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Ground beef burger patties turn gray not brown Every time I try to cook burgers or meatloaf, my ground beef just ends up turning gray/white, instead of normal charred dark brown. I cant understand why. I have tried buying lean ground beef and regular ground beef and I always get the same result. I have tried cooking t...	Brown meat tastes good - Anne Burrell Of course you know this, the browning of the meat is a result of the Maillard Reaction, if you are not getting this result you are probably not cooking at a high enough temperature. Temperatures need to be high to bring about the Maillard reaction, but as long as the food is v...
Baby parsnips vs. parsley root I cooked parsnips for the first time this week (glad I did - delicious). When the produce clerk pointed them out, I asked if he had baby parsnips instead (as the recipe called for them). He pointed out parsley root, which looked very similar. I did a search while in the store (and got ...	Parsley root is not the same as parsnip. It tastes more like parsley, which is not really a surprise. Parsley roots don't get as sweet and delicious when you roast them as parsnips do, in my opinion - I get plenty of both from my Community Supported Agriculture box and buy a lot of parsnips as well. If you can't find p...
How long does doughnut dough need to chill? What is meant by "chill over night?" In the recipe it says chill over night, but how many hours would that mean?	"Overnight" is just a word, not a precise cooking term, so it would mean "during the time that typical people have retired for the night". I.e. 5 or 6 hours should do it. In cases where it is possible to over-do it (like yeast dough rising), I think the upper limit would be 10 or 12 hours. "Overnight" is a pretty lax i...
Can you make fries with coconut oil? I have seen some recipes saying you can cook fries with coconut oil. The temperature for fries seems to be 350f however this is also the smoking point for unrefined coconut oil. Does this mean you cannot cook fries with unrefined coconut oil and perhaps these recipes are referring...	Use the refined coconut oil. And not only for temperature reasons... I admit to not liking the taste of coconut in many cases... but I particularly don't want my french fries tasting like them. That may not be universally the case for all people, but if you want a neutral-flavored oil, unrefined coconut oil is not that...
How to use knife I recntly bought a knife http://www.wellberghome.com/index.php?c=content&a=show&id=394 the thing is it's heavy a bit and not much sharp in front eventhough it's weight helps easy cutting i cannot make precision cuts how to use these kind of knives.	First: This does not look like a very good knife - this style of secondary bevel (an european style knife usually should not have one, and if it has, it should be more acute) and the fact no exact steel and hardness data is mentioned (eg "1.4116 steel at 55-56 Rockwell C") corroborate that impression. Very few knives a...
How to stop grease dripping on coals from catching flames? I am using one of those small grills where the grate is only about an inch or two above the coals. When I cook something that doesn't have much grease (like vegetables), it is fine but the main thing I got the grill for is grilling mackerel. It's a fatty fish ...	Well these are not really techniques to prevent dripping fat from catching fire, as far as I know that is not easy to achieve, these are rather workarounds to minimize the damage. Use some sort of water sprinkler system like a squirt bottle, sprinkler bottle or vaporizing or a squeeze bottle over the flames. If used m...
Did I do anything wong when making fries? I bought these Maris Piper potatoes. In the instructions for deep fry to make chips, it says put in a bowl of water for 30 minutes to remove starch, dry, then fry for 6-9 minutes. I did so however when eating the potatoes they tasted a bit sweet on the inside. I'm not sure but...	I haven't noticed regular potatoes being sweet when overcooked, undercooked, or even raw. So I don't think the sweetness was due to cooking time. However, according to http://www.finecooking.com/article/the-science-of-cooking-potatoes-2 (and many other places on the internet), potatoes stored in the refrigerator wi...
How to tell if sausage package swollen or just taut I bought raw sausages packaged in a meat tray with plastic wrap. The wrapping was taut so that it almost looked like there was extra air in the package. How does one know if this means a swollen package or just wrapped too tightly? It's a grey area but a swollen pack...	If you can tell us, "They smell fine" then you have since opened the package. It is not uncommon for air to be trapped in those plastic wrap trays. Since we can't see or smell it the only way to answer your question is: "Is $4.00 worth of sausage worth a few extra trips to the bathroom?" If it smells 'ok' then it is un...
How do you separate whole chicken skin from the breast (for basting) without ripping it? In this recipe in minute 7:00 the cook separates the chicken skin from the breast to put butter between the skin and the breast for basting. When I tried that (very slowly) it always felt like I was about to rip the skin. When I f...	I'd say experience ? You need to try it a few times to get the feel of the skin and the meat and how much pressure is needed to separate the skin from the meat. Try putting more pressure on the meat itself and not on the skin (hard to describe). The quality of the chicken is also important, most supermarket chicken ha...
can I use regular green cabbage to make kimchi? Can regular green cabbage be used for kimchi? I've made several batches with Napa cabbage but it's expensive and not as easily available.	Yes, you can use any cabbage you like. You can also make kimchi with cucumbers...bean sprouts....really, many vegetables. It's really just fermenting/pickling.
How can you safely remove 9x13 pans/dishes from a hot water bath? I like to bake my corn pudding in a bain marie but I have difficulty removing it from the pan. Any suggestions?	This can be tricky, as you are trying to remove the pan with the hot pudding before it cools completely, without sloshing water into the inner pan. There are wire rack arrangements with handles that extend on the narrow ends of the pan, but these are an extra expense and require extra height in the oven rack. A home so...
Botulism from uncooked potatoes wrapped in foil? Recently I've seen uncooked, prewrapped-in-foil potatoes at the store, meant for baking. But I've always read that keeping potatoes wrapped tightly in foil at room temperature is one of the ways that botulism can occur. Is this a safe product? Is it only after cooking...	One of the nicer things about botulism (there are not many) is that heat does neutralize the toxin. So unless you are licking the raw potatoes, not likely to be a problem. The odds of the foil-wrapping being actually airtight are also about zero, so it's unlikely that you'd actually get botulism, as that requires an an...
