texts: Mixing mushroom-potato-carrot soup and warming later (Should I?)

texts:
I've got what is probably a pretty basic question - but this is the first thing I've tried to prepare in my life that didn't involve boiling noodles and adding cheese afterwords.

I'm looking at baking chicken breast in foil packets with cream of mushroom, carrots, potatoes etc etc. The thing is I'm only cooking for two people, so If I follow the proportions on my recipe I'm gonna have a lot left over, so I thought I'd make the leftover mushroom/spud/carrot concoction into a soup (possibly by adding some cream of chicken to thicken it up). This unfortunately adds a whole level of work to what I'm doing and given the fact that I don't want to start heating until my girlfriend is on her way over (which is somewhat unpredictable time-wise) but want it to be ready when she gets here (20 minutes or so) I'm wondering if I can prepare some of the stuff ahead of time.

I don't see any reason I can't cut the fat off the chicken or wash/peal/dice the veggies, but will the veggies get soggy or loose texture if I mix them in with the cream of mushroom up to an hour before I start heating it? I assume if I were to do this, it would be ok to refrigerate? Thanks so much for your help. If something I'm spouting sounds like utter nonsense or would taste terrible, please feel free to let me know! =)


texts: Can a disposable aluminium pan be used to bake a cake?

texts: I want to know if an aluminium lasagna pan can be used in an oven for baking a cake?


texts: How to deal with an inaccurate oven thermostat

texts:
So my oven's thermostat is wildly inaccurate. Case in point: I was roasting some potatoes and squash with the oven set to 350F, but the oven thermometer read 600. It's not usually that bad, but it's also not uncommon for the oven's temperature to be off by 100 degrees. What can I do about this? I'm burning a lot of food, and my neighbors don't appreciate how often the smoke alarm goes off.

I've tried just getting used it it, but the inaccuracies are not predictable. Sometimes setting the oven at 350 gets me 375-400, other times (like today) it's much more.

Does the placement of the thermometer affect the reading? That is, could the thermometer be reading extra-hot because I put it in the wrong spot? I have it up close to the door, and it hangs down closer to the heating elements than the food (but still 3-4" above the elements).

Also, I heard somewhere that the way you arrange trays & dishes in the oven affects the ability of the oven's thermostat to do its job. Can someone clue me in on that.

Thanks.


texts: Sourdough starter without whole grain flour

texts:
Is it possible to make sourdough starter without whole grain flour? I have glanced over the two recipes: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe and https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2019/03/beginner-sourdough-starter-recipe/, and both call for whole grain. Is regular all purpose good enough?

Note: This will also be my first time ever making sourdough starter, so if it is much easier to succeed with whole grain, please let me know!


texts: Are the stems of rehydrated dried Shiitake usable?

texts:
The stems of the rehydrated Shiitake mushrooms are tough, even after rehydration.
In the recipes that I checked it was advised to cut and throw the stems and keep the head of the mushroom.

I want to understand why the stems of Shiitake are not eaten. Are the stems edible? Are they usable in any way?
Is there any actual known (perhaps documented) use of the Shiitake mushroom stem? Like for example a dish in Japanese Cuisine that uses stems of Shiitake Mushrooms.


texts: heating ham at 200 degrees versus 325 degrees

texts: If I am heating a fully cooked ham that directs me to cook at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes per pound (ham is 3.38#) and I want to heat it through at a 200 degree F temp. How long should I put the ham in the oven for?


texts: Which types of bread are well suited for overnight proofing and what adjustments are needed?

texts:
I bake simple white loaves quite often. Usually my recipe is a very basic one, like this Classic white loaf from BBC Good Food.

I have also experimented with increasing the hydration of the loaf.

Sometimes at the end of the day there isn't time to complete the recipe (something comes up, etc). I do know that certain bread recipes call for an overnight first proof in the fridge. Are there certain bread types that are suitable for adjusting for an overnight first proof, for example, my white bread one, or a high hydration one? What adjustments do I need to make/what must I be careful of?

I was thinking of some things, or wondering about problems like:

bringing up to temperature the next morning.
less initial kneading night before because the proof is so long.
too big holes in the bread if second proof too long.


texts: Pizza crust too hard in home oven, how to make it softer?

texts: I got my recipe down pretty much, tested in wood fired oven it worked great. But at home in the oven at 520F (270C), the edge crust is just unbelievably hard. I bake it on pizza stone at the bottom for about 4-5 minutes. Everything works out great except the crust. I tried pulling it out half way to soak with water but it didn't help.


texts: What happens with bread at >= 94˚C/201˚F? Or: Is temperature a reliable indicator of doneness?

texts:
So I baked a rye bread last night (in a bread pan). It was a new recipe for me and I had to adjust some things in it due to missing ingredients, so I could not fully rely on the time and temperature recommendations. I therefore baked it until the bread reached the recommended 97˚C/207˚F (which actually took about the same time the recipe said). However, after cooling, I thought it to be too doughy and I would have liked it to be baked for maybe 20 minutes more.

This makes me think that you can't follow temperature as an indicator of doneness. Maybe it works with breads that have a certain moisture content (my dough was probably a bit wetter than it should have been), but not regeardless of the composition of the dough.

Most temperature recommendations tend to range from 94˚C/201˚F–98˚C/208˚F.

My questions then, is:

Is there anything particular that happens at these temperatures?
Are they reliable indicators of doneness?
(Optional question expecting just a simple explanation: What does it mean, technically, that a bread is done/baked? Not taking into account the importance of also forming a good crust.)


texts: Water vs. milk/cream (or nothing) in traditional (French) omelets

texts:
Previous questions here have addressed the reasons why water or milk is added to scrambled egg mixtures in cooking.  However, the two questions I've linked seem to parallel a distinction I've noticed sometimes in recipes or in instructions given by chefs and often repeated on cooking forums: one can add milk or cream to scrambled eggs, while only water is appropriate for omelets, particularly traditional "French" omelet styles.

Some chefs claim that using milk in traditional omelets will make them "tough" (or even "watery"), so they recommend only a small amount of water.  (Some traditionalists, of course, also discourage any additions to the eggs before cooking for a French omelet, even leaving any seasonings or herbs until the very end.)  On the other hand, I have seen other well-known chefs encourage the addition of milk or even cream to omelets to increase richness.

In my own cooking, I have found that adding any type of liquid can increase the lightness and "fluffiness" of the final omelet, and for that reason it's often worth the extra few seconds it adds in cooking time (which can risk toughness).  But I've never noticed a significant difference in toughness when adding milk compared to water, nor have I noticed a significant increase in richness (which I find is often determined more by the amount of butter I put in the pan).  In fact, the prohibition against cream seems a bit odd to me, given that many chefs also advocate a rather large amount of butter for omelets which often ends up being stirred into the eggs while in the pan.

So -- my question: is there actually any science behind the claim that one should only add water to a French omelet, since milk (and possibly cream as well) could toughen it?  Or is this just another culinary myth?  Also, is there any other scientific reason to withhold water or milk from a traditional omelet, other than very slightly increasing the richness of the egg flavor?  (Keep in mind that the amount of liquid I'm talking about here is very small, usually no more than a tablespoon for 2-3 eggs.)

(Just to be clear, a French omelet is generally cooked quite fast in a hot pan, often stirred and/or shaken rapidly during cooking to raise the egg temperatures as fast as possible, and then folded and unloaded from the pan while the outside is pale to golden yellow -- never brown -- and left creamy ("underdone") inside.  I've occasionally seen chefs advocate a slower approach, but the final product is always the same: barely colored on the outside, creamy to slightly runny on the inside, and the overall goal is to maintain maximum tenderness, often with little or no filling at all.  This is opposed to a more "American" or "country" style omelet which can be tougher and perhaps somewhat browned to create a more durable shell used to hold a large amount of heavy fillings.)


texts: GIving that alcoholic taste to yeast-leavened cakes (panettones)

texts:
For the last 3 new year evenings I've tried to make panettones (both chocolate and fruit ones) and my recipe is getting better, with the last one being the first reasonably successful one. However I don't know much about yeast-leavening and there is one thing that I'm really missing on my panettones: that slightly alcoholic taste most store-bought ones have.

What is the trick to achieve such taste or what may I be doing wrong to be missing it?

None I've ever bought - having that taste - had any kind of alcohol/beverages listed as an ingredient. Only vanilla extract and, sometimes, fake panettone flavour, which I strongly think not to be the answer. Also, I know yeast can produce alcohol, but I do not know how or "why". (I've noticed that flavor to be much more intense around the panettone fillings, for truffled and dulce de leche ones)


texts: What is the most efficient way to squeeze water out of cooked spinach?

texts: I'm cooking a bunch of spinach for making a spinach and ricotta filling. I need to get as much water as possible out of the spinach, and I'd prefer not to make a big mess in the process. In the past, I've wrapped a few handfuls at a time in a towel and squeezed out the liquid. This leaves me with a messy, green stained towel and requires a lot of twisting that doesn't seem maximally effective.


texts: How do kosher food preparation requirements compare with what is known by modern science to make food safe for eating?

texts:
As discussed in What are the requirements for a dish to be kosher?, kosher food must follow various rules and procedures. I noticed a pattern in these rules which suggests some consistency with modern food scientists' understanding of food safety and handling.

For example:

Shellfish often contains harmful bacteria which can make one sick. Avoiding this is probably good advice.
Many fish or "creatures of the sea", that do not have scales, contain dangerous poisons and are probably best avoided.

Are there any scientific explanations for why it might be good to avoid the other food? E.g.:

Meat in which the blood has not been drained.
Eating milk together with meat or cooking beef in milk.

Pigs are often fed garbage and other meat, including meat from other pigs. Could this lead to diseases similar to mad cow disease?


texts: Should truly fresh steak (i. e. still purple) have a smell?

texts:
I recently purchased a strip steak from my local grocery.  Got home and noticed that the other side (the side that was face down at the deli) had a section that was noticeably purple.  If I get really close, there is definitely a smell, but it's not a great smell.  I've smelled oxidized (brown) beef before and find it has kind of a "sweet" smell, but this is not that.

My first thought was that I was sold spoiled steak.  Then I cut the steak in half and noticed that the inside of the steak was the same color and had the same smell.  I don't think steak spoils from the inside out, so now I don't know.

For what it's worth, it's the smell that's got me concerned.  There's no other signs of spoilage that I can find--the steak isn't sticky or slimy.

