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Any success with gumbo in an Instant Pot? I love cooking my grandmother's seafood gumbo recipe, and I have done this successfully many times. Recently, my husband suggested we try this in the Instant Pot to save time with the roux, which I did not advise. There are many questions about roux here. We have tried similar...	Some thickeners will lose thickening ability if you heat them too much, and as a pressure cooker allows you to get past the typical boiling point, it’s possible that this has happened. But you should be glad that it did— because you shouldn’t cook really viscous things in an instant pot. Basically, you can’t stir thing...
Bread maker paddle cylinder bored round; inner flat side gone I have a Zojirushi BB-PAC20 two-paddle bread maker. It had been working fine for years, but recently it stopped mixing right, leaving huge chunks of unmixed flour. I found that the problem was one of the paddles; it rotated freely all the way around the pos...	From my comment It depends which way up the 'plug' & 'cup/socket' are. If the 'cup' faces down, you ate it. if it faces up, you probably washed it down the sink when you cleaned it. Pictures would help. After pictures added… You ate it. It's very unlikely to do you any harm.
How can one cook corn on an open grill? I’ll be camping with limited access to water. I have a grill in the outside kitchen, however this grill doesn’t have a cover. Is it possible to grill corn on the cob on a cooking surface without a cover? If so, how?	Is the corn still in the husk ? Do you have aluminium foil ? Keep the corn in the husk and roast until cooked; it's better to remove some of the leaves and dip them in water to add some moisture to the corn before putting on the grill. If you have aluminium foil, you can either keep the corn as is and wrap in foil, or ...
What container for olive oil for longest shelf life? I have bought a 5l container of olive oil which is impractical for daily use. I intend to decant it into something smaller but I'm not sure what to buy. I know that olive oil is affected by light and temperature. However particularly on light I don't know whether a ...	From my research on this, it sounds like you should be minimising the following as much as possible (two of which you've mentioned in your question): Exposure to light Exposure to heat Oxidisation To avoid this, it sounds like the best option is a fully opaque, thick-walled vessel, that is sealable. This article on t...
What are the benefits of dried ingredients? I've been cooking from Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking, and I most recently made Braised Chicken with Dried Shiitake Mushrooms. This made me wonder about what the dish could have been if I were unable to find dried shiitake mushrooms. What are the benefits o...	If I'm not mistaken, you're probably cooking the Cantonese dish "braised chicken with dried shiitake mushrooms/'winter' mushrooms". Yes, using dried shiitake mushrooms (in Cantonese, also called "winter" mushrooms) is quite essential to this recipe. The sun-drying process breaks down proteins to amino acids, so it incr...
Can you freeze food with cream in it? I have been told that you can't freeze meals with cream in them (soups, etc). Is that true?	It's safe to do, it's just a quality issue. The cream or milk may "break" once thawed, which could ruin the textures or cohesiveness of the dish. But it's not such a big deal if the dish is smooth and homogenous to start with, as you can just whisk it back together. In the winters, we make large batches of soups that ...
Storing spoiled meat with fresh meat in a freezer I just bought a new chest freezer to store some lamb and beef. I placed the fresh lamb meat in a couple of metal containers (not covered) and put these in the freezer. I did the same with the beef but in different containers (not covered) and put them into the same fre...	The chemicals associated with the odor of rancid or spoiled meat can indeed float around in a freezer and condense on other surfaces, such as the other meats.* Since these chemicals are detectable at extremely low concentrations, even a small amount of migration would make those objects noticeably rotten-smelling. That...
Is it feasible to cook via a forge? I was playing the Sims Medieval the other day, and at one point, the blacksmith proves s/he's a capable cook by... taking a piece of meat, firing up the forge, and hammering the thing into a steak. It's obviously done tongue-in-cheek, but it got me thinking - is it somehow possible ...	Amateur blacksmith here. So, first, let me caution that two of the things that are around any forge are toxic chemicals like borax, and lots and lots of tiny metal fragments that would be very bad to get inside you. So I don't recommend ever actually cooking around a forge. If you were to do so anyway, though, how you...
Do different "regions" really have a "general common taste"? I have now numerous times heard things such as: In the final step, the factory adds custom spices for the specific region for which this batch of hotdogs are supposed to be sold. It is strongly implied, if not explicitly stated, that different "market regi...	This has less to do with any existing general cultural preferences of the region, and more to do with how that particular product type was first introduced to the region and what it tasted like at the time. The flavor profile of an imported food, and even some native foods, tends to get set in the popular preference i...
Why did my pot get so blackened after boiling some eggs? I bought this pot a few weeks ago. I've only used it a couple times since, but yesterday I decided to boil some eggs in it. I ended up forgetting about them for a minute, when I came back the water was not enough to cover them anymore. About 10% of the eggs surf...	I am pretty sure it is the sulphur in the eggs that is doing this. It is present even in the egg shell. When iron and sulphur react under heat, it forms iron II sulphide which is black (or brown) in colour.
What are the layers in this cake? I want to make this cake (image below), but I can’t figure out the third layer. Obviously it is 2 layers of chocolate cake and 1 of chocolate mousse, but what is the caramel-like layer? Can anyone identify it, please?	Looking at the way it is cut, teared and smeared by the spoon in the video my best guess would be that it is some kind of custard or pudding that gets its consistency most probably from yolk and/or starch. Please be aware that a definitive identification only from a picture will remain an impossible task as no one will...
When downsizing a recipe for bread, do you need to cut down every ingredient equally for it to come out well? I have a bread recipe that is slightly too large for my bread machine, so I need to downsize it a little, but I don't want to make it a full 25% or 50% smaller, meaning the ingredient amounts end up with weird...	Yes you do have to reduce all ingredients proportionally for the dough to come out the same. The best way to measure for baking is by weight in grams rather then in volume as weight in grams is extremely accurate and makes for much easier adjustments like those you need to make. The most critical measurements to get ri...
Why do my falafels taste so boring? I've been making falafels from scratch for a few times now and I've started to get the hang of it. I've got the texture of the falafels pretty great but the flavour of them isn't really... anything? I've been following this recipe as a guide, so I've been putting in tons of garlic, ...	From a different answer: When you're looking at a recipe and it's too bland, the first thing to ask yourself is "what more". What flavor isn't coming through that you'd like to come through? Is some ingredient overpowering everything else? Are the flavors too simple, or too subtle? In the case of falafels, I would es...
