texts: What happens if you cook chocolate pudding too long on a double boiler?

texts:
I am having some troubles getting my pudding consistency right.

The kind of pudding I am trying to make is of just milk, cream, sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. The double boiler I use is a small pot in a slightly bigger pot, filled with water.

Until now my pudding almost always turned out runny, like a thick sauce. Then I had the revelation that this happens when the water level in my big pot drops below the smaller pot, so that only the vapours are transferring heat to it (I am guessing in my case it doesn't work, since there is a gap between the pots and thus the temperature can't escalate much in this way). So I sort of solved this problem by adding more water. This allowed me to get one pudding right (or so I think) but then the next one was runny again. I got pissed and thought I simply hadn't cooked it enough (I usually take it off the stove when I think it is the right thickness, wait for it to cool down and refrigerate overnight). So I put it on the stove again and left it there for a whole lot of time ~50 minutes or more (I have an automatic stirrer to stir it, first fast, then slowly to let the starch coagulate). And THIS time it became so thick I think it can rightfully be classified in a solid body state. There is no hint of runny-ness, but now it is really hard and gooey, when pulled it stretches sort of like taffy or thick gum, it holds a solid shape and you can't "scoop" it with a spoon, instead you only pull it. It is also a darker color than usual, so I am wondering if I might have burned it or just added too much starch or sugar (this time I was experimenting with more sugar)?

All I knew, the double boiler prevents any burning (in my case there are no burn marks, but maybe the milk got burned/heated too much?) and cornstarch, once heated to the sufficient temperature, would just thicken and further heating it wouldn't change anything, unless it is TOO much heating.

My recipe is:

cocoa 150ml
sugar 500ml
cream 50ml
cornstarch 100ml
milk 800ml

(I measure in ml, don't ask)

So, if nothing was burned or heated too much, it could be that roughly a third of the entire mixture is sugar, while only half is milk and maybe 1/16th of the entire mixture's volume in cornstarch is too much? I have never gotten a definite valid correct sample with this recipe to be able to compare to anything and it will be some time before I can experiment again.


texts:
I left a pizza dough (neapolitan pizza) that I prepared by fermenting for almost 24 hours at room temperature (in my house the temperature is between 17-20°C).
The problem is when I'm stretching with my hand, the dough shrinks back quickly. What can I do to resolve this?

250g Caputo white flour
150g of water
7.5g of salt
0.5g of biological yeast


texts: All fried rice recipes seem to have the same toned down interpretation

texts:
I have been trying to recreate the fried rice from a restaurant that I loved before moving. They were a Japanese steak house (called the Iron Chef), the type that cooks in front of you, and they made this incredibly saucy fried rice. It had this sort of savory perhaps umami taste to it that was so incredible. However I can’t recreate it. Other than their secret sauces and pastes the only difference from your average recipe is that they had larger chunks of zucchini in it.

I did try one of the internets self proclaimed best fried rice** recipes* but it was pretty flat and boring and toned down, even from your average restaurants version.

All the recipes I find for fried rice seem to be quite similar to each other and are meant to result in a much more toned down less savory and saucy result. Very few of them involve mixing in a sauce that is any more than just soy and sesame. Boring! Not only did the restaurant have some sort of paste but they also had a sauce.

How do I look for recipes that might be different and might be able to create a memorable fried rice like the one from that restaurant.

*it is worth noting that I did not follow the part of the recipe that asked for Shaoxing wine as I am underage and can’t buy that. That can’t be it right?

**Some people are reporting having trouble using the link so here is the ingredients list.

3 tbsp neutral oil
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper
2 carrots
1 tablespoon garlic
1 cup peas
1 tbsp ginger
3/4 cups rice
2 eggs
1/4 cup Shaoxing wine or water
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup minced cilantro
Salt pepper to taste


texts: How to make low carb crispy fried cauliflower?

texts:
Typically I would use a slurry of all purpose flour and cornstarch (with curd/buttermilk) to coat the marinated florets and deep fry them. Resulted in crispy fried cauliflower. An example of a recipe : https://www.kitchenathoskins.com/2017/05/26/crispy-crunchy-buttermilk-fried-cauliflower/#wprm-recipe-container-19056
I need some help in finding out how I can make a low carb version of the same preferably without eggs - am happy to use curd or buttermilk as the slurry base if need be.
Glucomannan is a replacement for cornstarch - but from what I have tried and found it might be a replacement for when cornstarch is used to thicken gravies. I tried coating florets in glucomannan powder, slurry (more like jello) and that did not help in making a crispy end result. And I still need to work my way on finding a low carb APF replacement for frying.
How does one make low carb crispy fried cauliflower?


texts: Is there a reason to not dice vacuum pack vegetables and keep them in the fridge for å few days before cooking them sous vide?


texts: Can I put a layer of almond paste in my tart that will not be baked?

texts: All the recipes I'm finding are for pies where you put the layer of thinly rolled almond paste on the pie shell, add the filling and then bake.  I'm wanting to blind bake my pie shell, lay down the almond paste, add pastry cream and top with fresh strawberries.  Would this be a problem?


texts: Best way to Store and Rewarm Fried Chicken

texts:
I'm looking for a good way to store fried chicken, as well as a good way to warm it up without it becoming soggy. I often have to cook a day or 2 in advance and the chicken loses its crunchy crust.

For the record, I usually coat my chicken in flour, dip in eggs, coat in cornflake crumbs, and fry.


texts: Internal temperature of cuts containing abundance of connective tissue

texts:
I currently have a 2 lbs beef chuck in the oven. I am monitoring the internal temperature of my meat, which is currently at 140 F.

It is my understanding that cuts located close to hoof/horn and contain a lot of connective tissue should be cooked to an internal temperature of 190-195 for tenderness and juiciness.

I am looking for a guide for cuts with a lot of connective tissue, i.e. how different internal temperatures result in different meat textures.


texts: Is it normal that cooking time of my pizza is 1 hour in oven with 230 degrees?

texts:
I know its wired but i need to keep my pizza for one hour in oven with 230 Celsius degrees to properly cook it
but everyone says 20 minutes or less is enough
i don't know why it takes so long for me

sorry for bad English its not my native language


texts:
I would like to make a simple vanilla sauce for my cake.
So far, my idea is to cook a sweet cream pudding (using a pudding mix from a bag), and then enrich it with ground vanilla beans.
At what stage should I add the vanilla so that it releases the most flavour?

When the milk is hot, but before adding the pudding powder mix?
Once the pudding is prepared, but still hot?
Once the pudding cools down?

In general, under which conditions do vanilla beans release most of their taste? When cooked, when put in a hot liquid, or when put in a cold environment?


texts: Is this mold on my jack links beef steak?

texts:
I've attached a couple of pictures of my just-opened Jack Links beef steak. There are white mushy blobs of something on the inside of the packaging, and when I remove the packaging they mostly stick to the plastic and only in some places do they remain on the beef. They are gel-like to the touch, much like a gel ointment or such thing. I can't really figure out what they smell like, cause the smell of the seasoned beef is too strong.

Is this mold? I've read in some places that such things could be salt, but salt wouldn't be mushy to touch.

If it helps I bought this right now on my college campus store. We're in the northeast and it's pretty often rainy and wet here.


texts: Is it okay to put baking powder in Yorkshire Pudding batter?

texts: It's just that, the first time I tried, they didn't rise as much as I thought they would. would baking powder help?


texts: How do I get the flaky top on ooey gooey butter bars?

texts:
I'm making Paula Deen's Ooey Gooey Butter Bars (also known as Ooey Gooey Butter Cake) for holiday goodie baskets. I'm having trouble getting the top to be flaky like it is on the bars sold at the store - the same kind of flaky top that's on brownies.

I'm guessing I'm either not mixing something long enough or mixing it too long or something. I've seen pictures of the process online and my top batter looks EXACTLY like the batter in the picture, but something is going wrong. In my eight tries, it's only turned out right twice. I can tell when it's going wrong during the baking process, because the top fluffs up and the crust never forms.

For the unfamiliar, this is a bar with a cake mix-butter-one egg crust on the bottom. The topping is a block of softened cream cheese, one stick of melted butter, two eggs, vanilla and two cups of powdered sugar.

Could it be the quality of the ingredients? I've used no-name butter sometimes and other times Land O'Lakes. Help!


texts: How can I use persimmons in a cooked dish?

texts:
I've recently had my first taste of a persimmon, having no idea how it tastes or how it should be eaten, I cut it into slices and ate it like an apple.

It is a very interesting sweet taste, and would like to know how I can incorporate it into a cooked meal or dish?


texts: In England, can I buy fresh fish directly off the boat?

texts:
In Trondheim, where I used to live before coming to England, sometimes I bought fish directly off the boat. The fish was fresh and cheaper than the supermarket. I am interested to know if it is possible to do the same in England. Is it common to buy fresh fish off the boat in England?

Note: I asked the same question in Expatriates.SE, but was advised to ask here instead.


texts:
I just made 38 jars of strawberry jelly and realized I did not put all the sugar in recipe. I thought I could scale back until I read the small print on Certgel.

Can I dump it all back in a pot and recook it adding the rest of the sugar, or do I have to throw it all out and restart?


texts: Replacing whole egg beating process by separated egg white and yolk beating in a recipe which calls for the former?

texts:
Can I replace whole egg beating process by separated egg white and yolk beating in a recipe which calls for the former? Can I replace the maida(all purpose flour ) with cake flour? Recipe is given below.
Youtube video recipe for chocolate cake. Recipe is given in the description box. (Note:Language used in the video is malayalam:Kerala, India)
https://youtu.be/iS9_i-VJ6XA


texts: How to economically make home-made sushi?

texts: How does one go about purchasing sushi-grade fish without breaking the bank? I know that sushi chefs & restaurants usually buy in bulk. Is there any way to do this individually in a way that is at all economically feasible?


texts: How can I achieve flavorful, gelatinous pork broth economically?

texts:
It's that time of year, bean soup and split-pea soup are winter favorites of mine. I don't really care if the soups contain actual meat chunks, but I find the flavor absolutely essential to the soups. I also love what the gelatin does for the mouth feel. I've always been very happy to get such a broth as a by-product of cooking pork, but I've never set out to make pork broth. If I could afford all the bacon I could ever want it would be problem solved. Alas, I cannot. What products should I be looking for, and what techniques might be helpful with those perhaps less familiar products? I have all the time in the world, but not much money.

