texts:
I made chocolates in a mold but when I take it out of the refrigerator it starts melting and water accumulates on surface.

My process:
I melted the chocolate and poured it into the mold and then kept it in the refrigerator.
But when taken out afterwards it melts at 25°C also and condensation forms on the surface.

Is there a way to keep the surface dry at 25°C?


texts:
Recently I have become a vegetarian.

I have always loved hamburgers, but the taste of vegetarian hamburgers isn't anywhewre close. I would like to know if there is any way to reproduce the flavor of meat, using no meat in the process.


texts: When baking quick breads and cakes, can I premix wet ingredients the night before?

texts:
When baking quick breads and cakes, I've premixed dry ingredients the night before to save time. Can I premix wet ingredients as well?

I understand that I can't premix the full batter when using leavening agents -- I am curious if I can save some time the day of while preparing the batter by premixing both the wet and dry ingredients separately beforehand.

The following is an example of a recipe for which I was thinking of doing this (wet ingredients would be the egg and buttermilk mixture):

  Ingredients

  1 1/4 cups buttermilk, milk, or yogurt (or 1 1/4 cups milk plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar; see Step 2), plus more as needed

  2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil

  1 1/2 cups medium-grind cornmeal

  1/2 cup all-purpose flour

  1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 tablespoon sugar, plus more if you like sweet corn bread

  1 egg

  Instructions

  Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  If you’re using buttermilk, milk, or yogurt, ignore this step. If not, make the soured milk: Warm the milk gently—1 minute in the microwave is sufficient, just enough to take the chill off—and add the vinegar. Let it rest while you prepare the other ingredients.
  Put the butter in a medium ovenproof skillet or an 8-inch square baking pan over medium heat; heat until good and hot, about 2 minutes, then turn off the heat. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the egg into the buttermilk. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients (just enough to combine); if it seems too dry, add another tablespoon or two of buttermilk. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet or pan, smooth out the top if necessary, and put in the oven.
  Bake about 30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the sides have pulled away from the pan; a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean. Serve hot or warm.

  Source: Good Old Fashioned Corn Bread by Mark Bittman


texts: Yeast and Flour for Panasonic Bread Maker

texts:
I treated myself to a new Panasonic bread maker but since it is my first, I have a couple of questions. Also perhaps it is worth mentioning that I live in the UK.

What type of yeast do I buy? There are so many!

Also, I am told that I should buy Strong Flour for making bread, but even then there are so many types, which do I buy? Or is it simply a matter of taste? I prefer wholemeal.

Any clarification and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You.


texts: converting dried measurements to soaked measurements

texts:
I have a recipe which calls for 250g of tinned black beans.. i thought i would be smart and use some DRIED black beans i have already!

but.. obviously the dried beans will weigh less than the tinned black beans..

How can i calculate how many grams of the dried beans i would need to make 250g of cooked black beans?

I was going to soak them overnight and then boil them until theyre soft!


texts: Why does chewing gum sometimes change its texture

texts: Although this is more a general food related question, I wonder why chewing gum sometimes changes its texture and looses its chewy quality?


texts: Raw Eggs, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough...And Freezing

texts:
I have often heard the warning that one should not eat raw chocolate chip cookie dough which contains raw eggs, due to the risk (however slight) of salmonella. (I should also say I have not always headed that warning...)

Recently I had made a batch of dough and didn't bake off all of it, but rather froze some of the dough for later use. When I pulled it of the freezer (and, of course, ate some of the yummy dough) I occurred to me that such freezing might kill any potential salmonella. I was able to find a couple of reference that suggest this may be the case, but nothing I would call 'authoritative'.

Will freezing chocolate chip cookie dough (made with raw eggs) reduce or eliminate the risk of salmonella from eating the raw, mixed, frozen, then thawed eggs?


texts: I want to add the smell and flavor of banana in my cookies. I'm not sure whether I should substitute APP-flour or butter with banana. Thank you.


texts:
I've baked my first pita bread in home, the pockets was almost well formed but the crust is hard, crunchy.

I've applied some variations because of time/number/ingredients restrictions, in particular:

I've used two part of white flour (farina 00) and one part of whole-wheat flour
I've made the pitas a bit thin, say 1/7-1/8 inch.
I've raised the dough for about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Which are the factors that make the crust so crispy?

EDIT:

About the cooking method I cooked at about 500 F for 4 minutes, turn 2 minutes, the dough was puffed after about 2-3 minutes.


texts: What causes diced rhubarb to float from the bottom of glass pan (where it was placed under a cake mix) to the top of cake mixture while baking?


texts: How to prolong the life of chillies in a refrigerator?

texts:
Last week I bought a packet of green chilli from an Asian store, the really hot ones. I only used 5 of those and had about 20-25 still left in the little plastic bag (with holes). I just kept it refrigerated but within 4 days, there was mold growing on the stem of the chillies. So, I took the stem off and froze the rest. But then I read that the chilli goes mushy in the freezer.

What can I do to prolong the shelf life of chilli so they stay fresh for longer in the refrigerator (but not frozen)?


texts: How long does cooked pasta last in the fridge?

texts: I sometimes cook more pasta than I intend to eat or use at once and store the rest in a container in the fridge (just plain, cooked pasta). How long would it store safely for?


texts: The role of the gluten in an acid environment

texts:
When you make sourdough bread, you usually want more sourdough if you are using a flour with a low percentage of gluten ( minor strength ) and less sourdough if your flour has a good strength .

Now there is a clear connection between the acidity of the sourdough and the gluten ( or protein ) in order to achieve the perfect balance: what is the actual link ?


texts: Dried tofu - does it have another name, and where can I get it in the UK?

texts:
A local Asian supermarket used to sell this stuff that the proprietor referred to as dried tofu. In came vacuum packed, and seemed to be dehydrated tofu that had been marinated in Chinese barbecue or chili sauce. It was soft, but slightly chewy, and totally delicious.

That closed down, but by happy coincidence I switched jobs and had a colleague with a Chinese wife. They would buy this stuff on visits to China, in an even wider variety of flavours, and were happy to bring me some back when I asked.

I've now moved on. I've been searching the other local Asian markets for this snack without success - indeed most staff in the shops seem visibly confused when I ask for "dried tofu", as though they have no idea what it might be.

Searching online for "dried tofu" turns up a variety of products that are obviously meant for cooking: unflavoured blocks or strips of tofu that need seasoning or rehydrating before use. This isn't what I'm after at all.

"Flavoured dried tofu" doesn't bring up much different either.

