texts: Lyle's Golden Syrup tin design, why is it like this and how to clean it

texts:
Lyle's Golden Syrup has a distinctive lid design, in which the top of the tin has a lip. This inevitably fills with syrup and makes the whole thing stickier than it needs to be. Is there a reason for this design? My first thought was that it was to "catch" syrup, but after using the stuff a lot recently I'm convinced it does more harm than good.

Also, any tips on cleaning the tin/lip? I found a damp paper towel works ok but it's probably not efficient, I also suspect that something is wrong if I'm needing to clean packaging like this at all.


texts:
I wanted to try creating a type of curry filled pastry, but I am curious if there are any good doughs I could utilize that don't need the large waiting times/kneading/rising that most bread recipes require.

Basically, I'm thinking the ideal case is if there is quick and easy dough that I can just prepare, fill, and toss in the oven and get a little to moderate rising while it's cooking. I suspect some kinds of pastry recipes can do this but I don't:

a) know any recipes like that, or;

b) know how heavily they rely on the sugar in their recipes.

Any advice appreciated.


texts: Using a slow cooker, I made a brisket in a sweet red wine.  The result was a too sweet brisket that I do not want to eat.  Is there a way to even out the flavor?


texts: Equivalent of cracked fennel seed to ground fennel seed

texts:
I have a recipe that calls for a 1/2 cup of cracked fennel seed. If I wanted to use a light ground fennel seed what would be the equivalent?
Thanks!


texts: Cocoa butter changed taste of chocolate help!

texts: I have coloured my chocolate ganache with Squires cocoa butter colouring but it has altered the taste of the chocolate. How do I get back the taste of just white chocolate?


texts: How can I tone down the heat in hot oriental mustard, without making it sweet/significantly altering flavor?

texts:
I recently attempted to mix up my own hot oriental mustard using a powder, bought in the local supermarket. (S & B Oriental Hot Mustard)
Following the directions on the can. I mixed with water only. I found that, I could not put enough water in the mix, to dilute the heat, without making it too watery.

Is there something else I can add, that will dilute the heat without making the mustard too watery, sweet, or otherwise significantly altering the flavor?

The ingredients in the can of mustard powder I used, are Mustard & Turmeric.

I am trying to imitate the flavor & spiciness of the dipping mustard that is served in Chinese restaurants.


texts: Is it safe to eat potatoes that have sprouted?

texts:
I'm talking about potatoes that have gone somewhat soft and put out shoots about 10cm long.

Other online discussions suggest it's reasonably safe and the majority of us have been peeling and eating soft sprouty spuds for years. Is this correct?


texts: Hints on storage of vegetables and fruit

texts:
Different fruits and vegetables require different treatment in order to preserve their integrity, micronutrient contents and especially taste over the longest period possible.

Time and again I am confronted with new insights like tomatoes should not be kept in the refridgerator, because they lose their aroma in cold climate, but I have yet to find a unified resource to learn about best practices in storing these goods.

Are you acquainted with such a resource or have knowledge yourself about this topic?

Thank you for sharing.


texts:
I melted once a chocolate bar and decorated with it my eclairs, while it was hot and melting, after putting them in the refregirator, they cooled fine, but they were a little bit sugary although the eclair's dough didn't contain any sugar.

If I melted a Dark chocolate, will adding some sugar work? Or is it preferred to melt the kind I want?


texts: How much fresh garlic makes how much garlic powder

texts:
How much fresh garlic (weight) makes how much (garlic powder weight)
Reason how much garlic do I buy?
Thanks
David


texts: How can I stop my soups sticking to the bottom of the pot?

texts:
I like cooking soups, however often as not the lentils or oats stick to the bottom of the pot and start to burn. I like cooking my soups over several hours in a large pot.

How can I avoid this?


texts:
I have two identical ice cube trays. When I twist the trays to remove ice, sometimes the whole cubes pop out perfectly, but sometimes they shatter and I get lots of shards with bits of ice stuck to the bottoms of the molds.

What can I do to consistently get the whole cubes out?


texts: Are there advantages of soaking rice overnight as opposed to only for 30 minutes?

texts:
All these years I've just washed rice, put it into a pressure cooker (a regular pressure cooker; not a rice cooker), added the right amount of water and cooked it until the first whistle. Both for brown rice and white rice.

But when looking up this page on Basmati rice, the author does two things differently.
1. She pre-soaks the rice for 30 minutes.
2. She brings the water to a boil before adding the rice to it.

On searching for more info, this site and this site recommend soaking rice overnight! This completely perplexed me.

Assuming that I want to cook my rice with soaking, how do I choose between soaking for 30 minutes and overnight? Is soaking overnight a safety concern? Is it better to soak it overnight in the fridge? Wont an overnight soaking make it absorb a lot of water and make it less suitable for cooking in a pressure cooker?


texts: If instant noodles have been prepared by flash frying noodles, why are they not oily? Why don't you get any oil on your hands when you hold a "cake" of dry noodles?


texts: How to make entrecôte steaks on a grill?

texts:
How should a piece of quite fatty entrecôte beef be prepared on a grill?

How thick should the steaks be?
Which spices should I use?
For how long and how hot? (Well the temperature is hard to control after burning a pile of wood)
Is there / what is the point in putting the steaks in tinfoil after grilling?


texts: Does an induction stove require flat bottomed vessels? What materials besides stainless steel works for an induction stove?


texts:
I have a favorite jambalya recipe. I usually saute the trinity (celery, onions, green peppers) for a short while before adding garlic and then a longer while later I will add my Cajun seasoning. For some reason the other day I did it differently and added my Cajon seasoning to the oil before adding the trinity and garlic (like I do when making Thai curry - adding the curry paste to the oil to start the cooking). I was surprised to find my final dish at the end was far less spicy (less hot) and there was less of the flavor from the Cajon seasoning. That surprised me. Slightly less spicy would make sense but this was WAY less spicy. I used the normal quantity of all ingredients so that wasn't the cause of the difference.
EDIT: DIshes made 3 days apart with spices that have been stored the same length of time (months+).
What is going on?


texts: is it ok to freeze chocolate and for how long? I received 50 lbs of chocolate chips from my sister.  I want to freeze some but not sure how long they will last.


texts: Is it possible to turn common table sugar that has been dissolved in water back into its original granular form?


texts: Toast bread slices in a convection microwave?

texts:
Does a convection microwave make decent toast, as a toaster oven would or a bone fide oven set to broil?  I have read far and wide on the internet and in operating manuals for Sharp, Bosch, etc. convection microwaves and have come up empty handed.  I know you can't make toast in a microwave, but these are convection microwaves we're talking about here.

Would prefer to hear from someone who actually owns one of these things instead of someone just reading things like "CompuBroil®, CompuRoast®, CompuBake® - automatically compute broiling, roasting, and baking times/temperature settings." from the www.sharpusa.com website like me :-)

Additional specific requirements for our situation are an "Over The Range" (OTR) solution, for which there are often microwave and convection microwave solutions that include 300CFM ventilation and lighting for our cooktop.  We're not looking for a countertop unit.  Hence the desire to see if these convection microwave units can do the deed!

Thanks in advance!


texts: I have a bunch of shallots with the greens (stems) on them, and I was wondering if anyone has experience with them.  How are they used? Throw them in with the shallot bulbs? Use them like green onions or chives? What dishes are good with them (or require them)?


texts: Biscotti with chocolate drizzle in batter

texts: I make biscotti. I want to introduce chocolate — not chips, but melted chocolate — drizzled through the dough without turning it completely into chocolate. Any suggestions on how to do this?


texts: Beef discoloration on parts not in contact with air

texts:
I have bought a pack of sliced beef and opened it up as soon as I got home. Judging by the date on a package, it was packed on the same day I bought it. It was red on the outside, but dark and brown-ish where individual peaces touched each other.

Having read
these
two
questions, I would guess it should be safe to eat it, but I'm not sure what happened in the first place.


texts: I found a great looking recipe that calls for ground veal. Is there free-range veal or "rose veal" available here in the U.S.?


texts: How to achieve more solid consistency when preparing seitan from wheat flour?

texts:
I'm making my own seitan from wheat flour, rather than using vital wheat gluten.  I usually do about 4-5 washing steps when preparing my seitan. It is good, but I would like it to be more stiff/solid (not sure if this is the right word). I think this would make it a better meat-substitute.

I normally put the flour into a bowl and fill it with water so that it results in pastry. Then I knead the pastry under water. You can see the starch coming out and making the water more murky. I do this for about 3-5 minutes. Then I get rid of the water and fill the bowl again. As mentioned above I repeat these steps about 4-5 times. At the end I simply cut the seitan into pieces and cook it in broth. Usually I freeze the cooked seitan afterwards.

So if I want to produce a firmer consistency, is it about how often I wash the seitan or are there any other rules or tricks on how to achieve this?


texts: What is the difference between Pasta Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce?

texts: I'm deciding to make spaghetti squash today but can't decide what sauce to use: a pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce. I'm sure those are just general terms for many types of sauces, but can anyone give me an idea of the difference between the two? And also, what is marinara sauce?


texts: I am infusing olive oil with truffles. How can I do it safely? Heating the oil destroys the truffle smell and pickling it is a sure way to do the same. Are there any other methods? Perhaps some type of filter that will eliminate the particulates?


texts: Reheating potentially unsafe canned goods unsafe?

texts:
I am into home brewing and one of the popular practices is for people to can wort - this is basically a sugary barley like tea- for growing yeast. A lot of people simply can wort in a pressure cooker or via normal steam canning methods, but after reading about the time variations necessary to can certain foods, and after failing to find a specific time recipe for wort even after emailing a government body asking for recommendations, I reached the conclusion that I did not need edible wort out of a can.

Instead I could just boil the wort once out of the can to kill any potential botulism toxin and still have the ability to portion large batches of wort into cans. The question is this: is there anything that won't be killed off in the boil that I need to worry about? After all, even though this is for yeast growth, I will end up drinking a small amount as it will end up in my beer.


texts: How do you store cooked pasta without losing the bite?

texts:
When I cook pasta I usually drain all the water and keep about a cup of pasta water so I could loosen up a sticky pasta or bulk up a sauce. But spaghettini or capellini is too thin so it breaks up into small pieces when I try to take some out of the colander with my tongs.

My solution was to pour all the pasta water into a pot with the capellini but after a while the pasta became too soaked and it lost it's el dente bite.

