texts: How can I hold the flavor and texture of my spheres?

texts: I'm doing apple caviar using alginate in my apple juice and calcium lactate as my spherification bath. Everything worked out well, the result is amazing, but after one hour my caviar turn out to be flavourless and instead of nice juicy bursting little caviar ball, it was 100% jelly like I was using agar-agar. I did rinse my caviar in fresh water right after the process (not even 2 minutes after the drops hit the bath). How can I keep this from happening?


texts:
I'm making some saffron rice. After sautéing some onions and saffron and then toasting the rice, it calls for simmering with broth for 8 minutes with a parchment lid. What is the difference between a parchment lid and a top? Is it just the vent for steam? If so, can I just partially cover with a lid? Does the parchment need to be directly resting on the rice for it to "work"?

note: I know what a parchment lid is, I just don't fully understand why you'd use one.


texts: What is the smoking point of salmon fillet oil?

texts:
What is the smoking point of salmon fillet oil cooking in oven (baked in a foil parcel)? (could be a range)

There is one Q&A at What is the best time and temperature for taste when cooking a salmon fillet in the oven?, but it doesn't answer what's the smoking point.


texts: corned-beef cure/brine: viscous, snot-like substance - is this safe?

texts:
Please click here for a video showing the problem

Causes for concern:

The container ended up pressurizing somewhat, so whatever was in there was breaking down and gassing, so when I opened up the container some fluid shot out
There was an indication of some film on the top of the solution, which you can see in the video
The meat has this snot all over it, see near end of video for a good look at the viscous stuff coming from the sieve

I used roughly 6 cups of water w/ a little more than half a teaspoon of Prague Powder (6.25% Sodium Nitrite) w/ .780kg beef brisket, which I believe matches ChefSteps 75ppm curing level. Put it in the fridge for about 10 days, didn't shake the solution past the 3rd day, should I have?

I used this ChefSteps recipe:
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/...

and I used this Nitrite calculator:
https://genuineideas.com/ArticlesInde...


texts:
I've made some fresh spring rolls by filling rice paper sheets with vegetables, cheese and peanuts, without any cooking. I've kept the uneaten ones in the fridge for a night in a sealed box. The rice paper has lost its flexibility and moisture.

Is there a recommended way to store fresh spring rolls in a fridge for a few days, without losing the moisture of the rice paper?


texts: How to reduce or eliminate the flavor of orange in a stew?

texts: I made a stew that required a couple of slices of orange, and it now has a strong orange flavor. It was cooking for over 3 hours and the orange skin was even dissolved. Any tips? Thanks.


texts: How can I make my homemade potato wedges crispy?

texts:
How do I make my wedges go nice and crispy in the oven?

I usually season them with a cajun mix, add a tiny bit of oil, and cook them in the oven on fan-bake at about 200 degrees (celcius). They come out okay, but not amazing.

What can I do to make them come out a lot crispier, while still using a normal household oven? Would more oil improve their texture, or do I need to crumb them maybe?


texts: What are some seasonings that can spice up a bland frozen chicken alfredo?

texts:
Tonight, the main course is: Red Baron's Chicken Alfredo.

The problem is that it's a little bland so I'm trying to figure out what the best seasonings will give it more spice, or at least a more intricate taste.  I'm already throwing a lot of salt and pepper in there, what else could one use?


texts:
I'm looking to make very crispy thin, light, airy cookies. Kind of like dog-treats but for humans.

What makes some cookies chewy and other "snap"? What makes cookies "heavy"?


texts: Ought I still buy a honing rod, if I'm buying multiple whetstones of different grits?

texts:
I know that honing differs from sharpening. My grandparents never altered their WÜSTHOF 4596-7/20 Classic Ikon 8-Inch Cook's Knife since buying it on Aug 1 2018. It could effortlessly slash coconut and raw Winter Squashes, but now it can't even cut paper or pears or zucchinis! Undeniably they must alter their knife. But they're buffaloed: ought they buy

1 honing rod + electronic sharpener or 2 whetstones (500 and 2000 grit)?
no honing rod, but  ≥ 3 whetstones of different grits e.g. 500 + 2K + 4K?


texts: safe to sear beef tenderloin the night before?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Can I Brown Beef For Slow Cooking the Night Before

I would like to prep my Beef Wellington the night before.  I would sear, cover with mushrooms, prosciutto the night before, refrigerate overnight then wrap in pastry the next day before cooking.  Is this safe?


texts: Can ghee be used instead of butter in dessert recipes?

texts:
Butter is an inevitable ingredient in most of dessert recipes. By definition, ghee is just clarified butter, but to me, the taste is completely different. The taste of butter is more close to heavy cream, while that of ghee is more close to cooking oil (at least to my tongue).

Is it good to use ghee instead of butter in dessert and pastry recipes`? Doesn't it ruin the taste to be far from the original standard?


texts:
For a bake sale, I made a pumpkin cheesecake with a ground ginger-snap cookie crust. It's the first time I had ever made the recipe.

As I do whenever I make cheesecake, I cooked it in a 9" springform, and had the springform in a deep water bath as it cooked. The water bath had been in the oven long enough that the water had started to boil by the time I put the cheesecake in it.

When the cheesecake had finished cooking, I took it out, and to my horror realized that the springform had leaked, and the water bath had gotten into the crust. The crust was fairly wet, but still held together, so I figured it was salvageable.

I took the water bath out, put the cheesecake back in with the door slightly ajar, turned the oven down, and left it for another half an hour. My goal was to try to dry the crust.

It seemed to work, as the crust dried before the rest of the cheesecake became overcooked (yay). I chilled it over night after it had cooled.

When I cut into it the next day, there was a thin layer of darker crust between the crust and the cake, and seemed to actually hold the crust together. I managed to cut the entire cake using the hot-knife method without any of the crust crumbling. When I ate a piece, I noticed that the thin layer was slightly syrupy (but not enough to poorly affect the texture), and indeed did hold the crust together very well.

My only explanation for what could have caused this was the boiling water entering the crust dissolved some of the cookie's sugar, then sat as a layer on top of the crust, and dried, depositing the sugar.

Because it looked so nice (it was a "double layer" cake already, so the new crust layer gave the cake 4 different colored layers), and held the crust together so well, I'd like to try to reliably reproduce this effect.

Cheesecakes are relatively expensive to make though, and take a fair amount of time, so repeated trial and error would be difficult to do.

Does anyone know a way to reproduce this? Is this at all a common technique?


texts: Can you roast soybeans directly in a popcorn popper or microwave?

texts:
Howdy, I just wanted to ask if it was possible to roast this type
of soybean directly in a microwave popper contraption or a dedicated popcorn popper without any prior water work, just straight out of the box? And If they'd be edible if I did such a thing?

Edit:
Honestly what confused me was this video, because the guy just threw them in the frying pan without any preparation or water usage and roasted them.

https://youtu.be/aFt60REeLIk


texts:
A few months ago, I went to dinner with my brother-in-law, and he introduced me to Sushi. I was skeptical (I've gone nearly 40 years without trying it), but I enjoyed it. My favorite part, however, was the Wasabi. It's like horseradish but hotter.

I can tolerate very hot foods, but I don't like the lingering afterburn. This is why I've taken a liking to Wasabi - it is hot, but without the afterburn.

I found a tube of Wasabi at my local Piggly Wiggly, it's basically the same stuff they had at the sushi place. However, after a few weeks of putting it on crackers, pita chips, and carrots, I've developed a bit of a tolerance and, as a whole, I don't feel that it's providing enough hot. I would prefer more.

I found on-line that they have Wasabi powder, but I'm not sure if it will be very hot or not. Also, I'm not sure how to make a dip from it.

How can I maximize the Wasabi flavor? Is there a "pure" Wasabi flavor I can buy? Is there a "nuclear hot sauce" made with Wasabi?


texts: How long can chili be cooked in a crockpot

texts:
Chili cooked on stove top, had an emergency and moved it to a crockpot, on warm setting. Is it still ok to eat? It's been in the crockpot 7 days.

It was covered and hard to get the lid off.  Once the lid came off I stirred it and it was not burned to the bottom.

No power outage in the 7 days.


texts: How can I add yogurt to a quickbread recipe?

texts:
I stumbled upon a recipe for Yogurt-Zucchini bread, and I like the idea of adding yogurt to other quickbread recipes for the texture and flavor, especially whole-wheat ones.

What guidelines should I follow when adding yogurt?

I am guessing that yogurt won't significantly alter the liquid/solid ratio in a quickbread recipe, as the bread batter is usually pretty runny already.

Is it safe, therefore, to simply add roughly ½ cup of yogurt to a loaf of bread? Or should I alter the recipe in other ways to compensate?


texts:
I recently traveled to NY and tried Magnolia's banana pudding. Long story short, it was amazing :D

When I came back home I tried to create the next best version. Having seen the below video, I combined vanilla pudding, whipped from a combination of heavy whipping cream and 2% milk, about a cup of each) and stabilized whipped cream, made from about a cup of heavy whipping cream, confectioners sugar and half a teaspoon of gelatin.

Whipped cream was perfectly stable and pudding also has a pretty good texture. While I am overall happy with my first attempt, I feel like my texture fell short. I want almost a cake frosting / ice cream texture. I want a texture that is more firm and fluffy and am not sure how to accomplish this.

Can anyone offer some advice? To get a better idea of the texture I am after, checkout magnolia's video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8468bpqWeIQ&t=7s (7 second mark)


texts: Baking at a lower temperature than the recipe calls for

texts: The recipe calls for 350 degrees for 10 minutes, yet my oven only goes up to 260 degrees. How long should the cake stay in the oven?


texts: How long / to what temperature should I let meat rest?

texts:
It has been made abundantly clear to me that I should let meat rest after it has been cooked.

Once the meat is resting should I time the duration of the rest or measure the temperature of the cooling meat? And why?


texts: My yeast recipies seem to harden somewhat after baking

texts: I am using a kichen Aid dough hook machine. I made some great cinnamon rolls, but after they cool they become somewhat hard to the touch. I can reheat in the microwave for about 15 seconds and they become perfectly soft as they should be. Am I missing something in the preparation?


texts: Juice Concentrate Manufacturing and Process?

texts: I was doing some research into juice production, some of the companies have suppliers who make the juice concentrates and these are used to make juice..What exactly do these concentrates contain apart as preservatives,what are the methods of transportation ? etc..What additional stuff and artificial stuff do juice companies add. Any insights?


texts: What is the "porky" taste in certain types of pork?

texts:
I recently made a simple pasta dish with minced pork and I noticed that the taste was very "porky" or I think some people call it "gamey," and I found it quite unpleasant.

