texts:
I've been trying unsuccessfully to create my sourdough starter. First of all it starts off well, i combine 100g of bread flour with 100g of water (bottled) mix well and leave it in my jar covered with cloth for 24 hours. Next day i always have a bit of action in my jar, so i feed it another 100g both of my water and flour and leave for another 24 hours. So on day 3 my starter has gone crazy doubling or even more in size and shrinking again by the time the 24 hour period is up. Next step is where my starter dies every time, I discard half and add another 100g of flour and 100g of water. After a further 24 hours there are slight bubbles but not much life at all, so i continue the process but never get anywhere close to action i was getting on day 2 and 3. Can anyone tell me why my starter is dying when i do the "discard and feed" process?

Thanks


texts: I've gone through the process of immersing my garlic in boiled water 3 times to remove that bitter taste. But how do I store it? I've blanched close to 5 heads of garlic (40-ish cloves). I would rather not pickle it. Any advice?


texts: White wine vinegar in sweet and sour sauce

texts: Can I sub white wine vinegar for white vinegar in sweet and sour sauce? Answer much appreciated!


texts: Is it safe to store unopened metal cans in the refrigerator?

texts: A co-worker and I are having a disagreement on whether or not it's okay to put unopened cans of pizza sauce in a refrigerator. I say it's not, because the acidity in the tomatoes in the can will make someone extremely ill. He thinks as long as it is not opened, it will be fine. Who is correct?


texts: Need advice re chance of damage to a stainless steel tray in a very hot oven

texts: I need to heat a clean stainless steel tray to the temperature of boiling water. Would the self-cleaning cycle of the oven damage my tray in any way?


texts: Does boiling meatball remove some flavor

texts:
I want to cook some meatballs by boiling them in plain water.  Does this remove flavor from the meatballs?

I have a instantpot pressure cooker and I thought it would be way easier than baking for example.


texts: Why cooking times for rice are different in different locations

texts:
When I learned to cook rice in the New Orleans area, I used the following recipe:

In a big sauce pan measure 1 cup long grain rice to two cups room temperature water, salt to taste.

Bring to a boil, turn heat down to simmer, cover with lid for 30 minutes and rice is done. Never use a spoon in rice, only a fork. This is the way I was taught and it worked perfectly every time.

I moved to Indiana and tried the same method, same rice brand, same water, approximately the same type of stove. Now I have to use more water and less cook time, about 20 minutes total, instead of 30.

I know that Indiana is more than 700 feet above sea level, and parts of New Orleans are actually below sea level. But from what I have read, you ought  to add to cook time when at a higher altitude, not subtract.

What causes this difference? Is it really due to altitude? Perhaps relative humidity? New Orleans has a very humid climate, Indiana is usually much drier. Today for example, I checked and Indianapolis has 39% relative humidity, and New Orleans – 90%.

Has anyone else heard of such a difference in cooking times? I would like to see if there is any kind of table giving cooking times based on local climatic differences. Please confine answers/comments to either experience or research.


texts: Can non-dairy creamer be used to make desserts like rice pudding?

texts:
I've used Soy Milk before, but never tried Non-dairy creamers - any help?

What about other type of pudding?


texts: Pimenton ahumado vs. Pimenton de la vera

texts: Besides the noticeable cost difference between these two, what is the difference between pimenton ahumado and pimenton de la vera? Both are purported to be Spanish smoked paprika.


texts:
Someone asked about measuring oven temperature. That's great for seeing how well an oven does as far as getting to a certain temperature. However, just because an oven can be guaranteed to achieve a certain maximum temperature, doesn't mean it stays at that temperature.

Is there a probe that can handle oven temperatures (lets assume 600 degrees, ignore broiler temperatures) that can send temperature data to a computer while in the oven? I basically want to graph temperature over time. Also, are there know acceptable fluctuations of temperature?


texts: What kind of food should be stored in a refrigerator's "snack pan" drawer?

texts:
(This may be a silly question, but I'll ask anyway since I am curious about this.)

We have an older fridge and it has a drawer labeled "snack pan."  I'm not sure how to understand "snack" here.

What is a snack pan refrigerator drawer intended to hold? Is it primarily for deli meats? Or else should deli meats go in the "chilled meat compartment"?  What else goes in a snack pan?
Is the benefit of a snack pan drawer to simply provide a place for smaller/shorter items to keep the shelves free for other things, or does food being in snack pan affect the food differently (such as how the chilled meat compartment is colder?)

I tried searching Google already, but all I ended up with were pages of replacement parts, repair instructions, and a few spammy links. Sadly, there was nothing truly informative.  So here I am.


texts: How long can I keep Panna Cotta out of the fridge?

texts: I made Panna Cotta for a party. I don't have a fridge where I'll keep them, so most likely they'll be on a buffet table. I'm afraid of them going bad or becoming liquid (Or something like that) after sitting out of the fridge more than 4 hours I guess? I also know you shouldn't keep cooked food more than 4 hours out of the fridge but yes. Does anyone know?


texts:
How do you open a coconut?
Without killing yourself or others?


texts: Oven temp for dishes with different nominal cooking times?

texts:
I want to cook two dishes simultaneously (for efficiency's sake): carrots, which have a nominal cooking temp of 350 F / 180 C for 30 mins. and chicken, which has a nominal cooking temp of 400 F / 200 C for 45 mins. The Seasoned Advice posts I've read on this subject (here, here, here, and here) suggest the thing to do is cook at the lower temp first, then turn the oven to the higher temp; I can do that if necessary, but if possible I'd prefer to have everything in the oven at once, since the second dish cooks for a while.

If I put the carrots in at 400, how much should I reduce the cooking time? And how severely will it affect the result?


texts: What is the best way to cook pasta made from quinoa,amaranth, and brown rice?

texts:
I am not sure if this is on topic but was wondering if there is some "trick" to cooking this pasta. That is my question in a nutshell.
The package direction say to boil for 10 min. which I did, however, as I was cooking the pasta it was foaming very heavy and I could not see the actual pasta. I stirred it in order to keep the foaming down which seemed to help.
When the time was up and I drained the pasta it was about a third of the amount I originally started with. There was a heavy film of what seemed to be melted pasta at the bottom of the pan.
I assume these ingredients just melt. So maybe this is why wheat is the most used ingredient for making pasta.


texts: How can I reheat Onion Bhajis without an oven or hub to make them crispy?

texts:
The UK lunch culture being what it is, microwaveable ready meals and snacks are a big thing, and most companies have a microwave and a toaster. While that works well for store-bought ready meal curries or bread, the package of onion bhajis asks for ten minutes in the oven so they come out crispy.

However, there's no oven available. If I pop them in the microwave, they will be thoroughly heated and safe to eat, but really soft and squishy. If I stick them in the toaster, where I can fit two on each side, they'll be really hard to get out and make the toaster greasy.

I tried laying the toaster on the side to turn it more into a grill, but given the state of the toaster, that created a lot of smoke from bread crumbs inside it now resting on the lower heating units, so that's no good because of its safety implications.

How can I reheat those fritters to get them at least a little bit crispy on the outside without an oven or pan?


texts: What is the best recipe for Chocolate Mousse: with butter or cream?

texts:
All the recipes I've got for chocolate mousse say among the ingredients: heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. I would like to know the difference if it exists.

I'm from Venezuela; what other ingredient can replace these for this recipe or any recipe that  needs this cream?


texts: Using other liquid than water when making stock

texts:
I got to thinking... I usually hear chefs (particularly Alton Brown as of late, since I am watching Good Eats) say that water is neutral and should only be used as a last resort, serving only to dilute without adding anything to the mix (when it comes to sauces and the like).

I made a stock once, that came out a little boring, so I was thinking. What if I use a lager, or even a light ale instead? (light as in not dark, not calorie-free). I'd possibly need to degas it first to get rid of the CO2, but I think it sounds kind of delicious...

Has anyone tried this before, or can anyone think of any reason not to? Would the flavor be weird, what about other liquids? Is it commonly done?


texts: Is whole grain rye supposed to taste so coarse?

texts:
I've been making various white wheat flour breads for a while now and decided to try making a rye bread for the first time. What I didn't notice at the grocery store though is that the flour I bought was the whole grain variety. Ok, no problem I figured, can't be that different, the store bought whole grain breads here all pretty much taste the same as ones made of regular flour, maybe a bit drier and more boring.

The recipe I followed was pretty basic, 50% wheat flour, 50% rye flour, 65% hydration, yeast, salt, caraway seeds, 2 rises overnight.

Now having grown up eating rye bread, any rye bread with less than 100% rye is usually something I scoff at but I figured I'd ease into it and transition from something I know. Anyway, the dough preparation and baking all went nicely, the end result however was pretty damn awful.

For one, it just tastes like sadness, a mere shadow of the rye bread I'm used to. The worse part though - texture, its like I had added a handful of actual sand in the dough. You have to chew it for 10 minutes before swallowing so it doesn't feel like swallowing sandpaper. After eating a couple of slices, I could feel my throat scratchy for hours. Worst bread ever.

Anyway, am I missing something here? People can't actually be eating that stuff as is, why is it so coarse?


texts: Microwave oven first time use — "10 minutes with water"?

texts:
My Samsung ME731K microwave oven just arrived. There is this instruction (in less than perfect English) and I'm not sure how to interpret it.

  Before using the your oven first time, oven should be operated with the water during 10 minute and then used.

Does it mean I should put a bowl of water inside and let the oven run for 10 minutes?


texts: If I'm freezing live clams, purge before or after freezing?

texts:
I buy live mussels and clams from Diana's Seafood in Scarborough, Toronto. It's far from  home, so I  go just once every one or two weeks. I always "Purge" Clams Before Cooking to Get All the Sand and Grit out of Them.

Mussels ought not be frozen,  right?

Thus I freeze live clams and eat my live mussels first.

I'm guessing I ought purge them BEFORE freezing, when they are still alive and can  eject the grit. If I freeze then purge, they're dead and can't discharge grit.


texts: Need to maintain gelato at 10-18 °F without electricity

texts:
I will be vending a soft serve/gelato at events and festivals this summer. I need to maintain its soft frozen temperature between 10 and 18 °F (-12 to -7 °C), but most events are very limited on power. I would like to use a cooling bath that needs to be safe around food.