Slow cooker cooked too fast Supposed to cook a 3 lb. pork loin on low 6-8 hrs., (was on low), to an internal temp of 160. Meat reached temp at 2 hours. What to do so it can be served in 4 more hrs. without being overdone or dried out?	Pork loin is very lean and tender, so it's a bad cut for a slow cooker. Slow cookers work best with fatty or collagen-rich cuts that should be held at a high temperature for long enough for the connective tissue to "melt" and create a super rich, tender result. Pork loin will simply dry out. I would remove it from the ...
Can I half-bake muffins now, and then complete bake them the rest of the way a couple days later when I want them "fresh"? This is inspired by those bake-it-yourself items I see in shops which are e.g. quite pale baguettes they expect me to throw into the oven for 10 minutes to end up with a "freshly baked" good. I kn...	There's a big difference between what's possible with bread and with muffins or cakes because bread is from a dough and the rest is a batter. Bread dough has a lot of structure to begin because of the gluten, so you can partially cook it to set that structure and then crisp it up later. You can't do the same with a bat...
Is there a way to get bacon crispy if you wrap it around potatoes and stick it in the oven? I wanted to try and make the “Gotcha Pork” dish from anime series Food Wars. It requires you wrap bacon around mashed potatoes and put it in the oven. Is there a way to bake it so the bacon comes out crispy? Thanks	The bacon should naturally come out crispy, as the oven cooks the bacon more evenly and the heat surrounds it. You can find here an article that lists a couple of advantages of cooking bacon in the oven including extra crispiness. I think the trick with dishes like “Gotcha Pork” is, to make sure you refrigerate or chil...
How far can I stretch the "Use within X days of opening" warning? Many refrigerated products (Bacon, ham, black pudding etc.) have this warning on the packs. I assume this is due to being packed in a protective atmosphere. Provided I wrap the remainder securely in cling film or Saran wrap and use it before its "Use By...	This is trickier than the case of "use by"=safety and "best before"=quality.* If there's an additional "use by" date, as there often is, that shouldn't be exceeded, but if you open the packet on the day of purchase there can be a big gap between the two. This warning is often combined with "packaged in a protective at...
Whilst honing, if I already push the knife away from my hand, must I still push the knife towards my hand? Doubtless, it's safer to push knives away from your hands. When I hone, I always do this like this GIF. Source for first image below. But I just saw these images where the knife is being pushed TOWARDS the handl...	While it doesn't really matter in which direction you hone your knife, honing towards you is (a, but not the only) standard practice when you don't use the technique you pictured first, where a towel is placed under a vertically placed honing rod. The reason is this: if you hone "freehanded", with the rod in one hand a...
When honing with a ceramic rod, why alternate edges of your knife? Why not hone each edge separately? Starting at 0:58, Owen in Vancouver counsels you to alternate the knife's edges. Each time Owen pulls the knife, he alternates as he advised. But why? Why not hone one side with 15 consecutive strokes first, then swi...	Honing is the act of 'pushing' the edge of the blade into alignment. Were you to do one side only, it would push the edge to the opposite side, then when you swapped, it would push it all back again. No net gain. Image from Serious Eats - How to Hone a Dull Knife
Mimicking Lipton's Green Diet Iced Tea Citrus My girlfriend is absolutely obsessed with this bottled tea, Green Diet Iced Tea Citrus. Personally I think it's kind of gross, but I don't really like tea to begin with. That's personal taste for you. I purchased a huge amount of the stuff for her to drink while she was vi...	I think this is going to be difficult to do without taste-testing, so you might have to learn to like green tea just a bit. ;) First, after a quick search I found that another person who tried to tackle this problem ended up using crystallized lime powder (e.g., True Lime) to get to the intended result. It looks like t...
Yeast in Poolish I have two different recipes for poolish with equal parts of bread flour and water. One calls for 1/2 tsp. of yeast and the other only calls for 1/4 tsp. Which amount should I use to make artisan baguettes and does it matter when I use the same recipe for other breads?	The amount of yeast you use heavily depends on your proving time, and vice-versa. You can use either amount, but your proving time will be vastly different. As highlighted in this recipe the fermentation time gets longer the less yeast you use. Basically the yeast rises the bread, and the more yeast you use, the quicke...
Is there a way predict proving times of dough (without experience)? I make homemade pizza dough and other breads and baked goods quite regularly, but only have started to do so recently. One of the issues I have run into is that recipes always come with their own recommended proving times, some with better results tha...	Yes, there are, although the formulas would vary according to the baked goods you're using. For pizza, there are working formulas out there, such as one by TXCraig or this one that calculate the relationship between hydration, temperature, yeast, and proving time. I personally use the PizzApp and can attest that it's ...
using bread machine as toaster oven Can I bake/heat some frozen spring roll in my bread machine since it has bake function and would this damage my machine? Seems like a good toaster replacement.	It is unlikely to do the job well. A toaster oven is designed to toast: to produce relatively high heat for short periods of time. A bread maker is designed to bake: to produce a lower temperature for longer periods of time. The bread maker is also likely to trap more moisture inside the space than the toaster oven (es...
What is the best way to store cucumbers? Do I refrigerate or not refrigerate? I purchase the cocktail and snackable Persian cucumbers from my big box store because I enjoy the taste of the smaller cucumbers over the larger varieties. I always store them in my refrigerator because I purchase them from the refrigerated ...	For maximum life, refrigerate them wrapped in a dry paper towel inside a plastic produce bag, in the produce drawer. If you have more than 3 cucumbers, ideally store every 3 cucumbers in separate bags, since one that starts to go bad tends to take others with it. I started storing cucumbers this way based originally o...
Can I season a wok on an induction cooktop? I just got a new wok and realized that I have no idea how to go about seasoning it on my induction cooktop. It's a flat-bottom, carbon steel wok, so I don't have to worry about contact on the bottom, but my concern is how do I get the sides? The one idea I had was to season ...	The idea with the onions is unlikely to work as intended, and you'd be off just as well if you simply kept basting the sides instead. Your best bet is to season the wok upside down in the oven for the most even seasoning result. The way to protect your wooden handle is to wrap it thoroughly in a wet towel, and wrap tha...