I rarely cook with pork mince, so this surprised me. I'm used to pork flavours from dishes with cuts like tenderloin, or the classic loin porkchops (cuts which don't tend to have a lot of thick fat, or are not super close to skin). These usually have that funky smell when cooking (frying in a pan) that I'm used to, but the minced meat retained a lot of that unpleasant flavour. It's a little difficult to find words to describe it.

I read up about lamb potentially tasting "gamey" from ChefSteps (due to oxidising), and they solved this by introducing a lot of antioxidants - mustard powder, black pepper, salt. Could this be related?

Is there a word for this? Is it porky, gamey, etc?

How would I go on about preventing this porky flavour? Is it possible with things like minced pork meat?


texts: What's the best way to crack open a Brazil nut without breaking the nut?

texts:
How does one crack open a Brazil nut in order to get the whole nut? When I go to the store I can get entire nut meats. Unfortunately, with whole nuts, it's a pain.

I've used the nutcracker longitudinally and horizontally and/or both, but the nut never comes out whole.


texts: Storing/transporting nut brittle in tins

texts: I made different types molasses nut brittle for the first time tonight to give as holidays gifts. I'm going to put a little of each type in small round holiday tins that I found at a craft store. I plan on putting the tins in my check-on bag when I catch my flight. However, I'm not sure how I should package them for this! Should I wrap the contents (if so, with what?), and how can I make sure the tins stay closed during the flight? I haven't packaged using tins before so I wanted to hear your thoughts.


texts: What effect does rinsing have on blueberries?

texts: If I rinse fresh blueberries before I eat them, does that wash off the antioxidants?  Why would washing blueberries before freezing them cause tougher-skinned berries?


texts: what is the appropriate cook time for cumin before it turns into a smoky flavor?

texts: I am cooking a salsa that requires cumin in a large industrial kettle.  It takes at least 2 hours to cook it down.  When cooled off, it has a smoky flavor.  So far, I don't want to use a substitution.  I have thought about adding the cumin in for the last 30 minutes to see if it wouldn't cause the smoky flavor.  Can someone tell me if there is an appropriate cook time for cumin before it turns smoky?


texts: What causes butter to "hiss" in the frying pan until I shake it?

texts: When frying an egg, I drop about a tablespoon of room temperature butter in the frying pan and turn it on medium flame. As it's melting, it starts to make a hissing sound, and bubbles a bit. Then, I take the pan and give it a shake, spreading the butter around the pan - and the hissing stops, even after putting the pan back on the heat. What's going on?


texts: What is the shelf life of a garlic bulb, with the "skin" still on, left in the fridge?

texts: I purchased a head of garlic and I have 2/3's of it left over, I am storing it in the fridge in a ceramic covered dish (made specifically for garlic :) a gift from my mother) and I would like to know how long I can continue to expect fresh flavor from it. What would the garlic look like if it had indeed spoiled?


texts: How can I make macarons with "feet" in my oven at home?

texts:
I've tried many macaron recipes, and all have tasted very good.  The problem is they always end up as a meringue, or looking like cookies.  They usually don't have the "feet" that macarons are known for.  My success rate on every recipe I've tried is about 1 in 6.

Does anyone known what my mistakes are or know a recipe that easily makes macarons with "feet"?


texts: I’d like to make truffles with brownie crumbs and ganache and freeze the balls to be rolled in cocoa powder or nuts when thawed.  Has anyone done this?


texts: I’m hosting a party at our home in a couple weeks, cocktails and appetizers. I have a recipe I like for little meatballs in puff pastry. I was wondering if I can bake them all ahead of time and keep them in the warming drawer or oven or if I should bake each batch fresh.


texts: Advice on time for cooking potatoes au gratin?

texts:
So, I was following a recipe in an Amish cookbook that was pretty minimal on details:

  Baked Pork Chops

  Put a layer of thinly sliced potatoes
  into a baking dish, and cover them
  with shredded onions, salt and pepper.
  Lay over this as many pork chops as
  needed, seasoned well on both sides.
  Add enough milk to moisten the
  ingredients, then bake them at 400°
  until done.

(note, the rest of the most of the other recipes have ingredient amounts, baking time, etc ... but this is kinda like one of those assembled church / military wives club / etc cookbooks where there's lots of different recipes and some are of a different style)

Now, I admit, I didn't realize until after the pork was cooked that I had set the oven to 350°F and not 400°F ... but as I had remembered problems in the past with cooking potato au gratin before, and it taking a really long time, I opted to use two dishes, so the layered potatoes weren't more than 2 cm (~3/4 inch) thick, and the second dish was au gratin, without the pork, and with cheese added between layers.  (I broke out the mandolin, and had maybe 1mm thick slices).

Now, it might've been that because I cut the potatoes so thin that testing for doneness with a knife just didn't work ... so I went and looked up recipes online to see if I could find a pattern between time/temperature/thickness of the potato slices/thickness of the assembled layer ... and I'm at a loss, as there are a lot of recipes that don't even mention what size baking dish to use, so they'd end up with different layered thicknesses, and some don't mention the thicknes of the slices to use.

Is there some formula to use?  If there isn't, and I just have to go by sticking a knife in it 'til it comes out easily (or is that a bad test?), are there any tips so it doesn't take almost 2 hrs to cook?


texts: Why doesn't oil burn and produce smoke at restaurants?

texts:
At home when you want to deep-fry something, if you leave the heat on for a minute or two more than you should have, the oil starts to burn and produce smoke.

Why doesn't this happen at restaurants and takeaways (UK)? Is it the specialised equipment they use? Or is there more to it? I doubt they turn off the heat on their deep fryers when not in use, cause if someone walks in and orders something that needs deep-frying, it'll take a long time for the oil to get to frying temperatures again!

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
So I ran across a recipe for “crock pot hot chocolate”.

For those of you who are curious it is:

1.5 cups of heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups of vanilla chocolate chips
6 cups of milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

I don’t have a crock pot so I did this in a spaghetti pot. The only thing I did differently is that I used a smaller saucepan to melt the chocolate chips, using the sweetened condensed milk to hydrate it. This just made things easier. Afterwards I simply stirred and waited for it to get to about 70 degrees Celsius.

I was careful to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan as I stirred, although mostly during the beginning part when the chocolate was just added in. Later on I would leave it alone for maybe about a minute at a time but I would immediately stir to get rid of the film that had formed.

The hot chocolate was fantastic! Like a HUGE hit! However I am worried very much about something. There was this smell that I noticed occasionally while cooking. I had assumed it was just something on the burners, maybe even something from the recipe.

However, later on I let the remaining drink cool and was pouring it down the garbage disposal and the smell was back. It was really bad and very strong. I have no clue why! A friend had earlier smelled the chocolate after it was cooling and said he noticed the same thing.

What was the smell from? Do any of the ingredients I use smell particularly noticeable when burnt? Can burning a small amount account for the strong smell that was produced when the remainder was poured into the drain?

I really wish I could describe the smell but I really can't relate it to anything. It certainly wasn’t a rotten smell but it was bad and very strong.


texts: What method for advance prep of seitan prevents deterioration of texture and preserves flavor while protecting from spoilage?

texts:
Tonight, I am hoping to cook up three to four loaves of seitan for final prep three days from now. My intent is to form the dough, simmer in stock or steam, and then refrigerate. In three days I hope to use the seitan to make sandwiches after bringing up to temp while smoking on the grill and then slicing.

I have seen storage options including freezing, refrigerating wrapped in cling wrap, refrigerating while submersed in the simmering liquid, and a few variations in between. Three days is long enough that I would be concerned about spoilage, as well as picking up stray odors (I will be doing a bunch of bulk cooking of different foods). It is at once short enough that I don't think the texture would necessarily be compromised, but definitely see it as possible if stored in liquid. Likewise, flavor will last fine, but if it is in a simmering liquid, that is soy based, I am concerned it would leech every drop of saltiness and end up as some decaying, more-spongiform-than-usual, briny bread.

So I am looking for three possible things and the benefits/drawbacks of any methods;

What advance cooking method will work for a batch that will be reheated by smoking (low heat for about an hour or two)?
What storage method will preserve texture, maintain flavor, and lock out nasties?
What steps can I take when re-heating to preserve all of the above effort?

Essentially, what is the prep/storage/plate combo that will save me from turning a few pounds of simmered vital wheat gluten into cloudy clods?


texts: Chilli con carne - chocolate, cocoa powder or nothing?

texts: I am about to prepare chilli con carne. I have found more recipes than I would even like. I have quite an idea what ingredients and spices to put in. The last question is whether to use chocolate, cocoa powder or nothing. How do mexicans cook chilli con carne?


texts: I've never seen a mold that would shape them - any tips?


texts: Can someone explain this nutrition label to me?

texts: The math on the carbohydrates section doesn’t seem to add up... how to decipher this section of the label?


texts:
I've been making my own yogurt for a while – 1-2 quarts of whole milk, 12 hours cooked, into 1-2 pints after straining it all day. A few batches ago I started saving the whey. Today I tried to make ricotta from it: I heated the whey (one big pickle jar, probably about 24oz but I didn't measure, plus the extra whey from today's one-quart batch). Heated it on the stove to 195 F, added vinegar, stirred it, left it for a while, no visible curdling happened. Poured it through a strainer with a lot of layers of cheesecloth on it, the liquid that came through was about as cloudy as it was at the start and there were no curds I could see.

Any idea?


texts: im doing kimchi but no rice wine available

texts: I made kimchi at home.and I can't find that sour taste and smell as it ferments.maybe because rice wine is not available.can I use the regular vinegar or apple cider?


texts: When making fried rice, how does the amount of heat affect the taste of the food?

texts:
This answer talks about the amount of heat required for cooking fried rice which tastes similar to restaurants.

I want to understand the science behind it. Please explain.


texts:
So on my second day, my sourdough starter split pretty big and I'm wondering if this is expected behaviour. This is 30/30gr water/fullwheat flour from the first and second day. Here is a picture of the result: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_9zXCYnMBMlNXhTOU1vQk9yMjQ/view?usp=docslist_api

It smells really sour, beyond vinegary. Any opinions or tips?


texts:
I'm talking about what makes a good piece of meat for a steak.

not how to cook it.