Tried making gel-type candy, it recrystalized as it cooled? I wasn't sure if it would work anyway, but I always used to love the tubes of squeeze candy you could get when I was a kid. I tried to make it by modifying a hard candy recipe. I boiled it for about ten minutes at about 220 degeees F. I removed it from the h...	Try using sugars that even in concentrated and cold form do not crystallize much - like honey, industrially or home made invert syrup, thick jam...
Interruption in canning process I was processing venison in 14 pint jars at 10 lb. pressure. It had only begun to process, approx. 10 min. I got an emergency phone call from my Mother and had to turn off the pressure cooker. I left and did not get back for 5 hrs. By that time the cooker was barely warm. I turned t...	I would not keep it or eat it and just consider it a loss. That is a long time for the food to cool down/seal, etc. The processing time is usually carefully calculated so that the core of the product in the jar gets to the proper temp. With the processing time only being 10 mins it would mean only the jar and maybe a s...
When to use dried herbs instead of fresh herbs I've often heard as a rule of thumb that if you have both, go with fresh. But are there exceptions to that? Are there times when using dried herbs is preferred?	Using one or the other can depend on how long a dish is cooking. Dried herbs take a while to impart flavor so they're mostly useful for longer cooking dishes. Also, getting a piece of dried herb that hasn't had time to hydrate & soften can be really offputting to eat! Often, however, I use both- dried or sturdier herbs...
Official cocktail recipes vs typical glass sizes I've bought and tried various types of glassware for cocktails. Glasses for typical shaken drinks include a cheap martini glass (165 ml), a nick and nora style glass and a coupe (125 ml), among others. This matches with sizes found in shops around the web, where they mi...	Despite what many bars, convenience stores, and fast food restaurants would have you believe, drink glasses are not intended to be "filled to the brim" (or even close). This is particularly true of cocktails and other spirits. The 'head space' allows the drinker to swirl (or, if they have had a few, 'slosh') the drink ...
why does my meatloaf fall apart when I slice it? My recipe: 1.5 lbs of 90/10 lean ground beef .75 c oatmeal .75 c chopped onion 1 extra large beaten egg 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce 3-4 chopped garlic cloves .5 tsp salt .5 tsp black pepper I bake at 350 F until thermometer reads 170 F and let it rest in pan for 10 mi...	It's the oatmeal. I suspect it is absorbing the egg and preventing it from binding the meat together. I suggest switching to a small amount of breadcrumbs, or day old bread torn into very small pieces if you like a little more texture.
Bagel Failure - what happened? Last night we tried to make bagels. We used this quick video online to give us the basics in terms of process and then we used the measurements from this website. We proofed the yeast for a few minutes in water and sugar and it was active, and then mixed in the flour. I kneaded the doug...	It sounds like your yeast never really got started, and you may have killed most of it off. Sugar actually retards yeast, and salt kills it, so mixing sugar and salt into the water was not a good thing, in fact it didn't kill off the yeast completely it probably did most of it. So you started off with very little live ...
Hot chicken soup takes hours to cool I made a big pot of a very hot chicken soup. I put it in my small extra fridge at 11 PM, and it was still warm 9 hours later, at 8 AM. Do I need to throw it away?	There are people that are going to argue that yes, you do. And if you're immune compromised, that's probably best. However, if it had been boiling, and there's a layer of fat to seal the top, then it's at a lower (although not non-existant) risk. You have to judge for yourself if it's worth it. Personally, I'd bring ...
Dehydrating Apple Cider Vinegar? Someone at Alcohol SE suggested that I post this question here: Dehydrating Apple Cider Vinegar? I've been experimenting with dehydrating apple cider vinegar I'd like to concentrate it and put it into capsules. ~15 size 00 capsules are needed to contain 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. S...	You might actually want to look at other methods - either alongside or instead of your current dehydration. "Commercial" Vinegar powder (where it isn't actually just the acid components) is basically maltodextrin sprayed with your vinegar and dried. There's a ton of references like this one, though admittedly I learn...
Making extra thick stew How does one make a thick soup, like Campbell's Chunky brand beef stew? I have already tried flour, but it didn't work the way I was hoping. I'm cooking home-made beef bone brothers based stews. Any suggestions? I added a whole cup and a half of flour slurry to about 2.5 gallons of stew, bu...	The method that I learned from an Irish co-worker is to add instant potato flakes. You're basically making really runny mashed potatoes. As stew is often thickened by the starch from the outside of whatever potatoes are in there, it won't throw off the flavor. I've found that I can hold back a potato from the stew th...
Why fry a teaspoon of dal to start an Indian dish? Some Indian recipes ask the cook to fry a very small quantity of dal, e.g. "3/4 teaspoon of urid dal", at the beginning of cooking a dish which doesn't otherwise contain dal. Examples here and here, and I have enough examples in my cookbooks to verify that this way o...	In a dry dish - eg lemon rice, or a dish following the thoran pattern - a teaspoon of urad dal will definitely be noticeable by giving a crunchy element. Do not forget that indian recipes tend to use old school spoon sizes for measurement - a random piece of contemporary flatware will not give you a good approximatio...
Is weak coffee more likely to be bitter? https://somedayilllearn.com/how-to-make-black-coffee/ Go big or go home. I typically use 2 tablespoons per cup. Weak coffee is more likely to be bitter. Is there some truth here? Why would weak coffee be more bitter?	It's not so much that weak coffee is bitter, as that over-extracted coffee is bitter. If you want it strong but don't use enough ground coffee, you can get more flavour by leaving the water on the grounds for longer. But then the bitter flavours come out. The opposite is espresso; a decent espresso is of course strong ...
Does microwaving move significantly more oil\fat from fries than other cooking method, how to prevent? If I reheat originally fried fries, when I microwave fries or protein it seems to me a lot of fat in short time has leeched out\evaporated. Does microwaving cause this and is there a way I can prevent it? For fat to...	Oil / fat is slow to evaporate. It is designed for high boiling and smoke point. Yes you smell fat and it condenses on surfaces but if you leave a fryer on for 24 hours very little fat will evaporate. Leaching is the process of extracting substances from a solid by dissolving them in a liquid. There is no leaching...
