texts: Are there cheeses that are not suitable for making for macaroni and cheese?

texts:
I've noticed that american and gruyere are dominant cheeses recommended in mac and cheese recipes. I assume this has to do with their mild flavors and ability to melt somewhat quickly.
But what is to prevent someone from using cheeses like parmesan or blue cheese? Is there a criteria for what constitutes an optimal mac-and-cheese cheese?


texts: In Halwa, Milk tea, cake, Indian sweets, and Custard can white sugar be replaced with Jaggery?

texts:
Out of

Halwa (Gajar ka halwa, gajrela, a sweet dessert pudding from grated carrot, water, milk and sugar),
Indian Barfi (barfee, burfi, a dense milk based sweet confectionery from the Indian Subcontinent),
Custard (a cooked mixture of milk and/or cream and egg yolk; or made from readymade custard powder),
Milk tea, Cake, ...

in which items can white sugar be replaced with Jaggery (traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar)?


texts: When should you sweat mirepoix, and when should you sauté it?

texts: The ingredients of mirepoix are consistently described as onion, carrot and celery in a 2:1:1 ratio, but there isn't much consistency advice on how to cook it. Most recipes I've found say to sauté it, while most articles I've found on mirepoix itself recommend sweating it. What determines whether you sweat or sauté mirepoix?


texts: What does leftover rendered chicken skin consist of?

texts:
After rendering chicken skin, a lot of the fat is released and you're left over with crispy pieces of chicken skin.

What is the remaining crispy skin composed of? Protein, fat, or both?


texts: How do we keep our roasted cashews from smelling bad eventually?

texts: We are from a small manufacturing unit and do roasting and packing of cashews. After roasting we pack them in polypropylene pouches with nitrogen flushing. But after 2-3 months cashews are smelling bad when packets are opened. Kindly help us learn how to overcome this issue.


texts:
I want to cook a big batch of food and store it in the freezer. Mainly these meals consist of vegetables and chicken. When I want to eat the meal I will take it out of the freezer and defrost it. The problem is sometimes I forget to do this. Can I cook these frozen meals in the oven and how do I do this?
These are not store bought Frozen TV Dinners but diners I make myself.


texts:
I have made a carrot cake several times, and I like the way the cake turns out but I want it to have more spice flavors. The recipe only calls for 1 tsp of cinnamon, but since I want it to have more spice flavors I have tried adding varying combinations of the following spices:

cloves
allspice
nutmeg

I have tried amounts between 1/2 tsp and 1 tsp of each of the above spices but it seems the taste is always the same - good but not spicy enough. I'm afraid to go too far overboard and ruin a good cake, so does anyone have any suggestions on how much to add or other spices that would help the cake be more spicy?


texts: How to cut a cake that was baked in a pie pan?

texts: I'm trying to make layers with my ice-cream cake but I need it to be even and straight on the top and the sides, since there will be a significant cake dome. However, I do not have a proper cake pan. Do you have any tips on how to do this?


texts: Is ginger a good substitute for galangal in Thai green curry?

texts:
Is fresh ginger a good substitute for galangal in a Thai Green curry? (I cannot get fresh galangal here anywhere)

Would I use less or more ginger than galangal quantity?


texts:
I cooked up a bunch of beef to slice into luncheon meat, and did some reading afterwards... and have decided that I want the meat to be brined, so it is more tender and moist, like the storebought stuff.

...except, I already cooked it. I now know that the brining should be done before it is cooked, and that is what really helps with moisture retention. But would I pick up any of the benefit by brining it now? Thanks!


texts: Making salted caramel popcorn - how can I remove the bitter flavour?

texts:
We've been following a Gordon Ramsay video to make salted caramel popcorn a couple of times, and it usually turns out pretty nice, except that the salted caramel has got a distinct bitter taste. I think it's from the bicarbonate of soda - Gordon recommends using half a teaspoon. We use a little less than half, but it still tastes bitter.

Can we cut out the bicarb completely? Will it ruin the salted caramel if we don't include it, or is there something we can substitute it for that will make the popcorn taste less bitter?


texts: What type of sauce is appropriate for a dry-aged prime steak?

texts:
Yesterday I purchased some dry aged prime strip steaks from my beloved Wegmans.  This will be the first time I will have the opportunity to eat (as far as I know) and cook prime beef.  With that in mind how should I sauce my beautiful meat?

Typically I cook my steaks sous vide to 130 degrees and then salt and pepper with a cast iron sear.  If I'm going to make a pan sauce I finish in my enamelled cast iron, deglaze with a dry red, some shallots, add some heavily reduced beef stock, and then finish with a pad of butter and demi glace.

This results in a very rich sauce which is delightful in its own right.  I'm concerned that I might be make a sauce that covers up this glorious beef.

Does anyone have any recommendations for my first time?

Things I'm particularly concerned with are:

What wine to use in the sauce - is high-end/vintage wine important, and what varieties might be best?
Should I seek out something a little more upscale than reduced Swanson beef broth?
Is this cut generally served sauced or unsauced?


texts:
I hope this isn't off base because I'm not asking for recipes, just suggestions that I might not have thought of.

I made a HUGE batch of roasted cherry salsa (like normal salsa but where all the ingredients except cilantro [but including the additional cherries] go on a grill for about 10 minutes in indirect heat (my husband always puts wood in with the charcoal so the salsa has a nice smoky flavor too).  It wasn't eaten as well as I'd thought (it was taken to a BBQ), leaving me with TONS of it.

I know I can freeze salsa.  Everything I've read says the thawed salsa loses its texture and is best to be incorporated into something.  It also says that it gets watery and the flavors all blend together.

OK, that sounds great, but then I think of spaghetti sauce, chili, lasagna, or soup.  None of those sound good with the addition of cherries.  I think I could make the roasted/smoky flavor work in any of those, but cherry spaghetti?  Or cherry chili?

I thought about a dessert pasta sauce (for chocolate pasta), but the garlic, cilantro, and major smoky taste veto that idea.  The only thing I can come up with is a borscht hybrid, but I'm not crazy about beets.

Does anyone have any suggestions that I might be able to incorporate my thawed roasted cherry salsa into?  Or are the reviews of thawed salsa not right and it really does taste good?

I did think about canning the leftover salsa, but it seems like that might make it lose more of its texture and flavor than freezing.


texts:
Instead of swelling as a whole loaf, my loaf will often expand in the oven off to the side or the bottom - looking 'blown out', a big tear.  This results in a loaf that leans to one side, doesn't rise well, or generally doesn't look good.

Why is this happening and what can I do about it?


texts: Open Fire Paella - do I need to fry rice?

texts:
I often cook a paella outside. I use chicken and prawns. Usually, I fry chicken for 30 mins to brown and cook first - then I remove it. Fry the prawns and remove them, then fry the sofrito. Once that is done I add the rice to fry it a little. Then everything goes back in plus the water.

My question is does frying the rice like this make much difference?

I notice that in "Paella Valencia" all ingredients are kept in the pan, water is added and boiled for a while to ensure chicken is cooked - then rice is added direct to the hot liquid(without frying first) in the pan.

Do you think you get as good a result - it's certainly much easier and uses less dishes!


texts: Off flavor whipped cream from an ISI charger

texts: Several times over the last year the whipped cream produced by the ISI whipped cream maker had an very off flavor.  Almost metallic.  All of the parts were cleaned with the same results.


texts: Why do recipes often use ingredients of a similar color together?

texts:
One thing I've noticed anecdotally is that a lot recipes is that recipes often use ingredients of matching colors (e.g., almost deliberately using lots of green ingredients together).

Is this a thing in cooking? Is this for visual appeal? Is it just biased sample of recipes I cook? Any insights would be appreciated!


texts:
My cake recipe calls for baking at 350°F for 55 minutes.
I had to bake it for 15-20 minutes longer for inside to be done.

Can I adjust the temperature to 360°F to bake for 55 minutes without burning the cake?


texts: What kind of homemade sandwich bread or wrap lasts longest?

texts: I want to prepare a homemade bread, wrap, pita, or tortilla-like food, something to make in advance on weekends, to later fill with typical sandwich fillings, such mayonnaise, cheese, sliced meat, and vegetables on the day that I want to eat it. A loaf of bread seems to last only a day, then it is too dry to eat and if stored in the freezer, it loses flavor. Is there any special kind of break, wrap, pita, or tortilla-like food that lasts for almost a whole week?


texts: How can I identify bad peanuts before using them?

texts: Every once in a while I encounter a bad peanut - too bitter and sour which overwhelms the peanut flavor.  (For example, when topping cookies with individual peanuts.)  Since I can't taste and then use each individual peanut, how can I identify the bad peanuts before I use them?


texts:
I get this truly awesome vinegar, BLack Vinegar, at some Asian grocery stores around Los Angeles. I have been saying its similar to Bragg liquid Aminos.

I have no idea what it's made out of,  does anyone know for a fact what it is?


texts: Inside of the cookies turn up soft, almost uncooked?

texts:
I don't know what temperatures I have to be using to bake cookies but I am following a European cookie recipe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LON4tuXR93A

The problem is I searched for the same recipe and found out many different ones with almost the same ingredients but their baking instructions vary wildly from cooking for 35 mins at 150C to cooking for 15 mins at 200C.

I am not sure what temp I have to use so I used 380F for 25 mins (+5 min preheat) that barely made the outer layer firm enough. It's not very hard but definitely formed a cookie shell which would be enough.

The problem is the inside of the cookies are very soft, almost like pre-baking.

Lastly I use baking paper and put the cookies on top of the pizza stone as I thought it wouldn't hurt to leave it. I read that it helps regulate heat throughout the oven.

In any case this is the ingredients:

350g sugar
150g almond flour
7 egg whites
almond extract


texts: Re-seasoning of cast iron skillet gone wrong?

texts:
So, we had some stir-fry burn up pretty badly in our trusted cast-iron skillet. Upon cleaning the skillet some of the coating came off with the burned food. I made a first attempt of re-seasoning it with avocado oil and putting it upside down in the oven for an hour at 375°F. The result was mediocre, there was some coating in the stripped areas but it didn't look like the rest of the surface, and you could see some bare metal shining through. Sure enough, food was sticking again to the stripped area.
My wife re-seasoned it again, this time following slightly different instructions that were on the internet: using olive oil and baking it for two hours right-side-up at 450°F. At the end of the process the skillet definitely had a new hard coating that was smooth and not sticky to the touch. However, there was an anomaly in the middle (probably around the same spot that got stripped originally, but we can't be sure). There was a raised ridge around the area, but the area inside the ridge still did appear to have a proper coating:

So, my question is: what went wrong here and how does it affect the usability of the skillet? Do we need to strip it and re-season it yet again? Can we ignore this anomaly? Is there anything we can do to prevent this sort of thing from happening?


texts: thick, crunchy, fluffy corn flakes breading

texts:
In student canteen one of dishes I'd frequently order were soy steaks in corn flakes. I remember them well to this day, because the soy comprised maybe half the volume - the small pieces of soy were crumbed in a thick layer of corn flakes, holding firmly, and forming some kind of fluffy, crunchy crust.

