texts: What is the chemical process behind the way you cook a risotto?

texts:
Cooking risotto seems to differ from regular rice in two important ways:

you stir the risotto regularly
you only introduce liquid a little bit at a time

What is the effect of these two steps chemically on the rice that yields such a different product than just throwing it in boiling water and covering?


texts: flexible food grade plastics that won't melt at 105 C

texts:
I'm in need of a food-safe gasketing material for a maple sap-boiling setup. It needs to be squishy like vinyl tubing but I want to make sure it won't melt or decompose or react with steam.

Any suggestions?


texts: Has anyone ever tried birch sap as a tonic?

texts:
According to this blog posting, birch sap is very popular in Russia as a drink. Further, I read in wikipedia that it is popular enough to be bottled and sold commercially.

Finally, (and most importantly) I found this article in the Guardian, detailing the steps to take in order to enjoy fermented birch sap (AKA 'birch wine').

Has anyone tried this, and if so would they relate how successful the attempt was?


texts: Can you bake cornbread in enameled cast iron?

texts: I would really like to make a cornbread recipe, but I don't have a cast iron skillet. Could I bake it in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven without the lid and get a good result? If not, could a muffin tin (not cast iron) work instead? Thank you for any tips! I've never made cornbread before.


texts: How do I cook a cottage pie from chilled?

texts: I made a cottage pie yesterday afternoon but did not cook it. I cooked the mince and veg and the mash, put it in the dish but did not put it in the oven. I then allowed it to cool and then placed it in the fridge. I want to serve it tonight, how long should I cook it for and at what temperature?


texts: Can I substitute brown or confectioner's sugar for granulated sugar in sugar cookies?

texts:
I'm making sugar cookies and I have ran out of granulated sugar. I only have confectioner's sugar and dark brown sugar left.

Can I substitute one of these for white granulated sugar? Which would be the better substitute?


texts: How long would fruit in a water bottle last?

texts:
I have a plastic, refillable water bottle that I fill with water from our purifying pitcher. I have recently begun adding sliced fresh fruits, like strawberries and kiwis, inside the bottle to give the water a natural, fruity flavor.

How long would these fruits last in a water bottle? How often should I replace them with new fruit.

I recall a few years ago my mother made cucumber-flavored water through the same concept, only she put the sliced cucumbers directly in the pitcher and put it in the fridge, so it was constantly refrigerated. The cucumbers seemed to last a while, but my water bottle would not be refrigerated often as I am constantly sipping from it throughout the day.


texts:
I have just moved into a new apartment, and am learning the ins and outs of this new oven.  But being new to cooking/baking in general, I find that everything comes out burnt, one way or another.  Cookies, frozen pizzas, etc.

I find that the bottom of everything I put in the oven winds up burnt to a crisp.  The edges wind up overdone and burnt, basically, while the center tends to be slightly undercooked.  I am trying to experiment with the times and temperatures, to get it right.  However, being inexperienced, I am wondering if my oven just cooks hotter than the temperature I'm setting it to.

For instance, my cookie dough says to cook at 350 in a preheated oven for 10-11 minutes.  Cooking to 10 minutes, the center is still undercooked, and the edges are nearly black.  (The bottom tends to be all black)

Aside from the obvious "get a thermometer" response, does this seem to show signs of cooking too long (without preheating long enough), or cooking at too high of a temperature?


texts:
I found some old frozen ground lamb in the back of the freezer.  It is vacuum sealed, and was placed in the freezer after a couple days of being fresh.

It has been in the freezer for a little over 4 years.

Is it safe to eat?


texts:
My electric oven just has two settings: broil and bake.

I have a recipe that calls for "roasting" a duck at 400 degrees. Is that the same thing as broiling or is it baking?


texts: Woodfire oven how to get crust soft and tasty

texts: Hi I've just built a wood fire oven at home and I want to know how to get he pizza crust soft?  Any tips for success with traditional Italian-style bread?  Some people say to put sugar in and other people say not to.


texts: Is it bad to marinate meat for too long?

texts:
From my experience it is always best to marinate meat for a decent amount of time, so the meat can "soak" up the marinade and be more flavourful.

However, I came across this recipe here: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s2264630.htm

In the directions, it says: Add pork and marinade for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight, but no longer than 12 hours.

I was wondering, why does it say "no longer than 12 hours"? Isn't it good to let meat marinate for as long as possible?

Thanks.


texts: Uses for tzimbalo fruit of varying ripeness?

texts:
First post! I like growing unusual fruit, but I'm a bit of a cooking novice, especially when it comes to fruit. We've just ripped out our tzimbalo (Solanum caripense) plants for the season, and now I have hundreds of these little fruit and no idea what to do with them.

Ripe tzimbalo are juicy, super sweet, and pretty tangy. I've heard some say that they have an aftertaste reminiscent of artificial sweetener, but I don't find that to be true -- then again, I can't remember the last time I knowingly ate artificial sweetener. I find the ripest ones make a nice snack on their own, but they pack so much punch I can only eat a few at a time.

Unripe tzimbalo don't have much sweetness and are so zingy they aren't really edible.

As you can see, there's a lot of green in my harvest, and I'm not sure these fruit will do much post-pick ripening. (Tzimbalo take a notoriously long time to ripen, and we're not exactly in their preferred South American climate...)

Ideas that have been suggested to me include making chutney or a jam. I've never done either and wonder if:

The varying ripeness (or general under-ripeness) will be a problem
There are any tricks for ripening these little guys up
There are ideas other than jam or chutney that I should consider

Administrative note: I know that recipe requests are discouraged, but I don't think this is exactly that, since:

there is a question about how the (varying) ripeness affects the culinary uses of the fruit and/or the ability to make jam at all;
there appears to be precedent for posting this type of question; and
the highest voted answer in the Culinary Uses Guidelines affirms its validity, as my Internet searches have turned up exactly zero recipes and to the best of my knowledge the fruit is not available in U.S. supermarkets.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!


texts: Can I use a yoghurt marinade in sous-vide cooking?

texts:
I want to cook a Indian-inspired chicken dish. The recipe calls for yoghurt in a marinade for the chicken. I am fine with the marinade, but I also want to cook the chicken sous-vide.

I now wonder whether the yoghurt will generate any problems when cooked sous-vide. I plan to cook it for approximately 1 hour at 60° C (but will look up in the tables to confirm). I am worried about off-smell and poor safety.

Is it safe to use a yoghurt marinade in a sous-vide recipe?


texts: How much salt should I put in a vegetable stew?

texts:
I'm making a vegan vegetables soup (i.e no powders or prepared stock - just fresh vegetables and fresh spices), and I'm not sure how much salt to put in to just bring out the flavor without getting the stew actually salty.

Any rule of thumb that I can use? I heard that potatoes absorb saltiness so you have to add extra salt when cooking with potatoes.


texts: Does it matter if I make waffles in a frying pan?

texts: I have some waffle batter ready (here is the recipe) but I don't have a waffle iron. Is it okay if I make it the way I make pancakes, by pouring batter in a frying pan?


texts: I'm a student living in a dorm without a refrigerator. I decided to change my diet and be a pescetarian starting this year. But most of the food sold nearby doesn't fit my diet or my budget so I'll have to cook my own food. I'm not quite sure what items I can stock on because I have no refrigerator. I don't wanna live with preserved food either since the reason for my shift is to eat healthier. Can you guys help me? Do you have any tips on living fridge-less?


texts: Can I sprout grains/legumes/seeds I buy in bulk from whole foods?

texts: I bought some lentils, groats, sunflower seeds, etc from whole foods (organic raw). Are they safe to sprout?


texts:
I often see this utensil used in pictures of honey:

I've never seen this stick-like utensil used in other contexts, just for honey. But what is this "honey stick" called exactly? And is it used only for honey or for other things?


texts: My waffle iron does not cook Belgian waffle enough (they are not brown on the outside but are cooked on the inside) at the recommended temperature and time. what should I do, raise the temperature or cook them long?


texts: How is Pâté made? What are the ingredients?

texts: How is it made and what are the ingredients?


texts: Why does readymade food always have so much flavor to it?

texts: What am I doing wrong. When I make food it's never as flavorful however much seasonings I use.


texts: What is an 8.5 x 4.5in bread pan in UK lb based pan sizes?

texts:
An American relative has asked for an 8.5x4.5in bread pan for Christmas, but UK pan sizes are by weight: 1lb loaf, 2lb loaf, etc.

How much dough would you put into an 8x4 (or 8.5x4.5) pan?


texts: I like using coconut milk in my coffee. However, during summer, I like putting ice in my coffee. Some part of the coconut milk clumps up around the ice. This is organic unsweetened, so only coconut and a gum. Is there any method to prevent the clumps yet have it cold? Store in fridge, freezer, blend, add some additional stabilizing ingredient?


texts: How do I remove aluminum foil from the bottom of my oven?

texts: I had this brilliant idea to put aluminum foil at the bottom of my oven while I cooked pizza at very high temperatures. I was hoping it would catch any toppings that fell off so I could quickly remove them and prevent smoke. The result is that the foil bonded to the oven and now I'm not sure how to get it off. Any chemicals or tools I should use in this situation?


texts: For peanut butter, do peanuts have to be roasted with their shells or without their shells?

texts:
In a local market of India, I asked for roasted peanuts. the shopkeeper handed me a bag containing roasted peanuts with their shells intact.

Are these peanuts supposed to be used for peanut butter or we have to
first shell them and then roast them?
How long should the peanuts be roasted and how to know whether they
have been properly roasted?


texts: Why do we use so much water to cook spaghetti?

texts:
Every time I cook spaghetti in a regular pot, I get the feeling that I could save litres of water if the pot had been created with spaghetti cooking in mind. This is especially true when I only need 1-2 portions. Cooking smaller pasta is more efficient.

Is there a culinary reason for using so much water? Do professional kitchens use a better method?


texts: How to get cracks in my ginger molasses cookies

texts:
I used this recipe to make ginger molasses cookies. Though the cookies tasted great, my cookies didn't develop any cracks in them like the ones in the picture. I tried baking them for longer, but that just resulted in them becoming more crispy and browned a little more.

How should I modify the recipe to get the traditional cracks in the cookie?

EDIT: The only modification I made to the recipe was to use unsalted butter instead of margarine.


texts: Should pasta be started in cold or boiling water?

texts:
There are two main methods, either putting the strands into water already at boiling point, or putting them in cold water and then putting on the heat.

