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Can we ferment cellulose (outside of our body) to turn it into food? I recently read about (wild) fermentation of vegetables. I learned that: By adding salt and water and keeping out the oxygen, we create a biome that favours cetain types of bacteria/yeast. The bacteria/yeast metabolize certain molecules of the veget...	You may be asking 'why don't we eat grass, after all it's everywhere', and the thing is we already do. All cereals (wheat, rice, corn, barley, etc.) are grasses which have been selectively bred to increase the size of the starch bearing part of the plants. The way humans have been approaching food is to improve what is...
Minimum time/temp for clove-flavor infusion? I'm tweaking a recipe for cooked eggnog. The first step is to bring a combination of milk, light cream, and cloves to a scant boil. After that, the cloves are discarded. I want to see if I can get similar results without having to get that mixture so hot. But I'm concerne...	The formula you are looking for doesn't exist Speaking in general terms, I don't think you'll find a one-size-fits-all answer for spice-temperature infusion times. Different spices will react differently with water vs fat vs alcohol. Spices (and foods in general) are complex plants where certain compounds give certain ...
How do you soften pumpkin seeds for Chicken Mole? I made chicken mole for the first time following this recipe. It was delicious, and I'm planning to make it again. However, the hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) didn't fully break down. So the sauce was unexpectedly crunchy. I actually slightly altered the steps of that ...	You should have pureed the sauce longer. A proper pipián or mole is ground until homogeneous and nothing is larger than a grain of sand. It's not a salsa. Example: The ingredients are ground together into a powder or a paste that creates a seamless layering of complex flavors. Assuming that you did actually toast th...
What is a silver tip roast? I got this roast called a silver tip roast. I’m led to believe it’s the shoulder. Can anyone confirm this or know what it is?	Yes, a silver tip roast is a cut from the shoulder. It is generally a lean cut. It is the cut used for most deli sliced roast beef in the US. Most recipes I see sear, then roast. Because it is a lean cut, it is best to monitor the internal temperature as you cook. It will easily become dry when over cooked.
How can I prevent vanilla seeds from sinking in a crème brûlée? When I make a crème brûlée (using the recipe here) I scrape the seeds out of the pod(s) and put them, together with the pod, into the cream which I then bring to the boil. I typically find that the finished product, although tasty and with the right textu...	If you modify the instructions so that you make a custard BEFORE pouring the liquid into the ramekins, this will help to suspend the vanilla seeds in the mixture so they do not just fall to the bottom. original instructions: Meanwhile put the yolks and caster sugar into a medium-sized heatproof bowl and stir until jus...
How quickly does pesto lost flavor when kept cold but exposed to air? I work at a supermarket chain deli, which has some unique food preservation needs not answered by the information I have been able to find, which mostly assumes people are storing food in their home fridge or freezer. We keep a 1/9-size food pan (so...	Never mind flavor -- what you are doing at work is lethally dangerous. As a blend of garlic, herbs, and oil, pesto is a great incubator for botulism. While keeping it cold retards botulism, your practice of "topping it off" means that there's at least some pesto in the pan that is months or even years old, and how cer...
Why can you eat raw oat flour but not raw wheat flour? I see recipes that use raw oat flour. But I have read that eating raw wheat flour causes samonella. What is it about oats that allows you to eat them raw?	Oat flour is one of the few flours that is cooked (steamed) prior to milling, so it is safe to eat raw. But many other flours are not
What's the French equivalent of Italian "panna da cucina"? I've been living in France for a while yet have been unable to find something similar to Italian panna for pasta use. Does anyone know if such thing exists in here?	One convenient point of any Italian "Panna da Cucina" is it's thickness, which helps to bind the ingredients together without needing too much fat. An example is "Pasta panna e prosciutto". As explained in other answers, this comes from the carrageen, which acts as a stabilized and thickener. So, to get the same result...
What is the use of this strange contraption on this serving fork? I just bought an old fork + knife set at a flea market. The kind of big cutlery that is used to cut and serve chicken, roasted meat, whatever. The strange thing is that the fork has a moving part on the top of it. I don't know how to describe it, so her...	I found the answer with a good illustration (from https://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=41243): The idea is that when you have a large piece of meat (such as a large prime rib or so), it's difficult to balance the meat to be able to cut it vertically. Instead, you cut it horizontally from the right with ...
What does this "France only" symbol mean on a coffee package? This is a common pack of Lavazza ground coffee: but at the bottom there is this symbol: What does it mean? And what is specific about France here?	I think it's a recycling vs. trash thing. If I understand the imagery, the coffee bag should go in the trash in France and it should go in the recycling bin in other EU (mostly) countries.
Trying to recreate my grandmother's buttermilk biscuits My grandmother made the best biscuits in the world. She made them 7 days a week, and cooked them on a cast iron skillet without any sides. They were always perfectly browned and the bread inside was "stretchy" (they were not layered). I've been working on this ...	Miscellaneous thoughts: Egg whites are not going to give you "stretch" in a biscuit. The fat will interfere with that. The elasticity will come from the gluten. That means at least a little bit of kneading; it means not using "cake" or "biscuit" flour; and it means keeping the fat level under control. (Half a cup sound...
Dot's pretzels seasoning I made a batch of homemade Dots pretzels (pretzels with garlic salt, lemon pepper, cayenne pepper, etc.) They turned out to be too salty. My wife thinks that we can keep the same amount of seasonings and pretzels per batch but with double the oil to make them less salty. I say the same amount ...	If you want your pretzels to be less salty then you simply need to add less salt, there's nothing complex about it. Doubling the oil will just make them more oily, it's not going to dilute anything because you're still adding the same amount to the pretzels at the end of the process. If you like the balance of other he...
Alkaline foods with a pH higher than 8 I wonder if there is any common food with a pH higher than 8? Or is it simply that we humans don't eat anything alkaline because the taste would be soapy/bitter? I searched around the Internet only to find very weakly alkaline foods, in the range of 7~8, which is very weak alkali...	Lutefisk! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk Microbiota of lutefisk, a Nordic traditional cod dish with a high pH Most foods have either a neutral or a slightly acidic pH, whereas only a limited number of products have a pH above 8. The Nordic traditional fish dish lutefisk is an exception, with a pH around 12 d...
