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What is this leafy green with a sharp taste, and how do I safely use/cook it?
I recently purchased this vegetable at a farmers' market without getting its name. It was marketed as organic/fresh/local in the Northeastern United States in late September.
The leaves are thin and non-waxy, but a little moist (when I try to slide my fingers across the leaves they stick a little).
When I tasted a small portion of a leaf raw, I immediately felt moderate burning in the mouth which I (mistakenly) believed to be oxalic acid at first. In reality, it was a mustardy spicy/sharp taste (which I didn't expect from greens). Because I don't know the name of this plant, I'm not sure if this is the case. In light of that concern, does it require any special preparation to be safe for healthy individuals? | From the photo & description of the leave look & feel, these sound like green wave mustard--a variety of mustard greens with curly leaves.
Mustard greens have a "spicy" or peppery taste, which also seems to align with your experience.
Mustard greens can be safely eaten raw or cooked. It can be a raw salad ingredient, or be sauteed, braised, grilled, etc. Because of the assertive flavor, some people find it best when mixed with other leafy greens to balance out that spiciness you describe. |
Can oatmeal be cooked in rice milk in a regular oven and pan?
I usually cook a big portion of oatmeal in a big plastic bowl with 1 liter of rice milk at 600W for 5-7 minutes in a microwave oven. however, I don't have one at my disposal at the moment.
Can the same process be done in a regular oven? If so, at what temperature? For how long?
Maybe I should use water instead or rice milk? | Yep, you can make oatmeal in the oven. Mine turned out just fine, quite good in fact.
I used a small casserole dish with a lid in a 350F (180C) oven.
I heated 1 cup each of water and milk with a dash of salt in the covered casserole dish for 20 minutes which brought the liquid nearly to a boil. I stirred in 1 cup of old-fashioned oats (not quick-cooking), replaced the lid, and baked without stirring for 20 minutes.
So a 1:2 ratio of oats to nearly boiling liquid.
It is as good as any oatmeal I've ever made. Rice milk should work just as well, I'd go half and half with water the first time you do it, and definitely use a pot or dish (ovenproof, of course) with a tight-fitting lid.
See Is there an easy way to tell if a pan/pot is oven-safe? for advice concerning the cooking vessel. You can be pretty relaxed about any pan that is meant for stovetop use for this application because most modern cookware is made to withstand 350F (180C) easily - even non-stick surfaces or handles. |
When should one knead dough in a food processor vs. a stand mixer?
Every now and then I come across a bread recipe that calls for a food processor to mix and knead the dough. I know it's very quick, but is it actually the right tool for the job? This recipe calls for a food processor, and every time I make it I'm worried I'm going to destroy the machine: the thing shakes and wobbles alarmingly, so that I have to hold it steady the entire time, and I'm always worried about burning out the motor. And this is a sturdy, 14 C (3.3 L) Cuisinart machine.
So: is it actually preferable to knead dough in a food processor? It just doesn't seem like it's built for that job.
(I'm assuming here that there's an answer beyond "individual preference," but maybe I'm wrong.) | It's not preferable to use a food processor over a mixer with a hook, it's just a bit faster - food processors spin very rapidly and put a lot of energy into the dough quickly. A dough hook does the same thing, it just takes more time. A lot of it is personal preference, in my case I don't like either and prefer to knead by hand as I enjoy the process, if I am going to use a machine it's going to be my mixer with a hook as I can see the dough develop. With a food processor I'm constantly concerned it will self-destruct and take me with it in an explosion of polycarbonate shards, plus it turn dough rubbery very quickly if you leave it on too long.
So, use your hands, mixer or food processor, they will all get you there in the end. |
Do modern ovens bake the same as the old ones? Is the new oven the reason popovers don't rise?
My popovers always popped over perfectly tall and golden using an old recipe handed down from the 40's, which called for baking at 400 °F and using old-fashioned glass custard cups. Now with my new electric oven, the popovers do not rise at all using this same method. They look like flat yellow pancakes. I've tested the oven temperature and had the oven checked professionally. Do the new modern ovens bake differently the old ones? | I'd guess it's not the new oven that's wrong, but the old one.
Older ovens has less accurate thermometers & were maybe 20° hotter at the top than the bottom. The chances are your hand-me-down recipe was based on this phenomenon & your new one is accurate… & therefore not hot enough.
I'd never heard of popovers until 10 minutes ago, but reading through recipes online, they seem to be exactly same as Yorkshire Puddings, just served with sweet toppings instead of roast beef & gravy. [How two sides of the Atlantic arrived at that difference, I'll never know nor understand ;)
Most say to use 450°F [230°C] which is more like I'd use for Yorkies - in fact for Yorkies, the hotter the better, preheat your tins too. My rule of thumb has always been, once everything else is done [roast dinner, remember;) just turn the heat to max, add your oil & put your tins in the top half [high as you can but leaving room to rise], then give it 15 mins to come up to temperature. The oil should be smoking before you drop your batter.
Pour quickly & get that door shut. Once in, never open the door until they're ready.
After comments
I've never known anyone to drop the temperature half-way through [but then again, 'crispy' is not something I'd want from a yorkie [only supermarkets & restaurants think they should be crispy, ordinary Yorkshire folks don't]), but I still think you're not getting enough heat into them right at the start.
Maybe your oven really does slump the temperature easily; maybe you've got the door open too long or the element isn't fast enough to get back up to temperature; tins aren't hot enough to start with.
I'd try at least once with the oven simply "on full" - whatever it thinks it can go to - but watch it doesn't switch mode right at the top. if I turn mine full then back it switches to rotisserie/fan grill rather than 'oven'. That might be a little excessive ;) |
Can laypeople shuck Babylonia genus easily?
Blogger just wrote Babylonia. Anyone know the Species name?
Can laymen extract meat easily? How? I don't know how extract meat! When I last ate this at Japanese restaurant, I asked restaurant manager to ask chef to extract meat. But manager was dumbfound, and it took five minutes to explain. When the manager came back with the extracted meat, he acted upset. | Once snails are cooked, they can simply be extracted from the shell with a skewer or a tiny fork. Poke into the flesh, pull if necessary, lift it out.
This YouTube video shows it at 3:55 for sea snails (Babylonia areata), the same principle applies for other maritime snails like winkles and land snails, aka the famous escargot.
In fine dining, the restaurant would supply a set of special tools for escargot, consisting of small tongs and a narrow fork, to protect the guests fingers from the copious amounts of herb butter classic escargot are served with. In a less refined setting, any kind of skewer will do just fine, even a toothpick. Although I never tried it, I would assume that a set of chopsticks would also work.
We can only speculate, but I would assume that the waiter was just surprised that you ordered a dish without knowing the proper technique of eating it - especially as cooked snails can simply be pulled out of the shell without much effort. (Raw snails can be trickier, though, but a well-trained chef will know how to deal with the animals in the kitchen.) |
What is the best way to cook pasta made from quinoa,amaranth, and brown rice?
I am not sure if this is on topic but was wondering if there is some "trick" to cooking this pasta. That is my question in a nutshell.
The package direction say to boil for 10 min. which I did, however, as I was cooking the pasta it was foaming very heavy and I could not see the actual pasta. I stirred it in order to keep the foaming down which seemed to help.
When the time was up and I drained the pasta it was about a third of the amount I originally started with. There was a heavy film of what seemed to be melted pasta at the bottom of the pan.
I assume these ingredients just melt. So maybe this is why wheat is the most used ingredient for making pasta. | I've been gluten free for two decades and have probably cooked every kind of GF pasta available. The first challenge is to not expect it to look, behave or taste like wheat pasta ;-)
Use a big enough pot. Like wheat pasta it needs space. Add a little oil to the boiling water to keep it from sticking together.
If the water is boiling like crazy, bring the heat to a gentler boil. GF pasta can be fragile. If it's spaghetti the ends are probably sticking out of the water so patiently and gently immerse it.
Once it's swimming in the pot, stir a bit with a wooden spoon or silicone utensil to make sure it's not sticking together, same as with regular pasta.
Usually the package says 8-10 minutes. You have to taste it to know. Remember it will cook a bit after drained so keep it a little bit on the chewy side.
Personally I prefer combinations of quinoa and corn as opposed to rice. "Ancient Harvest" in a turquoise box is my favorite, with Barilla a close second. Just my opinion.
There is definitely a learning curve with GF cooking. You will succeed, even if it takes more than once to attain perfection! |
Does food at room temperature spoil faster if refridgerated beforehand?
I've been told (with anecdotal evidence, by family) that if I put food in the fridge then leave it out at room temperature, even if unopened, the food would spoil faster than if it was never put in the fridge in the first place. I would usually put my milk in the fridge right after getting home, but according to the claim, I should just leave it out at room temperature until use in case the fridge goes down or something.
Is there any truth to this? Should I not put my boxed ingredients in the fridge until use? | The short answer is no, that is a myth. Food spoils because of chemical breakdown and microorganism activity, both of these are slowed considerably by refrigeration. When you take food out of the refrigerator and it warms up these chemical and microbial processes speed up again, but they don't work faster because the food was previously refrigerated.
Some foods shouldn't be refrigerated, like bananas and avocados, but that's a different question. |
Need to ground peppercorns to stir fry clams?
The Spicy Stir-fried Clam with Peppercorn & Chili (椒香炒蜆) was another irresistible dish which used five different spices to create this peppery taste. I also had mantis shrimp here before with the same spices and it was equally delicious.
I never knew you can add whole peppercorns to stir-fried clams! Can you? Do I throw peppercorn spheres into stir fry pan?
Or do you ground peppercorns first? | Yes, it's whole peppercorns.
In both Chinese and French cuisine, it's not unusual to season a brothy sauce or braising liquid using whole peppercorns. It's one way of giving the sauce a peppery flavor without having little black flecks all over the food, they way you would with ground pepper. And, like other whole spices, whole peppercorns release their flavor better if it's going to be a long braise.
As @AMto points out, it wouldn't be unusual to see whole Sichuan peppercorns in a Chinese recipe as well, and you can't tell what's meant just from the text. You can, however, tell from the photo:
Those two objects look just like peppercorns that have been braised in liquid to me. They do not look like Sichuan peppercorns. |
Do leech eggs on crabs harm humans?
If you're eating snow crab, do Kanibiru hazard humans' health? What if you accidentally taste or swallow them?
Along Sea of Japan, it’s snow crab time
Kanibiru, the eggs of a leech-like parasite which are sometimes attached to the crabs, are seen as an indicator of quality rather than a blemish. As the local sea bottom is muddy, there are few rocks to attach eggs to, leaving the crab shells as one the few available hard surfaces. Thus, authentic Sea of Japan crabs are more likely to have them. Additionally, a heavy accumulation may mean that months have passed since molting, indicating fuller meat.
A Connoisseur Speaks on Seasonal Seafood「A Taste of Winter Snow Crab」 : SHUN GATE
Select crab with kanibiru (deep sea fish leech) eggs
Hashidate crabs have kanibiru eggs on their shells. Yuya says, “It looks bad but the meat actually tastes better.” | Most crab legs are packed in ice after being caught. Most of the lice do not survive the freezing process. They definitely do not survive the cooking process and do not harm the meat. It is unclear if fresh, raw crab lice directly from the ocean cause issues.
http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/crab-leeches |
What are the (dis-)advantages of cooking vegetables in alkaline water?
Chee Kei 池記 @ CWB – live2makan
蠔油芥蘭 Chinese kale with oyster sauce
Chinese kale is also referred to as Hong Kong kailan. The greens are blanched in the same boiling water that they used to blanch the noodles. The alkalinity has kept the kale really green. Here, it’s just a simple dash of oyster sauce and the dish is done. You can taste the sweet taste and crunchy texture.
Is the embolded proposition true? Why would alkalinity keep vegetables really green?
Does the embolded proposition suggest cooking vegetables with alkaline water? If so, what pH is best? | Is the embolded proposition true?
Yes, the statement is true. Cooking vegetables in an alkaline liquid keeps them bright green.
Why would alkalinity keep vegetables really green?
The reason behind it has something to do with the chemistry of chlorophyl, I don't remember it too exactly, but generally, the chlorophyl molecule doesn't undergo the same changes when heated under alkaline conditions as when heated under neutral or mildly acidic conditions.
Does the embolded proposition suggest cooking vegetables with alkaline water?
I'm not sure what you want to know here, are you asking whether the author used a statement with the intention to induce readers to use the technique? Analysing this would be off-topic.
If so, what pH is best?
Just about any you can create. Slight alkalinity already has an effect (e.g. a pinch of baking soda when blanching), and obviously you can't get into a high pH anyway.
Also, your title asked for disadvantages. The disadvantages are that your vegetables will be softer and mushier, and that they will have an alkaline taste. |
What is the difference between "water/drink enhancers" and cordial?
I was doing a bit of internet browsing today, and I came across this image (linked rather than embedded because of copyright), which shows a bottle of hand disinfectant along with three bottles labelled as "drink enhancer" or "liquid water enhancer".
This got me wondering: down here in Australia, we call a concentrated liquid that is added to water for flavoring "cordial", and it's quite popular with about 1 in 4 Australians drinking it at least once per month. Is there a significant difference between cordial and these drink enhancers, or is "drink enhancer" or "water enhancer" simply what Americans call cordial? Are there any differences in the food labeling regulations for them between America and Australia? | They wouldn't use the name "cordial" because it has a different meaning in the US. Over here, "cordial" is some sort of flavored alcohol, usually with a sort of connotation of something that rich people drink after dinner or as something refreshing that some rich people on a southern plantation might drink. (so it's not only alcoholic, it's classist/elitist, too)
They wouldn't use the term "squash", either, as to most Americans, that's a vegetable or maybe a sport that rich people play.
...
I'm not aware of any specific food labeling requirement, but the term "water enhancer" is fairly well known to Americans who go camping, drink well water, or disaster preppers. It's used as catch-all term for anything to be added to water to improve its flavor.
So it would include powdered drink mixes such as Tang and Kool-Aid, which is why I would assume they specified that it was a "liquid water enhancer" to distinguish themselves from those other things.
But in the past few years, there have been a few companies selling tiny little squirt bottles of flavorings for bottled water. (the first one that I remember seeing was Mio) They're not like liquid drink mix concentrates like what you're describing, as they're typically just a few drops to flavor a bottle (500mL) of water instead of something that's diluted around 1:5, like you would for a flavored heavy syrup.
So basically, not only does 'cordial' not mean the same thing in the US as it does in Australia, but what you're dealing with isn't exactly the same as a 'cordial' from Australia, either. |
container for bulk fermentation/proofing
It happens to me quite often that I make small batches of bread/pizza/focaccia dough that need to spend several hours in the fridge or at room temperature in a container with a lid
I've seen that many use containers in which the dough covers already the bottom and, in case of proofing, the dough rises in the vertical direction.
This definitely facilitates drawing volume markings to keep track of the rise. Is there a specific reason why to avoid containers that are too wide? Assuming of course that the container volume is enough to avoid overflowing. | Surface area. If the container is too wide, larger surface of the dough gets into contact with air. Dough can dry out, yeast/sourdough culture can behave differently (during aerobic fermentation the cells multiply, during anaerobic fermentation the yeast cells produce alcohol instead of multiplying). |
How to make a good pie dough like the industrial one?
Whenever I follow a pie dough recipe the result is not great. The dough is tearing easily while rolling it, impossible to make it as thin as the on you buy in the supermarket.
And when it's cooked, it's crumbling very easily. The texture in mouth is rougher and "sandy".
The last recipe I used was:
200 g flour
½ cs salt
100 g butter room temperature
0,5 dl water
Mix flour and salt, add butter, mix well.
Add water, knead until smooth looking.
Keep it in the fridge for 15min.
Roll it out.
At this point, moving the dough from the the work surface to the baking sheet was tricky due to how fragile the dough was.
How is industrial dough made to be so different from the homemade flour+butter+salt+water ? | So first things first, a short crust pie dough is usually made with cold butter and ice water. This leads to a flakier, more tender dough. You also typically don't want to knead the dough. Too much gluten development leads to a tough, chewy crust.
A more typical shortcrust would start with cold butter cut into cubes. Put the flour, salt, and butter in a food processor and pulse just until it looks like wet slightly clumpy sand (there should still be intact bits of butter in the dough). If you don't have a food processor, you can either use pastry cutters or a couple of forks to cut the butter and flour together or my favourite method: freeze the butter and grate it before rubbing it into the flour with my hands. Slowly add ice water until the dough can be shaped into a rough, shaggy ball. It should not look smooth at this point. Cover and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
Then you take the rough, not smooth looking ball of dough and roll it out on a floured surface. The first time you roll it out, it will be very crumbly. Just roll it out as well as you can. Then you can fold in the rough edges and roll it out again. Repeat as needed. I typically need to do two or three fold+roll iterations before I have a smooth, easily workable pie dough. Folding and rolling will get you a smooth dough without as much gluten development as if you kneaded it smooth and you will keep the little bits of butter that give you flakiness when the pie bakes.
