texts: How to get rid of the smell from the fridge?

texts: Storing various meals and products in fridge (or freezer) can result in mixing different flavours, which isn't that great. What are your best practises to avoid the smell?


texts: How long is coffee with creamer added safe in a thermos?

texts:
I'm not sure if this or this questions' answers satisfactorily cover my question but I am seeing a lot of answers that talk about the shelf-life of coffee and say things just "change" when adding sugar or dairy.

I make about 20oz. of coffee each morning and put it in a thermos.  I then add my creamer to this at home and take it to work.  Most days I get through it within a couple hours of being there, but some days I don't go through the whole container and the coffee is still pretty hot by the time I get home (go thermos!).  I understand that if it was plain this should be fine, but does the dairy creamer break down over the day to the point I shouldn't be consuming it by the time I get home (about 9 hours after brew time) given it has been kept pretty hot most of the day ?

If I should be tossing this sooner by a certain time when is that?  Does keeping it hot prolong life beyond the 2-4 hours in the danger zone I am seeing on other posts?


texts: Cooking minced/ground beef with a jar of sauce

texts:
Backstory: I've never really lived independently before (even during college) and I've never really had to fend for myself much, so please forgive this elementary cooking question.

I have about 1kg of ground/minced beef, I also have a large (~700g) jar of "spaghetti sauce".

I asked my parents what to do, but they were too busy to give anything more than fleeting advice. I understand I have to simmer the beef in the sauce for about an hour or two?

...but the beef's packaging label says it only needs about 7 minutes of cooking in a skillet or saucepan at 70degC/160degF (which seems a bit low to me - I thought all cooking was done at 100degC or above?). There are no instructions given on the jar of sauce.

What do I do? Who is correct, the beef packaging or my mother?


texts: How long does it take to warm a ham in the oven?

texts: I bought a fully cooked ham.  It was frozen, and it's now thawed.  How long should I put in the oven to warm it up?


texts: Homemade double/heavy cream separates after setting in the fridge

texts:
Good day. I recently made a homemade double cream using 1.5 cups of whole milk and 150 grams of unsalted butter. I followed most recipes I saw online which started with melting the butter so that it becomes liquid and not letting it boil and mixing it with the milk. However, I had several problems as I placed the melted butter in cold milk which lead to the butter forming again which in turn made it difficult for me to mix with a hand mixer. What I did next was I placed the mixture in a saucepan and let it warm over low heat. When the butter turned liquid again and the milk starting to become warm, I took it off the pan and back to my mixing bowl then used a hand mixer for about two and a half minutes.

When the mixture looked mixed to me, I placed it in a container and placed it in the fridge to set. However, upon returning to it a couple of hours later, the double cream separated, the butter formed at the top part and the milk was at the bottom.

My question is, can I still turn this disaster of a double cream and make it usable for cooking/baking purposes? Or should I toss it to the bin and start on a new one? (and this time make sure that the milk is in room temp before mixing the two components)


texts:
I use caper berries in salad sometimes, but honestly I mainly like to just eat them straight out of the jar. I've noticed that in a single jar, each berry has 1 of three types of seeds inside:

Black seeds, which are hard in texture

Red seeds, which are also hard, but maybe slightly harder (or softer?) than the black ones

White seeds, which are much softer than the other two.

It seems odd that in a single jar, all 3 varieties would persist. Does the color of the seed indicate anything about the berry? Is there a taste or age difference?


texts: Why would a steam rice cooker suddenly make my dad sick?

texts: My dad has owned the same rice cooker for years and it always worked fine. Recently, every time he makes rice, which is all it has ever been used for, he gets sick to his stomach almost immediately after eating it. No amount of cleaning and rinsing to make sure all soap is out of it makes any difference. It also doesn't matter what brand of rice, even the same ones we have always used. What is the problem? The unit seems to work just fine.


texts:
I made scones with this recipe today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/scones_1285

And I followed it very thoroughly (weighing all the ingredients in grams, etc). They came out looking great with a nice rise, but they had a 'base'y flavor to them that surprised me, almost as if too much leavener had been used. But since the recipe calls for self-raising flour, I didn't add any at all.

So either:

I'm very sensitive to basey  flavors (which is possible, I'm pregnant and sensitive to all things right now)
The scones are supposed to taste like this (the commercial scones I've had before haven't)
There was something wrong with my flour.

I don't generally use self raising flour for baking, so I'm not sure about its leavener content. Do self rasisng flours usually contain enough to taste it in the baking?


texts: How long do pre-chopped portobello mushrooms last in the refrigerator?

texts:
I'm looking to clean, wash, and pre-chop about 10lbs of portobello mushrooms. Will they be the same quality in the refrigerator for about 24 hours?

This is in an effort to find more efficient preparation methods. Is there a most suitable way to store them for 24 hours?


texts: Is it common for slow cookers to heat unevenly?

texts:
I have a CrockPot brand slow cooker that is less than one year old.  I have recently realized that it heats rather unevenly, being considerably cooler on the side near the controls than on the opposite side.  For example, when I cook a batch of chili, I can see it bubbling bubbling near the warm-side wall, but not on the opposite side.  If I cook dumplings in my chili then those on the warm side are done in about the amount of time I expect, but those on the cool side are still decidedly undone at that time. For what it's worth, I usually use the "low" heat setting, but I think similar behavior occurs on "high".

Questions: Is this kind of uneven heating typical for slow cookers?  Does it indicate that mine is broken?  Do you have any advice about how to deal with it, beyond stirring and/or occasionally turning the crock within the heating unit?


texts: I have a recipe that asks for 2 sprigs of thyme. How much dry thyme do i use as a substitution for the fresh? Or what does 2 fresh sprigs of thyme measure, a tablespoon?


texts:
I like to think that I have nailed the Maillard temperature on my stove. It's my go-to temperature for preheating tri-ply pans, as well as teflon-coated hard-anodized aluminum pans.
After years of relying primarily on tri-ply for cooking, I'm now returning to cast iron. (I lost a perfectly seasoned cast iron pan during a move, and couldn't see myself going through the labor of starting another).

As I preheat my twice-seasoned (once at the factory and once upside down in my oven at 375F for 90 minutes) cast iron pan, I see smoke rising.
Seeing some liquid oil after the second seasoning, I had (carefully and gently) washed (with mild dish soap and the blue-variety scotch-brite) the pan and dried it thoroughly. As I preheat it, it's smoking—despite the washing.
Can I start to cook on a cast iron pan while it's smoking?
It continued to smoke for a few minutes, and I suspect that that means it's not ready for cooking, but I'm not quite sure what the smoke means. Does it mean that the oil has not properly polymerized and it's still burning? Would just leaving it like that (still on the stove at the Maillard setting, not in the oven) for 30 minutes do the trick? (I'm reluctant to use the oven because the drips from the upside-down pan were far too messy.)


texts: Many recipes require that you sweat vegetables (celery, onions, etc). Why not saute them and brown them a little instead? Would not that develop the flavors even more? Why would you not want that?


texts: Substituting Chicken Broth in Split Pea Soup

texts:
I want to make some split pea soup and have everything but am wondering if I can substitute the water with chicken broth and not ruin the taste of the soup.  I will also be adding a meaty smoked ham bone with NO glaze on it.  Thanks in advance...
Electric Mike


texts:
I'm having trouble figuring out at what point to put my retarded Kaiser and sub rolls to the proof box . after a night in the fridge should I wait til the product gets to room temp?
I experiencing baseball kaisers and spotted subs .


texts: Making ice cream and fats don't dissolve in base

texts:
I am making ice cream from this recipe:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/apple-browned-butter-sour-cream-ice-cream-recipe.html (the first variation)
Upon reaching the final mixing step for the base, I find that small clumps of something (I assume fat) are not dissolving at all in the mixture (I've stirred for 10+ minutes with no effect (I don't have a blender)). The recipe warns that I need to completely dissolve the "butterfat" in the emulsion, otherwise the ice cream will be "grainy."
What has happened, and how do I fix it? Preferably without buying exotic ingredients I won't use in the future.

I have deviated from the recipe in these ways:

I have no strainer, so I did not brown the butter as much as is called for and then just let gravity work to strain out the brown particles. I wasn't exactly sure how much to let the butter cool before adding it -- I let it sit for at least 10 minutes before adding it, but it was still molten when I did add it. Within 8 minutes or so the stuff I hadn't added had solified, so it wasn't that hot.
I have pre-made, refrigerated apple cider syrup, so I used that instead of the boiling apple cider. The nutmeg really did not dissolve at all in the syrup even after stirring, but I figured it would do so once I added the syrup-nutmeg mixture to the other ingredients.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Update: I took Russell's advice and heated the mixture up while stirring. That worked to dissolve all the solids!
Update 2: Recipe finally turned out as expected: interesting, not-very-sweet ice cream. Thanks everyone!


texts: Which non penetrating method is recommended to check chicken breasts for done-ness when pan fried

texts: i love pan fried chicken usually with some tumeric, salt, pepper, rosemarry, and evoo. Anyways, I don't like to get my thermo dirty everytime, and sometimes i get it a bit overdone, sometimes the oppsite


texts: For reheating stuffing in the oven, how long would you bake it and at what temperature?

texts: I've made Bread Stuffing with Fresh Herbs from Cooks Illustrated this year for Thanksgiving, and I'm going to need to reheat it to serve. It cooked for seventy minutes at 375 the first time around, but I'm not sure how hot to set the oven or for how long to give it to get it hot without drying it out terribly the second time. Also, is there a standard amount of chicken broth people add to stuffing on reheating?


texts: Can I make my crumble topping in a mixer?

texts:
I have a basic crumb topping that I use to top fruit crumbles. It consists of 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup margarine. I like to make it in big batches and freeze in individual bags in the freezer so that I can just pull it out and sprinkle it on top of the fruit whenever I need it. The trouble is that the recipe calls for it to be made by hand, and I really really dislike making it... My hands end up hurting badly for a while after, and it takes a long time to get the margarine off.

Can I make it in a stand mixer or would that affect the quality? I would probably use a cookie paddle to mix it.


texts: I have a hood ventilation system that vents to the outside.  It has removable grease traps, as pictured below.  I've put them in the dishwasher, but the grease has polymerized onto them.  I'm looking for cleaning tips.


texts: How can I prepare soy milk at home? Is it as simple as: soak soy, then blend and strain the milk, or is some centrifuge technique used?


texts:
In Moderist cuisine, they repeatedly refer to "pastry bars" for a number of techniques. However, when I try to search / find these things on the internet, my search engine results are hundreds of thousands of snack bars and other Kellog's "boxed products".