Can I use baking powder to soften dry beans or chickpeas? Dry beans or chickpeas don't easily soften up after boiling. Can I use baking powder (not baking soda) to soften dry beans or chickpeas?	No, you can't use baking powder. Baking powder is part baking soda, and part acid, the two will react with one another and balance each other out, so you won't get the alkaline properties you need.
Accidentally ate raw corn starch, is it safe? So I was heating up some canned soup over the stove, and it felt a bit thin. So I thought to use some corn starch to thicken it up. After pouring some in, some of it landed on my hand and I licked it off before I realized "Oh crap you probably aren't supposed to eat this r...	While it is never a good idea to make raw flours part of your diet or base a dish on them, eating raw starch is not so risky that you need to be worried about licking up a half-teaspoon of it. While overall figures are not available for corn starch, less than 3% of wheat flour in the US carries some kind of pathogen, a...
Could a pizza gas oven with only an under-the-stone burner work well? I've been looking at options of for-home pizza gas ovens. The Ooni Koda stuff cost about twice than I'd like to spend, and even then I saw some YouTube review which showed it doesn't really get to stated temperatures after an entire hour. So there's...	Heat directly under the stone would not work for a Italian-style pizza oven. Neapolitan pizza is cooked from the top down. In a traditional wood-fired oven, the air temperature is higher than the temperature of the brick or stone floor, and gets higher the closer you are to the top of the oven. Gas-fired pizza ovens l...
When corn starch is added to icing sugar, has it been cooked? My icing (powdered) sugar has 97% sugar and 3% "maize starch". Answers to a recent question accidentally ate raw corn starch say that corn starch, like wheat flour, is meant to be cooked before eating, but icing sugar isn't usually heated. Does this mean th...	It's raw. Raw cornstarch generally shouldn't be eaten raw, due to risks of causing digestive issues . But it's relatively low-risk when consumed in micro-quantities. Here's a recipe on YouTube on how to make icing sugar, and it uses 1 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of raw cornstarch: How To Make Icing Sugar At Home Many other...
Can I cook with the olive oil from canned sardines? The olive oil from canned sardine is delicious to eat with the sardines themselves on toast. However the olive oil doesn't seem to pair with any other food. In the past I tried to use the oil with lemon juice/parsley/garlic/green beans, the food turned out to have a ...	Yes, you can use the oil for other purposes, although due to the strong fish aroma and taste it would probably best be used only in a fish dish. I frequently use the oil from anchovies to fry onions to add to a Bolognese sauce to add a depth of flavour, a few anchovies being frequently added to this dish as "Italian MS...
How do I know if a Hello Fresh shipment is ... fresh? We recently received a Hello Fresh box as a gift. However, due to snowstorms in the area, it arrived four days late, and I'm sure that extra time was spent on a truck or on a shelf in a shipping center. The ice pack in the box was still frozen. I'm sure the potat...	The short answer is you don't know, there's no certainty. Even with food bought from a supermarket there are no guarantees, there could be handling errors which reduce the shelf life or you could get it home and find it's spoiled. With your package if the food was still very cold to the touch and the ice pack was still...
Is it safe to reheat mushrooms? According to this very popular Bright Side video (https://youtu.be/P2BVyHOdFUo) , it is not safe to reheat mushrooms as they not only lose their nutritional value, but can also make you ill. This, clearly, is a very simplistic position as we would not have such delicacies as tinned mush...	That's a myth, and as such your follow-up questions are moot. There is no scientific evidence of any kind that any particular method of reheating mushrooms -- or not reheating them -- is dangerous or problematic in any way. The popularity of that video does not automatically make it valid; videos about "slenderman" ar...
Can flour be made from breadcrumbs? Can flour be made from breadcrumbs, or is flour → bread an irreversible chemical reaction? I'm wondering if new bread can be made from ground stale bread (i.e., breadcrumbs).	You can use breadcrumbs to make food like dumplings or puddings, but you won't be able to use it as flour to make new bread. The cooking process is an irreversible one in this case.
Can you make pasta dough in a breadmaker? Is it a good idea to buy a breadmaker instead of a food processor for making pasta dough (and bread, obviously)?	No. Pasta dough is much firmer than bread dough and could possibly break the machine or the blade.
Why we use bronze die (and not steel) for pasta extrusion? I found many research papers on differences between Teflon and bronze die for pasta extrusion but there are no comparisons between bronze vs steel/brass/any other metal dies. Why we still stick to bronze dies instead of using steel as cheaper alternative? Are ...	I too have been trying to find a satisfactory answer to this question, as it seemed like bronze was wheeled out for primarily marketing reasons and served more of a default when not using PTFE, rather than being honestly motivated by material properties. This, combined with some food pseudoscience, can be pretty frustr...
why does commercial labneh uses different ingredients from traditional? Labneh is also called yoghurt cheese. It is traditionally made by draining yoghurt. The store bought labneh however has many additional ingredients in addition to milk and live cultures which make up yoghurt, such as cream, skim milk and whey prot...	Commercial food production has a stronger focus on consistency than homemade stuff; a company making a food product usually wants to be very sure that they can offer exactly the same product every time, regardless of time of year, which facility it was made at, and other factors. As such, many companies will try to ens...
Should an oven be left to cool if cooking at a lower temperature? For example, if I cook some veggies in the oven at 450F and then need to cook steaks at 250F, is there any point in letting the oven cool to 250F? My expectation is that the amount of heat in the oven when it's at 250F vs when it's at 450F is negligible...	This depends very strongly on what kind of oven you have. Since there are many, many variations in oven design, I'm going to go over three contrary options based on my own personal experience. Gas oven, freestanding and thinly insulated: with an oven like this, you can turn the heat down to a lower temperature, put th...
Georgian dessert based on walnuts When I was a kid, some 40 years ago, I visited the country of Georgia and had a dessert I still (vaguely) remember but could never find a note on. It was based on a whole unripe walnut (I think it was a walnut - it could have been a large nut) that was in some kind of syrup (or at las...	It was most likely a simple preserve. Unripe walnuts are commonly eaten in Eastern Europe, and preserve is one of the widespread preparations. (Maybe even the only widespread one besides liqueur - they are mostly eaten raw). I don't know about Georgia, but this certainly exists in other countries. It is a somewhat exot...