How do you both keep pasta in a non sticky, ready to serve state yet don't lose the bite?


texts: What are the main differences between a stand mixer, a countertop blender and a food processor?

texts:
I'm looking to replace my countertop blender. Since my kitchen space is rather limited, I was doing some research to see if there are any "multipurpose" devices. I found out that there are also stand mixers and food processors and many of the tasks they can be used for overlap. I've never used a food processor or a stand mixer before.

So my question is: What are their main differences? E.g. thekitchn lists all three (!) of them as essential small appliances which seems very odd to me, given that so many tasks they can do overlap. Why are all three of them necessary?


texts: How long should I wait before I lift the lid of my sauerkraut crock?

texts: I have 5 - 6 lbs of sauerkraut in a crock with a water vacuum seal.  I read that the first 24 - 48 hours are crucial to the success of the kraut. I also read that the kraut should develop its own liquid during this time, and that one can pour boiled water on top  if it doesn't. However, I also read that it shouldn't be disturbed for a fairly long period of time.  I am a bit confused.  Should I check on the progress after a few days, or not?


texts:
The burger recipes I've found online called for rather fatty ground beef, like 80% or 73%. (Spruce eats: 15 - 20% fat), Smoked BBQ source: 15 - 20% fat, Taste of Home: 20 - 40% fat (sic!), Spoon university: 20 - 30% fat, The Kitchn: 20% fat, Serious Eats: at least 20% fat, Steve Raichlen: 20% fat.) I didn't pay attention and bought some 90% lean beef.  I guess the burgers will still work out, but it got me thinking.
If everybody says you need fatty ground beef for flavor, in what kind of recipes do you actually want these 90+% ground beefs, and why?


texts:
I made pickled salmon a few days ago.  I clearly did not cook it enough before pickling it for four days in vinegar. It is basically raw and completely falling apart.

Can I recook it now by boiling it in its own pickling juice, or is that not a smart thing to do?


texts: Do I have to defrost chicken before cooking?

texts: I'd much rather throw the chicken in the pan straight from the freezer but I worry about the tastiness and tenderness. Looking for seasoned advice on this one.


texts: Substitutes for provolone and cacciacavallo cheese in the UK

texts: What can I use as an alternative to provolone and cacciacavallo cheese in the UK? Both have been difficult for me to find here.


texts: When opening a glass jar of prepared spaghetti sauce, (with the seal flat), and it makes a loud sound when opened, is that bad or good?


texts: Using over-rested pizza dough as old dough

texts:
I made pizza dough (flour, olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 7g instant yeast and cold water) last night but never got around to using it. It is still sitting covered in the bowl resting on the counter (temp ~ 20 C)(18 hours). I'd like to use it as PF (old dough method) but I am not sure the ratios are, PF to the dough I will be making. I am also  not sure how long will the old dough keep. It weighs around 440g , and looks like this:

Since this is my first experiment, I'd like to know how the whole process of adding old dough to the next day dough works. I read a few articles online but they were either not very informative or too expert for my level!
This question seems to be asking the same thing but the dough was left in the fridge for four days. I am not sure if that makes any difference.


texts:
I have followed the following recipe for my brownies:
Ingredients:

1/2 cup sunflower oil
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
Oreos (about 15)

However, the batter didn't seem enough for my 9" x 9" brownie tin. What can I add to make the batter consistency cover my entire tin? Because at the moment my brownies have become really flat and have not risen. What am I doing wrong?


texts: How do I use no-boil lasagna noodles in a normal recipe?

texts: How do I convert a normal lasagna recipe to use no-boil noodles?  Do I need to add extra liquid or just make sure that the dish is covered really well?


texts: Ceramic non stick pan, light scratches after first use?

texts:
I bought a new non-stick pan yesterday which is stone/ceramic non stick. I triple checked it before I got it home to see that there are no scratches already from shop etc etc.

After I heated it, and fried some chicken, using plastic equipment to flip and remove food etc etc, then I cleaned it with a sponge (not from the harsh side) and after I dried it I noticed some light scratches on the pan. No deep scratches that you can notice on a quick look but when you examine it under the light they are there, tiny ones.

I noticed that after using it a second time they kinda increased. Remembering.. something similar happened with my Weber Kettle bbq which is ceramic coated. I took really great care of it cleaning it etc etc only then to find these type of scratches when I examined it under light.

Is this something to do with ceramic after heating or am I doing something wrong unknown off?


texts: Red sweet and sour cabbage...drain or not?

texts:
The recipe I want to try as a side to my beef goulash calls for cooking shredded red cabbage in a quart of water, salt, caraway seeds, and brown sugar.  Then it says to drain cabbage when cooked and add vinegar and butter.

If I do this, won't I lose the sweetness that forms the basis of the sweet and sour?  Would it maintain flavor better to remove the lid and cook down the liquid and then add vinegar and butter?


texts: What is the white foam that builds up when I make tea?

texts:
I microwave water in order to make tea. After it is microwaved and I drop the tea bag(green tea) into the water, thick white foam builds up on the top.

What is it and should I worry about drinking it?


texts: What is the difference between small vs large loose leaf tea?

texts:
I have two oolong teas of the same type (dong fang mei ren). One has long leaves that barely fit in a teaspoon. The other has much smaller leaves that are easily scooped up, and it has a weaker taste. However they seem to expand more when it's steeped.

Are smaller leaves generally an indication of lower quality?


texts: Is it safe to use the same cooking utensils for raw and cooked meat?

texts:
So, being new to cooking, I tried cooking a pan-seared ribeye steak for the first time recently.  I'm just getting new cooking utensils, and the idea of flipping the steak is something I'm not sure about.

Last time, I used the same utensil the whole way through.  I know, many are likely cringing at the thought.  But I was afraid of over-cooking so I was as attentive as possible to the steak.

I'm wondering if this is "safe".  I'm guessing most will say it is not, and that's fine.  I'd like to do better if it's not safe.  I bought a pair of tongs since then (I was using a spatula to flip before!) but I still only have one pair.  So, should I be placing the steak in the pan with the spatula, flipping with the tongs, and removing it from the pan with...something else?

Is it safe enough to use the tongs, and rinse them each time they touch meat before it's finished?  Should I be scrubbing them with soap each time?  Should I simply stick to different utensils?  (In which case I might just stop cooking--I don't have that many utensils, don't plan on buying more for this purpose, and quite frankly I don't wish to clean so many utensils when I'm finished cooking)

I know there are other topics, but they haven't been quite as specific as the questions I'm asking here, so I hope I can get a good response on the subject.


texts: How do I cook a steak well-done without it drying out?

texts:
My wife and I typically eat our steaks on the rarer side of medium rare. However, since she is pregnant she's not supposed to eat steak cooked to a temperature under 160 degrees. Is there a way to cook a steak well done while keeping it tender and juicy?

UPDATE: For anyone curious, we ended up going with a combination of sous vide skirt steak (in a homemade Styrofoam cooler), and home-ground burgers with extra fat added to the mix in the form of trimmings from the butcher, and strips of bacon. It definitely did the trick, but I'm glad we're back to medium-rare again. We ate a whole bunch of Omaha steaks that I had been saving after our daughter was born. The baby won't have an opinion on her red meat preferences for some time.


texts: What is the maximum allowed temperature to cook onions saving the fructooligosaccharides?

texts:
Onions are a great source of fructooligosaccharides that are a natural prebiotic that beneficial bacteria of our gut microbiome feed on.

Having read about this I have started eating raw onions but they can be nasty, as for boiled onions - that's kind of easier for me yet nobody likes them anyway, some people actually find it easier to eat onions raw and just find boiled onions disgusting.

So I have ended up seeking a healthy-tasty ways to cook them.

I've found a  scientific papers by Roberto Vega and Zuniga-Hansen (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.10.119) that says the percent of retention of sc-FOS is greater than 95% at temperatures above 95 °C yet it doesn't seem to make it clear how far above 95 °C can we go.

Olive oil smoke point is 160°C. Is sautéeing onions at near this temperature ok if saving the fructooligosaccharides is what I want?


texts: In making a cookie dough I forgot to add the salt. Is there a way to still add the salt?

texts: I forgot to add the salt ingredient to a cookie dough that is already mixed. Is there still a way to add the salt?


texts: How to reduce the heat from peppers in my tomato soup?

texts: I just made tomato soup with two cans of tomatoes with jalapeno peppers in it.  The soup has turned out to be too spicy.  How can I reduce the spicy (heat) level of the soup?


texts: How do I stop porridge sticking to the pan?

texts: I love porridge but I always seem to end with some stuck on the bottom of the saucepan. I use a non-stick saucepan, keep on a low heat, and stir regularly. I tend to use porridge oats and enough water and milk (about 1/2 and 1/2) to cover the oats. Does anybody have any hints/tips to prevent sticking? The porridge always tastes lovely and isn't burnt etc. Thanks.


texts: Can you mix raw chicken and French fries dip them in the same flour batter?

texts: I thought it was cross-contamination when you mix raw food with any food. So, can you use the same flour batter next and dip the chicken in along with French fries together and then fry them?


texts: Is it normal this white substance in my canned green peas?

texts:
I just opened a can of petit pois and I found them covered in this white, gooey substance, as opposed (or maybe better "in addition") to the usual clear liquid.

I don't think I have seen it before. I think it's weird that something canned goes bad like that (expiration date is in mid 2020), but I guess it's possible. The weird thing is that I opened a second can (the same brand and kind) and found the same thing. The smell isn't really bad, but I'm still rather hesitant to eat it (in fact I probably won't no matter the answer to this question, but now I'm curious). The cans were stored in a closet cabinet, with the rest of the cans, and I've never had a similar problem before.

I tried to look it up but I didn't find anything clear. Is it possible that this stuff is normal?


texts:
I'm planning to can some salsa tomorrow and have a recipe picked out (Roasted Tomato-Lime Salsa, from ATK).

The one catch is that it calls for red jalapenos, but I could only find green.  I am wondering if it will be a problem to substitute; I am not an experienced canner, and have read various warnings about not deviating from the recipe for safety reasons.  I guess my concern is that the green ones might have a different pH due to chemistry changes during ripening.

Will substituting green for red create any food safety issues? Extra credit for a reference.  (Note that this question is primarily not about the flavor difference, though feel free to leave a comment.)


texts: Does fish blood have a smell, how to remove it?

texts:
truly fresh fish should not smell of anything except sea water.  I've been buying fresh sardines however when I take it out of the bag there seems to be a smell, it seems to be originating from liquid, blood, and the fish.  even after cooking i can sometimes taste this smell.