This made me wonder if this stuff has a different name other than the "dried tofu" I was given? And whether anyone knew of anywhere I could order it online for UK delivery?


texts: How do you roll a pumpkin roll cake without it breaking mid-fold?


texts: What happens if bread is made with sparkling water?

texts:
I am making a white bread with 500g regular flour, about 300g water, sourdough starter, yeast and salt. It will rest and raise some time before being baked. Pretty basic.

Now I was wondering, what would happen if I used sparkling water. Will the bubbles do something to the chemical reaction that builds gluten? Or maybe create additional holes in the bread when it's done? Will the bread be significantly different from using plain water?


texts:
I know some oil is not suitable for woking. Like sunflower oil and olive oil?

What oil is best suitable for woking and which oil is not suitable?


texts: Fried flour tortilla from scratch cook first or just fry

texts: I'm working on my chicken flauta recipe skills today, I like to make everything from scratch but all I can find are recipes with store bought tortillas.   Knowing how much better homemade corn tortillas are I'm thinking of trying this with scratch made flour tortillas, stuffing and then frying.   My question is should I first cook the flour tortillas in a pan, then fill and fry?  Or fill and fry with the raw dough after pressing it?


texts: How can I thicken this cranberry-pepper jelly?

texts:
In my first attempt at making jelly, I seem to have veered off course.

I'm following this recipe for Cranberry-Pepper Jelly:

  Ingredients

  3 red bell peppers, finely chopped
  2 Fresno or red jalapeño chiles, seeded and finely chopped
  1 cup sugar
  1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
  1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  1/4 cup liquid pectin
  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  3 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen and thawed

I combined the peppers, chiles, sugar, pepper flakes, and salt in a large pot and brought it to a simmer over medium heat, as instructed. I then added the pectin and lemon juice and continued simmering for 10 minutes, as instructed. Finally, I added the cranberries and simmered for an additional 10 minutes or so until their skins burst.

During this entire process I observed the "jelly" was very runny. I sort of expected it to be somewhat runny based on the recipe reviews on Epicurious. The reviews stated that it was more of a relish than a jelly.

The problem is, mine is more of a soup than a relish. I put it in a jar in the refrigerator overnight, thinking that perhaps all it needed was cooling, but it is only marginally thicker than when it was hot.

Question

How can I fix this ridiculously soupy jelly? Can it be saved simply with additional heat, sugar, or pectin? I'd rather not go to the grocery store today (day before Thanksgiving) to get additional cranberries if it can be avoided. I have all ingredients but the peppers and cranberries on hand.


texts: Implied cooking temperatures on food packaging

texts:
Every time I follow directions I see instructions like this:

Bring water to boil
Stir in pasta
Return to rapid boil
Cook for 6 minutes for al-dente

I set the stove burner to high for Step 1. Do I leave the stove burner on high for the remaining steps, or do I lower the burner temperature?


texts: Walmart used to carry gold foil wrapped bonbons, inexpensive that were to die for. I've seen other postings. The outer chocolate, the inner peanut butter melt away is easy. It's the part in between chocolate & peanut butter...a very thin yet crisp wafer coating I can't figure out how to copy. The closest idea I came up with is smashing wafer ice cream cones or wafer sheets...rolling the round melt away ball in them, before dipping in chocolate? I've searched everywhere for ideas & recipes?


texts: Is there REALLY a difference in powdered milk brands for baking bread

texts: I reading a new to me bread recipe it calls for a specific brand of nonfat dry milk powder (such as Alba). I wonder if there is a difference in brands/ makers or is there something special about this brand?? Is it just a suggestion OF a brand due to what is popular in the area where the recipe is from? I do so want to try the recipe for "Kindered's Milk Bread" and I don't want to mess it up. So.. I guess the question is .. stick with the brand name that is mentioned or use any good, non descript brand.  Thank you ever so much with the help here..


texts: Do I have to put suet in my canned mincemeat?

texts: I want to home can a very simple or basic mincemeat that can be changed differently in each use. Do not understand need of suet? Can something else be used?


texts: How 豉椒炒蜆 (stir fry clams in black bean sauce), without black beans?

texts:
I don't want buy any thing from China because of politics. Korea Japan are OK. But Toronto got just black bean and black bean sauce made in China.
Can I just skip black bean sauce for 豉椒炒蜆 ? If not, what substitute?
Stir-Fried Clams in Black Bean Sauce | The Woks of Life

1 1/2 pounds fresh manila clams, scrubbled/washed thoroughly
2 tablespoons oil
4 slices ginger
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 scallion, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 long green pepper, sliced (you can seed the peppers if you like)
1 long red pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)
2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water, mixed into a slurry
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Madame Chu's Clams in Black Bean Sauce Recipe - NYT Cooking

18 to 20 littleneck clams (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 cups liquid, preferably the juice of the clams
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 thin slices fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons crushed fermented black beans (see Tips, below)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped scallion, green part


texts:
I finally may have found a somewhat local source for veal bones and want to start making stock in earnest.  I've done chicken and turkey stocks before but for those I use entire carcasses.  I've browsed around a bit and haven't really found any concrete info on what bones I should be using.

Before I make the trip to the butcher (he's about 30-40 minutes away) I'd like to know what to ask for.  I've seen a couple references to avoid marrow bones a bit, and some references to neck bones, but I'd love to read/learn more about exactly what I want.

My goal is a rich nicely thickened (gelatin) stock that I can use for a delicious soup, or as a base for my sauces.

Thanks!


texts:
I found this recipe for a pull apart cheesy bread that I love. It turned out ok the first time, and I'd like to try it again for a dinner I'm having this week.
However, I don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner after work (hopefully 1-2 hours max), and I was wondering how to break up the recipe to have it ready for dinner on time. I need to take about a half-day to one-day break in the middle; where/how do I split this recipe up??
Thank you so much for your help!!


texts: Sous vide egg white falling apart on cracking

texts:
I've been reading the sous vide guide on serious eats where eggs are supposed to come out like this where after sous viding, you poach it briefly to fully set the white. However when cracking my egg, the white simply falls apart completely, leaving the yolk exposed and an impossible to poach egg!

This egg is cooked at 66C for 1.5 hours, which in the guide has a 'fudgy' yolk (how mine comes out).


texts:
Should cubed carrots be stored in a water or just as they are.  I've seen it done both ways, so I would like to know which way is correct and why.

These cubed carrots end up going in a farmer's chop salad.

They are made quickly by peeling raw carrots and then cubing them.

Related Posts:

White Film on Carrots

Storing Carrots


texts:
I have a package of bratwurst that I am going to cook within the next few days. The only two beers I have in the fridge are a stout and a lager. I'm sure I could use the lager and it would turn out just fine. But what about the stout? What kinds of beers are good with beer brats?