Efficient method to peel onions? How do you efficiently peel an onion, so both time and material wasted is minimized? The way I do it: I cut off the stem part farthest from the roots (which has to go anyways, and gives me a nice flat bit to stand the onion on for the next cut), then slice it in half. At this point com...	Kenji Lopez-Alt, cookbook author and NYT columnist, has mentioned offhand a couple of times in his Youtube videos that he feels most people don't peel off enough layers when preparing onions; that the semi-dry, slightly tough outer-layer-ness extends further into the onion than many people think. It's possible this att...
Is there an ultimate way to make a rotatable pizza stone? So I've bought a gas-powered pizza oven reminiscent of the Ooni Koda 12. It gets the crust done alright, but as I expected earlier it is quite difficult to rotate the dough using a peel without ending up with some parts burned and without an overall unevenness ...	Yes, I can recommend a method because I did this*. Per my blog post, the secret is to buy a round corderite stone of the correct size, glue that to a stainless steel turntable, and bolt that to a thin metal sheet. The steel turntable works because it's not sealed and there is no grease in it, so it won't boil off. Si...
Why do gelatin sheets have a diamond pattern? Why do gelatin sheets have a diamond pattern? Are they perforations? Are they for measurement? Are they for brand recognition or marketing or just aesthetics?	I think it is a side effect of the drying process. If you look at about the 5m50s mark, the drying conveyor is a diamond pattern. YouTube video of the process
What to look in a truly dishwasher friendly non-stick cookware? Dishwasher + Non-stick = Disaster. I know that, but still I'm wondering what type of non-stick cookware I can buy which would be more resilient towards dishwasher? I know ideally you don't want to put your non-stick cookware in dishwasher but let's say if...	Look for one with a ten-year guarantee that states specifically is is dishwasher-friendly. Keep the receipt. There is a general rule that the more you pay, the longer it will last, but even just cooking in it if you can get more than a couple of years' useful life out of a frying pan without it getting sticky, you're d...
How close is the liquid in canned vegetables to vegetable stock? My mother taught me to never throw away the liquid in canned vegetables. She says that is the basis of a good soup or sauce. The both of use that liquid as one would use stock. Is that good practice though? We don't like throwing anything away.	"How close" is really a matter of taste. Canning liquid generally consists of water, salt, and preservatives, plus particles from the cooked vegetables in the can. For example, the can of chickpeas in front of me contains "Chickpeas, water, salt, disodium EDTA". Since a vegetable stock is usually made with water, sal...
Are different pasta shapes easier/harder for factory machines to make? This weekend, I was shopping at the grocery store and found that the Lasagna was priced at about double per pound compared to other pasta shapes. That got me wondering if different pasta shapes are more/less hard for factory machines to make, or if...	It's likely the handling and packing that's responsible for the higher price. Among all the common dry pasta shapes typically sold in the grocery stores, lasagna sheets seem to be the most fragile. Unlike many dry pastas that are kept relatively compact in plastic bags, dry lasagna sheets needs to be kept in like-shape...
Does protein powder still work after a few days in overnight oats? I've been getting into overnight oats recently, and thinking about getting more protein in them. Some recipes (for example, here) suggest just adding protein powder. But, at least one manufacturer says this: /nhuman: Will my protein drink lose potency...	Not necessary – but, it will spoil if it’s not stored properly or used too long after it’s prepared. For best results, mix-up no more than a day’s worth of protein at a time, store it in the refrigerator (in a covered container), and use within 2 days of preparation. I usually make a few days to a week's worth of oats...
What batter was used on Birds Eye potato fritters? Birds eye sadly no longer make these, a very common potato side in the 70s and 80s which I'm trying to recreate. The batter was very light and golden, almost like a tempura batter, sort of flaky but crispy at the same time. The potato was quite dense, if memory serves...	Spar used to have a page* for "Birds Eye Oven Bake Potato Fritters" listing the ingredients with "Batter (Wheat Flour, Skimmed Milk Powder, Salt, Baking Powder (contains Rasing Agents E450, E500))". Sunflower oil is used. * Lost, and not even available through the Wayback Machine as far as I can find: https://www.spar....
Can I use regular gas (stove) cookware (pots and pans) in a fireplace? I went somewhere with a fireplace. Let's say the place and cookware are mine. The kitchen works with fire (gas stove), so the cookware works for gas (I've used it before for a long time). According to my research, a gas stove can go up to +-1650C a...	It's not impossible, but you should choose your pans with care. That 550°C figure is for the outside of a wood-burning stove, and would be faintly glowing red in a dark room. In practice the stove has to be burning pretty fiercely to get that hot. You could put pretty much any cooking pot on top and you'd be fine. ...
Green lump in the middle of lamb meat I have bought a fresh half leg of lamb today and there was a big disgusting green lump in the middle of it's fat. I'd like to know what it is and what should I do with the meat? Would anyone be able to help me please?	I have sent the picture to the New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) and asked them about it. This is their answer: Thank you for contacting New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) regarding your enquiry about the strange lump which you found in your piece of lamb meat. I have sent these photos to experts within the team who have loo...
Are there pressure-cooker specific foods? According to the answers in this question, pressure cookers are primarily used to cook foods faster by changing the boiling point of water. (They are also used for preservation, but that's beside the point for this question). Are there pressure-cooker specific foods? I've be...	Pressure speeds cooking by increasing the temperature from 212 to 250 Fahrenheit, but it also creates browning via the Maillard reaction. Nathan Myhrvold says in "Modernist Cuisine at Home" on page 28: The high temperatures inside the cooker also promote browning and caramelization, reactions that create flavors you c...
