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oil shimmering or just smoking?
So im relatively new to cooking and im reading all the technique focused books I can. I noticed that for the same exact goal (ie browning a piece of meat) some books call for you to heat the oil until it shimmers (Salt Fat Acid Heat)) whereas others call for you to heat the oil until it is just smoking (ie most of the America's Test Kitchen books). Can anyone clarify which is correct? Or are there any guidelines for knowing whether your oil should be shimmering or "just smoking"? Maybe im overthinking this and the difference is negligible? Thanks! | It doesn't matter. All you need is for the oil to be properly heated. You can use the cue which is most convenient for you - shimmering, smoke, an IR thermometer, smell, throwing stuff into the pan, or your spidey sense that suddenly reminds you of the pan after enough time has passed. Go with whichever is most convenient for you, they are all correct.
That being said, shimmering is usually visible in stainless steel pans, but more difficult to notice in pans with a dark bottom such as seasoned iron pans or PTFE coated ones, so it might not be the easiest one to pick. |
What makes egg whites and almonds a good combination
Macarons, financiers, ricciarellis are all made from egg whites and almond flour.
Is there a reason why egg whites get along so well with almond flour, and why yolks do not have a place in these recipes?
It is easy to see why in macarons since macarons are meringue based cookie, but financier does not use meringue and still calls for egg whites only.
Maybe the fat in the almond suffices to make the products rich, or maybe the coarse texture of almond needs to be countered with the moistness of egg whites, but they are just wild guesses I am making up.
I would like to know if there is an 'official' reason why egg whites and almonds go together. | There is nothing special about the combination, you seem to have stumbled over a case of confirmation bias :)
Here I made a table with examples. The table is by no means complete, it contains the first things that came up in my head. As you see, all other combinations of whole eggs or egg yolks work with almonds, other nuts, or no nuts at all. If the combination you noted were somehow special, I wouldn't have been able to find examples for other, not-working categories.
So, combining almonds and meringue is the perfect combination for a macaron, and combining almonds, egg whites and flour is the perfect combination for a financier, but only because that's what makes a macaron a macaron and a financier a financier. You can use any combination out of {egg whites, eggs, egg yolks} and {almonds, other nuts} and each of them tastes good and has been used for something in the kitchen. |
Can I use washing soda to cook noodles?
I found a recipe for homemade ramen noodles that calls for 'baked baking soda'. Based on some research, baking sodium bicarbonate will convert it to sodium carbonate. Na2CO3 is more basic than NaHCO3 and apparently basic water is good for chewy noodles.
Sodium carbonate is also known as washing soda. Can I use store-bought washing soda instead of making my own baked baking soda? | No, you cannot use normal washing soda for cooking because you cannot count on the purity of the product.
Even if the chemical formula is identical, the standards for manufacturing chemicals intended for human consumption are considerably higher than those for cleaning.
You can, however, purchase food-grade sodium carbonate as a food additive from a variety of manufacturers. |
How to make restaurant style poppadoms
When I buy 'cook at home' poppadoms or order from a restaurant/takeaway they are usually very crispy and expand and bubble up as soon as you fry them.
I tried a recipe for homemade poppadoms which consisted of gram flour and water (plus some seasoning and cumin), which I made into a dough and needed for a few minutes until it was smooth, rolled it into paper thin rounds, dried out gently then shallow-fried in about a cm of hot oil. They did not expand at all and turned out more like something between crackers and a flat bread.
I'm guessing they need some kind of raising agent to make them like the restaurant style ones? Are these style of poppadoms easy to make at home? Does anyone know the best way to make them? | I'm not an authority on poppadoms (I hadn't heard of them before today...) but after some searching online (and identifying three different brands of "cook at home" poppadoms), checking some ingredient lists, and checking other recipes, I think I'm prepared to say that the difference between the recipe you've used and the "ready to cook" prepackaged versions is indeed the raising agents, as you thought.
The next immediate question, then, is how much to add? One recipe that I saw used a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda with an entire pound of flour. That seems on the lower end, to me, but like I already said, I'm not a poppadom expert by any means. Frankly, I'd recommend using at least 1/4 teaspoons of baking soda for every 1/2 cup of flour.
The exact amount will depend on your recipe. I hope this is helpful. :) |
Keep dinner rolls brushed with olive oil overnight
I received dinner rolls brushed with olive oil from take out from an Italian restaurant (part of the brown paper bad they came in became translucent during the 15 minute trip from the restaurant home due to the olive oil). I would like to keep the dinner rolls fresh for the next day. The environment I live in is 80°F and 70% humidity at night. What is the best way to do this? Seal in a plastic bag to keep the oil from oxidizing? Refrigerate, freeze, or leave on counter? | The good thing is that the oil won’t go rancid in a few hours, which allows you to focus more on how to keep the bread part at its best.
Don’t refrigerate and don’t freeze, the former will make them go stale, the latter can dry them out disproportionately, considering the short time. Either keep them in the closed paper bag or transfer them to a plastic bag or container.
For some rolls, overnight on the counter is also fine, but that depends a bit on how they were made.
Tomorrow, you could quickly warm them up before serving, but don’t use a too-hot oven, I would guess something around 150°C/300°F should do. |
Why Do Bagels Take Longer To Toast Than Regular Bread?
My brother's been bringing over fresh bagels in the morning. I've noticed that it takes nearly twice as long for a bagel to develop a toasted surface than a regular slice of bread. Why is that? This is a bagel split in half, mind you. One would also think that since a bagel half is taller in height than a slice of bread it is closer to the heating elements in my toaster oven which should hasten toasting, but no. I tend to think that it has something to do with the chemical/molecular makeup of the respective doughs. Can anyone shed some light? | Toasting is a form of browning, and browning requires temperatures in the neighborhood of 300 F (150 C…see Maillard reaction). There are at least two things that impede this progress when toasting a bread product: mass, and water.
The more mass the bread has, the more heat is required to be absorbed to raise the temperature of the bread by some amount. So naturally, a thicker, often denser bagel will require more heat to toast than a thinner, less-dense slice of sandwich bread.
Of course, a significant amount of the mass is water, and water at the surface of the bagel or other bread will prevent the temperature of the bread from reaching the level needed for browning. Heat must be applied long enough to drive off enough water to allow the temperature to rise high enough; there is more water stored in the thicker, denser bagel than in regular bread slices, and it takes time for enough of this water to work its way out of the bread that the surface can toast. †
Of course, a bagel also has a thick, relatively impermeable side which limits how much water can leave that side. So as the bagel heats up, moisture which is being driven off preferentially exits the sliced side. So not only is there more moisture to remove, the moisture isn't as free to move as it would be for sliced sandwich bread.
In other words, bagels need more total heat input to achieve the browning that is "toasting".
A typical toaster does not provide a way to control the level of heat during toasting. The main parameter that can be adjusted to account for toasting is time. I.e. to achieve the same total amount of heat input and subsequent toasting, an increased amount of time is required, because the same level of heat is being applied.
It is likely that a toaster could be designed that uses a variable amount of heat output according to the toasting setting, and which could toast a bagel in the same amount of time as thinner sandwich bread slices. But a higher heat level offers a much faster toasting over all and thus a narrower range of time for the right level of toasting. I.e. it'd be a lot easier to apply too much heat and burn the bread. The heat level for toasters seems to be designed to provide a good, user-friendly speed of browning, so that the casual user can easily achieve the desired level of browning without too much variability and over-toasted bread.
† Note: one might assume that because of the boiling step used to cook bagels, they might absorb additional water during that step and thus have more water to be removed during toasting. A logical assumption, but one which turns out to be incorrect. Little or no water is absorbed during the very brief boiling of the bagel:
Boiling breads like bagels and pretzels effectively sets the crust before it goes in the oven. The water doesn’t actually penetrate very far into the bread because the starch on the exterior quickly gels and forms a barrier.
The starch on the exterior quickly gels and forms a barrier. This keeps the water from penetrating very far into the bread.
no, the type of water used for boiling has no effect on the flavor because the dough doesn’t absorb any liquid as its surface hardens. |
Cheese like slime on potato, but no pinkness
I had some potatoes in the back of a cupboard, and one solitary potato has sort of disintegrated into a cheesy yellow slime.
The skin looks mostly intact, and the slime is sticky exactly like melted cheese. I looked up potato slime, and the only similar ailment was pink slime, but there's no pink here.
They were not old enough for any other signs of rot.
I've washed the other potatoes, and will monitor them.
What happened to that one potato. | It rotted - that's about all you can say from this. Most likely a bacterial rot rather than a fungal rot. If you bought them recently, it was probably already rotting.
This is a form of soft rot, which is a common disease of potatoes world-wide, and can even destroy whole crops in the field. There are a range of bacteria that cause these rots, but Pectobacterium is a common genus for this form of rot. |
Why do spring onions curl up when placed in cold water?
Thinly sliced spring onions (aka green onions, scallions, etc.), usually sliced on a bias, curl up when placed in ice water, making them a rather photogenic garnish. Why does this happen? Does this have to do with how it is sliced? | This happens because the inside of the stem soaks up water, increasing its volume. The outside cannot soak up water, and stays at the same volume. This is pure physics/geometry and happens in many other occasions - dandelions come to mind when thinking of plants, but the same happens in stockinette knitting. It is because it is a shape similar to a flat sheet, but one side of the sheet is larger than the other one and tries to "expand".
The relationship to "how is cut" is minimal. Sure, if you cut it into a different shape, the effect may be so small that you won't notice it. For example, if you cut the onion stems into ringlets, the pull will be symmetrical in all directions and the outer layer will be too stiff to allow even the two cut ends to curl. If you cut them into small squares instead of long strips, you will get less curl and more of a saddle shape - but it is not that something different is happening, the same things are happening in all ways of cutting, and the geometry of it determines which effect will dominate the others. |
Preserve peppers before smoking -- freeze or dehydrate?
I would like to make some chipotle (smoked red jalapeno peppers) at home. Currently I am building a smoker in my garden, where I also I grow a few jalapeno plants.
My problem is that the peppers are turning red already, but the smoker is not finished yet. All the chipotle recipes that I found put fresh red jalapenos in the smoker.
Can I preserve the peppers somehow before I finish the smoker? I believe it should take me about a month to finish. I was thinking about either freezing them or dehydrating them -- which way is better? Or is there some better way?
I found this question that says that it is certainly possible to smoke dried peppers, but the result does not have the smoky aroma as intense as if you make it out of fresh peppers.
I've read that you can substitute the smoker with a grill, but I'm not sure I'll have access to any, so that's not really an option for me. | Freezing is definitely the way to go. It’ll soften the peppers, but smoking softens them anyway. Dehydrating them will allow them to burn before they’re smoked through, since the water in the peppers’ flesh is needed to keep the interior temperature under control during long smoking. |
What's the minimal set of cookware for Chinese, Japanese foods on an electric induction cook-top?
My grandparents fears food sticking to pans the most. They love, but never attended cooking school for, Chinese and Japanese cuisines.
For their current pan probably can't be seasoned or repaired, they went to the store to seek advice, but the salesperson kept promoting the 9-piece cookware set, proclaiming that they needed all 9 to sufficiently distinguish the use of different vessels for different foods, or else they'd ruin their cookware again. Now they're suffering decision paralysis.
My grandparents live in a flat, and have little space. So which cookwares are essential? Let's predicate that their budget is unlimited for now. They prefer buying 2 polytropic versatile excellent cooking vessels that last the longest, rather than 5 "single-minded" cheaper vessels.
They ruled out woks that don't behoove flat electric induction cooktops.
They're befuddled and overwhelmed by the overabundance and paradox of choice e.g. sauce pan, frying pan, and/or skillet. How does Le Creuset's Stir-Fry pan differ from their Deep Fry, Sauté pans? Do non-stick pans comprise a separate category?
For each cookware that you recommend, what surface coating? All-Clad Stainless Steel? Aluminum? Cast Iron again? Ceramic? Carbon steel? Forged iron? Stainless steel? PTFE? Teflon? | You can cook with only one pan. Or, if you want to go absolutely minimalistic, you can get the cheapest stainless steel pot you want and both cook and fry in it - not very convenient, but doable. In that sense, the minimum amount of vessels to buy is one.
Of course, your grandparents might find that they don't want to deal with the inconvenience of having only one pan, but nobody can predict which number of pans is optimal for them personally, this is something they have to decide.
Frankly, in your situation, there is no pan in the world that meets your grandparents' expectations. If they don't want to care for a seasoned cast iron or carbon steel, then this is out. If they hate food sticking, all other technologies beside PTFE and ceramic are also out. PTFE and ceramic are not durable, they fail after some time - and the higher the heat you use, the sooner they fail.
The way I have seen most people in your grandparents' situation solve the problem is to use PTFE only and replace it when it gets ruined - about once or twice a year. |
Can this Kitchen Art Non Fry Pan, made in South Korea, be seasoned?
Today is my first time learning about seasoning pans. Doubtless, "season" here doesn't signify "Add salt, herbs, pepper, or other spices to (food)".
What kind of pan is Kitchen Art, Professional Nonstick Fry Pan/Dishwasher Safe Cookware, 30 cm? It's made in South Korea. Chowhound has a thread.
Or is it Carbon Steel, Cast Al, cast iron Mineral B, Teflon-coated stainless steel, etc...?
Can it be perfectly seasoned or restored? Ought a new better one be purchased?
They've been using this pan purchased merely 1 year ago for all their foods, partly to shun washing multiple pans. They thought that with 2020 technology, cast iron pans can support liquids and sauces of any pH level. They always turn heat to the maximum.
Six days ago, they noticed that their pan's bottom was uneven, blemished, and no longer non-stick. When they scratched its bottom gently with their fingernail, black smut/soot comes off and adheres to their fingernails. | Your link says “non-stick coating” and “aluminum”. When said coating is damaged or worn down, you have to discard the pan. This is just how these pans are, they aren’t made to last for generations like cast iron (which would be significantly heavier, btw).
You can’t create a polymerized oils seasoning on top of a non-stick layer and even if you sanded down the remaining coating, the bare aluminum wouldn’t be “seasonable”. |
Replacing whole egg beating process by separated egg white and yolk beating in a recipe which calls for the former?
Can I replace whole egg beating process by separated egg white and yolk beating in a recipe which calls for the former? Can I replace the maida(all purpose flour ) with cake flour? Recipe is given below.
Youtube video recipe for chocolate cake. Recipe is given in the description box. (Note:Language used in the video is malayalam:Kerala, India)
https://youtu.be/iS9_i-VJ6XA | the answer to both your questions will be yes. the cake flour will give you a lighter cake due to the lower protein content (less gluten=lighter and fluffier cake). separating the egg withes from the yolks in this recipe is not really necessary because you have already a good amount of rising agent in the recipe itself but is you wanna make the entra step fold the wipped egg whites at the end, they should lightened the texture even more. |
Using proofed (?) yeast in a recipe (confused about amounts)
I'm following a recipe that begins with "process 3.25 cups flour and 1/8 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast in food processor until combined, then slowly add 1.25 cup ice water"
On the instant yeast packaging, it says to mix 2.25 tsp yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar, let stand for 10 min, then follow recipe.
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to
Ignore the packaging directions and stick 1/8 tsp dry instant yeast pellets into the recipe
Use the ratio of water:yeast from the packaging with 1/8 tsp yeast, i.e. mix 0.125/2.25 (tsp yeast) = x/.25 (water) = mix .125 tsp yeast with 1/72 cups of water
2a. If so do I use 1 cup ice water in the recipe, or 1.25cup minus .0138 ice water?
Mix the yeast/water/sugar together, let stand for 10 min, then use 1/8tsp of the resultant mixture for the recipe
Also how to reconcile the warm vs ice cold water directions?
Edit: Full recipe and context as requested
It's from a recipe for lahmajun, Turkish pizza (although the author contends that pizza should be called Italian lahmajun :)). It's Cooks Illustrated, so helpfully the author describes what they want to achieve and some of the science behind it (I highly recommend the magazine!): https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/2457-my-best-lahmajun "On a Roll" section I think this explanation (which I reread after getting my answers--thanks guys!) probably makes it clear to most readers to ignore the yeast packaging instructions, but I'd never made dough before and wasn't sure.
Ingredients
3.25 cups (16.25 oz) King Arthur All-Purpose flour
1/8 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
1.25 cups (10oz) ice water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1.5 tsp table salt
vegetable oil spray
Directions
Process flour and yeast in food processor until combined, about 2 seconds. With processor running, slowly add ice water, process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds. Let dough rest for 10 min.
Add oil and salt and process until dough forms shaggy ball, 30-60 sec. Transfer dough to lightly oiled counter and knead until uniform, 1 min (texture will remain slightly rough). Divide dough into 4 equal pieces, about 6.66 oz each. Shape dough pieces into tight balls and transfer, seam side down, to rimmed backing sheet coated with oil spray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 16 hours or up to 2 days.
Make topping (combine lamb, spices, and veggies in food processor)
One hour before baking lahmajun, remove dough from fridge and let stand at room temperature until slightly puffy and no longer cool to touch. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (rack should be 4-5" from broiler element), set baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.