Hitting specific color of orange in a sponge cake What could I use in a cake to make it stackoverflow-orange? Would a copious amount of carrot ever turn a sponge cake that orange?	You cannot just use random ingredients and have the cake "become" their color. Even if you used 100% carrot, the color would change during baking. So you really have to use a colorant. The best way to do it is to purchase a good quality ready-mixed colorant like the Wilton paste colors, and use the exact shade you wan...
Green line in chicken? The family is eating home roasted chicken tonight. I cut into it, and found this bright green "line". What is it?	I believe the most likely cause from the look is a condition known as Deep Pectoral Myopathy, also known as Green Muscle Disease. If you are interested in an explanation of the condition, here is a reasonable write-up or just search on that term. The basic issue is an internal injury to the muscle of the bird that re...
How can I save wet cookie dough I accidentally added 2/3 cup milk instead of 1/3 to a cookie dough. Now dough is too moist. What can I add to absorb the moisture?	You could go ahead and add each of the other ingredients (other than the milk) again, doubling the recipe. If you really want to get fussy, you probably should follow the recipe instructions regarding "creaming butter and sugars"...etc. with that second round of ingredients, but honeslty cookies aren't that particular...
How do I know the lentils have gone bad? I brought brown lentil two months ago. Now when I cooked them under pressure they remained in the same form as before and did not even slightly swell the way normally brown lentils swell up slightly. The gravy was watery and the lentils weren’t looking as they normally look whe...	Dried lentils don't go bad as such if stored sensibly (i.e. dry), but they do go hard and take longer to cook. It's always possible they were stored for some time before you cought them. An overnight soak before cooking can help. Other tips include: not adding salt/acid/sugar until they've softened, avoiding hard wa...
Do older apples contain more or less pectin in the skins/cores? In order to make apple jelly and not use pectin, just fresh (not frozen) apples skins and cores: Do older, stored apples have more concentrated pectin in their skins and cores or does it degrade? should I boil more? add more sugar, less water?	Older apples should have less pectin, probably: The chemistry of pectins is a vast and complex subject ... all these enzymes work together to degrade the pectin and eliminate is sticky effect. They exist naturally in plant tissues ... after harvest, during apple storage, the protopectins within cell walls are naturall...
Why does diluted half & half not make a substitute for whole milk? I noticed that cutting half & half with water does not make it taste like whole milk. What is the reason for this? I'm trying to apply some systems thinking to my understanding of ingredients.	The difference between whole milk (or any milk, really) and half-and-half is one of fat content, not overall concentration. Half-and-half gets its name from being a 50/50 blend of milk and cream, which normally separate because the less dense fats concentrated in cream float naturally to the top of the mostly-water mil...
blood in poultry farm white egg I brought four-five eggs day before yesterday and today when I cracked one I saw blood in it, rest others were fine. It doesn't look like a drop of blood fall upon it, it looks like I can't separate it like someone pierced yellow part and blood burst out of it. Question: What is it, ch...	I regularly see these (although, not usually as big), and they are considered safe to cook and eat as usual. The American Egg Board (which is, just to be clear, a US government-backed lobby and marketing group, not a scientific body), states that blood spots are caused by ruptured blood vessels (which can happen for d...
Use yellow mustard to make mayonnaise? Is it possible to use the "american yellow mustard" (normally used as a condiment) to make mayonnaise using canola oil, eggs, and a food processor? Or is Dijon mustard the only usable mustard for this purpose?	The mustard is used as a flavouring - either you like whatever flavour the alternative mustard yields, or you don't - and as an added emulsifier. The emulsifier effect can be achieved with pretty much any mustard, be it english, french, or in powder form (mind flavor interaction with vinegar in that case...). The mayon...
Why is grocery store celery trimmed of its leaves? I only use celery as an ingredient. It’s part of the trinity, and gumbo wouldn’t be gumbo without it. While I was in Asia, I learned how useful and delicious celery leaves are, but I can’t find a local supermarket that sells un-trimmed celery. Is there a reason why pr...	You did not disclose your location, but here are some reasons: It is an opportunity taken by the producer to increase the price. They can sell the product as-is, or process it further and sell it for more (ex. whole onions vs diced onions, the diced onions will be more expensive for the same amount). Sure they need to...
Baking madeleines without burning them I am making chestnut cream madeleines from almond flour. The recipe calls for baking at 320F/160C for 30 minutes, which almost burns the outside but leaves the inside baked. I baked a second batch for 26 minutes, which leaves the outside a nice golden madeleine color, but the ins...	If the insides aren't cooked when the outsides are, you're cooking too hot. Lower the baking temperature... try a batch at 300F for 30 minutes and test them. If that doesn't work, drop it another 15-20 F and extend the time a bit. It's all a matter of getting the right balance between heat to cause browning and time to...
How to cook and eat unidentified woody banana species I bought these bananas and they taste like wood. I'm not sure if I was supposed to fry them in something or how to prepare them. Also what is the species? I don't think it's platano macho because those had some sweetness to them and had black peels. These are yello...	Like bananas, plantains (platano macho in Spanish) start out green and ripen from there. When ripe, they indeed have black peels, and are softer and sweeter. But when not very ripe, the peel is green to yellow-green, and they're harder and just starchy, not sweet. So, they require some amount of cooking to soften enoug...
What are some established western cook books from 1920 - 1960? I'm looking for a book that would, preferably, have been written by a renowned chef; or a book that was a standard or staple for, say, French cuisine. I'm looking to add to my bookshelf of classic cultural texts, and I cook very often, and such a book woul...	Irma Rombauer published the iconic The Joy of Cooking in 1931. It’s more of a textbook than just a collection of recipes, with whole chapters dedicated to the ingredients. And elaborate kitchen techniques are explained in full. You can pretty much find any ingredient or recipe for any dish, I even think there’s a recip...
If I double a bread recipe do I double the salt? I think it was my mom who gave me the rule of thumb that when you double a recipe you double everything except the salt. I'm willing to defer to her wisdom for the sorts of soups and stews she liked to make, but she didn't do much baking, and I never saw her make bread...	If you’re measuring your ingredients by weight, I don’t see any reason not to double the salt. I usually do. If you’re measuring ingredients by volume, it might be best to err on the less salty side, as different types of salt have different densities. Hope this helps
What is the name of this plant? I buy things off the street and in markets with no labels. What is this so I can google it?	This looks like watercress to me and Max.