What parts of Italy should you go to for anchovy pizza? Is there a specific region of Italy that is known for anchovy pizza? Can you get that in all of Italy or is that specific to a region? Can you actually get a buffalo mozzarella anchovy pizza? Im trying to flesh out the specifics of my culinary bucket list. I’m as...	Napoli. Prior to the blessing of Pizza Margharita as the official pizza of Napoli, the locals equally enjoyed pizza with tomato sauce and anchovies. So much so, that this pizza is still known as Pizza Napoli. So if you're looking for a traditional, "canonical" anchovy pizza, that's the place to go.
Are red beans supposed to look pruney when soaking? I'm a teen trying to cook for himself and I wanted to make some red beans and rice. After I boiled the water, I started soaking the red beans and in just 5-8 minutes, the beans pruned up like your fingers in bath. I got so scared (I still am), because I think I did s...	It's normal for beans to sometimes do that during the first stages of soaking, particularly if you soak them in boiling water. They should plump up and become normal after 40min to an hour.
What can I use in lieu of bacon in boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin? Boeuf bourguignon, coq au vin, even many pot roast chicken recipes call for a few slices of bacon. A dietician nicely approved of everything in my diet, with the exception of the bacon (fried nitrates are a known carcinogen, I believe was the reason)...	You could perhaps take some ideas from vegetarian recipes. Obviously, I know chicken isn't vegetarian, but if you need to avoid bacon there are vegetarian options for imparting the flavouring that you would otherwise get from bacon. If it's a smoky flavour I want, I use Spanish smoked paprika. I frequently use it in le...
Dutch oven vs. water pan for bread baking I see a lot of successful home bread bakers using dutch ovens in their home ovens. They preheat the dutch oven, bake the proofed loaf inside the oven, and eventually remove the cover of the dutch oven to promote browning. I also own a few books on bread baking and this method ...	I've tried both, for my kitchen and oven, I get a much better oven spring with a preheated and initially covered dutch oven. A third alternative is to put your loaf on a stone and invert a large stainless mixing bowl over it. This eliminates the potential of burning your hands when dropping the loaf into the preheate...
Cooking pasta longer to get it al dente? Up until now I was more than sure that the longer I cook pasta, the more soft it becomes. And if I want to have an al dente pasta, I simply need to cook it 2-3 minutes shorter than I'd cook it to get it normal. Until today when I saw this on a package of my past	Is this some kind of print error or I don't understand something obvious. How cooking longer can make pasta more crispy (rather than soft)?
How to tell if wok is non-stick? Someone gave me a wok. It's black and I scraped through the black coating so the metal is showing. I assume a regular wok (without non-stick coating) wouldn't have a black coating that could be scraped through? Also I intend to use this wok like a wok. That is, I won't be using it at l...	It looks like non-stick to me, judging by the way the damage looks around the edges of the scraped parts… You can't season non-stick & this 'smooth' type of non-stick tends to be the 'old fashioned teflon' type, which will not be good at high temperatures. There are modern non-stick coatings which do work at wok tempe...
Blender for mincing bell pepper? I tried to grate bell pepper on a grater and it doesn't really work. It worked on a meat grinder but I prefer some kind of smaller device. The blenders work best for fruits, they only have the blades at the bottom of the container. Is there some types of blenders that work well for bel...	The device pictured at the beginning of the video you attached is called a food processor. There are several sizes and ranges of quality. Just type "food processor" into the Amazon search bar.
What are these small black specs inside my peppers? Inside my pepper (pic) are these small black/brown specs. What are they? Are they safe to eat?	They are infertile seeds. If you notice, they are on the ribs of the pepper, where the seeds develop. Because they are infertile, they have not developed beyond the very early stages of development.
Home-made Kimchi lost all water after being put in the fridge I've made Kimchi using this recipe (german link, but I think it should be a pretty standard recipe). I let it ferment for a week at room temperature and everything looked fine (it was covered in water/brine throughout). I put it in the fridge today (to keep...	Brain cells acquired, turning my comment into an answer: The first thing you should do in a situation like this is to open the container and press the vegetables back down. As fermentation occurs, the active bacteria produce gas as well as acid. The gas will get trapped in pockets under the vegetables, and once enough ...
Why would boiling spinach decrease the iron content? I've found a lot of articles that say spinach contains more iron when boiled. However, I also came across someone saying the iron content would decrease as the boiling time increases. I was wondering why this is, if someone could answer, that would be great!	So, it turns out people have looked at this, and we can answer with science. Basically, while the iron content in spinach is high relative to many other vegetables, it isn't very bio-available (i.e. not readily taken up by our bodies). This is because of some compounds found in plants, called polyphenolics. These preve...
Chowder without flour Is there a gluten free alternative for flour in clam or mussel chowder? The recipe calls for a couple spoonfuls.	Yes, certainly. The flour is only there for thickening. You can use pretty much any flour or starch from a gluten-free grain or tuber, and it will thicken just as well. Depending on whether you want to add another flavor, you can go for a flour with a strong taste on its own, like buckwheat, and/or whole grain flour. I...
Polymer fume fever probably detected I have a mildly scratched teflon pot and recently contemplated about throwing it to the bin but online pages suggested that it's fine as it is a recently bought one (less than 4 months ago in an EU country). Yet when I heated the empty pot at 6th level of my electric stove I smell...	Electric stove elements can reach 800C if left on high with nothing on top. While an empty pan won't quite reach that maximum (which is also bad for your stove), they can certainly get well over 400C. As such, if you heated an empty nonstick pan for a while and smelled it burning, the nonstick coating may be ruined. ...
Compensate for low-performance gas stovetop Disclosure: this question and topic relates strictly to kitchen gadgetry rather than anything else. My range is horribly lacking in multiple ways, and it has (despite my best efforts to accommodate for it) compromised countless baked/cooked resources. Specifically, the entir...	I don’t know anything about your stove, but when I’ve been in a similar situation, I use more burners or alternate methods of heating large volumes of water. For instance, if you have an electric kettle or even a microwave, you could use that to heat some of the water, while you only attempt to heat half of the water d...
"tall can of evaporated milk", how big is it? We have a recipe for chocolate fudge that is 40+ years old. That recipe calls for a "tall can of evaporated milk" and one (8 oz) jar of marshmallow creme. In the last few years we've been having trouble with the fudge (too thick and hardens too fast), so I wanted to check ...	From my previous research into can sizes, I suspect that the can may have been either a #1 tall (16 fl.oz) or a #2 tall (24 fl.oz). There was also a #3 tall, but it’s large enough that I don’t think anyone would have been selling evaporated milk in it. You might want to look at other fudge recipes to determine if eith...
