used:

50ml milk

6g instant yeast

2 large eggs

250g bread flour (13% protein)

125g unsalted butter

50g sugar

1g salt

I kneaded the dough with hand mixer and checked with windowpane test. The dough was soft, and almost not sticky because of butter.Then I covered the dough with plastic wrap and let it proof at room tempearture for 2 hours, deflated, then covered and let it proof in the fridge overnight (around 10 hours).

After shaping in the mold, I let it proof again for another hour.
Finally, I baked at 170°C for 30 minutes, and 160°C for 10 minutes.

How should I improve it? If anyone has a brioche recipe that is soft, moist, flavorful and buttery (like Harry's brioche), it would be great.

Thank you very much.


texts: Lacto Fermented Vegetables - Off Flavors

texts:
Is anyone aware of some solid reference information on lacto-fermented vegetables? I am especially interested technical information, such as what off flavors may occur due to which circumstances.

The internet seems to be flooded with misinformation on the subject because of the probiotic fad and the air-lock vs open fermentation argument. These articles seem to gloss over the fact that spontaneous fermentation is unpredictable and that this has been done for ages in every fashion imaginable. I am trying to find some good information on how lacto fermentation can go wrong (or right) and why.

In the beer community, it is well accepted that fermentation temp and microbial strain affect the flavors in the final product. Home brewing documentation offers advice such as (this is very approximate):

Bubble gum flavors

Belgian yeast fermented in excess of X degrees Fahrenheit will exhibit such flavors.

Buttery flavors

Attributed to diacetyl, a compound produced by poor temperature control or a pediococcus infection.

In my specific case, I have a batch of fermented cucumbers that have a bit of a band-aid flavor to them (an off flavor also found in beer). I know now that they were fermented at entirely too high a temperature. I have also been consuming them safely for over a week now, so it's more a matter a taste than safely.


texts: English term to describe "kompot", an Eastern European beverage made from berries

texts:
I am trying to find an English word for a special drink. This is the recipe:

5 liters of water

1 cup of sugar

500 grams of berries

Mix sugar and water, bring mixture to a boil. Add berries, bring to a boil one more time, boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat.

This drink is typically served in Eastern Europe and it is called "kompot". I hope to find the right word in English.

What would you call this thing? I already asked on various cooking discussion boards, and everybody seems to have a different opinion, so I am not sure what answer is the right one.

Here's a picture to illustrate that it is extremely watery, because most people thought it would be some kind of thick concoction.

Imagine the same drink with a bunch of berries floating at the bottom, not at the top. Not raspberries, but mixed berries such as blackcurrant, strawberry, dried apple slices, etc.

At this point, I am not even looking for a specific term, I just want to know what would most people call this thing if they didn't know what it was? How would you call it?

Among our ideas were: berry tea, berry drink, berry punch, berry juice, berry infusion, berry cocktail, berry aide.


texts: How do I get the smell of burnt food off of the inside of my microwave oven?

texts: Someone reheated a stick of barbecued pork on too high a setting and/or for far too long.  Now the inside of my microwave oven smells like burnt something.  It gets worse when I actually try to cook something in it.  How do I get the smell out?  I've already tried washing the inside with a little soap and water.


texts: What is the best type of wood for a French rolling pin?

texts: I'm looking at getting a French rolling pin but I want to make sure that I get a good one. I've seen them made from various woods such as oak, cherry, maple, and bamboo. I'd imagine that a harder less porous wood would work better but I'm not certain what wood would work best. So, what's the best wood for a french rolling pin?


texts: I accidentally put 2 cups of water in one box of strawberry cake mix, and i was only supposed to put 1 cup. I dont have any extra boxes to start over with, and the consistency of it is too thin! How can i fix it?


texts: What is the shelf life of my home made coleslaw dressing?

texts:
I made about a gallon of dressing today from Kraft mayo, apple cider vinegar, and sugar.  What is the shelf life of this?

Also, what is the shelf life of balsamic vinegar, salad oil, garlic, honey, salt and pepper?


texts: If there is already small spoiling from water on pickle, can I salvage this in any way? Please help.


texts: Sloppy joe mix cooked with hamburger and was left on the counter for 2 hours.....should i throw it away?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How long can cooked food be safely stored at room/warm temperature?

I made a large pot of sloppy joe mix with hamburger in it and after it was cooked put it in my crockpot on low for my boys to eat when they got home because i was leaving,i was gone a little over 2 hours and the boys had put the sauce into another pan to put it away and forgot to do so it sat on the counter for over 2 hours....should i throw it away?


texts: I want to obtain a taste very similar to wasabi, but without wasabi ingredients. How do I do it?


texts:
I did this at where I work.  I stock incoming orders for a restaurant and I was putting un-opened jars of mayonnaise in the refrigerator.  The chef did not see them in the dry food section and kept ordering more.  So we ended up with surplus of mayonnaise before the chef caught me in wrong-doing.

Was the mayonnaise ruined?  Is it O.K to just put it back in the dry food section?


texts: How to distinguish between silicone and nylon spatula and judge their quality

texts:
I bought a few silicon spatulas from Amazon{The ones I bought}.These are most probably from China, and since those are not from very well known brands, I can't just blindly trust what it says on the packaging. I don't want these to be the nylon ones.

How can I distinguish a nylon spatula from a silicon one.

How can I judge the quality/ safety of these spatulas ??


texts: How can I make milk cocoa powder so it does not stick to the top and bottom?

texts:
A package of milk cocoa powder contains "20% cocoa powder, sugar, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring (vanillin)". I have tried to make cocoa milk drinks to cold milk but the cocoa stuck to the top and the sugar goes to the bottom. With the ready-milk-powder, things go more to the milk more stabily. What is the trick with the manufacturers? Can I do it myself? I have noticed that the ready-cocoa powder contains much smaller sugar particles to my sugar, apparently they use some sort of special sugar, what is that and how can I get such sugar of such fine size?

For me, the price of cocoa is 12 EUR per kg. I do not like the ready made powders (although their kg price is about 5EUR per kg but 20% cocoa content), I like more cocoa. I have heated the drinks and the cocoa and sugar does not stick so much to the top and bottom but my home-made drinks are strikingly different to the manufactured. What is the emulsifier and where can I get it? Is it the trick how the cocoa/sugar -mixture forms more uniformly in the drink?


texts: What is the purpose of cooking byriani in stages?

texts:
Risotto and pilaf are generally cooked as a one pot dish, where the aromatics are fried and then rice and cooking liquid are added.

Most byriani recipes are see the rice is part cooked separately and then layered on top of the sauce. Since its all mixed together at the end this seems to add complexity in two pots and having to drain the rice.

What's the advantage that this two step process adds?


texts: Sous-vide without a pump using convection?

texts:
I'm currently planning on creating a sous-vide setup using an induction cooktop and a PID controller. I will be an Arduino micro-controller setup similar to this openschemes.com-manual control of induction cooktop

Most sous-vide setups use circulators that circulate and mix the water in the bath to keep uniform temperatures throughout the bath. I was wondering if a pump is required if I'll be using a pot on top of an induction cooktop. Since the heat source is at the bottom, won't the water rise naturally through convection and keep a constant temperature throughout the bath?


texts: How long can I keep eggs in the refrigerator?

texts: To keep eggs useful and healthy, what is the average time I can keep them in refrigerator?   Can I freeze, and re-use them after melting, or will they be useless or not healthy to eat?


texts: How to build steam in the oven for getting an oven spring?

texts:
From: What makes a bread either close or open crumbed/textured?