What type of cut? Thickness? dry aged? to marinate or not? seasoning?

I've always been partial to a Ribeye (high fat content), cut to a minimum of 1.5 inches to achieve a nice crispy (more brown then grey) outside with a red interior.

lots of pepper, little salt.


texts: Does saturated fat result in crispier fried food?

texts: I was watching this video of Kenji making Kung Pao chicken, in which he claims that frying in saturated fat results in crispier food. Is there any truth to this? I found this page stating saturated fats resolidify after frying, which results in the food being less oily tasting, but I am not sure how that translates to the food seeming/being more crisp.


texts: How to balance the spiciness in any kind of dishes

texts: My question is about the spiciness of any kind of dish. I am having trouble balancing the spiciness in food. Sometime salt becomes sharp, and sometimes peppers are too sharp.


texts: What are the natural and artificial sugars?

texts:
I try to be careful to avoid hydrogenation and artificial sugars when I buy food products.  Hydrogenation seems easy - if it mentions hydrogenation in the ingredients list, I avoid it.  I feel more confused by sugars.

So, for example, sugar and honey I feel comfortable with.  Corn syrup I feel comfortable with.  High fructose corn syrup and aspartame I avoid.

The problem is that there are so many sugars that I have trouble keeping them straight.  Sucrose, glucose, maltodextrine - those are chemical names, to be sure, but to my knowledge they are "natural" in the sense that they are naturally derived.  I think.

Can someone post a list of the various sugars that we see in ingredient lists - or that we have the option to use as ingredients in the foods we make - with an explanation of whether they are natural or not?  Or to what degree they are not natural?

Now, I understand that "natural" means different things to different people, so I expect some qualification will be needed for at least some ingredients.  Also, to narrow the focus of the question and the resulting answers, let's keep this focused on the list and short description of the various sugars as opposed to the broader discussion concerning whether artificial sweeteners are bad for you or not.

Update

I guess this isn't a very popular question.  Perhaps people who care about this as I do generally understand the ingredient lists better?

So today I ran into an example of what I'm describing above. I noticed polydextrose in an ingredient list.  What I would have liked to do is come back to this question and look at an answer to this post that has that ingredient as artificial or natural with a brief description of it.  However, this isn't in the incomplete list of artificial sweeteners posted in the answer by TFD (I don't mean for this to be offensive - at least you answered with something, which I appreciate).  Not being a dietician, I looked it up and it looks pretty artificial to me.

Is there someone out there who is passionate about this stuff who could post such a list for the rest of us?


texts: How do different techniques impact sourdough bread?

texts:
I have recently started baking sourdough bread (with a 100% hydration starter).

My current method is:

Take starter from the fridge, feed, wait a couple of hours.
Add flour and water (approx 70% hydration), wait a couple of hours.
Scatter through salt.
"Turn" dough every 30 minutes for a couple of hours.
Rise for a few hours until double.
Gently shape and rise for one more hour.
Bake in dutch oven.

I am getting good results, with rise, and a lovely, chewy texture... however I want to branch out, and am struggling with deciphering the mass of information on the internet!

So my questions are:

To knead or not to knead?  I've heard people claim that kneading impacts flavour, then others claim it's the only way to get the highest rise.
Similarly, what impact does punching down the bread after the first prove have?
I currently do a short autolysis, long first prove, short second prove - how will it impact my end product if I change these up?
Some places have suggested that the long rise should result in the dough tripling in size. When I tried that, the finished loaf was more flat than normal: over-proved?
If I went to 60% hydration, or 80%, what impact would it have on the finished loaf, and what would I need to adapt in the recipe?
When using my banneton, should I place the bread onto the linen, or the wicker directly?
How would adding sugar impact my loaf?
Are the any other techniques for adapting sourdough loaves?

My reason for asking, is that I want to start experimenting with shaping (hence different hydrations), and with different textures (i.e. soft vs chewy internal loaf).


texts: Cooking with papaya seeds - what does heating them do?

texts:
I've got a bunch of papaya seeds left over from a ripe fresh papaya and I'm trying to work out what I can do with them.

Pic from Livestrong

Researching this comes up with precisely two types of page:

Hundreds of dubious articles claiming miraculous health benefits (I'm skeptical, but good to know they're edible)
Hundreds of recipes for salad dressing, based on putting them cold in vinegar. I'm not especially interested in salad dressing, but if the vinegar does anything interesting to the seeds that could be used in other ways, that would be good to know about

What effect if any does cooking them have? Are they edible cooked? Are there any particular ways of heating them or ingredients to cook them with that bring out or modify their flavour in any notable way?

Cold, they're kinda tangy, sharp, bitter, not unlike peppercorns but more bitter and maybe slightly citrus-y. They seem to get more bitter the longer they're off the fruit - after two days in the fridge my stash became obscenely bitter, just one seed and I could still taste the bitterness 5 minutes later.

Or any other methods of preparation? Does steeping in vinegar do anything interesting? Or any other liquids? Crushing, freezing? Anything?


texts: Can couverture chocolate be substituted with other ingredients?

texts:
I have a brownie recipe that calls for couverture chocolate to be used. Unfortunately it is getting difficult (and expensive) to obtain this chocolate.

Is there a way to get the same effect using other ingredients?


texts: Can anybody help make homemade pasta foolproof?

texts:
I can't even count the number of times that I have followed recipes for pasta using a food processor, only to discover that no matter the care I took with the measurements, my dough was just a bit too dry (add water). Now it's too wet, (add flour). Aargghh, I could have traveled to Italy by now! I'd like to use my food processor, but this is starting to make me nuts.

Can anyone help?


texts: How do you make already prepared sauce less spicy? I must have used too many hot chili peppers or cooked them too long. Is there something to off set it from being so hot? The sauce is for General Tso's Chicken


texts: Why do chefs in cooking shows not always seem to do things the "right" way?

texts:
I've read some books about the science behind cooking, and I've watched videos of chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver on YouTube. It seems like those famous chefs don't always do things the way I'd expect based on the books.

For example, books mention that for better browning of meat, you should dry the outer layer of your meat with paper towels. When I watch those videos, they never dry with paper towels the outer layer of the meat, but they apparently still get great results. Similarly, books say that adding salt to a bowl of mixed eggs helps them retain more moisture, while Gordon explicitly says you shouldn't salt your eggs because it breaks the yolk's formation and make it lose water.

Why might these kinds of discrepancies happen? Is it possible to get good results without doing everything exactly right, are celebrity chefs just not actually cooking well, or am I missing something?


texts: I am cooking two fresh ham roasts at once for a large crowd.  The instructions are for minutes per pound.  Do I add my roasts for total pounds or figure for one?


texts: How do you make homemade sausage without meat grinder/sausage stuffer?

texts:
I have no desire to spend hundreds of dollars on this specialized equipment to make sausage, which I may only use a few times a year.     There must be some other alternatives!

edit: no Kitchen Aid mixer (yes I know it makes this even more difficult)


texts: I accidentally added butter into flour/cocoa powder/baking soda without beating first

texts:
I am making cookies and accidentally added my butter directly into my dry ingredients. Now I have chunks of butter and dough that is basically powder.

Is there any way to salvage this even if the cookies don't come out perfectly?


texts: Ideal Coffee Grind for dough-like recipes

texts:
Is there an ideal coffee grind for culinary (i.e. actual food, not beverages) use, particularly in dough? More particularly, when the coffee is the main ingredient (in matters of flavor)?

What effect, if any, does the kind of grind have on a solid recipe taking ground coffee?

This question appeared to me from a recipe of my own, which is Coffee Cookies (essentially a typical chocolate chip cookie, with cocoa, ground coffee, less flour and dark chocolate chips), in case it implies a more specific answer.


texts: How much tea is ideal out of one tea bag?

texts:
My mother regularly uses 1 tea bag for two cups or 2 tea bags for a teapot. I've read on several sites that one tea bag is ideal for one cup.

So, how much should I get from a tea bag?

Also, is the steeping time different if I was trying to get more tea out of the same tea bag? Some say that steeping it longer gets more flavour out of the bag. Somewhat more formal research suggests that releases the bitter parts and makes the tea bitter rather than thicker.

I know you shouldn't reuse coffee beans when making an espresso, but does this apply to tea as well?


texts: Is there an edible, vegetarian substitute for sausage casings?

texts:
My research(basically wikipedia) shows that natural sausage casing is made from a layer from the intestines of animals such as sheep and cows. The alternative to natural casings are artificial casings. The most common edible kind is the collagen casing, typically made from animal hides. This isn't vegetarian either. The remaining kinds, cellulose and plastic, aren't edible and are usually removed to form skinless franks.

Are there alternatives in the market? Is it possible to produce a substitute casing at home using skins from vegetables or fruits(like the peeled off skin of an apple, given that it can be reshaped)?

I all do honesty, I'm not even sure what properties a proper sausage casing should exhibit. I don't know if they should be water proof or how  they should react to heat.

Edit
I didn't take into account that different properties in the sausage casing are desired based on the cooking method. I prefer a sausage casing that I could par-cook/poach franks in. I was looking to adapting a recipe for beef franks to use lamb instead as well as attempting to create a vegetarian mix to see if I could make a reasonable facsimile to a real hotdog.

I don't want this question to be localized, so I'll leave my specific reasons for wanting a vegetarian casing aside, however it would be useful to those who have dietary certain restrictions (like only eating halal meats or if one in a vegetarian or vegan) to make sausages at home instead of purchasing them in stores.


texts: What is the standard ratio of sugar to cream in Crème Chantilly?

texts:
How many grams of sugar should I use for 250 mL of heavy cream to sweeten it?

Some recipes omit sugar entirely, so the lower bound appears to be zero at least for some uses, but what is the upper bound before it becomes overly sweet? Does this depend on what I'm using the crème Chantilly for?


texts: Can food be boiled "extra fast/hard" in water?

texts:
Once water is boiling you can either leave the heat on quite high, or turn it down a bit so that it just keeps boiling. Apart from extra water vaporating, does this have any effect on the taste of food you're boiling (meat, vegetables, eggs, etc.)?

