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In which cases is it best to cook in either a regular non-stick pan or a wok?
In my home, we use 2 types of pans most of the time when cooking, apart from our rice pot and some other equipment, I don't know what to call it. These pans are a big wok, and 3 non-stick pans, small to large. We usually use the large pan si... | The wok is a single-purpose tool. Use it for stir frying. You may find some creative ways to repurpose it on case-by-case basis, although it won't be what it was designed for.
The non-stick pans are versatile, use them for anything that requires low- bis middle temperatures. The size choice is related to the size of th... |
Why did this gallon of milk stay fresh for so long?
A few months ago I had a gallon of milk in the back of the fridge that stayed fresh for over a month - maybe even two; I lost track.
Our house is only me and my wife. We don't drink milk often. I use it more for recipes, and maybe an occasional iced coffee. Since ... | Milk goes bad because it gets colonized by bacteria. There are two sources for this bacteria; ones already present in the milk because pasteurization didn't kill them, and from the environment (that is, bacteria in your fridge).
The "expiration date" for milk is therefore a conservative estimate of the time when the m... |
Fermenting sauerkraut - during the massage phase the cabbage got REALLY bubbly
So I massaged the cabbage heavily with salt to get the brine water going, but then it got REALLY bubbly... it looked like I washed everything with soap! Is this OK? One side effect is that it made it really difficult to visually tell that t... | There isn't anything wrong the the amount of bubbles you are getting; your brine looks fine.
Take this from A Beginner’s Guide to Sauerkraut (+ Fermented Vegetables), for example:
How quickly and how much it bubbles will depend a lot on room temperature. If your jar is narrow or filled to the top it can be helpful to ... |
What are the safety and warranty implications of steaming bread in a domestic oven?
There are lots of recipes online that suggest mimicking commercial bread ovens by using a water bath and or ice cubes to create a hot, steamy baking environment. I have always been very wary of doing this with my domestic electric oven... | I think you are being too conservative. The oven door and glass in there is built to handle some temperature differences. When someone opens an oven door and sets a room temperature pan or cooking container on it while moving racks or other food around, I can't think it would be THAT different that water splashing aro... |
Traditionally, is prosciutto never to be cooked?
In a discussion about pancetta and prosciutto in sauces (specifically, bolognese), a friend said that
"Traditionally, prosciutto is never to be cooked."
I have not heard that before. I also cannot find anything in searches for "is prosciutto supposed to be cooked" an... | 'Never to be cooked'… nope. Cook it if you need it cooked.
Saltimbocca alla Romana I'd think to be traditional enough to refute this easily. Jamie Oliver's recipe. There are a million others, but the main ingredients are veal, sage & prosciutto… cooked.
For those questioning Jamie Oliver's credentials on this - Wikiped... |
How long would I have to microwave corn syrup to get it to the hard ball candy stage?
I have 0.3 kg of corn syrup at room temperature (294 K). The specific heat of corn syrup is [2.72 kJ/(kg K)][1]. I want to heat it up in a 1,000 W microwave until it reaches 394 K.
I know that
q=mcΔT
so
q = 0.3 kg * 2.72 kJ/(kg K)... | A major factor to note is that to get the corn syrup to 394K you don't just have to heat it, you have to concentrate it by boiling off some of the water. You need to take into account the latent heat of vaporisation of water, about 2,260 kJ/kg in the temperature range of interest. It's easy to see that this can be a ... |
Are heavy-bottom stock pots called something else?
I would quite like to get hold of a large stock pot with a thick base so I can make things like preserves as well, but whenever I look at kitchenware in my local shops (I'm in NZ if that makes a difference) the stock pots I see always have very thin bases, no thicker ... | Try searching for "laminated base pot", alternatively 'sandwich' or 'encapsulated'.
Other terms tend to be more trade markey, multiclad etc.
You could always buy a cheap pot & an even cheaper simmer ring instead ;) |
What is a “small cup” in Australia and/or old recipes?
In older or Australian recipes, is “small cup” a specific (if not quite standardized) measurement? If so, what, approximately, is that measurement?
I’m going to be making a recipe from an Australian cookbook this weekend, “Jet Age Cookbook… compiled by The Royal A... | TL;DR: Based on early British and cooks' resources, "a small cup" was probably equivalent to "a teacup", which is 1/4 pint, or around 142ml. However, there are a lot of caveats to that.
First, I cannot tell you for certain whether "a small cup" in any particular recipe was a specific measurement. Until the very late 1... |
Glass pot on glass top stove
I have a lovely glass double boiler which I would love to use on my glass cooktop. Cooktop already has scratches so that doesn't worry me, but will my pot break if I use it? | This is probably fine. A double-boiler should be designed for stovetop use, and a double boiler shouldn't reach high temperatures.
Most glass cookware (Pyrex and such) is tempered glass, which isn't really safe for stovetop use. Stovetop puts stress on glass because all the heat is coming from the bottom and highly con... |
Which utensil or device can be used to make spirals or conveyor screws with vegetables?
I don't know if there exist some tool or utensil to make these spirals or screws.
I mean the shape which I am intending to replicate follows the idea seen in the figure from below:
Another example of this shape can be seen in this... | My favorite tool is a spiral cutter sold for apples or potatoes, here’s an example.
(Source)
A tiny screw-plus-rotating-knife gadget is often used for Bavarian radish spirals, e.g.:
(Source)
Note that both types will produce spirals without waste, so to achieve the look in your question, you have to gently pull the c... |
Non-fat way of preventing legumes from frothing during canning
I have been adding fat to each jar of canned legumes to prevent frothing during processing (pressure canning). The fat looks unappetizing in the final product, especially if the beans are used cold such as in a salad. I have tried oils and solid fats and... | I have finally found a solution to the frothing issue in the USDA recommendations for canning legumes.
In addition to soaking the beans (they add salt to the soak water), par-boil them in plain water for about 15 minutes. Drain the water, then add fresh water to the jars.
I am not sure if it is the fact that they add... |
Leaving cake's dry ingredients together for later quicker preparation?
Let's say I want to bake a cake specifically on Monday night, so it can be fresh for Tuesday (no, I don't want to do it on Sunday). But I know that on Monday I am going to be extremely busy. So I thought, why don't I measure all the dry ingredients... | There's no issue with doing this, as you are no doubt aware ready-made cake mixes are sold boxed in stores and they aren't much different than you describe. Boxed mixes will often have anti-caking agents to prevent the dry ingredients from clumping up after a few weeks on the shelf, this won't be a concern for you if t... |
How long does homemade yogurt take to waste
I have been making yogurt this last weeks with a yogurt maker. Just heat milk and add ferment or a previous yogurt (not sure if this is the correct word in English)
Easy and delightful. I store the yogurt in the fridge.