Replacing Cornstarch with Flour in Potato Pancakes Recipe I have followed this recipe for Korean cheese potato pancakes a few times, and the results come out as expected. I don't have a lot of corn starch on hand and would like to make a larger serving of the pancakes. Is it possible to replace the corn starch (partia...	Based on personal experience with other Korean pancakes, you can replace the cornstarch with flour, but at the cost of making the pancakes less crispy and more chewy. If you have tapioca starch, potato starch, or even rice flour, that would work somewhat better.
My mom uses dish washing detergent to wash her tomatoes and I'm freaked out it'll seep in to the tomatoes Is washing tomatoes, apples, oranges etc. with dish washing detergent normal? She's literally unmovable no matter how I tell her she still keeps doing it. I am freaked out.	Dish washing liquid is quite mild and safe. As long as she properly rinses the produces, you should be ok.
Preventing flash rust after tempering a carbon steel wok After just 2 days of using my new carbon steel wok pan, I noticed something suspicious inside it: Looking back on it, it was probably just burnt oil and nothing to worry about. However, I mistook it for rust, and began my arduous journey to get rid of it. (Let ...	Your first picture might be the beginnings of a seasoning layer, though a bit lumpy & uneven from poor technique. "it was probably just burnt oil and nothing to worry about" - yeah… but that's what you actually want. That's the seasoning, or the very beginnings of it. In the later photos, I see no evidence of any seaso...
Fastest way to peel and dice vegetables? I find that most of the time I use when cooking is the prep time for the vegetables. I have a nice peeler (I fully recommend that one, it peels whatever you throw at it), some knives and a cutting board. It's still way more time that what I'd like to invest. I've tried some of ...	...a sharp knife and practice...seriously. First, there are a couple of types of peelers. I prefer a Y peeler for most situations because, for me, I find it more maneuverable. Peeling time is really quite minimal, unless you are prepping for a crowd. Knife skills are probably more important, but you have to build u...
Why might beautiful looking morello cherries be tasteless? I've just eaten the most beautiful looking morello cherries grown in Kent (England} but they were tasteless! Why?	Same as most supermarket food - forced, greenhoused, picked before ripe, kept cold until it arrives at the supermarket, often in an ethylene environment which causes some plants to actually ripen. These are known as climacteric. See Wikipedia - Ripening Cherries are actually non-climacteric, which means they only ripen...
Baking juicier chicken breast without brining? Over the past few months my go-to meal prep has been to bake a bunch of skin-on, bone-in chicken, typically breast but occasionally leg (wing+thigh). My technique has been: Season the chicken (mostly skin, but not exclusively) heavily with salt/pepper, leave sitting in t...	Since you sear the meat first you could probably lower the oven temp, but that will probably take longer to cook... You'd need to experiment with times and temps. I'd cover the chicken with aluminium foil to avoid losing too much moisture and uncovering it on the last few minutes to avoid a soggy skin. You could also t...
How should red wine be used in Spaghetti Bolognese? The classic Spaghetti Bolognese recipe adds red wine right at the beginning to the fried minced beef until its all absorbed with little liquid remaining. In theory, this makes sense to me in enhancing the flavour of the beef, yet I can't taste any difference: it stil...	In general, when meat or vegetables are fried in hot fat, sugar and amino acid particles are formed. To capture this roasted aroma caused by this reaction (called Maillard reaction), you pour water or wine over your beef. So the main reason for deglazing is to capture this special taste of "roast". The reason why you a...
(How) Have I ruined my titanium pan? I have a Zwilling Forte titanium pan with a five-layer T-Ix non-stick coating (which I understand is just the name of the titanium Layers). According to description it's supposed to be super durable (even using metal utensils; that's why I bought it) and suitable for oven up to 250...	I'm no chemist, but a quick googling shows hydrogen peroxide [sodium percarbonate in water] to be quite aggressive on aluminium. I'd guess that some light surface scratching, which would otherwise have been quite survivable* in itself, allowed the peroxide to leech under the non-stick surface, attack the aluminium subs...
Do certain spices really go bad? or will people without refined palates usually not tell the difference, specifically chili powder? All my seasonings/spices are at least a year old (most several years). I recently threw out nearly a full bottle of paprika because it was so strong (thought it went bad). I realized I wa...	tl;dr : it's complicated. If you're relying on cooking by blindly following recipes, and hoping that they come out the same every time, then yes, you probably want to replace old spices. So professionals are going to give that advice, as it's easier for every chef in the restaurant to be able to re-create a given dish...
What is this metal rod with attached razor blade? Found in Nana's Kitchen Our Nana passed, and we found this in her kitchen. It appears to be well used. That is an ordinary razor blade it is holding. The screw forces the blade into a curve.	This appears to be a bread lame - a tool used to score the top of bread (mostly, but not entirely, for aesthetic reasons).
Will using a stick blender 'chop up' the gluten in my Yorkshire pudding/crepe batter? If so, does it matter? I've always made Yorkshire puddings and pancakes using a stick blender. I'll typically make the batter, leave it to stand for an hour or so and give it one last whizz about 5 minutes before pouring it into the ...	As GdD and Tetsujin alluded to in the comments, Yorkshire pudding is an eggy, high-hydration batter that relies on steam for its rise - so gluten is not the main factor here. From what I can tell, using a stick blender would not 'chop up' the gluten (and anecdotally I can think of recipes such as making seitan, where f...
How to use a ridged cast iron griddle? While shopping the other day, I purchased a cast iron pan that has ridged griddle lines in it. I thought "oh, this might be nice for cooking meat!" but I'm not actually sure that's the case. How to use a ridged cast iron griddle? Or rather, is meat the only thing I can use with s...	What you have is a ‘grill pan’ They work well for meat, but the real advantage is that if you have something that gives off a fair bit of liquid, the food doesn’t end up swimming in it. Mind you, the liquid is still there, and doesn’t drain away, so it’ll still cool off the pan from evaporation, and slightly steam your...
Why do some products have different nutritional composition stated on different containers, even when accounting for serving size? I've been looking into nutritional composition of beverages and I've found something weird: sometimes, when the same product is served in a different container, the nutritional contents on...	I can only guess at it needs to be a different recipe for the can compared to the bottle. The ingredients list, though not hugely helpful, lists tea-extract at 0.3% on one pack & 0.32% on the other. If they've changed that, they could change anything else & not have to report it in ingredients, only in nutritional valu...