There are of course endless variations on shortcrust pie dough recipes. There are people who swear by using lard or vegetable based butter substitutes, use vodka instead of water, or add different flavourings to the dough. But the basic method for shortcrust is cold fat + cold liquid + minimal handling. And industrial recipes add various preservatives and chemicals to force certain reactions that are hard to get hold of as a home cook. However, you can still make very good pie dough at home without those additives. |
Safe to leave 'new' chicken stock in rice cooker for three hours?
I'm on a Japanese food kick after starting Midnight Diner on Netflix, and recently purchased a rice cooker. I'm experimenting with the delayed rice setting, and have programmed the device to have my rice ready approximately three hours from now.
Instead of water, I'm using chicken stock from a brand new, unopened box. I'm pretty sure that there is nothing unsafe about this, but the box does say that unused stock should be refrigerated after opening.
Is there any reason to worry about leaving two cups of chicken stock in a rice cooker for approximately two hours before the machine begins cooking? | The packaged stock will be pasteurised, leaving it in a pan for a couple of hours is unlikely to allow a huge amount of bacteria growth from ambient air. Then cooking the rice will boil the stock and kill anything that has grown anyway, so it is perfectly safe. The only drawback sometimes is that the celery stick in a stock introduces a sour taste as it ages but that is with fresh celery (shop bought is likely to be powder-based) and then it only happens after about 5 days in the fridge... |
Can you tell if a food is fermented (in a "good" way) or rancid?
The other day I took out a cubed pineapple from the fridge, and when I tasted it it tasted like it started to go "bad." But it actually tasted pretty good and I figured that kimchi and other foods are fermented and they are considered edible and healthy even. So that got me thinking, how can you tell if something gone past their date is fermented in a good way, or in a bad way (gone rancid)? Even meats are "aged" which means they start to decompose.. but that's considered a delicacy.
So how can you tell if it's good or not? Or only the process in which you used can somehow tell if the end product is safe to eat? | So that got me thinking, how can you tell if something gone past their
date is fermented in a good way, or in a bad way (gone rancid)?
Short of taking the food to a lab and testing it for the kinds of microorganisms in it, the answer is you can't, not really. Lots of dangerous bacteria and other microorganisms don't necessarily make food taste bad.
Or only the process in which you used can somehow tell if the end
product is safe to eat?
Strictly speaking, yes: proper fermentation should follow a known process if you want to ensure safety. The type of food and the conditions need to be correct to avoid dangerous bacteria and toxins in the end-product. Many fermentation recipes use salt to discourage growth of bad stuff. Others use excessive sugar or acidity or something else introduced at some point in the process. Many industrial fermentation processes depend on inoculating the starting material with "good" fermentation microorganisms at the start, so they grow faster than anything "bad" might. Often these "good" microorganisms produce waste products (like acid) that discourage future growth of anything "bad."
It seems like the move back toward fermented foods in the past decade has led to a lot of home experimentation in much less controlled environments. Sure, if you toss quite a bit of salt together with many types of foods and let it sit for a week or two, chances are in many cases you'll end up with something tasty and okay to eat. But true preservation recipes that make use of fermentation depend on exact ratios of ingredients (and sometimes other preparation steps) that have often been lab-tested with dozens or hundreds of samples to ensure safety. If you're not using a known recipe and a known process, it's quite possible to end up with something unsafe to eat.
In the case of the refrigerated cubed pineapple from the question, it's less likely to grow nasty things due to the refrigeration. While it's certainly possible to grow bacteria that will make you sick at refrigerator temperatures, it's more likely that most refrigerated foods will spoil first and taste/look awful and unappetizing before they are able to accumulate significant quantities of other toxins. Still, this is just a general observation, and no one here can guarantee safety for something left in the fridge for a long time. As the mantra goes: when in doubt, throw it out. |
What does ginger lose if puréed or ground and left over time?
I know with certain herbs and spices once you cut them open or grind them they can lose aroma, volatile oils and vitamins.
I’m wondering about ginger. People either use it fresh, use a prepared version which may already have been on the shelf, or a ground one which has been on the shelf for a while.
So what is the difference between freshly puréed and ground, and/or puréed or ground and then left for a while? | It'll lose its "spiciness"; you will still have the ginger taste and aroma, but you'll lose the kick that fresh ginger gives out. |
Soak store-bought mussels in fresh water without salt?
How to Buy, Prepare, Cook & Store Mussels
Don't soak in water
Don't immerse them in water - fresh or salt. Freshwater will kill them; if left for too long in static salt water the mussels will use up the oxygen and suffocate. This practice used to be done to purge the mussel of any grit, these days all commercial mussel have been purged and purified in a UV deputation system.
Is this wrong? Because websites below all advise soaking in FRESH water.
I can't remember where, but I read that soaking store bought mussels in FRESH water will kill them! They need salt water to survive. Is this correct? Are websites below wrong then?
How To Clean Mussels | Allrecipes
2. Just before cooking, soak your mussels in fresh water for about 20 minutes. As the mussels breathe, they filter water and expel sand. After about 20 minutes, the mussels will have less salt and sand stored inside their shells.
Don't fear the mussels - Chicago Tribune
Now, many cookbooks and chefs alike advocate soaking mussels in tap water for an hour or so before cooking. The idea is that they'll take in the clean water and eject any sand or grit that's hiding inside their shells. Some sources suggest adding flour, cornstarch or cornmeal to the water to encourage the purging. Others suggest these additions will fatten the mussels or whiten their flesh in the process.
Do Mussels and Clams Need to be Soaked Before Cooking?
First, they need to be scrubbed and rinsed in several changes of water to remove whatever dirt is embedded on the shells. Then, they need to be soaked in clean water to expel sand, grit and other impurities that are trapped inside the shells. This step can take anywhere from half an hour to a couple of hours. For best results, change the water several times during soaking. | I tend to just buy a bag of mussels from the supermarket or fishmonger and put it in a bowl in the fridge.
When ready to eat, I get the mussels out of the fridge, quickly clean them up (wash and remove beard if any present on them)
I think most fishmongers will advise the same.
In general don't put/keep mussels in fresh water as they are sea water critters.
As in everything, there is no set answer to your question. |
Why do people say that cooking in a cast-iron pan will build the seasoning, while also saying that you should never cook to the smoking point?
A very common claim is that once you start cooking with a cast-iron pan, you never really need to season it again. As you cook, the seasoning just builds up. However, the way I understand it, seasoning only happens when you heat the oil so much that it starts to smoke. However, smoking oil has many carcinogens, and you're not supposed to eat it. So how does the seasoning build up if you never heat the pan enough (while cooking) for the seasoning process? | Yes, the two pieces of advice are contradictory. You have to choose which one you prefer to follow. If you decide to only use your pan below the smoke temperature of oil, the seasoning will not build up during cooking.
In typical use, people do heat their pans above the smoking point, and the seasoning does build up. This is how cooking has been done for centuries, with tasty results, while cooking without heating the oil up produces not-very-exciting results for certain foods. People can choose to use low-heat cooking methods and avoid the "smoke point" part too, but that is not what usually happens. There are many factors why more people use the "high heat that seasons" approach:
They have never heard the "smoking point" advice and use their cast iron pans the usual way
They are not aware that they are heating it above the smoke point
They know the "smoking point" advice and choose to disregard it and cook the usual way
They would like to follow the "smoking point" advice but it is physically very difficult to do it with a cast iron pan
(Kinda combination of the last two) They are aware of the difficulties of remaining below the smoking point in a cast iron pan, and choose to use a different pan when they want to stay below the smoking point.
Because of the last one, I would suggest that, if you prefer to follow the "smoking point" advice, you switch to a different type of cookware. |
How to get crystallized honey out of a bowl
I was attempting to make a teriyaki sauce with soy sauce generous amounts of honey and orange juice boiling it all down on medium heat with some starch to thicken it. I ended up overdoing both the boiling and the honey. Pouring it into a ceramic bowl and having it sit in the fridge overnight made it solidify.
The end product is a vile mess somewhere between crystalized honey the colour of sewage and a ceramic bowl of solidified hot glue. The failure of a sauce might be a helpful learning experience but I still need my amn bowl back. Any advice on getting it off as I can barely scoop it with a spoon? | Microwave the bowl, or let it sit in a pot of boiling water, to loosen it so you can remove most of the gunk. Soaking in hot water for a while will remove the rest. |
Should one - moreover can one - defrost a frozen lasagna before cooking?
So I purchased one of these "frozen lasagna" products at the supermarket to see what it's all about.
It was in the supermarket freezer and indeed I am keeping it in the freezer of my fridge. (I.E., it's frozen solid when I took the pic just now.)
Here are the instructions:
Notice that...
It does not actually say to defrost it first.
Perhaps "everyone knows to defrost it" and they don't bother saying it? Conversely I guess perhaps everyone knows you put it straight in to the oven when it is frozen solid! So in fact,
should I defrost it or not before putting it in the (375) oven? Thanks.
(I assume it is "frozen solid". For all I know, they cleverly make it chemically so it never freezes solid and stays gel-like, or whatever, IDK.)
(If it should be defrosted, I guess it would take about 90 minutes to completely thaw to room temp?)
If it is the case that one does indeed, miraculously, put it straight in the 375 over directly from one's home freezer. In fact,
2A. Is it better to defrost it (for say 90 minutes) before following the stated procedures? So, the food scientists who created this product would rather I defrosted it, if I have time, but (amazingly) it's not necessary?
2B. Indeed, is it actually even OK to defrost it before placing it in the oven? For all I know, perhaps as a food safety matter, or something to do with the chemicals involved, it is specifically necessary to not defrost?
Again (surprisingly?) the instructions (see pic) do not have a sentence such as "Never defrost!" "Defrost if you have time!" "You must defrost first, you clown" or any similar guidance. | Frozen foods are made for convenience. For most people, convenience does not include remembering to defrost the food several hours before cooking. So the recipe and cooking method are indeed for cooking straight from frozen, unless they clearly state otherwise. You will get the best result if you take it directly from the freezer to the oven.
For most frozen foods, defrosting will make little or no difference. You would need to cook it for less time than in the instructions to avoid overcooking, but the end result should be about the same. Occasionally, defrosting before putting it in the oven will decrease the quality considerably. This is in particular with frozen pizza and other foods involving a crust where the base will absorb a lot of liquid during a long defrost (as opposed to a quick one in the oven on a rack) leading to a soggy crust. However, as long as you follow a safe method for defrosting (in the fridge), it is not a food safety issue. The quality may be slightly worse, but it's perfectly safe to eat. |
Butter made out of pasteurized cream?
I got a pat of "butter" today at a restaurant and the wrapper said that it contained "pasteurized cream" and salt. Is pasteurized cream the same thing as butter? | No, cream and butter are not the same thing. Butter is made by agitating cream, causing the fat to clump up and separate from the rest of the cream. The butter is then washed, optionally salted, and pressed. So the “ingredients” of butter are cream and optionally salt.
Pasteurization is a process for inactivating microorganisms in foods like milk and cream by heating them to a fairly high temperature for a short period of time. It has the effect of increasing shelf life and reducing the risk of food-borne illness. All dairy products you buy at the grocery store, with the possible exception of some fancy cheeses, have been pasteurized. |
Can you use cookie cutters on sticky dough?
I am a baking novice trying to make these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I'm trying to get them to be cute shapes with cookie cutters but the cookies keep spreading. I am wondering if maybe this type of dough is just too wet and sticky to hold a shape. Should I give up trying to shape these cookies? | That looks like a delicious recipe, but not one that will hold a cookie cutter shape. When a recipe says to space the balls of cookie dough four inches apart, you can expect them to spread in the oven. Cookies that spread will not hold a definable shape. There's no hope of getting this recipe to make cookies that hold a shape.
There are oatmeal cookie recipes designed to be rolled out and cut into shapes. For example, Chewy Oatmeal Decorating Cookies and Oatmeal Rollout Cookies. You might be able to add miniature chocolate chips, but they may make the cookies crack and fall apart. Finely chopped or grated chocolate would probably work fine.
If you feel like experimenting (and are willing to risk having some "failed"* batches of cookies), you can experiment with increasing the oats in your recipe. I haven't made this exact recipe, but I've made many batches of oatmeal cookies with varying levels of oats. I've found that you can use up to double the oatmeal called for in a typical oatmeal cookie recipe before the dough becomes too dry to hold together. Additional oatmeal gives a stiffer, dryer dough that will come closer to holding a shape. The finished cookies will be a bit dryer and a bit less sweet. The large oat flakes in your recipe (since it uses old fashioned oats) will still give the shapes slightly irregular outlines, so don't expect to get a lot of detail. But simple shapes like a heart, star or diamond should still be identifiable in the finished cookie.
*Where "failed" means not perfect, but your kids/coworkers/classmates will still eat them. If you are the only one eating your cookies, baking experiments can be hazardous to your waistline. |
Is it safe to keep reusing a portion of old dough?
My grandma told my mum a weird process of making flatbread dough recently that she started to use. But I am not sure about it's safety at all.
Initially, normal wholewheat bread dough made with Instant Yeast. Used to make bread but a small piece is kept (~70-100gm) in refrigerator.
Next day, when making new dough, that 70-100gm portion of old dough is mixed in and it's allowed to rise for 2-3 hours.
A 70-100gm portion of this mixture is kept again in refrigerator and mixed in next day.
Repeat same everyday.
The result is definitely great for the flatbread naan but I am not sure about safety of this.
Question: Wouldn't a small part of it be too old after 2 weeks or so? I am sure some of of the old dough remains, however diluted. Mom claims she'd start process totally fresh after a month but I believe that's too long.
Edit: I heard it's similar to Pâte Fermentée but I'm still not sure if about a whole cycle. | This is how bread was made in my area just two generations before, not only flatbreads but every kind of dough. And the process wouldn't be started from scratch with new instant yeast, because it didn't exist yet.
I understand why you would say that a diluted piece of the old dough would remain after a month, but mind that fermentation is a metabolic process that converts molecules, and although actual atoms could be there, they were processed and rebuilt each time the dough ferments.
Compare that with any plant you eat; a part of this plant was a previous plant that was used as a fertilizer, maybe even passed through the animal metabolism. It's a cycle. |
Should I reshape refrigerated pizza dough into ball again when taking it out of the fridge?
I made a pizza dough and put it in the fridge until tomorrow. 100% wheat flour, 68% water, 3% salt, 0.3% yeast.
I don't remember where I got the recipe, I kind of obsessed with pizza last year and tried many recipes and this one gives the best crust and flavor for me. But I don't remember how to handle the dough after the cold fermentation in the fridge.
What I do is, mix the ingredients, knead just a little until it's not so sticky. After some rest I fold the dough and give it another rest, I repeat this a few times until the dough is smooth. The last time I divide and form the individual balls, put them in separated closed containers and put it in the fridge until the next day (usually 18-24 hours).
I take it out of the fridge about 8 hours before cooking them, but I don't remember if I should reshape the balls to strengthen the gluten (and then let them rest) before stretching and cooking them. Or should I just take it out of the fridge and not touch it until ready to stretch and cook? | You don't need to take them out 8 hours before cooking, that's too long. 1-2 hours is long enough as it gives your dough time to come back up to temperature before baking and get active again. If your gluten is well developed before you put it in the fridge you don't need to work it further, a bit won't hurt anything but won't help either, and too much could make your dough tough. If anything you want it to relax a bit as it will make it easier to shape into a base. |
Is a pizza like this unheard of in the USA?
My idea of a pizza, bought from a pizzeria in Sweden (at least growing up and when I last did, which was a few years ago now), is as follows:
A standard pizza dough is grabbed and turned into a flat circle. It's very thin.
Some tomato sauce is put in the middle and circled around to just cover the dough.
Small shreds (or flat, thin squares) of ham are sprinkled over this, in a reasonable amount which doesn't add significant height.
Cut pieces of standard "champion" (Agaricus) mushrooms are added, complementing the ham pieces but not "taking over" them in quantity nor taste.
Standard pizza cheese shreds are added on top, causing the entire thing to still look very thin and absolutely not anywhere near a "pan" pizza.
It's put into the pizza oven for a few minutes. (I don't remember exactly how long.)
The finished pizza has some oregano sprinkled on top from a jar.
It could also be that the cheese is put on before the other "toppings". I'm foggy on that detail.
The pizza described above is called "Capricciosa". If you remove step 4, it instead becomes what is known as a "Vesuvio". These two pizzas are what I consider "real pizzas". I have tried many other versions, but (almost) none of them taste good at all to me; it seems like this is the "gold standard" for what a pizza is.