Which method is the best to cook pasta?

Does it make a difference if you add pasta to cold or boiling water?


texts: Do I need to let ravioli made with fresh dough dry?

texts: I'm discovering the universe of fresh pasta, and I saw that many people let the pasta dry. Does that apply to raviolis too?


texts: How do I calculate an increase in pan sizes for a cake recipe?

texts: How do I figure out what to increase in a cake recipe for bigger pan sizes? I have a cake recipe that uses two 8-inch round pans; how would I change the recipe to accommodate one 10-inch and one 14-inch round cake pans?


texts:
I enjoy making multi layered sponge cakes (specifically chiffon sponge), but I find that when cooking a much thinner base than for a normal sponge (around 1cm height), I am faced with a decision of having an undercooked sponge or having one that is perfect in the middle but a bit crunchy around the edges.

Is there anything I can do to make sure that I get the same moistness in smaller bases as I do in larger ones?


texts: Allergic to the whole pepper family - what can I use in its place?

texts: I am allergic to the whole pepper family including black pepper. I don't know what to use as a substitute. I don't eat salt, so that's out. I am having to check every item that I buy to make sure it doesn't have pepper any it.  Can anybody give me some suggestions? I would greatly appreciate it.


texts: How long can french buttercream last in the fridge/freezer?

texts: French buttercream contains egg yolks that have been cooked via hot liquid sugar water. How long can I safely store this in an airtight container at 0ºC?


texts: Out of Date Vine Leaves - are they safe to eat?

texts:
I bought vacuum packed vine leaves quite some time ago. Stupidly didn't get round to using them so they are still in the fridge. They are well passed their sell by date of March 2011. Should I just bin them or do you think they are still fine to use? I think they look okay...

Thanks very much for your help!

Kate


texts: Is Foul Fair? (Or what is this mystery bean)

texts:
I came across this at my local hypermarket, and I'm wondering what it is, and what one can do with it.

If it isn't obvious from the picture (Bigger version here https://i.stack.imgur.com/M4TKG.jpg) Its a dark brown bean, roughly the size of a coffee bean, and a medium dark brown colour. The specific manufacturer typically sells iranian/middle eastern herbs, so its likely to be from that area.

What is it, and how generally does one use this?


texts: Any danger to leaving brown sugar exposed to air?

texts:
Yesterday I went to check if I had brown sugar for a recipe and found that my bag, which comes with a zip lock, was totally unzipped I am guessing for months.  Any danger here or should it be ok?  I am guessing it's just for convience and to prevent spilling but curious if anyone has any knowledge.

It's "dark" if that matters.

NOTE: I am aware it probably dries it out faster and causes it to become hard but I consider that just a general thing with brown sugar and not a danger=)


texts: How do you know when a baked potato is done?

texts:
When baking a baked potato in the oven how do you know when it's perfectly done?

Squeezing it doesn't seem to be that accurate for me.  And using a fork seems pretty arbitrary.  Any better ways?


texts: How can I keep a slow roasted pork belly roll warm while roasting potatoes?

texts:
I'm hosting a dinner at mine in two weekends time (a first for me!) and have already noticed where my main may not end up as tasty as I'd hope.

I'm looking to roast a roll of pork belly at around 170C/Gas 3, which isn't an appropriate temperature to achieve a nice, crispy roast potato. That means I'm going to have to cook them separately. Does anyone have a good tip on how to keep pork belly warm with a crunchy crackling whilst I roast the potatoes? I was thinking of putting back in the oven but worried it may dry out before that happens. Would it be a better idea to reheat the potatoes instead?

I've been over-reading and don't know what to believe anymore!


texts: Why throw salt over a barbecue before cooking?

texts:
At a recent barbecue in Chile, I watched the chef throw large handfuls of salt over the charcoal a few minutes before placing on the meat.

What would be the reason for this?


texts: My dough is cracking (not crumbling) and more water does not help

texts:
I am following this  Serious Eats pie crust recipe. It's the second time already where I struggle with the dough folding stage. The dough is too crumbly when I take it out of the processor. When I (gradually) add water it stops being crumbly but then it gets too cracky. You can't really move it around or roll it.

Adding flour or water does not improve the situation.


texts: How can I avoid overpowering my food with cumin flavor?

texts:
I am by no means a chef, I just cook dinner at home most nights.

I like the flavor of cumin and use it in some of the food that I make. Perhaps in a mushroom sauce, melted into the cheese for nachos, in fried cubed potatoes, etc.

However, I notice that when I use cumin, it is inevitable that I will end up eating 2 of the small pieces at once at some point in the dish and it overpowers the bite.

What am I doing wrong with the cumin? Should I be grinding it?


texts: I'm Making Shio Koji - I Have Questions About The Process

texts:
So I'm fascinated by what I have read about the myriad culinary possibilities at my fingertips using shio koji.

Bought some good rice koji (IseSo Miyako Koji) and have started two similar mixtures of approximately 5:4:1 (water:koji:salt) - for both mixtures I used bottled water and one was warmed slightly prior to mixing. I'm stirring them vigorously each day. House temperature varies between 67°F and 70°F.

Both samples are porridge-ing nicely as described but I'm not quite sure (1) how to evaluate the smell of the transforming product, or (2) how to know when to terminate the transformation by refrigeration.

Most descriptions of the smell have been broad and unhelpful (to me) - everywhere from "sweet and citrus-y and mildly funky" to something like "fruity gym socks". Most references assure me that I will know if something is wrong - but I don't feel confident in that since I have no idea how to wholly identify what is right.

My samples are EXTREMELY funky smelling but not offensive (the overwhelming funk is what worries me) - not what I would think of as gym socks (which I associate with some cheeses) - surely there is a clear underlying sweet smell and a distinctive smell of grapefruit rind (at least to me).

If any of you have had rewarding experiences developing shio koji from rice koji, I would appreciate your observations and personal impressions/descriptions of the transformational odors. I embarked on this anticipating a product where the sweet/citrus smell was predominant over the funk but I am experiencing the opposite (and I have no way of knowing if what I have read as a description of funk is the same as what I am smelling in my developing mixtures).

Also, most of the references I have read indicate that I need to develop my shio koji for seven to ten days at room temperature before refrigerating. For any of you who might have significant experience with shio koji, do you have a better way of judging when the process has reached a peak?


texts: Attempt to make praline paste failed -- what should I do differently?

texts:
I attempted this recipe:

70 g hazelnuts
100 sugar
1 pinch salt

Toast nuts at 400 F for 10 mins.; let cool.
Put sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and render into caramel over medium-low heat.
Combine ingredients in a food processor and process 3-5 mins., scraping down the bowl as necessary, until it all becomes a smooth, even paste.

Yield: 1 C.

All seemed well until I got to the food processor, at which point the following happened:

Some of the caramel turned to obsidian on the bottom of the food processor bowl.
The paste never became "smooth and even," but remained gritty and unappealing.
The yield was maybe 1/2 C.

What should I do differently next time? I thought maybe I should have let the caramel cool a bit, but the recipe said it should still be hot. Otherwise, I don't know what there is to change; it's about as simple as recipes get.


texts: Does the beef cut matter when making stroganoff?

texts: I would like to make a stroganoff recipe I have that calls for cubed Sirloin Tip Roast, but I was recently given some raw steak that I would like to use in its place. The steak I was given was not labeled, so I don’t know what cut it is. How interchangeable are beef cuts in regards to stroganoff making? Is it important to know what cut of steak it is? I’m not sure if this information is relevant, but it is a pressure cooker (instant pot) stroganoff recipe. Thank you!


texts: Can chicken stock be used as the basis of a savoury loaf?

texts: I have a surplus of jelly like chicken stock. I hope to mix it with flour, baking soda and eggs, with some herbs and spices, to make a savoury loaf.


texts:
I love stir fried rice but can't get close to restaurant quality.  Mine seems to clump or turn almost gummy.

What can I do to improve the texture?


texts: Whipped cream running permanently from siphon

texts: I have a Kayser siphon of whipped cream. I filled it with whipped cream (not fully though), added some sugar and swung it. It works perfectly, only today it wouldn't stop. But once Ive used, it won't stop flowing grom the siphon even though i stopped using it.


texts: What's the Hungarian Ashkenazi Yiddish name for burned rice at the bottom of the pot?

texts: My mother-in-law used to make Chicken Paprikash, and she would usually burn the rice at on the bottom of the pot. Her three sons, my husband being the youngest would fight over it. There was a name for the burned rice at the bottom of the pot, but I can't remember what she called it and neither can anyone else. I don't know what to tell my grandchildren! What is it called?


texts: Why do my nonstick fry pans 'bow up' and not make good contact with my flat top stove

texts:
We recently bought a flat top (glass top) stove to replace our standard electric stove with the coiled "eye" heating elements. The flat top is certainly easy to clean, and if you have a boil-over, it does not fill the pan under the burner and spill into the interior of the stove - all pluses. However, I find that every nonstick fry pan I have has developed a 'bow' or curvature. That is, the center of the pan is bowed out, so that when the pan rests on the flat top stove surface it does not make great contact anywhere except right in the center. All the edges of the pan curve up, away from the heat. Thus it takes awhile to heat up, and probably wastes lots of heat. This bow may have been present with the regular "eye" coiled heating elements, but it wasn't as noticeable because they were not as absolutely flat at the glass. I even bought a new nonstick skillet, and swore to never use it on more than medium high, to keep this bow from forming. Still, it has bowed over a few months use, so even on the new skillet this problem remains.

My question is, what can I do to avoid or fix this problem? I keep wishing for some high heat tolerant and conductive thing to put between the stove surface and the pan so I get good thermal contact (something like a thin bag of sand, but with the bag made out of a material that would not be destroyed by the heat). Or am I just buying cheap nonstick cookware, and if I really spend a lot on a frying pan, the problem would not occur. This last part is really my question. I have spent $30 on a frying pan, only to see this same thing occur. If I spend $200 on a frying pan, will that solve the problem (will it not do this bowing thing), or will I get the same results in a few months? In case it's relevant, I live in the US (North Carolina).


texts:
Can I cook Brussels sprouts in a pan, with olive oil or butter?

I bought them in a plastic bag. Should I chop them, or can I just wash them and put them in the pan?


texts: How can i achieve the same texture as Soft baked Pepperidge Farm cookies?

texts:
I have tried their Soft baked Nantucket and Captiva Dark Chocolate Brownie and i really like the texture of it.It's sticky (or chewy),you can almost fold it and it'll bend rather than break.I don't know if i call dense or not but in the inside, there's no evidence of any air pockets that come from creaming method at all.