Note this smell could be from blood, paper wrapping or something else but i think its the fish and blood.

with fresh fish which shouldnt smell of anything except sea water, is it normal for its blood to smell?
does one remove the smell by thorough washing or does it need to be heated to a particular temp to remove, if so what is the temp?

also I notice larger fish like mackerel on the fish counter look clean to begin with, why don't they have blood over them or emit this same smell?

thanks


texts: Why stretch and fold vs traditional kneading of bread dough?

texts: Many recent recipes I'm seeing for bread, this one for example, are using a strech and fold technique rather than a traditional knead.  Whats the advantage here?  It sure seems to work, but I'm not sure why it works well with so much less work.


texts: When can you NOT replace milk with almond milk?

texts:
I saw a video on making pizza and it seemed easy enough, but the recipe required milk to make the dough.
I try to avoid dairy and realized that once when making scrambled eggs that required milk in the recipe and switching it for almond milk there was a puddle of water under the scrambled eggs and I assumed it was because there's not as much fat and more water content in almond milk than milk.
YouTube link to pizza recipe with milk


texts: How to prevent the chicken breasts from drying out

texts:
One of the methods I use to cook chicken in general and especially chicken breast is as follows:

put the chicken into a frying pan. Pour 1/2 a cup of water and let it cook on medium heat for as long as two or three tablespoons of water remains. I use small portions of onion to get rid of its bad smell.

The problem with this method is always get a dry meat. What method gives me a moist and juicy meat so that it melts in the mouth?


texts: Can "low fat" eggs have an impact on meringue formation?

texts:
Yesterday I tried making a meringue-based dessert with a recipe I've used successfully a few times before, which calls for 6 egg whites and 1.5 cups of sugar. I made sure to have no egg yolk with the whites, I used a stainless steel bowl and mixer attachment, the eggs were at room temperature - everything to my knowledge that should result in perfect peaks after mixing thoroughly.

After getting everything together though, my first batch of meringue never got past a marshmallow fluff-like thick but somewhat runny consistency. I tried again two more times being very careful to make sure everything was perfectly clean, and ended up with the same results each time.

At this point while cleaning up, I notice the packaging for the eggs stating that they have "25% less saturated fat than regular eggs" eggs, due to a special diet.

Could lower than average fat content in eggs affect getting stiff peaks from a meringue?


texts: What is better for chilled cheesecake - pectin or gelatin?

texts:
I am currently doing my food technology GCSE coursework and need a Lemon Cheesecake recipe for next week.

I was planning on having an enriched shortcrust base, with a chilled lemon cheesecake filling. It will also have raspberry coulis and meringue peaks as a garnish.

I saw a picture on Instagram of a cheesecake with clear, strawberry jelly (I don't know if it was jello [American word for 'jelly' in British English], or jelly [a clear conserve]). I want to know what it was, 'jello' or 'jelly' because jelly requires pectin (thus heat) to set but jello just requires gelatin.

What is my best course of action, because in my eyes, if I make jelly, it would set too quickly, therefore I would need to pour it onto the cheesecake whilst it's hot, thus melting the filling; but jello wouldn't need any heat?


texts: Are plastic (vs metal) immersion blenders safe for hot mixtures?

texts:
I have a braun stick blender that I bought about 10 years ago. I love it because it's really versatile and I can make puree soups, etc. I usually will stick the immersion blender into the pot of hot mixture to puree the mixture. Is this safe?

CLARIFICATION

Is putting plastic in the hot mixture safe?


texts:
I want to make peanut butter fudge. My dad can make it perfect by just eyeballing it and dropping a spoonful in cold water to know when it is just right. but I have never been able to do it that way. I have also tried it using a candy thermometer, and i know the soft-ball stage is between 235 deg and 245 deg, but it always seems to come out grainy. I also know that the outside/inside temperature  plays a role in how it turns out as well. I make several batches of caramels every December and they turn out great using my thermometer when cooked to 239 deg, sometimes they are a little softer than other times, but always within reason.

Can anyone tell me the best temperature to shoot for with a thermometer for peanut butter fudge?

Update

Actually the recipe does call for marshmallow creme, in addition to evaporated milk, granulated white sugar and peanut butter. Additionally, something I forgot to mention before, the fudge sets up very fast, like when I am pouring it into the 8 x 8 pan to cool. Most of the time, when my dad pours it into the pan, it is like like cake batter, the top surface will be smooth, whereas when I do it, I have to spoon it out (like brownie dough). Mine, you can't really pour it out. If I could get it to pour out like cake batter, cooling wouldn't be a problem.

The directions say to stir the milk/sugar mixture constantly until it reaches the soft-ball stage. I could try the buttering the side of the cooking pan. I remember Dad saying that the recipe calls for a tablespoon (or maybe a teaspoon) of butter, but he never uses it, and I don't remember him ever saying that I am to use it to butter the sides of the cooking pan.


texts: What is instant pudding mix used for in baking cookies?

texts:
In some recipes instant pudding mix/cornstarch are called. What is the main point of adding these two ingredients in your dough.

Thank you


texts:
I understand that it is hard to define when pasta is properly 'cooked'. It's a subjective topic.

But I think that 'really not cooked enough' is a state that most of use would agree on.

I noticed that regardless of the continent, city, stove type (electric or gas) and pasta type, pasta will never be 'cooked enough to eat' if I follow the time on the box.

I always lived by the sea, at sea level, so I'm assuming all these years, water boiled at the same temperature (100c)

I'd had cooking ranges from high end Viking models to some no name crap ones.

When the box says cook 11min (as in tonight's Barilla Penne Rigate), they start to bee cooked enough to eat at 17min. I never cover the cooking pot, could it be it?

Unless I have a life long curse regarding cooking pasta, why is it that following the box instructions has never resulted in pasta cooked enough in my 30 odd years of cooking them? :)


texts: Why is the English word "curry" used for all these different dishes?

texts:
More like meta-cooking question, but I believe it fits here better than on travel stack.

Why is English so poor at differentiating all those different things hidden under one common name: curry?

Is there a historical reason for that, such as similar (for the sailors in XVI century) food from different exotic countries?  Or do they have similar basis, like set of spices, flavors?

Background

There are at least few different dishes (or even dish families) from different countries that western people call curry, even if they are not similar:

India curry, which is I think the general name for multiple versions of thick sauces with meets, including butter chicken, masala chicken, etc.
Thai curries based on more watered-down sauces with notable taste from coconut milk. There are at least 3 of them (red, yellow, green), and in Thai language they are called ngang which is also the general term for soup (I can be wrong on this one).
Japanese curry
Filipino curry
The spice called curry - in stores in Europe you can buy this spice (in packs like black pepper, cumin, oregano, etc.) which is essentially mix of simple spices.
There are probably more things that are translated as curry in English.

So, how to differentiate it all? Do all of those have something in common? Or is it just a lack of distinct wording?


texts: Kimchi not very fermented, did not expand or get juicy

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I just made some kimchi for the first time. Three heads of Napa cabbage. I put it in glass jars and left lots of room. It has been a day and and a half at room temp. and I still don't think it has expanded very much. It has a little liquid but it is just covering the cabbage and it is not bubbling.

I used all fresh ingredients except the garlic. The garlic was from a jar. It was the minced kind. I pureed an onion and ginger in a blender and added the garlic with those at the same time.

Do you think the preservatives in the store-bought minced garlic could have stopped the fermentation? It was only about three tablespoons of the garlic in a three head of cabbage batch.


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If a recipe asks for zest, I always use fresh fruit.
I'm wondering if you can preserve it nicely.

I put some in the fridge, but there was some mold after quite a while. I wanted to get rid of the moist, so I put fresh lemon zest in the oven on a low temperature. But I think I left it a bit too long, it's a bit brown now, instead of yellow. However, it still smells and tastes nice, a bit crunchy though. So I'm not satisfied with this result.

Anyone else who has experimented and knows what works or what does not?
Is it possible to preserve zest for months (or even longer), without losing too much flavour?


texts: Soup making - should I add extra water and boil off for flavour?

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When making soup, my husband likes to add a lot of water then boil off for 30-45 mins to make it more concentrated.

I prefer to add just enough water for consistentcy then gently simmer, thinking that adding the water will just dilute it anyway, defeating the purpose of then boiling it off. Plus then the contents get mushier..

Which approach is recommended - or will both end up with a similar result?


texts: Questions about battering and frying chicken

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I like to fry up chicken occasionally and I've used a few different methods over the years.  Typically my recipe is something like:

Place milk or egg in one dish
Place a flour mixture in another
Drag chicken through liquid, then through flour, then fry up.

It usually turns out pretty well, but I was hoping to get some clarification on what some variations on this recipe do - so:

Some recipes call for dipping the chicken in egg before coating with flour while others call for milk (or butter milk).

What is the difference between these two?
Can I mix the two together and use that - if so, how would it be different than using just one?
Does it matter if I soak in the liquid for hours or do i just need to get it wet so the flour will stick?

I've seen some recipes that call for dipping in egg and flour twice.  I'm assuming this just makes the skin crustier?

If I want an even thicker crust could I go even more than twice or will the batter just start falling off while frying if there is too much on there?

It can be sort of a time consuming process and I've wondered about doing some of the prep work the night before I cook.

Is it possible to egg wash and dredge in flour and then store overnight?
If so, does this affect how the chicken fries up?
If so, what is the proper technique?  I'm concerned that if I had a bunch of battered chicken breasts that were stacked on top of each other the batter might peel off when I tried to separate them the next day.

I realize that I could probably figure this out through trial and error, but was hoping to figure it out without wasting any food.  Thanks for any help!


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Possible Duplicate:
  How long does cooked pasta last in the fridge?

I work Monday to Friday, and dont pack very good lunches, I recently bought a bunch of pasta and sauce, my plan is to make 5 days worth of pasta for lunches on Sunday night and keep it all in the fridge and bring one portion for lunch each day, will my pasta still taste fine for my Thursday and Friday lunch?


texts: Bottle of Cachaça 51 tasting like sour milk?

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Whilst recently shopping, I grabbed a bottle of Cachaça 51 intended to use for some flambé. Upon opening it, I found it smelling (and tasting) like slightly sour milk.