I tried to repeat this a few times, following various recipes about different foodstuffs crumbed in corn flakes. I never got this effect.

Firstly, most of recipes call for corn flakes smashed/ground into small pieces. These had predominantly regular sized corn flakes. Then, full-sized corn flakes simply don't hold - I cover the piece of soy in egg, then crumb it in corn flakes, and most of the corn flakes fall off, either at once, or upon placing in hot oil. For the life of me, I can't get more of it stuck.

I believe I'm missing some ingredients, and the technique might be different than what I'm trying, but I don't know what should it be. So, how do I achieve a thick layer of corn flakes breading?

This is pretty much the look I'm striving for.


texts: Do cooled-down/chilled toasted black sesame seeds taste nearly raw again?

texts:
The consensus seems to be that toasted (black) sesame seeds taste better than their raw counterpart.

But what happens to the improved flavour when those toasted sesame seeds cool down or get refrigerated and consumed without being reheated/re-toasted? Is that improved flavour retained? And would microwaving cooled-down toasted sesame seeds make any improvements to flavour?


texts: Resting Lebkuchen dough overnight - OK? Fridge or room temp?

texts:
We've got a few questions about resting dough  but most relate to yeast-based baking. I'm interested in a dough using baking powder. I've been looking at lebkuchen recipes, and many want the dough to be rested e.g. BBC recipe: an hour. I understand this will make the dough roll out better and hold its shape on baking. These are both good things.

Is there any downside to resting it overnight? I want to cut out and bake them in the morning, then decorate them later the same day. I could keep the dough at room temperature or in the fridge - which would be better?


texts: Imported Italian canned tomatoes vs. American tomatoes

texts: Why are imported Italian canned tomatoes more tender than the same American product?


texts: Does package yeast inhibit wild fermentation?

texts:
I baked my first “sourdough” boules today and there was zero detectable sour or tartness.

After about day four of zero activity in my baby starter I added a packet of packaged yeast I bloomed bloomed with a tiny bit of honey.

Ever since then it has been happy and healthy. I made my levain on day 7.

I’m concerned that the package yeast has beat out any wild fermentation that could have been happening and now I will never get any sourness from the starter. Is that true?

Should I start over and be more patient or keep feeding my current starter and hope deeper flavors will develop over time?

I’ve been feeding twice a day with 90 degree F filtered water. My house is cold but it’s in the warmest room and it has some towels for insulation.

Pic of my first attempt for funsies


texts:
People familiar with Indian desert Falooda will be in a better position to answer this question.

I tried to recreate at home a Falooda that I had outside, ingredients were milk, sabza (Basil seeds), rose syrup, ice-cream and china grass.

I purchased all the ingredients, but when I boiled the dried china grass noodles (not the china grass in powder form) in water, all the noodles got dissolved in the water!

See the photo that shows the form in which I purchased china grass from store:

What is the correct way to make china grass ready for Falooda?  Do I soak it in cold water or cold milk? Should the water/milk be warmed a bit? Without boiling, is it safe to consume it?


texts: Spices become wet and clumpy once I start cooking

texts: Lately, whenever I've been cooking food like chicken breasts or hamburgers, after I'm done seasoning them and set them on the pan, once I flip the food over I notice the seasoning gets really wet and starts clumping together or it sticks to the pan and dries up. It didn't happen a few months ago but for the past 5 weeks it has. I've tried cooking at different temperatures and difderent pans but nothing works. I've looked it this problem everywhere yet I never find an answer.


texts: problem with flame control in a natural gas grill

texts: I have a natural gas grill and replaced the burners a couple years ago with generic adjustable length burners. Lately I noticed I was getting yellow flames so I adjusted the air flow on the burner and got blue flames but when the grill heats up, it goes back to yellow. I thought to get new burners again but the flames are blue when I start the grill, they just turn yellow when it gets hot. Any ideas what it could be?


texts: How long before a dead chicken becomes inedible?

texts: Given that the chicken is not contaminated by poison, and it simply dies of heart failure or heat stroke and not anything that makes it immediately inedible, how long does it take before a dead chicken becomes inedible?


texts: Last few times I bought "fresh" stone fruit the stone was gone

texts:
The last few times I bought plums or nectarines the stone appeared to have rotted out.

However, when eating one today upon noticing this same effect I noted what appeared to be a rectangular cut out where they stem had been attached to the fruit, this then made me think has this been mechanically removed to be sold off elsewhere to increase corporate profits.

I'm located in queensland Australia.

Has anyone else noticed this and does anyone know the reasoning behind it.


texts: Does adding vinegar to rice while while boiling reduce stickyness or improve hardness?

texts:
I'm trying to make chinese fried rice, for which I chose long grain basmati rice.
I wash the rice thoroughly before cooking.
I'm able to get separate grains (non-mushy) .
But when I stir-fry or cook the rice, the grains tend to break easily, are probably too delicate and at times tend to get lumpy when I add tiny quantities of vinegar, soy etc while tossing.
I absolutely avoid sprinkling water onto the rice even though some recipes recommend it.
I was suggested adding vinegar while boiling the rice. Does it really help?


texts: Can I substitute bread flour for bread machine flour?

texts: Can I use Bread Flour instead of Bread Machine Flour when making a loaf of wheat bread?  Recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 cups of wheat flour and 4 cups of bread machine flour.


texts: How to combat odor from pickled radishes inside refrigerator?

texts:
I know the question is related to How to get rid of the smell from the fridge?. At the same time, I am curious about possible additives as part of the pickling that may help reduce the odor. So I didn't use a recipe, but rather finished the jar of pickles found in the Costco chilled section. I thought rather than dumping the remaining solution, I could use the same brine to pickle something. I brought home radishes on sale and just rinsed and cut the tops.

After about 4 days, there was a strong odor which I didn't expect because the original pickles didn't have a smell. I'm assuming it's the radishes that are out of "balance" for this brine solution. Is there something to add to the pickling solution that counteracts radishes?


texts: Recipe calls for a heaping teaspoon of a liquid ingredient

texts:
I'm looking at a recipe for chickpeas (garbanzo beans) roasted in a spice mix, which looks yummy, but I'm confused by some items in the ingredients list.

I'm happy with this:

  1 heaping teaspoon curry powder

I simply take my 5ml measuring spoon, and get a heaped scoop of curry powder.

But for

  1 heaping teaspoon sesame, coconut or olive oil

  1 heaping teaspoon sriracha

I can see that sriracha might well hold its shape enough to form a heap. But what about the oil??


texts: How can tuna/bonito be tested for histamine?

texts:
I think I suffered scombroid food poisoning, together with some other people. I actually got the worst of it. The others experienced pain in the mouth. I had facial flushing and tachycardia as well.

This is not the first time this happens as we've experienced pain from both tuna and bonito. Both cooked and raw (tartar).

According to the Wikipedia, this can be due to inappropriate handling of the fish. I bought this last bonito from a fish shop five minutes walking away. I guess it's hardly likely that the error was on me, but I won't rule it out neither. My handling of the bonito was to cut it up, put it into a vacuum bag and freeze. The batch that made us ill was vacuum and unfrozen. I've got more tuna from the same batch in the freezer, so I'll have to throw that out. That's one shop where I'm not buying anymore.

Is there a way of testing for histamine to prevent future problems?


texts:
I was recently trying to season my wok. I cleaned it, dried it, applied a thin layer of oil and put it in the oven for 1hr at 400°F.
I dont know what I did wrong.


texts:
I want to replace a white (granulated) sugar in a recipe with brown sugar.  Is this a one to one substitution?

The original recipe calls for 2 cups white sugar.  Can I replace with 2 cups brown sugar?  Packed or unpacked?


texts: What oils are "required" for a decent home kitchen?

texts:
What different varieties of oil are really needed in a decent home kitchen?

I ask because I've only two right now (olive & sunflower) that I try to use "correctly" but sometimes use interchangeably. I wonder what I'm missing.


texts: Will peeling and slicing potatoes prevent them from sprouting further?

texts:
I have some potatoes that are starting to sprout. Nothing crazy, but I'm worried about them all sprouting worse before I get the chance to turn them into breakfast.

I'm just going to be frying them anyways. I was thinking of peeling all of them and chopping them up. Perhaps just peeling them will do the trick?


texts: Can Lamb Shoulder Chops be treated the same way as a steak?

texts:
I am confused about cooking method (dry vs wet heat) and timing of lamb shoulder chops.
According to foodnetwork, lamb shoulder is a tough cut, that is suited for slow cooking like braising, but also from them Pan-Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops shows that I can cook them similar to a steak?
As for why I am looking at lamb shoulder chops, well, it's half the price of a lamb loin/rib over here.


texts: If raw eggs are nearing their expiry date, can they be preserved in the freezer? Would there be any issues with them after taking them out of the freezer?


texts: While canning tomato sauce today using the water bath method, three lids "pushed outward" while in the water bath.  After they were removed at the end of the canning time, they all seemed to seal, but still have a dent where they were pushed out.  What caused this and is it safe to used this sauce?


texts:
It seems I got me thinking ...

When boiling potatoes in water or a steamer, what, if any, is the effect of peeling the potatoes before vs. after the cooking process?

Does it matter at all whether they are peeled before or after?

wrt. to taste in general
wrt. to "texture" of the boiled potatoes, when post-processing them further.


texts: Today I tried my 1st posset.  Everything was going good until I added the lemon juice.  It immediately curdled?  Is there anything I can do to save it?


texts:
There is a sauce that I make that uses browned butter as its base. I love the taste but it just feels incredibly oily.

Is there anything I can add that will fix some of the oil feel or is there a different base for the sauce I can use that will taste similar but not be as oily?