32° is easy (ice) and 0° is easy (ice and salt). Should I just add water to the ice and salt mixture creating a slurry that would be a less efficient system? How difficult would it be to maintain a semi stable temperature? Are there other cooling bath mixtures you would recommend? I've done some research and found many of the alternatives are not food safe.


texts: I found a recipe online that required making cookie dough from scratch and then wrapping the cookie dough in wax paper and refrigerating for 2 hours. I made the cookie dough and it was way too crumbly and dry for me to be able to put it in one piece in the wax paper without it falling apart. What should I do?


texts: Safety and quality of low-price imported beef sold in US supermarkets

texts:
As a recent resident of Southern California, I noticed in a supermarket very impressive looking sirloin strip steak for $4.99 per pound. Regular prices in other markets range from 10.99 to 29.99. The beef at this incredible price is from Mexico.

Is this beef safe? Does anyone has experience with the quality of Mexican beef?


texts: What care should be taken to prepare dough and Chapatis with Rice flour?

texts:
Yesterday I prepared the Rice flour dough with water (room temperature 17 degree celsius) and salt.
I noticed:

This dough did NOT stick to my hands at all.
This dough did NOT stick to itself even. Its pieces kept on falling as I knuckled it over and over.
The Chapatis made with this dough kept on breaking as I picked them. (I did NOT roll them too thin.)

What care should be taken to prepare dough and Chapatis with Rice flour so that the things don't break?

P.S. Never noticed any of these symptoms with Wheat flour.

UPDATE:

The hot water helped.

Does knuckling the rice dough for somewhat long duration help someway in preventing the dough from breaking further?
Does leaving the rice dough alone for an hour or so before preparing Chapattis help someway in preventing the dough from breaking further?


texts: Meat is thawing in failing freezer. Can it be refrozen?

texts: Freezer is failing and meat is thawing. Still refrigerator temp cold. Is it safe to refreeze?


texts: Are there any reasonable substitutions for lemon juice?

texts:
In the past I cooked myself into a corner when I realized mid-recipe that I didn't have any lemons or lemon juice available. Nor did I have any limes.

I can't remember the exact recipe, but I believe it was some baked fish dish. What are some possible substitutes for lemon juice in this application? I ended up using a dash of apple cider vinegar. It didn't turn out bad, it just was distinctly not lemon.


texts: Cooking Chicken meat with bones in soup is better than cooking Chicken bones in soup?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How do I optimize my chicken stock for the best flavor at the lowest cost?

Which soup will be better? The soup with just the chicken bones only or the soup with both the meat and bones of the chicken?

From my understanding, it require longer time to get a delicious chicken soup by only using chicken bones and if we put the meat together with the bones and cook them. Would the soup taste better (but of course the meat will be discard as it had been cooked for too long)?


texts:
I can make cheesecake and I can make cake, but it occurred to me recently that cheesecake isn't cake soaked in cheese, Ala tres leches.

So, is it possible to get cheese liquefied enough to be able to soak into a sponge cake?

My initial thought was to mix mascarpone with cream/condensed milk and bathe a vanilla sponge in it.

This could then be topped with meringue and pretty much any fruit.

But would that work or is even mascarpone just too thick so be absorbed?


texts: When one boils corn after getting boiled it rises up. My doubt is that why it rises up , which phenomenon of science is involved in this observation ?


texts:
I've an "Aga toaster", which is like a couple of disks of 2cm wire mesh joined together with a handle:

But no matter what I try, most of the time the toast sticks. Any ideas?


texts: Enameled Cast Iron vs Stainless Steel Roasting Pans

texts:
I'd like to buy myself the best roasting pan and I'm stuck on whether to get an Enameled Cast Iron or a thicker Stainless Steel/tri-ply type pan. I'm looking for the pro/cons of each, and any personal experience with either variety.

So far I know that:

CI is heavy
CI will heat more evenly, but will take longer to heat up
I can gently use metal tools on either
Both are induction-ready!

I have electric coil-type heating elements, so either should be fine for the stovetop.
As far as what I'll be cooking in it, it will probably be a bit of everything.  Meat, veggies, potatoes, onions, lasagna, you name it.

Is either one better at creating a fond, making gravy, or cooking down veggies/onions?  Or are those just a matter of paying attention while cooking? :)


texts: Can I use a rice cooker with flavored rice boxes?

texts: Can I use a rice cooker to prepare something like Rice-A-Roni's Four Cheese rice?  Or what about the Uncle Ben rice boxes?  If not, is there a way to get something that tastes similar without using the boxes?


texts: Why is it necessary "to make holes" when a Pâte Brisée, Pâte Sucrée or Pâte Sablée or go to the oven if they are not made with baking powder?


texts:
I have a very large joint of wild boar that I'm intending to roast, but none of the recipes I can find have in mind the size of joint I'm about to cook and I'm very worried I'll undercook it.

I want to slow cook it in a (electric) oven; it's a leg joint of ~ 6.7 kg/14.8 lbs.

How long and at what temperature should I cook this?


texts: What is the impact of repeated cooling and reheating of maple syrup?

texts:
Today I discovered a 1/4-full bottle of pure maple syrup had gotten moldy, so searched this site and came across this question: Should maple syrup be stored in the refrigerator?

My follow-up question is:  Will there be any ill effects (such as altering the flavor or changing the molecular structure such that it's dangerous to eat, etc) from repeatedly heating maple syrup for serving, and re-cooling in the fridge?

If so, I'll try to only heat as much syrup as I'm likely to use at a time, although this will be more hassle, naturally :)


texts: Substitution for baking soda in pancakes

texts: I attempted to make pancakes this morning, only to discover that I was out of baking soda. I tried substituting baking powder, but it didn't work at all. The pancakes didn't bubble on the griddle, and they were far too doughy. If this happens again, do I need to go out to the store for baking soda?


texts: What effect on flavor and/or cooking does rinsing grits have?

texts:
The first time I bought stone ground grits, the package said I needed to rinse the grits three times before cooking. So I've done that ever since. However, I recently stumbled across this article which includes the warning:

  Do not rinse grits, ever!

While most sources I've seen (including the grits packaging!) do recommend rinsing or washing, this one doesn't, which led me to wonder what exactly rinsing does. Is it intended to remove remnants of chaff from grinding? Does it remove some of the cornstarch? Is it a good idea or a bad idea?


texts: What are the tradeoffs between spiral and C-shaped dough hooks?

texts:
I have misplaced the dough hook attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer, and I'm debating what type of dough hook attachment to purchase to replace it, and specifically if there are performance tradeoffs between the two common types. I usually knead by hand but I lean on the mixer for higher-hydration dough or just when I'm feeling lazy.

I'm aware of two dough-hook types for home mixers:

"C"-shape hook (seems most common; also called as "J" shape) -- example from Amazon;
spiral-shaped "hook" (also called as "pigtail") -- example from Amazon.

Is there an objective advantage of one style over the other? I assume there is some difference in performance.

My experience: The latter (spiral-shaped) dough attachment is what originally came with my "professional" (in name only) KitchenAid model. I find that it really only seems to perform well for medium-hydration dough (lower and higher don't work as well), and for a medium amount of dough (too much or too little doesn't seem to work as well). Perhaps I'm just having too-high hopes for this attachment in the first place, or I'm missing something else.

Some examples that would be most helpful to me: Does the spiral version simply work better in all cases if it's compatible with the machine and bowl? Is there any benefit to the C shape? Are there reasons to have both types? Does one work better with lower/higher hydration or more/less dough?

Other research: I haven't found anything satisfying...

I see just a couple questions on SA about dough hooks, but they're really about how to prevent dough walking up and wrapping, like this one and this one. Sounds like the C-shape tends to hold onto the dough too much (dough wraps and climbs) and that the two styles put different wear on the mixers.

A bunch of other sites have some comment about this, but I only found a few that have helpful tidbits:

A thread on KAF forums suggests spiral develops gluten better and may be easier on the machine;
A thread on Chow has roughly the same conclusions;
A thread on The Fresh Loaf suggests that the spiral hook might not work in all bowl shapes, and might put upward strain on the mixer gears both of which could be bad.


texts: Babi Guling - Balinese Suckling Pig - alternative cuts of pork for it?

texts:
I love Babi Guling - Balinese Suckling Pig which I've made twice so far.  As I am mostly cooking for 3, I obviously can't use a whole suckling pig.

Here's a typical recipe:  adventurefoodie.blogspot.ca/2011/08/babi-guling-balinese-pig

What I have used so far is pork belly cuts.  Sandwich the Babi Guling filling between two slabs and off to the oven.  They taste great, but just a bit too rich and fatty for my own taste and diet.  At the same time, I am worried that a less fatty cut would end up dry from the cooking.  Or, maybe rather than a total replacement, I would keep the top half as pork belly and the another cut on the bottom?


texts: Should I roast meat/bones before making stock out of it?

texts:
Usually when making a chicken stock I just boil up some chicken wings/legs with some veggies. The other day when cooking with my brother he added roasted lamb bones to the strained chicken stock when making a lamb jus.

This got me thinking why I don't roast the wings/legs when making a chicken stock, and why he didn't just add raw bones to the chicken stock.

So should I roast my chicken bones before boiling them up for stock?  And can I add lamb bones to my stock raw?


texts: "Cloth" that's edible (or even better, yummy)?

texts:
For the birthday of a keen sailor I want to make a a yacht-shaped cake, ideally with a sail rigged (not least because with my rather limited cake-creating skills it will reduce the risk that it gets mistaken for a radio mast, unusual stick insect, etc...) An inedible sail seems too much like cheating (taken to the logical conclusion I could just put chocolate icing on a toy boat), a sheet of gelatin or rice paper would be technically edible but not very festive to eat, and my other idea of a thin layer of hard toffee seems poised between being soft enough to sag/collapse and hard enough to be dangerously fragile.

So the properties I think I need for the sail are:

about 30cm high, 20cm wide (i.e. a triangle formed from folding an A4 sheet of paper)
strong enough to support its own weight for a few days
light enough to be supported by an edible mast (I hope to use one or more chocolate Mikado sticks for this: yet to perform the delicious process of determining their load limits)


texts: Which vinegars are essential to keep on hand?

texts: There seems to be a large variety of different vinegars called for in the various recipes I've been trying out lately. I've ended up with a cabinet full of half used bottles. That being said, which vinegars can I substitute for another in recipes? I'm hoping that there are two or three "good enough" vinegars I can keep on hand and buy in larger quantities.


texts: Why is my Buckwheat soba noodle dough crumbling?

texts: I am trying to make Buckwheat noodles (Soba). The recipe involves nothing but buckwheat flour and water. I am failing to make the dough solid. It crumbles apart. I was trying to adjust it by adding more water or more flour, but it always crumbles. Could you give any advice on how to make it? I suspect it might be easier with different ingredients but it should be possible to make it with just buckwheat flour.


texts: How should I organize my fruits for storage?

texts: As I learnt from this post, there are some fruits that should not be kept together with the others (e.g. watermelon and apple). Which fruits should be kept separately in order to prevent rotting?


texts: Will a dishwasher sterilize bottles for canning?

texts: I'm making tomato relish. Can I sterilize jars adequately by putting them in the dishwasher?


texts:
I can't buy clotted cream in New Zealand, so I'd love to learn how to make it. I have a friend who can provide raw milk.