Googling for it, I didn't come up with any hits about it at all, which makes me wonder what's going on.

Edit: I have had a straight Cachaça before, but it was a different brand, and it didn't have this sour milk taste.


texts: Can you identify this Serbian street food?

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Yesterday in Niš, southern Serbia I bought this street food pictured:

It looked and tasted like deep fried batter, how fish from a fish and chip shop might look in Australia where I'm from.

It had no filling and I was offered a choice of sugar or salt. It was very inexpensive, maybe 25 Eurocents.

I'm interested in its Serbian name but also if it's more widespread I'm also interested in what it's called elsewhere, variants etc. And of course what it is made of: dough? batter? wheat?


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I very much like my steaks to ooze blood on the plate - especially fillet or sirloin.  However, I've recently (and only recently) noticed that when visiting restaurants and asking for rare steak, the steak that arrives is dry (or at least a lot dryer that I expect - even though it is rare).

I'm curious as to how this is achieved; my suspicion is that the steak is being "pre-cooked" to rare and then warmed up in a microwave, but I wondered if there was actually a method of cooking steak that would result in that.


texts: What precautions should be taken after the process of cooking?

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Food that is being cooked/boiled will possess no chance for the virus to stick to them while cooking.
But what precautions should be taken after the process of cooking?


texts: What islands use a cooking technique that starts with sugar and hot sauce in the pan?

texts: I had a roommate many years ago that was from a Caribbean island, but I don't remember which one. His general technique for cooking almost anything was to start with a hot saute pan, add oil, a good amount of sugar, and a homemade hot sauce that had lots of mustard as well as chili heat in it. Almost similar to the Vietnamese caramel chicken. Can anyone identify which island(s) this technique might be from? Is there a name for it? Niceties to the technique?


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Should I use both sides of a contact grill when doing a beef steak or is it better to use just one side and flip the meat after some time?

The grill I own is Catler gr4011


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I was watching youtube vids about cooking and I saw this Gordon Ramsay one about broccoli soup. Around the 56 second mark to the right of the broccoli on the table is an elevated piece of metal with holes in it. What is it?

So far I'm thinking some kind of weird large grater or a popcorn sifter. Can anyone help?


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I have become interested in learning how to cook better, and how cooking works.

I prepared a dish, a kind-of pie made from tortillas as the base and top, with potato, feta cheese, sauteed soft rings of onion, mushrooms, garlic and spinach in olive oil with pepper as the filling ingredients, and baked until crispy. A pretty simple recipe.
A lot of my meals so far seem to be based on this base of onion, mushroom, and garlic.

When eating the dish, I found that certain ingredients on their own were too much, mainly the spinach (bitter) and feta cheese (overwhelming), and that certain combinations of the ingredients were good, potato and feta, or onion and garlic, but when I ate full slices (ie. containing nearly all ingredients) they all faded into each other and lost sharpness and therefore seemed bland

I know without going into the specifics of my preparation of these ingredients, it may be hard to come up with suggestions, and this is a very general question but I am trying to understand the bigger picture of combinations of tastes, and cooking techniques to make food that tastes really good, so I am wanting suggestions of further ingredients, or techniques to refine this base, and add more flavour and quality to my dishes.

I appreciate any input or suggestions.

Thanks


texts: Sous vide bath cooled after reaching cooking temperature, still safe to eat?

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I was doing boneless short ribs for 48 hrs at 140. I had to leave town suddenly and unexpectedly for a day and I added enough time via WIFI to continue to cook for an addition 16hrs.

My water level dropped below min while gone and the Sous Vide shut down before I was able to get home.

The temp of course started to drop.  By the time I get home here in a few hours, the short ribs will have been in water that has been slowing cooling for 8hrs.Current temp 89.1

Is the meat unsafe to eat?


texts: How much pepper/allspice to substitue for cubeb?

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I have a recipe that calls for "12 cubebs, coarsely crushed". I've read that a blend of equal parts pepper and allspice can be substituted for a cubeb. However, having never seen a cubeb, I have no idea how big it is, so I don't know how much pepper and allspice to substitute. Additionally, I haven't been able to find any information about the volume of a cubeb or the volume of powder produced when crushing a cubeb online.

How much powder does a cubeb yield when crushed? Alternatively, how much black pepper and allspice should I substitute for 12 crushed cubebs?


texts: Why did my almonds burn instead of caramelizing?

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I tried to make caramelized almonds yesterday with the following recipe: heat 300 grams of sugar with 80 grams water. When mixture reaches 125 degrees Celsius, add the almonds. The almonds would develop a sandy white coating that would turn to caramel. When mixture reaches 150 degrees Celsius, remove from heat. I used halved almonds which I toasted before, per the recipe, and did the cooking in a small saucepan.

What happened is the almonds did develop the sandy white coating but then burned before the it turned to caramel (they burned right after I added them and started stirring). Then I tried again, used a bit more water and a more accurate thermometer, thinking the temperature was the issue. The other thing I changed was using about two-thirds whole toasted hazelnuts since I ran out of almonds. It did turn out better, but I noticed the halved almonds still turned black, while the hazelnuts were OK. Also, I've tried the recipe before, using whole cashews, and it was fine.

So, my question is why did the almonds burn and how can I prevent this?


texts: Can coconut cream be transformed into coconut milk, or vice versa?

texts: Can coconut cream be transformed into coconut milk, or the other way around? For example, will adding water or cow milk to coconut cream make a usable coconut milk? Or by reducing coconut milk, can I get coconut cream?


texts: Do sifting and whisking do the exact same thing?

texts: Some recipes suggest to sift the dry ingredients while some others say whisk the dry ingredients. Do they have the same effect?


texts: Stuffing meat cannelloni and refrigerating to be cooked the next day

texts: Is it safe to make uncooked beef cannelloni with cheese and eggs, stuff the raw shells and leave in fridge overnight?  I would put the hot tomatoe sauce over top just before baking.


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I am looking to recreate a dairy free popping candy chocolate I have no issues creating the chocolate but I'm sure popping candy contains milk...

Is there such thing as a dairy free popping candy and if not is there any way I could make it?

Thank you


texts: How to choose a premium dual fuel range (Viking, Wolf, Aga, and the like...)

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All,

We're considering buying a high quality range.  We have arrested our choice on 36" dual fuel ranges (gas top, electric oven, preferably convection).

Some of those have fairly typical and unique characteristics (e.g., Aga multiple small ovens).  Others are more easily compared (e.g., Viking and Wolf have similar product offerings).

What are the key things to consider before buying a range?  Are there good online resources to understand the quality of those premium brands, especially some frank assessment of Wolf and Viking?  Also interested in personal experiences - customer or repairpeople reviews and assessments.

Many thanks,

JDelage

EDIT:  We eventually got a Wolf set, because I read and heard slightly better things over the Viking, and I couldn't find true comparisons with some of the lesser known premium brands.  Overall, I am happy.  I find that the gas burners don't heat things as hot as an electric top, and ideally I would have liked to have 3 gas burners and one electric element.  We selected to have a grid in the center rather than 6 burners, and it's great but not used very often (but then we wouldn't need 6 burners very often either).  I love to grill veggies on it.

The 36" oven takes a while to heat up. You get used to it, but for the first few weeks, it was obnoxious.  Also some recipes call for changing the temperature of the oven from very high to much lower (e.g., for some roasts), and an oven that size takes a long while to cool off.  The size is convenient to make large batches of cookies, but we haven't needed the width for anything else really.  If I had infinite means or were building a kitchen from scratch, I would get two smaller ovens.


texts: Could someone please clarify whether the following things make sense while cooking chicken biryani?

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I've trying multiple iterations to cook chicken biryani like how the restaurants do it. However, after going over various recipes online and trying them out, I'm starting to wonder whether the following cooking steps are inefficient or do they really make a difference, when it comes to cooking chicken biryani.

Here's a sample recipe: https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/2015/03/white-chicken-biryani-recipe-yummy.html

(Note: The site from the URL linked above has a tendency to get stuck. You need to refresh the page to make it work).

Can anyone throw light on the following points?

Add spices to water and boil. Add rice and boil till it's 70% cooked. Then drain all the water. Seems like a lot of flavor being wasted there. If all that we want is for the rice to absorb the flavor, then would it make sense to add it while cooking the rice from 70%-100%? O
Marinade the chicken with spices. Then while making the biryani, we start with the base onion layer in which we add the same spices, again! Duplicate work? Does it make sense from a culinary point of view to add the same spices again? Or, would it come to the same flavor if we skip it?
Mixture of spices: Adding saffron-boiled milk (thick milk) + rose water + screw pine extract ("kewra") + fried onions + clarified butter (ghee) + coriander + mint leaves. Keep in mind that we're throwing in these spices with marinated chicken and equally spiced-up sauteed onions that form the base layer. I feel that that's too many spices. What if we choose only one item from saffron-milk, rose water, fried onions and pine extract. Thoughts?
Deep fry the onions. Then pour the remaining saturated oil onto the top of biryani just before sealing it. Does used oil actually add to the flavor noticeably?
Excessive oil? We're adding oil in the following steps: We've added oil while par-boiling the rice. In the chicken marinade. In the oil layer at the bottom. While making fried onions for the top layer. While sauteing onions for the bottom layer. Most biryani recipes call for adding oil at the top. Does it make a difference if we skip that last step?
Air-tight seal: Lastly, there's this step about sealing the utensil with a wheat dough. I feel that that's a waste of good wheat. The idea is that you seal the vessel with dough, then add weight on top of the lid so that it remains "air-tight". How about using a pressure-cooker instead which would guarantee an airtight compartment and then heat it very slow (I'm talking about placing it over a pan that is placed over the stove)? Does this make sense?


texts: Is food immediately taken out of the microwave safe to eat?

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Do we have to wait a few seconds to let the microwaves go away, or can we eat it immediately?

Of course, I assume that the food is not too hot to be eaten.


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In another question, I asked about pasteurization of raw milk at home. I got some interesting comments (of course, I further searched on the internet) that some people prefer not to pasteurize raw milk to keep its original flavor and nutrition properties. Pasteurization (whether industrial or at home) at 63 - 72 C will cause a significant loss of vitamins, useful ingredients and generally nutrition values of milk.

Not only for the sake of pasteurization, but also we boil milk for preparing hot drinks. Of course, the boiling point is not necessary, and we let it to cool down a little bit.