Mexican cheeses on otherwise Italian pizza Can one use any Mexican cheeses on an otherwise “Italian” pizza? I don’t know much about Mexican cheeses; which cheese or mix of cheeses would one use? Would a Mexican cheese change the flavor profile much?	The short answer is yes, you can. We keep a wide variety of cheeses on hand. Quesadilla or Chihuahua Mexican cheeses are a great substitute for Mozzarella or Provolone cheese. The have a light flavor and work well with Italian foods. We always have these on hand, but they are not always easy to find in some areas. I o...
Can salad dressing be made with coconut oil? Can salad dressing be made with coconut oil? Does one need to blend it to homogenize it? Will coagulation of occur afterwards?At room temperature, coconut oil is not liquid like vegetable oils.	Yes. Coconut oil melts at 76 °F, so simply substitute it for other oils in dressing recipes, place it in the sun to warm it up, and then shake it to homogenize it.
Preserved Lemons: is it ok if they are above the liquid I started a jar of preserved lemons yesterday and today I noticed that the top of one lemon is above the liquid, is this ok? Should I try to press it down, or add water?	For the process to occur, the lemons should be covered by the sugar/salt/liquid. There is a little time frame where being partially exposed is OK, and the other lemon pieces will start to soften and break down, but the lemon should be pushed down a little to be covered. The preservation happens because the sugar and/or...
Do you peel garbanzo beans for hummus? If using garbanzo beans to make hummus, should you peel them beforehand?	There are three considerations for deciding whether to skin them or not. Do you like the texture/flavour with the skins on Do you, or those eating the hummus have dietary reasons to avoid the skins How much do you want to make a culturally/regionally 'accurate' dish. I, for example, like the texture that the skins ...
Is making guacamole a way to "save" almost-gone avocadoes? We had some avocadoes which went bad. My stepmom said that, had we made them into guacamole the night before, they would have been edible today. Is this correct?	First, you have to distinguish between food safety issues and other ways of food "going bad". The likely thing is that your avocadoes were safe to eat (= not full of pathogenous bacteria) on the day you threw them out. However, people cannot tell when food is full of bacteria, and tend to throw it out when it is too c...
Reduce spiciness of chili I eye-balled the chili and cayenne powder in my chili and have made it painful to eat. What should I use to counteract this? I tried adding pasta sauce and cheese to a small serving, but it wasn't very effective. According to the question "How can you make a sauce less spicy/hot?" the heat is...	To some extent chilli (capsaicin) is like salt in that the best way to reduce the taste is dilution. However with capsaicin you can also make use of the fact that it dissolves in fats. But you can't neutralise it - up you'll always be increasing the size of the dish. To dilute you could make another batch without the ...
Cook with no hood - how to control smell I am planning an extended stay in an efficiency apartment. Kitchen has no stove (hob), exhaust, or window. Install an exhaust or recirculating hood is not an option as I don't own the apartment. I have a sink, fridge, toaster, microwave, and sufficient counter space. It is...	Is there a bathroom with a fan? Setting up a portable electric hob just outside the bathroom with the door open might help, especially if you can also leave the front door ajar during cooking to provide a through-draught. You could use a folding table if the existing furniture isn't sufficient. Covering as much as pos...
How interchangeable are fats in yeast bread recipes? I know that unsalted butter has a water content - can I substitute clarified butter, vegetable oil, or shortening in equal amounts? If I do use unsalted butter, do I need to adjust the hydration percentage? Adversely, if I use a fat with no water content, do I need ...	If you're the type of person who measures all your ingredients on a gram scale, theoretically you do. However, unless the fat in the recipe is on the order of 1/2 cup, the amount of omitted water is going to be less than the amount of variance in water you get from uncontrollable sources, such as the ambient humidity. ...
How to make extremely dry pork more palatable? I cooked a pork shoulder sous-vide for 24h and sadly It came out extremely dry. I think it's due to cooking it in a citrus heavy marinade and removing a bit too much of the fat cap. So now I have a few pounds of really dry pork and I'd rather avoid losing it. How could I ...	I'd use it as barbecue. It should shred fairly easily; if not, I'd gently steam it until it does. If it's so dry that it can't be shredded, it probably can't be saved, though you might be able to get satisfactory results with chopping. All it needs is to be warmed in the barbecue sauce, requiring no further cooking. In...
Bulk ingredient for keto/low carb flour substitute mix with gluten Minimising one's intake of carbohydrates tends to deprive one of some rather lovely culinary items such as pasta and bread, because grains contain a lot of carbohydrates thanks to the high amount of starch in them. Typical substitutes are non-grain flo...	Konjac flour, which consists mainly glucomannan gum, is a natural low-carb bulking ingredient. I have never used it in baking, but I ate noodles made of it. It does have its taste though, so you should probably try eating some shirataki noodles before ordering and baking with this flour to know if you can tolerate the ...
What counts as "hydration" when figuring Dough Hydration? I'm keen on the idea of baking using "Baker's Math"... but, what ingredients do we count when trying to figure out the hydration level of a dough? Do we count just water/liquid? Or, do we count things like sour cream, butter, milk, eggs?	The term is not really defined that way. In the strict sense, it only has meaning for lean doughs - made of only flour, water, yeast and salt, eventually preferments or later mixins like seeds. You can extend it to enriched doughs (those that have fat, milk, eggs, tomato juice, etc.) but then it is no longer sharply d...
Why not corned pork instead of beef? I have made a few corned beef with chuck and pot roast cuts. Using salt,sugar nitrite salt , etc: the results have been excellent. I have not used brisket because they are so big. Pork loins and shoulders are so cheap I would like to try corned pork . What could go wrong ?	What could go wrong? Probably not much. The same process that turns beef into corned beef turns pork into corned pork - and if you use another piece and compare recipes, you might recognize the process from curing ham. You might have to compare recipes a bit - curing times ranging from two to ten days depending on the ...