With just common sense we could get to the following reasoning:

The liquid water is max 100°C (right?), beyond that it should vaporize (right?)
Water vapor could be hotter than 100°C (but how much, in normal cooking conditions?)
When boiling water, the vapor originates at the bottom of the pan
So technically the foot could be "hit" by this vapor, thus being heated above 100°C

Even if the above reasoning is correct, the questions would still be: would it matter how much you heat boiling water beyond 100°C? Can you significantly change the taste of boiled food by "boiling it really hard" or "boiling it slowly"?


texts: How can I make my Hot chocolate thicker?

texts: I've been trying to make a thicker hot chocolate and I'm not sure what to add without taking away from the flavor of the chocolate. Usually what I do is boil the milk, and then I add chocolate baking powder and shaved chocolate.


texts: Are limes and lime juice more acidic than lemons and lemon juice?

texts:
I attended a business meeting in the Midwest and one of our clients took our management team and a few other business partners to dinner at an awesome Mexican restaurant. When the appetizers were served I commented that it was a wonderful presentation and that everything looked very fresh, including the avocado slices.

Speaking to the woman seated across from me I said that even though I use a good amount of lemon juice, whenever I prepare avocados they still turned dark pretty quickly. This happens whether they are sliced, used in guacamole, etc. She responded that the secret is to use lime juice. She proceeded to tell me that she was born and raised in Central America and that it is customary there to use fresh limes or juice rather than lemon.

I have tried it and lime seems to work much better than lemon, so it would stand to reason that they are more acidic. However, I never thought there was that much difference. So, on to the questions.

Are limes more acidic than lemons? Are there any other differences in their properties that could make a difference?


texts: Are there home bread machines that can make baguettes or boules?

texts: The bread machines I have used create a cube-shaped loaf with a hole in one end. Are there home bread machines that can make bread in other shapes, such as a long baguette or round boule shape, without the added steps of manually removing, shaping, and baking the bread?


texts:
If you order green tea in Thailand you get a long drink in a plastic cup that resembles a sweet, frozen shake. (Then you can put the cup in a plastic bag, hang it on the steering rod of your motorbike, drive around and sip it with a thick straw on hot days.)

The Thai green tea is very different from Japanese and Chinese (usually hot) green tea. The Thai drink is light green and completely opaque.

I read that Thais use "green tea powder", condensed milk, "oriental spices", crushed ice and more to produce this shake.

When I drink this I remember having been served "similar" in Japan. Opaque, green tea in small clay cups. Much more filled with "small particles" than is "normal" tea.  It was hot and not sweet, at least as I remember.

When I Google I just find entries like Oolong tea which is not what I am looking for. Oolong tea is clear and more resembles traditional tea.

My question mostly relates to what I have had in Japan. What is this brew that is green but differs very much from "normal" green tea by being opaque?


texts: Lining a frying pan with aluminum foil to reduce post-cooking cleanup?

texts:
I make a lot of stir fry in my frying pan, and I hate cleaning it up. Often, if I do not clean the pan immediately, the stir fry residue (little pieces I have failed to scooped out when moving the food from pan to plate) sticks to the bottom, and I need to soak the pan for a while before I can wash it.

Is there any danger/argument against lining the inside of the pan with aluminum foil, and cooking the stir fry on top of that foil? That way I would not have to clean the pan after removing my food -- I could just take off the foil and throw it out.


texts: inside dimension for homemade digestive cookie mold

texts:
I'm interested in modeling and 3D printing a digestive cookie mold in metal. I plan to model some text into the press itself, so that the cookie's all have a consistent wordmark after baking. Since I have never baked these before, I don't know how thick they should be before baking (ie how deep the mold should be) and I'm thinking if I make the letterforms too thin, the text won't be readable in the event that the batter swells up when baked and fills in the gaps.

Do any of you seasoned bakers have any suggestions for how deep the press needs to be, and how best to model the letterforms? Thank you!


texts: What is the right temperature for deep-frying?

texts:
I want to know what is the right temperature for deep-frying, for:
Schnitzels
French-fries
Crockets
and Onions.

I want to know the lowest temp for the right frying, because I want to keep the oil as much as I can.


texts:
My wife and I enjoy drip coffee, french pressed coffee, espresso, black tea, green tea, and just about anything caffeinated.

However, my wife wants to avoid caffeine due to its physiological effects.
Unfortunately, in her words, decaf espresso "tastes horrible," and I agree.  I have similar feelings against decaf black tea.

Is there anything with a bitter flavor similar to caffeine that could add some of the punch back to decaffeinated coffee or tea?


texts:
The black tea is sold in a crumbled form. I am yet to see a brand, where I live, selling black tea as whole leaves.

I want to know why is that so? Does crumbled leaves have effect on taste which whole leaves don't have?

This issue is only with the black tea, not with the green tea.

What's the deal here?


texts: Frozen Octopus or fresh Octopus for recipes?

texts:
Yeah, I wonder with grilled, fried, steamed, salad recipe, which is better?

Frozen Octopus or fresh Octopus

Can you compare Frozen Octopus and fresh Octopus, which recipes for which?
Thank you so much, sorry for my bad english.


texts:
I bought a few boxes of Phyllo (Fillo) that is described as Horiatiko / Country Style - Extra-Thick #10. Extra-thick is definitely relative; it is probably twice as thick as normal phyllo but still paper-thin. The first thing I did with it was to make a spinach/manouri/feta filling seasoned with ras al hanout, brushed the phyllo with butter, rolled them up and baked til golden. It was good, but not nearly as flaky as normal phyllo.

So my questions are (1) is there something I should be doing to have it come out flakier or is that just how the country-style is? (2) are there particular applications where the country-style is considered preferable?


texts: Settling Up the Dispute over Poached Egg's Definition

texts:
Fact: You can poach an egg without acid, although adding a tiny bit helps a lot with the egg white to set easier.
Current situation: My friend (a culinary graduate) 'poached' an egg without vinegar and he called it between boiled and poached but it's neither of them because there's no acid component. I (not a culinary graduate) told him that it's still a poached egg because of the action rather than the additional ingredient, in this case. He insisted that without acid that creates the ideal texture, it can't be called poached. He also told me to read culinary book (which I tried to look up on google but apparently they gave me recipes instead).
Additional Knowledge: According to online dictionaries, 'poach' is defined as

to cook in simmering liquid. 1 2

Since my friend told me to read culinary book, I assume there is an origin or culinary-based theory/definition about poached egg, which I don't know anything about.
Question: If I boil an egg out of its shell without acid, is it still called 'poached' egg, or is it simply a shell-less boiled egg?


texts:
I have seen some pretty well done decorations, but these ones by a chick named "Christine McConnell" really take the cake.

So I was wondering firstly how one does such fine details and secondly how does one even name them? All my attempts to scour the web for "master decorations" or similar were met with complete failure.


texts: What is the New Zealand white sponge cake, is it a white cake here in the U.S?

texts: My friend is from New Zealand and us asking for a white sponge cake. Is that the same as a white cake in the U.S.? or does she really mean sponge cake?


texts: If I put thinly sliced raw pumpkin between two pie crusts, will the filling be cooked enough by the time the crust is golden?


texts: Hot tea with lemon juice and fat free milk: how to prevent curdling?

texts: So I know it may sound a bit weird, but I like milky tea with some lemon juice added. I pop a teabag into the mug, fill it about 2/3 with boiling water, let seep a bit, remove teabag, add some freshly-squeezed lemon, then slowly add cold fat-free milk (and add stevia for sweetness). How can I make myself a cuppa without the milk curdling?


texts: Thai beef meatballs, how to get chewy texture and how corn flour and baking powder function in recipe?

texts:
I have attempted to make thai beef meat balls for about 10 times now and failed almost everytime. Thai beef meat balls need to be stretchy and have a chewy texture when finished.

I have tried mince with no fat, mince with 10% fat, high quality mince with no fat, still cannot get the right finished texture like the one in this video: Thai Beef Meatball Recipe

So I was wondering, what does cornflour and baking power do to the mince?
Why is it so necessary to have the mixed mince very cold before shaping it into a hot water?

I have followed exactly what the above video says and still cannot get it right.


texts: White efflorescence on home-dried prunes

texts:
After a year or so of storage in ZipLoc bags in the fridge, my home-dried prunes have developed a bit of whitish crust. At first I thought it was mold, but it seems like a crystalline efflorescence, and doesn't smell or taste bad. The prunes seem normal and taste fine.

The prunes, freshly picked from my tree, weren't pre-treated before drying, but after drying were lightly sprayed with a solution of potassium sorbate (mold inhibitor) at the recommended strength.

My current hypothesis is that this is sugar that has migrated out of the fruit and recrystallized on the surface, but I have no idea if this is right.

Thoughts?


texts: How to make butter and sugar mixture into a breadcrumb consistency?

texts: I've been following a recipe for cinnamon biscuits which states to mix butter and sugar together until it forms a breadcrumb like consistency. Every time I attempt this is makes more of a creamy like consistency. I don't have a food processor which I've heard is ideal to use as they are quite expensive. Can someone tell me where I am going wrong?


texts: Baking in a salt crust: What type of fish?

texts:
I am looking to bake a whole pollock (Pollachius pollachius or lieu jaune) in a salt crust. I have done this several times before with a sea bass/branzino or with a (gilt-head) sea bream and was always very happy with the result.
For some reason however, I don't think I have ever come across a similar recipe for pollock and I have been wondering if there is a reason for that. Is the salt crust baking technique appropriate for some fish in particular and which ones? Is there a reason not to try it with pollock?


texts: Freezing bread baked from frozen yeast bread dough

texts: If I prepare yeast bread dough, freeze it after the 1st rising and shaping, then thaw it and let it rise again before baking, can I then freeze the cooked bread for later use?  Or will it have less flavour?


texts:
This recipe states:

  Heat the oven to broil and arrange a rack in the middle.

Then later:

  Broil the salmon on the baking sheet ... about 10 to 12 minutes.

I don't understand what this means. What does "heat the oven to broil" mean? It definitely seems to be talking about putting it in the oven, since it also says "arrange a rack in the middle". And then it goes on to say "broil the salmon".

But if it calls for broiled salmon, why wouldn't I just put it in the broiler (broiler is underneath my oven)?

My oven goes up to 500F, I don't know what temperature "broil" means or how to heat the oven to that temperature, and I'm also confused because how can you "broil" something on the middle rack of an oven, especially a conventional oven, and with only a heating element on the bottom instead of the top?

