texts: Does adding alcohol to dough prevent it from soaking oil when deep-frying?

texts: Some culinary books and, for example, this Wikipedia article, state that adding alcohol (usually spirit) to dough, it will prevent the dough from soaking oil when you deep-fry it. Does it really work? And if so, why?


texts: Can pressed cookies be made without creaming butter and sugar?

texts: Is it possible to make a cookie dough for pressing without having to cream butter and sugar (my pet hate)?


texts: How can I train myself to identify flavors better?

texts:
I'd love to be able to cook well and I think a part of that is identifying flavors.

We all have different palates, but there are probably some basic techniques that can be used to figure out what the meal is made out of.

For example, there is a spicy Indian dish at a restaurant nearby that I love and it's pretty simple (chicken and rice), but I can't identify the contents of the marinade, and the owner wont tell me what it is.

So, outside of trying every spice there is, what are some tips to identify flavors?


texts:
I made risotto for the first time last sunday - thanks to the advice I got from the posts here and here. I came to know about risotto from this site (probably not the correct way to learn about the recipe, as the questions in this site deal with particular aspect of the recipe of a food item thus expecting you to know the recipe ahead).

It was good (well, I have never eaten risotto before, so can't really compare) to my taste. There were so many recipies for risotto. Some call for wine, some do not have wine. Some call for juice, others for vinegar, some say no need to add anything beyond stock, etc...

I basically made vegetable stock, then fried rice in olive oil and added this stock to it slowly, ladle by ladle, over 30 minutes. At the end I added a mixture of fried vegetables to this cooked rice. The recipe tasted good. However I don't know what I am missing.

So my question what are the general principles when making a risotto? For what purpose is each ingredient (not the individual ones but generalised like stock, wine, juice etc...) added and when is it added?

The only thing I am sure about is that I can fry any variety of vegetables and add them to the rice at the end.


texts: How to add panko to chicken without frying the chicken?

texts: I like to make chicken katsu and curry, but want to avoid eating fried food. Is there another healthier way to prepare the chicken, but that will still work with getting the panko breading to stick on the outside?


texts: Plain flour or strong bread is there any difference when making a cake

texts: Could you please tell me if it is possible to use strong bread making flour when baking a cake when the recipe calls for plain flour.


texts: Do cinnamon, mint and saffron turn bitter?

texts: I have noticed that when I use either of the three (cinnamon-mint-saffron) spices/herbs in savory dishes they tend to turn them bitter. With the saffron I know that you only need a pinch but even that pinch seems to be turning the food bitter (stovetop cooking). Has the issue got to do with the heat or the quantities or both?


texts: Do you put yeast in sweet bread? Thanks!


texts: How long do I bake a stuffed butternut squash at 325 degrees with a fresh Turkey when the squash recipe calls for 2 hours at 375 degrees?

texts:
I have a fresh farm raised Turkey that calls for cooking at 325 degrees but I also want to bake a stuffed butternut squash in the same oven where the recipe calls for ithe stuffed squash to bake for 2 hours at 375 degrees. I am assuming that the stuffed squash could cook longer at the lower temperature, but since I have never made this dish before and it IS Thanksgiving with lots of people , I’d like to have an idea of how much longer?
Thanks!


texts: traditional italian pasta: with or without eggs?

texts: I read that in the north of Italy they would use eggs in their recipes (the recipe to make the pasta itself). Is it an actual tradition or is it just a recent trend? I always thought that the pasta was something simple, made with the heart, durum semolina and water.


texts: Is there anything special about "homogenized" shortening?

texts:
I'm interested in trying to make this "water whip" pie crust. Unlike a typical pie crust where lard/butter/shortening is cut into the flour, the shortening is apparently melted and whipped before the flour is added. I'm curious to try it. But the method will only work with a particular brand of shortening (allegedly):

  It's Spry's easy "Water-Whip" Method.... This time-saving method is
  possible only because Spry is homogenized -- pre-creamed to mix directly
  with liquids.

The recipe is from ~1950 and Spry shortening isn't around anymore. I am wondering whether another shortening (Crisco, etc.) would work in its place, or perhaps even another fat (butter, lard) -- is there really something special about Spry, or was that just a marketing claim?


texts:
I am making a recipe today that is basically fried mashed potato bites:

Take cold mashed potatoes and mix in a whole egg.
Form a little ball of potato around a little cube of cheese.
Coat in an egg wash and bread crumbs to make a crust.
Pan-fry the mashed potato ball until crispy.
Bake for a few minutes to finish.

However there is an issue that I did not consider until just now, a few hours before dinner: a guest is allergic to egg yolks. If it were just one egg per four cups of potatoes to help bind them or a little egg wash he might be okay, but the recipe as written has too many yolks. Based on experience, this will cause an allergic reaction.

What can I do to get the same binding effect in the recipe with fewer or no egg yolks?

Is there something I can substitute? So far my Google-fu brings up many alternatives... for brushing on top of bread, not breading and frying.
Could I dilute the egg yolks and still have enough of an effect? For example, if I make a double portion and use one full egg plus the white from a second egg for both mixing in as well as the egg wash. That would likely be dilute enough not to trigger an allergic reaction, but would there be enough yolk to get the job done?

There are no other dietary restrictions relevant to this question.

The recipe: Loaded Cheese-Stuffed Mashed Potato Balls

Four cups of cold mashed potatoes mixed with another cup of toppings and one egg, and another egg used as an egg wash.


texts: Is boiling or pouring better for emulsifying chocolate ganache

texts:
I am making a recipe that calls for emulsifying solid chocolate with a heated milk/butter mixture. Most articles online say to pour the hot milk on to the chocolate.

Wouldn't it, however, be easier to just throw the chocolate into the pot of milk on the stove and mix it there? Is there any difference between the 2 methods?


texts: Can I repair a cake tin which has started to leak?

texts:
I have a cake tin (the sprung false bottom type) which, although the bottom seems to fit quite well, has started to leak when I pour cake mixture into it.

Is there anything I can do to rescue the tin and stop it from leaking, or should I just bin it and get a new one?


texts: Can these Oktoberfest dishes be reheated without ruining them?

texts:
I am hosting an Oktoberfest party tonight and would like to do much of the cooking this morning and just re-heat things before the party for time management purposes. Fortunately, I have a good friend that is a retired executive chef bringing schnitzel, but I am responsible for everything else. Here is what I'd like to make ahead:

German potato salad
Beer cheese (for pretzel dipping)
Beer brats (thinking of grilling early and then heating in the oven)
Saute peppers and onions as a condiment for brats

Can all of this be successfully reheated without making it awful? If so, what temperature? I have two ovens and can do two different temperatures if necessary.
Thanks in advance!


texts: Why pre-mix baking soda into 2 tsp of milk?

texts:
I am not much of a cook, but about this time every year, I pull out a favorite family recipe for cookies.  My grandmother made these cookies for me when I was a child, and when I got older she wrote their recipe down for me.

There is one aspect of the recipe that I have never understood:  it has me mix 2 tsp of baking soda into 2 tsp of milk.

All the other dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, etc.) get mixed together separate from the wet stuff.  But the baking soda?  No:  it has to be added to the milk to form a tiny little bit of wet paste, and then somehow I'm supposed to alternate between adding the flour mixture and this tiny little bit of soda+milk paste into the wet mixture.  I cannot understand how such a tiny little bit of wet paste could possibly get evenly distributed throughout the batter mixture, using this method.

My usual approach is to ignore that part of the recipe, and just mix the baking soda with the dry components, and the milk with the wet components. [EDIT: or sometimes, I make the paste as described, then add that to the wet.] There doesn't seem to be any negative results from violating this instruction, and yet I am haunted every year by this non-understood detail of the recipe.

Can I buy a clue?  My grandmother is no longer around to ask.  :(

[EDIT] After reading the answers so far, I'm reasonably convinced that the purpose of pre-mixing the baking soda (base) into milk (very slightly acid) is to increase the amount of leavening that occurs.  These cookies are nearly cake-like in texture, intentionally.   But the reasoning behind the alternating is still a bit of a mystery.


texts:
What are the dos and don'ts regarding cleaning a bamboo cutting board?
How to let it live a long life?

I heard people talking about using mineral oil w.r.t the same. How much and when use it?


texts: Can I use sage tea as a herb while cooking

texts:
I have a bag of loose sage tea, that I do not use for tea. I was wondering whether or not I could use these leaves in my dishes. At first sight, it seems all sage.

Is there a way to know if it is indeed all sage and without any tea leaves? There are no ingredients listed on the bag.
Would it be dangerous to cook with, if there was tea in it? My guess is that it would be fine, but might give a nasty flavor.


texts: Why is freshness more important for fish than beef?

texts:
I know that freshness has a big impact on the flavor of fish. Flash-frozen sushi-grade fish tastes great raw, and you're supposed to seek out fresher cuts when cooking fish rare (ahi tuna steak, etc).

But I've never seen someone emphasize freshness with beef. Expensive beef is usually well-marbled rather than fresh, so it seems like the raising process is more important.

Why is this? Is freshness simply more important for flavor in foods that are consumed raw  (is beef tartare flash-frozen)? Or is there something about seafood that makes it fundamentally tastier when it's freshly caught?


texts:
I need to cook pork for a large party. Due to price and amount issues I would prefer cooking kassler (pork neck) but the recipes I found for pork discuss almost every other part of the pig except neck.

How much does kassler differ from a pork shoulder, for example? If I slow cook kassler like I'd slow cook a shoulder or any other part in given recipes, will it be inedible or disgusting?

Are there any pork preparations that are completely inappropriate for kassler?


texts: Is it possible to "tidy up" chocolate fondant?

texts:
I've just helped my wife roll out a large block of chocolate fondant icing but the texture of the icing seems wrong. It sort of looks dried out and has tiny wrinkles and creases in it. Is there any trick to fix up these defects and generally make it look a bit nicer?

Thanks!


texts: Can flour be used interchangeably with starch?

texts: I don't know if the question I'm asking is suitable for this site, but can the word flour be used interchangeably with starch?


texts: Do I need special gloves for mozzarella stretching?

texts: I'd like to pick up some gloves for stretching mozzarella. I've seen gloves sold for just this on specialty sites like thebeveragepeople.com and thecheesemaker.com, but I can't tell if they're just a generic product sold as something specific. Is there something generic that will work equally well for (1) hot temperatures and is (2) food safe? I'd like to be able to buy it on Amazon in particular.


texts:
I have some pu-erh tea, and I love the smokiness of it. I was thinking about trying to incorporate it into a dish somehow. Specifically, I was thinking about using something like pacific cod. Then I could potentially create a sauce or a rub for it.