  Oven spring

  Yeasts continue producing CO2 until they die at 60C/140F. Also, gasses
  expand with heat, so it will also help holes to grow a bit (if I
  remember well, up to 30%). But that grown will stop when dough gets
  baked and strengthens, and when crust begins to form. To retard this 2
  tricks are used:

Use steam in the oven the fist 1/3 or 1/4 of baking time.

Steam will keep the "outer skin" of the bread humid, so it will prevent it from getting dry and forming the crust.

How to use steam in the oven for getting an oven spring?

Well, by steam the only thing I understand is the "vapors". How do you get them in oven? By boiling uncovered water in the oven? How much steam is needed? What is the exact procedure to get the required steam?


texts:
I have recently taken up making homemade ginger tea.
I am living in Korea and most produce is very dirty and has to be cleaned.
The ginger is very..curvy with small lumps all over it.

I find it very hard to peel and clean..it seems to take forever.
Is there an easier way?
There are some black spots on the outside of my ginger. Can I just cut them off and continue to eat the clean portions?


texts: Why do some recipes call for kneading pie/tart dough?

texts: I've have read many times that pie dough is meant to be held sparingly to avoid creating gluten, but kneading the pie dough does exactly that. So, what is the motivation?


texts: Why does my fondue call to wipe the pot with garlic?

texts:
I got a Le Creuset fondue pot a year or two ago. Since then, we've found a bunch of great cheese fondue recipes, but there's a common thread that makes no sense to me. Often times, a recipe will call for a clove of garlic. The instructions of the recipe will call for you to rub the clove on the inside of the pot before starting the recipe. The recipe will make no further reference to the garlic.

Why do I need to do this? Am I supposed to use the garlic in the dish after the rubbing? Does the rubbing of garlic really affect the dish? How? Why?

This seems like it wouldn't have any significant effect and seems like a bit of a waste. We usually end up sautéing the garlic for 15-30 seconds and then proceeding as normal. Are we missing something?


texts: How did/do the Russians make carrot tea?

texts:
A while ago I read a book about the Russian Civil War (it was Blood on the Snow by Emanuel Litvinoff) in which the characters frequently drank coffee made out of acorns and tea made out of carrots. I tried naively making carrot tea by grating some carrots and pouring hot water on them, like I would make ginger tea. But the resulting brew did not taste strongly of carrots.

How is carrot tea brewed--what part of the carrot is used? I would also be interested to know whether there are any other countries in which this has ever been a popular drink.


texts: What is the difference between apple juice and cider?

texts:
I was at the grocery store and saw glass containers of these.

What would be the differences?


texts: Advantages/disadvantages for limescale cleaning methods?

texts:
Are there any advantages/disadvantages for different methods for cleaning limescale (from a kettle/thermos)?

The methods I know about:

Citric acid (lemon/lime salt?)
Vinegar

I usually prefer the former, since it's easier to wash it without getting a taste or a need to re-wash it.

The advantages/disadvantages I'm looking for are regards those or other methods, in the terms of safety, easy to use, not hurting the kettle etc.

Thanks!


texts:
My goal is to transfer the taste of chocolate chip cookies to milk, as a milk drink.

I normally bake cookies with eggs of course. But the taste I want to achieve is exactly the unbaked mix of brown sugar, white sugar, butter, vanilla extract and egg in the stand mixer. Unforunately, I can't have raw egg in a milk drink, can I?

What can I substitute for egg in this situation? The egg adds creaminess and some runniness. When I DID try it on cool milk, it was perfect -- maybe a hint more of vanilla or chocolate sauce.

Thank you!


texts: How do I prepare fresh clams for clam chowder?

texts:
I regularly prepare New England-style clam chowder with all fresh ingredients except for canned clams which I use out of convenience. I have been feeling guilty of trying to pass my recipe off as "fresh clam chowder" and I want to make it better. I would like to pick up a bag of fresh clams at the grocery store and use them as an ingredient.

I basically want to know should I shuck the clams and add them to my soup raw, or should I steam them and pry the cooked clam meat out?


texts:
Having a long weekend, we have some new recipes we want to try. I found this recipe for  Fried Green Chili Stuffed With Pork Stuffing .

Unfortunately, the recipe doesn't say what type of chilies these are. They appear to be longer but more slender than a jalapeño, and just a little lighter in color. Per the recipe, each chili would hold roughly 62g of the stuffing.

I'm sure that I have seen these but can't remember what kind they are. I've been looking online, as well, but haven't found any that really look like they are these chilies.

We're going on the hunt. If anyone can tell me the name of this chili pepper it would be most appreciated.


texts: Does the vegetable crisper make a difference?

texts: My wife is always yelling at me for not putting the vegetables back into the crisper in the fridge. Does the crisper make a big difference vs. just putting vegetables in another part of the fridge? Or is it primarily helpful just in keeping it all organized?


texts: I have about three gallons of clam juice, after steaming about 400 clams. How can I safely keep, can, or store this much juice for further use?


texts: What edible solution can I cover bread in to make it waterproof?

texts:
My partner and I are working an entrepreneurial project for school, and we decided to make a sort of edible water bottle.

We decided we would make it out of bread, which we would cover in some solution and leave to dry to make it hard and waterproof.

We considered using honey, but it would be too sticky, sweet, and expensive.

Is there any good solution that will make this bread waterproof and hard easily? Something that is cheap and not bad-tasting?

also, if you think this question should be posted on a different stackexchange site, please tell me.

Thanks.


texts: How to best zest a citrus fruit that was already halved and squeezed?

texts:
Zesting a citrus fruit is pretty straightforward with the fruit intact, but sometimes it happens to me that I absent-mindedly halve and squeeze the fruit and then remember that I wanted to zest it before.

What is the best way to do zest a citrus fruit that has already been halved and squeezed?
I am using a classical zester and aspire stripes of zest.

What I considered so far:

I tried to halve the skin again, so I can flatten each quarter on a cutting board to hold the skin in place while zesting it. This has two drawbacks:

Zesting close to a cut edge is more difficult or less efficient and by cutting the skin yet again I increase this.
I inevitably squeeze out more juice, which then mixes with the zests. While this is no big issue taste-wise, the zests clump together and are more difficult to scatter.

I considered but have not tried yet to put the skin on the reamer I used to squeezing, but then I expect that I lack a third hand needed for this.


texts:
My girlfriend's parents recently gave us a bunch of pork from my girlfriend's grandpa's farm. The bacon and sausage we know what to do with but there's also a hunk of meat labeled "smoked ham roast" that we're not quite sure about.

We've made a beef roast before so we were thinking maybe we could just throw the smoked ham roast in the crock pot with some carrots, potatoes and onions, but for some reason I'm not terribly enthusiastic about that idea.

