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Why do sprouted lentils take longer to cook than soaked lentils? I like sprouts, and I thought it would be a nice experiment to sprout my lentils before turning them into a tender soup, as I often do. I usually soak lentils for half a day, and then boil them with various spices for 30 minutes to an hour, until tender ...	The biochemistry of the sprouting process is a little beyond me, but essentially the lentil converts stored energy (carbs) and protein into different proteins and fibre. The new proteins are quite useful to our own biochemistry, which is why sprouted lentils are considered "better" for you. It is the fibre, however, w...
How is sockeye salmon available year round? I notice that smoked sockeye salmon is available year round in supermarkets, but the commercial fishing season in Bristol Bay, at least, is only during the summer. If they are only fishing during the summer, how is it that the smoked salmon is available consistently through ...	The smoked salmon is stored frozen and released periodically for retail sale or The fish is stored frozen and then thawed before smoking. I frequently buy thinly sliced smoked salmon frozen in vacuum packaging.
Autolyse with milk or substitute the milk? I have a sweet dough recipe that calls for milk powder, heavy whipping cream, and whole milk. It also calls for water, but all of it is used in a tangzhong formulation. I would still like to autolyse the remaining flour, but I'm not sure how to do that since I don't have any ...	Your sweet bread recipe is similar to a milk bread recipe I have seen recently. An autolyse does require liquid in order to 'start'. It is safe to use a portion of your liquid milk to autolyse the remaining flour as you'd like. Milk powder generally is ideal for adding lactic sugars for the maillard reaction. The high...
Simmering with or without the lid Many Indian recipes give the requirement of simmering the gravy, covered until reduced. I'm wondering if this advice is flawed as one would presume the pan would need to be uncovered in order to reduce the liquid.	It depends on how long the recipe calls for, and how much reduction is required. Most Indian recipes I make don't require much reduction, they are relatively thick to begin with. Lids don't seal perfectly, you will lose moisture even with the lid on. If you have a long, slow cook it may reduce enough for some recipes.
Is it possible to make salty avocado Ice Cream without a machine? I'm trying to make salty avocado ice cream for a culinary school project, but don't really know if it's possible. I've found several no-churn recipes, but most of them use sweetened condensed milk. I'm trying not to use any sweeteners (or as few as pos...	On the question of dry ice, yes...it makes excellent ice cream using a kitchen aid and the beater in the standard bowl. It is best if you pulverize the dry ice in a blender first. You will want to avoid using too much (your base will become carbonated, but you can allow it to off-gas). Add a little at a time until th...
Is tomato foliage edible? I was picking some home-grown basil for a simple pasta dish yesterday, and like many people who grow in home-made compost find tomato seedlings are very common weeds. Obviously the leaves of basil and tomato are very different shapes, but the colour is very similar and it was only as I ripped...	Tomato leaves are edible, both the articles agree on that. The Modern Farmer article says you'd have to eat pounds and pounds of them before you'd get appreciable amounts of toxins to make you ill, and even then it's more of an upset stomach issue. Some people might react more to Tomatine, which is the mild toxin in th...
How long will a peanut butter sandwich last? So, I made a peanut butter sandwich the other day but forgot about it and left it (wrapped in gladwrap) out in room temperature for 6 hours. (Brioche bun as the bread, peanut butter and butter) and I was wondering if it would be ok to eat as I ate it anyways.	Generally, peanut butter has a fairly good shelf life. Putting it on bread doesn't change that. Ordinary salted butter should also be alright for a day or two, as long as it wasn't in direct sunlight or high moisture or anything like that. Most importantly, both butter and peanut butter will not spoil in a way that goe...
Excess oil / holes in cheese when baking pizza I'm making a simple pizza using: A regular water/flour/yeast dough wo/oil, raised, kneaded and flattened thin with a rolling pin High quality minced meat (<5% fat), pre-fried in a pan without oil, drained of excess fluid, added a little ketchup Topped with white cheese (...	I agree that cheese is very likely the culprit - here is an article on the scientific approach to Cheese on pizza (with an interesting graphic) that can prompt some informed expiramentation: (Huffpost) The Best Mix Of Cheeses To Put On Your Pizza, According To Science James and her colleagues analyzed the properties o...
Aluminized Paper Wrapper Sides At a local shop, I regularly get burritos. They come in a wrapper that is paper on one side and aluminum foil on the other. They consistently put the aluminum on the outside. This seems incorrect to me. The aluminum should go on the inside to reflect heat back into the burrito, and the...	Most food shops likely use a foodservice insulated foil sandwich wrap. By design, the paper side is to be on the inside and the foil side out. While not all have this design, most that I've seen are like the image, laminated with a honeycomb design. This allows for small air pockets between the paper and foil, increa...
How long can coconut liquid/cream last (open) in the fridge? I'm usually left with an unfinished can of coconut cream or liquid when cooking, and I store them in a closed plastic box in the fridge. How long can they last? It says 3 (for the cream) and 4 (for the liquid), but I already checked it after a week and a hal...	Coconut cream, being generally oily, will give out rancidity in taste and smell once it rots. When extracted fresh as done in asia, coconut cream typically expires in a matter of hours. Since yours is canned, it's likely to have been reconstituted from coconut powder, ridding it from the spoiling enzymes in fresh cocon...
Paring knife selection for work in the air? I'm going to be buying a new paring knife soon. I use my current knife mostly for "air work" - things like coring strawberries, trimming fruits/vegetables, etc. I rarely (or never) use it for work on a cutting board. I've been looking at different styles/brands of knives and...	'Air work' is an interesting term that I am not used to hearing, and I do a lot of it. The trick here is where will you be holding the knife as you work. A long thin blade will mean you are holding the blade as you work, which is not a problem, per se. Small bladed and hook beak knives are well suited for this, as you ...
How do I keep leftover tomato sauce from spoiling? I made pizza today. The last time I did this I had some leftover tomato sauce; when I opened that it went POP and smoke came out of the jar. Tasted really bad, too, so I threw it away and opened a new jar. I keep having to do this. I close the jar tight and put it ...	Put leftover sauce in a zip-style freezer bag. Seal most of the way. Lay on counter and gently remove air, sealing the rest of the way at the last moment. Freeze flat. Freezing will extend the shelf life. Freezing flat will allow for easier storage, and faster thawing.