What is the net (absorbable) carb content of Psyllium Husk? I want to make ketogenic bread with Psyllium Husk. I am confused from looking online at the nutritional value of psyllium husk. Some websites reports in the nutritional values that it has only 1.7g of carbohydrates per 100g of product. Other sites state that ...	There are two carb count, total carbs (including fibre) and net carbs (excluding fibre). There are also two types of fibre and they are not always noted in the labelling, although that's mostly irrelevant for this question. Another parameter that changes is the "serving size", in your example you can get 0.5g of net ca...
How do you properly and consistently pan-sear shrimp? Anytime I attempt to pan-sear shrimp, I struggle to achieve a perfect char. I typically turn the stove on high, pre-heat a stainless steel pan, use butter + olive oil, and then add the shrimp for a couple minutes each side. I also use a fish spatula to make sure th...	There are a few things you can do to help your shrimp get a nice sear. First, make sure they're as dry as possible before adding them to the pan. Use paper towels and pat dry. Especially if you're using shrimp which you had to thaw, they can be pretty wet, and that'll cause them to steam instead of sear. Another thing ...
Had my frozen hot dogs gone rancid? Where I live is currently in Covid lockdown, so when I was cooking dinner tonight, I decided to pull some old hot dogs out of my freezer and boil them. However, rather than sinking to the bottom of the pot, they floated, and during the boiling process, a sort of yellow foam could be...	When storing meats in the freezer, it is not generally recommended to extend the best before date by more than 4 to 6 months, depending on how much before the best before date the product was frozen. The link posted by Carina in the comments gets it bang on. There are several reasons for this, but the biggest one is pr...
Is there a pattern that when sliced into bread dough - causes the bread to be fairly level? When I bake bread, every loaf tens to swell in the center and each end of the loaf is smaller. The result is that sandwiches cut from different sections of the loaf vary dramatically in size. I asked a question on this forum a...	If it is a standard white loaf with close crumb, would be known as Toastbrot in Germany ie nice even slices. Either 3 equal tightly rolled balls or a 3 strand braid (ends tucked under) in the loaf tin, will help the raising to be more even. For truly flat top, tin needs a lid. For a nice 'M' top, a knife or better, a ...
Can I change a recipe sequencing (parallelising consecutive steps)? This highly-rated recipe for Penne al'arrabiata calls for frying chilli, garlic and the basil leaves, then removing them from the pan, adding chopped tomatoes, then adding back chilli, garlic and the basil leaves. What will I lose if I fry them separa...	The idea is that the oil where you fry the chili, garlic, and basil grabs their flavor and aroma. And then the tomatoes are fried in that flavorful oil, which ends up in a much deeper and tastier flavor overall, as the tomatoes combine with the flavors present in the oil. If you do it separately the tomatoes won't grab...
Should jalapeno slices go on the pizza pre or post oven? I have bought a jar of sliced jalapenos, in an attempt to make a pizza simulating the ones I used to eat as a kid. This is the first time ever I see this product for sale to normal consumers. Now I wonder if I should put the slices on the pizza BEFORE or AFTER i...	I agree I would definitely put them on before, I don’t know of any place that puts them on after. They would just fall of the slice and be annoying. I don’t think the baking would ruin the jalapeños at all they’re pickled so they’re pretty moist, but I guess it’s possible you might prefer them slightly more “raw” but I...
How can I make corn tortillas as thin as store bought? From watching videos and going to local Mexican restaurant, it seems the tortillas are much thinner than how I am able to get them when I try to make them at home. Should I be pressing harder all the way down? It feels like there's a limit to how much I can press ...	There are a variety of reasons your tortillas might be thicker than you'd like. My first tip to you is to line your tortilla press with a thick plastic sheet on each side instead of paper; I use a circle cut from a freezer bag. This makes it easier to peel thinner tortillas loose. Beyond that, some troubleshooting: ...
What mill would you recommend to grind allspice? I recently buy allspice berries thinking that IKEA grinders could grind it. However, the berry is just too large to this mill. What type of mill or grinding appliance should I be looking for when I need to grind allspice?	I use a mortar and pestle without any problems. It also works for other spice seeds and is good for garlic, basil, etc.
Dealing with excess liquid in a rice dish I was making hoppin' john and realized I added too much chicken stock relative to the rest of my ingredients -- 8 cups instead of 6. When I reached the point where I would otherwise take the pot off the burner and let it sit for 5 minutes, then fluff the rice and serve ... we...	This kind of meal is something which my grandmother would typically prepare in the oven. If you make it there, in a wide and flat casserole dish (the depth should be 2-3 cm) at not too high a temperature, you can easily leave it inside until the water has evaporated completely, without fear of burning. It will take a l...
How to make vegan mayo with soy lechitin, oil and water without failing I have soy lecithin with me. How do I blend this with water and oil to make vegan mayonnaise? I have tried a lot of times but every time I get a thin oily watery stuff. The procedure is- 1)Mix 2 tbsp lecithin with 3 tbsp water. 2)Add the mixture w...	When you add soy lecithin to your water-oil mixture and agitate it, it only helps to combine oil and water but does not give it the consistency of egg-based mayonnaise. It's way more fluid/watery. This video explains the chemical process behind this emulsion and gives you an idea of how this mix would look like and why...
What is "layering flavors"? What does it accomplish and how do I do it? Recently I've been into cooking videos and tutorials and something that stands out to me is this concept of "layering flavors" that some chefs use when they add ingredients. Example: We're only sweating the onion, afterwards we'll add some garlic...	It is mostly a fancy way of saying that they are combining flavors. There are no solid, physical layers involved anywhere. Still, there is a reason why the "layering" metaphor is more apt than simply saying "combining". Flavor is mostly about aroma, which leads to two aspects of "layering". First, aroma is not perceive...
How can I dispose of garlic remnants without making the bin smell? If I use a garlic press, there is a remnant of crushed garlic which needs to be disposed of. However, I usually find that this then makes the whole bin (trash can) smell of garlic until I empty it, which can be several days to a week later. (This isn't...	One option is to stop using the garlic press. This is a tool that results in the waste that you describe, plus it takes time to clean after use. Instead, just use a knife. With a chef's knife, for example, you can slice, chop, mince, or crush (more options than a garlic press!). The advantages are many. First, you...