Does freezing food reset the amount of time you can put it in the fridge? Just read this which basically says you can freeze and thaw food in the fridge any number of times. How dangerous is it to refreeze meat that has been thawed? I'm still unclear on one point. If I had food which would be good in the fridge for 4...	Freezing doesn’t reset the clock, it’s more like “stopping the time” - or at least slowing it down very, very much. Like putting perishable food in the fridge and slowing down bacterial growth, freezing the food brings it to a full stop. But unlike heating, cooling or freezing does not kill bacteria. What went in the f...
Milk not spoiled yet Why has my milk not spoiled. It is over a month old and it still taste fresh. I bought it on February 10th or so. Its sell date is feb 21. And it march 15th Is this odd??	If it was a closed carton of UHT milk, with a "Best before" date mentioned on the carton, it's not at all odd that the milk isn't spoiled three weeks after the date on the package. Once the carton is opened, the milk is usually contaminated quickly, and will spoil in a few days. But how long that takes depends on a lot...
How do I replicate the taste of prepopped movie theater popcorn? To clarify, I'm not asking how to make popcorn that tastes like movie theater popcorn (which typically comes from a popper), I want to know how to make the bad pre-popped popcorn that small theaters sometimes sell. It's hard to describe the flavor, but i...	There's a different variety of popcorn used for pre-made popcorn, as it comes out more spherical and thus less prone to breakage once it dries out. I've always seen it called 'mushroom popcorn'. I've never made it specifically, so I don't know if the flavor is something to do with the variety of popcorn used, or if it...
Proper chopping technique When you're cutting a veggie, you're holding a veggie in the left hand and the knife in the right hand. Which hand does move closer to another? When you hold a knife with a tip resting on the board and keep cutting moving to the left, you will end up with a knife bottom inclined to the left a...	In my amateur experience, the knife moves and the other hand stays put; the knife should always be vertical.
Why do Vietnamese dishes feature cut-up meat with the bone in? Except pho, it seems most Vietnamese soups and similar dishes feature meat that is already cut up into bite-sized pieces. It would seem that this is a very nice way to have meat served because you can simply eat each piece without having to cut it up your...	Yes, those bones make a huge difference for flavor. If you just cook meat in water, you won't have anywhere near the rich meatiness that you get from a good bone broth. Sure, you could get similar flavor by deboning the meat, then cooking with the bones and removing them before serving. But that's definitely more work,...
Why does the shrimp stick to the shells? I made some NoLa bbq shrimp last night, using the same recipe I’ve used countless times; the only difference is that, on Alton Brown’s advice, I brined the shrimp in a salt/sugar bath for 15 minutes before I cooked them. The dish was delicious, especially since I found some hea...	This is most likely caused by the sugar in the brine you used. There must have some sugar left on the shrimp (especially between the shrimp and the shell), even if just a bit. When you grilled your shrimp, the high temperature of your barbecue caused the sugar to get caramelized and delicious, but also very sticky. It ...
Can I blend pasta and add water to make bread or pizza dough? I am inspired by this video. In the video, the person blends some pasta and adds water, and the result looks like dough. Can it be used as bread or pizza dough?	Not exactly. Pasta is made from bits of wheat that are not flour or bran - otherwise known as semolina. Assuming that the pasta hasn't gone through very much more than drying as processing, you're going to end up with something fundamentally different from the grade of white flour - whether its type 00, or other kind o...
How to keep frozen French fries crispy? There are a lot of frozen French fry recipes on Google and YouTube, but none stay crispy after defrost. I have tried many. After 2-4 month they become soft and pale. I doubt there are some chemicals which can keep their taste and crispy texture. Such as potatopro or McCain suppl...	Most likely, your issue is that your fries don't freeze quickly enough! First of all, potatoes are VERY tricky for freezing anyway: their cell-structure takes REALLY badly to freezing, making them change texture and sometimes taste a lot. The problem is reduced, but not removed, by cooking them first, but even then, th...
Why does the grated coconut "float" to the top of quindim while baking? Quindim is a typical Brazilian dessert made from sugar, egg yolks, butter and grated coconut. All those ingredients are mixed (yolks and sugar first, then the butter, then the grated coconut, in my experience), then bain-marie baked in a pudding m...	While the mixture is raw, the density of the batter is more or less equivalent to the density of the grated coconut, and the batter is fluid, allowing movement. During cooking, the egg protein in the batter denatures and coagulates, generating a dense colloidal matrix that doesn't allow movement. As this process is hap...
I left pickled ginger left out of fridge I accidentally left some opened pickled ginger out of the fridge for 8 hours. is it still good?	Food safety guidelines would say a definite no. The temperature "danger zone" is between 40 degrees F (slightly warmer than your fridge temp) and 140 degrees F. Assuming you keep your house around a normal temp your ginger was most definitely in that range for at least 2 hours (the max allowed time a food is considered...
Is slightly sugary mango fine for hot sauce? I'm taking a crack at a mango habanero hot sauce recipe I found, which calls for dried mango slices. However, all of my friendly neighborhood grocery stores have the dried slices that have that crystallized sugar on them. I picked up a variety that claims to be "low sugar",...	If you don't have any other options, I'd go ahead and try it with a few minor adjustments. Keep in mind that recipes like this are really loose and based a lot on personal preference. If you don't think the mangoes are really sweet now, the spices may mask some of that, or the sweetness may dull some of the spice. The...
Is there such a thing as a single malt vodka? NB: There are products branded as single malt vodka (so the quick answer is Yes), but my question is more about whether such statements have any real meaning? More detail In a discussion the other day a friend pointed out that whisky (/ whiskey) isn't whisky until it's bee...	I think you (and your friend) are confusing two similar terms. "Single Malt" - the making of spirit from a single type of grain by a produced by a single distiller (for whisky, that's malted barley in the UK and malted rye in the US) "Single Barrel/Cask" - the process of bottling each aged cask of liquor separately wi...