Any suggestions?


texts:
I am referring to this brand: http://www.amazon.com/Pickwick-Green-Tea-Original-Packages/dp/B003YBNJH8

The box doesn't say anything. I drank several and while I felt weird, my pulse was normal. I can't find any info on this tea and their website is in non-english languages only. Anyone got an idea?


texts: What icing will stay stiff (even in tropical heat) after the cake has been decorated?

texts: I live in the tropics and every icing that I've used melts on the cake if it is not refrigerated. Is there any icing at all that will stay stiff once I ice the cake with it? I would like to be able to pipe borders, etc without the icing just melting off the cake. Traditional butter-cream and royal icings just don't work.


texts: Substitute maple syrup with regular syrup for baking?

texts:
I'm trying to create a 'sticky apple pecan cake', the recipe calls for Maple Syrup. Sadly that's really hard to get here.

I do have a full bottle of 'regular' syrup in my cabinet, could I use that instead? It's thicker than maple syrup but the sweetness is about the same to me.

This is the recipe:

  INGREDIENTS
  1½ cups of cooking oil
  2 cups sugar
  4 Eggs
  3 cups of flour
  1 tsp baking soda
  ½ tsp cinnamon
  1 tsp salt
  2 tsps vanilla
  3½ cups Granny Smith apples (approximately 3-4 apples), peeled and chopped
  1 cup of chopped pecans

  Caramel Glaze
  ¾ cups butter (1½ sticks)
  1 cup light brown sugar
  ¼ cup milk
  1 tsp vanilla


texts: Does sesame seed oil taste like toasted sesame seeds?

texts: When you have sesame seeds on a toasted bun, is that what sesame seed oil tastes like?


texts:
I don't have much theoretical knowledge about wine, but I like the taste. So I often get a random bottle from the wide selection at the supermarket, avoiding only the bottom line of TetraPack wine. I have noticed a few trends (e.g. I don't like Chillean wine), but it is still mostly a hit-and-miss. One of the "bah" moments I have had several times recently was fizzy wine.

I don't mean wine sold as sparkly, such as champagne or prosecco. I mean bottles which look like normal wine, which are closed with a normal cork instead of a pressure-containing plug, but on opening they turn out to have a special kind of carbonation. Not the big, rising bubbles found in soft drinks, but small bubbles which are sometimes not even visible in the glass. Sometimes they are visible, but they stand there, instead of rising. When I drink the wine, the carbonation is noticeable from the slight bite.

I don't like carbonation. It not only makes the drink more acidic (and gives it a very unpleasant soda taste when there is not enough taste to cover it, such as in sparkly water), but the physical sensation distracts from the taste. I can tolerate it in soft drinks (if I have to drink one at all), but I have higher expectations of wine.

I looked at the bottles of carbonated wine I've had, but the labels don't seem to contain an indication of whether the wine is fizzy or not. I have seen it in red and white wines, cheap and expensive ones, local and important ones, without any pattern. Am I missing some important clue? Is it printed somewhere where I don't think to look? Or is it specific for certain grape cultivars? For certain regions? How do I learn to recognize the fizziness of a wine in a closed dark bottle sitting on a shelf?


texts: What property does rice flour add to a shortbread recipe?

texts:
I bought a book with recipes for shortbread as I wanted to try making my own shortbread. However, most unusually (given its general availability in shops), many of the recipes call for rice flour in addition to wheat flour.

What would be the effect expected from rice flour in a shortbread recipe and is there a more commonly available substitute (I was thinking potato or corn starch, but I am unsure)?


texts: How do I avoid rice cookers emitting strange goo on my counter?

texts:
With my rice cooker, I always have to put a paper towel underneath it before I start it, because it tends to make a mess. It creates piles of white watery starch goo. I don't really know how else to describe it other than the title. It's not really overflowing, since it occurs even when the rice cooker only has a small amount of rice in it - it looks like it's condensing from the air or something.

I usually just measure in rice and water, then turn it on and leave. Is this a common problem? Am I doing something wrong in the cooking process? Perhaps I have a bad rice cooker or cheap rice? What are some good rice cookers and/or cooking methods?


texts: Is it safe to cook in a grill\oven that is rarely cleaned?

texts:
I don't grill or oven often and there always seems to be dirt and crumbs left over from long ago.  it's a mammoth task to clean so i dont clean it.  i just think provided the food sits on foil paper and doesnt make contact with any of the previous food and i dont eat the previous food all should be well.  the heat should also kill any bacteria thats been there for a long time.

is eating food in above situation safe or not?

Just to add following peoples request for more information, it is not just the crumbs i'm concerned about.  though it hasn't been used the walls inside the grill(broil) compartment look sludgy and touching the walls sometimes reveal sludgy dirt.  the oven is at least 20 years old so might have something to do with that.


texts:
Inspired by some of the answers and comments on a recent question on boiling potatoes whole or diced, I'm curious:

What's the best way to cook a combination of vegetables to be mashed? I'm thinking of a subset of potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, carrots, and anything else that sounds good. Obviously if boiling, one wants to avoid waterlogged vegetables, but the cooking times of the various vegetables are different. Is there a reliable way to cook everything together (at least for some subsets)?

Edit: As mentioned in the comment below, I know that the best one can do may be starting with the longest-cooking vegetables and incrementally adding the rest. What I was wondering was things like if some or all were better baked, or if boiling is good, if some besides potatoes are better boiled whole...


texts:
In his answer, @hobodave describes the three grades of beef available in the States: Select, Choice, and Prime. He further points out that most supermarkets only carry Select grade.

What are the grades available in Canada, and where can one find higher grades of beef?


texts: Why is the nutritional composition of tofu different from soybeans?

texts:
The fat:carbs:protein ratios in soybeans is about 25%:35%:40%.

In tofu (which is made from soybeans) these ratios change to roughly 35%:10%:55%, so it becomes a low carb food.

Where did all the carbs go?


texts: How To Tell When Corn is Done With Boiling

texts:
When boiling corn, how can I tell when it's done?

I usually remove the husk and silk.  Would there be any advantage to leaving them on when boiling?


texts: Can I adjust the cooking time and temperature for my braise?

texts: My recipe says to braise beef in the oven at 180 C/350 F for 1.5 hours. Dinner is in about four hours. Can I also get away with sticking the dish into the oven at a lower temperature (say 150 C/300 F or 120 C/250 F) and expect it to be just done for dinner? If so, to which temperature should I set my oven? Is there any way I can convert or calculate this myself?


texts: How long will eggless pasta dough last in the fridge?

texts:
I made some fresh pasta for myself, but the recipe made double the amount I need. I didn't have time to make the rest of the pasta and dry it, so I just wrapped the dough ball in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge.

How long will the dough last in the fridge?

I can probably use it tomorrow or in the next 2 days.