Edit: Ingredients and approximate amounts -

1/2 c Salted Butter - Browned
1/2 lb Shiitake Mushroom
1/2 Yellow Onion
2-3 Cloves Garlic
Pinch Thyme
Pinch Oregano
Soy Sauce and Lemon Juice to taste (approx. 1-2 tsp each)

This is added to ~3/4 lb pasta. I have tried adding more pasta, but that just dilutes the taste. I need some way to keep the same pasta/sauce ratio while reducing the sauce's greasiness.


texts: How to fry in a wok without burning oil?

texts:
So I have a wok that I really love using for stir frys / curries because of its high walls.

I'm having a lot of trouble though keeping the oil from smoking. It seems like whenever I have the gas high enough to brown things in a reasonable amount of time I get smoke, particularly from the high walls. I typically use grape seed or canola oil, and I feel like I don't have this problem with traditional flat frying pans.

Is there some trick I don't know, or am I just impatient?


texts: Why use citric acid and sodium hexametaphosphate in cheese sauce?

texts: I was watching a YouTube video from ChefSteps on how to make cheese sauce. They used sodium citrate and sodium hexametaphosphate. What are the reasons for including these in the recipe? What are the alternatives to using these ingredients?


texts: What are the downsides to "low and slow" when cooking meat?

texts:
In many cooking resources, "low and slow" is given as a solution to cooking juicy, tender meat (after it has been seared). Cooking slowly is also highly recommended when making stews and various other sauces.

My question is - what are the downsides? Is going too "low and slow" will make your meat soggy? Can you ever be "too slow"?


texts: How to Tell if Beef Steak Has Been Dry-Aged

texts:
I am about to purchase my first dry-aged beef steak. How do I know the steak has been properly dry-aged? How do I know if the vendor is not trying to sell me spoiled meat?

From some photos dry-aged steak seem like meat left in the freezer for too long.


texts:
I want to have flames coming off my roast meat platter when I serve it to guests.
What liquid would I use to light up?


texts:
This question seems slightly ridiculous, but I'm a noob, so bear with me.

In this oft-referred to recipe for making ice cream, what does "chill-completely" mean exactly? Is there a measurable temperature or timeframe I am looking at? Should it just be lukewarm or coldish? Do I stir it to make it cold all the way through?


texts: 1/4 cup of shredded basil OR 1/4 cup of basil that is then shredded?

texts:
I am thinking of making a Chicken Parmigiana that I found on the Lidia's Italy website - http://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/398. The recipe calls for "1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded."

I am trying to figure out whether this means that (a) I should shred the basil and then measure out 1/4 cup or (b) if I should be measuring a 1/4 cup of whole basil leaves and then shred that.

Is there a significant difference between the two options? What is normally intended?


texts: How to add water/milk to the sunny side up eggs?

texts:
From here: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/24325/6168

  By mixing in a small quantity of extra water before you cook the eggs, you are slowing down the cooking process by making more water available that has be evaporated. This keeps the cooking temperature to less than 100°C (212°F) for longer, therefore increasing the the time for the egg proteins to foam and expand before setting

What is the way to add water/milk to the sunny side up eggs (eggs which are NOT supposed to be mixed before putting on the frying pan)?

UPDATE:
If I cook the egg in this cream instead of butter/oil, will it make sense? http://www.amul.com/products/amul-freshcream-info.php


texts: Which sugar is used in pastry more often, white or brown? Which sugar provides more taste/flavor?


texts:
Aquafaba is the water that chickpeas are cooked in. It can be made from dried chickpeas or obtained by draining a can of cooked chickpeas. Aquafaba is widely recommended as a substitute for eggs in vegan baking. It can also be used to thicken sauces.

  What is the food science of aquafaba's remarkable properties?


texts: How long can you store a mixture of old bread in a no-oxygen-container?

texts:
I watched a TV-program where they made a mixture of old breads. It has no water in it so it is mainly carbohydrates. They used it to fry up such as chicken and fish.

How long can you store such a mixture?


texts: How to keep lemons, oranges and grapefruits fresh longer?

texts:
I like adding a few drops of citrus juice into my drinks, but they don't usually stay fresh for long in unsqueezed form (if I only cut a small piece and use that) and in juice form (with or without some sugar) and spoil in about 10 days while there's still half a fruit left.

How do I preserve a cut citrus freshness longer?


texts: How much does freezing grapes longer sweeten them more?

texts:
My grandparents in Toronto bought 10 kg of Ontario coronation grapes from Loblaws on Sep 1 2019, as they have been doing the past 10 years. They don't know why, but the grapes taste too sour and acidic this year, and they couldn't eat any more after tasting a few. So they placed them in a freezer to sweeten them.

Today they thawed 20 grapes but these still taste inordinately sour and acidic! So:

For maximal sweetness, how long ought they freeze them?
How does the duration of freezing affect the sweetening? To wit, what are the 1st and 2nd derivatives of freezing w.r.t. sweetening? Did I formulate my question correctly with calculus?


texts: Can multiple slabs of ribs be baked at once?

texts:
I need to bake 10 slabs of barbecue ribs that will be finished off on the grill.

The recipe calls for baking each at 250 degrees for 2 hours. Can I bake 2 or more ribs at one time? If so, what adjustment should I make to temperature and time?


texts: Most chocolate bars have trans fat, usually less than 1g per 100g of chocolate. Even dark chocolate and even expensive brands such as Lindt. Where is this trans fat coming from?


texts: Could I use orzo instead of paella Rice?

texts: I'm making a paella but don't have paella Rice! Could I use orzo?


texts:
I've been reading the Geek Cookbook, and decided to try the Mac & Cheese recipe from it, making the sauce from scratch - seemed simple enough! I've never made a Bechamel or Mornay sauce before, though, so this was new to me.

I made the roux fine, and mixed in the milk, which produced a smooth sauce. Once it started to thicken, I added the recommended amount of cheese (200g, to 2 cups milk). I used a pre-grated mix of mozarella, cheddar and romano. After mixing in the cheese, the sauce took on a fine, lumpy consistency - something like pureed cauliflower. Bringing it back to a simmer caused some of the surface to start to resemble a more normal looking mac & cheese sauce, but stirring returned the sauce to its previous grainy consistency.

Once it was simmering briskly, I left it on the stove simmering for 5-10 minutes to see if it would smooth out, but it did not appear to improve.

What did I do wrong?


texts: Kneading bread with arthritic hands-any tips?

texts: I love to bake bread, but its too painful to knead it by hand for long enough! Anyone have any work-arounds? I'm not a seasoned bread maker, and I have a bread machine, but I don't like bread baked in it!


texts: What are the consequences of not rinsing hermetic lentils prior to use?

texts:
There are these hermetic boiled green lentils that I've been eating for a decade. They are great in salads, etc.

The text on these boxes is in Scandinavian languages. It basically says, among other things, that they are ready to eat, boiled green lentils, and that they should be rinsed with water before use.

That means one should drain the liquid they are immersed in and rinse with clean water.

For all these years, I never read the text on the box, and consequently never rinsed them. I just drained most of the liquid and used them as they were.

What would be the potential consequences of not rinsing them?


texts:
Two weeks ago, I stored around 20 eggs in a pot and sealed it (that was wrapped inside clean closed trash bag) for storing them safely and placing in the fridge (which I forgot to do...). The eggs were clean prior to storing them in the pot.

Today I opened it and found to my great horror worms swarming all over the pot.

By the design of this accidental experiment, they didn't come from the environment outside the bag, so how did they get there?


texts:
In the middle of the oven, situated opposite the microwave source and below the carousel plate a two inch hole has developed over time. It is found rusted. Presently, when it runs I leave the kitchen after switching it on as a safety  measure. Is it safe to operate it? Can it be repaired? If so, how?

EDIT: The rusted floor (of SAMAR Panasonic) is shown, glass carousel plate removed exposing the hole beneath. Thanks for any suggestions.


texts: Caffeine content of cold-brewed coffee: higher or lower than hot-brewed?

texts:
I recently rediscovered the joys of cold-brewing coffee. (One level cup of rough-ground beans, 4-1/2 cups of cold water, steeped overnight and strained, produces a rich coffee concentrate. A shot or three of concentrate in a mug topped with hot water makes a cup of coffee; poured over ice and milk makes a fantastic iced coffee drink.)

The information I've found online is contradictory. One site says this method produces a drink with less caffeine than traditional hot-brewed coffee; another says it actually contains more caffeine.

On the one hand, there's the heat in the traditional method. On the other hand, the beans are in contact with the water for twelve hours in the cold method. It seems as if the caffeine content could be identical? While the beans used will, of course, alter the outcome, does anyone know for certain if cold-brewed coffee has more or less caffeine than hot-brewed?


texts: I have seen all recipies of Appam that use sugar for fermenting. How can I make salty tasting fluffy white appam ? I have wasted around 3 kgs of rice trying it but, still unsuccessful.


texts: What is the name of this eggplant dish that is similar to lasagna?

texts:
When I was at school I made an dish that was like a lasagna but replaced the pastry with Eggplant. It also had sliced bocconcini (I think) and was tomato based.

Just wondering if anyone knows the name of this dish? Is it just an Eggplant lasagna?


texts: What is the relationship between starchy vegetables/fruits and root vegetables?

texts:
I am battling with rosacea and was recommended by a doctor to not eat starchy things, including starchy vegetables and fruits.  I know that starchy vegetables include: corn, potatoes, yams, etc.

So...I was at a restaurant the other night and I was talking to the waiter about vegetables/fruits, and I was telling him that I cannot eat starchy things.  He replied, 'okay i'll remove the root vegetables/fruits' from your plate.  And this totally threw me for a loop.

I dont understand if there is a relationship between root vegetables and them being starchy.  I can't seem to find the answer online so I thought I would ask here.


texts: How to correct egg nog that is too sweet?

texts: I have a large carton of Producers “All-Natural” Egg Nog. The actual taste itself is only slightly too sweet but the main issue is that it leaves a SUPER sweet after-taste that tastes like flavored lip gloss. Is there anything I can do to fix it?


texts: What are these little balls in my sardines?

texts:
I opened a container of sardines and found loads of little round balls  in what appears to be its belly.

What are these things? Are they eggs the sardine was going to lay (or whatever it's called for a fish) or something it ate? Are they good to eat, or should I throw it out?


texts: What can I use as a manual hard cheese slicer?

texts:
I used to have an electric deli slicer (with the motorized rotary cutter) like they have in the supermarkets, though not so fancy for home use. But not any more, and now I do not have the counter space or budget to justify getting another one. Also cleaning given infrequent use does not make a lot of sense.