How long it takes to this homemade yogurt to go bad? Al... | Most information I see says that homemade yogurt is good for two weeks when kept under refrigeration. |
Can I freeze pre-cooked chicken?
I am looking for a way to precook chicken and preserve it for later use. The idea being that I precook the chicken (1 hour at 150 C) then freeze it, then when I need it, defrost and pop onto the flame grill, then baste and season. Secondary cooking/grilling will be around 10 minutes.
... | You can freeze cooked chicken. Freezer burn is dehydration...moisture loss in the freezer. Your best protection is good packaging. If you can vacuum seal your packages, that will be your best defense. |
How to distinguish correctly if a long stored coconut oil is still usable?
I have just discovered there is a passed BBD (best before date) purified coconut in the storage.
This is also the first time for me to know what is a purified coconut because of the search/research of the captioned matter.
It appeared to be pal... | Oddly [at least to me] the shelf life of refined coconut oil is much shorter than that of virgin.
The 5 signs of it going off are:-
Yellow colour
Blotchy or chunky
Black oil spots
Bitter or sour smell
Sour flavour.
Now, to me that looks a tad yellow - but as I live in the UK where coconut oil is generally a solid... |
What determines if something is easy to chew? A lot of liquid or totally dehydrated?
On one hand, we have foods like jelly or melted cheese which are primarily liquid and seem very easy to eat and swallow. On the other hand, we have astronaut food or some pastries (or cotton candy?) which have no liquid at all. They e... | It depends on how well the "building blocks" of the food stick to each other. The "building blocks" can be different things, whatever you have in the food you are considering: small molecules, polymers, cells, tissue formations, globules, bubbles, films, and probably some more.
If they are not soluble in your saliva an... |
Why does cooking fewer eggs require more water/steam?
I have purchased a Nutri-Q 34360 Healthy Eating Egg Boiler:
How does it work? - The eggs are cooked through hot steam. The instructions will guide you on the amount of water that is required depending on the quantity of eggs.
It comes with a little measuring cyli... | These egg cookers work by simply heating the water until it all evaporates. Most cookers sense when all the water is evaporated, and automatically turn off and/or alerting with a beep or noise. They have a sensor under the hot plate that detects temperature. When water is still in the pan, it keeps the pan cool, and wh... |
What kind of yeast is this?
I have a type of yeast that I'm finding hard to identify by English standard.
These are picture of it:
Whole, uncut.
cut in half
In my country, Bulgaria, we call it "live" yeast, despite that both kinds of yeast sold here are actually live. The other kind sold here (called "dry" yeast) is... | In addition to the accepted answer:
This is called Fresh Yeast in English. There are two other types of
yeast commonly available in the English speaking world, called
instant (bread machine) yeast and active dry yeast. Both of these
last two are more commonly used as they keep very well for extended
periods of time.
Fr... |
How can I tell whether a jackfruit has yellow or orange flesh by looking at the exterior of the jackfruit (i.e., without opening it)?
I prefer jackfruit with orange flesh over jackfruit with yellow flesh. How can I tell whether a jackfruit has yellow or orange flesh by looking at the exterior of the jackfruit (i.e., w... | It will be a bit hit and miss because you don't have all the information required to know which variety it is - like the tree itself or even information from the shop the same way as you have with other plants (like apples, they're often labeled with the cultivar name e.g. royal gala, jonagold, red delicious, etc.)
You... |
What is this stainless-steel item's intended use? Is it a cheese grater?
Found in a drawer. I did a google image search but that turned up either handheld graters (but with clearly abrasive grating surfaces) or shower heads.
What irritates me is the surface seems to be not abrasive enough to be useful for grating anyt... | It's a parmesan cheese grater. The idea is that for a dry, crumbly cheese the flat holes work well enough. The one time I used one I didn't find it to be terribly effective, which is probably why they're no longer made. |
Reheating a charcoal grill
I use a covered charcoal grill (Weber 26") and can get the grilling temperature I want pretty reliably by setting the vents. The problem comes when I have a roast that wants 350F and I want to grill some vegetables at 400-450. The roast can come off and rest for the time the vegetables tak... | I suspect what's happening is that you've depleted your fuel, charcoal's just wood at the end of the day, and after an hour or so it will have a lot less to give. If you want a hotter flame you can:
Scrape the remaining coals together to concentrate the heat, this will give you high heat in say half your grill
Repleni... |
Reduce flame maximum on cooktop
My wife always uses the maximum setting which results in flames shooting around the outside of many pots melting their plastic handles. Is there any way of reducing the maximum to keep the flames under the pots? | The short answer is no, there's no practical way to reduce the heat output of your cooktop without so much modification you may as well buy a new really horrible one with pathetically small burners. Then you'll hate it because it takes a calendar year to boil water for pasta.
I feel your pain with this, I've had family... |
(Safely) Making Rosewater for Cooking
There are a lot of roses in my garden at the moment and I've been wanting to make rose-flavored turkish delight. Looking online, most recipes for rosewater appear targeted towards using it as a cosmetic fragrance (rather than a food ingredients). I know that flowers can sometimes ... | The biggest issue with what's essentially a foraged food is identification. Luckily for roses that's quite easy. You do need a lot of petals, and well-scented ones; many pretty varieties are bland, but wild species can be very good. Scent is crucial, colour is optional, but (pale) pink rosewater is traditional and i... |
Can red lentils be used for mujadara?
I feel like making some mujadara, but the only lentils I've got currently are red lentils - no green or brown lentils. Many recipes I've read have specifically said that red lentils are to be avoided, as they will lend themselves to a mushy consistency.
I understand that red lenti... | I think red lentils are just the insides of green/brown lentils. Without the seed coat, they disintegrate very quickly. That’s desirable for some applications but I think it would be a little unsatisfying in a mujadara where I enjoy the textural contrast between softer rice and more toothsome lentils. |
Is there any way to increase the shelf life of mixed egg
I poured the leftover mixed egg white and yolk into a container and I didn't refrigerate it. When I opened after a day there is a bad smell come from the container. Is there any method to preserve the mixed egg without refrigeration?
Since, I'm not in my home an... | The answer is a general "no", not just for eggs, but basically for any food. When you store it under the usual conditions, you already get the maximum shelf life possible.
Methods of food preservation do not magically make the food last longer, they actually produce a different food that is shelf stable (e.g. turning v... |
Is the water released from mushrooms during stir-frying edible?