Making butter at home I decided to make home made butter. I haven’t done this since I was a kid. We shook the jar until the liquid separated. I wasn’t sure if this meant it was done or not even though I kept reading the instructions over and over. Now I have a cream that looks like soft cream cheese. Have I over shook...	Keep at it. You have made butter once you see distinct lumps in the liquid, indicating that the fat and liquid have separated. What you described is pretty close to whipped cream. And all bakers know not to over-whip their cream or they make butter unintentionally. You can’t over shake butter, at least not with the ja...
Should you stream sugar into French meringue? I’ve heard several opinions on preparing French meringues: stream sugar into fluffy egg whites -or- combine sugar and egg whites ahead of time (e.g. the day before) -or- dump all sugar into egg whites and then start whipping Any concrete facts about the efficacy of eithe...	Personally, this is the sort of situation that I think is fantastic for experimentation. My recommended medium would be a chiffon cake that depends on whipped egg whites for structure. Keeping every other aspect of the batter the same, try each method, bake the cake the same way, in the same pan, and look at the crumb....
Can you add vinegar to chicken stock while making it to get calcium from the bones into the stock? I got this tip from my mother, she says it helps bring calcium into the stock and break down the bones so the marrow can come out. It seems like it would change the taste but I'm not sure how. Also it seems like the best...	One study found that: "The stocks with and without vinegar did not differ in calcium content and all were poor sources of calcium, providing from 6 to 11 mg of calcium per cup" and "In contrast to the soup stock, one quart (four cups) of skim milk provides 1,184 mg calcium". While another concluded that: "prolonge...
Is my rice pot still safe to use? The bottom part metal of my rice pot has turned into darker colour as shown below. May i know if it is still safe to use and what causes it to turn colour? I think the pot is made up of anodised aluminium ? (Correct me if I am wrong)	Your rice pot looks like it has an uncoated aluminum insert. Which also explains the discoloration: aluminum easily discolors from hard (alkaline) water, or even from minerals from the rice itself. These chemicals cause the surface of the aluminum to oxidize. This discoloration is harmless and you can ignore it if yo...
What exactly is this residue and how do I clean it off? I have a grill pan with some cooking residue on it. I'm not exactly sure which food caused it (usually oven cook chips, pizza or grill sausages, burgers, sometimes mackerel) but something left this and I'm struggling to clean it. It's very black, and also very sm...	This is polymerized oil - the same stuff that people build up on iron pans as seasoning. There is no good way to remove it from a coated surface. It is quite resistant to both chemical and physical methods, as you discovered. Most mechanical methods will scratch your existing coating, and as for chemical methods, the o...
What are the risks to store a digital scale under an object? The storage space in my kitchen is rather limited. For that reason, I store my digital scale under a (rather lightweight) salad spinner. Is there any risk to mess up the calibration of the scale and getting out wrong measurements? Would it matter if the obj...	With a digital scale it shouldn't matter at all, the sensor is an electronic strain gauge, increasing weight changes the voltage the sensor returns, the scale is calibrated to the change in voltage, translating that to the weight. There are no major mechanical parts to wear out. With this type of sensor having a light...
My new convection/convention oven will not bake anything correctly I just bought a KitchenAid oven which, has both convection and conventional settings with a convection conversion setting. I have been baking for over 40 years, and nothing I have made in this oven is edible. I am using the conventional feature (as wit...	The first thing to do is buy an oven thermometer to see what temperature your oven actually is. Technicians have no real way of knowing what the temperature is when you are using it; what you need is hard data. Oven thermometers are very cheap, and it will give you a better idea of what's going on. Put one in your oven...
Why does spinach come in an airtight bag? When I buy spinach from the supermarket, it comes in a sealed plastic bag. There is always quite a lot of moisture inside the bag on the leaves. I used to find that spinach would last about 3 days in the fridge inside this bag, and then go mushy and bad. I realised recently th...	The airtight bag has an atmosphere of mostly nitrogen. This displaces the oxygen in regular air, which in itself prevents decay but also reduces the moisture content which further prevents decay. Inflating the bag before sale also helps cushion it during transit: Nitrogen is a popular gas for food packaging because it...
What could be the history of this pan? I inherited this aluminum frying pan from my grandmother who passed away in 1998. Since then, it has mostly sat in the cabinet thanks to its distinct downward bulge in the center, and its inconveniently small size at about 12" upper-inner diameter. The handle has a wooden outer "...	That logo seems pretty clear: it's Club Aluminum Cookware. The unpainted finish, "hammered" brand, and wood handle suggest that it's from the early history of the company -- between 1923 and 1933. However, it was a mass-market brand and such pieces are not particularly valuable. Value aside, it's a servicable pan and...
Using pistachio paste instead of an extract - what proportion of paste should I use? While I have a specific baking goal in mind, if there are answers that apply generally to all cooking/baking that'd be great. I have a biscotti recipe that I often adapt with different mix-ins and different flavor extracts. But I want...	I haven't used pistachio paste, and it's a while since I've used extract, but I'm pretty certain that the amount of paste you'd need would be enough to change the texture of your biscotti. To my mind, a "strong pistachio flavour" means almost as strong as pistachios themselves, meaning that you'd need 10s of percent of...
How to make a split oil sauce I am watching masterchef: the professionals They have a few recipes about a split oil sauce Google shows how to fix a split sauce. That is not my question My research shows this is where they purposely combine a water based and oil based sauce What would a basic recipe look like to achiev...	A simple Asian style dressing or dipping sauce would qualify as a split oil type sauce from that description, containing as basics Soy Sauce, Toasted Sesame Oil, Rice Vinegar and/or Mirin. So would a simple Italian style bread dipping sauce, with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar (and herbs, garlic, etc.)