Any suggestions for how to incorporate the tea into a dish without losing it's smoky flavor?


texts: Forgot to add salt to french fries while soaking it in hot water

texts:
I tried to make french fries at home for the first time. As I searched over the internet, there are four steps,

Soak the potatoes in cold water for 20 mins
Soak the potatoes now in hot water for 10 mins with salt in it(I forgot to add salt in water)
Fry the potatoes in sim mode for 10 mins ( I did that already)
Fry the potatoes now in a high manner until they get brown (I need to do hereafter)

After the third step, I realised I had not added salt while soaking the potatoes. Is there any way could I add salt now before/while fry it?


texts: What fish can be used for 'minced fish' in Chinese cooking?

texts:
I tried using mackerel which gave a good texture but was a little strong in flavour. What else can be used and readily available in the UK?

When I was in hong kong I was addicted to fish balls from the street food vendors.
I took a dim sum lesson and we used mince fish which was made from Dace (chinese mudcarp) and the teacher told me traditional fishballs were made with the same mince, but on the street they used small amount of any old fish offcuts adulterated with flour and other ingredients to give the desired 'springy' texture of quality minced fish.

Back in the UK, On teacher advice, I tried using a fresh mackerel which after slamming on the table 50 times gives a nice springy texture but when I added salt and white pepper and cooked in plain boiling water it was nice but a little strong. Anyone else had any luck? I was thinking a mix of mackerel and relatively flavourless white fish might be a good compromise.


texts: What is the difference in taste between stock and broth?

texts:
I am under the impression that stock should not really taste like anything. It should smell nice and have a flavorful aroma, but the taste should be very neutral. The idea is that when you add stock to something else, it will accentuate and add depth. Like sour cream!

Broth should be flavorful and have taste and seasoning. It can be consumed as its own thing or have ingredients added to it to make a different dish such as a soup.

Am I right in this way of defining the difference in taste between the two?


texts:
I discovered that I love raw fish. I'm planning to buy a sushi-grade fish to make myself a sashimi or poke but I wonder if there is method of bringing it for lunch to work after preparing it day before.

Is it possible to store a prepared raw fish (poke/sushi) in fridge/freezer overnight or is this a safety hazard and it needs to be eaten soon after preparation which includes thawing.

EDIT I mean fridge at home then at work. I live 5-10 minutes from work so if isolated it should not change temperature significantly, I think.


texts: Thai Chicken and Noodles Recipe Recreation

texts:
I used to eat this delicious Thai Chicken and Noodles recipe from a restaurant that closed down over a decade ago.  I'm looking for a closest approximation of a recipe that will still taste good. (I don't know if cooking.SE will tolerate this kind of question, since it's a bit off-topic, but here goes.)

The dish was composed of:

Dark brown noodles, a bit thick
Chicken that was reddish and deep-fried; it was very crispy
Chopped vegetables; zucchini at the least.

The dish was pretty dry; it didn't have any curry, sauce, or any other ingredients, really.

How would I make a dish like this? Or, what's the closest to this dish that I can find a recipe for?


texts: What is it about milk that makes it go well with cookies?

texts: I don't drink milk myself, but among my friends that do, the one application where they find soymilk a poor substitute is the classic dish "milk and cookies". What is it about cow's milk that makes it go well with fresh-baked cookies that soymilk cannot replicate? It can't be the fat content alone, because my roommate drinks exclusively fat-free skim  milk.


texts: How long should boiled water used for powdered baby formula stay in a Teflon pot? Can it stay in the pot for days?


texts:
Many of my baking recipes call for room temp butter.  In general this just means butter soft enough to be creamed with sugar, but is this a specific temp range? My kitchen stays cold enough in winter that butter doesn't really soften (and hot enough in summer that it would be liquid), but I can keep a small section of it at a constent temp, but what should it be set for?

Thanks


texts: How to slice smoked salmon really thinly?

texts:
I have recently decided to try to home smoke fresh salmon (FYI using a half-size school locker). Once I have the product, though, I am not sure how to slice it thinly, as it is commonly sold commercially.

I have a half-baked idea that I could freeze it, then run it through a slicer, but I am afraid the freezing (not to mention the cutting) might damage the flesh.

Is there a best practice for this?


texts: Can you bake or grill well done lamb chops that are also soft?

texts:
I bought some grilled lamb chops from the shop and they were soft, juicy and medium rare.
I reheated them and quite quickly the outside browned and went crusty and the inside got cooked.  The result was tougher meat with a not soft surface.
Is it possible to have soft, tender lam chops by grilling or baking while having it well done too?


texts: How do I make cumin and herb cheese at home?

texts:
I would like to make cumin and herb cheese at home without using any special cheese-making equipment.

At what stage should I add my cumin and herbs?
Which herbs should I use?
Should I use fresh or dried herbs?


texts: Is it okay to wash a plate at a later point?

texts:
After reading:
Do the dishes: Why you should keep up with the washing up - ABC News
And especially:

"You will end up with a lovely bacteria soup, then you will stick your
hand in the sink to pull the plug out and do the dishes, and if you
don't wash your hands properly you are going to cross-contaminate the
kitchen."

I started wondering if it's okay if I leave a plate unwashed in the sink (the sink itself, not filled with water or anything like that, as described/hinted at in the quote), before leaving/rushing for work; in order to save time and wash it later with some next plate, when I return back from work (can be a bit late sometimes).
I usually always clean/wash things that have stains right away, but I only eat oats and milk for breakfast, which perhaps might make this seem like a non-issue; though I've honestly had this on my mind, for way too long at this point. Hopefully it is indeed a non-issue, but I'd love to hear what people think...
EDIT:
Basically my primary concern is the bacteria spread on the plate/invisible bacteria becoming harder to wash off, in regards to my prior use case...


texts:
What could be the problem of mixed dough( maida, baking powder, salt, butter and cool water) refusal to stretch? I.e it's not stretching out at all. It's just stayed like bread crumbs . Please how can I save such a dough? Urgent help needed.
Thank you


texts: When can I use a cake recipe to make muffins?

texts:
I wanted to know what are the rules for using a recipe of a cake biscuit to make muffins. I understand I need to adjust the time of baking. Is there anything else I need to bear in mind?

The recipe that prompted my question is https://veggiedesserts.co.uk/best-vegan-chocolate-cake/, but I wanted to have general tips if possible.


texts: A friend of a friend gave me some bread for a thank you present. But it tastes like detergent fragrance! Why does this happen? Is it safe to eat? I only use unscented products in my home. And in my opinion the bread is ruined.


texts: I made some mojo de ajo using Rick Bayless’s recipe. He says that it will keep for up to 3 months in the refrigerator, so I stored it in the refrigerator. The oil seems to have solidified in the refrigerator. If I leave it out for a bit, it melts again, but I am worried that refrigerating olive oil will harm its flavor. Is it bad to refrigerate olive oil to the point that it solidifies? Is it normal for olive oil to do this?


texts: How do you grill meat and potatoes so that they finish at the same time?

texts:
I use a charcoal grill with lump charcoal. I've had great luck with various meats and veggies, but I'd like to grill some potatoes and have them finish when the meat does. I usually foil wrap the potatoes and toss them in the grill over indirect heat, but it takes quite awhile for them to finish. If I wait 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are done, there's not enough heat left in the coals to properly grill the meat. The only thing I can think to do is to fire up the chimney starter a second time and throw in a second round of coals.

Does anyone have a better way to accomplish this?


texts:
I live in a small 800 sq ft. apartment and will occasionally deep fry food. Any time I do, everybody in my household experiences a burning sensation in their eyes.

I'm monitoring the temperature of the oil the entire time, and I'm positive it never goes above it's smoke point.

What is / is there a way to avoid this?


texts: Do tomatoes lose their nutritional value when they are made into tomato sauce? What about canned tomato sauce?


texts:
I'm new to cooking and I was planning to make a recipe I saw on TV with pasta. One ingredient is basil. The chef on the show advised always to use fresh herbs; he used a kind of vasiliko with large leaves I think it's called holy basil.

I tried to find one those species but they only grow in spring time. During winter we have a different kind with smaller leaves, it's the second from left to right in the picture.

Does it make any difference? Should I use this one or skip it and use dry basil?

Penne with prosciutto and mozzarella:

 300 gr. pence
 10 cherry tomatoes
 100 gr. fresh mozzarella
 1 onion
 basil leaves
 10 slices prosciutto
 olive oil
 Salt and pepper


texts: Possible dangers of home fermentation of vegetables

texts:
I bought this FARMcurious Fermentation kit on Kickstarter. Once I got it and started making it I found their claims of it being "super easy" were a little exaggerated. When looking around online I found that other people recommended weighing your salt instead of measuring by volume and that it absolutely did matter what kind of salt you used (so I rinsed the veggies off and started over).

I started them fermenting in August and was supposed to check them in October. Well, it's now January and I've just been too afraid to try them.

There is no mold growing, they've been in a dark room in my basement. The airlocks are all intact. Nothing "looks gross". I opened up one that had cucumbers, carrots, and celery in it and it just smelled vaguely "pickly" (not bad at all). I tasted one and it was just sort of soft-ish and very salty. It's been 2 hours and I'm not dead or sick or anything.

My question is... What are the dangers here? How would I "know" if it "didn't work" or if it "went bad"? This person tested PH and looked at it under a microscope. What would I look for exactly (I happen to have the exact same microscope)? What would happen if they were bad and how long would it take to happen (if I ate some)?

Most stuff I've seen online claims that if it were dangerous it would smell so bad you couldn't even eat it and that this is the absolute most safest method of preservation.


texts:
I saw a video on how to make chapatis and someone made a comment saying you must allow chapatis to fully inflate because it is the steam inside them that cooks them and not fully inflating means you have raw dough evidenced by areas with lighest colour.

This makes me wonder then doesn't microwaving cause chapatis not to fully inflate and so they would end up partly raw as per comments?

Is the only way to fully cook chapatis to put them over fire?  Couldn't you pan heat, grill or bake them etc to have them fully cooked(though I imagine they will not inflate by these methods)?


texts: How to measure a cup of "solid" ingredient?

texts:
I was reading a recipe in which it was mentioned among the ingredients "8 cups of broccoli florets". Measuring by "cups" is for liquids, right? For solid ingredients, are we measuring the "weight" of the ingredient?