After I wash mushrooms in salt water, I dry them in a salad spinner. Then I insert the spinned mushrooms into my wok, that's hot with safflower oil. At this point, the wok has no water.
After 3 mins. of medium heat, the mushrooms release water. Is this wa... | The water from cooking mushrooms is good for flavour.
When making vegetarian pasta sauces, I often add mushrooms and their cooking water to the sauce, for example. These get well-fried, but not typically until the water evaporates, which of course concentrates the flavour - that's still good.
The only time I waste it (... |
Kimchi air bubble removal
I'm making Kimchi for the first time and I have two questions about air bubble removal.
First, all the recipes I've seen say to press the Kimchi down to remove air bubbles. My batch had a few small bubbles lower in the jar, probably the size of a lentil or less, and when I tried pushing down ... | Small air bubbles are normal and make no difference to kimchi fermentation, nor do larger bubbles that form during fermentation. As long as the kimchi remains more or less submerged in the liquid, there’s no need to remove the trapped gas. Kimchi is an extremely difficult thing to mess up - once established, the lactic... |
Can falafel be made using previously frozen chickpeas?
Many falafel recipes caution against using canned chickpeas. For example, this recipe has this to say about using canned chickpeas for falafel:
No canned chickpeas (very important!) If you're after the best texture and flavor, you need to start with dry chickpeas... | I made 4 test case batches:
Dried chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours
Dried chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours, frozen, then thawed
Canned chickpeas
Canned chickpeas, frozen, then thawed
I tested with canned chickpeas even though it's well known that they don't work well for falafel so that I'd be able to provide more points ... |
Are the oats in overnight oats processed differently by milk than by milk substitutes?
I've read some recipes/blogs that say that overnight oats can be made with milk substitutes such as almond milk. Other recipes/blogs I've read say that enzymes found in milk help to break down the oats, which allows for the long soa... | The main enzymes found in milk are: alkaline phosphatase, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme, lipase, proteinase, cathepsin D. (Jimenez-Flores, 2013). These enzymes appear in very low concentrations in pasteurized milk. Most of them have to do with protein digestion for the calf (to make proteins in the milk itself more accessi... |
How much oil can flour absorb?
I know that flour can absorb about 60% of its weight in water. Hence, the 5/3 flour to water ratio when making bread
How much oil can flour absorb? | You have misunderstood the article you linked. There is no such thing as "how much flour can absorb" in general, so your question is unanswerable. You can make a mixture of flour and water (or flour and oil) in any ratio you want, except for some very low ratios (one drop of water in a kilogram of flour won't give you ... |
Why do my mini pizzas have microwave trays?
I have these frozen mini pizzas which come with a silver piece of cardboard (see image at the end). I disregarded it at first, but then read the cooking instructions and it says that it is a microwave tray, which you put between the pizza and the plate.
What is the purpose o... | The piece of cardboard is a microwave browning element.
Ordinarily, most of the heating energy in a microwave is absorbed by water in the food. The result is similar to steaming. The material on the cardboard is designed to absorb microwave radiation and convert it into heat, attaining a higher temperature than boiling... |
Can I add lentils to a baked chicken-and-vegetable stew?
I plan to prepare healthy lunch quickly by having everything tossed in to oven together. I have even brought an IKEA tray (with grate) for this purpose - https://www.ikea.com/de/de/p/koncis-ofenform-mit-rost-edelstahl-10099053/
If I also want to bake some lentil... | I would strongly suggest boiling the lentils first and then adding them to the bake or to the semi-finished product.
Keep in mind that when baking at 325 F lentils may easily take 30-60 minutes.
Adding the lentils separately, once cooked, will let you control the flavour and texture of the respective dishes as well. Fo... |
Best way to prepare multiple pans of lasagna
I need to prepare ingredients to make three pans of lasagna. Should I prepare one batch at a time, or mix ingredients for the three batches at one time and divide among three pans? | That’s a very clear “it depends”.
Theoretically you can just triple all ingredients, cook the sauces and assemble factory line style. One big batch cooked, one round of washing up.
However, there are a few details to consider:
Are your pots and pans large enough? Also consider the ratio of surface area to volume, this... |
My roasted vegetables turned out soggy, can I roast them again to make them crispy?
I was attempting to roast a head of cauliflower with olive oil and seasonings so it comes out crispy. Following the instructions, I roasted it for 35 minutes at 450°F (the recipe said 30 minutes, but it didn't seem done), stirring once... | No, cooking them for too long will make them mushy, whether they’re roasty or not. You could try oiling then a bit and sticking them under the broiler for a couple of minutes (watch them closely!), but i wouldn’t cook them longer than that. |
Mold on Canned Cherry pie filling
I have cherry pie filling (from a can) which grew some mold. Can I remove the mold and eat the rest? | I would not eat this. Various molds can impact food beyond what you can see. There are some instances where mold can be removed, for example the white mold that sometimes forms on the surface of a ferment. However, in this case, I would err on the side of caution, discard, and open a new can. |
How many calories are in a cup of rice?
Typical googling tells me a cup of white rice has ~200 calories, but the bags of white rice I purchase tell me a quarter cup of dry rice has 150 calories (Jasmine, in this case, but others have been about the same), which would mean a cup would have 600 calories.
Which is it? An... | I’m afraid you may have misunderstood some results (or they were unclear in their descriptions).
A ballpark number for rice volume is that cooking white rice will give you about triple the dry rice volume.
So let’s look at your dat |
Hot Water Crust Pastry: effects of different ratio of ingredients?
Based on a comment made here Australian Meat (Chunky steak) Pie: loss of Gravy/Sauce after cooling/freezing - Seasoned Advice (which I thankfully read before it was deleted by a moderator), I have been looking into the making of a Hot Water Crust Pastr... | So, first of all, the method you chose for listing the ratios is not exactly the most effective in depicting the ratios for comparison...
Usually we just list ratios as parts or with the quantities themselves (using g = mL for water is acceptable), makes everyone's life easier when trying to troubleshoot a recipe. Exam... |
How do I find a toaster that doesn't "leak" crumbs from the bottom?
Every toaster I've owned seems to "leak" crumbs from the bottom, requiring constant clean up. You could put it into a tray of some sort but unless you 3D-print one, its hard to find a tray that exactly fits it. Is there a magic keyword of some sort th... | Many toasters have removable crumb trays, where crumbs collect instead of falling out the bottom. You then empty the tray once a week or so.