The recipe is basically 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup water, no eggs. I used half white whole wheat, half AP, tbsp of olive oil. (Yes it's very good, even w/just some olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper)


texts: How to help my vegetable beef soup that I added too much tomato to?

texts: I was making my homemade vegetable beef soup and put too many cans of tomato sauce and paste in it. My husband says it is a tomato soup instead of a vegetable beef soup. What can I do to improve it?


texts:
Pi day is coming up quickly!  What are the technical differences between pie, tart and quiche?  Tarts are sweet.  Here are my observation so far:

Pies can be either sweet or savoury.
Quiches must be savoury.
A pie can be with and without a lid.  Tarts and quiches don't have lids.  (See “Pie” vs “Tart”?)
Tarts can be small.  Quiches and pies are cut up and shared.
Both pies and tarts can contain fruits.
All have a pastry bottom.
All may be served hot or cold, depending on the filling.
All are rounded.

Please feel free to correct me.  Sorry to be too technical.  I'd like to avoid the embarrassment of bringing a tart or a quiche instead of a pie for Pi day parties.


texts: How to soft and hard boil eggs in the same pot so they are ready at the same time?

texts:
The method I usually follow is to place the eggs in cold water, then take the pot off heat once the water starts boiling and let the eggs sit in the water for X minutes. I usually do 4-5 min for soft boiled and 10-12 min for hard boiled.

This is fine when boiling all the eggs either soft or hard but not when I want them to be ready to eat at the same time. Do you know of method that allows both types to be ready at the same time?


texts: Does Paprika extract actually taste of Paprika?

texts:
I’m looking to use paprika extract to flavour a dish, however upon googling it there really is no mention of this extract being used in this context. From what I can see its use is mainly to colour food and for chicken feed (to give their yolk an intense colour).

If I bought paprika extract would it contribute an intense paprika flavour to my dish like say an essential oil would?


texts:
I find this dial, and the device generally, perplexing.

First about the device: it's made of metal and glass. I know it can survive being inserted and left inside a roast (beef, lamb) in the oven.

But I am less sure whether the reading is accurate in this case. Do I have to take the dish out, insert the thermometer, wait a few seconds, and repeat? Or can I simply peak and close the oven again?

Now about the dial. I think that it's saying one should cook beef until 140 for rare, and until 160 for medium. It also says to cook poultry to at least 180 for safety, and not much more to avoid poultry drying.

That much seems clear.

What kind of summary is the "170" ----- "Lamb; Beef: well; Veal, Pork" inscription trying to say?


texts: How do I turn on an auto ignition stove?

texts:
I've bought a new stove which is supposed to be auto ignition. If I turn on the gas and turn the knob thing, a flame flickers underneath but the stove doesn't light, I have to use a lighter to light it.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?


texts: Are egg rolls supposed to be eaten with chopsticks or hands?

texts: Are egg rolls, common in Asian restaurants, such as Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese (at least in America), supposed to be eaten with chopsticks or hands?


texts: how to get a ciabatta with a more uniform shape

texts:
My ciabattas tend to have be domed along both axis. So towards the ends they are too thin, and near the middle I end up making them are thicker than I want. I think this is because the dough has so much water in it. When I am resting it on the tray before putting it in the oven, and even when I first put it in the oven it spreads out at the sides and each end. And ideas how to get a more even round shape along the whole loaf?

The actual bread itself is quite good otherwise, but at the edges there is too much crust and too little content.


texts:
I want to bring 6 pies to work. Last month, I thought I found a solution - a 3-tiered plastic pie carrier. Now I can't find it online anywhere, though I could swear it was on Target.com. Anyone have any ideas? I live in NYC and don't have a car. I'm thinking I'll take a cab, but getting them in and out in one trip (stacked somehow) would be nice.

Note: I have found double pie carriers, but am looking for triple since I have 6 and only two hands.


texts:
I've come a long way making meringues, beginning with brown all-around gooey mounds years ago and reaching stiff, tall and white pretties almost every time nowadays, but there is one thing I cannot master.

My meringues are always sticky on the outside. Not very sticky like before baking, but they stick to fingers and to each other (if I let them sit for an hour in a bowl). When I used to buy meringues, they were always kind of rough on the outside and mine have something like a smooth skin.

My current receipe goes like this: beat the whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, add powdered sugar and a bit of potato flour, beat 5-10 minutes more, form meringues on a baking tray, bake at 70-100 deg C (160-210F) for at least 2 hours (more on a humid day), cool and immediately close in boxes to prevent soaking in humidity.

Maybe I should sprinkle them with more sugar just before baking? Grandma just gave me 12 whites (she has some funny superstitions about healthy and non-healthy foods), so I can experiment tomorrow, but I don't have any ideas.


texts: Boiling Beef Chorizo as part of a soup base?

texts: I'm wondering about the results if I were to try boiling beef chorizo instead of frying it for use as part of a soup. (My girlfriend insists this is a recipe for disaster, so I'm asking for more information here rather than try it on my own.) Chorizo is oily and is generally cooked by frying, so I'm wondering how the spices and flavors would mix and separate if boiled in water instead of being fried. I'm not particularly skilled at cooking meat, so any information about how I could expect this to turn out would be appreciated. If I boil water, and add chorizo, what could I expect from this? What about if I add it straight to soup to simmer/boil there?


texts:
I'm a big curry aficionado and am trying to cook curries that both taste good and require minimal preparation during the week. I like to make both vegetarian (usually, green/red lentils, fresh) and chicken-based curries.

For that reason, I'm starting by blending the masalas, tomatoes, onions, etc, in a blender, frying, adding the rest of the ingredients, adding water, and then reducing until finished.

I've noticed that both the tubers and the lentils cook very slowly using this method.

If the blended mix is particularly thick (e.g., it includes the tubers themselves or ground nuts), I've found that it hardly cooks at all.

I've figured that the problem has to do with the viscosity of the cooking medium (starches obviously make it the most 'gluggy') and feel that things would work much better if I cooked the lentils in water and then transferred, once cooked, into the sauce, but the recipes I've read all use the all-in-one method that I'm following without much success.

In addition to not cooking, things seem to require very frequent stirring and sticking is a big problem.

Is there any solution to this?


texts: What is the difference between grits and polenta?

texts: I've eaten both and except for the fact that sometimes polenta is a little bit more firm, they taste the same...Any southerners out there that can help?


texts:
My dad has
this mushroom
growing on his land, in large quantities.

He is curious if these are poisonous to humans, as he is interested in cooking them. He commented that he has seen some that look to have been partially eaten by animals.


texts: How are green and ripe plantains used differently?

texts: I see both green and black (ripe) plantains for sale. I'm assuming they aren't used interchangeably. What kinds of dishes or techniques are appropriate for each type? Are the different types favored in different cultures, or do some cultures appreciate both?


texts:
There are special types of seaweed used in a clambake, apparently. I’ve never been to a real one on the shore, so I really don’t know what types are most commonly used.

My question is: can dried kombu be used as the seaweed in a kitchen clambake (basically a seafood boil, except not boiled, steamed)? If yes, does it need to be hydrated before using, or will the steam hydrate it adequately and quickly enough?

Hah, snuck in two questions! Hope that won’t put this question “on hold,” lol!


texts: How to store cut fruits & vegetables for days?

texts:
Is it possible to store fruits and vegetables (like apples, beetroot, pomegranate, etc.) for days, after they're cut?

Here are some things I've read, but I don't know which works best and if at all they do:

Soaking them in a solution of 1 tablespoon lemon and 1 cup water.
freezing them in air-tight containers.