How to convert "8 cups of broccoli florets" into kilograms/grams?


texts: Turkish delight: cornstarch or gelatine?

texts:
I've never made Turkish Delight. I've been looking at recipes and I've seen some using cornstarch and others using gelatine. As these two ingredients are completely different binding agents, the question arises which to use?

On the one hand, gelatine is easier for me, on the other hand I think cornstarch is more authentic (not sure about that).

The reason gelatine is easier for me, is that the cornstarch recipes call for cream of tartar and that's a bit difficult to obtain in Spain. I'll try to find it in a drug-store.


texts:
I am not sure about the right terminology as I am not a native speaker, but is it possible to conserve solid food in a jar with a candle?

Boiling is used to decrease air and for the food to be well conserved it must not have much oxygen. The food is suffocating. A tea candle placed inside will suck the air too and will extinguish when there is no sufficient air inside.


texts:
Hi, does anyone know how to make this dessert? It is from Tibet originally, and can be found in a French restaurant under the name 'dolma'. (both the name of the desert and the name of the restaurant)

The white component is 'fromage blanc' (fresh cheese) with honey.

I had it years ago. The main square component was rather sweet and tasted like it was made of flour (and delicious)  but not too sugary.  I can't remember whether it tasted at all  salty or not. No fruits or obvious vegetables inside. (no carrots)


texts: What is the best way to preserve oyster stew?

texts:
Now that the holidays are over, my local grocery store has a glut of pints of pre-shucked oysters they need to unload. I can't pass that up, so I thought I would make a whole mess of oyster stew or chowder and freeze it for later. But that had me wondering, what is the proper way to approach this with minimal damage to the quality/taste/texture of the result?

I could make it all up front and freeze it in pre-portioned amounts. But will it freeze well/properly? Pretty much every recipe is just a whole bunch of fatty dairy (butter, cream), maybe some aromatics, and the oysters. With all that fat, will it freeze well (not separate) and be easy to store without picking up freezer funk?

The alternative I came up with, since the recipe really is so simple -- sweat the aromatics if using them, heat up the dairy and drop in the oysters until cooked -- perhaps it would be better to pre-portion the uncooked oysters and freeze those, probably in a flat puck shape. Then when it's time to eat some stew, I just prepare the recipe as usual and drop in my frozen oyster puck and it probably takes a few extra minutes to cook but it's not really much worse than thawing and reheating the version made with the previous method.

I feel like the second approach will give a better result for the added cost of a few extra minutes when I want to eat it, but I've never frozen oysters in their liquor so maybe I am missing something. I've also never frozen heavy dairy so maybe I am missing something about that also.


texts: Does cast iron have a coating from the manufacturer?

texts:
I have an old Wagner Ware cast iron skillet (marked as model 1056T; measures about 7 inches inside bottom). This was given to me by my grandmother.

Where the handle meets the pan, you can see a marked difference in material. It looks like the pan used to have some sort of coating that has now come off.

I have another one (bought at a thrift shop) that has no markings except "No. 10  12 7/16" on the bottom. It also looks like it had a black coating and a more silver color is showing through on the round ridge on the bottom outside and on the rim edge of the pan.

I keep these seasoned, but neither behaves as well as the Lodge pan I bought new a few years ago.

So I'm wondering if they originally would have had some sort of coating. I thought not, but they just look so odd.


texts: How to turn pasta sauce into a longer-lasting ketchup?

texts:
I was making a bacon sandwich earlier and I have some nice jars of tomato pasta sauce in the cupboard. I thought it'd make a great relish but it would go off too quickly in the fridge to make i economical. It got me wondering whether there's anything you can do to make an existing tomato sauce into a something with a longer shelf life.

For example, could you add vinegar or salt to tip the sauce over into more of a preserved sauce?

Similar question might apply to salsas, I suppose?


texts:
I just moved into a house which has a fridge that has humidity control on a couple of it's doors. The scale simply reads "low" to "high".

So, aside from the question of how this fridge is actually responding to the scale (I suspect it is not doing much), does anyone know what to store at "low" humidity and what to store at "high" humidity?

My instinct would basically be to store everything at low humidity - low moisture, low change of spoilage - but obviously I am missing something.


texts: I was trying to get a smooth, frothy peanut butter frosting. I used a cup of creamy peanut butter, half a cup of butter, and 2 cups of powdered sugar. I liked the consistency of the mixture. But I accidentally left it on the stove and the heat of the oven caused the frosting to melt. The sugar is crystallized, and the color is much darker now. Also, its a lot thicker than I want it to be. What do I do now? Is it ruined, or is there a way for me to rescue it?


texts: Mystery kitchen device with three finger loops, one attached to a sliding rod that passes through a ring

texts: This is an oddball question but I am hoping someone can help me identify this device, which appears intended for use in a kitchen based on its location in a drawer full of other kitchen tools. As you can see it is about 4 inches long.


texts:
Sometimes you want to buy an avocado, but all they have are hard on touch and you know they are not ready yet; they are rubbery and untasty.

One can buy them and wait couple days, they ripen sooner or later (hopefully before they get spoiled).

Are there any tricks and tips on how to speed up the ripening? Like special storage, some treatment to the avocado etc.


texts:
I went out to buy flour for making regular western bread (perhaps sourdough if I can make the starter) and the only flour I could find was a 5kg Chakki Atta (medium) from a generic brand in my local supermarket. The package has no extra information about the contents.

That got me thinking: how do i find out what's the protein percentage in a particular flour without resorting to the package label? For sure there must be a scientific way, but how can I do it at home?


texts: What is the ideal grind for making espresso?

texts:
I know that there is no "ideal" grind for making espresso (or rather, like most things, it depends on the machine and the tastes of the drinker), but I am looking for guidelines as to how different grinding levels effects the end product, so I know what to look/taste for.

In particular, is there any clear indication that the grind is too fine?

I use a Capresso conical burr grinder and a Delonghi EC155 pump espresso machine, and usually either Metropolis or Intelligentsia espresso beans (my local brands), in case this level of detail helps!


texts: Can I use Pillsbury premade pie crust for cookie dough?  If so, does it need to be flatten and add a little sugar?  Want to make some fruit filled cookies without making cookie dough.  Thank you.


texts: How do chefs know when to start cooking each dish in a restaurant?

texts:
At a restaurant, you frequently order starters and main courses simultaneously.

In almost all restaurants I have visited, main courses come comfortably after you have finished your starter and had your table cleared.

How is this timing arranged? I appreciate it may vary slightly from establishment to establishment. My ideas so far are:

Servers use the pos system to mark when a starter is finished
– this would make sense, except if they are cooking a dish from scratch its impressive its ready so quickly.
They time it a set number of minutes after the starter – this would give them time to prepare everything, however a slower table would receive a cold main course.


texts: How can I remove burnt smell from white sauce?

texts:
I was preparing white sauce from milk.
I started with boiling one half litres skimmed milk for the above.
The bottom was getting burnt as I was not stirring continuously.

Finally the white sauce for pasta had the pungent smell of burnt milk.
I have tried adding peeled raw potatoes but no idea if it worked as the burnt milk smell and taste prevailed.
Then, tried adding sugar step by step while stirring...still the smell was persisting.
I have tried increasing garlic and onion but the taste and smell remained.

Please let me know how the burnt smell of milk can be removed in these kind of sauces.
Thank you.


texts: How to get flour quesadilla light and crispy?

texts:
My homemade quesadillas made with flour tortillas always come out hard, dry and crunchy instead of light and crispy.

I spray the tortillas with a little Pam (spray oil), lay one tortilla oil-side-down in a hot pan, I sprinkle the cheese, meat and sliced peppers, top with the other tortilla, oil-side-up.  I flip it when the bottom tortilla is firm and evenly brown-spotted. It's always too dry.  I want it to be more like it's a chimichanga crust but of course, that's been fried which can't be done with a quesadilla or all the filling would fall out.

I've looked online but the recipes seem to use the same preparation method that I do.

Any suggestions to make the tortilla lighter and crispier? Thanks everyone!


texts: Difference between two cleavers - straight back vs curved

texts: Hopefully this is a quick, simple question. What is the effective difference between a traditional cleaver (something like this) and a straight back cleaver (like this)? I can't tell if the curved blade near the front would be helpful or hurt the my normal usage of a cleaver (hacking up carcasses).


texts:
Our family consumes a lot of olives. About 5 years ago, we started buying the 55oz cans of Lindsey sliced black olives. We put them in about 7 separate plastic containers (Hillshire Farms sliced deli meat containers) and then refrigerate them. As we finish off a container, we open a new one. We've done this for years without a problem.

Of the last 3 cans, though, by the time we get to the third container of olives, they're starting to mold. All the containers of remaining olives are molding. Why would this suddenly start happening? We haven't really changed anything, so I can only assume that Lindsey has changed something.

Is there something we can do to prevent this?

At the rate we consume olives, it's just ridiculous to buy those tiny little cans. Even if we only go through two of the containers before they go bad, we're saving money, but we hate the idea of wasting all those olives.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: How to keep pumpkin fresh for a long time?

texts:
I want to store some (about 10 kg.s) fresh pumpkin for a long time (3-6  months) to use in pumpkin pies mostly. What's the most useful way of doing it?

Can I put them in freezer? Raw or cooked? And if I do does it lose
quality/taste after defrosting?
Another option I have is to can
    them in glass jars.

Considering taste which one is the best option?


texts: English name for cut of meat (Cacho de Paleta)

texts:
I was given a cut of meat that I am unfamiliar with. I was told the Spanish name is Cacho de Paleta. I'm not sure how to prepare it, and was hoping to find some recipes and preparation tips online. To do that, I was hoping someone could tell me the English name for this cut of meat, so that I can search for it online.

The cut appears to come from the upper leg of the cow (the shank, perhaps?). You can see a picture and a diagram of the section of the cow it comes from here.

What is the English name for this cut?


texts: Where in Pakistan can I buy a kettle BBQ?

texts:
I soon will be traveling to Pakistan and I want to do lots of BBQs there.

First I thought about taking a BBQ with me as you can see in the picture:

But seems like it will be difficult to take it with me, and it might damage in transition.