Edit: Specifically, I'd like especially to know about cuts that you might recommend. Of course I'm familiar with loin, ham and belly, but less so with neck, feet and jowls - that kind of thing. My local grocery occasionally has smoked neck. When I've seen it I wasn't thinking pork stock/broth at the time so I didn't really look at it or the price. But now that I want broth, I wonder about the lesser known (to an American) cuts. There are a few local butchers that might bag up "stuff" for me, if I knew enough to know what to ask for. Smoked products might be preferred (I like the smoky taste in bean soup and that's specifically why I would make such a broth) but I could always add at least some smoked product to the actual soup.

For what it's worth, "broth" or "stock" has always been a rather meaningless distinction to me. Is it liquid that adds the flavor of the meat to whatever I'm making? That's what I'm looking for.


texts: In how much water do I need to put ramekins when cooking au bain marie in the oven?

texts:
I have been given four ramekins and a cooking book with 30 recipes for eggs in a ramekin as a present.

Everything is explained very clearly:

Preheat the water for the bain marie dish in the oven at (I think) 180°C
Put the eggs in a ramekin
Add other ingredients
Place the ramekin in the bain marie dish in the oven
Get the ramekins out when you see the egg white is starting to coagulate

I have never used ramekins and I have never cooked au bain marie in the oven, but I believe the amount of water you use is pretty important. Unfortunately the book doesn't mention this.

So how high should the water level be for the ramekins?


texts: Can I boil eggs in the same pot I'm boiling something else?

texts:
I know cooking the eggs kills the salmonella and that the risk is small even for raw eggs. However, I stopped boiling the eggs in the same pot I'm boiling something else, like potatoes, when I learnt the salmonella is in the shell.

Obviously, I'm not eating the shell and the eggs are washed. I wonder if I can boil everything in the same pot or not.


texts: How does red wine butter impact the flavor of dishes?

texts: I was looking for some ways to use up some older wine and red wine butter came up as a possible use. I see that it is supposedly pretty tasty on many meat-based dishes; how does the wine change the butter so as to make it a more attractive alternative than just using butter or oil?


texts: How can I prevent tea stored in a thermos from oversteeping?

texts:
I would like to brew a pot of tea and store in it a thermos to keep it hot overnight so I can drink it before getting out of bed.

I've tried this approach and found that although the tea tasted fine freshly brewed, by morning the tea is extremely astringent, as though it had been boiling with the leaves the whole time.

My assumption is that, although I had made some attempt to strain the tea before adding to the thermos, enough of the tea dust became suspended that it continued brewing, releasing tannins, and turning the drink very dry.

What are some ways I can cut down on this effect? I've thought of brewing loose leaves instead of bags, although I know there will be dust there too. Perhaps I could strain through a more effective means than the tea bags or tea strainer? Or maybe I should cool the tea somewhat before adding to the thermos?


texts: What is the cons of using high temperature/low water to cook curry?

texts:
I cook curry with curry power. (This kind.) They said pour it in water under medium heat. Sure enough after some time it starts thickening. When it is thick enough I considered this ready to eat.

However what is contributed to make the curry from "raw" state to the ready to eat state? I think the thickening is because of something in the powder is "cooked" so wouldn't increasing the temperature hasten this process? And another things that contributes to the thickening is the water evaporation, so if I add very low amount of water from the start is that means I don't have to wait as long as the higher amount of water?

What I am guessing from my many tries is that, after certain amount of time where the powder is "cooked" from this point onwards you only wait for the water to reduce enough to get thick. If this is true perfectly calculated curry should aims the water amount for when the powder is cooked, water is at the right amount so it is thick enough.


texts: Is it good to keep food in an opened can possibly in a refrigerator?

texts:
I often cannot eat all food in a can of ready-to-eat vegetable, cranberry/tomato/spaghetti sauce, or salmon.

I keep the rest in the original can in either the refrigerator or the freezer.

I recently saw on a can of orange juice that "Refrigerate after opening in a separate container". But I haven't found similar words on other cans.

Is it safe to keep food in an opened can in general?

Does my question depend on specific food?


texts: How should I incorporate oil into focaccia?

texts:
Last weekend, I tried making focaccia for the first time. I tried two recipes at once, the one from The Bread Baker's Apprentice and a traditional Genovese focaccia recipe modified for quick-rise (I got this one from a FOAF).

For both, I tried to massage the olive oil (in the BBA case infused with dried herbs) into the dough before the proofing (that's a word at least one of the recipes said, "massage"). In fact, the oil just sloshed around on the surface, puddled in the dimples, and flowed off the bread into the pan. The time spent proofing and baking was enough for the oil to flow completely off the surface. In both cases, I ended up with a loaf with dry upper crust and greasy soaked lower half.

What was my mistake? How should I have worked the oil into/onto the bread to get a nice result?


texts: Making baking powder substitute with baking soda and powdered citric acid

texts: I have no baking powder, but I do have baking soda and powdered citric acid. Can these be combined to substitute for 1 teaspoon of baking powder?  If so, how much of each would I use?


texts: Substitute Sherry for Wine in Sour dough cookies?

texts:
Can I substitute Sherry for Wine in my sour dough molasses cookies?

Wondering if the Sherry might have a different effect on the fermentation of my dough.


texts: Reheating no boil lentil lasagna noodles after freezing

texts: Can I use no boil lentil lasagna noodles, cook  the lasagna, then freeze and reheat without mushy noodles?


texts: Is it wise to use vinegar to handle rust for cooking utensils?

texts: Sometime, the cooking utensils can be damaged by minerals in the food and cause some rust. Would it be wise to use vinegar to remove rust for cooking utensils or are there are better methods?


texts: has anyone tried scrambling whites, then stirring in yolks?

texts:
I'm obviously not near my kitchen...

I was reading on lifehacker about cornstarch in scrambled eggs, then some of their other articles on scrambled eggs, and I was thinking that the thing I miss most with scramble eggs is that golden, runny yolk that I shoot for with eggs over easy.  also, I'm just not  a fan of runny whites.

so, anything bad come to mind with:

separate eggs, pasteurized eggs, of course
heat pan with fat
add whites & fat as you would for regular scrambled eggs
remove from heat, season
allow to cool a bit if necessary
stir in yolks


texts: Why is my cake rising sideways while baking?

texts:
Here is what my cake looks like:

I'm using the following ingredients to make the cake:

1 egg
wheat flour
milk
some kind of flavour essence like vanilla essence
pinch of baking powder
pinch of baking soda (though I've tried without it)
powdered sugar or jaggery

I've noticed that the cake tastes good but it tends to rise sideways.

I'm not sure what's causing that but from the look of it it seems that the uppermost layer formed a crust that wouldn't move and the insides had to forcefully burst out because the crust was so tight. Not positive here though. I'm following everything that's written in common recipes.

Edit: Since everyone is commenting on the oven, I used an Air Fryer actually at 160 degree Celsius (which is supposed to be the recommended temperature for baking the cake).

Edit2: Observations on the way the cake has burst through sideways.

The way it has risen - it's as if the top part solidified and formed a thick crust. The structure in the middle tried it's best to rise up but the top crust didn't allow the rising up nor did it allow bursting. The middle part had no choice but to keep pushing until one edge of it gave way. I find it strange that the top crust didn't burst anywhere. Rather the side burst and the middle part leaked out from there. The top is so strong that in spite of the sideburst it still retains its shape. Makes me feel like the top is "suffocating" the middle.

In fact, when I take out a slice I see that the top layer is so strong that it gets easily separated like it were a cloth piece. The middle part is squishy kinds.

The structure of the cake makes me feel like something is wrong with the ingredients due to which the top formed such a strong crust. Could it be something to do with fat in the milk? This reminds me of the time when milk is boiled and the round layer of fat is formed at the top. As the milk boils it doesn't allow the bubbles to escape and starts "suffocating" the liquid underneath instead of bursting.

Perhaps we need to use skimmed milk for the cake? Also, I didn't use any water at all. Only milk. Could it be that I need to use 50% water + 50% milk so that the top crust isn't so strong and it becomes more "burstable". That way the middle structure can jump out from whichever direction it wants? Perhaps that would make the bursts happen in different areas and create a more "normal" cake. Or am I wrong here?


texts: Only the seeds of the habaneros I bought are hot - low quality, or simply the nature of chili?

texts:
I'm a newbie when it comes to any type of chili. I'm alright at eating food with chili, but don't really have any experience with using it.

I bought the one I used at a local supermarket. I first tried eating a small slice to measure its hotness, but couldn't really feel much heat at all. Pleasant flavor though.

Then I tried to eat a small slice with one (1) seed on it, and this time, it was pretty damn strong, I'll admit. But the "flesh" itself was not strong. The food I made (ground beef, crushed tomatoes, onion) was about ~1.5kg total and filled my pan, but when I added half the chopped habanero with ~6 seeds there was not noticeable hotness at all. I didn't notice this until I served since my tastebuds were giving me false readings from the first tasting I did.

So, this lack of hotness, is it because

That's how habaneros work (surprised me that I didn't get any hotness though)
The type I bought was not very strong.
I prepared it all wrong. Extract flavor using oil first?
My supermarket sells non-fresh / low quality habaneros?

Or something else?


texts: How to keep a cheesecake layer seperate from filling during baking?

texts:
I want to make an (dutch) apple pie with a layer of cheesecake.
As far as I know I have a few options:

Bake a cheesecake, then simply add a layer of apples.
more or less like:

However this is not what I want.
Use a known recipe with a result like this:

Option 2 is exactly what I'm looking for and exactly the type of pie. I want to have crust on the bottom, sides, and top.
In the picture you can see what is to be expected. The layers will combine.
But I want to have a layer like option 1.
Is this at all possible without the layers combining during baking?
Apples on top seems to moisten the cheesecake layer too much, if they don't already sink to the bottom eventually.
Cheesecake on top might have the same issue, but less I guess.
I'm also not sure how the stripes of dough would hold up above this cheesecake layer.

Any tips on how to proceed or is this mission impossible?

Edit:
An example of a layer with some sort of merengue (with added starch), added before baking. To give a better picture of what I'm trying to achieve.


texts: How to keep dumplings from quickly drying out

texts:
Last night, I assembled a few (around 2 dozen) dumplings from simple wrappers made from just flour and boiling water. I kept the wrappers under a wet towel because the edges started to dry out really quickly, but by the time I was done assembling them all, the filled dumplings were getting dry.