Place 1 dough ball on unfloured counter and dust top lightly with flour. Using heel of your hand, press dough ball into 5" disk. Using rolling pin, gently roll into 12" round of even thickness. (Use tackiness of dough on counter to aid with rolling; if dough becomes misshapen, periodically peel round from counter, reposition, and continue to roll.) Dust top of round lightly but evenly with flour and, starting at 1 edge, peel dough off counter and flip, floured side down, onto floured baking peel (dough will spring back to about 11" in diameter). Please 1/4 of topping (about 1/2 cup) in center of dough. Cover dough with 12 by 12" sheet of plastic and, using your fingertips and knuckles, gently spread filling evenly across dough, leaving 1/8" border. Starting at 1 edge, peel away plastic, leaving topping in place.
Carefully slide lahmajun onto stove and bake until bottom crust is browned, edges are lightly browned, and topping is steaming, 4-6min. While lahmajun bakes, begin rolling next dough ball.
Transfer baked lahmajun to wire rack. Repeat rolling, topping, and baking remaining 3 dough balls.
PS If you've read this far, would you be kind enough to tell me what a baking peel is (step 5)? | The recipe you're using sounds nontraditional (the full recipe may be helpful to describe the "why"), but it is almost certainly looking for you to use 1/8 tsp of instant yeast granules directly into the flour.
The small amount and use of ice water, rather than warm water are not traditional for bread, but also not unheard of. The method for your recipe may include other non traditional details as well--perhaps a longer proof time, or a less fluffy outcome.
(If you edit your question to include the full recipe & method as well as what you're making, it may be easier to answer that part) |
What's the difference between brioche feuilletee and croissant dough?
There are two similar laminated doughs, but recipes make them slightly different, but overall what are the main differences between brioche feuilletee and croissant dough? | They are very similar, here is the difference according to The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum:
Croissant and brioche have the same ingredients: flour, yeast, salt,
sugar, milk, and butter. There are only two significant differences:
croissant dough contains almost double the amount of butter and has
only milk as the liquid component, whereas the liquid for brioche
dough comes mostly from eggs, with only a little milk. The eggs in the
brioche dough give it an airy cake-like crumb, while the large amount
of butter in the croissant dough, and the way in which it is rolled
and layered into the dough, gives it its flaky crumb. |
what is the point of making jam if it consumes pectin which requires fruit to make
Making jam usually requires pectin which is extracted from fruit. If the traditional purpose of making jam is to preserve fruit, why would it be a good idea to extract the pectin from one fruit to preserve another. This seems circular. | The "paradox" here is a result of an oversimplified explanation of reality. The crux is in
the traditional purpose of making jam is to preserve fruit
For the addition of pectin to make no sense, you have to make two assumptions: 1) that the only reason is to have access to fruit in winter (which is what I think you mean as "to preserve fruit"), and 2) that no matter what you do in your life, you have to always be efficient, as in not wasting resources and trying to get the highest amount of output you can.
I would argue that both are untrue. The efficiency argument is highly prevalent in our current society, but it is not an absolute imperative. And the idea that people do things for a single purpose, and it is the same purpose for all people doing it, is simply untrue for most situations in life.
There is not "the purpose" of making jam, there are many different purposes. Here is an incomplete list in no particular order:
Having access to some form of fruit in winter
Having a sweet bread spread
Having all the ingredients for that pie recipe you absolutely love
Being proud of something you made yourself
Having a nice gift with a personal touch for people who can afford to buy what they need anyway
Feeling connected to the traditions of your culture
Learning something new
Having more personal connection to your food
Having an activity in which you can involve your whole family
Doing something about these 17 kg of ripe cherries on your tree that are all ripe in the same week
People make jam for some combination of these reasons, with different people giving different weight to each of them.
Sure, if you are thinking of a medieval peasant in Western Europe who is dependent on subsistence farming, both your assumptions are likely to be true, and it would make little sense to add pectin to jam. But that farmer wouldn't have had access to powdered pectin anyway, nor to many of the kinds of fruit which need pectin for canning anyway. I'm pretty sure they must have made their jams mostly without added pectin. But modern food has developed under completely different conditions, and there is no barrier to pectin becoming part of jams. |
Are there any types of food that have magnetic properties?
In terms of food presentation, I thought it would be spectacular to have it float or levitate above the table instead of being served on a plate. Hence I wonder whether there are any types of food that have magnetic properties. Or, put differently, I'm curious whether magnetic material exists that is (safely) edible. | The reason why the full word is "ferromagnetic" is that magnetic substances are typically made out of iron. Iron is not really edible - you can (and have to) consume it as a trace element, but the daily dose is a few milligrams. If you put enough magnetized iron in a dish to lift it visibly, you will damage a lot of your digestive tract eating it. And that's even before the question of how you are going to orient the magnet if you have dispersed the iron in your food as some kind of powder.
There are also other metals which can be magnetic, but they are even worse for eating than iron. If there is any kind of space-age material that is magnetic without being a metal compound (I'm not on the leading edge of material science and don't know if such a thing exists), it is practically certain that it is not a food.
Levitation for presentation purposes exists, but it is done by levitating the plate, or sometimes by hiding magnets within a larger food structure (typically in cake art). |
Will gum arabic stabilize a watery sorbet?
I’ve been struggling with getting an iced tea based sorbet to not end up as a chunk of ice; I believe the canonical answer here is “use a stabilizer.”
I grabbed some gum arabic (mastic to be specific) recently to play with gomme syrup for cocktails, which gave me an ide | will it stabilize a sorbet? It should have the nice advantage of not requiring cooking the way gelatins do, AFAIK it can be activated by blending.
Will this work to make a sorbet less icy? If so, what concentration should I use? |
Cooking meat inside pumpkin
I was wondering if cooking meat inside pumpkin in oven would lead to a kore tasty meat or it will only be dry and tasteless.
I still haven't tried it, but watching a video that made octopus inside a pumpkin, brought me up with the idea of repalcing red meat inside. which at first I know , that it needs to be pre-cooked. But then, I was thinking how dry would it come out of the oven? Should I choose a specific type of pumpkin ? any add ins to make more moisture ? | It won't be dry unless you overcook it. The pumpkin flesh will give off steam and keep the meat moist.
The meat will pick up some pumpkin taste from the pumpkin, but it won't brown. So you're trading the flavor of browned meat for the flavor of pumpkin.
If you pre-cook the meat, you can get the flavor of browned meat along with the flavor of pumpkin. As Max pointed out, the pumpkin may not survive the long cooking time required by starting with raw meat, so using pre-cooked meat is probably a good idea anyway.
Here's a recipe that uses ground beef, which is first sauteed with onions and green peppers, then tomato sauce and spices added. The pumpkin is also partially-cooked. Then the pre-cooked meat/sauce mixture is stuffed inside the pre-cooked pumpkin, and the whole thing is baked for another hour.
The final cooking presumably allows the flavors to blend and also finishes cooking the pumpkin. The moisture from the pumpkin should prevent the already cooked meat from getting dry and overcooked. |
Bacteria in steak from cutting with household scissors by mistake?
I cut a steak up into small strips with a pair of scissors.
Fried it in a pan with olive oil and onions.
Tasted great.
Until my wife told me I didn’t use the food scissors. I used the “house” scissors. We open packages, plastic, zip ties, etc all with the “house” scissors.
Should I be worried that I cut the steak with these? Will bacteria from the house scissors pass onto the steak? Or will the heat from frying kill it? | You will be fine.
The food was cooked...
Just clean the "house" scissors with soap and hot water and dry them so that there is no rust. |
How to make best milk chocolate at home?
I have eaten home-made chocolate before, and while it was pretty good, it could not compare with the expensive chocolate at the store.
I would like to make the best milk chocolate I can at home. From what I know, the main ingredients are: cocoa powder, some fat (such as butter, coconut oil, etc.), powdered milk, water, and sugar.
I guess my question is, do you have any advice (or recipe) for making a really good milk chocolate? Some particular questions I have are:
Which is the best fat to use? Is it cocoa butter (I have trouble finding cocoa butter at the store)?
Is the powdered milk found at the store really the best for making chocolate? Is it better to make my own powdered milk?
Are there any other ingredients that are recommended for high-quality milk chocolate? I have seen soy lecitin, should I use this?
Thank you very much. | To really be considered chocolate, you need to use cocoa butter as your fat. Cocoa butter has a few properties that other fats don't have. Most notably, it is capable of forming a crystalline structure which is what gives tempered chocolate its "snap" and—when tempered—it has a melting point above external body temperature but below internal body temperature. Using any other fat will result in a chocolate flavored material that is not chocolate (more akin to frosting or fudge).
The other factor in the "expensive" chocolates at the store is the particle size of the cocoa powder. This can be in the neighborhood of 20 microns in a good chocolate, but can be half that size in high-end chocolates. To achieve this, the chocolate needs to be physically worked for many hours, if not days. Commercial suppliers use a machine called a conche to accomplish this. Cocoa powders usually contain particles in the 35-50 micron range, so you'll never get that "expensive chocolate" mouth feel.
In addition, the temperatures, humidity, roasting times, mix of beans, type of sugar and fat content of the milk powder are all precisely maintained, further impacting the flavor.
You may have trouble with milk powder at the store because it is usually made with little or no fat to extend shelf life. The same goes for the fat content of cocoa powder, as there is a wide range in the available products. Check to see if your recipe specified a fat content for the milk powder and cocoa powder, and if not, you might need to experiment.
As you said, you can make "pretty good" milk chocolate at home. The most difficult part will be tempering the chocolate, but it's so common to need to re-temper commercial chocolate when you work with them that it's a good skill to master anyway.
Most of the people I know who make chocolate at home do so because the vast majority of chocolate makers use soy lecithin as an emulsifying agent and they (or their loved ones) can't eat soy, but even then, there are a few manufacturers who make soy-free chocolates these days. |
Is it possible to effectively dissolve chocolate into coffee?
The combination of milk chocolate with coffee is very good. The classic strategy is to take a bite of chocolate, chew it for five seconds, and then sip some coffee.
This strategy can be inconvenient at times, so I thought of dissolving the chocolate directly into hot coffee. However, this did not work very well due to the chocolate's fat content. How can I effectively mix chocolate into coffee? (Sometimes there are some tricks for these situations; for example, when you make hot chocolate, the trick to effective mixing is to make a slurry first.) | One classic solution is to make a ganache to make the chocolate liquid. Ganache is an emulsion that suspends the cocoa butter in water which helps it mix with the coffee. While this sounds fancy, you can make it in a few minutes.
The recipe I use is from The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee by James Freeman
Put 3 oz (85 g) coarsely chopped dark chocolate in a small bowl
Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) boiling water over the chocolate and stir until smooth
You can pour your coffee directly over the ganache or store the ganache in the fridge for up to one week. Reheat in the microwave (gently) before using.
The original recipe uses espresso and tops the coffee with hot foamed milk. I have also always used espresso and foamed milk, but I believe coffee should also produce good results. If you don't use the foamed milk, I suggest using a less dark chocolate to balance the bitterness.
Ganache can also be made with heavy cream instead of water. I have not tried using a cream-based ganache in this drink.
One note is that this recipe works best for hot drinks. Cold drinks can seize the chocolate into lumps. |
Can of chicken left in hot car - okay or trash
I bought a can of chicken (chunk white meat) a while back. Because I wasn't "deliberately shopping for groceries" (I was at the store returning bottles for deposit, but had earlier realized my meal plans were short by one can of chicken), that was all I bought, and as a result, I ended up tossing it in the glove box and forgetting about it for about a week.
When I finally brought it in, it was rather warm, and presumably had been heating and cooling every day it was left in the car.
Is it still safe to eat? Obviously, if it was something that would normally be refrigerated, the answer would be a very emphatic "no", but being canned, it has already been cooked to death and (at least in theory) sealed into a sterile environment, and doesn't need to be kept refrigerated. (Note: the can is not bulging noticeably, which I do know would indicate that it is definitely not safe.)
p.s. I read https://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/16796 but it doesn't say if exposure to higher temperatures is an issue. OTOH, a comment on this question suggests it may have already been exposed to similar conditions.
p.p.s. I don't plan on keeping this around for another 2-3 years; the intention would be to eat it within about a month. | Referencing Shelf-Stable Food Safety, from The Food Safety and Inspection Service in the US.
There are several factors that limit the shelf life of canned foods. First, cans can rust over time. Shipping accidents, where cans fall and dent or are crushed, also cause container problems.
Then there’s can corrosion. In all foods, but especially in high-acid foods like
canned tomatoes, natural chemicals in the food continually react with the
container. Over several years, this can cause taste and texture changes, and
eventually lower the nutritional value of the food.
High temperatures (over 100 °F) are harmful to canned goods too. The risk
of spoilage jumps sharply as storage temperatures rise. In fact, canned goods
designed for use in the tropics are specially manufactured.
The exact determination here depends on exactly how hot the interior of your glovebox was getting on particularly hot days, but that's impossible to know. Personally, I doubt that the temperature ever reached dangerous levels and would just enjoy my can of chicken.
However, you may have different tolerance for risk levels than I would, so I hope that the information I've provided is sufficient for you to make a decision of your own. The absolute 0% risk determination would be to simply throw it away. It's your choice. |
How does repeatetly moving food from freezer to fridge and back every day affect it?
My fridge and freezer makes noise to the point that it is hard for me to sleep (even with earplugs) so I have began to shut off the power to the fridge and freezer during the night. My fridge is set to 1 degree celsius and my freezer is set to -18 degrees celsius.
When I go to sleep I move all the fridge items such as milk, cheese, butter, meat, kefir to the freezer and shut the power off for 9-12 hours when I sleep. When I wake up again, I turn the power back on, wait about an hour or so and put my items back in the fridge. The freezer temperature when I turn the power back on is around 3-4 degrees.
I don't feel ill when I eat the food, all I have noticed is ice crystals in the milk and that the cheese is a bit harder to slice. I am wondering about the long term effects of this process, both the food safety aspect and the quality of the foods. Is there any food items that are less safe to do it with? | I assume you have no food that needs to be kept frozen. If you do that's your greatest concern.
If, as suggested by your measurements, the fresh food never gets above the recommended maximum fridge temperature, the quality is going to suffer, possibly quite a lot, but the safety shouldn't, within the use by dates.
You may be able to keep the quality better by leaving the food in the fridge, but transferring a lot of ice from the freezer. I'd freeze several large plastic bottles, about 3/4 full of water, when the freezer is running, and move those into the fridge when you turn it off, leaving the food in there. Refreeze the next day. This is the approach used in many camping coolers, and it sounds like you have the ability to ensure the temperature doesn't get too high.
If it's so noisy that it's keeping you awake through earplugs, even if it's right next to your bed, that is quite likely to mean it's on its way to failing completely. The fact that your freezer is warming so fast is probably partly the unfrozen food going in and partly that it's empty of frozen stuff. It may also be a further sign of imminent failure. |
Can you partially cook soup/stew and finish cooking it later?
I’m going on a camping trip, and I am going to make soup for one meal. I don’t have much time to make the soup that day. I’m thinking I could partially cook the soup in advance, and then cook it for just 5-10 minutes the day I’m eating it. Will this work? | Just to add a clearer answer to this question: in general, it is usually possible to partially cook a soup or stew one day and then finish it a day or two later. However, if one wishes to do so, there are some guidelines to keep in mind:
Any perishable ingredients in the soup/stew should be thoroughly cooked, particularly things like raw meat, etc., which need to be cooked enough to destroy any residual bacteria
The soup/stew should be cooled quickly (large pots should be broken up into smaller containers for more rapid chilling; and/or an ice bath can be used); it can then be stored for 2-3 days in the refrigerator or for longer times in the freezer
The soup/stew should be reheated relatively quickly, getting above 140F as fast as is reasonable
Once the soup/stew - including all ingredients in it - are above 140F, it can be simmered until the desired flavor and texture is reached
Comments have mentioned the option of cooking completely in advance and simply reheating. That's usually possible too, but there may be reasons to delay finishing some steps for a soup or stew until the final preparation. In particular, while flavors will generally meld together more during storage, any ingredients that are meant to taste more "fresh" should likely be added during the final cooking stage (e.g., fresh herbs, some vegetables or sauce elements meant to taste "fresh" and not overcooked). And some ingredients won't respond well to refrigerated storage (or to the freezer, if longer storage is desired), which could alter texture. For those who don't mind it if everything in the soup/stew is mushy, it's probably not a problem for most recipes. But to get more specific textures or levels of doneness for ingredients, it may be helpful to save some of the cooking until the final stage before serving.
And sometimes the reheating process itself may end up "overcooking" some ingredients, so it makes sense to wait and simmer upon reheating until the desired doneness.
I know the question asked about camping specifically, where many people don't worry about culinary details like this. But I thought I'd answer the question in general (and for those whose camping experiences may be more adventurous and finicky from a culinary perspective - I know mine sometimes are). |
How to make ice cream base using evaporated milk easier to work with?
I sometimes try to make “chewy” ice cream using evaporated milk or dulce de leche made using the “boil a can of sweetened condensed milk” method in the base.
For the batch I’m wrangling now, I used a 14oz can of dulce de leche, 3 cups of heavy cream, a uhh... lot(?) of cocoa powder (I just added more until the dairy looked like it’s not getting darker anymore) and a 4oz bar of dark chocolate. (The dulce de leche adding around 220g of sugar.)