And while I'm at it, what is the most popular method of cooking beer brats? Just off hand I'd say marinate the brats in the beer, then maybe start cooking them by boiling them in the beer and then move them to the grill. Is that about right? Would that be too much exposure to the beer if I tried it with a stout?


texts: How much is "1-2 cents worth" of yeast in an old recipe?

texts:
I'm looking through an old cookbook, ''The Art of German Cooking and Baking'' by Lina Meier (2nd Ed., 1922, Milwaukee, file on wikipedia). There is a recipe for waffles here which calls for "1-2 cents worth of yeast." How much yeast actually is it calling for?

I know how much yeast two American pennies will buy me today: none. Practically, the smallest quantity of yeast I can buy today is an envelope of Fleischmann's active dry yeast, which, according to the internet, weighs about 7 grams (0.25 oz).

I've reproduced the recipe below since it is out of copyright and I've heard yeast is one of those ingredients where you've got to consider what's going on in the rest of the recipe. All I'm concerned about is the 'yeast' ingredient: how much does this mean in today's measurements.

                  No. 15—YEAST WAFFLES.

                 Quantity for 6 Persons.

½ lb. of butter                    ¾ pt. of milk or cream
4 eggs                             1–2 cents worth of yeast
¼ cup of sugar                     ½ lb. of flour
½ grated lemon peel                Lard for baking
                   1 pinch of nutmeg

Preparation: Cream the butter, stir in eggs, sugar, lemon
peel, nutmeg. The yeast is dissolved in the cream which has
been warmed, stirred into the mixture, then flour added to
make a stiff batter. Set to rise in a warm place. Grease the
waffle iron, put in 3 tablespoonfuls of batter, close the iron
and bake the waffles light brown, turning the iron to bake on
both sides. Waffles must be baked and served quickly, because
they are apt to lose their crispness and become tough.
When serving, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.


texts:
I have seen similar questions on here, but not directly answering my question. I recently purchased a tagine, which is a ceramic slow cooker. It comes with, and says to use a diffuser when cooking on the cooktop. But the diffuser that came with it says not to use it on ceramic tops, as it may scratch.

Does anyone have any idea what type is best? I did some research online (which is actually how I found this site), but could not find any explicit answers about it, except that the cast iron diffuser I found also said not to use it on a ceramic top.

Edit: Thank you, Joe. I had already seen those posts before I posted the question. They agree that you should use a diffuser, but no explicit information on what material diffuser to use. I am hoping someone would be able to say: "use a brass diffuser" (or some material that actually would work on my ceramic cook top).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!


texts: What's the name of this Indian dish I had?

texts:
I had a dish recently at an Indian restaurant called Andhra(?) chicken.
It was written in marker so I'm not sure about the h in there.

The dish consisted of breaded pieces of chicken that were fried and then seemingly cooked in some spice mixture definitely containing:

green chili
egg
curry leaves
fennel seed
cumin?

I tried looking up Andhra chicken online but all the recipes seem to have some sort of sauce component to it, while this dish was definitely dry.

Does anyone have any idea what that dish could have been, and where I can find a recipe online for it?


texts: Can I use a plastic cup instead of a ramekin for my panna cotta?

texts: I don't have ramekins or custard cups.  Can I pour the warm (not hot) cream-buttermilk mixture of panna cotta into plastic cups to refrigerate?


texts:
Me and my friends have been cooking a 2kg=4.5 pounds piece of rumproast in a bbq smoker. We cooked it at about 250°F for about 3 hours. After that we, wrapped it in tin foil, raised the temperature to about 300°F and cooked it for an additional 3 hours. Our thinking here was that we can raise the temperature a bit, since the moisture can't escape anyway because it's wrapped in tin foil.

We were hoping for a juicy and tender roast, that "tears apart" easily with a fork. At the end it wasn't tender and it was so dry that we were afraid it would suck the moisture out of the air... When we unwrapped the tin foil there was a lot of liquid (juice), that should've probably stayed in the meat? Was the temperature too high or wasn't the cooking time right? Is this even an appropriate piece of beef for "low and slow" smoking?


texts: What is the name for this technique to prepare eggs?

texts:
I prefer to make my eggs similar sunny side up, but I flip them and cook them on both sides. I don't use oil, so they're not fried either.

I crack them into a pre-heated pan at medium high heat, wait until the yolk solidifies a bit, and then flip them and wait a little bit less time. The yolk usually has a film over it, and often comes out somewhere between runny and solid, depending on how long I leave it.


texts:
Has anyone come up with a way to cook beaten eggs via microwave?

My attempts to do so have resulted in a off-coloured mess with the consistency of rubber.


texts: I have seen different recipes for pizza dough, some of which let the dough rise for about an hour at room temperature, others which recommend an 18-24 rise in the refrigerator. What are the differences between each method, and is one inherently better than the other?


texts: Effect of potato water on bread (early experiment results)

texts:
Inspired by another question here, I am going to make potato bread. I am using the King Arthur Flour recipe.

(For 2 loaves)

1 tablespoon instant yeast
99g sugar
283g to 340g lukewarm water or potato water (water in which potatoes have been boiled)
170g softened butter
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
198g mashed potatoes (from about 1/2 pound potatoes)
780g King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

My question concerns the water. What effect should I expect from using the water used to boil the potato? I assume that the major difference between potato water and tap water is starch. I further assume that the less water I use to boil my potato, the greater the concentration of starch.

What differences am I likely to see in loaves made with tap water, low-concentration potato water and high-concentration potato water?

I ask because I haven't started yet. Answers to this question will influence how I boil my slightly aged and should be used soon potato.


texts:
I went to a tea shop for Chinese New Year and the owner was incredible adamant about rinsing, sponging and reusing the tea. Is this a normal thing? Should I be doing it? What teas should I be doing this with and what shouldn't I?

Sponging tea to my observation seemed to be like steeping but more for the refreshing and "waking up" the leaves rather than steeping which is more focused on the water and to flavour the water.

How many times should I wash my tea and should I sponge it before washing it, before drinking it or both?

How long should I "sponge" it?

How do I determine when to do this and when not too

When should I stop reusing tea?


texts: How to deal with flare up when broiling a steak?

texts:
I was broiling a steak (with the fat on, and I had also lightly coated it with olive oil).

After I had turned it over, about the 2nd minute (before it was done) there was a huge pop and a small flame inside, it appeared a piece of grease exploded out of the steak and hit the element.

I left it about 5 cm away from the element (2") which usually gives a cook I like.  But I'm starting to think the way I'm doing it is possibly a fire hazard.