I've tried "baking bars", "baking weights" and a number of other variations.

Is there another name for these things that will help me find them?

Here's an image showing "baking bars" on a silicone mat to create a gel:


texts: Thai lava chili: how could I reproduce this?

texts:
I realize this is a bit off of a question, and I apologize if it's not all that great. But here goes.

There is a Thai place near where I live that makes this amazing dish entitled "lava chili". It's spicy, filled with garlic, and absolutely delicious. I have absolutely no idea how I would even begin to try to cook something like it. Here are some properties of this dish:

In some sense of the word, it's like an American chili. It's not runny like a curry, it's more viscous.
It has a lot of garlic and a bit of ginger, I suspect.
Definitely some red pepper flakes and a couple other types of spicy, well, spices.
It has some type of oil in it, I can see it.
It's a bit tangy, too, and a little sweet.

I'm looking for some help recreating or approximating this dish. I love Thai food and I love Thai cooking, but I only do it for fun and really am not sure where to start on this.

Edit:
It looks similar to this image.

The website I found that image from describes it as:

  This historically highly rustic Thai dish is a very quick stir-fry with Thai chilli jam, normally accompanied with Thai vegetables and rice.

How would I go about trying to recreate that?


texts: Recommendation for a roasting pan that is safe to use on an electric stove?

texts:
I have an open coil electric stove and I want to get a roasting pan that is safe to use on it.  Namely, I want to be able to sear meats before putting them in the oven, and I want to be able to make gravies directly on the roasting pan.  I know that electric coils can get very hot, so I'm worried about melting/burning/damaging the pan.

Does anybody have specific (and affordable) recommendations for such a roasting pan?  What are features/properties that I look for in shopping for this roasting pan?

EDIT: I don't have anything specific application in mind right now, but here are two examples of things I would like to be able to do:

Cook a turkey in the oven and then make a gravy in the pan directly (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/best-gravy-ever-recipe-2009748)
Sear some pork ribs before putting them in the oven, and finish them off on the stove (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgOBAWbkq5Q).


texts: What is the purpose of red wine vinegar in steak marinades?

texts:
Some recipes call for red wine vinegar in steak marinades.

Is the Red wine vinegar used as means to break down the meat tissue or is it just there as a flavor agent?


texts:
I'm going to make a pate using Painted Pony beans as a base. I want to add roasted walnuts, but I don't know whether basil and garlic would be acceptable to put to the dish.

Would this make for a bad flavor combination?
What further spices would you recommend incorporating?


texts: Is this porphyra (nori) seaweed mislabeled?

texts:
I bought a pack of dried seaweed and it's labeled as 'porphyra', after googling a little this is apparently the type of seaweed used as nori, i.e. the type you wrap sushi with. It looks nothing like the thin sheets of nori I'm used to however. It actually kinda looks like kombu to me. Is it possible that it was mislabeled?

Here is the packaging.


texts:
Every recipe says I should soak beans in water overnight before cooking. Why?

I did some experiments. I have tried soaked and unsoaked beans from the same batch. There was no difference in cooking time, taste, structure or color. Even farts were the same!

Also, one time I read an interview with a cook that makes famous bean soup and he confirmed my findings. He said that he also experimented and he doesn't find a difference.

So what is the reason for soaking beans before cooking? What does it change?


texts: Adding spiciness to indian curry at the end of cooking

texts:
When making Indian curries, I usually lightly fry the spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric, and kashmiri chili powder), as most recipes state that this is needed to get rid of the "raw" taste. Sometimes though, towards the end of cooking after I added salt, I want to make the dish more spicy. Is it OK to simply add chili powder? Two possible objections to this are

1) The chili powder won't lose its raw taste since its not fried.

2) The chili powder won't dissolve in the curry, as this takes more time.

Is any of these true? And if so, is there any other way to make the dish more spicy without continued cooking? How does adding chili powder compare to adding green chili paste? And is it possible to add other spices besides chili powder (for example to add cumin powder to get a stronger cumin taste)?


texts: Can I use this dutch oven on a grill or camp fire?

texts:
I have a six quart cast iron, enameled dutch oven from Lodge and a power outage likely to last a few days. The dutch oven looks like this and has one of the oven safe knobs on top:

The black out looks like this:

Can I use an enameled cast iron dutch oven on either a charcoal grill, or better, a camp fire without worrying that the grates on the grill or the wood of the fire will scratch, crack, or otherwise damage the enamel?


texts: Is it ok to cold smoke steak before freezing?

texts:
About to wrap up a 60 day dry aged ribeye. After slicing to 2" thick cut steaks and trimming the pellicle i was debating on cold smoking with cherry for two hours. I've done this before but directly grilled. Instead im looking to freeze this round but from my research I havent seen any direct issues.

So this leads me to ask are there any issues with cold smoking a ribeye before freezing or should I freeze and cold smoke the day I'm going to cook to temp? Steaks will be vaccum sealed and probably when ready to cook dropped into a sous vide for 6 hours. Doubt these will be frozen past 6 months


texts: Cooking halloumi/wet food on stainless steel without sticking

texts:
I've got a set of all-clad stainless steel pans I've been able to master cooking most foods without sticking and too much burn remains. Even eggs I've got right.

One thing I constantly struggle with is haloumi. I pre heat the pan for 2mins. Water drops dance on the surface. I add some olive oil (about 2tbsp in a 24cm skillet). Stir it around and let it heat then add my halloumi cheese. And it consistently sticks leaving a mess on the pan. I leave it for a minute or too and it never releases. And just becomes completely burnt.

I know halloumi is rather wet cheese so I've tried paper toweling it dry before adding to the pan. Same result.

So how do I cook wet foods like this on stainless pans without sticking?


texts: I bought a piece of salami from a supermarket a week ago (a large chunk of a full sausage from the delicatessen, not sliced stuff in a pack) and I was wondering how long past the 'use by' date it's safe to eat the stuff. I know that the idea behind salami is that it can be store for many months at room temperature, but food bought from a modern supermarket usually bears little resemblance to the traditional meat. It's now a week past it's 'use by' date, and when trying a tiny piece earlier to see if it tasted ok, it had a slight sour taste to it, and I dared no go any further. Does this sound like it's not safe to eat, or is it stil ok if I can handle the new flavour?


texts: Does caramelizing an onion increase its non-dietary fiber carbohydrates?

texts: I'm on a low-carb diet and would like to know if caramelizing an onion increases its carbohydrate content.  I'm primarily interested in "net carbs," so dietary fiber that's converted to sugar would qualify as increasing the carbohydrate content as far as I'm concerned.


texts: How does the addition of Chicory affect coffee?

texts:
Chicory is a common additive in Indian Coffee. A quick search in wikipedia reveals that it is usually 20-30% in coffee powder.
Can coffee be made solely out of chicory? Does the chicory root contain caffeine or just the flavor profile of coffee?


texts: Many cookbooks and chefs recommend cooking green plantains before eating them.  Is it just because of all the starch? Or are there any toxins as in sprouting potatoes?  Does the ratio of amylose to amylopectin have anything to do with the recommendation?


texts: Dangers associated with sous-vide temperature and time

texts: What's the risk associated with leaving pork (vacuum sealed) in water at 35 °C (95 °F) for 12 hours? It's probably a common mistake with sous vide cooking, forgetting to turn the bath on.


texts: its harmful to eat not very well cooked beef?

texts: its harmful to eat not very well cooked meat? i have noticed in youtube some recipes, that the beef is half cook, with the inside red or pinky, and the outside browned, i know that eating raw animals like beef and other meats existing could be harmful because the bacterias that it might contain. for example maybe when making for example a beef wellington, that its baked pretty thick to get cook well and it does have in the inside that pinky color after baked, well i dont know if is there a posibility that the meat does really cook well in the inside killing bacterias such like salmonella for example?..if yes that which means it doesnt matter if it looks pinky inside?. i accustom to cook the meat very well and longer enough, same as other meats that might be white or red ones...


texts: How soon after baking can you refrigerate freshly made fruit pies?

texts: How soon after baking a fresh fruit custard pie can I refrigerate it? Must it be at room temperature before it's put in the fridge?


texts: Why should dried mushrooms be soaked in warm water?

texts:
I was looking at some recipes online that included dried mushrooms (mostly porcini). All those recipes and this question mention soaking them in warm water.

Why warm water? Would there be a difference if you would use cold water?


texts: What cheeses work 'best' in melted cheese sandwich applications?

texts:
I enjoy both toasted and grilled cheese sandwiches, but I generally only alternate between havarti and muenster cheese. I would like to branch out but don't know where to start. These are the factors I think are important in melted cheese sandwiches:

Melt well and fairly quickly
Fairly mild taste and texture
Generally available
Be a natural, dairy cheese (aka not Cheeze Whiz or American cheese)

What cheeses fit these requirements? Are there other components that are vital to the cheese element of melted cheese sandwiches?


texts: Are silicone baking mats safe for heating enchiladas?

texts:
So, I had bought a ready meal (I have broken hand) enchilada, something I've never tried before.  Instructions says 15 mins at 200c with plastic film lid, then take plastic film lid off and a further 15 mins at 200c.  It came in a plastic tray.  I never trust plastic so I took them out and put in some foil in a baking tray and that was big mistake as the underside fused to the foil.  I got a mushy mess.

I have a silicone baking mat which I have never used.  It says heat safe up to 250c on side of box.  It seems ideal but I've yet to try it.


texts: How can I add meat into a completed tomato sauce?

texts:
Yesterday I was cooking for someone and was planning on making a bolognese sauce, but when it came to start cooking (ie. after doing my mise en place), she asked if I could leave the meat out of it, so instead I ended up with a meat-less tomato sauce with various veggies in it (onion, garlic, green pepper and carrot; I'm not sure if there's a "proper" name for this sort of sauce) -- essentially, my bolognese recipe minus the meat. I mixed my pasta into the sauce a couple minutes before serving.

Today I have plenty of leftovers (that have been sitting in the fridge for about 24 hours), and would like to add my meat (ground beef) into it. I realize that instead I could do something like make meatballs, but I'm not looking to do something like that.