Is there a way, other than keeping everything under a damp towel, to keep them from drying out so quickly?

I should also add that I left the dough to rise in the fridge for a day in a kinda damp towel in a plastic container, maybe that has to do with it? But the dough wasn't dry went a rolled it out.


texts: When conserving food in jar, why is the jar turned on its head when cooling?

texts:
I am talking about the process, where you cook food, for example, a vegetable and conserve it in a jar. The jar can then be stored in a non-refrigerated area.

Many recipes include adding salt, vinegar or some other preservative to the jar.

The process I am talking about only uses water and heat.

I am trying to do this for a third year, each time I have multiple jars going bad.

Most tutorials include the filled jar being heated up (in a water bath) and then (or even while heating) being turned on its head and being let to cool in this position until it is ready to be stored away.

Most tutorials mention, that there is a vacuum being formed, and the jar being on its head somehow helps the process.

It looks something like this:

The way I understand it is that during the heating process the air in the jar expands and escapes the jar, which reduces the air.

What I don't understand is why this is necessary, obviously there is no perfect vacuum and why the jar needs to be turned on its head?

Also, since the jar is cooked and all bacteria killed, why is air a problem?


texts: Brisket been cooking for 4 hours and rock hard -- what am I doing wrong?

texts: I cut it up into 1.5 inch cubes and cooked it at 200 degrees F. I'm trying to make brisket curry and It's just been simmering at that temp for the last 3-4 hours. It's still super hard. Did I ruin it already?


texts: When making lemon/poppy seed icecream, how should I include the poppy seeds?

texts: I want to make lemon+poppy ice cream, and I have a bag of preground blue poppy. I’m not following s specific recipe, I just like the flavour combo and had it in icecream from a shop before. Can I add them to the base when it’s hot; when it’s chilled before churning; steep them then strain them out; or do I add them to the finished icecream?


texts: What mechanism causes a butter crock to function better than other options?

texts:
How does a butter crock work better than a plastic or ceramic butter dish?

I can see how the water and stoneware would slow the butter's response to ambient temperature fluctuations.  But after a day, at most, cold water would warm up to room temperature.

I can imagine how the water on the bottom layer of butter might prevent bad microbes (only those that don't water) from getting to the butter there.  But how does that improve on the wax paper that most butter already comes in?  I'd imagine that the process of getting butter from a pre-wrapped stick into the crock would have a large potential for introducing foreign materials.


texts: Tips on making a sauce out of beef trimmings.

texts:
I have trimmings from a Beef tenderloin and would rather not throw them away. I already have a demi being made and will be making a sauce with cremini, onion, garlic and red wine.

Tips on handling the trimmings?


texts: Donvier Ice Cream Maker - why stirring only every 2 minutes?

texts:
This weekend I picked up a hand-cranked ice cream maker for a very low price. However some of the instructions don't make much sense. For this maker, they say to crank the handcrank 2-3 times every 2-3 minutes, for a total of 20-30 minutes.

However, every ice cream maker I have ever used requires you to constantly crank the handle to help keep ice crystals from forming. Likewise, all of the electric makers will spin a beater arm nonstop through the process. Why is does this ice cream maker say to only stir sporadically? Does stirring more cause an issue with this ice cream maker?

The ice cream maker is the same design as this one, but about 20 years old:
http://www.amazon.com/Donvier-837409W-1-Quart-Cream-Maker/dp/B00006484E/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

This is what the beater arm/dasher looks like.


texts: How do I trap lateral bones that run down outside edge?

texts:
Can someone please simplify Step 1? What does "trap lateral bones" mean?

Seafood Basics: 86 Recipes Illustrated Step by Step (2012) by Abi Fawcett,
Deirdre Rooney.


texts:
I freeze stuff. Anything from Bolognese to stew. I portion these meals, after they've cooled, into meal-sized Tupperware boxes and stuff them randomly into my crowded freezer.

The problem is that it's difficult to tell which stews are which, and also when they were made. So far, I've been using memory. But I'd like to delegate the task to a system of written or visual aids - so that I don't have to remember.

Has anybody got a good suggestion for a system of frozen food labelling that doesn't suck?

The obvious answer is freezer-safe sticky labels. I fear that these will be annoying; that they will ruin my Tupperware boxes, and that I will be wasting money buying them and writing on them and then having to stick over them.

I'd like some more innovative suggestions, preferably ones that have been tried with success.


texts: What would you use to wash pretzel hot dog buns?

texts:
I was inspired after seeing a hot dog with a pretzel bun. I have the recipe pretty close to where I want it, but I'm not sure what to use as a wash. I tried egg whites so far and wasn't very happy.

I'm open to all suggestions as I'm not sure what I want or what the expectation of a pretzel hot dog bun should be. Also would you doing anything special with the boil?  I'm just using the standard baking soda and water at the moment.


texts:
I make a weekly batch of homemade ice cream using:

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
salt / vanilla

I want to try including some nutritionally dense ingredients like butter, egg yolks, peanut butter, avocado, etc.

Is there an easy way to know how much of a given ingredient to add? I still want the ice cream to be enjoyable

Are there any other ways to increase the calories per batch?

I've tried using half and half instead of milk, but the texture is too "whipped."


texts:
This might sound like a queer question, but why do we marinade meat with acid / enzymes? Given that marinading doesn't tenderize meat, it just turns the outer fibers into mush and releases the juices when cooking? Why not just go with a flavored brine instead?

In other words: Why is it customary to use such marinades, and why is it commonly said that it tenderizes the meat?

Source Shirley Corriher:

http://www.finecooking.com/articles/marinades-flavor-tenderize.aspx

  At first, water molecules are attached to and trapped within this
  protein mesh, so the tissue remains juicy and tender. But after a
  short time, if the protein is in a very acidic marinade, the protein
  bonds tighten, water is squeezed out, and the tissue becomes tough. If
  you've ever tried marinating shrimp in highly acidic ingredients, it's
  likely that you're familiar with this result.

Also

  My experience with tenderizing enzymes mirrors that of Dr. Nicholas
  Kurti, a famous Oxford physicist who tried tenderizing a pork roast by
  injecting half with pineapple juice, leaving the other half untouched.
  A noted chef, Michel Roux, was to judge on television which side was
  better. After cooking, the half treated with pineapple was total mush
  and looked like a pile of stuffing. Not surprisingly, Chef Roux
  preferred the untreated half.


texts: Should I wash newly bought plastic tumblers?

texts:
Just bought these cups from IKEA.

Beside from being dusty, I asked myself whether I should put these once before usage into the dishwasher to "wash away toxics" that might be on the surface of the cups.

On the other hand, this might be pure superstition.

My question:

Should I dishwash plastic cups/plates before first use?


texts: What is a good way to steam tamales without a "tamale steamer?"

texts: I am looking for ways to to cook large quantities of Tamales but I don't have a Tamale Steamer.  Anyone do this before with other standard kitchen gear?  I would rather not cook them in batches as the recipes call for 2-3 hours worth of steaming...


texts: Does resting fish before serving affect its texture or taste?

texts:
More and more recipes seem to turn up that tell you to rest fish before serving. Not for very long, but still. That seems not right to me. You rest meat to reabsorb juices and relax,so it seems more tender. And to even out temperature differences.

Fish is a completely different kind of "meat", and I don't see why resting would help here. For one, the cells have less tough walls, so it is tender anyway. And the temp issue seems less important as well, being less dense than meat.

You could argue that dense fish flesh, such as monkfish, is more like meat, and therefore resting is necessary, as I have heard. But that seems a very dubious reasoning to me. But the chefs on the same level as Ramsay propose to do this...not that these chefs are necessary right and up to date with the WHY's of what they do, of course.

Would resting fish change the its taste or texture in any noticeable way?


texts: Yorkshire puddings in a fan assisted oven

texts: Which shelf in a fan assisted oven is the best to use for making Yorkshire puddings?


texts: At my regular tea webshop, you can always see what year and month the tea was harvested. Just recently they have brought in this spring's harvest of Darjeeling. But they also have tea from 2011 (in this case a black tea). How does harvest time matter with teas? When is a tea considered "old"? Do they lose flavour when storing for more than two years? Would a more recently harvested tea be considered a better buy or does it depend on taste and type of tea?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to keep fresh-squeezed fruit juice?

I love orange juice and I make it using blender. Yesterday I made juice of around 50 oranges. At the end of the day I still had around 2 litres of it left in an aluminium (my guess) container. Container was not air tight. I didn't put it in the fridge because temperature is around freezing point in my city these days.

In the morning when I opened the container I saw a an orange foam layer above the real juice. When I tasted the juice it was too bitter in taste. I had to throw it away at the end :(

My questions

How can I preserve home made orange juice?
How can avoid foam over orange juice?


texts: I make bread once every 2 weeks for lunch. Is it best to freeze, them slice as quickly as possible and get back into the freezer. Or slice then freeze. Which one keeps it fresher?


texts: converting a muffin recipe to a cake recipe

texts: I have a muffin recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins.  The recipe calls for a 325 degree oven and a baking time of 20-25 minutes.  I want to bake these in a 9 x 13 pan as a cake.  How long should I bake my cake and at what temperature.


texts: Where can I find a hand blender like this?

texts: My mom uses this in India. It is very convenient, has 5 types of detachable blades - some are smooth for mixing, while some sharp for chopping. I haven't been able to find a similar product on amazon.


texts:
I made this tonic syrup recipe. However, as mentioned also in the recipe, the bubbles tend to leave early when I pour sparkling water on it. I don't think using a differend brand would help - the production process is probably similar.
Why do the bubbles leave? It does not happen with elderberry flower syrup. Would using a soda stream help? How do I keep the bubbles in my tonic?


texts:
I tried this bleu cheese dressing: http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/all/episode.php?episodenumber=422&screen=2&sortby=a. It turned out good (not sure if I'd call it great), but it was a bit thin -- especially when it sits out of the refrigerator for a few minutes.

The only thing I used that I think was a substitute was for the heavy cream. I used Anchor Thickened Cream instead: http://shop.countdown.co.nz/Content/ProductImages/big/94160574.jpg. If anything, I thought this might make the dressing even thicker.

Anyway, any suggestions on what I can do to thicken the dressing? I want this for hot wings.