Not all such trays are equally effective, so I suggest using your usual sources of reviews to find the ones which are (Amazon, Consumer Reports, etc.) |
Can distilled water in gallon plastic bottles expire?
I am puzzled about this. Depending on what article I read I get different results. There are no experts per say. It's just a bunch of people voicing their opinion concerning distilled water expiration date.
The water is sealed in plastic containers from the factory... | There is no reliable expiration date for commercially bottled water, apparently because relevant authorities (such as the US FDA) have declined to scientifically test for it. Per bottledwater.org:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product [in the US], has de... |
Question about cooking meat from a beginner
This is the first time that I will cook meat. My question is that in the method of boiling/simmering meat, the foam of fats I see and I remove it with a large spoon. If I use another method for cooking meat (such as frying or grilling) will the fat remain in the meat? | What you are skimming certainly is some fat, but it is probably mostly comprised of denatured proteins. We can't answer questions about healthy or not on this site. That is all relative to you and your preferences. Salt enhances flavor. Salting well in advance, removes moisture, concentrates flavor, and enhances flav... |
Why do I need to use the oven to make crème brûlée? Or do I?
I really don't get it. Yolk must coagulate at 83 °C (181 °F), so why doesn't any recipe tell to simply put it into a water bath on a stove? Or are there any such recipes?
My intuition tells me to simply put it in a water bath, low heat, no cover, and the the... | You can certainly use the stove, it is just that using the oven works better.
on the stove, you will have to babysit the water bath so it doesn't get too hot. In the oven, it is less likely that this happens, because the oven heats up slower, and if it starts getting too hot, you will have more time to notice and reac... |
I started cooking my steak before adding seasoning, how can I save my meal?
I was having a busy day yesterday and wanted to cook a small sirloin steak. I preheated and oiled the skillet, patted dry my steak, got distracted by my dog, and put the steak in the skillet, unseasoned.
After searing I went to flip the meat a... | Many people don't season their steaks before cooking and they still get tasty meat by seasoning it after. Salting beforehand helps release juices and gets a bit of flavor penetration, but it won't ruin it if you skip that step. Peppering before cooking is a bad idea anyway as the pepper will burn and turn bitter, so yo... |
Can one make a pourable custard by baking in an oven?
Making fresh custard with eggs and milk isn't really difficult, but takes time away from preparing other bits of the meal, and can go wrong (e.g. bits of scrambled eggs from too fast heating). Thinking about this question - Why do I need to use oven to make creme b... | As stated in my answer to the question you reference, my experience is using sous vide to achieve these results. You will need about 180F (82C) for about 40 minutes using sous vide. It can probably be done in the oven, keeping track of temperature and viscosity, but in this case, it's probably quicker to use the stov... |
What caused this "lunar egg"?
A friend boiled this egg using the Food Lab method, and it came out like this: with a ton of little perfect craters like some kind of cartoon moon. He's never seen anything like this before, and neither have I. He did not make pinholes in it or crack the shell or do anything not describ... | I'm not 100% sure on why this happened, but I know what those "craters" are. They are where there have been bubbles of gas (likely air) definitely under the shell, but possibly under the membrane too. I see things like this on a regular basis in agar plates used for microbiology.
There could be two causes of this that ... |
Sharpen a blue cheese dressing?
My penecillium rocqueforti ripened blue nutcheese still hasn't sharpened in flavor ie ketone development which takes 6mo or more.
Otherwise flavor and aroma fine at this point.
Would like to use in dressing.
Adding bit of sharpness to mix desireable.
Sodium citrate suggesting in this po... | As per old chef acquaintance:
dry mustard and white pepper.
I also added a couple drops prickly ash oil (sichuan pepper)
And that perked things up immensely. |
How might these prawns have been cooked?
Bought these prawns from Tesco. It says already cooked but not how, would these typically have been steamed or baked etc.?
When it says ready to eat, does that mean nothing the same way that raw fish is ready to eat since these would not have been reheated? | They are cooked...likely boiled (sometimes this happens on the boat, sometimes on shore...it depends on the processor), then frozen very quickly. "Ready to eat" simply means that they are already cooked. You just need to thaw (though, I suppose you could eat them frozen if you like), and they can be eaten cold. |
Can German potato salad be served cold?
I usually make the mayonnaise type potato salad which is served cold. I wanted to try German but I want to serve it cold. Recipes I found serve it warm.
No problem is obvious to me, what am I missing? | Actually, what do you expect from „German“ potato salad?
There are many potato salad traditions in Germany, including mayonnaise based salads that are usually found in northern Germany.
As you mention warm potato salads you are propably refering to vinaigrette or broth based salads found usually in the south (Schwäbisc... |
Which one of these lamb meat parts has lowest fat (shanks, loin or shoulder)?
Which one of these lamb meat parts has lowest fat -because I don't like the taste of fat-, (shanks, loin or shoulder) ? | As someone who also hates fatty meat, with lamb honestly it doesn't matter.
It's very fatty meat, all cuts.
My local supermarket's "low fat" lamb is still 20% fat. They don't tell you what the rest is.
The trick is to cook it for a long time - 4 hours or so, or all day in a slow cooker. The fat doesn't magically disap... |
Best time to benefit from dough mixed with baking soda
I am preparing a dough with all purpose flour, salt, sugar, oil, curd, lemon juice and baking soda. I am not using baking powder. Within how much time should I complete my baking to reap maximum benefit of the leavening effect? I know that dough with baking soda n... | No, there is no such time. The formulation you used, "needs to be baked sooner" is indeed the correct one. If you bake it without any delay, it will be better (the baking soda will have more effect) than if you delay for one minute. If you delay one minute, it will be better than when delayed two minutes. And so on.
At... |
When skimming fats (while boiling meat), what percentage does it reduce?
If I have a meat contains 10% fat (assuming it is 1 kg, fats are 100g), how much -approximately- can I reduce in this technique ? | Your picture shows someone skimming scum. The scum contains some fat, but is mostly made of water and proteins. The technique is not intended for removing fat and is not effective at doing so. (In particular, it is best done early in the cooking process, before much fat has been released.)
It is, of course, also possib... |
Getting even heat on a gas stove
I am cooking on gas stoves very seldomly, mostly in some hotel/airbnb's with a small personal kitchen. I often have this problem: the gas comes out in a ring of blue flames. I think more expensive stoves may have more than one concentric ring, but the ones I encountered always had only... | As these are rented places, I suspect part of the problem is cheap thin-based pans, especially very thin steel.