How to neutralize spicy vapors if inhaled during cooking to stop nostril burning sensation and coughing? Yesterday I did something wrong when adding some pepper flakes into an extremely hot pan with oil. The air around me instantly got spicy, and everyone standing in my kitchen or within its vicinity started tearing u...	I get the same situation repeatedly when preparing stir fry. Fragrant dry spices (like red pepper flakes) intensify in flavor when roasted in hot oil for a short (!) amount of time, lest they burn. To circumvent the peppery air that can be quite unpleasant if you're not used to it, you could: not add pepper flakes or ...
Is a partially translucent banana safe to cook with? I let my bananas get very ripe prior to making banana bread with them. This time one of the bananas had become translucent at the top towards the stem. See attached photo. Is this banana still safe to cook with? I would chop off the translucent part and bit use the ...	The whole thing, including the translucent part is fine to cook with. As they ripen, fruits convert their starches to sugar. Starch isn’t water soluble, but sugar is. So as ripening happens, the sugar dissolves into the moisture of the ripe banana, giving it that translucent appearance. Additionally, as bananas ripen t...
How many grams is "1 can" of beans? There is a recipe for bean burgers which I am trying to make. The recipe calls for 1 can of beans. First of all, bean cans are typically measured in milliliters. Second of all, they come in various sizes. For instance 398 ml can, 540 ml can I know that I should not use the liquid fr...	In my experience, a 400 gram can of beans contains about 240 grams of drained beans. That will vary slightly by the type of bean.
What is the point of frying and then poaching a sausage? This recipe calls for first frying the sausage until fully cooked and then poaching it in pasta water. Many other pasta recipes from this vendor use similar technique. What is the goal here? Is it to improve the texture of meat, imbue it with some "pasta" taste ...	It would certainly taste fine if you simply poached the sausage, but frying first creates an environment for the Maillard reaction, and caramelization. These two effects create desirable flavors, which both enhance the sausage, and, in the case the entire dish.
When a recipe calls or 1/2 cup of raisins, should the raisins be packed or not packed? You can get more raisins into a 1/2 cup if you pack them tightly. So, when a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of raisins, should I loosely pour them into the cup measurer, or pack them tight?	If the writer has chosen not to mention this, it implies that either it doesn't matter (most likely, for example if the exact amount of raisins is a matter of taste), or it's badly written, in which case all bets are off. I did an experiment using British style sultana raisins (which are slightly different from US sult...
Why can't I keep chicken in the refrigerator for more than 2 days when the supermarkets can So I have this raw chicken breast that I haven't opened (sealed shut in the original plastic container) in my refrigerator for 5 days now and there is still 2 days until the expiry date printed on the label. Also note that, whe...	If your chicken remained below 40F (4.5C), and in its sealed package, the expiry is valid, regardless of whose refrigerator it is in. Any time in the danger zone (between 40 and 140F or 4.5 and 60C) reduces your window, and could reduce it dramatically depending on the temperature and time. If you have 2 days left, a...
Is my wild yeast starter a throwaway or salvageable? I followed this YouTube video to make a wild yeast starter. My intention is to use them for making bread, hamburger buns, and maybe even try them out in a 1-gallon experimental homebrew! The TLDR; of that video is: Mix 3 tbsp flour + 3 tbsp pineapple juice into a m...	Mold: wipe it off. It is not dangerous once your starter reaches its healthy acidic state… that can take more than 5 days. Incidentally, if you neglect your starter on the counter for a week, it can start to stink… you can resuscitate it by dumping 3/4 of it or more, and adding clean flour and water, and build up a hea...
Rice finger rule for figuring water quantity I've seen some videos where people recommend the "finger rule" (as opposed to measuring) when figuring out how much water to put in a pot to boil rice. However, the explanations are pretty vague. Can someone explain this?	Put your rice in a pan. Spread out the rice to it is evenly spread out in the pan. Put the tip of your index finger on top of the rice and then add water until the water level is at the first knuckle of your finger. Personally I don't use that technique, if you don't pay enough attention the rice might burn, but this i...
I want to make straight spaghetti I want my spaghetti to lie straight and flat on the plate. How will I cook the noodles without getting them all tangled up? Can I bake them in a bread pan with sauce and meat?	To add to the existing answer. The easiest method would probably be to bake the spaghetti. If you cook the spaghetti in a casserole in the oven instead of cooking them in a pot of water, they get less tangled and stay straight. You can take them out with a spatula which should help them stay in shape. I found this arti...
Why does peanutbutter become dry when mixed with orange zest and juice? Last night I mixed some peanut butter (consisting only of peanut and peanut oil) with some orange zest and raisins. After adding the orange zest the peanut butter became too dry to my liking so I gave the orange a good squeeze. Much to my surprise...	Peanut butter is a suspension of ground peanuts meal in oil. Adding water (juice is a water based solution...) to that would cause a phase separation of the oil and water. I suspect that during this process, the oil will generate a bunch of fine droplets that can no longer hold the peanut meal in suspension, and result...
Is there some "trick" to be able to eat jalapeños without getting an "upset stomach"? As a young teenager, I used to eat pizzas full of jalapeños and Tabasco on them, and very much enjoyed the spicy taste. In my mid-to-late 20s, I started feeling really sick when I ate these, even though at that point, it was far more...	Well... First of all, no. As alluded to in a comment, as one gets older, one's digestive system tends to be less accepting of what one puts in it. Nevertheless, "the dose makes the poison". You probably can't eat an inch-deep layer of jalapeños on your pizza anymore, but that doesn't mean you can't have an "explosion o...
Is it possible to use wood chips on an electric grill to get a more smoky flavour? There's a ton of content out there about smoking meat on a gas grill using a smoker box, or even gas BBQs that come with a built-in smoker box. Is the same possible with an electric grill? If so, what's the best way to achieve a good, s...	There are electric smokers available. Whether a particular electric grill is suitable depends on the grill, but I don't think there is a reason not to try an aluminium foil pouch of wood chips on it. In fact, here is a site describing how to use an electric grill for that purpose.
Riddle: Deciphering (likely) wrong Nutritional Info I bought some "Keto-Ice Cream" a few days ago, and I have been since questioning the trustworthiness of its Nutritional Facts. I would like some help to decipher them, as there is either something I am missing, or they are simply wrong. First, these are the ingredien...	Your interpretation of the label is right, and so is your conclusion: the information of the label is internally inconsistent. The given calorie count is incompatible with the given nutrient composition. From here, no other conclusions can be made, and your further subquestions are unanswerable. Any part of the informa...