Would just browning the meat now and mixing it in work well? Is there something I should add to my meat to better incorporate it into my sauce? Also, I'm not sure if putting the sauce back on heat will be the greatest idea because the pasta unfortunately got cooked more than I wanted (to the point where it's okay as-is, but further cooking will probably push it to overdone).


texts: Dried and Salted Fish Fillets (e.g. cod) Sous Vide

texts:
I don't have much experience cooking with dried and salted fish, but as far as I have read traditional recipes start with a long soaking time in water (and also changing the water multiple times) to get rid of the excess salt, followed by poaching or confiting in olive oil.

I have cooked fresh fish many times sous-vide with excellent results at around 50C. I suspect due to an extensive amount of salt, probably, changing the protein structure of the fish; this temperature might not work for rehydrated and desalted fish.

As per this question confiting is covered and another recipe for confiting sous vide also suggests 65C. However in these recipes, next to confiting, the main aim is to extract the gelatin from the fish to be later used in the sauce.

However I wasn't able to find much information on replicating poaching results with sous vide.

Does anyone have experience or resources regarding cooking temperatures for rehydrated and desalted fish.


texts: Red potatoes-partial cooking, freezing to bake at a later date

texts: I am trying to par cook shredded red potatoes with the skins on and then freeze them until baking at a later date. My concern is keeping the potatoes from turning brown until cooked.


texts: Is it possible to make vegetarian 'prawn' toast?

texts: As a vegetarian for over 15 years the only food I continue to miss is prawn toast. Does anybody whether it would be possible to make a vegetarian version and what alternatives to prawn could be used?


texts: Can you eat the seeds of Tamarind if you roast them or boil them?

texts: I just bought some fresh Tamarind & was told that I can eat the Tamarind seeds. Are they really edible? How would I prepare them if so?


texts: What are the important traits of a good popcorn machine for home use?

texts:
I am aware that this question is somewhat subjective, so I did my best to ask a good subjective question, instead of "What popcorn machine should I buy?".

I recently shared my popcorn-related troubles and got several suggestions on how to improve my microwave popcorn experience. After a discussion I had today, I was suggested to invest in a popcorn machine, as, supposedly, it would make my popcorn better than a microwave.

When looking at some available machines, I saw a vast difference in price, ranging all the way from 20€ up to 100€ (ignoring the professional machines).

This made me wonder what determines the quality of a "good" popcorn machine? Is it only about size? Are there different internal mechanisms? What should I look out for when choosing a popcorn machine for home use?


texts:
I want to make a ceviche and although the 'traditional' acids are lemon and lime, I have a desire to use pomegranate juice but I'm concerned that the pH is too low to denature the proteins in the fish. Does anyone know if pomegranate juice just isn't acidic enough or should I just marinade for longer? I haven't been able to find any recipes using it, is this a sign?

Pomegranate pH 2.93 - 3.20
Lime pH 2.00 - 2.80
Lemon Juice pH 2.00 - 2.60

pH Source


texts: How can I modify my banana bread recipe to make cookies from it?

texts:
I love banana bread but it is troublesome to find a proper container to store it or even a bag big enough. For that reason and also for convenience, I would like to try to use the banana bread recipe, but make them into cookies. The thing is, I'm not sure how I would have to change the recipe because banana bread and cookies have difference in the recipe that make them cook differently.

Here is the link for the banana bread recipe I use--though I modify it by adding more bananas, some butter, and a touch more baking soda and baking powder to adjust for the difference in volume of ingredients. I also add cocoa powder because chocolate and bananas are wonderful flavors together.

How can I turn this recipe into one that I can use to make cookies?
Will the cookies be like bread or more solid like a typical chocolate chip cookie?
How should I adjust the temperature and cooking time for cooking?
Is the consistency of the dough really important? (Should it just be enough to make cookie blobs)


texts:
When I prepare homemade egg pasta (tagliatelle, fettuccine, spaghetti, etc), which is the better way to store it?

I used to keep it in a cotton cloth, but sometimes it becomes moldy.


texts: Usually if I'm sauteeing some veggies or cooking with olive oil I will use a cheaper bottle, but if I am making a dressing or a dish where the oil really stands out I will go with a bottle from a specialty shop.  I am making pesto for the first time and wondering which way I should go.


texts: Why does adding salt to microwaved broth make it foamy?

texts:
I had a nice bowl of clear yellow chicken broth which was not salted. It was in a serving bowl when this happened. I poured the cold unsalted soup into the bowl and then microwaved it and it came out clear still. To make it more palatable, I added a small spoonful of salt and the below happened. It only became frothy after I added the salt. It was much 'foamier' when I first added the salt, then it slowly subsided.

What is causing this?


texts: Making fully cooked meat (pork) less tough

texts: I bought some Red Chinese Barbecued Pork a few days ago, it's disappointingly tough. Even sliced very thinly and allowed to simmer for a few minutes in soup, the meat just feels dry and tough. I'm pretty sure it's tenderloin, so there really isn't any fat or collagen to work with. I'd like to make dumplings with it, but only if I can make it seem more tender. Do you know of anything that might work?


texts: How do you get a feel for the heat (direct heat)?

texts:
On my stove, it appears that low heat is 1 - 3 on the nob, mid is 4 - 6 and high is 7 - 9. It works for me.

But, I'd like to know if there are indicators to determine the heat without the convenient numbers. Suppose I want to cook on a camp-fire...

What visual indicators are there. A smoking oil is too hot, anybody knows that. But I've no idea what to look for. Do you 'just' eyeball it?


texts: Is there a releaseable mold/pan for bread?

texts:
I am looking for a bread mold (or is it a pan?) that can be removed prior to baking. The reason is that  it will lose the shape if I rest it before baking too long, but longer resting time in my experience makes bread more airy. I do not want to bake the bread in the mold itself - there are too many chemicals that can be released during baking cycle, and I like free-form loaves anyway. I know the loaf will keep it's shape better if it's drier but I dont like how the bread turns out in this case.

This is about yeast bread, and I am referring to resting (not rising) time, immediately prior to baking. Regular round/oval shapes will work. My bread is adapted version from 'Artisan Bread in 5 minutes'.

Any suggestions how to do this?


texts:
Today I need some tips on reusing mash potato. And not the "don't do it" tip. I mean, how can I fry it?

So far I've pretty much limited my reuse of mash potato to fried pattie-type things, but I found this doesn't work so great with every mash potato I come across. Sometimes it's either too dry or too wet. How can I fix that?

I usually sneak some cheese into mine when I make it, but the people I live with make it very plain, and anything from crumbly to watery. The crumbly ones to me have been essentially useless because I don't know what I can do to it after it's been made to make it okay again. For instance could I later add cheese or even an egg or some other bonding agent so it stays together in the pan long enough to seal and survive being manipulated a little with an egg-flip?

On the other hand, when it's really watery, what can I do about that? The limits of my knowledge of thickeners available in your average kitchen are flour and gravox, but I haven't been game enough to mix either with mash potato and fry it since one time when I had dry mash potato and some leftover gravy I just mixed it all together and fried it thinking, surely it will all just mix together and be wonderful. But it was terrible. Not to mention it kept almost burning because the gravy seems to seal a lot quicker.

Edit. I am indeed after any suggestion, not limited to frying. @Jefromi decided to edit my question to make it sound like I'm only interested in how to fry it.


texts: How to keep cooked French fries (for French fry dogs) warm and crispy?

texts:
I want to make French fry dogs. Basically, hot dogs that are battered and then coated with cooked French fries and then deep fried.

I have tried cooking them and then setting them aside for a couple of minutes, but they turn out to be cold and the crispness was gone.


texts: I ate some cooked artichoke stems; some of the outermost skin is tough, so I just chewed it and then spit out the inedible bits. I left those bits in a container on my kitchen counter near the sink, still sealed. A day later, when I dumped the contents, the leftover bits were a bright blue color.  What does this mean? Something with saliva enzymes?


texts: My misto nozzle does not push in or out.  It doesn't move at all.  I've cleaned with a vinegar soak and hot water and soap soak.  I've taken it apart and put back together.  It doesn't spray because the nozzle doesn't move. Any suggestions?


texts: Regarding cutlery and industrial dishwashers

texts: This question I recently got a variety of cutlery for my school's cafeteria. However, after purchasing the cutlery, I realized that it may not be able to be washed by an industrial dish washer. These are for a relatively large school, and so, I assume, that an industrial washer is used to clean the countless spoons, forks, and knives. My only concern is that once they come into circulation, they may somehow deteriorate after being washed, or taint the food that is being eaten. Do I need to be careful as to what kinds of cutlery I buy, or are all metal cutlery okay to use?


texts: Whats a good light or fat free substitution for sour cream?

texts: The normal sour cream tastes good while the light or fat free does not taste good at all.  Are there any brands that taste nearly as good as original?


texts: What exactly is Korean chili paste, aka 'gochujang'? Is there any way of making it at home?

texts:
I have recently started trying out some Korean dishes, some of which use the Korean  chili paste, gochujang. However, I can't seem to find this in any of my local supermarkets.

What exactly is in this paste, which gives it that distinct flavour? Is there any way of making this at home, in a relatively easy way?


texts: How is Channa Dal processed from Chickpea? Does it have any difference?

texts:
I made hummus from dried chickpea and I removed the skin manually after boiling it. It was a tedious process.

Thats when I thought of Channa Dal or split chickpea. I want to try with that to make hummus. (I just soaked it)

But I could not find a recipe / cooking video with channa dal. So, I am wondering if there is any difference between split chickpea & whole chickpea. Why isn't it used?

Also, I am curious how is it split. Could not find info about the processing. Do they boil the chickpeas to skin it?

Does the skinning process chickpea change it in any way? What about the cooking time?


texts: Often when I buy a dressed fowl, it comes with the neck, a bony object, which in the case of a duck, is suggestive of the male anatomy. This item is so hard and bony, it would take a heavy cleaver to cut it. What am supposed to do with this part of the duck?


texts:
Other forms of poultry are regarded as undercooked at the slightest sign of pink juices and yet it is common practice to cook duck so that it's medium rare. Is the risk of food poisoning significantly lower with duck meat than other birds?