Where I usually have a problem is thin slicing hard cheeses (like a block of cheddar cheese) with a knife. Because of the force required to slice the cheese, the slice usually ends up too thick or only a partial slice.

I have tried using generic band type cheese slicers that are fine for soft cheese but would seem to break for hard cheeses.

So I would like to know what kind of utensil I could use. Ideally I would like to keep it in the realm of a manual-operation utensil that is easy to clean and store.

--EDIT--

After doing some more searching, I came across these two that seem like possibilities:

Norpro 330 Heavy Duty Adjustable Cheese Slicer

Norpro 349 Marble Cheese Slicer-MARBLE CHEESE SLICER

The 330 has replaceable wire which seems like a good feature. I would appreciate any comment regarding whether these might be suitable.


texts: What variety of shrimp paste should I use for Brazilian Vatapa?

texts: I recently saw a recipe for vatapa, a Brazilian shrimp stew that looks kind of like a curry gravy in texture. The recipe calls for a reconstituting handful of dried shrimp and then blending it into a paste. Could I substitute a jar of shrimp paste from my local Vietnamese/Thai grocery store, or would dried shrimp be the most appropriate thing to use?


texts: How to save a bread without enough water

texts:
I am ready to do the final rise before baking my bread and I realized I didn’t get the hydration up to where I would like it. Can I just knead the extra water in now?

It’s a 1/2 whole wheat bread with seeds and pieces. Hydration is currently 65% which is fine for a white bread but for whole wheat it should be around 75-85.


texts: Smart idea to buy the woks that Chinese restaurant chefs use, for my home's electric induction cook top?

texts:
I need a non stick wok for my Frigidaire electric induction cook top. What do you think of the the copycat technique?  Why don't I just buy the type of wok used by Chinese restaurant chefs?

But what type of wok do Chinese restaurants use? Carbon steel? Cast iron?

How often do these chefs season their woks? But will this work for me at home?  I've never seasoned a wok before! I'm afraid I can't maintain and preserve these woks like these Cantonese restaurant chefs can. What if I don't have enough time to season?


texts: Replacing toaster oven with convection oven or convection microwave?

texts:
I am getting new counter tops and want to move the toaster oven off the counter.

Would an oven with a convection function be an equivalent replacement for the toaster convection oven?

Alternately, would a convection microwave be a good replacement for the toaster oven?

Do these devices serve similar purposes?


texts:
I'm aware of how molasses and refined sugar are made from sugar cane and how brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added back to it.
But -- how "different" are the three grades of molasses (light, dark, and blackstrap) when they can be used together with sugar?
I understand light molasses have more sugar than dark or blackstrap. But does that simply mean that light molasses is exactly the same as "white sugar + dark molasses" ? And likewise, dark molasses is identical to "white sugar + blackstrap molasses" ?
I'm curious if I can simply just use blackstrap molasses only and just add however much white/refined sugar as needed (to balance out), rather than having to specifically use "light" or "dark" molasses (especially in things that might get blended, where everything is going to get very "well-mixed" anyway!).


texts: Why does my apple crumble develop a bitter aftertaste?

texts:
I tend to make Apple Crumble in a very basic way, using Bramley apples cooked down with plenty of sugar ( enough to leave a little tartness to balance out the sweet crumble mix ) and a bit of cinnamon.

The outcome is delicious but if I go back for a second helping, which has been known, that seems to develop a really strong sour or bitter aftertaste in the back of my mouth.

Now I acknowledge that modest portions are probably a virtue, but this seems to be a standard pattern over several years- that first portion is so good and the second one is so bad and I'm sure there must be something wrong with the way I'm preparing the dish. What do I need to change?

The crumble recipe I use is a typical flour/sugar/butter with a few oats and sometimes crunched up nuts too. Any variance in the crumble doesn't seem to change the aftertaste.


texts: I have a recipe for garlic crack bread (pull apart bread) that calls for a crusty loaf, preferably sourdough or Vienna. I have looked in the bakery sections and can not find. Is there possibly a different name I should be looking for?


texts: Recommendations on how to have a hog butchered?

texts:
I have commissioned a pig from a local farmer and it will be going to the butcher soon.  It turns out that I can have it butchered to my specific requests.  Has anyone done this before and have any recommendations?
Specifically, should I have the bacon sliced or leave it in slabs (Alton Brown says slab is better but how hard is it to cut)?
What is the best way to have the shoulder cut?  I am thinking a picnic roast and a butt.
What is the best way to deal with the loin.  Will each side give just one tenderloin and one "center cut loin" for a roast?  If I get those will there be any back left for pork chops?
Any recommendations for the  back leg?  Ham vs. roast?


texts: How close to the top should I fill a pie to avoid overflow?

texts:
I'm planning a pot-pie recipe in a casserole dish and was wondering how high I should fill it without worrying about it overflowing during cooking.  A traditional vented pie crust will completely cover the contents.

I will put a baking sheet underneath to catch overflow just in case, but I'd like to have some general guidelines.


texts: My sourdough started hasn't yet risen! What am I doing wrong?

texts:
I had started my first batch of sourdough starter a week back. Its just wheat flour and water (haven't added any pineapple juice or any other fruit juice).
The first 2 days had vigorous activity and the mix stank, a lot! After 3 days the smell has changed to a slightly fruity acetony/alcoholish smell with some remnant of the previous stink. I have been feeding the starter once everyday.

Its been 6 days now and I still don't see any rise that growth of yeasts is suppose to bring with it. The past 3 days I have always observed a slight layer of clear liquid form over my starter. And every time I throw the top part and a little of the starter away to add fresh flour and water. I live in India and its always hot and humid in the day, so room temperature isn't the problem.

My starter has just had a few bubbles in it nothing vigorous like I see in the pictures online. It never rises! There's no rise and fall.

What am I doing wrong? Don't want to waste flour if its dead. Would appreciate any help.

Attaching pics in link for reference

Sourdough starter pics

Edit: Forgot to mention before. I store the starter in a pyrex bowl, with the lid on it. Its not air tight, but neither is the starter getting the kind of air that covering the bowl with a cloth would let. I store it in a dark warm place inside a cupboard.

UPDATE1: So with accurate measurements (S:W:F= 1:1:1), there was a drastic change. No hooch whatsoever, the starter seems more active, there are bubbles throughout the batter. But there's nothing vigorous. There's no rise and fall at all.

Without the overnight rise and fall, is my starter ready to be used for leavening? How can I know if the yeast population is sufficient enough for baking a loaf?

UPDATE2: The sourdough starter rose very well. 2 days was all the difference I needed. The starter tripled in size once the yeast activity was good and going.
Have added the result pic in the same album linked above.


texts: Grape Juice left out overnight, now has fizz

texts: So I left some grape juice out overnight, I forget how long, but now it has developed a "fizzy" taste. Also when you open the bottle you can hear the fizz escape. I've put it back in the refrigerator, is it still safe to drink? It tastes okay.


texts: How is one meant to treat fenugreek seeds?

texts:
The last time I used fenugreek seeds, they and mustard seeds were the first into the pan, followed by onions, then other vegetables. I expected them to  soften a bit and release their flavor, but they retained a bit of an unpleasant crunch, in the end.

Do I need to grind or crush them first, or can they be used whole if you treat them right?


texts:
For some reason everone seems to love the standard pie crusts and want to get it either flaky or crumbly.

For me, both are equivalent to "dry and floury, and give me the same shills down my spine as nails on a black board".

Thus, I've rarely eaten any pie crust that I like, and neither know what to search for or how to proceed.

I could pretty much go with any kind of crust; chewy like flapjacks, hard like thin crispbread, or soft without being crumbly.

Are any of the above choices actually used, and if so, in sweet or savory pies?

And in that case, what are they called?


texts:
My local supermarket sells numerous brands of coconut milk. Some brands, by their packaging and location on the shelf, are marketed for use in Thai cookery; other brands target Indian or Caribbean cuisines. There is a substantial difference in price between the different brands: a factor of ~5 between the most expensive (Thai) and the cheapest (Indian).
Are there any significant geographic variations in what is sold as 'coconut milk', so that I should buy the brand marketed towards the cuisine I want to make? Or can I use whichever one I consider to be most attractively-priced?


texts: I made Tiramisu but the expresso was too strong.   It tastes bitter.  Is there anything I can do to counteract this?


texts: Was my coffee actually supposed to be gritty?

texts:
I was at a Middle Eastern restaurant and ordered a cup of their "Middle Eastern coffee" (perhaps something akin to Turkish coffee?), which seemed to have some sort of spice and sugar added to it. (The latter was significant only because I generally take hot coffee without sugar.) Now, after a few sips, I found that the coffee was becoming a bit gritty, presumably from some coffee grounds.

Given the general quality of the restaurant, I wouldn't be surprised if this was just bad quality. Thus: is this grittiness something to be expected from such a style of coffee, or was this probably just bad processing?


texts: Can I substitute vanilla extract for cocoa powder in a cupcake recipe?

texts:
I found this recipe online for a chocolate cupcake recipe and I want to make it into a vanilla cupcake recipe. I know what you may be thinking "why doesn't she just find a vanilla cupcake recipe?" This one is vegan and it is the first one that I have seen that is even remotely basic with the ingredients and I am trying to make it as simple as possible for myself. If you could help me that would be lovely.

This is the recipe I am trying to change:

  1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
  3/4 cup sugar
  1/4 cup cocoa powder
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  5 tablespoons vegetable oil
  1 tablespoon white vinegar
  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  1 1/4 cups water

I know this may seem simple but I am not the most experienced baker ever.


texts: How Long to Bake Frozen Artichoke Hearts?

texts:
I'm a novice cook, but was intrigued by Megan McArdle's simple-enough-even-for-me recipe for frozen artichoke hearts:

  I'm also an enormous fan of frozen artichoke hearts, which when roasted at 500 degrees with a little spritz of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt, make a delicious, inexpensive, low calorie and high fiber dinner or side dish.  We always have them in our freezer, and after eating same at our house, some friends have started stocking up as well.  Are they quite as good as fresh grown, local artichokes would be?  No.  But local artichokes aren't available for very long in Washington, DC, and I tend to get discouraged by the task of cutting down twelve artichokes to extract the heart.