Can I freeze cinnamon buns in unbaked roll form We’re traveling with friends and wanted to make cinnamon buns. I feel the most convenient approach would be to freeze the entire roll, then cut it while frozen when we arrive, then letting it rise. However nobody seems to take this approach when I researched the question...	You can certainly freeze it in roll form, but it will be virtually impossible to cut while still frozen*. You'd need to completely thaw the roll in the refrigerator, slice, and then rise in a pan. It would be far easier to slice and freeze. You can always reassemble the roll with the slices separated by parchment paper...
/nhuman: How long should Bolognese sauce be stored in the fridge? We made a big batch of Bolognese sauce (ground beef, tomatoes, veggies) and are wondering if we should store part of it in the freezer and eat the other part over the next week. What is the optimal time to store cooked Bolognese in the fridge?	You might see some improvement with the flavors melding if it spends a day in the fridge. But after more than a couple of days, you start to get into the questionable food safety / food poisoning risk territory. You also risk getting burned out on it, and wanting some more variety in your diet if you have it day after ...
Is it safe to drink Lipton green tea (tea bag) that has a production date of November 2018? I have Lipton green tea that has a production date: October 2018. The box has 4 plastic bags, each contain 20 tea bags inside. Haven't open any of it...Is it safe to consume? If yes, when is the best time to consume a green tea...	Yes it is safe, At worse it'll not have the freshest taste possible, but it will be OK.
Exploding shelled egg in microwave My partner, dissatisfied with raggedy poached eggs, found an alternative method. Most likely on Facebook :P Break an egg into a glass, add a little water, microwave until cooked. The first attempt resulted in perfectly shaped, but particularly unsatisfying, part cooked eggs with run...	Oh lordy. You're lucky you didn't get hurt. Ann Reordan did a good video about these microwave egg hacks. The segment with her many experiments starts around 6:00. (other hacks/myths are at the beginning and end of the video.) https://youtu.be/vdaKrT9x1Zc Short version: it's speculated that the microwave super-heats th...
How to cook orzo in oven? A while ago I had an orzo dish in a restaurant, where the Orzo had been cooked in the oven together with vegetable stock, garlic, herbs, and cherry tomatoes. The waiter said that the trick is to put the raw Orzo into the hot olive oil with garlic and top it up with the liquid to cook it direc...	‎For most preparations the ratio is 1 cup of orzo - 3 cups of water. But if you want it al dente, the ratio is 1 to 2 and a half, while if you want it very soft, it is 1 to 3 and a half.‎
Do dried peppermint leaves lose flavor quickly in cooking? I'm trying to figure out at which stage of cooking should I add finely chopped dried pepppermint leaves to get some minty flavor in my cooking... I tried a few times and all I get is the smell of mint but not the flavor, so I wonder if I been adding them in th...	Generally speaking, music is a useful metaphor for this situation. In most cases, I think of dried herbs as bass notes. The deep, underlying flavor/aroma. Often dried herbs are added earlier in the cooking process, so that have a chance to rehydrate and contribute those underlying flavors to the dish. On the other h...
How many grams is "1 package" of stuffing mix? This meatloaf recipe video calls for 1 package of stove top stuffing mix. Some stove top boxes are 170 grams others are 120 grams Is there a size that is more common than the others?	(IMO) I don't think it should make a huge difference in such a recipe. The recipe you link use the chicken one which is 170g. If you only have access to the other one (120g turkey) , just get 2 boxes and mix enough to make 170g. To answer your question, they should both be more or less common in regular supermarket ?
Technique for filling vacuum seal bags without getting any food on the rim I really like my new Vacuum sealer. However, I am having a lot of trouble keeping the top part of the bag totally dry & clean while filling it. It is my assumption that a good seal requires a perfectly clean rim. To bag meat, I eventually re...	It's hard to answer without seeing what your bags look like or how rigid the material is, but often it's useful to fold the top of the bag outwards over itself. Putting the bag in a suitable container or cup can also help keep things stable whole you fill it. This also makes it easier to wipe up any traces of food that...
How to make (vegan) cheese saltier? I have recently been making some quick vegan cheeses such as paneer and halloumi with similar methods to making the dairy version of these cheeses. The process I'm following is roughly: Blend softened/soaked nuts with water and strain to create a creamy plant milk. Bring milk to th...	The primary way that cheesemakers create salty cheeses is brining. And cheese brine needs to be quite salty to be effective, as cheese, even vegan cheese, isn't that absorbent. The standard is a "fully saturated brine", which is roughly 22% salt (ignore the egg in that recipe, it's just a float test). You might think...
Preserve crustiness/freshness of toasted bread In long trips i.e. over 3 hours long, I take some toasted break with either pb&j or something inside e.g. slices of turkey etc (toasted). I wrap them with aluminium foil and place them inside those transparent food bags/freezer bags we use to for placing items in a fridge...	As has been stated, you are trapping moisture vapour. I don't think it is possible to perfectly preserve the texture of toast over a prolonged period, but you will improve matters by letting the toast fully cool before you construct your sandwich. Edit: when cooling your toast it is helpful to prop it vertically rather...
Given that fat has a lower specific heat than water, why do meats with higher fat content take longer to cook? Meats with a low fat content, like shrimp and chicken breast are often suggested to be cooked at a high temperature for a short period of time. However meats with a higher fat content, such as beef brisket a...	The cuts you are talking abut don't just have fat, they have collagen. Collagen requires long cooking in order to be converted to gelatin and stop the meat being tough and chewy, and to add that delicious richness to the cooking liquor and succulence to the meat.
Can pickles be made in brine without sealing them in vacuum but kept in the refrigerator for a few weeks? If you sterilize a glass container in boiling water, add cucumbers + spices with a 3.5% salinity brine and close the container without creating vacuum, can you let it pickle for a few days and then keep it refrige...	A vacuum is not necessary for either quick pickles or lacto-fermented pickles. Pickles made with vinegar are usually in the "quick" or "refrigerator" pickle category. The brine flavors the vegetable. This type of pickle should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed within about a month, especially if you keep your...