On the other hand, if we could be sure that a piece of chicken could was salmonella-free, would its texture and flavor be improved by not overcooking it? I expect the sight of pink would put most people off but if one could overcome that, could it actually taste better?


texts:
I often put my stove to maximum for a while with the pan and some oil and whatever meat in it (I wanna specify that the goal of this post is not discussing the why I cook this way and if it's good for recipe).
My question is, can it be bad and damage the pan if the pan is on the stove at max, with oil/butter in it and whatever I cook.
I'm asking because I always assumed, until someone told me, that you can never damage a pan when cooking on stove if it has something in it, disregarding the material and all.


texts: Where can I obtain cream without additives?

texts: Until a few years ago, with only a little effort, I could find whipping cream and heavy cream without carrageenan and other undesirable ingredients in grocery stores. Now my source has dried up. How can I obtain cream that consists of nothing but cream? I typically only need small amounts and not all that frequently. I don't imagine I can just drive up to a dairy, knock the secret knock and whisper "psssst...where do you keep the good stuff?"


texts: Ceramic cup seems to be cracked internally, is it safe to use?

texts:
I have a large ceramic soup cup which appears to be internally damaged after being rinsed with cold water while hot:

Is this cup still safe to use, or is it likely to shatter or otherwise fail during use?


texts: Shelf stability of uncanned vinegar-pickled vegetables

texts:
So far I've been storing my pickles (beans, sliced cucumbers, chillies; pickled in vinegar, not fermented) in the fridge from day zero, not canned, just in jars with a decently airtight sealing push-top lid.

But I like them, so I'm losing a lot of fridge space to them. (Especially because I want to be eating them and also have some pickling away to be ready when they've finished.)

So I wondered if they really need to be in the fridge? They're submerged in a solution of anywhere from 1:1 white vinegar:water  to 0:1 (I like vinegar).

Is the lower temperature really taking care of anything that the vinegar (labelled 5% acidity, so final solution is 2.5-5%) wouldn't? As I understand it, the key to safe lacto-fermentation, which is done at room temperature, is to get a good ferment going quickly enough that it gets acidic enough to ward off 'bad bacteria' quickly.


texts: Can I use boiled potatoes in Spanish omelette?

texts: I have some leftover microwaved potatoes. Can I use these potatoes in Spanish omelette? Also, I read that tomatoes are not part of "authentic" Spanish omelette. Is that true?


texts: Could I possibly tell imitation lobster from real lobster?

texts:
There's a shop in my neighborhood that sells lobster rolls.

Every time that I order one, it's packed with "lobster" meat and a little bit of mayo.  At $15, I feel that I am getting a great deal.

But my gut feeling has always told me that this shop uses imitation lobster -- and that it couldn't possibly give that generous of a portion of lobster and still make a profit. I asked them, and they looked at each other, hesitated, and then said, "no, it's not imitation." I figure I need another way of verifying.

Is there some way that I could check the meat to see whether it's real lobster or fake?

I'm curious to know even if it tastes the same, at least for purposes of truth in advertising.


texts: Black stains on aluminium+teflon griddle

texts: I have an old aluminium griddle with teflon siding. The griddle is covered with black stains that look like grease stains but won't go away by washing. I can scrape them away but I am afraid that this would damage the griddle. Is it safe to use it? Is there a way to remove the stains?


texts:
Is it ok to use a chef knife to chop through bones (not too big, like chicken or pork ribs) or a coconut or will it ruin the knife permanently?

I've done that on occasion and it did not seem to suffer damages but may be it's just that I haven't done it enough.


texts: Can I substitute a top round beef roast with a beef rib eye roast?

texts: I have a recipe that calls for a 7 lb. top round beef roast with full fat cap. You salt the beef for 2 days and then set oven for 450 and roast for 20 min. Reduce to 225 and roast for 1 hr. 30 min. Can I use a beef rib eye boneless roast instead of the top round beef roast?


texts:
So, I love turkey bacon, and have it a lot; however, I always feel that i'm eating a mush processed meat.

Are there any meat cut alternatives to pork bacon from other animals?
Has anyone tried to make "processed bacon" at home?
Now in England, I've had Beef bacon. In retrospect I should've asked what cut of meat it was


texts: What do you call people that eat fish but not meat?

texts: Is it proper to identify people who eat fish but not meat as a class of vegetarians, or is there a better word to describe these group of people (who generally find pulses including beans, broad beans, chick peas, and lentils a perfect substitute for meat but deeply regret the fact that fish fats needed by the hunan body are not available elsewhere)?


texts: Replacing whole milk with sweetened condensed milk for cheescake

texts: I am making a no bake cheesecake. It calls for milk but I just ran out. Can I substitute with sweetened condensed milk?


texts: I have a lot of frozen stock and need to free up freezer space. Can I thaw and then can this stock in a pressure cooker?


texts: Difference between brown sugar and white sugar?

texts: While visiting a coffee shop with coffee I was offered these two kind of sugar. But don't know about differences between them. And why does brown sugar absorb moisture quickly compared to white one? And can we use brown sugar instead of white sugar or vice versa?


texts: What's the chemical difference between normal coffee beans and Kopi Luwak?

texts: Is there any actual difference in the chemistry or components of a Kopi Luwak coffee bean, and a more traditional coffee bean?  If so, what are those differences?


texts: I coated a haddock filet in flour and then fried it in olive oil.  I let it reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  When I went to flip it it fell apart and broke into sections.  What do I need to do to cook a fish so that it binds together?  What chemical processes cause this to happen?  Why did my fish not bind?


texts: How can I achieve large bubbles in my bread?

texts:
No matter what I do, my recipe produces bread that is pretty dense, I get none of those nice huge holes in the crumb. My recipe goes like this:

500g flour (300g wheat, 200g rye)
350ml water
2 tbsp vinegar
two pinches of salt
I use 1 packet of dry active yeast (for 500g of flour) or fresh yeast (20g)

I typically use my my stand mixer w/ dough hook to mix this for about 5-10 minutes. Then let it proof for 20 minutes, flatten and let rise for another hour. Then I bake the bread starting at 260 celsius for the first ten minutes, then decreasing to 200-200 until finished. I create steam at the beginning by pouring hot water on a baking tray.

What could possible be wrong with my recipe that prevents me from getting crumb like this? Is that only achievable with sourdough starter? I experimented with that for a while and my results were a little bit better, but not quite where I want to be.


texts: Why do drinks drunk from a glass instead of a bottle taste differently?

texts: Cola drunken out of a glass instead to a bottle/can taste differently to me; it is much better. Is this due to more aroma smelled by your nose when drinking out of open glass changing the kind of perception? That is the only explanation I can think of. Does anyone know some detailed medical links on this topic?


texts: Does black interior of a cocotte/dutch oven such as Staub create problems with accidentally burning ingredients/fond?

texts: The Staub cocotte has a black interior (in contrast to the Le Creuset) as can be seen below. Does this black interior significantly increase the chances of accidentally burning the ingredients and especially the fond which forms at the bottom of the pan. The fond is dark brown in colour anyway so I am worried that it would be very difficult to discern if it's starting to get burnt and turn black against the black interior of the cocotte.


texts:
Can diet soda be substituted for regular soda in recipes such as BBQ ribs, pork roasts, etc?

I do not know if different results will occur when heating diet pop for any length of time.  I do know that regular soda pop works.


texts: How to make a good tasting pepper cream sauce without using premade fabricated stuff

texts:
When I buy a premade pepper cream sauce at the grocery store it tastes good enough. It is peppery, creamy and salty. But when I try to make this myself I can't get it to taste at least neutral salty or peppery. Either the taste is really weak or too strong.
I use this recipe:

Put dairy butter in pan (low heat)
Put some flour in it (give it a stir)
Put some water from the pan with vegetables in it
Add grinded pepper (all seasons)
Add peppercorns
Add salt

Now I could experiment, but I've done so a lot. The nice peppery creamy taste comes in very late when I make it myself. When I buy it premade it always tastes salty and creamy immediately and then the peppery kicks in. How do they do this? How can I make the taste better; what am I missing?


texts: Why are drippings from restaraunt ground beef colored orange?

texts:
I've noticed over the years that whenever I cook ground beef from the grocery store, the drippings in the beef are typically clear in color.

When eating out, if I order a particularly greasy ground beef item, the drippings are typically orange in color.

What accounts for this difference in appearance?


texts:
I learned that in kettle grill the coal should be placed on one side of the grill and meat on the other side.

What is the advantage of this method against grilling on direct fire?
Adding a water pan is recommended. Does it really make a difference?
When should I cover the grill and why?


texts:
I ask because I ate a package of Quaker instant oatmeal (maple/brown sugar) at work today, it was just kinda a single package sitting in our "snack pantry". I looked for a date and it didn't have one. But I had forgotten breakfast and decided eh it should be ok.

So I made it, and while it tasted blandish, it didn't taste bad. It didn't smell bad it smelt like normal oatmeal.

However I looked at the Instant Oatmeal package and noticed the Quaker Copyright for 2012....so did I just eat 3 year old oatmeal? or just cause the copyright 2012 mark is on there (cause I know quaker is older than that) doesn't necessarily mean it was made in 2012.

That being said can instant oats really go bad anyways?

Thanks!


texts: How do I cook any recipe with frozen eggplant?

texts: Four days ago I cut the ends off of a one pound eggplant, sliced it lengthwise, spread 1/4 tsp. of salt on each half, and left at room temperature (approx 65 degrees) for five hours.  Then I soaked up the liquid and brushed off each piece with paper towels.  At that point, I placed both pieces in a zip-close freezer (gallon) bag.  Now, do I thaw completely before using?  Thaw partially?  Cook straight from the freezer?  Any help would be appreciated!


texts: Replicating Good Seasons brand Italian salad dressing dry mix

texts:
I use the dry mix in a ranch chicken recipe. I would like to make my own version from scratch. How would I go about trying to duplicate there recipe so to speak? I've looked at the list of ingredients on the package but I don't know what actually makes the flavor, and what is preservatives.