I've read that air-flow is important for storing fruits and vegetables for long periods. I don't know if this applies to cut fruits and veggies too.
Considering that freezing cut fruits and vegetables is the right thing to do, how do I serve frozen fruits and vegetables? I mean, they need to be brought closer to room temperature before they can be eaten, and it'd easily take 2 hours, and the nutrient value could already be deteriorating.


texts: I would like to ask if the role of milk in bread dough fermentation, is to increase the population of microorganisms similarly present in sourdough bread? If so, can it be said that this kind of bread recipe comes close to sourdough bread?


texts:
I make pizza in a baking tray in my oven. My question is where do I place my baking tray in the oven, the bottom top or middle?

The resources I have seen so far on the internet are far too ambiguous. For instance, Yahoo Answers have given many different answers to the same question.


texts: please help fixing my portugese sauce (a kind of korma-like non-spicy curry sauce served in hk and macau)

texts:
The original recipe generally advise on pan-frying the sauce with oil. I want to avoid that and still make it taste good  by just putting everything in a pressure cooker...

Here is the everything in my recipe when first put in pressure cooker for 20 minutes:

a carrot (cut by food processor)
two small or 1 big potatoes (cut by food processor)
one small or half a big onion (cut by food processor)
a big block of curry roux  (equivalent to 2-3 small block of curry roux)
a teaspoon of salt
a teaspoon of sugar
5 teaspoons of chicken consomme
200ml yogurt
1.5 teaspoon of tumeric
1 cup of water
(coconut milk made by putting 5 table spoon of coconut fine and half a cup of water in a mixer)

After 20 minutes, I stir the mixture and add 0.5 cup of water and cook for another 15 mintues.

After 15 minutes, I stir the mixture and add another 0.5 cup of water depending on how thick the mixture is.

The result is not satisfactory. I try adding a can of cream of corn soup from campell. It does not help.

Any recommendation would be welcomed. Thanks


texts: Could You Use A Dutch Oven as A Casserole

texts: Is there some scientific reason as to why a recipe would suggest using a casserole dish instead of using dutch oven. I understand (that usually) one is ceramics and one is cast iron, but does that mean they are not interchangeable? I am specifically concerned when it comes to cooking meat in the oven


texts: Can you use WD-40 to loosen the blades in a Mixer Grinder?

texts:
The blades in 2 out of 4 jars of our Mixer Grinder stuck within two months of its purchase and we put the jars aside as the blades stopped rotating.

I think WD-40 will do a good job (I tried it on one of them and it worked immediately), but my mother worries that it might be harmful.

Could anybody tell me if I was right and suggest the best thing to loosen them? By the way, loosening bolts with the plastic tool the company provided never worked.

Update: I should have used coconut oil or vegetable oil, but I think it attracts dust and worsens the problem if we don't use the jar for sometime.


texts: Is ginger drying out the same process as when making ground ginger?

texts:
If you Leave fresh ginger out it ‘goes bad’(looses its zingy flavour and becomes tough and chewy).
Some recipes call for dried ginger which I believe is achieved by heating in an oven or just leaving it out in the sun.
Is the process to get dried ginger doing the same thing as when ginger ‘goes bad’ from leaving it out so you don’t have to heat it or put it in the sun you could just leave it out?
Put another way is what I have described as ‘bad ginger’ usable to make dried ginger or is this not suitable?
Thanks


texts: I found out my friend can’t have fatty pork products (grew up not eating it for religious reasons and now if she has really rich fatty pork products it makes her sick) but she was super excited to try a Game Meat Pie I make with elk and rabbit. Unfortunately, the recipe calls for some back bacon and pork belly so that the fat keeps the leaner game meats from drying out. Does anyone know what I can maybe substitute for the back bacon and pork belly that will still give me the fat I need?


texts: Is there any commercial stand mixer bigger than kitchenaids with bowl scraping paddle?

texts:
the biggest kitchenaid with a bowl scraping paddle (called flex edge by them) is a 7 quart mixer. i would choose something bigger only if such paddle that also scrapes the side of the bowl when mixing was available. any knows if it exists?
thanks : )


texts:
How can i create a closely matched "Almond Paste" (for croissant) without using almond meal/paste/butter/products/etc? I have a nut-free almond flavour that should be okay for the flavouring component, looking more for a texture match here.

Any ideas?


texts: If I burn my food, will I consume less calories as I have already burnt them?

texts: I was wondering, why do we say that we ‘burn’ calories. And then I came to this question.


texts:
We bought some sweet potatoes from the store and a few days later we chopped them up to make some roasted veggies.

To our surprise, the insides of the potatoes were full of holes or cavities.  There was also a small amount of milky white substance that would gather in tiny droplets around the edge of the cut.

I had no idea what was going on so we threw them out.  What's the deal?  Were these bad?  Was throwing them out the right thing to do?

The outside looked pretty normal, so I'm not sure how to identify this in the future.


texts: Making Thai Khanom Tang Teak (ขนม ถัง แตก)

texts:
I desire to make Thai Khanom Tang Teak (in standard Thai: ขนม ถัง แตก);
It is a pancake-like dish made from a batter with the following recipe:

About one cup of White Rice flour
About 2 cups of Sugar (from white to brown spectrum, per personal preference)
About one tablespoon of baking powder
About one tablespoon of Pandan extract (made, as far as I understand, from crushing or grinding Pandan/ใบเตย leafs with water)
At least 500ml Coconut milk

From my personal impression, no plain water should be added so that liquid is derived primarily from coconut milk.
Making and serving as street food
From my experience it is typically served in such a way that when it is almost ready, it is topped with chilled roasted sesame (often black sesame), shredded coconut and some white sugar, and than folded (like a sandwich).
From recognizing how it is made and reading on Wikipedia, I understand that at least in some recipes, it is common to add eggs or egg whites, probably to make the pancake softer.
As of 2019 it is becoming rarer as street food in Thailand.
My problem
I, as one who generally avoid eating eggs and follow a primarily-vegan diet, want to know how to make it very soft and spongy, without adding eggs or egg whites.
When I tried to make Khanom Thang teak by a similar pattern it didn't swell enough and wasn't soft enough. Perhaps this is because I have added some water due to shortage in coconut milk, but maybe it is because I am wrong about the amount of baking powder and need to use a doubled amount of baking powder (perhaps letting the batter rest in the refrigerator for about 6 hours or so).
My question
How could I make a vegan Khanom Tang Teak swelling and soft similar to as if it contained eggs or egg whites?


texts:
A few days back I was making garlic bread. I had pressed garlic into olive oil, added a little salt, and forgot about it for a good half hour or so. When I came back to it, I stirred it up a bit, and it seemed to thicken slightly. Intrigued, I whisked some more and it ended up extremely thick, with self-sustaining peaks.

Tonight I tried to recreate this phenomenon, and it really didn't do anything to speak of. After whisking hard for about 45 minutes, I still basically had a bunch of pressed garlic sitting in a pool of olive oil.