When ingredients float to the top when deep fried is this an accurate indication they are cooked? When deep frying sausages, chips, small pieces of coated chicken breast etc, a good rule of thumb seems to be when they are nicely browned and float to the top of the oil, that they are totally cooked through. The only ex...	For foods that should not be consumed undercooked, no, floating is not a reliable mechanism for determining if the internal temperature of a food is within the safe zone. All it means is that a sufficient amount of water has been converted to steam and either trapped or expelled that the food has become more buoyant th...
Can I stack pots while cooking? I have a one-burner induction cooktop and I use a stainless steel pot to cook various things, like rice and spaghetti. But I always get burnt rice or food stuck to the bottom of the pot, regardless of the heat level, and even if I put it on the lowest heat. It seems to me the reason cou...	I would not recommend it. The heat transfer is going to be abysmal, and "overheating" the empty pan to indirectly heat the pot is eventually going to damage the pan as well. Get a solid, heavy stainless pot; it doesn't need to be super expensive. Even the ones from IKEA's medium price tier are going to be okay.
Do you know of a spinning plate for microwave? I have a microwave oven that does not have a turntable. I have not had success finding something that will rotate my food to make food heat more evenly. Does anyone have or know of such a product?	I think this is what you are looking for. It's called a "micro-go-round", as you can see from the picture. Simply search for "spring loaded microwave turntable."
Is there aroma transfer in wood fired ovens? I love making pizza. And I've been reading this book "The Neapolitan Pizza", which is supposed to be, as they describe it in the subtitle, "a scientific guide about the artisanal process". I was fascinated by the amount of technical information available in there. Though, I...	The book is correct, for two reasons: Wood-fired pizza ovens are not smokey, instead having very good draft in order to allow maximum hot fire burning. A pizza is in a Neapolitan pizza oven for 60-100 seconds, which is not enough time for something to absorb smoke flavors, even if the oven were smokey. The reason to ...
Over kneaded dough: what can I do with it? I severly overkneaded my dough (I left it in the standmixer for over 45 minutes by accident). What can I do with this? Can I use it for starter? Any other use-cases?	In addition to @rumtscho's answer, there is another option: Dough that has active yeast in it can be used as a starter culture for future doughs. This is the method by which bakers used to propagate their yeasts before the advent of readily available dried or pure fresh yeast cultures. It goes under various names, such...
Why not stir the french press using a metal spoon? I have a small French Press (roughly 220ml) that has the following written on it: Always stir before pressing down, using a plastic or wooden spoon, not metal. A metal spoon does not really damage the glass, so I assume there are other phsyics related reasons. Symbo...	To expand on a couple of the comments: A french press is a coffee system used to filter a suspension of coffee grounds out of (very hot) water and contain them at the bottom of the canister. In many cases the canister is made of glass. As the linked article says: French presses with a glass carafe are an extremely fra...
What happens when custard ingredients are reordered? In the mathematics book How to Bake Pi by Eugenia Cheng in the chapter titled Sameness she mentions the making of custard. She explains that although custard has only three ingredients the order of how they are mixed together is important. In a more mathematical not...	By and large, the statement in the book is wrong. You can certainly make custard with the second way of mixing. I said "by and large", because the order is not completely arbitrary. It will be easier to make custard if you add sugar to the eggs first. This is because eggs are very prone to curdling when heated, and an ...
How can I unstick frozen fish/food quickly? I have 3-4 kg size fish in my non-frost-free deep freezer. They always stick very hard to the base of the freezer and it takes me hours to get the fish out. I have to keep the freezer turned off, which affects other fish or food items. Is there a way that I can get the fish ...	For the already-stuck fish: no, there is no way. Don't try to chisel them out, I've known somebody who damaged their freezer that way. For any fish you will be placing there in the future: find a packaging material which will not stick to the freezer. Plastic bags are the most common way of doing it. You also have to e...
How can you convert Dried Seaweed into Roasted Nori, on a Frigidaire electric cook top? My sister's Caucasian. We speak no Korean. We don't know the correct terminology, so I'm using pictures for clarity. He's leasing an apartment that has merely a Frigidaire 30'' Electric Cooktop like this, no oven. He loves Roasted...	First, that's not the right seaweed for making nori, and second it's unlikely that your sister actually wants to make nori by hand. Nori is made from Porphyra yezoensis and closely related seaweeds, which are not used for any other culinary purpose, and thus rarely sold in stores in forms other than nori. That seaweed...
What is the milk in Bratwurst for? I'm looking at making homemade kosher bratwurst and I picked up this book to get a general idea of the recipes. I was surprised to find that many of the brat recipes call for either one cup of cream or one ounce of powdered milk per 5 pounds of meat. Many recipes online also call f...	None of the DIY-Bratwurst recipes I know over here (Germany) contains milk or cream (although in general we love milk and add it almost everywhere :-) ). The general composition is always meat (lean + fatty to arrive at 20 - 30 % fat), spices (salt, pepper, herbs, possibly garlic). Homemade Bratwurst usually avoids add...
How to avoid shrinking bread loaf after baking? I'm having a hard time making bread loaf at home. My breads after coming out of the oven always shrink. Here's the recipe I used: 320g flour (because I didn't have bread flour so I replaced with 315g all-purpose flour 11.5% + 6g gluten) 160g water 40g heavy cream 20g sug...	Looking at your method and recipe, a number of factors could be at play here. I have baked many loaves without the butter and cream in an open top bread tin, and have never experienced shrinkage, quite the opposite in fact. First of all, the dairy components will lead to a much softer "Milk bread" consistency in compar...
Should I absolutely prepare raw chilled vacuum-packed meat immediately after opening? When you open a pack of raw chilled (not frozen) vacuum-packed meat, should you prepare the whole pack once it's opened? Can you prepare some of it when you open it and prepare the rest later or is this not safe?	The food safety rules for safety-atmosphere-packed meat (it is not under vacuum) are the same as for classically packed or unpacked meat. Once you open the package, you get 3-5 days in the fridge for whole pieces of meat and 1-2 days for ground meat. Please see How long can I store a food in the pantry, refrigerator, o...
When marbling cake, can density of chocolate cake impact the rising of the vanilla cake? I have specific bakers who I really love their recipes for different kinds of cake - for example Stella Parks. Because she doesn't have a recipe for a marble cake, I'm trying to decide whether I'll be successful when trying to mar...	I wouldn't mix those two cake recipes, personally. The chocolate cake is much more dense than the vanilla, with almost twice as much liquid. Further, in the recipe, the vanilla batter is fluffed up, whereas the chocolate cake isn't (and can't be). I would assume that, if you mixed those two, what would come out of t...