Any other bleu cheese dressing tips are also welcome.


texts: How to find out if an egg has a cracked shell before boiling it?

texts: The cracks are practically invisible to naked eye but while boiling, they spew out all the yolk into the water creating a lot of mess. I'm wondering if I could test an egg before boiling it, so I could use the cracked ones for making omelettes, for example.


texts: Why do milk products stay fresh longer when stored in glass?

texts:
Over the years I have noticed that when I buy milk in glass bottles it will stay fresh-tasting longer than milk bought in plastic jugs or paperboard cartons. This includes other milk products such as whipping cream and half & half.

What I don't know is why this happens. Most US grocery stores sell these products in plastic or paperboard containers, with dairies being the place to get them in glass bottles.

I have researched quite a bit and found some very interesting information, but most of it is in regard to nutrition or environmental, production, and transortation information.

Does anyone know why milk products stay fresh longer in glass?


texts: What can I do with soft biscuits due to air exposure

texts:
I had bought a biscuit packet and after eating some I left the packet in a poly bag with a knot.
However may be due to loosening of the knot, and hence, the air exposure, the biscuits have lost their crunchiness and have become soft.
It's now difficult to eat them!
If anyone can suggest any recipe so that they don't get wasted or if I can make them hard again!
My biscuits are normal sweet cookies with sugar crystals on their surface.
I have around 10-12 pieces left.


texts:
Got to work this morning and made the first round of drinks and everything was fine with them. We then made the second round about an hour later with the same milk, same kettle, same instant coffee and tea bags. It all tasted fine but in the bottom of some of the cups after we had finished were some spherical white lumps.

This happened in both the coffee and the tea so it appears it was caused from the milk. What are these lumps?


texts: best way to infuse flavour into boiled potatoes

texts: My question is very similar to this one here How to best cook potatoes to be used in a curry? I am trying to enhance the potatoes flavour by masking it's own natural flavour with as much spiciness as possible, however, no matter which method of cooking I choose, the flavour of the potatoes always come through better than the flavours of the masala blended around the pan. Is there any known preparation tricks that I may be missing?


texts: Is storing rice in original sealed bag a good idea?

texts: I have a 25lbs bag of rice in its original sealed plastic bag. Do I have to open the bag when I store it in a plastic sealed container?


texts: Does anyone know if the bitter kuding tea (苦丁茶) contain caffeine?


texts: Adding/substituting non-flour ingredients in bread

texts:
I have a basic bread recipe that works well in my automatic breadmaker. The recipe is:

1 & 7/8 cup water
5 cups whole wheat flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp dry milk
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp vital wheat gluten
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp active dry yeast

I'd like to make variations on it by adding some of the following ingredients (not all at once, I'll probably pick one item from that list for any one loaf):

oat or wheat bran
multi-grain cereal
chia seeds
corn meal

Is there a general principle for how to do it, or do I just have to try and see what works? Say I want to add 1 cup of wheat bran. Do I just add it to the mix above? Or should I subtract 1 cup of flour in this case, to make it 4 cups flour + 1 cup bran? Should I increase gluten or any other ingredients? What is the maximum amount of these ingredients that can be added?

I'm not much of a cook. If these things are described in some book already (as I suspect they are), recommendations for books to read would also be helpful.


texts: Can I freeze unused buttermilk bought at the supermarket for later use? Can it later on be thawed and used safely?


texts:
I'm working on making a long cooked version of a stew which uses apple cider vinegar as part of the flavor.

I was wondering what happens to the flavor of the vinegar when it's cooked for a long time. I have technical constraints and it needs to cook for about 24 hours, and I was wondering if it would lose the flavor.

Also I was wondering if adding vinegar is pointless, seeing as long cooked stews tend to get very brown, it'll end up being a very alkaline environment, and maybe that would cancel out the acidity.


texts: What is a good subsitute for Mirliton (aka Chayote)?

texts:
My daughter wants to cook a recipe that she found in a cookbook.  The main ingredient is Mirlitons, but I don't think I'm going to be able to find them where I live.  I've never had them myself, so I have no clue what would be a good subsitute.  Any suggestions?

If it matters, the recipe is basically cut them in to strips, season them, coat them with flour and fry them.


texts:
I have recently bought a small coating pan which I am going to use to coat peanuts & raisins with chocolate, and then polish with capol. I am quite new to the whole chocolate thing. Especially establishing the quality of the chocolate. I have used only a basic chocolate bar bought from the store, tempered it accordingly and coated a few peanuts.

The chocolate bars is just so expensive. So I was thinking about getting compound chocolate and mixing it 50/50 with the milk chocolate bar bought from the store. I am just worried if this is such a good idea. So what is the differences between the two? And would it be a okay to mix the two?


texts: How to choose good quality Chinese slicer knives?

texts:
Chinese slicer knives look like cleavers, but are very thin and meant to chop foods that are reasonably soft, e.g. not bone.

I've heard that Chan Chi Kee (CCK) is the best, but it's very difficult to compare since it is very difficult to find good Chinese knives to begin with, and then it's even more difficult to try them out at a store. In addition to CCK, I've also heard of Shuanghuan. Both of these brands are from Hong Kong. Can any professional cooks elaborate on their use and benefits? What are the advantages of each of these brands? Are there other good slicer knives I should consider?


texts: Are there any risks using a non-microwavable plastic plate in the microwave?

texts:
We have some plates we bought from Target a few years ago that we frequently use in the microwave.  These plates are listed as not being microwave safe.

Does that mean that they could cause health issues if we use them in the microwave, or does that just mean that the microwave could ruin the plates?


texts: What are some recommended methods of cleaning wooden cutting boards?

texts: Supposedly, wooden cutting boards should not be submerged in lots of soap and water because too much moisture leads to rot. How can one optimize for cleanliness while also caring for the board?


texts:
Whenever I buy oats I go to buy oats I'm always left wondering if the higher price could result in a better product.  I auspect it could be that a higher price just means an expensive cardboard box or a better position on the shelf.

I've checked for factors that I think might explain it such as  origin and organic claims but that doesn't seem to explain either.

Can oats be different quality and how can I tell the difference. What effect does it have on what I prepare with it?

The Oats
The types of Oates I'm asking about are the varieties that are plain and not premixed with other ingredients. There are a number of forms I know of such as Rolled, quick and steel cut oats.

As for the uses, I mostly mix with boiling water for breakfast but occasionally use in cooking as well so If there is a difference for different uses then knowing about that would also be useful.

An example shelf

The above pricing ranges from $1.5 to $6 for what appears to be the same quantity of the same product.  Note some of the products are mixed are not really oats they are mixes and not included in my question.


texts:
I make a really great smoked brisket and usually give quite a lot away when cooking at rallies, races, tail-gating etc. This time I want to try selling the sandwiches.

I have no clue how to figure out how many sandwiches per pound. How would I figure that out?

What about prices - how should I select a price per sandwich? How can I estimate how much money I might make selling them?


texts:
I am going to braise 22 pounds of brisket for 6-8 hours at 225°.
What temperature should the brisket be internally before I pull out to cool? I have been told many mixed answers.


texts: Chicken wrapper torn, meat is a little dry

texts: I was thawing chicken thighs in the refrigerator and noticed the plastic wrap had torn some, probably when I dug it out of the deep freeze! Some of the chicken dried out. Is it still safe to fry?


texts:
I atempted to make a chicken stock that I can keep in my fridge for a few days. After roasting a couple chicken breasts, carrot, onion, garlic, mushroom stems for 45 minutes I put all of that in a pan, covered with water and set to simmer for a couple hours.

Aftee checking it about half way through, I noticed that all the water had gone, absorbed by the chicken and veg. The thing was I tried making this last week, and I think I added too much water resulting in a fairly tasteless stock, so I made sure I just added enough to cover.

Totally didn't expect to see all of the water gone! I'm now left with a bowl of pretty dry chicken and veg. Can I reuse them? Any ideas where I went wrong and any tips?

Much appreciated!

CookingRookie.


texts: Pot roast hit safe temp. Should I keep cooking?

texts:
I always read that when cooking a pot roast in a slow cooker, you should cook on low for 8 hours. If you don't have time, 2 hours of high and 4 hours of low is OK, or 4 hours on high; but the best result is 8 hours on low.

I recently got a new slow cooker and found it hits the safe temp (145F) after about four hours on low.  Unfortunately, I never checked the temp halfway through on the old one for comparison.

Should I take it out, or should I keep cooking for the remaining 4 hours?


texts: How can I get more umami in a veggie burger?

texts:
I'm not a vegan, so let me get that out there as the first sentence. I can find recipes all over the place for veggie burgers, but all I've tried have been bland. I may indeed have an umami flavor addiction.

What are your pro tips for great taste in a veggie burger? To keep within the scope of the question, let's say that at least 75% of the weight must be made of things that would be considered vegan. Items must be available to a foodie in non-boxcar size quantiles through regular sources (though not necessarily "common" or "everyday" sources.)

I'm looking for items, not recipes.

I think I'm going to tag this question as "vegan" so 100% vegan answers are welcome too and will be up-voted.


texts: I am an experienced cook, more than 50 years in the kitchen. I recently attempted to make a baked potato (basic Idaho baking potato) to go with my meatloaf. I gave it 1 hour and 15 minutes, which has always been plenty. It was hard as a rock. I gave it another half hour, and it had softened slightly at the ends. I have never had to bake a potato longer than 1 1/4 hours. The oven was set at 350°F and is generally accurate. Why would a potato not cook completely after 1 hour and 45 minutes?


texts: Precooking sweet potato fries for quick warm/serve day of party

texts: I want to serve sweet potato fries at a party (80 guests) Is there a way to precook or partially cook them the day before, so I can just reheat them on the day of the party to serve warm and crisp?


texts:
I noticed some questions about fresh Lasagne sheets and it reminded me of something I heard, but sadly too long ago to be able to attribute although probably a chef on TV (I'm un the UK), and that was that Italians always use dried pasta and that fresh pasta was just something that had become popular outside Italy, probably because anything "fresh" always sounds as if it should be good. So, great for supermarkets and chefs!

Please note, I realise that certain pasta must be fresh, for instance when making ravioli. I'm really just referring to spaghetti, tagliatelle, linguine etc.

Also, although Italians (are said) to use dried pasta it is not just a convenience; they are still concerned about the quality of the pasta and may even make it and dry it themselves.