Sushi Salmon left uncovered overnight in fridge safe to eat? I thawed raw sushi salmon the day before and then wrapped it in papertowels and put it in the fridge overnight, but I forgot to put a lid on the container. It the salmon still safe to eat? Since the papertowels were also a lil wet due to the frozen salmon le...	There is nothing you've identified that would make it unsafe. As long as you've kept it below 40F (4.5C) you are good. Covering is not a critical issue for safety, temperature is.
Can beans be overcooked? Can beans be overcooked? Coffee beans, for example, are incredibly roasted. Falafel is baked or fried garbanzo beans. Is it possible to overcook beans, or is this good for breaking down the sugars, phytic acid that cause flatulence, indigestion of legumes?	Beans can absolutely be overcooked. Coffee beans aren't really beans--they're seeds from a fruit--but they are very temperature sensitive when roasted. There is a wide range of roasts, but dark roast in particular is essentially brought right to the edge and stopped before burning. For folks who like lighter or medium ...
What are the effects of resting (or not) carnitas meat after the initial braise I just read a pork carnitas recipe and part of the workflow/steps went like this: braise meat (e.g. pork shoulder, pork butt) for 8+ hours remove meat, keep braising liquid available shred meat return shredded meat to braising liquid for ...	Slow-cooked meats that get shreddable (pork butt, beef chuck, etc) are a little different than other cuts, like steaks and rare roast beef. As a pork butt (or similar cut) cooks and breaks down, it loses the structure that holds juices in. Instead, the braising liquid contains much of that "juice"--including gelatin & ...
What goes into tom yum soup? I've bought some tom yum paste. The label says 2 tbsp per cup of water, add meats and vegetables as preferred. What would be good, reasonably authentic solids?	Standard would be shrimp, mushrooms, and green onions. Possibly some hot peppers, but if the paste is sufficiently spicy, you might want to use a more mild pepper for texture
How long to slow-cook a small corned beef? In honor of the day I want to cook corned-beef in our slow-cooker. I've read several recipes that say to cook a 3-4 pound brisket for 9-10 hours. However, the corned-beef I bought is only 2 pounds. Should I still cook it for 10 hours?	Yes, you should. The long cooking time breaks down the connective tissue in the meat, making it tender. It will take less time to get a two pound brisket up to temperature than a four pound, but we aren't talking hours difference, and longer is definitely better.
Why different techniques for mayonnaise and hollandaise sauces? There is very little difference between mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce; each is basically an emulsion of egg yolk and fat, with various emulsifiers and flavours added. The significant difference is that one uses oil that is already liquid at room temper...	You can make mayonnaise with butter, using the same technique. The probable reason you don't find it on shelves is that it hardens up in the refrigerator, nobody wants to have to warm up their mayo to use it. You can make hollandaise with oil instead of butter. Although both are emulsions, mayonnaise and hollandaise ar...
Can Le Creuset Dutch Oven be used in the microwave in convection mode? I am reading that cast iron may pop or crackle in a convection oven, and aluminum is best for it. Since Le Creuset Dutch Oven is just enameled cast iron, I couldn't help but have a safety concern over using it in the microwave's convection mode.	Le Creuset and convection ovens work well together. One issue may be that some microwave ovens turn on the microwave part even in convection mode. More honest ones call this combination mode, and have a separate convection mode (like mine). There are a couple of potential issues even with decent convection microwaves. ...
What is difference between Greek and Danish feta cheese? I see both version and was wondering what the difference between the two is?	These are two different cheeses. I don't know how they came to be called by the same name, but they have a very different taste and texture. The Greek-style Feta is a subtype of the standard cheese on the Balkan peninsula. When I say "standard", I mean that it is so entrenched, there is not even a word for it - linguis...
What is the name of the tool which involves a ball inside a sealed container that is shaken to grind up spices? I have seen a tool which is in two parts. In either part, you place both the plastic ball that comes with the tool and spices. You then screw the two parts of the tool together (it's plastic, it's easy). Now...	I haven't seen this type of device as a home spice grinder, but in commercial/industrial settings, this type of device is called a ball mill. Industrial ball mills will have a cylinder filled with balls. The item that needs to be ground is added, the the cylinder is then turned on an axis so that the balls & material t...
How can I cook parboiled rice in absorption method? How many cups of water (not liters) should I add to 1 cup of parboiled rice in case of the absorption method of cooking? How many minutes should I cook?	In general, the amount of water to use while cooking parboiled rice is "whatever the packaging says you should use." However, if you bought your parboiled rice in bulk or have lost the packaging, parboiled rice is generally cooked the same way as regular rice, but with slightly more water. So parboiled medium-grain ri...
Can I add double cream to my cake batter instead of sour cream? First of all, the reason I ask is because I wanted to follow this recipe for making a keto tiramisu cake but this person is adding sour cream to the batter which I don't agree with(isn't it going to taste weird?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RWlUuakts...	Adding sour cream isn't going to make it taste weird, so you could use it no problem, in fact it's a really good ingredient - more on that later. You can use double cream, but you've got to make adjustments - it's not a straight substitute for 2 reasons: Fat content: sour cream is 20% fat, double cream is 50%. If you...
How does the UK nutrition "Traffic Light System" work? I have been trying to understand the UK "Traffic Light" system of labelling food nutrition as a helpful guide to maintaining a healthy diet and to focus this question on one nutrient, I am concentrating on saturated fats. The UK guidelines state that the RDA for s...	With much government information they do not like to give us firm details of what they do. I have failed to find details of how they do it [1], but one way they could would be to assume a person ate only this, and see how much saturated fat they would eat. The top is 398kcal and 2.2g sat fat, the bottom 159 kcal and ...
How can I make my baguette dough softer and more elastic? I've been practicing making french baguettes at home and am currently exploring the poolish method. I've collected numerous recipes and tried different variations. My baguettes are OK but I'm looking for a way to improve all of my steps to make the end result a...	It looks to me definitely like a kneading issue. You certainly have some good gluten formation. It is visible in the torn edges around the hole in the middle, in both of your pictures. At the same time, your gluten is way too tight. You can see this both in the tearing, and in the lumps present in the dough. Intuitivel...