Can anyone provide some expert advice on this?  I'm inclined to think it's fine and is just really, REALLY fresh, but I'm hoping someone else knows what's going on.


texts:
I read that tomatoes are often not picked in the optimal ripeness for canning and because of this, citric acid is added to promote further ripening within the can.

I purchase bottled pasta sauce and canned tomato sauce and sometimes have a reaction from too much acid content.

Tomatoes are acidic enough without having to add acid to the product, in my opinion.  Is there any brand of tomato sauce that does not add citric acid?  Is there a brand of pasta sauce that does not include it?

I try to mitigate the acid by grating celery into the sauce and simmering for a while.  Celery is a very alkaline vegetable and is often used in creating gravies.

I am also considering some Italian friends who say our jarred sauces are too spicy.  I think perhaps the extra garlic, etc, is added to cover the acidic taste.


texts:
Its the pistachios season in my country (Lebanon), which is famous worldwide with its nuts Roasters and varieties.

I have more than 5 kilos of fresh unpeeled seasonal pistachios. What should I do to preserve them for at least 6 months ? Peel them and into the fridge or should I roast them before and keeping them inside a container for later uses ?


texts:
I was looking into making my own vegetable oil, something exotic they don't have on store shelves.

So my question: Which plants, or what kind of plants, can you extract the most oil from? Would it be ones with low water content, or is it more complex than that?


texts: What's the functional different between a skillet and a saute pan?

texts:
I see that a skillet or a fry pan has sloped sides...for easy tossing. A saute pan has straight sides.

I see that a skillet/fry pan as more of a all-round pan to have...and if I complement it with a lid, I don't see why I would ever need a saute pan.

Am I missing something here?


texts:
I am totally new to cooking, I just boil eggs :). I am staying alone for sometime, and I want to cook some stuff at home instead of eating outside every day.

I thought that Pizza might be a good start. So, I am trying with pre-made frozen pizza (well, that is not actual cooking!)

The problem is that all the frozen pizzas I found are created to be cooked in oven (put 15 minutes in the heated oven), and my oven is broken. I have the fan grill, the oven top and a microwave..

can I cook pizzas using any of these?


texts:
Is there cultural variations on what is consider offal?

My mother bemoaned to me the other day that when she was young ox tail was not considered 'real' meat and that when beef was culled on the farm where she grew up the tail was given to the labourers that helped with the slaughtering. Fast forward 40 years and now ox tail has gotten the hipster treatment and now it is pretty much the most expensive meat there is.

So did what was considered tripe or offal change with certain cultural norms or values or has the definition stayed reasonably constant over the last century?


texts: Can you be harmed by staring at induction stove cook top?

texts: While it's on its beaming red and looks menacing . Is there any harm that can happen to your eyes while it's on looking at it other then drying out eyes from heat?


texts: How can I increase the amount of gravy I can make from one roast?

texts:
Making gravy per usual is a by-product of roasting or pan-frying something.  At that point, you take whatever jus you have in the dish and that essentially determines how much real gravy you end up with after you've de-glazed, added stock/water, flour, etc.

Looking for a method that results in more gravy (jus?) without wasting more meat/food.  I'm assuming certain cooking temperature/method/meat results in more jus and gravy.  That's what we're after here.


texts:
The first time I tried to grill polenta on a barbecue, I brushed both sides with olive oil and it came out perfectly with a crisp exterior and a creamy interior.

The next time I tried it, on a different barbecue and with the slices a bit thinner, it was a disaster with the polenta refusing to separate from the grill when I attempted to flip it. This made me very sad.

To avoid having the polenta weld itself to the grill in future, should the grill be hotter? Colder? Should I use a different fat than olive oil? Is there anything else I should consider?

Inquiring minds need to know!


texts: Why is there so much crema on my espresso?

texts:
I buy fresh beans of lighter roasts, grind a few minutes before extraction, pull a double shot normale, and end up with a lot of crema, I mean a lot!

Right when I'm done, the top 90% of the shot is crema moving around like the head on a fresh Guinness. After it dissipates for 30-60 seconds, I'm left with roughly a centimeter of crema of light color.

Crema is a pretty bitter flavor, so I wonder if there is something I'm doing to cause this type of extraction, and what can I do to improve on my technique?


texts: How to check on something baking in oven

texts:
Whenever I bake something, I am afraid of opening the oven door because I think heat/hot air/steam will escape.

For example, today I made baguettes with a water source at the oven bottom. When I opened the oven, a huge blast of steam came out, which seems detrimental to the baking of the bread. At the same time, in my experience, oven lights can be quite deceptive in seeing how done something is. Are my concerns valid or is there a better way to check on the "doneness" of something baking?


texts: What am I doing wrong with my pressure cooker?

texts:
Every time I try to cook beef in my pressure cooker it gets dry and inedible.

Today I tried with 2 x 450 g (2 x 1 lb) beef, with .5 l (2 cups) water and 25 minutes.

The result was very dry and there were .7 l (3 cups) liquid.

What I was hoping for was the meat would be so tender that it would pretty much fall apart when trying to cut it.

I have seen charts like this one, but that would cover the meat in water. Can that be right?

I suppose that .5 l water is way too much, as I ended up with .7 l afterwards.

Question

Have anyone experience with beef in pressure cookers, and can guide me on what the problem could be?

Should I have fried the beef on a pan before putting it in the pressure cooker?


texts: Bread machine yeast substitute active to quick rise

texts: Bread machine calls for active dry yeast. I have quick rise yeast can I still use it.The recipe calls for 1/4 cup water.Do I need to add the water to the recipe.


texts: What is the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisine?


texts: sourdough bread making-without bakers yeast

texts:
I have the book by Jessie Hawkins, The Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread, in which
she describes the benefits of the ancient method of sourdough bread making.

The bread described in the book needs to rise from 12 to 36 hours, which makes it has a low glycemic index, low gluten, and being much more nutritious, etc.  I have tried several loaves, and they come out good tasting, but way too dense and the crust is very hard.  I suspect it has something to do with the starter, but I'm not sure.

I try to make sure the starter is active before I mix the dough. Some loaves rise quickly and are ready to bake after 12 hours, but more often they take 36 hours.  The top crusts sometimes separates from the loaf.

I use:

Filtered water
No sweetener
1 tbsp of olive oil (13.5 gr)
1 tsp salt (6 gr)
four cups of (bread) flour (500 gr)
⅔ cup of starter.

Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong?


texts: What does tin foil do when baking a pot pie?

texts:
If you buy a pot pie at the store, the cooking instructions say to fold a strip of tinfoil around the edge before putting it in the oven.  I've seen what happens if I forget to do this: the edge gets all burned.  Apparently the foil helps keep some of the heat off.

Something strange happened to a friend of mine a while ago, though: she had never made one of these before, and she misread the instructions and put a sheet of tinfoil over the entire top of the pie.  It turned into a bit of a mess; after baking, the whole thing was only about half cooked!

That makes me wonder: what exactly is the foil doing?  It's nice and shiny, and if this were being cooked under a really powerful heat lamp I could understand how it would reflect a lot of the light away, but this is a conventional oven.  Heat is transferred from the air into the food by convection, and aluminum is a very good conductor of heat, so intuitively I'd think it would do practically nothing at all to keep the heat off.  But clearly it's actually being very effective, so what's going on?


texts: What difference does oxygen content of tea water make?

texts:
I've heard the advice that water should be boiled for tea only one--that when boiled it loses dissolved oxygen, and if there is insufficient oxygen in the water, the flavor of the tea is (somehow) affected.

This doesn't seem to make sense to me. If the water loses oxygen when it is boiled, it would have lost it before tea ever touched it anyway.

Does this really make a difference, or is it just a commonly perpetuated kitchen myth? If there is one, what affect does the oxygen (or lack) have on the finished product?


texts: What type of flour is "wheat flour" in the UK?

texts:
I want to replicate an American recipe of Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. It requires 1 cup of wheat flour.

What type of flour would that be in the UK shops?


texts:
It seems my questions at ELL hit a dead end, that's not learner's level English...\

Is there a name in English for the process of turning ingredients of a dish into liquid through boiling them long enough?

Usually this happens as a cook's error, but at times it's the desired effect, e.g. you may create an excellent, smooth, creamy sauce by simmering the ingredients for a very long time.

Judging by what Google Images show, it seems that "overcooking" usually means burnt or nearing burnt fried/grilled food, which is definitely not the same thing. Someone suggested "overboiling" but my grasp of English doesn't allow me to decide whether that's correct or not.


texts:
I’ve  successfully deep fried my Thanksgiving turkey for the last several years using a 30 qt pot and a poultry rack.
This year, due to COVID, it’ll just be my household so we’ll need a lot less turkey. I’m considering Deep frying a half bird. But, I’m concerned with how I’ll lower it into the frying pot and I’m worried that tying the half bird to the rack will leave the rack unbalanced and potentially dangerous for lowering in and removing.
Are my concerns valid or will using the standard poultry rack work fine? Is there some other method I should consider like a stainless steel fry basket?


texts:
My brother is having a go at me because I apparently destroyed his Tefal fryer because I left the oil sitting. He said that "the oils been sitting too long, it's messed up the wiring underneath, and it doesn't work".

Can the oil stop the wiring from working?? I believe it can't as oil cant seep through metal, can it?


texts: Flattened chicken breast returns to original size when frying

texts:
I like to fry chicken breast whole -- I always flatten the meat with a meat hammer first, to make it an even thickness throughout.

A few minutes into frying, the meat returns to almost the identical shape (big at one end, tapering towards the opposite end) it was before I pounded it. Any ideas why/how to stop this happening?

Thanks!


texts: How to rest meat but not let it get too cold?

texts:
Having read this question I am persuaded that resting meat is good for its flavour. But if the meat has a good temperature straight after it's been cooked, it seems as though it will be too cold after resting it for a few minutes.

How do you rest meat in such a way that it is not too cold for eating?


texts:
Considering the heat wave, I've been thinking - most instructions for Yogurt making say to take starter culture, put it in milk, put the milk in a warm pot (or a yogurt maker) for several hours and you've got yogurt.

But it's fairly hot now, with outside air temperatures in the 90s (F). What would happen if I just mix starter and milk and leave it out? Is there danger of spoilage?


texts: What type of chili in Olive Garden ‘Calabrian Chicken’

texts:
I went to Olive Garden recently and bought the Spicy Calabrian Chicken. It was delicious and I loved the heat level. It heated up my mouth, but I could still taste the flavor. Can anyone tell me what type of chili they used in this dish.