OK, I have all the ingredients, but a question remains: how long should I bake the hearts at 500°?


texts: How can I fix a mole sauce with excessive cinnamon?

texts:
I made an Oaxacan-style mole and went too heavy with the cinnamon stick. That flavor is now too prevalent.  How can I fix this?

I was thinking about adding some chicken stock and tomato sauce. Your input would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Ice cream technique - what should I mix into what?

texts: I have a homemade non-dairy ice cream recipe that involves a snow of egg whites and sugars, whip, and the egg yolks. At this point, the recipe says "mix together slowly with yolks". In which order should I mix the 3 components? I assume that I should be folding the egg whites into the whip... What is the "correct" way to do this? (That will ensure that the yolks don't sink to the bottom in the freezer :) )


texts: What are the visual signs to look for when adding pectin to a large kettle of strawberry jam, (200kg)  to get optimum set, just started in jam factory not going well. Help please!


texts: Preparing/Seasoning/Using a Carbon Steel Pot

texts:
I am looking for a large (approx 2' x 4' x 1.5') vessel in which to warm maple syrup for production. My first thought is to use a "pot" of some sort but I am not sure how to prepare it to both be 'non-stick' and so that flavors will not be transferred from the pot to the syrup. Is there a way to treat a large pot to do this?

I have looked at stainless steel pots in this size range, but they are more expensive than I care to invest in this project.

Are there any other alternatives accomplish the same goal?


texts: Do you have to refrigerate leftover grilled corn-on-the-cob?

texts: I'm not familiar with any method for this. Usually it's all gone!  When grilling the other night, I made way too much food and had lots of leftovers.  Do I need to refrigerate the ears of corn that are already grilled?  Before I put them on the grill I put butter on them, if that makes a difference.


texts: I have roasted a goose ready for tomorrow. Would the flavour and/or texture be better if I carved it tonight when it is warm, or wait until tomorrow when it is cold from the fridge.


texts: How to make juice from Fennel Seeds? In India we eat fennel after meals, but I want to make some drinks using it.


texts: What are the (most common) different ways to thicken sauces and gravies?

texts:
I know of a few ways to thicken sauces and the like:

Egg (protein)
Flour (protein / starch)
Starch (cornstarch etc)
Reduction (reducing watery component)

Are these the only common ones, or what else should a cook keep in his repetoire?


texts: How to substitute chicken broth in a vegetarian soup?

texts:
I'm making minestrone soup (for the first time) and, on reading the recipe, it calls for chicken broth. Normally this is no problem, but my vegetarian brother is visiting this weekend and I was going to make enough to share.

I'm assuming that chicken broth is non-vegetarian. I've asked him if he's willing to eat it, but for the time being I'm assuming it's verboten.
Not having the broth will obviously change the flavor. (I've never had minestrone before, so I wouldn't have any basis for comparison.) What should I replace it with for best results? Plain water, something with more body (red wine, which the recipe also calls for), or something a little more fun or exotic?


texts: Is there a searchable food catalog of USDA Organic products?

texts:
Is there a website that I can search for all products certified by USDA with one of the 4 organic labels:

100% Organic
Organic
Made with Organic
Some Organic ingredients

For example, how can I found a list of brands sell sugar that is labelled "100% organic" by USDA?


texts:
I have a Circulon frying pan I've been using for a few years. I got it second hand in good condition.

The non stick factor was great when I got it, but when I fry with it now, I find I need to use quite a bit of oil or it sticks.

I've tried hard to clean off what seems to be a kind of oily residue, but I'm wondering if it's the last of the non-stick coating I'm trying to remove!

Other than the stickiness, it's a great pan.

Are this pan's non stick days over? Or otherwise, what can I do to restore it?


texts:
Most professional cookbooks tell me to fry french fries two times. First at a lower temperature of about 150-170°C and then at a higher temperature about 180-190°C.

Reference: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:French_Fries#Variations

Related: What varieties of potato would be good for chips / french fries?

What are the advantages of frying the potatoes two times?


texts: Can I prepare and eat dried oyster mushrooms that are four year old?

texts: Can I prepare and eat dried oyster mushrooms that are four (4) years old?


texts:
I made an apple pie, but the crust was thick and not crispy. Why? What should I do to fix it?

For the crust, I used:

1 cup of flour
Butter
1 egg
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt

As for the apples:

2 apples sliced to small cubes (without the apples cover)
2 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Thanks in advance.


texts: I just bought and cooked a whole chicken in the oven and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do with the scraps left over from slicing up most of the meat. Thank you!


texts: Converting frozen hash brown patties from oven cooking to stove top

texts: I have some store brand frozen hash brown patties that only show to cook them in the oven.  They have to cook at 450 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes, and it is 80 degrees outside.  Can they be cooked in a frying pan on the stove top without ruining them?


texts: Is it important to let meat sit in oil before grilling/baking?

texts: You should put oil on your meat to prevent it drying out.  Does it make a difference if you coat then cook straight away or leave coated for a while, if so how long should you keep it for?


texts: What are some make-ahead crunchy/crispy components that keep fairly well?

texts:
I'm wondering if you have any advice on crispy/crunchy components that keep fairly well (for a decent amount of time), either in the fridge/freezer or at room temperature.

Occasionally, I'll make a batch of breadcrumbs or fried quinoa, which do work well, but I'm curious to hear if you have any other ideas.

Thank you!


texts: In writing a recipe, when should I remove the bay leaves in the process?

texts:
I'm trying to write down a recipe for Italian sweet sauce that is used for salads but can also be used on pasta and meat. It has bay leaves in it but I'm not sure when to add and remove them?

I've written a first draft of the recipe and method on Food.com.

  2 1⁄2 cups water
  4 cups Italian dressing
  1⁄8 teaspoon salt
  2 bay leaves
  4 tablespoons sugar
  1⁄3 cup paprika
  1 cup five-spice powder
  1 cup Egg Beaters egg substitute
  1⁄2 cup cream
  1⁄3 cup Dijon mustard

  Bring the water,dressing & musturd to a simmer.
  Add salt and bay leaves.
  Stir in sugar gradually with the spices.
  Temper the egg beaters and cream with the simmering liquid in the cooking vessel.
  Remove the bay leaves and then add the Egg Beaters and the cream to make the sauce richer and more creamy.
  Reduce to 1/2 and pour over whatever you want to serve this with!

Considering the method I've written in the draft, do these timings for adding and removing the bay leaf make sense or is there a more standard time to add or remove them?


texts: Is there a good way to make vegetarian carbonara?

texts: My partner is now a vegetarian, and one food I miss cooking for dinner together is spaghetti carbonara. What would a good substitute for the pancetta/bacon be? The role of the pork is not just the flavor, but the hot liquid fat also emulsifies the rest of the dish and cooks the egg. So a different approach would need to fill both roles of the pork.


texts:
In recent times I'm experimenting with different techniques to cook pasta, the pressure cooker is an inspiration I had from Davide Scabin (link in Italian), even though he's surely not the first one who did it. There is indeed even some, not much, "literature" about it on the web.

After a few tries I still have the following problems:

1) The pasta pieces stick gently one to another, but they cement themselves on the bottom of the pot.

2) The consistency of the pasta is tenacious, very different from the usual one but not necessarily unpleasant.

I was wondering if anybody else had the same results, and is eager to share her solutions to the problems listed above.

Thank you for your attention!


texts: Why use liquid nitrogen to make ice cream?

texts:
I turned on the TV yesterday just in time to see a guy use liquid nitrogen to make his ice cream. At first I thought it was just to make the show more exciting, but it seemed to be an important part of his ice cream making process.

What benefits (if any) are there to using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream?


texts: If oil starts to smoke, does that mean it's already gone toxic?

texts:
When heating oil sometimes I notice smoke comes out and this sets home smoke detector off.  At this point I lower the fire or just add food.

Does this mean that it's already hit the smoking point and the oil should no longer be used?  If it hits smoking point and we lower the temperature is it still ok to use or is it only a problem with reuse?


texts: What are the advantages of a lid on a barbeque?

texts:
I have just bought a new half drum barbeque which can with a fold down lid.

I have heard that these lids are good for creating a smokey flavour, or for keeping food moist whilst it cooks. A lot of this seems to be based on peoples personal opinion with evidence based answers about what the benefits of cooking with the lid down are.

Does anyone have any evidence of exactly what cooking with a lid down on a barbeque actually does?


texts: Freeze dried blueberries vs frozen blueberries?

texts: What can I substitute for freeze dried blueberries?  Will frozen blueberries work?  This is for a bread filling.


texts: Sauerkraut/sourkraut - ratio of grams of salt to grams of raw cabbage?

texts:
Yes, obviously it can vary. I'm just looking for an approximate range, as a good place to start for my first time making a batch.

A good answer would be something along the lines of:

  10 to 20 grams of salt per 100 grams of raw cabbage

Or something like that.

[EDIT: that was just the format of answer I wanted. That actual ratio would probably be about ten times too much salt.]


texts: What accounts for Dutch Oven price variation?

texts:
I have recently been looking to buy a good Dutch Oven that will last a while, and I am a little lost since there is so many options at many different price points.
I recall a few years ago I bought a cheap cast iron skillet and it was terrible, the season wouldn't last, the finish was very rough, and the edges of the pan to the bottom were not smooth which made washing very difficult; all of that was solved when I just bought a more expensive, brand name skillet.
Is the same true for dutch ovens? I find many options on Amazon for under $100, but there are also ones by Staub and Le Creuset up to $700; and ofcourse there are options at every price in between. They all seem to have the same weight in the specifications so I would assume the classic heavy lid is not a factor, would appreciate any insight into what accounts for this price variation, and if it is a notable factor.


texts:
Yesterday I was at a banquet that was serving sushi rolls. Some had rice on the outside and others had seaweed on the outside. I wasn't able to find chopsticks. In terms of etiquette is it alright to eat sushi by hand? If relevant I'm in North America.

Also, I heard it's a North American thing to mix the wasabi with the soy sauce before dipping the sushi in. How is the soy sauce and wasabi intended to be used?

It's my understanding the ginger is to reset the taste pallet so you should eat a little before switching to a different roll.

EDIT: but if you're provided with chopsticks, you should use them, right?


texts: How to apply oil when seasoning wood cutting board?

texts:
I used a fair amount of coconut oil to apply to a wood cutting board, but wasn't sure the best way to apply it. I used a butter knife and then followed up with a paper towel to remove some of the excess oil.