Ingredients: sugar, salt, sodium, citrate, garlic, onions, spice, red bell peppers, carrots, xanthan gum, maltodextrin, parsley, guar gum, natural flavor, soy sauce (wheat, soybeans, salt), citric acid,


texts: New green leaf vegetable in the family. What is it called?

texts: Every week I get a box with regional vegetables, and this time this one came. I tried looking for cabbage, but I could not find anything similar. Do you know what is it? How is it cooked?


texts: how to regain moisture into already made cold rolls/spring rolls

texts: I made some cold rolls with carrot, cucumber, capsicum and chicken in rice paper rolls. we ate some yesterday but had some leftover. We put damp kitchen towel into the bottom of a container and one on the top of them. Now they are hard and chewy. I was wondering if there was a way to get the moisture back into the rolls.


texts: How do Chinese restaurants tenderize their meat?

texts:
I eat at a lot of Chinese restaurants now and also while growing up. I often wondered how is it that the chicken, pork, and beef in dishes are always so tender. I can never replicate it when I cook.
What do the Chinese chefs use to tenderize their meat?


texts: What is the setting for the strongest brew on my coffee maker?

texts: My coffee maker has settings for strong, gourmet, and bold.  Which would brew the strongest coffee?


texts:
I am trying to make a vegetarian roast tomato and basil soup without using vegetable stock. A chef friend suggested making a mirepoix of vegetables, sweating them slowly, adding the roasted tomatoes and then water (instead of the stock).

My question is the amount of mirepoix I should use for 1kg tomatoes assuming my mirepoix is 2:1:1 onion, carrot and celery.

Thanks for any advice.


texts: How to correctly infuse cream into vegetables

texts:
I tried to cook a butternut squash curry, and I feel that the squash wasn't exactly "infused" with the sauce. I've had similar experiences with making gratin, and I feel I may be making the same mistake.

As for the recipe, it is basically:

heat up butter, cook garlic and ginger.
throw in curry powder, after a minute add in the squash + cream.
bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and lower the heat.
cook around 20 min, then uncover and raise the heat for 5 min.

The result was very tasty, so it wasn't a failure, but I felt like the dish came in two parts: the sauce, and the squash. They didn't really 'join forces' so to speak, which is something that I feel is a hallmark for a good curry (squash, pumpkin, etc). To try and be more explicit I expected the squash chunks to be more creamy and moist. Mine seemed to resemble a baked potato in terms of texture, a little dry and grainy. The flavors also seemed to remain separate (most of the flavor being in the sauce), whereas I was expecting the sauce/flavor to be absorbed by the squash.

Side note: the recipe asked for coconut milk, and I used whipping cream and water as a substitute, hope that wasn't the culprit...


texts: does a tool like air bag opener exist for paper bag application?

texts:
There are these air bag openers that exists which are used in the food industry and assist with packing food: https://www.pack-secure.com/Bag-Opener-_c_513.html

Is there a tool, hand held or otherwise, that can be used for paper bags of this nature?

The current option for opening bags like this is by shaking it up and down such that the air opens it. When doing over 100 of this it is not really practical. Note that the bag comes flat when buying in bulk.

Feel free to suggest if there is another appropriate SE for this question.


texts: Using applesauce to sub for butter in biscuits

texts: I know that the general rule is that you can use half the amount of butter or oil a recipe calls for and replace the other half with applesauce. My question is, can you do this for baked goods that are very butter dependent, such as biscuits? By biscuits I mean American Southern-style biscuits, which are mainly flour, butter, and some type of riser. I was just going to try it and see what happened, but I figured I'd ask the experts before wasting ingredients.


texts:
I have trouble cooking a steak 'medium', and to be honest, cooking it at all.

These were my steps:

Bought a steak (hip) that was about 1cm to 1.5cm in height. I let it reach room temperature (1 to 2 hours outside the fridge) and dried it.
heated a metal pan and added some oil when it was already quite hot
put in the meat. It was 'glued' to the pan slightly (not hot enough?) but that was only a minor problem
fried from both sides on high heat for about 1 minute until sides had a light brown (see picture)
reduced heat and kept cooking

However, after about 10 minutes, the outside color had not changed much, and the inside was still raw after cutting it in two pieces to have a look.

The picture shows that, clearly, something is totally wrong here. In addition, the steak doubled in height while cooking (Is that a sign of cheap meat with too much water?).

What mistakes did I make so that it went as it did?

After quite some cooking time:


texts:
I am smoking baby back ribs using an electric vertical smoker.

Given that most food absorbs smoke for an hour or two before saturating, what will happen if I stop adding wood chips after about two hours? Will I get the same result as if I continued to add wood chips, given that the ribs are unlikely to absorb appreciable amounts of additional smoke? In other words, does the smoke serve a useful purpose once the meat is saturated with smoke flavor?

Note that I am not asking about changing the cooking method (e.g. transferring to an oven or grill) or temperature, nor am I asking about meat other than ribs. All I am curious about is if I stop adding wood chips after two hours in the smoker, but continuing to smoke for the full duration.

I have been smoking ribs (and other meat) for years, but I have always added smoke chips up until an hour before finishing. I am curious if I am literally burning money by wasting wood chips.

Related question: How much time do I need to achieve a smokey flavor in bbq? Please note that this question is different because I am specifically not switching cooking methods, nor am I asking when smoking is more effective.


texts:
I am asking this question for reference mostly. My motivation comes from having a chef suggesting to place the saffron in white wine before using in a fish soup to "make the most of it". He said saffron's compounds you are after are soluble in alcohol so it's almost always worth adding it in white wine before using.

Fast forward to a recipe I made recently that called for parsley oil in which you would chop huge amounts of parsley, stuff it tightly in a container and fill the rest with oil before putting in the freezer for a few hours. You would then take out as much oil as you can from that container. Apparently the frozen and then defrozen parsley loses more (of its very few) oil-soluble compounds during this process. The result is a tiny amount of yummy, green (quite sweet, VERY parsley-y) oil in what was one of the most wasteful processes I have ever tried.

In Greece where I come from, folklore is that herbs like dill, parsley, mint you put in a bit of lemon juice to "make the most of", and oilier ones like rosemary and sage you fry a bit. So I am guessing it makes sense to say the former have aromatic compounds that are water or acid soluble (if folklore is right) and the latter oil-soluble (I am ignoring the heating process here 'cause it's mostly the solubility I am interested in).

Last time I checked in McGee, I remember finding scattered answers to what is best soluble where but not a reference collecting all the results. I understand this question might not have a straightforward answer so I am happy with a qualitative one so my question is:

Could someone make a list of popular herbs spices and other aromatics and grade their solubility to alcohol, acid(lemon), oil and water?

Again I understand that "popular" is different for different parts of the world so I am happy to award whatever reputation I gain from this (if any!) in bounties and patch the answers up to a community wiki.


texts: Aromatics from roasted chicken and sauce

texts:
I have been making tandoori chicken, and made it with the following marinade.
I place the chicken on top of aromatics consisting of carrots, celery, onions and yams.
When the chicken has been roasted, I am left with the juices and the aromatics.
I am not really sure what to do with these aromatics and how to serve them. For example, the large pieces of celery are pretty awkward, they are hard to chew. I am thinking of removing the yams, mash them and mix with cinnamon, but the rest I am not sure about.

How do you usually serve the aromatics that have been cooked under the roasted chicken? Also, can you leave the aromatics in the roasting pan while you make the sauce (or au jus)? Eventually, you would remove them of course and serve the aromatics separately.


texts: Prepare something with unopened milk that sat outside the fridge?

texts:
Unopened pasteurized milk sitting outside the fridge for 12 hours. It's now in the fridge and not yet open. To be on the safe side, will not be consumed as normal. Can something be made out of it? It's not a matter of cost - just of principle.

The question is not at all a duplicate of How long does it take for milk to spoil unrefrigerated? because it's about a way to make use of milk that won't be used in a normal way due to potential spoiling. Are there not dairy products that make use of fermentation? Is that not "spoiling"?


texts: Why is "raw" honey thicker than the one you buy in regular super markets?

texts: I tried some honey I got at a farmer's market and noticed it was really thick compared to regular honey you buy at any supermarket.


texts: How can I teach someone to taste for the correct amount of salt in a dish?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How much salt should I add to a dish?

After so many years of cooking, I can usually taste a dish and adjust it to find that point where the salt is just enough to bring out all the flavors without crossing over into oversalted. I find that I have a difficult time communicating that art to others. Are there any exercises or tricks I can teach people to learn this all important skill?


texts: Food Timing: Keeping Bacon Warm While Cooking With Bacon Fat Made from Said Bacon

texts:
The Situation:

Guy decides he wants to make bacon and potato cubes (I can't think of a better term) for breakfast.
Guy wants to cook potatoes in bacon fat
Guy cooks bacon and places bacon on paper towels to dry off
Guy cooks potatoes in left over bacon fat
By the time potatoes are done (20 mins or so), the bacon is cold :(

What can be done to remedy this? Should I just wrap the bacon in tin-foil? I've yet to fully master "timing" when it comes to cooking two different parts of a meal at the same time


texts: Dissolving xylitol in a raw, home-made chocolate

texts:
I was doing a home-made, raw chocolate, made of:

raw cocoa powder
raw cocoa butter
xylitol, substituting sugar

The problem was that xylitol was not dissolving well in the butter. One could feel tiny grains of it in the chocolate and also during the process it slowly settled at the bottom of the melted chocolate. I'd say the same problem would exist with sugar, as they are water-soluble, not fat-soluble.

Is there a way/trick how to dissolve xylitol in chocolate properly?


texts:
I was told by someone that rice vinegar was not suitable to be used in a salad dressing.

Can only certain types of vinegars be used for salads?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How can you melt chocolate without it getting wet?

When tempering chocolate over a water bath, how can I avoid getting any droplets of water into the chocolate?  These water droplets will cause the chocolate to seize!


texts:
I have just started my journey of testing and experimenting with a recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Torte. I really want to surprise my wife with a version of this classic that is like the one that she loves from a fancy restaurant. The description from the one from the restaurant is as follows:  "a rich flourless torte made with dark callebaut chocolate from Belgium finished with lightly whipped cream and fresh raspberry coulis."

Listed here is the first recipe that I tried.  It was, however, disappointing since it was more like a fudge cake.

What can one do to make a flourless chocolate torte so that it does not turn out like fudge by the forkful?  Are there any techniques that I, perhaps, could have messed up?  Is it better to use powdered cocoa along with melted chocolate?  Any help and even alternate recipes would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
I like to cook rice gruel every now and then; however I usually encounter a basic problem.

First off, my rough procedure:

Mix (sticky) rice flour and water homogeneously
Pour into cooking pot (possibly hot, doesn't seem to make much of a difference)
Stir thouroughly during cooking, try not to go too high with the temperature so nothing burns.