However, Americans (and probably Italians) seem to have a completely different idea of what makes a pizza. At least judging by countless movies, TV series, live streams, videos, cartoons and photos I've seen. Most notably, the USA pizzas seem to be much thicker, what I'd call a "pan" pizza, with both way more bread part and fillings/toppings, and seem to never, ever contain the ingredients I mentioned above. It seems like "Pepperoni" is by far the most common. That is, little round slices of Pepperoni sausage. While that can be good for sure, it really gives the pizza a very different taste compared to the ham or ham + mushroom kind which I like.
I tried to locate a good photo, but sadly didn't find any. These two pizzas (which don't look very appealing on these photos) at least give an idea of what I'm talking about, I suppose:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Pizza_bella_vista.jpg (also includes pineapple and shrimps, so please ignore that)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Italian_pizza_from_stockholm.jpg (Vesuvio)
Is this "thin" kind of pizza, with specifically ham and mushrooms (or ham only), entirely nonexistent in the USA? Is that just something that nobody makes over there? Would perhaps nobody even want such a pizza? The typical American pizzas do look tasty, but it seems like they would be just "too much" with such enormous amounts of toppings. | There is a fantastically wide range of pizza styles available in the US. The traditional American "fast food" pizza, such as one would get from Domino's or Pizza Hut, has a fairly thick, doughy crust, but thin-crust pizzas are nearly as widely available, and have become more common over the past two decades.
In the US, it's less common for pizzas to be ordered by a particular well-known "standard" name like "capricciosa" or "pugliese". A pizzeria will often have its own menu of topping combinations with their own names. Depending on the pizzeria, people might tend to order one of those, or they might be more likely to specify the full set of toppings directly, e.g. "ham and mushroom" (definitely not an uncommon combination, and one that would be available from virtually any pizzeria).
I've only had pizza in Sweden once, but what I had would not have been at all unique or remarkable in the US. |
Mineral B vs carbon steel frying pans
I am looking to buy a frying pan but the material has confused me.
One is said to be Mineral B, the other is carbon steel. I was confused about the differences between the 2 materials. Thankfully, I wasn't alone and found https://www.chowhound.com/post/confused-de-buyer-mineral-element-pan-iron-steel-greatly-834744 which goes into detail about what materials exist within iron / steel etc
If it helps, the 2 products I'm looking at are https://www.debuyer.com/en/products/carbone-plus-round-frying-pan-stainless-steel-cold-handle and https://www.debuyer.com/en/products/mineral-b-round-fry-pan
What I can't tell is, if there is going to be any difference when cooking and caring for the 2 frying pans.
I am not asking for a recommendation. I'm only interested in what one could expect to cook using the materials (and if the difference of the material really is going to make a difference) | "Mineral B" and "Carbone Plus" are two brands of carbon steel cookware manufactured by De Buyer. The main difference between the two is the shape of the handle, and the secondary handle on the larger "Mineral B" pans. "Mineral B" additionally comes from the factory with a thin coat of beeswax, but that isn't going to make a significant difference after seasoning.
If you want to get one of those, pick based on the handle. |
Pot-Roast in Advance
Making pot roast right now for dinner tonight, but have a couple questions that I’m just not altogether clear on...
I used a Dutch oven and it’s in a 275-degree oven currently. Once it’s done, I was planning to put it in the fridge until I reheat it about an hour before dinner time.
Should I...
Remove the meat from the liquid and strain it before putting it in
the fridge or leave the vegetables and strain after reheating?
Cool the meat and liquid separately or together?
Slice the meat before or after reheating?
Just take it out when it’s done, let it all cool for 30 minutes on
the counter before taking the whole Dutch oven (meat and unstrained
liquid) and stick it in the fridge until ready to reheat? | You will end up with different results depending on which options you select, but people's interpretation of "pot roast" varies greatly, so it's impossible to say if any particular set of answers is "better" than another.
For instance, if you like your pot-roast fall-apart tender, you should shred it before you let it cool down too much. It will be near impossible to get that same texture if the pot roast has been warmed back up.
Likewise, cutting up the chilled pot-roast will result in a much drier, firmer pot roast. It's also difficult to warm back up a whole roast without over-cooking the outside.
Personally, for my preferences (being able to cool it down and reheat it quickly while having succulent meat) -- I would:
Separate the pot roast from the liquid to let it cool. Simply because the liquid is a huge thermal sink, and would make it take much longer to cool down the roast.
Once the roast is cool enough to handle, I would slice it thickly across the grain. (warm enough that it breaks apart some while cooking, but not so much that it shreds entirely).
Place the slices into a container, putting a little bit of the juices over each slice. (to prevent it from becoming dry as the muscle fibers contract; if the meat is firm enough, you can dip each slice back into the liquid, then the storage container).
Store the rest of the liquid separately. If it's a heavy dutch oven, I would move the liquid to some other container, so I don't have to chill down and reheat the pot, too. If you have vegetables in your pot roast that you don't want turning into complete mush, I would put them in the container with the meat.
To reheat, I would heat the liquid first, and then put the slices into the liquid to let them warm through. |
What's the difference between thin crust pizza and a cracker
My friend says that thin pizza crust is nothing but a cracker, but I think there are significant differences between the two products. For example, if you buy a store-bought cracker and add pizza sauce, toppings, and cheese to it, you won't get anything remotely like a pizza.
tl;dr: where do the ideas of pizza crust and cracker diverge? | Two factors:
Leavening: pizza crust is generally made with a leavened, yeasted dough, that has risen for a hour or more before rolling out. Crackers are generally made with a "short" dough, which contains no leavening at all or only a tiny amount of chemical leavening. Even crackers that are made with a yeasted dough (e.g. sourdough crackers) are not given a long time to rise.
Texture: crackers are generally supposed to, well, crack. They should be crisp, crunchy, and/or flaky. Whereas pizza dough is supposed to be chewy and/or bready, and certainly not crunchy.
Now, there's obviously some room for overlap here. For example, if I roll out a sourdough pizza crust really thin and top it only with salt, and bake it until crunchy, it's not going to be particularly different from a sourdough cracker. However, most pizza crusts are very different from most crackers.
Hope that helps! |
Bread and butter pudding - but with juice?
Bread and butter pudding is bread with milk (indeed, usually milk-egg) baked.
In fact, could you make bread and butter pudding with juice rather than milk-eggs?
So, essentially, imagine a baking tray, layer in some bread, add some juice, and bake it.
(I could imagine adding some layers of say pineapple on top, and drizzle w/ chocolate afterwards.)
Is this a thing, or would it just be stupid? ("Here's your hot soggy bread.")
If it is a thing, is it another name? | Yes, you can use fruit juice instead of some or all of the milk in bread pudding. As Juhasz points out, whether or not the result will "really" be bread pudding is open to debate.
Since bread pudding is basically bread + custard, I looked up recipes for custard made with fruit juice and no milk. There are some custards made with fruit juice substituted for some of the milk. For example, Soft Orange Custard is butter, sugar, eggs, flour, salt, orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest and milk.
I found one juice-only custard in Joy of Cooking by Rombauer, Becker & Becker, 2006 edition. The recipe is Lemon-Orange Custard Filling; ingredients are lemon & orange zest, lemon & orange juice, water, sugar, flour, salt, and egg yolks or eggs. Most other custard-like fillings or sauces made with only fruit juice are thickened with cornstarch, like a pudding. Curd (lemon, lime or orange curd) is a custard-like filling or spread, made with citrus juice and no milk.
The custard in bread pudding is usually thickened with eggs, but there are some recipes that use cornstarch. Fruit juice might substitute well into one of those recipes. There are even recipes that don't use any kind of thickener. The basic idea of bread pudding is quite simple, and fairly flexible.
I substituted apple cider for the milk in my regular bread pudding recipe. I also reduced the sugar to compensate for the sweetness of the cider, and omitted vanilla extract and nutmeg. It was delicious. The flavor of the cider worked well with the flavors of cinnamon and raisin. But, the texture was not quite right. My guess is that the missing elements are some protein and fat from the milk, and that could be made up by adding more eggs and butter. I will definitely make this again, with some modifications. Here's the recipe I made, with suggested modifications at the end; the original is from Joy of Cooking.
Apple Cider Bread Pudding
------------------------
16 oz sliced bread, stale but not hard (I used fresh bread, lightly toasted)
3/4 cup raisins
4 eggs
3 cups apple cider (the original recipe calls for whole milk)
1/4 cup sugar (the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup sugar)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
butter
Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes.
Spread the bread and raisins in the baking dish.
Whisk together the other ingredients and pour over the bread.
Let sit until liquid is mostly absorbed, 10-20 minutes.
Place the baking dish in a hot water bath, and bake at 350 F for about an hour.
Suggested modifications: Add a couple of extra eggs and some melted butter to
compensate for the missing fat and creaminess that the milk would have provided.
Increase the cinnamon to 1 tsp, or even 1-1/2 tsp.
Possibly add back the 1 tsp vanilla and/or the 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg from the original recipe. |
My netting is not, perhaps, the best
Take pity, is there any way I can be better?
Here's a close-up (in case that, you know, helps)
I heat only normal real chocolate (i.e., normal bar eating or cooking chocolate), that is to say I am not open to using EZ-Net fake chocolate or any sort of additives or chemicals; FTR I melt it in this guy:
(Apart from anything else I don't really know how to get it the hell out of there and start netting; I guess if you had an incredibly steady/variable hand you could pour straight from the double boiler there; basically I just use a normal spoon and, as you can see, valiantly try my best.)
Laughter understandable, help appreciated! | Take a plastic zip top bag, and put it inside a pint glass or tall quart size container. Fold the top of the bag down over the outside of the mug/container. Essentially, you're just using the mug to hold the bag up and open.
After you've melted your chocolate, dump it into the bag, squeeze out extra air, and zip the top closed. You've got a single use pastry bag!
Edit: Adding a suggestion from Graham: You can melt your chocolate directly in the zip top bag by placing your chocolate pieces in the bag, then placing that bag directly in your water bath to melt--thus saving the entire "transfer messy, warm, gooey chocolate into a zip top bag" step entirely.
Nearly all freezer zip top bags will happily survive the water bath. Thinner, or budget bags may not keep together at the seams as well when heated, so read the box, or test first by filling the bag with plain water & heating. This way you can test durability without wasting a batch of chocolate.
Hold the bag with one corner pointing down. Use one hand to hold the bag on the top, so that squeezing will push the chocolate down (like a pastry bag). Now clip that corner off the bag with scissors. You can now drizzle in a nice steady stream, giving a squeeze, pushing chocolate down as you go.
With some practice, you'll be able to get a very even netting. And if you do it often, you can graduate to a proper pastry bag eventually, which makes things even a bit easier.
For a more detailed set of instructions with photos (albeit with a proper piping bag, but it's the same process), check out this. |
What is this plant? Is it edible?
I bought a bunch of cilantro today. Some of these leaves were mixed in with the cilantro. What are they? Are they edible? | Don't consume unknown plants for safety reasons, not even ones identified by a random stranger on the internet!
It is very difficult to identify plants based just on leaves alone, generally for a certain identification you need stems, flowers and/or seeds to be absolutely certain
Having said that:
These look very much like young Mallow leaves (Malva from the Malvaceae), which is a genus of widespread plants found in temperate to tropical areas. Many species are considered weeds and are common in disturbed soils in urban areas.
The things that make me think it is mallow are the kidney-shaped leaves, with indented teeth and a dark spot where the petiole meets the blade
Most of the species of Mallow are edible, with a pleasant sweet taste to them. Some of the species are common garden flowers - usually a pretty pink or sometimes white. |
Figuring out gas oven temperature numbered 1 through 7
New apartment, old oven and a lot to bake with precise temperatures.
Thermostat is numbered 1 through 7 and no idea what temperatures they represent, couldn't find any identifying company logo or other signs on the oven itself or inside of it and not the owner nor any of the previous renters knew anything useful.
I have seen too many different gas mark temperature charts, none of which are scaled 1-7 and all of them are different from one another. (the one that came up the most said that 7 is 220 Celsius, but still it wasn't consistent)
I was hoping anyone here might know more than what I could find so far or even, if the gods are righteous, someone here owned/still owns that very oven and still got the manual.
Here are some pictures of the whole oven, the top part and the thermostat itself:
Lastly I'm guessing it's made in the UK since the labels are in English and the little Celsius orange light, but that's just speculations. | The mode selector dial looks more appropriate for an electric oven, but it's still (almost) certainly a "Gas Mark" scale. It used to be common, though modern gas oven usually have Celsius. I know such scales often go hotter, but 7 is high enough for almost all cooking, and I've certainly seen them stop at 7. It's rare for electric ovens to use that scale but not unknown.
The conversion isn't usually quoted precisely, which is throwing you off. The Wikipedia page I've linked above gives the exact conversion but rounding to the nearest 5 or better 10 °C is much more useful.
Here's a more practical table (rounded to the nearest 10°C), but gas ovens tend to be a little approximate; 1 is about 140°C and 7 about 220°C. If you're still in doubt, you might want to get an oven thermometer, but the suggestions broadly line up with the conversions above (cakes Gas 4-6/180-200°C, roasting 5-7 or 190-220°C, meringue as low as it will go - 140°C is a bit hot really, gas 1/4 is often called for).
In fact given that you want precise temperatures and it's old, maintained for safety (at most) and not performance, an oven thermometer would be a very good idea. This may be a cheap basic model - likely in a rented house and the lack of gas marks 8 and 9 fits with that too. Preheating times can be quite long on some such models. |
Why did the apple skins turn blue/purple-ish in my apple pancakes the next day?
Yesterday for dinner I made apple pancakes. I cut the apple into small pieces (with the skin on) and just put it into my pancakes batter. The skin was dark red. After cooking it, everything was looking fine.
Now the next morning, I took out the pancakes from the fridge (on a plate covered with aluminium foil) and noticed that the apple skin turned blue/purple-ish. The apple flesh still seems normal (white/yellow), so I'm confident it is the skin that was originally dark red.
It seems safe to eat, smell and taste are completely fine. I mean it's only been 1 single night after all.
So why did this happen?
I've never heard of this. I've baked apple cake before (with skin) and it never turned blue-ish even after days.
The recipe I used includes flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, oat-almond milk, molten butter and 1 big apple.
After closer inspection it does look more grey-ish with dark purple-ish around the edges.
Unfortunately I can't provide images as the pancakes are long gone.
Oh and as someone has mentioned, the pancake interior around the apple piece was coloured purple-ish. As if some of the color of the apple skin "leaked out". | I feel fairly confident that what you see is anthocyanins (naturally present in apple skin) reacting with some leavening in your pancakes.
Here's a link that explains in more details, but I'll summarize: https://extension.psu.edu/fruit-color-promoting-red-color-development-in-apple
Anthocyanins are a natural pH indicator present in many fruits and vegetables. Red cabbage and blueberries are common examples. Elderberries and black sweet rice, and even many flowers also contain these compounds.
And they turn red in the presence of acid like vinegar, buttermilk, or fruit juice, and blue in the presence of a base like baking soda or baking powder.
So when you bake or cook with certain fruits that contain anthocyanins, you might be surprised that your blueberry muffins came out green, or that your "purple" rice is hot pink. This is because anthocyanins are water soluble, so they'll disperse throughout what you're cooking easily, and visually indicate the pH. You may even notice a blue shadow in the pancake around or under the apple skins.
But if this is the case you are a-okay. Judging by the contents of the recipe, it only contains a base for leavening, but no acid for it to react with. So it makes perfect sense that your apples, the only acidic component, would react and turn blue. If you want to get more rise, include some buttermilk or lemon juice next time. When it reacts with your leavening you'll get more floof, and your apples will stay red (or pink at least.) |
What could it be the white fatty substance I found in raisins?
Hi, as you can see in the pictures, strange white, fatty substance collects in raisins irregularities. May it be something natural origin or could it be that producer dumped these in palm oil to make them shiny? Is it safe to consume?
I have tried to ask the producer, unfortunately no answer was given :( | The vast majority of dried vine fruits are coated in one vegetable oil or another. The ones I’ve seen which name the oil tend to use sunflower oil or cottonseed oil. They use them to prevent the vine fruits clumping.
Sunmaid are one of the few mass producers which declare that they don’t use oils or glazes. |
How can I get my defrosted pizza dough to transfer from peel to oven?
My defrosted dough hard to handle once I put stuff on it. I make a horrible mess getting onto the pizza stone. I wind up with at least part of the pizza dough folded over on itself. I never used to have quite so much trouble. I was using a wooden pizza peel; I just tried a metal one for the first time and still have the same problems.
what am I doing wrong | Keeping a pizza from sticking is a process; the spot that sticks on the peel probably developed before it was on the peel. Use plenty of flour on the counter while forming the crust. Make sure to move the crust around frequently, and work fast when assembling the pizza. While stretching the dough and between pizzas, occasionally feel the counter. If flour is sticking to it, scrub it away with your fingers and sprinkle on more flour.