So, to summarise, is it true that Italians generally use dried pasta and that fresh pasta, other than where obviously required, is really just a marketing concept to get people to pay more?


texts:
After a night's meal I have the tendency to always make more than enough food. Most of the time there are 2 – 3 portions of leftovers after everyone’s had enough to eat. I always throw them away, being scared of them going bad in 12 hours before eating for lunch the next day.

Being paranoid about getting food poisoning with leftovers, I just had to ask:
What is the correct procedure for cooling and reheating leftovers?


texts: How to cook roast pork with a crackling wrap

texts:
I bought a joint of pork from the market and they asked if I'd like them to put a crackling wrap on top - so obviously I said yes.  The crackling wrap seems to be a thin sheet of fat that she simply placed on top of the joint.

My question is - do I need to do anything different in the cooking process to cater for this, or just roast it as normal (with the crackling wrap on top)?


texts: Is it possible to freeze my own 'oven-fry' crumbed food items?

texts:
I cook quite a lot for a less able person, who would find it impossible to shallow fry the fish-cakes I make for her, but who would be quite capable of taking them from frozen, or defrosting them, and baking them in an oven.

The ingredients (fish,potato,seasonings) are all cooked before frying, but the crumb (flour, egg-wash, dry breadcrumb) is not.

I imagine the commercially available oven-bake fishcakes have been treated in some way, in particular introducing fat, somehow, so the result of baking them is reasonably similar to the result of frying your own, and, of course, safe.

Has anybody any experience of preparing their own 'oven-fry' crumbed items that work in a similar way to the shop-bought ones?


texts: Does a mayonnaise have longer shelf life with egg white only as opposed to yolk?

texts:
I am working on a mayonnaise recipe, that could have at least 2 -3 weeks shelf life (refrigerated).
I have access to pasteurized egg yolk, and white.

I believe there will be a longer shelf life using egg white only, but how to evaluate it accurately?

Thanks in Advance


texts:
I sometimes come across apples that taste very bitter (not sour like a granny smith, but more like tannin). This is maybe one in 10 or 15 apples. It doesn't seem to be restricted to a certain variety (I've tasted it in pink lady, opal, honeycrisp and some I've forgotten). Sometimes it's just one, and sometimes it's a whole batch. Washing doesn't remove the flavor

Google search suggestions show other people have noticed this too, but I can't find a good answer as to why. It seems too common to me to not have a good answer though; maybe it's something only some people can taste, like cilantro tasting soapy or cyanide smelling like almonds?


texts: Can I keep home-made salad dressing un-refrigerated?

texts: My salad dressing has extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), raspberry wine vinegar, chives, sugar, salt & pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest. Can I keep it un-refrigerated for 18 hours?


texts:
I'm having trouble getting my creme brulee to thicken up. I'm wondering if I should add a little gelatine to the mix.

I had a look around the net and couldn't see anyone doing this, which makes me wonder if it's possible or not. I've a little about gelatine and it seems like it would survive the heat of the oven.

Is there any reason this wouldn't work?


texts: I would like to try grilling fruit - any suggestions?

texts: I had a catered lunch the other day that had grilled fruit (apples, pineapples) it was great and I wanted to try it at home.  Are there any tips as far as preparation or what to glaze them with or basic techniques?


texts: How can I judge the extra amount of water to use if I am cooking rice with extras in in my rice cooker?

texts:
I love my rice cooker.

I also like rice with stuff in, makes an easy quickish dinner.

I sometimes cook up some stuff, say mushrooms, chilli and garlic fried in a bit of olive oil,  or small chunks of pork, some browned onions and broccoli florets with paprika, and then add that to my rice + water (which I have measured before I add the extras) before I cook it.

Then I stick the rice cooker on and let it do its magic, and 20 mins or so later, a tasty rice and stuff one bowl meal.

My problem is that sometimes the rice ends up a little undercooked and I need to add a bit more water and cook for a little longer.  And if I add a bit too much water, the rice at the bottom can get a bit mushy.

So how can I better judge if I'm going to need to add any extra water and if so approximately how much?  Will it depend on what I've added to the pot, and how much, relative to the rice?


texts: I have a recipe for kumquat marmalade, it calls for 2 parts fruits, 1 part sugar and 1 part water. Before boiling the liquid it states that one should macerate the fruit in de sugar water first. How does this maceration help?


texts: Reasons for separating eggs in ice cream

texts:
There are a lot of recipes requiring the eggs in the ingredients to be separated. And I know that whipping whole eggs cannot foam up as much as just whipping egg whites.

But why separate eggs in making of the custard for ice cream? Egg whites can foam up better than egg yolks, so it seems counter-intuitive to remove egg whites from the recipe because you would want to incorporate more air into the ice cream, right? :/ I can simply use 1 whole egg for every 2 egg yolks required in the recipe.

I don't think I need to taste egg in ice cream. Can I assume the reason to add egg is just for the color?

Referring to the Wikipedia articles: Yolk, egg yolk is nearly 1/4 fat and 1/3 protein; Egg as food, whole egg is nearly 10% fat and 10% protein. If we ignore the protein and through some clever maths, can I adjust the amount of cream and use whole eggs without separating eggs?

P.S. I'm sorry for being a sciency person and not just follow recipes but I am curious.


texts: Is there a basic ratio for dill pickle brine which will be safe for any vegetable?

texts:
I'm looking for a bare-bones dill pickle brine recipe (for safe canning, and long-term storage—not for refrigerator pickles). When I look online, I see all these really fancy recipes that try to jazz things up, but I don't see any basic recipes. How do you make basic dill pickle brine? I know I need to use water, vinegar, salt and dill, but I don't know the proportions. I would prefer not to use alum, if at all possible.

The brine will be for use with cucumbers, peppers, squash, okra and other things.


texts: Why did my steak marinade not make a difference?

texts:
I recently discovered the joy of cooking and I have no idea what I'm doing but I've been experimenting.

Recently, I took two beef shoulder steaks, both just under 3/4" thick, both purchased at the same time from the same source. For the first one:

I made up a goofy marinade with 2 cups whole milk, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1/4 cup extra virgin light olive oil, and various seasonings (but no salt here).
Marinated the steak for 12 hours in the fridge (pyrex container, covered with plastic wrap).
Blotted dry then salted, both sides.
Let sit for 45 minutes.
Added some more seasoning to both sides.

For the second one:

Straight out of packaging, no marination.
Salted, both sides.
Let sit for 45 minutes.
Added same seasonings as first steak, plus the same seasoning combo that I put in the first steak's marinade.

Seasonings were a weird combination of chopped garlic, curry powder, freshly ground pepper, parsley flakes. Salting was done with himalayan sea salt and alderwood smoked salt. (Much to my surprise this all turned out OK).

I cooked both in the same way (although not at the same time):

Small amount of olive oil (extra virgin, light) in cast iron skillet, pre-heated at medium high until oil was watery.
Seared for 2 minutes on one side.
Flip every 30 seconds until internal temperature ~140F (about 5-6 flips).
Removed from heat, sit 5 minutes, enjoy.

However, I found virtually no difference between the two steaks. Both came out good, but had exactly the same texture. The only difference in appearance I noticed was that the unmarinated one leaked noticeably more juice onto the plate afterwards; the juice was brown compared to the smaller amount of redder juiced leaked by the marinated one. The only difference in texture I noticed was that the few thin fat strips in the marinated one were edible, while the strips in the unmarinated one were tougher.

In both steaks the meat itself was equally tender and had the same texture. Also the flavors were basically identical.

I had expected the marinated steak to have a deeper flavor, and to taste slightly more like the marinade ("creamy", acidic), and to have a more "melt in your mouth" texture than the unmarinated one.

My question is, why were both of these steaks virtually identical? What did I miss? Things I can think of are:

My marinade wasn't effective due to the ingredients (or time, but 12 hours seems good from what I've read?)
My preparation or cooking process destroyed any effects.
The differences were just too subtle for me to detect.
My expectations were too high.

What could the "problem" (if there even was one) have been? I expected two vastly different results.


texts: How can you make bread from pizza dough?

texts: This answer to a previous question gives a way to make bread from pizza dough. It said to roll the dough into a loaf. I took it out of the refrigerator, rolled it into a loaf and let it sit in my oven after warming it to 100 and turning it off. I left it in there for 3 hours but it spread out to end up only about 1 inch thick and 8 inches wide. This has happened to me before trying to make a "loaf" of bread without using a loaf pan. What the heck am I doing wrong?


texts:
My housemate just brought home a durian. I remember smelling one of these from four floors up in a dormitory years ago and it was overpowering but I don't remember if it faded away quickly or not.

Should I veto him cutting this open in the house? Will the smell go away?


texts: Should I throw away my pan if I accidentally melt plastic on it?

texts:
I have a pan/wok that I use for toasting flatbreads.

Yesterday, I placed it in my cupboard while it was still hot and it accidentally touched a plastic bag full of salt. The plastic immediately melted off and stuck to the pan.

I was able to peel off the plastic after it had solidified, but am worried there may still be some "invisible" remnants left (I have no idea if that's possible). I'm not sure what plastic the bag was made out of or anything: should I discard the pan? Or is it sufficient to wash it well?


texts:
The InstantPot manual says that I can use a bottle or container to make yogurt. It says to first pasteurize the milk (using the steam function to heat it to at least 180F/83C) then cool to 115F/46C and add starter. Can I use a jam jar for this?

I'm a bit afraid of breaking the glass - but on the other hand the jam jar should be prepared to handle some heat difference (namely between heated jam and room).


texts:
I recently made some hard candy;

2 cups sugar
3/4 cups corn syrup
1 cup water

Heat to hard crack

I was hoping to be able to work with the result, coloring two halves and twisting them together to make a candy cane like confection.

I was really surprised by how quickly the mixture hardened, while it was still quite hot.

Is there a technique for producing my desired result?


texts: How should cooked pork shoulder be stored in the freezer?

texts:
After searching the site I didn't see this question under the tag freezing or after searching for [freezing] bbq and [barbecue] freezing but I did run across How should I store steaks in the freezer? but my question is in regards to shredded barbecue.  That said, I typically do around 4 bone-in pork shoulders in my smoker but my smoker holds up to 8 shoulders at a time so I am wanting to know how should I freeze the pork?