I saw one place where they said that Calabrian chilies can also be called Peperoncini. I had one of these in my garden and got excited. However, my peppers don’t taste hot. Then I read that Peperoncini had a really low heat level. As low as 800 scoville. Then I found a site selling dried Calabrian chilies and they say they are around 25,000 to 40,000 Scoville. That sounds closer to the Olive Garden dish. However, right below that statement , the site sold dried ones and said they were 8,000-10,000 scoville.

Lots of mixed info. Does anyone have insite into what chilies that use. I’d love if someone could tell me exactly, like if they have it listed in an ingredients list somewhere.

Edit: a couple of people seem confused and think I duplicated my question. I've gotten fussed at before on these forums for posting multiple questions in one post. This question was about identifying a pepper. My other question is about a recipe using said pepper. Thanks.


texts:
I once heard that it is possible to make coffee from seeds of dates.

I heard that you have to bake them in a low temperature.

So, I took seeds of dates, baked them in the oven in 100 degrees celsius for about an hour, and then tried to grind them.

The blades of the grinding machine broke.

Before I try again, I would like your seasoned advice: how can I make coffee from seeds of dates?

How can I know in advance that the seeds are soft enough for grinding?


texts: How can I prevent pork from becoming tough while being held at warm temperature?

texts:
I work at a nice restaurant and bar. We sometimes make pork loin roasts and gravy for our banquets. The pork is cooked to 145 degrees internally and is very tender and delicious when sliced, but as it sits in the gravy in a warmer or on the banquet line, the meat toughens up.

What causes this? Is putting it in the warmer the cause of the problem?


texts: Does dissolved sugar really help to extract fruit flavours?

texts:
A few times now I've come across online advice that, when steeping/infusing fruits in liquid to extract their flavours, it helps to add sugar to the solution.  As an example this sloe gin Wikipedia page states "sufficient sugar is required while the drupes steep to ensure full extraction of flavour".  Some commentators mention that this is obvious, because if you add sugar to strawberries they macerate and become syrupy.  Well it seems to me a very big assumption that if sugar crystals draw in liquids/flavours from a high moisture-content source then a largely already liquid sugar solution must do the same thing.  Can anyone clarify?

Edit:
This SA answer to a related but I think distinct question would seem to suggest that adding sugar to the solution should in fact slow absorption down as it would reduce the difference between sugar concentrations in the solution and fruit..


texts: How would one go about doing this?  Is it safe to freeze?


texts: Will chocolate cake be edible if I added one cup of water instead of two?

texts: What will happen to chocolate cake if I added one cup of boiling water instead of two, and I did not realize it until it was baking? Will it be edible?


texts: Microwave method of tempering chocolate - can it be done too fast?

texts:
I used the microwave method to temper chocolate. The first time I took it very slow and did it on a low power level. The result was a very shiny chocolate with a good crack.

The second time I did it faster and on a higher power level because I was impatient. The result was not as shiny.

Is the speed and power level the reason why the first batch was better?


texts: Bottling cream-based salad dressing. Preservative advice?

texts: I would like to bottle my home made salad dressing that is mayo- and cream-based. I was wondering what kind of preservatives I could use to lengthen shelf life. Also, I am using garlic powder as an ingredient. Are there any problems using garlic powder with mayo?


texts: What modifications would I have to make when substituting veal for pork?

texts:
I would like to make this recipe for Pork Osso Buco, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yNgna9mZoa4, but I'll be using veal beef shanks and not pork.

Do I have to make any modifications like the time it's braised or seared?


texts:
"Vanilla" is one of the aromas used when described red wines.

I am allergic to natural proteins in vanilla, per Elisa blood test. I am interested to know whether the red wine will contain actual vanillin, or whether the aroma comes from unrelated substances.


texts:
I have this cast iron pot that my friend completely burnt. I was wondering what might be done to save this pot. I realize that this question seems similar to this one but in that one his skillet is not burnt and it is seasoned.

Thanks for your help.


texts: How can I render bacon fat without frying it?

texts:
I wanted to render the fat from some bacon to produce bacon grease.
The usual advice that you see on the internet is to simply fry whole strips of bacon at a low heat, for a longer period, and the fat will melt away from the meat proper. That normally works for me.
The other day I wanted to try someting different. I have previously rendered other fats in different ways. I've tried a 'wet render', by simmering at a very low temperature in water. That worked well for lamb fat. And I tried a 'dry render' by putting the fat in the oven at a lowish temperature (gas mark 3 = 160C), which worked well for chicken skin.
I tried these methods with some bacon fat, that I had cut off from the meat of back bacon strips. So it was just 16 white strips of cold fat. But they didn't work. With the wet render, no matter how long I simmered for, the water didn't get more than a tiny bit oily. The dry render behaved similarly, except that it did give a tiny bit of fat, but nearly all of the fat was still whole, the bits hadn't reduced in size at all after I baked for about 5 hours.
Why didn't it work? At first I thought the temperature might be too high, but it's not like the bits were getting blackened or anything. And surely a higher temperature would also show signs of rendering the fat, it wouldn't just arrest the entire process.


texts: How much citric acid should I use to preserve mayonnaise on a cups/ml ratio?

texts: I was thinking of making mayo for sandwiches to get me through the winter and was wondering if I could make fairly large batches that would keep for a long period of time with the aid food grade citric acid. Here's the problem I have never done this before with any sauces besides tomato sauce were you dissolve about 1 Tbsp citric acid per quart of tomato sauce, so I"m assuming since I'm making a preservative based liquid I should dissolve 1 Tbsp per quart of boiling water?


texts: Deep frying - beer batter vs. bread crumbs

texts:
@Joe thank you for answering my earlier question!  After an epic fail trying to deep fry beer battered zucchini (ended up with a beer battered pancake-like blob with some zucchini slices on top) I have a follow up question:

When deep frying vegetables that are beer battered instead of just covered with an egg/milk and breadcrumb mixture, should you put them in to the deep fryer with the basket already submerged in the oil?  Will this prevent the aforementioned "beer battered pancake" at the bottom of the basket?  Also, does this method make any significant difference if used deep frying vegetables in an egg/milk and breadcrumb mixture (let me know if clarification is needed - sounds weird)?


texts:
In a couple of weeks I am catering a private dinner for a work relation. I will be prepping everything in my home kitchen and finishing off in their kitchen, meaning I want to get every dish as close to finished as possible before transporting it.

One of the dishes I intend to serve is ravioli stuffed with cheese, herbs and eggyolks. I am unsure about the ideal stage at which to finish my home prep. Would you:

Prepare the pasta dough and transport it wrapped in clingfilm to be rolled out on site?
Roll out the pasta dough and cut it to size, leaving only the adding of the filling to be done on site?
Prepare them fully and transport them with the filling already inside?

Option 1 means I have way more work to do on site than I think is ideal.

Option 2 seems like asking for trouble in the sense of the pasta drying out and making the ravioli leaky.

Option 3 might make ravioli stick together, burst or any number of other disasters.

What would you do and why? Feel free to include your tips on how to protect the semi finished products during transportation.


texts:
I'm currently using a very "rich" whole milk with 3.8% fat. Out of one liter milk, I get 850cc yogurt (as some part of the water will evaporate throughout cooking.
The question is: how much fat will contain the yogurt?
A stupid calculation would be

3,8% divided by 1000cc = 0,38
3,8% divided by  850cc = 0,44

Is the math correct? Is this yogurt extremely fat?


texts: After full reseasoning of my cast iron, eggs are still sticking

texts:
Hey there Cast Iron pros,

I've liked my cast iron but it hasn't been very non-stick. When making eggs, even with oil and a good hot heat before adding to pan, eggs will stick to the pan. I'm hoping to get a great non-stick finish that eggs (or anything else) won't stick to.

I fully reseasoned my pans doing the following:

Full removal of seasoning via self-clean mode in oven for 3 hours.
Cleaned out dust and scrubbed some more with steel wool and salt, then washed cleanly.
Heated to 200F then added coatings
Add a small amount of flax seed oil to pan, rub very thinly over pan, and bake for 1 hour at 400F
Repeat step 4 adding new coats 5 times.

After I did all this the pans were looking pretty good, nice clean finish, but there were still a few bumps and imperfections in the pans. I tried making some eggs and they stuck as they had before. It's not terrible, but not great non-stick either.

I'm very curious for suggestions: do my pans just have scratches and bumps in them from years of use and these (even with a good seasoning) cause stickiness?

Is there something else I can try to get a great non-stick finish on these pans?

Photos:

Clean Pan:

Pan after making eggs:


texts: How much brine do I need to freeze icecream?

texts:
Suppose that I am making ice-cream the old fashioned way, by keeping a bowl of ice cream base in a bigger bowl of table salt solution cooled to below freezing.

How much brine do I need per 100 g of ice cream base?
Does it depend on the type of ice cream I use (philadelphia (no egg yolks) vs. french (with egg yolks) vs. gelato (starch-thickened))? What is the direction of the dependency?
Does it depend on the overrun of the ice cream base? (I tend to keep a part of the cream aside, whip to soft peaks, then gently fold into the cooled base). What is the direction of the dependency?
Does it depend on the brine concentration? What is the optimum concentration?
Assume that I can stir the base until it has frozen. How big a difference will this make?

I have a freezer which can give me -23°C, if I remember correctly. I could practically freeze the brine (which melts at -17.7°C, as I was informed in chat), or keep it close to freezing, before I start the ice cream making. Assume that I fill the inner bowl with ice cream base at fridge temperature (around 4°C) and that my stirring can't scrape the sides of the inner bowl efficiently. The inner bowl is likely to be made of glass (but if there is substantial difference in using a thin steel inner bowl, please tell me, because in this case, I am likely to get a new bowl specifically for ice cream).

As always, my goal is the creamiest ice-cream possible, with as few crystals as possible.


texts: What to do about beetle infestation of wheat products? How do we prevent reinfestation?

texts:
Today my wife went to make some bread. She noticed some very small insects in the whole wheat and regular flour. Upon further inspection, many of our wheat based products were infested with these critters. The worst infestation was in some buckwheat noodles that looked like swiss cheese.

The bug looks like a dark, barely visible beetle. Maybe about half a centimeter in length. They seem to be depositing a powder everywhere. Maybe this is just flour they've carried around.