What did I do wrong the second time, and what did I do right the first time?


texts: Stainless nonstick, not vs, but both? What's the point?

texts: I bought a stainless steel 12" skillet and when it arrived it has a Non stick coating on the inside. I didn't realize that. I already have a non stick set, anodized aluminum I think, so I wanted to explore stainless. I'm seeing a lot of similar pans, from all the brands. What's the point of putting non stick in stainless? Is it just for style/looks or is there actually a benefit? Should I keep it and try it out? Or will I see the same results as my other non stick set?


texts: Is there a compressed gas device designed specifically for creating infusions?

texts:
This answer about creating infusions suggests using a compressed gas siphon to quickly infuse liquids with flavours from 'fragile' herbs.

The manufacturer of the popular iSi compressed gas siphons seems to sell whipped cream and soda siphons, but neither is advertised for the aforementioned infusion purpose.  I'm not at all averse to using one of these devices for this different purpose from that which it was designed, but I'd like to find the most usable device for creating infusions using compressed gas.

This leaves me with the following questions:

Is there a compressed gas device designed specifically for creating infusions using this method?
In general, would a soda siphon or a whipped cream siphon be more suited to creating infusions?
Are there particular attributes to look for in a compressed gas siphon that lend themselves to creating infusions?


texts:
I just saw a video (there are numerous all over the place, but this is one) of Jacques Pepin making his mother's cheese souffle. In the recipe, he does not separate the eggs or beat them to peaks. He just scrambles them and whisks them into the bechemel.

Yet the souffle rises.

I've made many a souffle in the past, and this flies in the face of all the souffle techniques I've learned.

Why does this work? (what is the science behind it)

And, does it work as well as a souffle made with separated eggs?


texts: Is the lettuce inside the wilted outer leaves still good?

texts:
At the vegetable market, I noticed some sellers cutting away the wilted parts of lettuce, to sell much smaller, but green portions. I wonder if they are cheating me, or if that is normal procedure.

In some cases, the edges of the leaves were brown or had holes, and they trimmed the edges with scissors.
In other cases, the entire exterior leaves looked really bad, and they just removed the outside, to sell the inside which was still green.

Is it still okay to buy this lettuce? When I find that this has happened to the lettuce I bought, should I similarly cut away these portions and still eat the part inside that is still green?


texts: How long does it take to pasteurize something at 60C?

texts:
Take for example a custard. I recall reading somewhere, probably on the internet, that heating it to 70C will kill all the bacteria in it for sure. I also recall reading that holding it for 5 minutes at 60C will do the same thing.

I’m having trouble finding a proper reference for this. Is what I said actually true? It must have been studied in food science, so is there a proper source for this?


texts:
I have bought some olive oils glass bottles.
My question is - can I buy olive oil from the shop and add it to the bottle and add in some decoration like chillies, herbs etc? Or is there a process for decoration?
Thanks


texts: Microwave door blew open when boiling water-vinegar mixture for cleaning

texts:
The inside walls of a microwave have become sticky. I was attempting to be a smart cookie and tried to clean it by boiling a glass of water-vinegar mixture inside it. However, this DIY backfired as the water heated beyond its boiling point and the microwave door blew open. The glass survived the explosion.

Now the question is -

What do I do? Do I clean and use it like I normally would?
If I have to wait for it to dry completely, how long should I ideally wait?
How do I ensure it is safe to use?


texts: What is a good ratio (range) of nut flour in Mandelkipferl dough?

texts:
I want to make Mandelkipferl and similar cookies. For Vanillekipferl, I tend to use a 3:2:1 ratio of flour:butter:sugar, without an egg.

Is there a traditional ratio of nut flour in Mandelkipferl? Also, what is the highest ratio of nut flour which can be used without the cookies falling apart or becoming unrecognizable as Mandelkipferl? If there is no single ratio, what is the workable range?

I plan on rolling the dough out and cutting out shapes, not forming it with the fingers.


texts: Why the pizza is able to "recover" so quickly?

texts:
Assuming that you ever saw someone making a pizza out of a dough, you probably noticed that usually they push with quite some energy the dough down and use the other part of their energy to enlarge the disc .
Even after all this stress applied to the dough, most pizza are really soft, airy and fluffy inside: why is that and what makes this happen ?

I would like to replicate this with my own recipe because this behaviour is really useful, especially if I can just let the dough rise, make the disc just before putting it in the oven and get a nice soft result .

The only thing I can't replicate for sure is an oven capable of expressing 1,100° F and more, mine is about 400° F tops; based on my experiments something like a teaspoon of honey or fructose in general helps to get some more fluff, but not too much elasticity or structure .


texts: What is a substitute for Poblano Peppers?

texts:
I have a recipe that calls for Poblano peppers but our store does not have them. I found this which references using Anaheim Peppers but they don't have those either.

What is a good alternative?

It is a roasted stuffed pepper dish that I need them for.


texts: How can I remove blood from snow goose breasts within a few hours?

texts:
I am not a hunter. My friend has given me several pounds of snow goose breast meat, hunted and cleaned today. He wants me to slow cook them tonight so we can eat them tomorrow.

Since I cannot contact him right now, do you have any suggestions on how to rapidly remove all the blood from the meat before I toss it in the slow cooker? I have already soaked the pieces in cold water for an hour, as he suggested. However, I can still squeeze some blood out of the meat.


texts: Can you preserve/can tomatoes of various sizes together?

texts:
I am new to canning and have a water bath canner. I have successfully (well...I think!) canned/jarred several dozen bread-and-butter pickles following a recipe I found in the official Ball Canning & Preserving Guide.
I am now trying to preserve/can/jar a bunch of my tomatoes following another recipe in the same book. The problem is, all of my tomatoes are drastically different sizes:

Is it generally OK to use the different-sized tomatoes when preserving them? Or do they all need to be the same type and generally same size?


texts:
Recently I found that popcorn is a fantastic snack, and incredibly cheap if you make it yourself.
There is only one problem... it seems that some of the popcorn pieces have a jaw shattering hard pieces hidden within them.

Is there a way to easily separate these or even preventing them whilst cooking them?


texts: How Rough Should the finish on a Pizza Peel Be?

texts:
I have read over and over that you want a rough finish on a wooden pizza peel for best results. But other people seem to state that it is simply the moisture absorptive nature of wood that causes wooden peels to work better.
I purchased a cheap wooden peel with a slick shellac like coating and would like to fix it, but I am not sure how rough (i.e. what grit sand paper) is optimal for the surface of a peel. Has anyone ever done any tests or have any experience with different roughness's to find the optimal finish to put on a peel?
Quotes:

A wooden peel tends to have less problems with sticking as the wood is rougher, absorbs water and doesn’t get condensation. - https://www.crustkingdom.com/how-to-use-a-pizza-peel/

"Raw," unfinished wood peels have a rough, porous texture ... they actually tend to be more nonstick than coated peels. - https://www.businessinsider.com/best-pizza-peel#wood-versus-metal-pizza-peels-7

Here is a post written by a profession who apparently uses peels so rough that their employees get splinters - https://thinktank.pmq.com/t/wooden-pizza-peels-to-sand-or-not/15723/2


texts: What is the white goo in the middle of some hard-boiled egg yolks?

texts:
My wife made some deviled eggs today, but found a surprise inside some of them after they were cooked. Right in the middle of the yolks was a tiny bit of some white goo, very different in color and consistency of the surrounding yolk.