How do potatoes work against salt For people cooking now and then it is common knowledge that you have to add an extra of salt if you're including potatoes in your meal. But what is the (biological? chemical?) reason that potatoes - at least for our taste buds - cushion salty tastes?	I see two possible reasons for such a statement. First, it could be that traditional home cooks are accustomed to salt vegetables on a very rough basis, using some homemade rule like "a teaspoon for one pot of soup", and potatoes being blander (less sour, less aroma) than many other vegetables, they prefer to add more ...
What's the egg for in this no-bake fridge cake and can I leave it out? I remember making these as a kid, they were quick and easy to make. I'd like to make some now, but there's an uncooked egg in the recipe and I'm pregnant. I don't really understand what the egg is for here if it's unbaked. Is it just to bind everyt...	The egg (the egg yolk actually) acts as an emulsifier which allows you to get a smooth blend of the margarine and the milk. Without it, the margarine would float on top during the cooling period. (The proteins in the egg might also help in trapping some air bubbles.) More technical, what's actually acting as the emulsi...
Making sourdough bread with just flour and water (and no starter) Suppose I do not have a starter and I am not interested in creating one. Would the following recipe work to create an edible sourdough bread? If not, why not? Recipe: Mix 10 cups of flour with about 5 cups of warm water. Mix well. Store the mixture ...	As a point of reference let's look to this "Sourdough Starter Recipe" Combine ¾ cup flour and ½ cup warm water in a glass or plastic container. Make sure the container can hold about 2 quarts, to avoid overflow. Stir vigorously to incorporate air; cover with a breathable lid. Leave in a warm place, 70-85°F (21-29°C...
Seasoning won't stick to baked potato chips I've been trying to make homemade baked potato chips, I have figured out everything, except how to get the seasoning to stick to the chips. The recipe I'm using, calls for you to toss the chips in a bowl of seasoning right out of the oven. The seasoning is not sticking.	Since the potato slices are moist after cutting and before baking, season them at this point rather than afterwards. This will cause the seasoning to cling to the potato better, even after they have been dried in the oven. Also, I have had good results using an "Air Fryer" (Which is technically not 'frying' but convec...
Is it normal for collard greens to be red? The collard greens that I have received are red. Is this normal/healthy? Image attached. Google searching this gives me zero results that are anywhere near relevant. I also can't find any images of red collard greens, they are always green in the image search.	No, that is not normal for collards. Enlarging the picture, the discoloration looks to be a brownish-red. Those leaves look to be very old and quite possibly have been frozen (while still in the field), especially the one on the right. I would be tossing those.
What is the difference between normal salt and salt of guérande? What is the difference between the salt of guérande sel de guérande and normal salt ? I have a truffle flavored sel de guérande, which have nearly the same taste of normal salt if it doesn't contain truffle flavor.	Salt is salt is salt. That being said, most regular salt comes from salt mining, which tend to be neutral as there is no (or lot less) additional minerals (or other stuff) in the salt that will change the taste. Sel the Guérande is a sea salt, it comes from evaporation of sea water, since the sea water contains a lot m...
What to expect from canned bear meat? I aquired a can of bear meat from Finland. I'm not sure what to expect of the contents of the can. Will the meat be pre-cooked? I can find some ideas online for preperation of fresh bear meat, but grilling probably doesn't translate too well for canned meat. What are normal prepar...	Canned foods are by their very nature cooked once they're in the can. That's how they keep so well. It is possible to grill canned meat if you dry it first, and it may benefit from a little browning for best flavour (assuming this wasn't done before canning).
Matza balls 'explode' at high altitude We now live in the mountains at 8,500’ (2600 m) and I cannot make matza balls for chicken soup up here. They explode into dust in boiling water. Water boils at 190 F (88 °C) here, that's probably a factor. I’ve even tried freezing the balls before boiling , but only about half ca...	Some recipes for mazta have chemical leavening. Chemical leaveners operate very differently at varied elevations. See here for conversion and tips. This is a very common problem. Judging by the problem, it seems like you were previously closer to sea level and this recipe worked fine. Am I right? Basically [no pun inte...
Expired panko bread crumbs A couple of days ago, I used some expired panko bread crumbs (expired by at least 5 months) for chicken tenders. They had this bad stale oil smell to them and I decided to take a risk. They had previously been opened but I'm very careful in closing them back up and storing them in a cool dry...	That "stale oil" smell was probably the small amount of fats in the crumbs going rancid and forming butyric acid. I usually do not cook with anything that smells bad, my thought is that it just isn't worth the risk, but risk tolerance varies.
Is 'honey in crystallized form' the same as 'raw honey'? Is 'honey in crystallized form' the same as 'raw honey'? Subquestion: can heated/pasteurized/decrystallized honey ever crystallize again?	Short answer? Maybe. Crystallized honey and raw honey are not mutually exclusive, so you may have a honey that is one or the other, or you may have a honey that is both. Raw honey is simply honey that has not been over-heated (heated more than necessary to allow the honey to flow for easier bottling) or pasteurized. ...
Identify a round kitchen tool with perforated and hinged metal leaves My old roommate left this in my kitchen before moving out. I can't remember what it is or used for. Is this part of a grill? Does it go in my sink to trap things that shouldn't go down the drain? What is it used for?	It's a steamer basket. If you pull the leaves apart it will look like this: Then you put it into a saucepan like this: You put water into the saucepan (the legs at the bottom keep the bottom of the basket clear of the water). Then you can use it for steaming vegetables, dumplings, etc. You put a lid onto the saucepan...
Can you be harmed by staring at induction stove cook top? While it's on its beaming red and looks menacing . Is there any harm that can happen to your eyes while it's on looking at it other then drying out eyes from heat?	No, your stove is fine to look at. If it is actually an induction stove, then the red would just be a light to let you know it's on. The actual induction heating won't make the cooktop glow red. You might just have an electric glass/ceramic cooktop, though, in which case the heating will make it glow red, but it's stil...
Sourdough starter hydration I’m making my first sourdough starter. Actually my second; the first one dried up and turned into cement. I figured that it wasn’t hydrated enough (the original directions called for 35g rye flour, 15g AP flour and 50g water), so in my new starter, I upped the amount of liquid by 25g. Does ...	The hydration of sourdough starters can vary ...50% to 125%. Some are kept very stiff and others are kept quite liquid. A higher hydration starter will need to be fed more frequently. The hydration of your starter relates to how you will use the starter. Also, knowing the hydration percent of your starter is import...