What are these guys? How do we get rid of them? How do we prevent them from coming back?

Link to picture:
http://web18.twitpic.com/img/146355240-133d33091a2b839fc9d4fb35402c0cea.4c686a68-scaled.jpg


texts: What are the uses for a roasting pan? Do I really need a roasting pan?

texts:
We registered for a roasting pan and it has been sitting around taking up a lot of space. Do I really need this or is this a "one-tasker" as Alton Brown would say?

I understand that the roasting rack allows the juices to drip down. I've had lots of success roasting chickens just in a baking pan with 2" high sides.


texts: Are cockroaches a usable source of protein?

texts:
Bear with me, this is an entirely serious if not necessarily particularly practical question :)

In The Damage Done, perhaps the best known notionally non-fiction Thai prison story (and, apparently, soon to be a movie), there are a lot of disgusting, gruesome and/or on occasion quite implausible stories, like elephants playing soccer using balls with prisoners inside.

One of these stories involves our hapless protagonist being thrown into "the hole" (isolation) for months, with only water and spoiled rice to eat.  According to the book, he survived because he was taught by Thai prisoners sharing the same fate to trap the plentiful cockroaches, feed the rice to them and then eat the cockroaches (yum yum!), which apparently also served as a source of protein.  Would this actually work?  More specifically, can cockroaches (or insects in general) convert a simple starch into protein, and would you get sick eating them?


texts: How long can chocolate be held at temper?

texts:
I just got a chocolate melter and have held some tempered pure chocolate (Lindt Excellence 90%) for a day at 33C.

I intend to make up 3 or 4 truffles, a few times a week.

What’s occurred to me is I can just keep this chocolate at temper indefinitely, adding 50g at a time as the level gets low.

The question is, how long will the chocolate last like this? Will the cocoa fat oxidize quickly or will there be some other problem?

I wonder if this were a chocolate factory, whether the chocolate would be kept at temper 24/7 or whether the machine would be periodically emptied and cleaned for some reason.


texts: How Do I make My Casserole (with Noodles) Less Dry?

texts: Okay, I know why pasta absorbs the sauce and it can be dry if left in the sauce, but what about making it not so dry in a casserole you cook in the oven?  Did a great casesrolle last night and it was REALLY dry!  Do I need to begin with more sauce?


texts: Is it possible to freeze chocolate covered ants?

texts: I have a recipe for chocolate covered ants and wanted to make it a few weeks ahead of time before a party - if I freeze them will they still be good in about two weeks?


texts: Is ground beef that was in the refrigerator for two weeks and has turned brown still usable?

texts:
I bought some ground beef around 2 weeks ago and used half of it, putting the rest in a freezer bag in my fridge (not the freezer).  It has since turned brown (not red, as when I bought it).

Is it safe to use to make hamburgers?


texts:
I want to be able to mince a small amount of meat for steak tartar to eat right away. I want the mince to be fresh each time, so mincing more in advance and storing is not an option, no matter what you do, the meat will never be as fresh as stored in a large piece and minced just before eating.

I bought a meat mincing machine, and I tried mincing 500 grams of meat (about one pound for you non-metric USAnians). The amount of meat stuck in the machine after finishing was substantial, and the amount of cleaning afterwards makes the whole exercise pointless. 15 seconds of mincing, and then 15 minutes of getting meat remains out of the machine, chopping it and cleaning the machine.

So I chop it by hand with a knife, but that is also quite time-taking although faster then using the machine and cleaning it later. The machine is something like this:

Does anyone know a meat mincing machine which would be suitable for mincing 500 grams of meat at a time, or a technique to do it efficiently, faster then chopping it by hand with a knife? The meats in question are tender, lean meats like beef tenderloin or roe deer haunch.


texts:
I'm currently on a no-dairy and low sugar diet. I thought to marinate lamb in yogurt, but some of the yogurt got stuck to the lamb afterward and I cooked it anyway. I think the yogurt gave it nice caramelization or whatever the black spots were. My question is, did I cook off the calories/sugar in the yogurt. I noticed the burned residue on the pan as well. Actually it became one of the tastiest part.

Thanks!


texts: Why would a recipe call for bone-in, skin-on chicken and then never use the bone/skin?

texts:
This America's Test Kitchen recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken with "Roasted" Garlic Sauce
has the ingredient:

  bone-in split chicken breasts, skin and ribs removed, trimmed of all visible fat

The skin and ribs are never used in the recipe.

ATK generally does a great job of simplifying recipes but needing to de-bone the chicken rather than simply buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts seems silly. Plus, I generally find bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts to be harder to find than boneless, skinless chicken.

I asked my butcher if there's a difference between them doing it and doing it myself and he said that there wasn't (assuming they're never used).

Is there something my butcher didn't think of?

Yes, I know that there's a cost difference but let's ignore that, as that's not generally a consideration in ATK recipes.


texts: I'm asking because there seems to be huge variations in cooking times depending on the source.  The recipe book that came with the sous vide machine I bought says 134 degrees for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 8 hours, but I've seen reputable sources on the internet give times from 45 minutes at 144 degrees to an hour at 130 degrees.  Compared to those times, 4 hours seems extreme.  Does anyone have experience cooking pork chops sous vide and if so, what do you recommend for times?


texts: name of the process of heating butter to give it the special aroma

texts:
One of common toppings for fruit pierogi and several other dishes, usually sweet, is butter that has been melted and heated on a skillet/saucepan until it got a somewhat deeper golden color, and a special unique aroma and flavor.

What is this process called?

(I believe it's also the first phase of preparing clarified butter, but I'm not sure about that.)


texts: Can I substitute cornstarch for commercially prepared clear glaze?

texts: One of the Dr. Oetker products is a fruit glaze, which sets to a clear gelatin, and which the ingredients list indicates to be principally tapioca starch. Can I just use an equal quantity of cornstarch to do the same job instead? Do the two starches behave similarly enough to be a straight substitute, or are there differences which will make for a noticeably different result?


texts: Turning raw/baking cocoa powder into instant cocoa (Kaba/Nesquik)

texts:
The question on Dissolving cocoa powder in milk describes the two common workarounds for making chocolate milk with raw cocoa powder. While obviously it works easiest with hot milk, making cocoa slime/mud is a functioning alternative. It's however not very practical, which is why I want to renew this topic. However I'm not settling for anything but achieving something comparable to instant cocoa. So would rather like this question to border on food chemistry or industrial espionage. (Most likely the solution is some food additive though..)

So what's the magic behind Kaba or Nesquik? How do they turn cocoa dust into instant chocolate milk powder?

I've already figured out that ordinary baking cocoa is the weakly de-oiled one. Obviously the oil stipend contributes to the difficulty of mixing it with cold fluids. - So I went out and bought some strongly de-oiled cocoa, which subjectively mixes better already. (But that might be just post-purchase rationalization.) Adding glucose powder also helps both flavour and mixing abilities.

Yet that doesn't solve the issue satisfactory and still requires making a slurry. So there is probably really some food additive necessary. I've also (can't find link) read somewhere about steam (hot water) playing a role in turning cocoa powder into instant granules. But also obviously, I'm looking for something you can do in an ordinary kitchen, and which doesn't involve inventing complex machinery. So, do you have any tips, expert knowledge, links?


texts: Which fuels (burning materials) can be used in a wood fired oven?

texts:
I have recently made a brick wood fired oven. It's a black / dirt / Roman / traditional type of oven: where you burn the fuel (typically wood) in the same chamber where you put the food to be cooked. The normal use of this type of ovens is:

Let the fire heat the dome and floor (bed?) of the oven up.
Once the bricks are soaked with heat (or the fire has extinguished) you take the embers (or ashes) out.
Wait till the temperature drops down to the dish's required one, and put the food in.

As for fuel, I use wood from pallets or wood logs from prunings (which gardeners are willing to give away, mostly if you gift them loafs of bread you make with that wood).

What are the risks of using those woods for fire lit in the same place where you'll put food?

I'm quite sure there is no biological hazard with them: any virus or bacteria in the pallets, or bugs in logs will definitely be destroyed by the fire temperature (over 800C/1,500F).

What I'm concerned about is:

I don't know if my pallet's wood has been treated or not.

Is there any way to know it for a pallet found in the street?
The treatment given to pallets, would be risky if human-consumed? After being burned to ashes?

I.E.: Some pallets are given methyl bromide as fungal treatment. But its autoignition temperature is 525C/995F. Will the subproduct, after burning, still be toxic?

I can ask gardeners if they have applied insecticide or other treatment.

Some of those bug treatments are supposed to be human-safe.

But are also safe for human consumption? After been burnt to ashes?
Is there any specific treatment I should ask the gardeners?
Could the treatment be flushed away with just water?

If I bought firewood logs, can I have guarantees that they are safer / healthier / don't have treatments?

Considering they are thought to be sold for fireplaces, not for cooking.


texts: How to make rendang beef with a smooth and consistent texture?

texts:
New to Malaysian cuisine, I recently tried rendang beef and really liked it. In my attempt to reproduce it at home, I followed several online recipes, mostly this BBC recipe. My end result was somewhat disappointing, being very chunky. How can I improve the texture and make it smooth and consistent? I used a generic food processor, one of the cheapest ones in the store. I don't know if a more expensive one would help, but it seems to me there will bound to be chili flakes, lemongrass chunks, galangal chunks in the puree that I prepare in the first step.

Is all galangal super firm and rigid? This was the first time I have used galangal in my cooking, and it was a solid mass of stone that was difficult to cut.

Also, my rendang beef turned out very tart. I wonder if I should cut back on tamarind paste. (I couldn't find kaffir lime leaves anywhere in Atlanta, so I used the zest and juiceof an ordinary lime.)


texts: Does heat distribution vary between uncoated stainless steel pans and non-stick pans?

texts:
The refrain about non-stick cookware being easy to scratch is well-known, but setting that aside, can the choice between those two types of pans change the end quality of your food?