I try to mimic it at home but can't achieve the same result. My cookies came out cakey and thick.
for more info, I used melted butter and high brown sugar ratio, 1 egg+1 yolk and i used AP flour.

Thank you

ps.http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2012/09/pepperidge-farm-cookies-slideshow.html#show-269994 here how it looks like.


texts: Can I use a stoneware 9x13 pan instead of a metal 9x13 pan for Caramel Rolls?

texts:
I decided to make some caramel rolls for treats for work and realized I only have one metal 9x13 pan. I have a couple 9x13 stoneware pans, but I've never used them for something like caramel rolls before.

Can I use the stoneware pans in the same way I'd use a metal pan or do I need to do something different to get the rolls to turn out well.

Thanks!


texts: I've just bought a butternut squash.  On the label it says "Keep at room temperature".  Why shouldn't I store it in the fridge?


texts: How can I measure / weigh really small quantities?

texts:
Yesterday I was cooking a Focaccia were I required just a gramme of yeast and a gramme of salt.

When I try to use my (electric) scales, it never registers 1 gramme of difference. I also needed to weigh 5 grammes of olive oil, but i could not take out the exact quantity.

What can I do to measure very small quantities whilst cooking?


texts:
I want to bake a chard quiche. Normally, I would use short pastry for the crust, but I want to practice my flaky pastry skills. Still, I plan to bake it in the normal quiche form. It is white glazed ceramic, slow to heat up, slow to release heat, and doesn't get as hot as metal.

Will this be OK? Can I expect the flaky crust to turn out nice, or do I risk it to become soggy/non-crispy/whatever?


texts: How do I cook store-bought glutinous rice dumplings?

texts:
I bought some pork-filled glutinous rice dumplings from a Chinese supermarket, but I've no idea how to cook them!

Someone told me to drop them into a pan of water to steam for three hours, but that sounds like a very long time and I'd be concerned that they would become too moist and fall apart.

I have access to a pan and hob, a microwave and a microwave rice steamer. The only frying equipment I have access to is a chip pan.

The dumplings look a bit like these:


texts: How do I achieve a light and even 'dusting' of paprika?

texts:
I'm trying to perfect my seared and roasted pork loin chops, and I'm hitting a bit of an obstacle. Part of my recipe involves a very light dusting of smoked paprika after being seared, prior to going into the oven. That seems easy enough, but it turns out to be quite difficult to sprinkle a very light, and even dusting of it on the chops. I'm holding the paprika back because it gets a tad bitter on a very hot skillet, needed for searing.

Because paprika (smoked or otherwise) is so finely ground, trying to release an even amount from pinched fingers far above the chops results in too much (or a blot) landing on the chops randomly. This is quite difficult to fix post-sear, as the chop is on its way to the oven; paprika has a very distinct and immediate color.

I have tried very fine mesh strainers, cheese cloth tapped with a spoon, and I still can't manage to get a very light and even coating of it.

Normally, I'd just combine it well into whatever seasoning I was applying for the sear, which distributes it pretty evenly, but how can I manage the spice on its own in a manner that doesn't create random tiny dots where there's much more of it? What ends up happening is it concentrates in flavor on random bites, and fixing that means ruining presentation to an extent.

I thought of holding back some salt that I'd normally season the chops with before searing, and mix the paprika with that, but I end up with a selectively permeable sear where the salt just collects and alters the taste negatively.

What else can I try?


texts: Will a metal dough scraper damage a granite countertop?

texts:
I have a brand new granite countertop, and a lovely metal dough scraper that a friend gave me. Am I likely to damage the counter if I use the scraper regularly directly on the granite surface?

I have kneaded dough twice on it, and very tentatively used the metal scraper with no ill-effect. I don't want to try again and scrape more strongly only to find out that actually the two are not a good combination.


texts: What is the external operating temperature range for a Crock-Pot or other slow cooker?

texts:
Some quick online searches define an operating temperature for slow cookers: the minimum internal temperature is A, the simmering point is B, you have certain options depending on heat setting, etc., and of course you should avoid prolonged time in the danger zone from C to D.

What I haven't been able to find, either in webpages or published product manuals, is what the range of external ambient temperatures a Crock-Pot or other slow-cooker are appropriate usage. I'd imagine that the normal operating cooker's range includes at least most reasonable room temperature for some culture's or economies' opinions about suitable room temperature, and I'd expect immediate, total destruction from attempted Crock-Pot use while the Crock-Pot is bathed in liquid helium or magma.

What I haven't found, however, is a tighter and more useful estimate. The range of temperatures where people are willing to pursue their lives amounts to a pretty broad range, and the range is presumably narrower for people that act on a live option of cooking with a Crock-Pot.

Do Crock-Pots work at most ambient temperatures that at least some people tolerate? If not, what would a more accurate range be?


texts: I tried to extract chlorophyll from spinach by blending up some spinach and water and straining out the green juice, then heating the juice.  I've done it before, but this time, it wouldn't separate. Does it not work if you overheat it?  I brought it to the boil and I'm wondering if that was the problem.


texts:
I know it's traditional to make gyoza filling with raw vegetables, but is it also made with raw meat, or should it be cooked first? With other types of dumplings I usually cook the meat before adding it to the dough. This time I'm not sure.. will there be any risk of salmonella or other bacterias if I make the filling with raw meat?

Edit: Just for reference, I'm planning on using chicken instead of pork.


texts:
My goal is to make a crispy butternut squash chip without deep frying, but from all my various trials, the chips keep coming out chewy, with a texture similar to fruit leather.

My main method has been to slice butternut squash on a mandoline to approx 3-4 millimeters, toss in oil and salt, bake in oven at 400F for approx 35 min on a wire rack on top of a sheet pan, then place the chips in my dehydrator at 125F for 5 hours.

I've also tried boiling them instead of baking for 5 min before the dehydrator and baking at 400F for 20 min then 500F for 10 min before the dehydrator. Both methods still produced the same leathery / chewy texture. I've also tried putting the cut butternut squash straight in the dehydrator, but I don't like the raw taste that the squash retains. Finally, I've tried putting the squash slices in the oven at 300F for 30 min as well to no avail.

It seems to me that there might not be enough starch content in a butternut squash to get a true crispy chip like you'd find in a potato. Does this make sense?

I'd love any advice anyone can offer on how to get these things crispy and crunchy. Thanks!


texts:
James Beard rhapsodized about cold fried chicken, and I agree with him: not as good as fresh, but still the best thing at the picnic. Of course, if you pull the chicken out of the fryer, encase it in tupperware, and refrigerate it overnight, you'll end up with a soggy mess. Beard suggests allowing the chicken to cool at room temperature on a wire grille before refrigerating, to keep it from getting soggy.

I can confirm that this works decently well at preventing sogginess, but after refrigerating overnight, the coating is at best firm, nowhere near as crispy as it originally was. (This makes sense, of course: osmosis does not want you to have a dry coating on a moist drumstick.) How can I defy the laws of nature to achieve a durably crispy coating?


texts:
I recently tried to do more with small canned fish. Despite the stigma, they're cheap and healthy and underutilized--what's not to love?

More than 3 hours later, I was mortified to find out that I was still burping up an ungodly fish smell. Clearly, this was not about oral hygiene, but rather the chemistry of the fish in my gut.

Suffice it to say, I would not want to put anyone else though this. Are there any ways to somewhat neutralize the bad breath with a cooking technique or food pairing?


texts: I just steamed some vegetables and the water below is greenish-yellow vegetable sweat basically. I don't want to waste any thing unless I have to for a valid reason. Any suggestions?


texts:
I have a fancy new Zojirushi cooker and am trying to figure out the best way to make rice. I didn't see anything in the manual referring to salt, or any seasoning at all (except for the 'mixed' setting). Just rinse, add water to line, and go.

Am I supposed to add salt before it cooks? After? Leave it unsalted? What about other spices? Butter or oil?


texts: potential cereulide on plastic container, can it be washed off?

texts:
I recently saw a video of a person who died from eating 5 day old unrefrigerated pasta. The cause was cereulide toxin from Bacillus cereus bacteria in the food. I recently left pasta unrefrigerated in a plastic container for 3 days accidentally, and it smelled kind of like vinegar when I opened it to put in the dishwasher. I assumed that washing the plastic container in the dishwasher on a sanitize cycle would be fine to remove any potential cereulide toxins, but then started researching cereulide (because I'm paranoid) and came across some scientific data mentioning that

  "Cereulide is moreover hydrophobic, so it can attach to contact
  materials. This means that cereulide cannot be easily eliminated in
  industrial installations. Cereulide can thus not be eliminated with
  usual cleaning protocols and when the heat sterilization of 15 minutes
  at 121◦C is not strict enough (Rajkovic et al., 2008)."

So, is my plastic container permanently toxic now or am I just being paranoid? Can you get food poisoning from even a washed plastic container because of this toxin?


texts:
Chinotto drinks like San Pellegrino and Brio have Chinotto extract as their main ingredient.

Where can I get this extract? I've been looking around online, but cannot seem to find a supplier.


texts:
Whenever I make burgers (stovetop with cast iron), they produce a high amount of smoke.  I usually take extra precautions to ensure adequate ventilation, but I end up inhaling quite a bit a smoke.

Is it common for professional or semi-professional chefs to use protective gear in lieu of adequate ventilation? If I do this semi-regularly (once every two weeks), should I invest in protective gear such as a mask?


texts:
Is it okay to soak peeled potatoes in the fridge for more than 24 hours food safety-wise? It's only about 30 hours so far but everything I've read says they are okay up to 24 hours. (I didn't intend to soak them for that long).

Thanks!


texts:
I tried to bake a sweet potato today, but instead of getting soft, the skin kept getting tougher and tougher. Eventually i took it out and when I cut into it, the inside was soft, but the shell outside was really tough (yes, it did feel like a shell)

Any ideas? These were my steps:

Pre heated the oven for 10 mins at about 212 F
Put the potato inside, skin on, on a rack with aluminium foil at the bottom
Let it bake at 300 F for 40 mins.
Shell super hard, fork couldnt go through, so put it back in for another 40 mins.
Shell even harder.  Turned up temperature to 400 F.
About 20 mins later i smell a little burning so i took it out. The shell was just a little burnt on the outside but still really tough.