What is this type of (Greek?) chilli pepper? The chillies pictured below are fairly common in Greece (particularly the north of the country). They are known as "kafteres" (καυτερές) which roughly translates as "spicy". I'd like to have a steady supply of them, however I don't know what they are called outside of Gre...	It's a Frigitello pepper, although in the states they're called pepperoncini. You can grow any spicy chili pepper in the UK provided you have a greenhouse or maybe a conservatory, otherwise don't bother, it just isn't hot enough. You can find these types of peppers in any turkish and many asian supermarkets, so no nee...
Why do apples sometimes taste bitter? I sometimes come across apples that taste very bitter (not sour like a granny smith, but more like tannin). This is maybe one in 10 or 15 apples. It doesn't seem to be restricted to a certain variety (I've tasted it in pink lady, opal, honeycrisp and some I've forgotten). Sometime...	We have an old variety apple tree, similar to Yellow Transparent, of uncertain origin. When ripe - that is, the flesh has softened to edibility and sweetness has developed - the skins provide a highly tannic note. Removing the skins before using the apples in cooking dramatically reduces the tannins.
What to do with excess fat in meat? Recently I was preparing kotlet schabowy from pork tenderloin. The tenderloin had a bit of excess fat in it and I cut it out(a small slice, approx 3-5mm x 1cm x 5cm). What can I do with those? I don't really like throwing things away and it looks like it could be useful. I cut it in...	What you describe is known as 'rendering' the fat -- you cook it until the liquid comes off. But the goal isn't to eat the fat, but to create something oily that you can cook with. If I'm just rendering for later, I'll strain the fat before putting it into a container to keep in my fridge. If I'm going to be immediat...
Is it possible to Pickle meat at room temperature? My gf wanted to make a pickled pork for dinner. According to the recipe, she prepared the brine (consisting of 3l of waters, 3 tablespoons of salt, pepper, garlic, allspice, bay leaves). The recipe called for placing the raw pork in "cool place" after placing it in br...	Pickling meat and fish was done for millennia before the advent of refrigeration. Pickling and smoking or drying/curing were the only reliable ways to preserve meat before freezing and canning were invented relatively recently. The problem is that the term "pickling" is a bit ambiguous. It is a generic term that is use...
Can I make bread/pizza dough with only cricket flour and no wheat flour I want to make bread and pizza dough, but all recipes I find online include other types of flours than the one I am interested in. Is it possible to make with only cricket flour? Acceptable ingredients are cricket flour, eggs, yeast, water, salt a...	I think you will be disappointed. While a fantastic protein source, cricket flour does not contain the gluten proteins that make bread what it is. Therefore, bread made with cricket flour must get its structure somewhere else. The majority of recipes I can find are quickbreads which get their structure from added eggs ...
Melted butter or not for pancake batter? I was making pancakes that called for melted butter in the recipe and when I added cold milk the butter re-solidified. How did that mess up the pancakes? Was the texture more dense and less fluffy? So I presume this batter could not be made ahead of time and refrigerated?	The butter needs to be melted so it will emulsify with the eggs and milk. This makes a better pancake texture but your pancakes will still be recognizable and tasty if the butter did not fully emulsify. As Max suggested in a comment, you can make your milk warmer. You can also make your butter warmer- short of burning ...
Suitable oils for roasting chicken at high temperature in cast iron Over the last several years I've been perfecting my roast chicken recipe, starting with Arthur Schwartz' Garlic and Paprika Rubbed Roast Chicken recipe. The basic approach I now use involves transferring the chicken, coated in a mixture of spices and ...	Omega-6, omega-3, and other polyunsaturates will likely be kaput anyway after cooking at 230°C, so oil selection criteria valid for finishing/salad/cold cuisine oils should not be blindly applied here. What will remain of the polyunsaturates after that treatment is more likely to be a nuisance in terms of both taste an...
How to make a pepper crusted steak I'm looking for the best method to keep the peppercorns attached to the steak, in order to make a pepper crusted steak. Very often when making this steak by merely rubbing in the peppercorns, the peppercorns fall off when searing it. One method I've heard of was to baste the meat wit...	Most recipes I am aware of simply press crushed pepper onto the steak. It is true that some will fall off, but these recipes apply pepper generously with that in mind. I have not come across the egg white method (not sure I want egg white on my steak), but I did see a recipe that adds crushed pepper to melted butter, t...
Does seasoned cast iron still need to be oven dried? I have a new, twice-seasoned (to 250C), (non-enameled) cast iron pan. Does the seasoning/coating remove the need to have it oven dried at the end of the day? Or it still has to be done no matter the seasoning?	If you use it every day or so, then no. There is no need to oven dry your cast iron pans once they have developed that dark coat. But after rinsing them you need to dry them promptly with a paper towel. Give them a barely-there coat of oil before storing. Soap is not recommended. The New York Times had an article o...
How can I reheat Onion Bhajis without an oven or hub to make them crispy? 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 ...	If the bhajis fit into the toaster slots, toaster bags should work. They are primarily intended for toasted sandwiches, but it they can contain melted cheese good I wouldn’t expect a bit of bhaji grease to be a problem. They should work for samosas too. Most supermarkets sell them, there are lots of brands available o...
How do bakeries get smooth jam to top their cheesecakes with? Every brand of jam or preserves I’ve bought has a coagulated consistency. While it’s shiny, the surface isn’t smooth when either spread or spooned or piped. Every cheesecake I’ve purchased from a bakery has been topped with, say, this smooth strawberry jam...	You are thinking of jelly like actual jelly in a can: Sweetened fruit juice thickened with pectin. While some bakeries use special pectin to make glazes (look at LM pectins) most jelly fillings and glazes are made with starch. In the US, usually corn starch. Jelly donut filling is like canned pie filling: a sugar syru...
Can I use a pint/ 500ml whipped cream canister for small volumes? When using a small volume of contents, is it better to fill a larger (pint/ 500ml sized) whipped cream dispenser only partially or to fill a smaller (half or quarter pint/ 125ml or 250ml) whipped cream dispenser fully? Specifically, will the cream be fi...	You can (to some extent) fill it under the max line and still get good results. The standard 500 ml whip has an internal volume of 750 ml actually. If you fill it up to the max-line, you’ll have 250 ml left for the gas in the cannister. Ideal Gas Law states that, pressure changes inversely proportional to the volume of...