I have similar gas rings at home and mostly don't have an issue - but I have a choice including cast iron and sandwich base if I need even heat. I'm currently using a fairly thin aluminium pan for omelettes,... |
Bagel Sponge: Room Temp or Proofing Temp?
I have a new recipe to make deli-style bagels. It calls to let the initial sponge stand in a large mixing bowl at room temperature for 2 hours, sealed with cellophane.
I have had troubles in the past with initial sponge/proofing. I am fortunate now to have an oven with a pro... | The purpose of a sponge is to create more complex flavors by giving the yeast the opportunity for an additional low-and-slow fermentation step. If you speed the fermentation up by using a warmer environment, you won't get the intended flavors.
If your priority is on quick proofing, it would make more sense to use a rec... |
Is there any way to rescue a mayonnaise-based spread?
A friend brought me some whitefish salad from New York, and I froze what I couldn't use that week since it's highly perishable. However, since the salad base is mayonnaise, on freezing and thawing it separated -- all the oil de-emulsified, turning the salad into a... | Well, If it were just the mayonnaise, it would be easy. I’m sure you already know all this, but for future visitors to this question: mayonnaise, like hollandaise and bearnaise, is an oil-in-water emulsion, with microscopic droplets of oil suspended in the water phase, with lecithin from the egg yolks stabilizing the m... |
Does food steamer require ventilation
I am considering getting a food steamer but I don't have access to a kitchen. I have a microwave in my room but I think I could use a steamer as well to cook vegetables. I've never used a steamer before and I won't be able to use it if it gives out a lot of steam due to damp issue... | The amount of steam released is comparable to boiling a kettle for a few minutes. Without knowing what your room is like we can't provide a general recommendation, since the answer would depend on the preexisting humidity, size of the room, height of the ceiling, temperature, ventilation etc.
I would expect that if the... |
Which cut of beef is the leanest?
Which cut of beef has the least amount of fat? (loin, rib , round, etc.) | While it is not generally considered a cut, the heart has no fat tissue at all between the muscle fibres (the marbling in skeletal muscle). Depending on how it is trimmed, it can have a significant amount around the outside of the atrioventricular junction, but this can be removed prior to cooking fairly easily.
At my... |
What was Country Herb Chicken Sauce Blend?
An old hand-written recipe calls for one package of "Country Herb Chicken Sauce Blend", a presumably retired McCormick product. The recipe is quite similar to this one:
https://www.cookingindex.com/recipes/38300/country-pot-pie.htm
Whatever was in this packet, it seems it was... | The McCormick website has a recipe for "Country Herb Chicken and Dumplings." That might be a good starting point.
Here is someone else's recipe for the spice mix.
It looks like you can still get the McCormick spice blend, here, for example.
These products are not a "just add water" solution, but you can probably get r... |
Clams frozen before purging
I got excited to find out my friends family vacation home is on a river where a ton of delicious clams live. TI caught a bunch of live clams, then hastily put the whole lot in a bag of water and threw that in the freezer while making dinner with my friends.
I didn't realize that freezing th... | There’s no way to make a dead clam purge sand etc.
You can always try to cook a few and see how gritty they really are, then decide. You may be lucky and find that they have a good mouthfeel, or you may find out that your entire catch inedible and needs to be discarded. |
Is there any food ingredient that tastes like diesel smells?
I like the smell of diesel, and other heavy oils.
Are there any food ingredients, i.e. safe to eat, that have a taste similar to diesel.
I think it would be an interesting experience to eat or drink something that had a taste that I associate with something ... | Retsina immediately springs to mind; it's a fortified wine stored in pitch-sealed barrels, and it develops a slightly kerosene-like aroma from that. Certain tequilas and mezcals also have a subtle diesel-like aroma. |
Is it a good idea to put desiccant packs in the freezer?
Is it a good idea to put desiccant packs, like those you get shipped with electronics, into a working freezer to help prevent it from frosting up inside?
I open our freezer quite often, and the humid air getting closed in there seems to be causing it to frost up... | You would need a tremendous amount of desiccant to make any significant temporary impact on ice build-up in a freezer. The only major drawback of ice build-up is that it takes up space in the freezer… and the desiccant would take up more space.
BTW, the normal material used as a desiccant is silica gel, which is non-to... |
Bourboning up a ganache
I'm making this bete noire for tomorrow: La Bete Noire I have yet to screw up this recipe. It's easy, and will satisfy most hedonists.
It is a little one-note though. I'd like to add some bourbon to the ganache, which is just 1 cup heavy whipping cream and
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetene... | The rule of thumb when spiking a ganache is to
either reduce the cream by the same amount or
add double the amount of chocolate (by weight).
So for one ounce of alcohol you either leave out one ounce of cream or add another two ounces of chocolate.
That said, yours is a slightly lighter ganache than the usual 1 part ... |
What does yeast do to flour?
Does yeast overtake flour?
if yes then does it become protein from carbs?
When we start with 100% flour does it become 70% flour 30% yeast germs after fully fermented dough? | Does yeast overtake flour?
That depends on what you mean by "overtake". The most obvious interpretation is that you are asking if you wind up with more yeast than flour. If so, then the answer is no, not even close.
if yes then does it become protein from carbs?
Yeast begins its process by using enzymes to break dow... |
Sourdough pizza crust for wood-fired oven
I can consistently make a nice, well-blistered, chewy pizza crust in my wood-fired oven. My recipe is Caputo flour (the red bag), 60% hydration, 2.5% salt, 0.25% instant yeast; knead until smooth; form into balls; age at 9 C for four days.
I've tried to expand into sourdough, ... | I have done some experimentation very similar to yours and ended up with the same observations. I also can confirm your assumption that the acidity breaks down the gluten is right. Creating a sourdough pizza with good taste that is still good to stretch is an art that is not easy to master but it can be done (though I ... |
Products that can be microwaved and "pop" just like popcorn
What makes corn pop and is it possible to microwave any other type of food into the form of pop-something just like sweetcorn? | Popcorn should be considered one of "nature's little miracles" - & a way to make a huge profit out of air.
Yes, you can pop other dried grains/seeds, but don't expect anything quite so bag-filling as maize.
Quinoa, chia, sorghum & amaranth will all pop [in a dry pan, not sure about microwave]
See
https://www.huffington... |
Difference between Thai ingredients ginza and galangal?