When chilled, this thickened into a puddingy paste that barely flows without coaxing, and my (cheap) ice cream machine started being unable to move it in about 10-15 minutes. (Although a thermometer registered the mixture as below freezing near the middle-ish.)
I usually just pry this out of the machine and into the freezer because what else am I going to do, and end up with fairly tough, albeit not icy icecream.
Is there anything that would make this base easier to work with without significantly changing the ingredients? Recipes for this style of ice cream usually have even more evaporated milk compared to the rest in them, sometimes even adding egg yolks which would likely thicken this even more. (Based on my experiences making chocolate+caramel icecream, replacing sugar in the recipe with caramel made out of it seems to make it so that using egg yolks is the difference between having the base churnable or not.)
I’ve been debating whipping the liquid up (or maybe just tossing it into a blender) before and after chilling to aerate it before it goes into the churn - after all it’s mostly cream and should be around 25% butterfat, but I have no idea if this would be helpful, and maybe there’s better tricks. | From the clarification in your comments, it sounds like the amount of solids that you are introducing to your recipe is effectively absorbing almost all of the liquid ingredients that are typically added.
If you want the mixture to be easier to manipulate for the churn, I think your best options are to either introduce more liquid (and thus dilute the other solid ingredients) or to reduce the quantity of solid ingredients that you are using in the first place.
Note that as far as I can tell, for the purposes of this recipe with regards to ease of churning, I consider the cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and to a lesser extent egg yolk and evaporated milk as "solids". These are all things that will cause the liquid in your recipe to solidify faster when chilled vs. the usual liquid ingredients.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck! |
Beating egg whites cold vs. warm - Japanese cheesecake
Namiko Chen's recipe for Japanese cheesecake specifically requires that the egg whites be beaten chilled. I have also asked my Japanese friends to check other Japanese recipes and they get the same instructions. On the other hand, Western recipes for Japanese cake calls for the egg whites to be beaten at room temperature. I assume that since Japanese souffle cheesecake is originally from Japan, the Japanese version is the "correct" one and that the room-temperature requirement is a modification by Westerners who copied the recipe.
I have tried Namiko's recipe with great results. The egg whites took quite some time to beat, but they remained stable even without cream of tartar. I presume beating the egg whites cold will take a longer time but will give more stability, but is this something that's well-known? I know that the same holds for cream, I just have never read it for egg whites. | I've always heard beat egg whites at room temperature, but cream when it's cold. I was only able to find one study that included this information.
According to Miller and Vail 42 the whipping temperature of the egg white affects its foaming capacity and stability. Beating egg whites at room temperature (70–80 °F/21–27 °C) resulted in improved whipping quality, more stable foams and tenderer cakes with greater volume than egg whites beaten at lower temperatures.38, 42 Conversely, beating egg whites (to the soft peak stage) at 2 °C or 22 °C did not show any significant difference in the time needed to achieve such consistency nor in the final volume of the cake
Essentially colder eggs tend to be less stable when made into meringue, but shouldn't take a significantly different amount of time. They go on to say that if you're using an electric mixer it probably doesn't matter as much.
McGee6 recommends using eggs at room temperature but also states that eggs kept under refrigeration warm up while beating and will whip just as well, especially when using electric mixers. |
How does one know if one can eat raw saltwater fish?
As I go spearfishing a lot, I have always lots of fish at home.
After testing a variety of recipes, I was thinking of trying some sushi variations (sashimi, maki, uramaki, nigiri, tempura rolls).
However, thinking in terms of safety, how does one know if one can eat saltwater fish raw?
Also, what are some methods to make it safer? | Because you know you have previously frozen the fish.
A lot of shop bought "fresh" fish is likely to have been frozen and defrosted, before sale. Often there is legislation about freezing fish if it is to be eaten raw.
Note that home freezers may not be as effective as commercial freezers and blast freezers so you may need to keep the fish frozen for a few days and it may help if it is sliced thinly so that it cools faster.
Some background info
FDA Detailed Advice That is an 8 page pdf download on parasites in fish. It does open as a viewable tab in my browser (Firefox).
How to Enjoy Sushi Without Getting Infested With Parasites A shorter general answer. Includes reminder you may need to freeze it for a week to be safe.
Rules in my country [England] requiring freezing of fish intended to be eaten raw. |
Is it possible to treat dairy with lactase to make it lactose free at home?
Part of my unending series of ice cream related questions: I’m mildly lactose intolerant and usually don’t have a lot of upset from a small amount of ice cream. (Especially since cream is naturally lower in lactose.) While lactose-free milk is widely available here, LF anything else is harder to find and/or overpriced. In particular regarding ice cream making, evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk aren’t available LF, and due to what they are have whopping amounts of lactose.
Can these or the cooked base be pre-treated using the lactase pills I keep around to make them lactose free? And how would I go about this re: heating or time required?
(I suppose a possible hack would be using a matching flavour of whey isolate powder, the stuff used for protein shakes after workouts, but I’m still curious about breaking up the lactose in regular dairy.) | Ways to make lactose-free dairy at home
Grind your lactase pills into powder, dissolve them in warm water, and dump the solution into your milk. Wait 24-48 hours.
More convenient is to add 7 drops of liquid Lactase. Wait 24-48 hours and 70% of the lactose is gone.
More economical is to buy bulk lactase powder. Dissolve it in warm water and pour it into your milk. Wait 24-48 hours.
Another economical option is half-making yogurt. The yogurt bacteria (Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus) eat the lactose. I pour a gallon of milk into a pot inside another pot of water. Heat the milk to 185°F for 30 minutes. Then cool the pot of milk to 110° in cold water in the kitchen sink. Pitch the milk with 2-3 Tbsp. of plain fresh yogurt with "active cultures" and pour the milk back into the milk jug. Put the jug of milk into a food dehydrator (or anything else with good temperature control) and incubate at 104° for 3-4 hours. At that point you'll have slightly thickened milk. Shake it and use like normal. After 7 hours incubation you'll have yogurt. Strain off the whey and you'll have greek yogurt. Both have whey less lactose in them.
All these techniques will dramatically reduce the lactose in milk.
Fun Tips
Adjust the flavor of the milk-gurt by playing with the temperature. Lactobacillus bulgaricus prefers 110° and the other two prefer 99°. The different resulting acids (lactic, folic, formic) affect the flavor.
Yogurt bacteria break down lactose into acids. You can test the acidity to roughly determine how much lactose has been consumed.
The higher the acidity, the longer the treated milk will last.
You can mix-n-match, half-making yogurt and then adding lactase to the result. |
"Lime water" technique -- why use an excess of cal?
At https://www.catsfork.com/CatsKitchen/lime-water I see a technique from a cookbook called Nourishing Traditions for soaking cornmeal in 'lime water', created from pickling lime (calcium hydroxide, aka "cal"). The technique starts by preparing a quart of lime water by adding a quart of filtered water to something like a half a cup of pickling lime powder, sharing, letting the powder settle out, and then using the water obtained by pouring the liquid portion off of the settled solids.
I am confused because according to the solubility table at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solubility_table, something like 2 grams of calcium hydroxide would be expected to dissolve in a quart of water. That's basically one mL of calcium hydroxide that is expected to dissolve; why would you use a half cup (which is approximately a hundred times that amount)?
Am I missing something about the technique? Is there a reason why using a dramatic surplus might be anything other than wasteful? | The supersaturation of cal seems to be the common instruction in most online sources, but no reason is given. The best reason seems to come from chemistry texts, which note:
Ca(OH)2 is only slightly soluble in water (0.16g Ca(OH)2/100g water at 20°C) forming a basic solution called lime water. The solubility decreases with increasing temperature. The suspension of calcium hydroxide particles in water is called milk of lime.
According to Cook's Illustrated, you are trying to get as much lime into the water as you can, since your target is an extremely alkaline (pH 12.4) solution. So .. if it's hard to dissolve Ca(OH)2, and you're going for maximum saturation, dump a whole bunch in and pour off the solution. |
How to calculate mixing ingredients to a certain fat percentage?
Given two ingredients, one with 42% fat and one with 3% fat, how can I calculate how much I will need of each to get 9% fat? | As a matter of arithmetic, what you want is for the weighted average fat content to be 9%. We can say
42X + 3Y = 9
where X and Y are the fractions of the whole that are from each of the two components.
X+Y=1
as the parts add up to the whole, so
42X+3(1-X)=9
leading to
39X=6
This means that a mixture of 2/13 42% fat plus 11/13 3% fat will make 9%.
It's important to be consistent. If your fat percentage of both ingredients is by weight, then work in weight throughout, if by volume, work in volume.
To put this into practice, let's say both are by weight, and we want 100g in total.
2/13×100g = 15.4g
11/13×100 = 84.6g
You can't measure that accurately, so round to 15g of 42% fat and 85g of 3%, and you'll have 100g of 9% |
Simmering lemons for hours, leaves them quite bitter?
I have a lot of lemons. I drink a lot of tea.
I've been experimenting, by slicing lemons, putting them in water, and letting them simmer for a long time, reducing the water 2-3X, then impulse blend them, and put them in a tea cup with some simple syrup.
The first few times I did this, the taste was great.
Lately, the taste has been completely bitter. The lemons are fine for other "normal" lemony things.
I have tried cutting off all the peeling, and just have the inner part, and that was bitter as well.
I'm stuck. My only remaining idea is that the seeds might be bitter, causing the problem (maybe my earlier lemons were seedless? Is there such a thing?)
TLDR: I'd like to simmer lemons for several hours, impulse blend them, add some sugar and have a tasty hot drink. Instead it ends up totally bitter. Why? Is there something I can do to remedy this? | One strategy to reduce lemon bitterness is to slice, bring to a boil, then drain. Refill pot, and repeat. Do this 3 or 4 times. Then, proceed with your recipe. This is a strategy employed when making candied citrus. It could be helpful in your case. |
Shelf life and preservation of home soaked and drained black beans
I am looking to see if I can avoid store bought tin of black beans for our Mexican recipes, we typically decide suddenly to make a Mexican dish and usually dont have soaked beans handy.
Is it possible to preserve home soaked and drained black beans? What would be a typical shelf life. | To preserve your beans more than a couple of days, you can either pressure can or freeze them. With either option, the beans will remain safe for a year or more (as long as they are stored at appropriate temperature, and the seal remains intact for pressure canned). |
What is salsa criolla campesina of Nicaragua?
I got some pepper seeds called criolla de cocina peppers. In the seed catalogs, they are said to be essential for "salsa criolla campesina", a condiment of Nicaragua. However, I haven't been able to find a mention of this salsa anywhere, either in my cookbooks or via Google.
Is this actually a real dish? If so, where can I find out more about it?
Note: "salsa criolla" is a general category of salsa across all of Latin America. I'm looking for the specific Nicaraguan salsa that uses criolla de cocina peppers. | I haven't found a specific recipe so far - but I did find this:
'Criolla de Cocina' is a unique chiltoma pepper from Nicaragua. It is a sweet pepper characterized by a strong flavor, thin walls, and wrinkled appearance (like an oversized habañero). These types of peppers are used in Nicaragua for the classic sauce known as salsa criolla campesina, which combines thinly sliced onions and peppers with tomatoes, salt, sugar, and vinegar, and is served with grilled or fried fish or chicken throughout Nicaragua.
from here.
Of note is that campesina translates to peasant and criolla to creole or native in english, so you might translate the name as the sauce made by the native people (says me with no Spanish beyond a few basic words) - so it is likely a regional dish without a defined recipe - a true dish of the people if you will.
However: look what I just found here: http://www.recetasnica.com/Salsa-Criolla.php. Translated below:
Creole sauce .
Ingredients:
2 Large Tomatoes, Finely Chopped
1/4 Cup of Bitter Orange or Lemon Juice.
1/8 cup of vinegar.
1/4 of Cup of Water.
2 Fine Chopped Chiltomas.
2 finely chopped onions.
6 Fine Chopped Jalapeño Peppers
2 Tablespoons Ketchup (Tomato sauce).
1/2 cup of finely chopped coriander.`
Procedure:
Mix all these ingredients and add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste (you can also make it without chili). Put it in a separate container. This sauce can be added to any type of food or soup. You can keep it in the refrigerator indefinitely. |
How long would meat stored (in jars) and fish (whole) in a ice-water bath last?
For various reasons I'd like to store fresh meat and fish without freezing for as long as possible. I should preserve its original state as fresh and taste, so salting, cooking, vinegar is out of the question.
I have this idea to put meat in glass jars (with empty space filled up with ghee or tallow to eliminate air which degrades meat too), and fish as whole fish (with skin and scales, I just remove the intestines and gallbladder before storage), in water-ice bath. The idea is to keep constant temperature just above freezing, i.e. around 0.5°C (33°F).
I could set-up the ice bath in a double Styrofoam container and replace deep frozen plastic bottles with water made in the freezer daily. Would this keep my meat and fish in as close to fresh state as possible for longer then simply sitting in the refrigerator (where temperatures will vary by a few degrees due to the duty cycle and opening the door)? Is anything like this practised with success and how long would meat (specifically beef, lamb, goat) and fish (e.g. snapper, barracuda, salmon) keep fresh like this? | Is it safe to store fresh meat and fish for a bit longer at 33F than at higher temperatures? Probably. OP's original question asked about two weeks, and the answer is: at 33F, food is probably safe for greater than two weeks, per the scientific literature on food safety. I know everyone wants to quote FDA regulations or whatever here, but they are a one-size-fits-all oversimplification.
I gave a summary of the science of different temperatures with storage life in an answer here. Unfortunately, the website that was used to source a lot of that summary for that answer is no longer extant, as the author (a prominent food safety scientist named O. Peter Snyder, who actually came up with the principles for many HACCP protocols) died last year. I suppose that information may be archived somewhere, but I don't have time to dig up another citation for it all right now. One can find citations in food safety journals for various models and studies, but they often don't make it into consumer or business guidelines for food, as these are necessarily simplified.
As I noted in the linked answer, pathogenic bacteria grow at progressively slower rates at lower temperatures. Only a few types will grow at temperatures below 35F, and all growth should cease for normal pathogenic food agents by 29F. At 35F, the safe storage lifespan is at least double that of 40F (a typical refrigerator recommended temperature). At 33F, the literature would suggest that a 2-week lifespan for safety is perfectly reasonable.
Of course, safety is not the only concern. Food quality can degrade over time even if food doesn't become unsafe to consume. The discussion in comments over aging of meat is a case in point: beef aging does introduce significant changes in flavor, texture, etc. In cases of large aged beef cuts, many people regard the changes to be positive (after removal of surface mold, etc.), but the changes in fish over time may be less predictable without standard preservation methods.
Removing air from the environment around the food will significantly help to maintain some freshness, but introducing ghee or tallow (as mentioned in the question) could change the products in unpredictable ways. I should also clarify that it would be important to have sterile ghee or tallow. Also, to use them for sealing will likely require heating. Residual heat as the fat solidifies will cause thermal cycling, which could introduce additional problems (both from a food quality and a food safety perspective).
Bottom line is that at 33F you're likely to grow spoilage microorganisms that will make the food taste awful faster than you'll grow pathogenic bacteria that will make you sick. And yes, a consistent 33F temperature is likely to preserve food for longer than a less consistent refrigerator interior that likely cycles in a wide temperature range, hopefully below 40F (but frequently not; many people will be surprised if they start actually measuring the temperatures of things on their refrigerator doors). As to how long you can store a particular food using your particular method before it degrades in quality - well, I'm not sure anyone can predict that. |
How to thinly slice chicken thighs?
I'm having trouble thinly slicing chicken thighs for a recipe, I don't know if I have a tooling issue (dull chef's knife?) or it's an issue with the direction I'm cutting the chicken thighs (against the grain), or if attempting to cut chicken thighs is simply supposed to be a difficult endeavor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSmH01K76lY
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/08/oyakodon-japanese-chicken-and-egg-rice-bowl-recipe.html
https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/09/how-to-sharpen-a-knife-on-a-mug.html | You are certainly correct to cut against the grain.
Certainly slicing meat would be difficult with a dull knife, but I have no way of knowing how sharp your knife is from reading your question. While "sharpening" a knife with a ceramic mug may be a neat trick in a pinch, you should look into a better solution. Using a whetstone is often recommended, or you could pay someone else to sharpen your knife occasionally. Having a reliably sharp knife is essential for precision and safety in the kitchen, and will make a lot of tasks easier.
Once you get your knife sorted, the usual trick to slicing meat thinly is to partially freeze it before cutting. These instructions from Japanese cooking website Just One Cookbook go into more detail about slicing meat thinly, but are primary aimed at large pieces of beef or pork. But the basic idea still works. Chicken thighs are on the thin side, so about 15-20 minutes before slicing, place them, flattened and wrapped, in the freezer. Once removed, they will be just firm enough to cut precisely. If they are too firm, let thaw briefly; too soft, freeze further.
Now, this is a matter of person preference, but for oyakodon specifically, I do not like the chicken cut too thinly. Paper-thin chicken overcooks easily, turning mealy and sometimes even breaking up in the broth. I cut my chicken to between 1/4 and 1/3 of an inch (0.6 to 0.8 cm) thick, cutting at a bias for more surface area. At this thickness, I can often get good slices without freezing. |
"tomato sauce" vs. "tomato paste"
amazon returns almost 50 hits for "tomato sauce" and just 3 for "tomato paste"
Do "tomato sauce" and "tomato paste" mean the same thing? | Tomato sauce and paste are not the same thing.