What is the minimal set of ingredients that English rice pudding can be made with? While reading the Wikipedia article on rice pudding, my curiosity has gotten the better of me. Clearly, any flavourings, spices, toppings or sweeteners will be optional and the article also explicitly states that eggs are optional. Ref...	The absolute minimalist version needs 2 ingredients: 1 part short-grain rice, cooked in 4 parts milk If cooked long enough and especially when stirred diligently, the rice will release enough starch to create a creamy, mushy texture, like risotto. But for rice pudding, the rice is usually cooked softer than risotto, ...
“For optimal flavor, open the package 30 minutes before eating” - only temperature or also chemistry? Packages of ham or smoked fish sometimes have a hint like the one I quoted in the title. They are usually stored in the fridge, so one part of the reason to take it out of the fridge and open it earlier is probably ju...	Some food is indeed packaged in a protective atmosphere. This is done in order to prevent the outer layers of the food from changing due to oxidation. I am not aware of any food that would be vacuum-sealed or packaged in a protective atmosphere which would benefit from the chemical processes after the package is opened...
Charcoal grill not getting hot enough I purchased a cheap kettle charcoal grill a few weeks ago, and I feel like it's not getting hot enough. I'm using a charcoal chimney which takes about 40 minutes to get the coals ashy. I've read it should only takes 15 minutes to light. Once I dump the charcoal into the grill it g...	It really sounds as if you're just getting the tail-end of the fuel left in the charcoal.. that you've let it burn too far in the chimney .. 40 minutes does sound like a long time .. the right time to start cooking on charcoal is when any self-sustained flames have gone down, and the surface appears grey-white in dayli...
Making liquor with normal milk instead of UHT milk I would like to make a liqueur, using alcohol with 40% and other ingredients. Two of those are (according to the recipe) UHT-milk and UHT-cream. Unfortunately I could not find any source for them where I live at the moment. Thus I was thinking of replacing the UHT mil...	This should be a comment but I have no reputation so I apologise if not much of help. Anyway if you're trying to accomplish something like a cream-based liqueur, sure you can use normal milk. I've prepared a Baileys-like liqueur with normal milk and uht crem and results were amazing! The lifetime of the product was una...
Amount of ingredients for 3 boxes of cake mix When using 3 boxes of cake mix, do I triple the amounts of water eggs and oil to make cake batter	Yes. For three boxes of mix you would triple the eggs, water and oil listed on one box.
ice cream with alternate sweetener I have been trying to make ice cream with sucralose. So far all I get is just a hard rock after tossing it in the freezer. when I try to thaw it, it goes right back to a liquid. I'm not very confident in trying to use eggs in this. I have tried in the past and it didn't come out well...	The sugar in ice cream isn't just there for the taste, it also has an important effect on the texture. Ice cream isn't a pure compound, and doesn't have a single fixed melting point but a melting traject. The more dissolved solids (sugar) you have, the longer the melting traject of the ice cream. It also starts to melt...
Will pre-oiled vegetables become soggy? I like to do small preparatory steps ahead, make cooking faster when I do have the time. If I oil my vegetables and store in the fridge prior to roasting, will the oil penetrate the vegetable and make it soggy?	It will definitely change some vegetables, specifically tender vegetables with large surface area (e.g. whole leaf ones). Have you ever tried making a complete salad including dressing, then storing the leftovers in the fridge for a day and having it limp the next day? That effect is due to oil. The mechanism behind t...
Cleaning plastic bags used for sous vide I am using this kind of vacuum bag for sous vide. They work perfectly but recently I have been having a problem cleaning them. I let them sit for a few days after using them without cleaning them, because I was too lazy - no excuses here. Then I got to scrubbing. I scrubbed the...	I agree with @moscafj's answer to the linked question. As long as they are thoroughly washed and dried, the bags should be safe. However, you are still left with the smell. Some plastics will absorb odors and it can be quite unpleasant. My go to for any issue with odors in plastic is baking soda. It works well in absor...
What's the difference between confit and fondant potato? So they both seem to always require relatively long cooking in some kind of liquid containing fat. The only difference I seem to be able to find is the shaping of the potato and colouring of it by frying of the fondant potato. Is this correct? Is this the only d...	Confit and fondant potatoes have different cooking methods. Fondant potatoes are fried with oil on one side and with butter on the orher side, and then boiled in stock. Confit potatoes are deep fried at low temperature.
Does wine go bad or just taste bad? Does wine left in the fridge more than the recommended time of up to a week (?) before it goes "off" go bad in terms of bacterial or mold overgrowth? Or is it safe to drink but just doesn't taste as good? I don't know if wine is as acidic as vinegar. And how long is really too long ...	Dos wine can go bad? It can't have mold (because alcohol), it's shouldn't have any EXTRA bacteria (because of alcohol). In fact - the bacteria that turn vine into vinegar is acetobacter. So spotting that one in the brew is pretty easy. You start to have acid. Wine (depending on type of course) is pretty safe to store ...
What is the difference between a wild yeast starter and a sourdough starter? Many people only seem to distinguish between 'regular' bread (made with store bought commercial strains of yeast) and sourdough (made with 'wild' yeast). If this is the only distinction - was all bread before 1850 sourdough? Is there no natur...	There are many ways to achieve a “pure” strain of yeast or other microorganisms. Modern technology with sterile environments are today’s method of choice, but another is to create an environment that is especially favorable for one kind and allow this to outcompete all others. The principle is not limited to yeast, ano...
How long should I keep something in the freezer to chill it? I once placed a can of beer in the freezer for an hour. It did not freeze, and it was great. However, now I need to cool some whipped cream (un-whipped), and the packet says I need to keep it in the fridge for 24h. But I don't have that long; and I'm worried...	One could probably figure it out, but imagine the variables: (a) temperature of the liquid before entering the freezer, (b) volume of liquid, (c) shape of container, (d) temperature of freezer, (e) air circulation in freezer, (f) desired final temperature...I would eye-ball it. Give it 30 minutes, check, and proceed ...
Are there any tools / "life hacks" to cut sphere-shaped potatoes and carrots? Salad Olivier - The modern version contains peas, potatoes, carrot, eggs, etc. It would be cool to cut everything into same-size spheres...	I think @ChrisH is on to something with the melon baller. They come in various sizes such as 1 cm, 1/2", 3 cm, and 1", to name a few. While 1 cm is the smallest I could find, it will still be larger than the peas which have an average size of .5 cm. That said, you could use the 1 cm or 1/2" melon baller for the rest of...