Russian Recipe Help Needed! I need help converting this recipe and it's measurements into English! https://pin.it/30QV1w9	Here are the translations. Original: Печенье 300 гр. сгущёнка 2 ст.л творог 250 гр. сметана 2 ст.л Бананы 2 Мандарин 4 киви 2 клубника 5-6 Translated to English: Cookies 300 gr. Sweetened condensed milk 2 tbsp Cottage cheese 250 gr. Sour cream 2 tbsp. Bananas 2 Mandarin 4 Kiwi 2 Strawberries 5 - 6
Yogurt from raw cow milk has a gelatinous consistency I've been making yogurt for a couple of years now, using commercial milk from the super market, with some very good success. Recently decided to up my game by sourcing the milk directly at the farm, and I am now getting untreated raw cow milk. However, the results ...	Your process skips the scalding step for the milk. To get the proper consistency for yogurt, you have to boil it up once. This has two functions: it kills bacteria which might outcompete the culture, and it changes the shape of the proteins, making a difference in the way they cross-link together, and giving it the pro...
Sourdough hasn’t risen overnight I mixed 400gr of flour with 200 of starter, plus 280 ml of water and a bit of salt. I worked it with the slap and fold method and left it overnight. Sadly this morning I woke up to find it only about one third increased in volume. I had a similar experience two days ago, when I baked t...	If it’s currently winter for many of us, it’s possible that your dough just needs more time as bread rises slowly when it’s cold. If that’s the case, you can try moving it to a warmer location Although there is ‘instant yeast’, which can be mixed straight into dough as you’re making it, I don’t think it’s intended to b...
White bread without the "yeasty" or "bready" flavor I'm trying to recreate a very specific brand of white bread from my parents' hometown, which isn't available outside about a 60-mile radius since the bakery doesn't use preservatives. But it's DANG good, and I'd like to be able to make something similar for myself in...	One way to reduce the taste of yeast is paradoxically to use more yeast. With more yeast (and higher temperature, and more sugar) you can make the dough rise faster, which yields less of the yeasty flavour. (Normally the process is the reverse - in order to get more yeasty flavour, use less yeast and let it rise for lo...
How to preserve this agar based dish for humans? I am a cook that created a dish with the following ingredients: agar a raw egg (remains uncooked) bee pollen honey water I want to be able to preserve this dish for months, because right now it starts to mold after a week in the fridge, even in an airtight container. ...	If it lasts for 1 or 2 weeks at a time, then I'd suggest making 1 to 2 weeks' worth at a time. Alternatively make the whole batch, but divide into small portions and invest in a vacuum sealer to remove all oxygen before freezing. The vacuum bags provide convenient freezer store as well. But.... Thing is that just reduc...
How to avoid airy, thin whipped cream I've always made my whipped cream with a 'stick hand blender, which creates the most amazing thick rich whipped cream! I never liked the airy, oily w/c from Starbucks but I wanted to get a dispenser for convenience therefor I bought the Isi pro red... which I hated! It was airy, ...	As you already noticed yourself, a siphon and a mixer create different textures of the whipping cream. These textures are a fundamental property of the technique used for whipping, and you cannot do anything to change them. If you want to have mechanically whipped cream, then you have to whip it mechanically. You canno...
Is it safe to put silica gel packets in spices? I know it's pretty safe (even recommended) to store food in cabinets that have silica gel packs. I'm wondering if it is safe (and a good idea) to put the sealed silica gel packets directly into the food. So if I'm storing a spice mix, can I just drop a sealed pack of sil...	Food-grade silica gel packets are safe to use in the way you describe, however, I wonder if it is necessary. You might want to specify the issue you are having that leads you to believe they are necessary. Silica gel packets are used when moisture will degrade a product. As long as you keep your spices in closed conta...
How to clean tea stains from a mug with steel interior? How can I clean this tea mug? This is a Contigo mug and I believe it is stainless steel. It has seen a lot of tea and there is a black coating that has broken in scales in the bottom. I've tried to soak it with vinegar but it doesn't help and since the mug is qui...	I had great success cleaning tea and other food residue with chlorine-free bleach (sodium percarbonate). Put a couple of tablespoons in, soak with hot water and leave overnight. Then scrub a bit, and everything comes off easily.
My mango and lime achar is fermenting in the mustard oil I made several bottles of lime and mango achar using this recipe https://cookpad.com/uk/recipes/8400937-mango-and-lime-pickle I put it all in glass bottles and they are completely covered in mustard oil. They are now producing gas suggesting they are fermenting....	This is perfectly normal - for a rotting dish, that is. I’m sorry, but this preparation is by no means safe after four weeks at room temperature. The recipe states: This pickle is ready. Serve immediately or after few days. And I would tend to interpret that as “after a few days in the fridge”. So while some pickles ...
What is this veggie sold as "leek sprout" in an Asian market? What is this veggie I bought at the Asian market? It was called a leek sprout.	Yellow Chinese chives. These are the same as Chinese garlic chives, but they've been "bleached" by covering them; this results in a milder, sweeter flavor. They're generally minced and put into dishes as a finishing step.
Using A Combination of Ghee and Unsalted Butter for Croissants Novice baker here. I live in South Africa, where it is difficult to find European style butter and the one we do have is exorbitantly expensive, around 50 euros for 500g. The closest to European style that we've got is an 82.4% butter from Lurpak I've alre...	My suggestion would be to use the Lurpak butter and not worry. If you run into any problems, they won't come from the butter. On the "European butter is better" story I have also come across the story of the high-fat European butter, and I am quite puzzled by it. I personally live in Germany, and have shopped in severa...
How many mg of acetic acid are in 1 Goli apple cider vinegar gummy? The label says "Apple Cider Vinegar (5% acetic acid) 500 mg". Does one gummy have 25mg of acetic acid or 500mg of acetic acid?	500 mg of acetic acid are in 1 gummy. From Google: Two of our gummies are equivalent to having 1 tablespoon of ACV. The "500 mg" is the dry acetic acid after the water from the vinegar has been evaporated.
cooking with a round based clay pot on an electric stove I have a clay cooking pot, similar to this one here and was wondering does anybody know of a heat diffuser I could use to cook with it over an electric Stove, Its meant for a naked flame such as gas but you know, Russia decide to invade Ukraine, so gas is becom...	I wouldn't recommend it. You're going to be generating a large heat differential between top & bottom, even if you manage to find a heat 'spreader' capable of properly heating the entire lower half. Heat differential & ceramics = cracking/or explosive shattering.