Question

Is there any online/offline place I could buy such a kettle BBQ in Pakistan (Islamabad/Rawalpindi around to be exact).

It would be a bonus to know the price as well.


texts: Measuring Oven Temperature: Surface or Air?

texts:
I've noticed in my convection oven, there is a difference between the air and the surface temperature of the metal baking pan on the top shelf.

Which is the better reference for measuring oven temperature?

And, does the answer change depending on what is being baked and the method of baking?

Notes:

In this specific case I'm baking baguettes on said metal baking pan.

I use an IR gun for the surface temp of the pan and an oven thermometer hanging from the same top shelf for the air temp.

If I place the oven thermometer on the pan then both show the same temperature.


texts: I'm looking or good online sources for spices.  Good selection and good prices.


texts:
Recently when I scrambled some eggs, I noticed some bright blue patches inside the eggs. Not around the outside, but when I took a bite out of part of one there was a bright blue patch in the uneaten half.

It wasn't even a natural, mold sort of blue, but looked almost like dye. But I didn't notice anything when I first cracked the egg. One of my friends has had a similar experience. How could this happen?

I discarded the rest of the eggs, but would they have been safe to eat?


texts: Is there any advantage of filleting a fish at home instead of buying a fillet?

texts:
Is it 'fresher' and therefore maybe tastier to fillet a fish right before cooking, or is buying a fillet just as good?

In other words; is there any difference in quality between a fillet that has been a fillet for a while (at the fish market) vs. a freshly cut fillet, assuming both fish were caught and held under the same circumstances?


texts: I normally buy paneer only if it's packed within previous day of two. Apart from checking the date of packaging, is there anyway to check whether the paneer is fresh or sour? Also, when paneer itself has a tinge of sour taste, why do people soak paneer in vinegar before using it in curries?


texts:
I have a recipe that calls for pan frying fish and my goal is to find a healthier way to do it. I want to stay true to the recipe, i.e. I don't want to use breadcrumbs when baking the fish fillet in the oven, I want it to be cooked but slightly crispy, especially the side with skin. Could I possibly, lightly baste it in EVOO and then bake it in the oven? Will this turn out about the same but with less oil?
If you have another suggestion or method that would result in a healthier option, I'd love to hear them!

Edit: Fish is black sea bass


texts:
At my favorite local Thai restaurant, they have a trio of spicy condiments available to add to your food. Of the three, one is chile-garlic sauce, one is a crushed dried red pepper of some kind, and the third is very mysterious to me.

It is a thick, dark (nearly black) chunky "paste" (ok, to chunky to be a paste, but I don't have a better word for it... 'jam' maybe?).

It is clearly made primarily of chilis, and I believe some kind of oil, but I'm not sure what else might be in it.

It has a very interesting flavour -- kind of roasty and spicy? Maybe some garlic in there too?

Any ideas as to what this mysterious roasty black chili "jam" might be?

In googling for Thai condiments, I keep finding several standard condiments, but none of them are this.

(I guess I could ask at the restaurant, but where's the fun in that? Plus I always forget when I am there...)


texts: Should an enameled cast iron pan be seasoned?

texts: Should I season my Michael Symon Home enameled cast iron frying pan?


texts: Wrong consistency when making "after eight" chocolate

texts:
I am following a very simple recipe for making peppermint-stuffed chocolate, like the "After Eight" kind. I have a problem with the uniformity of the mint mass and am looking for advice.

A few spoons of egg white is hand-mixed with 60 g flormelis (icing sugar). Then a few drops of peppermint extract is mixed in. That's it.

The texture tastes good but is very "corny". You can taste and feel the small icing sugar grains, as if it is not fully dissolved. It tastes very strongly of icing sugar and then the aftertaste is the perfect peppermint taste.

I am looking for a method or recipe to make a smooth version of mint filling for the chocolates.


texts: Do unopened bottles of Gin and Campari turn bad in extreme heat?

texts:
just got back from a trip with 2 new bottles of campari and gin, then forgot them for 24 hours in the trunk of my car, in a hot day (30C degrees) :(

Should I just throw them away? or are they still good?


texts:
Making turkey chili for the week's dinners. Three tablespoons of chili powder: one, two, CRUD THAT"S CINNAMON!

I now have a slow cooker holding 1.5 pounds of turkey meat, cooked onion and two green peppers, and two TABLESPOONS of cinnamon. I have read recipes with cinnamon in chili, but never so much. Can anyone make a recommendation to save this dish?

Other items I have on hand and was expecting to use include chili powder, cocoa powder, other spices, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, several times of canned beans (pinto - black or brown; chickpeas). And a few other things around the house.
Thank you!


texts: Best way to preserve choco-chip cookies: food saver?

texts:
Hi cookie perfectionists!

What is the best way to preserve chocolate chip cookies for one-week? Here's my short-list:

Vacuum-sealed mason jars?
Vacuum-sealed bags? (will deform the cookies)
Any of the above w/ refrigeration?
w/o refrigeration?

What's your experience of the longest you stored a cookie, gave it to someone, and they said it was "really good!"?


texts:
I was wondering about the methods used to produce non-uniformly (i.e., not a box or cylinder) shaped cakes. Let's say, I want a t-rex shaped cake (I went to engineering school long enough to know how to compute the balance as long as the batter is even, so I don't think design is the issue here)

I was wondering if using a mold would help. Maybe I can make a mold for a shaped cake, but how much of the cake would have to be exposed to air in the oven?


texts:
This might seem like barbaric question, but is it possible to bring refrigerated biga up to "frisky" temperature in a microwave, without damaging it?

I'm too impatient to just let the warm room take care of it... Thoughts?


texts: Why do frozen vegetable packets advise cooking from frozen, and should I follow that advice?

texts:
Packets of frozen vegetables often say "cook from frozen" or "do not defrost" in the cooking instructions. For stir frying at least, many people recommend the opposite, such as in this question. I can understand the logic behind defrosting, but the recommendations don't explain why I should trust them over the packet directions.

Why do packets say "cook from frozen", and if I'm not supposed to follow that instruction, why not? Is it based on a myth? Is there a legitimate problem with cooking thawed vegetables that can actually be circumvented to achieve even better results?

I'm particularly interested in stir-frying mixed vegetables and baking french fries but this can apply to other methods of cooking too.


texts:
In some cases hot milk is needed.
My example is a ready made mixture for milk rice.
The direction says I should heat the milk until it shows foam raising, which often raises up to the rim (or more).
I would think it is enough to heat to 2 °C below boiling should be ok, for example? Or to when it almost boils, from experience?

Why is this needed?
Just to assure the milk is heated to it's boiling point?
Or maybe to have some specific reactions taking place?


texts:
I know how to make crêpes, however they have some tendency to be a bit ugly aesthetically speaking.

Each time I go to a crêperie, I can see this kind of crêpes :

However, when I try myself, I often end up with something much thicker, with less even browning, like this but thicker:

What can I do to improve my crêpe-fu? Is it possible to achieve the prettiness of the first picture?


texts: What can I do with leftover almond pulp?

texts: After making almond milk, I'm left with almond pulp that is flavourless. How can I use it instead of throwing it out?


texts: How much magnesium is in Hinode Calrose rice?

texts:
I was looking for foods high in magnesium and I stumbled into Calrose rice. One source said 3000% for a quarter cup which is rediculous must be mistake but there is no other source that talks about magnesium content.
So I assume it has probably never been measured. Does anybody know?


texts: Why bring steaks to room temp before grilling

texts:
It is standard advice to bring steaks to room temp before grilling.  (Actually meat generally, and I absolutely agree w.r.t. roasts etc, but I am talking aout steaks on the grill here).
I like a pretty hard sear on the outside and almost rare inside ... well-rare as opposed to medium-rare.   I find it easier to do this (without ending up with well-medium) if I start with the steak at a cooler temperature.
Is this wrong?


texts:
I haven't baked anything for over a decade. But the other day I decided to have a go at doing a Victoria sponge. As a result, I now have lots of questions. But I'll try to keep things focused.

All the recipies I've found are slightly different, but they all say essentially the same thing: Measure identical quantities of butter, sugar, flour and eggs. Cream the butter and sugar together. Sift the flour, beat the eggs. Alternate between adding egg and adding flour until everything has been added.

The recipe suggests cooking for 20 minutes at 180°C. A similar recipe for fairy cakes suggests cooking for 8 to 10 minutes at 180°C. (Presumably fairy cakes, being smaller, cook through more quickly.)

So far, so good. The only trouble is... the cooking times seem to be miles off.

I tried cooking a large sponge. After 20 minutes, I pulled the tray out of the oven to take a look. The surface was dry, but given the way the whole cake was rippling, it was clearly just a thin skin over a fully liquid centre. The cake was actually cooked after a about 1 hour and 20 minutes. In other words, it took about 4 times longer to cook than the recipe says.

Similarly, when I made fairy cakes, they cook roughly an hour to cook.

Obviously cooking times are a guideline. All sorts of variables affect how long a given item will actually take to cook. But is it usual for something to require 4x as long as the recipe says? What might cause that?

(In case it matters, this is a gas oven. It's not fan-assisted or anything. And I'm placing the tray near but not at the top.)


texts:
In short, is it safe to make pickled eggs where the yolk is still soft?

I want to make some jars of pickled eggs to give as Christmas presents but I hate hard boiled eggs. I have a technique down pat that results in solid egg whites and yolks that are orange and have a gel texture. Having never even seen pickled eggs with anything other than hard boiled yolks, it got me wondering whether there's some kind of food safety reason behind that. I've done some searching around on everything from food safety websites to food websites, to pickling blogs, to here and I can't find anything relating to yolks that are anything other than hard boiled.

Can anyone advise me on any possible safety concerns with using eggs that have yolks that are still not entirely set in the middle?


texts: Why can't I tighten my olive oil bottle?

texts: It seems every olive oil bottle I buy lately is not made to be tightened all the way.  Why?


texts: What is the best material for a cooking spoon?

texts: We use standard wooden spoons, but they soon pick up stains from the various dishes. What are the pros and cons of the various woods, e.g. olive, Cilio Toscana Olivewood, beechwood, maple, bamboo, etc? Is there a 'best', or is it just a matter of style or personal preference?


texts: How do you keep corned beef from falling apart in the crockpot?

texts: I cooked 3.5 pounds of corned beef in the crock pot last week with the intentions of making reubens. Taste wise the dish was great, but the corned beef fell apart and I did not get those pretty deli slices I was hoping for. I cooked the beef according to my butcher's recommendation, and verified the cooking time later with an online resource and they were pretty close. Did I miss something in the process or is there a better preparation method other than a crock pot for cooking corned beef?


texts: How to freeze your own produce & meals, without cell wall break down?

texts:
I've just spend 30 minutes reading online, and got a bit frustrated. I want to be able to freeze my own grown vegetables & even meals to a very high standard. I can't quite be bothered with liquid nitrogen, but I'd like to get great quality and I'm up for almost anything.