Are my mussels bad? I picked up 5lbs of mussels today for dinner and didn’t realize until I got home that they never put them on ice for transport. It’s was about 1.5 hours between purchase and the time I put them in my fridge. They were in an air conditioned vehicle the whole time except for about 20 minutes when I r...	Mussels close themself tight when out of the water. Once boiled they open. If you have any mussels open when out of the water, discard them. If you have any mussels tightly closed once boiled, discard them.
How should I adjust the time and/or temperature when baking a pound cake in loaf pans When splitting pound cake batter into two loaf pans instead of using a tube pan, how would you adjust your baking time and temperature?	I wouldn’t change much if anything. The main factor for baking is volume and the area of the cross-section, or, in other words, how long does it take for the oven heat to reach the center parts of the batter and bake them. Under that premise, you could say a bundt pan is like a curved loaf pan, thanks to the chimney in...
What can be done with left over mussel shells? What can be done with left over mussel shells? I have heard of them being boiled to make sauces etc. Is there any other culinary use for them once the mussels have been removed?	The leftover shells of many different shellfish are excellent to use as cooking vessels. They clean up nicely and can be reused over and over if cared for properly. Bonus, they make a great presentation. I use scallop shells for stuffed scallops (entree portion) and other casserole-type entrees, stuffings, and some sid...
Is it possible to have golden beef meat with normal spices? I wonder how a restaurant able to cook beef until golden colour with normal spices and cooking such in following picture?	What you are seeing here is the early stages of a 'Malliard Reaction' where beef is typically "browned". However, in the picture you provide the cook has managed to land on "golden brown" (stopping before the more common deep brown coloration). Another 30 seconds on the heat and this meat would be that darker brown tha...
what is [flavor-wise] the closest nonalcoholic substitute for white wine and red wine? White wine and red wine have great flavors when added to a dish. But because I'm on medication, I'm not able to use wine (my body would have odd reactions when I consume food cooked in white wine) I wonder what is flavor-wise the cl...	I depends on the recipe, but generally no, white wine vinegar is a very different product than white wine. Vinegar is produced when bacteria eat alcohol and produce acid which changes the flavor dramatically. If the recipe calls for acid already (for instance lemon juice) then it can work, you just reduce the additiona...
How did my Turkish Delights/lokum end up tasting like orange? I made lokum, or Turkish Delights yesterday. I used the more traditional ingredients - cornstach, cream of tartar, sugar. From what I've researched of the dish, you can have flavors of lokum different than the traditional one (rosewater), usually using som...	I strongly suspect that your food coloring may have had something to do with it if you were using liquid food coloring as these often have flavors you wouldn't expect. That plus the acidity from the coffee (yes, coffee is acidic) and the cream of tartar (powdered acid) could simulate an orange flavor. Gel colorings ar...
Accidentally beat sugar and butter together I was doing a pound cake and instead of gradually adding the sugar to the butter, I mixed both together. I continued with the recipe because I was too afraid of telling my mom. Will my cake come out good? Or it does not affect anything?	It shouldn't make any difference. Here are some recipes that don't mention adding the sugar bit by bit: Vanilla Pound Cake Traditional Pound Cake Pound Cake If you beat the butter and sugar to a fluffy consistency everything should be all right. (As far as I know) The worst that could happen is that your pound cake w...
Of Vegetables that are spiralized how would you sort them from easy to difficult end of spectrum to Spiralize? Of Vegetables that are spiralized how would you sort them from easy to difficult end of spectrum to Spiralize? Which veggies do you find most difficult to spiralize? Even with a counter top Spiralizer? I...	Lotus root must have evolved under the constant threat of spiralizing animals, it is perfect at frustrating spiralization: extremely brittle, and having large cavities that would interrupt any spiral. Apart from that: anything that simply does not come in a size that fits a spiralizer well (green beans, thin asparagus)...
Is there a reason to have coffee grounds at the bottom of an espresso? While having coffee at a fancy café earlier, we noticed that the espresso aswell as the cappuccino had large amounts of coffee grounds still sitting at the floor of the cup. While being annoyed by this (given that the coffee was rather expensive), ...	Two possibilities: It's just sloppy. They're dispensing directly from the espresso machine into the cup, and as a result the finest particles that should be poured off, with proper technique, ended up in the cup. Given that the main reason to dispense directly in the cup is that they're using a super-automatic (push...
How to take care of a wooden mortar and pestle? How to maintain a wooden mortar and pestle? I just got it, and understood I need to first oil it to seal/protect it from keeping the taste of what I grind, which makes sense. But how to maintain it for long term? Wash it with water and maybe soap? Oil it again after some...	Note that a wooden mortar is first and foremost a wooden utensil and the same care instructions as for other wooden equipment apply. So oiling it regularly with a food grade oil is a good idea. You can find Q/As on how to oil e.g. cutting boards here on the site. For general cleaning, it depends on what you used it for...
How to make a jellyish sauce for plate design I'm looking for a method to make a plate sauce with a jelly consistency. The type of suace you would typically see on a plate in a restaurant, where they place a dallop of sauce on the plate and spread it with a spoon. I don't want to use mayonnaise as a base, but rather s...	Hmmm. this will be tough. Most sauces that are dolloped and smeared are based on heavily reduced vegetable base, or a bean or legume, or a 'mayonnaise' or aioli base. To get a thick, smearable sauce with jelly or gelatin is tough, as it will want to 'set' to thicken, which will not allow smearing. There are new thicke...
How to ensure rice from rice cooker becomes dry? I'm adding 1.5 cups of water for 1 cup of basmati rice to my rice cooker. I don't think the amount is the problem. It's not very watery but it can feel a little watery(which probably isnt an issue for most) but I would like it very dry. Sometimes I eat straight after it...	What I normally do is fluff up the rice- sometimes its just the top layer which is a little more moist due to condensation, but if it's watery I sometimes leave the rice cooker open for a bit and let it evaporate which works for me (although I don't know if that is how you're supposed to do it)
Why are we frying in the oil, but not in any other liquid? (besides the temperature) Yes, water is boiling at ~100°C (212 F), but boiling point also depends from the pressure. If we could achieve 180°C (350 F) for water, at very high pressure, could we fry something in that water? Or oil has any other characteristics,...	We do cook over 100C in a pressure cooker, but not enough to brown food, as this would take very high pressures. It probably wouldn't be safe or economical at home, and doesn't have enough of an advantage over ovens (which may use steam) for it to be worth doing industrially. Solubility is a big factor, for example sa...