Is there a better way to apply it, for example, using a separate wooden tool, sham or even a spray? I thought applying the oil with a towel would absorb too much of the oil making it wasteful.

Also, after applying the oil to the cutting board and waiting a day or two, is it a good idea to clean it again with soap and water? Otherwise, it seems like it will cause a mess on the kitchen shelf.


texts:
I'm been making this Japanese bread "Melon pan" many times and it had been success.Then my brother told me to add more sugar to make it more sweet. Try adding little at first, the bread still taste the same. So decided to put a lot more sugar. I started to knead my dough and it very sticky, already added flour (even too much) but still sticky. Continued to knead it for 15-20. Still Sticky :( But somehow I baked it and my brother tried it and said the amount of sugar put in was good. But the bread lost its crispiness so It was a fail. What can I do to solve this problem? Thank you

This is the original recipe that worked before I added a lot of sugar.

Bread Dough -
140g Bread Flour (4.94 oz)
25g Sugar (0.882 oz)
1/3 tsp Salt
5g Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder (0.176 oz)
3g Instant Yeast (0.106 oz) - a little less than 1 tsp
1 tbsp Beaten Egg
70ml Warm Water (2.37 fl oz)
15g Butter (0.529 oz)
Bread Flour for dusting
Cookie Dough -
25g Unsalted Butter (0.882 oz)
35g Sugar (1.23 oz)
25g Beaten Egg (0.882 oz)
80g Cake/Pastry Flour (2.82 oz)
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
Bread Flour for dusting


texts: What's the difference between pan frying, sauteing, and shallow frying?

texts: As I understand it, all of these terms refer to cooking food in a small amount of fat/oil. What exactly is the difference?


texts: Does the alcohol in wine affect cooking process?

texts:
When cooking with wine or other booze does the alcohol have an affect on the cooking process?

Example: deglazing a pan or making a wine-based sauce. My understanding is that the alcohol evaporates  quickly, so the booze is mostly there to add flavor and act as a liquid medium, and thus substitutible by another liquid, e.g. stock. Is there more going on than this?


texts: Why does this sunflower butter exude green liquid?

texts:
The most recent brand of sunflower butter (Mara Natha) that I've been using left a green tinted liquid inside the glass jar after I attempted to wash it out for recycling with water ~200°F/93°C and left the water in over night.

The liquid was not just floating oil on top, but a consistent transparent green, close to the darker green check of the cooking.se background.

I washed it out again, and the second time I just rinsed with warm tap water and left it again as an experiment this time, and it was a lightly tinged yellow color that one would expect/imagine would be left since that is close to the color of the oil that separates out before you mix it in.

Note, there is a bit of sea salt in the mixture of this one. Also, the sunflower seeds are listed as being roasted beforehand. This is not an organic product.

I thought, just maybe, I could have 'burned' the sunflower oil, so I checked around and found This page, that lists many different smoking points for the same oils and redundant and various stages of 'refinement.' However, the water was no longer boiling, and the lowest listed temp was 225°F/107°C on the various sources cited. I would think that a roasted sunflower seed would qualify as 'more refined' and therefore increase the smoking temperature of the oil crushed from it. Discussion of sunflower oil vs. peanut oil here.

What am I dealing with here?


texts: Is there somewhere I can see a diverse range of plating options?

texts:
I'm not very good at plating, but I'm okay at copying ways that other chefs have plated their foods. I recently watched a video where two chefs make and plate a dish, and then compare their results to those done by students at a culinary school.

Is there a website that shows a variety of plating options for the same recipe? I realize I can just do a Google image search for the name of the dish, but ideally I want to be looking at the exact same recipe in all pictures, and a reasonably high caliber of presentation.


texts:
Basically, I just need the grate. From what material should it be made, to make it food safe?
Any idea how I can obtain it in a reasonable price?

Per Wikipedia (emphasis added):
Asado (Spanish: [aˈsaðo], Brazilian Portuguese: [assado]) is a term used both for a range of barbecue techniques and the social event of having or attending a barbecue[1] in Argentina (where it is considered the national dish),[2] Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay. In these countries, asado is a traditional dish and also the standard word for "barbecue". An asado usually consists of beef alongside various other meats, which are cooked on a grill, called a parrilla, or an open fire.


texts: Do I need onions when making thai curry paste? or can I just add onions to the dish I'm cooking later with the paste?

texts:
I've been experimenting with making green thai curry paste this week and I have a pretty decent tasting curry resulting right now.  However, in all the green curry paste recipes I see, they say I have to add onion/shallots to my paste when crushing in the mortar.

My question:  Is it necessary to have onion/shallots present in the paste?  Or can I make a green curry paste without onion, then just add onion to the actual curry when I use the paste to make a full on dish from it?  Is there any cooking theory behind this as to why onions must be crushed in the paste as opposed to just added later when cooking the dish?  Will it affect the taste of my curry in any noticeable way?

The question is more from a practical perspective, as I have a pretty small mortar, and adding the onions/shallots tends to cause it to overflow and make crushing pretty difficult.


texts: My apple cider vinegar became infested with fruit flies and maggots. Can I wash the mother and use her again?


texts: Where can I buy dark chocolate which was not produced in a factory that handles milk?

texts:
According to an FDA study most plain dark chocolate has milk in it. If it is produced in a factory which handles milk, it almost always has milk in it, even if it says its vegan and dairy free.

Does anyone know where I can buy or know of brands of dark chocolate (70% cocoa or more) which was produced in a completely dairy/milk free environment?


texts:
So this is a little embarrassing, but following the standard overnight oatmeal instructions on a can of McCann steel cut oats isn't yielding the expected result. I'm simply bringing four cups of water to a boil, dropping in one cup of oats, and letting it simmer for a minute or two. I then place the covered pot in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, the oatmeal is still submerged in water.

I figure I could use less water to reduce the risk of this happening, but why aren't the standard instructions giving me a standard result?


texts: How to adapt brownie recipe to cook well in a mini-muffin tin?

texts:
I've got a great brownie recipe that works awesome in a 9x11 pan.  The top comes out crunchy, the bottom cake like and the middle nice and fudgy.  I figured I would try to make them in a mini-muffin tin, thinking it would be easier for the kids to eat.  Ended up with a mini disaster.

Things I had not counted on:  they rose seemingly more than in the 9x11 pan.  Too much cake like vs not enough fudge center.

Should there be things I need to be aware of?  I cut a good 7 or 8 minutes off my cooking time of 25 minutes int eh 9x11 pan, and even still, they were over cooked.  But more importantly, I realized that with all edges being cooked (as opposed to square in the 9x11), there is a lot of "cake surface" vs soft and fudgy centre.

Is there something i should consider doing specifically to the recipe?  Is there a way to make good fudgy brownies in a mini-muffin tin, or am I just looking for trouble?

Recipe is butter-free (just uses vegetable oil) and only 1 tsp of baking soda as a leavening agent.


texts: Does putting salt in coffee really remove bitterness?

texts:
I have seen people claim that putting salt in coffee enhances the flavour or removes bitterness. Example.

Does this really work? If it does, how does it work? Is there something chemical going on, or is it just a trick of the taste-buds?


texts: Recipe calls for rolled oats, I have old fashioned oats - can I substitute them in cookies?

texts: Can old fashioned oats be used when a cookie recipe calls for rolled oats?


texts: How do I plan a meal without a stove or oven?

texts:
I have to cook a meal for my whole office (around 18 people); it's sort of a thing where everyone has to cook a meal at some point.

I would be able to find something myself but we don't have a stove or an oven at work and that's pretty much all I use. What we do have though is a microwave, a barbecue, a kettle, a sink, a coffee machine and a panini grill. We also have a fridge and a freezer. Also possibly a slow cooker.

So I am asking you for such advice or even a hint as to which direction I should look at in terms of what food I should cook.

I'd prefer to not cook such standard barbecue foods as hot dogs and burgers and chicken. I don't mind putting some effort in to cooking.


texts: How to calibrate Polder instant read thermometer?

texts: I have a Polder instant read thermometer that is uncalibrated since changing the battery. I have tried and failed to calibrate it and I don't have the owner's manual. Does anybody know the proper procedure? This is a model with a digital readout of the temperature on the face, and 4 buttons: on/off, hold, max, and calibrate. I've tried putting the stem in boiling water and pressing the calibrate button. I've also tried holding it down for 10 seconds. I've also tried the same thing, but with a glass of ice water. Help!


texts: Weird air pockets/bubbles on bottom of cake

texts:
I've been baking this recipe for over a year now, flavour and texture are wonderful, the guests love it but half of the time I get these air pockets on the bottom of the cake.
The air pockets appear at the center of the bottom and also at the sides. Sometimes they're barely there, sometimes they're big enough that I'm unsure if i'll serve it to guests (for exemple when they're 3cm height).

Recipe is as follows:

150g cashew nuts (roasted, unsalted) chopped in a food processor
30g white flour
125g sugar
pinch of salt
4 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork
150g butter, heated untill brown
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Everything at room temperature.
Preparation is staightfoward: mix dry ingredients, add egg whites, add butter and vanilla. Cooks at 160~180C for 45~50m untill golden brown. Lower temperatures do not make the bubbles disappear.
What causes these air pockets? Has anyone faced a similar issue before?


texts: Does sprinkling salt on top of brownies give the same result as putting it in the batter?

texts:
Standard recipes for brownies have a teaspoon of salt in them. Questions like this one and this one explain that it's only for taste. Can you just put some salt on top after they are baked?

For example, the linked answer might imply that yes you can just sprinkle salt on the baked brownie afterwards. But is that true? I also don't understand the comment about "raw flour". None of the flour should be raw after the brownie is baked!


texts: How to get pickled mushrooms to be less sour?

texts: I like pickled mushroom from a jar but I would prefer if they were less acidy/sour.  Is there any way to increase the PH ?  Will it work if I drain the juice they come in and refill with oil or something else ?


texts: New to cooking - how long to cook chicken breast pieces in a wok?

texts:
just wondering, how long should I cook chicken breast pieces in a wok over medium heat for? They're around 1cm thick chicken breast pieces.

I tried cooking them today and although they looked white, one piece had a tiny streak of blood (blood vessels?). I was kinda scared so I didn't eat it although most of the chicken looked fine apart from that one piece with blood. And I mean it was surrounded by white

So does that mean I undercooked them? How long should I cook them for? Medium heat is around mark 4/6 on the hob. All the pieces looked white and not pink but I was just concerned

Thanks


texts: How Does Too Much Oil in Indian Mughlai Food Makes It Tasty?

texts:
What is the explanation of oily food being tasty? How does extra oil enhances taste?