I have a cookbook from a Thailand cooking school for tourists that lists
1 Tbsp galangal chopped finely
and then
6-8 cm ginza, skin removed (substitute: old dull ginger)
I assumed from this recipe that they’re separate ingredients but in looking online I’ve f... | Welcome to the extremely confusing world of rhizomes! Thai cuisine uses different rhizomes for curry pastes extensively, and naming of these is not at all consistent. For example, any of the following three roots might get referred to as "galangal":
Greater Galangal, also known as "Thai Ginger" or Kha
Lesser Galanga... |
How do egg whites help to keep fats inside a cake?
Recently I tried to bake a cake (Caprese) from:
ground almonds
butter
dark chocolate
sugar
eggs
I melted chocolate and butter, mixed all of this with whipped sugar yolks, and then... totally screwed the whipped egg whites, and decided (for science!) to skip folding ... | Egg whites are mostly protein. Long chain polymers like proteins typically have regions that are both hydrophilic (binding to water) and hydrophobic (preferring to bind to fats), so are great at forming emulsions and stable gels. When cooked (or even beaten long enough) the long chains unwind and the proteins denature,... |
Why Does My Sugar Wax Turn Out Different When Scaling Up The Volume?
I'm in the process of making sugar wax made of heated sugar, lemon juice and water. I have found a ratio that works great when it's heated up to 119 C (246.2 F). It gives me a wax that has the perfect consistency and firmness. The problem is that thi... | I will throw out a suspicion, although I am not certain that it is the correct one.
What you are doing here is to create invert sugar with the lemon juice - if you didn't use that, you would end up with hard candy, not a malleable substance. The acid in the lemon is not an ingredient in the reaction, it is a catalyst. ... |
How to clean food that may have been contaminated by a cockroach?
I have seen a post on how to keep roaches, etc., away, but let's say I did see a cockroach on my kitchen counter, and it did crawl on surfaces and food (let's say, some avocadoes that were out, ripening, as well as some Nespresso capsules). What might b... | Fruits and vegetables are obviously natural products that are exposed to the elements, and a variety of insects and other wildlife during growing, harvesting, storing, packaging, and distribution. Whether the roach crawled across your avocado (for example) on your counter, or (potentially) the store room of your local... |
Using the plastic tray liner from meat packaging as a cooking aid
My wife says that she has gotten advice on Facebook that using the plastic absorbent liner from packaging can also be used in the oven to distribute the heat more evenly. I am hesitant to put plastic in the oven in temperatures of 325 F.
Are there BPAs ... | I can't imagine there's any benefit in using the tray liner as a cooking aid, anything about them distributing heat evenly is a load of garbage, that's what pans are for. Plus, cooking your food on a sponge of silica gel and plastic that's absorbed a bunch of blood is just plain gross.
It's impossible to say whether th... |
Are tuna pouches still good after being in fridge?
I have unopened pouches of tuna in the fridge with expiration date of 9/1/23.
My question is, are they still good if I take them out of fridge and store at room temperature? We are moving and I have several pouches that I would like to take with, me as long as they ar... | Your product is shelf-stable. The expiration is a "best-by" date, meaning the quality degrades, but it remains safe. Refrigeration has no relevancy, unless you opened the package. |
Why can you make hard candy with maple syrup, honey, and corn syrup, but not agave nectar?
Maple syrup is mostly sucrose.
Honey is a mixture of glucose and fructose.
Corn syrup is glucose.
Agave is mostly fructose.
I have read that the chemistry of candy involves a disaccharide (sucrose=glucose+fructose)
So, why does... | Okay. So now that I understand the question: the reason you can't use agave by itself is simply that it is mostly fructose, which is more hygroscopic than its friends.
Table sugar, which most recipes call for, is a disaccharide called sucrose. It's composed 50-50 of two monosaccharides called glucose and fructose. When... |
What to do to cool down oven after grease fire?
I have cleaned the grease out the oven but the oven is still warm and it’s not on. What do I do to get the oven to cool down so it’s back to normal? | So long as the fire is truly out, then just give the oven time. It may take a few hours to cool the metal back to room-temperature, just as it would if you had baked something in it. |
Why is my soft serve too stiff?
Is there an intelligent commercial machine soft serve calculator? I'm a noob at this, bag powder mixes taste like crap, can't find any fresh dairy mixes here in central Florida.
So far, the best I can find is 6% fat, 12% sugar, 14% MSNF, and 0.1% xanthan gum and .3% lecithin. And some v... | I'd suggest taking a look at the excellent book "Ice Cream" by Goff and Hartel (ISBN: 978-1-4614-6095-4). It covers all aspects of making ice cream commercially, and is very thorough. Chapter 8 is titled "Soft-Frozen Dairy Desserts" and page 252 has a table of example formulas for soft-serve ice creams.
For example, on... |
How to season home-made cheese?
I have made my first ever cheese (a very basic recipe: heat the milk to 95C, add citric acid, drain the whey, press together - see below), now I need to season it.
I definitely need to add some salt. For this, I can add some salt to whey and soak my cheese in it - this is simple enough.... | That recipe is very similar to Indian paneer. The downside of salting the whey is that most of the salt gets poured away, so you have to use lots (or soak in a small amount of whey.
When making paneer, one good approach is to salt the curds after draining (though before pressing out the last of the whey). These acid-... |
Is it a good idea to add salt to egg whites before beating them?
It seems to be conventional wisdom to add a pinch of salt before beating the eggs.
However, this website gives a scientific explanation of why it's a very bad idea.
Could you tell me who is correct?
Agitation causes the little bunches of proteins in the... | There is a great deal of contrary advice on adding salt to egg whites. From my research, what I gather is that this mixed advice comes from the fact that it probably depends on how much salt is added.
These researchers found that foam volume and stability increased with a small amount of NaCl, then decreased with incr... |
Do I need to re-pasteurize my soft serve mix?
I'm using all prepackaged ingredients, and following good sanitization (QA) procedures of utensils and work area. Do I need to re-pasteurize my mix before feeding it into the machine? The machine has been sanitized using QA as well. | I would think that if all the ingredients are pasteurized then you wouldn't need to re-pasteurize anything.
Where I've heard of people getting into trouble is when they add something like raw fruit to an ice cream mix, and the fruit hasn't been pasteurized (cooked to a particular temperature for a particular amount of ... |
Slow-roasting top round beef
I wanted to try out a recipe for a slow-roasted eye of round roast. However, I was unable to find this cut at my local market, so I purchased a top round roast instead. Can this cut be prepared the same way, or should I use a different technique?
The technique outlined in the recipe is a... | The two cuts come from the same general area. They eye of round is more lean, and generally tougher and less flavorful, given the lack of fat. There is no reason you cannot use the cooking technique described on the top round. Using a thermometer will ensure proper done-ness. It will probably take a bit longer than... |
In what order should I put various "masalas" in chicken curry?