I can't make sense of what this recipe is calling for if it's not putting the salmon in the actual broiler.


texts:
I made some habanero salsa last night for the first time (my god, was it delicious) and took care to clean everything that was used.  I figured I was good when I had no problems taking my contacts out afterwards.  So, fast forward to this morning.  The slap chop was still out to dry (stop having a boring pepper, stop having a boring life!) so I put it all away aand then found out the hard way when I went to put my contacts in that I did not in fact clean the tools well enough.

So, I've now got a slap chop, 2 knives and a cutting board which all need to be cleaned of the oils.  What's the best way to do this?  I can throw them all into the dishwasher at once if needed, none of the plastics should melt.


texts: How do I save curry with too much cumin?

texts: I think I may have added too much cumin in my curry sauce last night and it has this dry seasoning taste in every bite.  It may have soaked into the veggies as well... Is there a way to save the curry that is left? An ingredient or something to balance it out?


texts: What are some good ways to Roast Peppers

texts: I'm looking for a safe method to remove the skin.


texts: What are the breads with big holes and small holes called?

texts:
What keywords should I search in Google or look for in recipe books when I need to bake a bread with big holes like this:

For smaller holed breads is the name "sandwich bread" sufficient for searching Google?

How to know by reading the recipe whether the resultant bread will be big holed or small holed?


texts: How acidic does a mixture have to be for milk to curdle?

texts:
I am planning on making sausages with both cream and vinegar as ingredients. I suspect the mixture of all the ingredients with the vinegar won't be acidic enough to cause the cream to curdle, but this has raised a question: how acidic does a mixture have to be for milk to curdle?

Certainly if I drop milk into 100% vinegar the milk will curdle. But what if only 20% of a mixture is vinegar? 10%? 2%?


texts:
I am going to an Italian restaurant and trying to educate myself a bit about the food before going. I own the oxford companion to Italian food, but it says nothing about the term "spuntini" which is a category of food listed on the menu. Given that spuntini means snack (of some sort) and given that I don't see appetizers listed anywhere on the menu, I wondered if spuntini meant appetizer.

Does spuntini mean appetizer? If not, what does it mean? If so, why doesn't this show up when I google spuntini and appetizer at the same time?


texts: In what kind of recipes can I substitute stock for water?

texts: I imagine I could use turkey stock instead of water when cooking a box of couscous, but that boiling pasta in stock wouldn't work so well.  In what kinds of preparations could I use stock instead of water?  Could I use a 1-1 substitution?  (I've got a ton of turkey stock in the freezer, and I'm looking for ways to use it.)


texts: Ingredient selection for Canadian Poutine dish

texts:
Poutine is a simple dish from Québec, Canada. It is traditionally made with French fries, topped with fresh mild white cheddar curds (quite unlike American white cheddar which is quite sharp) and with a tangy and salty brown gravy poured on top of it all. It looks something like this:

It's easy to make when you like up in Québec, as the gravy can be purchased in any grocery store. But I live in the USA now, and there is no such thing as poutine gravy here. For the cheese I use Monterey Jack cheese, which is close enough. I've tried to whip up my own gravy multiple times, but it's never been quite right. Here is how I usually go about it:

Start with chicken stock.
Thicken with flour or starch.
Add some pepper, salt (if needed, usually it's pretty salty already).
Add something for tang, like a bit of barbecue sauce or ketchup.
Maybe throw in a few spices, like garlic or onion powder.

I was just wondering if anyone has ideas to make this more palatable, e.g., other ingredients, or any cooking suggestion.


texts: Why does garam masala powder taste bland?

texts:
Garam masala is meant to taste sweet.  However the powder I use doesnt taste sweet it tastes bland.  I imagine this is because the powder has oxidised over time.  Is oxidation really that bad that it can turn something like garam masala from sweet into bland and so is the only way to get around this to use fresh ingredients?

Additionaly is it the case that even fresh garam masala isnt really tasty but bland, and so you in order to get any real taste chilli or other sweeteners such as paprika, black pepper etc need to be used?


texts: Would a fruit cocktail flavoured cake work?

texts:
I am baking a Cinderella Princes cake for my daughter's first birthday party. I have now had the crazy idea of having a rainbow cake under the skirt of the dress.

Not only this, but I had another crazy idea of making each layer of the rainbow cake taste fruity, in the thought that it would make a fruit cocktail taste.

e.g.

Red = Strawberry
Orange = Orange
Green = Kiwi
Yellow = Lemon
Blue = Blueberry
Purple = Blackberry maybe?

Would this fruit flavour combination work? Do you know of any similar cakes?


texts:
I bought some tortellini with meat at a local mall.

The problem is I didn't buy prepackaged, but just some 200g out of a big bin, at a stand where you just load as much as you need, and get the barcode with the right weight printed - so the simple "follow directions on the package" (as advised by all recipes involving such tortellini when searching for the answer online) doesn't really help.

How do I prepare such tortellini for eating - boiling time? Drop into hot water or bring to boil with water? Add salt to water or salt later? Anything else to remember?


texts: Is there some kind of milk-free sour cream available, to use as substitute due to an allergy?


texts: Why are my cookies undercooked in commercial oven?

texts:
I have recently started using a commercial kitchen to make chocolate chip cookies (and other similar types of cookies). The kitchen has a Blodgett double deck convection oven. The problem is even if the cookie looks done on the outside, the inside is undercooked and gooey. I am able to bake in my home oven on a convection setting at 325 degrees F. When I tested that in the commercial kitchen, the cookies were basically raw inside.
I've tried different temperatures all the way from 200 degrees to 325 and I still don't get cookies that are good in the middle. I'm not sure what to do at this point...should I let them cool for longer? The sheet is cool before I remove a cookie.


texts:
Lately I've been making a lot of chocolate truffles. The problem is, if you put them in a plastic box and drive them somewhere, they rattle around in the car, and end up dented and scratched. How can I prevent this?

Obviously the way the professionals do this (i.e., if you buy a box of chocolates) is to put them into a custom-shaped plastic tray which exactly matches the shape and dimensions of the individual confections.

Now I could buy a box of chocolates and keep the box, but I rather doubt that my home-made sweets would just happen to fit in the same tray. (Their size and shape tends to be rather random.)

Any better suggestions?


texts: Can you substitute honey for sugar in a pickling brine?

texts: That's about it. I want to make some vinegar pickles (from the Momofuku cookbook, if it matters). My partner is on a diet that forbids refined sugar but allows honey. Will honey work for this purpose?


texts:
so this yet another attempt of mine to start cooking and yet again I'm frustrated by the perverse need of every single recipe to include onions. I hate onions, their flavour, their texture etc. and I can even taste it in soups. So my question is, if I leave onions out of the picture entirely, will the recipe still come together or do I absolutely need to come up with a substitute for them?

Thank you!


texts: Will chocolate eggs inside a cupcake melt when baked in the oven?

texts:
Easter is coming and I was interested in baking some cupcakes with a solid/praline-filled chocolate surprise inside. Please refer to the image below. Little side note: I will put smaller chocolate eggs inside and don't want them to be visible, they will be totally covered by cupcake batter, as opposed to being as you see them in the image.

I was wondering: if you put chocolate eggs inside the cupcake dough and let it bake in the oven, will they melt? And how badly?

If it's possible to avoid melting, how? Do I need to freeze the eggs first? Will any kind of chocolate egg do? (I was planning on solid/praline-filled eggs.)

I was hoping for some advice how to have a bit of a chocolate egg surprise in my cupcakes, instead of some melted chocolate 'cream'.


texts:
I want to improve my cooking skills and have considered following a number of books that call themselves cookery courses (e.g. Delia's complete cookery course, Ballymaloe cookery course).

Can I really learn to cook from a book or should I consider taking a cookery course?


texts: Israeli restaurant-style falafel and hummus, how do to make?

texts:
How is authentic Israeli restaurant-style falafel and hummus made?

Is there any secret?

Thanks in advance!


texts:
Every year around this time I try to make pumpkin pie. We don't have that many varieties around here so I use a fresh butternut squash that I bake and then puree. However, if the cooked squash is sweet and aromatic, when combined with the other ingredients for a pie, it loses that aroma and turns very bland. Or one of the spices overshadows the whole taste. I have tried a few different pumpkin pie recipes but they all turn out the same. A big disadvantage for me is that I haven't eaten a proper pumpkin pie (because where I live it's not very traditional), so I don't have anything to compare it with.

I would like to know if you had stumbled across similar issues when you made your pies and know how to correct them, or if that's just the way pumpkin pie should taste. I would expect it to taste at least as good as the cooked pumpkin, if not better.


texts: Is it possible to join two thin steaks together on the grill?

texts:
I have some thinly cut rib eye steaks at home. I want to grill them but they get done too quick and I can't get that nice bite into them.

Is it possible to put one on top of another and grill them as if it was one thick piece? Will this work?


texts: How to make hard candy with only fruit as a sweetener

texts: I have a child with a restricted diet that can have no added sugar or other form of sweetener, with the exception of fruit juice.  He is in desperate need of cough drops or throat lozenges, but I find they simply don't exist without some form of added sweetener in them.  My idea was to craft a hard candy with just fruit juice as sweetener, and then just add menthol or something similar for soothing cough/throat.  But I also can't find any recipes for hard candy using only fruit juice as a sweetener.  Is it because the sugar or corn syrup, etc is needed to make the candy hard??  Is what I am trying to do even possible?


texts:
I wanted to make a Stevia-sweetened chocolate milk so I tried mixing some unsweetened cocoa powder with the milk and stevia, but I found that the cocoa powder doesn't mix with the milk at all. It tends to float on top, and even with a lot of stirring and mixing back and forth between two glasses it was a lumpy mess.

Any techniques or natural additives I can use to help the powder dissolve more like Nestle Quick and the like?


texts:
Some days ago I made some "eggplant meatballs" (no meat inside - not sure how you would call them in English).

The recipe was quite simple: bake the eggplants for 45 mins to soften the pulp, put it in a bowl with a spoon, add some seasoning, grated cheese and egg, make same small "meatballs" as balls about 3cm in diameter, soak in whisked egg, roll in grated bread, deep fry.

We used a proper frying oil, heated it in a small saucepan and fried about four balls at a time.

We were using an induction stovetop and I am no expert of it at all, so this might have contributed.

The point is that the oil was probably too hot. I did not have a thermometer but of course it did not reach the smoke point, I just waited a bit and tried it with a breadcrumb. When I put the balls in the oil it immediatly started to boil, so it definitely was not too cold. Problem is that in something like 20s the outside of the balls turned golden brown but unfortunately the inside was just warm.