Once the pizza is on the peel, shake it frequently to test it and to keep redistributing the dry flour underneath it. If you see a spot sticking and shaking doesn’t dislodge it, don’t be shy about lifting it up and sprinkling flour underneath: if it sticks a little bit when you shake it, it will stick, and more severely, when you transfer the pizza. |
Are the spices sumac, harissa and za’atar related in any way to capsicums/ chillies?
I cannot cook with them until I know as I am allergic to all forms of capsicums. | Sumac is not related to chillies.
Harissa contains chillies.
Za'atar is a spice/herb blend, it should not have chillies in it, but every blend can be different, check the ingredient lists before buying. |
How much shelf life do oxygen absorbers add to food?
I am in the process of storing all my dry foods in airtight jars and bottles. I mainly want to prevent pests, but also want to increase shelf life. There are some foods I need very infrequently and I have to keep throwing those away.
My question is, how much difference would it make, if I add an oxygen absorber to my already airtight jars? For example, for flour and other grain-based products. I don't plan on keeping my food for 30 years. Would it really make a huge difference, if I am filling the jar to the brink? How much air could be there, if a flour jar is full?
Basically are oxygen absorbers just a prepper meme, or are they useful for general food storage as well? | It's not clear that oxygen absorbers would help you preserve food at all.
First, the science on the effectiveness of oxygen absorbers is still young, and few national food regulatory agencies have offered any opinion as to whether they work or not (just that they're non-toxic). Most published "studies" are written by people with a direct interest in selling them. Second, the oxygen absorbers you get from internet retail are unlikely to be the same kind that food manufacturers would use; based on a quick perusal of prepper websites, what many of them are selling aren't actually oxygen absorbers at all.
Most importantly, though, is that just putting an oxysorb in your jar of granola isn't sufficient. There are multiple kinds of oxygen absorbers, including low temperature ones, high temp ones, ones that absorb moisture, ones that emit moisture, and even ones that emit alcohol. The most serious independent studies I can find come from military forces, and they make it clear that it's necessary to match the correct oxygen absorber, packaging material, packaging method, and foodstuff.
Making effective use of oxygen absorbers, then, would require you to have an inventory of different kinds, and also invest in industrial-grade packaging equipment. This does not seem cost-effective compared to buying replacement buckwheat flour every 9 months, or just buying a heavy duty countertop vacuum packing machine. |
Is there a difference between a lot of yeast and rising a short time vs little yeast and rising a long time?
I have heard some people say that to make the best bread, you should use little yeast, and let the dough rise for a long time (about 24h). However, I am wondering if you can achieve the same results by just putting more yeast in the beginning, and rising it for only several hours. Chemically I don't see what the difference would be. | Yes, there is a lot of difference. In principle, having food prepared under different conditions while keeping some total variable the same, tend to have different outcomes - having the same outcome would be the exception, not the rule.
Yeast colonies live and metabolise differently under different circumstances - imagine how people live in the Icelandic countryside and in Hong Kong, something similar happens to your yeast.
What is most pertinent to the taste are some compounds which get built in hot, overcrowded conditions (a quick rise), but not in the slow ones. These are most notably ammonia and thiols, and some people experience them as too harsh in taste. Also, if you do a low and slow rise, you get a tiny bit of lactic and acetic acid formation, as in sourdough. During a slow rise, the texture also changes, with extra gluten formation through autolyse.
The current trend is for artisan breads to do slow rises and to have the flavor profile from retarded doughs. Quickly risen breads have a homemade quality to them, and are not perceived as very refined. It is up to you which one you prefer. |
Where did the apples in Japanese Curry come from?
Japanese curry (カレー, karē) is its own distinct style, made with a roux base, mild curry powder, and grated apples or apple puree.
It also has a well-documented origin, having been introduced by British/Indian sailors during the period of British-Japanese naval alliance. This also includes an explanation for why Japanese curry uses a roux base (the navy wanted to add vitamin B1-bearing wheat to the sailor's diet). What it doesn't include is an explanation for when, how, and why the apples became a key ingredient.
Per Chopstick Chronicles:
The ultimate Japanese curry rice secret ingredients “kakushi Aji”, which literally translates to “hidden taste”, are Apple and Honey. These are well-known Japanese curry rice ingredients among Japanese people so it’s not much of a secret anymore. Adding grated apple and honey gives the Japanese curry rice the signature sweeter flavour and is a staple for any Japanese mother’s home-cooked curry.
Apples are not used in Anglo-Indian curries that I've seen or been able to find online. So this leads to several related questions:
Were apples added to standard Japanese curry when it was introduced to the 19th century navy?
If so, were they added for nutritional reasons? Or were apples common in British curries of the time (the book "Curry" does not mention this, nor are apples mentioned in Mrs Beeton's)
If the apples were added later, how did that come about? Was the Vermont Curry company responsible for it?
Thanks for any leads or ideas. | Just to chart how British and Japanese tastes for apple in curry developed:
The first published recipe for curry discovered so far in British recipes is from Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, first published in 1747. Page 101 of 1755 edition, as digitised by Google, has a recipe To Make a Currey the Indian Way, which makes no mention of apples.
From the late 18th century to the early 19th century, as the Georgian era yielded to the Regency in the United Kingdom, the Hindoostane Coffee House in London, opened by Sake Dean Mohamed, became the most famous Indian restaurant, and although these dishes were certainly mild in spice (by modern British standards), no mention of the flavours of apple is made in London's first restaurant guide, The Epicure's Almanack, published in 1815.
Fast forward to 1845's Modern Cookery for Private Families by Eliza Acton, and we see a range of curry recipes, including tripe curry, chicken curry (which includes the mention of grated coconut), country captain and curry balls. No mention of apples in any of these curry recipes, but there is this tidbit about making curries on page 333, under the heading for "Madras Curry Powder":
In India there is always something acid in the mixture, as lemons, sour apple juice, or green tamarinds.
This reminded me of another beloved Anglo-Indian favourite, the chutney. Chutney, under its various spellings, reached the English language in the 19th century, and apple chutney was certainly "a thing". On tracing its history, the 1853 Indian Domestic Economy and Receipt Book by a certain Robert Riddell makes no mention of it (its "love apple chutney" refers to tomato chutney), although it speaks about both English and 'native' Deccan apples. Rather, we turn to Georgiana Hill's How to Cook Potatoes, Apples, Eggs and Fish from 1869, where recipe 192 has apple chutney, where raisins and tamarind are used alongside the "sharp apples". Only a recipes down, recipe 200, is apple curry.
Cut some pared apples into large, but not very thick, slices; mix with them an onion chopped up small ; throw this into a pan of butter, which shake over a brisk fire until it attains a rich brown colour. Take the remains of any cold poultry or meat, previously rubbed over with a mixture of one ounce of curry and two ounces of flour ; stir it about well in the pan, and when the butter is quite absorbed throw in a pint of rich gravy or new milk ; simmer it for a quarter of an hour, and serve with sippets of toast dipped into lemon juice.
It was in the 1860s that the Meiji period got underway, and when the Imperial Japanese Navy adopted curry from the British Royal Navy. JapanToday.com covered the earliest Japanese recipe for curry, dating from 1872, in the 西洋料理通 Seiyō ryōritsū (The Expert on Western Cookery) by Kanagaki Robun 仮名垣魯文. We see the establishment of the roux method, but no apples to be seen.
About twenty years later, the 1891 New York-published Tempting Curry Dishes uses apple and applesauce quite liberally in some of its curry dishes, as well as having a recipe for curried apples. In the East Riding of Yorkshire, one domestic servant working at the Manor House in Willerby has in a handwritten notebook a recipe for curry, involving frying "two sour apples", and it is likely this recipe that has been popularised by the venerable "Mrs Crocombe" on English Heritage's YouTube channel. Interesting, the above BBC article reports a comment from head chef of a Yorkshire-based Indian restaurant chain, Mohammed Aslam:
"Lamb and apples is one of the oldest recipes," he said. "It's a southern [Indian] style of cooking, because what they do in the south is seasonal - what they grow, they use, like apples.
Then again, Mrs Beeton's 1861 tome had no apples in the curry recipes; an 1895 cookbook entitled Anglo-Indian cookery at home : a short treatise for returned exiles makes no mention of apples at all. The flavour profile remained, with recipes for British "colonial-style curry" and the revered coronation chicken. These were gradually superseded by a wave of immigration from the Indian subcontinent and a new wave of British curries through the 1960s and 70s.
Thus, approaching the late 20th century, with apple in curry being a regionalism in India and an anachronism in Britain, it appears that a New England take on curry, through one doctor's obsession with honey and apple cider vinegar, a health fad (バーモント健康法 Bāmonto kenkō-hō, the "Vermont Health System") that took off in Japan, intense marketing in the 1960s by House Foods, and now Japanese-style カレー karē is virtually defined by its use of apple and honey. Until the next change in tastes...! |
Can you make milk chocolate bars with fresh milk or cream?
I have a bizarre idea that milk powder is bad tasting, therefore I wonder if it could be possible to make chocolate bars with fresh milk or cream.
If not, are there some top quality milk powders? | I know you can't use fresh milk or cream. Any water introduced to your chocolate would cause it to start seizing. Basically the cocoa powder would start hydrating and clumping up. If you do it right, you get ganache or modelling chocolate. If you do it wrong, you get weird curdly chocolate and sadness.
As far as milk powder tasting bad... I really don't know the answer except to ask how you tasted it? It definitely tastes different (very concentrated and cooked) on it's own, but should be fine in a hot cocoa mix or chocolate bar, I'd think.
One thing you might look into it getting a full-fat milk powder, since most of what you'll find in stores (in the US at least) are skim milk powder. That might be part of the weirdness you detect.
The other thing you might look into is trying to find freeze-dried milk. My understanding is that most milk powders are made through an evaporation process, which would necessarily cook the milk and make it sweeter. Some people seem really averse to the "cooked milk taste," while some people (like me) enjoy it. Freeze-drying would perhaps do a better job of preserving the fresh taste, but I really don't know. I don't think I've ever had it. |
What would you call this way of cooking an egg?
I recently discovered this video of Jaques Pepin frying a couple of eggs. I never really liked fried eggs before and I think this is because I'd been doing it wrong — with the heat too high. I've since been enjoying fried eggs quite a bit but I like the yolk slightly less runny. Usually where it's just a tad bit congealed but not hard.
I found a few places that outline the different names for fried eggs, which go something like this (from https://www.eggs.ca/eggs101/view/7/how-to-fry-the-perfect-egg):
Sunny side up: The egg is fried with the yolk up and is not flipped.
Over easy: The egg is flipped and the yolk is still runny.
Over medium: The egg is flipped and the yolk is only slightly runny.
Over well: The egg is flipped and the yolk is cooked hard.
The closest thing seems to be over medium but I'm not flipping the egg. So what would you call sunny side up with only slightly running yolk? | This would generally be known as a variant of "basted eggs".
The idea of basted eggs is to apply heat from the bottom (from the pan) without flipping, but additionally cook the tops with liquid. The two ways of doing this are (1) to spoon hot fat over the eggs, or (2) to add water and cover the pan to allow steam to cook the tops.
My normal method of frying eggs is similar to this one, but at lower heat and cooking for longer uncovered. If you get it right, the white ends up fully opaque while the yolk is still deep yellow. |
What's the brix of a typical avocado?
What's the typical brix of a typical store-bought avocado? I mean the percentage of sugars, acids and such (I think it refers to all dissolved solids, but sugar gets the most attention). I can find the sugar content, but brix includes acids, minerals, and such, too. Does anyone have a refractometer and an avocado handy?
My hypothesis is that avocados have a very low brix. I'm not sure that they'd be easy to get juice out of, rather than an oily substance, though! I think juice is required to test the brix. | The basic definition of Brix is grams sugar per 100 g solution. For an avocado, the FDA’s nutrition data says that’s 8.5 °Bx.
The Brix scale is generally applied to solutions consisting mostly of sugar and water. That’s why it’s possible to use something like specific gravity or a refractometer to measure it. For solutions with other significant components, it’s not possible to use a refractometer or hydrometer to accurately measure Brix. |
How to dehydrate nuts using an oven for a short time?
The websites say after soaking nuts, I can dehydrate them using oven on low heat for 12 hours.
But can I do it using higher heat for 1 hr only?
and what would happen if I store nuts when they are not completely dried?
Thank you! | Dehydration (low heat, long time) and cooking (high heat, generally shorter) are two separate things. Dehydration lowers the water content, whereas cooking changes the chemical structures in the food but may also dehydrate to a greater or lesser extent.
To dehydrate you need to gently heat for a longer time so that the water evaporates without cooking the nuts.
Higher heat for shorter times may or may not dehydrate depending on the temperature - you run the risk of burning or cooking the exterior making a soft interior and hardened shell. This may result in the interior of the nut potentially being able to grow any contaminating fungus or bacterium, which you might not be able to tell from the outside. |
Sombra Pumpkin: Is it known by other names?
I bought pumpkin from German Supermarket and its name is Sombra.
But I can't find any information about it in internet. Is it known by some other name? I want to know so that I can look for recipes.
Upon searching I found may be its called as Winter sweet Pumpkin, but I can't find any information about that either! | Most winter squash is fairly interchangeable when cooking.
Obviously, there are differences in them (sweetness, density, size, flesh color), but if you're cutting it up and roasting it, then it's fairly universal (but you might need to cut up denser ones into smaller bits).
Tozer Seeds describes it as:
a combination of sweetness, flaky texture and depth of flavour
(Kings Seeds uses the exact same description)
I'm not sure what they mean by 'flaky', but it might mean that it can be treated like spaghetti squash, where the fibers are such that it can be cooked whole and then removed from the skin in long strands as a pasta substitute.
As it looks to be a smaller pumpkin, and they mention it's sweet, I'd recommend trying recipes for "acorn squash".
And, if you roast it and it's not quite right ... then you can always mash it with other flavorings, or blend it with some stock to turn it into soup. |
Is there any cleaning utensil that is comparable to fingernails?
As you know, sometimes the best scraping tool in the kitchen for cleaning up is your own fingernails.
The only thing I know of that compares in terms of effectiveness is metal, but you shouldn't use metal on many things, such as cast iron or teflon pans.
Is there anything that can match the effectiveness of fingernails, but that isn't so hard it scratches like metal? | Try searching for "pan scrapers." I have a pair from Lodge that has served me well, though you can find almost identical scrapers without the branding.
These are essentially equivalent to the scrapers mentioned by ChrisH, but with curves to make it easier to clean the edges of your pans |
Sourdough bread uncooked from inside
My sourdough starter is 9 days old. Today it doubled in around 6 hours.
Following this recipe, I performed following steps:
I mixed 400g AP Flour, 160g starter, 230g water and 10g salt.
Kneading: I kneaded it for about 20 minutes until I observed window pane effect.
Proofing-1: I left it for proving for around 3 hours. It significantly increased in size, although not doubled.
Shaping: I shaped the bread and put it in a container with tea cloth.
Proofing-2: I left it for proving for around 5 hours. It significantly increased in size, although not doubled.
Baking-1: I preheated the oven at 230°C, kept the dough on tray and put some boiling water on a small container beside the dough. I baked for around 20 minutes.
Baking-2: I removed the water tray and let the rest of the dough heat up for 20 more minutes at 230°C.
First of all, the bread is barely edible. The bread developed a tough layer of crust on the top which is really hard to bite on. The inside is soggy and barely has any bubbles. Also, the exterior colour is blackish instead of brownish.
Also, the crust developed a crack below and expanded around it. It didn't expand around the scar I gave it on the top.
I'm adding some images for enhancing the context:
What can I do to improve my bread?
Although it looks brownish, really it's very burnt color.
The crack that was developed on bottom.
EDIT:
According to Chris's recommendation I made following changes:
Baked bread for 230˚C with steam for 20 minutes and then baked the bread for another 20 minutes at 180˚C.
Didn't cut the bread immediately, let it cool for about 1.5 hours.
I did one more thing, kneaded bread for around 40-50 minutes. I think this is a bit too much, but I did this since I couldn't see the window pane effect as described in the video.
Below I'm stating the improvements and lacking's the bread has.
Improvements:
The resulting bread, although on the edge, is edible unlike the earlier one.
The crust is no longer rock hard but it isn't a delight to bite on either.
What it lacks:
The bread didn't expand around the score I gave it.
The crust seems to be a bit disintegrated from the rest of the loaf.
The bread isn't as fluffy as I would like it to be.
The dough developed a huge crack in the bottom after the shaping phase. I think every shaping will have a weak corner, how do I prevent it from opening up? The crack is visible in the bottom image of bread. Same happened before as well.