I guesa this could be because i didnt use oil. I dont want to use oil. Any ideas?


texts: Does vinegar have the same function as tartaric acid in a pavlova?

texts: My recipe for pavlova roll has 4 egg whites, 1 teaspoon vinegar and 1 teaspoon cornflour in it. Would you suggest adding cream of tartar? If I doubled the mixture how long would I need to bake it?


texts: Why does soda bread call for buttermilk?

texts:
I've been looking for a soda bread recipe to try and I notice that most of them contain buttermilk.  Buttermilk is not a standard part of my pantry.  Part of the appeal of soda bread is that it's quick to throw together, so having to go shopping for a specific ingredient interferes with the spontaneous aspect.

I know there are lots of substitutions for buttermilk (using a bit of lemon juice in regular milk is the one I usually use), but I'm wondering what it is about buttermilk specifically that seems to be a standard part of soda bread. Is it just traditional?  Or will it add a particularly noticeable flavour/texture?

Edited to add: I know that its functional purpose is to provide an acid to react with the soda for rising; so is it just that it used to be the most convenient acid?


texts:
I have a hard time finding "dutch process cocoa" in the store sometimes.

What other names might dutch process cocoa be known as?
Is there something else in the ingredients that might identify dutch process cocoa.

What is the key property of dutch process cocoa that makes it do its job?  (Especially in cake and brownie applications?)


texts: Suggestions for storing homemade frozen custard

texts:
I've been having a hankering for Rita's ice cream because I love frozen custard. It's so much richer than vanilla ice cream. I've decided to try to make it myself with this recipe.

I have the Cuisinart ice cream maker to mix it in. I'd like to make a big batch (quarts or gallon size would be good) of it can anyone recommend good storage containers? I would like one with a lid because I wouldn't want the custard to smell like "freezer" or get frozen crystals on top. Any tips or suggestions? Thanks!

Comments for other frozen custard recipes you've liked would be awesome too if you know of any! :)


texts: Safe to freeze boiled/ blanched pork bones/ meat for future use to cook soup?

texts:
This is relating to Asian/ Chinese style soup/ broth cooking.

I am a very busy person and do not have time to cook. I cook in a small kitchen with the basic crockeries. I usually do my groeceries during the weekend to prepare for dinner during the working days.

One of my favourite dishes are soups boiled with pork or beef and I usually boil or blanch the meat and bones with ginger/ green onion and some cooking wine before hand to get rid of any blood, gunks and pork odour/ taint before adding clean water for a clearer, cleaner and tastier broth. However, this is a very tedious process for me as I spend to much time prepping and having to slow boil the soup.

In order to save time, I was thinking of boiling/ blanching my bones and meat in one go and freezing them in portions so that i can throw them in separately the next time I cook my soup. This way I skip the hassle of defrosting, cleaning and blanching.

Does anybody do that here? Is it safe if I do that? I'm not too well versed in food safety and would love to know what you guys think. Thanks!


texts: Non-plastic cutting board that can be cleaned in a dishwasher

texts:
We currently have the following dilemma:

My wife does not want us to use plastic cutting boards because of the potential negative health effects of ingesting microplastics.
I really really do not want to wash cutting boards by hand. Yes, I'm aware that there is no alternative for sharp metal knifes and non-stick coated pans, but I don't want to add another item to that list of annoying exceptions.

We tried standard wooden cutting boards, but they tend to bulge and crack after a few rounds in the dishwasher.
Is there some alternative cutting board material that we could use which satisfies both requirements as stated above? Are there maybe special types of wood that are more "dishwasher compatible"?


texts: Flavour-wise, what is the use of an electric/gas BBQ?

texts:
I can understand that an electric/gas BBQ is very practical for outdoor events because you can cook a large amount of food in a relatively short amount of time, without smelling up the house.

A charcoal BBQ can impart a smokey flavour to the meat from the briquettes but what can say a gas BBQ do in terms of flavour? Is there any difference between using a gas BBQ and cooking the food indoors with a griddle/frying pan?


texts: How to dethaw multiple pieces of steak when not planning to use them all at once

texts: I had bought six pieces of steak and forgot to refrigerate them. They were in a bag overnight and the next morning when I realized what had happened I quickly put them all in the freezer. They are not individually wrapped. How can I thaw one out and leave the rest frozen? Or should I thaw them all out and keep them in the refrigerator and eat them over the next several days?


texts: How can I ensure a juicy beef burger patty?

texts: Also tell if i need to mince the beef lumps before mincing the beef to make patties


texts: I made a spice cake from scratch.  I've made it before, this time I made cupcakes.  The cake was perfect, but the top was crunchy and sweet with little holes.  Was the butter not incorporated enough and fried the sugar into a sweet top?


texts: I have been going to a lebanese restaurant for a while now and they do the best chicken wings i have ever tasted. i want to know their secret. they are chargrilled over coal and i know that they put butter on them to help with the browning. what i cant replicate is that they are sticky, the seasoning goes right to the bone and they also manage to get a sort of citrus flavour to the bone also. i imagine that some sort of brine would help with the seasoning going into the flesh but the citrus notes have me stumped. if anyone actually knows a recipe or even just has some suggestions id be very appreciative. thanks.


texts: What's the difference between peas in the UK and in the US?

texts:
I grew up in Britain, where one of my standard meals (as a fussy eater with a number of allergies) was some form of meat with peas and mashed potato. Now I'm living in the US, and to my dismay the peas here taste completely different, and I'm trying to figure out why.

I don't think it's a brand difference; I'm wondering if it's in the variety of peas, or how the peas are treated after picking. I'd like to grow my own, if I could be sure I'd get the right results.

Here is a link to the product page for a representative sample. They seem to be being referred to now as "Garden peas", though I'm not sure if that's a description or a variety.

So, British and American chefs - what's the difference between peas on different sides of the Pond?


texts: What foods/preparations demonstrate the flavor difference between sea salt and table salt?

texts:
Related to What is the difference between sea salt and regular table salt?

What can I prepare that will work really well for a side-by-side comparison to demonstrate the difference between sea salt and regular table salt? Obviously, tasting the salts directly might work, but I'm looking for something that highlights the difference and is tasty at the same time.

Edit:

I'm looking for things that highlight the differences in the flavors of the salts or that the salts affect the flavor significantly due to the trace minerals. Why are the things you suggest ideal for this? I'm not looking for a list of foods you can add salt to - that list is endless.

Why should I use sea salt?

Here's a hypothetical example answer:

  Adding sea salt to X makes it taste salty in the same way as table salt does. However if you use Y, the A will be B and the C will be D. You will notice a distinct difference.


texts:
I want to make a double or triple batch of of this Italian bread recipe that I have. It's for a bread similar to what they serve at Macaroni Grill. My problem is that I am using a pizza stone in the oven and I can only fit one loaf at a time and it takes 20-25 minutes to cook a loaf.

My plan is to mix the dough and let it rise as one big batch. The punch down and separate the dough into individual loaves for the second rise.

The main ingredients are water, all purpose flour, olive oil, sugar, and yeast.

Is there a way that I can keep the additional loaves from continuing to rise while a loaf is baking? Or should I just leave them out?


texts: The bottom of my black cheap pan has worn off and I can now see the metal below where food would go. Is that pan safe to use anymore?

texts:
As part of my "kitchen inventory package" my short stay agency gave me for my cooking, there's a pan. After a couple of mistakes (cough using it to heat sauce without adding oil (as instructed!) then not cleaning the pan up immediately) and much cleaning, I can now see I ended up scratching the 'black' off my pan.

Is the pan still safe to use, or do I need to buy a new one? What could go possibly wrong if I did use it and why?


texts:
I am in the process of making a DIY Soylent meal replacement. I've tried Hershey's cocoa powder and it tastes awful.
Commercial manufacturers of flavored protein powders, shake powders, etc. make such tasty drinks. What substances and flavorings do they use?
For reference, my recipe was:

Oat flour
Flaxseed powder
Barley powder
Whey protein isolate
Acacia gum
Hershey's cocoa powder
Sugar

Subsequently I also tried adding nutmeg powder and cinnamon as suggested by some recipes on CompleteFoods. It didn't help.
I've read that the commercially available powders contain isomaltulose, maltodextrin, and xanthan gum. Do these have anything to do with how the drink tastes?
'Rich chocolate' does not have anything to do with richness. It's just a common phrase shake/powder sellers use for their whey protein/shakes.
How can I do this?
Edit: Got a hold of the ingredient list of the desired end result. Which ingredients make for the creaminess and richness, as if I were drinking a milk shake?


texts: Thicker gelatin layer at the bottom of the dish

texts:
When I make Jell-O (fruit-flavored gelatin or jelly), I often get a patchy skin of "thicker" gelatin on the bottom of the dish. The color is the same, but the "skin" has less flavor and a much harder texture.

My assumption is that some of the gelatin granules aren't getting completely dissolved; however, I can't see any granules remaining (or I'd keep stirring it). Am I right about the cause? How do I prevent or reduce the problem if there isn't any visual cue?


texts: How to get rid of boiled chicken breast smell?

texts:
I boiled sliced chicken breast in plain water for elders. It's their meal. Raw chicken was fresh, but cooked chicken smells not nice. I know it should smell, but I feel bad for them eating this thing.

Is there any tips to get rid of the smell? Thanks!


texts: How do I tone down onion sharpness already in the chicken salad?  It asked for red onion, which I didn't have so I used the only thing I had, shallot.  I used far less than indicated.  I have already added an avocado and a packet of stevia to the chicken salad but it is still too oniony for my taste.


texts: how does bread fermentation change in relation to inital yeast weight, time and temperature?

texts:
I am thinking of making bread and while most recipes call for a 2-3 hour fermentation, some say leave it for 12-24 hours in the fridge for better flavor while adding less yeast to start with.

I understand that in slow growth conditions and small quantities yeast gives a slower rise but why does it affect the flavor, to elaborate lets assume two recipes A and B

A uses 3x the amount of yeast used by B

B needs more time than A but eventually shouldn't the output of the two amounts of yeast be equal at some point in time if we keep B proofing while removing A

I guess I am asking what else is happening to the bread beside the output of yeast ?


texts:
I just harvested some scallions from the garden, where it's getting bit chilly (late November in Seattle).

After chopping them, I realized that their insides were covered in a gelatinous, slippery, viscous goo!

What is it? Is it safe to eat?


texts: Is it safe to freeze soup that uses previously frozen stock?

texts:
I have a lot of frozen stock. I would like to use that stock to make a tomato, leek and basil soup which will be eaten one or two days later.