We ate them and they were delicious and not raw at all, but I started to wonder if too hot oil when deep frying is a thing or not since I've never heard of it. I was surprised also because the balls were very small, anything human made can't be that smaller and of course bigger chunks of food would soffer much more the "too hot oil syndrome".

The question then is: can oil be too hot when used for deep frying?


texts: How to use a bottom concave ebelskiver (Æbleskiver) pan on a glass cook-top stove?

texts:
I've recently come in to a lovely cast iron ebelskiver pan (pictured below) and would like to try to make some  ebelskivers.

The problem is I don't have a gas range and I'm rather sure that my glass-top stove won't be able to adequately or evenly heat the pan due to its concave underbelly. The bottom of the wells aren't even level with the skirting rim of the pan.
Is there anything I can do short of replacing my range top or starting a fire in my backyard to use this pan to make some stuffed pancakes?


texts: How can I keep extra virgin olive oil cool and usable, while it's hot in the summer and when the fridge solidifies the oil?

texts:
I've read Gut by Guilia Enders. It says that extra virgin olive oil cleans your heart vessels and has other beneficial effects. The oil binds free radicals in your body. But the oil doesn't wait to bind radicals, so if it's exposed to air it will bind the free radicals in the air, making the oil less effective.
Her advice is to close the bottle, and to keep the oil cool, in the fridge. When I do this, the oil solidifies, making it unusable. Waiting until it warms up takes too long. My kitchen is not cool in the summer. Temperatures can go up to 25ºC and higher.
So how can I keep oil cool in a warm kitchen or not too cold in a fridge?


texts: Does liquid smoke differ in intensity from brand to brand and if yes, how to compensate?

texts:
Does the intensity of the flavor of liquid smoke differ significantly from brand to brand?
If yes, suppose I'm following a recipe that calls for a certain amount of liquid smoke. If the brand I'm using is different from theirs, the results could be wildly different. Is there any good method to compensate for any such differences other than just to try and see?


texts: Which cookware material should be used to retain the heat of the prepared tea?

texts:
I have glass, plastic, stainless steel, earthenware, and melamine vessels.

Which one of out of them should be used to retain the heat of the prepared tea for a long duration?

Is there any better material too? Which one?

Update:

See the claim here. They say metal changes the taste of tea.
http://teamasters.blogspot.in/2007/04/dont-use-filter.html?m=1


texts: How to go from a full pigeon to just the breast

texts:
We have 9 people coming for Christmas tomorrow and have 9 pigeons like this:

We are going to follow this recipe. And as you can tell we only need the breasts of the pigeon. How do I go about not wasting the rest of the meat.

We have thought about cooking it in bacon for 15 minutes but don't really know any more than that. Any advice would be great!


texts: Can I substitute low fat greek yogurt for light sour cream in a high speed blender?

texts: I'm wondering whether the blending speed will affect the texture of the yogurt unfavourably. I am making a spinach and artichoke dip, and I want to lower the calories per serving. If I can substitute, should I do it one-to-one?


texts: How to reproduce charcoal flavor in steaks and burgers from restaurants

texts: Recently I went to a couple of restaurants. I had a burger at one and a steak at the other, both had a distinct taste that I can't describe. Kind of a charcoal taste but I know they were cooked over an open flame. I tried liquid smoke but that didn't work. Does anybody have any ideas?


texts: How to achieve freeze dried strawberry flakes?

texts:
I was following this really cool recipe to make a kind of snack made mostly of granola, coconut flour and freeze dried strawberries. When done right, it seems to be really photogenic, here is a picture from the blogger:

However, when I got to the part where I'm told to:

  Blend your strawberries until fine. Keep extra for rolling bites in batter.

I couldn't get my blender to break up the freeze dried strawberries at all. They just flopped around inside making a ruckus. I checked the blade, and it was in fact sharp.  I had to resort to slicing and dicing as finely as I could with a knife to create an effect similar to the freeze dried straw berries  in the picture. The result was rather unsightly, probably due to the fact I had more like freeze dried strawberries that were the size of small raisins. In fact, the texture/suppleness of the freeze dried strawberries seemed exactly like that of a raisin too.

Question

How can I achieve a "fine" freeze dried strawberry-flaky result? As I have never worked with freeze-dried strawberries before nor made a similar snack, I'm not sure how to troubleshoot at this juncture. I do have two hunches though:

while marketed as 'freeze-dried', my strawberries are perhaps not the right kind?
I have the wrong tool for the job, my blender is a simple one with a spinning two blade apparatus (think cheap Chinese blender). I will say though, it has never let me down in the past.


texts: Can I give my friend the sour dough "throw away" as a starter to their sourdough starter?

texts:
Many sourdough techniques suggest throwing away half your starter further on in the fermenting process. The reason given (in many YouTube videos I've watched) is that it'd eventually take over your kitchen if you didn't.

I guess rather than throw this away I can give it to a friend (or friends) to bootstrap their own starters?


texts:
I was in Austria recently, and at a restaurant there I ate a very simple dish that consisted mainly of two large pork chops in a light, thin gravy. The pork chops were super tender and came apart really easily.

So I have some leftover pork chops at home and I want to know how I can cook them so that they are like that. I usually fry chops, but that gives a different kind of texture I think.

I'm not really sure what to do with them. I don't have a crockpot or a slow cooker so I don't have too many options. I guess the choice is either boiling them (e.g., in gravy, or a stew) or cooking them in the oven, but I have no idea on how to do either of those things without turning it out horrible. Do you have any tips?


texts:
I am an owner of a small pizzeria. Im noticing my pizzas are coming out "soggy".. The crust and bottom of the pizza is cooking good, nice golden brown. But there seems to be an excess of water on the pizza sometimes. The more toppings the worse it is. I use canned mushrooms but I drain them and squeeze them out, but it happens on pizzas that have no mushrooms as well. I use a middleby marshall oven set at 475 degrees cook time 9 minutes.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Fermented cucumbers without or with minimal salt possible?

texts:
Cucumbers can be made sour by giving sugar to lactic acid bacteria (I do not like vinegar).

Do you really need salt and can it be avoided, or what is the minimum if you do need it as preservative?

Example: "You want to make a very salty solution of at least 5 percent".

Why?


texts:
I'm looking for good, authoritative references on food safety topics. In particular I'd like to learn more about the different parts of various meats and fish, which parts are safe to eat, and what preparation steps are necessary for each to guarantee safety.

What would be a good place to look for this information?


texts:
A friend is planning her wedding and wants to do a lot of brownies, rather than cake, for dessert. She's planning on making it herself, with the help of friends, but would like to make it at least a few days, if not a week or more, in advance. What would be a good way to store a lot of brownies? How long will they last?

Freezing is non-ideal, as freezer space is often tight at all of our homes and dealing with thawing/reheating lots of brownies evenly on the day may be problematic.


texts:
What's the main difference between this two dishes, Pasticcio and Lasagna?

I think pasticcio has ham and I think both have béchamel sauce. They both need to be baked (as far as I know) but honestly, beyond that, I don't know the main/real difference.

Thanks in advance!


texts: Should I default to higher or lower power when the recommended power is not an option in a microwave?

texts: I often cook takeaway dishes at home. Some of these dishes ask for 4 minutes at 850 Watt (for example, ravioli with mascarpone sauce). My microwave oven supports 750 Watt and 950 Wattt, but not 850 Watt. Should I go for 4:30 at 750 Watt or 3:30 at 950 Watt in this case (pasta with sauce)? and is this the same for all dishes, or does it depend on the dish?


texts: Does it make sense to take out the cake from the oven few times just to check whether it is done or not?

texts:
Does it make sense to take out the cake from the oven few times just to check whether it is done or not, before its total time completes?

Is there some other way out to check the same, in order to avoid a miserable failure at the end?


texts: I assume it's so that heat from the oven can reach the core of the bread loaf within a certain amount of time, without over-exposing (and therefore burning) the top of the loaf.  Is that the case, or is there a different reason?


texts: Is it safe to add garlic powder to sesame oil?

texts:
I am making a Korean BBQ meat marinade sauce that requires 0.5 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. I read that garlic combined with oil causes botulism. However, cannot find anything about garlic powder.
Would garlic powder be at a risk for creating a botulism environment?


texts: how is flaxseed processed for consumption

texts: What part of flaxseed plant is actually consumed? What processes are done after harvest? Just want to know what we eat and how it is procured.


texts: What is the difference between preserves and conserves?

texts: I will start off by admitting that I do see technical definitions here, but I did not actually learn that there was such a thing as conserves until today.  I am used to putting jelly, or jam or preserves on my toast in the morning, but apparently I can also put conserves on toast as well.  So what is the difference then between the two and how would a cook use them differently?  Is it a regional thing, or are there times one would choose one over the other?  Does one complement certain foods better than the other?


texts:
I melted agar agar in almost boiling water and reduced the temperature to 115 F.

I then coated the inside of waffle cones with the liquid. My cones are soggy.

Is there anything I can do to prevent this.

Any suggestions for other ways to waterproof the inside of waffle cones and still keep them crispy?

I want to serve hot and iced lattes in these cones in my coffee shop.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Mary


texts: How much juice can you get from an orange?

texts: I wanted to make fresh orange juice using a squeezer and wanted to know how many oranges it takes to make an 8oz glass of juice?


texts:
I've been advised by a friend of mine that I have to add salt to my curries if I want the spices to come out and not leave me with a bland curry.
Now after being a doubter, as I never add salt to my food (for flavour reasons), I tried once or twice with various curries and after getting the amount right, it worked! I can kind of imagine the salt ions binding with some chemicals in the spice to aid it's solubility, but I'm not sure.
Why is adding salt so important for curries? I've read this but it doesn't seem to say anything about spices.
To clarify:

When I have added salt to my food as I cook that didn't have spices in (but did say have garlic, herbs, meat juices etc.), I haven't tasted a difference.
When I have made spiced meals (Curries, Tagines etc) with pre prepared spices and I've added salt I have noticed a marked difference.


texts: Why add sugar at the end when making strawberry preserve?

texts: What happens when sugar is added to cooked fruit near the end of cooking process? Why sugar is added to cooked fruit near the end of the cooking process?


texts: Kansui powder to Kansui liquid (Koon Chun) conversion?

texts: I was curious if you could help me figure out the proper conversion from Kansui powder to Kansui liquid (Koon Chun bottle).  Interestingly enough, I have a bottle of the liquid but almost any and all recipes anywhere on line are built under the consideration that one cannot find the liquid.  For instance, Ivan Ramen book recipe is 10g of Kansui powder.. what would that equate to when using the bottled liquid in a recipe?


texts:
I ask NOT about the white outer layers that must be peeled and I do peel. But I lack the time to peel the red peel off cloves. Is it safe to eat?

picture source


texts: What is the best technique to put icing on plastic?

texts:
I'm going to attempt to do is bake a cake for my daughter's first birthday. The cake is going to be based on this recipe, but I want it to look more like this one.