Observations:
The top of the crust still has a burnt texture. To steam, I put a container with boiling water beside my bread. Usually it get split around the bread which might be the reason my bread has a nice colour on the bottom. I think the steam is not reaching the crust. Should I spray the bread for steam creation next time? (So that it reaches crust as well).
I'm attaching pictures for reference:
^The bottom of the crust can be easily peeled off from the rest of the bread. | Mine takes 40 minutes for 500g flour, just under 70% hydration. That's in preheated cast iron, with the lid on (and wetted inside) at 240C for the first 20 minutes, then down to 180. The hard crust seems like too hot to long, possibly too much top heat too.
Did you let it cool (almost) fully before cutting and tasting? If I'm impatient, it seems doughy and underdone. The absolute warmest it should be when you cut it is just warm enough to soften a little butter. The inside looks OK to me - a closer crumb than you might have been aiming for but better for sandwiches. I'm prone to handling mine too much or too roughly and knocking some of the air out as I transfer it to the pan, with this effect
Next time try turning the oven down a bit when you take the water out. To avoid wasting this loaf, if it still seems underdone when cold, toast slices of it (probably leaving the crust) and eat hot with butter. |
Can I make a Cheesecake without using cream cheese?
Is it possible to replicate the texture of cheesecake without using cream cheese?
I really love the texture of cheesecake and I really love its aesthetic.
But I just really dont like the sour taste of cream cheese which destroys the entire experience of eating cheesecake for me.
So I'm trying to look for an alternative.
I'm thinking about, replacing all the cream cheese with just heavy cream, maybe add some cooked cornstarch to thicken it to try to replicate the consistency of cream cheese. My hypothesis is that it should hold perfectly like regular cream cheese/ be runnier but should have a lighter taste which should make it 100x more suited to my tastebuds.
But I also want to hear your opinions/alternatives you might have. I want to have the best chances of success | Cheesecake is essentially a baked custard with that substitutes cream cheese (and often some sour cream) for the dairy ingredient.
After all, a basic custard recipe is just milk, sugar, and eggs with some kind of flavoring added.
The cheese is the thing that gives cheesecake it's distinctive texture. Substituting cream and corn starch is going to end up with a much more pudding-like consistency.
All that being said, there are a number of recipes that substitute the much milder Mascarpone cheese in place of about half of the cream cheese. This may be sufficient to get you a milder sour flavor without drastically altering the texture. You could also give it a try with all Mascarpone, but you might be pushing into that pudding texture again.
Also, be prepared for the added cost with Mascarpone, which tends to cost 2-3 times as much as cream cheese. |
Why is good heat transfer required for making fond?
I was watching a Jacques Pepin video on steak and pan sauce. In it, he mentions that having a pan with good heat transfer is important to make sure your fond doesn't burn, but instead crystallises.
In line with this, conventional wisdom (reading forum posts) seems to say that not having high enough heat will mess up fond production.
I'm trying to wrap my head around why exactly this is. Does any one have some kind of mechanistic insight behind why bad heat transfer can cause your fond to burn, instead of glaze? | I think it's a simple as bad heat transfer often meaning uneven heat transfer, leading to burning. Burnt fond won't deglaze successfully. Compare deglazing with making a roux: in both cases you want the proteins and starches to be browned (by the Malliard reaction and caramelization) but not burnt.
When making fond you want relatively high heat to promote these reactions and avoid the food (particularly some watery vegetables) from just sitting there in a lightly steaming puddle. |
How to do icing swirl effect (a bit like marbling)?
The cake above is from this website and I was wondering how the swirl effect is done on top of the cake? At first, I thought it may be done using a similar method to latte art, but am really unsure. Is it just a cocktail stick pulled through the icing in a curve? The bit that confused me most was how there was milk chocolate in the white chocolate half and white chocolate in the milk chocolate half for the same swirl.
The cake in the image below (which is from the same website) seems to have used a similar technique: | I can't be sure, but it looks like there are two different things going on here.
For the ice cream cake, notice that there is no white chocolate in the bottom swirl (the white there is a reflection of the light). So I expect they are using an implement (quite possibly the tip of a spoon) and swirling it from the dark side to the light side. Then they lift the spoon and let it trail across and then smear from dark to light again, leaving behind some of the white on each successive row.
For the rectangular cake, I think they've iced the entire thing in the light color, then added a thin layer of dark to half of the cake. Using a two pronged tool, they can then smear from dark to light and reveal the lighter color on the dark side before trailing the dark across the white side. |
Pea protein in a yeast dough. No rise in oven?
Spent whole week making no rise no kneed pizza dough (1.5Tbsp yeast + 1.5 cup water + 4 cups flour etc). Gets pretty puffy in the oven.
Today tried adding pea protein (70g, but with less flour to achieve same level of sticky consistency) and it completed killed it rising in the oven.
Too much pea protein or some properties of pea protein specifically? Besides being pretty fibery it seems pea protein also binds water easily. | The use of legume flours like pea flour is known to compromise gluten formation in the dough, leading to poor gas retention. See, for instance, this article on the use of gram flour in wheat bread. It's not clear from your question what percentage of pea flour you're using, but based on that data I wouldn't advise more than ten percent. You could try adding additional wheat gluten to the dough to compensate. You should also be measuring by relative mass, not by how 'sticky' the dough feels. |
Can I thaw salmon directly in water?
Some online advice says to put salmon in a bag before thawing it in cold water.
My question is:
Is it safe to omit the bagging, and instead thaw salmon directly in water, with no bag? If not, why? | The salmon will get water logged and mushy (and consequently release a lot of water during the cooking process) if you omit the bag. It's not unsafe, but it will decrease the quality of the salmon. |
What kind of apple fermented drink did I just make?
I got this (dutch) recipe on Twitter a few months back. Translated it's called: apple with bubbles. I made it, and it was nice, simple process, and produced a nice summer style drink. But I was wondering, what did I make, and which parts can I try to vary with?
Translated recipe:
Put in a big jar: 1 apple (small chunks), 1 slice of lemon, 500ml water, 1 tsp honey, 20gr sugar, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 cinnamon stick
Cover jar with cheesecloth
For 3-4 days, put it somewhere without direct sunlight, stir/shake it twice a day. (So get some nice fermentation going)
Transfer/filter through cheesecloth liquid into a bottle
Leave the bottle outside the fridge for 2 days, make sure to releave it of pressure.
Put the bottle in the fridge for 2 days minimum. After that you have a week to drink it
So, uhm, what did I make, and which elements are essential for the process? | What you made is a watered down version of a fermented or hard cider - the natural yeasts in the apple produce CO2 and alcohol, the sugar adds a bit of extra food for the yeasts, as does the honey which also contributes to the flavor, like the cinnamon stick and fennel.
In short, you used the spontaneous fermentation like it’s traditional for wine and cider, just with a diluted fruit mash.
For tweaking:
The sugar (or honey) is necessary as you added water to the apple juice. The spices are optional.
I currently have a batch of something quite similar on a shelf, where I first fermented apple peels and cores in water (using up leftovers) and now am fermenting it a second time to make vinegar. |
How to achieve fall-off-the-bone lamb with browned bits in oven?
I am trying to replicate a method to cook lamb I experienced in a North African restaurant in Paris. The dish was called "mechoui" (which is a whole-hog ... hmm... lamb outdoor roasting tradition), but when I asked the chef he said all he did was cook the lamb pieces at 300F (180C) for 1hr in the oven with no fat, just some coarse salt.
The lamb (typically a sub section of lamb shoulder with some bone) was served just about fall of the bone tender, with plenty of delicious browned bits. It was clearly roasted and not braised.
Each time I have tried to replicate this I end up with a messy & disappointing situation: plenty of liquid released in the pan, no browning, and tough meat.
What would people recommend? | That temperature is fine, but is never, ever going to produce “fall off the bone” in one hour. That requires hydrolysis of collagen into gelatin, which takes significantly longer. It’s possible the chef was describing how he finished the lamb, after a longer (and possibly wetter) cook at a lower temperature.
Don’t worry too much about losing liquid. That is absolutely going to happen with long, slow cooking, even if you’re boiling the meat. The “moistness” of long-roasted meat comes from rendered gelatin, not from hoarding the juices. With very long dry cooking you do run some risk of drying out (this will manifest as a thick dry 'bark' on the meat, not as dryness throughout), but just tenting the meat with foil should avoid that.
Try three hours at 180, covering with foil until the last half hour. This will probably produce more fall-off-the-bone than you'd like, but it's a good starting point. |
Can putting frozen food in a hot ceramic pan cause a thermal shock?
Can putting frozen food in a preheated ceramic coated non-stick pan cause a thermal shock and ruin the pan? | I'm gonna risk getting chastised and answer from first principles, rather than any referenced sources!
The pan will not be affected at all from this. A home freezer will chill foods down to around -20C, a refrigerator to around 5C and the stovetop can heat your pan up to around 350C. Putting food from the fridge into your preheated pan (its most common use-case) could expose the pan to a mass 345C cooler than it, from the freezer 370C. The temperature differential between the two cases is really not that different (~10%) and well within the ability of any pan to withstand. If it were possible to damage a pan with such a small variation from its most common use case, it would also be just as likely that a more efficient/higher temperature stovetop would also damage it.
In short, the only pan that would be damaged by this would be a pan that was not fit for purpose. |
Is it safe to use lye-based oven cleaner on a stainless steel pan?
I'm currently in the middle of seasoning some new pans that I received from made in. I accidently messed up one of my pans by not wiping off the excess seasoning wax and now the pan has dots all over it.
In the past I have used the 24 hour soak in oven cleaner method for my wok. I'm curious since I'm using stainless would the oven cleaner (Easy Off, a brand whose active ingredient is lye) be safe to use to help remove the messed up patina? My pan is stainless clad and manufactured by made in. | Firstly, there should be no need to season a stainless clad pan. Stainless pans are generally kept pristine, with any oil residue scrubbed off after use. Seasoning is done on cast iron and carbon steel (which is black and looks like thin cast iron). I'm not aware of any guidance that suggests seasoning stainless steel in the same way cast iron is.
Oven cleaner is essentially just lye, mixed into a form factor to make it a spray on foamy cleaner. Lye is a strong base (the opposite of a strong acid), and can be similarly caustic and harsh on surfaces. This article outlines the damage that can be caused by it on certain stainless steel surfaces. It also contains guidance directly from the manufacturer of the Easy-Off brand that it's designed to be safe for stainless steel inside the oven (such as the oven racks), and not for other stainless steel surfaces.
Serious Eats has a recommendation to use oven cleaner as a last resort after using other cleaners and scrubbing for the bottom & exterior of a stainless pan. I would not use oven cleaner on the interior cooking surface of a stainless steel pan. |
Are these Red Beans or Red Kidney beans?
Hello
I would like to ask the community, if this the kidney beans are (which are good for rajma) or these are the red beans. The package says RED BEANS only..
Thank you | Though people seem to consider them 'the same thing' they are actually not. There is a 'red bean' distinct from a kidney bean.
What you have there, though, are kidney beans.
I found a couple of sources of comparison. The first, in text, from an actual bean company, Randall, which I thought gave it some added authority.
Kidney Beans
Of the three [they were including pintos, which we don't need here], kidney beans are noticeably the
biggest and plumpest. Looked at side-by-side with other beans,
kidney beans also have a much more distinct shape that isn’t as round
and oblong and looks more like a kidney. Go figure! Their thicker dark
red skin makes them ideal for and commonly used in lots of dishes that
are cooked over long periods of time like chili, baked beans, and
jambalaya where they are great at soaking up and absorbing other
flavors in the dish. But, they are also a great hearty and healthy
protein topper for salad too.
Red Beans
While many people think kidney beans and red beans are the same, they are actually two different kinds of beans! When you put
one next to the other, the visual differences are immediately
apparent. Where kidney beans are one of the largest beans, red beans
are much smaller and retain the classic oblong shape. And while both
are red, kidney beans have a darker, more crimson shade while red
beans are much brighter, almost pinkish, shade of red and have a much
“beanier” taste. Despite their differences, red beans do often go in
similar rice and stew recipes as kidney beans and pinto beans.
…and another source with pictures… Difference Guru
Kidney beans
Red beans |
Making a crock pot style stew in an instant pot
Can I make a crockpot style stew in an instant pot? What I mean is a stew made in the instant pot, but not on the slow cooker option. If so, how do I do that?
(I am not looking for a recipe, just a technique) | Yes and no.
There are some definite differences when you're cooking with a pressure cooker and a slow cooker.
First off, you need to have sufficient liquid from the beginning in a pressure cooker, so it will actually pressurize and lock shut. Typically this is about 1/4 to 1/2 cup (~60 to 120 mL), but the type of liquid matters -- you're going to want more if it's something like tomato juice, where there's a lot of sugars and dietary fiber.
There are a number of slow cooker recipes that rely on vegetables or meat giving off liquid as they cook ... those just simply won't work.
But you also have to avoid having too much liquid. Because the pressure cooker is sealed (at least on an instant pot, some others give off steam as they cook), you won't get any reduction and concentration of the liquids as it cooks. This can result in stews coming out rather soupy.
For this reason, I would recommend following a pressure cooker recipe if you can. Some will call for pulling the meat and vegetables and turning the instant pot to 'sauté' to reduce the liquid. Others will make adjustments to ingredients and seasonings, and might even throw in a cornstarch slurry to try to get the right viscosity.
As there are lots of recipes out there for any given dish, you might want to look for ones that fit your general constraints and then adjust the flavorings more like you prefer, but use the general meat / vegetable / liquid ratios from the pressure cooker recipe as-is the first time.
A few things that I've taken to doing when adapting slow cooker recipes to the instant pot:
Cut up large roasts If you're supposed to brown the meat first, I do it, but I cut large roasts into two or three more manageable chunks. Then set it aside, deglaze, and pour the liquid out with the meat.
Cook down vegetables that give off liquid. Like for onions, I'll cook down a base of onions until it's almost dry, then deglaze with your liquid making sure it's hot, and then pile the meat and other veg in (possibly some more onion, as that other stuff's going to almost disappear), then change it over to pressure cook.
Replace tomatoes with tomato paste If a recipe calls for a can of tomatoes, tomato puree or similar, I add some tomato paste and cook it for a minute or so before one of the times when I deglaze. (Note: I'm using the US terms. In the UK, it would be replacing passata or crushed tomatoes with tomato purée)
Use full salt broths. If you're not going to be reducing the liquid at the end, you don't need to worry about using 'low sodium' broth or stock, and it keeps it from coming out too flat tasting
Use more garlic. Pressure cooking seems to reduce the flavor too much for my liking. I tend to increase it to 1.5 to 2 times what was called for. If that's still not enough for your liking, you can grind up a clove of garlic with some coarse salt, and stir that in at the end.
Mind you, with the deglazing, you'll lose some of the liquid, so I like to measure it out ahead of time (at least 1/2 a cup (120mL), to deal with evaporation), and then work from that when I go to deglaze ... and add all of the rest of it to bring to a boil just before I put everything back in and seal it up. |
How do I substitute almond flour for all purpose flour?
I am trying to make a few cookie recipes and want to reduce their carb content and make it suitable for a low carb consuming person. Most of the cookie recipes call for all purpose flour.
In one of the recipes which specifically knead the dough with butter and no moisture (so as not to form gluten) I substituted almond flour 1:1 but haven't had great results (the dough is crumbly, cant be rolled, etc). Even 1.5:1 and still was the same. I added a pinch of xanthan gum and was able to get the dough to bind. However I wanted to ask here how people have gone about replacing all purpose flour with almond flour.
My next attempt is going to include some Vital Wheat Gluten along with the almond flour.
Edit: I have used Erythritol(powdered) as a sweetener.
One of the sample recipes :
from https://www.archanaskitchen.com/shrewsbury-cookies-recipe-butter-cookies
The other one is a video recipe : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU4U0M8JZG8&ab_channel=CookingShooking - I did mention my findings to the chef in the comments - but he's clearly a big enough celebrity to ignore a novice such as me. | There is no general replacement. Almond flour has very little in common with all-purpose flour, and behaves very differently in baking.
Your idea of adding gluten is very interesting - many flourless recipes are actually made with the intent to be gluten-free, which is a very difficult restriction to work around. It is certainly something to have in your toolbox.
However, you cannot just find some kind of mixture which will behave as a good substitute in different circumstances. Rather, you will have to redesign each recipe separately, and some things (e.g. laminated dough) may not be possible at all. For others, you would probably need to learn what the flour's role is in each, and experiment how to match it well - here, food science books will be helpful. It is quite an interesting project! |
How to take care of a sourdough starter?
I am a beginner bread maker and just bought a San Francisco Sourdough starter.
The instructions ask to discard part of the starter on day 5 of activating the starter.
Why is that? | If some of the starter is not removed, it becomes overly acidic. Too much acid reduces the leavening effect of the starter. Removing and feeding keeps the acid in balance. |
What is enzyme modified butter fat?