What's the technique?


texts: What's the right way to add extra gluten to dough?

texts:
I was lacking bread flour, which has 15% protein content. I needed to make something where this is crucial, since you need to roll out the dough really thin. I have all purpose flour with 10% protein content.
So I decided to extract some gluten from flour following this video.
The gluten extracted is already clumped together like in the video. I'm not sure what's the right way to add it to my dough to enrich it.
I can think of three ways:

Dry it and let it powder, mix it in with powdered flour
Mix powdered flour with it, mixing it well with water perhaps
Stretch it out and add to kneaded dough and knead more

The main concern here is that since it's already clumped together, will it become a part of the gluten network of my dough and actually enrich it uniformly, or will it stay together as a strong sub-network within my dough which will continue to have a shallow gluten network.
So I can also think of some bad ways of doing it:

Mixing it with flour without dissolving in water
Mixing it with kneaded dough without stretching it out

I did #3, since I mis-sequenced my moves. I'd have wanted to do #2 instead. But I think #1 would be the most effective, if you have the time.
I don't know enough about molecular level details of gluten network formation to judge which of these will be effective and which will be ineffective. I'll have some empirical evidence for #3 but nothing to compare it with.
Is my concern valid? Are the methods 4 and 5 actually bad? Are methods 1-3 alright or is one of them bad as well?


texts: Non-fermented vinegar substitute for Dijon mustard

texts: My allergies prevent me from consuming yeast, alcoholic beverages and vinegar.  I often substitute lemon juice for vinegar, but this does not always work.  I'm trying to find an allergy-free recipe for homemade dijon mustard.  Any suggestions?


texts: How do I know when yellow split peas are cooked?

texts:
After having boiled for initially 10 minutes and then simmered for an hour my yellow split peas are still firm and a little gritty.

If cooked long enough do they ever get soft like a red kidney bean?

They are the cheapest pulse on the shelf and I'm beginning to think the least responsive to cooking.

I soak these overnight so they are fully re-hydrated by the time of cooking.

I cook in enough water to cover them.


texts: A griddle I've had recently appears to have adopted a strange behavior -- It's flat when cold, but after being on the stove for a little while it bows upward away from the burner. This makes doing much with it nearly impossible -- At this point is it pretty much toast?


texts:
Amazon link

Remarkable to find them all together like this, but these are the options I am considering.

Hard-Anodized Aluminum
Non-Stick (Teflon)
Blue Steel (I've never even heard of it)
Cast-Iron
Carbon Steel

Until yesterday, I hadn't made a crepe in twenty years. A friend mentioned an interest in a Mille Crepe Cake

Recipe

and, I have to admit, I'm a bit intrigued too. So I played a little and quickly had lovely crepes, but they weren't uniform enough to stack twenty of them to make such a fussy cake. So then I looked at crepe pans.

The pan will only be used for crepes and pancakes, and I can't imagine that it would ever be used more than 6 or 7 times a year. That being the case, I'm leaning towards the Teflon. It's the least expensive option and doesn't require seasoning. But, if I'm going to go to the trouble of making 20+ crepes for a cake, I want to make the best possible crepes! Is there anything else I should consider? I have an electric coil stove.


texts: What's optimal hardness for a kitchen knife blade?

texts:
Many knife manufacturers provide the hardness value for the knife blade in the specifications - like 53HRC or 57 HRC.

What's the optimal hardness for kitchen knives? Do I always prefer the ones with higher hardness all else being equal?


texts: Is it possible to make taste of raw oily salmon less pronounced?

texts: Some varieties of salmon like Oncorhynchus gorbusha are preferable to consume raw, they have great flavor even without any seasoning. Other varieties with dark flesh and high fat content when raw seem almost intolerable to me. Is to possible by some curing process to make their taste closer to neutral?


texts: Edible lollipop sticks for a complicated birthday cake

texts:
I'm baking a cake for my sister. Though the cake will be simple. I decided to make chocolate cupcake lollipops. The cupcakes will read out her traits like nice, awesome etc. I need some advice on how to make edible sticks which will be connecting the base cake and the cupcakes.

I want them to be edible because long story short she always wondered why is there the point of the stick if its not eatable when she was young.

I also want to know how to prevent the cupcakes from sagging down and dropping on the base cake.


texts:
I'm interested in buckwheat. What is it, what are the common uses, and why are there so many recipies (relatively speaking) for buckwheat pancakes? What does the buckwheat do to a pancake that makes it particularly well suited for that item?

Does it have certain nutritional or chemical properties that it is valued for in the cooking community?

Is it common among serious/enthusiast chefs, and I'm just out of the loop?


texts: Why fold in ingredients, why not just whisk?

texts:
Many recipes such as those for soufflé, call for folding in ingredients into whipped egg whites, so that you don't knock the air out.

But why not just whisk the ingredients in? That way there's no chance of you knocking the air out.


texts: How much energy am I wasting by toasting my bagel in my big oven? Should I get a toaster?


texts: Are there cuisines that rarely use sauces?

texts:
A recent question got me wondering: are there any cuisines that rarely, or never, use sauces?
There's many cuisines that are very sauce-centric: French, Italian, Thai, Szechuan, Mexican, etc.  But are there cuisines that use sauces so rarely that you could open a restaurant and not have one sauce on the menu, without really going out of your way to do so?  I can't think of one.
Let's include some definitions to make this question answerable:

Sauce: a liquid, puree, or paste that adds flavor to a dish or seasons other ingredients
Cuisine: the complete foodways of a cultural or regional group (not just a specific dish or specific type of specialty restaurant)

Let's also limit this to "cuisines that you could conceivably open a restaurant for"; while there are definitely groups of people who live in remote areas, don't trade, and thus don't have any basis for sauces, I'm asking for culinary traditions that have chosen to turn away from them instead.
Are there any?  Can you name one or two?


texts: Why does frozen then cooked fish smell more and what is this smell?

texts:
I have noticed that if I quickly simmer whitebait(and sometimes other fish which was frozen at sea) in water the fish/water quickly becomes smelly.

I doubt it's overcooking smell because the smell starts to appear as the whitebait heats and is not there when frozen.  To be fair I am a sensitive individual so will notice more smell/taste then others but the question remains, if not from overcooking, what is this chemical?

If whitebait is frozen at sea, if cooked from forzen 2 months later it should not smell of anything right since it was frozen, or do trimethylines or some other chemical still increase while frozen? Please explain and if not trimethyline please explain what other chemical might be.

It could be that I'm overcooking as Ive noticed the same smell when cooking other fish however i am cooking within a few minutes and like I say the smell appears as the fish heats so perhaps is not from overcooking.  Again I notice it occur with frozen fish making me think something is building up over time and subsequent cooking\chemical reaction activates a new smell.


texts: Is it best to freeze meat pies before or after baking?

texts: I'm making Tourtiere meat pies which will be frozen.  should I bake first and then freeze or freeze before baking


texts: How do I know when my stock is done cooking?

texts: I'm making stock from turkey bones and all of the other leftovers hanging around the refrigerator. Since the cooking time varies quite a bit depending on cooking method (I'm doing a slow simmer on the stovetop) and bone type, how can I know when my stock is done cooking so that I can begin to chill it?


texts: What makes dumplings ("knödel") mushy and sticky ("patzig")?

texts:
We just returned from a restaurant that served "dumplings" in a cheese sauce.  This was an Italian restaurant.  My wife didn't like them.  They were the size of baby carrots, or baby meat wieners.  She had expected the baseball sized ones.  But the worst according to her was that they were what she called "patzig", which in this context means mushy and sticky.

Does anyone know what would cause this?  My wife says its probably from over cooking.


texts: Would a tagine be better for high altitude braising?

texts:
I am thinking of getting a 2 quart Le Creuset Tagine for braising.  I'm at around 5000 feet, and so am stuck with a lower boiling temperature for water - 9 degrees Fahrenheit less then at sea level.

I was wondering if the "cooling tower" in the lid of the Tagine would keep the moisture from escaping by allowing it to cool instead of boiling off.  I noticed that Morocco has a great variety of altitudes, so perhaps Moroccans have invented the right tool for the job.

The Le Creuset Tagine has a cast iron, enameled base, so its not a traditional tagine.  I believe it has a stoneware lid.

I haven't had good results with braising in a dutch oven.  I have to use more liquid and cook longer then the recipe says, and the results are not good - not tender and not flavorful.

Would a tagine make braising at 5000 feet worth doing?  This is not so I can cook Moroccan dishes (though I'd love to try some of them).  This is for general purpose braising.


texts: Can I use a larger crockpot than the recipe calls for?

texts: I have a recipe that calls for use of a 4 qt crockpot. However, I only have a 6 qt. Is it okay to use the 6 qt instead? The recipe is for a pudding cake.


texts:
With the vacuum sealers that have hit the market, they're have been a lot of toys added onto the products.  One such device is used for marinating meat.  It just looks like a tupperware bin with a nozzle on the lid, and you use a hose to vacuum all the air out.  The claim is that this will pull the fibers of the meat apart allowing you to marinade in half the time.

My question is, does this really work or is it just marketing hype?  If it does work, is this a better way of marinating?


texts: What kind of herbs are common in Italian dishes?

texts:
Yesterday I tried to follow a pasta recipe that called for tarragon.  Since I didn't have this herb, I sustituted basil.

For convenience, I may try to plant those commonly needed herbs myself so I can pick them fresh, when I need them.

What are the most common herbs used in Italian pasta dishes and should they be used fresh?

Please state why the herb was chosen rather than simply listing them which would not be that helpful to me.  For example, tarragon goes well with chicken so I put some into the pasta dish because I like the fennel-like taste of it.


texts:
I've frequently made homemade mayonnaise in my food processor following Alton Brown's recipe, and consistently had good results.