Are the two types of cookware better at different things? For example, does one conduct heat in a way which makes it easier to sear things, while the other one is better for stir frying? Are there times when I should deliberately reach for either uncoated stainless steel or non-stick pans to get different jobs done?


texts: If a student brought butter to your class for use for deep frying food, what reasons would you give regarding the unsuitability of butter for deep frying?


texts: What is the benefit of Pressure Cooking (other than faster cooking)?

texts: What are some of the benefits of a Pressure Cooker over a Slow Cooker (crock pot) besides that it's much faster, less nutrient loss (maybe) and less heat in the kitchen?


texts: How much difference does the placement of the shelf in the oven make to the final outcome of a cake?

texts:
Unknowingly, I used to keep the cake on the center shelf in the oven, then I realized that the shelf can also be placed at the bottom of the oven.

Does this make a huge difference in the final outcome?

If I put the shelf on the bottom, and then stack the cakes on the top of each other in a 28lts oven, will that make sense?

Do any special care have to be taken in these situations?

http://www.bajajelectricals.com/Majesty-OTG-2800TMC-pc-391-66.aspx


texts: How can I tell whether an egg has been hard-boiled, through the shell?

texts:
At my workplace, there's a mysterious carton of eggs in the common refrigerator. Nobody I've asked knows whether they're raw or cooked.

Is there a way to tell, without cracking one of the eggs open?


texts:
New cook here!  So I started to cook a 3 lb. frozen turkey breast. It cooked for 75 minutes and I inserted a meat thermometer, while keeping it in the oven. It registered 165. I took it out and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, my husband cut into it and the middle was still frozen. He then put it back in the oven for another hour or so. I just pulled it out and placed a meat thermometer in it while it was out of the oven. It registered 180. I started worrying about the bake, refrigeration, frozen re-bake thing. Should we even consider eating this poor turkey breast?


texts:
I've been making dutch apple pastries for a couple of weeks now, and I've noticed that the apple filling that spills from the pastries turns dark brown like apple syrup (or apple butter, apple paste or apple cheese) The taste is similar, as well. But the texture is off.

The question is how to make a real batch of apple syrup? Apple, sugar & heat for some amount of time? Or are some other ingredients needed?


texts:
I just spatchcocked a 12 lb turkey, smoked it in temperature around 225-275 F (107-135 C) for about 3 hours. I did it in a kamado joe classic 3 with SloRoller.  It came out amazing. Fully cooked, tender and flavorful
I’m wondering
Is it possible to do the same thing with a 20lb turkey?
Some random sources I googled suggested that that’s crossing into the “danger zone” anything above 12lb.


texts: My commercial made chapati becomes brittle within 12hrs

texts:
I manufacture commercial chapatis. It is packed in 25nos together in a butter paper and lastly in a polybag. These are marketed. However, the chapati becomes brittle and crumbles after 14 hours.
I am interested to know how to keep the chapatis soft, chewable and non brittle for more than 3 days.
Daniel


texts: How to pasteurize eggs in a sous vide machine (in the shell)

texts: I have a Sous Vide Supreme machine and I like raw eggs (in the shell). I've made a few batches by simply boiling them at 134F for 2-4 hours, but I have 2 problems: some of the eggs crack and most of the eggs begin to coagulate. Are there better ways to do it?  There are commercially available Davidson's brand pasteurized eggs, but after checking 5 stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn where they were supposed to be stocked and weren't I've given up.


texts: Which of these spices do not lose their tang when heated/boiled?

texts:
I was looking to substitute chilli for some non capsaicin containing spices.

The best items I can up with was paprika, cumin, black pepper, ancho chillies and oregano.

Initially I tried black pepper and realised it loses its tang when cooking and so it must be used at the end as a raw ingredient which is not what I want.

What other items in this list would lose their spice potency like black pepper when cooked.  I’m trying to remove those items so I can use one for cooking as would be the case with chilli.


texts: Keeping food warm: does cast iron make a suitable potluck vessel?

texts:
I'm making this hash recipe for a potluck at work tomorrow.

Tonight I did all my prep:

Peeled, diced, roasted the sweet potatoes
Diced the  onion
Diced the apples (stored in water w/lemon juice)
Cut the bacon into lardons
Sliced the green onions

So tomorrow morning should be a strait-forward "pluck from the fridge, heat it all up" affair.  I was initially going to do this in a big saute pan but am now considering using my lidded cast-iron fryer.  Basically when the hash is near done, I could just put the whole lot into a bag (w/proper heat protection, of course) and head to work.

My questions are:

Will the reactive qualities of cast iron be undesirable for this type of "longer term" food storage/serving?
Will the hash actually stay warm for the 2.5-3 hours I'll need it to?

If anybody has better tips for keeping a hash-like dish warm long enough for a lunchtime potluck, I'll take em!


texts: What is the difference (practically) between different types of rennet?

texts:
I recently started cheesemaking and I purchased some vegetarian rennet from an online retailer. I believe it's microbial (it's a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water).

When a recipe calls for X amount of calves' rennet (liquid or tabs), I've looked online to try to figure out how this translates into the kind of rennet I have. Online recipes for different cheeses differ - for 2L of milk, a "standard dose" can vary from 1.5mL to 5mL.

Is it possible to add too much (diluted) rennet? Is it better to add too much than too little?


texts:
I make a ginger in alcohol product and am having a problem that I though you could help with. I juice fresh ginger root through a standard juicer, discarding the solids, then let it settle in the fridge for 24 hours to let the remaining fibrous component settle out. After mixing with alcohol, either there is additional precipitate in the solution (not really solid and can't be strained; it's more of a floating conglomerate) or the ginger layers out.

Do you have any tricks to make the ginger more soluble in alcohol? Is this a pH thing or is the alcohol precipitating additional solids on its own irrespective of pH?

Thanks!


texts: What's some safe advice for a beginner for making sushi?

texts:
I suddenly felt like making sushi. I thought about going to the fish market and buying so tuna and salmon.

Then I figured out that I have to kill the bacteria first. So far, I know that you have to freeze the fish under 20 Celsius.

Is there anything else I have to put into account?


texts: I have vanilla beans that have been in my jar of vanilla for about a year. I've now used up that vanilla. Are the beans still good to add to some other vanilla I am making (along with new beans)?


texts: I have been baking rhubarb pie since the 60s.  All of a sudden I made a couple and they both came out runny.  What happened?  I always use the same recipe.


texts: How to adjust the ingredients when recipe asks for salted peanuts and unsalted butter while I have the opposite?

texts:
The recipe is for cookies. Recipe asks for salted peanuts and unsalted butter while I have the unsalted peanuts and salted butter.

Nutralite Table spread: http://www.nutralite.com/about_nutralite.htm#link2
Amul butter: http://www.amul.com/products/amul-tablebutter-info.php

What should I increase and decrease here to balance out the mixture?


texts:
I read somewhere that pancake batter should rest. This confuses me.

On the one hand, mixing the wet ingredients with flour creates gluten. Resting lets the gluten relax, so that I don't get chewy pancakes.

On the other hand, my recipe uses leavening (baking powder). When that reacts with water, it forms bubbles. Letting it rest means those bubbles escape, which means less air in the pancakes (less fluffy).

Should I rest my pancake batter or not? If so, for how long?


texts: Can I replace flour in a soup recipe with a 1 to 1 gluten free flour?

texts:
I have celiac disease and must eat a gluten free diet.

I saw a recipe for creamy chicken and mushroom soup, and it looked delicious!  However, it called for 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.  Would it be better to use a 1 for 1 gluten free all purpose flour or use corn starch instead?  If I used corn starch instead, I'm assuming I wouldn't use 1/4 cup....but how much SHOULD I use?


texts:
I'm looking at a recipe for icing that uses double cream as the substrate for the icing.

How well will the cream be preserved on a 1:4 (or better, given its application) mix?

Also, how well would such icing set? I'm looking for a fairly stiff mix that will retain peaks; can I expect such with cream as the substrate?


texts: How to judge quantity of fresh pasta dough per person

texts:
Tomorrow I'll be making a big batch of fresh pasta for about 7-8 people.

I know that if I'm using dried or bought fresh pasta, I usually count on about 125-150g per person, depending on the pasta type and whether it is dried or fresh.

When making pasta dough I will add eggs to my flour weight.  Should I just approximate the total weight, and again count on 125-150g per person?  Or will the weight change while I am cooking?

For instance, if I have 1kg durum flour and 16 eggs, the raw ingredients would weigh approximately 1.8kg in total (based on 50g per egg and not allowing for any reduction in weight during cooking).  By my reckoning, that would feed 12 people generously.

Am I correct?


texts: When should garlic be added to the pan to get maximum pungency?

texts:
When you crush raw garlic and use it as seasoning for vegetables, is it best to put it the pan first and let it begin to cook before adding any other ingredients, or is it best to add it later on?

Which order is best if you want the garlic flavor to be strongest?


texts:
I'm having a large amount of guests over tomorrow and I wanted to know how can keep large portions of food hot and ready to serve without it getting cold or damp, while also keeping my deserts cool and refreshing. I'm serving Pasta, Sandwiches, Chicken, Fries & Cold Deserts.

I'm looking for a tech savvy and cheap way to keep my food hot and cold accordingly and any advice would be helpful.


texts: Is the sprouted wheat used in any traditional recipes?

texts: The healthy food movements uses sprouted/germinated wheat in many ways. They even make sprouted wheat grains bread. But is the sprouted wheat used in any traditional cuisines?


texts: Will the bean salad dressing that I made ahead of time still work?

texts:
I have been making bean salad for a long time. Recently I mixed together the vinegar, oil, sugar and black pepper for the dressing, and put it in a pint sized canning jar with 2-pc lid and refrigerated it, intending on making in the next day or so, but it never happened.

I still have this nice dressing in the refrigerator, and am wondering about food safety - all the ingredients are fine for long periods unrefrigerated, so there should not be a food safety issue, right? I'm also wondering about staleness. I don't want to use it to make bean salad, and have a less-than-wonderful salad. I hate to throw out perfectly good food. Can anyone help me?


texts:
I'm getting close to (my idea of) muffin heaven with this recipe which after trying a few others I've found to work consistently and well.

One small thing I don't understand is why my muffin tops, which are rising nicely to a delicious crust, are "leaning" or I should say pointing in a direction other than straight up.

It's not a problem since the muffins have good texture, taste, and a home-made look I find appealing, but I cannot explain why they lean.

Any ideas?


texts:
I'm dairy intolerant but I really love to bake.  I've found success by substituting butter with either lard or coconut oil.  The other night, I made a short pastry dough that called for 13 tablespoons of butter to 1.5 cups of flour and instead of using butter I used coconut oil.  The dough was super delicate to work with since the oil heated up much more quickly and teared more easily than butter dough I've worked with before.