It is evident  North Indian food specialy Mughlai food uses too much oil and it is also true too much oil makes the food tasty (at least to a large amount of people).

In a forum  one said that  lots of oil which makes dish look complete and well decorate. Even when fish is rich in oil they cook with extra oil to gives spicy taste. But I could not comprehend what he said. I want to know why taste is enhanced.

Could anyone please explain elaborately?

Thanks!

Edit:

There's a book on this: Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us  by
Michael Moss (Author). Oil doesn't improve taste much, but it improves "mouth feel". Imagine you substitute oil with water in peanut butter (google for "PB2"), or mash potato without butter.
Harold McGee’s “On Food and Cooking”, use the index to find key topics.


texts: How can I prepare freshwater fish without completely cooking it? Can I eat freshwater fish raw?

texts: Besides a complete cooking like frying, baking, BBQ or smoking is there any other way to prepare freshwater fish that would render it safe to eat in a sushi type application?


texts: How do I reduce the sugar in this recipe without affecting the taste?

texts: How do I make my Italian sweet sauce be lower in sugar without affecting the taste? Last time I made it I was 5, as a result there is a lot of bugs that I need corrected, but I'm starting with the sugar problem first. I don't have much of a sense of taste/smell.(I don't want to eat too much sugar.)


texts: Should I bother trying to use a traditional wok on an electric stove?

texts:
I received a round-bottom wok with a cooking ring as a gift. I have an electric smoothtop stove. Upon opening the packaging, an included sheet of paper listed some additional information, including a note about not using round-bottom woks with electric burners, as "the heat reflected back can damage the element."

Should I return the wok? What are my options?


texts: How can I cook with worcestershire sauce in a pan without leaving an impossible to remove char on the pan?

texts:
When I cook hamburgers inside, I do it in a pan on stove top. I usually use worcestershire sauce, but it seems that when I do it gets cooked onto the bottom of the pan. No amount of soaking makes it easier to clean off, I usually just have to use a copper wire pad and it's still rather difficult.

This is in an aluminum pan -- I think. It's not cast iron or non-stick.


texts:
I bought a dehydrator about a year ago and the product manual says that a dehydrator is great for leavening bread. I have tried this a number of times with (seemingly) good results, but I am unsure if the dehydrator is having an adverse affect on the final product.

I have the 9 Tray Excalibur, and I usually place a bowl of warm water at the bottom, then place a large mixing bowl with a dish cloth over the top on the third tray (just above the bowl of water). I'll turn the dehydrator to 95°F (35°C), and let the dough rise according to the recipe.

When dehydrating fruit/vegetables or making trail mixes, etc., the dehydration time is usually measured in days rather than hours.  From that perspective, I don't think that my breads should be significantly dehydrated during the rising process, but I don't know for sure.

Also, the Excalibur works by 'fanning' the moist air away from the trays inside.  The fan is not forceful, and is not powerful enough to shift a damp dish towel, but it will easily lift a piece of paper towel or similar. As I typically use a damp towel to cover the bowl, I don't think air flow is an issue either.

Are my assumptions correct that this is a safe thing to do, or am I setting myself up for failure and dooming some would-be delicious breads?


texts: How to mask/reduce stevia's metallic after taste?

texts: I use SugarLess stevia and erythritol blend when I'm baking or making home made ice creams. But in almost all of the things I bake or cook using this product, there is a metallic after taste that lingers for 3-4 minutes. The finished food items taste great but I was wondering if there was a way to somehow mask or reduce this after taste.


texts: I am making a cranberry chutney with honeycrisp apple and navel orange and I added too much dry orange and lemon. How do I cut the bitterness? It is plenty sweet with a bit of sugar and sweet apples. I usually add frozen orange concentrate but didn't have any. I am afraid to add it would only lead to more bitterness. Is cardamom considered bitter? I added this too.


texts: How to know which pan to use for baking a cake

texts: I would like help on how to know which baking pan to use if the recipe does not specify.  I have tried measuring the pan using water to ascertain the quantity but it did not help.


texts: Getting dog meat to taste as close to steak as possible?

texts:
After going on a business trip to Vietnam and tasting dog food there, my husband has begged me for the past 3 weeks to make him a dog steak.

I would like to know what is the secret to cooking dog meat to taste as close to a regular sirloin steak as possible?


texts: My question is of a scientific nature in regards to the above product. My boyfriend has been given cans of this and every time he has used it, he has said that it tastes literally like nothing. Despite the addition of spices and herbs in copious amounts, it still tastes like nothing. I looked up this product online and found similar comments about it. My question is, by what process or addition does a manufacturer cause products to taste like nothing? I find this very curious indeed and was wondering if someone could help me out.


texts: I plan on preparing two dishes this week that will each involve 1/2 of a spaghetti squash. In order for the second dish to be 'as fresh as possible' should I prepare the whole squash and save the second half, or save the second half (unprepared) and bake it when I prepare the second dish? (Time to prepare is not a concern). How should the second half be saved? (refrigerate, wrapped, ...?)


texts: What is the effect of adding eggs to a pastry dough?

texts:
As I understand it, making dough is really the process of hydrating flour so that a gluten network can be formed and the dough structure emerges.
Pastry dough usually adds butter in order both to reduce the amount of gluten formed and also to interleave sheets of fat to sheets of gluten to make it crumbly and oh so good.

What I don't understand is what eggs do to the dough. Most American apple pie recipes use no eggs for their dough, but almost all italian pastry dough (pastafrolla) use an abudance of eggs in lieu of some water.
What do these eggs do to the flour/butter mix?  Do they increase gluten formation or decrease it, or no effect at all?


texts: Roast beef in slow cooker for 7 hours on low then on high for another hour?

texts: I have been cooking a roast beef for 7 hours on low but it doesn't look like it will be cooked for another two hours. Can I put it on high or will it go tough?


texts: Are Turkish Bay Leaves "Normal" Bay leaves?

texts: I recently saw a recipe that called for Turkish Bay Leaves. Is this any different than the kind I would find in a standard spice bottle labeled "Bay Leaves", or is this a form of exotic marketing? Are there even different types of Bay Leaves?


texts: How long will a vanilla bean stay potent?

texts:
I am in the habit of using vanilla extract but I would like to start using whole beans sometimes. They are expensive and if I buy them online I will have to have some on hand rather than buying them right when I need them.

Will vanilla beans lose their flavor over time like other spices? If so how long can I expect to keep them without significant degradation?


texts: How can I get a better looking crust on my baguettes?

texts:
I've been making baguettes using the "stretch & fold" method instead of kneading. The resulting baguettes have great taste & texture, but the surface is covered with coarse, unsightly ropes of gluten, as below:

Is there a way to get the benefits of the stretch & fold method (texture; open crumb) without the ugly appearance?


texts: Making vinegar - alcohol and sugar tolerance

texts:
I am wondering if my latest batch of vinegar is either too sweet or too alcoholic for the acetobacter to flourish. Are there well known thresholds for alcohol and sugar that acetobacter will tolerate?

The latest batch is an attempt to make balsalmico tradizionale de Ohio. I made a sweet wine from a white grape juice and white grape reduction. The fermentation was vigorous and finished product sweet and very alcoholic. I added the wine and vinegar starter to a wide mouth mason jar filled to the top. I am more than two weeks in and have added vinegar starter multiple times. There is still no mother growing on top and the acid levels do not seem to be progressing.

Variables I've considered:

Preservatives: I double checked the grape juice for ingredients. Ascorbic acid only. The yeast fermentation went fine, so preservatives should not be the culprit. That said, sugar is a preservative...
Temperature: The house is between 70-80 throughout the day. I have batches of vinegar in progress sitting 2 inches away.


texts: How to get a brown/burned texture on cornbread?

texts:
I am using the recipe here to make oven baked cornbread. The image in the recipe shows a nice brown/burned texture. I was wondering if I have to brush the top with butter or egg to get that texture?

What I ended up with is a pale yellow top layer with no browning or burned texture. Like the top layer of this one.


texts: Made a bland curry, it's cooled down and about to freeze it. Help!

texts:
I've just made a tasteless chicken and veg curry. I have put various spices in, but it's still bland. It's cooled down now and I was going to freeze it tonight as I've made it to take camping next weekend, so will be heated up again then.

My question is - can I save it now? Can I add more spices to cold curry now, mix it and then freeze it? If so, what spices will give it more flavour?


texts: Is it safe to let prosciutto and parmesan rise in bread dough overnight?

texts: I tried an excellent prosciutto parmesan Italian loaf from a local bakery in Boston and I'd like to try making it myself. I have a great bread recipe (flour, water, yeast, salt) that has to sit at room temperature for 24 hours before baking. It's a no-knead bread, so you just pop the dough in a Dutch oven once it's risen. My question is, would it be okay to add the chunks of prosciutto and parm to the mixture before letting it rise overnight? I'm afraid if I add it in right before baking, the dough will get overworked and the bread will end up tough.


texts: Can I use Nutralite Butter in baking Cakes and cookies?

texts: I am not getting the right type of unsalted butter. Can I use Nutralite salted butter in my cakes?


texts: How can I make my carrot cake taste more carroty

texts: I have used organic carrots finely grated and increased the quantity of carrots used, but still can't taste the carrot


texts: What green tea has the highest caffeine content?

texts:
How do these teas rank by caffeine content: Japanese dragon pearls, Matcha organic green tea, and gyokura imperial green tea? Is there any green tea with more than the ones in that list?

PS: Is it possible to get an antioxidant rating too? ie these teas rated by antioxidant levels, and if there are any other teas with stronger antioxidant levels, thanks!


texts: How can I make Chinese Fried Rice like they do on the East Coast?

texts:
I've been living in California for about 14 years and really miss the Chinese fried rice I would get at Chinese restaurants on the East Coast (Boston in specific).

The fried rice I get at Chinese restaurants in California is much lighter in color and flavor.  I thought adding more soy sauce would do the trick.  There's definitely something else in the mix.  The rice that I'm trying to emulate has more of a malty, savory taste to it.


texts:
I have to prepare something that will be eaten for breakfast or as a snack in the afternoon, using mainly lupin flour and (full fat) soy flour and without using eggs or milk/butter.