Is it really bad to let milk boil? Does it significantly reduce the nutrition values?


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Introduction
I'm making Nanaimo bars for my coworkers. Some of them don't like chocolate, so I'm going to make a second, terribly non-traditional batch with different flavours (I'm thinking maple syrup is the obvious choice, dried apple, and cinnamon).
I need an alternative to chocolate ganache for the top layer.
Replacement Criteria
Taste
I think that my coworkers who dislike chocolate dislike its bitterness and "chocolatey" flavours. If possible, I'd also prefer to avoid the flavours of white chocolate, either by covering it up or using something else.
Texture
The replacement should be something with a bit more tooth to it than icing, since it has to contrast the middle layer, but not something sticky like caramel or hard like crème brûlée.
Relative importance
The most important part is that the replacement doesn't taste like chocolate. I think the contrast in texture is important to the experience of eating a Nanaimo bar, so keeping the texture close to ganache is the next most important part.
Original Ganache Recipe
I am planning on using this Nanaimo bar recipe. The portions of the recipes that deal with the ganache layer are quoted below:
Ganache Ingredients:

4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet baking chocolate
2 teaspoons butter

Ganache Instructions:

...melt the [4 ounces of] semisweet chocolate and 2 teaspoons butter together in the microwave or over low heat. Spread over the chilled bars.

Additional Comments
I also considered this ganache recipe by Ina Garten. However, I doubt it will be dense enough, so I'll probably end up using the one in the Nanaimo bar recipe.
Would dulce de leche work? I haven't worked with it before so I don't know the consistency.
Thanks!


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I have a load of dried jalepeno so wish I'd made into chipotle peppers instead - is it possible to rewind time?

I was thinking of soaking them then doing a low temp smoke on my grill. Will that get me close or is it just not worth it?

UPDATE 2017-09-26

A year in, I would not recommend this procedure. Certainly, if you have already dried peppers and want smoky flavor, go ahead, but I've found that the depth of flavor as a result of shorter smoking times is noticeable, and there is an acridity that is present in all but the richest of dishes. Smoke the peppers fresh, if at all possible.

EDIT

Did it. I just used an aluminum pan with lots of holes poked into it. I soaked the chips and the peppers, and I was glad I did. In my Weber charcoal grill I didn't have tons of temp control, and some of them got a little charred even with soaking. On the other hand, I also tried to smoke some fresh peppers, and they didn't dry completely before my coals (and daylight) ran out, so clearly the initial moisture level of the peppers makes a huge difference. I guess I could have stopped and re-soaked them half-way through.
I've made some hot sauce with the pre-dried peppers, and it seems like there isn't a ton of smoke coming through, so my final thoughts on this are:

If you have lots of dried peppers you want to smoke, do it, but you'll get better flavor if the peppers are fresh.


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I made carnitas in a slow cooker. I did not get a pork shoulder/butt cut of meat to make the carnitas recipe. I used pork loin instead...and rubbed salt, pepper, cumin, oregano on the meat. I put onions, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, & garlic.  I cooked it for 8 hours on low heat.
After it was cooked, I shredded the meat a bit.
Even though the pork was cooking in its own juices, etc. the meat is 'dry', i.e. when I eat it, it doesn't have a nice mouth feel.  Is it because the pork loin is not as fatty as pork shoulder/butt?
Now I have 4 lbs of 'dry' meat that I don't want to waste.
Is there anyway to rescue this?  Do I just smother it in a lot of BBQ sauce, for example?


texts: Our Better Homes and Gardens cookbook calls for "1 package active dry yeast" in its pizza recipe, which is less than helpful, since we keep a container of bulk yeast in the freezer. What is the standard volume (e.g. in teaspoons) of yeast in a package?


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Last night some friends sliced and roasted some purple yams, which came out nicely. We were very perplexed, however, that 1 in 4 had a strong minty taste, a lot like teaberry. They didn't use any seasoning whatsoever, instead opting to have an array of sauces for dipping.

So why did the yams taste minty?


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Recently I have been making Crimini mushrooms like this:

Purchase a small container from the store
Quick rinse it at home in water to clean the dirt off
In a small pot, I place a half stick of butter and marscapone and then simmer it
While simmering I add garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and paprika
And then I add a little bit of soy sauce and warchestershire sauce
Once that is all simmering I add the mushrooms and place the steam lid on the pot (just a glass lid with a small vent in it)
I adjust the temperature so that the sauce rises to just below the lid
I let it cook for about 20 minutes like that and then place the sauce in a bowl

It tastes really good. I like how the mushrooms are very soft and have a nice flavor to them. The sauce tastes good as well. However, the sauce is runny and I cannot figure out how to thicken it. I have tried using various other combinations instead of the butter and marscapone such as half and half, heavy cream, cream cheese, and creme freche but still can't seem to get it thick.

How should I thicken the sauce or what I am doing that is preventing it from thickening?


texts:
Someone at Alcohol SE suggested that I post this question here: Dehydrating Apple Cider Vinegar?

I've been experimenting with dehydrating apple cider vinegar

I'd like to concentrate it and put it into capsules. ~15 size 00 capsules are needed to contain 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Since most apple cider vinegar purchased on the market is ~95% water, the result of putting it into gelatin capsules is that  the capsules dissolve. In theory, I should be able to separate out the water and be left with a substance that will not dissolve capsules made for oils. Also in theory, I could make 1 serving of apple cider vinegar fit into 1 capsule and have some room left over.

My current method is to dehydrate the apple cider vinegar at 145 degrees fahrenheit. I've ready that any temperature higher than 150 farenheit will break down enzymes in whatever substance I'm heating (I'm assuming there are precious enzymes to preserve in apple cider vinegar). The result after 3 hours is a brown syrupy substance that only partially dissolved a gelatin capsule. The result after 6 hours is a thick dark brown substance that I'm currently testing in gelatin capsules. My questions is, is it safe to assume that that dark brown substance is dehydrated apple cider vinegar that can be rehydrated, or would the dehyration process evaporate the vinegar away along with the water?

What might this left over substance be, in that case?


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When making croquettes, I always end up with more meat than I can use. That is to say that I'm aiming at about 20% meat in a flavor-full concentrated velouté.

The problem I'm having is that I use about 400gr meat for 1 liter of water, and that's 40% meat to begin with... (OK, after cooking the meat loses 50% weight, but I have no idea how much water evaporates).

I'm afraid to use less meat, but maybe I could add more bones?

What proportions are appropriate for a nice dark stock (or an ordinary one)?


texts: How do I adjust the cooking time for two joints as opposed to one?

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I have a recipe for roasting sirloin of beef. It calls for a 1.5-2kg piece of meat. I couldn't find a piece this large, so have two half sized joints - one about 950g, one about 700g. My recipe tells me to:

Roast for 30 mins at 200 degrees C.
Turn heat down to 180 degrees C and cook for 10-15 mins per 450g, depending on how rare you like it.
Rest for 30 mins in a warm place, wrapped in foil.

How do I adjust this for two separate pieces of meat? I am aware that they have a larger surface area and don't want to overcook them, or dry them out. Can anyone help me?


texts: Can I store suet or home-rendered tallow at room temperature for a year?

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This weekend I will be in possession of 100 lbs of beef suet (which I'll be getting from a butcher friend) and plan to render it into tallow. I can't even begin to imagine exactly what this amount of tallow will look like, but I'm absolutely certain I won't have nearly enough room in the fridge or freezer to store it.
I was told large quantities of rendered tallow can be stored at room temperature for up to or even a year; possibly longer if I keep it in my cool, dark basement.  Rendered fats never last long enough in our house to know for sure. Apparently canning isn't an option because the heated fat will keep the jar from sealing, but it will be fine in a well sealed glass (Mason-style) jar.
A quick Google search turns up some anecdotal evidence but I'd prefer some science.
Can I store my rendered tallow in well-sealed glass jars in the basement for up to (or over) a year? More importantly, why or why not?
I've been operating under the assumption that the rendered tallow will be safer to store for a long period of time. I just saw on StillTasty (which doesn't have a tallow entry unfortunately) that commercial suet can be stored for a year in the pantry, opened or unopened. That seems really strange to me - is that true?  I would expect fat to go rancid quickly in an opened container in the pantry. Is it because it's "commercial" suet? Is there anything I could do to my suet so I could store it unrendered?


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I made chicken in peanut butter sauce. Similar to this question, it split.

I used chicken stock, peanut butter, honey and soy sauce, and cooked the chicken in it.

Shortening cooking time isn't an option, since the chicken needs to be done. Honey present in the sauce, as the answer to the other question suggested to improve emulsification.

My mother makes the same recipe regularly, with no problem. The only difference is she uses Skippy, whereas I used pure peanut butter. Would that be the culprit? How can I compensate for that, if that is indeed the culprit, if I want to avoid the innumerable strange additives present in Skippy?


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I often make fermented beet kvass.  This was going well in summer, but now in the colder weather the environment is too cold for the kvass to ferment properly.  The home temperature is 60F, but the kvass needs 72F-75F.

What is the best way to keep the kvass jar warm?  A heating pad with a thermostat?


texts: In the 1939 illustrated book Madeline is a kitchen scene. On the counter are plates (or bowls), a colander, a ladle, a saucepan, a large knife — and a hand saw. Is a hand saw a kitchen implement? If so, what's it for?


texts:
Why do gazpacho recipes have you put garlic and salt together, then mash with an egg?

What is the purpose?


texts: What are the white tendrils at the bottom of these garlic cloves? Are they the beginning of new roots?  I'm afraid they are indications of fungus or mold.


texts: I have a jar of real fruit jam, made without pectin, it tastes fantastic but the berry seeds are extremely hard. Can I reheat it in a pot on the stove and strain out the seeds and put it back in the jar and keep it refrigerated?


texts: What are some vegan thickeners for beverages?

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I need a vegan thickener that dissolves well and doesn't have any flavor. I tried tapioca flour the other day and it didn't dissolve very well and left a powdery mouthfeel. Cornstach is not bad. Arrowroot seems to work like cornstarch but it seems like you need more arrowroot to do the same job as cornstarch.

I'm specifically looking for answers involving personal experience with hot and cold beverages - not a list of thickeners I can find online. Hot chocolate and chai are two drinks that I've been doing with non-dairy milk but I would like a creamier, thicker mouthfeel like you'd get from whole milk or cream.