Tomato paste is essentially a concentrated tomato with some water removed that is then preserved. It is generally only used as an ingredient.
Tomato sauce is immensely variable and usually has a variety of other ingredients added resulting in something to actually eat. |
Are recipes for Antonin Carême's original mother sauces available?
Did Carême publish actual recipes for his mother sauces?
I'm not looking for recipe suggestions, or Escoffier's revisions, or anyone else's revisions. There are numerous recipe suggestions available from many reputable sources, many with impactful variations. (Plenty of them are effective in dishes and meet current textbook and conventional wisdom definitions.)
The intent here is to find the originals, if those originals exist. | You can find a digital version of a treatise on French cuisine written by Carême (in French) at this link.
There are recipes and instructions in it; I don't know if there is any English version of it, though. |
Can you reconstitute dried morels in broth instead of water?
I'm making some risotto this weekend, and I've always read to reconstitute dried mushrooms in water, but I haven't read anything for or against reconstitution in broth.
Would there be any reason not to do this, such as because the salts would change the way the shrooms did their job? | The only reason I can think of against it is that your dried morels will have dirt in them and will contaminate your broth.
After the mushrooms have been re-hydrated, pick them up careful from the broth (they usually float).
Then, strain the broth using a coffee filter or a fine mesh strainer (@moscafj).
Use the remaining broth for your risotto. |
Why are my tangzhong bread doughs so wet?
I've started experimenting with tangzhong bread recipes after reading about it in one of the questions here. I have been baking bread for many years.
I believe I'm doing it correctly, but I find that the doughs are very wet and sticky - like, almost like a wet muffin batter that you might pour into a muffin tin instead of the usual smooth, non-sticky mass of bread dough that I am used to.
The recipes I've tried so far are:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/soft-cinnamon-rolls-recipe
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pillowy-white-bread-recipe
They have all turned out OK, but only after I added a fair amount of additional flour, above and beyond what the recipe calls for.
Taking the milk bread recipe as an example:
The recipe calls for a total of 2 1/2 cups (dough) + 2 tablespoons (tangzhong) bread flour and 1/2 cup (dough) + 6 tablespoons (tangzhong) milk and water. That's a total of 2 3/8 cups flour to 7/8 cup of liquid.
The recipe calls for mixing & kneading "until a smooth, elastic dough forms". I use a stand mixer, and the recipe advises that this could take up to 15 minutes. So I did that, and after that time I did not have a smooth, elastic dough - I had a sticky mess at the bottom of the bowl. So I proceed to add more flour, two tablespoons at a time, until it becomes the smooth mass that I'm used to - in this case, I had to add close to another cup of flour to get it to what I believe bread dough should be.
The end result was good, but given that I've had the same experience three times with three different recipes, I have to wonder if it's something I'm doing or if there's something wrong with the recipes I'm trying (they are all from the same source, after all, so maybe there's something wrong there).
Am I doing something wrong or are the proportions off in the recipes I've tried? | I make the milk bread recipe almost every week: the proportions are not off (unless, perhaps you have an extremely humid kitchen). The usual advice to measure carefully by weight applies, of course. But I will assume your measurements are correct. Then I don't think the issue here is the tangzhong, but rather the butter content of the dough. Each of those recipes calls for at least half a stick! Because butter is liquid at warm temperatures, it can certainly lead to wet, sticky dough. I have two tips to deal with this.
During mixing and kneading: combine all the ingredients except for the butter, knead using a stand mixer until smooth, about 5 minutes. Then add the butter, unmelted, in one tablespoon chunks. Continue kneading until the butter is incorporated.
For shaping: stick the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes before shaping. Always shape on an oiled surface; do not add extra flour. If the dough ever seems too wet or greasy, return to the fridge to "firm up".
Very buttery enriched doughs are quite different to work with than straight doughs. As you work with it more, you should get a good sense of the correct consistency to look for and how to manage the temperature. Should you attempt something with even more butter, like a brioche, these differences will be even more extreme. |
How can I tell whether my baking recipe has enough acid to activate the baking soda?
I've been trying to modify my grandmother's oatmeal cookie recipe to use less brown sugar, but all of my batches are coming out with a slightly 'metallic' taste.
I've attributed this to the baking soda; the recipe contains molasses and brown sugar, but with the sugar cut back, I guess it's not enough to activate the baking soda. I've gone through a couple of batches trying to figure out the right balance of baking soda to molasses/sugar, but I can't get it right.
Are there any guidelines or ways to tell whether a recipe contains enough acidic ingredients to balance out baking soda? | Both brown sugar and molasses are slightly acidic, you are right that reducing them reduces the acidity. However you need to consider that baking soda's purpose is a leavening agent, not to neutralize acid, so if you take some baking soda away you need to replace it with baking powder or you won't have enough leavening agent.
I can think of 2 ways to go about this, there's the lab science way and the simple way.
The lab science way would be to dissolve the amount of sugar and molasses you plan to use into some water, and then add small amounts of baking soda to the mix until you have a neutral ph. You can measure acidity with an expensive electronic meter or by using paper strips. However much baking soda you add to get a neutral PH is the right amount. You'll need to measure things exactly for this to work, then replace the balance of the baking soda with baking powder to have the right leavening.
The simpler way is to look at proportions and adjust as a ratio. If 1 tsp of baking soda is good for 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of molasses then reducing the brown sugar and molasses by half means you need to reduce the baking soda by half. I personally would weight the molasses and brown sugar rather than using volume measurements, and adjust proportionally using weight of both added together. IF you reduce the combined weight or both by 25% you would reduce the baking soda by 25% and replace it with baking powder. This may need some tweaking, but it will get you pretty close. Be sure to take notes so you remember what you did. |
How do i stop small bits of cabbage from floating past my weight to the surface of sauerkraut brine?
How do i stop small bits of cabbage from floating past my weight to the surface of the sauerkraut brine? it's the 3rd day of ferment and i'm using a Ball Spring weight with a fermentation lid. I tried putting parchment paper under the weight and that did not work at all, it just stirred up more bits to float | I know of four approaches to this problem:
A better-fitting weight. The wider the weight, the less will sneak up around it. This can work very well for a wide-mouthed vessel. This is what my grandma and great-grandpa used to do—use a barrel, bucket, or wide-mouthed crockery with no narrowing at the mouth, and put a same-sized plate on top with rocks to hold it down. But for smaller batches in something like a mason jar, the narrowing at the mouth prevents a wide weight, even for wide-mouthed jars.
Saline-filled ziploc. This is sort of a corollary to #1 since the ziploc can fit any space. Some people fill a ziploc bag with brine and rest that on top of the ferment. My brother does it this way. The benefit is that the bag can spread out to block any sized opening. I don't care for this approach, though: Either the top of the baggie will protrude above the surface of the fermentation brine, making it a little harder to remove any yeast and mold that develops, or else you'll need to put it so far down in the vessel under the brine that it reduces the amount you can ferment.
Use crossed "carrot planks." Sometimes I've cut a large carrot lengthwise into something that looks like small orange wooden planks. Then I place those flat on top of the fermenting vegetables, crossing two or three of them. If they're long enough to reach the whole way across the mouth of the vessel—and ideally a little longer so that you have to tuck the ends downward a little around the vegetables— they do a very good job of minimizing floating bits. Downside: I've found when I do this, the ferment is more likely to develop a layer of yeast floating on top (kahm), presumably from the sugar in the carrots. Kahm is benign and easy to remove, but I don't care for the slight yeasty flavor it imparts.
Don't worry about it. My preferred method. Unless the weight is just too narrow for the vessel, after a few days the bits that are going to float will have floated, and the rest will reach a kind of stasis. I monitor ferments daily for the first few days anyway, so it's no hardship to scoop off anything that floats. And I've found that once ferments get past the early stages of fermentation (a week or two), things become less likely to float anyway. The first stages are heavy in CO2 production, which is why you see lots of bubbles initially, and those bubbles lift things to the surface. As early-stage lactic acid bacteria die off and are replace by the later stages, you'll see much less bubbling. |
Are dried elderberries safe to eat?
I know that in order to eat elderberries in a safe way, one has to cook them beforehand. Today, I found out that dried elderberries are a thing.
That new knowledge arose some questions on food safety:
Is it safe to eat those dried berries?
If it is safe, then why?
If it is safe, what is the process to dry them at home? | All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison."
(Paracelsus)
Like with so many things in life, it’s a question of willingness to take a risk and of personal health and individual metabolism.
The general rule is that raw elderberries shouldn’t be consumed because they contain cyanogenic glycosides, i.e. substances that can be transformed into cyanide and ultimately cause cyanide poisoning. As with all plant-based substances, the content can and will vary a lot depending both on the specific strain of plant and the environmental conditions, including soil composition, water or rain and change significantly during the life cycle and ripening stages. For elderberries, the content of cyanogenic glycosides decreases significantly in fully ripe berries, some researcher1 found as little as 0.0054 mg hydrogen cyanide equivalent per gram of berries, which is roughly 0.0001 mg per berry. Considering that a healthy adult human can safety ingest 0.02 mg per kg of body weight, a few ripe berries should be harmless enough. This is the same reason why eating a few apple pips (containing amygdalin, also a cyanogenic glycoside) is harmless.
The numbers above should also explain why individual reports of toxic effects vary so widely, from no effects at all to severe digestive issues.
If you want to consume unheated elderberries, I recommend you chose fully ripe berries and limit the intake to just a few initially (see the numbers above and go way below the statistically safe threshold because individual tolerances may be lower). Note that this post is not an endorsement, it’s just to help you make an informed decision.
The drying process is the same as for other berries - ensure good ventilation and place them on a cloth or fine netting, because the berries are so small. If you want to use a dehydrator, you may have to cover the trays with cloth or mesh if the slats are too wide. Consult the manual for settings.
1
Petra Demmer: Kapillarelektrophoretische Untersuchungen an cyanogenen Glykosiden. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Naturwissenschaften im Fachbereich Chemie und Pharmazie der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster. Münster 2004, urn:nbn:de:hbz:6-28659388497. |
dhungar method: How can I make smoky dal tadka without charcoal?
Normally one is to get a piece of charcoal red-hot, put it in a small metal cup, put some ghee on it to burn/smoke, and put it in the pot with the finished dal tadka curry.
I don't have charcoal. And even if I bought charcoal I don't have a gas burner to heat it. I have IH burners (electric induction heating, which can't heat charcoal). | Find a bowl that your curry fits into, and that in turn fits in a tall pot.
Put the ghee in the bottom of the tall pot, and the bowl into the pot. Put a tight lid and set to highest temperature for 5-15 minutes. Observe the smoke if you have a glass lid and experiment to find the best results for you.
This also warms up the curry if it is leftovers.
I was worried about the unequal heat shattering my ceramic bowl, so I rested it on a small silicone trivet meant to be good for any temperature that the pot could reach. |
What can I do with soft biscuits due to air exposure
I had bought a biscuit packet and after eating some I left the packet in a poly bag with a knot.
However may be due to loosening of the knot, and hence, the air exposure, the biscuits have lost their crunchiness and have become soft.
It's now difficult to eat them!
If anyone can suggest any recipe so that they don't get wasted or if I can make them hard again!
My biscuits are normal sweet cookies with sugar crystals on their surface.
I have around 10-12 pieces left. | You can normally refresh them in the oven. anywhere between about 150°C (for 6-8 minutes) and 190°C (3-4 minutes) should work, ideally taking them out just before they start to brown any more though of course that's a matter of guesswork
Leave to cool on a wire rack, and put in an airtight container as soon as they're cool.
In future, either put the twisted packet in a closed container, or clip it closed, though it may just be that you tried to store them for too long in high humidity. |
What can I do with super salty cream cheese mixture?
I whipped up a cream cheese filling for sweet bread. By accident, I added salt instead of sugar... an entire cup. Now I have disgustingly salty mixture of 16 oz cream cheese (2 packages), two eggs, six tablespoons of AP flour, and a cup of salt. I'd prefer not to waste it. Any ideas? Maybe lots of spinach and more eggs and bake it quiche style? Or do you think it's beyond salvaging? Worried it might take an absurd amount of salt-free added ingredients to adjust for the entire cup of salt. | This is too salty to be worth salvaging. You could use small quantities of the mixture in place of salt in recipes where the cheese would be complementary. But since it is so salty you cannot use very much; it would take weeks to get through it all. Salt is pretty cheap, so instead, I would just discard the mixture.
To go with your quiche idea, take a look at a few recipes. They use between 1 and 2 teaspons of salt for a single large quiche. Since you have a cup of salt to deal with, this is 48 teaspoons, or at least 24 quiches! I assume you do not want to bake this many. |
Color stain coming off cutting board
We received a handmade cutting board as a gift awhile back and I decided to bring it back to life with some Boos board oil and conditioning cream. I noticed when wiping off any excess with a white towel though that the red wood color stain that was used on the board is coming off on the towel.
Does that mean the board is unsafe to prep on? Was it not sealed correctly? Was it the Boos product I used on it? | Welcome to SA!
If the red coloring is wiping off, I personally wouldn't use it for food unless I could contact the maker and find out how they dyed it. Given that they didn't know enough to seal the dye well enough to keep it from seeping, I wouldn't trust that they knew enough to choose a non-toxic dye. And while some wood dyes are non-toxic, others are extremely toxic, even from the same source. |
How can you cook milk without it burning the pan?
How can you cook milk without it burning the pan? The intention isn't just to heat/warm the milk, but to thoroughly cook it. Burned pans are hard to clean, and they make the milk taste burned.
The traditional approach of boiling milk on the stove tends to cause it to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, if not done properly.
Background: The reason I want to cook milk is because I tolerate cooked milk better, depending on the gallon of milk. Most gallons of milk from the grocery store give me a lot of gas. Some gallons don't give me any gas at all (and those tend to keep a lot longer, interestingly). Either way, I tolerate it very well, without gas, when it is thoroughly cooked. I don't personally believe I have a milk intolerance or allergy; I think it's just yeast in the milk that grows as it nears expiration and contributes to its spoilage, as I am sensitive to some yeasts and molds; I tolerate other cow dairy products just fine (e.g. cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, butter, and sour cream), regardless of whether it is cooked.
This is a Q/A where I answer my own question, but you're free to participate as usual, of course. I figured the question had already been asked, and I came here to add my answer to the list of answers. (But I couldn't find a question like it on the site.) | Double boiler.
You can buy a purpose built double boiler and if you are going to do this often you should. But for now you can fake it the way I do. Here is my setup.
The little saucepan is floating in the water that is in the larger pan. Because of the water, the temperature never gets higher than 100°C unless you boil all the water off. Milk at 100°C will boil but it will not scorch. That is milk gravy (white sauce) in the small pan which happened to be in there and which I thought was a good illustration.
Float a small pan in a larger pot of water and cook your milk in the small pan. If you like it, buy a double boiler. Sometimes the floating pan is too heavy and some water comes in over the side. Not a big deal for milk but a total loss if you are using the setup to melt chocolate chips. |
Vegetable lasagna a bit too wet. How to adjust baking temp/time?
I’ve just assembled a vegetable lasagna, and the filling and sauce have both come out erring a bit on the watery side — not dreadfully so, but noticeably wetter than when I’ve previously made this recipe.
Usually I cook it 35–40mins at about 180ºC (in a fan oven). How should I adjust the cooking temperature and time to correct for the extra wetness — i.e. to cook off a bit more water, without affecting other aspects too much? Slightly higher temperature? Slightly longer time?
Edit: To be clear, I’m not asking “how do I avoid this problem next time?” (which I know well enough), I’m asking “when this sort of mistake happens, how should one adjust to compensate as far as possible?” | Mushrooms can throw off excess moisture. I would suggest cooking them down a bit further and draining on paper towel before adding them to your lasagna. You didn't mention how you baked your lasagna, but my process is to bake (and your temp is fine) covered for 40 to 50 minutes. Then to uncover and return to the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes more. I'll take a look, and often run it under the broiler to brown the top and crisp the edges. |
How to coat gummies with beeswax/carnauba wax and coconut oil/palm oil?
I tried coating my gummies with beeswax but it was a failure. First, I melted beeswax and tried to pour it in a spray bottle but it hardened so fast. Also, I tried coating them by just putting them in the beeswax but the gummies dissolved with the wax because of the heat. I tried to coat them with a mix of olive oil and wax (2/3+1/3) but it wasn't perfect, there were some little pieces of wax on the gummies. | From what I understand, the way waxy coatings are applied is actually by adding your candies and powdered wax to a tumbler.
Claire from "Bon Appetit" tried to accomplish it by abusing a salad spinner to make gourmet jelly beans and M&Ms. Ann Reardon from "How to Cook That" used a children's toy rock tumbler to apply a cocoa butter coating to some jelly beans.
Claire's video
Ann Reardon's video |
Making two no-bake pies, double the recipe, or make the filling one at a time?
I have a recipe for a no-bake apple pie. I'd like to make two pies, but I'm not sure if I should just double the recipe, or make the filling for each, one at a time. The filling calls for boiling the apples with one box each of lemon Jell-O and cook & serve vanilla pudding, which is why I am concerned about where I should just double the recipe.