In what order, should I put the various masalas (en:spices) in my general Indian-style spicy chicken curry?
I have the following:
Chicken masala
Garam masala
Jeera masala
Chilli powder
Dhaniya masala
Ginger-garlic paste
I usually marinate everything (exc... | It sounds like you are on the right track. Most spices are meant to be added towards the beginning of the cooking process because frying the spice helps release the flavorful oils and keeps it from being gritty. Pastes like garlic and ginger paste likewise should be fried off before adding liquids. The only exception t... |
Dirty cutlery holder hanging over glass stove lid with drip container
When I cook, I use cutlery to get the food from the pan, and after using them I put it on a plate that is on the table.
But I thought I could do better, putting a frame of hooks to hang the cutlery in the vertical direction having a container undern... | What you're looking for is a utensil rack with drip tray, one example here on Etsy.
The design seems to have phased out of fashion, all the items I can find that resemble your drawing are labeled "vintage" and have this older look to them - including construction materials (enamel instead of SS / plastic / aluminum).
I... |
What are the effects of various dairy ingredients in quiche?
What are the effects of various dairy ingredients in quiche?
Leaving aside the fact that a dish using cheese is not, technically, "quiche", I've looked into 5 different websites and cookbooks or so and there seems to be no agreement on the dairy ingredient. ... | Quiche, at base, is a custard. And a custard, at base, is a water-based mixture thickened with egg yolk. Milk and cream are the traditional liquids. You could make a custard with just water and yolk, but you'd have a hell of a time keeping it from curdling. The proteins and especially the fat in milk and cream stabiliz... |
What defines the type of the fermentation (alcohol/lacto)?
What defines the outcome of the fermentation?
You put the veggie, fruit in an anaerobic environment and you either get "Alcohol fermentation" (ethanol) or "Lacto fermentation" (lactic acid). What is the different input to make the different output?
I know the ... | The factors that decide what starts the party as you say are the starter and the environment.
The yeast and bacteria are already present. If one of them is in the majority, then they'll get a head start without any intervention. It's just survival of the fittest.
But for the most part, fermenters intervene. We add star... |
Wild Sourdough Starter Never gets more than 1/3 bigger - Am I doing something wrong?
I made a wild sourdough starter back in July of last year. Did some baking with it, but it has never doubled in size the way that I see described in articles online.
I initially started it with all-purpose flour and aired-out tap wat... | Your starter is at 100% hydration. It's a thick liquid, not a springy dough. As bubbles of carbon dioxide form, they're free to combine into larger bubbles, rise to the surface, and pop. So the volume isn't going to increase much. The peak volume will additionally be significantly impacted by the temperature and the ty... |
Day 3 My Preserved Limes Are Not Filling the Jar
I packed all the nearly quartered limes I had tightly into a quart jar with plenty of salt. When I finished, there was about 1/3 of the jar empty. I put them in the dark cupboard because I didn't know what else to do. Now I have more limes. Would it be safe to scrub, cu... | Yes, that’s fine. Not much to say here, really. It’s okay to have a head space in the jar (the high acid and salt content makes the limes inhospitable for all microorganisms that might otherwise colonize the surface), and it’s also okay to add more salted limes. |
Can I whip cream that is past its use by date?
I was going to make a dessert with whipped cream but events interfered and I now have a large (sealed) pot of double cream left in the fridge. My next opportunity to make the dessert will be next weekend when the cream will be about five days past its use by date.
Experie... | It depends on how the cream was treated. If it has buttered up, or is just on the cusp of either buttering or turning sour, you can no longer whip it, it will coalesce and curdle instead of creating a foaming. It is a gradual thing, you cannot say when a given batch of cream will whip well and when it will curdle. The ... |
Is lactic acid a vinegar?
'Saccharomyces' gives us 'ethanol' (i.e. alcohol).
Then
'acetobacter' makes 'acetic acid' (i.e. vinegar)
On the other hand,
'lactobacillus' gives us 'lactic acid' (i.e. pickle brine)
My question is :
Can that lactic acid be used as vinegar? | The answer to this depends on the brine in question. Both vinegar and a lactic brine solution are obviously acidic, but vinegar is sold at different concentrations. If you have a lot of leftover lactic brine, you don't know its concentration. So you'd have to take your best guess at that aspect.
The main thing however,... |
Eggs whites on top and side of yolk
When I make a sunny side egg, I notice that the yolk can be sunny side up and ready to eat, yet sometimes there is what seems to be a "ring" of egg white around the perimeter of the yolk and also a small coating of egg yolk surrounding the egg.
Is it okay to eat that or do I have to... | You can eat eggs raw, so long as you're not pregnant or in an at-risk health group.
Fry them however you like them.
UK chickens are vaccinated against salmonella. Elsewhere, less so. Apparently the US doesn't do it at all, hence their tougher handling regulations.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/01/poultry-vaccinat... |
Boudin Balls, Isaac Toups - Question about cooling/refrigerating the boudin
I'd like to try Isaac Toups' recipe for boudin balls, for a cooking get-together with a friend of mine. We'll start in the afternoon; ideally, we'd like to have it done for (late) dinner that day.
The recipe specifies 2 refrigeration steps: on... | The refrigeration steps have nothing to do with moisture / exploding - they're there so the batter thickens and can hold a shape without falling apart.
This is also done for roux-based croquettes, like the Dutch kroketten and Spanish croquetas
I'd be careful with refrigerating in the freezer for the 1st cooling as you ... |
Would some dry herbs sprinkled on the surface prevent water from superheating in the microwave?
I know about the risks of superheating water in a microwave (and some countermeasures), but suppose that someone didn’t have any sort of wooden skewer, tooth pick, or something like that to act as a nucleation site.
Would s... | The problem with sprinking herbs on the top, would be that the container of water can be superheated at the bottom and not superheated at the top. (In fact, the top tends to be much cooler than the bottom, because of evaporation.) |
How to clean aluminum with lye "stains"
I got careless and used a lye solution to clean an aluminum moka pot. The end result was that the whole thing was covered in sodium aluminate with some stains standing out from the rest.
Here's what the bottom looks like after a whole lot of scrubbing:
Can I get it any cleaner ... | A weak acid solution should do it - you could use a dilute (white) vinegar solution for some time. How dilute, I don't know, but I would start with a 1:100 dilution, then incubate for an hour and see how it goes. If, after a few (3-4) hours there's no change, go for a more concentrated solution. |
Pulled beef in pressure cooker: Is it necessary to sauté beef before pressurizing?