Last week the food processor was busy with something else, and so I decided to make the mayo in the stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment and turning it up to high speed, I got everything emulsified but the resulting mayonnaise was very runny -- not broken or separated, but much less viscous than what I get from the food processor. It's been in the fridge for about a week, and is still the same consistency (emulsified but runny).

I assume it got too much air whipped in or something. Is there a way to use a stand mixer for mayonnaise, or does it really need the speed of a food processor or blender?


texts: Melting Temperature of Mozzarella Cheese?

texts: I would like to take a 1 pound block of store bought low moisture whole milk mozzarella (Poly O or Dragone), gently melt it in a sous vide without breaking down the milk from the fat, roll it out to my desired thickness in a large sheet of cheese.  My question is at what temperature would I set the water bath?


texts: Can I peel a mandarin orange like the commercial canners do?

texts:
I can't stand the pith on citrus fruit. Canned mandarin oranges seem to have their segments magically removed from the outer membrane that surrounds it. I know how to supreme a citrus fruit, and that is what I do when I want to eat one, but the canned ones don't seem to have been cut.

Does anyone know if there is a process that accomplishes this, that can be done in a home kitchen?


texts: Is it ok to use an enamelled Dutch oven on an electric stove top with the older ring burners?

texts:
I bought my first enameled Dutch oven and I've been trying to do some research on whether or not I can use it on the older electric ring burner stove tops without it cracking on me.

If anyone could give advice it would be much appreciated.


texts:
After using liquid soy lecithin to stabilize a foam, I find it often leaves a hard to clean, sticky residue on the cooking ware that was in contact with it in undiluted form, which is resistant to soap and needs to be cleaned by hand. Even by hand, it is not so easy to clean as it sticks to your hands as well.

Is there any product/trick to easily clean up the lecithin?


texts:
I have this delicious recipe for flourless almond cake:

  1 1/2 cups whole almonds, toasted
  4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
  1/2 cup honey
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1/2 teaspoon salt

  Process whole almonds in a food processor or blender until finely ground (you will have about 13/4 cups ground). Beat 4 egg yolks, 1/2
  cup honey, vanilla, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl with
  an electric mixer (or use a paddle attachment on a stand mixer) on
  medium speed until well combined. Add the ground almonds and beat on
  low until combined.
  Beat 4 egg whites in another large bowl with the electric mixer (use clean beaters on a hand-held mixer or the whisk attachment on a
  stand mixer) on medium speed until very foamy, white and doubled in
  volume, but not stiff enough to hold peaks, 1 to 2 minutes (depending
  on the type of mixer). Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg
  whites into the nut mixture until just combined. Scrape the batter
  into the prepared pan.
  Bake the cake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 28 minutes.

I know a friend who is allergic to baking soda and baking powder. What will happen if this recipe is made without baking soda?  Will it collapse although I had beaten the egg whites? Aren't they responsible for making the cake rise?


texts:
Which lasts longer: ground or unground coffee? And why?

It would seem unground lasts longer because less of it is exposed to air. Is this true?


texts: Is There A Better Way Than Straining To Clarify Lard and Tallow?

texts:
The usual method to clarify lard or tallow is to strain out the larger particles and then  boil in water.

The fat rises to the top and when cold can be removed and is fairly pure.

But sometimes the fat is contaminated by particles that do not sink to the bottom of the pan when boiled in water and the resulting 'clarified' fat is a little discoloured and contains impurities.

Is there perhaps some additive can be used to clear these way or perhaps some different method of processing in order to get pure, pristine, white fat?

I've been asked to edit the question. Describe the whole process. Sorry I'm a bit late.

Well I cook with lard and it gets contaminated with food particles.  Fish. Potatoes.  Could be anything.  And I fry pork and collect the rendered lard from that.  And roasted pork too.

I put everything together in a pan with cold water and heat it up until boiling at a simmer and then let it simmer for a little while and then switch off, let it cool.

(If there are large lumps of contamination I'll strain them off now).

The fat rises to the top, the contaminants fall down.  Often the bottom of the fat has a layer of finer contaminants but I can scrape that layer off - the body of the fat is good.

What prompts this query is that I've now come across a situation where the contaminants are apparently so fine they don't separate out and fall down - the fat remains discoloured by their presence.

I am seeking a way to clear it completely.


texts:
I noticed today at the grocery for the first time a new type of salmon called Steelhead farmed salmon next to the regular Atlantic farmed salmon. The Steelhead was about 10% cheaper in price and slightly deeper pink/red (the packaging assured me that the color was artificial like the Atlantic).

What is the difference between Atlantic and Steelhead farmed salmon in taste and how to cook?


texts: Is it true that putting spices in something then baking it destroys the spices?

texts: I heard that putting spices in something and putting it in the oven will eliminate the taste of the spices. Is this true? For example if I were to put spice in lasagna before putting it in the oven you will not be able to taste the spice afterwards.


texts: how long before a fresh chilli pepper is cooked?

texts: If I was to add a fresh chilli pepper at the end of cooking, how long in a simmer would you say before its been cooked(all unsafe  things killed and it has released its flavour)?


texts: I heard somebody mention cooking mashed potatoes in the buttermilk instead of water.  Has anybody heard of this or have a link to a recipe?


texts: Capturing wild yeast for sourdough: Is this healthy yeast or contamination?

texts: I'm trying to capture wild yeast to make my own sourdough bread. I put prunes, water and some sugar in a sterilized glass jar and aired it daily. After a few days I get a white, fuzzy layer. The smell is sweet and alcoholic. However I don't get any bubbles, only this layer. Do I mix it? Should I wait more?


texts: What is the best and fastest way to liquify Nutella chocolate spread?

texts:
I usually put some amount in a cup and add a very small amount of water to start mixing. This is usually effective as long as the amount of water is very small compared to chocolate, in which the chocolate still has a strong taste.
I thought of using milk, but I do not want the chocolate's taste to be faded (milk has a taste compared to water being neutral ).I also tried using the microwave, but that was pretty useless.

I want something really fast and reliable.


texts: Chosing 2 pans - the most versatile solution

texts:
I'm mot a noob cook, but it's the first time I'm buying myself a proper kitchenware. I have a hard time deciding which frying pan would be the best form me. In fact I'm pretty much set on buying 2 pans, as it seems there is no one pan that cover all the situations.

I cook pretty lot of italian food. I don't do meat too often (and I plan stopping eating it at all very soon), rather many vegetable/flour dishes. Usually I cook for myself (sometimes for 2), but often do big portions of the dish that will last me for 2-3 days. Of course sometimes I fry myself an egg or just need to fry some onion for some other dish.

I want a solid and versatile solution. I can and am willing to take care for it, so I don't mind if it needs seasonig or cannot be cleaned with soap.

Though I don't want to pay only for a brand name, budget is not that big of a problem, as I think it'll be a profitable investition.

After doing pretty extensive reading on my own it seems stainless steel, regular (non-enameled) cast-iron and enameled cast-iron are the most commonly advised. I'm pretty much set on that one of the pans I'll be buying will be cast iron, as it's said to be very solid and good for everything other than acids.

Questions:

Which one do you think would make a better addition to a cast-iron pan: stainless steel or enameled cast-iron? If stainless steel, then pure steel or one with non-stick/copper coating?

What sized do you think would be the best? I'm thinking about 26cm (10 inches) diameter. Should I go for a slightly bigger 28cm? I have even bigger problem with the depth. Should I buy a shallow frying pan (like this one: http://www.skeppshult.com/en/sortiment/professional/frying-pans/0260-2/) or deep pan (like this: http://www.skeppshult.com/en/sortiment/professional/deep-pans/deep-pan-25-cm/)?

Do you think a lid for the pan is a must-have?

What are the best materials for handles? Many manufacturers do wooden handles, but I doubt it being a good solution, as you cannot put a pan in the oven then. Are steel handles okay?

What brands would you recommend? (I'm living in Poland, so no US-only brands please) I heard Skeepshult makes very good cast-iron, but I also read that it's not use in buying expensive brand cast iron pan, as the cheaper solutions aren't any worse. For enameled cast iron people recommended Chasseur and Le Creuset (this one also makes stainless steel pans). What would you recommend for stainless steel?


texts: Can one preserve food by periodically heating it?

texts:
I get that keeping food temperature low will slow down chemical reactions and preserve food, but sometimes my sister preserves food by heating it every 6 hours or so (up to 1-2 days). Does this help preserving the food? If yes, how does it work?

If it matters, the food currently in question is this one, but I would appreciate a general explanation. In case anyone is wondering, she doesn't store it in the fridge because it is full.


texts: Why are grape preserves so hard to find in the USA?

texts:
When I was much younger my grandmother was always complaining that she could never find grape preserves anymore. That was maybe 20-30 years ago.

I recently started looking for grape preserves and am unable to find them. I can find black currant preserves, blueberry preserves and just about any other fruit under the sun. But why is grape preserves so hard to find?

I thought maybe it has something to do with fermentation and wine? But I cannot find any information. I am not talking about grape jelly, I am specifically talking about grape preserves.

Other than making them myself, where do you find any in a store?

** If you do not know the difference between jelly and preserve, you can read about it here.

  In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice. Jelly has the
  smoothest consistency and is usually clear.
  In jam, the fruit comes in
  the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit. This makes jam less stiff
  than jelly.
  In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a
  gel or syrup. Preserves will have more fruit in them than jam will.
  Marmalade is a type of preserve with citrus fruits in it.


texts: Can I grill a whole octopus without pre-steaming or poaching?

texts:
My local awesome fish market sells whole octopi, and my friend is having a BBQ. I figured nothing would be cooler than showing up with a whole octopus to throw on the grill, but most recipes I'm seeing are either for a "Greek-style" preparation that includes pre-steaming or poaching and tons of spicing, or else for baby octopi, which I'm assuming have a pretty different texture profile (being much tinier if nothing else).

I can of course poach the thing beforehand, but I've recently been in Cambodia and Thailand where I had lots of grilled octopus on the street, and I'm pretty sure they do no such thing. I'd prefer that to the Greek method which to me feels over-spiced and over-done for a BBQ.