Is what I'm doing wrong?  Can you cook a steak like that?  What do you do about the flare up and mini explosions?


texts: How do I prevent my sugar coating from melting on my gummy bears

texts: I am making homemade gummy bears and I cannot prevent the sugar coating from melting way into a puddle of watered sugar? I tried drying the gummy bears for a day but it still melts away.


texts: What is the name of this peppermint stick candy?

texts:
I've had a hard time finding information online about peppermint candy sticks that are hard, but porous and brittle - the peppermint sticks of my youth. I believe the commercially available brand that is what I'm thinking of is King Leo peppermint stick.

What I'm looking for is different from hard/glossy/sticky candy canes, and would not be chewy/soft candy/taffy either.

Does anyone know what it is called?


texts:
I am from Germany and I want to cook a recipe that has "English mustard" in it. I don't really know the difference between different kinds of mustard.
For example, the mustard I mostly use here in Germany is this one:
https://www.bautzner.de/de/Produkte/Senfklassiker/Senf-mittelscharf
It's just called mustard. Is english mustard something different? Is the one I know more of a yellow/ american mustard or something  else entirely?


texts:
I'm looking to make a tart like this or like this
 but I don't have those tart pans that have the removable bottom, I've only got a glass dish.

I'm wanting to take the tart out of the dish and put it on a plate once it's done but I'm not sure how I'll be able to do that. Can I line the glass dish with some baking paper or something so I can pull it out of the dish once it's done, or something?

thanks


texts: I've heard some say that fish only smells offensive if it's old. But my experience suggests that some fish, like salmon, are simply "fishier" and that the smell can put some people off. Is that right? If so, is there a simple explanation for the smell, or does it vary according to species? And which fish smell the least and most fishy?


texts: Why do choc chip cookies change with different temperature butter?

texts:
My name is Chris and my daughters name is Maggie (9yr)
She’s doing s science fair project and we have a question we need help with.

Her science project is baking choc chip cookies 3 different ways to see how they change.
1. with melted butter
2. with room temp butter
3. with cold butter

We are having the hardest time trying to figure out why they are changing because of the different butters.

Do you have any idea why?
If you have time to field this questions she would really be very grateful.

Thank you so much for your time,
Maggie and Chris


texts: Flavour espresso with vanilla without adding sugar or other sweetener?

texts: I've always thought that vanilla and espresso would be a good combination but the problem is: I don't take sugar! I understand one can buy coffee flavoured beans but how would I get the vanilla flavour using my home set up (espresso machine, burr grinder and preferred brand of beans)?


texts: Butter vs oil in Banana bread and Zucchini bread

texts:
I've looked up a number of recipes for banana bread and zucchini bread, which I think of as pretty similar foods in terms of texture, moistness, etc. As I expected, the recipes I find online all tend to be pretty similar - same general ratios of flour, fat, sugar, eggs, and of course banana or zucchini.

The thing that surprised me is that for some reason, banana bread recipes pretty consistently call for butter, which is creamed with the sugar, whereas zucchini bread recipes invariably call for vegetable oil (presumably melted butter would work too).

I'm aware of the reasons in baking for creaming butter vs using a liquid fat. I'm wondering: what's the difference between bananas and zucchini, that one bread is usually made with solid butter, but the other not? (Or is there in fact a deliberate textural difference between "normal" banana bread and zucchini bread, which was absent in the versions I grew up with?)


texts: How to make boiled and partially fried vegetables palatable?

texts:
I boiled carrot and beans pieces till they were soft, fried onions and green chillies in a pan, added 1kg of the carrot and beans to the pan, few pinches of salt and some powdered spices.
Fried this for 20min and the taste of the veggies were still bland. No taste at all.
I was told to add red chilly powder to it, but I did not have any at 11pm in the night. Kept the pan in the fridge.

I can buy red-chilly powder today and try continuing to fry it.

Do you have any suggestions on what I could add to it, how much chilly powder to add, how long to fry it without spoiling it or any other precautions and tips to make it into a tasty dish?


texts: can you saute lentils with butter (masoor dal)

texts: After cooking masoor dal in pressure cooker, I used to saute it with ghee but since I don't have ghee and it's midnight, can I saute it with butter? will it taste bad?


texts:
I frequently find myself at the grocery store looking at limes for cocktails and wondering which will yield the most juice.

Sometimes, a lime will practically liquefy itself (which is what I want), yet I also get some that will yield almost nothing.

How can I tell which limes have the most juice?

Note that I obviously can't damage the limes or open them.


texts: How to shell macadamias without a special tool?

texts:
I know you can get tools like the Bonk and MackaWhacka specifically for shelling macadamias but I've very rarely had them handy when I've needed to do it.

In the past I've sat macadamias in a little hole in the cement outside and smashed them with a hammer but it would more often than not damage the kernels as well. I'd ideally like a way which:

doesn't damage the kernel inside
doesn't require a macadamia-specific tool
doesn't take several hours per nut, and
doesn't involve risk of missing teeth and permanent disability


texts: Using a ceramic honing rod for Global knives?

texts: I just bought a Global knife (GF-33) and the literature that came with it suggests using a ceramic honing "steel" rather than a steel one. Apparently steel could be too abrasive for the type of metal Global uses. First of all, does this assertion have any merit? If so, I was looking at the rod that Global offers and it is one hundred dollars plus! I noticed that other brands run much much cheaper. Why such the big difference? Are all ceramic rods created equally? I just want to buy a thirty dollar one if it's all the same. What have other people done for their Global knives?


texts:
Are there any methods available to "fix" a sauce that has curdled?

Or, if I can't fix the curdling, is there any way to still use the sauce?  What can I do with it?


texts:
I made caramel on my induction cooktop. The temperature was correct, but the caramel texture is grainy, like all of the sugar didn't dissolve properly. Do I need a different thermometer? I used a Wilton clip-on stainless steel mercury thermometer. Or does the cooking time need to be adjusted?

The recipe I am using is: 1cup butter,2 1/4cup brown sugar, dash salt,1cup light corn syrup,1can sweetened condensed milk,1teaspoon vanilla. Melt butter in heavy 3 qt. saucepan. Add brown sugar and salt. Stir until thoroughly combined. Stir in corn syrup and mix well. Gradually add milk stirring constantly. Cook and stir over med. heat until candy reaches 245F remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into 9x9 pan. Let set 24 hours. Cut into squares, wrap in wax paper.