Since I'm not a chef, I would like to know which are the characteristics of these two flours so then I could choose the proper ingredients touse with the two flours.

Example of characteristics:

how they mix with liquids ?
does the high protein (~40g/100g) content influence the solubility ?
what are their strength (W) ?


texts:
I buy frozen, shredded potatoes. What is the best way to drive off moisture to help make them crispy when cooked?
Would microwaving on a paper towel help remove ice crystals and help avoid soggy potatoes?


texts: Correct term for marinating+degorging/macerating at the same time?

texts:
Sometimes it makes sense to marinate fruit or vegetables with water-extracting ingredients (sugar,salt,alcohol...) and flavorings (spices or extracts) at the same time, and later use fruit and liquid separated. For example, one might want to have the fruit with lower water content for baking or frying, and the liquid for sauce or batter. And you don't mind both being seasoned.

Is this still correct to describe as a marination in a recipe, or is it more of a degorging (does this always imply the liquid is unwanted?) or maceration? Is there an unambigous term that can be used?


texts: While pumpkin flowers are common in some gastronomical cultures, are edible the sprouts of pumpkin? I've cooked the sprouts (the first two leafs) of melon, which are close relatives, and it's delicious.


texts: What can I do if I forgot to cream the butter and sugar in my cookie recipe?

texts: I got distracted and forgot to cream the butter and sugar before making sugar cookies.  I baked half and they were dry, tasted like flour and smelled like flour (although rolled in sugar and cinnamon).  I still have half of the batch left in the fridge.  What can I do to make it taste better?  I'm sure it was from not creaming first.


texts:
I love cooking poached eggs at home.

Assumption: This is all sea level (+/-15 metres).

I went to a hotel with glass walls to the kitchen and watched the way they prepared the morning cooked egg orders.

On one stove top, they had an enormous pot (felt like it would cover all four of my stove-tops at home), gently simmering away at some (unknown) temperature. (The water had almost zero egg-white scum floating in it).

The chefs would drop eggs from cups into it, set timers, and then pull the eggs out after the timer had gone off.

This seemed to be an amazingly polished perfection of the process of cooking poached eggs. There could easily have been 10 eggs in at once, with room for fifteen.

My question is: What is the temperature of the massive pots of water at hotels for cooking 10 poached eggs at once?


texts: Should we start making dough with water or with flour?

texts:
We have a recipe and it tells us to put X grams of flour and Y ml of water. And some of this type of recipe tells us to add flour slowly according to the consistency of the dough. Some say add water slowly.

So in the first approach, I put all the water in the bowl at first and add flour until I get the desired consistency.

In the second approach, I put all the flour in the bowl at first and then I try to obtain the desired consistency by adding water slowly.

My question is; Which approach is more correct if we make a mixture with flour and water? Does it differ ?

Thank you for your help


texts: Mixing liquid ingredients to "just combine" to dry ingredients for muffins

texts: When baking muffins and adding the liquid ingredients to the "well" in the dry ingredients, the recipe says "to just combine".  Does this mean not to add the whole liquid mixture, only enough to wet the dry ingredients?


texts: What are some alternative sources of calcium (to milk) for the lactose-intolerant?

texts: Are there any food products that can be used for cooking/baking that have high calcium as an alternative for milk - not necessarily liquid alternatives...


texts: Is chocolate still "tempered" even after it has cooled since bringing it up to working temperature?

texts:
The usual process of tempering (dark) chocolate involves bringing it up to 45°, then down to 29° and back up to 31°.

If I leave the tempered chocolate in a piping bag for a while and it cools down, would the chocolate still be in temper and set nicely (assuming it was still fluid)?

Without chocolate tempering machines or melting tanks it's hard to keep chocolate at working temperature.


texts: Does defrosting and refreezing affect shelf life?

texts:
I often cook in batch and freeze the part I don't plan to eat within a few days.
When I take out the food from the freezer I have two options:

use "fast defrosting" with microwave function
leaving food out till it's not naturally defrosted

When defrosting and freezing again, is there any substantial difference in terms of "how long food is conserved" between natural defrost and microwave defrost (before freezing again)


texts: Cooking meat and potato dish at same time & temp, I want to cook stuffed chicken breasts that require 375 degrees for 55 minutes

texts: I need to cook two stuffed chicken breasts at 375 degrees for 55-60 min. and a hash brown potato casserole at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Help me calculate the correct temp. and time if I bake them together.


texts: Why would chicken have significant regional differences in flavor?

texts:
Is it possible that (for example) chicken raised in the United States has a different flavor from chicken raised in Europe?  If so, why?

Are there genetic differences in the "breeds" of chicken used in various countries?


texts: How do I know if my meat thermometer is ovenproof?

texts: Ever since a supposedly "ovenproof" thermometer shattered glass on my turkey Thanksgiving 2006 I have been afraid of these things. Is it generally safe to use them? Any maximum temperature I should be worried about?


texts:
I recently purchased an Anova Precision Cooker circulator and have been unsuccessful in both attempts to cook meat using the sous vide technique, and I'd like to figure out why.

Attempt #1 - Ribeye Steaks

Setup
2 1.75" thick ribeye steaks, salted, vacuum-sealed and in the bath for about 2 hours at 115 F - the meat was quite gray when it came out. I then finished with a sear on screaming hot cast iron, flipping once a minute and basting with a mixture of animal fats. After 5 minutes on the grill, I started using a Thermapen to probe the internal temperature

Result
There was quite a bit of banding and the center of the meat turned out to be closer to medium than medium rare. I've since learned salting before is a bad idea when using sous vide, and these particular ribeye cuts were relatively poor quality.

Attempt 2 - Pub-Style burgers

Setup
2 3/4" thick burger patties made from 1 lb of food-processed sirloin steak. The patties contained melted butter and pepper (not salt), were ziploc bag-sealed, and left in a 133 F water bath for 50 minutes. They were then finished in a very hot stainless steel pan and bacon fat, about 1 minute (perhaps a bit more) on each side.

Result
Awful - completely dry and lacking flavor. One of the patties happened to break up slightly when removing it from the ziploc bags and I noticed it was completely gray throughout. The burger that remained intact also turned out entirely gray.

I tend to favor the reverse-sear method for cooking meat, and have successfully cooked both of the above recipes many times by starting the meat in a 225 F oven, raising its internal temperature to 115 F, and finishing with a sear and frequent flipping until medium rare is achieved. So far, sous vide has failed to replace my favored approach, and I don't understand why.

What I've tested
- The Anova is working correctly, verified the same temperature as measured by my Thermapen in an empty pot of water.
- The burgers were not salted, so no more moisture was pulled out than necessary.

Unknowns
- The bags tend to move around quite a bit and one of them usually winds up wedged against the Anova. Could this inadvertently cause the circulator to have a false reading? I didn't test the water temperature during the cook, but I was able to put my hand in the water for a few seconds before it started to hurt.
- What's the recommended size for a pot of water? I'm using what I thought was a good-sized stock pot (at least 2 gallons).


texts:
I've seen article about great benefits of eating avocado seeds. And another here.

Does it mean avocado seeds are edible? How do you eat it then?

On Wikipedia page we can read:

  Avocado leaves, bark, skin, or pit are documented to be harmful to animals; cats, dogs, cattle, goats, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, birds, fish, and horses can be severely harmed or even killed when they consume them.

How about humans?

Somebody from here suggested that the avocado pit is mildly toxic.


texts: How can I use up a large quantity of egg?

texts:
(This is not a recipe request, as I will try to make clear.)
It's Easter egg season in our household, and my 5 ½-year-old niece is going for quantity, not quality. This means that we have an even-larger-than-usual quantity of the blown-out innards of all the eggs we've dyed with food-safe dyes.1
So, we're talking whole eggs, not fully scrambled, but not exactly in a separable condition, either, and with the occasional streak of purple or pink.2
At this point, we're all deathly sick of scrambled eggs and omelets. We've even gotten tired of the Hungarian harbringer of spring, tojásos nokedli, which is basically spätzle with a scrambled-egg sauce.
What other types of things could we look into cooking that would most efficiently use up all these eggs? By "efficient", I mean things that don't require a whole lot of other ingredients. Obviously, I've eliminated the most efficient use, i.e. just cook the eggs (=scrambled eggs), but there's got to be other things we could do.
1 We try to stick to food-safe dyes around kids, because they're not terribly good at not sticking their hands straight in the dye, and from thence in their mouth.
2 e.g. if an egg was accidentally left in the dye overnight, which never happens, no sir, not here, never. :)


texts: How can I convert a muffin recipe to make crumpets?

texts:
If I have a recipe that I like for muffins (in the original English sense of the word, i.e. a fat disc of bread that's made from cooking a yeasted batter on a griddle in crumpet rings), what do I have to do to convert it to make crumpets instead? Looks like I need more hydration (maybe 120% instead of 100%) and to use plain flour instead of bread flour, but is there anything else?

(The muffin recipe in question is from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Bread Everyday. Except that he calls them English muffins, because he's American.)


texts: I have honey and porkchops. Is it safe to marinate the porkchops in a honey based marinade and then fry them in a blend of cooking oils?


texts: Teabags: for how long should I let them sit in the hot water?

texts:
This is a complex matter. The amount of time the teabag spends in the hot water is going to affect the tea in at least two different ways: (a) the longer, the stronger and (b) the shorter, the more 'exciting'.

(a) The more time the teabag sits in the hot water, the more it will release its elements in the water creating that strong taste tea has when it is really dark.

(b) Tea contains caffeine; but it also contains tannin, which is a caffeine-antagonist. The release of caffeine starts immediately, while the release of tannin starts after 2-3 minutes. Therefore, a 'short tea' would have stronger exciting effects.

So, my question is: which one do you think it is the best timing for teabags? I know different cultures have different standards, but I do not know if a rule-of-thumb or golden rule actually exists.


texts: Brown rice aricini but always end up with too much water

texts:
I want to make simple aricini (eggs + cheese + rice) but with brown rice and chopped spinach. When I made this I ended up having too much water in the mixture. As brown rice takes lots of water to cook and spinach secretes water when chopped fine.

How do I go about this?


texts:
I have started buying Kontos Pre-oiled Pita, and am super pleased with the product.
They taste great and also seem to last forever on the shelf.
.. but I have never heard of "oiling" pitas!  Is this something that is done?  I can not find any references out there for it on google.
Also, what do you think this oiling process is, and does it preserve the pita?