Why is my yogurt sour at the top and non-sour at the bottom I make yogurt with a yogurt maker and the yogurt is nice and thick, but it is very sour at the top only and the rest is almost sweet, like a sweet fresh cheese. Why isn't it sour all over? This is how I prepare it: heat 1l (goat or sheep) milk slowly (1h) to...	There could be a few things that are going on here. My best guess from what you have said would be the temperature or mixing is a little off. Let the mixture cool a little more before combining with the yoghurt. Also, do this gradually, adding a small part of the cooled milk to the yoghurt each time, mixing until smo...
When you simmer certain spices in fat and water, where do the spices/nutrients go? I'm referring to ingredients like cumin, coriander and tumeric. If you have a fat and water mixture, both the fat and water will seperate i.e. fat moves to top. Will these ingredients and their minerals concentrate in the fat or dilute...	Chemically fat and water are much different. Fat is an organic with very little polarity. Water is a non-organic and very polar. Polar means one side is positive and another side is negative. In water the oxygen is dominate and pulls in extra negative charge. Most spice (if not all depending on your definition) is ...
What is the temperature of the massive pots of water at hotels for cooking 10 poached eggs at once? I love cooking poached eggs at home. Assumption: This is all sea level (+/-15 metres). I went to a hotel with glass walls to the kitchen and watched the way they prepared the morning cooked egg orders. On one stove t...	In scale operations, a large 'rondo' is usually used, and as the comments above indicate it is at 'simmer' which is essentially 212 F / 100 C. A small amount of vinegar is added to the water, which helps the loose parts of the egg white coagulate and gives a nicer shape to the poached egg. Since the kitchen you describ...
Why does rice go bad next day? I'm using a rice cooker to cook rice and I find the very next day it starts to increasing smell bad and I feel like puking just smelling it. Not sure what the cause is but the rice cooker has started making funny noises when cooking(though rice cooks fine so probably not that) and I leav...	Leftover rice is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. Once cooked it needs to be immediately cooled down if you aren't going to eat it straight away, and it needs to be kept cold until reheated. Reheating should be a quick process that doesn't allow it to sit for a long time at a lukewarm temperature.
What is the best way to store potatoes that were already cut? And prevent them from becoming darker?	I use a vacuum sealer for storing all sorts of food. If that is not an alternative, you can put them in the fridge in a moist plastic bag. Or you can have them in a bowl of water a day or so.
Getting rice noodles evenly distributed in wok I use rice noodles for woks. I simmer them in hot water, then drain them in cold water and leave them in a bowl. Then I start frying the meat and vegetables in the wok. Now the problem is: The noodles easily clump, making it difficult to distribute them evenly into the o...	I suggest avoid simmering or blanching before frying. Soaking till soft should be enough as the subsequent frying will soften the noodle further, assuming you will be adding a little more liquid as you fry.
Does room temperature affect rising time for bread dough? I've tried a couple different kinds of basic bread recipes (both active dry and instant yeast) and no matter how closely to the letter I follow the recipe, I can't seem to get the dough to rise in the time suggested in the recipe. It takes so much longer and I ...	You probably aren't doing anything wrong. The times in recipes are approximate, and often vary enormously from reality, you should always work towards a result, not a time when it comes to bread baking. I've had bread take 2 hours to rise more than once, there's no problem with it. In fact, you get better gluten develo...
Excess oil in fan grease trap after stir frying in a wok I use a steel wok on induction. When I weekly check the fan grease trap, there's enough oil to run a 1957 DeSoto through the Nevada desert and still have plenty left over for John Travolta's hair. When I travelled Asia, the chefs always seemed to douse the food ...	Partial answer to the new formulation: how do I make sure the oil goes into the food, not into the fan? You don't. The oil is not supposed to go into the food that's being fried, it should be fried at the temperature where it does not soak through, else it becomes quite unappetizing. It is normal that you get a lot...
Should I sterilize new canning jars? They are new. Never opened. Sealed. Do I have to bother sterilizing both lid and bottle by immersing them separately in canner and pan? Or are they safe and sterile considering they are straight from factory?	You should sterilize your jars and lids before every use. The dust that gets on them between uses and even in the box is enough to warrant sterilizing. It doesn't take long. Running them through a cycle in the dishwasher with a steam or sterilization step is enough. I boil the lids in a small sauce pan. Edit Debbie M's...
Frying in a microwave? So I like to eat a cooked lunch, but my work break room only has a microwave - incapable of producing the Maillard reaction and only good for reheating decaying food into a disgusting, soggy pap. I understand that oil doesn't warm up in a microwave because the electrons don't resonate at the rig...	While creative, this sounds like an especially poor idea, fraught with disaster. If the water turns into vapor at 100 C, it certainly would not transfer all that heat to the surrounding oil before leaving as steam, so I'd think you would never reach your desired oil temperatures if your goal was 100 C. Plus, as point...
How to make nut butter without a food processor? I want to make peanut butter and almond butter. My food processor heated after a couple of minutes last time, so this time I first used a mortar and pestle to grind it a little and then use the processor. After 3-4 minutes, the motor just stopped and I had to press the ...	There usually is no good way to do this, since most home appliances in an average kitchen are simply not suited for making nut butters. If you really want to do it, the preferable tool would be a masticating juicer. It is an expensive thing which also uses up quite a lot of counter space, and the process is messy. Al...
Advantages/disadvantages for limescale cleaning methods? Are there any advantages/disadvantages for different methods for cleaning limescale (from a kettle/thermos)? The methods I know about: Citric acid (lemon/lime salt?) Vinegar I usually prefer the former, since it's easier to wash it without getting a taste or a...	Methods I know about: Vinegar potatoes peels citric acid Coca-Cola baking soda Each of them is actually better for different types of kettles. for glass where lime is quickly visible or where there is large amount of lime. Con is the smell that require multiple washing. for kettles where heating element is not pa...