Cooking techniques for venison neck I recently received a venison neck. I've never cooked this cut before and I haven't found a lot of helpful recipes. I want to keep it as whole as possible, not simply grind it into sausage. I am assuming this cut has a lot of connective tissue, so I was thinking a low & slow method ...	There are really two issues here. First is temperature, second is time, and they are somewhat inversely proportional to each other. Looking at AmazingRibs, one of my favorite online references, you can see some of the simplified data regarding both general information and elsewhere there are some venison specific cooki...
Can plastic grocery store misters be used for oil? I’m really tired of buying oil spray cans. I know that there are relatively inexpensive misters out there, Misto currently being the most popular, it seems. But I’m seriously strapped at the moment, so even sixteen bucks is a lot! Is there any reason two dollar superm...	No, they don't work well. I've tried them. First, the viscosity of the oil seems to be wrong for them. Instead of producing a cloud of oil particles, they produce a stream which exits with some force, like a mini water pistol. Second, the plastic of mine got softer with time, and I had the feeling that it also lost so...
What does soaking in a solution of baking soda do to fruit when preserving it? Last year the recipe I used for preserving whole figs involved pricking the figs with a fork and soaking them in a weak solution of baking soda. What is the baking soda doing to the fruit in this step? Can it be keeping the figs from disin...	Alkalinity breaks down the structure of plant cell walls. I assume the purpose of this baking soda bath is to soften the structure of the fig. That's why yours softened so much. If you want to maintain the structure of the fig, try using an acidic bath, as acidity helps to maintain plant cell structure.
Bottled tomato sauce separated I made tomato sauce yesterday but looking at the bottles today it has separated, can I re cook it to hopefully thicken it? I made it with fresh tomatoes.	Simple tomato sauces (type "coulis") often separate, as fresh tomatos contain a lot of water. We've had it with such sauces prepared for freezing, and used the sauce as a basis, which worked perfectly well. You can recook it, but depending on how much liquid there is, that can require a lot of time: you'll have to evap...
Does turmeric have a definitive taste? I’ve made recipes that included turmeric, and I’ve read articles about its health benefits, but I’ve made the same recipes without turmeric without any noticeable taste difference - the lovely color was missing, but that’s about it. Is this because I’m using powdered turmeric fro...	Turmeric does have its own flavour, even dried. However it's commonly used with other, stronger, spices. This means that it adds a bit of depth to the flavour but in a subtle way. The flavour of turmeric also cooks out to some extent (as does ginger, to which it's related) so adding it towards the end of cooking reta...
How do I reheat previously-cooked frozen sausage? This probably has an obvious answer I'm missing. To make a long story short, my mother helped us out with an event several months back involving having to serve breakfast to a large number of people including breakfast sausage, a mix of links and patties. Afterwards, a...	One option: reheat slowly in the microwave and until it is barely unfrozen enough to break apart. Then break it down into meal-sized portions, take the part you want for now and wrap the remaining bits in cellophane so they don't freeze together again. (My advice as a self-judged microwave expert is to heat it up at ...
How can I compare heat levels from burners? Recipes call for cooking food over varying amounts of heat on the stove burners - medium, medium-high, low, etc. How can I compare what the person who wrote the recipe calls "medium" with what (I think) is "medium" on my stove? With baking, it's easy because 400F in your ove...	It is not a property of the stove (or the markings on it). Words like "medium heat" actually refer to the speed at which your food is cooking, and there are a lot of factors which contribute to that. Beyond the energy output of your burners, there is the type of stove (electric, gas, induction), the thermodynamic prope...
Three different-colored Thai curry pastes, how are they different? Three different-colored Thai curry pastes that are readily available (plus Panang curry), green,yellow, and red. How do they differ in taste and heat? I’m pretty sure that it’s not green for “mild,” yellow for “medium,” and red for “scorch your mouth.”...	Thai curry pastes can have a variety of ingredients, depending on the style and region. Some of the most common components, however, are shallots, garlic, chiles, lemongrass, galangal, fermented fish/shrimp. The chiles give the color: a red paste is made with dark red (dried) chiles. Green is made with fresh green chil...
Can I substitute chocolate chips for cacao nibs in a cookie recipe? I found a recipe for Chocolate Brownie Cookies and am wondering whether I can substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips for the 3 TB cacao nibs? I'm going to be serving this at a party so I don't want a bitter taste. Chocolate Brownie Cookies Recipe 3 cup...	You can. It will be a different cookie, but chocolate chips are conventional in chocolate cookies -- more so than cocoa nibs in fact. I assume they're simply stirred in to the mix after the other ingredients. The texture of the surrounding cookie (and the cooking time) may be affected a little, but only within normal...
Do foods labeled "non-GMO" only (and not "organic") have more pesticides in them? I know organic = non-GMO + no pesticides (source); non-GMO = pesticides possibly used; pesticide-free = possibly GMO. Do non-GMO foods actually have more pesticides in them?	No. "No-GMO" means exactly that. There is no Genetically Modified Organism in the content of your purchase. In general you GMO your veggies and wheat (and others) so you don't need to use pesticides on them because they are designed to be more resistant. So yes, your question Do non-GMO foods actually have more pestic...
What does Jiro brush on his sushi? I recently watched the movie "Jiro Dreams of Sushi," and noticed that Jiro was always brushing some sort of liquid onto the sushi, but I can't figure it out. My hypothesis is that it's either some sort of oil (sesame, olive, etc.) or maybe a vinegar of sorts, but I have no idea.	He brushes soy sauce on it, because he knows how much is sufficient to season each nigiri. Actually not just any soy sauce, but nikiri: A good sushi chef adds all the flavors the sushi needs before he hands it to the customer. He mixes his own sauce and uses it behind the sushi bar. This sauce is called nikiri. you c...