Any tips? Can I not just clean, skewer and lightly salt/oil the tentacles and grill them whole? What about an overnight marinade? I had a hell of a time finding non-Greek, non-baby grilled octopus recipes.


texts: Cooked whole chicken has congealed blood around joints and bones, should I worry?

texts: So I just roasted a whole chicken and finished carving/cleaning the carcass today.  I discovered a great deal of congealed red matter surrounding many of the joints and bones.  Looks like congealed blood.  Normally, I wouldn't worry about it, except that there's a lot more of it than there usually is.  And it's a brighter red, as opposed to the dark reddish brown I'm used to.  Should I be worried?  Did I undercook the chicken?  Was this chicken just not as well drained as ones I've gotten previously?


texts: How can I make crispy potato wedges without frying and oven?

texts:
My mom lives Hong Kong when Toronto's cold. Here are strictures:

Healthy frying is OK. Let's rule out deep-frying - it's unhealthy and can cause cancer.
Her HK flat doesn't have a convection oven. She never bought microwave oven.
She could buy a counter-top convection toaster oven, but she feels it's too eco-unfriendly and waste of money. Let's rule it out for now.
If nobody comes up  anything, she will reconsider.  She has a rice cooker. Her kitchen looks like

Sources - First pic beneath. Bottom pic.


texts: What can I use instead of butter for Jamie Oliver's steak recipe?

texts:
Jamie Oliver had a steak recipe that was fairly simple:

Season (salt/pepper/olive oil)
Dry pan (no oil in the pan) on heat
Fry a minute+ on each side, flip several times
When browned, rub the outside with a clove of garlic, some rosemary, and a bit of butter and keep grilling on the pan
Rest, collect the juices, and use as sauce over the steak.

If I don't want to use the butter (or any dairy product) for the above step, what else can I use in that rubbing step instead of the butter? What exactly does the butter rubbing do,  what effect would there be if I skip that alltogether, and what can I do to preserve the effect?

He mentioned that you can add butter to the resting juices to sweeten them, but didn't explain what rubbing when grilling does.


texts:
Years ago Koobz asked "Oxidized Avocado: What's Going on & How to Prevent It?" That question has been merged with this one because it's dealing with the same issue.

Recently, we had this question: Are limes and lime juice more acidic than lemons and lemon juice?. Now I'm just curious, I want an answer.

After Logophobe's answer to the acidity question, and my own research backing up that answer, I feel like I know less than I did before!

Lemon contains more ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and citric acid than limes, yet limes are more acidic overall. Distilled vinegar is more acidic than lemons and almost as acidic as limes, Fruit Fresh is an extremely highly concentrated mixture of ascorbic acid and citric acid specifically developed to prevent browning in fruits.

So what works to keep avocados pretty and green?

Perhaps some experimentation is in order. I think I'll start with acids, since the common wisdom is that acid helps keep avocados green.

EDIT As of 1/8/15, I have added a new answer, as the highly upvoted one really only says what doesn't help. The accepted answer HERE shows the results of further experimentation, and what does help.


texts:
Last year we spent our honeymoon in Holland and Belgium, and so for Christmas this year I wanted to surprise my wife with 2 types of cookies we were introduced to while we were there - stroopwafels, and mergpijpen. Every recipe I find for the stroopwafels requires that they be sliced in half after baking in a pizelle iron or a shallow waffle iron. However, our pizelle iron makes cookies so thin that I seriously doubt that they can be cut.

Can anyone provide any insights on whether the "cut in half" step is necessary?


texts: Sometimes when I melt chocolate in a double boiler it will turn grainy, and melting in a microwave often burns it. What is the best way to melt chocolate to get good, smooth results?


texts: What would be a good substitute for coconut milk in curry sauces?

texts: Specifically, if I work from a started paste that require adding coconut milk, what would be a good substitute?


texts: Do I leave the meat thermometer in the meat the entire cooking time?

texts: Many times I have used a dial-type meat thermometer, making sure it is not touching bone, and when it indicates it has reached the desired temperature (internal), I take the meat out and wait ten minutes, then find it is not fully cooked.    I am inserting the thermometer, putting the meat into the pre-heated oven, and leaving the thermometer in the meat the entire time.  Is this correct?


texts: Is slow cooking in an oven safe with long cooking times

texts:
I've been reading about slow cooking in an oven and I have some questions.

We cook meat until it reaches a certain temperature; we can assume this temperature is deemed safe by food experts! However, I'm confused about what makes the food safe! Is it the heat of the meat, or the heat of the oven, or both?

The reason for this question, is on some site (which I can't find now), they suggested (with Lamb), not to slow roast it under 135°C (with no reason why). However, I have a friend who is a chef, and he will slow roast lamb at 100°C.

Let's assume pork must be cooked to 70°C for it to be considered safe. Is it considered as "safe" to cook it at 100°C for a 'long' time (until the pork is at 70°C), compared to cooking it at 200°C for a shorter time (until pork is at 70°C)? Does the length of cooking time, at the lower heat mean bacteria could actually spread?

So, to summarise, if I cook meat (and I assume lamb and pork obey the same rules/laws) at a high temperature am I killing more bugs (due to the higher temperature) than if I cook it at a lower temperature?


texts: What do the base ingredients in pancakes do?

texts:
So here are the ingredients for "Dutch" pancakes (which are much like French crepes, quite flat):

Flour
Milk
Eggs
Pinch of salt

And for more "American" style I guess you also need:

Baking powder

All the various ingredients contribute differently to the end result: fluffyness, texture, flavour, baking time, etc. I'm trying to find out how they contribute, and I've tried to do so through experimenting, but my experiments are not "controlled" enough probably to find out.

Any tips for what these base ingredients do for the end result? I want to vary with quantities, knowing what I could expect when changing the relative quantities.


texts:
Having made lots of elderflower cordial from the bumper crop of elderflowers in the hedgerows near my home in June, I can now see that we are also in for a bumper crop of elderberries.

How can tell when they are ready to pick?  When I was small, my family made jam with them.  Any other ideas?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What does it mean to “fold in” an ingredient into a mix?

I made pancakes this morning using a recipe on the back of the package. I mixed up the dry ingredients, poured in the water/egg yolks, and then I was supposed to "fold in" the beaten egg-whites.

What is the purpose of "folding in" the beaten egg whites? What is the proper technique? How do I know when I'm done?

I tried a gentle lifting motion, which didn't work very well. The egg whites were stiff enough to mostly keep their form so I had to smooth them out and push them around a bit to get them kind of mixed in. By the end, I felt like I was frosting a cupcake and then lifting the whites until they broke. I kept doing that type of motion gently until it became kind of pancake-y. I really had no idea what I was trying to accomplish.

I don't know if I did it right, but the pancakes turned out well! :) I would like to know how to do it correctly for next time though.


texts: Spray oil with hydrocarbon propellants on non-stick pan surfaces

texts:
I have heard that using spray-oils with hydrocarbon-based propellants (e.g. butane, isobutane or propane) can, over time, be detrimental to the effectiveness of non-stick pan surfaces.

Can anyone categorically confirm or deny this with references? There appears to be a lot of hearsay on the topic, and I'm after an authoritative source (like a study, or published  experimental result).

EDITS

As @rumtscho points out below, as well as Sam Ley in this answer, small amounts of oil (particularly if sprayed on thinly) which overheat in a hot pan may polymerize and bind to the surface in much the same way as you'd season an iron/steel pan, reducing the effectiveness of the non-stick surface underneath. So, perhaps the problem is not actually with hydrocarbon propellants in spray oils (for which I haven't found any good references), but with the overheating of thin layers of oil applied by sprays which polymerize.


texts: Why is the alcohol content in British beer so weak?

texts:
I am a Brit married into a French family, so there has obviously been some teasing and so-on over the years about the relative merits of the two cooking cultures :P

I recently took my wife's uncle to the UK, and made certain that he ate well - he came away impressed with the food (despite some preconceptions!), but less so with the beer. He is from the North of France, near the border with Belgium, thus giving him access to a lot of different beers.

I made sure he had the opportunity to try what I consider to be good British beers (he mainly tried Shepherd Neame Kentish ales, as we were in Kent) - and the problem for him was that they were too light, as if they were lacking something.

Real British ale's alcohol content usually hovers between 4 and 5% alcohol, while Belgian beers can obviously go a lot higher. While my father-in-law has developed a fondness for British beers, my wife's uncle wasn't particularly impressed, and I think it was mainly because the beer lacked the 'punch' he is used to.

This made me wonder why British beer's alcohol content is so low compared to the neighbouring cultures- is it just a quirk of different cuisines, or is there some more sinister underlying reason such as the UK government wanting to reduce the impact of drunk workers on the economy at some point in the last few hundred years?

Please don't take this as an attack on British beer - I have always been a big fan of the stuff, and always try to paint British food in a good image!


texts: What's the best way to cook very large chicken breast filets?

texts:
Thanks to coronavirus, a local restaurant supply company is offering home delivery, and I ordered a ten pound bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts. There were eight of them in there...EIGHT! For an average weight of 20 oz each!

I have kids who like their food white. My usual method for BSCBs of a reasonable size is a quick brine and bake, pound them a bit and steam in a covered skillet, or just boil 'em (I know, it's sad). Will these monsters turn out okay if I treat them this way?

Secondarily, if I were going to cook something with actual flavors, what would you recommend?


texts: Removing metal disc ring from chocolate mousse: which method should I use?

texts:
I just managed to do a chocolate mousse with 5 layers (sponge, chocolate thin layer, nougat mousse, dark chocolate mousse, ganache). I added some "Agar Agar" to make it more firm and put them in the fridge to rest. Having used some INOX iron disc ring to give them shape (see photo) I wonder how I will be able to remove the ring leaving intact the mousse.

I thought I could use a little gas torch but I am not sure whether it is best to leave them in the fridge or to put them in the freezer so they get a bit more hard and less likely to get ruined when I extract the ring with the torch. In other words, I am worried that leaving them in the fridge they will be too fluffy to allow the disc ring to remove without damage.

What is the best way to remove them?


texts: Sourdough Breadmaking: Adding Water to Dutch Oven to create more steam?

texts:
Is there any benefit to adding some boiling water to a preheated dutch oven (under some parchment paper) just before putting the lid back on?

EDIT:

Well I did it. It seems to improve oven spring. Took Some pics.

And here is the crumb


texts: How can I stop my pavlova from "leaking"?

texts:
I'm learning to make Pavlova. I'm five attempts in and generally pretty happy with my latest one except for the weird "leaking" that happens during baking. Anyone know why this happens and how to stop it?