Egg freshness--stale eggs at market? What's the best way to tell if eggs are fresh when you don't have access to a glass of water (I.e at farmers market)? The teaching has been eggs from the farmers market are fresher than those at the store. I recently hard boiled eggs from both the farmers market and the store. The...	Individual eggs may have large air cells and still be fresh, but in general large air cells equate to old eggs, and possibly eggs that were stored at too high of temperatures. At higher temps, the air cell grows faster. To test, use a small flashlight and shine it through the egg, and you can find the outline of the a...
Using Pressure Cooker to Make Bone Broth I have always read that when making bone broth you should keep the heat to around 180F and do not let it get to an aggressive boil because it will emulsify the fat into the broth and also because you will lose flavor and nutrients through the boiling process. I always let mine ...	Like @Greybeard, I've had a great deal of success using a pressure cooker to make stocks and broths quickly. Pressure cooking is, by definition, at a higher temperature than normal simmering or boiling. In those methods, the upper temperature is limited to the boiling point of the liquid (212 degrees F, 100 degrees C f...
Can Wild Yam (dioscorea villosa) replace Yamaimo (d. japonica) in japanese cuisine? Yamaimo (dioscorea japonica) or Nagaimo (dioscorea polystachya) is used in many places in Japanese cuisine — be it topping for Zaru-Soba together with Negi, or the ubiquitous Okonomiyaki. Where I live, both are unobtainable, be it powd...	I would recommend against using Dioscorea villosa as a substitute for either yamaimo or nagaimo. I would also recommend against using any commercial product coming from Ghana, Mexico, or Indonesia which claims to be Dioscorea villosa. The reason for my recommendation comes not from direct experience, but from my genera...
Is there any food safety advantage in blanching meat prior to cooking sous-vide? There seems to be a lot of debate regarding the advantages of pre-searing meat prior to adding it to the water bath. I understand that the post-sear process is mainly for appearance and taste purposes, but some chefs I have watched have s...	Pre-searing and post-searing are generally employed for crust formation on the final product. In fact, when cooking something like a steak, a pre-sear, followed by sous vide, finished with a post-sear allows quicker final crust formation. This reduces the possibility of over cooking your steak with the final sear. Th...
How to preserve home made garlic sauce for at least two years shelf life? I am thinking of starting a business selling home made garlic sauce. The sauce contains both, oil and water as well as lemon juice. How can I prevent it from spoiling and extend its shelf life?	Pressure canning would probably be your only option, as you will want to eliminate the potential for botulism, primarily.
Angel Food Cake: crushed pineapple instead of sugar? For my mom's birthday, I want to make an angel food cake. I am against using any type of processed sugar (even cane sugar) but I am okay with fruit so I am looking for a way to substitute sugar with fruit. The only thing I could come up with was crushed pineapple. ...	Sugar is not used as a sweetener in cakes, it is a major component which creates the needed texture. As such, it is very difficult to impossible to replace. In angel food cake, you absolutely cannot replace it. Angel food is a fragile cake without chemical leaveners, and depends on a very well balanced ingredient list...
Pan roasted meats: burned fond We have a carbon steel pan that we love and use a lot. We get boxes from Hello Fresh lately and we seem to have the same problem over and over: We will get a recipe that calls for pan roasting a piece of chicken or beef or whatnot and they expect you to make a pan sauce with the fond. In...	If your fond is burning, your pan is too hot. Preheat your pan over medium or low heat. Add your protein. Monitor the cooking so that you get browning, even deep browning, but not burning. It is ok to remove the pan from the flame if it seems to be smoking or getting too hot.
How to make a longer "Cheese Pull"? Cheese pulls are trendy now a days. What are some ways to get a longer cheese pull and overall stretchy cheese? Is there a particular type of cheese that is better than the rest? Should I mix multiple types? This is for general dishes like pizza or grilled cheese, nothing specific. ...	The "cheese pull" is considered to be one of the oldest advertising tricks in the book. From QUARTZ : In advertising, the cheese pull is more than just a tantalizing glimpse of melted goodness. It’s an idea, and an enduring one at that. Advertisers use it to communicate with the part of our brain that’s not verbal, w...
Recovering old wok with unknown lining I found this old wok in my new apartment, and I was wondering if it would be useful (and safe) to use after completely scrubbing off this kind of black enamel, which is already wearing down. What kind of lining do you think it is? It is black and glossy, not a matte finish like y...	The way it is flaking off (flakes sticking out instead of breaking off) suggests it is an old-school (non reinforced) teflon coating, not an enamel. If the underlying metal is actually stainless (not likely to be carbon, would not look bright after that abuse) steel, you could make it usable, but it is unlikely to be w...
Coconut Cookies have bitter underlying taste so I made these coconut cookies for the first time and everything tastes fine except for this added unflattering bitter aftertaste. The taste wasn't pungent but it did make the cookies not enjoyable to eat. The cookies also came out very flat even though it contained baking...	Baking requires accurate measurements. In fact most people who bake seriously avoid volume measurements for anything but liquids, and use weight instead (with the exception of small quantities up to about a tablespoon, which affordable scales have only been able to measure accurately in recent years. That said, there ...
What is this odd tool used for? What is this tool I found at the thrift store in the kitchen section?	Following Lorel C's idea, I searched a bit for "patent" "kientz" and "foot massager", and found the patent for this device - https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/3b/09/3c/f580058fba56fc/USD243557.pdf Short answer - yes, it's a foot massager.
Is my frying pan leeching metal into my food? I have spots on my stainless steel frying pan that I can't wash off and would like to know if it's safe to use this frying pan? This photo shows the type of steel and brand of the frying pan. Thanks	If anything is leeching, it would be stuff leeching onto your frying pan, not the other way around. It looks like the spots on the inside bottom of your pan are hard water deposits, maybe combined with residue from food cooked in the pan. Yes, at least in the photo it does have kind of a brownish tint to it, but I don'...
How to make striking glaze drizzle? In this video the chefs drizzle two colours across their cakes: https://youtu.be/EJsUDT9Z_Io?t=11m42s In the comments the presenting chef explains that she doesn't know what that drizzle is but that it could be food colouring and condensed milk. Having tried this and found it ineffe...	It’s cocoa butter and colour. Probably powdered colour for best results.