I have doubled recipes before, but only once for a cobbler, and sweet potato pies.
I tried to Google the question, but the results generally were for making a double crust pie. | I would say that in that case, you can definitely scale the recipe without worrying.
Boil the apples with the other ingredients, and split the result once cooked to make two pies.
You can usually scale up or down a recipe. The rough idea is simply to multiply the quantity of the ingredients of your recipe by a factor. Doubling means multiplying by 2, making half, by 0.5.
There is some exceptions to the above rule :
When the recipe is dependent on the size of your cooking devices. For example, you can't scale a French omelette without scaling the size of the pan/your stove.
Some delicate recipes might be difficult to scale, like a soufflé. In that case, it is because it can be hard to fold a big quantity of whipped white eggs in the thick batter in a homogeneous manner.
Some ingredients are more tricky to scale : a recipe calling for 1 egg yolk might be difficult to scale down. Then, it is a matter of experience : if you are supposed to brush the egg over some pastry (to make it shiny and golden), then having 1 or ½ an egg does not make a big difference.
In general, savory recipe are easier to scale up or down. Just taste regularly what you are cooking, and adjust as you go. When it comes to pastry, this can be a bit more tricky, especially if you're planning to bake something delicate, but this is most of the time possible.
Final note: scaling is a lot easier when your recipe call for the ingredients in weight. I know this is not the case in some countries (USA, Sweden, to name a few), and to me, it makes scaling down those recipe a lot harder. |
Is it safe to sous vide chicken to less than 74°C for a longer amount of time?
When researching cooking temperatures for sous vide chicken, I came across this website among others that claimed that chicken is pastaurized if held at temperatures as low as 60°C for sufficient time. However, the website provided no sources for this claim.
According to the FDA 2013 food code 3-401.11(A)(3), the only safe way to prepare chicken is at 74°C for 15 seconds. I was unable to find corresponding EU guidelines.
Does anyone know of official food safety guidelines that describe procedures for pasteurizing chicken at temperatures less than 74°C? They can be from any country, but preferably within the EU where I am located. I am cooking for someone who is in the risk group for food-bourne pathogens, so it is important that the procedure is equally safe. Even so, I'd like to avoid over-cooked chicken if possible!
I am aware of Douglas Baldwin's site which contains detailed information on the issue, however it all seems to be original research. | The USDA gives detailed guidance on time and temperature to kill salmonella. For cooking chicken at 60°C (which, to me, tastes undercooked) at a pessimistic level of fat, that's 35 minutes; at 65°C (tastier) it's 5.4 minutes. Note that these are holding temperatures: they refer to time once the target temperature has been reached, not from the beginning of cooking. And keep in mind that the chicken will never quite reach the temperature of the liquid it's in. |
Can someone explain this nutrition label to me?
The math on the carbohydrates section doesn’t seem to add up... how to decipher this section of the label? | Carbohydrates and added sugars have different Daily Values (DVs). The DV for added sugars is 50 grams, 69g is 138% of 50g, so 138% of the recommended DV. The recommended DV for carbohydrates is 275g per day, and 69g is 25% of the carbohydrate DV. |
Length of cooking time for stews and sauces
Let's say you're cooking a beef stew. The tough cut of beef needs time to soften and the onions and carrots will need time to soften. What other processes take place that require time? Or once each ingredient has had enough time to break down enough is that complete?
As an example this recipe for curries instructs a total simmering time of 1.5 hours? Given that the ingredients are just spices and vegetables, does anything take place beyond the first 10-15 minutes? | Sure, a few things happen (or, rather, continue to happen) after the first 10-15 minutes.
Spices continue to release their flavor. Not a big consideration for finely ground spices, but something like whole coriander, cracked black pepper, or cinnamon bark will definitely have more to give at that point.
Vegetables will continue to cook. More cell walls will break, softening the texture and releasing more flavor. Starches will break down into simpler carbohydrates, becoming sweeter. Various other compounds will break down as well.
Water will boil off, concentrating the flavor.
Flavors will diffuse in and out of the vegetables, making the broth taste more like the vegetables and the vegetables taste more like the spices.
On the bottom of the pot, the high temperature may lead to a small amount of caramelization or Maillard browning.
Whether those are important or not depends on what you're going for. Fresh, summery vegetable stews don't need to cook for long, and benefit from careful texture control, while a smooth, melty ragout can't be rushed. Often you'll cook some of the stew for hours, then toss in more ingredients scant minutes before serving. |
Can I make a neverending Soup in an instantpot?
I'm a truck driver, and I have a minifridge, a microwave, an Instant pot, and an electric water kettle on the truck with me. I've been experimenting with various ideas on how to best feed myself. So here's my version of the question. If I cook the soup with some veggies and meat, scoop some out to eat, and seal the lid and keep the instant pot set to "Keep Warm" (145-175 degrees F) will it be safe? It stays sealed except when I'm dishing out a new dish, it stays above 140 degrees, and each time I add new stuff to it, I'll re-cook it, but will whatever I've left in there still be good?
I was just reading through this question: Never ending soup; is it actually safe? and I had a modified version of it to ask, but since that question hasn't been active in over a year, I thought I would make a new question. | I've actually tried it. It didn't work very well for me, but it might work better for you.
The problem is, cookers like the Instant Pot are designed for quick pressure cooking first and foremost. While they have a "slow cook" or "keep warm" setting, the heating element is still driven at high power, just at a lower duty cycle. Over time, that encourages solids to settle to the bottom and dehydrate and burn. (In contrast, a slow cooker operates at a lower power and heats to a lower temperature.)
However, the motion of the truck might actually help you out here by agitating the soup. If the soup doesn't have anything starchy (like beans or potatoes) that might be sufficient to prevent burning. |
Problems heating up pans on an induction hob
I bought an induction hob to precisely control pan temperature; it’s a 2000W Hendi single hob, temperature and power can be combined independently.
I tested two De Buyer pans with it, a multilayer stainless steel and a carbon steel one; I heat them up empty and checked surface temperature with a thermometer.
I noticed that the temperature quickly jumps well over the set value and takes time to stabilize; this is especially true when I try to reach 100+ celsius and with carbon steel cookware the effect is magnified (I got a blue ring mark in the middle of the pan).
What am i doing wrong? Should I start to cook immediately? | Any electrical device that is used to maintain a constant temperature (ovens, induction hobs, immersion cookers, even thermostat-based space heaters) does so by first sensing whether the current temperature is below the set temperature. If so, the heating element/induction coil/etc... is turned on. Once the temperature reaches some upper threshold, the element is turned off again, and the cycle repeats.
Different devices have different ranges of thresholds. For instance, the temperature in an oven may vary by as much as 30°C, while an immersion cooker will keep the temperature range withing 1°C or so.
The reasons your hob overshoots the set temperature, then takes some time to stabilise, can be:
The hob is built to operate on a much wider range of temperature thresholds than you thought.
The hob is built to keep a pan with contents at a constant temperature, but heats up too powerfully for an empty pan (i.e., the hob makes the 'assumption' that there is something in the pan, and delivers power based on that assumption).
There is some distance between the hob's temperature sensor (often in the center) and the induction coil (a ring some distance from the center), and your pan does not conduct heat instantly. Then, while the pan has reached target temperature at the spots closest to the induction coil, it is still below the target temperature at the hob's sensor, causing the hob to add more power.
Using an empty pan will make points 1 and 3 worse as well. You can check if any of these are occuring in your case by heating a pan of water, and taking the water temperature (points 1 and 2), or by moving your surface thermometer to different spots in the pan (point 3). If the issue turns out to be 1, there is not much you can do. If it's either 2 or 3, you can mitigate the problem by starting to cook (almost) immediately.
Alternatively, you could force a slower heating curve by starting the hob at its lowest temperature and manually changing the temperature setting every minute or so. |
Lid popping when I checked for seal the next day
I made peach chutney yesterday, hot ingredients into hot sterilized jars. Wiped the rims. After submerged in boiling water 20 minutes, and sitting placidly on counter all the jars popped but one. Today when checking the seals, depressing the center of lid, the one that had not popped on its own, popped. Now I am not sure if the seal of that jar is good.
Is it OK to store it, or should it be used and refrigerated immediately? | You should either store that jar in the refrigerator or reprocess it with a new lid.
The vacuum formed is not going to be as strong as your other jars and may be temperature sensitive. It may stay sealed on the shelf, but it may not. I wouldn’t risk having to discard the whole jar. |
What causes air pockets in crepes?
I am cooking crêpes using the basic recipe: 1 egg, 250 ml (8.5 oz) full-fat milk, 250 ml (8.5oz) water, 200 g (1.4 cup) regular wheat flour, a pinch of salt. I let it sit for an hour+ in the fridge before I start baking.
The taste is fine, but the texture is not consistent. Sometimes I get “lace” crêpes with small holes (1 mm), which is what I want. Sometimes I get crêpes with large air pockets, maybe 2-3 cm / 1" in diameter, 1 cm / 0.5" thick.
What am I doing wrong? | To me it looks like the crepe batter is sticking unevenly to the cooking surface. As the crepe cooks, steam is released from the bottom. In some areas the crepe sticks to the pan and prevents the steam from escaping; it gathers into bubbles. (As the crepe continues to cook, the surface dehydrates and proteins contract, releasing the crepe, so this doesn't necessarily lead to sticking when you attempt to flip the crepe.)
It's hard to tell from your photos, but I guess you're cooking on a cast iron skillet? Before you start cooking crepes, oil it and bring it to smoking temperature, then wipe with a dry paper towel and allow to cool to cooking temperature. Re-oil immediately before you start cooking the crepe. If there's any significant rough carbon deposits, try reseasoning.
Finally, if you like lacy crepes, try whisking the batter just before pouring it. The small bubbles are what cause the laciness, and they'll also act to release the pressure that would otherwise develop into large bubbles. |
How to avoid juice flowing out of meatloaf when puncturing it with a thermometer?
When baking meatloaf an related dishes, I've noticed that sometimes a large amount of liquid will flow out after I puncture the meatloaf with a thermometer. I imagine it would be better if the juice stayed in while letting the meatloaf cool down, to give a more moist meatloaf. What would you suggest to avoid this issue, while still being safe?
Note: I do sometimes supplement bread crumbs with coconut flour to reduce the carbs in the meatloaf, rather than just using bread crumbs, so this might partially be responsible. I also tend to use 2:1 ratio of ground poultry to beef. | If you have the ability to do so, cook the meatloaf with a probe or thermometer in it. That is certainly the approach I take when I have to cook a pork or poultry meatloaf or something of the like.
Otherwise, I would recommend a high angle of attack (think 30-45 degrees) from outer corner towards center of mass and you may get away with some plain-ole physics of the juices not having an efficient exit.
Good luck! |
What is this silvery spot at the bottom of my wok after first use?
I just used my wok for the first time to make some chicken fried rice, usual ingredients. What is this silvery spot? I cleaned before using and everything, but this spot, whatever it is, won’t come out. Have I ruined my wok? | It looks very much like you've scraped off some of the non-stick coating.
Aside from the main peeled area there are other scratches that look like you were using metal utensils. You should be able to just feel the edges if that's the case, a very slight rise in the level between the 'silver' which looks to be aluminium & the 'dark' coating. It's very thin so may be hard to feel.
If indeed that's the case, it's time for a new wok.
I've blown up the photo to see a bit more clearly. The peeling could be from overheating, or just poor manufacturing. The scratches, however, are a separate issue, & look like heavy use of metal utensils, which 'old fashioned, regular teflon' just cannot take.
There are newer non-stick coatings which are much more scratch-, and indeed heat-resistant - but they tend to come at a price.
Late edit
As the subject of overheating teflon seems to always crop up in comments on this type of question, modern non-stick is quite often no longer described as 'teflon' or PTFE, but just as a rather secretive 'non-stick'.
My own wok is one of these - Masterclass - and has withstood all the heat I can throw at it for two years, without showing any sign of scratching, burning, evaporating or anything else detrimental to the surface. I treat it with little respect, though I only use wooden or plastic utensils for all my pans, & wash it in regular washing-up liquid (dish soap) with the same brush I use for everything else. The outside is scuffed & scratched, but the inside still looks as new.
And it only cost 30 quid [bucks/euros]. |
Should you wash raspberries?
I know, the hard and fast rule is to wash all your produce, but I have the hardest trouble washing raspberries. They inevitably get waterlogged and lose so much texture no matter how gentle I am. I see raspberries on cooking shows and online recipes and it's obvious the raspberries have not been washed. I have a very discerning eye. (wink) So should they be washed or not? | Like anything else food-related it's a matter of risk. If I'm picking raspberries straight off of my bush I often eat them without washing, but if I have a lot of them from the store I wash them as I don't know what they have been exposed to in packing and transit. Many people do not do this and get away with it just fine, occasionally someone gets sick. How much of a risk it is depends on the source of the berries, how they are packed, etc. and most of the time this is a complete unknown.
As for how to clean them it's important to be gentle, especially with very ripe raspberries as they can easily break apart. It's similar with blackberries, when I collect wild berries I accept that I will lose 5-10% of them in washing as some of them simply dissolve for lack of a better word. I minimize this by gently filling the container with water, soaking then for a few minutes, agitating them gently with my hand, then draining them. If they are good and solid you don't have to be this careful.
Raspberries don't absorb water, it's the cavity that gets filled up that gives that impression, so to drain them effectively I tilt them in all directions, letting the water run out no matter the orientation of each berry. |
When making lemon/poppy seed icecream, how should I include the poppy seeds?
I want to make lemon+poppy ice cream, and I have a bag of preground blue poppy. I’m not following s specific recipe, I just like the flavour combo and had it in icecream from a shop before. Can I add them to the base when it’s hot; when it’s chilled before churning; steep them then strain them out; or do I add them to the finished icecream? | Poppy seeds have a very pleasant aroma and a bit of heat is going to do wonders to extract their flavour and aroma. I would dump them right into the end of the cooking process after you remove your custard from the heat. You don't want to cook them because you'll boil off volatiles and lose some flavour much like vanilla.
I think if you can get some lemon zest to appear in your finished product, or even as a garnish, along with the flecks of poppy it's going to look beautiful if you leave them in. Sort of a more sophisticated vanilla bean ice cream vibe. |
Is this Pomegranate Molasses rescuable?
I was trying to make Alton Brown's Pomegranate Molasses, but had trouble converting his "medium-low heat" to my electric (glass top) stove.
I ended up with what commenters on the above link describe as "Pomegranate Candy" because I let it get too thick and it solidified as it cooled.
Other than starting again with lower heat or less time, is there any way to rescue it? Can I reheat it with more pomegranate juice (or plain water) added to rehydrate it somehow? | Yes. You can dissolve your pomegranate candy in plain water and cook it to a more usable consistency. A candy thermometer is useful here. But if you have any instant read thermometer for cooking, you should aim for around 220°F (104°C) max. If you get to 230°F (110°C), you'll be making candy again.
If you don't have a thermometer handy, I recommend getting a cup of ice. As you recook your syrup and notice it start to reduce, take a spoonful and drip a little onto your ice. That will chill it quickly and allow you to see where the final product will be texturally. |
Mold on homemade sriracha
We found a recipe online for homemade sriracha hot sauce.
3lbs red jalapeños
1 cup brown sugar
⅛ cup salt
Everything was blended together, then set in a dark closet. The lid is not airtight but has an elastic band holding it shut. This was to let pressure escape as the recipe suggested.
It was supposed to be left for 2 weeks in a dark place. It has been one week but I am worried about the mold on the top.
After about 2-3 days it had a white layer. I read this might be yeast so ignored it. However, it now has fuzzy black mold and I am worried.
Most hot sauce recipes I see need vinegar or something to keep it from rotting but apparently this fermentation method works fine.
Is this sriracha still ok? Can we scrape the mold off after 1 more week? | Do NOT eat this. You figured out right that the stuff on top is mold. The thing that makes mold dangerous is the mycotoxins produced by it and these will likely remain in the sauce even if you scrape off the furry stuff. So eating this comes with high risk of affecting your health. Move it to the trash bin right away.
I would recommend to try again with a recipe with vinegar added and also to use containers that are more appropriate for doing fermentation. This means to minimize the amount of air in the container that could possibly contain any spores and to minimize the surface of the food exposed to the air. So using a bottle will serve your purpose much better than the only half-full glasses on your pictures.
Also be very careful to sterilize the containers and tools getting in contact with the sauce before starting the fermentation. |
What is the animal product in pizza sauce in korea
I am currently in S.korea, I was checking the ingredients of pizza in a small local restaurant, because I follow halal diet, and I was surprised to find that there is animal product in the sauce.
So can anyone tell what kind of animal product that is used in making tomato sauce?
Thanks is advance!! | All sorts of animal products may be used in a tomato sauce, and only the restaurant itself can tell you exactly which they used. For example, one could add anchovies for salt and umami, one could add chicken/beef/pork stock for a richer flavour, one could add a splash of cream for a rounder flavour, or one could use honey instead of sugar to balance the acidity of the sauce. This list is by no means exhaustive and only the restaurant can tell you what they did. (The "authenticity" of any of these options is up for debate.) |
How does water behave in Dutch oven baking?