What I have observed:

At a certain rice-water ratio, i.e. if I favor rice strong enough in the mixture, my gruel will very quickly turn into a blob of quite viscous mass, that has the undesirable property of not cooking evenly, so that I'm left raw patches of dough.

I have tried stirring the blob for a long time, but I'm not even sure of whether to use higher heat levels or lower ones; the predicament seems to be

Too much heat leads to burning (if not the blob, then the layer sticking to the bottom; too much burning there and everything tastes burnt)
Too little heat: Not enough heat dissipates into the inner parts of the blob.

I'm not yet sure how to avoid this in the best way; does anybody have a good general procedure?

Oh yeah, my specs:

Glass-top stove
Stainless steel pot
Lotsa love


texts: I have an induction cooker like the one in the image below. Is it safe to place it on a wooden table?


texts: How to avoid elephant skin on no-knead bread?

texts:
When I make my no-knead bread, the bottom of the bread always becomes extremely thick - almost like the skin of an african elephant.

I bake the bread in an IKEA 365+ pot made of stainless steel. The bottom of the pot is quite thin.

Do you experience something similar when baking and do you have any suggestions on how to avoid breaking the teeth on my guests?

My recipe:

600 g flour (I have tried all variants)
5-6 dl water
A small hand of salt
A pea of yeast

Dissolve the yeast in some water. Add flour. Add the rest of the water. Add salt. Mix the ingredients well. Wait for 12 hours. Pre-heat the oven and the pot to 275°C. Take out the pot, open it and add the mixture. Put it in the oven. Wait for 30 minutes. Take of the top of the pot. Wait for 15 minutes.

Take out the pot and take out the bread. Eat it now if you like hot bread, or wait 20-30 minutes if you want the bread to become less moist.


texts: What are the tradeoffs replacing sucrose / table sugar with pure granulater dextrose / glucose?

texts:
All,

I'm researching a substitute for fructose-bearing table sugar.  Glucose is potentially interesting from a health standpoint.  Glucose is only 70% as sweet as table sugar (sucrose) which is a mix of glucose and fructose, so one tradeoff is to use a larger quantity or resolve to a less sweet taste.

What are the other tradeoffs when using glucose instead of table sugar?  Does it caramelize the same?  Does it bake the same?

Thanks!

JDelage


texts: Can I use Maida atta instead of plain flour for breading?

texts: So guys I want to make a dish called Crispy Chicken Burger patties and in the recipe it is prescribed to coat the chicken in plain flour to make it crispy so I wanted to ask if I can use Maida atta as a substitute. Thanks in advance.


texts: Would a cast iron pot work well for chili? If so, why?

texts:
Is there anything to the cliched image of the big ol' cast iron pot filled with fiery chili?

We have some cast-iron skillets and love them, but I've heard that you're not supposed to cook tomatoes (possibly because they're acidic?) and beans (I have no idea why) in cast iron. I have a 3-quart pot I'm thinking about using as a test.

Does properly seasoned cast iron flavor the chili any differently? (I assume not, but anything else you cooked in that pot would taste faintly of chili.)
Does cast iron perhaps allow the pot to heat more evenly?
Would you season such a pot differently, or simply season it the way one would season any cast iron cookware?


texts: How do you properly clean a cutting board and knife to prevent cross contamination?

texts:
I have one very nice cutting board that I like to use with my chef's knife.  Because I only use this single cutting board and chef's knife, if I have a recipe that calls for cutting raw meat as well as vegetables, I have to take turns with the same board and knife.  However, I'm always concerned that I haven't done enough to clean them after working with the meat before moving on the vegetables.

What do I need to do to properly clean the cutting board and knife to make sure that I avoid cross contaminating my tools?


texts: Baking in drinking glasses -- heat vs. logo paint, other issues

texts:
I've made this chocolate Guinness cake (Nigella Lawson) before.  It's delicious and looks good.  But it would look even better baked in pint glasses (or half pint).  It's a moist, slow-baking cake so should be fairly forgiving on cooking time.What should I consider before doing the experiment?  Things I have thought of:

The glass breaking from heat.

Obviously this is a risk.  I believe it would be a small risk if I place the glasses on a cold, thick baking sheet so they warm gradually without thermal shock.  If anyone has tried this and proved me wrong, I'd like to know.
Paint on the glass.

Best of all would be to use a Guinness glass.  But what would happen to the painted logo in the oven?

What haven't I thought of?


texts: How Does a Grocery Store "Self-Rising Crust" Work

texts:
As far as I understand, frozen pizzas sold at the grocery store are par-baked and then frozen, to be fully baked when they are put into your oven at home.

I noticed that some of these pizzas describe themselves as having a "rising crust."  Those crusts get quite tall, an inch or an inch and a half (probably about 3-5 cm).  My homemade thin crust pizza is maybe half that height.

Yet these crusts have much more in common with a thin crust pizza than a Chicago style, or the not-too-tasty bread-y imitation of Chicago-style that passes in most Chicago-style recipes and at some chain restaurants.

How do these pizzas work?  I have trouble seeing how they could rise after par-baking, so are they not par-baked?  How could I duplicate this crust from scratch?


texts: Georgian dumplings (khinkali) sticking to the bottom of the pot

texts:
Khinkali are boiled meat dumplings from the Georgian cuisine. They're formed putting about a spoonful of ground pork+beef meat with water and spices in the center of a few millimeters thick dough disk which is then sealed perfectly with a number of folds that depend on the ability of the cook and then cooked into boiling water until they float.
The dough contains water, flour, egg and salt.

Rolling the dough disks it happens that some flour gets on it, especially when the disks are prepared beforehand. Of course, a way to prevent them from sticking to each other in the pot would be not to cook too many at a time, but how can the excess flour on the exterior surface affect their possible sticking to the bottom of the pot?

The consequences of this would be of course breaking and losing the inside juice that is part of their eating experience.


texts:
I just found a lovely recipe to make a super crusty bread in my dutch oven.  The texture is lovely and the crust is fantastic! However, the bread didn't rise much and the flavor is a little flat.

The recipe is

6 cups flour
3/4 tsp yeast
2 1/2 tsp sea salt
3 1/2 cups water.

I think if I add sugar and mix with the yeast and water I'll have a better rise and better flavor.  I would like to add a fat to add more flavor as well.  I don't know enough about food science to know the ratios and what the impact of those additions might be.  Any suggestions would be great.  Thanks,


texts: I recently attempted to make this gelato recipe which required procuring some special ingredients (liquid glucose and powdered dextrose). I had high hopes for a very silky-smooth, creamy gelato. I followed the instructions closely, except I did not cool the mixture over an ice bath (I let it come to room temperature then put it in the fridge). But the result after churning and freezing was a very icy mixture that resembled more of a sorbet. The flavor was good but texture obviously off. I assumed this stemmed from the 100ml of brewed espresso which has a rather high water content, but this doesn’t seem to be too different from other coffee-flavored ice cream recipes. Any ideas of where I went wrong?


texts: How quickly can chicken stock turn sour?

texts:
So, I made a pot of chicken stock (which I've never done before) and it seemed to be going great! I roasted a whole young chicken, pulled the meat off, and tossed those bones into a pot with a couple more skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts, some chicken thighs, and some onions, garlic, and shallot.

I wasn't following a particular recipe, but used Chef John's recipes for the basic technique. I left it simmering until around 16 hours because I got distracted, and have read that letting a stock simmer too long can result in bitterness, but that didn't happen.

I forgot to let the stock sit and cool for an hour before straining as the recipe says, but I can't imagine how that would negatively impact the stock...

I tasted it when I strained it, hot, and it tasted fine! I decided to transfer the now-strained stock to a clean pot and reduce it so it would fit in my storage containers. But when I went back and tasted it after it had returned to a simmer, it had a very noticeable sour taste.

I went online and tried to see what could make a chicken stock turn sour literally as it's cooking, but I can't find anything. The only information I've been able to find doesn't really apply here: I didn't even let the stock cool before straining it and returning it to the heat. I really can't imagine any lacto-friends gaining a foothold in the maybe 30 minutes max the stock was off the heat.

Literally everything I've found has said that chicken stock will turn bitter if overcooked. Can it turn sour instead of bitter? What on earth would make it do that?

I'll use this stuff for hot and sour soup I guess, but I'd like to know what I can do to avoid this in the future. Is it most likely because of how long it cooked? Or is there a reason you need to cool the stock before straining it?

UPDATE: I poured a couple tablespoons in a ramekin to cool ASAP just to see what if anything would change and.... the sourness is gone? Or greatly reduced? It still smells good, still tastes chicken-y, but that sourness is still present in the larger, still-warm container.


texts: Waay too much baking soda, can I salvage these tea buscuits somehow?

texts: I baked something from the 2014 Canadian Milk Calendar's April page, cheddar onion tea buscuits, but I didn't have cream of tartar nor baking powder, and in a rush I substituted far too much baking powder (double what the recipe called for.)  They turned out fine rising-wise, and taste great, until the weird stinging aftertaste (more of an during-feel, I guess) hits you.  What could I top these with or dip them in that would counteract that so that I don't have to throw the rest of them out?


texts:
I came across this in the context of low-carb chicken pie filling, in other words without a flour/roux base. Is there a name for a sauce that starts with low & slow-cooked onions?

Asking for a friend ... really ;-)

Thanks.


texts: What technique is used to remove the bubbles and big hole from swiss rolls?

texts: I would like to make a Swiss roll without big holes. The skin has to be smooth and beautiful - no bubble and holes. Do you have any technique or suggestion on this?


texts: What are the differences between different types of onions, and when do you use them?

texts:
I used a recipe for a mean black-eyed-pea salad this past weekend which called for a red onion.  Since I wanted extra onion flavor in the salad anyway, I decided to pick up a Vidalia onion to throw in as well.

As I was prepping the salad, I got thinking that I didn't know why the original recipe called for a red onion and what adding a different type of onion would do to the salad.