Is it safe to re-freeze the soup that contains the previously frozen stock?

Am I better off not freezing the soup that I will be consuming in just one or two days?


texts: When I bake chicken breast, some unsavory white gunk comes out. It is a perfectly edible protein, but not pleasant to eat. And when I cook the chicken with vegetables in a pressure cooker, the gunk gets all over the vegetables. What is the best way prevent the gunk from coming out or keep it separate?


texts: What kind of meat to use for Wiener Schnitzel?

texts:
I understand that the meat is thinned with a mallet before coating with breadcrumbs and frying.

What parts of veal or pork are suitable?

(Googling the subject seems to produce mostly sausage related hits for some reason)


texts: How do I cook Basmati rice without soaking?

texts: I know that all types of rice need soaking, but sometimes there are water shortages and I would like to skip this step to save water. How can I cook Basmati rice without a separate soaking step?


texts: What is the best way to handle sticky "batard dough" to shape it before putting it in the oven? I have tried flouring my hands and the crust comes out too white. I have tried using cooking utensils and find that I cannot shape it properly.


texts: How to improve contact between non-flat pan and stovetop

texts:
I have a slightly concave steel paella pan, but I want it to get a nice even heat from my flat glass top stove.  Has anyone had and solved this problem?  First thought is to try to use some aluminum foil to take up the space and (hopefully) conduct the heat well to the pan.
Once I have my solution, what is a good and easy way to test it?  Thinking of testing with a sprinkling of flour and see that it browns evenly


texts:
(I am new to Europe so please forgive me for being not knowing).

I have this cheese

I asked here before how to eat it and people answered me, but when it comes to real life I had a problem removing the wax, because it really stuck to the cheese!

I like the taste and I want to try it again, but this time I want to ask you how to remove this wax. What I did before is but it rounded, but that removes cheese and obvious my way was wrong.

I hope you can show me a video or something to make it easier for me because my English is not so good. Thanks you.


texts: What will happen if you bake seized chocolate into a batter?

texts:
Melted chocolate is known to seize badly if it comes into contact with small amounts of water. Ideally, when wetted more and mixed, it should get better again, although I think I remember cases where this didn't work.

I wonder what would happen if the chocolate is supposed to be used in a cake batter afterwards. Has somebody had experience with this? Does seized chocolate bake into a nice smooth cake, does it create an unpleasant grainy cake, or is it somewhere in between? How much does the texture differ? Also, if there are noticeable differences, does it matter if the chocolate seized due to water contact or to overheating?


texts: Food safety issues related to eating raw frozen vegetables

texts:
I just pulled out a package of frozen spinach and noticed a warning "Cook from frozen, product must be cooked before consumption". I found the same on a package of frozen baby peas and I'm sure I've seen it many times before on vegetables that are often eaten raw when fresh. Are there any food safety issues related to this advice?

I couldn't really think of a problem with vegetables that are commonly sold and stored a while at room temperature. I live in Australia so maybe it's location specific, but having a further look I've found the same warning on products from three different manufacturers.


texts: What determines the length of sous vide cooking time?

texts:
What factors affect sous vide cooking time, generally? I imagine cooking time is essentially the amount of time needed for the food's internal temperature to reach equilibrium with the desired temperature. Are there pros or cons to cooking longer or shorter?

For reference, I am primarily interested in cooking custard base sous vide, but would be interested in responses with regard to other food types as well.


texts: Where can safe and reliable instructions (including high and low altitude canning) be found for canning?


texts: Is having an extending blade near the knife handle a serious risk when cutting food?

texts:
Here's an example of a very typical knife design:

Look at where the arrow points. That's a blade part that extends from the handle orthogonal to the knife axis and it's pretty thin and its side actually continues into a very sharp blade edge.

My concern is the following. Suppose I need to cut a chicken carcass. I will want to stick the knife deep and then start cutting. What if while I'm sticking the knife my hand slips along the handle onto that edge pointed to by the arrow?

I expect an epic cut should that happen so I've been avoiding such knife design for years and always preferred knifes where there's a piece of plastic extending from the handle in from of that blade edge (kind of hilt or guard). Maybe I'm just overly paranoid about this.

Is there real risk of having a cut while cutting food in the scenario I described?


texts: Does there exist a non-rust substitute for an iron-cast pan?

texts:
I recently bought a new cast-iron pan and I am enjoying very much the upgrade in the quality of my food.

As I understand it, the reason why food cooked in an cast-iron pan tastes better is that the pan heats the food more evenly (due to its thickness). On the other hand a main downside is that cast-iron cookware requires significant maintanance and care.

Is there a substitute that achieves the same effects as an cast-iron pan but does not rust? If the iron in an cast-iron pan was just replaced with another metal that does not rust so easily (but has a similar conductivity to iron) would the results not be the same?


texts:
Just for giggles I am planning to make spanakopita using rainbow chard instead of spinach. It's been years since I've worked with chard, so I have forgotten how it behaves. If I were using spinach I would steam it until it wilted and volume was reduced by half. Then I would chop it and wring the hell out of it with a tea towel. I wouldn't use any stalk that extended beyond the leaves. I want to use more of the stalk of the chard, because that's where most of the color is.

So, will treating the chard leaves like spinach be enough to dry it out for spanakopita? Keeping the bottom layer of filo crisp is paramount. Is there anything more I should do? Concerning the stalks, I'm thinking that I want to dice them fairly small, salt and drain them, steam them until tender, and then wring them with the leaves. Does that sound like the best way to handle them? Is there anything I should do differently?

The color of the chard is the whole reason for this little endeavor. Is there anything I can do to help keep the color bright?

Finally, the flavors in my traditional spanakopita include parmesan, feta, yoghurt, lemon, dill, mint and nutmeg. Is there any reason to consider different flavorings with the chard instead of spinach?


texts: Is there a difference between freezing meat at 26°F and 0°F?

texts: According to this answer, you are allowed to market turkeys as fresh as long as they haven't been frozen below 26°F. What is the purpose of this law/regulation?


texts:
Consider simple dough, flour and water. For simplification we will disregard salt, sugar and any other additives. The question is, how do I guesstimate volume of dough, say, 1000gr of flour and 1000ml of water (consider that water/floor ratio for my theoretical dough is known). I'm well aware that different flours have different properties, for simplification, lets say it is GP or 00 flour, whatever it is called in your country. Is there some property like absorption ratio of flour? If there is one, the rest can be easily calculated.

Example:

Usually I mix water and flour (for theoretical dough, forget leavening agents and particular application, like bread, pasta, whatever) in 7:10 ratio - 700 ml of water with 1000 gr of flour. I want to fill with that dough a pan, lets say, 750 cm^3, how much flour and water I should use to get that volume of dough.


texts: I was looking through a plant catalog, and noticed that only one type of CANNA is edible. Why aren't other species edible also?


texts: How many kilos of bread can I produce with one kilo of flour?

texts:
I wish to calculate how economic a breadmaker is compared to store bought bread. Does anyone know how many kilos of bread can be made from one kilogram of flour?

To make it simple, let's say generic white bread and basic simple white bread.


texts: What are unique properties or advantages of tagine?

texts:
Recently I saw a tagine from Le Creuset and tried to gather more information about it (materials, usage, etc.). But I could not figure how it sets itself apart from Western pots (be it cast iron or other), slow cookers, or terracotta ware like a "Römertopf". All of these can be used to cook food with little to no added liquid and with the use of steam.

What exactly is its advantage over the mentioned alternatives, assuming there is one?

Also, does it really have to be Earthenware, or is cast iron also fine? How does glazing or enamel affects its cooking properties?


texts: Are Damascus steel kitchen knives worth it?

texts:
Many manufacturers currently offer kitchen knives with Damascus steel blades at a premium.

Besides looking cool do such knifes have any better characteristics compared to simply good forged stainless steel kitchen knives?


texts: Making ice cream at home without a machine

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to make ice cream made without a machine?

I need an method for making ice cream at home, without access to an ice cream machine.


texts: How do I clean the bottom of a porcelain pan?

texts:
How do I clean the brown (grease? burn?) stains from the bottom of a porcelain baking dish?

Soaking in soapy water doesn't seem to help.


texts: After running the self-cleaning cycle on my oven, the racks are now kind of bare and don't slide in and out easily. Is there a way to "season" them like you would cast-iron?


texts: Add fresh yogurt to whipping cream to make creme fraiche?

texts:
Can I use fresh yogurt instead of cultured buttermilk, to add to heavy cream (35%) and make creme fraiche?

I learned that adding cultured butter milk to heavy whipping cream makes creme fraiche. I was wondering if I can use my fresh yogurt strain to do this.

Any tips?

Thank you!


texts: Molasses and Honey with burned beef suggestions?

texts:
Okay, so my lovely wife ("Plain Ol'Common Sense" here on the exchange) entrusted to me a mildly expensive roast as she left to spend a night with her sister.

Everything started out so well... I heated the cast iron skillet good and hot, browned the roast, poured a can of tomato paste onto it with a can of french onion soup and some fresh garlic and coarse pepper and popped the whole shebang into the oven at 375.

It all broke down when I let a project get me side-tracked and now I need to save my bacon (or beef as is the case now).

So, now I'm wondering something. I want to take this lovely, dry roast and crock-pot it with honey and molasses for a spicy-sweet fajita masterpiece before she gets home tomorrow and I'm looking for a recipe.

Now, mind you, I need to be at work 70 miles from home at 7:00 in the morning but I've got 2 teenage boys that can babysit the crock-pot. I'll have some time to put this together before heading out the door.

Any spicy-sweet ideas out there?

Thanks in advance!

Edit An excellent point was made in the comments: How bad is it?

The Roast pulls apart readily, is quite brown and very dry tasting. The french onion soup and tomato reduced down to a very caramelized reduction in the bottom of the pan leaving the top of the roast exposed for about an hour. Although, I did have a cast iron lid on the whole rig so it didn't 'burn' completely.


texts:
I often see a recipe that require something to be boiled in "lightly salted water" e.g. Semmelknödel, but I'm always in doubt on how much salt that actually is.