Recently I made a research about how steam works in baking. I found four main functions:
Steam condenses and keeps the dough surface cool, preventing the crust to form too soon, what could hinder the oven spring.
As the water condenses, it releases a lot of energy into the dough, heating it faster.
Because the surface is not too hot, the enzymes work longer and we get a better crust.
The combination of heat + water gelates the starch and we get a crispier and shiny crust.
That makes perfect sense. Almost all of that information I got from the amazing book "On Food and Cooking", Mcgee.
Knowing that, now I am am very confused about how baking in a dutch oven works.
Because all the water in the environment (Dutch oven with lid on) comes from the dough. I understand that it won't condense back into the dough, so I won't get that "water layer", neither the initial "blast" of energy of the steam condensing into the dough.
Is that right? What am I missing?
My personal experience says that the Dutch oven works, I get a good oven spring and crust. But I don't know if this is because of the "humid environment" of the trapped steam as almost everybody says, or just because the dough is closer to the radiant source, so it heats faster.
By the way, do we really need to bake at that high temperature? What would happen if we could bake at 100º C (212º F) to get the oven spring and only after work on the crust color? | I think we need to deal with the two different elements of the question: first, I'll discuss better oven spring, and then I'll get to good crust formation.
Most oven spring comes from inside the bread. Air is already trapped inside the bubbles in the dough which expands as the internal temperature rises. Additional steam is released internally as the dough heats, adding to the pressure for expansion created inside the dough. The only thing necessary for good oven spring in most breads is allowing these internal gases to expand and evolve.
The main thing external steam does to impact oven spring is prevent early crust formation (as alluded to in the first point in the question). The mechanism is not only due to cooling, but due to humidity of the surrounding air. For a crust to form, the dough has to be heated above boiling temperatures. In order for the dough to get that hot, it needs to lose significant moisture (at least on the surface), effectively drying out. If a section of dough has substantial moisture, it will continue to boil out. With normal air pressure, water boils out around 212F/100C, which means that while water is boiling out of moist dough, the temperature of that portion of the dough will maintain a temperature around that boiling point.
By surrounding the dough with high moisture air, you slow the rate at which water boils out of the surface of the dough. (Water will boil out faster in a low-humidity environment compared to a high-humidity one.) So, filling your oven with steam will slow crust formation by keeping the outer layer of dough hydrated longer, which means it stays soft and doesn't harden (which would halt oven spring).
The same effect is still possible in a dutch oven, because there's a much smaller volume of air to fill with steam. A significant amount of moisture escapes bread dough while baking, and there's enough in the early phases to create a fairly moist environment inside the dutch oven, effectively simulating an oven filled with steam already. As long as a relatively high humidity environment is maintained around the dough, it will delay crust formation and aid oven spring.
The radiant heat from the dutch oven on all sides also may add to the oven spring by introducing more energy quickly into the dough. (That happens even without the condensation mechanism discussed in the question. I mean, some moisture may condense back on the cooler dough, though nowhere near as much as with an oven filled with external steam. My guess is that the condensation mechanism to deliver heat is less important for oven spring than keeping the outer layer of the dough soft and hydrated. Also, even without significant condensation, moist air will transfer heat faster than dry air.)
The previous paragraphs discuss where better oven spring comes from. The good crust formation then is also aided by the third and fourth points in the question (extended enzyme activity, which aids in ultimate browning, and starch gelation), both of which just come from the high humidity environment. In that sense, the "water layer" described in the question still can happen by simply being in a sealed container that keeps humidity relatively high.
It should be noted that most recipes for dutch oven baking state that the lid should be removed for the last portion of baking. This removes the moisture (as when a steam oven is vented during bread baking), which allows better and more consistent crust coloration as the Maillard reactions can proceed faster in a low humidity environment. Crust will still form with the lid on, but it may become somewhat thicker before it browns as much as is desired. (A lot of this depends on temperature, time of bake, hydration level, etc.) In my own experience, keeping the lid on too long can delay escape of internal moisture from the dough as well, which can sometimes give the crumb a more "gummy" texture even when fully baked.
By the way, do we really need to bake at that high temperature? What
would happen if we could bake at 100º C (212º F) to get the oven
spring and only after work on the crust color?
No, you do NOT have to bake at a super high temperature. In fact, some people bake successful loaves of bread starting with a cold dutch oven. See, for example, this blog post from King Arthur flour for some tips. They ultimately concluded that one should use an enclosed container with a smaller base if starting from a cold temperature. Although they don't explain why, my guess is that the long time it takes for the temperature to rise allowed a bit too much gas to escape before the bread solidified internally, leading to a slight collapse and a final loaf volume that was a bit smaller.
That said, I'd say that effect is somewhat recipe and dough dependent, as well as dependent on how long it takes for the dutch oven to heat up. It's certainly possible that in some situations a bake started with a cold dutch oven could give an equal or even superior oven spring to a loaf started in a hot oven. You're balancing two things: (1) crust formation can't happen too quickly, or the oven spring halts before the rise is complete, but (2) structure needs to set quick enough before gases migrate out of the dough, and the gluten isn't sufficient to continue to hold up the expanded dough (without the set internal structure). Starting in with a cold dutch oven avoids the first, but could cause problems with the second. If the timing is right, though, one could maximize oven spring and still get good crust formation and color at the end. However, at some point, one does need to finish with a rather hot oven to get the browning and "crackling" element of the outermost layer of crust in a lean dough. |
Are there any benefits in refrigerating stock before using it?
I'm at the tail end of cooking a chicken stock and was planning to use a small portion of it in a marsala sauce later in the evening. Every chicken stock recipe I've read says to let the stock cool then refrigerate. To my understanding, this is not only to preserve the stock but also to allow it to become gelatinous? Will I lose out on any flavor by going directly from the pot and into the pan? | Any gelatin in your stock will be there whether it is warm or cold. It's just that gelatin solidifies when it cools...it will melt out when you warm it again, leaving you where you are now. You can go straight to your sauce, your stock is probably as flavorful as it will be when you are finished cooking it. Cooling prior to refrigeration is to prevent the potential warming of other items in your refrigerator, and has little to do with the stock itself. |
Alcohol free & sugar free fruit cake
How would you fine people replace the alcohol and sugar in a fruit cake with? I personally don’t like alcohol at all, so I’d like to try a alcohol & sugar free fruit cake as I’m diabetic and a tea totalar. | A fruit cake would not be sugar free strictly speaking, since fruits have sugars, but you can make a fruit cake without adding extra sugar by using lots of very sweet dried fruits like dates, raisins and figs.
A cafe I know has a "famous" vegan no sugar no oil cake which is made of about 50% mixed dried fruits. They use dried dates, raisins and apricots. I would guess that they soak the fruits in hot water for a few hours to get some of the sugar to come out and sweeten the batter.
One of the best cakes I have tried has no added sugar as such - it's sweetened by soaking stoneless dates, then grinding that into a smooth paste to use in the batter. Here's a recipe for that (though I made that recipe vegan using water for soaking and cashew almond yogurt instead of dairy yogurt, so have not tested it as written). If you prefer something like a traditional dried fruits cake, you can always add raisins to that recipe and skip the walnuts.
I never use alcohol for anything, so when I make a fruit cake recipe that is supposed to have alcohol, I just skip it. Alcohol is used for soaking fruits to get better extraction than with plain water. Grinding some of the soaked fruits to a paste, as in the dates cake recipe, gets around the problem of water not extracting enough sugar from the fruit to sweeten the batter. |
Food dye to simulate stained glass
I have a recipe for stained glass crepes, now my question is this:what food coloring could be used to simulate stained glass for said crepes?
READY IN: 1hr 10mins
SERVES: 4-7
YIELD: 7 crepes
UNITS: US
INGREDIENTS
Nutrition
1
cup flour
1
cup sugar
1
egg
1
cup milk
1
teaspoon vanilla
12
lolly pops, crushed
DIRECTIONS
Mix the dough according to taste by muffin method. (The muffin method is when you put the wet stuff on top of the dry stuff and mix it together with as little stirring as possible fyi).
Form dough into the shape you want the crepe to be.
Add the crushed lollipops into the spaces between the dough spaces that are open.
Bake for 30 minutes to a hour or until the lollipop pieces are molten.
Wait until they are cool enough to touch and then remove with spatula.
These are the directions for my recipe in question. Can food dye be used to substitute for the crushed lollipops? | The lollipops are the glass, so you couldn't substitute food dye alone. The sugar in them provides the bulk, and nothing else is comparably transparent. You'd either get dyed pancake (painting rather than stained glass) or just a stain on the pan. You could substitute home-made coloured sugar/hard candy, for which you'd need any (water-soluble, i.e. common) food dye. But this would be a lot of work to make several colours so buying lollipops or some other boiled sweets/hard candy would make more sense unless you specifically wanted unflavoured glass. |
Can I freeze beef bones and use them to make a broth later on?
I am interested in making my own beef broth from bones left over from chuck roasts, t-bone steaks, etc. However I currently do not have enough bones to make a batch with.
Can I get a big ziplock "bag o' bones" going and keep it in the freezer, adding to it as I get more bones, and finally thaw + use all the bones once I have enough?
Or do bones "go bad" in the freezer, freezer burn easily, or cause other problems when accumulating the bones slowly over time? | Yes, you can. The advantage, as you point out, is that you can collect the bones until you have enough to make a flavorful stock. They freeze well, but will last even longer (avoiding freezer burn) if you can remove as much air as possible from the package. I often do with with chicken bones, necks, and skin until I accumulate a decent amount for a stock. |
Why are my stir fried pea sprouts too stiff, and turn into lumps?
I'm trying to make stir-fried pea sprouts as seen this photo), but without the mushrooms.
I used this kind of pea sprouts:
First I wash and soak them in salt water for 15 mins. I know that I mustn't overcook these pea shoots. 2nd I turn my stainless steel pan to high heat. 3rd I add oil and Shaoxing wine. 4th I add the pea shoots to the pan, and stir fry for under 30 seconds.
But they're too stiff/starchy to even chew. When I chew them, they turn into lumps that I can't swallow.
Is the kind of sprouts the problem? Are another kind of sprouts sold in Hong Kong? | I don't make the Hong Kong recipe, but I often cook Thai-style pea shoots in the spring. And for that matter I often made them when I lived in California, so origin is not your problem.
One thing I did find is that there's a huge difference in pea shoots based on age. Tiny, 3-day old pea shoots, also called "pea sprouts", are the kind you want to flash-fry:
Pea shoots that are a bit older, like a week or two old are also eaten:
However, these are a lot more fibrous, and need to be blanched before frying. I don't know what you bought, but it really sounds like you got older pea shoots. Species might also make a difference; the ones that Asian markets sell are usually snow pea shoots. If you got some other kind of pea shoot, like English peas, it's possible that those are also more fibrous. |
Collecting acorns to eat - how/when?
Acorns of many oak species are edible.
They've been used as food in many traditions, but almost all need boiling and/or soaking to leach out the tannins. I'm curious to try them, as nuts, a hot drink, or ground into flour for baking. I'm particularly interested in the European Oak (a.k.a Quercus robur, English or Common Oak) as I have several growing over my garden.
I've found plenty of sources on how to prepare them, but little on how to select them. I assume they should be brown to be ripe, but do I need to get up and pick them as soon as they turn brown, or are fallen ones good? Apart from obvious signs that something has started eating them, is there anything I should beware of?
Update:
Even after discarding the floaters I had to throw away quite a few. they were quickest to shell by quartering them lengthways with a sharp knife.
Unroasted ground acorns worked well in place of ground almonds in a biscuit (cookie) recipe, but the coffee substitute has a flavour closer to malty than nutty and isn't great. I may not have roasted the acorns enough, because despite leaching until they weren't bitter, they turned dark brown on drying so I couldn't see how roasted they were. | The book, "Nature's Garden" by Samuel Thayer, has an excellent, extremely thorough explanation of how to find, select, harvest and prepare acorns.
He lists 9 different types of defective acorns to avoid:
Attached Cup: Ripe acorns loosen from their cups unless they are infected. An acorn with a firmly attached cup indicates that the tree noticed it was infected and prematurely dropped it. Note that a loosely attached cup is fine, as long as it can be easily separated from the nut without using significant force.
Exit hole: an exit hole about the side of a pencil tip indicates that the acorn had a grub in it.
Old acorn: Acorns from the previous autumn are dull brown or gray and have lost any attractive color they may have had.
Dark zone: If part of the shell has a dark area, it usually corresponds with an area of spoiled nut meat inside.
Shell or disk separation: The disk is the round, pale, nearly-flat area underneath the cap. If this area is partially separated from the shell, it indicates the nutmeat is bad. (Think of it like a popped lid on a jar of home-canned produce.)
Rippled bottom: Healthy acorns often have subtle ripples in the shell where it attaches to the disk, but extreme or exaggerated ripples indicate a bad nut.
Dark spot: Tiny dark spots anywhere on the shell but especially on the disk, indicate weevil holes.
Bulging or sunken disk: Healthy acorn disks can be flat, slightly concave or slightly convex. Severely sunken or bulging disks indicate a bad acorn.
Dying sprout: Primarily seen on white oaks. A healthy sprout indicates the acorn is fine, but a dying sprout indicates the acorn is bad.
He also notes that while the float test is useful for finding very bad acorns, it will not find acorns that have been recently infested with grubs, because the grub will not have eaten enough of the acorn to make it float. You can freeze or roast your acorns after the float test. This will kill any grubs, but it will also kill the acorns. Dead acorns go bad quickly, so you must immediately shell and dry acorns after freezing or roasting.
Another tip Thayer provides is oaks will drop their nuts in two batches. The first batch is often made up of unhealthy or infected nuts that the tree wants to get rid of. Collect from the second batch, because it will have fewer bad nuts. In red oaks, the two batches will be a month or two apart. In white oaks, the two batches blend together without an obvious gap, but the odds of finding good nuts are better in the latter half of the season. Of course, if you wait too long you might miss the opportunity to harvest at all, because critters will get all the nuts. If you don't know exactly when to expect the start and end of the acorn season, it's probably better to err on the side of too early.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to harvest acorns. The acorn section is 30 pages long and full of useful tips that will save you a lot of wasted effort. |
Is there a rubric for what ingredients go into a Chinese stir fry?
Looking at these two recipes:
https://omnivorescookbook.com/tofu-and-broccoli/
https://omnivorescookbook.com/ginger-chicken/
they are quite similar but have minor variations. This seems to be the case for a lot of Chinese cooking - there are many recipes that use slightly different quanities or omit a single ingredient but are recognised as a different dish.
For example the ginger chicken contains
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
but the tofu stir fry by the same chef contains
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
And then for another ginger chicken recipe (https://thewoksoflife.com/ginger-chicken/), the sauce has
1/4 cup Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce (optional)
What confuses me is that distinguishing between ginger chicken and another chicken stir fry seems to rely on these small variations in flavours.
But these variations aren't consistent between chefs, so is there really just one "mother" stir fry recipe that you can tweak to your preference? Or do the variations actually result in something that you could tell apart by what you get on the table without knowing what its called? | Is there a rubric for what ingredients go into a Chinese stir fry?
Usually, some optional mixture of liquids, vegetables, noodles, fruits, and meats.
A bit of a facetious answer, but really- stir frying is just a method of cooking food.
While there are certain ingredients that we usually associate with stir frying, the existence of a 'mother stir fry recipe' is about as real as a 'mother grilling recipe', or a 'mother microwaving recipe'. It's silly to say, isn't it? You can grill whatever you want, however you want.
So why do two different recipes have minor, small variations?
Well, because they're different recipes. Those chefs just decided that's what they wanted their recipe to be, so it is.
Your implicit follow-up question seems to be "Are those small differences enough to make a difference?" and of course, as always, the answer is 'it depends.' The difference in 1/4 cup of Shaoxing wine to 1/2 teaspoon of rice wine? That's a pretty huge difference. You'll taste that. You might not know what difference you're tasting, but that's not the goal, is it? Just the fact that it's different is enough for it to be, well, a different recipe.
If you look around enough, I'm sure you'll find two recipes that are essentially identical with different names. That's okay too, isn't it? Two different people could eat the exact same thing and experience the taste of that in different ways, and thus name it two different things. If a dish contains hot peppers and garlic in equal measure, one person might call it Spicy Pepper Dish and another person might call it Sweet Garlic Dish. They're both valid names.
Hope my long rant was at least a little bit helpful. Thanks. |
Adding beer to my chili gave it a spoiled taste. How can I salvage it?
I added beer to my chili and now it has a very bad spoiled taste! How can I fix it without tossing it out? I have tried using baking soda, but it didn't work. | I doubt you can salvage this dish. Once you add flavors you can't take them out, you can try to compensate and balance using other ingredients, which you have tried. Beer adds sweetness, bitterness from hops and sometimes acidity depending on the type of beer, you would need to judge which one you need to balance and add an ingredient to do that. However, you added baking soda, which is bitter and has a metallic taste, flavors which are unpleasant. Adding more ingredients at this point are unlikely to help, I would suggest you start again. |
Recipes of Turkish drinks in Voltaire's Novel
There are some description of Turkish drinks in Voltaire's novel 'Candide', written in 1759 -
presented them with several sorts of sherbet, which they had made
themselves, with kaimak enriched with the candied-peel of citrons,
with oranges, lemons, pine-apples, pistachio-nuts, and Mocha coffee…
Are there any books or documents that are close to above described drinks? Thanks.