In most recipes I've found about pressure-cooking pulled beef, the meat is sautéed before the pressure is applied. Why is this? Could I pressure-cook pulled beef without first sautéing it?
Example recipe: https://theblondcook.com/instan... | The reason for steps like this when slow-braising meat is to brown the meat (or, if we're being fancy, to cause the Maillard reaction), which will make the dish taste...more like browned meat. You'll note that in the linked recipe, the sauteing step occurs before the liquid is added to the pot, and emphasizes browning... |
Too tomatoey gravy?
I saw this video. He is cooking Paneer Tikka Masala. He used 6-7 tomatoes to make gravy for the curry. My question is that, when I cook and add so many tomatoes its taste is too tomatoey. Am I missing something?
Paneer Tikka Masala Restaurant Style | पनीर टिक्का मसाला | Chef Sanjyot Keer
Also I'm m... | The video recipe uses a lot of tomatoes, and the resulting curry appears to be heavily tomato-flavored. The quick paneer butter masala I make myself is very tomato-flavored, on purpose, because my sweetie likes it that way.
So if you want a paneer curry that's "less tomatoey", my suggestion is to use a different recip... |
Am I calculating bread dough hydration correctly?
I know this seems like it should be obvious; calculating bread dough hydration isn't rocket science.
My recipe is 600 g of flour, 270 g of water, 57 g of butter, 46 g of honey, 1.5 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of yeast. Salt and yeast are in tsp because at those light weights, ... | Hydration is an idea to help you predict the dough consistency/workability based on the ratio of water to flour - but with a highly enriched dough, the effect of the additional ingredients is so strong, that it loses its predictive value. It is also no longer perfectly defined when you have ingredients which make the d... |
Cooling coffee rapidly without dilution
I like iced coffee when the weather is hot, and I like to drink it black (or nearly black) and undiluted. What is a good setup for cooling freshly brewed coffee quickly, without a lot of hassle? I'm talking about normal brewed coffee, not cold brew.
At Starbucks, they seem to pu... | Make ice cubes out of coffee.
Depending on how you brew your coffee, you might even have some surplus coffee from time to time. Just pour it into an ice cube tray.
Then put the coffee ice cubes into your freshly brewed coffee, as usual. |
Rescuing a tough brisket roast
I let brine overnight a 450 g piece of point cut beef breast. Then I dry rubbed it with spices and put in my small crock pot with 150 ml of Guinness, a couple of carrots and baby potatoes on LOW for some hours.
I stuck a probe thermometer in the meat and set an alarm at 65 °C (having in ... | Brisket is not a roasting cut; you didn't miss your train, it never left the station. Brisket is a very tough cut because of the presence of collagen, which breaks down at 72°C, and needs the presence of liquid, so roasting is not a good technique for this cut. If you'd taken it out when the alarm sounded it would be e... |
Disolving chocolate in vodka?
I wanted to make a chocolatey drink, but creme de cacao is way too sweet. So I decided to try making chocolate vodka. I added about 3/4 cup of 63% chips (Guittard extra dark) into a small magic bullet blender cup. I then covered it in vodka, plus an extra ~1/2". I blended it a bit, opened... | So the sugar is most likely dissolved in equal parts in the water and ethanol, while that fat is dissolved completely in the alcohol.
The most likely reason why your drink solidified would be in my opinion that it was a bit warmer while blending because of the friction so the fats partially melted, which also helped th... |
For what dishes I should wash starch off red lentils?
I usually wash grains and beans before using them. I wonder how/for what dishes I should wash red lentils?
When I washed them, the water looks "soapy" (lots of foam) until I change it cr. 8 times.
According to this blog, this is a correct procedure, I should wash t... | The main reason why you rinse lentils and beans is to remove debris or shriveled lentils. Also for hygiene reasons, depending on where and what lentils you bought, they might include little stones, sand, or dust.
In general, if you don't rinse your lentils/beans they will foam more while cooking. The foam is caused by ... |
What determines spice level in Indian cuisine?
When I dine out for Indian cuisine, I prefer to order my food hot on the mild/medium/hot/spicy scale. This question is two-fold.
For cooking Indian cuisine at home, what ingredient do I adjust
(from an online recipe) to achieve a "hot" spice level (i.e, what
are the rati... | Several of the spices in 'indian' cooking will impart a sense of heat - ginger, peppercorns etc - but the single ingredient used in restaurants & take-aways as a last-minute heat booster is Cayenne chilli powder. The basic curry sauce will be mild, so none is added if you order mild. The hotter you order it, the more ... |
I have some slow-cooked pork in the freezer and just need to warm it up
I slow-cooked this meat about six months ago and had a lot left over which
went into the freezer in a tightly-wrapped plastic bag. It does not really
matter now when I eat it, but I do want the quality to be as good as
possible (and I want to eat... | Hair of the dog?
You got a slow cooker. And this meat has been in there before. Putting it back in the slow cooker will do it no harm and will get some good juice back in. |
What kind of butter do restaurants like olive garden use for their pasta?
I am trying to make pasta at home that tastes like Olive Garden pasta (which I have with butter instead of alfredo). I believe that the reason that my pasta doesn't taste the same is because of the butter I use. I use Land of Lakes salted butter... | What you are describing is probably browned butter. It's not the butter they use but the technique as any butter will do. Pasta is usually cooked with its sauce before putting it on the plate, you can re-create this very simply.
First get a pan big enough to toss your pasta in, then get it on a high heat and add your b... |
Oven management in restaurants
Background: I'm an ERP consultant and one of my customers is a metal works factory in which they have an oven. This is an expensive piece of hardware so they have only one oven. It is important to schedule the jobs that use the oven in order to use it as efficiently as possible.
And now ... | tl;dr - they never turn off.
I've never worked in a kitchen with only one oven. I'm sure they exist, but I've never been in one. That said, contrary to moscafj's answer, I've certainly used ovens heavily during service.
These examples come from a kitchen that had two combi Rational ovens (i.e., an oven and steamer in o... |
When does baking soda make a dough taste bitter?
There are times when I have accidentally mixed up baking powder and baking soda in a recipe resulting in a bitter, almost metallic tasting dough. However, my signature pancake recipe uses a mix of baking soda and baking powder and there is no issue with taste.
When does... | Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is an alkaline compound. As such, it tastes bitter and metallic. It is often used in amounts where you can’t perceive that, but if you slip up it can be quite noticeable. There are various substitutions, the most common is to add cream of tartar to baking soda (1/2tsp cream of tartar... |
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