What do different types of onions add to a recipe and when might it be best to use type over another?


texts:
I want to cook with wine as the recipe I want to make calls for it. However I cannot have any alcohol in me because I have to drive and my country calls for a 0 BAC.
The recipe uses 750ml of wine, 1 cup of water and no other significant source of fluid. Most of the cooking time the dish is supposed to be covered tightly to reduce boil-off and around 250ml of the wine is only added 10 minutes before the end.
Will all of the alcohol evaporate in the 2 hours it simmers for? Or is there an alternative to using Chianti.
Recipe:
Ingredients

3 to 3 1/2 lbs boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 TB olive oil
1 bottle (750ml) Chianti
1 cup water
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
3 stalks celery, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
10 cloves garlic, chopped
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 TB unflavored gelatin powder (I use Knox brand)
1 TB tomato paste
1 tsp anchovy paste (don’t skip this)
2 tsp cornstarch

Steps

Pat dry cut-up beef well, using paper towels.Toss beef with salt in a bowl and let stand at room temp 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position.
In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat until starts smoking. Add half of the beef in a single layer and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 min total, reducing heat if it begins to burn.
Stir in 2 cups wine, water, onion, carrots, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, pepper, gelatin powder, tomato paste, anchovy paste, and all remaining beef. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to simmer. Cover tightly with foil, followed by lid (helps retain moisture.) Transfer to hot oven and cook until beef is tender, about 2 hours.
In a bowl, whisk the remaining wine with the cornstarch until dissolved. Add to the pot of braised beef. Place pot on stovetop and bring to a boil over medium high heat; immediately reduce to simmer. Simmer (low boil) uncovered, stirring,10 minutes. Should be somewhat thickened. Season with additional kosher salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
Serve with crusty bread, rice, noodles, or potatoes.


texts: What preservative can I use to can my hot sauce

texts:
I've made hot sauce for my family using the following ingredients:

peppers
onions
garlic
tomatoes
salt

And I would like to try canning it. What can I use instead of vinegar to preserve it. I really don’t like vinegar in my hot sauce at all.


texts: Is it safe to eat a cake with semi spoiled lemon rind?

texts: I made a lemon cake and used a little bit of lemon rind. I had the lemon in my fruit basket for around a month, it still had it's shape and colour so I thought it was alright and decided to bake a lemon cake so I grated some lemon rind. Once I cut the lemon in half, a little section of it turned to a light brown colour so I discarded it. The cake has come out of the oven and tastes fine, although a little bitter from the lemon rind. Is it safe to eat? The lemon was only a little bit spoiled.


texts: Can something have more sugar per 100g than the percentage of sugar that's in it?

texts:
If this is the wrong place to ask this, please direct me to the correct place.

I am a big fan of cereal, and I like to eat a fair amount, but don't like to have too much sugar. I recently started eating Shreddies, which claims to have only 13g of sugar per 100g.

However, (and this is where my question arises), on the box of cereal, as well as in the nutrition information, it states that 96% of Shreddies is whole grain wheat, and also on the box it says that 96.2g of whole grain goes into every 100g.

How can it be, that they say that 96% of the product is wheat, but also somehow that there is 13g of sugar in every 100g? Surely it shouldn't be possible for there to be more than maybe 6g of sugar?

Where does the other grams come from? I know whole grain wheat doesn't have that much natural sugar in it so I don't understand how they can say there is 96g of whole grain wheat for every 100g in Shreddies, but also somehow say that there's 13g of sugar in every 100g, which seems to be a contradiction.

Please could someone educate me on this, tyvm.


texts: Why does batter often taste sweeter than the baked product?

texts:
If taste cake or quick bread (zuchini, banana, etc...) batter I find that it very often tastes quite a bit sweeter than the finished and baked product.

What happend during baking that reduces the sweetness?


texts:
How do I store bought-warm corn tortillas to keep fresh longer?

reheating tortillas has been discussed here
After refridgerating 24hrs, a quick reheat in micowave or on griddle yielded a pliable tortilla for tacos. 48hrs in fridge, Fat-free reheating methods yielded a flacky easily-cracked-when-folded taco.
Absolutely didn't let them dry out.

Room temp storage or other tips for keeping fresh longer?

Will hold off on frying to soften as long as possible


texts: Can you make fish broth with just fish flesh — no bones or heads?

texts:
When I ate a fish stew some years ago in a Hong Kong restaurant, the dish had no bones. The broth was made from giant grouper. Do you know if bones were used?
No local grocers sell fish bones. And I don't want to buy fish heads...the appearance of fish heads just dismays me. I live in the U.S.


texts: Granulated, hardened homemade caramel sauce

texts: Can hard granulated caramel sauce (supposed to be sauce) be remelted and used?  don't know why it hardened.


texts: How much weight of a whole life chicken is a supermarket whole chicken?

texts: If you buy a whole chicken in the supermarket it is defeathered, without head and feet and with the inner organs removed (sometimes you get some organs in a bag but I'm going to ignore that for this question). What I would like to know is how much, in terms of weight of a living chicken is a whole supermarket chicken? How much weight are the various pieces that are removed? If this makes a difference, assume the supermarket chicken weighs 1.5 kgs (a little over 3 pounds).


texts: How to compensate for citric acid in hard candy?

texts:
We're working on the most sour hard candy on earth. Here's the basic recipe: 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup of water, 1/4 cup corn syrup, 3.2ml flavor (one small Lorann drum). Once the composition gets to 300F we take it of the stove, transfer into a cold container, quickly mix in 1-3 teaspoon of citric acid and pour it over a plastic mold.

The problem we're having is that the more citric acid we add to it will make it softer. Is there a way to compensate for the additional citric acid by mixing in something else? (more sugar, corn syrup perhaps?).

It'd appreciate if somebody can explain the chemistry behind the binding of sugar and citric acid.


texts: How can I store muscovado for longer once opened?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to store brown sugar without it becoming hard?

Muscovado always comes in packs much larger than needed for most recipes, and even though I keep it in as airtight container as possible, I find it goes very, very hard. How can I prolong its shelf life?


texts: Is anyone aware of cast iron pots and pans that are enameled on the exterior with plain cast iron (no enamel, no non-stick) interiors?

texts: Looking for a brand of cast iron pans that is enameled on the outside, but with a bare iron interior. In other words no enamel, no ceramic, no non-stick on the inside. (so it is less likely to scratch an induction cooktop)


texts:
I thought that soaking fruit in whiskey would be tasty so last night, I filled a mason jar with pear pieces and filled it up with Jack Daniels.

What is the optimal amount of time this should be soaking?
Is it better to soak it refrigerated or at room temperature?
Are some types of liquor better than others for this? Clear (vodka) or colored (whiskey)? Should I use higher proof liquor (e.g. 90-100 proof whiskey).


texts: Ways to separate kefir grains from thickened kefir, how big are the kefir grains?

texts:
I'm super-new to the kefir business ^_^ been making it at home for a week from a batch of grains my neighbor left me when his batch overgrew.

So, I'm fond of the idea to make kefir more thick, more alcoholic, more sparkly (cheese beer yay!), and better to make cheese & whey out of it, and I don't like the milky taste kefir often has, at least that's my ambition.

Also, I believe my jar is a bit too small for the amount of Kefir I have, the apartment is around 20-23 degrees celzius and it ripens after 24h really well, the neighbor suggested keeping it 24h outside, 24h in the fridge.

My dilemma is in the filtration process of the kefir grains from the rest of the mix:

if I use a fine strainer I basically separate cheese & kefir grains from whey and getting the kefir grains out of the cheese is then a delicate matter that I'm not sure I can do with reliable consistency (knowing myself),
if I use a broad grained strainer then I believe some of the (young?) kefir grains go out because the resulting kefir is a bit grainy, and I don't know if it's due to tiny new kefir grains, or due to the nature of the cheese

I guess my question is, "how big are the kefir grains" and filtration would I guess be an obvious thing after that.

Thank you all :)

EDIT 1: How can I make my kefir milk smooth and creamy instead of watery and grainy? this gives some clues on what I may do better and suggests that the grains I'm seeing are from the milk, not from the kefir grains, still the general question of separation remains...


texts: How do you know how much garlic to add to a dish and in what form?

texts:
I always shy away from using garlic because it is such a wild card. It burns easily, and how you chop, dice or grate it has a MAJOR effect on flavor so there is not much reference experience from cooking recipes since every one chops the garlic differently. The cloves also differ in sizes so telling me to "put 2 cloves" seems too inaccurate. As a result I am too passive with my garlic usage and as a result it never shows on the dish so I just drop it altogether.

What should I do to take control over the garlic and master when and how it should be added to a dish?


texts: What type of wok apparatus is depicted in this home?

texts: The following looks like a standalone burner, not just a wok ring. What is it called? What would the power output be like? Where can I find more information?


texts: How can I thicken my smoothie without frozen ingredients?

texts:
I like thick drinks and I cannot lie.
You other posters can't deny,
That when a shake pours out, all watery and fast
My first thought is "that's just nast(ay)"

Normally, I put in my smoothies a combination of the following:

4-5 med. Strawberries
½ Banana
½(?) cup baby spinach
Rhubarb
Hemp milk
Other seasonal fruits/vegetables
Cocoa powder

I'm also going to experiment with adding things from this list:

Home-made hemp milk (from hemp hearts)
Flax seeds
Small portions of avocado
Tofu

So far, the smoothies have come out with the texture of chocolate milk. I'd like it to be a bit thicker, but I have some very interesting food allergies/intolerance. I'd also like to keep the beverage nearer to room temperature at the time of preparation/consumption.

I cannot consume any of the following items I've found online for thickening:

Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum (other polysaccharides)
Dairy (both cow and goat make me ill, I'm not trying others)
Whey, Pea, or other bean/lentil-based protein powders
Anything considered High-FODMAP

What other methods are there to thicken a smoothie, with neither dairy, nor frozen items?

More FODMAP information:

Examples of low/high fodmap foods
Wikipedia: FODMAP with more reference links


texts: Is eating rice well after its use-by date a bad idea?

texts:
I got a "Paella kit" for my birthday recently. It consists of a pan, some rice, some spices, and some instructions.

Unfortunately, upon inspecting the rice packet I see that its "best before" date is June 2015 (ie. about 8 months ago).

Rice isn't particularly expensive, so should I just replace it? (Rather than possibly dying a horrible death?).

The rice is "Spanish Rice special for Paella".

If it is not OK to eat, what sort of rice should I substitute for "Paella rice"?


texts: How much foreign substance can I add to processed cheese?

texts:
Recently, I decided to make myself a soup with a new kind of cheese nockerln. For the nockerln, I wanted to make nut-mushroom cheese.