Given things lose quality due to cell wall break down, what I'd like is for someone with experience to explain, how I can get good results, freezing food.

I get the feeling a traditional freezer just isn't cold enough, how do we get around this? Is there a certain temperature? Are there colder freezer's than normal? If I increase the surface area of the food, does that prevent cell wall break down? Any techniques?
What sort of quality have you had with freezing foods? Any recomendations?


texts: Isi cream whipper head valve sticks open

texts:
I have an isi 1/2 liter cream whipper which I purchased in 2010. It has worked well until recently when the head valve began sticking open. I purchased a new head valve, but the problem remains. It has been thoroughly cleaned and also has a new lid gasket.
I tried to use it today for the first time with the new valve. When I first dispensed some cream, it seemed fine, but when I released the lever, cream continued to ooze out. The valve was not returning to the closed position. This is what it was doing with the old valve. Any suggestions?


texts:
How do you keep a cheesecake from absorbing water baked in a waterbath?
I put four sheets of aluminum foil around my springform pan and it still leaks onto the crust.


texts: How do big companies make sure their product always looks and tastes the same?

texts:
When professional bakeries or companies such as Dunkin' Donuts or Panos create their dishes, how do they make sure the end product has the same look and taste as always?

Do they just premake huge volumes of the dough, and let the establishment simply pour the stuff into a shape (e.g. muffins) so they always deliver the same muffin to the customer?

If so, what machines do they use for it, as opposed to amateur cooking to always use the same amount of grams of each ingredient, and the way it is mixed, etc?


texts:
If the dough only has flour and oil instead of water will it proof? And should I use the same amount of yeast as I would if using water? In the case that water is needed, what is the minimum proportion that will make the dough proof?

I'm working on a pastry recipe which ingredients are:

500 g flour
250 g sugar
250 ml EVOO
5 g ADY or 25 g fresh yeast
1 tbsp aniseed
1 tbsp cinnamon
Almonds

The “Tortas de Algarrobo” are andalusian olive oil cookies. The traditional recipe is the same the Arabs brought with them hundreds of years ago: sugar, cinnamon, aniseed, almonds, flour and oil, without any additives.
The list of ingredients for the ones I buy which are the ones I like and want to do is: flour, sugar, EVOO, aniseed, cinnamon, almonds and yeast.
When I do them I get a crunchy cookie but the ones I buy are tender, which makes me wonder if the yeast I use is working.


texts: What are the mechanics of raw milk and products made from it?

texts:
I'm stuck in a bit of a strange predicament... As many of you know, getting access to raw milk is a problem for many in the Western world, whereas information is abundant. Yet, here I finally am with an unlimited source of raw milk but unable to find any meaningful/decent information.
I was hoping one of you could guide me with either a link or just a quick summary.
Basically, I just want to know what the underlying processes are for working with raw milk and what it turns into under what conditions?
For example: the other day I wanted to make sour cream. I found an article online that said: raw milk doesn't rot, leave it out at room temp for not more than 2 days, gather the cream from the top, and put it into a mason jar for another day. I mean sure -- these are good pointers on how to get from point A ("I have raw milk") to point B ("I have sour cream"), but very little actual information on the underlying workings (what happens if I leave it out for 3 or 4 days? After I gather the cream, what is the remaining transparent liquid in the jar and what can I do with it? etc).
Basically, I'm not looking for specifics on how to get from a point A to a point B, but rather -- if I'm at point A, what points can I get to from there, and where can I get to afterwards?
How (in a short quick approximative summary) does one make yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, buttermilk, butter, cheese, etc?
I apologize for the dumb question and really appreciate any response(s) in advance.


texts: My precooked vacuum sealed ham was left in garage at 45 degrees Overnight is it still good to make

texts: Left my precooked vacuum sealed ham out in 45 degree garage over night is it still good to make


texts: Is there a non-alcoholic beverage that has bubbles like champagne?

texts:
When drinking champagne, my favorite aspect of the drink, is the endless bubbles floating in tiny streams to the surface along the edge of a champagne flute.   I have very nice champagne flutes, but most sparkling fruit juices just don't have the same bubble action as any champagne.
Is there a non-alcoholic alternative to champagne, that has bubble action similar to champagne?
I ask, because I am physically unable to drink alcohol anymore.


texts:
I have a question about roasting a turkey crown. I've seen plenty of advice on cooking a whole turkey, but nothing on turkey crowns. Does the same advice for whole turkeys apply to crowns?

Cooking it upside down to let it self baste, rubbing butter under the skin, covering with bacon, et cetera. I know that my mum has a habit of overcooking turkey and making it dry, I'm cooking for her this Mother's Day and want to show her how it's done.


texts: I love there store bought coconut flavoured yogurts. I usually make my own but i cant find any type of coconut aromas around (even synthetics). Is there some way to do some similar yogurts?  I use powdered milk, whey and casein in my yogurts so the only missing ingredient is the aroma.


texts: Is poultry suitable for dry aging like beef is?

texts:
In "The Science of Good Cooking" it is said that the reason why a roast at a restaurant tastes so well is because they age their meat for days. Enzymes break down the protein (not collagen) and make the muscles more tender.

I wonder if that same process is applicable to poultry. Is there a point to dry aging (or cooking on a very low temp for long time. Not slow cooking) a chicken roast or a chicken breast?


texts: Why does my pavlova always look like this?

texts:
It has circles on it every time I try to make it. And sometimes it just won't dry - it's soft; it doesn't really crack like I hope it would! It always sinks and the bottom is kinda sticky and dark brownish.

(click for full size)

Here's the recipe I used this time:

3 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp corn flour
3/4 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

I baked it at 150C for 1 and 1/4 hours. I have a small oven. What did I do wrong? Would beating the mixture longer help?


texts: Is there any diminishing return on grinding spices for a "tea"?

texts:
I'm actually making root beer, but I've found the best way is to boil herbs and spices the same way one would make a tea, and then I add sweetener, leave it to chill, and use a carbonation device to add bubbles.

So far I've been using ready made root beer ingredients that come either in extracts or in bags of herbs, like a loose leaf tea. Now I want to go the next step and make my own blend.

I've got a recipe I want to try and have bought all the ingredients I need in whole form. I'm wondering if there is any advantage in grinding them up. This answer on this site leads me to believe that it's workable to leave spices whole, but I feel like that wouldn't be the case with a whole nutmeg nut. Surely the flavour would not be accessed by boiling water in such a hard and thick nut?

I also learned that in the case of tea, it's actually inadvisable to boil or steep them for too long, as it releases bitter tannins. So I wonder if grinding down spices to "release" more flavour might also have adverse affects.

So, bottom line, maybe you can boil spices whole, but maybe it's better to chop or grind them a little? And if so, how far should one take it?


texts:
My girlfriend loves the taste of Tonka beans, so I got her some for Christmas. We are however struggling to find that many recipes involving them, and the ones we have found seem to vary from saying use very little (i.e. 1 tsp of grated) to a whole bean.

Does anyone have any experience with Tonka beans and pointers for where some good recipes may be, or which foods they work best in?

Thanks


texts: How is it that (temperature) heat makes some seasonings and foods (spicy) hotter, but mellows others?

texts:
Toasting many spices,and heating some peppers increases and brings out the spice and heat. Other foods, such as onions, shallots and garlic (yes, I know they're from the same family; just can't think of other examples right offhand), it mellows their bite.

Is there something scientific to this? It doesn't seem to be component specific, as capsaicin is the main heat element in peppers, but some, such as jalapenos, actually seem to mellow a bit with roasting.
Unless the ones I've roasted were just randomly mellower like jalapenos from even the same plant can vary anyway?

I understand the pepper itself doesn't actually get hotter; cooking just releases some of the capsaicin oils. But why would it affect other foods the opposite way, and how would peppers even vary in how they respond to cooking heat?


texts: Why is it safe to bake a fish when unsaturated fats degrade in low temperatures?

texts:
Unsaturated fats are less stable than saturated fats, and they degrade at much lower temperatures. For this reason we don't use most unrefined cold-pressed oils for cooking. But what about processing food that's naturally rich in unsaturated fats, such as fish?

Or a similar case - butter smoke point is 150C, yet it is commonly used to bake cakes at temperatures such as 180C.

Is there something going on that prevents fats from degrading in these situations? Or is it no different from picking wrong type of fat for cooking?


texts: Is white vinegar the same as White Wine vinegar?

texts: Is white vinegar, aka the stuff just labelled as "vinegar" in the US and which I use for cleaning my kettle, the same as "White wine vinegar", which I have purchased on accident a time or two? If not, what is white vinegar made of?


texts:
My garden is brimming over with chocolate mint, and I want to make mint chocolate ice cream with it.  The general plan is to use cocoa, as opposed to melting chocolate, and steep the chocolate mint in the cream.  I have two questions:  1) how long should I allow the mint to steep in the cream, and 2) is it preferable to steep it cold or hot (over heat)?

Thank you in advance :)


texts: Are there any differences between "baby" vegetables and their "regular" counterparts

texts:
I'm referring to vegetables like baby carrots, baby spinach, baby cucumber, etc.  Supermarkets sell quite a few "baby" varieties of vegetables and they seem to be priced more expensive per ounce than their "regular" counterparts.

Am I naive thinking that (for instance) baby carrots are simply carrots harvested early?  Or are they a different kind of carrot, just small?