Would I achieve better results with a different fat?  Say, margarine or shortening?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!


texts:
I've got these nice chicken breasts, pre-marinated, from the supermarket meat counter.

There was a little sign on 'em that said "Great for pan searing!" (Is that different from frying, really?)

How do I go about this? How do I know when they're done? It's not like I can check the middle to see if it's still pink, as can be done with beef. How long should it take, what heat, etc? General advice appreciated.


texts:
I enjoy snacking on popcorn, and i recently found out you can pop it without losing flavour in the microwave.

I have always seasoned my popcorn after popping, but i am not really sure what is best with the microwave. Would it be to salt and pepper my snack before, after, or both?


texts:
I've been making braises and I'm intrigued by the different methods for thickening the sauce with flour. I've come across five strategies:

Coating browned meat with flour and cooking the flour before adding browned vegetables and liquids.
Coating the meat with flour before browning.
Coating the vegetables with flour after browning and cooking the flour before adding the browned meat and liquids.
For certain braises, Escoffier recommends mixing in roux before adding the liquids.
Whisking in beurre manié before reducing the sauce. (I suppose that the flour cooks as the sauce reduces.) Some recipes use a slurry with cornstarch or other starch instead.

What are the relative merits of each approach? Are they interchangeable?


texts:
I buy a huge bag of chicken breasts at Costco (great deal...nice portions), but they come in this huge zip-top bag that was meant for food service. Each breast is individually frozen, just not individually packaged.

I want to break the big bag into a bunch of smaller bags, putting enough for a meal in each bag. I was wondering how to best freeze them to prevent freezer burn and help them to last. Would it be best to wrap each serving in foil and then throw in a freezer bag, and then suck the air out with a straw (instead of digging out the food saver)?

Thanks!


texts: Should I keep the microwave turntable and plastic turntable support ring in the microwave oven when using convection mode?

texts:
I am trying to operate a microwave convection oven for the first time. It is a GE Profile convection/microwave oven.  I am wondering if I am supposed to keep the glass microwave turntable and plastic microwave turntable support ring in the unit when I am operating in convection mode.  I know the first thing people will say is to read the owners manual, but the owners manual is extremely unclear.

Here is a manual I found online, which is for a model very similar to the one I have.

On page 8 of this manual, as well as on page 8 of the manual that came with my model,  they discussed that the metal shelves should not be in the unit when microwaving food, but they don’t mention anything about the glass turntable and plastic turntable support ring  being used in convection mode. You might ask: why don’t I just remove these two items anyway when using convection mode just to be safe? The answer is that the support ring sits on a piece of plastic, and that piece of plastic seemingly can’t be removed, so I will still have to worry about plastic in the unit while using convection mode. So is that piece of plastic that’s part of the unit safe for the convection oven?


texts:
I've gone overboard with sowing rocket (Eruca sativa, also known as arugula, eruca, rucola, roquette, etc.) in my vegetable garden... To use up the surplus I've made some fresh salad (recommended), filling some omelets, and also tried a pesto using these leaves instead of the more common basil. My question is about the latter. Basic ingredients I had at hand:

rocket leaves
lightly toasted sunflower seeds
some matured white cheddar
olive oil
salt, pepper, chilly flakes, balsamic vinegar

While I quite liked the peppery-tasting result on pasta, my first impression was that this was quite bitter. Not bitter enough for me to avoid in future, but I would be hesitant serving this to someone else.

I've been comparing with recipes on the internet, and those do not seem to differ much. Some add a twist of lemon zest, garlic, some basil leaves, and of course the more traditional pecorino or parmesan. But I don't think enough to dilute the bitter taste.

So I am wondering if other people that have made this sort of pesto have the same reaction of bitterness? If so, do you have any tricks for me to bring down the bitterness to acceptable levels - and would you consider this to be suitable for general consumption (e.g. guests that may be used to different fare than you)?


texts: Why so many fruits/veg fall into these color categories?

texts:
Disclaimer: This question is not about cooking per se, rather about food itself; please let me know if this is not appropriate for this SE.
I have noticed that there are many fruits and vegetables which seem unrelated that come in two color varieties, red and yellowish-green. What I mean by this is that we have red onions and yellowish-green onions, we have red apples and yellowish-green apples. I will put a list of all such foods I have thought of; but I can't seem to find a reason why? Does this have to do with the chemistry, or the environmental conditions that cause different varieties to have different colors. I've tried looking online for this, but I cannot seem to formalize my question in a succinct and clear way to obtain results.
Here is a list of fruits and vegetables which have red varieties and yellowish-green varietes.

Apples
Onions
Raddish
Bell Peppers
Potatoes
Figs
Dragon Fruit (Yellow Dragon fruit are called Kirin)
Peaches (Green Peaches are common in the middle-east)
There are a few more which I cannot remember; I will add in edits.

I am of course open to the possibility that this is all random correlation and for every instance I've found here there are more instances in some other arbitrary pattern. But there seems to be something happening here.


texts: Is using commercially available yeast to create a sourdough starter effective?

texts:
Numerous starter recipes talk about capturing wild yeast from the environment.

Many recipes, as well as questions and answers here, directly say or imply wild yeast is better and that deliberately added yeast is counter productive, but the explanations (if offered) seem to be vague handwaving more than fact.

The most reasonable sounding argument against (to me as a lay-person) is that the yeast will not live long, but that seems specious to me. After all, that commercially available yeast was just grown somewhere a few weeks before it made it to the shelves.

It frankly makes little sense to me to gamble on the contents of the local environment at the point in time of trying to make a starter, when known safe and effective yeast exists that could be introduced.

(The question is not about safety or efficacy of wild yeast, not about substitution of yeast for a starter, and not about mixing yeast and starter at baking time; the point is to predictably, safely, and effectively make a starter.)


texts: Why does my kamado ceramic grill fall out of it's stand when I open it?

texts:
I just got a Large Big Green Egg with a nest. When I was at the store, they asked if I wanted one already put together, so I said yes. They gave me a nest that had a medium sitting in it.

Now, when I put my large in it, it fits fine; however, when I open it, if I push on it a little, it starts to slip out. It looks as if I don't save it, it will fall completely out.

The nest has little rubber protectors on each bar holding the egg. It appears that as it starts to slip, these protectors are slipping off, which very well may be what is causing this.

My question is, is it normal to have these rubber protectors on the 4 middle bars that hold the egg in place?  I'm not sure if the store maybe added these just because they had a medium egg sitting inside the nest which was a few inches too small (the bars did not touch it).

It seems that removing them might solve this issue; however, I by no means want to do this if it will scratch up the egg. Since it was already put together, I don't know if they were supposed to be there in normal use or not.


texts: Troubleshooting a soggy baklava with torn sheets

texts:
I've attempted to make Baklava just once in my life and the results were pretty disasterous.

Some issues I have questions about when making the Baklava:

How to handle the Phyllos dough sheets? These sheets were so thin and delicate that I inadvertently crumpled or ripped about half of them with my big meaty fingers. Is there a trick to holding them for some of the clumsier people? i just grabbed it by its corners but I usually ended up ripping off these said corners.
How to handle the butter? The recipe didn't specifically mention what state the butter should be. Should the butter be really melted so that it thoroughly soaks into the phyllos or should it be just barely melted so that I can spread them on the sheets. Also when adding the butter, I always seemed to inadvertantly crumple up the sheets below it. How can I apply the butter without messing up the bottom layers?
When I poured the syrup into the baked Baklava, all the syrup seemed to flow to the bottom and made the bottom way too soggy and goopy. This made it hard to cut and separate into individual pieces. (I ended up eating it almost like a pie) Did I do something wrong?

And finally, the whole layering, buttering, and adding the nuts took me over an hour. Are there general tricks to that will allow me to make Baklava faster?


texts: Does it pay to store instant coffee in the freezer?

texts: I understand that it pays to store freshly ground coffee in the freezer. What about instant coffee or cheep prepacked Turkish coffee?


texts: Would honey and molasses be liquids or sugars in a bread formula?

texts: If 60-85% is the percentage range for the liquid amount in a bread formula, and 0-10% for the sugar amount, my question would be if you are using honey and molasses in the formula would they be counted towards the liquid portion or the sugar portion?


texts: I scrub waxed citrus fruit under hot water with a little washing up liquid added as I have been advised.  Can I clean up unwaxed citrus fruit coated with imazalil in a similar way please?  I use a lot of citrus zest in my baking so this question is important to have an answer.


texts: How to Avoid Soggy Chopped Nuts in Baked Goods

texts:
I avoid putting chopped nuts inside quick breads because they tend to result in a soggy texture, not crisp as nuts should be. (I think it's less of a problem in cookies.) I'd like to hear how others deal with this. Is coating them first with something an option?

Related question: if I toast nuts in the oven, am I better off toasting them whole and then chopping, or chopping first and then toasting?


texts: How long can a can a container of unopened hummus be left out?

texts:
I have a container of Sabra hummus (garlic, for those judging my decision making abilities) that I left out for about 14 hours today. The container still has the plastic seal inside the lid unopened.

Cooked chickpeas, oil, and tahini are the main ingredients but I don't have the full ingredient list. How long could this sit out and still be good?


texts: Why does my tofu keep turning out brittle?

texts:
I've been making my own tofu for a couple weeks now, first making fresh soy milk using my soy milk maker, and then combining the fresh and hot milk in a bowl with tofu coagulant (either gypsum or nigari), let it sit for a while, and then press it.

However, my tofu keeps turning out quite grainy and brittle, easily falling apart.

How can I stop this from happening?


texts: slow cooker pot roast with carrots and potatoes

texts:
Slow cooker recipe for above says 6 hour on high,but I prefer to do it on low, go to work and come back with dinner being around 6:30.

How many hours on low should I set the crock pot for?


texts:
After reading through the cookbook thread from front to back, I bought a couple of the recommended works, including How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I went straight to the index to look up what it says about rabbit which came as a surprise to me (p. 653 in the 2008 print):

But you can substitute rabbit---which really does taste like chicken---for virtually
any recipe for braised chicken.

This wasn’t at all what I expected. Just to give you some background: due to relatives who live in the country, my family always had a decent supply of rabbit meat. Until say five years ago we had rabbit once every other month, or more often; definitely more frequently than chicken. That said, I don’t recall rabbit to taste anything like chicken up to the point that apart from soup I don’t value the latter very much, while I absolutely love the former.