How to make sorbet from fruit like watermelon? I've been playing with my - very cheap - ice cream maker and want to try sorbets. Already had some success with a strawberry-black pepper one, but I hear some berries and stone fruit are very forgiving because they're pulpy and the fiber acts as a stabilizer helps prevent...	Serious Eats has covered this : By contrast, watermelon and pomegranate juices are thin with no body, so they need some special handling to make their textures as thick and creamy as berry or stone fruit sorbets. It's even trickier with citrus like lemon, lime, and grapefruit; not only does their juice lack pectin or ...
What is milk classified as once you pour it on cereal? I recently came across an image posing the question of whether milk would be properly classified as a beverage, broth, or sauce once it's poured on a bowl of cereal. I'm not sure if it's any of those things, though, so I figured that Stack Exchange was the place t...	TL:DR It has no such status. People just don't really have the need to categorize it, so it doesn't belong to a special category. You are somewhat mixing up formal classifications and the process of categorization in everyday language usage. Dictionary definitions apply to everyday language, but they don't have a pres...
What makes small tea leaves better than big tea leaves? According to wikipedia, the smaller the leaf (especially the buds) the more valuable it is. Tea leaves of different sizes just after plucking. Small leaves are more valuable than big ones. From what I gather, the biggest quality pickings are the buds. Also, t...	Before I answer this question, the focus on small leaves and young buds is mainly relevant for green and white teas. This category of teas are very lightly processed and are therefore very 'raw'. Using very large leaves would result in a more bitter brew. Therefore small tips and buds are the best and result in more d...
Can you cure pork belly with skin and not replace the water? Steve Lamb in his book 'The River Cottage Cookbook' mentions a recipe for pancetta where he removes the skin of the pork belly and then cures the belly in salt. He does not replace the cure and after a while, the salt removes the water from the meat and it b...	I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "not replace the water". Pancetta is cured using a dry cure process. This does result in water/liquid leaching from the belly. It does, of course, become part of the cure, but it is a dry cure, as opposed to a brine cure. In any case, skin on or skin off should not matter. I pr...
Can I clean cast iron with a steel pad I used a Brillo pad on my cast iron skillet. It is seasoned, not enameled. I want to know if this could damage my cast iron skillet. Also can it be fixed?	I'm not finding an exact duplicate of this question, but you should read these related questions: Cleaning Cast Iron Scouring pads vs. Chainmail So, the answer to the first part of your question is yes, a Brillo pad can damage your cast iron skillet. If you scrub it for a short time, then it can remove the seasoning...
Garlic: minced, crushed, chopped, sliced. When to use each one, and what is the difference? I’ve seen, in many recipes, that the usage of garlic varies a lot. For example: Meaty sauces normally require that the garlic is chopped and fried before the meat is added. Neapolitan Pizzas usually add sliced, raw garlic in ve...	It's about fat. The magic taste dealer. When you fry it you're actually making "garlic oil". Greatly infuse sauce with garlic taste. Sliced garlic on pizza move garlic taste to frontier. It's the first thing you taste, then come tomato and mozzarella which ease the harsh garlic. And because there is little fat that ca...
What are the black spots on the lid of my expensive oil bottle? I ordered a couple of oils from Amazon and those were shipped to me from India last week. I was using one today and found some black spots on the inner side of the cap. I tried wiping it away but doesn't seem to budge. I tried scraping with a toothpick bu...	Notice that this is in a silvery patch that differs in color from the rest of the cap, and that there are similar small silver spots on the interior ridges of the cap screw closure (visible in your first picture). To me it looks like the cap was inexpertly coated with some kind of gold-colored treatment, probably to pr...
Why do Injera recipes call for adding boiling water or cooking down tef with some water? Very often in Injera recipes you will see step toward the end of the process, right before cooking that involves cooking some Tef flour with some water and then mixing that into the batter. Can anyone explain what this step is for...	I can’t give a definitive answer for Injera, but in baking, a boiled water/flour mixture (called tangzhong or water roux) is added to increase the dough’s water content, effectively binding more water in the dough than a plain dough could. The results are typically very fluffy and light. I suspect that Injera with th...
3+ egg omelette in a pan I want to make thick omelettes and everywhere online I saw that you start with decent heat and then turn it down all the way after a while, until its thoroughly cooked. While making 2 eggs, it just reaches the edges of my frying pan. So I put 3-4 eggs to make it thicker as it kinda fills up th...	I'm quite new to making omelettes, but when I make a thick/Spanish omelette on the stove (gas) I do a few things that help. I don't want to turn the grill on just to finish an omelette off, and the handle of my frying pan couldn't really take the grill anyway. Push the edges in at first as if cooking a French omelett...
Why is my lemon curd metallic? How should I fix it? I used this recipe and followed it to the letter. I used organic/unsprayed lemons (and was careful not to zest the pith) and free-range eggs. I did a quick Google search, but the only cause I could find was using a reactive saucepan, which couldn't be the case becaus...	From your Edit, it looks like you have narrowed the problem down to the egg yolks. Did anyone else taste your original batch of lemon curd? If you still have original batch, you may have a close friend or relative see if they can taste difference. For years (side effect of medication) I would perceive either "off or m...
Can I use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper for resting candied fruit? I’m making candied fruit and I need somewhere nonstick to place them while they cool, but I don’t have parchment paper. I don’t know how much the sugar will stick to aluminum.	Aluminum foil is not non-stick, except for those specially silicone or otherwise coated foils that are explicitly marketed as such. (And which are probably even more of an environmental nightmare than regular foil, but I digress.) If you see aluminum foil used in a candy making context, you will notice that they recomm...
Are these bacteria colonies in my canned sardines? Sometimes I open sardine tins and the tomato sauce is pure smooth red and every now and then there are cans with what looks like plaques where bacteria colonies might be growing. What are these specs? Can I eat this?	The white specs are not colonies of bacteria, but in fact, crystallized oils. This phenomena is common in many tinned fish rich in fatty oils. This is normal and completely safe to eat. If it bothers you too much, you can try reheating it, which should dissolve the crystallized oils back into the sauce. Just remember n...