Photos:

Ingredients:

160g egg whites (at room temperature)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
200g icing sugar (I tried caster sugar the last time which had the same problem)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
A few drops vanilla extract

Method:

Wipe the bowl and whisk with a piece of paper towel dipped in a little lemon juice
Preheat oven to 150c (300f)
Beat until egg whites are stiff - check by turning the bowl over (slowly!), if they move keep whisking! (I tried doing a bit less whipping one time - same problem)
Add lemon juice to egg whites
Add the sugar gradually, one heaped tablespoon every 45 seconds; check for graininess every 8 additions
Put the pav in the oven and then turn down it to 100c (200f) right away
Cook for 1.5 hours
Turn off oven but leave pavlova in overnight


texts: What's the difference between a cobbler, crisp, crumble, buckle, and betty?

texts: I've heard all these terms at different times but never really understood the differences. What distinguishes various fruit-and-topping desserts such as a cobbler, crisp, crumble, buckle, or betty -- or are they all the same dish but with different quirky names?


texts:
I use the following dough recipe, it tastes okay, but is very difficult to shape and never holds its shape.  Advice please

15 g      Dried Yeast (Green Tin when make in Machine / Yellow Tin when make by Hand)
20 g      Salt
900 g    Light Spelt Flour
150 ml  Honey
118 ml  Oil
3           Eggs
350 ml  Luke Warm Water
Flour for shaping, egg for painting and sesame seeds topping


texts:
Since New Zealand has import restrictions on honey, I'm looking to make some truffle honey from scratch.

I recall reading somewhere that incorrectly making it could cause some horrible toxin buildup (something like botulism or similar, not totally sure which).

Does anyone have any advice on the subject of safely making truffle honey?


texts: Can I take a glass baking dish from the fridge and put it in a hot oven?

texts: I have a glass baking dish my husband put together a meatloaf in it last night and put it in the fridge. Can I put it right in the hot oven? I think no so I have had it sitting on the kitchen table most of the dish is warmer but the bottom is still a little cold not as cold as it was but cold. I'm scared to put it in there. I have no idea who it's made by.


texts:
I tried to deep fry cauliflowers (without breading; I am NOT making tempura), but they turned out soft.

I have seen that done on TV where cauliflowers are freshly deep-fried and turn out to be crunchy. But when I tried doing that, the cauliflower ended up soft and somewhat soggy. I increased the frying time thinking that may help evaporate the moisture inside the cauliflower but it then turned out soft and soggy with oil instead of water.

Are there preparations that I need to do to the cauliflower, or are there something special that I need to add to the oil?


texts: Is folding with a spatula really necessary?

texts:
In most recipes involving whipped egg whites or whipped cream, you are instructed to fold a the whipped mixture in parts (thirds) into the non-whipped mixture using a spatula. For example, angel food cake or souffle.

But, it is easy to deflate the mixture too much when using a spatula, especially for someone inexperienced, so why not use a whisk? Other than scraping the sides/bottom of the bowl, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't, and you could also use a folding motion while also preventing the mixture from deflating, and combines them faster.  Personally, I prefer a whisk.

Is there any other reason to use a spatula over a whisk, or is it just conventional practice?

In other words, is convention correct (based off your experiences)?


texts: Pressure cooking gadget that is heated with a torch (looks like a Afghan Kazan Pressure Cooker)

texts:
I have no idea what the thing is called but I found these videos via TikTok but cannot find the name of the device. I unfortunately also did not save any screenshots of this thing...

But, it is a metal contraption that has a pressure gauge on it and is somewhat teardrop shaped. This is then stuffed with ice and the item you want to cook. The whole device is pretty small, maybe, 6-8 inches?

It is then heated while sitting on a stand and being rotated.

When it is completely cooked, they open it in an explosive manner, into a metal bowl.


texts: how to tell if a whipping cream dispenser is overpressurized or underpressurized?

texts:
The question is simple - how to tell if a whipping cream dispenser is overpressurized or underpressurized without the risk of removing the head?

Note: Initially I submitted two questions in another single post (where you can read the background for my question), but only one got a great answer.


texts: Is there a difference in gnocchi between baking, steaming, or boiling potatoes?

texts: I’m looking to make gnocchi. Lydia Bastianich says in her cookbook that we should boil the potatoes. Bryan Talbot says that we should bake them with a little bit of salt.


texts: What is the adequate power for a non-commercial Planetary Mixer?

texts:
I have a standard mixer that can be put on a stand and its motor has 400W of power. Since it struggles with some doughs and I don't really like its mixing I decided to buy a stand "Planetary Mixer"* (i.e. a non-commercial Stand Mixer with "Planetary Mixing Action"), however I am not sure what wattage I should look for. I certainly won't use it for commercial uses and can't figure out if, say, 800W would be too much.

I also don't know if I can ask here about advice on the model of mixer? Since I am looking for one that has metal gearing and dishwasher safe beaters/parts but am finding it hard to find any information about different models.

* Planetary action means that the beaters rotate on their axis similarly to the way the Earth rotates. Like a planetary system, the whole mixer head then rotates the opposite way, similar to the way the Earth rotates around the sun. This ensures that the sides of the bowl are scraped by the beater rather than having to do it by hand, and that the ingredients become fully mixed.


texts:
I'm having an event where one of the rules is that every dish has to contain both fruit and meat. I've spent the last half hour pondering as to what should I prepare as dessert.

Question: What makes us consider a food "appropriate" as a dessert?

(Subquestions: Has anyone studied it methodically? Would it be the absence of umami flavor or is that irrelevant? Is there some technique I can use to make these flavors blend better together?)


texts: Can I use a 4 quart crock pot instead of a 6 quart?

texts: For a recipe that calls for a 6 quart crock pot, can I use a four quart crock pot?  Should I only use 2/3 of each ingredient?


texts: What does it mean in a Recipe to "steep the gelatin"?

texts: I'm making macaroons and I wanted to know what exactly this means and for how long generally do I need to steep gelatin?


texts: Can you make bread with the yeast in beer?

texts:
I am looking to make some beer bread by substituting beer for water in some of my favorite recipes. I have heard that beer has yeast though, so I was wondering if the yeast in beer would work to ferment & proof my bread.

I was wondering if there is enough for say, an overnight rise without adding any extra yeast, or should I still use the full amount of yeast in each recipe that I use without the beer?


texts: Why are eggs not stored in the fridge better in baking?

texts: I have always wondered why baking with refrigerated eggs VS room temperature eggs comes out much better. Can anyone explain why please?


texts: Why does some cake make your tongue thick, and how to prevent it?

texts:
I'll be baking a cheese-ham cake shortly and I remember that sometimes it makes your tongue 'thick' (for lack of a better word).

The symptoms are the feeling that the tongue/mouth is covered with the cake, like it's sticking to the skin. I'm not sure how to describe it accurately. I've just eaten a commercial grade muffin like cake with the same effect. It makes the mouth dry, maybe.

So, is there information about which flours are more prone to produce this effect? Is this somehow related to the flour? Can it be the butter/grease? The oven temp or the undercooking or overcooking? Maybe a reaction of the leavening agent?

Is there a way to prevent this from happening?

Edit:
Ham-Cheese Cake

150g Cheese (Gouda or Emmental)
200g Ham
2  Chives
100g Butter or Margarine
3  Eggs
100g Flour
1  Tablespoon baking powder
Salt & Pepper

Cut the cheese, ham and chives.

Cream the butter and add the eggs one at a time. Sieve the flour together with the baking powder and the salt, and mix into the butter.

Add the ingredients to the batter and put in the oven at 180ºC for 30'


texts: How to make a gel that doesn't harden at below freezing temperatures

texts: So I have an idea for a lemon bar ice cream and I want to swirl in the custard and add chunks of short bread in. I could just make the custard for a lemon bar as is but I suspect that after freezing it won't maintain the same gooey texture and flavor. Is there enough sugar in the custard to solve that problem? Is there something I can do to keep it gooey, like caramel, if I swirl it into the ice cream?


texts: Why does my rice cooker's steam hole always clog?

texts:
The lid on my rice cooker has a small steam hole that gets clogged from bubbles forming and the quinoa gets stuck and then the whole thing boils over and makes a mess. Am I doing something wrong? How do I keep it from doing this?

Note: this was taken from a deleted answer to How do I keep the rice cooker from boiling over? I don't actually have a rice cooker, so I can't provide extra details; answers about all potential causes and fixes are welcome!


texts:
I have tried to make Tiramisu chocolate mousse from this video many times. The chocolate mixture turns out great. With the egg yolks I add grape juice instead of wine and soft cheese instead of marcarponi - which seems to turn out great as well.

What I fail to make is the whipped creme. I use Dano sterilized creme that is modified with vegetable oil (so it says on the can), fat 23%, made from skimmed cows milk and it says the milk fat is replaced by veg fat. I put the bowl and the whisk in the refrigerator, as well as the creme, but when I whisk it, it becomes more watery than fluffy.

So today I got Fostered Clark's Powder Whip Wonder Whip Topping; that turned out nice and frothy, but when I combined it with the chocolate-egg mixture, it did not turn out to be the way it looks in the video. I had to put it into the refrigerator so the mixture became a little more firm; I could barely hold a shape in the martini glasses.

What am I doing wrong?


texts: How do we escape the cycle of bad college eating?

texts:
Mouseover text: And yet I never stop thinking, 'sure, these ingredients cost more than a restaurant meal, but think how many meals I'll get out of them! Especially since each one will have leftovers!'

Randall Munroe really hit the nail on the head with this comic and especially the mouseover text. There's this sort of cycle that I seem to follow when I try cooking, and I need to get my way out of it. It goes like this:

Decide I should cook something.
Thumb through my recipe books, find one or two recipes I like.
Write down the ingredients for the recipes in a list.
Go to the grocery store, stumble around for a while and eventually find exactly those ingredients.
Go back home; at some point in time soon after, cook each recipe.
Whew, that was a lot of work! Spend the next week or two eating junk again, until I decide I should cook something. (repeat)

Very similar to the comic; sometimes I too let the leftovers go bad (usually not). And every time I rack up a huge bill at the supermarket and think to myself it's justified because of the leftovers or the amount of food. Not to mention, that's a lot of work for just a couple of meals, and a long list of ingredients.

I love cooking fresh meals but that's just so much overhead and so time consuming! So I always resort back to Easy Mac, Ramen, frozen dinners and frozen pizza. Yuck.