What I want to know: How does this substitution work? How far does it go (is it limited to braised food)? Is it reversible? What chicken recipe should I try with rabbit meat? Am I prejudiced against chicken ;-)?

References: some threads mention this substitution, but they don’t exactly answer my question.


texts: How can I safely jar up my homemade salad dressing?

texts: I'm wanting to jar up my favorite House dressing made with miracle whip, so I can sell it and give it away. I want to make sure I do it safely!


texts:
I had a 3lb roast on a bed of baby potatoes (smaller than a ping-pong ball but larger than a grape) and onions at 375F for almost 3 hours. The roast came out great (cooked to 150F internally), but the potatoes are still raw in the middle. Shouldn't they have cooked by then? And what can I do in the future to prevent this?

As per comments: There was also a pizza stone in the oven. Could that have played a factor? It was preheated with the oven, as suggested in Storing Pizza Stone in Oven. The oven was preheated about an hour (my oven doesn't beep, just has a change in light color, so sometimes we forget we were preheating and wander off).


texts: What does '1 unit of lemon juice' mean in a grandma's drink recipe?

texts:
My recipe says 1 unit of lemon juice, what does that mean?

I am not sure if this recipe states that it is American or not but it is for a weight loss, eat healthy program and I do not understand what it is asking me.


texts: Help making Montgomery Pie layer properly

texts:
When it comes to "putting the pie together" before baking, the recipe handed down by my great aunt states to pour liquid in bottom of uncooked pie shell, THEN "spread" topping on top of pie.

How in the world is this possible? You cannot physically "spread" batter on top of a liquid. I've tried everything. The end result is still a "swirled" effect, when it's supposed to have a "cakey" top and "moist" bottom. I've followed the recipe to a "T", and 5 times now, same result.

I'm lost. Any takers? Yes, I would like to ask my great aunt but she passed away years ago.


texts: Unpeeled garlic cloves in French / Belgian cooking?

texts: I am looking through some recipes that came with a French pressure cooker I just bought (in Belgium).  It seems most of the recipes that use garlic ask for one or two upeeled garlic cloves (ongeschilde teentjes knoflook).  Is this really a thing, or am I misunderstanding something?  If you include unpeeled garlic cloves, do you still chop off the end that used to connect to the heart?


texts: How can I add an orange flavour without using orange?

texts:
My girlfriend has recently found out she has a number of allergies and her favourite thing to eat at Christmas time is a Terry's chocolate orange with popping candy...

I would like to re create this for her this Christmas all boxed up exactly how a chocolate orange would come...
However she has an allergy to oranges so she can not have oranges or orange extract..

Is there any orange free orange substitutes I could use to add to the chocolate to make this work?

Many thanks :)


texts: Which side of the baking paper should face up?

texts:
My baking paper has two sides: one waxy looking silky-feeling side, and one clean looking side with more friction when you run your finger over it.

Which side should face up against the food?  I've had the paper stick to pizza several times & I keep forgetting to check which side causes it.


texts: Will these types of pots work for cooking gumbo?

texts:
I will be hosting a party and need to purchase a larger pot to cook gumbo for the number of guests I will be having. I currently cook gumbo in a smaller thick-bottom All-clad pot. The roux is peanut oil based and I do well cooking it in these pots I currently own. I am looking at purchasing a pot from a restaurant supply store and would like to know if these pots will work for making a roux/gumbo and if there are differences between cooking in an aluminum pot vs a stainless steel pot.

Aluminum 'Stock Pot,' standard heavy weight 3/16in (4 mm.)

or

18/8 Stainless 'Stock Pot' with 5 millimeter thick aluminum core

It seems the only large pots are categorized as stock pots. Are these too thin for my purposes?


texts: What would the best Cornflour substitute be for a Pavlova?

texts:
Our local stores do not sell cornflour so I need a substitute.

Online I'm finding people saying use normal flour, or you can use arrowroot or you can use cornstarch at half the quantity. But these substitutions are given for purposes like thickening agents.

Really I don't know if something like 'flour' would be a good substitute in a Pavlova. What is the right substitute for the purpose of a Pavlova?


texts: Does browning/toasting cream impact its shelf life?

texts: Does browning/toasting cream in a pressure cooker impact its shelf life? The process seems similar to ultra-high-temperature processing.


texts: How do I make rotisserie chicken less moist?

texts:
I bought a rotisserie attachment for my gas grill & I've used it to roast a couple of chickens. It works really well & I love it - the chicken comes out very moist and flavorful. And therein lies the problem...

The chicken comes out perhaps too moist. I mean, I like it this way and my sons like it this way, but my wife feels it's a little too moist. I can't really argue with her - it is very moist and I would enjoy it just as much if it were a little drier.

So how to I make the chicken a little drier?

Here are the details:

I've roasted three chickens this way so far.

I brined the chicken for several hours before roasting at approx 350-400 degrees F. While cooking, I basted it periodically with an herbed button mixture. It tasted great, but it was definitely too wet.
I used a dry brine (1/3 cup salt, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp pepper) overnight and washed off the salt before cooking. This time I roasted at approximately 425-450 degrees F and basted as before. The results were better this time - not so wet - but pretty salty (perhaps I didn't remove enough of the dry brine)
Just like #2, but dry brined for about 3 1/2 hours only and washed off the dry brine more carefully. I roasted at around 475-500 degrees F and basted as before. The results were pretty much the same as #2, although the skin did come out a little browner & crunchier. But again it was a little moister than my wife would have liked.


texts: What would "Disintegrant", "Ammonium", or the units of measure "glass" or "gl" mean in a non-American book?

texts:
Just purchased a baking cookbook online which, while written in English, is clearly from a country outside of the U.S. Units are metric, which is fine, but there a couple of terms with which I am unfamiliar. Could anyone give me a clue about 'disintegrant', 'ammonium', or the units of measure 'glass' for dry ingredients or 'gl' for liquids? Thanks!

Thank you very much for the responses, much appreciated!
In response to your comments, here is a pic of the cookbook and a pic of a sample recipe using 'dintegrant'.
Thanks in advance for your interest!


texts: Except for the different flavours, how similar is Mexican ceviche to the Japanese sashimi. Do they have the same basis and the same fish types?


texts: Cream of Tomato with garlic + cilantro stalks aroma

texts:
I've been trying to crack this Cream of Tomato recipe for many decades now that is served in almost all Indian five star hotels and professionally managed kitchens.
At the end when it's served, it has a strong and the most fragrant aroma of garlic, cilantro stalks, nutmeg, etc but does not necessarily feel 'garlicky'.
Here's my recipe to start with:

Add oil+butter in a pan with black pepper corns. Add crushed tomatoes, garlic and cilantro stalks. Let cook for 15-20 minutes. Blend and then strain.
Start again with butter and nutmeg powder.
Add all purpose flour and then some milk and let cook for a couple minutes.
Pour the blended/ strained tomatoes. Let cook for 10 minutes. Test salt/ white pepper.
Serve.

What can I do at the end to get the garlic aroma in soup?
Thanks and best wishes.


texts:
I was reading one of the articles in Uncle John's Curiously Compelling Bathroom Reader about the history of harvested ice and ice houses. The article mentioned that electrical freezers and refrigeration only entered widespread use because someone realized that food needs to be frozen quickly for it to be most effective.

Why does the speed of freezing affect the quality of the frozen food?


texts: Why to remove skin and seeds of tomatoes when we puree them?

texts:
I tried a couple of recipes which demanded tomato puree which was eventually cooked as part of the gravy. The gravy turned sour even after cooking it covered for more than 15 minutes. Is that because I didn't get rid of the skin and the seeds? Is that why they remove skin and seeds after boiling them for making puree? I wonder if it's just for texture or for taste too. Also, recipes like butter chicken require ripe tomatoes. But even after using somewhat ripe tomatoes (directly blended in a mixer), the gravy stays sour. What exactly goes wrong here? I've seen a couple of recipes of butter chicken from decent sources that use a large number of tomatoes (e.g. this recipe uses 12 tomatoes for 400 gm boneless chicken), I just wonder why the heck it doesn't turn sour in their case? I know they add honey and cream, but still.

Too many questions I guess in one go, but they are closely related according to me.

Edit - At least the red-looking tomatoes that we get here in India have sour/tangy taste. But they are still eatable when raw. But a large quantity of tomatoes should make the gravy sour, shouldn't they? I wonder why they don't when chefs follow those recipes. Not sure if any of you guys have experienced this issue before.

Also, the reason I ask about tomatoes and sour gravies in the same question is that, is it just about ripeness of tomatoes or the way of cooking/pureeing them which makes difference to the sourness of the gravy.


texts: Is it possible to make sugar cookies without butter?

texts: I don't have any butter and don't have the money to buy some right now, but I really badly want to make a batch of cookies for some family friends who recently had a baby. Please help!


texts:
At the weekend, I made millionaire shortbread according to the recipe in Nigella Lawson's "How To Be a Domestic Goddess" (the full recipe is below for completeness). For the caramel part, Nigella uses a microwave and the instructions are as follows:

200g butter
397g sweetened condensed milk
4 tbps (100g) golden syrup
Melt 200g of butter in the microwave (in a large microwavable bowl)
for 2-3 minutes, then add the condensed milk and golden syrup. Whisk
the mixture well until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Heat for
6-7 minutes until it is boiling, stirring thoroughly every minute.
[...] It's ready when it's thickened and turned a light golden-brown.

Now the result of this is delicious, but it is far too soft for millionaire's shortbread, and it squishes out the sides when trying to eat or cut. My partner has also made this recipe with the same results.
I don't really understand the science of caramel, so I'm not sure what to change to get the results I want. So I have a few questions:

What can I change? Is there something in the above recipe I can do more of, do less of, add more of, etc.?
The answer to this question suggests that the above ingredients are more reliable (than standard caramel) for getting the right texture, but the linked recipe does not use the microwave. Might I get better results without the microwave?
In Nigella's foreword, she advocates the use of the microwave as "what would normally take a good couple of hours takes only a few minutes". Caramel does not take a couple of hours, does it? What is she talking about?


texts: Seville oranges for marmalade - how important is freshness?

texts:
We're currently (in January) in the brief season for seville oranges which means it's marmalade making time.

I acquired some sevilles as soon as they appeared in the shops here a week ago. However things have suddenly gone crazy at work and I'm not going to have time to have a marmalade making session now for a week or two.