Note:
I assume Mocha coffee is served separately which is common in today's world. | First, let me clarify a linguistic point: Nowadays, both words "sherbet" and "sorbet" have entered the English language as loanwords. They both describe frozen desserts, and I have seen some people use them interchangeably and others making a distinction, e.g. that sorbet is dairy-free and sherbet has dairy. No matter how they are interpreted, sources about this meaning are not relevant to your question. It just so happens that the loanword's meaning has changed when entered English.
What you need is information about the word "sherbet" as understood in Turkey, not in English-speaking languages. And I am afraid that it is not a very informative word - it is a generic word for a sweet drink. I would actually go so far and translate it as "syrup" while noting that in modern Western countries, a syrup is seen as a concentrate to be diluted, while in Turkish cuisine, it is drunk straight (maybe at concentrations slightly lower than of the "simple syrup" found in classic western pastry books, but not too much lower).
Being that the word is so imprecise, there won't be a source referencing some kind of exact recipes for the drinks mentioned in that passage. Instead, you have to imagine people taking any combination of water, sugar (lots of sugar), and additional flavorful stuff, and drinking it. It is similar to a milkshake - what I throw in the blender is differnet from what my neighbour throws into the blender, and the "pistachio milkshake" I make today may have different ingredients and ratios from the one I made last week.
Dairy is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of sherbet, but there is also no sherbet police to prevent people from using it, so the kaymak (thick cream) was probably just added for more richness.
I wouldn't necessarily assume that the Mocha was drunk separately. Maybe it was, but maybe the specific example described was of a coffee based drink, the way people add espresso to milk to create a latte, or maybe they used a tiny bit of (brewed or ground) coffee as a flavoring. Just because it's unusual today, it doesn't mean that it has to be unusual across different cultures. Again, it wouldn't be a classic example for sherbet - the classic, purest form would be sugar and water, with maybe fruit juice as flavoring. |
What is the best way to keep fresh food good for a long trip?
I would like to buy a few meals from a restaurant that would then later be reheated.
What would be the best way to safely transport pasta for 10+ hours while maintaining freshness and quality?
I was going to ask the restaurant to make it and freeze it. Then we were hoping a cold bag (as purchased at Sam's Club) would keep it sufficiently cold. Are there better (practical) options or is this endeavor ill-advised or unsafe? | Pasta does not freeze very well, so I would advise against asking the restaurant to freeze it. I would ask that they provide the sauce in one container, and the (uncooked) pasta in another. Those two will keep just fine in a cold box with ice for ~10 hours. If you're very concerned about food safety, you can keep a thermometer in the cold box and make sure it doesn't exceed fridge temperature. If the temperature starts to increase (unlikely in 10 hours with a decently insulated cold box) the car can stop for more ice. On arrival, you boil the pasta according to instructions (it's most likely fresh pasta, so it should only be boiled for 2-3 minutes) and gently heat up the sauce in a pan before combining and adding any toppings like cheese. |
Preserving oil and lime based dressing for resale
I make an oil and lime based dressing that everyone loves and says I should sell. I am having a hard time finding out the requirements to safely preserve the dressing for resale. There has to be a method or there wouldn't be oil and vinegar dressings on store shelves.
I don't want to contact a manufacturer/distributer yet because I'd like to see how well it does on a small scale at farmers markets before I pay manufacture/distribution costs. | You can't reasonably create a shelf-stable lime juice and oil dressing in a home kitchen.
Oil and vinegar dressings don't really need much to preserve them because both oil and vinegar are shelf-stable on their own.
Lime juice, however, degrades at room temperature, so you would need to sterilize it in a hot water bath. That's pretty simple; lime juice is extremely high acid, so 10 minutes at 180F will do it.
However, that brings up a second problem: hot water bath canning anything containing a lot of oil is not recommended. There's some problems with canning anything containing a lot of oil:
Any oil on the jar seal can cause it to fail;
Oil can go rancid in the jar, even if heat-treated and sealed;
Times and temperature formulas for non-oil packing do not work for oil packing, because oil takes longer to transmit heat;
Adding the oil lowers the overall acidity of your dressing, possibly making it a low-acid food and requiring pressure canning.
Moreover, because home canning with oil is officially not recommended, it's very hard to find any reputable advice on how to do it. This means you'd be experimenting ... not just with your recipes, but with the health of your customers, which is very risky in most places.
However, there is another option. Many small producers sell dressings that need to be refrigerated and consumed within a few weeks; I have a feta-cheese based dressing from a local cheesemaker in my fridge right now. You could experiment in your own fridge to see how long it keeps. Consider this as your path forwards for selling your dressing. |
Can I use edamame pods to make a vegetable broth?
I’m currently saving various vegetable scraps to make veggie broth. I have a bunch of leftover edamame pods that I would normally just compost, but I’m wondering if they would work well in my broth. Would that taste okay? | I wouldn't expect them to have much effect on your broth either way. The pod shells are fairly fibrous and don't have much flavor of their own. |
When seasoning a cast-iron pan, should you let the oil smoke?
I've looked at seasoning guides online, and they all say that to season, you need to heat the pan to 350 degrees Farenheit.
However, some oils have vastly different smoke points. If my oil starts smoking at 350, should I use a lower temperature? Is the oil supposed to smoke or not?
A more general question is, why exactly 350? What happens if the temperature is too low or too high? | You certainly should let the oil smoke - if you don't, you'll end up with a layer of oil, not a layer of seasoning.
Nothing special happens at 350 F. It is a fairly typical oven temperature, so if you have been looking at guides for oven seasoning, they probably suggest this temperature out of inertia.
I must admit that with my first iron pan, I started out like you, reading a ton of guides, trying to consolidate the information, combining it from knowledge from other sources, and feeling confused. Now, several years and pan purchases later, I would classify such behavior as clear overthinking. There is a wide range of methods (and temperatures) that work, but you do need a bit of hands-on experience to judge how it is going, and intervene if something is not right, and you can't replace it by reading. So just pick one(!) guide, follow it exactly, and use the pan. If the seasoning gets damaged, you will recognize it, and can strip and redo, until you have the skill. |
Do dried poblano/ancho chili have an expiration date?
I cleaned my kitchen cupboard and found a packet of ancho chili (dried poblano) that I bought a really long time ago (about 10 years?)
Can I still use them in recipes or do they have a "best before date" ?
They still look good, they do not look to be damaged in any way (I don't have bugs or other critters at home)
Thanks. | Dried hot peppers lose flavor and heat over time. At ten years old, your poblano peppers are probably fairly bland. Smell them. If they don't smell bad, taste them. (Taste them cautiously; they may still have some heat.)
If they are completely tasteless, then there's really no point in using them. The wouldn't be harmful, they just won't add anything to your dish.
Worst case scenario, they have picked up some bad flavors from their time in storage. They may bring dusty or musty flavors to your dish. Or they may just taste like a generic mixture of all the things you have in your cupboard. If this is the case, throw them out.
Best case scenario, they still have some good taste, and possibly some spiciness. If this is the case, go ahead and use them. Use more than you normally would; use your judgement to estimate how much more than normal. If you also want the spiciness that your dried peppers are lacking, supplement with some hot pepper flakes or cayenne powder.
When you run out and buy more dried peppers, remember that the new ones will be much spicier. Use the new ones very carefully until you get used to using them, or you will over-spice your dish. |
Canning Tomatoes: When are they too blemished and why does it matter?
In every canning recipe I have seen, the recipe calls for unblemished tomatoes, but this has never been explained further. The sources of these recipes has been on various internet sites (the kind with the interminable story preceding the recipe about how the great-aunt-twice-removed used to love this recipe), on recipe cards left by my relatives, and in that venerable bible of preservation: The Ball Blue Book.
What is the reason we should avoid a blemish?
Surely there is some good reason blemish = evil. My guesses on the matter:
A blemish makes it harder to blanch.
The blemish through the surface of the skin allows bacteria to penetrate into the flesh.
A blemish may indicate the presence of a bigger problem with the tomato.
Are all blemishes equal?
Consider the following from my wife's garden:
Case 1
This tomato (heirloom: Principe Borghese) has been over-watered and has begun to split. The split has begun to show blackening on the edge. When I was canning the batch when this tomato was picked, it was still fresh and unblackened. To me, it looks someone made skin cut too deep prior to blanching.
Case 2
This ugly looking specimen is typical for the "Purple Cherokee" heirloom variety. The large fruit grow quickly and every specimen we have picked shows the same radial splits. The green and dark red is typical for the variety as well.
Case 3
This is a tomato, another Principe Borghese which has been attacked by an unknown insect. The little black dots are very small bore holes through the skin. I assume that this tomato is the most obvious unacceptable example, but I wanted to include it anyway to see what the experts think about this kind of defect.
Is this some old piece of granny wisdom which has been lost to us?
Ideally, I'd like to have a reference for this. Scientific literature is a plus. | It's exactly what you suspect: blemishes indicate the possibility of contaminants, or provide an avenue for invasion, inside the tomato flesh. And while pressure canning kills a lot of organisms that would cause contamination, the higher the bacterial/fungal load, the more likely a few spores or cysts are to survive(PDF, large) and eventually germinate in the canned food.
To quote Michigan State University:
... the tissue damage and a rise in pH can create conditions that promote the growth of other potentially dangerous microorganisms ... The condition of the food item will not improve once it has been canned or frozen.
Tomatoes are particularly risky because they hover around the border of being acidic enough for low-pressure canning, and most home processors don't want to kettle them too long for texture reasons.
So it may be "granny wisdom" but it's solid, scientific granny wisdom.
In terms of your specific blemishes: yes, the skin splitting on otherwise fine tomatoes is still a problem. One thing that does is provide an avenue for botulism spores to embed themselves in the flesh of the tomato. Normally when you can tomatoes you remove the skin, and with it the vast majority of spores. But any spores that got into that split are still there.
(note: the long PDF on heat-treatment was included to show that spores die over heat/time as a percentage of the spores originally present. Hence, more spores, more risk) |
Can I substitute cornstarch for commercially prepared clear glaze?
One of the Dr. Oetker products is a fruit glaze, which sets to a clear gelatin, and which the ingredients list indicates to be principally tapioca starch. Can I just use an equal quantity of cornstarch to do the same job instead? Do the two starches behave similarly enough to be a straight substitute, or are there differences which will make for a noticeably different result? | Unfortunately no. Cornstarch will cook up white while tapioca starch cooks up remarkably clear.
You may be able to find tapioca starch at your local Asian market or if your grocery store has a decent organic or gluten-free section.
That said, if you speifically need to avoid tapioca for some reason, you could try arrowroot powder. I haven't seen it myself, but I've read that it also cooks up clear, but maybe not as thick as tapioca. |
Making cake and added oil at end instead of at the beginning
I forgot to add the oil at the beginning of my zucchini cake and had to add it at the end, after all the flour was in. So I had to beat it in a little. Do you think it will still turn out? | It's been a while since I've done it (mine were mostly with muffins, although I might've done it with some zucchini brownies this past spring), but I want to say it'll come out, but it might be different.
You'll have developed more gluten, as oil coating the flour prevents the water from getting to it as quickly. And there's the extra beating to get it all in there. So it probably won't come out as light as you were hoping.
But I find zucchini bread & cake recipes to be highly variable anyway -- as how much liquid you squeeze out of it (and by extension, how finely you grate it), has a huge impact on the final result. |
What is this slicing (?) tool?
I saw this tool at a yard sale today. It appears to be some sort of slicing or cutting device.
The construction however seemed fairly lightweight, I couldn't picture putting something dense, heavy, etc. through it. | That tool is indeed a slicer for cutting cabbage in preparation for fermenting it in a large pottery crock for sauerkraut. My mother used one very similar to make a five gallon and a ten gallon of crock full of sauerkraut every year back in the 50's and 60's. |
How to clean silicone ice cube forms?
I bought silicone ice cube forms and when I used them something white swam on the water. I guess some silicone that dissolved from the form.
First I made ice three times and threw it away, but the problem persisted. Then I tried to put them in the dish washer. Now I bought another product from a different manufacturer and the problem is even worse.
(I am NOT 100% sure if they may still be products from the same factory or made in a similar way, but I explicitly tried to buy another product)
Are silicone forms just crap, am I doing something wrong, or is there a good way to clean them before the first use?
I do not have the problem using the same tap water with the hard plastic ice cube maker that came with my fridge. The general water quality here is quite high and I even use the water with a sodastream and making tea in the same glasses and it looks perfectly clear.
Before freezing the water looks clear as well an I do not see such dirt even when I let a glass of water stand somewhere.
Update:
I made an experiment by freezing one form with and one without lid. Here is an image of the forms and the lid:
The blue one was used without lid. They seem to be both silicone and the lids are all the same, only the forms have different colors.
The result after dissolving all cubes looks like this:
Left: blue form without lid (Little dirt, but still too much)
Right: white form with lid (Larges flakes of some dirt)
The cubes in the open form were quite easy to remove and well-separated. The lid stuck a bit on the cubes and I needed to break the cubes apart by bending the silicone, because the lid hold the water surface flat.
The open form stood on the closed one.
Update 2: Boiled water has the same problem. I'll try a water filter next.
Update 3: Water hardness as published by my water supplier:
Hardness 4,7 – 8,1 °dH (soft)
Magnesium 5,2 – 9,0 mg/l
Calcium 24,6 – 43,5 mg/l
Natrium 11,3 – 21,9 mg/l 200 mg/l
Chlorid 23 - 39 mg/l 250 mg/l
Nitrat 10 - 21 mg/l 50 mg/l
Uran < 0,0002 mg/l 0,01 mg/l
Update 4:
Same result with the water in another city (unknown hardness). In some of the forms white sediments after the water rest dried. Next I try a water filter.
Update 5:
I tried a water filter and got the same result.
Using a water filter I still get white flakes like in the right glass after melting all 24 ice cubes of the new form (not the one pictured above, but also silicone) with lid. | Silicone does not dissolve in water.
The scum you see floating on the top looks very much like lime-scale. This is in your water supply. It will also give you an encrusted kettle & white/grey blobs stuck to the nozzle of the hot tap after some time.
You could try distilled water, or invest in some kind of hard water filtration system. As mentioned in comments, using cooled, boiled water may also help a little, as the boiling will drop some of the calcium out of the water… & stick it to your kettle element instead.
Many places in the world you can enquire with your local water company as to how hard your water supply is - how much calcium, basically - & they will advise on softening methods. |
Re-heating beurre blanc without splitting
Warm emulsions are tricky to reheat without splitting... Beurre blanc being inherently unstable is the worst. I have tried several things from microwave on defrost, to bain-marie, to very low heat. I know that it should remain tepid (butter melts at about 35C), but I never seem to get it right. So:
How do you do it?
If it splits and you have (almost) no additional ingredients, how do you re-emulsify it?
Thanks | I'm quite sure being able to reheat beurre blanc is a superpower without a superhero. Your efforts are commendable but I think inevitably futile, I'm sorry to say.
The problem is not that it splits while heating up. The problem is that the sauce splits while cooling down. This is caused by the butter solidifying. When heating it back up again, it will simply become visible that the sauce has split.
It's unfortunate, but you're probably best off not making too much beurre blanc. If you still have some left over, it's a great component to use in a cream-based sauce. Also, if you really want to make a beurre blanc that you can cool down, you could experiment with adding cream. But even though it might turn out to be a nice sauce, it's not the real thing. |
Why did this cake fail?
I made this cake in a borrowed bundt pan (i.e., I'm not used to baking in it), which I greased with cooking spray. This was the result:
Not only did large sections stick to the pan and tear out upon removal, but there's that thick semi-burnt crust on the surface.
The tear-out suggests that the pan wasn't greased properly, but I typically get pretty good coverage with that spray.
The semi-burnt crust suggests that the oven was too hot, but, while I've never actually tested the oven, I've used it for years with no problems, so I'm pretty confident that it's accurate.
Does anyone have a thought as to what happened here? | Batters full of starches and sugars are always sticky, how you prevent it from sticking partly depends on the plan. Some pans have coatings which while called non-stick aren't, but do reduce sticking somewhat. On pans like these often buttering is sufficient, and 'normal' cake pan shapes allow you to loosen the sides by running a knife around the side, so even if they stick you can free the cake. Putting a piece of baking paper on the bottom of a flat bottomed pan is a sure-fire way of preventing issues.
When you have an odd shape like a bundt, paper won't work, and you can't afford anything sticking, so the best way to ensure it frees is to generously butter (not oil or spray) the pan and then flour it. You can also make cake release, which can be sprayed or brushed on, using equal volumes of flour, oil and shortening. |
Why are these bagels sticking?
I made this bagel recipe, and here is the result:
As you can see, the tops are beautiful, but the bottoms have stuck to the wire rack they were baked on, and have torn upon removal. The recipe does not mention greasing the rack (in either its written or video form), but should I be doing that anyway? Or is there some other way that I'm supposed to keep these bagels from sticking? | Those look like great bagels, as a native New Yorker living abroad in a place with no bagels I both salute and envy your results! I have also been baking my own to get my fix.