I'm aware of xanthan gum, agar agar and carrageenan, but they're all relatively expensive so I have not personally tried any of them. Personal experience with those would be cool. I really like this Bolthouse Farms cold chai protein drink, which is vegan and lists carrageenan as an ingredient, so I was thinking about trying to get some of that. Also guar gum? Cellulose gum?


texts: What are the benefits of whisking when making muffins?


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From a food safety perspective, under what conditions should a plastic or wood cutting board be replaced?

I have a plastic one that developed a crack that goes through both sides of the board.  I presume a crack like this would indicate it needs to be replaced since it could harbor bacteria.

Please provide a reputable reference with your answer.


texts: chicken shish kabobs the night before cooking

texts: I want to prepare Hawaiian chicken shish kebobs the night before cooking.  Do I need to be concerned about the raw chicken touching the veggies overnight in the fridge?


texts: How do I recognize that yogurt has turned bad?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How do you know when a cultured item is no longer safe to consume?

How does one tell when yogurt turns bad? Month-old yogurt smells the same as just purchased. The only visible difference is some separation. What are the rules of thumb?


texts: I wish to do pickled onions but am unable to get Brown vinegar only Apple Cider Vinegar

texts: I am unable to get Brown vinegar, so is it ok to use Apple Cider Vinegar


texts: Can a slow cooker meatloaf get a browned crust?

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So my wife cooks a few times a year.  She saw a recipe in one of her online magazines for Carla Hall's (Top Chef) meatloaf.

The picture in her magazine clearly shows the meatloaf has a very brown crust on the top.  It was cooked with big chunks of carrots, onions, potatoes with a little stock - on low for 6 hours.

The picture of this clearly showed a deep browning and crust on the meatloaf.

Wife did a pretty good job following the recipe.  The meatloaf... well it was more like pate.  The recipe was rather basic.  Really bottom barrel for carrots, potatoes and meat in a crock pot.

To me the question is really stupid but I need to still ask it - can you get a brown crust cooking a meatloaf in a slow cooker (and how about on low)?

Seems like the magazine might have duped her and I feel bad.


texts: What can I use as an alternative sweetener for smoothies?

texts: I make fruit smoothies often, and started off adding sugar. I'm looking for a more "natural" sweetener though. I know I can use honey, but it adds a distinct taste that I'd like to avoid. I've tried using dates as well, and it's a workable alternative, but also changes the taste slightly (and makes the smoothie "stickier"). What are other natural sweeteners to try, preferably that don't make a big difference to taste?


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I notice that in both countries where I lived the fridges are kept at 6 or 7 °C (43-45 °F). When it would be colder, people find their drinks to cold, when served straight out of fridge (especially in winter). Also a lower temperature would cost more energy.

What would be the best temperature for food storage. Would that be even lower? For storing meals, how much time longer would food stay good when the fridge would be colder?


texts:
For favors that I am making for an upcoming party, I'm looking to do some old-fashioned homemade gum drops.  I have found a recipe that looks do-able.  It calls for candy flavoring.  I've also found other recipes that call for using juice, which rather limits the flavors to the flavor of juice that I purchase.

In looking at my local stores, I cannot find anything in their online product lists indicating that they have candy flavoring, even those that carry Wilton products.  I like the idea of candy flavoring for the variety, but am unsure about finding it.

Are there pros and cons to using candy flavoring for gummy candy that I should be aware of in making the decision of juice versus specific flavoring?  Are their alternate ways of flavoring that I should be considering besides what I've seen in recipes so far?


texts: How is sous-vide different from simply cooking the chicken?

texts:
I am just starting out with my sous-vide project and ready to buy sous-vide equipment. I am having arguments with my partner, who thinks sous-vide is similar to cooking the chicken breast in liquid. I would like to convince my partner but it is hard for me to argue as I have no experience.

How different a sous-vide cooked chicken from one that is cooked in water?


texts: What are the best type of skewers to use for ground meat kebabs?

texts:
We like to make ground meat kebabs. I usually use all ground lamb, but occasionally will use a mixture of lamb and beef or lamb and bison.

I have tried wooden skewers (both small and large) and metal skewers (both round and small flat). (Sizes refer to diameter, not length.)

The problem I have is that if I lightly rub oil on the skewers to prevent sticking, the meat often times gets loose around the skewer and causes the issues you would expect from this. If I don't use any oil, the meat will stick to the skewers.

The meat mixtures we use leans toward Persian or Iranian styles and do include quite a bit of chopped onion. I've thought about adding a very small amount of oil to the meat mixture but I was thinking that it might keep the mixture from holding together as well.

I also considered not using skewers but I like that with the skewers I can keep the kebabs just above the grill grate and don't have to worry about sticking or so much clean up.

My goal is to be able to slide the kebabs off in one piece for a better presentation. Can anyone share ideas, tips, or tricks? Is there perhaps a different type of skewer that may work better?


texts: How do I season an iron griddle on an induction hob?

texts: I have an induction hob but no oven, how do I season a new cast iron pan I'm thinking of getting?


texts: How long is it safe to store rice horchata for?

texts: I have a recipe for Mexican horchata, which is a kind of smoothie made with rice. However, it doesn't specify how long I can store it for, and as rice can be dangerous if stored incorrectly I don't want to risk it. Any ideas how long I can keep it for?


texts: When braising, how deep should I fill a single pot?

texts:
Mark Bittman's recipe for chicken Adobo says: "Combine the [ingredients] in a covered skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the chicken in one layer". The recipe calls for 3-4 pounds of chicken.

I'm wondering what is the reason that the chicken must fit in one layer. Is it to ensure that the cooking temperature does not vary too much from the bottom of the pot to the top?

I'm also wondering in general, for most recipes that involve stovetop cooking in liquid like braises, stews, chili, arroz con pollo, stroganoff, etc., is there a limit to how deep I should pile it in one pot? when it exceeds a certain depth, should I split it in 2 pots?

Extra info: My biggest cooking pot is 5.5 inches deep, has a 10 inch diameter, and has a fairly thick base. My stovetop has gas burners.


texts:
How can I assess how sweet the water of a young coconut in husk will be before buying/opening the coconut?
Example of a young coconut in husk:


texts:
When my mayonnaise splits I add a little water or lemon juice to fix it. Works all the time. But this time my hand slipped and I ended up adding way to much water. I mixed everything until the mayonnaise fixed itself but now it's too liquid (looks like a soup).

I want to make the mayonnaise split so that I take out the excess oil and water and fix it in another bowl where I slowly add the ingredients back together. But I can't make it to split again :)

How do I make mayonnaise to split?

P.S. If I start making a new mayonnaise and slowly incorporate "the soup" in it  will do the trick (I've done it before) but this time it's too much. I'll end up with lots of mayonnaise for which I have no use. So I need to rebuild the existing one.


texts: How to make a restaurant style meatless Hot and Sour Soup

texts:
I made a hot-and-sour soup based on an online recipe, omitting the pork, sugar and dried lilly buds.

The major flavoring components were:

1tsp White pepper (I used a supermarket-grade pre-ground variety)
2tblsp premium brand red wine vinegar
1tblsp good soy sauce
1tsp Sesame oil
1tsp Salt
Small package (3oz) assorted dried and reconstituted wild mushrooms
4c Chicken stock as the base

I also added a tablespoon of Asian chili-garlic paste for extra heat.

The color was pale clear, not the rich brown or reddish-orange I'm used to at Asian restaurants. It smelled terrible - a definite barnyard odor once the white pepper was added. The taste was off as well - instead of a pleasing tangy heat, it was vinegary in an unpleasant way without being tangy, and not particularly hot despite some extra white pepper and chili-garlic paste.

While I can fix the heat (more chili paste!), I'm not certain how to fix the sour, the color or the aroma.

(Note: I cannot add sugar or solid meat to this dish for medical reasons. Sugar substitute should be OK, if that will really fix it.)


texts: Is it possible to freeze Eggplant Parmesan? If so, better to freeze before or after baking?

texts:
I made a delicious eggplant parmesan dish last night and now my wife wants to repeat it and then freeze it for another occasion.

What's the best advice for freezing it? Is it better to freeze it before or after baked?

Here are the ingredients: eggplants pre-baked so they are soft, tomato sauce with green peppers and a sliced fresh tomato, paste of Quark Cream Cheese mixed with olive oil and fresh basil.


texts: Are baked recipes containing cream cheese safe at room temp?

texts:
We had a potluck thing today at work, and one of the employees made bars with cream cheese in them:

https://tornadoughalli.com/peanut-butter-cup-cheesecake-bars/

I learned that they were NOT refrigerated, which sort of freaked me out, but then I remembered I've made cookies with cream cheese in them that stayed at room temp and I never got sick.

Yet the internet seems to be divided? Since cheesecakes need to be refrigerated? I can't tell what's right.

So now I'm worrying that I'm going to get some food-borne illness from this recipe because it wasn't refrigerated. I know unbaked cream cheese needs to be refrigerated, but tons of baked goods that "sit out" have cream cheese (like danishes and such).

I have seen tons of cookies that use cream cheese and people don't refrigerate those? Shouldn't this be the same thing?


texts:
I am looking to replace my >10 year old Calphalon nonstick cookware. I can see the nonstick surface coming off the pans, and am starting to worry about how much of that is getting into our food.

I love the ease of cleaning nonstick cookware, but am wary of buying it again. Should I opt for nonstick or not?


texts:
I separated the skins from the pulp/seeds, threw them in my blender with a little sugar and they turned brown during processing. The pulp also turned brown while simmering. I added them together, added sugar, began cooking and it became a medium purple color however, just before I finished the cooking process...the jam again turned brown. I was using all steel/ glass equipment.
Would/could it be the type of grape I used? It appeared to be concord grape from an old wild vine but does not tasted like concord grapes.


texts: How to know when to stop churning ice cream?

texts: I've got a simple Cuisinart home churn, the kind that uses a frozen bowl rather than a compressor. On a couple of occasions, I'm pretty sure I've overchurned the mix, because it seems to leave a buttery coating on the palate and lips. On the other hand, I don't want to underchurn it for fear that I'll get ice crystals in the freezer. The user's manual for my churn is no help. Anyone know a solid way to determine when I've churned enough but not too much? Or could it be some other problem contributing to my making butter instead of ice cream?


texts: I am curious as to how tapioca is made from cassava. Also, is it possible to do this at home? Thanks.


texts:
I've been reading a food menu of a Qatari hotel, and I've come across the following dish description:

  Roasted stuffed quails (3) with golden onion hair and green pepper

Naturally, searching Google, all I could find was results about how good onion is for hair growth.


texts: I live in the Romanian countryside. Everyone here pasteurizes milk in a pan on the stove. No one goes through a quick cooling process: people just don't have conditions to do it, I guess. Instead, the milk is cooled in the pan and then poured into bottles and stored in the fridge. What is the point of the quick cooling that I read about on the internet?


texts: Can you refreeze chicken after it has been cooked from frozen

texts:
I buy chicken breasts already frozen from my local supermarket. I want to let them defrost naturally (IE leave the breasts out until thawed at room temperate) and then cook them in a fruit sauce. At this point, I want to refreeze it.