Issue getting Atta bread right I am from india and a beginner baker. I have been trying really hard for quite some time to make decent 100% whole wheat bread from freshly milled chakki atta. I have tried pre-packaged ones available in grocery stores and am able to make decent bread loaf with small/medium crumb textur...	Atta has a high gluten content, it doesn't sound like you need to do any extra work on gluten development. From your description of your method and your picture of your result I think you are under-kneading and under-proofing. Also, it sounds like you are knocking out what rise you do have. You should have a very elast...
Julia Child beef bourguignon question In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, for the beef bourguignon recipe, there is an instruction towards the end I'm not sure if I'm understanding. After the meat is cooked, you pass the sauce thru a sieve and reduce it. She then says Wash out the casserole and return the beef ...	I agree the original instructions are unclear, but "return the beef and bacon to [the casserole]" implies that the "beef and bacon" includes the other ingredients cooked in the casserole - the onion and carrot. Sometimes recipes refer to mixtures by their predominant ingredients, and this recipe seems to do this, albei...
Is onion good with leek? I have onions and leek and I want to sautee the two together. Can I use both?	Leeks and onions can be cooked together without any problems.
How do you make a deep spicy flavour that leaves you wanting more? I'm not sure if this is going to make much sense and I apologize in advance, but hopefully someone understands what I mean. So my problem is with spice, such as when I make curry, I'll add chilli powder and/or cayenne powder, which while it does make t...	Adding some grated fresh ginger towards the end of cooking can do this, and is compatible with both Indian and Chinese food. In general though, you need more of the spices that give flavour, and less reliance on chilli heat alone. For that, in a curry, cumin, ginger, mustard, turmeric, and coriander are common, though ...
Over-proofed pizza dough, pâté fermentee? So I made this pizza dough. I started it with a biga, then put it into the fridge for cold rise. Then I got kinda sick, and the dough stayed in the fridge for, like, four days. I’m afraid it’s over-proofed, and the yeast has crossed that rainbow bridge. I’m gonna make the pizz...	Sure, go ahead and use it. That's exactly how preferments are made. As long as it doesn't have obvious spoilage signs (mold, ropiness) it's good to mix in in proportions up to 50% of the final dough.
What is this small green fruit called? I want to know what is this fruit called in English	I believe what you have there are almonds...or "the fruit of the almond tree".
Raw meat/seafood over bottled beer Our other chef feels that is okay to store raw meat/seafood on a rack in our walk in cooler that sits above where we store bottled and canned beverages. I disagree, but he considers the beverages to be "sealed" and not a food safety concern.	Common sense tells us that beverages can contact some of the outside surface of their container while being poured, especially with cans (which also sometimes open by pushing a bit of the outside ... INSIDE the beverage). Also, if bottles or cans are served as-is, people's lips are not unlikely to contact surfaces that...
How can a Bavarian cream that includes orange juice thicken with so much liquid? I found a recipe for an orange flavored Bavarian cream with the following directions. Start with a crème anglaise by whisking egg yolks and sugar and then add boiling milk flavored with orange zest. Put the mixture back on the heat and -...	The egg yolks can thicken the liquid when you heat it, like in a standard egg custard (the home made version, not the one made from custard powder). But this is a fairly tricky procedure: if you heat it too much the mixture will separate. So best done on a double boiler ('bain marie'). And in addition, you have the whi...
What is the difference between toffee and caramel? I always wondered and hope someone here can clear it up for me.	In short, Butter. Toffee has Butter, caramel does not. Of course there are lots of variations, and there are some candies called 'Caramels', which may in fact be hard toffees. The softness or hardness of a toffee depends on the amount of fat added, and the temperature to which the sugar is raised. Strictly speaking, ...
Do I put vinegar in the water when poaching an egg? Does the water need to boil or just be hot? Do I need to put salt and vinegar in the water or just salt? And if it needs vinegar, what kind? How long do I leave it in the water to get the white solid but not the yolk? I do not like raw egg white, so this is very impo...	By far the most important factor in a nice poached egg is the freshness of the egg. Fresh eggs shouldn't need vinegar to help them set, but It can help with an older egg, whose white has started to go a bit runnier. Vinegar does leave a flavor, but if you're poaching your eggs ahead of time and putting them in iced wat...
Instant Pot -- how should I resolve conflicting sets of instructions? The manual that came with my Instant Pot says not to put the lid in the dishwasher. The Instant Pot website says that the lid is dishwasher safe. Which should I believe?	If you only have 2 conflicting pieces of information I'd choose the safer route and not put it in the dishwasher. The manual is specific to your model while the website is not. If you trawl through forums you'll probably find that there's experience out there on the subject.
6 hour cooling contradicts 2/4 hour food use rule When potentially hazardous foods are cooked, it is said that cooling from 60 to 21 C should happen in 2 hours and from 21 to 5 C in 4 hours, does this not contradict the 2/4 hour rule which states that if food is in temperature danger zone should be discarded if its mo...	The reference that was posted is from an Australian agency, so there is your explanation - you are comparing different standards. There is not some natural border between "safe" and "unsafe" foods. You can see "safe" as more of a certificate, like the CE certificates for electronics - it means that a regulation body h...
Mixing Fondant Icing to make Pink I have some White and Red Fondant icing left over from a cake I made recently, I have another cake to make for my mother in-law, and need Pink icing. If I mix the white and red together, will I get some pink icing which I can work with? The Red can be seen here, it is what the red bal...	Yes, you can mix red and white fondant to make pink fondant, red is just white that's dyed so mixing red into white will dilute the red dye. It takes a lot of dye to get a strong red color but very little to get pink, so start with 10% red to 90% white first and see how you get.
Is it safe to cook with food grade mineral oil? There is a thing such as "food grade mineral oil". Does "food grade" means it is safe to cook with? I know it is used widely for oiling cutting boards. Also, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits using mineral oil for food (with limitations). Is it danger...	Well, food-grade means you can ingest some without poisoning yourself. It does not mean it’s a suitable replacement for cooking or baking. If you do use it, you will soon learn that it’s a laxative, which means you won’t get to enjoy the food in peace. In hard times, people have used it and during World War II, the Bri...

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