Now if you look at the 2nd link, it seems as though the icing has been put directly onto the doll. I can see a problem here, how will it stick to the smooth plastic of the doll.

What would be the best way do you think? Create some sort of base layer which is more tacky and then ice over that?

Edit

The recipe which I have linked to is incomplete when it talks about the Icing. So I would probably use this Butter Cream recipe.

Update

I took all your comments and suggestions on board. Spent a few weeks trying out different sponges, and then did a rough prototype.

Then the day before her birthday, I made this

I am happy with it! Hope you approve :P


texts:
I am new to this community and I have a question in mind.

Spices like garlic , cinnamon etc after drying lose the volatile oil content in them. [HERE, HERE]

Though We see fresh garlic in market being sold but that is not the case of other spices like cinnamon , black pepper, cloves etc.

Why don't people prefer them fresh? After all if there was a demand, there would have been supply.


texts: Is white rice bleached before being processed?

texts:
My dad is being especially paranoid of this. He claims to have read a paper years ago that said that the standard in rice processing was bleaching the rice to produce "whiter" rice.

I've been searching everywhere, and for only weird fringe sites, most of the main sites (Wikipedia, some other cooking websites) make no mention of bleach.

Is my father being paranoid about this? Or are his claims substantiated?


texts: What are the best suggestions for cutting gloves

texts: I've never used a cut proof or cut resistant glove but I think it may come in handy when using a mandolin slicer or prepping a bunch veggies.  Any suggestions on the pros and cons between cut resistant and cut proof gloves?  Any specific products you would suggest?


texts: How do I make liquid glucose from powdered glucose

texts:
I recently decided to make something that required liquid glucose, 140g of it. No problem in general, but for some reason none of my usual suppliers had stock (even tried pharmacies). The closest I found was glucose powder.

Unfortunately, having no clue how to "re-hydrate" the powder to a liquid form, I experimented. :-)

I can safely say that 100g glucose powder was way to much as a substitute for 140g of liquid glucose (which I expected).

However, I was wondering if any of you had a convenient method of turning powdered glucose into the wonderfully thick and sticky liquid glucose, in case I ever find myself in that position.


texts: I've heard that pouring a cold liquid into a very hot cast-iron pan can destroy it (because it's more brittle than a steel pan for instance). Is that true or do most of you deglace in cast-iron pans as well?


texts: What herbs and spices are in "Italian Seasoning"?

texts:
I'm beginning to grow my own herbs and would like to put together something similar to the "Italian Seasoning" found in the grocery store spice section.  (It's an easy way to add more flavor to pasta sauce.)

Is there a commonly accepted list of ingredients and proportions, or does it vary between the spice companies?


texts: Cabinets at the top of the wall, what goes there?

texts:
I recently got a new house and (unlike my current house) the kitchen has cabinets going all the way to the ceiling. These cabinets are unreachable without a ladder and each one has windows so you can see inside and each has a little light to illuminate the interior, so the intention appears to be that you would put a kitchen item in there to be seen, but not often used.

What would go in a place like that?


texts: I add salt to pasta water in order to reduce the stickiness caused by starch. However, I've never seen potatoes stick together. Why add salt?


texts: Is it ok to leave Christmas cake batter to sit for 3 hours?

texts:
I make a couple of Christmas cakes every year, using this recipe: https://helgavan.com/easy-christmas-cake-recipe/

Usually I make two smaller cakes by splitting the recipe in half and baking them both in the oven at the same time (for less than in the given recipe).

This year I don't have a very big oven. It'll only be able to fit one of the two half-cakes. Is it ok if I leave the other half of the batter to sit while the first one bakes? What's the best way of storing it for this time?


texts: What causing royal icing to get stringy?

texts: When I try to make small dots on my cookie decorations, sometimes the royal or syrup icing gets stringy so it leaves a trail instead of coming off the dot clean.


texts: How can I store chopped onions in the fridge without the smell?

texts:
I am cooking for a large group and am trying to do as much as I can in advance.  One thing I would love to do in advance is chop several onions.  I have done this before with a single onion; I stored the chopped onion in a plastic storage container (sealed with the lid) in the fridge.  About 6 hours later, the smell of onions was very strong both in the fridge and on everything that was in the fridge.  I can't imagine it with 4-6 onions!

What can I do to avoid the smell, not ruin everything in my fridge, but still be able to do the preparation 6-8 hours in advance?


texts: The chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies dont rise to the top

texts: Why does my chocolate chip cookies look "ugly"? The chocolate chips stay insdie the cookies, unlike other chocolate chip cookies, the choco chips go are on top of the cookies and look so good. I just followed the recipe. What am I doing wrong?


texts: What can be substitution of maple syrup for pancakes?

texts:
I live in India and maple syrup isn't available in my town. I don't like honey over my pancakes.

What could be the substitutes ?

I think sweetened cream would be good. Also, having it with ice cream seems like a good idea.


texts: What kind of chocolate should I use to coat homemade turtles?

texts: I am making chocolate treats with mini Presley's caramel and chocolate. Can I use a regular Hershey's bar or use baking chocolate or can I mix them to make a harder coating or will the regular harden?


texts:
I've been searching for years to no avail for a clear cauliflower and blue cheese broth soup.

It looks like those Snow Globes, the one's you shake. The cauliflower snows in the dish each mouthful.

I presume it's cauliflower stalk broth with a vege stock, then baked florets are blended? Somehow with blue cheese.

Each time I try it isn't clear or when it is the cauliflower doesn't snow flake. The problem is if I blend it too fine it goes mushy and grating it creates slithers not flakes.

I think I need help, how do you do a snow flake soup dish?


texts:
I read somewhere -- maybe a James Peterson cookbook? -- that putting olive oil in the blender for more than a few seconds will make it bitter. However, many recipes for hummus, aioli, and other things call for blending olive oil. At times I've felt that making hummus without the oil, and then stirring it in at the end gives a better flavor, but I can't say for sure.

Does anyone have any advice about this?


texts:
My co-workers and I are in a debate. We brought some french fries home from a fast-food restaurant in paper bags and they got soggy. My co-workers maintain that the combination of steam and soaking in their own oil made them soggy. I claim that it was only the steam, because excess oil does not cause food to become soggy.

Can sitting in oil make things soggy?
If I submerged a french fry in oil overnight would it get soggy. If so, would that be from the oil or the moisture in the fry?


texts: What's this green vegetable with no leaves used in Cantonese cuisine?

texts: I read pp 13-14 of Tang Court's menu but they don't stipulate this vegetable's name.


texts: Is it safe to refrigerate a 3-2-1 ratio pickle I mistakenly processed for canning?

texts:
I followed a recipe based on 3-2-1 ratio of water-vinegar-sugar.  I boiled the water, added the vinegar and sugar, whisked until the sugar dissolved, let it cool a bit, and added seasonings.

I then poured the liquid over fresh vegetables (cucumbers, peppers, carrots, beets, radishes) in jars, sealed the jars, and processed them for 25 minutes in boiling water.

However, while they were in the bath, I did further research, and found that the 3-2-1 ratio was not considered safe (with some exceptions).  A minimum of 1:1 ratio of water to vinegar is now the recommendation.

I realize that I cannot treat these as canned.  Can I immediately put them in the refrigerator, and eat them out of the jar?  That was the intent of the original recipe: instead of processing the jars in boiling water, just put them in the refrigerator.  And it does seem that the ratio I used is okay so long as you put it in the refrigerator, instead of storing it at room temperature.

Did boiling the jars create any health risks?


texts: Cooking pizzas using two stones/steel vs one stone/steel in consumer oven

texts:
So I use a regular oven to cook my pizzas, and I use a steel platform.

It works great, and the pizza comes out amazing. The throughput is low, so I was wondering if it would be a good investment to get a second steel platform so I can cook two pizzas at a time.

Would there be a huge difference in cooking two pizzas at a time vs one?
Would it take longer for the platforms to heat up than the hour I typically give it?

I use an electric oven, and it seems to work fine at 500 degrees (or whatever its true maximum is)


texts: How do I stabilize a lecithin-based foam?

texts: I've made quite a few foams using the standard technique of adding powdered lecithin to my flavor base, and then agitating with an immersion blender in a wide, shallow container, with the blender near the surface so it beats in lots of air. This works ok, but I find the foams don't hold as long as I would like, often just a minute or two. Is there anything I can do to make them more stable for service?


texts: Why does the broccoli at Chinese take-out restaurants have a crunchier texture than those bought at supermarket and grocery store salad bars?

texts:
I've been eating at Chinese take-out restaurants lately, mostly to save money and still get a big portion of food.  When I get the beef and broccoli and lo mein, I notice that the broccoli is a lot harder and crunchier, compared to the broccoli that I get from salad bars at the grocery stores and supermarkets (which is considerably softer and more crumbly in texture).  Does this indicate that the broccoli served at Chinese take-out places is of lower quality?  For example, could the crunchy texture indicate that I'm eating genetically-modified broccoli?

(If it matters, I live in New York City.)


texts: How can I recreate the flavour of instant ramen without the salt?

texts: I am looking to make my own instant ramen soup - nothing complicated, but there must be a way to duplicate the instant variety without all the salt. I've played with combinations of dried onions + no - salt chicken bouillon, but without much success. The key is something that can be kept in an office drawer for some time - I can already make homemade soup from the scratch.


texts:
Is there a difference between baked and cooked food?

As I know cooked food has to be in fridge within 2 hours after the preparation to avoid creating appropriate condition for the Bacilus Cereus spreading, while bread, cake, pie and other baked food we store several days at room temperature.