Does anybody have a clue? This is an ingredient listed on a dinner package. Fortunately it is near the end of the listed ingrediets list.
All I can find using google is that the enzyme modified means the flavor is enhanced but does not say what it is that is being enhanced. Just curious if anyone had run into this before. | What is enzyme-modifed butterfat?
According to the United States Food and Drug Administration:
(a) Enzyme-modified refined beef fat, enzyme-modified butterfat, and enzyme-modified steam-rendered chicken fat are prepared from refined beef fat; butterfat or milkfat; and steam-rendered chicken fat, respectively, with enzymes that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). Enzyme-modified milk powder may be prepared with GRAS enzymes from reconstituted milk powder, whole milk, condensed or concentrated whole milk, evaporated milk, or milk powder. The lipolysis is maintained at a temperature that is optimal for the action of the enzyme until appropriate acid development is attained. The enzymes are then inactivated. The resulting product is concentrated or dried.
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=184.1287
That probably doesn't offer much that you don't already know. It says that enzymne-modified butterfat is made from butterfat or milkfat and enzymes, which are themselves derived from dairy products.
What is an enzyme?
An enzyme is a protein that acts as a catalyst, accelerating chemical reactions.
Enzymes accelerate the rates of such reactions by well over a million-fold, so reactions that would take years in the absence of catalysis can occur in fractions of seconds if catalyzed by the appropriate enzyme. Cells contain thousands of different enzymes, and their activities determine which of the many possible chemical reactions actually take place within the cell.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9921/
Like all catalysts, they are not consumed or changed by the reaction they facilitate.
Should there be enzymes in my food?
Yes! As stated above, cells contain thousands of enzymes, so there's no avoiding them. But most of those enzymes are not doing anything interesting in your food. However, sometimes we need specific enzymes to make the food we eat. For instance, in order to make cheese, we need to add rennet. Rennet is a group of enzymes, including, most importantly, chymosin, which is the enzyme that causes the milk to curdle. Some cheese also relies on the enzyme lipase, which causes fat to break down and release fatty acids. These fatty acids are partly responsible for the flavor (and texture) of most blue cheeses, feta cheese and others.
How do enzymes enhance flavor?
To avoid a long discussion of what flavor is, let's just say that it has to do with your nose and mouth reacting to certain compounds in a food. As discussed above, enzymes can catalyze the reactions that produce flavorful compounds. They can also produce compounds that make already present flavors more noticeable (like how adding salt to food not only makes it taste salty, but also brings out the other flavors).
Examples
DuPont, an American chemicals company, makes a variety of enzymes that can be used to improve cheese flavor and make it easier to produce. For example, KM450 Lipase is supposed to reduce bitterness, reduce ripening time and modify the flavor intensity of mature goat cheese. Savorase® ARP is meant to improve the flavor of Swiss or Italian-type enzyme modified cheese, while Savorase® CHC is to be used for Cheddar flavor enzyme modified cheese.
https://www.dupontnutritionandbiosciences.com/products/natural-flavor-enzymes.html |
What causes scrambled egg patties to turn greyish green on the inside?
I ordered an egg and cheese bagel from a restaurant. The egg patty was unusually thick, uniformly bright yellow on the outside, and grey on the inside (although the computer photo shows a greenish tint).
What could have caused this? Does it tell us anything about the cooking practices of the restaurant? For example, could the patties have been premade in batches from liquid egg yolk, put in the refrigerator, and then microwaved on demand which caused too much heat on the inside, like overcooked hard-boiled eggs? Is something like this safe to eat? | Yes, too high temp will/can turn egg yolk blue-is/greenish/grayish.
But doing it in microwave will probably not. Mostly beacuse it's harder to heat anything inside than outside in a microwave.
From experience I can tell that in places made to feed a lot of people in short amount of time any breakfast items are premade and then just keep warm. So the patty would be cooked in temperature allowing inside to be done an then kept in an oven or over the lamp. Making inside of the patty to still boil (as energy exchange is slowed) allowing sulfur o bond with water in patty. The longer the heat is provided the longer this process take place.
A) the patties are safe too eat but they might be rich in sulfur
B) you might bought the food some time (few hours) after it was made and it wasn't made fresh
Overall nothing bad but personally that is something I would expect from a food stall rather than restaurant. |
Can you season skewers after cooking them?
Firstly, I write, not cook. A character in my story drugs some honey chicken skewers, saying it's seasoning in front of my protagonist. Would it be okay if he was called out about it or are there actual recipes that add spices after the meat is done grilling? | It's very common to season steaks or other meats with salt and pepper after cooking, there would be nothing unusual about that. There are also seasoned salt mixes which people may use as well, that's also common. Using other spices is less common, there are finishing spice mixes which could be sprinkled on, which is less common.
As a writer myself I would say it will work any way you want it to. I would think nothing of seeing someone sprinkle some salt on food after cooking, unless I had reasons to be suspicious to begin with, and then I would touch and smell. Or I might not have suspicions until I smell the food and detect something odd. |
How can I tell whether my potatoes are waxy vs. floury?
Once in a while I get hold of a bunch of potatoes without any labeling and the least I want to know is whether they are waxy or floury. Is there a way to determine whether raw potatoes are waxy or floury? | Cut one in half and rub each halves against each other. If water shows up the potatoes will hold together after boiling.
If the halves stick to each other and the juice is more cloudy than clear then the potatoes are starchy and "floury". |
What's happens at temperatures in both the 'pasteurisation' and 'danger' zone?
I am new to cooking and even newer to sous vide cooking. I have been trying to find as much information as I can with regards to cooking steak in the sous vide. One thing I am particularly confused by is certain temperatures in the 'danger' zone, between 40f-140f.
I have seen multiple youtube videos and articles stating not to go over a certain cooking time (usually 2.5h) in a sous vide when cooking under a certain temperature in the danger zone (usually 135f). The claim is for food safety reasons. However, I also found a document (by googling 'usda pasteurisation chart') for which it states that at 130f, for example, you can pasteurise or get a significant reduction in salmonella bacteria by cooking for about 2 hours.
I'm really confused by this as it seems to be that there are certain temperatures at which you can achieve 'pasteurisation', but which fall in the danger zone and so should apparently have way more bacteria and food safety concerns. Can anyone explain what's going on in these temperature ranges? Particularly in the 130f to 140f range where steaks are often sous vide?
I've read through this but I'm still not exactly clear on what's happening in this particular case Can I sous-vide meat (at a temperature between 40ºF and 140ºF) for more than four hours?.
Thank you! | What you need to understand is that making raw proteins safe for consumption is not simply a function of temperature. It is a function of time plus temperature. Because of the precise temperature control of sous vide, one can cook at lower temperatures IF one understands that a longer time at those temperatures renders food safe. There is no better explanation than the work of Douglas Baldwin. I would recommend reading that for starters.
Most food pathogens stop growing at 122F (50C). However, clostridium perfringens can grow up to 126.1F (52.3C). So, in general sous vide cooking is done above these temperatures. However, there are exceptions to that. You would likely not want to cook a steak at that temperature. |
Why does the instant coffee that I store in little plastic tubs go bad?
I keep a little plastic container of instant coffee at work and after a week it has either gone into blocks or darkened. I open it a few times. Its location is above a hot/ cold water dispenser (but seems room temperature) just airconditioned. The home supply of instant coffee is perfectly fine. Why is the work coffee in such bad shape? | In a word, humidity.
Instant coffee absorbs moisture from air rather well. I suspect that your container isn't perfectly airtight, and it's in a humid place. It's possible that the container is airtight, but enough water vapour gets in each time you open it to cause problems. This will be more of an issue for small amounts in a big container.
To test and possibly address this, try a small, definitely airtight container, such as a glass jar with a screw top. Even plastic boxes with an O-ring seal and clips aren't always well-designed; especially if the lid had been hot it may not actually seal perfectly.
You can also use silica gel sachets (food grade versions are available) in the jar with the coffee. These don't last forever, but they can be dried in an oven and reused, also they're cheap. Don't forget to store the spares tightly sealed.
Of course, if you're spooning some out with a damp spoon that will get water in. I have seen people sprinkle the coffee directly into a mug of steaming water - and the steam collects in the container. Don't do that - if you want to sprinkle it into your mug, do so before adding hot water. |
Adding citrus to stew while cooking or after
I am trying to reverse engineer a recipe for a fava bean stew from the list of ingredients on a ready-to-eat can. The can, as well as every other (middle eastern) instance of fava beans I've had, was citrus zesty. The can lists "citric acid" but I intend to put lime juice.
I like many of my other stews and soups citrusy but I normally add lime juice or vinegar (sometimes even sumac will do) as a condiment before eating, not while cooking. I wonder if there are any advantages to adding it while cooking. Such as, for example, could it help tenderize the favas, in addition to adding citrus flavor? Is it best to add citrus, while cooking, right after cooking, or as a condiment before eating? | When citrus juice is added to a soup or sauce, it's usually added at the last minute, after cooking. The reason is that when citrus juice is cooked, it looses some of its flavor.
As Juhasz mentioned, dried beans should not be cooked with acid. Acid will make them take a lot longer to cook. It may also make the skins tough and unpleasant to eat. (Unless you removed the skins, as is sometimes done with fava beans.)
You could possibly use that to your advantage if your fava beans are fully cooked before the rest of the stew is done cooking. Adding an acid might stop the beans from getting too soft while the rest of the stew cooks. (Emphasis on "might;" I'm only guessing about this. All the references I've seen are focused on the goal of getting the beans fully cooked, not on stopping them from cooking too much.)
Summary:
Don't add any citrus or vinegar until the fava beans are fully cooked. If you do add some after that point, expect that the citrus juice will lose some flavor the longer you cook it. Add additional lime juice immediately before serving if you want that bright, fresh taste of lime juice. |
how to make "Creme Caramel" coffee flavored?
I tried it Vietnam 3 years ago.
I prefer the Vietnamese version, there they made it with coffee flavored liquid on top
Thanks! | Your question suggests you want to make the caramel syrup part coffee-flavoured. I'd simply replace the water used in making that with espresso (if you can get real espresso). You don't need much so if you can't make it at home, perhaps get a takeaway from a coffee bar. If you can't get real espresso, something close like aeropress espresso or moka (stove-top espresso), in both cases using a lot of coffee to the amount of water. Instant espresso powder is a last resort, or for reinforcing the flavour if it turns out too weak.
If you want to make the custard part coffee flavoured, I've had success in the past infused hot milk with ground coffee before filtering. I was going for very strongly flavoured to make a latte buttercream, but you wouldn't need to. Instead as the milk starts to warm, stir in ground coffee, continue heating, then filter (through a coffee filter paper, which you can put in a sieve for a one-off if you don't have a filter cone) before you add it to the egg. Again, avoid instant coffee. Strength will be hard to get right. My best guess would be something like a tablespoon of ground coffee to 250ml of milk, but I'd suggest aiming for subtle rather than overpowering on the first attempt, and use a little less.
I referred to this recipe; you may need to modify my steps slightly if yours works differently. |
Can these Oktoberfest dishes be reheated without ruining them?
I am hosting an Oktoberfest party tonight and would like to do much of the cooking this morning and just re-heat things before the party for time management purposes. Fortunately, I have a good friend that is a retired executive chef bringing schnitzel, but I am responsible for everything else. Here is what I'd like to make ahead:
German potato salad
Beer cheese (for pretzel dipping)
Beer brats (thinking of grilling early and then heating in the oven)
Saute peppers and onions as a condiment for brats
Can all of this be successfully reheated without making it awful? If so, what temperature? I have two ovens and can do two different temperatures if necessary.
Thanks in advance! | The potato salad, and the peppers and onions, are standard steam-tray fare. If you can, make them somewhat ahead of time and keep warm, covered, in a low oven. The brats can be treated likewise, though you won’t maintain the same crackle to the casing; your can re-crisp in a fan assist oven for 5-10 minutes at 200C.
Don’t mess with the preparation instructions for the cheese. It’s the least stable of the four. |
Saucepan Accessory
When we cook our cholent (overnight stew), it sometimes dries out on top.
For those who do not relish this part, I am looking for a stainless steel insert to my saucepan that will keep the solid ingredients below a liquid layer. Can anyone recommend a product please? | Using a drop-lid or otoshibuta is commonly used for Japanese simmered dishes. Take a look at the lids shown on this site: the metal ones are more or less the shape you described, albeit without a lip. Although Japanese drop-lids typically sit above all the food and liquid, I see no reason why they could not be slightly submerged. Even sitting on top of the whole stew, a drop lid would significantly decrease evaporation.
The French tradition uses a piece of parchment paper instead. Like a drop-lid, it simply sits on top of the braise and prevents evaporation similarly. This article provides instructions for using one. |
Steaming while boiling food
Can you use the steam from boiling one thing to cook something else?
E.g. Boiling potatoes and steam broccoli in the same pot at the same time.
Thank you! | Yes, if you have the right pot, namely one that has a steamer insert that is well above the bottom of the pot, or even stacks.
In fact, in several cuisines this is the standard way of getting several ingredients ready at once. For example, it's common to steam couscous in the steam from the Moroccan stew cooking below, using a stacking pot called a couscousiere.
Just make sure that the food in the steamer will take less time to steam than the food below takes to boil. |
What is this oddly shaped hinged device with indentations?
What is this device? It's about 8cm long when closed, and has little indentations on the top piece and raised lines on the bottom. Possibly it could be used to crush garlic etc.? | It's a lemon/lime wedge juice squeezer.
Only place I've ever really seen them used is in British Indian restaurants.
Pop a wedge in the gap, squeeze the handles, juice can be poured with reasonable accuracy from any of the fluted edges. No messy fingers.
Image from Amazon |
baking a Souffle to make it as much liquidish as possible
I have found this explanation for example:
Bake the soufflé: For maximum lift, it’s best to heat your soufflé
from the bottom up — in other words, the direct heat of your oven
should ideally be coming from below. Also, place the soufflé on the
bottom rack of your oven so it’s as close to the heating element as
possible. Alternatively, you can preheat a baking sheet in the oven
and place the soufflé on top of this to bake; the baking sheet acts
like a heat source.
But I can hardly agree with that. Is there a way to use only the top heating element in the oven so that the top will get crust and not burned and the bottom will get baked properly?
Maybe the solution is just to use narrow and taller cup? | I get your point. A souffle is often just set, but sometimes, as in when making something like a chocolate lava cake, the cooking is completed early so that the inside remains liquid. I would not use the top element of your oven, as this simply over cook the surface. I would just use the oven rack in the center, rather than placing the souffle on the bottom rack. That has always worked fine for me. This is a time sensitive product, and much depends on the size of the container you are baking in. It is often best to bake these in single serving ramekins so that you have greater control over the timing. For a liquid center, keep a close eye on it. Remove after it has risen and the top has set. |
Avoiding poisonous quince juice
I'm cooking jelly from quinces, with core housing and seeds. I try to remove sliced seeds. From the leftover mass I prepare delicious quince bread by passing it through a food mill ("Flotte Lotte"). What is left in the food mill (seeds etc., now called residuum) I put in the freezer to get additional juice after quince season. The seed shell from the seeds is damaged/removed during the milling process.
Is it safe to cook the residuum once more? I've read that the hydrogen cyanide inside the seeds is water solutable and volatile. So I'm unsure if
hydrogen cyanide is still inside the seeds after cooking for one hour
the hydrogen cyanide can escape from slightly damaged seeds
I cook poisonous juice
I poison myself from the gas while cooking
I really don't want to put anyone's health on jeopardy. | Short answer: It is not unsafe. There is little HCN present to start with and less after cooking. You cannot poison yourself with gas from this.
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) boils at 26 C (79 F), which is quite low, so after one hour of boiling you would be left with very little HCN. You need about 200 ppm in most mammals for the LD50 (dose at which 50% of a group of animals die). You are very unlikely to reach this concentration in a kitchen with the window open or an extractor fan running. I've been unable to find values for the HCN content in quince, but there are closely related species like apple and pear that do have available values for the HCN containing compounds.
However, what is actually in quince seeds is a nitrile compound - this is a group of chemicals that contain a cyanide group; the most commonly studied and mentioned form of this is a chemical known as Amygdalin. These are altered by the stomach acids and enzymes and can release the HCN from the nitrile. How much is released is probably a bit dependent on the conditions under which it is treated. Boiling seems to be effective at extracting amygdalins and that they contain in apple and pear between 3.0 and 1.3 mg/gram of amygdalin respectively. This converts to 0.1772 mg HCN per gram of seed dry weight for apple (please check my maths - HCN Mr = 27.0253 g/mol; amygdalin Mr = 457.429 g/mol; there is 1 HCN per amygdalin). If you boiled 100 grams of the (dry) seed you would get ~12 milligrams of potential HCN. The NIOSH limits for HCN exposure are a time-weighted average of 10 mg/m3 over 8 hours, so you would need to absorb all of that amygdalin over about 8 hours to see any effect.