I am close to sea-level.


texts: If it takes 10 min to boil regular noodles if you drain the water after, give or take, how many minutes before the end of soup cooking should you add them in the pot considering they will keep on cooking in the hot soup after turning heat off so they are not overcooked?


texts: I have tried many pie crust recipes, it either sticks to the cutting board or rolling pin. I've even tried wax paper or plastic wrap with a generous amount of flour and it still sticks.  If I'm lucky enough and it doesn't stick, it breaks up when transferring to the pan. What am I doing wrong?


texts: How does the process of tempering in indian dishes generally work?

texts: I am trying  to understand the tadka (tempering) technique or procedure Indian meals. Is the a specific order in which spices go in in order to avoid overcooking some which are more delicate? I understand that for example the cumin seeds will usually go in first. Some tadka also include cilantro - that would obviously go in towards the end. Is there a general procedure to follow? I would also be happy for some book tips that focus on the techniques used in Indian cuisine, not just concrete recipes.


texts:
I am thinking of building a farinograph, not as accurate as the ones used in lab, for my friend's project. I know that a farinograph measures the torque at the blades and estimates the viscocity of the dough. I have the following questions on the working principle:

What is the relation between torque measured and Barbender units?
I am looking for a more detailed explanation of working of a farinograph, what I know is very crude and does not help me build one. Please can anyone provide me with any literature which explains the working (more on the technical side).
Is it really true that by just measuring the torque, one can understand the quality of the produced dough ?


texts: Enlarging from a home bakery to a commercial bakery

texts: I am presently a dessert baker in my licensed home kitchen and am moving to a retail storefront location with a commercial dessert bakery. My proprietary recipes for cheesecakes, layer cakes, brownies, cookies, and quick breads are adapted to produce excellent desserts in my 3 home ovens. I use radiant heat for baking them. Now, I'm scaling up. I have a HUGE concern about using a commercial convection oven to bake my products--especially the cheesecakes because they are so delicate. Some of my recipes require a water bath. Some do not. Are there any issues about which I need to watch in order to have my cheesecakes turn out with the same appearance and quality of product that I'm producing in my home ovens? Any tips please? Thanks much.


texts: Live Tomato Zucchini Lasagna - what does live mean?

texts:
I was looking at the menu of Candle 79 - a vegan, organic restaurant in Manhattan.  One of the items on the menu is titled:

Live Tomato Zucchini Lasagna  - cashew cheese, marinated wild mushrooms, tomato sauce, basil, pine nut pesto.

What could the 'live' possibly imply?  What might it mean?

Since the restaurant is vegan, nothing is actually alive in the traditional sense...


texts:
In an electric fan oven when cooking a specific recipe at a given temperature should that oven reach that temperature given the 20deg. difference between that and a conventional oven? I bought an oven thermometer placed it in the Fan oven and
set the oven at 170deg C. the thermometer only reached 140deg. C. is my oven faulty?


texts: Can whole milk be used to make fresh cheeses like marscapone?

texts:
All the recipes for homemade marscapone cheese I have seen use some type of cream with at least 35% fat.  Whereas other fresh cheeses can be made with lower fat % milk.

I'm not sure how much fat percentage is in whole milk (I never see it stated on the bottle) but it looks pretty fatty (I can see the fat separate a bit on top before you shake the bottle)

Can this type of milk be used to make marscapone cheese? If not why?


texts:
I'm new when it comes to vegan cooking and until recently began experimenting and researching with regards to the commonly used or appropiate coagulants whether acid or salt based to best make my own crafted tofu.

So I've got the following questions:

Is calcium sulfate dihydrate the same as the regular calcium sulfate, also known as Gypsum used for food processing?

On the other hand, are all of the following coagulants safe to be used for culinary purposes per se, meaning as simply getting the chemical with the stablished name from a supplier without it having any additional variations such as the "dihydrate" form explained above, or do they require to have a "Food grade" stamp or "for culinary use" tag necessarily?

-Calcium Sulfate.

-Magnesium Sulfate "Epsom Salt".

-Magnesium Chloride (In this case if it also needs to be branded as "Nigari/Bittern").

-Calcium Chloride.

And finally if you could please please clear out which are animal sourced and which are plant derived or if they are all synthetic. That would be really helpfull.

Thankyou deeply.


texts: What is the difference between how nut flours and nut butters are made?

texts: Nut flours are made by grinding nuts.  Nut butters are made by grinding nuts as well.  Do nut flours have the oil removed, or are they just ground a different way?


texts: How to brownies from a box/mix with a flaky top?

texts: I buy and make box brownies all the time, but the top crust always ends up looking more like the topping of a cake, rather than the flaky top shown in the picture on the box.  It's pretty easy to follow the 4 steps on the box; is there something I am missing?


texts: How to barbecue marinated chicken drumsticks

texts:
I'm looking for some general advice on how to do this.  I've attempted this twice and they turned out OK, but the outside layer looked a little black.  Everyone really liked how it turned out but I'm wondering how I can improve.  This is my process:

Skin the drumsticks.
Marinate them for 20-30 minutes (we bought a bag with the flavor in it that was for this purpose).
Put the chicken on the barbecue on medium to low heat.
Flip/rotate the chicken every 5 minutes or so for a total of 25 minutes.


texts: Cookies rise nicely in the oven, but then collapse

texts:
Just as every year, I have been baking spicy Christmas cookies with my Granny. And like always, they have expanded nicely in the oven, but collapsed afterwards. But this year I know to go to Seasoned Advice and ask how to prevent that for years to come!

The recipe calls for 625 g sugar, 250 g butter and 50 g various dry spices (cinnamon, coriander, succade, cloves) to be kneaded together, and then to be mixed with 875 g flour and 250 ml milk with 15 g baker's ammonia (Ammonium carbonate). The dough is laid to rest for a long time (4 days or so), rolled about 3mm thin, cut, and baked at 160⁰C for 10–12 minutes.

The cookies expand in the oven, growing a bit thicker in the middle than on the outside, but then collapse again during the remainder of the baking time.
The resulting cookies are quite soft when coming out of the oven, but grow very hard during cooling.

What would we need to change so that the cookies keep their expanded shape?


texts:
I left a chiffon I baked on the counter, wrapped in tin foil. And after 5~6 hours it shrank and became stiff. I thought maybe it's too warm and dry in the room(25 C, humidity around 35
%) so I put the next one I baked in the fridge. It became stiff anyway. And the similar thing happens to all other cakes involving whipping egg white, but not to store-bought cakes. Is it natural for cakes to shrink so fast? And is there something I can add to the cake to prevent this? We can hardly finish an 8-inch cake in one day!


texts:
Where is the best place to store cakes?

I usually store them in a normal, plastic box but I had  an idea to store them in a freezer. Would that be okay to store cakes there? Could it degrade the flavour and the taste?