This will then allow me to defrost the now frozen cooked and flavored meat over night and use them cold in sandwiches the following day.

I can't find anything to advise if this is or isn't safe?


texts: What is the driest, brownest bread that I can make for a stuffing?

texts:
I once had someone's Wonderbread stuffing (not good), and I decided that when it came time for me to make my own stuffing, I would go the exact opposite route.

I am going to make a loaf of bread in my bread machine with the intent to turn it into a stuffing. Thus I want an extremely brown, super multi-whole-grain, and dry bread that will not crumble apart. I do not care if the bread has a strong taste, but it should go well with Rosemary-Sage and Sausage.

My German Cousin tells me that German Pumpernickel tends to crumble, so I am going to exclude that before hand. Russian Black bread was also suggested; does that hold its form well?


texts: Why did my ice cream turn out like this?

texts:
I suppose I should mention that its texture came out PERFECTLY, and I'd really like it to do this again.

The first thing I did was heat 2 cups of sugar and 3 cups of half and half over low-ish heat, with some vanilla bean paste. Then, I tempered 9 heavily-whisked egg yolks with some of the half and half mixture. I added 3 T of Skyy vanilla vodka, forgetting that I was supposed to do that during the mixing process, not the custard-ing one. It curdled slightly, so I blended it, heated it gently again, and then strained it with a fine wire mesh strainer. I refrigerated it for several hours, forgetting to add the 3 cups of cream specified in the instructions.

Well. Not forgetting. I thought I was supposed to do it later, because evidently I don't read instructions effectively.

So then I took it out of the fridge. It was lovely and thick. I added the cream that I was supposed to have added earlier, didn't add more of the vodka I was supposed to have added at this point, and ended up with a very thin ice cream mixture. Pretty much liquid. I added a little salt, beat it in a very, very frozen ice cream mixer bowl (KitchenAid) (VERY frozen) for thirty minutes. It became slightly thicker, like a milkshake that forgot to be thick and was mostly melted. I drizzled in a little homemade caramel (1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup cream, a little vanilla, some salt). It then froze over night. I took it out of the freezer. The texture was PERFECT. Very scoopable, no ice crystals, didn't get overly hard, and the taste was spectacular.

Is the beautiful texture because I put in the cream later? Because I added the vodka? Because the ice cream gods decided they liked me last night? What in that set of steps resulted in that texture, so I can repeat this with recipes that aren't that one, not intentionally making 'mistakes' that I might not have to make so it comes out this way again?


texts:
I'm a bread-baking novice and have acquired a vast quantity of all-purpose flour.

If I follow a typical bread recipe, for example one of these, but use all-purpose flour instead of the recommended variety, what will happen?  Will the bread be edible?

[How] could I modify such a recipe to work with all-purpose flour?

update

Used Canadian all-purpose flour with this recipe, unmodified; results were delicious.


texts:
I made some high protein / low calorie oat bread using a recipe I found online.

The recipe is:

12 egg whites
120 g oat flour (from rolled oats)
28 g psyllium husks
70 g whey protein
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Mix all ingredients then bake for about 40 minutes at gas mark 3.

Everything about the bread is fine except that it's extremely dry and difficult to swallow. The bread feels and looks ok until I try to eat it.

Is there anything I can add to the recipe to improve it when I make it next time?


texts:
I have read some recipes for minestrone where it calls for making a soffritto before adding water. What would happen if you omitted this step and just added raw onion, carrot and celery to the boiling water, as you would do with the rest of the vegetables?

The vegetables don't need to be browned, hence it appears to me that shallow frying them is not necessary if it is followed by boiling either way.


texts: How do I adjust oven time to cook 2 dishes at the same time

texts: I have seen a chart for cooking two dishes that list different temperatures at the same temperature, just changing the length of time for one dish. Can anyone provide a chart like this, or at least explain how to pick a common temperature and adjust cooking times? What kinds of dishes will this work for?


texts: Does freezing polenta substantially change its consistency? I like polenta but would prefer to make it in batches instead of every time I want to eat it.  After I make it, I usually let it cool, cut it into shapes, and then pan-fry it.


texts:
For unknown reasons, but probably related to the covid pandemic, we are unable to buy bread improver.
Related question - What is 'Bread Improver'?
Our daily bread is made in a bread machine, and our recipe is approximately 50% rye, 50% white (or sometimes wholemeal), salt, water and yeast.  Without the bread improver, it's still OK, but is about 30% larger "loaf~ier" with the improver included.
Is there some way of making your own bread-improver?  I found these suggestions, but I would have preferred more of the science behind the actions of the ingredient.
I think the main ingredient in our improver is Soy Lecithin.
Since lecithin is found in egg yolk, milk and soy beans.  I'd be happy to add all these to the bread, but I'm after a few hints before I go wasting good flour on ill-informed experimentation.
My current thought is to start with maybe a tablespoon (20ml) of skim milk-power added to the flour.  Does that sound reasonable?
EDIT: found a recipe: http://www.breadmachinedigest.com/recipes/enhancer-recipes/bread-freshtm-dough-enhancer.php I'm by no means a vegetarian, but I am also not particularly keen on adding gelatine to my bread.


texts: Does cooking nopales with a copper coin actually neutralize the mucilage, and if so, why?

texts: While looking around at different ways of cooking nopales and okra that dealt with the mucilage, I found a few references to cooking nopales with a copper coin. Some people seem uncertain whether it's an old wives tale or not, and I haven't found an explanation of why it would work yet, but it seems pretty wide-spread. Does it actually work? And if so, why?


texts: I started collecting kashigata - special carved wooden moulds for making wagashi (sweets). But strangely enough I'm having a hard time finding information on how to use them.


texts:
This is killing me! Buying an oven and getting it installed isn't really an option at this time.

What I'm thinking is cooking the apples in the caramel on the stovetop for longer, making a smaller version, in a mini cast iron pan. Cover the top and place something hot on top to even out the temperature.

Would I have issues with the puff pastry cooking through and going golden? Has anyone tried anything similar and would have suggestions? Any advice appreciated.

Thank you!


texts: Is there a way to make delicious donuts with a small amount of oil?

texts:
I like donuts but I don't make them at home because for a bowl of donuts I consume a lot of oil.

The oil gets a sweet taste to it afterwards and can't reuse it for cooking something else than cakes. I also don't cook sweets very often and if I store the oil for a longer period of time it gets a somewhat of a stale taste.

The question is for a way to make delicious donuts with a small amount of oil but I'm opened to any idea: change in process, changing the dough type, different type of donuts etc.


texts: How much carrot is too much when baking carrot cake?

texts: I am experimenting with increasing the amount of carrot in carrot cake. The original recipe uses 3 cups of carrots to 2 cups of flour; how much more carrot can I add in addition to the 3 cups without turning the cake into a dense carrot bar?


texts: I ate the best fried rice of my life in Vietnam. The thing that made it so good was these crunchy little bits.  They were about the size of a regular grain or rice but they were very crunchy (more crunchy than puffed rice).  I'm wondering if this could have been uncooked rice fried in oil.  I've tried searching google and can't find anything accurate.


texts: What is the difference between a poolish and a biga?

texts:
Both poolish and biga are pre-ferments. Poolish is a French name, biga an Italian term. What other differences are there between the two?

Just to give some direction: are there differences in making them? Can you both keep them as long? How does the dough feel with it? What difference does it make in the end result? Is there a difference in flavour/colour/texture?


texts:
I have recently baked a couple of chiffon cakes, overall I'm happy with the bake - the structure and flavor are very good. However I have a recurring issue with large holes in the sponge, see the picture below.

I suspect it is some of the meringue not being fully incorporated into the batter and that large blobs of meringue are causing these holes. I could see there were blobs of meringue, but I was concerned if I kept folding to incorporate them I would knock out air from the meringue so I left them. The meringue was pretty hard, and I found it tough going, the blobs just wouldn't break up.

Do I need to keep folding, or is there a way to break up these blobs? Or is my meringue too hard? If it's the meringue, how do I make it softer? Should I speed up pouring in the sugar and whip the whites less?


texts: I've got a recipe that asks for meringue powder and I have no idea what it is. So my question is what is meringue powder and what purpose does it serve in recipes?


texts: Does method of coagulation matter when extracting ricotta from whey?

texts:
I'm wondering if it matters whether you start from acid alone (lemon, vinegar or citric) vs something like acid + rennet.

So the whey left over from making paneer, vs the whey left over from making mozzarella.  Can you use either to extract the ricotta?


texts: How to make spherical chocolate-enrobed candies?

texts: How does one enrobe a candy center in chocolate in such a way that you get a smooth sphere with no ugly mark where it was sitting on a rack, or hole where it was held by a skewer?


texts: Cook steak in oven with tray meant for deserts?

texts:
I'm a complete cooking newb. I saw on youtube the other day that you should cook steak in an oven before frying it. I think it makes it softer (not sure, please let me know).

But anyway, I never used an oven in my entire life. And I looked inside the oven and there are no trays in there. So I went to the store and the only trays I saw in the cooking section were meant for "cookies" that you cook in the oven, and other things like that, muffins etc. But they never mentioned steak.

So can I cook my steak on trays meant for deserts, or do I need to look for a tray meant for steaks? and should I even cook my steak in the oven in the first place?


texts: Do plastic cutting boards harbor more bacteria than wood boards?

texts:
I've heard on numerous occasions that plastic cutting boards harbor more bacteria than wooden cutting boards. I use a large wooden cutting board often, but recently I've been finding it heavy and it sometimes leaves behind a flavour on food despite good cleaning.
Is there any objective evidence that plastic cutting boards harbor more bacteria than wood boards? I'm hoping there have been experiments that actually measure bacteria in these boards and perhaps compare them in real-life settings.
I've heard anecdotes and I've seen people provide plausible explanations why wood would be better for killing bacteria, but I haven't seen any hard data.


texts:
My friend and I are trying to make 'ninja black eggs' which are essentially hollowed eggs filled with powdered material.