It seems that the seeds are incorporated into a bunch of unscientific/folk remedies (see sections on edible and medicinal uses), so it is unlikely that there is actually much threat from the seed or products of the seeds unless consumed in significant amounts. |
How to make a Cake Jumper?
This is a relatively famous scene from an Irish TV show - Father Ted where a woman bakes a jumper (sweater) into a cake. Video can be seen here for reference - https://vimeo.com/38355848
I’m wondering what the best way to go about creating something like this would be?
In the video, it seems that the jumper is actually cooked into the cake, rather than added afterwards.
Could I make a normal cake mix and add in a suitably sized jumper before putting it in the oven?
My other thought would be to make a normal cake then cut out a cavity in the bottom to insert the jumper into. I was hoping there would be a better more-Father Ted like version if anyone with more experience has an idea. | In general, yes, you can bake stuff hidden inside a cake, but you are constrained in some ways. And before I go on: I don't believe that they actually baked a jumper in a cake for the film, they probably used some kind of inedible prop.
The most important constraint is the ratio of cake to item. If you embed something in a cake, you are messing up with leavening. It won't hurt if it is a small thing, or multiple small things, e.g. having nuts spread in the dough. But in this scene, the jumper was quite large. It was basically almost all jumper, with a tiny crust of "cake", and the cake itself was huge. It would be very difficult to bake a cake of this size all in one go even without the added difficulty of having a jumper in it, when you see huge wedding cakes, they are baked as separate layers, and the layers assembled afterwards.
I could imagine trying to get this to work. I would first choose a jumper that has as little weight and volume as possible, probably a girls' lightweight sweater. Or consider whether a doll sweater will be good enough for people to get the joke. If it has to be adult-size, maybe you can get away with a long-sleeve-T-shirt or a hiking base layer, especially if the fabric looks knitlike enough. Then find a suitable pan, large enough, and use a cutout baking mat on the bottom (you will never get it out with normal means if you do what I am planning). Parbake a very thin first layer for the bottom, Prinzregententorte-like. Then place the sweater on top, pour enough batter around it to get another layer, and bake the whole thing, using more top heat than bottom heat. Once this layer is set (doens't have to be through), add one more layer and rebake. When you get thick enough, I would suggest also starting to use a waterbath that only comes up to the height of the already-baked layers. You are finished when you have enough cake on top of the sweater.
The process will probably need several runs to be optimized. If the air in the sweater messes with leavening, consider soaking it in vegetable oil first. I'll also bet on you having to level the top, because it is unlikely you will get an even surface with this barbaric way of baking it and a whole sweater inside. It means that you probably don't want to serve it naked, since it will not resemble a plain cake out of the pan. You will likely need some kind of all-over frosting to cover the cut-off top and the unevenly baked layers on the sides.
Sweaters are also absorbent, so you will have to play with the liquid ratio in the cake. If using a dry sweater, you will have to make the batter more liquid, if you soak it in oil, you might need more flour in the cake (also, flour your sweater well before placing it in the cake, regardless of whether dry or oily).
You will have an easier time out of it if you use a packaged sweater, especially if you can package it in something with firm boundaries and nonreactive, such as a cookie tin or canning jar. You'll have some trouble finding a canning jar that has the proper shape, but maybe Weck has something appropriate, or you could consider using a modern glass-with-bamboo-lid storage container, they are available as squat cylinders. But I realize this may be too far from the original to get the joke across.
Finally, consider the sweater material. You can't have any amount of synthetic fiber in there, it will melt. This includes any kind of viscose too, even when sold with the label "natural" (may be labelled rayon, modal, lyocell, bamboo, etc.) I am torn between recommending wool and cotton - cotton is way too absorbent and heavy and will mess with the cake engineering more, but wool is not only expensive, wet wool exposed to heat usually felts. It is unusual in that you are not moving it here, but still it will probably feel pretty strange after baking. Other animal fibers are probably too expensive anyway, and unlikely to fare better than wool - although you may try alpaka because it felts less. Getting a lightweight sweater in non-fluffy alpaka might be difficult though. Silk will also be an interesting option, I'm pretty sure you will have to look a jumper made with cablé or tape yarn though, not spun silk. Since it is so hard to predict, you will probably have to bake swatches before deciding on an optimum material (a tray of mini-jumper-cupcakes as a rapid prototyping method!).
Bottom line, to get the promised movie effect - it can be done, although I can't guarantee how close to the original you can get in the end, you will certainly have more cake on the outside. You will also need to invest some serious engineering effort, and money.
If you decide to go the cutout route, it's not trivial for that size either. I recommend that you watch videos on constructing pi~nata cakes. |
What is this hinged tool with a box full of wicked grooves and teeth?
Recently, while cleaning out my mother's kitchen, we came across this tool:
When closed, it is about 8 inches long (the box at the end is maybe 2 inches by 2 inches by an inch or so). The two sides come apart very easily. The tool is quite light-weight, and seems to be made of aluminum. Other than that, I have idea what it could be, and there seemed to be no identifying marks or branding.
Honestly, I would not be surprised to learn that it is not even a kitchen tool (my money is on Medieval torture device), but it came from one of the kitchen cabinets, so maybe it belongs there? | This is an ice crusher.
You put some cubes (or use your ice pick to cut a hunk off from a large block), put it in the compartment, and squeeze it closed. Those gnarly bumps and teeth will crush the ice.
I would personally consider it more "home bar equipment" for crushing ice for cocktails, though that's certainly not the only use. As mentioned in the comments, it probably doubles as a decent nutcracker, though that's not it's intended purpose. |
I cannot understand how to properly fry seafood
I don't understand how to properly fry something.
I tried the basics: Use a shallow pan (ceramic), place it on the stove (induction), add oil (sunflower), wait until it gets hot and add something (thawed seafood in my case).
In the advertisements the chefs just swirl the mussels, shrimps, and octopus pieces around and produce some tasty browned pieces. In my case the seafood leaked a lot of water and the oil disappeared somehow. Since the pieces were stuck on the pan I needed to stir with a scraper. All I got were some barely made pieces with a thick brown layer sticking on the pan.
What did I do wrong and how can I improve?
Update
Your suggestions worked.
Yesterday I made about half a kilo of seafood. I dried the seafood, used a bit more oil and prepared it in batches in a non-stick pan.
Thank you all! | Given your picture, I think the correct term here is saute; that is, to quickly fry in a little bit of hot fat. Pan frying uses more fat, and a lower temperature, to create a deeper crust. Probably an overkill for mussels.
For a saute, you want relatively dry (pat dry with towel if necessary - frozen seafood can release a lot of water) ingredients, relatively high heat, and a solid pan that is not over-crowded. Heat the pan, add the fat, then the ingredients. Then generally keep the ingredients moving during the cooking. Here is some further direction that details the process.
See also this for a discussion of the origin and use of term/technique. |
Bubbles leave when added to syrup
I made this tonic syrup recipe. However, as mentioned also in the recipe, the bubbles tend to leave early when I pour sparkling water on it. I don't think using a differend brand would help - the production process is probably similar.
Why do the bubbles leave? It does not happen with elderberry flower syrup. Would using a soda stream help? How do I keep the bubbles in my tonic? | It'll be because the tonic syrup contains nucleation sites, which are in this case tiny particles from the stuff in the syrup that cause the dissolved gas to come out of solution rapidly. The more nucleation sites, the quicker this will happen. Disturbances in the liquid can also act as nucleation sites - which is why your carbonated drinks foam up when poured, and why stirring/shaking the liquid results in extra bubbles for a short time.
Edited to add: to get rid of the nucleation sites you could try filtering the syrup (I note that this is part of the recipe). This can be as simple as several layers of paper-towels arranged into the shape of a cup and sat inside a funnel, or you could use more expensive pre-made filters(e.g. coffee filters) or scientific grade filter papers/cartridges. If I were you I would use several layers at one time of whatever filter you choose, this will help filter out as much as possible of the detritus, but will slow your filtration rate - be patient.
WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME; SIGNIFICANT RISK OF BURNS.
If you have no nucleation sites you can retain gasses in liquid quite well. As evidenced by all those people who have heated water in a microwave and then added sugar or something similar (coffee, cocoa) and had it rapidly (and sometimes explosively) boil over. Also known by all those people who have dumped sugar into their soda/pop/fizzy/carbonated drink and seen the massive efflux of bubbles. |
How to deal with strong, sizable spices?
I've been making a lot of Indian food, and I've repeatedly had problems with certain spices being "overpowering" when you get a bite of them. I'm talking specifically about cardamom and cloves, although cinnamon is also problematic since you can't really eat/chew it.
Usually, recipes have you add them in great enough numbers that you can't really just sift through and pull them out by hand. I saw a recommendation to stick them with toothpicks to make retrieval easier, but I'm not sure that would work with cloves (and I'd be worried about someone accidentally biting down on said toothpick).
I've considered using powdered spices, but I'm not sure if it's the same flavor - and most recipes I've seen call for whole spices, not powdered.
I've tried peeling away the cardamom pod and using the tiny seeds inside, but I end up with the same issue - even the tiny seeds give an overpowering lemon-ish flavor when you eat them.
How can I prevent large spices from overpowering all other flavors when they're consumed? | Simple: spit them out.
You're not supposed to eat whole cardamom pods or cloves, any more than you'd eat whole cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, or slices of dried galangal. Each diner is expected to spit them out, or pick them out of their food, and set them aside on their plate.
Whole coriander seed, cumin seed, and other small spices are meant to be eaten, but these aren't as intensely flavored. |
How do you get burned wood off of a glass stovetop?
I accidentally set a cork trivet on fire on top of my glass stovetop the other week, and it's left behind a gray burned on spot that feels different to the touch. I can't figure out how to get it off; I've used stovetop cleaner, baking soda, the little scraper thing, vinegar, and glass cleaner spray. Its still there. How do I get it off? | Some people might be inclined to think your glass is damaged rather than dirty, and that's why you can't get it clean. In a comment you say that the discoloration is raised, which suggests that's not the case. However cook tops are, by definition, heat resistant, and I'm also assuming you didn't let this fire rage out of control for an extended period of time. I believe you're correct and the glass is fine, just dirty.
You've mostly done what I would try except I would use a scrubber sponge designed for glass cook tops. Get a fresh one, spritz it with a bit of water (it seems to scrub less well if it's too wet or completely dry), apply a generous amount of cleaner and start scrubbing with as much force as you can muster. If your sponge turns black or grey then you know it is working, even if it's slow. Move to a new spot on the sponge if it gets dirty enough that it's not rough to the touch anymore. You may have to scrub a lot. You could also try a different brand of cleaner, some do work better than others.
You could also try a razor blade, unless that's what you mean by "scraper tool". This is a pretty common method of getting burnt-on stuff off of glass cook tops, though I've never personally had to resort to it. If there's a lot of gunk, it may save you some scrubbing.
I tried looking for solvents that are safe to use, but wasn't able to find any. I even found a note that you shouldn't use regular glass cleaner because the ammonia in it isn't good for glass cook tops. I'm not sure if that's true, but you might want to avoid trying that again. It's only good for smudges anyway, so there's no reason to risk it.
My only other thought is to try soaking a towel in hot water and putting that on the gunk for a bit before scrubbing, as maybe that will soften it up. Wipe up excess water before scrubbing so the abrasives in the cleaner can do their work instead of just swimming in water.
Good luck! If you do solve it, please report back what worked best. |
Is it safe to eat ice cream that was left in a refrigerator overnight?
A pint of dairy ice cream was accidentally left in the refrigerator overnight. It was then placed back in the freezer. Is there any risk in eating it now? | There's a high risk of frosty and/or hard ice cream. If it's not ice cream, and most of it is actually "frozen dairy dessert", it will likely fare better than real "ice cream".
In either case, it won't be harmful health-wise, as milk and derivatives last several days in refrigeration, so overnight won't hurt. Also keep in mind that overnight is not much time for too many bacteria generations to multiply, especially under refrigeration, so if the ice cream makes you sick, it very likely would have even if it had been frozen the whole time. |
Are there cuisines that rarely use sauces?
A recent question got me wondering: are there any cuisines that rarely, or never, use sauces?
There's many cuisines that are very sauce-centric: French, Italian, Thai, Szechuan, Mexican, etc. But are there cuisines that use sauces so rarely that you could open a restaurant and not have one sauce on the menu, without really going out of your way to do so? I can't think of one.
Let's include some definitions to make this question answerable:
Sauce: a liquid, puree, or paste that adds flavor to a dish or seasons other ingredients
Cuisine: the complete foodways of a cultural or regional group (not just a specific dish or specific type of specialty restaurant)
Let's also limit this to "cuisines that you could conceivably open a restaurant for"; while there are definitely groups of people who live in remote areas, don't trade, and thus don't have any basis for sauces, I'm asking for culinary traditions that have chosen to turn away from them instead.
Are there any? Can you name one or two? | Pilav-and-kabab-centric cuisines, such as Afghan, Uzbek, Tadjik seem sauceless. Of course I cannot prove that they don't have them, but I have never seen one.
Armenian (and perhaps Turkish) cuisine also deserve close inspection. |
Preparing chicken burgers for sous vide then freezing while keeping shape
I am having a hard time finding good, reasonably low fat precooked chicken burgers currently, presumably due to COVID; I used to buy these for reference. As such, I figured I'd prepare my own.
I'm shredding (in a Cuisinart) raw, boneless/skinless chicken thighs (with most of the fat removed that's external but leaving the intramuscular fat), and then adding caramelized onions, cooked garlic/bell peppers, and spices or BBQ sauce, then forming into patties, placing in a vacuum bag, sealing, and cooking in my sous vide at 150 for an hour or so. Then I let them cool for a bit, and put them in the freezer. I prepare them from frozen in a pan (directly, no oil or steam beyond what they produce themselves).
Batch one went well, except that they don't keep their shape well. Between sous-vide and freezer, they end up in really odd shapes or even bent (presumably because I don't have a perfect spot).
Are there things I can add to the recipe, or to my technique, to help them stay a bit more flat and less thin? The main thing I've seen that I'm not including is bread/breadcrumbs; I'd prefer to not include that (as it's empty calories), but if this is the specific reason it's in there I could reconsider. I'm also using thighs, not breasts, in part as they have the fat profile I think is best - but if breast meat would do better in this application, I could certainly switch. | You're missing a binder of some kind. You're adding some fairly moist fillings to ground meat, which is already moist and whose structure has been destroyed. You need something to soak up the juices of your burgers as they cook, and that's the purpose of the breadcrumbs you're missing. I know you said you would prefer not to include them, but that is the easiest and probably best solution. Egg (or just egg white) is another common binder, but with all those already-moist ingredients and no breadcrumbs, I wouldn't recommend it.
However, there are a couple of other options you could try.
You could try adding a few tablespoons of cornstarch or potato starch to your meat mixture. That would have the effect of thickening up juices as they're released during cooking-- if the temperature is high enough for the starches to gel.
Another option is more of a technique (which I confess I've never tried, so I can't personally vouch for its effectiveness). This recipe uses no binders, no breadcrumbs or cornstarch at all. Instead, it calls for a portion of the ground meat to be fried off beforehand and then mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. The mixing in this case is actually kneading; the recipe specifies that kneading very very well is key to maintaining the structure of the finished patty.
In any case, as far as the patties being misshapen from the freezer goes, consider making an attempt to rearrange a flat spot for your burgers, at least when you first freeze them. Once they're solid, they can be moved to a more convenient spot in the freezer. |
Which kinds of rice can replace Uzbek devsira?
I found a recipe for a Fergana-style plov (English version), one of the main versions of Uzbek plov. The description asks for devsira, a type of Uzbek rice. Not having that I wonder which other types of rice I can use instead. Any hints? | Surely this will make your Plov unauthentic, but in practice any medium-grained rice will be an acceptable substitute. If you find the correct spices (or close enough; cumin gives most of the flavour anyway), and some nice fat lamb, you should be able to make a delicious dish.
Even if the article on TripAdvisor mentions fermented and aged rice, this is a rarity; in most cases ordinary non-aged rice is used. |
Can I make a sponge cake without sugar?
I want to experiment with making a savoury sponge cake. The idea is to make something that has the texture of a sponge cake but isn't sweet, and I'll fill it with some creamy savoury sauce that I haven't decided on yet. It's probably a daft idea (blame lockdown fever) and feel free to tell me so if you wish, but what I really want to know is can I take a recipe for a sponge cake and just leave out the sugar?
I want a fairly sturdy sponge. More like the texture of a light fruit cake sponge than a Madeira sponge. If it isn't just a matter of leaving out the sugar then any suggestions of recipes that will achieve what I want will be greatly appreciated. | You may want to look into quick bread recipes instead.