I'm asking because I don't want to throw away cakes which are both chocolate and ribbon, if that matters.


texts:
I have already noted this question about making root beer, but I wanted to explore further, so I hope you'll indulge me.

I want to make a home made root beer that is similar in taste to the A&W brand. Obviously, I want to make something different, or I could just buy A&W... but that's my starting point. If I can approximate that, then I can experiment from there.

There are some points that I am stuck on:

Most online recipes suggest either using "root beer extract", or "sasparilla", or "sassafrass extract". I understand sasparilla and sassafras are different roots, but is "root beer extract" another way description for either of the roots, or is it a catch all term for pre-mixed root beer flavouring?
Is there a noticeable flavour difference between sassafras and sasparilla? Should I really try and hunt down sassafras without the carcinogenic ingredient, or is it not worth the effort?
Where can I find a reliable supplier of the key ingredients that ships internationally? A lot of suppliers have either unclear web sites or their stock seems to come and go. Recommendations would be really welcome!
What I like about A&W over, say, Barq's, is that it seems thicker. The foam holds longer and the mouth feel is creamier. What would be the ingredient or method that would steer a root beer brew towards being thicker?

Thanks for any tips!


texts: What should I use to produce the hotness of Hong Kong-style borscht?

texts:
I'm interested in attempting to make borscht similar to the type that gets sold in fast-food restaurants in Asia (or at least Hong Kong). I've found several recipes online, so the basic process seems straightforward (e.g. this, this, and this). Now, one of the things I've rather liked about the Hong Kong version of borscht is that (ideally speaking), the soup should be fairly hot.

One of the links lists paprika, whilst the other lists chili oil. Which/what seasoning would be more appropriate for reproducing the hotness of borscht (and the taste of the specific type I'd like to imitate)? I'm assuming chili oil would be more effective and more commonly used in Hong Kong, but I don't have too much experience with either ingredient (beyond occasional prodigious use of dried red pepper flakes) and so am looking for confirmation / tips.


texts: Macarons//egg whites with sugar are not sifting

texts: I am making macarons and I am mixing egg whites with the sugar and it is not creating soft peaks how do I fix it


texts:
Some people say cleaning with water removes the taste from mushrooms.

But if I don't use water the mushrooms will carry a lot of dust.

Do you have any techniques for cleaning mushroom so I don't eat crap but don't spoil the mushroom?


texts: How Not to Lose Liquid in Vegetable Stock

texts:
I just made my first vegetable stock (I chopped everything roughly and started by sauteeing the onions celery and carrots a bit, added a lot of veg like celeriac and leek tops, then I added 3 liters of liquid, brought it to a boil and simmered it uncovered for 1.5 hours.)

I feel like I only have 2.5 cups of stock after and am upset. It's a waste.

I simmered it uncovered. Should you simmer it covered? Any tips for not losing so much stock liquid? Also, do you use the leftover stock veg for anything?


texts: Does this still count as "scrambled eggs"?

texts:
Being Chinese-American, I grew up on this stuff. The English name "Chinese steamed eggs" comes from the fact that it comes from Chinese cuisine, and that "steamed" comes from the word 蒸 in 蒸鸡蛋. The word 鸡蛋 refers to "chicken eggs", but the word 鸡 may refer to chicken or turkey. The word 蛋 refers to "eggs". The Chinese language has no singular/plural distinction, but contextually, we know it's eggs, not an egg, because we often use two or more eggs.

During the food prep, the eggs must be beaten. Afterwards, some water is added to increase volume. Salt may be added for flavor. Then, the eggs are set in the steamer to be steamed.

In Chinese cuisine, there is also a separate dish called 番茄炒鸡蛋, which involves tomatoes and scrambled eggs. 炒 refers to a cooking process. The Chinese definition of this cooking process is: "把东西放在锅里搅拌着弄熟". Basically, you put something in the wok and mix until ready or fully cooked. Often in Chinese-American restaurants, 炒 may refer to the process of stir-frying. In this dish, 番茄炒鸡蛋, the eggs are stir-fried, but I think the process and the finished result look indistinguishable from scrambled eggs. I mean, you really do scramble the eggs, dump the eggs in the wok, and then stir-fry the eggs until fully cooked.

Here's the tricky thing. The English word "scramble" seems to refer to the process of beating the eggs. If that is the case, then wouldn't Chinese steamed eggs be considered and classified as a form of "scrambled eggs"? Or should Chinese steamed eggs be considered/classified as "steamed eggs"? Or should this recipe fall under both categories - "steamed" and "scrambled"?


texts:
I have been relegated to bringing "drinks" for a work holiday potluck. Fair enough. I love eggnog and would like to bring some. However, my recipe includes two jiggers of bourbon or brandy. It might be tempting to carry on as-is and feign ignorance, but my conscience says otherwise.

So I resolve to making a virgin eggnog. While it's tempting to merely leave the booze out, the booze adds a lot of flavor and sweetness. Is there an accepted way to substitute a brown spirit without losing all the goodness it imparts (apart from the ethanol)?


texts:
What words and dimensions are used to describe bread and their recipes?

I realize describing bread is subjective, I'm only looking for common words to describe bread.


texts:
When I was much younger, my father would bring home a really good bread about twice a year. He told me the mother of a coworker would make it and her son would sell it at work. I didn't know it was sourdough at the time, but when I thought about it recently and asked him, he said it was.

I remember that it was pretty much like a loaf of white bread in consistency, texture, and crust. It also had a shape like a loaf pan had been used and was a nice golden color on the outside. It may have been a touch dryer than white bread. I remember that my parents would get frustrated with me, because I kept going back and cutting off slices just to eat plain.

Does anyone know how to make a bread similar to this? Is it a certain style? Is there a particular way of making it that makes it turn out like this? I think I've seen recipes that use honey, but would the yeast not convert the honey's sugar? Or is it like alcohol yeasts where the yeast is only capable of processing so much sugar. I think that is regulated by the strength of the alcohol killing off the yeast at a certain point. I'd just like to know how to make this soft sweet sourdough bread. Thanks.


texts: Would smoked chicken work well in paella?

texts:
I am not a chef, I just like to cook.

Tomorrow I am making paella for a bunch of people, and I am leaning towards following this recipe.

I was wondering, however, if it would be okay to swap the two whole roasted chickens for two whole smoked chickens as I am an avid smoker and it would be really easy to pop the two chickens into the smoker in the morning.

My smoked chickens usually turn out juicy and delicious, so I think this might be good in the paella, but I don't know if the addition of a smokey flavor would be unwelcome.

I would be using apple wood for smoking, if that matters.