After some research on the freezing process I have concluded that I should let the meat rest for an hour before shredding but where I fall into an issue is if I should:

Let meat cool down in the fridge for four hours after shredding, bag and vacuum seal, then place into freezer.
After shredding immediately place in vacuum bag and then place in freezer.
Since air is an issue in the vacuum process, let meat rest for an hour hour after shredding, sauce meat to an extent of it only being covered to assist in vacuum removal then freeze so it will be a solid.

So how should the cooked shredded pork shoulder be prepared for freezing?


texts:
Update

thanks to Max's answer I decided to give baked fries a try. Experimenting with different methods, this is my recipe so far. There are still a few problems with it (read below):

Boil fries for an hour until tender.
Carefully place fries in a microwave for 2 mins, or until they are approximately 60% of their original weight.
Place fries in a freezer for 2 hours.
Dip frozen fries in oil briefly to coat them. Place fries on a rack and bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

Baked Fries Problem 1: Lack of uniform golden texture

While fries this way turn out crispy, they don't have a uniform golden texture that french fries do. Instead, they have certain 'brown spots'. Just google 'Oven fries' and you will see what I mean.

Baked Fries Problem 2: Oil content

To coat the fries, I poured a large amount of oil in a rectangular tray. I dipped the fries in oil before placing them on the baking tray. I found out a batch of 114g of fries used up about 30g of oil after coating them. I wonder if there is a way to reduce this amount to cut down even more calories.

Original Post

Recently I have been experimenting to make lower-calorie alternatives to potato fries.

I tried using rutabagas, also known as swedes. These were 39 calories per 100g, as compared to 79 calories per 100g of potatoes. A much lower calorie option!

I prepared the rutabaga fries the same way as I did potato fries, with some modifications.

Cut into 0.5" sticks and boil them for 45 mins, until tender.
Dry in refrigerator for 2 hours.
Fry at 170F/130c for 4 mins.
Put back in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Fry them a final time at 370F/190c for 4 minutes.

However, unlike the results I got from conventional potato fries, the rutabaga fries came out limpy, greasy and wrinkled up. Fries were often hollow. Not crispy at all.

After some research, I attributed this to the high moisture content of rutabagas, as compared to potatoes:

Per 100g:

Potatoes, 77 calories, 79% water content
Rutabagas, 37 calories, 91% water content

My understanding from cooking French fries is that deep-frying drives moisture out of the fries, displacing the water inside each potato fry with an almost equal amount of oil.

For rutabagas/swedes, the high moisture content meant that a lot of oil was pushed into each fry. It also made the fries wrinkle up much more severely during the drying step, leading to hollow fries.

The high moisture content also means that when comparing the calories of dry, fried rutabagas to dry, fried potatoes, they are not much healthier as I thought.

I thought I could make diet alternatives with rutabagas and even pumpkins but it seems like their high moisture content makes them unsuitable for French fries.

Am I wrong, or is there something I have not tried?

I thought of trying to coat the rutabagas with a corn starch batter and frying them just like banana fritters or chicken wings. This would give them a crust, while maintaining their moisture content, thus making them lower in calories than potatoes.


texts:
So I had one of those American capitalist/consumer moments where I would have liked to have a milk frother handy. But I just can't bring myself to buy such a frivolous single-use additional material possession. So as a compromise I'll get a Dremel tool.

Concerned that I'll need to step down a Dremel tool to work as a milk frother. Has anyone measured the average RPM of a milk frother? Anyone seen a DIY project to attach a gear reduction to a Dremel? Do I actually need more RPM?

Loss of torque should not be a big issue, even with whole milk. Half and half, that may be another story.


texts: Candy making in Dutch Oven when there is only one of you

texts:
I’m trying to make fudge and other hard candies such as peanut brittle in my Lodge Dutch Oven.  The problem that I’m having is that I cannot hold the pot and scrape out the inside by myself.  Definitely a two-person job.  I can’t always depend on my roommate to be around for those three minutes that I need her there.
Is there any tool that can hold the pot by the handles so I can turn it out into my cooling pan with one hand while scraping with the other?
Fudge and especially brittles set up so fast that I end up wasting it in my fumbling. Not to mention how hot it is.


texts: How to mix large amounts of sponge for bread?

texts: I am making large batches of bread with 100% hydration poolish. In the current situation, using a large mixer and then having to clean the bowl after is not an option because of time. Mixing by hand does not effectively eliminate all lumps of flour. A dough whisk is not large enough for the task (think 10 pounds flour and 10 pounds water at a minimum). How do bakeries mix their pre-ferments when they can't use a machine?


texts: Can I reuse glass bottles with plastic lids for homemade sauces?

texts: I have bottles with plastic screw top lids (from supermarket bought hot sauce). Can I use these bottles for my homemade bbq/tomato sauce? I would sterilise the bottles as I usually do. I have previously reused bottles with metal lids and stored these on the shelf for months, successfully. I don’t plan to “can” the sauces in the bottles, I am using recipes that have enough vinegar to preserve without “canning”. The sauces are usually just poured hot into a sterilised jar and left on shelf.


texts: I have noticed a smell in cooked chicken that sometimes appears and it is nothing like the hydrogen sulphide from spoiled eggs. It's not a pleasant odor but isn't offensive enough to make you spit out the food as soon as it hits your tongue. It's strongest when the cooked chicken is cut and sort of dissipates if you leave it there. Also, the smell usually comes along with chicken that isn't very white. I cannot find a another smell to compare it with unfortunately. Is this just a bad chicken or is it unsafe to eat?


texts: Does chocolate syrup need to be refrigerated?

texts:
Hershey's chocolate syrup recommends that you "refrigerate after opening", but unlike many other sauces with this recommendation (e.g. ketchup, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce etc.) chocolate syrup bottles are not sealed when sold on the shelf (i.e. there is nothing under the cap to remove before first use.

So for these other liquids I understand the argument that the bottle is sealed at the factory and once the seal is opened bacteria can enter, but the chocolate is never sealed so this argument doesn't seem to hold.

Is there any good reason (Hershey trying to protect themselves from lawsuits doesn't count) why chocolate syrup needs to be refrigerated after opening?


texts: How to cook better cookies despite a terrible oven?

texts:
I am a college student living in a dorm for the first time. One of the luxuries I used to have at home was the ability to cook store-bought cookie dough cookies in my oven and have them come out tasty and goey.

While my dorm does have the luxury of an oven I do not think it is a very good one. Maybe it is just me but the cookies that come out of it arent goey or that enjoyable. They are pretty dry and sometimes need to be cooked for 0.5-1.5 minutes more than I would cook them at home.

How would you suggest I change my baking strategy so I can get better results from my oven? (Rack placement, dough shaping, temperature, time, etc)

I believe my oven is a very basic electric oven. I usually place the pan on the 3rd (out of 4) rack up.


texts: How to make a sauce using sugared citrus rinds?

texts:
I finally separated the citrus rinds (orange and lemon) from  the citrus sugar. All the bits of rind are small. With them I was planning on making a citrus sauce to go on top of my brownies and was wanting help on what flavors would go with citrus rind and how much rind to use?

I have lots of blueberries and a few raspberries available as well.

EDIT:

I ended up using raspberries, citrus (orange/lemon) rind, cranberries and sugar. It tasted so good on the brownies!


texts:
As part of my ongoing experiments with whole small fish (sardine, smelts, small mackerel), I'm considering drying them at home to produce concentrated umami bombs.

However, I'm admittedly less than thrilled with the instructions I've seen online, which either advise leaving them exposed to the air for an extended period--in which case I fear rapid spoilage and a truly horrible smell--or sticking them in the oven--the idea of which I like more, but which apparently yields a tough 'fish jerky,' which is also not what I had in mind. I've also noticed that most instructions just assume the fish will be gutted, but with fish so small (the ones I get are generally between 5 and 7 cm long, with few going past 9) I generally like to leave the guts in.

What would be the safest method for drying small, oily fish for future use? Should they be brined first for sanitation purposes?


texts: Can I fix a box cake recipe where I added oil instead of water?

texts: I screwed up and put 1 1/4 cup veg oil instead of water in my box cake recipe. Is there any way to fix this? Can I add flour or something? Or is it doomed for the trash can?


texts: I am a waiter at a coffee shop and quite often I have guests that order cappuccino. As you knew, the milk foam of cappuccino looks very unstable and tends to overflow. Not to mention I have to bring the cappuccino from the barista on the first floor to guest on the second floor. Sometimes it does overflow. I want to ask how I can solve that problem with tools available in any coffee shops ?


texts: How do I make french fries that are crispy inside and out?

texts:
I want to make french fries that are crispy through and through.  These days, it's very popular to "double fry" them, resulting in fries that are crispy on the outside and white and fluffy on the inside like a baked potato.  I hate white and fluffy on the inside like a baked potato.  I want them crispy all the way through.

Here's what I'm doing now: I make cris-cuts, using a cris-cut tool that I specially modified to make the slices even thinner.  Then I fry very small batches at 325° F for one minute only in safflower oil.  (It's a small deep fryer so I have to make small batches.)  When they are all done, I fry them again in larger batches at 385° for about 3 minutes.

The above seems to work all right, but is there some secret to get them really crispy on the inside?


texts:
I really don't like blanching.  Could I cook the veg. ready to eat and put straight into the freezer?  If so, how long might it last?

OR, as an alternative to blanching, could all the veg be boiled for just 1 or 2 minutes, dried (it's said they're still continuing the cooking process during this time) and then put straight into ziplocked bags and into the freezer?

I get fresh produce from the Farmer's Market and would like to freeze it, mainly short term, up to a month max.


texts:
I've been trying to master the croissant for the last 3 months, and right now I really want to have the honeycomb view inside of it. Unfortunately, this was the maximum that I have reached:

How to come to this point?

PS: Right now doing a recipe that I make a dough (flour, water, sugar, salt, yeast), put in the fridge. After 1h, laminate the dough, chill, laminate again. Let it overnight before final stretch and croissant shape.
Let it rise for 2 hours before going to oven.


texts: What's the difference between white sugar and (pure) refined sugar and which one is better for baking?


texts: How can I find out if yeast or yeast producing are present in foods?

texts: How can I know if a food or ingredient contains yeast or yeast-producing ingredient?  My condition requires yeast-free foods and ingredients.


texts: Can I subsitute crushed tomatoes with tomato puree?

texts: I am making tortellini tuscan soup. Recipe calls for can of crushed tomatos I guess I grabbed puree instead. Recipe further calls to mix with 1 box chicken stock....can I use the puree or is my dinner ruined?


texts: How to store cut potatoes for the morning?

texts:
Hi all,

I am new here; so first of all, NICE TO MEET YOU!