I used roughly equal amounts of emmentaler, portobellos (pureed) and hazelnut flour, with some heavy cream, some gluten and a pinch of lecithin. The mixture turned out very soft and very gritty, even after prolonged refrigeration. The taste was good, but the texture was all wrong. I was aware that the end result would be softer than pure emmentaler, but I wanted it to be something which can be picked up without smearing (harder than the usual wedges of processed cheese).

Is there a good guideline/chart for what amount of proteins, solids, fat and water can I add to cheese to get a certain firmness of the final product?


texts: Is my pressure cooker good for the trash bin?

texts:
Some serious meat burning occurred in my cooker, and now some of the material on the surface of the bottom of the cooker is gone:

Still usable?


texts: I use my oven a lot to bake things and roast vegetables, usually at 350 or 400 F. It stays hot for a while afterwards, and it seems like such a waste to not somehow use that heat. Are there any dishes or kitchen maintenance things I can do with an off-but-still-hot oven?


texts: if you fry nuts in vegetable shortening is there still nut allergy risk?

texts: Nut allergies present in vegetable shortening from Frying pecans or does it dissipate?


texts: Is creamed butter stable for mid or long term storage?

texts:
I find creaming butter a pretty annoying process.
I would like to make lots of it at once and aliquot for later use.
Is creamed butter less stable than butter? You wouldn't think so because you are mixing 2 ingredients which virtually have no water (butter and sugar). Does it separate over time?
If indeed it is stable, is there a reason why grocery stores do not sell it?


texts: How to decorate a cake so that the icing is smooth?

texts: I am a self taught baker love to make birthday cakes now I have been asked to make a wedding cake for september. Could you please help me to get the sides of my cakes nice and smooth before icing.  Do I start of with a big cake and cut smaller ?


texts: Do all varieties of cocoa naturally taste bitter?

texts:
Very simple question. I bought some roasted cocoa seeds and tasted them, they have a slight "bitter" flavour and not "sweet" as I imagined when I was a kid.

Now, chocolate is made by adding sugar to the cacao powder (obtained from the seeds). I am wondering if there are any varieties of "cacao plants" that produce naturally sweet cacao :).


texts: Why is my fried chicken batter soggy underneath?

texts:
I dipped the chicken breasts in buttermilk, then a mixture of flour and potato starch, before frying at 390F for 3 mins. The chicken breasts were sous vide beforehand so the deep-frying step was just to give it the crust.

However, I have noticed that the batter skin is always soggy underneath:


texts: Sealed Philadelphia cream cheese left out overnight, is it still safe to eat?

texts:
Bought it a the groceries store, and forgot it in the groceries bag.

So it was left at room temperature, in the original sealed container for around 12 hours.

Given that cheese should usually be refrigerated, is this product still safe to eat?


texts:
I would like to start drinking green tea regularly.

Unfortunately I am much more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker.  On top of my general apathy towards tea I happen to think that green tea in particular tastes rather like grass.  This seems worse when I oversteep it, but I pretty much always taste an unpalatable flavor.  I have even experienced this flavor with green tea that contains other herbs for other flavor notes.  Since I have good reasons for drinking green tea at the moment, I'm trying to get around them.

At the moment I'm masking the flavor with sugar, sometimes lemon juice, and non-dairy creamer.  Is there something else that will counter the grassy flavor or at least mute it?  If there is, why does it work?


texts:
I only have a blender, and was wondering if you could make cake batter in a blender. Till now I've been mixing by hand, but I have a recipe that calls for creaming sugar and oil, and I don't know how to do that by hand.

Can cake batter be made in a blender? Does the process need to be altered somehow? Are there things to look out for?


texts: Pineapple store bought can pops when opening, is it safe?

texts: When opening a store bought can of pineapple, it popped loudly.  Is it safe to eat?


texts: The quiet surface of a cup of tea always seems to be covered by a thin, immovable film, even when convection currents are still moving things around inside the liquid at some speed. The surface reflects light a bit like oil. When touching the film with a spoon it seems to crack like ice, and adheres to the spoon in flakes as a brown substance. What is this substance? Is it the main component of what stains tea cups? Does it come from the tea, or is it from the water, made visible by the colour of the tea?


texts:
I found some recipes like this one for orange cake where the oranges are cooked in whole for 45 minutes up to two hours before they get pureed.

What does cooking oranges do to them - does it remove the bitterness of some layers of the peel?
Is there a recommended cooking time?
Will this work with other citrus fruits too?


texts: How to make marshmallow ice cream topping without it hardening in the icecream

texts: My favorite flavor icecream is chocolate marshmallow swirl but the only brand I know of that makes it is Turkey Hill and I can't find it outside of Pennsylvania. I live in California now so that's a problem. I've tried to add my own kind of marshmallow topping but it always hardens in the icecream. Does anyone have a remedy for this? Thank you


texts: How to estimate amount of all purpose flour for roux?

texts:
I was making some roux for white sauce for pasta and followed instructions to the dot. (All purpose flour == butter == 4tbsp. 2 cups milk.) But the milk was very very thin (the only variant we get around here) and I ended up with a very thick sauce.

Is there any way I can estimate when to stop adding the flour (which I predict the culprit for any inconsistency in the sauce)?

I usually

Heat butter
Add small amounts of flour and stir while adding some milk simultaneously.


texts: How do I prepare tofu so comes out like at Noodles & co

texts: I really enjoy the texture of the tofu in the pad thai with tofu dish at Noodles and Company. In particular, it comes out much firmer than it does when I make tofu at home by cubing it and cooking it in a pan with vegetable oil. How do I prepare the tofu so it comes out in a similar way?


texts: How do you determine whether a chocolate is sweet or semisweet?

texts:
A chocolate gingerbread cookie recipe asks for:

  7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate

The chocolates I can get hold of are:
1. http://www.cadburyindia.com/in/en/brands/chocolate/pages/csmkuchmeethahojaaye.aspx
2. http://www.amul.com/products/chocolate.php

These two brands have many varieties of chocolates (as shown in the links), but I feel all of them are equally sweet!

What is considered less sweet and what is considered more sweet?
Which one should I choose among them?

P.S. Well, the dark chocolate is ofcourse not that sweet, it is bitter, I know. But it is bitter, so can't use that?


texts:
Basic ginger soy sauce:

Mostly soy sauce, grated ginger, scallions, some rice wine.

Some people find it too salty. What other liquids could I combine with the soy to end up with something a bit less salty in the same space? Just cranking up the rice wine isn't very attractive.


texts: Gas grill: soaked wood chips vs. dry wood chips

texts: I have a gas grill and want to get some good smoke flavor in a pork shoulder I am cooking. I've done some looking around for the best way to use wood chips and have found conflicting ideas about if you should soak them or not. Does soaking the chips do something other than adding time to getting to the initial smoke?


texts: How do I tone down the intensity of raw onion?

texts:
How can I tone down the intensity of raw onion?
Some onions have a more acute taste and smell than others of the same type, and I would like to avoid them in salad dish, or making dips with raw onion. If effectively none, an alternative solution that can also be helpful is to find out what condiments can I add/mix with raw onion to cancel out the intensity of the the acute taste.

[EDIT]
There is a uniquely (IMHO) sweet taste to onion that I like. But accompany with that is the acute scene and flavor to it that I wanted to get ride of. I do not want to waste away the taste of onion, but remove the acuteness and remain the sweetness.


texts: Can I "re-caramelize" meat after a failed braising attempt?

texts:
I am cooking a meat stew with a delicious, fatty bunch of oxtails. Initially when browning the meat, I didn't get a sufficient amount of caramelized glaze around the oxtails and none of the fat melted into the stew.

Is it possible to pull out the meat for a second sear, browning it thoroughly then reducing with the stew? Are there better ways to "save" the stew?


texts: How much should a poolish increase in size?

texts:
I am making a bread recipe(White Flour with Poolish), according to Ken Forkish's  Flour Water Salt Yeast. In the recipe, he indicates that the poolish should "triple in volume." When I tried making it the poolish increased in volume but not three-fold,; it is bubbly. Is there something wrong? What could possibly be causing this? I am using white wheat flour that has a 10% protein content, should I go for one higher?

The poolish recipe I am using is: 250g white flour, 250g water(27C), and 0.2g instant yeast. It has a 12 hour fermentation period.


texts: will a mortar and pestle be sufficient to grind fish bones?

texts:
As the question states.  I believe a mortar and pestle is more for things like nuts, seeds etc.  is that the case or will it easily make fish bones e.g. sprats, sardines into small particles?If there is a specific  material of mortar and pestle I need?

Just to add, when answering this question you should imagine the bones are raw or have been boiled for 20 minutes i.e. not fried, pressure cooked or other methods. i know for example fried sardine bones crush easily, but i doubt raw or boiled bones break easily.


texts: Is it safe to blend seeded grapes without removing seeds?

texts:
It's doubtless unproductive and wearisome to remove seeds from each seeded grape before placing each into a blender. But if I don't remove seeds, can the seeds:

mangle or mar the blender blades?
chip or shatter the blender's container/jar?


texts: Liquid sloshing around in vacuum-packed mussels?

texts: Loblaws sells these vaccuum-sealed mussels. When I pick them up with hand, I see much liquid sloshing inside.  Is this normal? Or something wrong with mussels?


texts: What direction must one stir molten chocolate?

texts:
I vividly remember molten chocolate was supposed to be stirred in one direction; there was even a name for this procedure. My friend, who used to work (sales) at a large Belgian chocolate factory, told me that as far as he could remember this had to do with the 'shinyness' of the chocolate. When stirred in the wrong direction they'd lose a couple of hours to try and 'salvage' the batch (which was then used for lower-end products).

Sadly I forgot the name, because I always figured just googling it would shower me with results. However I can't find anything (except forum-posts that that confirm my recollection but don't give an answer other than 'who cares, it ends up in your stomach anyway').

So, what direction (clock-wise or counter-clock-wise), and how is this called again?


texts: What kind of mushroom goes well with Tandoori Chicken on a pizza?

texts:
I was thinking of making a pizza with the following ingredients which I found on reddit.com.  I'm looking for a dream team of herbs, spices and mushrooms to complete this.

Sun dried tomato and garlic sauce
Extra Cheese
Onions
Mushroom
Roquito Peppers
Tandoori Chicken
Chorizo (Optional)
Herbs

What kind of mushrooms would you use?  I was also wondering if anyone had any ideas for the herbs besides fresh basil, and oregano?