We have two questions:

Is there a way to thicken the egg shell? My current idea is basking the eggs in some-sort of calcium. Would this work, or is there a better way?
How can we make the eggs black? We've tried making egg dye; and we have used 1 tsp of red, and 1/2 tsp of blue, but somehow the eggs turned brown.


texts: Does Tea Quality Matter For Making Kombucha?

texts:
For kombucha brewers here, I'm wondering if the kombucha tastes better when you brew it with higher grade teas. Or would making them with simple tea bags from the supermarket taste as good? Let's say I break the raw material quality down in the following categories:

Crushed tea in tea bags
Broken loose leaf tea
Full leaf tea
Full leaf & bud tea
100% bud tea

Do you experience a difference in your brew when brewing with different teas as listed above?

At last, I'm also curious if you've tried other categories of teas besides green and black teas, such as:

Oolong tea
Raw (sheng) pu erh tea
Ripe (sheng) pu erh tea
White tea

Your answers are highly appreciated, as I'm really a beginner in kombucha brewing!


texts: making jam with brown (raw) caster sugar

texts: Is it possible to use brown (raw) caster sugar when making jam? I have never tried it before, but like to use unrefined products where I can.


texts:
I'm practicing bagel baking, using the "mother dough" recipe from Milk Bar, by Tosi & Chang. The taste & texture are pretty good, but I want a nice, crisp, blistery crust, which has eluded me so far. My question is: what are the most important factors in crust production for bagels? Is it the poaching, the baking, or both? So far, here's what I've done:

following an Epicurious recipe, poached the bagels in water with baking soda, salt, & honey (technically it should be barley malt, but I didn't have any)
preheated oven to 500F and then lowered to 450F when the bagels go in (again, following a recommendation on Epicurious)
I have tried both a baking stone and a sheet pan; the sheet pan gives marginally better results

Should the oven be hotter? Should the poaching water be differently prepared? Something else?


texts: How does (Goya) Sofrito sauce compare to salsa?

texts:
I was reading some rice recipes online. Some used sofrito sauce.

I read the ingredients on the Goya label. It is similar to salsa.
I think salsa is chunkier and uses fresh veggies whereas sofrito seems to have everything cooked in.

Can someone comment on the differences between these two?
Would sofrito have a richer taste?


texts:
Can I preserve pasta salad in bottles that can last for months?

The ingredients are cooked pasta shells, diced onion, diced green and red pepper. The dressing is: boiled together: vinegar, sugar, tomato sauce, curry powder, salt.

Can this recipe be done and bottled to last for months, keeping in mind it will be kept in the fridge?


texts: I need help getting cooked grains (I.e. sorghum, barley, farro) to clump together but maintain a relatively dry texture. I’m cooking for my 18 month old and he likes grains but picks up a single grain at a time. I want them to clump together so he gets more per bite  (preferably without a sweetener or low sugar option). I would love to use eggs for the nutritional and caloric value but would need to cook most of the moisture out of it—and I can’t get away with a frittata-as he does not like scrambled eggs or things with wet/mushy texture. Eggs alone were a fail in binding.


texts: Is it normal that my coffee grinder leaves a huge mess all over the counter?

texts:
So I have an old blade grinder, which seems to work well enough for me, except in one respect: The coffee grinds fall out of the bottom of the grinder. Now this is a cheapo grinder that I got as a gift, and I've never had another grinder. So I don't want to go buy another if they all do this. But on the other hand, if this just a function of a piece of cr*p grinder, I'd like to have a new one.

To clarify: I'm not talking about a static explosion of grind upon opening the cover after grinding. I'm talking about some of the grinds simply ending up on the counter while I'm grinding.

UPDATE
So, I have opened the bottom in the past, and when I did, the most enormous amount of old yucky coffee grinds spilled out. So I cleaned it out, and put it back together, and when I did, the problem continued to happen. So I, like any good ol' cheapskate would do, sealed the bottom with duct tape. This solved the problem until I realized that the design of the thing is to let moisture out the bottom of the machine, and that's the same path that the grind were coming out. So all my coffee grinds were ending up moist and sticky.

So in short, I should've bought a new one long ago, and to you future cheapskates reading this, do not even ACCEPT a "white-westinghouse" grinder as a freebie.


texts: What can I use in place of rennet to make mozzarella cheese? And what cheeses can we make without rennet?


texts: What can I use instead of swede (rutabaga) when making pickle relish

texts:
I want to make a British-style pickle relish at home. I think the best recipes involve swede (rutabaga in the US), because it gives texture and flavour, but isn't overpowering.
Unforunately, I can't get swedes where I live.

What would make a good substitute?


texts: Is it valid to claim that a jam contains no preservatives?

texts:
Some commercial jams state on the label that they contain "no preservatives", or are "preservative free". As I understand it, jam is a type of fruit preserve. Like most fruit preserves, it is protected against bacteria and mould before opening by the canning effect, and protected to a lesser extent against bacteria once opened, by its high sugar content (typically > 50% by weight).

Jams that I have seen labelled in this way also usually list citric acid as an ingredient, which commonly used as a food preservative.

My assumption is that food companies can get away with this labeling because sugar is required to activate the pectin during manufacturing, and citric acid can be said to be required for flavouring purposes.

My argument is that although jam wouldn't be jam without the gelling effect of the activated pectin, it also wouldn't be jam if it wasn't self-preserved after opening. It seems wrong to claim that sugar is not a preservative when used in jam, just because it has another function. It would be like claiming that full-cream milk is "fat-free" because the fat it does contain is required to make it appear white instead of having a blue tinge.

If another edible chemical that could activate pectin (but didn't have a preserving effect) was used to make jam, then would a manufacturer not get away with labeling the jam as having no preservatives, if sugar was added solely for the purpose of preservation?

I have not mentioned taste as a another function of sugar in jam because I don't think it is a relevant fact to consider. Jam tastes sweet because it is made with sugar for the reasons stated above, not because sugar is added to make it taste like jam.

Is "no preservatives" in jam a legitimate claim, or a marketing trick?

I have not researched the types of preservatives that are added to commercial jams that do not display the "no preservatives" claim, but I would be interested in this information if anybody knows.


texts: Any way to reduce the tangy taste of homemade coconut milk?

texts:
I make different kinds of non dairy milks (nut, rice, etc). I rather like coconut milk, but would like to reduce the natural tangy coconutty flavor.

I was looking at the following question:
Homemade coconut milk in coffee compared to store bought

Someone was suggesting that the industry adds tri-calcium phosphate. I have no idea if that is available to the public or even if that would work. Any thoughts?

Edit: I believe my question is somewhat different from the one above as it doesn't specifically relate to coffee. I think this small factor might influence the answers. This question has generated different answers to the question.


texts: How can I cook a perfect deep-fried Mars bar?

texts: I've seen on Internet the description of deep-fried Mars bar (dish originated at chip shops in Scotland), and I wonder how can I do it at home.


texts: Is there a particular kind/size of pot recommended for making fudge?


texts: I enjoy a dirty rice recipe that has you sauté onions, celery and green peppers in sausage grease and then add a tablespoon of flour. What does the flour do?


texts:
I'm currently reading a South-Indian cookbook which is adamant that you only use split chickpeas in the recipes, but I can only find the unsplit variety. What does it actually mean to split chickpeas and what is the method?

The cookbook gives the following advice.

  Split Chickpeas--Chana Dal Similar to Moong dal and Urad dal, chana dal is obtained when Chickpeas are split and the skin removed.
  This dal is orange in color.

But the chickpeas I can get have no indication of being split.


texts: How to prevent dough from stopping food processor motor

texts:
I have a Cuisinart 7-cup food processor. Whenever I knead dough for milk buns in it, it'd get stuck after about 45 seconds. If I shut it off, it resets after about 10 minutes, but it's a PITA. Here's the recipe and amounts I use:

240g AP flour (about 2 cups)
10g wheat gluten
5g instant yeast
3g salt
35g sugar
1 egg
40g butter
120g milk
3g white vinegar

The food processor doesn't get stuck with other doughs I've made (French bread and pizza). I'd prefer not to have to take the dough and the blade out every time it gets stuck, since that's a pain too. Any pointers? Thanks!


texts: My soup tastes tart... Is it safe to eat?

texts:
My soup tastes almost like someone poured some lemon juice into it. It smells fine, and other than being a little lemony, tastes OK. When I put it in the fridge a week ago, it didn't have that tart flavor.

What would cause this to happen? Is it safe to eat?

The soup was made from:

Chicken broth
Ground turkey
Ham
Broccoli
Green beans
Onion


texts: What is this attachment for on this veg peeler?

texts:
Just found a vegetable peeler with a very strange bladed attachment on the bottom of the handle.

The blades are all parallel but arranged in a V arrangement. There is an arrow pointing in the direction of the sharp edge of the blades and we can’t work out what it’s for.

Our best guess is a garlic slicer but then you’d end up with really big slices of garlic.


texts:
I have started making homemade yogurt, and I usually keep two types at the same time. One is a lactobacillicus bulgaricus strain, the other is a bifidus strain. They taste differently and look exactly the same - so I usually want to know which one I am taking out of the fridge, but can't tell by looking. I make the yogurt in small jars meant for home canning, and they only come in a single color.

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Unlike jam, the turnaround time is short, I only make 6 jars per batch of any type, and eat at least one of each type per day. So I want something which survives washing the jars (so not paper labels). I also don't want to make permanent marks on my jars. I have been thinking to start putting something foodsafe in each jar such that it is visible from the outside, but don't have ideas of what this thing should be.

Ideally, the solution should also work for glass clip-lid containers, like these, because I might switch to them:

What is a practical and aesthetically pleasing solution for distinguishing the yogurt types?


texts: Does chlorine evaporate from water when cooking?

texts:
Most municipal water supplies in the U.S. include noticeable levels of chlorine or chloramine added to kill microbes, and often adds an objectionable chemical smell.

Does chlorine evaporate when cooking?  If so, does it require boiling temperatures?  Does it become more concentrated if the water is boiled down? Does it matter when water is added as an ingredient, such as in bread dough?