I'm looking for nutritional as well as culinary differences.  For instance, if a recipe calls for a "baby" vegetable, can you substitute it for a finely chopped regular vegetable?


texts: What is the guideline sourdough to flour to water ratio for 24-hour feeding?

texts:
I have a batch of sourdough that I've been maintaining and feeding for months, and currently trying to save from spoiling after repetitive periods of laziness, where I left the batch unfed for more than two days. It leavens the bread dough just fine and the bread dough smells nice after 12 hours of fermenting, but the sourdough starter itself smells a little off, or I simply haven't liked its smell as of lately. I noticed that with regular feeding and care, though, that undesirable smell is weakening and it's starting to smell more acceptable as time goes by. My hope is that this is the good guys slowly overtaking any bad guys (the ones responsible for the off smell) as the weeks go by, and that sourdough starter can be saved after periods of irresponsibility toward the lovely pets. =)

Now, with that introduction out of the way, my question is: What is the sourdough to flour to water ratio that I should use if I only want to feed my sourdough once a day, or every 24 hours, instead of twice daily or every 12 hours, and still have it stay healthy?

For example, should I be adding 200 g fresh flour and 200 g water (for a total of 400 g) to 200 g of sourdough once a day? Or is it better to use a 2:2:1 ratio of 240 g fresh flour and 240 g water to 120 g of sourdough when one's feeding every 24 hours?

Thanks for any help or tips with this.


texts:
It seems to be common knowledge that pineapple tenderizes meat. Most sources say that it does so due to proteases (specifically bromelain). However, I've also seen suggestions that acid is an effective tenderizer on its own, and the Wikipedia article on bromelain in the meat tenderizing section says:

  Although the quantity of bromelain in a typical serving of pineapple fruit is probably not significant, specific extraction can yield sufficient quantities for domestic and industrial processing.

which is sort of wishy-washy but might mean that there's not actually enough there for tenderizing.

It does seem that pineapple is effective, one way or another. (See for example Will a pineapple marinade reduce a beef roast to paste?)

So what's going on here?

Is the acidity important? Would something equally acidic tenderize just as well? It looks like lemon and lime juice have lower pH than pineapple juice, so how effective are they?

Is the bromelain important? Could you hypothetically neutralize the acidity of pineapple juice and still use it to tenderize, or do you need larger quantities of bromelain extracted for it to be effective?


texts: Inexpensive vacuum sealer not pulling out air

texts:
I bought a Seal-a-Meal for sous-vide cooking. It felt like a bargain at the time, it was very inexpensive because it was a close-out model. It seals great, I'm not having any problem with leaking, but it only pulls out the air maybe one out of five times. Other times it doesn't seem to suck any air at all. So the bag wants to float and there is too much air insulating the food from the water bath.

I don't want to spend any more money at this point, I want to make this machine work for me. Is there a trick I'm missing?


texts: Uncooked meatballs out in crockpot all day?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is it safe to cook a steak that was left out (raw) for 7 hours?

My boyfriend and I prepared a delicious meatball dinner but forgot to plug in the crockpot !! we left them out all day while at work (9 am - 6 pm) in a sauce. It was cold out that day and I left the thermostat on 62 F (16 C). Should we throw them out?! There were 20 meatballs in total and I'll feel awful wasting all that food!


texts:
What can I use to substitute for jaggery in curries or dals? I've tried white and brown sugar, raw and polished, but there's still some vital taste component missing.

Is there a way to simulate that distinctive flavor profile with other ingredients?


texts: Why does oil bubble when you fry things?

texts:
My apologies if this question is misplaced, but I've always wondered: what causes the oil to bubble and sizzle when you fry something in it?

It's always intrigued me that I could take a totally inert-looking pan of hot oil and turn into a frenzy by dropping a piece of potato (or something else) in.


texts: Can I freeze bread dough after the first rising?

texts: The bread dough that I am making calls for it to rise for 1 hour, knead for 5 minutes, then rise for another hour, shape into loaves, rise for 45 minutes, then bake.  So can I freeze the dough after the first rise?


texts:
I'm looking to spatchcock a turkey this year, and I was wondering what size of bird (in pounds) would fit on a standard quarter sized baking sheet.

My oven is relatively small (it looks like it can fit something up to about 15 inches x 18 inches) and we're looking to try something different for Thanksgiving this year. I suppose the oven should fit a half sized baking sheet in a pinch, but I don't own one.

Aside: is there a simple way to cut the back bone up without using a meat cleaver (which I don't own)?


texts: Is it scientifically verified that bananas will ripen faster when kept in a bowl with other fruit?

texts:
I've heard you shouldn't keep bananas in a bowl with other fruit. But they all look so happy together.

What I'd like to see is hard science here. Or at least documented and repeatable observation. For example, I read lots of people saying simply "it's the ethylene gas", but what's eluded my searching eye is a chart of which common fruits emit how much of this gas, or the ripening effect of x amount of this gas for y duration at z distance from other fruits in the vicinity. I'd do an experiment myself, but I don't have any particular biology expertise to properly structure a control, etc., and maybe it's already been done?

While I'm not saying this oft-heard claim is false, I am saying I've neither been convinced that it's verifiably so as far as having been proven, nor convinced that any ripening-hastening is of significant concern (shortens the life of a banana by a day or more). If it is, we'll have to issue a cease-and-desist order to my household regarding the convenient stacking of all our colorful fruit friends in one place.

Follow-up inquiry: Even if this banana ripening-rate-quickening is true for apples and oranges, are there certain fruits that are okay to leave in the bowl with bananas?


texts: Is storing homeade dressing with garlic powder safe?

texts:
I would like to make a salad dressing with apple cider vinegar, evoo, maple syrup, mustard, onion and garlic powder, cayenne, and italian seasoning. I know nothing about food safety, is it safe to store this in the fridge for a week or two? Is there any risk for botulism?

Thanks!


texts: Looking for a Finnish bread name and recipe

texts:
About 20 years ago, I went to Finland to visit a friend and I had the opportunity to stay with her and her parents.

They treated me with home-made meals. It was really good.

I remember that they have a special bread which serves as a meal. It was filled with small fishes and an unknown sauce. When you cut it open, the content was flowing outside of the crust.

I asked my friend about it but she couldn't find an answer. I'd love to find the name of that bread / dish.


texts:
I received an unwanted letter and, my county not allowing open-burning, I used my closed-top propane grill to burn it. After sticking it into the slots, I realized that this is imprudent, because of the plastic in the envelope (and possibly in the letter: I didn't open in, only rip it in half). The letter is now thoroughly burned, though the charred burnt paper is still in the bottom of the grill.

The only question now is how safe or unsafe is the grill? What should I do to clean the grill? Other than charred paper, there is no other visible residue.

I have read this question, but the linked question is about rust and concerns bacterial poisoning, not chemical.


texts: shelf life question regarding mayonnaise based sauce

texts:
I make this mayonnaise based sauce that my friends all rave over and I wanted to make a large batch, can it (which I've never done before) and give it out as a gift. I'm nervous about giving away something without understanding how long it can be preserved in the refrigerator.

The sauce has 1 part white wine vinegar, 1 part water and 6 parts mayonnaise, in addition to minced garlic and other spices. Any ideas on how long this might last, or where I can find better literature about preserving in general?


texts:
I went to buy what was advertised as "poached" salmon from my supermarket's prepared food counter and noticed that some of the edges were browned, so I was like, "Huh?". I interrogated the guy whose response was more or less unintelligible, but he did use the word "pan" which made me even more confused. How are they using a pan to "poach" salmon?

So, naturally, I escalated the situation to customer service who summoned the cooking manager. From her statements it quickly becomes evident that she did not know what "poaching" means. She reveals that the salmon is actually put on pans and then exposed to steam to cook it. Obviously there must be some additional heat source other than just the steam because browning is occurring.

So, I am wondering what is this machine that supermarkets have that is being used to make fake poached salmon. Is there such a thing as a steam oven or something like that? What is the technology here?


texts: Can potato gnocchi dough be overworked or simply break?

texts:
I made potato gnocchi today but while kneading the dough I noticed that within the 5th minute of kneading the dough suddenly starting excessively sticking to my hands and to my bamboo cutting board.

Is this a symptom of over kneading or breaking? Or could my hands have lost all the flour which escaped my notice.

As soon as it started doing that I start rolling it and cooked. It turned good(I think).


texts: Does acidity negate double-acting baking powder?

texts:
As described here, most common baking powders contain two acids, one that reacts to moisture, and one that mostly reacts when heated. Does that mean that if my dough is already acidic (and has no baking soda to neutralize said acid), all the baking soda in the baking powder will get used up when mixed with the wet ingredients, leaving none for the second reaction during heating?

If so, what rules can I follow to make sure that my dough/batter has a neutral pH and will therefore get that second rise? How much baking soda would be needed to neutralize certain amounts of acidic ingredients like buttermilk, sour cream, cocoa, honey, vinegar, lemon juice, molasses, etc?

EDIT: I'm using Magic Baking Powder by Kraft Canada, which consists of cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate, and sodium bicarbonate.


texts: Are the citrus seeds necessary when making marmalade?

texts: Are the seeds necessary when making marmalade to extract pectin? If so, should the seeds be whole or ground up? Is the best way to keep them separate with a cheesecloth bag? This recipe is with Seville oranges and low in sugar.


texts:
I was wondering if anyone knew why my spring rolls split when I freeze them? They are a larger spring roll, filled with veges, noodles & meat. I wrap them in 2 sheets of pastry and I put them in a container 3 spring rolls deep. It's not the weight of the spring rolls on top because the top layer are just as split as the bottom layer. They also get quite soggy when defrosting due to the condensation in the container melting.
Thanks


texts: Does soaking almonds have the same effect as blanching and removing the skins when making almond milk?

texts:
I love almond milk, and it's relatively easy to make, however the recipes I've used all call for removing the skins by blanching before blending with water and straining. However I find the skinning process to be tedious to the point where I no longer make almond milk.

I have seen other recipes call for soaking almonds overnight before blending / straining. Does this serve the same purpose as removing the skins via. blanching -- removing the bitterness associated with the almond skin?


texts: Is there any way to add pasta to soup without the pasta doubling in size and getting mushy in the fridge later.I've even tried putting uncooked pasta in with the same result.


texts: Is there any way to make single cream to double cream?

texts: Whipping cream is hard to find where I live in India. We have a dairy brand named "Amul" which sells cream of butterfat content of 25% and cannot be whipped! Whipping cream has about 35% fat content but its not available here. Can I add butter in it to increase the fat content needed for whipping, while stirring constantly for even distribution of fat?


texts:
In Asian restaurants the soup comes with a flat-bottomed spoon.  It seems awkward to use this spoon as one would a "western" spoon.