Thanks in advance!


texts: How to distinguish cream of tartar from bread improver

texts: A few months ago I bought a pocket of cream of tartar (unlabeled) and after a few days I bought some  bread improver. Now that I transferred both from their unlabeled pockets to air-tight containers, I can't seem to find out which one is which! Is there any way to distinguish them?


texts: Can I use a meat grinder to grate cheese?

texts:
I have a large block of cheddar cheese that I would like to use for burgers. But grating is such a pain. I do have a meat grinder. Can I use that for "grating" cheese? Has anybody done that before? Will it mess up the grinder?

I know someone who says it's perfectly fine, but he never did it before. I know another person who's friend says it's not because cheese is sticky and may jam the grinder. I cannot find anything on google either. Has anyone had any experience with "grating" cheese with a meat grinder?


texts: What determines the variety of paprika to use in recipes?

texts: Spanish smoked paprika is powerful stuff that can enhance or overpower a dish. How do I judge when, how much, and which type of paprika (Spanish, Hungarian, sweet, hot, smoked, etc.) to use?


texts: Edible straws that look like plastic ones

texts:
I'd like to make some root beer float cupcakes. The recipe suggests garnishing them with a decorative (non-edible) straw. But I'd like to kick things up a notch: is there such a thing as an edible straw that looks sufficiently like a drinking straw (i.e. same width, preferably striped like an old soda fountain straw)?

I know there are various edible straw-like things available, but they all seem noticeably wider that a drinking straw. I don't require that they be hollow inside, but the width is my main concern.


texts: Can I use this Ikea glassware on stove top?

texts:
In particular, this VARDAGEN Glass Bowl.

It's almost a quarter inch thick, feels heavy and solid, wonder if anyone has tried.  Nothing fancy, just boil and soup kind of thing.  I figure it's healthier than stainless steel.  Thought?


texts: Variations in cooking method for Jasmine rice

texts:
I was at the supermarket today and noticed that the 2 brand of Jasmine rice that they sold had very different cooking times.

Tesco own brand. 75g rice with 113ml water. Simmer for 20 mins, drain, rinse in boiling water and serve.

Tilda brand. 60g rice in boiling water. Simmer for 10-12 mins, drain, cover, stand for 3 mins and serve.

Is this just a different cooking method (ie the first aims to use exactly the right amount of water so there is am element of steaming, whereas the 2nd uses excess water, and is thus simply boiling) or would it be a reflection of the way the way the rice was processed ?
Also, in the first method, what would be the best method to rinse ? E.g. pour it all into a fresh pan of boiling water for a few seconds, pour boiling water into the pan after draining; put it in a sieve and poor boiling water over it, or somthing else?


texts: How does the varying amounts of ingredients in an English pancake affect its outcome?

texts:
Background Information

It is Shrove Tuesday, also known as pancake day! And I am planning on making pancakes. However, my little brother made pancakes at school and he used a different recipe to what I normally use; it was still composed of the three basic ingredients: flour, egg and milk, but he used different quantities. Also, the website that I had previously gotten my pancake recipe from also changed its recipe and I have seen other websites use different quantities as well, which has caused me to wonder what the best quantities actually are.

Recipes I have encountered

Recipe               | Flour (g) | Egg | Milk (ml)
---------------------|-----------|-----|----------
Website's old recipe | 200       | 2   | 350
---------------------|-----------|-----|----------
My brother's recipe  | 115       | 1   | 300
---------------------|-----------|-----|----------
Website's new recipe | 100       | 2   | 300

Question

How does the quantity of different ingredients affect the properties (such as thickness, frailness and taste) of an English pancake?


texts: A basic marinade is acid, oil, herbs/spices.  I understand the herbs and spices are for taste, the acid helps meat absorb by breaking down the tissue and taste.  What is the oil for?


texts: Wine sediment clinging to top of bottle?

texts:
I recently bought a fairly old bottle of wine (bottled in 2008) and I noticed that there was a bunch of schmutz clinging to the top third of the inside of the bottle after I poured a glass.

What is this and what does it mean about my wine?  Is it a bad thing?


texts: Kale vs Spinach in Zuppa Toscana lasting

texts: I know that kale is the original recipe, but I've always liked spinach better. I think it has a nice sour kick to it. The problem is that spinach gets soggy much faster and quickly loses its texture. Is there any way to make the spinach stay firm longer in the soup?


texts: How do you prepare Jello with fruit pieces?

texts: I would like to make individual containers of Jello with fruit pieces, but the fruit always sinks to the bottom,is there a way to prevent this?


texts: Mixing a banana with homemade sunflower butter turned into a horrible, leathery substance. Why?

texts:
I often make sunflower butter in my food processor by pureeing raw sunflower seeds. Today I decided (after the seeds became creamy) to blend a banana into the mixture. The result was horrible:

Almost instantaneously the creamy substance turned dark and leathery, and it did not taste banana-y or sunflower-y at all. Why did this happen? I have mashed up bananas into my sunflower butter before and this did not happen.


texts: How can I tell if a balsamic vinegar is good?

texts:
I bought a bottle of balsamic vinegar, and it smells so sour when I put my nose over the bottle.

Is it supposed to be like that?


texts: What is a good cut of meat to use in beef bourguignon

texts: I'm looking for a nice cut of meat that would nicely fall apart when you put a fork to it. It doesn't have to follow the "authentic" recipe. I've tried various packs of "stew meat" before and it always comes out pretty rough. I'm willing to acknowledge I'm not cooking it properly or long enough. But I'm also wondering if maybe a brisket or a specific cut of meat would work better.


texts: Where can I find food-grade beeswax to make Canelé?

texts: I am looking for food-grade beeswax to make Canelé.  On Amazon, all I can seem to find is "cosmetic grade" which is not necessarily meant for food usage.


texts: Fermented onions in orange juice took a long time to show activity - are they safe to eat?

texts:
I'm trying to ferment sliced red onions in orange juice with 6% salt. I used one tablespoon kimchi juice to start it.

It was started Monday last week, but until yesterday (after a week), there weren't any signs of fermentation occurring, not even bad smells or mold or anything, but then, yesterday at last I began seeing some small bubbles and today it's going really wild with the bubbling.

It's been a week and I'm afraid it has some bad bacteria producing the bubbles, because of the long time that has passed.

I'm using an airtight jar which I've burped once everyday since the first day, and also mixed the contents everyday to avoid anything being on top for too long.

Is it safe to eat the fermented onions, or should I toss them?