Can anyone tell the "correct" ratio of salt and water for lightly salted water?


texts: I live in a warm country, cockroaches are endemic here, and I do my utmost to keep them out.  However, occasionally one will sneak past my defenses.  Is my kitchen clean?  You bet ya! Have I done enough to stop these invaders, I thought so... But obviously not.  What is the best way to keep these critters from even thinking about coming over for a nibble?


texts: Where to place the oven thermometer in an oven?

texts: Where to place an oven thermometer in a gas oven? Should it be left hanging from the rack or should it be placed on the rack?


texts: How to make perfect crispy bacon strips?

texts:
I recently tried to make some crispy bacon, and failed. I prepared half of it in a frying pan, half of it in the oven.

Half the strips were still chewy, some were partially burnt, some were still chewy but already partially burnt, some were dried, crunchy and crumbling, not a single of them had the typical reddish strips - all went shades of dull brown and shrunk way more than normal "good" bacon strips should (even the still chewy ones).

In conclusion, I realized I just lack too much knowledge which is common in the USA. In my country bacon is not nearly as popular, so I won't be easily able to obtain a bacon press or any such specialized equipment, so a pan or an oven will have to do.

So, let's first ask specific questions...

what kind of bacon to start with? Raw? Smoky? Boiled? Anything specific about the meat?
Should I remove the skin?
How thick should the slices be?
When to salt it? (one of the issues was it was entirely unsalty when done, and salt wouldn't even stick to the dried surface).
Pan frying:

how hot? Also, I read it should start on cold pan - what about consecutive batches, cooling the pan down?
What about grease? Pour off between batches? Remove during frying? Leave it in?
Flipping?
How to tell it's done?
How to make sure I won't burn it before it's crispy?

Oven

Temperature, time? Heating: top, bottom, both?
Should I lay it on a grill in the oven, letting the fat to drip below, or lay it on tinfoil to simmer in its own grease?
Again, how to tell it's crispy yet?

Finally, I don't want my strips to be very greasy. Should I put them on a paper towel to soak some fat or should I avoid that (and reduce the fat some other way (how?))?

And generally: is there anything else to it?


texts: How long can melted salted caramel last?

texts: I melted the salted caramel today and I need it in school on friday. Today is Sunday. I wonder how long can it last beacause I'm scared it wont last more than 3 days.


texts: What exactly makes some fish "Sushi Grade"?


texts:
I am looking for a good way to prepare carnitas. So far I have tried putting the pork in a slow cooker all day, shredding the meat and then pan frying it in one side in .5 inch of oil for about 2 minutes. This was ok, but the meat seemed a little chewy.

Can anyone recommend a good frying technique that will leave the meat crispy on the outside and tender everywhere else?

Note: I fried in vegetable oil on high heat in a cast iron skillet


texts: Can I purify / kill germs in a water to make it drinkable by putting it in a freezer?

texts:
I've conducted a research on how can I purify the water to make it drinkable and the results are many, but most of them says that drinking a freeze water can cause cancer to us.

I am using a freezer safe container and I put it in a freezer, let that for one day then when it is freezing I will let it thaw for maybe 6 hours, then I will put it in a water container so I can drink it in the future. Is this safe to drink? Does it kill the germs?

One of the answer in a forum is this

  Cold and freezing will not kill microbes and parasites

Please enlighten me. :) I am doing it for almost a month and so far nothing bad happens to me.


texts: How can I make hazelnut essence, or some strongly hazelnut-flavoured liquid, without using sugar or alcohol?

texts: It is possible to make a very flavoursome liquid by infusing roasted hazelnuts in vodka or brandy. Can this be achieved without using alcohol or sugar?


texts: What kind of frosting has similar texture to the major grocery brands?

texts:
I have a frosting conundrum. I like the texture of the major brands of frosting one might buy in a grocery store, like Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker or similar.

Specifically, I like that the frosting is dense and becomes a bit stiff as it sets, while retaining moistness underneath the outer layer that is exposed to the air.

Although I haven't often made frosting myself, I have tried several different types made by others, including buttercream frosting, cream cheese frosting, whipped cream frosting, and meringue, but they never seem to come close to the texture I like (as described above). So what kind of frosting should I be looking for to get that texture?

It would be a nice bonus to know what ingredients or preparation methods account for that texture, so I can look at a frosting recipe and make a good guess about whether it'll give me the kind of thing I want.


texts: Is there a way to remove sodium tripolyphosphate additive from fish?

texts:
I bought fish online but I noticed it had tripolyphosphate additive.

Is there some way I can at least reduce the content without compromising the fish?

I was thinking soaking the fish in water as it thawed or boiling it for a short time just before baking it.


texts: I would like to ship homemade mozzarella. I'm considering purchasing a vacuum packaging system to preserve it for the 2-3 day trip. Is this recommended? If not, are there any alternatives?


texts: Is it possible to make good fried salmon in a stainless steel pan?

texts:
I am trying to make fried salmon in my stainless steel pan. My goal is to have a nicely browned exterior, but I keep running into the same problem: Once the outer layer of the salmon starts to brown, it sticks to the bottom of the pan, and peels right off the fillet when I try to turn the fish over.

The answers to this similar question all seem to be focused on heating the pan before putting the fish in. This doesn't seem to work in my situation. I am already preheating the pan for a couple of minutes. In case it makes a difference, I have been using olive oil.

Is there a special trick to searing salmon in a stainless steel pan (I prefer to avoid pans with non-stick coatings) without the bottom of the fish peeling off as soon as it browns? Am I just doing this entirely wrong?


texts: How can I improve a dish with badly cooked spices without recooking?

texts:
I am living in a place where the food (namely curries) served is so bad I lose my appetite by just smelling it. I've tried making it taste better by adding some chilli powder, salt, and onions but it hasn't helped. I don't understand why it still tastes bad may be I am mixing in wrong quantity or wrong ingredients.

I asked my friend why is the food tastes bad, and he said that spices need to be cooked to release the flavours and the person making the dish is not cooking them properly so the raw spices are causing a bad taste.

So is cooking necessary for all spices to release flavour? How can I tell whether that's the problem, and how can I improve a dish with badly cooked spices without recooking?


texts:
How is "soup chicken" different from "cooking chicken". Is it a different breed or just old chicken? Can I eat its meat?

I have always made soup from the bones of boneless chicken I cook. Today I got a chicken specifically for soup, whose packing said "ideal for broth". So I broke its bones and put the entire thing to boil for an hour. Now my normal chicken's flesh just fells apart after boiling for an hour. This one was still firm and a bit hard and leathery. It was actually hard to remove the flesh from the bone after all this boiling. And the flesh itself was kinda unappetizing. I still cut it up in cubes and put it in the soup(because, protein!).

So is it a different kind of chicken, or just old chicken (I know the meat of old cows becomes leathery). Is it safe to eat the meat?


texts:
Can you sharpen a ceramic knife?
Can you sharpen a ceramic knife?


texts: Is there any difference between chopped and crushed garlic in cooking?

texts: Often recipes say to chop garlic, but I usually cheat and just crush it as it's quicker. Is there any difference in doing this? Will it have much of an effect on the flavour of the dish?


texts:
Does using a deep fryer for fish effect
1: the taste of other things fried in the oil.
2: how frequently the oil needs to be replaced or stored between uses.

In short do I need separate oil for deep frying fish and vegetables, pastries... ?


texts:
I've previously asked about converting a family recipe for a cocoa frosting to a coffee frosting instead, and got a pretty good answer, but it's all very theoretical and "try this" and "try that", and I just don't have the time or, to tell the truth, the patience, to experiment like that. I think what I want is an established recipe, or rather, a way to search for an established recipe. Problem is, if you search for "coffee frosting", you get various types of buttercreams, all of which involve copious quantities of powdered sugar.
If I could instead search for "coffee [insert type of frosting here]", I might have better luck. Problem is, haven't the faintest idea what this frosting method/technique is called (assuming it has a name).
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 2 heaping tableserving spoons Dutch-processed cocoa (the original recipe just calls for 2 big spoonfuls, but in family practice, this has morphed to a whole lot more cocoa than that), 3 to 5 tablespoons granulated sugar (depending on how heavy-handed you were with the cocoa), 5 tablespoons water, 8 egg yolks, 2 sticks unsalted butter.
Method: combine everything except the butter in the top of a double boiler. Cook slowly, stirring pretty much constantly, until very thick and sticky. (It'll take a while, and your arms will get pretty tired.) Let cool. Meanwhile, whip the butter until light and fluffy. Combine the completely cooled chocolate mixture and the butter.

Does anyone recognize this type or method of making frosting? Does it have a name?

Looks like I need to edit to make it clear that it's the method that I'm after, not a vague resemblance of the ingredients.
So, the method, in more detail: combine starch (cocoa powder, in this case), sugar, a relatively large quantity of egg yolks, and a relatively tiny quantity of water. Cook in a double boiler, stirring constantly. If you find yourself scraping thickened mixture off the bottom of the pot while the rest of the mixture isn't as thick, immediately remove from the heat and stir like crazy until smooth. Rinse and repeat, until your arms are screaming, and the mixture is so thick that when you lift the whisk, the cream slowly falls off in clumps, rather than in a solid stream. Let cool completely. When cooled, the mixture is about the same texture as butter, just stickier. Thus, you can simply dump the entire cooked mixture into the butter (or the butter into the mixture, makes no difference), without worrying about curdling or separating, and whip away until no streaks remain.
As you can see, there's no cooking of sugar syrup, there's no hoping-the-sugar-will-cook-the-yolks-without-curdling-them, there's no dropping-the-butter-into-the-cream-in-small-cubes-and-praying-it-incorporates, and there is starch, so it is absolutely, positively NOT a French buttercream. The relatively tiny quantity of liquid means that this doesn't really resemble a German buttercream or a "flour buttercream", either, though a German buttercream made creme mousseline style (i.e. with pastry cream instead of custard) gets tantalizingly close...


texts: Can't find frozen cranberries anywhere. Can I use fresh instead in my cake recipe?

texts: I can't find frozen cranberries anywhere.  How can I substitute fresh cranberries for frozen?  Do I chop them up and add sugar?  Do frozen cranberries have added sugar in them?  My cake recipe asks for frozen cranberries.


texts: How to thoroughly bread meat with eggs and flour for frying without the mess

texts:
When making dishes like Chicken Parmesan, fried zucchini, general tso's, etc, and prepare the breaded item, I first scramble a few eggs then dip the the item from there into either flour or breadcrumbs then straight to the pan.

Flour is the worst, as the egg can get into the flour and create a cement like mixture that's very difficult to clean from your hands. Breadcrumbs aren't as bad mess wise, but can still be an issue when the goal is a clean, even coating all the way around.