Is there a special technique to using a Chinese Spoon?
What is the functional reason for having the flat bottom?


texts: Can you get food poisoning from calamari rings?

texts:
I'm asking because cooking time can be hard to nail down - the quick cooking version involves cooking them for only 1-2 minutes (once thawed). It seems like such a low cooking time would be prone to error (some people sauté them instead of immersing them in oil, leading to possibly uneven cooking)

Is this type of food much lower risk of food poisoning compared to meat or other fish?


texts: How long can we store honey in the home?

texts: Sometimes honey changes its colour; can this affect its taste? How long can I store honey in my home kitchen?


texts: How do I make the chicken absorb more salt by freezing it?

texts:
I previously asked How to make chicken absorb more salt when cooking a soup? on how to make the chicken in my soup absorb more salt water, as I have noticed that the amount of absorption changes in some days. Note that the recipe is simple: Add 1.5 liter water, 1 kilogram chicken, and 8 grams of salt in a pot; bring to boil; simmer and eat. There are no vegetables.

The major reason the answerer gave was pore size influenced by freezing. Initially I thought he hit the nail, as I do recall the few days the absorption was good were the days I had taken it from the freezer.

Having been using frozen chicken since then, however, the absorption doesn't seem to be occuring while cooking. I am thinking that perhaps it is due to the way the chicken is being frozen. Factors I have thought about include:

If the chicken's skin isn't removed, the freezing doesn't open pores effectively. (However, I sometimes have removed the skin, then frozen the chicken; yet, this didn't help.)
Perhaps the duration of freezing makes the difference. (I used some old chicken, and it didn't work either.)
Sometimes I have cut the chicken into small pieces, where the inner parts of the chicken becomes visible; perhaps, the crystals should only form around the chicken surface, if that is where the pores are.
If I put the chicken in a bag, and tightened, the ice crystals do not form on the chicken hence pore sizes do not open.

Having done a fair bit of testing, I cannot seem to get these pores to open via freezing, which should then lead to high absorption of salt water when cooking. I didn't brine on the days when there was good absorption, so I think the answer has to do with freezing, although I could be wrong.

Do you think it is an issue of freezing, and it might be something about the way I am freezing?


texts: What are the major menu differences between Canadian and American Thanksgiving?

texts:
We all know that Roast Turkey is the canonical dish in both countries.
Cornbread figures prominently in the Southern US.

What are the other significant differences?


texts:
I would like to use my rice cooker to cook one of those pre-packaged jambalaya mixes, and I've had good success with using prepackaged rice packets in my rice cooker.  Sometimes there is a bit of sticking on the bottom but it comes right up and is never that bad.

My question is if it's safe to throw uncooked meat inside of the rice cooker.  I'm talking about average sized chunks, but can cut them smaller to make sure they cook through.

Since water boils at 212°F, and the contents of the cooker are kept warm afterwards, I'm guessing that any meat you put in there (granted its cut thin enough) will cook straight through.

To be more specific, in this instance I am thinking about throwing cubes of deer venison which require much less cooking than say pork or poultry.


texts: Which fruits and vegetables should be kept in a fridge, and which outside?

texts:
I'm a bit unsure about which fruits and veggies should be kept outside the fridge and which inside. It seems that apples, oranges, and bananas, are normally kept outside, and melons, watermelons, etc are kept inside. How do I know which ones should be kept inside and which should be kept outside?

Also, apart from making sure that fruits are stored on a different rack of the fridge than veggies, are there any other guidelines about storing them? I.e certain fruits that shouldn't be stored together, or anything?


texts: Why Does a Lot of Pastry Have an Orange Flavor?

texts:
At several different bakeries I've gone to over time, I have gotten pastries from danishes to cinnamon rolls and so on.  Sometimes those pastries (the pastry dough itself) have had a slight orange flavor, even though the pastry wouldn't have an orange taste based on its name/description.

Is there some tradition or reason that I've come across this or is it some property of a common pastry dough recipe/ingredient?


texts:
I feel very stupid for asking this, but I've never worked with gelatin.
I know how to work with powder or sheets, if you put it in something like panna cotta.
I also know there's an issue with gelatin and temperature.

But I want to put gelatin on top of my banana pie, like the professional ones. So I have the bottom, which is the dough, then the cream and then some slices bananas. I would like some gelatin on those bananas.
Should I bake the pie first and afterwards, put some gelatin on it?
Or put gelatin on it and bake then?

And does it make a difference here if I use powdered or sheet gelatin?


texts: Why should one always use the same kind of coffee for an Espresso machine?

texts:
I recently got a new espresso machine, a Gaggia Classic, and I sometimes hear statements like the following:

"Always use the same kind of coffee for this machine!"
"If you've found one that tastes good, stick with this!"

Is there any truth behind these statements?

More concretely:

Are there any mechanical issues that stem from using different kinds of espresso in the same machine over the course of many years of usage?
Or is it only a matter of taste?
Is a machine somehow "branded" with a kind of coffee after some time of use? (Bad comparison: Like string instruments that sound better if they are played long enough, some are actually treated with sound)


texts: Trick to getting a sauce to stick to chicken?

texts:
One of the recipes I often make has a sauce that is a combination of salt, sugar, and a thick red sauce.  After about 10 1-2 inch chicken pieces have been cooked the last step calls for mixing the chicken with the sauce over medium heat.  You can think of the sauce as a glaze.  Sometimes when I make the recipe the sauce really clings to the chicken, and other times it is a little runny.  Is there some trick that will get this sauce to cling?

Thanks.


texts: How do I prevent mold growth in homemade chili-infused olive oil?

texts:
Twice I have tried do this but both times I ended up with mold in the bottle. What am I doing wrong?

I use dark glass bottles (originally for wine) that I sterilize by putting them in the oven at 250 °C for an hour or so. I then put in some regular red chilies (I have washed them with water and then let them dry while the bottle is in the oven) and added extra virgin olive oil.

I finally left the mixture in a cupboard for a couple of weeks.

One thing I have noticed is that the chilies are supposed to sink after a while, but most (all?) of my chilies have stayed afloat. Furthermore, in several photos in the linked search, the seeds of the chilies are "out of" their fruits. How do you accomplish that?


texts: Fish from local chip shops smells fishy, but not from one shop?

texts:
As per the title, we have tried fish and chips from several local fish and chip shops, and whenever we get in the car to drive home with them we instantly smell the fish.

However a new fish and chip shop opened recently, and the fish has no smell at all. Haddock or Cod it doesn't matter.

The fish from the none smelly shop possibly seems a little softer too.

What could be causing this?


texts:
When cooking potatoes and bellpepper in an oven, it is highly recommended to pre-heat the oven. Why would it be a problem to put them in the oven while it is heating up ?

Thank you very much ! :)


texts:
I recently cooked bacalao al pil pil, a Basque recipe. The trick is to render the gelatin from the fish at a low temperature, reserve the fish meat and then mount the gelatin with oil. The whole process is somewhat longer.

The question is that codfish has a thick part and a thin part. So over/under cooking is always a problem. That's where I thought of the sous-vide technique. At what temperature could the fish be perfectly cooked and at the same time release all the gelatin?


texts:
I want to make Baklava, but I do not know how long to cook the syrup for.
Some websites say 4-5 minutes, some say 20 minutes, and I am clueless...
I am using an 8x8 pan, 7 oz of white sugar and 7 oz of water.
Is there a specific temperature I should cook it to?
Edit:
To avoid confusion - I am not looking for a simple syrup recipe, like the ones used to flavor drinks or keep cakes moist.
I need a "light syrup", used for oriental sweets (as I've read), and most of the recipes call for "5 minutes of gentle boiling", so that is my best bet so far.


texts: How to know when a recipe shouldn't contain onion/garlic?

texts:
When travelling at a campsite, our resident cook made a Bolognese, and for fun I asked the Italian campers what they thought about it (playing on the stereotype that they are serious about their food) not expecting them to actually be serious about their food! They looked at me kind of disappointed and told me there was garlic in the Bolognese... "There shouldn't be garlic in a Bolognese" they uttered quietly.

Since then this question has driven me crazy. I want to know technically what garlic and onion is adding to the flavour, why and when it is desirable, and when it isn't.


texts: How many minutes in the oven per pound: stuffed turkey

texts: My mom is asking. Not sure if she's brining the turkey, but probably. Also, she probably knows the answer but is just testing me.


texts: Should brussel sprouts ever taste like chemicals?

texts:
So I got a bunch of what I thought were locally grown organic brussel sprouts from the local coop the other day.  They came in an unlabeled zip lock bag, which usually means small local farm.  I cooked them with some butter and oregano. I under cooked them a little bit, but I usually prefer them that way.  When I ate them, I began to notice that they had a mild chemical taste.  It burned in my nose and the back of my mouth a little bit.  It was a sensation very similar to the one caused by ammonia or bleach fumes.  I hadn't washed them as thoroughly as I perhaps should have (there were black spots on them I hadn't noticed before, but the cooking brought them out).

Do brussel sprouts naturally have some ammonia, or something similar I might have been tasting (and why don't I remember tasting it when I've eaten them in the past)?  Did I just down some lovely pesticides and herbicides?  Could those black spots have been a fungus that was producing something unpleasant?


texts: Does canned tuna contain (dead) parasites?

texts:
While using canned tuna to make salad, I remembered a Youtube video about sushi-grade tuna. If I recall correctly, the main criterion was if it contains parasites and that it's rather hard to find a clean fish, which makes them so highly priced. Especially the tail was heavily infested when they sliced up an example.

Now, since I have nothing better to do while eating, I thought I could ask how likely it is, that I'm currently eating some cooked tuna parasites?


texts: Which one is better in Samosa dough,Ghee or Oil?

texts: Which one is better in samosa dough, ghee or oil? some people use ghee in dough of samosa and some people use oil.Is there any difference in taste and texture of samosa while using ghee or oil in dough after frying it?


texts: Trick to keeping guacamole from turning brown

texts:
Is there anything you can add to a guacamole recipe to prevent it from going brown so quickly?  Or a specific way to package it for very short-term storage (usually only about two days).  I tend to make large batches when I do make it, and by the next day its already looking pretty sad.  I usually just mix it up again and it doesn't look as bad, but I figured someone may know a trick to prevent it all together

Thanks!


texts: What are the Purposes of the Types of Meringue that are used for Pastry?

texts: i have seen a lot of recipes, which calls french meringue mostly in spongy cakes in the japanese cheesecake for example and other cake recipes, but for the decoration and filling of them are used another kind of meringue that could be swiss or italian meringue, also even a mix of buttercream with italian meringue, or heavy cream with meringue, or just cream with something, or just buttercream, but what i want to know is what are the purposes of each type of meringue in pastries,cakes, even in ice creams for a more creamy texture maybe. i know the different and delicate as well preparation of those, specifically about how the sugarr its join together. something that i know its that the french meringue its more weak to keep stand and firm for while than swiss and italian ones or not?.


texts: What does "curd" mean in a South Asian recipe?

texts:
I've seen the word "curd" used in a few South Asian recipes (like, notably, some "Butter Chicken" recipes).  In one video, it kind-of looks like it might be cottage cheese (or something like that), which would make sense given what "curd" means to me in the US (like, "curds and whey").  However, it also may have just been plain yoghurt, or something else.