Baking bread on a wire rack is generally a bad idea, and a very bad idea with bagels. Bagels are very sticky because you boil them, this gelatinizes the outer layer of the dough, making it very soft so it will mold around any shape. They will sink onto any shape you put them on no matter what you coat them with and then bake onto that shape, so you need to bake them on a flat surface. They will also stick like glue to a flat surface, and there's one or two ways to counteract that:
Coat the bottom of the bagel. Purists will say you shouldn't do this, I have no problem with it, after all it means double the toppings! The only thing is the toppings don't necessarily crisp up as well when they are trapped between the bottom and the tray. You can also use a thin coating of fine cornmeal or better yet fine semolina. These act as miniature ball bearings and keep things from adhering. I use the same technique when baking pizzas
Bake on a non-stick surface such as baking paper or a reusable non-stick baking mat. In my experience non-stick baking trays do not work with bagels, they will stick to them like glue
I usually do both just to make sure. |
Selling food online nationally (US based)
I’m wanting to sell a dry-mix product online.
I am aware of the required local/state licenses as well as the need for food handler certification and commercial kitchen.
However, I am unsure of what is required in order to sell nationally.
Do I have to send my food in to a lab to have the contents analyzed or is there a less costly way to make a legitimate FDA nutrition label?
Is there anything else that is required to sell nationally online?
Do you know of any good resources for this general process? | The threshold for needing proper nutritional labeling in the US is something like $500k and 100k units (not sure the exact level). If you're selling in low enough volume, you essentially fly under the radar, though certain retailers may refuse to carry your product.
If you're going to meet labeling requirements, there are no shortcuts--you need to have proper nutritional analysis done and follow all the rules for ensuring it's accurate. Using a co-packer to manufacture and package your product comes with the benefit of their expertise in this sort of labeling and quality control.
If you're going to be doing any significant number of sales, or generating a significant amount of revenue, you probably want to look into having proper business insurance and finding an attorney to help you navigate legal requirements related to your venture. But that's far beyond food & cooking, and gets to be off topic for this forum. |
Making pie or crisp out of thawed fruit that is mostly juice
Can I make pie or crisp out of thawed berries that the juice has come out? Should I use more corn starch?
Phil, Thank you for your reply. I don’t have a recipe.
Should I drain off some of the liquid,
Or leave it all in? I will make a crisp rather than a pie. I usually dredge fresh fruit in a mixture of sugar and flour or sugar and cornstarch. I add spices, then add the crisp. This is the first time I have tried to use frozen fruit that is in a big puddle of juice! My question is, should I drain off some of the juice, or just add more if a thickening agent?
Thank you.
Edith | You should include the liquid and account for it in measuring your thickener.
Remember: fruit is mostly water. Take a look at a chart listing fruits by water content. Berries, stone fruit, and your other likely pie candidates all hover around 85% water; most of it escapes while the pie cooks. So to get a thick pie filling, you need quite a bit of sugar and starch.
When fruit is frozen, ice crystals break up some of the structure of the constituent cells. When it thaws, the fruit will be quite soft and juices may escape. However, no new water is introduced. Thus you need to retain the juices to get the same overall water content as fresh fruit.
I would caution against thickening without any measurements though. To get consistent results, you should really be thickening by weight. I follow these instructions from Stella Parks: she thickens fruit with 5.5% of its weight in tapioca starch and 25% of its weight in sugar. Cornstarch is a slightly stronger thickener; consistent with this chart from King Arthur Flour, you should reduce the amount of thickener by a third.
Thus my final advise is:
Weigh out the berries and any escaped juices.
Multiply the weight by 0.25 and add that much sugar.
Multiply the weight by 0.037 and add that much cornstarch.
Cornstarch sets at 203°F (95°C) so make sure your pie filling is bubbling before removing it from the oven. |
Slow cooking chicken (thigh), why 4 hours?
I don't get why slow cooking recipes recommend 4-6 hours for chicken thighs on LOW (which is 185F) when Sous Vide recipes for chicken thighs recommend only 1 hour (up to 8 hours) at 160F.
Again, for chicken thighs:
Slow Cooking: 4 hours 185F
Sous Vide: 1 hour 160F
Does it make any sense?
PS: I sous vide'ed recently chicken thighs, 1 hour, 4 hours, and 8 hours at 160F, not a huge difference between 4 and 8 hour batches, not actually that more easier to shred than 1 hour one. | While both recipes will produce "cooked chicken thighs", the intended texture of the result is different. In the case of slow cooking, the temperature is meant to be high enough to render out fat and convert collagen into gelatin. The texture of the meat itself will be somewhat stringy and shreddable, with some dryness (hopefully compensated for by the fat and gelatin). In the case of the sous vide recommendation, the result is meant to be firm rather than shreddable, with more retained moisture, and no attempt to convert collagen.
For slow cooking, the long cooking time is required to effectively render the collagen. For sous vide, you basically just want to hit the target temperature, so recommended time is lower (but can be extended without affecting things much). |
Is there a mold test kit for packaged food?
Many packaged foods taste moldy to me but not to others. I return some products but the stores are acting like I am trying to rip them off. There are several mold test kits for homes and air. Will these detect mold in packaged foods? Recently I got a moldy taste in Vitamin C gummies and dairy-free chocolate chips. These were not expired but I could not even swallow them because of the mold taste. Does packaged food look okay but taste moldy to you? | A household mold test is going to test for the sort of mold which causes problems for buildings. It's a very different organism than that found in food.
The main thing you need to consider is whether you know what mold tastes like. Spoiled food will taste strange in many different ways, so if you're associating what you're tasting with a moldy food you had, you might be recognizing something completely different.
It strikes me that vitamin gums and chocolate chips are both at least somewhat likely to be coated with a small amount of cornstarch to prevent sticking. You should look at the ingredient labels and see if that, or some other ingredient, is common to them. I've heard of people who dislike the taste of cornstarch. |
Is using hot water to make chapathi dough a good idea?
One of these days, I accidentally used hot water in place of cold water on wheat flour to make chapathi dough. Coincidentally I found the dough to be much softer than usual. Also the kneading process had sped up by a bit. Is there any science to this observation or is it random? | Yes, using warm water helps keep the dough soft and also helps with the kneading.
Hot water denatures the proteins in the dough and also apparently makes it harder for gluten to form. I found this from this really beautiful video by Bong Eats. They recommend using boiling water to make the dough. I've tried it a lot of times, and it does work. It makes kneading easier, and the dough is softer.
Another tip: If you consume dairy, you can use a little yogurt while making the dough. That brings in the Lactobacillus bacteria, which slowly ferments the dough. That makes the chapathis soft and helps in keeping them soft for longer. |
Does storing an apple with potatoes prevent the potatoes from sprouting?
I don't know if this is an old wives tale because a Google search didn't bring me conclusive proof: in fact the top two results have exactly opposite answers on this question. Apparently both apples and onions contain ethylene gas but storing onions with potatoes is a big no no whereas I've been recommended several times to throw an apple into my bag of potatoes. | According to this article, the advice to not store onions and potatoes together has nothing to do with ethylene. Onions do not give off ethylene. It has to do with moisture. Both onions and potatoes give off some moisture. Storing them together makes both more likely to rot.
Apples, on the other hand, do give off ethylene. This begs the question, "What does ethylene gas do to potatoes in storage?" Here's what I found.
Ethylene exerts a dual effect on potato tubers: it markedly shortens the duration of rest, but it inhibits elongation of the sprouts during extended treatment. Source
Ethylene has been reported to break endodormancy following short-term treatments, but also to inhibit sprout growth and promote ecodormancy when supplied continuously – either starting immediately after harvest or at first indication of sprouting. - Source
“Endodormancy” occurs after harvest and is due to the internal or physiological status of the tuber. In this situation, even if tubers are placed in conditions favorable for sprout development, sprouting will not occur. “Ecodormancy” is when sprouting is prevented or delayed by environmental conditions. An example of this would be potatoes stored at lower temperatures having a longer dormancy period compared to potatoes stored at warmer temperatures. Source
short-term exposure of potatoes to ethylene gas encouraged more sprouting while long term exposure suppressed it. Source.
Summary:
If your potatoes are in the endodormant stage ethylene will break them out of endodormancy and move them into the ecodormant stage. Potatoes in the endodormant stage are very shelf-stable. Potatoes in the ecodormant stage are less shelf stable.
Once your potatoes are already in the ecodormant stage, there's no disadvantage to supplying them with ethylene. Ethylene will inhibit sprout growth at this stage.
But, you can't tell if your potatoes are in the endodormant stage or the ecodormant stage. The only way you can tell what dormancy stage they're in, is when they start to sprout. Then you know they're not dormant anymore.
So, you want to either:
Supply your potatoes with ethylene continuously, or
Wait until they start to sprout, then supply them with ethylene.
Once you have supplied your potatoes with ethylene, don't take away the source of ethylene.
Conclusion:
Don't:
Put an apple in with your potatoes for a while, then take it away. The ethylene will "wake up" your potatoes, and they will sprout sooner than if you didn't put an apple with them in the first place.
Put an apple in with your potatoes and forget about it. If the apple goes bad and starts to rot, your potatoes will be more likely to rot.
Do:
Put an apple in with your potatoes as soon as you put them in storage, remembering to check on them and replacing the apple if it goes bad. Your potatoes will sprout slightly less than without the apple.
-Or-
Store your potatoes without an apple, but check on them occasionally for sprouting. When they start to sprout, put an apple in with them. The apple will slow the sprout growth and make your potatoes last a bit longer.
Both options require you to check on your potatoes occasionally. If you don't want to do this (or don't trust yourself to remember), don't store them with an apple. Better to risk a bit of sprouting than the rot that a rotting apple will cause. |
What is meant by freezer?
I came across the word related to freezer in several statements as follows
Regarding chicken
Raw chicken pieces can be stored in the freezer for up to 9 months,
while a whole chicken can be frozen for up to one year. Cooked chicken
can be stored in the freezer for 2–6 months. Source
and regarding mushrooms
To further extend the shelf life of cooked mushrooms, freeze them;
freeze in covered airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags.
Source
I know about deep-fridge of an refrigerator, which is used to store small ice-cubes. Is it the freezer? Or any other container? | The terms freezer and deep freeze are synonymous. There is no such term as "deep fridge" in British or US English, though apparently there is in Indian English… where if you search what you find are chest freezers.
This means, whatever your terminology, a 'freezer', 'deep freeze' or 'deep fridge' is not the same as an ordinary ice box inside a refrigerator.
Small domestic refrigerators have an 'ice box', really little more than an enclosed but not sealed area where the actual cooling elements of the fridge operate. This is sufficient to make ice cubes, but not cold enough for long term freezer storage.
In the EU, ice boxes & dedicated freezers have a 'star' system which tells you how capable the box is for long term storage, from one to four stars.
If there are fewer than three stars, then you should consider it for short term storage only.
Ice boxes can have up to three stars, only a true dedicated freezer can have four.
If there are no stars, then don't use it for anything other than making ice cubes.
Apparently the US has no official designation or rating for consumer guidance. I cannot guess how you may be able to tell whether your ice box is safe with no ratings system at all; other than if it has a thermometer in each section.
What do the star ratings mean on my Fridge/Freezer?
* One star (-6 degrees centigrade) is perfect for making ice cubes and is sufficiently cold to keep food for three or four days.
** Two stars (-12 degrees centigrade) stores food for fifteen to twenty days.
*** Three stars (-18 degrees centigrade) will keep food safe for up to three months.
**** Four stars (below 18 degrees centigrade) means that the compartment provides the ideal conditions for freezing down fresh and pre-cooked foods
Dedicated freezers, or larger refrigerators with a dedicated, separate freezer section [accessible by a separate sealed door, & not enclosed within the fridge itself] should all be three or four stars.
Refs -
EU Regulation 1060/2010 fridge freezer labels..
Wikipedia - Refrigerator; Temperature zones and ratings |
Are lebkuchenherzen made from the same mixture as Lebkuchen?
I'd like to know how lebkuchenherzen are made.
Round iced Lebkuchen can have a soft cakey texture which I would imagine wouldn't be strong enough to hold the shape of a large lebkuchenherzen.
Are lebkuchenherzen made from the same mix and the structural strength comes from a thinner shape and harder bake or are there different ingredients or method? | The Lebkuchenherzen in your second picture are quite different from the cakey Elisenlebkuchen in your first photo.
To be blunt, they are not primarily designed for consumption, but focus on being a novelty item with witty or cute decoration. They are marketed as “decorative sweets” by a wholesale supplier, others offer customization like for other advertising objects.
If you want to make them yourself, aim for a rather stiff and dry dough, with lots of sweetener (often recipes have both sugar and honey) that gets kneaded quickly and contains no leavener like baking powder. Recipes that whip eggs and sugar and result in a spreadable batter will give you something in the Elisenlebkuchen family. Other good choices for sturdy Lebkuchenherzen are those for gingerbread houses - I have read rave reviews about the gingerbread house recipe by bravetart. |
Weird white ball/crystal like formations on RXbar
I am a fan of RX bars and have been eating them for a while now, but I've never seen something like this before. After browsing through the internet, I'm wondering if this is related to 'sugar bloom' on chocolate or sugar crystals that form on old dates, since both chocolate and dates are ingredients for these bars. I am wondering if I have to throw these all out or can eat them. I unpacked two of these bars in a set of 20 bars, so I really don't want to throw them out but I don't want to eat something that will do me no good. Most of these form on the packaging and towards one of the corners only, and there are only very few that are actually attached to the bar. Here are pictures for reference: | That's most likely sugar or fat bloom which is fine to eat. It happens (most often on cheaper chocolates) when it's kept in warm conditions (like an shipping warehouse) and the sugars crystalize on the surface. See more here: https://www.myrecipes.com/ingredients/what-is-that-white-stuff-on-chocolate |
Butter in baking
Butter has a ridiculously low smoke point (120 to 150 °C). Cooking in burnt oil is not cool. However, it seems difficult to find baked dishes targeted at below 150°C..
Is butter acceptable in the oven? When and when not? | Butter is not only fine, but extremely common in baked goods. I think the piece you're missing here is that the oven temperature is not the same as the temperature of the baked goods.
The internal temperature of most baked goods never even goes above boiling, unsurprising since there's at least a bit of moisture in there. While the exterior does get hotter, it's generally just a thin layer that browns, if any - bread has crust, some cookies brown on the bottom, and so on. And this isn't any less desirable than, say, getting some browning when sauteeing vegetables in butter.
So sure, I don't think you want to deep fry donuts in butter. But it's an ubiquitous ingredient in baking, with absolutely no issues with the smoke point. |
What tasks require or work best with a knife point?
Most kitchen knives have pointed tips. I can imagine trying to improve safety (e.g. if they're accidentally dropped) by rounding the tip. For example, a paring knife might look like the one on the right instead of the one on the left:
But I wonder what is lost on the culinary side? I cannot think of a recipe where the tip is essential. Usually when I need a pointy thing a fork works better than the tip of a knife. Certainly there are knives with less pronounced tips such as the Santoku stye knife and carving knife.
The first has a less pronounced tip but could still cut through your shoe. The second had a rounded tip but is a more specialized kind of knife.
Imagine you don't have any knives with pointed tips. What tasks become more of a hassle to accomplish? | A pointy tip is useful in a boning knife, particularly when getting between meat and sinew, or getting under silver skin. The pointy end of the knife is helpful when removing meat from the bone. I also use the pointy end of a fillet knife to get between the skin and meat of fish, starting the separation, when I want to remove fish skin from the fillet. I use the pointy part of the knife to pierce pork skin, for example, when I want to string a piece of jowl or belly to dry. I think you can accomplish plenty without the sharp point, but it does come in handy when you need to pierce or focus the cutting in a precise place. It's not really about recipes, rather it is a matter of the task that needs to be accomplished, and there are several where it comes in handy. |
What happened to this pot
I just bought a new cheap pot. Put some water in it, boiled it and noticed the pot up to its water level turned dark. I was thinking maybe the metal coating was peeling off and leaking into the water.
Boiled a second pot of water then poured it into a glass and the water looks clear as you can see in picture.
What happened to the pot and if I continue cooking with it will the water become contaminated? The upper part of the pot is still clear silver if the water level goes higher might it cause something to leech in?
Not using the pot now but hope I can.
Thanks. | Best guess without knowing your water supply composition; it's not the pan contaminating the water, it's the water contaminating the pan.
Iif you live in an area with certified potable water, it's really mainly visual, it won't hurt.
After comments
Yup, London water - safe, potable… but ugly.
You can either
scrub after every use, or
ignore until it annoys you enough to do a full descale
Buy a Brita jug & never boil unfiltered water.
It is completely harmless, just unsightly. |
Can you use CO2 cartridges in a N2O dispenser?
UNlike this post (Are N2O and CO2 chargers interchangeable for culinary purposes?) I want to know whether you can use the same dispenser for both carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.
I see that the heads look aesthetically similar but is there any technical difference between downward- and upward-facing spouts?
i.e. what would happen if I put water in a cream dispenser and used a CO2 cartridge instead of cream and a N2O cartridge? | In general, yes, but check the manufacturers instructions...if you put water (or any liquid) in a whip cream dispenser, and use a CO2 cartridge, you can carbonate the liquid...though there is some technique to employ if you want a well-carbonated liquid. |
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