So my question is what is the best process to use when preparing fried foods like these in an assembly line-like fashion, without the huge mess and splotchy coating, or are my ingredients themselves to blame?


texts: What are the grey-black specks that appear when whipping cream in stainless steel bowl?

texts:
When we whip cream by hand in a stainless steel bowl, with a metal whisk, small grey specks, ~0.5-1mm in size, appear in the cream. The specks are squishy and can easily be smeared out. See attached photos:

Googling does not turn up much except similar question at: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/508107

The specks appear in different stainless steel bowls ("Stainless steel" imprinted on all bowls - no aluminium or other metals involved as far as we can tell).

The same whisk used in a plastic bowl does not produce specks.

The cream is organic, 40% fat (Swedish "Arla EKO"). We cannot detect any strange taste.

It seems probable that the specks come from mechanical wear. But what is it? What could be the cause? Is there something we should know about Stainless steel bowls?


texts:
Is there a way to get a quality molcajete and/or paellera in the U.S., specifically the eastern seaboard?  I'd prefer not to fly to Texas, Mexico, or Spain to get them.

I've seen a few horror stories of people buying "genuine" molcajetes, only to find out that they're made of some mix of stone (and no basalt), and that they're utterly worthless.

What's the best way to get real foreign cookware like this?


texts: What's wrong with my technique in this Belgian Liège Waffle recipe?

texts:
I've been using this awesome recipe to make Belgian Liège waffles, but my results are never consistent. Could you guys help me reverse engineer the recipe a bit?

During the butter-adding phase in step 5, my dough typically balls up on the paddle very early on, even before the second mixing. What could be the most likely culprit? It drives me crazy that I can never get this step right!
What's the point of resting the dough for 1 minute between mixings in step 5?
What's the point of letting the batter bubble up in step 3?
Why refrigerate the dough overnight? Couldn't it be used to make waffles right after the 4-hour rising?

Thank you!


texts: How to safely reuse scissors used to open food packaging multiple days in a row?

texts:
I often have to resort to prepared food from the local supermarket for a number of consecutive days because my parents are on vacation. This food is sealed in vacuum bags and usually requires 3-5 minutes in the microwave depending on the type of food. The bags need to opened using scissors after they have been heated.

Because of the limited amount of scissors in the house, I often need to resort to reusing one or more scissors for 2 or more days in a row. What precautions should I take to avoid food poisoning?


texts: Length of cooking time for stews and sauces

texts:
Let's say you're cooking a beef stew. The tough cut of beef needs time to soften and the onions and carrots will need time to soften. What other processes take place that require time? Or once each ingredient has had enough time to break down enough is that complete?
As an example this recipe for curries instructs a total simmering time of 1.5 hours? Given that the ingredients are just spices and vegetables, does anything take place beyond the first 10-15 minutes?


texts:
I have found a recipe for muffins that I'd like to make, and it calls for corn meal. I found some in the pantry, but I don't know when it was purchased. It doesn't smell like much, just kinda like corn.

It might be pretty old. Possibly years. Will it ruin the muffins? Would the muffins be significantly better if I bought some new corn meal from the grocer?


texts: What is fine semolina? (For baghrir recipe)

texts:
Background: I would like to cook baghrir. There are many recipes, all very similar: put fine semolina, warm water, yeast, sugar, salt in a blender and blend it for a few minutes, in the end it should have a liquid consistency. I tried it once but it was a disaster, I figure the problem is that it wasn't liquid at all, but very thick and sticky. It didn't have many bubbles and stuck to the greased pan badly.

Semolina, according to Wikipedia, is coarse by definition. So the first problem is that fine semolina sounds like an oxymoron to me, a finer version of it would be flour basically. I can only buy one type of it anyway (here in Switzerland), here's a close up photo: https://i.stack.imgur.com/3sQwG.jpg . Looks quite coarse to me. Also I don't think my blender has any effect. Here's a photo of it: https://i.stack.imgur.com/y7U78.jpg .  I know it says chopper, but it has sharp blades that rotate so I figured it should work. I saw a video that suggested that blending coarse semolina should give you fine semolina. So I tried grinding raw semolina for a few minutes and the result looked exactly the same, I couldn't tell it from the original.

So the recipes suggest fine semolina, blended even finer, and I have coarse one and unable to blend further. Do you think this issue could cause my batter to behave badly? Any suggestion to fix this?


texts: Why boiling water, then cold water for this shaobing recipe?

texts:
I'm trying to make this Chinese pastry called Shaobing.  Some recipes I've found call for first adding boiling water then adding cold water.  There's no yeast, just some salt and flour.  FYI, these recipes are from pretty old cookbooks.
My question is, what does adding boiling water first, then cold water do to the flour?


texts: Why not incorporate eggs at the last moment when making crepes?

texts:
My question is about the sequence/timing of adding the ingredients.
In all crepes recipes I have seen, eggs are added before the batter is mixed. I wonder if it would make sense to add them after.
Two possible advantages:

I believe if eggs are mixed too much, whites can get a rubber-like texture. This is especially true when an electric mixer is used. Is this correct? Incorporating eggs at the last moment will allow using electric mixer (on milk and flour) without compromising the texture.
Eggs are fresher when they are in their shell. I guess if the batter is left for 2-24h so that flour can absorb liquid, it does not gain much by absorbing egg, right? In this case, adding eggs shortly before baking will only have advantages (like increased food safety) and no disadvantages.

Yet, in all recipes, eggs are added in advance. What am I missing?


texts: How do I tell if my fermented sauce has gone bad?

texts:
Related to another question of mine:

I found this recipe for a lacto fermented hot sauce. Basically you take blended up chiles, 2.5% salt, water (not sure if necessary), and oak cubes (I kind of just want to buy a small barrel) and age it all together for 3 months to 2 years and cut it with vinegar. Easy enough.

However, in the answer to my previous question it mentioned that I might end up with "nightmare juice". How do I ensure that my sauce, assuming I use enough salt, has not spoiled (or at least is not unsafe to eat)? If I add garlic or other herbs/spices to the mix, will this change?


texts:
Portable ways to daily grind & powder/ paste 8-9 overnight soaked & peeled Almonds while traveling?

Portable/ Light while Traveling:

May lack access to large food processor/ mixer/ grinder & will consider ideas/ methods using:

Manual/ Hand drive device/ or crucible/ vessel/ tool?
Automated & mechanized Small/ portable dual voltage 110/240 V device(s)

Lacking food processing expertise:

I'm a young male who lacks the knowledge/ wisdom from my mother's decades of kitchen expertise & experience; and tool set / utilities

I will ask her as well, but hope wider pool can give some diverse answers

Purpose:

This is for a herbal/ traditional medicinal home made recipe
Needs to be done freshly every morning after overnight soaking

So easy, fast, time efficient will be crucial

Overnight Soaked & Peeled Almonds consistency differs from dry almond/ or almond powder

It may or may not become a butter

PS: First question on Cooking SE, so please be kind :) and don't negative me.

Read this already: How do I grind almonds for making marzipan?


texts:
I've heard of "once a month cooking" or "freezer cooking," where you basically spend a day cooking and fill your freezer with the next month's worth of food. This could especially come in handy when preparing for a baby. (Take-out food gets boring REALLY fast.)

What are some tips and/or resources for once a month cooking?

Edit: I suppose this need not be for cooking for an entire month per se. The idea is cooking in bulk ahead of time.


texts: Do burgers cook better when close or far apart?

texts: I was in a debate with a friend in regards to cooking burgers if they should be close together or far apart on a grill.  I searched the site but did not find anything that would answer my question so my apologies if it does exist.  So my question is: Do burgers cook better on a grill if they are closer together or far apart while direct grilling on a charcoal grill?


texts: How to bake muffins with a convection oven and steam

texts:
I'm trying to bake muffins with a convection oven that has a steaming function. Without using steam, the muffins' edges will set first whilst the middle remains soft and when that rises, the muffins will end up pointy.
Introducing steam seems to solve this issue and the muffins will rise evenly this time. However, they will shrink after a couple minutes on the rack.
Please note that we're talking here about high protein muffins with added whey protein. They're also sugar-free, gluten-free and low-fat (I know, right? Sounds impossible!). So the batter has a higher than usual liquid content to mitigate for the lack of gluten, fats and sugar and high protein and fibre content which would lead to a very dense and heavy product.
How to approach this type of product with this type of oven?


texts: Second quesadilla made on my panini press is not as crispy as the first

texts:
I like to make quesadillas on my panini press. I typically make two for a meal.

Here is what I do:

Preheat the panini press to medium-high.
While heating, assemble the quesadillas.

I typically add cheese, shredded chicken, bacon bits, and onions. All ingredients are cold, straight out of the refrigerator. The tortilla shells themselves are the only room temperature ingredients, stored in whatever air-tight plastic bag they came in.

Once the press reports it is heated up, I cook the first quesadilla.
I remove the quesadilla when:

The cheese is visibly gooey and just starting to ooze out.
The top of the quesadilla has dark brown grill marks.

I then quickly wipe up any food particles with a dry paper towel (surface is non-stick).
Wait for the press to heat back up, give it an extra 30 seconds or so to be sure it is nice and hot.
Repeat for the second quesadilla.

What I have found is the first one I make has a nice and semi-crispy tortilla shell: it is hard and flaky, and the ends sag slightly when I pick it up in the middle.

However, the second one will have cheese oozing out and sizzling on the press, but the shell will be soft and droopy. I prefer the texture the other way.

I have tried altering the quantity of cheese, temperature, waiting longer to start cooking the second quesadilla, etc. but it does not matter. No matter what I do, the second quesadilla does not have the same exterior texture of the first one that I like.

I suspect this has something to do with either the moisture content of the tortilla shells, residual moisture on the panini press grates, or the cooking temperature. However, my experimentation has thus far not yielded any answers.

What changes do I need to make to my cooking routine so the second quesadilla comes out with a semi-crispy, hard and flaky exterior?


texts: If only one choice - convection microwave, convection oven, regular micro, conventional oven?

texts: Can a convection microwave along with an induction cooktop effectively replace a microwave, conventional electrical oven and cooktop? I'm creating a small kitchen for a guest suite. One approach has a small electric oven with a cooktop and a separate microwave/exhaust system mounted above. Another thought is to forego the oven entirely and simply use a convection microwave for any baking purposes along with an electric (induction?) cooktop for cooking food that requires cooktop cooking. A convection microwave requires less space and costs less than an individual oven range and individual microwave/exhaust, though there is an additional cost for a cooktop. My concern is that baking/roasting/etc. in a convection microwave will yield less desirable results than using a conventional oven.


texts:
I found on the Wikipedia article for porgies, there is a quote
    from a reference saying that:

  Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 184. ISBN
  0-12-547665-5.  Eating the head is known to cause hallucinations,
  lasting many days.