EDIT:

While I know cold weather would slow down the fermentation process, I don't believe that's the case, since where I live, it's been around 68F-75F for the last week.


texts: Help in identifying Scandinavian dessert recipe

texts:
Background -- I made this recipe as part of a group project (in college) that was preparing different foods from around the world. My group had Scandinavia, but as I didn't find this recipe (one of the girls in the group did), I don't know which country the recipe originates from.

I recall it being a simple recipe, but I'd like to see if I can find the full recipe. From what I remember, it required:

2-3 egg whites, which were whipped into a froth
melting a mixture of dark and milk chocolate morsels together

Both of these were poured onto a cake/cookie layer that had been rolled out in a sheet like way, and then left to freeze overnight. This layer of the dessert was almost wafer like, but was very crumbly (but not very crunchy).

It may or may not contain nuts.


texts: Microwave oven grill heating element not glowing

texts: Recently I have purchased a sharp branded convection microwave oven. When I tried to make grill, I found that the heating element for grill which placed at ceiling was not glowing. So I was confused that is that grilling part working or not. So I made a call to the shop from where I purchased and they said it glows only for electronic oven, not in microwave oven. But I am still confused that is that true or not.


texts: How should I adapt recipes according to the amount of sourdough starter?

texts:
I use the starter irregularly, therefore the amount I take to make the dough changes every time: I work by taking a fixed amount of starter to feed further, and by using all the rest in the recipe.

However, even if the starter is fed with 100% hydration, the flour is consumed by the process: inevitably I won't have a 100% hydrated starter when I use it.

Last time I adapted the recipe (flour and water) by assuming 50% water and 50% flour in the starter, but I found out water was underestimated.

How should I adapt the recipes? or, what is the % of hydration in a starter, depending on its age since the last feeding?


texts:
Imagine you're making someone a tea, but for whatever reason they have to leave soon. How can I cool the tea so that they don't have to choose between leaving it unfinished or burning their mouth? Ideally the method should not only be fast, but also let me reliably reach about the same temperature every time.

I've thought of the following:

Add additional milk - cools tea, but affects taste.

Heat the water less - won't make tea as hot, but might affect how well the tea infuses.

Add cool water to boiled water - would cool down a fully-infused tea, but hard to control resulting temperature.

Put it in the fridge for 30 seconds or so - would cool tea, but seems like a bad idea.


texts: How do I avoid splatter when frying ginger garlic paste?

texts: I see in all cookery shows that they use ginger garlic paste with ease. When I bought a sachet of the same and put it in oil, it spluttered so much that all of my stove surface ended up oily. How do I avoid that?


texts: I Left a the jar of open mrs. richardson hot fudge out last night, is it still good? It does say refrigerate after opening. Is it still good?


texts:
Here's the thing:

I am currently experimenting with a Oshawa diet #7 and I discovered that I can make these tasty flatbreads in my frying pan.
However, the issue is that after each flatbread is done I have to wash the pan with a wet sponge, as either flour or small parts of the dough will get burnt and stick to the pan.
This means that I have to then wait for the pan to reheat again and this, together with the washing, makes the process a lot longer.

Here's what I tried so far:

I've tried removing any excess flour before frying, but some dough parts still got burned and got stuck.
I put baking paper on top of the frying pan. This worked, but the baking paper got burned after each flatbread and I had to replace it each time.
I also tried baking them in the oven. Although, it did work, the flavor and texture are different.
My final attempt was buying a stone-effect frying pan, hoping that the cleaning process would be almost zero. True, it is far easier to wash than my previous pan, but it still takes a lot.

Now, what I would like to know is if there are other ways cooking these flatbreads (without oil) what would make the process faster and more efficient.

Thanks in advance for the help!


texts: Melting yellow cheese for savory pancakes or crêpes

texts:
Due to differences in cultures I will begin with explaining the terms I am going to use:

Savoury pancake - It is a normal pancake or a crêpe by US standards, but instead of being eaten with jam or similar sweets we instead use non-sweet ingredients like ham and cheese which are put on top of the (cooked) dough and subsequently rolled in it.
Yellow cheese or Kashkaval which is a specific type of cheese made from cow milk and/or sheep milk. It looks like this.

What we usually do is make a savoury ham and Kashkaval pancake. We do this by making the normal pancake mixture, pour it on the pan and when one side is ready we flip it, then we put the yellow cheese in a row on the middle of the now cooked side and while the other side is still cooking the cheese starts to melt. When the other side is almost done we add the ham on top of the cheese and wrap it all up.

My problem is that I want to add more cheese for a hefty snack. However adding more cheese means making the row thicker and sometimes not all the cheese melts. I am looking for a way to add more cheese while still getting it all to melt, that is why I thought maybe I could melt some cheese in a tiny pot and pour it onto the ready pancake but melting this type of cheese doesn't produce very good results and I don't think I can get my hands on processed cheese.


texts: I'm planning on shipping shortbread to another state, and it may take 3-5 days to arrive to the destination. It's a fairly butter-rich cookie: 3 sticks butter, 5 cups flour, 2 cups sugar (about) plus spices. How well would they ship, and how long will they stay after shipping? Could they go rancid?


texts: How long can I store soaked beans before cooking?

texts:
I've soaked some beans in room temperature water overnight, since 6pm (white navy beans).

How long can I keep them in water before I must use them?

Will they last a day or so at room temperature and in water, or should I drain and store in the fridge, or must I cook with them immediately?


texts: What adjustments are needed to change a pie recipe to a turnover recipe?

texts: I want to make turnovers (e.g. a similar product is popular at McDonalds), instead of pie in a pan. Is this simply a matter of making a dumpling-shape with the dough, and then putting the fruit inside, or are there other adjustments I need to make to ensure that the crust and ingredients inside will be baked nicely? With respect to preparation and baking, what is the difference between pie in a pan and a turnover, if any?


texts: ozone and its impact on cold fermentation

texts:
Baking is my new hobby and I am experimenting a lot. There is an interesting observation and a guess, I'd like to hear some opinions from more experienced bakers.

I have a number of failures with the recipes where dough required to be fermented in the fridge, e.g. ciabatta bread. With a number of trials I figured out that the less time the dough spend in the fridge the better result I see.
And just today I realized that the fridge I have is with O3 (ozone) generator.

So my guess is that ozone kills the bacteria required for the fermentation. This would also explain the fact that the less time the dough spent in the fridge the better result I see.

I didn't try yet to ferment the dough with ozone generator off. But will do it this week.

What do you think about this? I wonder whether it is all makes sense or pure silliness and I should look for an issue elsewhere.


texts: What is the difference between Greek yogurt and plain yogurt?

texts: One of the ingredients of a recipe is Greek yogurt. May I replace it with plain yogurt? If I do it, what is the difference that I would immediately note?