I want to ask for potatoes storage; as the title said.
I usually fry potatoes with the following steps ( I am sure these are good tips ).

  Cut potatoes into tiny stick vertically.
  Put them all in salted water for 10 minutes or around.
  Get them out and fry them.
  Put a little water into frying pan to make sure it's not raw and cooked faster than normal.

But how can I store them for the next morning? As I am working and busy alone, I rather cut them in the evening when I came back home from work and cooked them in the morning before going to work.
: I cut and put them in salted water and I refrigerated them in a bowl. and when it's morning, they can't be eaten anymore.

Any tips/ help?


texts: How to prevent/slow down fava beans from turning to darker color?

texts:
I usually make fava beans from dry beans, I simmer them in plain water for hours.
Right after they are cooked they are bright green and have a very fresh delicious taste, but after letting it cool the color will change dramatically to a darker grey colour and as time goes the taste will change to the worse, Canned beans usually don't have this issue, I guess they add something to it, so what is causing this change and how can I prevent it?

Edit: I made an experiment by separating three bowls of beans and their water
one was topped with oil, one was rapidly cooled and then refrigerated and the last was the control left to cool down slowly in the open air, the rapidly cooled one was on the best in terms of colour then the oil covered one and last was the control


texts: beef ribs thawing overnight in sink will meat be good

texts:
I laid frozen beef ribs out about midnight in the sink, got up around 9 am
 and remember I laid them out. will they still be safe to grill???


texts: Is Serrano an acceptable substitute for jalapeno

texts: I am making butter chicken tonight. My recipe calls for 2 jalapenos, but the store was out and I am too cranky to go across town to another store. Can I substitute a Serrano pepper? I believe Serrano are quite a bit hotter, and I don't want to burn everyone's mouths.


texts:
These rolls are made by rolling short pastry dough thin (0.5 cm/0.2 inch), cutting it in small squares (ca. 5 cm / 2 inches) and rolling a small log of turkish delight (1x1x4 cm, 0.5x0.5x1.5 inches) in the square, resulting in a cylinder filled with turkish delight. They are baked (the turkish delight melts to a honey-like viscosity in the oven, but usually doesn't flow out), left to cool, then confectioner's sugar is sifted over them. The turkish delight filling resolidifies somewhat after cooling, but not to its completely dry state from before baking. They are not supposed to cook hard and dry and brown, they are more like Russian tea cakes in texture.

The problem with this recipe is that more often than not, the pastry is underbaked in the middle. I think that the combination of a thick roll and getting soggy from the melted filling is responsible for the problem. However, I don't have a solution. Using less crust isn't an option - not only would the ratio of crust to filling be disturbed, but if there isn't substantial overlap in the cylinder walls, the melted lokum is likely to flow out during baking (I've had that happen). Blindbaking isn't an option - not only don't I have an idea how to hold the shape, but also the upper part of the crust will overbake during the real baking later. It is already baked at lowish temperatures, so I don't think that lowing it further will help.

Any ideas how to get well-baked rolls while keeping the nice gooey filling?


texts: How do I adjust a baking recipe for fruits of different PH?

texts: I just cooked some apple bread, and I'm curious about adapting it to other fruits. I'm led to believe that the acidity of a fruit will cancel out some of the effect of baking powder or baking soda by neutralizing it, so more acidic fruits will require more baking soda to compensate. Is this accurate? If so, where can I find a comprehensive list of PHs of various ingredients, and how should I calculate how much extra baking soda to add?


texts: Can I replace rolled oats with instant oats in a cookie recipe?

texts:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/healthy-banana-cookies/

That recipe asks for rolled oats. I don't have them. Can I replace them with these instant oats? How much should be the quantity then?


texts: How to make ridge structure of crispy chicken

texts:
In food shop, we see many fold ridges on crispy chicken like this Picture:

While googling about the secret, I found most of them advised to put the chicken pieces in a bag after dipping it in the butter, then shake, dip and re shake. But in practical, this shaking process does not create ridges structure [Like in the above picture]. In many youtube videos, although at the beginning of the video, it is showing ridges picture, but after completion of the video, the chicken pieces do not cover with ridges. Some other advised to use corn flakes to make these ridge structure. But corn flakes are expensive.

My question is how to make these ridges without corn flakes? Is there any alternative or real video tutorial?


texts: Different cooking times for red and brown lentils?

texts: I'm making dal for dinner tomorrow and am short some red lentils. I usually cook it for 25-30 minutes after everything's combined in the pot. Can I mix in some brown ones or are the cooking times different? I'm expecting so, since they're much bigger than the red ones.


texts: Chopped onions in metal or plastic containers

texts: Which preserves diced onions better? A plastic or metal container?? I'm trying to figure out which is a better storage container.


texts: Are there visual differences between regular and decaf coffee?

texts:
I once asked a waiter at a restaurant how he managed not to mix up cups of regular and decaf coffee when bringing them to various tables. He replied that he could tell by looking at the bubbles – in one type, the bubbles linger, whereas in the other they disappear quickly (of course, I can't remember now which one he said was which).

However: I can't find any evidence or research that supports this, but I don't have any reason to believe that the guy wasn't being serious.

Is there any truth to this?


texts: Is great gluten-free extruded pasta possible?

texts:
I'm gluten intolerant and tempted to have a go at producing my own pasta. Does it make sense to use an extruder attachment for a kitchen machine to produce e.g. rigatoni or fusilli, or will this never match the quality of store-bought dry pasta?

I remember with horror the first commercially available packs of gluten-free pasta, which were brittle and slimy when cooked. Luckily most manufacturers have now improved their recipe. Can I recreate - or even improve - their result at home, or would one need the high pressures and precise temperature control of commercial machines for this?

I would be extremely grateful for some honest opinions of people who've actually eaten home-made extruded gf pasta before I invest in a dedicated attachment. (Possibilities are Kenwood AT936 or AT910 - any shared experience with those would also be very welcome, along with good recipes).

If pasta rollers are sooo much better, I can of course make do with tagliatelle...

Many thanks in advance!

Edit in response to Joe (thank you!):
Extruders appeal to me, because I suspect that the real value of pasta rollers is to develop the gluten - and that's obviously superfluous in gf pasta. The difference between wheat or no-wheat dough should be less obvious when using extruders - unless you really need the high pressure of commercial machines.


texts: Last summer I made a batch of BBQ sauce.  The recipe contains bourbon, lemon juice, Worcestershire, vinegar and dark molasses.  It was simmered before being bottled.  It's been sitting in a capped jar in the fridge since then.  I know the flavor might not be optimal now, but is it safe?  It's at least six months old.


texts:
How long will homemade Greece salad dressing stay good in the fridge? with garlic, extra olive oil, sea salt, lemon juice, oregano dried and basil dry and wine vinegar.. if I made like 2 liters for that to use avg 2-3 times a week

thanks

Kelly


texts:
This week I was introduced to "susceptor film" by some folks from Japan.  It's used for cooking things such as fish at high temperature in a microwave, by absorbing some of the microwave energy and re-emitting it as infrared (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susceptor).  The result is that microwaved food comes out crispy rather than soggy.

I was told that it's commonly available in Japanese supermarkets, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere online, or in my local supermarket in the western USA.

The closest I've come is finding a manufacturer and some cooking bags on Amazon.  Any clues?


texts:
I love lentils mixed with onions, spinach and tuna in the morning, unfortunately I am having a really hard time finding cheap canned lentils in my area. So I wonder, if I cook a big batch of dried red or green lentils how long can I then store them?

Also any tips on how best to store cooked lentils will be much appreciated.


texts: Small charcoal grill - raise fire grill?

texts:
Here's a typical small-cheap charcoal grill ...

These are only about 20 dollars (the "Weber" branded items are popular).

Regarding the lower wire grate that holds the coals.

Is there a way to set the grate to a higher or lower position?

(Many big expensive charcoal grills have such a feature -- either a crank, or, just dogs on which you can manually move the grate up and down.)

Am I missing something obvious, or is there a "usual way" to do this??


texts: How can you tell when a roast is done?  How long should they roast for?


texts:
Like most food products yeasts are labeled with nutritional values for calories, carbs, etc.
When yeast is 'activated' it is said to be 'reproducing' (or making more yeast). So, my question is,

"If I start with a tablespoon of yeast in bread, does the nutritional value change as the yeast grows?"
.and if so

Is there a good scale for knowing by how much?
Are the nutritional values of the other ingredients (sugars) altered by by being consumed by the yeasts?


texts: Need a gas cooker but have no gas supply

texts:
I am not sure about the terminology, i.e if it's called an electric cooker, burner, stove or something else.  So I'll just refer to it as a electric or gas cooker to simplify things.

We don't have a gas supply to our house in the UK as we have moved to a more remote location.  We did have a gas supply in our old house and are finding the electric cooker in the new house extremely slow.  So I started looking into bottled/cylinder gas, but I am not sure which direction to go in as I have so many options.

For example, do I get butane, or something else?  Which kind of pipe will I need, what kind of regulator will I need? What kind of cooker will I need?

So far I have seen the following, but am not sure if these are safe for internal use and also I am not sure if these are the most economical options.  1 of my requirements is that I need a nice strong hot flame to I can get cooking done quicker.

Gas cooker

Regulator

Pipe with clips

Gas


texts: I have a recipe that calls for leaf gelatine but I have none. What does gelatine do in a recipe?


texts: If a US recipe specifies 'vegetable oil' what type of oil should I use in the UK?

texts:
The recipe requires heating the 'vegetable oil' to exactly 375 degrees Fahrenheit with the aid of a candy thermometer.

But aren't most oils made from vegetables? Some have a smoke point less than 375.

I'm thinking of using groundnut (peanut) oil or rice bran oil as they can both cope with the temperature and don't impose too much taste.

Are there any culinary transatlanticos who could please venture an opinion on my proposed plan?

I also need to find out what the UK equivalent of 'yellow squash' is. Could it be our readily available butternut squash?


texts: How do I stop my fire alarm from going off when I cook?

texts: My fire alarm always goes off when I cook, even when the food is not burning. Because of this, I have never been able to keep batteries in my fire alarms.  How can I stop this from happening?


texts: I have some melting chocolate that is over a year old and wonder if there is anything I can do to get it to melt to a smooth dipping consistency. It is melting, but very stiff and not really good for dipping.


texts: What does"relax on the way forward" mean in relation to knife sharpening?

texts:
When the person says: "you relax on the way forward", when sharpening a knife, what does he mean?