Examples of quick breads include muffins, scones, coffee cakes — often made sweet, but savory versions certainly exist. The primary difference is whether or not there's any sugar, and what sort of additional flavors are mixed in (such as fruits or chocolate in sweet quick breads, cheese or meat or herbs in savory quick breads).
There are quite a lot of "basic quick bread" recipes available, and so I'll let you search on your own rather than post links which may go dead. Just make sure you look for a version that involves oil (and milk/buttermilk) instead of butter; some sweet sponge cake recipes get texture impacts from creaming butter and sugar together, which you couldn't do without sugar. |
Why does the pineapple always ripen/soften from the base?
As per the consensus under this post, lacking ethylene the pineapple softens but not ripens after picking. But it seems even before or right after picking the pineapple is ripe only at the bottom. Does it ripen from the bottom while on the plant because the base is connected to the stem? But why does that lead to the bottom ripening first?
Also my pineapples always ripen/soften from the bottom. It has become a pet peeve of mine that when the bottom is nice and soft and sweet, the upper 80% is still green and hard, but when the upper pineapple reaches the middle part of the softening process the bottom usually seems over-ripe, starting to rot. Why is that? I have seen posts here where people say they store their pineapples upside down. Is that necessary? | I believe the cause of the pineapple being ripened from the base is because of gravity pulling the juice downwards which it then ferments and turns into alcohol. |
Can containers that held spoiled food be cleaned and be safe again?
Came home from trip to a broken fridge and spoiled food in both glass and plastic containers. All was a lukewarm mess. Can I clean the containers and reuse them, or should I throw them out? | If you can stomach opening the containers and the associated smell, most plastic and glass containers can be re-used with appropriate washing/sterilization.
I would discard the contents, rinse out the debris and scrub out any residue, including removing seals if possible. I would then soak in a 0.25% available chlorine solution (most household bleach is approx 4% available chlorine, dilute appropriately) for 30 min, then rinse the bleach off, wash in warm soapy water and dry. Bleach is very effective against bacterial and fungal contaminants. However, this approach can damage some components of containers, such as rubber seals, so treat with caution. Silicone seals/lids should be fine.
Plastic and glass containers can take up smells from the contents, as can the seals, so it would be worthwhile to give them the sniff test afterwards and see if you can smell any unpleasant smells that might be passed onto food subsequently stored in them. |
Irish soda bread kneading process
I do understand how soda reacts with buttermilk but I do not know when. Does this happens during the baking process or does the reactions starts soon as they are mixed together?
The question i want to ask, if the time for mixing should be minimized to get higher rise during bake? Like do a quick dough with hands. Or its safe to leave it mixing in food processor?
or maybe its better to add soda later in mixing process? | You don't knead soda bread for long, some methods call for no kneading at all. One reason is texture, soda bread should be a bit crumbly, stretchy isn't what you are aiming for. The other reason is to get the most out of your leavening agent. Baking soda and buttermilk (or any other acid) will start to react immediately on contact, although the reaction is much slower at room temperature than oven temperature, so the longer your wait the less rise you'll get.
I like to knead my soda bread for about 60 seconds, just for a bit more structure as I like it that way, but that's as far as I go. I do it all by hand, a mixer is overkill in my opinion as you'll spend more time cleaning up than you will actually mixing anything. Others may have a different view on that, there's no right or wrong answer to that one.
You can't add the soda later in the process because you won't get an even distribution, it needs to be mixed in the flour at the beginning. |
How is rare steak made safe to eat?
The USDA recommends cooking many meats to an internal temperature of at least 145 °F (63 °C) to kill off pathogens. That usually works for me, but the big exception is steak. Whenever I try reaching at least 145 °F (63 °C), I always cook the steak to well-done, and online articles generally say rarer cuts have to dip well below 145 °F (63 °C).
Still, regular portions of rare steak hasn't ever gotten me sick. So what keeps the raw meat safe enough for us to eat rare? Are there things I do or should do to ensure safe raw meat (e.g. sourcing, preservation, preparation, and cooking)? | First, 145 °F (63 °C) and higher is the temperature for a well done steak. So, with the addition of carry-over cooking, your results don't surprise me. If you are shooting for rare, cook to an internal temperature of 125 °F (52 °C), and let your steak rest 10 minutes before slicing.
While the USDA correctly and necessarily provides temperature guidelines, in fact the reduction of pathogens follows a logarithmic curve and includes the variables of temperature and time. That means, in general, that longer times at lower temperatures will reduce pathogens. This understanding is the basis of sous vide cooking, for example.
Additionally, we generally assume that any potential pathogens are only present on the surface of whole muscle cuts. So, again, in general, achieving the target temperature on the surface eliminates the threat.
Finally, the quality and handling of the raw product is critical. It is important that you have fresh products, kept refrigerated or frozen until use, and handled by people who are practicing safe handling procedures (washed hands or gloves, ...). |
What is a pan max stove temperature?
I often put my stove to maximum for a while with the pan and some oil and whatever meat in it (I wanna specify that the goal of this post is not discussing the why I cook this way and if it's good for recipe).
My question is, can it be bad and damage the pan if the pan is on the stove at max, with oil/butter in it and whatever I cook.
I'm asking because I always assumed, until someone told me, that you can never damage a pan when cooking on stove if it has something in it, disregarding the material and all. | The type of pan, how long it is on the heat, and whether or not damage occurs, probably matters here if there is nothing in the pan. If the pan has food in it as it is heating, you will almost always burn your food before you could possibly damage your pan. |
Choosing between semolina and non-semolina durum flour
I have a big confusion between flours, aggravated by the fact that I do not live in an english-speaking country and labeling and translations are confusing.
I like fresh pasta and have experimented with certain recipes and proportions of eggs, bread flour, semolina and durum flours. However, now I wanted to go into a little more detail regarding the flour but I am lost in translation.
My understandment so far:
Semolina is the specific way of taking a grain (which layers and parts) and converting it to "powder".
Durum wheat is different from the typical wheat used for white bread flours.
Semolina from durum wheat (sometimes seen in recipes as "semolina flour" or simply "semolina") is used in certain pasta recipes.
"Non-semolina" durum wheat flour exists and I cannot find the proper term for that in English. But I have it. And it's different from semolina.
First of all, are my understandings correct so far? Can some english native-speaker confirm the common terms for those things and what should I search for? Bonus points if there is any Italian speaker that can say them in Italian --that will allow me to search and understand more recipes, and I don't believe in automated translators for such niche terms.
And my main question, why and when may I use semolina and non-semolina durum wheat, and should I (may I?) combine it with bread flours? Should I change those proportions when doing egg-based fresh pasta? How will change the texture and flavour of the pasta when changing those flour proportions? | Your understanding is mostly correct. Durum flour is sometimes used for bread, generally mixed with softer flour. (Pasta is also sometimes made from a mix of hard and soft flours.) It's unusual (in my personal experience) to find soft wheat semolina labeled as "semolina". More commonly it's labeled as "rava", "farina", or "cream of wheat". Labelling will vary by region.
Pasta can be made from any of the flours you listed. Using semolina will give you a firm but tender pasta; coarse semolina will give you a rougher texture (but still firm/tender). Using part or all bread flour will result in a chewier, stretchier pasta (think hand-pulled Chinese noodles). Pasta dough with coarse semolina should be rested for a while before rolling out, as it takes longer to hydrate. |
Cooking ground beef without the fat rendering off
I like to cook ground beef by putting it in an oven safe dish and baking it at 350 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. This works great for my purposes, but so much of the delicious fat is rendered to a liquid, e.g. there is a little island of beef in a pool of fat.
I would very much like to consume this fat rather than waste it. I do not fare very well directly eating the liquid/(semi-liquid after cooling) fat.
Can you think of any way to cook ground beef that does not result in rendering the fat? Maybe what I am asking for is impossible - if the ground beef needs to reach an internal temperature of 165, and fat starts to render at 135-140, ..
Alternately: can you suggest a method of cooking that results in smaller fat loss? | Counterintuitively enough, cooking it at a higher temperature will help. The longer you spend cooking it, the more fat will render out. Cooking it faster means more fat will still be in the meat, even if the temperature in the oven is higher. |
What is this symbol that looks like a shrimp tempura on a Philips HD9928 air fryer?
This question is about a Philips HD9228 air fryer.
What is the 3rd symbol (C in the screenshot) on this air fryer? The manual doesn't say anything about it. I'm assuming it's a shrimp tempura, or a chicken lollipop.
Symbols:
A - frozen french fries
B - raw/thawed french fries
C - ???
D - chicken drumstick
E - spring roll
F - muffin | According to Philips on Twitter, it's a pork chop.
link to tweet |
Why does my sourdough loaf not get an ear
My loaves seem to have good oven spring, I think. I think that because it rises up on the sides and forms an oval sort of shape each time.
My cut often expands but doesn't open up much or form an ear.
Todays partly opened. I dont know if I am doing the cut wrong. Maybe too deep, not deep enough. I do try and do 45 degree angle.
Does anyone have some advice to improve this please? | with no photo of the crumb it's hard to know whether there's also a proofing issue but irrespectively let me tell you that it's notoriously difficult to get a consistent ear at home unless you bake the bread in some sort of hot enclosure (dutch oven, cast iron pot with lid etc). That is my experience at least. Sure, the cutting makes a difference so as to have a nice ear but the moisture is the main culprit: your oven cooks the outside of the bread too fast before the temperatures reaches the air in the inside, so when the bread expands air is sealed in and doesn't get the spring it can. Cooking in an enclosure keeps the moisture from the bread close to the crust thus keeping it soft for a bit longer which is when the inside gets hot and expands. This whole thing happens the first 5-10' of baking so if you don't get an ear by then, it's game over.
I have been baking sourdough 2ice a week for about three years now, here's a bread that didn't quite open well enough (together with its crumb to show that it's properly proofed and folded)
and here's one that opened beautifully:
their only difference being that the second was baked inside an enamel pot (the baguettes always get an ear cause they are baked on their little baguette baking trays). |
800g of peanuts give 700g of peanut butter – why?
I’m making my own peanut butter from roasted peanuts that I’m buying. I just got a wet grinder in order to make a larger amount at the same time.
From the packaging I know that I used 800g of peanuts. But the end result was 692g of peanut butter. I expected it to be the same as what I started with, but am I simply wrong in this assumption? Or does that loss come from leftover peanut butter on the sides and floor, plus the small amount that I tasted during the making? | About 100 grams of peanut butter will fit into about 6 tablespoons, or slightly under 1/2 cup. If you tasted, and there was peanut butter left on the sides and floor of wet grinder, that could certainly explain the difference. There is really nowhere else for it to go. |
Are ice tea in bottles considered as carbonated drinks like coke?
Are ice tea bottles like Lipton considered to be carbonated drinks like coke and 7up?
I have issues in my GI (Gastro Intestinal) tract and I cannot tolerate coke and other carbonated drinks, I am just wondering if ice tea is a carbonated drink that might cause me discomfort. | The word "Soft drink" stems from drinks with No alcohol in them. ice tea is a "Soft drink" But is not carbonated. |
What size were Baker's Chocolate bars when they were first introduced?
I have a recipe from my grandmother that calls for a bar of Baker's Chocolate.
What size (weight) were these bars made by Baker's Chocolates when they were first introduced? | Bakers Chocolate Bars prior to mid 2013 were 8 ounce bars, after mid 2013 they became a 4 ounce bar. |
Blending pastry cream right after cooking: does it change final consistency?
I prepared some pastry cream to use as pie filling.
Right after it had been cooked, and while still hot, I passed it through a sieve onto a bowl with chopped white chocolate.
As I tried to fold the chocolate onto the pastry cream, it would not melt properly, and pieces of it would remain in the cream even while I mixed.
I think next time I'll try and pre-melt the chocolate, at least partially, before incorporating.
Either way, and this was not part of the recipe, I decided to use the immersion blender to smooth out the cream and incorporate the stubborn white chocolate bits.
It worked for incorporating the chocolate, but I fear it may have worked too well for smoothing out the cream, and it became fairly liquid as it was blended.
It did become a little firmer as it cooled (to be expected, if only from the chocolate), but not enough so to be a satisfying pie filling.
Does blending hot pastry cream, after it's gelled, alter its final consistency?
Or is the result of my 'not firm enough' cream due to ratios in the recipe?
For record, the ingredients used were (converted from ounces):
227g Light brown sugar
43g Cornstarch
142g Egg yolk
794g Whole milk
125g White chocolate
9g Vanilla essence
57g Malted milk powder
Trace amounts of salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. | Yes. Yes it does. Unfortunately, I did something similar once, and it basically gave my pastry cream the consistency of creme anglaise. It made a delicious ice cream base, but failed as a cream puff filling.
My best explanation is that the blender destroyed the protein structure of the partially cooked egg, but my attempts to look into it in the past haven't been successful. However I also know that an immersion blender cannot be used to whip egg whites, and in fact makes it much harder to do so. (They did whip somewhat, but still had a kind of slimy texture.)
Having said that, it's hard to comment on your recipe ratios when they aren't included, but the use of a blender definitely changes the texture of cooked custard/pastry cream and makes it much thinner.
If something like this happens again, keep a pan of warm water in reserve. Chocolate will melt at far lower temperatures than would damage your cream. Just place the bowl of cream and stubborn chocolate back over the low heat and stir until melted. |
Cooking jelly avoiding overboiling
In the last months I cooked a lot of jelly and found an interesting pattern from my ceran stove top: When the heating unit barely fits under the pot the juice will boil over. However if I use the smaller circle (same place at the stove, same pot), it boils but does not overboil. Why does the diameter of my cooking field have an effect on the boil-over-behavior of my juice? | One is heating the to edge of the base and consequently also the pan side-wall, the other is not.
The cooler pan side-wall will just make the difference between it boiling over and not.
This is assuming the centre of the pan is being heated to exactly the same degree on each, which is a larger variable. |
Best approach to making a loaf of bread stale
I have a recipe that calls for a loaf of "stale country bread". Instead of waiting for the bread to stale, I'd like to engineer it.
I plan to take the loaf and place it in a paper bag. But for how long? Is this the right approach? | Don't use a paper bag, it actually helps the bread keep somewhat longer.
Your best approach is to put it in the fridge. This is the temperature at which the starch crystalizes at the highest speed.
Update, shamelessly stealing from Tristan: If you cut it up first, you will speed up the process too. The more surface you have exposed to airflow, the better.
You'll still need to give it time, but it's maybe half the time it needs at room temperature. |
Garlic substitution in marinade/paste
I'm trying to find a substitute for garlic in a chicken pulao recipe. The masala paste calls for 4 cloves of garlic, which are ground with the other ingredients into a paste. I'm already substituting radish for the onion. (My sister has celiac disease and is very sensitive to/finds it difficult to digest onions and garlic and related -- no chives, shallots, etc. Even garlic and onion powder are out.)
I'm not sure what to substitute here. If it was a small quantity, such as one clove, I'd be ok in just omitting it entirely. But 4 cloves is not an insignificant amount. Further, the canonical 'onion and garlic subsitutions' question suggests a lot of other ingredients still in the garlic/onion family -- which are all out. Asafoetida, which it suggests, I've only ever used as an onion replacement. And even in that other question it says to fry it in hot oil first. My current use is as part of a paste which is used to marinate the meat overnight prior to cooking so I'm not not sure how having to fry it in hot oil first would work into that (assuming I can even find it in a store.)
I don't want to use ginger since the paste already includes ginger. Can I use horseradish? Garlic adds a certain kind of 'umami' and sharpness/pungency that I'm unsure how to replace in a marinade like this.
Basically the recipe is to grind a bunch of ingredients into a paste, coat the chicken, and let sit overnight. The coated chicken is then cooked with rice and spices to make the pulao. The other ingredients in the paste are onion, ginger, yoghurt or buttermilk, and spices. | I would still suggest using asafoetida (also known as "hing"). Bloom it in just a couple tsp of vegetable oil,and then add it to the paste. Since your marinade already has fat in it from the yogurt and buttermilk, a little extra fat from the oil won't change it significantly. Frying spices in oil separately and adding them to liquid is a common Indian food technique, called a "tarka" or "tadka". And asafoetida really is the best garlic substitute ... that's the whole reason it exists, as a food.
In terms of obtaining it, your best bets where you are (your profile says Rocky Mountains) is either to find a grocery store with a substantial Indian food aisle (there are Indian groceries in almost every major Western US and Canadian city), or online ordering. The nice thing about hing is that a little goes a long way, and it keeps for a long time if it stays dry, so the one little jar you buy should be good for dozens of dinners with your sister.
Substitution ratio: 1/2 tsp is equivalent to 2 cloves garlic, or 2/3 cup minced onion. |
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