Does baking destroy Bacilus Cereus and its spores?


texts: How to Remove Burned-on Grease from Stove

texts: I have not been wiping the stove top after cooking for several years. Last month I tried to clean it by taking some baking soda + water and scrubbing with steel wool. I did manage to get a lot of the dirt off but it is not clean enough. Any suggestions about how I can remove the grease off the stove top?


texts:
Does milk matter to achieve the perfect latte?

Milk is an important ingredient of every espresso latte.  Even though I believe coffee bean is the most important ingredient, most people put emphasis in milk.

Could someone point out the reasoning between the different types of milk and the resulting latte?


texts: Curried parsnip soup, not flavoursome enough

texts: I've just made a big batch of soup but the curry flavour is too subtle, how can I spice it up at this stage please?


texts: Cryoconcentration, can you do it yourself?

texts:
I'm looking to concentrate freshly pressed apple juice. In order keep the apple-freshness I would very much like to avoid heating up the juice.

Does anyone have experience with cryoconcentration, is it possible to do yourself?

I was thinking about putting the juice in the freezer while constantly stirring it (using a magnetic stirrer), and once in awhile strain away the ice crystals and hopefully reduce it by half.

Is it possible to do? Any pointers would be highly appreciated.


texts:
Will I need to make adjustments for cook times on something like a casserole or lasagna if using a 8x12 baking dish instead of 9x13?

Thanks


texts: I am looking to bake a red velvet cake, but I’ve seen different recipes, some use all purpose flour and some use cake flour. There are some diy cake flour recipes too since I don’t have cake flour. I’m wondering what’s the difference if I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour? Will it make a difference? I’m undecided on which recipe to use too so if you also have a suggestion that would be great, thanks


texts: Can I add seasoning to the beurre manie?

texts:
I want to thicken my curry but I also want it to have a lot of gravy/liquid - yet flavoured, not watered.

I'm going to make some beurre manie. Can I add curry to the mixture and then add it to the pan?

Maybe even cook some garlic and ginger in oil, then add curry, then buttter and flour. Is that ok? :P


texts: Does eating foods made using transglutaminase pose any risk to your health?

texts: Does transglutaminase, the enzyme that is used to glue bits of meat together, pose any health risks?


texts:
I have just realized that I cannot recall ever seeing an item on any menu or in any cookbook that includes both fish and meat or fish and poultry together. (Meat and poultry I have seen.)

Is there a reason for this? Is such a combination by its very nature distasteful? Is it difficult to prepare for some reason? Or am I wrong in my observation to begin with?

I'm no culinary expert or anything close, but I am curious why this might be the case.


texts: How to make creamy/starchy risotto with brown rice?

texts:
I've been making risotto with a brown rice blend (Long Grain Brown Rice, Sweet Brown Rice, Wild Rice, Whole Grain Wehani Rice, Whole Grain Black Japonica Rice), and I quite like the texture, and how easy it is for the rice to cook al dente. However, I'm missing the creaminess that comes from arborio's high starch content.

So, a few questions:

Could I add starch (say, arrowroot powder) to get a similar creaminess?
If so, how much, and would this change the amount of water I would need to add to cook the rice?
Is there a better source of starch than arrowroot powder?


texts: What are some techniques for making bread and/or  kaiser style rolls that are very airy with large holes inside, kneaded in a bread machine then baked in an oven? I have tried a few recipes but none with the desired "holey" type.


texts: Are the molecular gastronomy additives kosher?


texts: When cooking jackfruit for “pulled pork” from canned young green jackfruit, do you cut off the core from the rest of it or just braise it till tender?


texts: What cuts of meat are preferable when you want to avoid drying out?

texts:
I want to cook meat that is well done in an oven, doesn't have crust on the outside and doesn't dry out.

In this question What am I doing wrong when cooking meat? it seems people were saying its the cut of meat.

Are there parts of chicken that may be more suited to avoid drying out.  Is chicken breasts more likely to dry out or not?
What cuts of meat from say beef or lamb would be preferable, or is it that case when you get a well done piece of red meats, it will always be too tough?
Is steak more likely to come out drier than other cuts of meat or about the same?


texts:
The other day, I made Tom Kha Gai (Thai coconut, chicken, mushroom, etc. soup) using creamed coconut and water, instead of coconut milk. That is, I dissolved/melted the creamed coconut in the hot water, as per normal when using creamed coconut.

The problem was that the texture of my final soup was horrible. It was almost as though it had sand in it! This could have been due to something else, but using creamed coconut was the only real change I made to my usual recipe, so I believe this to be the culprit.

What did I do wrong? How can I use creamed coconut to make a smooth coconut milk/cream?


texts: Can I add butter to yeast dough which has already risen?

texts:
I used yeast,water,milk,egg,sugar and flour in my dough. I forgot to put the butter the recipe called for. My dough has risen already.

Can I add the butter after it has risen or can I make something out of what I got already?


texts: Differences between rice/pressure/multi/slow cooker?

texts:
I'm really confused about what these products are supposed to do, and if some products can do the same as others in the following list.

What are the differences between the following devices?

Rice cooker with keep warm/cook button only
Rice cooker with multi function/programs
Slow cooker
Pressure cooker
Multicooker

Does a multi cooker do all of the above? Or only some multi-cookers in the market? How can i tell if a pressure cooker can be used also as a rice cooker, etc? It's very confusing.


texts:
I have a particular drink that is one of my favorites that I like to make at home.  It's sort of an Old Fashioned,  made with Jameson, Bitters, Cocktail Cherries (plus a little bit of the syrup), and a splash of either Soda, or Lemon-Lime soda.  I like to shake this drink in a shaker, because it gives it a nice looking foam when poured.

I've made this a million times in my old crappy shaker, that was kind of leaky. (I always had to shake over the sink, and still always made a mess)  I just got a new shaker that has a nice tight seal.  The problem: Once I get to shaking, the pressure builds up and shoots the top off the shaker, despite my best efforts to contain it.  I would have assumed that a splash of soda with all that whiskey wouldn't have that reaction, but it does.  Further more, I see bar tenders shake drinks with carbonated beverages in them all the time.

Is there a trick to shaking a cocktail with carbonated ingredients without it becoming a high school science project?  I must be missing something.


texts: What are the different distinct groups of spicy

texts:
I remember being told once long ago that there are 7 different types of spicy:

-Capsaicin (chilli)
-Horseradish (Wasabi)
-Ginger
-Mustard
-Cinnamon
-Garlic
-Cloves

These make a bit of intuitive sense to me (from a taste perspective), though I can't find much to back this up.

Wikipedia breaks them up into the following 8 botanical groups:

  -Fruits, such as Cayenne pepper
  -Roots and rhizomes, such as turmeric, ginger and galingale
  -Seeds, such as fennel, mustard, nutmeg, and black pepper
  -Barks, such as cinnamon and cassia
  -Flower buds, such as cloves
  -Stigmas, such as saffron
  -Arils, such as mace (part of nutmeg plant fruit)
  -Resins, such as asafoetida

This thread mentions different chemicals for different types of spicy and their effects on hotness (such as capsaicin, gingerol (ginger) and allyl isothiocyanate (wasabi)), but its not very complete.

My Question:

What are the distinct chemically related spice groups?
How would you describe each group in terms of flavour?


texts: Is there a vegetarian gelatin substitute that is as strong as gelatin?

texts:
I've made several mold (shaped) desserts with both gelatin and gelatin substitutes, and the substitutes have always failed to hold the shape of fully domed chocolate molds and the like.  Are there any real vegetarian substitutes here, or only relatively weak alternatives?

The primary subsitite I've used is agar-agar.  Some others are suggested here, but I have no experience with them.  (A good comment below suggests that is not the best link b/c all the non-agar substitutes listed at this link are just thickeners.


texts: Did post-war Hovis bread contain treacle or black strap molasses?

texts:
I totally concur with the opinion of YouTube chef Titli Nihan that the modern Hovis loaf tastes nothing like the bread I remember as a child. TN has an interesting theory that the Hovis bread of that generation was in fact based on white flour (rather than wholemeal), with the addition of black strap molasses and wheatgerm.
I seem to vaguely recall the latter ingredient being included from advertising, but the black strap molasses seems out of place. In that post-war world, the use of Tate and Lyle black treacle would seem more appropriate, especially as they had a major operational presence in the UK at that time. In her video, TN admits that her recipe isn't quite on point, could this be the reason, as black strap molasses and black treacle are not always interchangeable?
Reference recipe: https://youtu.be/Nu-v6ICAGKo


texts: How many calories does a home-made marinade add?

texts:
I'm planning on marinating my chicken legs with Tabasco sauce.
I have read that a marinade should be one part lemon juice and 3 parts olive oil.

I'm going to be using two skinned chicken legs, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and Tabasco sauce

The reason I want to marinate the chicken legs is because I will be eating them on the go and wont have time to add the Tabasco sauce to them yet I still want them spicy.

So basically I'm wondering how many extra calories could I be talking for each chicken leg.

Thank you.


texts: Anise Seed vs. Fennel Seed with Taste as No.1 factor

texts:
I've noticed that in some recipes Anise seeds can be used interchangeably with Fennel seeds.  I understand their taxonomical differences but in regards to taste, can they be used interchangeably without any big difference in taste?

For example, I've found a lasagne recipe which calls for fennel seeds.  I do not have any but I do have Anise seeds (not star anise).  Could I use the Anise seeds in the recipe without much noticeable difference?


texts: Why would you place potatoes on salt when baking in the oven?

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Several of my recipe books call for baking potatoes on a layer of (rock) salt, e.g. I'm currently following one for gnocchi that has this very instruction.

Searching yields many recipes, but I can't really find the "why" of it, nor what it technically accomplishes. Our own cooking.se site yields no relevant results either.

I can't quite imagine either what it would accomplish, except for perhaps salt the potatoes a bit; but that seems rather inefficient (why not add some salt later to the gnocchi dough?). Or perhaps it's meant to draw all fluids?

Why would you bake potatoes on a layer of (rock) salt? What does that do to the potatoes?


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I bought some tamarind paste the other day, and I am wondering how should I store it once opened, as the package does not say anything special. Should I put it in the fridge? Store it in an airtight container? Freeze it (as I am probably not going to use it very often)?

How long will it last?


texts: What to place beneath the vegetables before placing them on the baking tray?

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In order to prevent their surface from burning, what can be placed beneath vegetables to be roasted before placing them on the baking tray?

I am thinking of applying oil to the tray, but I'm not sure if that's enough.