Does oven spring differ between white and sourdough breads? I see a ton of videos and photos of beautiful sourdough breads with amazing oven spring and ears like this: https://preview.redd.it/5h5dh6a898h51.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=3045d24e2922be3253092e9587032d3d0d825727 I've read on how to get better oven...	In my experience, there’s no reason to assume that it’s because of the dough type. Both can get good oven spring and ears. Due to the way the yeasts and bacteria in a sourdough work, I find sourdough breads to be more finicky than pure yeast ones.They can get softer and flatten during the final rest, where yeast-only b...
Zabaglione for Tiramisu I'm reading recipes for Tiramisu that call for Zabaglione. Some say I can simply whip egg yolks with sugar in a stand mixer, while others insist I use a bain marie and that the mixture reaches a certain temperature (68 degrees Celsius). Why is it so? Is it for pasteurizing? If so, can I use my ...	It isn't about pasteurization, it is about texture. Egg yolks whip very differently at different temperatures. When you whip egg yolks with sugar at 60 C, you will get a very airy foam, which will also be more stable than a foam which has been whipped at room temperature. So, for optimal results, you should whip in a b...
How to identify the exact point of caramelization? I cant seem to find the point of caramel for my almonds or any other nut. Its either "grainy" (to much water evaporated) or like the batch I just did, too gooey. Did this 4 times I believe and never managed to find the sweet spot. I work with 1/1/0.2 (nut/sugar/water...	"Grainy" doesn't mean "too much water evaporated", it means "it crystallized". For caramelization in a pot on the stove, by the time you start getting any significant caramelization, virtually all the water has evaporated already. You need this to happen without the sugar crystallizing. To prevent crystallization, add ...
Muffin casing anomaly: detachment Preface: This relate to cupcakes, too. Also, by "casing," I'm referring to the paper wrapper that surrounds the base of the muffin and/or cupcake. For example, this is the one I use. Lastly, there is plenty of info out there of how to avoid casing coupling to the baked product - this ...	Presumably the time in a humid bag moistens both the casing and the cake in contact with it. I would expect that what adheres to the casing is dried baked cake, and this has an effect similar to soaking dried-on food on a plate or pan, which loosens the connection between the two so that the paper comes off more easily...
Yogurt + tahini = paste? I had dip made with Target store brand plain nonfat Greek yogurt, minced garlic, powdered ginger, lemongrass paste, salt, and nothing else; the dip was soft and creamy. I added some Sprouts store brand tahini, which is VERY runny, about the consistency of soy milk, with about a 2 to 1 ratio of...	Adding a small amount of water to tahini causes it to thicken into a paste because of carbohydrate binding. Clearly, the yogurt had just that amount of water. The solution to getting it to thin out again is to continue adding water or other liquid until it "unbinds", just as you do for tahini sauce.
Botulism in regards to microwaving garlic, honey, ACV, lemon juice, olive oil and powdered ginger for 15 seconds I am wondering if I mix 1 tbs of honey, ACV and olive oil with 1 crushed garlic with a squirt of lemon juice, then microwave it for 15 seconds (enough make the mixture bubble but not overflow) can that caus...	No, of course not. Botulism is the result of bacterial fermentation over a long period of time. If the ingredients are safe, mixing them will also be safe.
Fruit that has been mistaken as olive fruit? What fruit is this? I can't find it online. Can someone please help me identify it?	I took your picture and gave it as input to https://identify.plantnet.org/ , which is an online tool to help identify plants with pictures. According to PlantNet, your fruit is most probably a climbing ylang-ylang. It is native to southern India and Sri Lanka. Its flowers smell very fragrant, but the fruits don’t seem ...
Best lid for glass jar of chutney contains raw garlic, herbs, hot pepper, all in apple vinegar I intend to make a lot of chutney with raw garlic, herbs, green small hot pepper, salt, pepper, turmeric, all in apple vinegar. I want to store this chutney out of fridge, in glass jars for long time. I think mixture of appl...	You could consider Weck canning jars.
How does no-knead bread not overproof? Most sourdough instructions warn not to overextend primary fermentation, as doing so will exhaust the yeast's food supply for proving after shaping. Standard sourdough recipes call for a 3-4 hour bulk fermentation stage. How, then, does no-knead bread not exhaust its food supply ...	This kind of rising didn't originate with the No-Knead recipe. Slow-rise breads are traditional -- more so than fast-rise breads, which are a relatively recent development in the history of bread. Slow-rise recipes are required with older methods of starting bread, including biga, poolish, sourdough, and pate fermente...
Why are soaked dried soy beans cooked before fermenting? Is it necessary to cook soaked dried soy beans before fermenting them?	No. Both tofu and miso require cooking the soybeans to work. For miso, the soybeans must be mashed into a paste, which doesn't really work with raw soybeans. Further, the koji culture grows on the starches and sugars present in cooked soybeans, not raw ones. So creating a miso from raw soybeans would require you to ...
Why is this spoon bent sideways Can anyone ID this spoon? I took over a small kitchen and they have this thing. You can ignore the meat sticker, it’s a kosher thing.	If it is normal table spoon or dessert spoon sized, it is a spoon adjusted for people with limited mobility. When adjusting for an individual, you would usually adjust the plastic as that is easier, but this is likely been factory adjusted, being a common enough adjustment that it is made in decent numbers. I have cons...
Automated stirring in a domestic kitchen I'm currently making 9 litres of quite thick lentil soup in a 10 litre stainless steel stockpot. It needs to simmer gently for an hour or two. Despite the sandwich base and my weakest gas ring on minimum*, it needs stirring every few minutes or it will stick, and soon burn. ...	When I am cooking very thick soups I often put the pot in the oven instead of the stove and cook it that way. Because the heat is distributed around the entire surface I don't run into problems of it burning and sticking. Be sure to manage the temperature though, just around boiling is good.

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