Can chicken skeleton be made edible? I like to preserve as much as possible from my cooking and trash as little as possible. With that in mind: can chicken skeleton be made edible? or is there a way for the bone marrow to be extracted and cooked? Or does it exist a reason for why it is a bad idea to consume chicken ...	Chicken bones have a tendency to 'splinter' when 'mashed' (as in chewed upon), which is why you never give chicken bones to a dog. This applies equally to humans, if we gnaw on a chicken bone it is more like to create a harmful splinter that may find itself lodged in any number of places in your digestive system. That ...
How are pulses split into dal? Since dal is simply dried, split pulses I was wondering: how are the pulses split? Is it that when they are dried they become easy to split, is the dal "cut" in a certain way, or is there some other technique that is used to separate dal into perfect halves?	It happens more-or-less naturally. Most legumes have a seed structure with two large cotyledons that serve as storage reserves for the developing embryo, which is nestled between them at one edge of the whole structure. This is easily visible in the peanut (which is botanically a legume and not a true nut): The outer ...
Best way to Store and Rewarm Fried Chicken I'm looking for a good way to store fried chicken, as well as a good way to warm it up without it becoming soggy. I often have to cook a day or 2 in advance and the chicken loses its crunchy crust. For the record, I usually coat my chicken in flour, dip in eggs, coat in cornf...	Nothing you do will be perfect but here are a few things you can do to help. When done frying dry well in a dry space. Sealed spaces will trap the moisture released by the chicken as it cools. Refrigerators are natural moist spaces as well. You will want to do this on a drying rack to prevent the chicken sitting in ...
How can I make fine powder from leafy herbs? I've been curious about how to make fine powder from leafy herbs for some time now (I don't mean merely flakes). We can have large amounts of tarragon, basil, etc. in the garden. It would be nice to be able to make a fine, powdered form. How can I do this? I'm especially lo...	Mill them. When you dry them very well ( so when you think they are dry put them in oven for 20 minutes at around 40 Celsius). Then use mortar. This is it exact use in kitchen, to turn moist things into paste and dry things into powder. If you don't have one use poor man hand mill. Put leaf on large cutting board and...
Induction compatible pans not working on induction stove-top I just purchased a set of "induction ready" pans from All-Clad. Found here. However, to my dismay when I got them home, they wouldn't work! My stove makes a kind of clicking noise when I try to use cookware that's too small or not quite placed inside the co...	Most likely there isn't enough ferromagnetic material in the base of the pan or it's of an incorrect dimension. If your range is very sensitive it won't detect the pan and thus won't activate. I myself had a very sensitive induction range which would already deactivate if the pan was lifted a millimetre off the plate o...
Home made beet gnocchi is sticky First time I tried making gnocchi (or any pasta type). I followed the orders but my gnocchi are pretty sticky (maybe there's a better word?). It feels like a pasta that was overcooked on a low flame and so it took a lot of time to be ready. What can be the cause? Too much or too little...	The beets probably contributed more liquid than planned. I would try blending them, then straining them through a chinois (use the back of a spoon to push out even more liquid after you allow gravity and a pinch of salt to do its work), and then blending the rest of the ingredients together using your hand-operated foo...
Sourdough Starter Black Spots Hi All! I tried to make a sourdough starter, and after 24 hours I uncovered it and discovered black spots and 2 white fluffy areas. The black spots are only at the top layer so can I still use it after removing this layer?	I would discard this batch, carefully clean everything and start over. If you truly mixed well in the beginning, then the fluffy bits are probably mold and the black spots are somewhat fishy as well. After only 24 hours, you won’t have a strong culture going under that top layer and the mold problem will likely continu...
Are electric kettles a good choice for tea? From my experience, electric kettles stop only when the water is at a rolling boil, which is bad because: The water loses oxygen when at a rolling boil If you make teas other than black or herbals (like white, oolong or green) you may bruise the leaves with boiling water S...	Well, my kettle will boil water to 70, 80, 90 or 100 degrees, which eliminates all of those problems you mention. If you are concerned about those things I would recommend shopping around for a kettle with more functionality.
Will swishing or moving a teabag around affect the steeping time in any way? Often times I find myself swishing, dunking, or moving a teabag around to affect the steeping time. Does it have any effect at all on the tea infusion, or am i actually hurting the flavor?	You are not hurting the flavor. In theory, it will shorten the steeping time a miniscule (probably imperceptable) amount, but the effect is more psychologial perception than reality. I pour boiling hot water over my teabag and start my timer for five minutes and don't touch or swirl the tea bag. If the bag sits in the ...
Pectin vs Agar Agar vs Gelatin for Pate de Fruits I was reading up on the difference between Pectin, Agar Agar and Gelatin. From what I read for use in cooking as thickening or gellatinizing agents there isn't any real or significant difference. So if I were to make Pate de Fruits or jam or anything that usually would...	There are plenty of high-sugar-content sweets that use gelatine, so it would be a reasonable substitute, but won't match the texture that pectin would normally provide in a pate de fruit or jam. I don't know of any recipes using agar-agar that are designed for long-term storage, it is more often used in desserts, and a...
Pasta maker: Spaghetti sticking after rolling Love to check out the threads on the board, now finally decided to make an account in the hope some of you could help me out. Recently started and dough-making is going quite well now. In the below images I prepared as follows: Using Grano Duro 1 egg/100g and some water K...	I make a lot of pasta; I can tell by looking that your dough is just too moist to cut. Take the water out and just incorporate the egg in the dough more slowly, allow it to become a 'shaggy mess' while you mix it - don't add more moisture, just keep kneading, it'll hydrate evenly and turn into a well-behaved ball. I'm ...
Is my refrigerator temperature too high? I bought a packet of ready to eat chicken legs, ate a couple, and placed the rest in fridge. Today there are icicles on top of them. My fridge temperature is set between 3 and 4. Is it too low?	There is no way to answer your question as it is stated. Get a thermometer and measure the temperature inside your refrigerator over a few days. It should hover around 37F (2.8 C).
Packaged mozzarella wet I bought some mozzarella sealed in plastic and noticed that there is a bit of liquid in the package with a few tiny bubbles. Is this normal? And safe to eat? It's not bulging at all. It has 48% moisture I think and is low fat. Maybe this is more traditional mozzarella?	There's 2 types of mozzarella, fresh and hard (also called low moisture). Fresh mozzarella is soft and packaged with whey or brine, it tears easily and can be squished between your fingers. It has a relatively short shelf life, usually within a couple of weeks of purchase. If you have this cheese then this sounds norma...

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