How can I escape this cycle and cut down on the overhead? How can I focus on more than 2 recipes at a time without buying giant lists of ingredients and spending tons of money? Is it really worth the trouble or should I just chock it up to being a college student and wonder about the years ahead of me where I'll have much more time to spend cooking one meal at a time?


texts: Using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and salt in a recipe that calls for unsalted butter

texts:
There's a cookie recipe I'm going to make that calls for 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and 1/2 teaspoon salt. We use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter as a substitute for butter, however that contains some Sodium already. So to figure out how much I should reduce the salt by I did the following:

ICBINB contains 55mg of Sodium per 2 tsp
That means for 3/4 cups = 36 tsp = 2*18 tsp, there is 0.055*18 mg
or about 1 gram of Sodium in ICBINB
This next step I am not sure about. Using Google, it tells me 1/2
tsp of salt (or 2.5 grams of salt) contains 1000 mg of Sodium. Is
this correct?

If the above is correct, that means 3/4 cup of ICBINB contains 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and since the recipe calls for 1/2 tsp salt with 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, does this mean I put no salt in the recipe since ICBIB already contains the necessary salt? Or should I put a tiny pinch of salt anyway just in case?


texts: How do I tell if my pasta is molto al dente?

texts: I cooked pasta tonight for my families dinner, and cooked it "al dente" then cooked it in the sauce. Surprise surprise it was overdone. So I looked it up and apparently it needs to be "molto al dente". So now I'm just wondering how will I be able to tell if my pasta is "molto al dente" and what is the definition of "molto al dente"?


texts: What is this plastic handle that is used for corn and watermelon called?

texts: I've seen these plastic handle things and searched for phrases like the one in the question title but failed to find it. What are they called? And where can I get buy them from?


texts: "Sludge" at the bottom of matcha/green tea latte

texts:
When I get a green tea latte from Starbucks, the drink is uniformly mixed from top to bottom, no matter how long it takes me to drink it.
I prefer to make my matcha lattes at home, though, because its faster, cheaper, and better (both health and taste, as I prefer my lattes far less sweet than Starbucks makes them and I prefer to sweeten with honey) than running through the drive through every morning.  However, every morning, no matter how fast I drink my morning beverage, I wind up with a layer of green sludge at the bottom of my cup.
From what I can tell, the matcha is falling out of solution with the rest of the drink, despite being thoroughly mixed to start out.  I do wonder if it has something with the amount of sugar, or the use of water to dissolve the matcha in.  But since the whole thing comes together and tastes wonderful (until the last bit), I'm not sure.  The only way around it I've found so far is to stir the drink well before every sip, which is unnecessary with coffee house versions (as I've had them other places and do not recall winding up with sludge at the end of the drink) and annoying while I'm at work.
Why do my matcha lattes end in green sludge, and how can I fix it?  The green sludge at the end is bitter, thick, and unpleasant to drink, so I want to make my latte more like the ones from a coffee shop.
Recipe and method:

3/4 - 1 cup milk (depending on mug size), heated
1 slightly heaping teaspoon matcha powder
1 - 2 teaspoons honey
~1/8 cup hot water (a minute or two off the boil)
Force matcha through a sieve into mug to remove lumps, add hot water.
Blend (using electric whisk/milk frother) until dissolved.  Add honey,
blend again to dissolve.  Froth milk, then add to mug.  Blend to mix
milk and tea/honey mixture.  Drink.


texts: I have a casserole recipe that I generally cook in the oven.  I'd like to try it in my slow cooker for several reasons:  convenience, timing, opening up the oven for another dish.  Is there a general rule of thumb to convert the directions for the oven to an equivalent for a slow cooker?


texts: Why does plastic never dry properly in a dishwasher?

texts:
Whenever I get tasked with unloading the dishwasher, I'm always amazed at the amount of water that's still stuck (always in droplets) to our plastic kitchen utensils and storage containers.

We have a dishwasher with three racks, but it doesn't seem to matter which rack you use, plastic spatula's in the top cutlery rack, plastic containers or cups in the middle rack or our plastic cutting boards or plates in the bottom rack, all are equally wet when unloading the dishwasher, while the regular cutlery, glasses, metal pans and ceramic plates are all perfectly dry.

Why do the plastic kitchen utensils never dry properly in the dishwasher? And is there anything that can be done so the plastic does dry in the dishwasher? (besides using a towel or just waiting three days before unloading)


texts: Is there a specific name for the mise en place containers used in professional kitchens?

texts:
I've recently been watching the PBS show "The Mind of a Chef" and noticed the plastic containers the chefs use to store ingredients as part of their mise en place. To me they seem like a better alternative to other methods such as the custard cups Alton Brown uses which I find clumsy and annoying to use and wash.
The containers are stackable and come with lids and seem relatively sturdy. Seeing as they keeping quite a lot of them at hand, my guess is that they are disposable and / or cheap to acquire.
I've been browsing some online restaurant supply stores, but the only storage containers I could find in similar sizes are quite expensive at around 1.5€ each.
Is there a specific name these containers are sold under?


texts:
I'm attempting my first slow-cook today but, of course right after I started it, I read that there's some nasty chemical in uncooked kidney and cannellini beans that can cause vomiting. And apparently slow-cooking, even for eight hours, is not sufficient to deactivate it.

I'm confused as to whether this applies to just dried kidney beans, or if it is also true for canned beans one gets from a store (i.e. in water). Will these have been pre-cooked to remove this toxin?


texts: What can I do with batter that has lumpy sugar in it?

texts:
I was making a scratch cake, and my sugar (to my chagrin) was inferior.  When I beat it into the batter, it turned into many tiny lumps.  Has anyone ever figured out how to solve this problem?  I beat it for a long time on high speed, but there were still lumps.

If there's no way to fix this type of problem, could I get some hints on how to prevent it, e.g. how to smash all the sugar lumps before I put it in the batter?

Edit: For clarification, this batter is very thin, and the recipe requires beating it on the highest speed for three minutes straight. So that's not a big issue with this.

Also, I did mix the dry ingredients (including sugar) together before anything else.  I used the mixer to try and break up the lumps (when the mixer only had the dry ingredients in it), and when it had stirred for 5 minutes or so, I thought it would be better to proceed with the recipe and add the wet ingredients, hoping that they would dissolve the sugar.  They didn't.  After beating it for the required three minutes, I just put it in the oven.  I didn't actually beat the batter any longer than the recipe said to; the only thing I did that the recipe didn't tell me to was to stir the dry ingredients for 5 minutes.

The cake seems okay.  Maybe when the lumps are small enough, the heat of the oven takes care of them?


texts: What is the most effective method to mince candied ginger?

texts: I like to use candied ginger in place of fresh ginger in some dishes that will be sweet, but I want to use it in much smaller chunks than what it comes in.   My problem is that even using a well-sharpened knife, it gums up both the blade and the cutting board quite a bit.    Is there some method of treating the blade or the candied ginger that would ease cutting it some?


texts: How do you know if stone-ground flour is truly milled with stones?

texts:
I ran across this article that originally appeared in USA Today in 2006. The author makes the claim that the label is unregulated and that manufacturers can simply say "100% stone ground" even if it's processed by a roller mill.

Does anyone know if, 6 years later, this is still true? If so, does anyone know which brands truly are stone ground?


texts: What is the purpose of baking a cooked pot pie filling?

texts:
I will be making chicken pot pie for about 350 people at a conference, but I'm making the filling separate from the biscuit topping.  The plan is to serve the pot pie in a disposable container, topping with a freshly baked biscuit just before serving.
My question is this:  Is there any reason to bake the hot filling, which is fully cooked already?  Does it improve the taste or texture in any way?


texts: How can I roast hominy while minimizing the popping?

texts:
I am following this recipe for roasting hominy/posole. Basically, toss with oil and seasoning, bake at 400'F for forty minutes stirring every ten. I am not sure if the recipe intends for popped hominy, or roasting it, or if the recipe author differentiates the two. I am thirty minutes in and they look like this thus far:

The hominy has a nice texture, not yet quite corn nuts but pleasantly chewy. All of the reviews speak to the intense popping. While I assumed this would occur to some extent, after thirty minutes it was too much and I had to pull them (too many were hopping to the bottom of the oven).

Currently I am intending to use the hominy in a chili, so the texture they are at should be good. However, I would like to find out if there would be an approach to solving the following two issues:

To roast hominy, maximize hardening of spices, and roast without popping:

Would changing the oil ratio help (i.e. more/less oil)?
What about lower&slower or higher&faster?
I used a baking sheet per instructions, would another cooking vessel have worked better?

Removing the hominy, I used a large sheet of parchment to shield myself from stray hominy shrapnel, then used it on top to keep kernels in place while cooling (I didn't want to use foil as I wanted to avoid insulating the heat):

Would baking with a piece of parchment over the kernels (to hold the kernels more or less in place) adversely impact the roasting process?
Would foil be problematic (I am wondering about substitutions)?


texts: Can I leave uncooked rice sitting in water for an hour or longer before cooking?

texts: I'm prepping for a dinner party. And I put uncooked long grain brown rice + oil + water in a pot, as usual. But I'm not cooking it right this minute. The rice is sitting in the pot with the water. Can I leave it as is for an hour or two before cooking? Or will that sog the grains and affect the result?


texts: How do I optimize my chicken stock for the best flavor at the lowest cost?

texts:
I want to make amazing chicken stock, but I want to spend less doing it than I have in the past while still buying "natural" or "organic" chicken parts.

I have made stock in the past following America's Test Kitchen's recipes, which call for cleaved up legs. While legs are among the cheapest cuts of chicken meat, I know this can be done for cheaper and with less wastage (I don't want to toss meat nor make chicken salad).

Using just legs makes for a thin flavor. Just chicken backs taste like Campbell's. My favorite so far was half backs and half necks. I also try to sauté everything beforehand to add some roasted flavor.

What combinations work best for you? Wing tips? Backs? Necks? Is it worth it to include a more expensive cut in the mix? And can you qualify the differences?

NOTE: I'm not looking for recipes so much as which cuts to use.


texts:
I have a lever press espresso machine and wondered how I can produce the optimal shot of espresso.

I am using the single serving sieve and try to fill it up to a point so that after compressing the grinds, it tightly fits in the machine. Then I pull the lever up, wait until some espresso pours out and start to gently pull the level down. I do this twice.

Is it OK to let espresso pour out? Should it be dripping or flowing or is this a bad sign?
How often can I pull down the lever, does this change with the size of the sieve?


texts:
I don't have a lot of time to cook during the week, sadly, so I've been taking things like this for lunch http://www.eatyourbest.com/sitecore/content/Home/products/classic-favorites/fettucini-alfredo.aspx . It's simple and tasty, but I would prefer to make things like this at home on the weekends and freeze it for a later date.