What is this stuff? Was it safe to eat? We ended up tossing those eggs out because we had no clue.

UPDATE: my wife had taken a picture


texts: How to make pie filling which tastes like yogurt icecream?

texts:
I have some ripe papayas and decided to create a new pie recipe with them. The papaya part turned out quite well. I used pureed papayas, dark sugar beet syrup, creme fraîche, egg, and some cognac. The taste is very earthy, somewhat buttery, and while it was nice, I didn't want the whole pie to taste like that. So I decided that a second filling would be nice. I want to make a filling with contrasting taste and color, and lightly mix both in the shell, like marble cake.

For the taste, I think that the typical Italian yogurt gelato taste will give the perfect combination - quite sour, somewhat sweet, no distracting fruity notes to compete with the papaya. The easiest thing to try was to just bake some yogurt. So I mixed 3.5% and 10% yogurt, added some sugar, vanila and cream of tartar, and mixed in dissolved starch. But after baking the pie, the taste is nowhere near what I need. The biggest problem is that it isn't sour enough.

Any ideas how to approximate frozen yogurt or yogurt icecream taste? I prefer a baked filling, but if all else fails, I'd settle for a cold-setting filling to be put into a blindbaked shell. Then I'll have to remove the egg from the papaya and think of a way to thicken it.


texts: Do I need to peel butternut squash when roasting it in chunks?

texts: It seems like the peel is probably still inedible after roasting, but I'm not completely sure.


texts: I would like to make homemade Ketchup, how do I prepare the tomato?

texts: I've got the rest of the recipe, sugar, vinegar and a few other spices that I was going to experiment with,but I wanted to know what do you need to do to the tomato in order to get it to look like ketchup, not a tomato sauce?


texts: How to coat gummies with beeswax/carnauba wax and coconut oil/palm oil?

texts: I tried coating my gummies with beeswax but it was a failure. First, I melted beeswax and tried to pour it in a spray bottle but it hardened so fast. Also, I tried coating them by just putting them in the beeswax but the gummies dissolved with the wax because of the heat. I tried to coat them with a mix of olive oil and wax (2/3+1/3) but it wasn't perfect, there were some little pieces of wax on the gummies.


texts: I have some frozen steaks I want to cook rather quickly. I want to follow this method: this question but I am not sure how to season it. How do I apply seasoning to a steak without defrosting it?


texts: Do I have to adjust oven cooking times from recipes for more / less food?

texts:
In an oven, when following cooking times from a recipe, do I have to adjust times if I change quantity? I don't mean thicker or thinner food, I mean more or less of the same size, like e.g. more or less potato wedges.

Or does the thermostat in the oven just make the burner stay on for different times naturally and thus deliver the same amount of energy per mass of food over time (assuming I don't put too much food in at once).


texts:
When dealing with particularly sweet liqueurs, in particular Midori (a very sweet melon flavored liqueur), I tend to find their sugary nature overpowering the rest of the drink. What is the best way to balance this out, while still retaining the flavor components of the liqueur?

The options I've considered:

Use less of the offending liqueur. This tends to be the simplest option, but I also lose out in the addition of flavor to my drink.
Saltiness. Rimming the glass with salt works great with tropical style drinks such as Margaritas, but seems a bit out of place for more urban cocktails.
Tartness. This seems like the best option, but which direction to take? Lemon or cranberry juice are my first impressions, especially when working on top of a base liquor.


texts:
Two days ago, I was making ganache as a topping for cupcakes. I needed, as expected, cream and chocolate. But '1 teaspoon of liquid glucose' was also on the list of ingredients (for 12 cupcakes). I didn't think I had that, so I used 'fondant sugar' (powder sugar with a bit of water, described here as poured fondant).

Is liquid glucose something specific you can buy in stores, or is it a collection name for all kinds of sweet, liquid stuff (honey, syrup, fondant etc.)?

If it's something specific, can you make it at home as well?

And yet another question: if I would have added (powdered) sugar to my cream, would I have accomplished ganache as well (after being poured over chocolate), since I think the sugar would dissolve in the cream?

(Just to be complete: my ganache was fine.)


texts: Do I need to sift flour for quick breads?

texts:
I am making mini quick breads for Christmas. The recipe calls for 3 cups of flour.

Do I need to sift the flour?  If so, should I sift it before or after measuring?


texts: Why don't most ice cream recipes include salt in the base?

texts:
I've been getting into ice cream this summer and of all the recipes I've reviewed and tested, none of them call for salt in the ice cream mixture itself. (With the exception of caramel sea salt, and Ben's Chocolate recipe).

My question is why?

More info: I made plum sorbet last week. After tasting, but before churning, I decided to add salt to the base. It dramatically improved the "plumminess" just as you would expect salt to do. Furthermore, the ice cream turned out great. The addition of salt didn't have any effect on the churn.

So, why don't ice cream bases call for salt in the first place?


texts: Should homemade lasagna be frozen cooked or uncooked?

texts:
My wife and I are prepping some meals ahead of time before Baby #2 arrives early next month.

She just made 3 small lasagnas (8"x8" pans) this afternoon and we are debating whether to bake them first and then freeze them down, or freezing them uncooked and bake when we are ready to eat.

What is the proper method to maintain the quality of the food as much as possible?  Cooking and thawing times when we decide to serve it are less of a factor.

We used standard noodles (not the no-boil type) and it has canned sauce, pork sausage, ground beef, ricotta, and fresh mozzarella in case the ingredients impact is the best option.


texts: Refrigerating warm potato salad 13 hours after dinner

texts:
I prepared warm potato salad last night for dinner. We finished around 7:00 pm and I forgot to refrigerate it until 8:30 this am. Therefore, it was left out for approx. 13 and1/2 hours. When I felt it this am; it wasn't warm and actually a little on the cool side. My AC was turned down low so the house was around 63- 67 degrees all night.

So, Is it ok to eat or should I throw it out due to bacteria and/or etc..??

Please let me know as soon as you can....now would be good...just kidding kinda... I'm just really worried because I have a son that loves it and I need to know whether we will be having that potato salad for dinner tonight or a bunch of guilt-ridden banana splits? ....hmmmm? Tough decision...

Thank you to whoever answers... It will be greatly appreciated!!   :•)  8•)


texts:
I have been trying to make mayonnaise and have had no luck. I have tried it 4 times now, twice in a Blendtec blender following their instructions online and twice following these directions . Each time the mayonnaise came out like yellow stinky soup.

I have been adding the oil very slowly, it takes about 2 minutes to add a cup. I have let my eggs warm up to room temperature for an hour. I have bought fresh eggs.

It looks so simple, but I am having no luck. Please help.


texts: What oil or fat to use for different purposes?

texts: I understand that one of the main reasons to use different kinds of fat or oil is the temperature at which it burns, e.g. an extra-virgin olive oil to fry a steak wouldn't work. Taste is also a very important aspect. Can you give a list of the most commonly used oils/fats and what they are used for?


texts:
Let's say that I want to keep meat in my fridge for a week. From what I read, this is frowned upon, as it leaves time for bacteria to develop and to produce toxins which won't be destroyed by cooking the meat. However, I also read that in cold, salty conditions, only favourable bacteria develop, and that's how sauerkraut and other pickles are made.