I was wondering if their heads contains some poison or other bad
    things, and thereforeare not eatable and  must be removed before
    cooking?

All fishes are caught in Maryland.


texts: Why does room temperature coffee taste so bad, even to asnomics?

texts:
It's been theorised that room temperature coffee tastes more bitter might be due to the smell sense being activated by hot coffee (particles moving around), which improves the taste.

However, as a congenital anosmic (no sense of smell since birth), room temperature / cold coffee is still awful.  I love a hot cup of coffee, on the other hand.

Any proven theories?


texts: Is there such thing as "active dry sourdough-variety yeast"?

texts:
Apologies in advance if this is a stupid question, or if it doesn't sound coherent, but: Is it possible to buy sourdough yeast, ready to use?

You can easily find "active dry yeast" for sale in supermarkets. I realize this regular bread yeast is a different variety from your typical sourdough yeast.

But can the sourdough type of yeast (I guess it is referred to as "wild yeast"?) be packaged in a way that you can just add it to your dough whenever you feel like baking, and not have to maintain a starter in a special container, with all the fussy feeding rituals, and worries about its health and environmental conditions, etc.? ... I imagine taking care of the starter must be half the fun, but people are always trying to make a buck by selling you convenience, so I wonder if you can buy little packets of "active dry sourdough yeast".

Or does wild yeast have some characteristic that makes it impossible to package it up neatly for sale? Or is there some other reason I haven't seen this product, even on the internet? ... Or do I just need to open my eyes, and I will see it in every market?


texts: Hamantaschen just wouldn't pinch and hold tight

texts:
I made a pretty simple and easy hamantaschen recipe last night, and it came out really well. The only substitution I made was to flex 3 eggs for 3 tablespoons milled, gelled flax seed in 9 tablespoons water. I am essentially unfamiliar with the dough, and wasn't sure what to expect. It had a great crumb, shortbread texture, but I ran into the dough unfolding/unpinching while baking.

The dough was good to work with, streched well and didn't break apart. However, it was very dry. Two main problems that may have stemmed from this were that the pockets wouldn't pinch at the edges, and when I left them to cool they dried out very quickly. In the second batch I tried moistening the edges with water to see if it would help glue them together, but to no avail. In the third the dough was becoming very inflexible and I used some canola oil to loosen it back up, but this did little to help.

As it is spoken of as a stiff dough (the author recommends chilling dough overnight), the dryness of the dough itself may not have inherently been a problem. Also, whereas the author says to "mix" the five and a half cups of flour with the liquids, I found I needed to fold cup by cup then knead toward the four cup mark, ultimately shorting the recipe by a half cup of flour. Since the drying out while cooling had no actual affect on the dough (in terms of taste, texture), I am mostly concerned about why the pockets ended up flat upon baking in many cases, instead of little pockets of plum preserves.

With a dough and recipe like this, what could I have done to ensure better pinches?

Is the amount of baking powder appropriate? The recipe didn't call for any salt, but I added some for flavor; could this have been problematic in causing over-rising?
The flax egg substitution would have had an equal amount of moisture to the egg, but would it have caused such dryness while mixing? The dough results were good in taste, just not structure.
Could over-kneading have been the problem; does too much kneading inhibit flour's ability to adhere to itself?
I do not typically use oil only doughs due to their dryer results, would subbing/splicing some heavier fats or apple sauce have improved the sticking?
Doubtless from the image above, I have not formed these before. Could my pinching technique have been to blame? Is there a secret to it? I have also seen them folded; does folding the corners yield sharper edges than pinching?


texts: What is the difference between quick cook and traditional steel cut oats?

texts:
I've noticed a grocery store sells both Quick Cook steel cut oats and Traditional steel cut oats. Quick Cook take only 5-7 minutes to cook on the stove, while traditional require 25-30 minutes.  Traditional also require more liquid, but I assume this is due to evaporation during the longer cook time.

The question Difference between old fashioned and quick oats? appears to be talking about rolled oats, but my main takeaway is that the quick rolled oats are processed into smaller flakes.

On the other hand, I'm aware that minute rice cooks faster than normal rice because minute rice has been precooked and dehydrated.

Are quick cook steel cut oats just cut smaller, or is there also some other difference?


texts: How to use oleoresin capsicum (chilli extract)?

texts:
How do you use the food additive oleoresin capsicum? How to enhance its spiciness?

I made a few attempts with 1-2 drops per person in dishes already spiced with lots of chillies. However, the additive seems to cause more stomach pains than heat in the mouth...

I have tried:

Mixing the few drops in a very thick base sauce and then add it to the rest of a more liquid (watery) sauce.
Mixing a few drops in oil. They mix quite well, but not entirely. Then put the oil in the dish.

My guess is that the oleoresin does not dilute or dissolve well in the dish and stays confined in fat globules, so that they go straight through the stomach without interacting much with the mouth.


texts: How accurate is the window pane test? (breadmaking)

texts:
I recently bought Michael Ruhlman's Ratio and started trying out baking. I knead my bread for about 10 to 15 minutes, but the window pane test (pulling a chunk of dough so that it's translucent without tearing) has never worked for me. I use about 80% all-purpose flour and 20% whole wheat.

Should I keep kneading until the window pane test works, or am I good with just looking at time? I've made two loaves of bread and I though both tasted good and had a pleasant texture. I'm curious if the whole wheat flour would have anything to do with this.


texts: Which gum/gums to use to get a gummy texture when using Agar agar powder

texts: Trying to do a school project that needs me to make gummies from scratch in an innovative way. I decided to go with Agar agar for a vegan based gummy. Unfortunately, once I make the gummies the agar agar sets but I don’t get the gummy/chewy texture that is required. What should I use in conjunction with the agar agar to get this texture without having to compromise the vegan factor?


texts: If I can't find baking soda or baking powder, what should I do?

texts:
Suppose I'm somewhere where stores don't seem to stock baking soda or baking powder. Are there other names either of those might be sold under? Or are there things I could substitute?

Related:

How to make baking soda (but apparently you can't really do it)
Substitution for baking soda (but mostly just suggests baking powder)
Making baking powder substitute with baking soda and powdered citric acid (but then you need baking soda)


texts: de buyer mineral b carbon steel seasoning

texts:
I bought a mineral b carbon steel pan some time ago and I've cooked with it probably about +-20 times (pretty much use it for steaks). I've been religious about seasoning it after every use using the following method:

Rinse with hot water and wipe dry.
Put back on stove top and reheat and ensure completely dried through.
Wipe on a thin layer of flaxseed oil.

Here is a pic of my pan currently:

Some questions I have:

Are the brown (rusty looking) areas quite normal? I'm certain it's not rust as I've taken a lot of care to prevent that, although if I smell closely it does have a slight rusty/metallic smell.
The only area of the pan that seems to develop some kind of patina is the center as you can see. How do I get that slick black finish over the entire pan? Will that just come from time & use or is my seasoning method incorrect?
The patina seems quite flaky...is this normal?

Thank you for any info/feedback provided.


texts: I had a meal today with beanlike things I was unable to identify. They tasted something like a hard green bean, and it was about 1cm long.


texts:
I'll soon be making paella outdoors, in a 15" stainless steel paella pan.  I have two choices of how to heat this pan:

Weber Genesis II 3-burner gas grill
Iwatani 35FW portable butane stove

Which would be the better choice, and why?

(It will be a cod, shrimp, and Valencia green bean paella, using Bomba rice and a hybrid of two of the paella recipes from SpainOnAFork.com)


texts: Should I close the vessel while soaking nuts?

texts:
If I want to eat nuts like mung bean, ground nut, etc., then I should soak them in water for certain amount of time before eating.
Is it recommended to close the vessel used while soaking nuts? Why or why not?


texts: How does Steelhead salmon compare with Atlantic farm raised salmon when it comes to mercury content?


texts:
I nearly doubled a flan recipe and didn't cook it enough, and so now it's not set. It's been in my fridge for about 18 hours.

Do you think I can put it back in the oven for 20-30 minutes or so?

Original recipe was 45 minutes, I did 55, which I now realize was too short.

I guess it's edible now as a kind of gloopy pudding. If I can't recook, any ideas on what I could do with it?


texts: What kind of cookware can melt in a microwave? Is it safe to eat food cooked in a melted cookware?

texts:
We were trying to prepare a chocolate cake using a Panasonic Microwave. We set the oven to auto mode for cake preparation. There was a time for preheating (180°C) and then asked us to place the cake tin inside which would cook for 35 minutes, but when it was just six minutes after process started, the vessel started to melt.

We first used the vessel provided by Croma which  melted and then we tried using the vessel provided by Panasonic for microwave, that also melted.

What was the cause for this and can we eat the cake that was in the melted vessel?


texts: What are the modern or recommended ways of cooking corn on the cob?

texts:
Most recommendations for cooking corn on the cob suggest putting it in boiling water for 10 minutes. I find this very undesirable for a number of reasons:

it takes a long time to boil the required water
takes too much of the flavour out
the water is wasted
so much energy is wasted

So, I cut them in half, and place them upright in a tiny amount of water—about 1mm depth—in a covered saucepan for 10 mins, making sure the water at the bottom is gently simmering.
What is the result?

It takes little time to cook in total: 10 minutes for the corn, and 2 minutes for the water.
I can use the water to flavor.
I barely uses energy once the water is boiled and the saucepan is covered.
The corn is juicy and delicious retaining its maximum flavor.

Now, I seriously doubt I'm some sort of culinary genius that has invented a new way of cooking corn, but I've never come across this method, so maybe there are more modern methods.


texts:
I wish to expedite the cooking process of my turkey this year.

How do I cook a full 25 lb. turkey in the microwave?

It must be edible - preferably delicious!


texts: How can I rehydrate dried chillies more efficiently?

texts:
When I make chilli, I use dried ancho and chipotle chillies which I rehydrate in beef stock. However, as they are light, they just float on top of the liquid and so they don't rehydrate very efficiently - one side can still be a little dry.

Is there some way I can ensure even, efficient rehydration?