I've looked through a couple of recipe books and I see no mention of it. For the recipe in question I'm pretty sure that yoghurt would work just fine, but I'm curious.

In the recipe in question, the "curd" is put in a food mill with some garlic, ginger, and peppers, and some spices. Thus, with either cottage cheese or yoghurt, it'd end up more-or-less the same, with possibly more fat and acidity from the yoghurt I guess. (It's a marinade for the chicken so it doesn't seem critical to me.)


texts: Benefit to covering pasta while cooking?

texts:
Taking a quick poll of several bags of pasta in my kitchen, about half recommend keeping the pot covered while cooking1.
This is not very convenient for me, as I don't have a good tightly fitting lid and the pasta often foams and boils over and cleaning the stove takes longer than cleaning the pot and plates.
So what are the benefits to keeping the lid on while cooking pasta? The main ones I could imagine are less heat loss (but my stove even on min setting maintains a boil, so I can't save any gas) and hotter air above the water (but the pasta is full submerged, so this wouldn't seem to matter).

1 Admittedly, some of the packages were fairly ambiguous as to whether the covering should be done only for the initial heat-to-boil or for the entire cooking process.


texts: Why did my salmon turn brown when I steamed it?

texts:
A few months ago I took out a wild salmon fillet I had in the freezer and left it to thaw for about 15 minutes in water. After it had partially thawed to the point where it wasn't hard, I filled my steamer pot with water and put it on a gas fire for about 20 minutes with the salmon inside.
When I took the salmon the out, I noticed there were 2 brown patches near different ends of the fillet. I took a bite of it and it tasted quite bad and way different to the normal steamed salmon I had before. I couldn't eat it so I threw it away but I was confused as to why did the salmon fillet turn brown when I steamed it? All the other times I steamed this same type of salmon it always came out pink.
The fillet in question is wild salmon from the Pacific.


texts: What are these white 'bits' in my nutella

texts:
I recently discovered an ancient, sealed jar of Nutella at the back of a cupboard. Like, really ancient! Like, it claimed it expired in 2012!

When I open it, there are all these white 'bits' on the surface.

They don't at ALL look like mold or fungus - they're definitely not spores, to my eyes. My first thought is that they're "granules" of fat that have "condensed" together in some manner? Perhaps kinda like bloom on chocolate?

Does anyone have a better or more certain answer?

Obvious follow up... do the white bits indicate that it's unsafe to eat?

The expiry date doesn't concern me at all - if it looked fine and tasted fine then I'd eat it; if it were clearly moldy, then I might scrape the moldy layer off, microwave it and eat it.


texts: How long will a bread ferment last before it is no good?

texts:
I have a bread recipe that I would like to try, but it requires a ferment using Guiness.  The recipe says to leave it for 4 - 6 hours to get it going.

All of this is fine, but what I would like to know is how long can I leave the ferment fermenting before it becomes no good?  Can I start it the night before and use it the next day?

Thanks


texts: What's the difference between carob powder, flour, and kibbled carob?

texts: The whole carob pod, the pulp and the seeds are all edible, but which parts are used for the different core products? Does carob powder contain the entire pod, or just the seeds? Is kibbled carob the same as powdered, just coarser? Is the pulp used for anything? (And what is carob syrup!?)


texts: Baking - Substitutions for a gingersnap crust

texts:
I'm making a recipe that calls for gingersnap crumbs in a crust. I don't really want to make a trip to the store to try and find gingersnaps but I have graham cracker crumbs. Could I just put a bit of ginger or molasses with the graham to make gingersnaps or is there a better way to substitute gingersnap crumbs?

Thanks in advance for all help!


texts: How can I fix a hollandaise sauce after it has split?

texts: I made a hollandaise sauce on the weekend and it split so I threw it out and started again but I was wondering if there is anything you can do to save it once it splits?


texts:
I bought a pack of pork hopia from the store. Pre-made. How do I prepare it? Goldilocks brand. I don’t remember if it was frozen or refrigerated.

There don’t appear to be any hints on the package or the manufacturer’s website.

They look similar to the pastry pictured on the Wikipedia article here.

In the words of Mr. Malone, “This is a new food for me.” My guess is to maybe throw one in the toaster oven and cross my fingers.


texts: Can I cook a pre-made meatloaf from frozen?  And if so, what temp, covered or not covered, and how long - how do I know when it is done?


texts:
I have a bottle of green capers in brine in the fridge, opened.  About half of the capers are sitting on the bottom of the jar, and another half are floating.

Have the floating ones turned bad?  Or is this just a quirk of capers?  I haven't really noticed this before with previous bottles.

The bottle is just from the supermarket.


texts: How can I make a last-minute birthday cake without using artificial flavor or color?

texts: My dad's birthday party is tomorrow, and I do not know how to decorate his cake.  He does not eat foods containing artificial flavoring or coloring.  What are some methods I could use to accomplish this last-minute effort, and still suit his dietary needs?


texts: Why did my ricotta cheese did not completely melt in the Alfredo?

texts:
Today I sauteed a quarter cup mushrooms in 3 tbsp butter and added 250ml cream. Everything was set for me to add the ricotta and finish the Alfredo, but it only partly melted. Beyond a certain point, there were some "cheese crumbs" that no amount of heat could dissolve, thus robbing me of a velvety textured Alfredo.

I have successfully made Alfredo with ricotta cheese before. Is there any reason as to why the ricotta did not completely melt? The ricotta package was only opened a few days, so it couldn't have gone bad.


texts: How should I read a thermometer when it's got an extra indicator line?

texts:
The last time I got my candy thermometer out of the drawer, I noticed that there was an extra line of red above the normal column.

It looks like there's a "bubble" at the top of color that's raised a bit of it higher than the rest. Can I still use it like this, and if so, which line do I use to tell the temperature?


texts: What techniques or tricks make soft, flaky pastries instead of leathery ones?

texts:
These are my first experiences with the lovely pastry, puff pastry.

 I loved it so much that I'd bake more and more of it everyday. The only problem I encountered is that my pastries had a tough crust and they'are somehow leathery, having a tough, hard texture. After a day, it's unpalatable. What techniques or tricks make puff pastry soft, flaky instead of leathery? Please tell me about your own experiences too.

Note: Left picture is Sunny-Side-Up Apricot Pastries – Michel Richard. Right picture is Puff Pastry – Michel Richard and I think the amounts are a little off since one cup of water is not enough at all for that much flour.


texts: I have fallen in love with America's Test Kitchen's recipe for lemon cheesecake. Animal crackers in a crumb crust...who knew? It's really good. I just made it for the second time as a birthday gift for a friend. I didn't want to part with my springform pan, so I cut up her cheesecake and packed it in a plastic lined pizza box. When I was done, half the crust remained stuck to the base of the pan. What a shame as that is a really good crust. It was like each cut sliced through the base leaving a thin layer of crust behind and a thin layer attached to the cheesecake. It occurred to me that it would have been a whole lot better if I had used parchment cut to fit the base of the pan and then transferred the whole cheesecake at once. That splitting of the crust happened the first time I made I made the recipe too. I've never seen a crumb crust recipe that used parchment, but now it seems like a no-brainer - so much so that I wonder if I'm missing a key point. Is there a reason this generally isn't done? Do you know or can you think of any reason that it wouldn't work?


texts: My fudge is getting thick when I start to stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips and nuts

texts: Using carnation famous fudge recipe, when I add the marshmallows,  chocolate chips and nuts it gets thick and the marshmallows are not melting completely.  Am I cooking it too long or not long enough, or do I need the temperature higher or lower? I have it  medium heat. Stirring constantly to full rolling boil, and then cooking for 4-5 minutes stirring constantly.


texts: Technique to find and eliminate the needle bone in lamb shanks?

texts:
In lamb and in cattle, the fibula and ulna bones are vestigial (http://www.aps.uoguelph.ca/~swatland/ch2_1.htm, "In beef and lamb carcasses there is a single major bone, the tibia or shank bone...") and I find often if I cut the cooked meat across the grain to serve, I will cut straight through a needle-like bone.

If all the pieces are not then identified and removed, there is a risk of this needle getting stuck in someone's gums or lodged in a throat, to not even speak of worse things.

To my surprise I cannot find any reference to these dangerous bones in recipes or butchery information online.

Question: can anyone describe or point me to a technique to identify and remove this small bone prior to cooking? Or prior to serving?


texts: I've tried various pancake mixes, and they always taste "healthy" and dry compared with the ones at a good cafe, and I don't mean greasy like iHOP's. What am I missing, fat?


texts:
I love sangria, but I avoid sugars. According to the NCC database, there's 300x as much sugar in sangria as in merlot.

I had this idea to try to make "sangria" with red wine + sugar-free Cool Aid + pure stevia, all blended together. It came out positively disgusting (and I like stevia)

How can I improve this combination so I get something drinkable?


texts: why didn't the brownie bake when cheesecake was put on top?

texts: I found a recipe for Cookies and Cream Brownies.  First time I made them they were great, in a 9x13 aluminum pan.  Second time, I used an aluminum foil-type pan that you take to potlucks, and while the cheesecake was completely baked on the top, there was raw brownie batter on the bottom, giving the appearance of a fudge sauce on the bottom.  It was really weird, that it didn't even partially bake.  Does this happen when using the foil-type pans?  That's all I can think of.  The directions do not say to bake the brownie first then put the cheesecake on top and bake more...you bake at one time.


texts:
When I heat 35% cooking cream on the stove, a layer of oil separates. I tried heating in the microwave and still observed the same. Is that normal in the process of heating cream? Should I use a lower heat level?

Thanks.