So, can I safely keep raw meat in the fridge for a week (or more) if submerged in salty water ? What would be the appropriate salt concentration and maximum keeping time ?


texts: My tea had expired(?) for about 9 years already, can I sill use it?

texts:
is doesn’t say if it’s best before or expiring date

It smelled okay.I saw a blog saying that it’s okay to use it,but I’m a bit skeptical about it.


texts: Sourdough starter began acting strange after storing in fridge

texts:
I recently began developing a sourdough starter and it seemed much easier than it sounded - within a few days it was growing well and smelled good (like yeasty bread dough). On about day 5 or 6, I had to go away for the weekend, and so I stored the starter in my fridge, and now it's acting sort of strange.

Before I went away, I fed the starter and put it in the fridge right away. When I came back 2 days later it had still grown in the fridge. Not as much as usual; before my trip the starter was maybe growing from 1 cup to almost 3 cups, now it was closer to two. This, I think is expected - being in the fridge would retard the yeast's activities.

In any case, I took out the starter and let it sit for an hour or two to get it back to a more normal room temperature, and fed it again. (I think it missed 1, maybe 2 feedings because I was out of town.)

Anyway, now that I am back to regular feedings the starter is still growing well and then falling (which I believe is what it should do when it eats up all the food). But it's doing it really fast. I.e. in less than 12 hours. And then the starter begins to smell weird, like alcohol. It's pretty intense.

What happened to the yeasty smell? That was much nicer than this new, alcoholic development. I read online that the alcohol smell comes when the yeast run out of food and switch from aerobic to anaerobic mode. Should I really be feeding it more than once a day?


texts: A very specific synonym for a potatoes au gratin type recipe

texts:
Many years ago, we went to a restaurant that served a little cube of potatoes that was in the same category as my Mom's scalloped potatoes, but much more refined. It was not soupy, and the potatoes were sliced very thin.

Since then I have seen the specific name just once, and I have not been successful at finding it through a Google search which always rolls back around to the word au gratin.


texts: Is-there any good way to make smoked chipotle pepper at home?

texts: I love smoked chipotle peppers and I would love to use them in my sauces. So if any one knows how to make smoked chipotle pepper at home please share. All the best


texts:
I know that you're supposed to cook cuts like beef chuck at a low temperature until they reach a high enough internal temp for the collagen to melt, which is why the same method wouldn't work for steak cuts that lack that collagen.

But why the low temp part? If the goal is to melt collagen, couldn't that be done just as easily at a higher temp?

Also: if there's something special about cooking the meat at a higher temp, regardless of the internal temp it ends up at, does that mean that you have to be careful when searing the meat before braising?

I had always thought that the toughness of a piece of meat depended on its internal temp, but it seems like a 200F braised chuck would taste different from a 200F skilled-fried overcooked chuck steak.


texts: What is the enzyme that makes apples's pectin heat resistant? And can it be added to other fruits to achieve similar results?

texts:
In some recipes for apple and cherry pie, it is suggested to pre-cook the filling at low temperature in order to make pectin heat resistant and so preserve the shape and structure of the fruit.
This is explained in McGee's "On Food and Cooking" at page 283 as:

  Firm-able vegetables and fruits have an enzyme in their cell walls that becomes activated at around 120F/ 50C (and inactivated above 160F/70C), and alters the cell-wall pectins so that they’re more easily cross-linked by calcium ions

Now my question is, what is this enzyme? Is this enzyme available for purchase? And if so, if I were to add it to a, say, strawberry pie filling, would it help maintain its structure?


texts: How to clean/wash (Sichuan) peppercorns?

texts:
Tragically, I spilled over a bottle of Sichuan peppercorns on the kitchen floor, which is fairly dirty (we walk on it with outdoor shoes, and if you wipe at the floor with a cloth it will pick up a thin layer of dirt/grime).
To avoid eating dirt/germs, do I have to throw out the split peppercorns? Or can I "sanitize" them someway, either by washing with water, baking to a certain temperature, etc.?


texts: I want to make some homemade mozzeralla and I know that I need rennet but I am at a loss at how to obtain it.  I also don't know which type I need out of the artifical or natural.  Is there a way to make it for myself?  My searches are turning up conflicting information and I am a little lost in the woods here.


texts: Can you cook with a partially healed open wound?

texts: I got a small cardboard cut on the top of my thumb 3 days ago. It's not bleeding or anything but the cut hasn't fully healed. Technically this question is after the fact since I just cooked some chicken so I guess what I'm asking is is what I did safe or will I get sick from this?


texts: Adding uncooked rice to a slow-cooked stir fry

texts:
I'd like to make this slow-cooked chicken stir fry recipe.

It is suggested that it be served with rice.  But I know rice itself can be made in a slow-cooker.  If I don't mind having the rice already mixed together with the stir fry, can I simply add 2 cups of uncooked brown rice to the slow-cooker, along with 4 extra cups of water?

If so, is it best to add the rice on the bottom layer, or the top layer, or all mixed together?


texts: Knife for cutting steak slices from whole ribeye?

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What type of knife is good for slicing a whole ribeye into individual steak slices?

I've looked at some instructional videos on youtube and a butcher used a curved blade, someone else used a long rectangular blade, but I did not know what either of them were called.

What type of knife should I use for slicing a whole ribeye?


texts: I made some cinnamon rolls the other day but the outside of the rolls are firm rather than soft after baking. What are the factors that affect the chewiness, softness, moisture of bread based desserts like cinnamon rolls?


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When cooking spaghetti carbonara, I mix the pasta, bacon, cheese and egg yolks together with a scoop. This technique frequently results in mashed spaghetti as well as bacon clustering.

What could I do different?


texts: I'm thinking about buying a French press for making coffee. I'm just not sure what is the lifetime of the filter? Can I use it for years or do I have to get a new filter from time to time?


texts: Malai Chicken Curry is curdling in the Pan

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I am trying to prepare a rich, creamy malai chicken curry but it's turning out to be a disaster as the marinade curdles when I put in into the pan.

Here are the steps:
I marinated the bite-sized cut chicken breast pieces with 1/2 cup yoghurt, 1/2 cup fresh cream along with salt and ginger-garlic paste. The marination time is about 24 hours inside the refrigerator.

When I am ready to cook, I take out the marinated chicken from the refrigerator and add it to heated oil in a pan and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. When I lift the lid after 10 minutes, its an unappetizing sight of curdled cream and whey floating on top instead of a creamy texture.

Where am I going wrong?

Thanks in advance,

Suddha Ray


texts: Uses for meat that has been in the freezer for 2 years?

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I have some old chicken breasts, thighs, and a steak vacuum sealed in my freezer. I think it is between 1.5 and 3 years old.

I'm assuming it won't have a good texture if I cook it and eat it normally. What can I do with it? Can I at least toss them in with the rest of the bones when I'm making chicken/beef broth in my Instant Pot?


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I expect frying pans with raised ridges are for a few purposes such as adding "grill lines" to meats and keeping food out of grease somewhat as it collects.

Why or when should I use a frying pan with raised ridges?