How well will my sevilles last if I wait that time before making my marmalade?

Are greengrocers and supermarkets getting sevilles in pretty much daily? In which case I think I'll just go out again and buy more when I have a bit more time (so long as I do it before the season closes). Or does Spain just dump one giant load of the fruit on us at the beginning of the season?

I guess it's this latter part of the question which is most intriguing (since I know I can always freeze the sevilles I already have) since seville oranges are one of those very few products which are still truly seasonal. How does the supply chain work, and why are they so seasonal when so many other kinds of produce are nowadays available nearly all the year round?

Finally, what are the rough start and end dates for the seville orange season in the UK? I feel like it's the middle two weeks in January, but I haven't really checked up on that.


texts: Can I tenderize conch meat with baking soda

texts: I want to tenderize conch meat with baking soda for the first time.  It works on meats, beef, pork and chicken, but I have never tried it on conch meat. I have in the past, tenderized conch by pounding it and cooking for long periods.


texts: How do you fry a fat, uneven salmon filet?

texts:
I can nail a decent medium rare salmon filet. But today the salmon I have bought turned out to be really fat - like 2 inches in height. Its sides have very steep slopes so its bound to cook unevenly.

I can manage a 1 inch high salmon filet, but 2 inches seem both too much and too uneven. What do you do?


texts: What are the acceptable methods to thaw food items?

texts: What are the proper ways to thaw foods?   Are there any advantages or disadvantages to them?


texts:
What's the best method for cooking beef brisket slices? I see tons of recipes for the full brisket, but I only have a couple of slices that are about an inch thick, and 9 inches long,total weight 800 grams with no bone.
I am planning to do them in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low, salt and pepper, paprika, half an onion sliced, and some chicken stock to half cover the meat, sort of like a braise.
Would love some advice from anyone!


texts:
America's Test Kitchen proposes the following recipe as their "Perfect Latin Flan" (pg. 785, The Complete America's Test Kitchen Cookbook 2001-2016):

This recipe should be made at least 1 day before serving. We recommend
an 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf plan for this recipe.
4 2/3 oz sugar
1/4 cup water + 2 tablespoons warm tap water
2 large eggs + 5 large yolks
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
12 oz evaporated milk
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir together sugar and 1/4 cup water in medium heavy saucepan until sugar is completely moistened. Bring to boil over medium-high
heat, 3-5 minutes and cook without stirring until mixture begins to
turn golden, another 1 to 2 minutes. Gently swirling pan, continue to
cook until sugar is the color of peanut butter, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove
from heat and swirl pan until sugar is reddish-amber and fragnant,
15-20 seconds. Carefully swirl in 2 tablespoons warm tap water until
incorporated; mixture will bubble and steam. Pour caramel into 8.5 x
4.5 inch loaf pan; do not scrape out saucepan. Set loaf pan aside.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line bottom of 13 x 9 baking pan with dish towel, folding towel to fit
smoothly and set aside. Bring 2 quarts water to boil.

Whisk eggs and yolks until combined. Add sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk, vanilla, and salt, and whisk until
incorporated. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into prepared
loaf pan.

Cover loaf pan tightly with aluminum foil and place in prepared baking pan. Place baking pan in oven and carefully pour boiling water
into pan. Bake until center of custard jiggles slightly when shaken
and custard registers 180 degrees, 1.25 to 1.5 hours. Remove foil and
leave custard in water bath until loaf pan has cooled to room
temperature. Wrap loaf pan tightly with plastic wrap and chill
overnight or up to 4 days.

To unmold, slide paring knife around edges of pan. Invert serving platter on top of pan and turn pan and platter over. When flan is
released, remove loaf pan. Use rubber spatula to scrape residual
caramel onto flan. Slice and serve. Leftover flan may be covered
loosely and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

It would seem like the amount of caramel left in the pan if you don't scrape would vary based on the size of the saucepan you use. Why would you not scrape the remaining caramel into the pan? Would it affect the texture/flavor?


texts:
I wanted to expand my answer to this question by adding info about the color blue.

Both mother and sour doughs are very stable, but can be 'invaded' by a bacteria that'll give it a bluish taint. I'd throw that dough in the bin (actually, I did once), but I can't find any information confirming that.

So, there's the question: how do you recognize the mother is spoiled?


texts: Does anybody know what company made this spatula?

texts: I received the following spatula and I want to buy another one, but I can't find it. Does anyone recognize the company?


texts: How do you cook a steak like those found in fine steakhouses?

texts:
I went to a 5* restaurant once, the steak was unbelievable.  You could cut it with a butter knife, it was fat and juicy, pink in the middle, great stuff.

When I cook it at home, I seem to just slice the beef thick, shallow fry it in olive oil with some garlic and  that is all.  It tastes pretty good, but is so far off what I had in that restaurant.

Anyone know how to cook the best steak?  Better cuts of meat?  Fry in butter?

Also any tips in general on how to cook good steak.  All appreciated!


texts: Why does the roux separate from my gumbo?

texts:
I love gumbo, and make it about once or twice a month. However, I've noticed that my roux will occasionally separate from my stew and float up to the surface. I've sampled it, just to see if it had absorbed some of the flavors, but all I got was a floury taste.

I've had gumbo enough times to know that this shouldn't be happening - the roux should be enriching the flavor of the stew and mixing in, but it isn't.

A rough outline of what I do:

Make roux with vegetable oil and flour in a 1:1 ratio.
Mix in bell pepper, celery, and onions (aka "trinity"); stir frequently for 10-20 minutes.
Mix in garlic, cayenne pepper; stir for two minutes.
Mix in thyme, bay leaves, white wine; bring to boil.
Add chicken, andouille, shrimp, tomatoes, clam juice, chicken broth; bring to boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add okra; simmer for 10 minutes or until ready to serve.

Here's some thoughts on possible problems:

I usually cook it in a slow cooker once I have all the ingredients simmering. I've only cooked it the conventional way (read: in a pot) once, and it didn't separate. (When I cooked it in the pot, some of the roux was in the stew that boiled off the top of the lid; a tasting revealed that it was more flavorful than the stew).

2. I've sometimes gotten lazy or been in a rush, so I only cook the trinity for 10 minutes instead of the full 20. (I've also noticed that the trinity gets uncomfortably slimy-looking after the 10 minutes, which has prompted me to prematurely move to the next step on a few occasions.)

And finally, an error I am not making: I am not burning the roux. It may smell smoky, but it is not burned.

Given this, what could be the cause?

EDIT: I've just made it again, and it's definitely not because I'm undercooking the trinity. Based on the evidence, I'm going to go with Sobachatina's answer, until I can try it again.

SOLUTION: Forgot to update this until I got pinged about a change on this question. The slow cooker made the roux separate from the gumbo; it has never separated from the stew when cooked in a pot, likely because the starch doesn't fully gelatinize when in the slow cooker. If anyone wants to look further and try to figure out when the starch is sufficiently gelatinized, drop a comment below with your result and I'll update this solution.


texts:
I was thinking about making a pasta salad with roasted, peeled Poblanos and started to wonder if raw diced Poblanos might work and add a bit of crispness (texture) as bell peppers do.

Since I have only ever used Poblanos that have been roasted and peeled, I started searching for recipes. I haven't been able to find any recipes of any kind that use raw Poblanos.

At the same time, I haven't found anything that says there is any reason not to use them raw. So, I'm wondering if it's a taste or texture thing, or if there is any other reason.


texts:
A friend of mine's wife was baking a cheesecake, which she does somewhat regularly. The house filled up with smoke, and when they opened the oven, they observed that it had caught fire. Apparently it was a fairly standard cheesecake, not a unique petrol-flavored version, nor even spiked with a healthy dose of brandy. She proceeded to remake the same recipe immediately after with no further conflagration.

I did a bit of googling and the only conjecture I saw that somewhat jibes with the circular burn mark is that somehow liquid fat separated from the filling, pooled, and caught fire.

Any idea why specifically that would happen, or alternative explanations?


texts: How to thin half and half to substitute for milk?

texts:
I have a recipe that is for a "Texas-Style Blueberry Cobbler" (site is paywalled) from America's Test Kitchen.

The recipe is as follows:

4 tbsp butter in four pieces + 8 tbsp melted & cooled
1-1/2 c sugar (10-1/2 oz)
1-1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1-1/2 c all-purpose flour (7-1/2 oz)
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 c milk

This makes a batter-style base (rather than the more traditional biscuit-style).

All we have on hand is half and half. In this usage, is it acceptable to replace the milk with some fraction of half and half cut with water?

This answer discusses something similar with cream.  I've found sites that say it's possible to do this but I'm not sure how trustworthy they are. Plus, they seem to disagree... some say to cut the half and half with water, other say to just replace it and expect a richer outcome.


texts: What is the stringy slimy stuff in Peace Tea?

texts: I bought a Sno-berry Peace Tea today that had a slimy stringy substance in it. I pulled it out of my mouth after unknowingly drinking it, and I put it into a napkin. Once the moisture was out of it, it was a strong, fibrous string...Any idea what this is??


texts: Why does whipped Cream sometimes sink in warm beverages?

texts: I am a former barista who has encountered this phenomena many times, but could never consistently re-produce the effect.


texts: How to create a nut roast and stuffing that don't taste and feel too similar

texts:
I'm going to be preparing a vegetarian Christmas dinner this year and will be using a nut roast as the main dish, but I'm worried that it will be too much like a giant piece of stuffing.

The nut roast will contain mushrooms, celery, leek, breadcrumbs, chestnuts and cranberries.

I've checked the recipes for both and they all sound very similar - nuts, fruit and breadcrumbs. Is there any way I can make these two distinctive dishes?


texts: Ice cream stabilizer - ratio of components

texts:
My husband and I are very much into creating the perfect keto/sugar free ice cream. He has gotten right into the nitty gritty science of it but still wants to tweak a few things.

We have purchased an emulsifier so that can stay out of this equation for now, I am just inquiring about stabilizers. We know we want to make a blend of stabilizers (which include CMC & Locust Bean or Guar Gum & Carrageenan). Since we can't find this specific blend for sale pre-made we would like to buy the individual ingredients and mix it ourselves. We know the ratio of stabilizers to other ingredients in the overall ice cream mix, however we don't know the ratio of each mentioned ingredient in the stabilizer blend itself.

Can anyone help shed some light here?