Substitute for Tomato Paste in Lentil Soup I've been making a tried-and-true lentil soup recipe for many years and I now for dietary reasons have to eliminate one ingredient, tomato paste (or any tomato at all). I've tried a few substitutions but have yet to get the depth of flavor I get from the tomato paste. Here'...	If this isn't prevented by your health condition, I'd recommend sweet red pepper paste. This is what Turkish folks traditionally use in lentil soup instead of tomato paste, and in my opinion it's better. If you have a good international market near you, you can buy it premade. If you don't, you can make it yourself ...
Sparkling strawberries in glass I made several glasses of whole strawberries in syrup. Normally I do this: sterilize the glass and the screw cap with boiling water carefully wash and sort strawberries make a syrup 300g of sugar to 0.5l of boiling water put strawberries into glass and pour the syrup on them leaving ap...	There’s a clear answer on the food safety part: Not safe. All unintended fermentation is potentially bad - you don’t know what exactly started to grow in your jars, just that something did - so the food safety verdict must be “not safe”. If you want to prevent such an event in the future, stick to approved recipes an...
How to cook kale and collard greens for someone who doesn't like them? My farmshare vege box is forcing me to confront my least favourite vegetables. I have disliked kale and collard greens when I had them previously because of their bitterness and tough texture. Are there ways of cooking which minimizes these? I have...	Wondering if some folks just taste more of the bitter, I came upon: https://www.wired.com/2016/11/edible-science-heres-secret-perfect-kale-salad/ "crushing the leaves breaks down the cell walls of two important chemicals naturally present in kale---the myrosinase enzyme and glucosinolates. When those walls deteriorate,...
Seasoning steak with broiler salt I’ve always wanted to season a steak by just applying kosher salt before putting it in the bbq grill. A few months I tried using this technique (https://www.thespruceeats.com/seasoning-your-steak-keep-it-simple-995234) and using this broiler salt (https://i.stack.imgur.com/dUtdW.jpg )...	Salt is just ....salt....no matter how it is labeled (assuming it is not a spice mix, with other ingredients). It might be more finely or coarsely ground, but....it's all the same. Just use less...a sprinkle on each side. You can always add more when you serve if you desire.
Why is my package of cheese blown up like a balloon This is a package of balderson old cheese,the package has ballooned up. Is it safe to eat? The expiry date is Nov.2021	It’s most likely not safe to eat. Something biological has occurred (like fermentation), creating a gas that has inflated the package. There are food products that are meant to have this happen, but if it’s not, then you should not eat it. And maybe see about getting a refund if it was purchased recently.
Foil wrap cooking fully assembled burger in George Foreman grill? If I seal a burger, complete with bun, in tin foil, and cook it in a George Foreman grill... Will the burger cook through without the bread burning? Will the bread burn or potentially cause a fire? Will this just fail to properly cook the burger?	This will not work. You will definitely severely burn the bun well before the patty cooks. However, a George Forman grill has a catch tray that will capture all the released fat and juices that you could baste onto the bun or patty if you’d like.
Does pistachio ice cream need pistachio nut chunks in it? I have become a big fan of pistachio ice cream, and I do mean the ice cream. I feel the nuts in the store-bought containers I have gotten are to the detriment of the ice cream. Is there some reason pistachio ice cream has to have pistachio nuts in it? Would the...	I was at first a bit uneasy about your question, seeing the word "need" as potentially subjective. Then I realized that the core of your question seems to be: Would the cream part of the ice cream (what I really like) have such a different taste if I made pistachio ice cream while skipping the "pour in pistachio nuts"...
How to avoid/overcome seized tahini I’m reading a recipe for hummus online: throw in chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon, cilantro, salt and jalapeño. Process to a paste. The. Add water while processor is running to smooth out mixture. Prior recipes using tahini called for just tahini and water in the processor first, a...	Tahini "seizes up" when a small amount of water-based liquid is added but the emulsion has not yet inverted. It's not really a problem. As more liquid is incorporated, the emulsion will invert and things will become smooth again. Particularly if using a food processor, this is not something that you'll even notice (jus...
What is the best culinary practice surrounding the water used to soak beans, pulses and rice? Both my mother and grandmother, both now long passed away, would be horrified if when soaking beans, pulses, barley, lentils or rice etc. overnight for a soup or stew, the soaking liquid was used in the dish itself. My guess ...	That water may contain all sorts of fungicides, dust, contaminants, rodent feces, insects, and so on. The process of production of beans is far from sterile. If you wash the beans thoroughly before soaking, you may avoid it, but a common kitchen practice is to just dump dry beans into water, maybe rinse once to get rid...
Food is still undercooked on cast iron I've recently gotten my pre-seasoned cast iron skillet and just tried to sear some meat. 1st attempt was on a rack of lambs and 2nd was on a salmon fillet. I cooked try to fully cook them both on a preheated skillet. The outsides of the lamb/salmon looked nice and brown but when ...	Your pan was too hot. Cast iron pans can get ripping hot (which is good) and retain heat very well (which is also good). But, on the other hand, if you have a thicker piece of meat and want medium doneness, you should not start with maximum heat, depending on your stove. If your pan is really that hot that the outside ...
What is table cream? I livd in US and have never heard term I have a new recipe that says I need table cream, sour cream and grated cheese. I have never heard of table cream and don't know what I can use instead. This is for a topping that goes over fish in the oven.	Table cream appears to be an ingredient from Mexican cuisine, also known as media crema. Nestle offers cans of it in the US. This is what the website of Target says about it: Nestle Media Crema Table Cream adds a special touch to all your sweet and savory recipes. Use it to cook, bake or top your favorite recipes and...
Pressure Cooker bottom and whistle got burned while cooking "Lasooni Dal Tadka", what could have gone wrong? I was cooking Lasooni Dal Tadka (an Indian Lentil curry) following this Hebbar's Kitchen Recipe. I followed everything as stated but only changed the water quantity based on what I usually follow which is: 2 c...	So water ratio was indeed the issue as many commenters suggested. I cleaned the pressure cooker and again cooked the exact same recipe today with increased water ratio as follows: For 1 cup Dal: 2.75 cups water. For 1 cup Rice: 1.75 cups water. And this time, it didn't burn and the results were as follows: Rice: Dal...

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