Here's a video where I heard that term https://youtu.be/0TPDgdo7jfM?t=2m54s


texts: Are they physically different? If so, what is the difference, between a gel and gelatine, or it's proccesses  gelation and gelling (gelatinization. gelatinisation)?


texts: Is it possible to cook a whole fish in a dishwasher?

texts: I heard that there is a way to cook a whole fish in a dishwasher - any techniques, tips??


texts:
Yesterday I cooked a steak and today I cooked another (from the same cute). Today it turned out much better and on reflection it was because it was LESS juicy. Now, I find this surprising as I always thought juicy is something desirable for meat. Also today I added olive oil where yesterday I didn't add anything but spice.

How do you control the level of liquid that comes out of a piece of meat when you bite it? When is it desirable for meat to be juicy?

I cook steak on a George Foreman Grill with slanted grills that are non-stick. I heated it up to 450 F but it always looses temperature quickly so I expected it was 375 when the steak was actually in it.


texts: how to have fresh steamed bluecrabs in the late afternoon that I buy live in the morning

texts:
I have a pretty awesome live blue crab hookup, but I can only get crabs there super early in the morning. I want to have a crab feast this coming weekend, but wont be able to have company over until late afternoon / early evening. I have heard they bluecrabs can live a long time out of water if you keep them in a cool humid spot, but i dont want to waste any of them. What are my options for having the best crabs when am able to have company over?

I assume my options are as follows, but I am not sure what I should do:

1.) Steam them in the morning and resteam them for a short period of time to heat them back up for the party. Tips for resteaming or reheating steamed crabs would be helpful. I had always considered that kind of a no no.

2.) Try and keep them alive, to be as fresh as possible. I am just worried that there would be too long of a gap between when i buy them, and when i will be able to cook them.


texts: I'm using metal racks with sous-vide cooking to help keep the packets separate, and they're rusting on me. The racks are mostly chrome plated (or maybe nickle). Is there a waterproof paint or coating that I could apply to a non-rusted rack that would protect it? It would have to be a food safe coating (ie I could eat food if I were to cook on it directly), ideally oven safe, and preferably durable enough to scrub. Does something like that exist?


texts: My kitchen and I started to mess around and make loafs of bread from our pizza dough. Last night I loaded up a hotel pan with dough, and baked it for a little over an hour at 350. I let it rest and this morning I cut it open and there was a big ole air pocket in the middle of the loaf. We've had success before with using the dough as bread but this is the first time that this has happened. Did I proof it out too long? Use too much dough at once? Help!


texts:
My daughter got confused and added 2 cups of vanilla instead of 2 spoons in a cake recipe.

We were done mixing the ingredients, but we want to salvage the cake. What can we do?


texts: I made pasteles, but they ended up too salty. How can I reduce the salty taste? Is there something that I can add to the water when I boil them so they don't end up too salty?


texts: What causes the squeakiness, and why does it disappear so quickly? Why does microwaving bring back a bit of squeak?


texts: Found about 5 pounds of Oyster mushrooms today in southern Ohio. First time for me. What is the best method of cleaning and storing for long term? Do these dehydrate well or should they be sauted and frozen? I know some mushroom are ruined with a water bath.


texts: Canning for couple of days to one week of low acidic cooked food without pressure canning?

texts:
I would like can low acidic cooked food like vegetables or meat (chicken) to use with in couple of days to one week during summer vacations.

I dont have pressure canner so, can I do it using Hot bath canning procedure?


texts: Non dairy types of milk taste raw seeds/nuts, how to get rid of it?

texts: I usually use sunflower seeds to make homemade non dairy milk and it has a taste of raw seeds and homemade soy milk has the same issues. Well, it's an issue for me.


texts: Despite using a fine mesh strainer, when I pour out my stock into a container, I appear to have a lot of sediment/debris in my stock.  I am following the method used by Chef John (Foodwishes) http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2012/02/roasted-chicken-broth-part-1-of.html and I'm not sure if this is normal, or if I should be doing more to get a cleaner/purer chicken stock.  I do my best to skim, but as a newbie, it's hard to tell if I am skimming the right parts.


texts: Will adding yogurt whey to homemade mayonnaise make it keep longer?

texts:
I was looking up recipes last night and came across a recipe that started with homemade mayo. The author said that fresh mayo has a shelf life of 3-4 days, which is what I always heard, but then she said that if you add yogurt whey (1 tablespoon or 1 teaspoon, can't remember) that it would increase the shelf life to 2 months in the fridge.

Is that a real thing or is this lady off her rocker? How would it change the taste. Also, would you trust it the whole 2 months, or would that be the max. It'd be nice to make some and have it for at least a couple of weeks. That'd be much more reasonable than making a small batch much more frequently, which I don't have time for.


texts:
We have this sage plant and it's grown into gigantic monster which is consuming my herb patch.

I'm going to attack it with gusto and will have lots of sage to do something with. Last year we made a sage jelly but this year i want to do something else.

What are my options?


texts:
I want to buy a stand mixer, a good one. Mainly for mixing dough, but also for mincing meat. I've seen that the KitchenAid has a mincing attachment. So, I've made a list of what to look for, and would like your input about what's missing.

Steel bowl.
Power, is that a factor?
Pigtail, whisks.
Possibility to attach a mincer.
Bowl size (is bigger better?).
Weight. As the table space is limited, it should be portable (for me at least).
Optional: Ice cream bowl.
Mount for:

Slicer (meats, vegetables, etc.)
Meat grinder
Grater (cheese, etc.)
Sausage stuffer
Pasta maker

Orbital movement.

Apart from these elements, what am I forgetting?

Apart from these uses, are there any other interesting ones?


texts: can i blend up concord grapes seed and all for a pie?

texts: I am making a Concord Grape pie and was thinking of blending the grapes in a Vita Mix seeds and all then cook the mix according to the recipe, has anyone done this?


texts:
Is there a special tool available just for cracking open pistachio nuts? I'm asking because as I have gotten older, I have developed severe arthritis and joint pains, making opening them with my fingers very painful. I've always loved pistachios and hate having to ask my wife to crack them open for me.

I have tried using regular nut crackers, but the pistachio either slips out without cracking or the nut inside gets crushed.


texts: using crumbs mixture multiple times [is it safe?]

texts:
I made a crumbs mixture for chicken breast strips. I coated them in beaten eggs, then coated them in crumbs mixture and fried. I have leftovers and I would like to just put this into a bag to use later time.

My mother said not to do it because there was egg in it, and it can contain salmonella or something - but my thinking is: I'm gonna fry it anyway so salmonella will get killed by heat. But I don't know.

Is it OK to use crumbs mixture after I mixed it with chicken coated with eggs? I'm talking using it like week later, not the next day.


texts: How long is garlic butter safe, and why is it not a botulism risk like garlic in oil?

texts:
I've been making garlic butter for years, storing it for months at a time. When I read that garlic-in-oil can grow dangerous amounts of botulinum toxins after similar lengths of time, I wondered how safe garlic butter is and why.

Evidently, the safety warnings specifically target storage in oil. I couldn't find a satisfactory explanation for butter not being mentioned with a preliminary search. The first Google result turns up a grossly unhelpful Yahoo! Answers page whose sources do not mention butter at all.

To the point: is garlic butter safer than garlic-in-oil, and why? Is butter not also an anaerobic environment, so that the same precautions should apply as with oil?


texts: How do you barbeque a whole piece of fish?

texts: I tried having a visbraai this weekend and was a little bit dissapointed by the result. The skin of the fish sticked to the grill and the flesh stuck and crumbled on the grill. I suspect the weber was too hot. Any advice on barbequing a whole-piece of fish so that it does not crumble and the skin does stick on the grill?


texts:
I'm trying to make some salsa with a magic bullet using the given recipe from the cookbook that comes with it. Here's the recipe with a picture of how it turns out at best.

The final product comes out looking pretty unappetizing - even worse than that picture. Is there a way to make it of normal consistency and colour?

Update: I realize that I should be a bit more specific as there are a lot of different salsas. I want it to look like this.


texts: How can I recognize good quality Genoa salami?

texts:
A while back I saw a YouTube video on Genoa salami and they explained that good quality salami is rare in the United States. The people in the video were saying something like real salami is made from fat from a certain part of the pig's stomach and there is some special name for this kind of fat. The video went on to say that most American makers do not use this kind of fat because it is very expensive, so they use shortening and other cheap substitutes.

Anyway I can't find this video now and I want to know how I can recognize good quality "real" salami that has this special belly fat.


texts: When to use "wine vinegar" vs just wine?

texts:
How do you choose between red wine and red wine vinegar in cooking?  Likewise, how do you choose between white wine and white wine vinegar?

The specific example I am thinking of is deglazing a pan, but I'd love to know the general "do's and don'ts."

I did a fairly thorough search of this site, and I'm a little surprised this question hasn't been asked yet.  This is the closest one, but it asks about vinegar vs wine vinegar, not wine vinegar vs wine.


texts: I'm making some brownies for my nieces church school and I accidentally used salted butter and my batter is incredibly salty. Is there any way I can counter the saltiness of it? I'd hate to waste a it.


texts:
I need to get a coffee grinder.  What kind is best?  I have heard that burr mills are better; are they worth the extra cost?  Which ones last longer?

Update: I ended up getting a Hario hand grinder.


texts:
Some people say that you shouldn't keep your tomatoes on the fridge, while others say that this is the best way to make them last longer. I have tried both ways and I couldn't find the difference.

So, how to make tomatoes last longer?


texts: Why is the rice in my mushroom risotto always very hard?

texts: I'm a fan of Italian mushroom risotto and I love to cook it from time to time, but cooking the arborio rice well seems impossible to me if I follow  traditional recipes. Last time I pre-cooked the rice in water before boiling it in cooking wine but this didn't seem to help. No matter for how long I boil it, I end up with very hard rice at the end. Does anyone know the best way to cook risotto to avoid this?


texts: Why do chefs traditionally wear a high white hat?

texts:
The stereotypical chef beloved of TV, cartoons, and elsewhere is always pictured wearing a high white hat.

A hat I can understand. But why so high?