I know freezing a cream sauce can be kind of complicated/impossible, so if I were to try and freeze some portioned home-made Fettuccine Alfredo what are some things I need to do to help it come out of the microwave and not be awful?

Edit: I wasn't 100% specific in my query originally - I also want to prevent as much damage as possible to the sauce, since I know milk based products don't always freeze very well. Will the reheating process be affected by any damage to the sauce, or would the steps I take to ensure the sauce doesn't separate during reheating also protect it from freezer damage?


texts: Meat thermometer doesn't "stop" measuring. How to know actual measurement?

texts:
I recently bought a meat thermometer so that I could measure my chicken. This is the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IHHLB3W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've tried using it multiple times but whenever I insert the tip of the probe into the chicken the thermometer just continuously increases in temperature. It doesn't stop. I tried inserting more of the probe into the chicken to see if that makes a difference, but the only difference is that the temperature climb is slower.

How far in should I stick the probe and is it normal for the thermometer to continuously climb in temp? When should I pull it out


texts: How was the usage of yeast for bread discovered?

texts: From where did people get the yeast for their bread??


texts: What's the purpose of clarifying butter?

texts: Seriously, if it's just an ingredient in something larger, is it going to make a difference if the butter's been clarified or not?


texts: How can I impart bacon flavor into collard greens without losing crispness?

texts:
I have tried cooking collard greens several times and each time I have been somewhat disappointed in my results. Specifically, I have tried cooking the collards by adding bacon and never feel like I add it at the right time.  I want there to be enough flavor from the bacon without cooking it so much that it loses its crispness.

Any ideas on how to correct this?


texts: Why would parsnips make a beef stock not freeze?

texts:
I made a beef stock the way I always do, except that I added parnsips. Then I put the stock in the freezer and when I took it out, the stock was not frozen. It was freezing cold, but instead of having the consistency of ice as I would have expected, it was more like jelly. I think the only thing I did differently was adding the parsnips (although I suppose it's possible that the bones had an unusual amount of collagen for some reason).

Has anyone ever observed this effect from parsnips, or what else could be going on here?


texts: Why must the oven be preheated for a Pyrex glass pan?

texts: This Pyrex glass safety label says "Always preheat oven".  Any idea why?


texts:
I made a Shepherds pie for dinner, its assembled and ready to bake.  I'd like to hold off for a few hours though, maybe 4-5 hours.

I have no room in my fridge and I don't want to leave it on the counter, so I think the oven is my only option.  The instructions say to bake it at 450 for 30 minutes.  Should I bake it as instructed, then hold it at 200 until ready to eat?    Are there any other methods to do this?

Thanks


texts: Need Help on Cooking Thick Pork Chops to Temperature

texts:
Recently I attempted once again to pan-saute bone-in pork chops.
I have a recipe which calls for 1" thick such chops.
I had a choice between selecting 1/3", or 1.5" chops.
I chose the 1.5" ones.

The recipe calls for sauteing on each side for 3 minutes, turning only once.
I waited about 4 minutes before the turn, and cooked for another 2 mins before using a meat thermometer.  To say it was nowhere near the safe zone for pork is an understatement.

I cooked them for what seemed like a half-hour.

Given the time and temp, does this sounds like appropriate cooking instructions for sauteing pork chops?  With the chops being as thick as they were, should I have chosen another cooking method?

To answer what may be a follow-up question, I've never cooked chops well.  Pork loin I can do OK, though.


texts: How to reduce the moisture when making tarte tatin

texts:
I've tried making pear and apple tarte tatin a couple of times, using different recipes, and the result is always the same.

When I take the pan out of the oven and flip it over, the pastry is moist, and the thick caramel has turned very runny.

I've tried reducing the amount of butter used, and using different types of sugar, but nothing seems to have an effect...

Is there a way to keep everything "dry" ?


texts: Why does my asparagus turn out too chewy?

texts: When I make asparagus, I cut off the ends and boil them in water for about 5 minutes. I discard the ends, and add the other half of the (uncooked) asparagus into the pan with the same water for 8-10 minutes (medium high heat). Afterwards, I place the asparagus on a baking sheet, top with cheese, and put it in the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese melts. My question is.. Why do my asparagus come out too chewy/soggy? Am I cooking them for too long? What would you suggest I do differently to get the right texture? Thanks!


texts:
When would you choose to use a slotted turner instead of a solid one, or vice versa?

I would have thought it’s just a personal preference but lots of utensil sets have both so apparently it’s more than that.


texts: I have been making my own stock for several years.  I make it EXACTLY the same way every time.  Sometimes it has a "gel" consistency,(which is awesome), and sometimes it is just a liquid.(still delicious.). What is the determining factor that dictates whether it turnes into a gel or not?


texts: Why isn't the beef fat in my chili melting?

texts:
I'm making some Texas-style chili ("beans optional" :) for the second time, and the fat on my brisket just does not want to melt. As the recipe instructs, the chili sits on the stove for 4+ hours at a simmer.

My somewhat-trusty instant-read thermometer says that the temperature is around 205 °F after about 3 hours of simmering. As far as I can tell, very little fat from the brisket has actually melted/rendered by now. I noticed a similar issue last time I made this chili as well: the final outcome had some rather large pieces of fat which were not a particularly nice texture. Here's what it looks like so far:

The brisket is already very tender, and there's very little fat floating on the surface, but there's significant layer of fat still on the beef chunks.

What's going on? I'd really think that multiple hours at 200+ °F would melt most or all of the beef fat in the pot. Is it too hot? Not hot enough? Do I have any hope of getting the fat to melt so I can either skim it off, or mix it in?


texts: How do I ask for eggs, sunny-side-up, but with the top cooked more thoroughly?

texts: If I ask for eggs, sunny-side-up, they will have yellow barely cooked yolks.  At home I avoid this by placing a lid and creating hot air or steam that cooks the top more thoroughly.  How do I ask for this style at a restaurant?  What term do I use?


texts: My chocolate-chip cookie expanded after baking

texts:
I have been making the same chocolate-chip cookies for a while.
Last week, after baking a batch and removing from the oven, they expanded and became flat.

Usually they stay in the same shape when removed from the oven, (thick and chewy) this time is the only time my cookies really expanded and became flat.

I bake them from the freezer.

What could have gone wrong? too much or too little baking soda? I usually put 1 tsp of baking soda per 3 1/2 cups of regular white flour.


texts: What job is the fat doing when I prepare bread dough, and what to expect if I use the wrong amount?

texts:
I've been baking bread for years and no longer really measure the ingredients. But I'm no expert on the science of what I'm doing. I add fat (lard) because I've always added fat.

What job does the fat do? And if I have long been using too little or too much fat how would this affect my loaf?

And then, writing this up, I'm also wondering about yeast. I guess if I use too little yeast I am going to get a loaf which rises insufficiently. But what would be the consequences of using too much yeast?


texts:
I have here a bottle of Kikkoman "Less Sodium Soy Sauce".  According to the label, it contains 37% less sodium than regular soy sauce (575 mg per 15 ml serving, versus 920 mg).  How is this stuff made, and how will it compare to regular soy sauce in flavor?

An optimist would hope that it's made just like regular soy sauce, but less salt is added, so that it would still have the same soy/umami flavor but be less salty.

A pessimist would suspect that they just take 1 part regular soy sauce and dilute with 0.58 parts of water.

What is the truth?

These questions are related, but don't answer my question:

What are the differences between types of soy sauce?
Less salty sauce based on soy


texts: I bought a Homemaker Food Steamer. How do I steam Fish (Ling Fillet) in it? How long should I steam the fish for?


texts: Does proofing time affect the density of bread?

texts: I made some dinner rolls yesterday and it was underproofed, the result was a dense dinner rolls and it is heavy, does proofing time affect the density of the finished product?


texts: Optimal stirring technique: I read that stirring liquids in a straight line is better than in a circle, but I can't find any references

texts:
I remember reading that some scientific researchers in Japan (I think) discovered that when it came to stirring liquids, moving a spoon back and forth was more efficient at mixing the liquids than if you moved the spoon in circles. I've experienced this to be true. Nevertheless, I would like to find the evidence of this, either in original source material or articles about it and I'm coming up with nothing on Google.

Does anybody remember this or have links to the research?


texts: What consistency should flan have when it is removed from the oven?

texts: I am making flan for a dinner party this evening. The recipe indicates the flan should be baked for an hour before chilling. However, having never cooked flan before I am unsure what the flans consistency should be when it comes out of the oven. Is a little runny okay? Will the flan already be "firm," or does that happen during the chilling process?


texts: I left pickled ginger left out of fridge

texts: I accidentally left some opened pickled ginger out of the fridge for 8 hours.  is it still good?


texts: Is there a trick to scraping the beater of my stand mixer?

texts:
I've been doing more baking than usual, so this problem keeps bugging me: how do I effectively scrape the butter/sugar mixture or half-beaten cream cheese or whatever it is off of the paddle beater, so I don't end up with lumps later on in the process?

Lots of recipes call for scraping the bowl, but that's easy: it's a smooth curved surface, so any half-decent rubber scraper will do the job. A paddle attachment, on the other hand, has Nooks. And Crannies. And oddly-angled almost-but-not-quite-curved-but-certainly-not-flat surfaces. And did I mention the Nooks and Crannies?

What do people do? Struggle through with messy rubber scrapers and even messier hands? Don't bother scraping the beater, and end up with lumpy cheesecake or unmixed cookie dough? Am I missing some great secret of cookie bakers? Are there beaters that are easier to scrape than my Kitchen Aid flex-edge?

(Don't even get me started on the whisk attachment. Especially when the volume of meringue goes higher than the neck of the whisk.)


texts: how do I convert my cake recipes from shortening to lard-I live at 6000 ft altitude. The lard is hydrogenated and has more water so it needs adjustment. I'm at altitude and that requires adjustments which I can do. BUT do I use the same amount of lard as shortening as listed in the recipe?


texts:
I've read a lot of conflicting advice on whether it's advisable to store eggs in the refrigerator. The case against seems twofold: (1) that eggshells are porous, and eggs can take on unwelcome flavours, or even spoil faster in the fridge, and (2) that cooking with cold eggs can be problematic. But lots of people refrigerate eggs through perceived necessity.

Do eggs last longer in the fridge, and is the shelf life gain worth it? Or should I just stick them in the cupboard?